FOR FRIENDS FAR & WIDE.

News.

	11 September 2004 PHOTO DIARY. I saw my favorite billboard ever today.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. Me, Nicki, my brother, and his wife all went to the California ScienCenter today. We went to see the BodyWorlds exhibit, which featured cadaver "plastinates" in various poses. The exhibit was stunning. It featured cadavers with their nervous, digestive, and circulatory systems excised for dedicated display.   Back to main 07 September 2004 MOVIE: OUTFOXED: RUPERT MURDOCH'S WAR ON JOURNALISM (2004). A catalog of the techniques used by Fox News to manipulate and distort political truth. As poorly produced and edited as this documentary is, Outfoxed remains invaluable in that it does the hard work for us: their tiny production team has managed to sift through hours and hours of live Fox footage to unearth gem after gem of bald-faced lying that the network is now famous for. It doesn't present anything new (see Al Franken's Lying Liars and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11)--its value comes from actually experiencing, with our own eyes and ears, a national propaganda machine working at a capacity that even Pravda would be jealous of. An impressive collection of damning footage, and required reading for any concerned patriot. Election Countdown here on Fox, where there's only 163 days left until George W. Bush is re-elected.   Back to main BOOK: LIES & THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM: A FAIR & BALANCED LOOK AT THE RIGHT (AL FRANKEN, 2003). Political comedian Al Franken debunks right-wing lies through a series of personal anecdotes. In the library of my mind, this book sits on the same doily as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 because of its thorough cataloguing of untruths told by the likes of Ann Coulter, Dick Cheney, George Bush, and everyone at Fox News. That said, I could complain that most of the outrageous Republican folly Franken writes about has now pretty much become common knowledge. The difference, though, is that he's famous enough (and ballsy enough) to find himself at the center of the storm much of the time. He shouted down Fox pundit Bill O'Reilly at a panel discussion on C-Span's Book TV. He snuck onto Bob Jones University campus to trick an unsuspecting admissions officer into answering pointed questions about their white supremacy-based school policy ("Oh, that rule's changed," says the officer at one point. "We now allow interracial dating."). And, most famously, he even gets sued by Fox News for his use of the term "Fair & Balanced." Not only does he beat the suit--its publicity propels his book to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list while shaming the network at the same time. Sure, it reads like a big stack of collected magazine articles. And sure, it ends abruptly without any deep analysis of who the Right really are and why they think the way they do. Nor does it attempt to answer the question of why America tends to split into two camps: one that blindly loves their country like a toddler loves its mother, and one that loves their country with the emotional honesty of an adult relationship. But Franken is entertaining nonetheless. His witty vitriol hits the spot where current liberal discourse, with all its weary resignation, does not.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. We flew JetBlue for the first time out to Rhode Island. In keeping with their cheerful company identity, each of their planes has a clever slogan painted on its nose. JetBlue is awesome, by the way. Fly it whenever you can.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. We went to Patrick & Katharine's wedding over the long weekend. It took place in beautiful, idyllic Rhode Island. The night before the wedding, they held a clambake (think Native-American style luau co-opted by early colonialists) near an old barn. Dolls of the couple greeted us inside: Spiderman marries The Doctor. We donned our bibs... ...and scarfed down a beautiful sea-bug. The next day, we met up with Ed, Taiko, and Seth (he's the one taking the picture). Patrick & Katharine were wedded by the sea in a lightning-fast ceremony, which clocked in at just 3.5 minutes in length. While they endured endless photos with relatives... ...we gambled with fake money at blackjack tables in the reception area. Congratulations, you wacky kids.   Back to main Archives. 17 August 2003 — 24 August 2003 — 31 August 2003 — 07 September 2003 — 14 September 2003 — 02 November 2003 — 09 November 2003 — 16 November 2003 — 23 November 2003 — 30 November 2003 — 07 December 2003 — 01 February 2004 — 08 February 2004 — 15 February 2004 — 22 February 2004 — 29 February 2004 — 07 March 2004 — 14 March 2004 — 21 March 2004 — 28 March 2004 — 04 April 2004 — 11 April 2004 — 18 April 2004 — 25 April 2004 — 02 May 2004 — 09 May 2004 — 16 May 2004 — 23 May 2004 — 30 May 2004 — 06 June 2004 — 13 June 2004 — 20 June 2004 — 27 June 2004 — 04 July 2004 — 11 July 2004 — 18 July 2004 — 25 July 2004 — 01 August 2004 — 08 August 2004 — 15 August 2004 — 22 August 2004 — 29 August 2004 — 05 September 2004 — 12 September 2004 — 19 September 2004 — 26 September 2004 — 03 October 2004 — 10 October 2004 — 17 October 2004 — 24 October 2004 — 31 October 2004 — 07 November 2004 — 14 November 2004 — 21 November 2004 — 28 November 2004 — 05 December 2004 — 12 December 2004 — 19 December 2004 — 26 December 2004 — 02 January 2005 — 09 January 2005 — 23 January 2005 — 30 January 2005 — 06 February 2005 — 13 February 2005 — 20 February 2005 — 27 February 2005 — 13 March 2005 — 20 March 2005 — 27 March 2005 — 03 April 2005 — 10 April 2005 — 17 April 2005 — 24 April 2005 — 01 May 2005 — 08 May 2005 — 22 May 2005 — 29 May 2005 — 05 June 2005 — 12 June 2005 — 19 June 2005 — 26 June 2005 — 03 July 2005 — 10 July 2005 — 17 July 2005 — 24 July 2005 — 31 July 2005 — 07 August 2005 — 14 August 2005 — 28 August 2005 — 04 September 2005 — 25 September 2005 — 02 October 2005 — 09 October 2005 — 30 October 2005 — 06 November 2005 — 13 November 2005 — 20 November 2005 — 27 November 2005 — 04 December 2005 — 18 December 2005 — 01 January 2006 — 08 January 2006 — 15 January 2006 — 22 January 2006 — 05 February 2006 — 26 February 2006 — 12 March 2006 — 19 March 2006 — 26 March 2006 — 02 April 2006 — 16 April 2006 — 23 April 2006 — 30 April 2006 — 07 May 2006 — 14 May 2006 — 21 May 2006 — 04 June 2006 — 18 June 2006 — 25 June 2006 — 16 July 2006 — 23 July 2006 — 06 August 2006 — 13 August 2006 — 03 September 2006 — 17 September 2006 — 01 October 2006 —