Moe Lane

An entire episode, that is; for the first time ever.  io9 has a report on how Family Guy pulled in the entire Star Trek – The Next Generation cast to do their show, and the clip alone’s worth tuning in for.

(Via… a colleague who shall remain nameless, for the sake of the world)

Watch it until the end; the payoff’s worth it.  I should remember this site.

…and, look! The Internet survived my being away from it for most of the day!  Good start to the birthday weekend.

I’m going to go geek here for the rest of the day, so I’d appreciate it if nobody political does anything stupid enough for me to be forced to take official notice of it. Much obliged.

And now, some appropriate music:

Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer

It being spring, after all.

…Lileks about Glenn Reynolds? – anyway, the wife’s home for the day and the cherry trees are in bloom, so we’re going to look at them today. I may even take pictures.

I pretty much gave up after a half an hour, looked up the plot, and ejected the DVD. Which is weird: I like most of the actors in that film: but it just didn’t work for me at all. Maybe because I didn’t really like any of the characters?

No, I don’t know why I think that anyone else would particularly care if I liked a movie or not.

This was never said by Andrew Jackson – although if he had ever had cause to, it would certainly fit his personality:

“Besides, it doesn’t matter. The thing that separates our party from – whatever you want to call that pack of scoundrels who don’t agree on much of anything except they want power – is this, before it’s anything else. You figure out what you think the republic needs. First. Then you figure out how to get enough people to vote for you. What you don’t do – ever – is go at it the other way. Leave that to the Henry Clays of the world.”

- Eric Flint, 1824: The Arkansas War

A paragraph that needs to be burned in various and sundry people’s retinas, methinks.

Crossposted to RedState.

[UPDATE] Welcome, Instapundit and Hot Air Ace of Spades HQ [sorry!] readers. I’m tempted to use this to tout something of mine, but a colleague needs the help more right now.

Mickey Kaus has published a Journolist thread.  One that is chock-full of precisely the sort of frank opinions and observations that will abruptly come to an end in all future Journolist threads.

Three thoughts:

1. If Mickey has a Journolist thread, he may very well have several Journolist threads.  After all, betrayal really only hurts the first time.
2. When the Journolist members sit down to contemplate who has embarrassed them in such a fashion, they may want to spare some disapproval for Spencer Ackerman, who started this war.
3. Building off of #2: don’t fuck with Mickey Kaus.

Crossposted to RedState.

The New York Post has announced for Tedisco, citing his experience over Scott Murphy, Tedisco’s better ideological fit to this district, Tedisco’s record of fiscal restraint, and – interestingly – Murphy’s refusal to support the death penalty for even 9/11 terrorists. And in other news, the Libertarian candidate has been disqualified for the second election cycle running from being on the ballot. Problems with the signatures, again*.

Homestretch time, folks. As you can see below, Tedisco’s enjoying considerable online grassroot support (he seems set to pass 100K collected online without any trouble), but Jim Geraghty reports that the polls are tight. This isn’t the time to slow down.

Moe Lane

*Yes, the President endorsed Murphy. Imagine my shock. Also imagine my shock that the President has no intention of stumping for a candidate in a race that isn’t self-evidently in the bag for the Democrat already.

Crossposted to RedState.

Not directly, at least. You can see the latest Jew-hating filth from Pat Oliphant for yourself here, if you’re the morbid sort.

I know that this sort of hate speech is an unavoidable consequence of having a First Amendment, and I have no intention of ever trying to put an end to it. But I still feel like I just stepped in something vile with my bare feet.

Crossposted to RedState.

[UPDATE]: Ed Morrissey has a stronger stomach than I do. Also, a poll with which you can show your displeasure.

Where the working class has to pay for the good intentions of others.

Literally, in this case: Jesus & Maria Barajas, a Seattle working class couple (janitor, maid) have to shell out fifteen grand for a sidewalk that might not even last until the city gets around to putting one in themselves. They have to do this because they’re planning to put a new house on their property – one that they’ve been saving up to afford for over a decade – but because of a) the letter of a law designed to regulate developers and b) some bad luck in the zoning area* they’re on the hook for putting up the only sidewalk on their block. What makes this really obnoxious is that Seattle officials admit that the law was not intended to affect people like the Barajas, but they’re going to have to construct the sidewalk anyway.

But the city government of Seattle meant well, to be sure.

(H/T: Ace of Spades HQ)

Moe Lane

*This wouldn’t be an issue if they lived on the other side of the street. Literally: the zoning runs down the middle of the road.

Crossposted to RedState.

Battle Pope. A quite impressively blasphemous comic book series, not to mention: crude; disrespectful; addicted to shock value; quite graphic on a number of interlocking levels; and possessed of a low and puerile manner that is completely incompatible with those of refined tastes and breeding. Its sole redeeming value is that, in point of fact, it’s hysterical. At least the first volume is: comic books were the first thing that got chopped from the budget.

I bring this up here because a recent conversation brought it to mind and I try to be unapologetic here about who I am and what I like. That works both ways. Besides, if Cynthia Yockey can get away with egging on conservative jello wrestling matches I figure that the tone’s not going to get any lower.

Moe Lane

Thanks to Tom Maguire over at Just One Minute we see this interview with Allen Barra, author of Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee.  A taste:

I remember you told me a couple of years ago that you were starting this book and you were saying that it was amazing that there’s never been a serious biography of Yogi Berra. And after having read yours — don’t take this the wrong way — but I kind of get why. There’s no big flamboyant conflict and drama in his life. Did you find that that was something you had to overcome, that lack?

Well, let’s put it this way: There are certain eras in sports and baseball when that’s a plus. And it struck me a couple years ago, even then, that this would be one of those times. It might be nice to read about a guy that there are no big dramatic issues concerning. That’s why I liked the idea of writing about Yogi.

I wanted to write about a life in baseball and keep it apart from huge contracts, drug issues, everything that’s been plaguing the game over the last couple of years. And, happily, he’s also one of the greatest players in baseball history, and maybe the most underrated. Which seems funny when you think about it, because he’s probably the best-known former ballplayer around and yet he’s underrated. He’s underrated as a player.

My dad hated the Yankees in that special way reserved for Mets fans. To the day he died, in fact. But he loved Yogi Berra.

Moe Lane

*My favorite Yogi story. See, he came home one day and told his wife that the game that day had been interrupted by streakers. So Yogi’s wife asked him whether they were men or women streakers…

Rooting for injuries.

The conflict between two major Democratic candidates (mentioned in yesterday’s RedHot) for the nomination for Governor continues to escalate. For the benefit of those catching the story late, the two individuals are as follows:

Brian Moran: former Virginia state legislator. Brother of notorious anti-AIPAC conspiracy theorist Rep. Jim Moran (D, VA-08).
Pros: Is not Terry McAuliffe.
Cons: Is probably best known for being brother of notorious anti-AIPAC conspiracy theorist Rep Jim Moran (D, VA-08).

Terry McAuliffe: former chairman of the DNC (2001-2005) and Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign.
Pros: very good at raising money.
Cons: Is Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the DNC (2001-2005) and Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign. (more…)