[ Thursday, January 30, 2003 ]
I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d’etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka “Christians,” and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities, or “PPs.” -- Kurt Vonnegut
Peter Palermo [3:17 PM]
Lost My Lunch
On Super Bowl Sunday, Sarah and I treated ourselves to the bestest pizza pie in town - Ernesto's cheese pizza is little slice of heaven. So, Monday morning found me packing some precious left-over pie for lunch, along with healthy snacks that were to last me the week. Enough nuts, raisins, apples, and oranges to choke a vegan bear. There was also a special package of fresh chocolate chip cookies made with my own two ham-hands. I strapped my larder onto the back of the Suzuki and blazed off to the office. You know what happened - When I arrived I found that my lunch had not. Somehow the bag had worked free of the bungees and my cargo was lost. I debated for a moment whether to just say "fuck it" and go to work, or to attempt a rescue operation. Finally, it was the thought of losing 2 slices of Ernesto's and about $10 worth of almonds that convinced me to retrace my steps.
By the time I found the wreckage, there wasn't much left. In fact the cookies were just gone, and so was the fruit. (weird, in itself, that someone would eat road kill cookies!) The carnage of nuts and raisins spread into the lane of traffic and bore the imprint of some speeding tires. And the slices were there, wreathed in gore. Their little bodies rested along the curb, pressed against the ziplock bag, now their shroud. Their saucy faces frozen in a ghastly death-mask of shock and horror. It was a hard thing to see. I mourn them still.
Peter Palermo [1:55 PM]
[ Wednesday, January 29, 2003 ]
Today's conservatives are no such thing . This is what I've been saying for months.
Peter Palermo [9:06 PM]
[ Saturday, January 25, 2003 ]
super bowl question
I know these people. I love these people, and it is for this reason that I have protected their identities. But here is the question that I pose to you on this superbowl weekend: When wearing the big foam finger, and lofting it high over your head shouting "We're number ONE!", do you actually make a "one" with your hand?
I knew it.
Peter Palermo [11:47 AM]
[ Friday, January 24, 2003 ]
The kind of story that makes my day
(From Yubanet, but the story is everywhere right now) "It looks like the Bush Administration is astroturfing, trying to artificially create the appearance of a grassroots movement supporting their policies," writes Jules Agee. "A Google search on the phrase 'demonstrating genuine leadership' returns a number of nearly identical letters sent to the editors of various newspapers and publications this month, each one with the name of a different individual attached."
Google Catches Bush Astroturf Campaign
Peter Palermo [9:55 AM]
[ Thursday, January 23, 2003 ]
News of the Day
Well, I told you so. McDonald's has posted its first quarterly loss ever. Boys in the board room, you've taken the golden goose and crammed it so full of partially hydrogenated soybean oil that it couldn't pass nickle plated guano, let alone a golden egg. If you're smart, you'll hire me as CEO and bestow total power upon me and let me right your fast sinking ship. But you've already proven your self to be less then smart, so - I won't be expecting that phone call.
In other news - With people talking of Gary Hart run for Prez, I am reminded of my brush with that man. Let me set the scene: It's a rainy San Francisco night, close to 1am. I've just finished working, and I'm not ready to go home. This is the early 90's, and at that time I lived in a part of San Francisco between the Tenderloin (home of the 5 dollar blow job) and Nob Hill (Remember where Kim Novak lives in "Vertigo"?) that I call the Tender-Nob*. There a tons of bars down there, so I strolled into the Blue Lamp where there is always a band.
The place is deserted, which is unusual. A lonely cow-girl is singing country and western tunes on stage. I mosey to the bar and order a beer. The only other inhabitant of the bar is older gent, in an extremely rumpled trenchcoat. As I sit, he orders another vodka on the rocks. He's got an unruly bush of hair, and a general air about him that says "I've been sleeping in my car for three days." He looks up, we make eye contact and it hits me like a clap of thunder! That's fucking Gary Hart! Well, he sees my reaction and smiles. I say to him "senator, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Singer's a friend of mine. Just enjoying the show."
As happens to me when confronted with people who are larger than life, my brain drains directly into a small puddle at my feet and I lose the ability to converse. I do manage to mumble out what an honor it is to meet him and could I buy him a drink. He accepts. We watch the singer a little more, silently. I don't remember much of what we said, but I wasn't pushy - I hate to be a bother to the famous. Soon, he said goodnight, wrapped his smallish self into his very wrinkled coat and headed into the night. I remember thinking that it was a long way from the Monkey Business to the Blue Lamp and he showed every mile in his face. But I trust a man who's crawled into a bottle of Wolfschmidt's and come out the other side. Good luck, senator.
*I recently saw the local production of Hedwig (which was awesome!) and she used that joke. However, I've been using that line for OVER 10 YEARS. I did NOT steal it from the drag queen.
Peter Palermo [10:55 AM]
[ Wednesday, January 22, 2003 ]
BBC NEWS | Health | Pill changes women's taste in men
via metafilter
Peter Palermo [10:59 AM]
[ Friday, January 17, 2003 ]
Touch the face of God
I had multiple celebrity interactions last night. Volunteering for some swanky art thingy - handing out tote bags. Tote-bags, by the way, ain't what they used to be.
Danielle Steele: She's a troll! She's 3 feet tall, has orange hair, is 140 years old and was wearing a pink muppet skin for a coat. No, I'm not kidding.
Nancy Pelosi: What big boobs you have congresswoman! Not that I noticed. I said, "Congratulations congresswoman, good luck. Want your freebie?" She did want it, and we parted ways.
Roman and Ellie Coppola: I've met Ellie before, she's sweet as pie and very mom-like. She actually gave a bunch of us that had been working an event at her house a basket of veggies that she had grown in her garden. Roman was slumming it, in his Euro sneakers and maestro fop hair do. Trying his best to look bored. They both visited the potty. Very exciting.
Peter Palermo [11:48 AM]
After motorcycles, my next favorite mode of transport is a Saab 900. I've owned 3, and while they can be quirky, expensive and sensitive, they are also cunningly crafted, practical, peppy and weird looking. So, I love the Saab 900 Sauna/BBQ.
My late uncle, who passed this year, taught me to drive a manual in his Saab 900. License plate: "slaab". I call mine Kemo Saabe.
Peter Palermo [10:38 AM]
[ Wednesday, January 15, 2003 ]
Israel is embarking upon a more aggressive approach to the war on terror that will include staging targeted killings in the United States and other friendly countries, former Israeli intelligence officials told United Press International
ummm.......er....
holy shit.
Peter Palermo [2:35 PM]
America, heal thyself
Times Online John LeCarre says "America has gone mad".
The reaction to 9/11 is beyond anything Osama bin Laden could have hoped for in his nastiest dreams. As in McCarthy times, the freedoms that have made America the envy of the world are being systematically eroded. The combination of compliant US media and vested corporate interests is once more ensuring that a debate that should be ringing out in every town square is confined to the loftier columns of the East Coast press.
and this from an angry metafilter user in a thread about whether Gore Vidal is nuts:
lets see, we have a warmongering robber baron and his rapacious crew of radical right-wingers running the country, who can indefinitely suspend anybody's constitutional rights at will and with no oversight, who is diverting huge sums of money into the pockets of those who least need it, while all the time spewing rousing patriotic swill that the public gobbles up with wild abandon. i think the real question is not if there is something wrong with vidal, but what the hell is wrong with everybody else?
Peter Palermo [9:49 AM]
[ Tuesday, January 14, 2003 ]
'I Hate You': Vancouver family finds surprising message in baby's toy
this is pretty weird, and I've been unable to verify. Apparently, this white noise toy that you attatch to a crib also whispers "I hate you" in a creepy little voice. I MUST learn more.
Peter Palermo [12:02 PM]
[ Monday, January 13, 2003 ]
standing on spaghetti
I remember my ol' home town, Grand Island, Nebraska, as a peaceful place. I remember the people as being reticent to speak of politics, religion or each other. I believed that Nebraskans were a "live and let live" type of people. The kind of republicans that wanted the government off the backs of the little guy, and - although wouldn't say so loudly - out of the bedroom, too. It seemed a surprisingly tolerant place to live.
It is with some shock and horror that I tell you that the pastoral Nebraska of my youth is gone. Recently, I found my way to "forum" section of the Grand Island Daily Independent, and a bigger bunch of venom, bile and hate I've never heard. These are racists and intolerant morons we're dealing with here. Granted that perhaps the internet brings out the baser elements of society, the ones that don't show their faces at the IHOP in daylight, but still, I mourn the pleasanter (sic) and more polite cornhuskers of my youth.
this is one of favs-
yes it is very real that is why i respect bush so much. he says what he means and sticks by what he says, and doesn't sugarcoat anything, the liberals should practice this then mabe they would have a spine to stand tall and proud with. and quit deamonizing the republicans and their own party. They know what they did and what they stand for and its killing them because they know thats not what people need right now. thay think if they find a leader that is as far left as they can get to just make life harder for the president and the congress well they will be rudely awakened. People are learning what happens when you get a bunch of limp noodles in power.
After all you can't stand on a pile of spaghetti and not expect to sink
Peter Palermo [3:27 PM]
[ Friday, January 10, 2003 ]
Memorable Meals
The culinary highlights of my life. I'm going to add to this list until I get to 100, then I'll post it on it's own site. Why not?
1. filet of beef tenderloin - Peppermill: Valentine, Nebraska
2. Piggy breakfast (french toast, sausage, eggs and side of hashbrowns) - Pork Store, San Fransico, CA
3. Chicken and stringbeans - Henry's Hunan: San Francisco
4. Risoto with black truffles - Barolo, Italy
5. coney island hotdog and fries - Coney Island Lunch Room: Grand Island, Nebraska
6. Utterly Deadly Chocolate Cake - Mom
7. small pizza with prosciutto and egg - Pizzetta: San Francisco
8. Baggette with butter and jam, coffee - Hotel du Lys: Paris
9. Oyster bisque - Fifth Floor, San Francisco
11. sausage pizza - Arris Pizza Palace, Jefferson City
12. cheese pizza - Ernesto's, San Francisco (I love pizza!)
13. thanksgiving dinner, 2000 - Santa Fe, NM. (prepared without electricity or running water)
14.
Peter Palermo [4:31 PM]
Here's an update to my post about cable and TIVO. FCC chairman calls TIVO "God's machine". Perhaps there is hope for TIVO yet.
Peter Palermo [4:13 PM]
[ Thursday, January 09, 2003 ]
I saw this review of Beth Gibbons new album on Amazon. I reprint it here, just as it was on amazon.
SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!, December 6, 2002
Reviewer: Scott Daly from S.F. BAY AREA
OK I'M A GUY BUT THIS CD MAKES ME WANNA TAKE A LONG HOT BATH WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND BURN CANDLES ALL NIGHT LONG. I HAVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH THE SOUNDS OF BETH SINCE I FIRST DISCOVERED PORTISHEAD. THIS IS DEFINATELY A CD TO BUY IF U LOVE SCARY DEPRESSING YET SENSUAL PASSIONATE AND LOVING SOUNDS SHE CREATES!! JUST DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GET THIS ONE AS WELL AS ALL PORTISHEAD U CAN FIND:)
Peter Palermo [4:04 PM]
[ Wednesday, January 08, 2003 ]
The number of new cable subscribers is dropping, so what is the answer of the cable industry? Raise rates by 6%. And Consumer Reports is blasting the industry for its greed. Telling consumers that they have to raise rates to pay for rising costs when when they're really just trying to service their titanic merger debts.
When we moved into our new place, which costs us roughly the same amount as renting Madison Square Garden, we decided we had to give up cable. We had to chose between DSL and cable and I'm not sorry about the decision we made. Cable subscribers still have to watch those goddamn commercials, they should be giving it away. No wonder the greedpigs are scared stiff by TIVO. Just wait. AOL/TimeWarner will kill TIVO within the next 3 years.
Peter Palermo [5:23 PM]
[ Monday, January 06, 2003 ]
The new Dodge Tomahawk
um... yeah.
Peter Palermo [9:19 PM]
as I just posted on Metafilter.
Calling all fanboys! Somewhere in the world there is a "Return of the King" calendar with publicity stills from the yet to be released film. Check 'em out before they fall into shadow.
Peter Palermo [5:20 PM]
The chief UN nuclear inspector says he can't find a smoking gun in Iraq. Well, I'm sure this has W. in fury. You, me and any other reasonable person would see this as good news. But I'm sure it's been greeted with teeth gnashing and phone slamming over at the White House.
Peter Palermo [1:26 PM]
[ Friday, January 03, 2003 ]
Just outside Parachute, CO.
Peter Palermo [4:24 PM]
[ Thursday, January 02, 2003 ]
Lots of posts today:
Art Spiegelman Splits From The New Yorker. Spiegelman's work, especially his Sept. 11 cover, has been provocative and courageous. But he's done with with what he says is the timidity of the New Yorker and American media in general.
He says all this from Paris, where he says he is in self-imposed exile. He is furious with his country, believes the sky is falling, aches for change and he leaves town. Coward! Stay and fight!
This reminds me of something a friend said to me when we talked about starting families in this increasingly scary world. She said "smart people need to have babies, too." Meaning, lefty freaks, artists, and atheists need to have to fight the fight on all fronts, including reproduction.
Come home, Art. Your country needs you. And you, yes you! The one who hoped Mondale would win a Senate seat. Have you procreated?
Peter Palermo [4:14 PM]
Caspar David Friedrich, Cloister Graveyard in the Snow (1810)
-this painting was destroyed in WWII
Peter Palermo [2:46 PM]
Yes, yes.... We made the journey successfully. Thursday morning finds me safely behind my desk atop my fat arse. Sarah and I were remorseless driving machines, covering 2000 miles in two days. Nasty weather only slowed us down twice, but the midnight crossing of the Sierras in a snow squall was THE white-knuckle moment for me. But it was a private and silent terror as Sarah slept quite peacefully through it. We saw some beautiful country, and I'll post a couple of photos in the days to come.
Did manage to see the The Two Towers twice since the Christmas holiday began. After the first viewing, Sarah was disappointed and I was pleased. After the second viewing, we both agree it is awesome. Gollum steals the show, which is a feat in my eyes because in the book he becomes quite annoying. Skim inducing, even. The epic battles are the most impressive you've seen. And even though it is FX heavy, Peter Jackson doesn't leave out the poetry. The action is the skeleton of the story, its frame, but the poetry is the flesh.
Peter Palermo [11:51 AM]
The Smoking Gun's top 15 mugshots of 2002. I think this one is my favorite. There's a story there, somewhere.
Peter Palermo [10:04 AM]
