Judge Rejects Bid to Bar Inaugural Prayer

My faith tells me to love this man as if he were my brother. Yet even my own brother irritated the hell out of me from time to time (I am certain that I did the same, a hell of a lot more). I'm glad Newdow isn't my brother because I'd never wish this on anyone whose name is the same as mine.

Quite simply, Michael Newdow needs to get his ass kicked.

Wimpy libs like him would scream out "You're advocating VIOLENCE!" My reply: well, yes but not just any violence...comic physical violence which may sliughtly injure the body but most likely injures his pride. It's called "getting one's comeuppance." Not in a life-threatening way, but in a way that lets him know that we're sick of his bullshit. Think of it as tough love.

Start with putting his head in the toilet and end by throwing his atheist ass in the dumpster.

How Tsunami Waves Did Not Touch Santhome Cathedral

"The tsunami waves have subsided, but a miracle is being talked about across Chennai. It is the story of how St Thomas’ miraculous post kept the invading waves away, sparing the newly renovated Santhome Cathedral."

The apostle Thomas is buried underneath the sanctuary.

Stars lend a hand for tsunami relief

I didn't see it - hello, working on the air here - but I'm glad Bill O'Reilly took part. Both he and George Clooney have their hearts in the right place: Clooney's generosity and O'Reilly's determination to see that the proceed go where they are needed should help more people to receive the aid they deserve.

As for me, I will be donating to Catholic charities via my church. As usual, it will be in cash, anonymously, in an amount that is known only to me. When I was in radio, the record companies would send me cards at Christmas (aside: can I say that word or will Michael Newdow or John Calvin take offense?) with the phrase "A donation to [charity x] has been made in your name." That made me cringe because the gift wasn't from me so I didn't deserve to be recognized for it, and if it were from me I'd prefer to be unrecognized. I give simply because it does my heart good. No need for pride, just humility and gratitude that I can give to others when needed.

Eyeless iPod

From The Motley Fool:

"Anyone else wondering how Apple could afford to undercut similar, mass-market, flash-based music players by some 30% in its iPod Shuffle pricing? You think they're taking a wallop on these just to increase sales? C'mon! Mamma Jobs didn't raise no dummies.

"To me, the answer is crystal clear: It's the screen, baby. Take away the display, take away the fancier OS chips necessary to run a visual user interface (UI), take away the extra manufacturing steps and buttons it would take to run that UI, and I'll just bet you take away a lot of cost.

"But if everyone else has a screen, how do you compete? Easy: You order them to 'fuhgeddaboudit' at a gala Macworld unveiling. You tell them screens are for squares, Daddy-O. You say, 'We're different from that.' You compensate for your austerity plan by naming the thing 'Shuffle' and by convincing the masses out there that they don't need no stinkin' screen. You've got plenty of consumer capital to spend because the iPod is a megahit and the press adores you. Bingo -- you turn a problem into a feature. Very clever. "

Brilliant. Instead of coming up with the same answer, change the question.

FCC Orders Probe of Williams-Bush Deal

Hold it, ABC: Bush had nothing to do with this deal. Williams deserves to be slapped around for this, the president does not.

Bush plan expands coastal warnings

I can assure the President that we don't need a tsunami warning system in the Gulf Coast.

The Death of Radio

Another lament with the quote of the week:
"The wages of sucking is death."

I can think of a few stations to which that quote is wholly apropos.

In a Way, WHFS Was Already Gone

While I am lamenting the demise of WHFS as much as anybody can who didn't listen to the station (if only because I didn't live in the DC/Baltimore area), I find it funny when media elites complain about radio stations not sounding as cool as free form stations of the 1960's. If free form stations are all they're cracked up to be, why are there hundreds of ignored college stations from coast to coast? Quite simply, because these stations are unlistenable.

I had the honor of working with Jack Snyder, a veteran of Southern California cutting edge radio of the 1960's and 70s. Even he realized that the anything goes format that put his station KMET on the map would not fly with alternative rock listeners of today.

Yet even I have come to lament the wall-to-wall skateboard/I hate my Dad/male angst that the (m)alternative format has become. Two words: Fred Durst. Two more words: the horror...

Then again, I have little faith in the tastes of the youthful masses, so radio isn't entirely to blame. The iPod is liberating a new generation of listeners; radio will merely suggest what goes on the portable hard drive.

Mac mini Price Significantly Less than DIY PC

Amazing but true - Apple's Mac Mini is $5 cheaper than a cheap, DIY PC. With software included, the Mac Mini is $500 cheaper.

Michael Dell didn't see this comin'.

Big site changes are afoot at DVDfile

At one toime, dvdfile.com was the authority on DVD news. When editor Peter M. Bracke took a sabbatical in September of last year, activity on the site ground to a sudden halt. Sporadic news and DVD reviews trickled in from time to time, but the site seemed to abdicate it's position to other, similar sites.

Now Bracke has decided not to return at all. The site claims it will carry on. I'm skeptical because the site was next-to-dormant in the last quarter of 2004. Now they're going to pick up the pieces? Not likely.

Prove me wrong. This was a fantastic resource.

Reeve among Director’s Guild TV noms; Nominated for the made-for-TV movie, ‘The Brooke Ellison Story’

I'm glad to see Reeve get the nod for this, his last effort. My good friend Melinda Walsh plays a key role in this production.

Capital One sued over marketing practices

It was only a matter of time before those testosterone-filled norsemen pissed somebody off! Too bad they can't trample over David Spade.

Report: Hitler ordered kidnapping of pope

Hitler was an avowed enemy of Christianity; this news should not surprise anyone. The rehabilitation of Pius XII's reputation continues as he approaches canonization.

Mobile Wood Burning BBQ Pits at Southern-Pride.com

THIS is why Smokey Bones tasted so good. I'd love to have one of these babies!

Good eats

Took my folks to Smokey Bones last night. It's quickly become my new favorite restaurant in Baton Rouge. The BBQ was done right. I dump on the Darden Corp, the parent of Smokey Bones, and owner of (gulp!) Red Lobster, but somehow the make SB work.

I could do without the bell.

"Nip/Tuck" Gets a Lift

Every time I say how much I like this show, I feel like I'm in confession trying to justify my actions. I know it's not kosher with some conservatives to like this show, but I have always been of three thoughts when it comes to so-called salacious material:

1.) What may appear on the surface to be an exploitation of sex and subjects of prurient interest might more likely be a condemnation of such behavior.

2.) It's hard to dismiss any movie or TV as trash when it's done well.

3.) Shakespeare's plays dealt with murder, adultery, incest, and all seven deadly sins. Is the work in question any more scandalous?

Drama (by that I mean the whole universe of storytelling) is based upon a normal situation gone awry. If things aren't topsy-turvy, there's no story of interest. So if the world of NT seemes out of whack, that's because it is.

And I for one wouldn't have it any other way.

‘Queer Eye For The Straight Girl': Why The Tears?

I know why. To paraphrase Thom Filicia in his queeniest moments, "it's HAHRIBBLE!"

Introducing Mac mini

This box is a computer. A very cool computer. And cheap at $499.

Finally, Apple has a machine that is affordable.

Oh no, not my Alley Oop!

Here's a great topic of discussion certain to rile some people up: which comic strips need to go away.

I once did a bit on the radio where I had my listeners innundate the website of the Times-Picayune with their picks. Seems the paper thought it could get an honest representation of the will of the public, but my cadre of 18-34 males put an "end" to that! Soon afterwards, the poll was taken down and the paper's editorial staff ended up making the final selections (AS IF they were ever going to give control over to the public.)

Back in the mid-nineties, I remember my former roommate suggesting to his superiors at the Hammond Daily Star that the paper freshen up the comics page. One of the strips ditched was Alley Oop. In the town of Hammond, Louisiana - not a small town but not a metropolis either - you would have thought they'd murdered the Easter Bunny. One old lady hobbled into the newsroom with her walker and started wailing on about the cancelled comic, "My momma read me Allayoop! Ma granmomma read me Allayoop! I want mah Allayoop! Please gimme back mah allayoop!"

Those stupid comic strips are a big deal to people. I recall in college when the same James put "Jim's Journal" in the Daily Reveille, LSU's rag. People wrote in saying how they didn't understand it, get that thing out of there, why not put in Opus or Far Side or whatever was big at the time. Today, the guy who drew Jim's Journal has a new gig. He's the editor of an entire paper. You might have seen it. It's called The Onion.