“George Bush has had a “devastating impact” on global sustainable development and set the world back more than ten years, says Jonathon Porritt, the prime minister’s [i.e. Tony Blair’s] senior adviser on the subject, today.”
(via the Guardian: “World set back 10 years by Bush’s new world order, says Blair aide” by Paul Brown [April 14, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/new-world-disorder/
The world’s oldest mouse, Yoda, turns 136, sort of.
The mutant dwarf mouse (whose cage-mate is Princess Leia) has demonstrated that longevity is possible without extreme dietary restrictions, turning an unheard-of (in mice, anyway) 4 years old.
It’s not exactly crystal clear how 4 years translates into 136, but, as Richard A. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., says, “100-year-old people are much more common than four-year-old mice.”
(via UM Health System: “World’s oldest mouse reaches milestone birthday” [April 12, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/super-mice-will-kill-us-all/
Jimmy Breslin’s April 9 column rocks, as usual. As always. It’s devastatingly brilliant. It’s clever and biting, but without being hateful or alienating. Anyway, point being: read it. You really should, though no one’s going to bend your arms backwards, hold a gun to your head, etc.
(via Newsday: “Her memory lives as a bureaucrat spins” by Jimmy Breslin [April 9, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/theres-good-writing-and-then-theres-good-writing/
Although admittedly, the chances are pretty slim.
“The caller to the Phoenix-area Taco Bell said he was a police officer and informed the manager there was a thief on the premises. Someone’s pocketbook was missing, the caller said, ordering that a female customer be detained and strip-searched in a back office.
“But there was no theft. Investigators believe the caller was an impersonator, possibly from north Florida, who has pulled the same stunt dozens of times nationwide since 1999 with alarming success.
“The caller, who sometimes poses as a company official, has persuaded managers at restaurants and other stores to detain and search employees for drugs or money. Targets have included Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Ruby Tuesday, Applebee’s, Perkins, and others.
…
“[T]he Taco Bell manager pulled aside a 17-year-old girl who roughly matched a description provided by the caller, Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio said. Told she would go to jail otherwise, the girl submitted to the search as the caller remained on the line to direct it.
…
“Indeed, a former Hardee’s assistant manager in Rapid City, S.D., was charged with kidnapping and second-degree rape after he allegedly detained and forced a female employee to strip at a caller’s urging in June. He was acquitted. The man’s attorney said he was the victim of a “freak who plays God.”
…
“And a Burger King manager in Odessa, Texas, was charged with illegal restraint and fined $500 for forcing a woman to strip at the direction of the caller.
“Because the incidents have been so varied and embarrassed restaurant officials are often reluctant to publicize them, police agencies didn’t note the connection until the past year or so.”
(via BoGlo/AP: “Strip-search hoax plagues fast-food outlets” by Mitch Stacy [April 10, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/it-could-happen-to-you/
(Appreciate it, that is, assuming that you either 1) can agree with whatever message you might infer from the artwork or, 2) are able to appreciate the art for its artistic creativity irrespective of its politically weighted content; of course there are going to be some people who don’t fit into either of these categories)
(via American Leftist: “War President” [April 4, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/photomosaics-for-political-debate/
(2002) directed by George Clooney – starring Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney (and, briefly, Maggie Gyllenhaal)
Synopsis: Based on a ‘true’ story. Covers the life of game show mastermind Chuck Barris and delves into the murky waters of his round-the-globe adventures as a CIA hitman. We see Chuck rise to prominence as a game show creator/host. We see Chuck accosted by the shady CIA-types, taught how to kill a man (with only his hands), presented with missions. We see Chuck, confused. We see Chuck try to reconcile these seemingly polar-opposite lifestyles. We see Chuck mug at the camera. Comedy-infused drama ensues.
Review: One of my first thoughts after hearing about this movie was something like, ‘Right, like George Clooney can direct.’ I didn’t expect him to be horrible, but I didn’t have high hopes, either. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a fun movie that manages to juggle wry humor, grim absurdity, and comic gags—and stay on its feet in the process. Mostly it works because Sam Rockwell, who plays Chuck Barris, is a genius. As far as him accurately portraying the “real” Chuck Barris, I have no idea. But for the purposes of this movie—part farce, part self-effacing drama, part comedic adventure—his portrayal is brilliant. There are some strange things throughout this movie: sporadic interviews with real-life friends and acquaintances of the real-life Chuck Barris; curious one-shot transitions, switching between scenes without stopping the camera or invoking any computerized wizardry; bizarre lapses into both serious drama and fantasy; and so forth. Some of these things, on their own, might be questionable. With Rockwell, however, they simply feed into the utterly tilted mindset of the movie. Which really isn’t a movie so much as an experience. This is not the best movie ever made. It’s not the most consistent. But it’s insanely original (even if it is based on a quasi-autobiography) and it’s a helluva fun time.
Rating: [••••] out of [•••••]
Etc:: imdb info
https://www.swordbilled.com/confessions-of-a-dangerous-mind/
From The Guardian:
“The graffiti artist Banksy has managed to smuggle in his latest work, a dead rat in a glass-fronted box, into the Natural History Museum where it was exhibited on a wall for several hours.
Staff did not notice that the rat was out of place amid the museum’s usual fare of dinosaur bones and artefact from the animal kingdom.
The rat was stuffed and clad in wraparound sunglasses, scaled down to fit the top of its head, a rucksack on its back, and with a microphone in one paw.
A miniature spraycan sits at the departed rodent’s feet, while above it is sprayed in graffiti-style lettering our time will come.”
(via Guardian: “Natural History Museum exhibits an unnatural specimen” by Vikram Dodd [April 8, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/rats-on-parade/
The problem with this book is, it’s living proof that an excellent writer can take tried-and-true elements—things that, by themselves, seem like great ideas—and combine them in a wholly unsatisfying way. Kind of how an award-winning chef might take your five favorite foods and combine them into an unrecognizable, unappetizing, putrid mush.
Another (related) problem is that Jitterbug Perfume simply isn’t a good book.
Admittedly, after reading Another Roadside Attraction, Still Life With Woodpecker, and Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, I’d set my expectations pretty high. Did I expect Jitterbug Perfume to be similarly brilliant? I’d say yes. At the very least, I’d expected it to be a fun, irreverent, clever read. Here’s an inside tip: it’s not.
It’s no minor detail that I didn’t bother to finish this book, stopping at page 212. It’s. Not. A. Good. Book.
Are there passages that are clever? Yes, certainly. Brilliant? Maybe, though I shudder to think of any brilliant passages being trapped inside this awful shell of a book. Are there parts that are fun? Without a doubt. Do all these parts fit together into one seamless whole? Do they contribute to an interesting, wildly comic, epic story? Not in the least.
I can’t disrecommend this book enough. If you’ve found yourself maybe a little bit intrigued by Tom Robbins, the author, I’d heartily recommend the other books I mentioned above. But put Jitterbug Perfume on your do-not-read list. I’ve already suffered, and you shouldn’t have to.
https://www.swordbilled.com/jitterbug-perfume-by-tom-robbins/
The recent mess with Blackwater has—understandably—riled some tempers, fueled some angry debates, etc., the word “mercenary” often slung about in no uncertain terms.
No uncertain terms which have often remained somewhat uncertain on account of no one really bothering to seriously puzzle over what meaning, exactly, mercenary has in the context of the conflict in Iraq.
(e.g., Using mercenaries is evil! No, it’s pragmatic! etc.)
Mark A. R. Kleiman writes an excellent, thoughtful post on What’s wrong with mercenaries?, and you should go read it.
https://www.swordbilled.com/define-mercenary/
Did you hear the story about how IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad, recently surpassed Bill Gates as the world’s richest man?
Well, it’s true, except that it’s not. (The quick explanation is, it depends how you divvy up IKEA’s wealth, and how much you say Kamprad [who gave up full control of the company in 1982] actually “owns.”)
To combat the trauma of this uncertainty, here are a few facts you can count on.
Until proven otherwise, anyway.
(via:
CNN Money: “Who’s really the world’s richest?” by Les Christie [April 6, 2004]
Mirror: “IKEA King is World’s Richest Man,” by David Edwards [April 7, 2004]
Stern: “Waren Sie schon mal in Klippan?” by Karin Spitra [April 22, 2003]
Transblawg: “Where IKEA gets the names” by Margaret Marks [August 31, 2003]
YahooIndia/Reuters: “IKEA founder overtakes Gates as world’s richest – TV” [April 4, 2004])
https://www.swordbilled.com/ikea-redux/
