Wham!

"Look at what happened to James Frey in the last two weeks. That's a great book and so is the follow-up book. And just because his publisher chose to say that these were memoirs, it took it out of being a great work of fiction... to this guy having to go be sucker punched on Oprah by one of the most powerful women in television, just to grind her own axe about it. Hey, Oprah. You had President (Bill Clinton) on your show and if this prick didn't lie about a couple of things, I'm going to set myself on fire right now. James Frey is a writer, OK? He can write about whatever he wants. It's fiction. It's just shameful how he was treated in some of these things."

{emphasis mine}

Now, I disagree with Bruce on most of this. Personally I think James Frey got what he deserved. He lied. He did it in a big, fat, egregious way, he reaped huge benefits from lying, and he expected to get away with it: he was just dumb enough to think he'd get a fair shake on Oprah's show after she'd been reamed by the critics for a week and a half. Her name is her brand, which is worth billions of dollars; she's not going to lay that on the line for you, James. She's just not going to. That would be dumb, which, whatever else you want to call Oprah---bitch is at the top of the list for me---is not a good descriptor for her. Also, I'm not really quite sure what dear ol' Bruno is talking about when he refers to Frey's books as "fiction" because while it's apparent that's what they are now, they were published and sold as memoirs. (Which, of course, leads to a whole 'nother conversation we could be having about the standards of fiction publishing nowadays, and if this book was flushed as fiction, but bought by as a memoir---both by the same freakin' editor at Random House who basically got a pass on Oprah's show---well, Lucy, you gots some 'splainin to do, but we'll choose to avoid going there for the sake of expediency.)

Yet... I'm relishing the exceedingly enjoyable shot he scored against Oprah's bloated sense of self-righteousness using Bubba Clinton as a hockey puck.

We've got a word for that here in Cake Eater Land: GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!

{hat tip: The Evening Star}

Posted by: Kathy at 11:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Two things relating to the Winter Olympics.

• The husband has suddenly taken to watching curling every day. Now, the husband grew up in freakin' Iowa: like most people who grew up south of the forty-fifth parallel, he has absolutely no idea what is going on in this game. It's not like he cares, though, either. At five o'clock, he's in front of the tee vee, watching and rooting on whichever American team is playing. Currently the women's team is playing Sweden.

  I wonder if these two have had any influence on his decision to watch.

  

  Methinks the answer is "yes." I believe his nonchalance was feigned when I told him they weren't twins.

• Bryant Gumbel is a racist sack of shit.

Posted by: Kathy at 05:53 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Hmm! I think I'll start watching the Olympics! (you have email)

Posted by: EveningStar at February 16, 2006 06:37 PM (xr/uv)

2 Yeah, the hot sisters are the reason why you're husband's watching. But don't worry, you ain't too bad yourself (I checked your bio thingy). It's why I started watching. But then I realized I have no idea what's going on so I had to go online. Now that I know, it's interesting even when the ugly girls are throwing. Be sure to read my seminal post on women's sports... http://impleader.com/2006/01/michelle-wie-golfs-anna-kournikova/

Posted by: Contriburor X at February 16, 2006 08:26 PM (G14RP)

3 Nope. They're too skinny and too blonde for my tastes, you know that. If I were going to watch the Winter Olympics for hot babes, it would be all about the power.

Posted by: MRN aka "The Husband" at February 16, 2006 09:05 PM (P4rMX)

4 The husband has suddenly taken to watching curling every day Oh. My. God. I had no idea how bad this was until you let the messy facts out. I'll start putting together some football and baseball footage right away. We'll get him into de-tox ASAP. He'll be (almost) as good as new before you know it. Why, God, Why couldn't he have gone for Snowboarding or Speedskating?! Why did it have to be (shudder) Curling?!!

Posted by: Doug Williams at February 16, 2006 09:50 PM (7P5xE)

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Don't f@3k with grandma.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:28 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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This is going to sound really, really odd, but I'm jonesing to see a particular commercial.

My devoted UK/Worldwide Cake Eater Readers might know what I'm talking about when I link this article and say, "I want the Anthony Hopkins one, thanks ever so much."

Unfortunately, I can't find the bloody thing anywhere on the internets. The husband got serious and really did some down and dirty searching on usenet this afternoon, and he didn't have any luck either. Same with searches of many different torrents, limewire, etc.

If anyone happens to know where I can find a copy of this ad, I'd be forever in your debt. Drop me an email or leave a comment.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by: Kathy at 11:08 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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You know, before I settled into my political science major at college, I had a good whack at art history. It didn't work out because, in their all-encompassing wisdom, the College of Design at Iowa State demanded that you be able to draw if you wanted to be in their stinking college. No, really, I'm not bitter about it. Sniff. Anyway...I did manage to cram in a bunch of art and design history classes and as such, on occasion, I'm usually able to pull arcane bits and bobs about famous buildings out of my you-know-where.

But I will admit to being flummoxed when I saw the aerial photos of Turin...

...and had no idea what this building was.

If Bob Costas mentioned it, I missed it. So, I decided to figure it out. I assumed it was a cathedral---a Catholic cathedral, of course, this is Italy, after all---but I was wrong. It never was a cathedral, but was originally built to be a synagogue. It's called La Mole Antonelliana.

According to Wikipedia:

The Mole Antonelliana is a major architectural symbol of the city of Turin, Italy. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. Construction began in 1863.

Originally, it was intended to be a Jewish synagogue, as religious freedom had just been granted to non-Catholic groups, but the relationship between Antonelli and the Jewish community was not a happy one. He immediately began to propose a series of modifications which raised the final height to 113 meters--over 47 meters higher than the dome in the original design. Such changes, in addition to greater costs and construction time than were originally anticipated, did not please the Jewish community and construction was halted in 1869 with a provisional roof. In 1873 an exchange with the city of Turin for other land for a synagogue took place, and the Mole was dedicated to Victor Emanuel II. Antonelli again began construction, which took the height to 146, 153, and finally 167 meters.

167 meters=547.9 feet. That's almost two football fields. Built without the help of reinforced concrete. Don't try this at home, kids.

It's now the home of the Italian national cinema museum.

I love the lines on it. It's neat and tidy; clean and cool. It looks so solid, like it would scoff one of its particularly well-built shoulders at anyone who would dare to suggest it could possibly fall down. The spire is particularly interesting, too, if you take a good look. At the base of the spire is (what looks to be) a two-storey, classical-style temple that I really enjoy looking at and wondering about. Could you really chat with the gods and goddesses if you managed to swing a ladder all the way up there? You'd be close enough, after all; it should be possible if you followed the theory behind the choice of the Acropolis for the Parthenon.

Enjoy looking at it. I know I have.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:57 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Mmmmhmmm.

{...}Seriously, I would say I can't believe anyone would even consider seeing a Pink Panther movie that didn't have Peter Sellers, but we are talking about the country that thinks Keira Knightley is a good choice to star in Pride and Prejudice.{...}

A-bloody-men!

{Hat Tip: Russ from Winterset}

*I was going to title this post, of course, Sense and Sensibility but I decided I'd probably pulled that trick one time too many so I just threw in the first Austen novel title that came to mind. Of course that was after I threw out variations of Persuasion and, obviously, Pride and Prejudice. Amazingly enough, I never got the opprortunity to boycott Emma because, well, she just didn't come to mind. At all. Now that's a memorable character for you, eh, Robbo? Eh? Eh?

Posted by: Kathy at 11:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

{Hat Tip: Animal}

Posted by: Kathy at 08:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It Could Only Happen in Russia!

{...}Perhaps nothing symbolises quite so potently the gulf between Russia's uber classes and the rest of the country as the flashing blue siren, or migalka, affixed to the top of the elite's chauffeur-driven luxury cars.

A hangover from Soviet times, the migalka confers on its owner the right to roar down the wrong side of the road at high speed, often disregarding traffic lights and careering on to pavements.

{...}Protests were also held over the weekend in 17 other cities, one of the most co-ordinated exhibitions of public anger seen in Russia in recent years.

"The blue light should be the preserve of the emergency services, not a badge of immunity for the elite and their relatives and friends," said Katya Zhitkovskaya, a manager who took part in one of the Moscow demonstrations.

The Kremlin claims it has started to clamp down on the issue, awarding migalkas only to the emergency services, senior government officials, judges and members of the Russian parliament.

But Vyacheslav Lysakov, head of the Free Choice Motorist's Movement that organised the protests, said the migalka was still freely available to those prepared to pay a £30,000 bribe for one - or for those with political connections.

Migalka owners are blamed for adding to Russia's horrific death toll on the roads - 95 people are killed in road accidents every day in Russia and 700 more are injured.

Giving the campaign a political tinge the protesters highlighted two cases.

In the first, a Siberian railway worker, Oleg Shcherbinsky, was jailed for four years last week after a judge ruled he was to blame for the death of a regional governor in a car accident because he did not get out of the way quickly enough.

Shcherbinsky said he did not see the governor's migalka limousine, which was allegedly travelling down the wrong side of the road at over 100mph, as he attempted a left turn.

The second involved the eldest son of Sergei Ivanov, the defence minister, who was travelling in a car last year that killed a 68-year-old woman on a zebra crossing. Charges against Alexander Ivanov were quietly dropped.{...}

I'm surprised. Really. Not about the extent of the corruption in supposedly democratic Russia, but rather that the people actually protested about it. In the middle of February no less.

Way to get off your collective ass, people!

Posted by: Kathy at 04:42 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Check out this super coo-el touch screen demo.

{Hat tip: Boing Boing}

Posted by: Kathy at 04:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Whatever title floats your boat, baby.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So, last week at the Cake Eater Pad we got a survey from our state representative about the upcoming legislative session. Now, because I'm all about the power of the people, I wanted to fill it out and send it in.

Until I realized that my duly elected state representative, Ron Erhardt---whom I voted for---decided that if I wanted to have my say, I was going to have to shell out $0.39 for postage. As you might expect, my devoted Cake Eater readers, that irked me.

So, because I don't feel I should have to pay for postage to let my duly elected state representative know how I feel on issues he thinks should be raised this legislative session, I filled out the survey and posted it here.

Clicket for larger.

Don't you just love representative government? I do. Because I get blogging material out of it!

Posted by: Kathy at 10:59 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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{Insert Team America Voice Here} Take that islamofascists!

I, a non-burqua wearing woman, am going to defeat you bastards by drinking beer!

GOD BLESS WESTERN CIVILIZATION!

UPDATE: Mmmm. Victory tastes like Heineken. Only better---meaning it's smoother and more full bodied.

Posted by: Kathy at 03:26 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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This is code for doing that Bette Midler "Wind Beneath My Wings" thing, isn't it?

Oh, dear.

{Insert grimace here}

You really are twisted, aren't you? And, I might remind you, that you promised I'd never have to do that again. I know you liked it. The point here is that I didn't.

Seriously, darling, I do have my boundaries and I'm invoking them. I just don't think I could face another evening with that on the menu.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:00 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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If you consider multitasking to be important then, yes, gamers probably do have better brains:

{...}A body of research suggests that playing video games provides benefits similar to bilingualism in exercising the mind. Just as people fluent in two languages learn to suppress one language while speaking the other, so too are gamers adept at shutting out distractions to swiftly switch attention between different tasks.

A new study of 100 university undergraduates in Toronto has found that video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing peers in a series of tricky mental tests. If they also happened to be bilingual, they were unbeatable.{...}

Hmmmph.

Doesn't mean they have better social skills, though.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:48 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Yeah. I know. I'll let you in on a little secret. My head sometimes aches from the strain of holding all that throbbing gray matter in. Hey, I could be a rapper: "my cranium strains." Throw that down to a funky beat and you've got a Grammy winning single right there! Anyway...I find that a cold compress helps when the pain gets to be too much.

And if that doesn't work, well, a shot of whisky works even better!

Posted by: Kathy at 10:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The renowned French shower-of-chest-hair and intellectual, Bernard-Henri Levy, in today's Opinion Journal:

{...}And, faced with this triangulation in progress, faced with this formidable hate-and-death machine, faced with this "moral atomic bomb," we have no other solution than to counter with another triangle--a triangle of life and reason, which more than ever must unite the United States, Europe and Israel in a rejection of any clash of civilizations of the kind desired by the extremists of the Arab-Muslim world and by them alone.

The heart of this second triangle? First, the affirmation of principles. The affirmation of the press's right to the expression of idiocies of its choosing--rather than the acts of repentance that too many leaders have resorted to, and which merely encourages in the Arab street the false and counterproductive illusion that a democratic state may exert power over its press.

And second, in the same breath, the reaffirmation of our support for those enlightened moderate Muslims who know that the honor of Islam is far more insulted, and trampled under foot, when Iraqi terrorists bomb a mosque in Baghdad, when Pakistani jihadists decapitate Daniel Pearl in the name of God and film their crime, or when an Algerian fundamentalist emir disembowels, while reciting the Quran, an Algerian woman whose only crime was to have dared show her beautiful face. Moderate Muslims are alone these days, and in their solitude they more than ever need to be acknowledged and hailed.

If you subscribe to Christopher Hitchens' notion, as I do, that there is a civil war occuring in Islam between the moderates and the fascists, and that the jihad against Western interests, aka The United States of America, is only an offshoot of that battle, then it really becomes very important to know precisely where the moderate Muslims are, because they're not showing up to the battle. In fact, I have yet to see that they even realize they're at war with those in their religion who would have them brought over to their particular brand of orthodoxy by threat of dismemberment or death---whichever is easier. However, we do hear an awful lot from moderate Muslims when they're afraid they're going to be attacked by westerners. Then they're all about showing that they come in peace.

I am more than willing to support moderate Muslims, but here's the question that really needs answering: where are they right now? This is more their battle than it is mine, yet they are nowhere to be found---except on the internet, posting anonymous apologies.

We talk a good game about getting the Europeans to ante up and realize their civilization is about to collapse under the weight of Islamofascism, but we never hold the moderate Muslims to the same standard, do we?

{Hat Tip on the "We Are Sorry" thing to Pious Rob}

UPDATE: Dorkafork over at INDC sez "the silence is deafening." Make sure you read the comments section.

I'm not sure this does it for me, though.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:18 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Making soap, shaving cream, razor strop paste and any number of antidotes to household poisons after the jump.

{Part One, Part Two} more...

Posted by: Kathy at 11:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If you click on this link, you will have officially reached the end of the internet.

There's nothing more to see. You can stop surfing now. You're done. It's time to find a new hobby.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Dude, that's like soooo 1995.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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We here at the Cake Eater Pad have had some memorable customer service experiences in the past week or so, and because I'm generous that way, I thought I'd share. I shall try to be brief about it because, well, I want to go and read my book with a cup of cocoa.

First off, the sexy coffee pot with the dual water windows crapped out a week ago this past Sunday. There's nothing quite like waking up, expecting to spend leisurely morning in your jammies, and walking into the kitchen to see your husband, wrapped up in his plaid flannel bathrobe, longish hair pulled back into a ponytail, a screwdriver in his hand and the panicky expression of a junkie on his face as he told you the damn thing doesn't work! That's when you sigh deeply, go and---not fussing with underwear---pull on jeans and a polar fleece and walk up to the neigborhood Bou and score the much needed caffeine.

Since it was Sunday there was nothing we could do about the problem since Mr. Coffee's help line wasn't operating. Come Monday, however, the husband was on the phone with them, and when he finally connected with a REAL LIVE HUMAN BEING they just told him that there's a problem with a leak in the brewbasket that caused the chip to short out, hence it would turn on, but wouldn't brew. After confirming a serial number on the bottom of the old brewer, he told the husband to throw the thing out, and that in two to three weeks a new one would be arriving.

Well, my devoted Cake Eater readers, it only took two to three days for the new coffee maker to arrive. It's exactly like the old one, except for the fact that the brewbasket has supposedly been redesigned.

So, YAY FOR MR. COFFEE! We likes the Mr. Coffee people. Well done! A bouquet of lovely flowers to them.

As far as the brickbats are concerned, well, those go to Wells Fargo bank. They lied to the husband. It wasn't a case of they told him one thing, but corporate policy turned out to be another, and gee, we're really sorry about this, but... It was a case of, "If you want x, we need y. Oh, you brought us y? Well, that's fantastic, but that thing we told you we could do for you if you brought us y, well, we didn't mean it. We changed our minds for no real reason at all. Have a nice day."

Not only did they lie about y, there were also some serious whoppers told with the express purpose of getting the husband off the branch manager's back. She lied. And she told stupid lies---i.e lies that are easily verified for being lies. When confronted, she showed no remorse and refused to make things right.

We've had a wonderful working relationship with Wells Fargo for going on four years now and I've been nothing but impressed with them...until now. It's quite shocking, because they've done nothing but keep us happy over the years. I thought when they took over Norwest it would be the usual merger story and things would be goofed for forever, but I was wrong. The merger was a GOOD thing and Wells Fargo has been a wonderful addition to the local banking community. But now? Well, now they've pissed me off and, to put it bluntly WELLS FARGO SUCKS!

I thought you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, should know how I feel about the matter.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:33 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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