…for no particular reason except that it is precisely the scene that I was thinking of. Ocean’s Eleven was one of those films that I liked so much that I avoided the sequels like a plague: I assumed that there would be no way to keep that level of awesome running. Was I correct?

“…so I can’t say that I’m particularly happy to see you”:

A German man who stuffed 44 small lizards into his underwear before trying to board a flight has been sentenced to prison in New Zealand for plundering the country’s protected species.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, will spend 14 weeks behind bars and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine before being deported to Germany as soon as he is released, District Court Judge Colin Doherty ruled onTuesday.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

(via Drudge) I have to ask: if your current career path requires you to illegally transport wild animals in immediate proximity to your genitals… well, don’t you think that maybe you should consider finding alternative forms of employment?

Moe Lane
PS: Heh. The Other McCain went with the same joke.

Liar.

You’d so totally watch that, and we all know it. No matter how hard the Onion tries to deny even the possibility that you would.

OK, OK: that ‘we’ would. Happy?

Moe Lane

I am going to go out on a limb and assume that nothing particularly urgent is going to happen prior to the SotU this evening (this made me chuckle, even if it was read by somebody on the Other Side).  There are plenty of folks out there capable of covering what does come up today, so they can get along with that with my compliments.  I’m not saying less posting, just posting less… weighty.

Also: I ordered De Bello Lemures, Or The Roman War Against the Zombies of Armorica last night, sight unseen.  Roman legions versus zombies would make for an epic action flick.

Mourners, omit flowers.

To quote Gandhi:

• First, they ignore you,
• Then they ridicule you,
• Then they fight you,

• THEN YOU WIN.

Moe Lane

PS: No. Then you win.

Crossposted to RedState.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult

I don’t HAVE to say it. You already have.

This is one of those things that I never heard of, pre-blogosphere:

Disputes over how best to reform the global financial system are set to dominate this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is likely to add to the pressure on banks in a keynote speech on Wednesday.

Numerous sessions on banking reform are expected to see clashes between bankers and regulators.

…and I’m wondering whether I’m better off having an awareness of this event. I’d have about as much chance of getting an invite to it as I’d have of getting to the moon by climbing; and the protests are dead boring. You’d think that it’d be impossible to have a dull protest where tear gas and water cannons are involved, but look at the video. They’re all just phoning it in.

Moe Lane

They’re apparently JJ Abrams fans*:

Personally, I was disappointed by the heavy-handed symbolism halfway through with regard to the War on Iraq; it’s a shame that the chimps decided to pander to the Cannes awards committee like that.

Via somebody. It’s going around.

Moe Lane

*I kid, JJ. I kid. Cloverfield rocked.

On the collapse of the health care rationing bill:

It is easier to get 60 votes out of 100 instead of having to go 60 for 60.

Only in politics would this be considered ‘calculus.’  Or be needed to actually written out, for that matter; I’m still wondering why on earth the Democratic party apparently needed to have this lesson taught so forcefully to them.

…and told you that you had ten seconds to explain to me what the heck the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 actually did, how likely would it be that you’d be able to avoid doing your impersonation of a sufferer of St. Vitus’ Dance?

Don’t feel bad: I had to look it up myself (and I would have guessed unemployment benefits, or something).  The Democrats talk of it a lot, but don’t actually talk about it.  The law “amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck.“  Not precisely the New Deal there, huh?

I bring this up because, as near as Jim Geraghty and I can figure out, this is pretty much all that the Democratic party can brag about to its base with regard to the accomplishments of the 111th Congress.  Although if they want to run on the Democrats’ ‘stimulus’ bill I’ll be happy to let them…

Moe Lane

*Yes. This is what they have to work with when it comes to bragging rights.

Now, for the record: I’m not particularly upset that this guy can’t play D&D in prison – if for no other reason that you can’t play it without dice, and dice means gambling, and while my brief foray into the topic suggests that gambling may not be universally banned in American prisons I’m not seeing that correctional officials approve of it, either.  Besides, convicted murderer who got life; not exactly the sort that would be in my Friday game, anyway.  So, I’m fine with the ban, more or less, and at least when it comes to this particular case.  What upsets me is that I’m now being invited to imagine what a D&D themed street gang would look like.

Unfortunately, I’m succeeding.

“The Audacity of Oops.” Tell me something that I (or Hot Air) didn’t already know. Or something that a lot of people last year didn’t already know; including – and I mention this solely to be particularly offensive to people like Chris Buckley – THAT WOMAN.

You know, it’d be nice if our self-appointed elites would do the rest of us the courtesy of admitting at least the existence of their screw-ups, once they themselves recognize that they engaged in one. I don’t want to necessarily always rub their noses in the consequences of their lapses in judgment; but I do want to whack them on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper, the better for them to understand that elections have consequences.  We’re having some now, in fact.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.