The Quiz

The Week Quiz is back. (In recent weeks I did so badly I didn’t want to mention The Quiz. This week I scored eight correct out of ten, so I’m linking to it.)

Making fun of the way celebs look

Go Fug Yourself

Best line of the day, so far

“Alone in the Dark will be the worst movie of 2005. The idea that anything could be worse is the only genuine scare the movie has to offer.”

Kris Kaltenbach in The [Baltimore] Sun

This could do it

The blog Geese Aplenty speculates on the Brad Pitt/Jennifer Anniston break up:

Jennifer finally got around to watching Meet Joe Black.

Brad finally got around to watching Along Came Polly.

There’s more if you follow the link.

Don’t Cry For Me

From Real E Fun. Go read it.

The Daily Howler

One of the sites NewMexiKen looks forward to every weekday morning (about 10 Mountain Time) is The Daily Howler written by Bob Somerby. Steve Twomey profiles Somerby for the Columbia Journalism Review: The Howler’s Quiet Moment.

Don’t miss commuting on the Metro one bit

From perhaps the cutest named blog of them all, tequila mockingbird, a “memo to the old dude who was obviously in town for the inauguration.”

welcome to our nation’s capital! i see you are taking the advice to make use of our mass transit system during your visit. i offer here just a few tips to help make your experience more pleasant.

- do not take one step off of the escalator and then promptly stop dead in your tracks. perhaps this is unique to the escalators here in d.c., but we’re not a one-person-gets-to-ride-all-the-way-up-to-the-top-before-anyone-else-gets-on system. there are people behind you. immediately behind you. please step aside so as to get the hell out of everyone’s way. and while we’re on the subject: stand right. walk left.

- this is not a “monorail.” it is a subway. well, sort of. anyway, it is not a “monorail.” this is not disney world. please stop calling it “the monorail.”

- please refrain from asking at every stop “is this our stop?” remember how, at the last stop, that exasperated guy beside you said, “you have about eight more stops to go”? well, it’s only been one. that means you now have seven more to go. the evil democrats did not sneak the metric system in on us while you weren’t paying attention. eight minus one is still seven.

- see how all of the people who are not wearing fanny packs are very quiet? yes? these people are called “commuters.” they ride “the monorail” every day. this is holy time for them. quiet time. this is the last window of silent solace they have before being pitched into the fifth circle of hell that is their job. they read. they listen to music. they meditate. a few of them even attend to their personal grooming, although, really, that’s disgusting and we wish they wouldn’t do that. here’s one thing they do not do: talk.

- one more thing they do not do: put their feet up on the seat in front of them. there are a couple of reasons for this. one is that we operate on a one-ass-one-seat rule here. there are going to be lots of people on “the monorail.” they would all like to sit down. also, people don’t want to sit on a seat that has been all dirtied up by your big-ass cowboy boots with slush all over them.

- please stop your incessant talk about how easy it would be to “blow this thing up.” the “commuters” know this. they try not to think about it. you’re not helping.

- please stop asking “is it cold enough for you?” this is true not only on “the monorail,” but just in general. and by “just in general” i mean any time or place.

- it is not amusing to look at someone reading imperial hubris and say, “well, i guess someone isn’t going to the inauguration today,” and then laugh really loudly while elbowing said person. seriously. you should stop this right now.

Shameful

Paul Krugman takes Bush to the woodshed for his “shameful” playing of the race card — and lying at that — regarding Social Security this week.

Put it all together, and the deal African-Americans get from Social Security turns out, according to various calculations, to be either about the same as that for whites or somewhat better. Hispanics, by the way, clearly do better than either.

Get up, Stand, up

From The Washington Post:

Strolling to the bus stop, fidgeting during a meeting, standing up to stretch, jumping off the couch to change channels, and engaging in other minor physical activities can make the difference between being lean and obese, researchers reported yesterday.

The most detailed study ever conducted of mundane bodily movements found that obese people tend to be much less fidgety than lean people and spend at least two hours more each day just sitting still. The extra motion by lean people is enough to burn about 350 extra calories a day, which could add up to 10 to 30 pounds a year, the researchers found.

It’s the birthday

… of Alan Alda. Hawkeye is 69 today, just three days after being nominated for his first Oscar for his portrayal of Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster in The Aviator.

2004 Critics’ Picks

Metacritic: 2004 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Individual lists, followed by a summary of all top ten lists.