Get Your Plame On: Rove's Last Days???

The Rove thing sounds a little too good to be true. I mean, the guy
is wicked evil, but he's pretty sharp as well. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he was the source, but certainly he must've thought about ways that the leak or the law wouldn't come back to burn him (see fall man or woman.. who, if Rove doesn't have confidence in being appropriately mum, will probably have a "boating accident" in the Chesapeake Bay this weekend). Nonetheless, I do want the Plume scandal to get him in some significant way and it would be absolutely HEEE-UUUGGGAA if this de facto ended his political career.

I have many theories on the last (two, really), Presidential elections, and the one I came to last and the one I'm sticking to, is that it all really came down to the Reps having better 'generals' (i.e. campaign folk) than the Dems... (call it the, "why the South hung around in the Civil War so long" theory). All the gay wedding-flip flop-electoral strategery comes from this. On the Dems side you have the hopeless and drunk U. S. Grant played by 0-for-8 David Frum, and on the Rep side you have the powerful military intellect of Lee played by Rove. The guy knows what he's doing... hrrmmmmmm............ OK, and the Dems shouldn't be picking any more brainy NE Liberal Senators, either.

Mark Warner: Good. Joe Biden: Bad



Third grade. Picked on. Neurosis. REVENGE!

OK, its officially too damned hot.

In the 90s everyday. Bad. Very bad.

Woo-hoo. Good shot of me and the Sheriff of Wall Street

So I got this email forward from my good friend and classmate
Erin Hurley about Spitzer coming to Syracuse... chuckled when I
got to the end of the message and read, "P.S. Remember to bring
your digital cameras so you can post your pictures on the photo
blog on the website!" I guess that means their official Spitzer2006
website, but the heck with that... the Great White Hope is going
up here. And that's all I have to say.


Can you tell which person is running for gov? The General looks like he's made it out to the beach a few more times than me this year...

Game 7 -- My Take

Blah, blah, blah, blah..... Tim Duncan this, Tim Duncan that.
The dude missed 17 shots and had 5 turnovers. And finally hit
some free throws.

The Pistons collapsed. 9 point lead in the 3rd, and then the
shot selection got real crappy, some inexcusable offensive boards
were given up, and they started doubling and tripling Mr. 10-for-27
leaving Ginobili open to drive and shoot 3s. Totally scripted
visiting team loss. I can't blame, them, however... valiantly
rising to the occasion in so many elimination games.

The Horry shit totally boggles my mind, though. Rooting for
the Pacers and the Nets against the Lakers, I had the thought
of shelling out a boat load of cash to go to a game, and bringing
with a sign that read, "Do Not Leave Horry Open." I am not making
this up.

Rasheed, what the fuck were you thinking?


Big Shot Bob: Being Left Open for Big 3s for 13 NBA Seasons and Counting...

Mendleson Music Critique

Before I dive in, anyone else think Gwen Stefani borrowed
rather liberally with her current hit from "The Milkshake Song"?
I'm having a hard time keeping the two separate...

Mucho Popular

New Coldplay: YAWN. Like the hit song but nothing else is
doing it for me. Yet. Pretty confident this won't happy.

New Beck: YAWN. Dude, you lost your mojo after Midnight
Vultures. Back then, the music was infused with this unique
creative signature and energy. I don't know what to write other
than its gone and your attempting to settle into this Dylan niche
is swell, but I'm not buying or listening to your recs anymore.

New White Stripes: YE-AH! I really like. Super-over-hyped band,
but genuinely talented and genuinely different sounding from
all the crap on the radio. But can we let Meg take the lead
vocals on more than one song, Jack?

Hip Hop:

Common: Havn't heard enuf yet. Seems like it could be good.
I'm tickled to learn the dude used to be a member of the Alkoholics.

Blackalicious & Gift of Gab: I'm going to give these folks a real
try. Starting from the beginning. Bought Black's first album today
for 7 bucks. Great song, "Don't let money change ya" Good sign:
I've downloaded nice-sounding songs off Limewire that don't seem
to be on any studio release records.

Indy:

Any band called, "The something." You are fucking worthless.
I hate you. In 10 years, no one will remember you, and my youth
will be gone. Rasheed's defensive decision making angers me
less than your shallow, shitty tunes.

The Shins are OK, if a little too fruity. Micah Weinberg and
Jason Persudy agree The Deadly Snakes rock out.

Stop the Presses

Holy Toledo! Two exciting thangs to report:

First, after penning last night's bit about quitting
the trade, I googled "David Weinberg Blog" and for the
first time found this page a couple times on the first
page of hits. This might change things. We're on the
map now, baby. Business is gonna boom. Those 300 hits
are going to jump to 800, or somethin', by the end of
the month such that we'll know (royal we) that its not
just the rents, the fiancee, and Josh Chandler occasionally
checking the thing. Though I do worry sometimes about
who might stumble across it (i.e. the fiancee's rents, though
after their hearty enjoyment of the Sideways script, I should
probably stop sweating it). At any rate.

Second, looks like one of my favorite three bands
may be getting back on the saddle after 24 years.
For those of you who havn't read my friendster profile or
can't deduce the group, this would be Pink Floyd. I'd
try to go see em' in London on July 2, but I've got to
graduate from Maxwell on July 1, go to New Hampshire for
a wedding on July 2, and Continental offers the cheapest
flight out right now at a cool $1200 smackers. Bad timing.
At any rate, I'm excited. Truly one of the greatest rock
bands of all time. I remember playing Dark Side on a car
trip with pops a few years back and he hadn't heard the album.
This is strange as it was on the US charts for basically all
of the 70s. I guess you lose touch with popular culture a
bit after falling for a Norwegian Lutheran, having kids, and
getting really into softball. But I still love you dad,
and I cherish you and ma brining me into the world the year
Animals was released, one of the all time greats. Ok, too
much information. Whatever. Roll a J, make a white Russian,
throw on The Wall... "Right on, Man." Its a good day.



Great things made in 1977: Pink Floyd's Animals, David Weinberg

Cashing in the Blog

Kicking the Blog

Punching my last Blog...

Yeah, I don't really have the will or interest or passion
or drive or desire or whatever to keep on with this e-trend
of the early 21st Century. I think its what drove Hemingway and
Plath to pull the plug. Frankly, I can't fathom why I'm not
piss drunk on Wild Turkey bourbon right this very moment as
I write about my intention to hang up the e-spurs.

Ah-ha! But I have a masterful solution! I have two fine
brothers of some repute and literacy and together the three of
us may be able to rightly carry the blog torch down into the
annals of history. Did that make any sense whatsoever? Ah,
who cares.

Yes, this was my idea. Not Micah's, who will surely claim it as
his own as he has done repeatedly through his 29-year life. Stealing
ideas from me at a young age, he was. Seen Episode 3 and Hayden's
brilliant acting yet, I have not. But I digress. To his credit,
he did set up the webpage.

Get your Brothers Weinberg blog on at:

brothersweinberg.blogspot.com

Yee-haw.

PS-- Congratulations Seth (younger brother), you lovable sage hippy,
on your graduation from the one and only Ohio University. You are
the coolest dude I know. Way cooler than myself. And I value that.

PPS-- If I am unemployed for any extended period of time in the NYC
look for a swift and massive 180 on the 'no longer blogging on my
own' claim stated here and now. Look for my darts game to improve
something fierce, as well.

10 4 from The Cuse, which at present time feels like fucking Guam.

Intergalactic Dilemma: Will Episode 3 Really Not Suck, and Where Does That Leave Us?

A.O. Scott of the New York Times, who's writing is somewhat difficult to comprehend in general, and who's lavish praise of a movie is a rare occurrence, has written a review of Star Wars: Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith, that in rather plain English and in no uncertain terms endorses the film as a solid piece of work. Scott's review could be an honest appraisal, or perhaps, in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, the product of a handsome payoff from the movie industry, desperately hoping that this geeked-out Sci. Fi. adventure will jumpstart an otherwise disappointing season at the box office.

I’m skeptical. Don’t get me wrong: George Lucas has had a hand in the making of some great cinematic product over the years. THX-1138 was one of my favorite films in high school. Star Wars 4 is a classic for the ages. The Indiana Jones series is swell entertainment from start to finish (Question: Why not commission ol’ Spielberg to do a S.W. episode?). But those first two episodes… OK, the second had some slight improvements over the first, but…were absolutely abhorrent. Episode 1 is the only movie I can remember actually falling asleep in the theater to while trying to watch. Whoever signed off on the incorporation of the Jar-Jar Binks character should be serving consecutive life sentences at Sing-Sing. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag in those films. Above all, the acting and some of the characters just torpedoed those films. End of story.

Scott writes that the acting and dialogue is again lackluster, but that Lucas has the aesthetic-right this time such that all blends in. I really doubt it. The acting episodes 4-6 was goofy and at times laughable, but not objectionable. I’d rather have a root canal or shovel horse shit or spend time with Condoleezza Rice than watch Christensen on film. There’s something utterly repulsive about his complete and total inability to pull off one line—any line-- line that really strikes a nerve. That Natalie Portman was nominated for an Academy Award in the SW off-season adds insult to injury. I’ve seen the woman in Shakespeare in the Park: she runs the gamut of emotions from A to B. If she was slightly less attractive she’d be working the checkout line at Target, cus’ she’s got no skillz. And the import of Samuel L. was a monumental mistake as well: if he was on the other side of the fence and doing his Pulp Fiction shtick for the Empire that’d be one thing: his deadpan Coach Carter quips at the Jedi Council are tough to recover from.

But say these and other fatal flaws from the first two films are absent in Revenge of Sith, and Lucas is able to recover the magic of Episodes 4 through 6 in this movie. Where does that leave us? Do we just casually tell our children and foreigners who haven’t been exposed to treat the enterprise like Star Trek, to just watch the even numbered films cus (with the exception of ST:3) the odd numbers suck? Is this OK? Do we invest enough faith in Lucas close out his career with episodes 7-9, or if these turn out to be the superficial, video-game esque train wrecks that the first two were, would that further tarnish episodes 3-6 and diminished the warm an wonderful cultural and entertainment legacy that the episodes 4-6 created? Is it worth the risk?

Study Break: Scottie Doesn't Know

Audra and I just took a reprieve from studying Quant and watched EuroTrip on HBO. Contrary to everything I'd read and heard, a movie with more than its fair or expected share of hilarious moments. And you can take that to the frat party.

More Mind Meeting: Walzer and Weinberg

Rapped with Michael Walzer.. Princeton Prof., Public Intellectual, Editor of Dissent Magazine.. yesterday in the hallowed halls of Maxwell. And I must admit, the guy is a lot less 'dissent' oriented than I had expected and hoped. Here's the rub: his explication of terrorism and the appropriate response a civil society ought to give to it sounded sensible enough and is to be lauded, but its political-philosophy is underpinned by this notion of 'just war theory' which, when held up to rigorous philosophical critique, just doesn't hold water. There are more practical problems with just war theory as well from the vantage point of being an American citizen: is it a realistic assumption that young Al Qaeda recruits should not be swayed by arguments that the US Military targets civilians and civilian infrastructure in our warring endeavors? From bombing a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, the Chinese embassy in Serbia, the occasional wedding party in Afghanistan, and the killing of an Italian agent in Iraq, clarity of US intent and moral high ground might become a little murky. Not to mention that just war theory is predicated on interactions between liberal nation-states: Al Qaeda seems to escape this categorization. And while local “police work” might be the magic bullet for dealing with this terror group, are Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan really the willing partners we need in this activity? Apart from the ‘hot wars’, is the Bush’s administrations rather candid and above board policies of adhering to Kennan’s notion that, above all, we must remain a global economic hegemon and resource hog really helping our good guy, humanitarian principals image, or not?

Contain Terrorism Globally, Ask the Tough Questions Locally

Meeting of the Minds: Mendleson and Huntington

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,

Tomorrow, post-modern-existential-liberal-democracy-foundationalist
objective-aesthetic-hardliner-cheerful-agnostic-half-Jew David Weinberg will pick up the Godfather of Political Science, Samuel Huntington of Harvard University (obscure community college in northeast, home of 2nd rate.. or ranked.. public policy school) from the Hancock Syracuse International Airport. Hot shit moment in history. And don't you forget it.

Yahweh Responds to Persistant Bitchin'

Thank you all very much...

...yes, I have to say that my constant psychological
badgering of the great spirit in the sky has produced
what I reckon is one of the nicest Aprils in the
recent history of Central New York. Was kinda biblical..
was driving back from a wedding in Maryland and witnessed
how the tail end of this narsty typhoon flooded out
a lot of Cortland County. I don't know what the folks
in Cortland Co. did to incur God's wrath, but, well,
what can you say. Maybe we should ask Chris DiMarco...
But once that storm passed it has been sunny skies and
pleasant evera---single---day. Yesterday was Malibu, man,
70F by noontime. Weather is supposed to hold pattern
until Wed. Now, this isn't particularly conducive to
studying the nuances of administering the public, but we'll
assume the public is doing just fine grilling out and
tending to the garden. Speaking of, a flower from the
front yard is posted below. Aww shucks.

If you're noticing a pattern on this blog of discussing
only sports, weather, and politics, I think you're on to
something.



Ain't it purdy??

Caddyshackin'

Golf. Whoa buddy. Talk about living life to the fullest,
edge of your seat excitement. Twain hit the golf ball tee
on the head when he wrote the activity is a, "good walk
spoiled."

Well...............

OK, so I was kinda getting into that Woods/DiMarco showdown
on the back nine of the Masters. Not "getting into" like the
Nets Pistons game that went to Triple OT in last year's playoffs,
but fairly engulfed. I watched that shit for three hours.
I don't quite know what to write. I've trashed the sport on
more than one occasion and have said more than once that if I
ever get into it, please euthanize me. Maybe I should reconsider.

I guess a good competition is a good competition is a
good competition. Except for Olympic Gymnastics and Swimming.
But that's a separate screed. From what I'm gathering, those dudes
were golfing it up about as hardcore as is possible. The tension
on Woods' face was so palpable... guy looked like he was going
to heave at any moment. The two just kept going back and forth
in dramatic fashion.. long ass puts, crazy chip shots.. there was
a comedic element of once a guy established some breathing room,
he'd nearly knock the ball into Alabama on his next shot, but
somehow find a way to just bogie.

What I am skeptical of is how many more times in my life I will
see a solid golf showdown like that.. the overlords of the sport
are about as conservative and unimaginative as they come. Would
be awesome if we could now do a Woods/DiMarco rematch series on
the order of Frazier/Ali or Bowe/Holyfield. Imagine how riveting it
would be if Woods and DiMarco were duking it out in W/D III and
the guys were trash talking throughout, Woods caddie had a mild
heart attack, and some guy came crashing in on the 15th hold in a
parashoot. OK, yeah, maybe I'm injecting the sport with a pretty
heavy dose of mission drift, or something.

For what its worth, I have super-fond memories of playing miniature
golf with the fam. at Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, growing up, and
there was no greater feeling than hitting that sweet hole in one
under the windmill and around Abe Lincoln and down the three terrace
levels and have the ball hang on the cusp before dropping in (I
must have done this at least a dozen times)... if adult golf fans
derive the same level of vicarious pleasure from watching Tiger's
killer shot hang on edge and drop in on the 16th (?) hole, well,
good for them.

And keep your head up DiMarco. Your day will come. Maybe.


Degree for men and Old Spice have officially put us on notice that they have not signed Tiger to a $100 mil antiperspirant deal.

Why Monty Python's Holy Grail Doesn't Quite Make The Cut

To answer my cousin Matt Otto, re: why Holy Grail isn't
on my top-10 movies to watch when wasted at 2 am list...

Actually, my favorite Python movie is The Meaning of Life,
but my central (well, only, really) criticism of that film
holds for all the Python films: it could have done with some judicious
editing. The "every sperm is sacred" song is one of the
greatest moments in cinematic history. But there comes a point
in the film, around the time a pack of topless roller skating
women show up, where it just trails off into borderline entertaining
obscurity for what seems like an eternity. There are some episodes
of Flying Circus out there that are absolutely rock solid
and have me in stitches from start to finish (as well as a couple
Fawlty Towers episodes.. if you havn't seen The Germans, be sure
to check it out: http://www.fawltysite.net/episode06.htm)
but the Python films are just too spotty. Though I suppose, if my
passing out within the first 20 minutes on three separate attempted
late night LOTR viewings in Athens in late December was any guide,
I shouldn't get too worked up about the latter stages of The Meaning
of Life... Interesting gambit you've thrown at me there, Matt. I'll have
to stew on it a while and get back to you.

In the meantime, my wild and crazy late twenty something public
administration classmates just can't shut up about Napoleon
Dynamite, so I think I might go plug it through movies on demand
right now...



Good enough for a Broadway Musical, not quite good enough for my Top Ten List

Decorative changes afoot in the Weinberg/Acey household???

Nice damn day here in Syracuse. The sun is shining bright,
the temp is in the mid-40s (for confused readers from the southern
latitudes, this feels pretty comfy after a couple Jan/Feb weeks
of sub-zero readings..). Hopefully we're sticking to the hackneyed
script of March going out like a lamb. If yes, there may be some
interior decorating goin' down here at 612 South Beech in the near
future.

I vowed that the "Winter Holiday Season" (lets qualify this by saying
Jewish/Christian.. Ramadan/Pagan/Kwanzaa/Chinese New Year memorabilia
are difficult to find on the Central New York store shelves) decor
would not come down until we had two consecutive days when the mercury
hit 50F. Looks like this might finally happen this Wed/Thur. I'm
pathetically ecstatic at the thought of this actually happening.
Someone please remind me why I'm not living on the island of Molokai.

Audra and I invite your suggestions for the next (and perhaps last) thematic
look for our humble abode...


Are the 04' Holiday Decorations nearing the end of their run? Stay tuned...

Most Egregious Misidentification of Best Rock Band Album

As long as I'm back on the "objective aesthetics" train...

I am absolutely fucking confounded when someone suggests that
Revolver is the best Beatles album. I wouldn't be so befuddled or
miffed or whatever if I didn't hear it quite often, which I do.
Let me go out on a limb here: Revolver is a solid pop album chocked full of snappy pop hits. And good pop isn't to be discounted or written off; it certainly has a place in the lexicon. On the other hand... Abbey Road was not only the most powerful, inspiring, soulful, timeless, beautiful, sublime, and rocking album in the Beatles oeuvre, it is perhaps the best rock recording their ever was or ever will be. The Beatles are far from my favorite group, but my respect and awe for this triumphant masterpiece far exceed the best effort of other
titans of that era. As much as I dig Led Zeppelin's II or Physical Graffiti, love to shimmy down to the Stones Let It Bleed or Exile on Main Street, or crank up the volume to Floyd's Animals or The Wall, they just don't have the momentum, rapture, and gravitas of The Road... I think some of my buddies in high school and college had a firm grasp of this. They'd opine that, "Appetite for Destruction is my Abbey Road" or "The Black Album is my Abbey Road" .. read: so on a personal level this silly G n' R effort happens to be my personal fave, but I understand that
this must be referenced to the foundational best album ever.

I am a pretty peace loving, Quaker school attending, Ultimate Frisbee playing, laid back dude, but these jokers who push Revolver really push my buttons. I want to strangle them. I want em' shipped off to Siberia. I want to lock them in a recording studio with Lisa Loeb, John Tesh, and Kenny G. and force them to executive produce the trio's 10-disc box set.

So people, please stop the disrespect.

Amen.



It just doesn't get any better than this, folks.

Top 10 Best Movies To Watch Countless Times At 2 AM After A Night Of Debauching

This blog has existed for far too long without the
posting of a Top-10 list. Its time for that to change...
This list isn't to be confused with, strictly speaking,
a "ten best comedies of all time" as the movies here
have a 'built to last' requirement, i.e., you can and
have seen them at least 5 times and could cheerfully endure
them another 5 or 500 times; another requirement is that
the films capture or hit upon some timeless truths
or qualities or existential conditions of humankind in
a vague but not exacting Vonnegut/Twainian sense. Please
post your comments and/or top-10 list.

1. The Big Lebowski
2. The Life Aquatic
3. Best in Show
4. Diamonds are Forever (James Bond)
5. Office Space
6. Space Balls
7. Ghostbusters
8. Airplane
9. The Naked Gun
10. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

Honorable mention: Old School, Spys Like Us

David Rees is Hellafunny

Get Your War On is a fabulous political cartoon.
I read it and it makes me laugh out loud. Disclaimer:
it is not for the faint of heart, politically correct,
ideologically conservative, or opponents of the 1st
Amendment to the US Constitution.

I'm excited that my buddy Andrew Hollander is a friend
of a friend of Rees, and that we may hang in NYC sometime
soon. I salute your work, David. Keep it up.

Get You War On at:

http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html

Response to Ben and Note on Central New York

Re: Wolfowitz as Prince of Peace

OK, don't have the time today to sketch out an appropriately
lengthy response, save to say that I think attributing Mideast
Peace to anyone on the Bush team is like crediting Luc Longley
for the Bulls second Championship Run. It just ain't right.

Second: humans often make the mistake of settling in a region
to make use or take advantage of a temporary economic opportunity
and then forget to move on once that opportunity has gone the way
of the dinosaur, the passenger pigeon, the LA Raiders. I think
that has happened here. Salt mining and naval transport on the
Erie Canal was the reason for the season back in the 1800's, and
pre-Fordism industrial manufacturing the big breadwinner for a
while in the post-war era. Now, well..... its just tough to
justify the service based economy situating in these here parts.
I know this isn't a very 'nice' thing to write, but unless the cold
temps help one rock the ascetic lifestyle or you're REALLY into
skiing, well, man..... this weather is just a tough nut to crack.
We have a particularly nice blithe March day goin' on right now, with
windchills around -5F and lake effect snow. Population decline
is certainly happening, but we need a more targeted, stategic effort.
If a million blue blooded NY Democrats cruised on down to FL wouldn't
this tip electoral scales and ensure a more progressive, promising
future for America in the 21st Century?? Who knows. Maybe warm
winters turn one's brain and humanistic principles to mush. OK, that's
way too brusque and callous but I'm out of time, so it stands for
now.

10 4 from the bitter, cold, dispiriting northern Hinterlands.

If you want to make a Democracy Omelet, you have to Crack Some Eggs

Damn. Still riled up about this.

I wonder if David Brooks would have written a column back
in 1972 that would have gone a little something like this:

"It is unfortunate, perhaps, that our indiscriminate carpet
bombing of North Vietnam is killing thousands upon thousands
of innocent civilians, but the architects of this slaughter
(Nixon, Kissinger, Laird...) will be remembered fondly years
from now when we chronicle their actions in glowing biographies
as champions of keeping misguided foreign populations from
self-determining a form of government other than democracy."

But hell, were Vietnamese civilians who lived under a government
that opposed the forceful importation of American style democracy all
that innocent? Shouldn't we let Ward Churchill start writing
op-eds for The NY Times?

Ok, I'll stop. This guy really pushes my buttons sometimes.