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Blue Armadillo weblog
Saturday, July 06, 2002
From the Obscure Store:
Politicos don't want city to be linked to SpongeBob
A radio personality's proposal to bring SpongeBob SquarePants to the sponge capital of the United States is getting a chilly reception. "I watched it, and I really don't want to be associated with it," says Tarpon Springs, Fla. Commissioner Karen Brayboy. Another politician says of the cartoon character: "I can't fathom why it's a square, synthetic sponge." (St. Petersburg Times)
Well, duh. If it was an organic sponge, then the square pants wouldn't fit.
Speaking of which, at dinner tonight, the little girl at the table next to mine was wearing SpongeBob SquarePants shoes. Slightly more interesting is that the little girl's father was US Representaive David Wu (D-OR).
posted by John Heaton 1:07 AM |
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Friday, July 05, 2002
I recently read A Force Upon the Plain by Kenneth Stern, a book I bought no less than four years ago but never got around to reading. That turns out to have been something of a mistake, for time has not been kind to this book. A Force Upon the Plain is about the American militia movement. It was released in January 1996, less than a year after the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. At the time, militias and similar anti-government extremists were a big concern. The movement had been growing at an alarming rate for several years, and Oklahoma City proved that they were a legitimate threat.The key word in that last sentence, of course, is "were." Oklahoma City proved to be the apotheosis of the American militia movement, and since then they've pretty much dropped off the radar. They're still out there, of course, and they're still saying some pretty outrageous things. But having said them, they don't act on them. And as a result people,have pretty much stopped listening, and are focusing attention on the kind of extremists who actually follow through on their threats.Nevertheless, A Force Upon the Plain is an interesting snapshot of a particular time in recent American history, and a useful overview of the rise of the militia movement.Related links:
posted by John Heaton 3:12 PM |
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Wednesday, July 03, 2002
New books! Here's what I bought: - The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman. The new Leaphorn and Chee (and Bernie Manuelito! Yay!) mystery. It will taken considerable willpower to read this one in order.
- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. A biography of the great racehorse. By all accounts it's an excellent book. Plus, I know very little about horse racing, and I'm generally interested in learning more about things about which I know very little.
- Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. Because from time to time I need to indulge my taste for good old-fashioned liberal outrage. It disgusts me that in this day and age there are people who work full-time and yet still don't make enough money to support themselves.
- Four books by Orson Scott Card: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, and Shadow of the Hegemon.
- Dick Tracy Goes To War by Max Allan Collins. One of a series of Dick Tracy novels Collins wrote after the Dick Tracy movie was released.
- Superman: Last Son of Krypton by Elliot S! Maggin. I used to own a copy of this novel, but I don't know what happened to it. It's great. The best super-hero novel ever written, as far as I'm concerned.
I also bought a Curious George bookmark.
posted by John Heaton 5:10 PM |
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Sunday, June 30, 2002
Saw Lilo and Stitch this afternoon.
Such a fabulous movie. I laughed my ass off. The San Francisco scene was hysterical, and the "Suspicious Minds" scene was straight out of a Tex Avery short (which is a good thing). I haven't had so much fun at a Disney movie since Aladdin.
Now I have even more reason to visit Disneyland next month. By Grabthar's hammer, I will have my picture taken with Stitch!
posted by John Heaton 11:10 PM |
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