In case you haven't seen this

Robert Newman's History Of Oil

Update
Credit where it's due:
This video was pointed out to me by MAT.
Thanks, Miss Anne!

Juan Cole has a few things to say about the NIE.

A brief excerpt:

You can see the rise of anti-US sentiments under Bush most starkly in non-Arab countries such as Turkey and Indonesia which used to like us, believe it or not. In 2002, 52 percent of Turks had a favorable view of the US. In 2006, 12 percent of Turks have a favorable view of the US. In 2000, 75 percent of Indonesians had a favorable view of the US. In 2006, 30 percent of Indonesians have a favorable view of the US.

Even in major European countries such as France, Germany, Spain and the UK, Bush has cut the approval rating for the US in half or nearly so. Isn't that a bad sign, when the publics in our NATO allies rethink their view of us so radically? Won't we need the support of those publics at some point?

Bush by his Iraq misadventure has made us hated in much of the world, and especially in the Muslim world. Communist China is now widely viewed as mush less dangerous than the democratic United States. Don't you think that might turn into actual consequences?

Here's a link to the rest of the post.

Cross posted at The Babbling Academy.

Some Tunes

Elegantly Wasted, INXS

Naked Eye (The Propellerheads Remix), Luscious Jackson

Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix), Rob Zombie

In A World Gone Mad, The Beastie Boys

Burn Baby, Burn, Ash

Cobrastyle, Teddybears

Portland, Oregon, Loretta Lynn and Jack White

conbo is a fucking genius

I can't stop laughing.

Credit where it's due:

best daily show clip EVER:

Jason Jones on The Daily Show and the dangers of gays in the military:

Posted by: conbo at September 21, 2006 4:41 AM

Blue Monks and Muddy Waters

Right.

Faboo evening tonight.

No.

Wait.

Start again.

Woke up today feeling pretty miserable. I must've slept poorly (given the state of my "bed", this comes as no surprise), because I woke up to a pounding headache. Took a couple of excedrin, which didn't help one damn bit. Thought I was gonna have to deal with a migraine while I attended Kevin's reading. As you can imagine, this did not make me very happy.

As it was, I managed to get a bit of necessary shopping done in the course of the cross-town drive. And then I sat in traffic for nearly an hour. Bleh. Headache got worse. I got cranky.

Arrived at the venue with a bit more than a half hour to spare, so I got an espresso. And was reminded that sometimes caffeine can do wonders for a headache. By the time Cathy arrived, I felt pretty good.

The reading itself was great. Tom Spanbauer is a very gracious human being, and I quite enjoyed meeting him. The Dangerous Writers were also good folks. Some very good writing going on there. Naturally, I'm a bit biased towards Kevin's material, although everyone that read was quite impressive.

We hung out for a bit after the reading, and then made our way to the Blue Monk for a few drinks and some dinner. Pretty good pasta, and a great beer and wine selection available. One of the few places I've been to with a decent number of Belgian ales, including two on tap.

Charles kept us entertained most of the evening. That's kind of his thing. He's brash, and obnoxious, but I enjoy his company. In measured doses, of course. Cathy and Ericka were a pleasure as always. Both lovely women, with more brains and perspective than I've been blessed with. Kevin was in good spirits, but seemed a bit subdued. He's got a nasty cold right now, imagine he'll bounce back in the next day or so.

I think it's about time to book another coast trip with the Rapid City folks. We oughta be able to get a decent off-peak rate for one of the cabins again. Do some crabbing, get drunk and lounge in the hot tub. Ahh...

Alright, I 'm rambling. I don't have that headache anymore, but I feel like there's a cold (Kevin's?) trying to creep up on me. Think I'll start a fire, and call it a night.

Much love, and many blessings.

Regime Change

Painting by Wayne Coe

S-11 Redux

Channel surfing the Apocalypse, via GNN