As the Democratic National Convention kicks into a higher gear, the question on everyone’s mind (at least, those that really only follow politics for the sensationalism…which is pretty much every political reporter and blogger on the planet) is “Will there be an ‘Eastwood’ moment?” By that, what they’re really wondering is “Will there be a batshit crazy…
Category: Tuesday
Red State Vs. Blue State: Debating Paul Ryan, Hate Groups, Dirty Campaigning, And Romney’s General Chances
Today I’m debating a friend who graciously agreed to play Devil’s Advocate with the Paul Ryan nomination, although she might have preferred Nikki Haley if it had been her pick. I know this may seem a bit…late to some of you, but I wanted to give it a few weeks so we could really see if…
Down & Out in Bumblefuck, Egypt…Why the Ousting of Top Military Leaders May Not Be a Good Thing
Over the weekend, Egypt’s new Islamist President (I could write his name, but would it matter? We’d all forget it in two seconds and I don’t know that his name is as important as his political ideas which skew ultra-religious and rigid) ousted a few top military leaders from power. This is seen as a…
Review of Yahoo’s “Electric City” (and Quick One of “Burning Love” )
Yahoo’s new web series “Electric City” is set in some sort of vaguely defined post-apocalyptic city where electricity is a precious and coveted commodity. People are willing to steal for it, a quasi-fascist government will arrest people for overuse of it, and a secret society of “founders” (nefarious old ladies who quilt and plot murders)…
Down & Out in Bumblefuck: Tom Cruise’s Worst Week Ever
What’s a mega-star to do? Tom Cruise is finding himself in the middle of a very, very bad week. Perhaps the worst he’s had since he shot to mega-fame in Risky Business. I mean, a box office flop (Rock of Ages) that was supposed to show off his range, a divorce from his THIRD wife…
Good Times’s Jimmy Walker Has a Q & A for his memoir called (Sigh) “Dyn-o-mite!”
Tonight, I went to a Barnes and Noble mostly to check out new books and see what might be worth reading for next month’s Book of the Month Club pick, and inadvertently stumbled upon a book signing for the autobiography of Good Times’s Jimmy “Jay Jay” Walker, a man mostly known for saying “Dy-no-mitttttte!” but…
Down & Out In Bumblefuck: The Summertime Blues…The Ultimate Slow News Cycle
Last year was the site’s first year, and that meant I was still getting to know all the rhythms that came in the yearly news cycle. I launched it in early February (the DAY after the Superbowl, a time when men can think for about six months), I enjoyed a wave of events in the…
Down & Out: “Hatfields & McCoys” and A&E’s “Longmire” Go For Rural Programming
So here lately we’ve seen more and more cable networks try to get into the business of rural programming, or, if you’re feeling snarky, red state programming. Both The History Channel (which produced H&M…not the clothing brand) and A&E (the new series Longmire’s network) are no strangers to rural programming. Whatever actual “History” the History…
Blue State Vs. Communist State: Why The Chinese Make Republicans Look Flexible
Note: I realize that title has the sweeping generalization of something I’d probably think was racist if it were said about, ummm…Nigerians or Mexicans or even people from the Philippines. However, the Chinese government is newly rich and a serious threat to world stability (more on how their government is literally the shadiest in the…
Alabama Liberal Goes to China!
If that title wasn’t straightforward enough, let me confirm that, yes, I did just get back from a recent two week trip to China (specifically, Shanghai and then a shorter time in Hong Kong). The next two weeks of the blog will be a deviation from the articles that usually run as I hope to…
Down & Out in Bumblefuck: The Unsexy Environmental Issue of Garbage
So Earth Day was this past Sunday and it really got me thinking about all of the environmental issues most people ignore on a daily basis (climate crisis, ground soil pollution, and over population to name but a few). But what about the issue that even some environmentalists aren’t that crazy about sermonizing on? You…
Down & Out in Bumblefuck: Down and Out Olbermann, Why is Keith Seemingly Unemployable?
Last week brought the news that Keith Olbermann had lost another job. The same man who has been either fired or quit from Sportscenter, CNN, and MSNBC (twice), has now been flat-out canned from Current TV. “What the hell is Current TV?” Some of you might ask. Well, 1. It’s the TV network that Al…
First Tornadoes, Now The Republican Presidential Race Heads to Alabama (Haven’t We Suffered Enough?)
First, a tornado shreds up the state. Then, Rick Santorum comes. Coincidence? Anyway, today is the Alabama (and Mississippi) primary. Few people think it’s even remotely possible for Mitt Romney to win…and everyone knows it won’t matter. Romney will lose the South, but win the race. He now has a third of the delegates he…