philly

If it's Tuesday, it's Drinking Liberally

It's the return of somegirl and Richard Cranium from All Spin Zone make their return stateside. They actually took a plane ride over here from the southern hemisphere just for the wings and $1 off drink specials at Tangier [1801 Lombard St] from 6p - 9p and for the company and witty banter that is Drinking Liberally. Or so I'm told.

And rumors of Venezuelan foodstuffs smuggled back inside "bags" and/or "suitcases" fly through [across?] the internets.

WASHINGTON — Dressed in all black, former stripper turned weight-loss promoter Anna Nicole Smith fought her way through a throng of photographers and autograph-seekers Tuesday on her way to a Supreme Court showdown in her bid to inherit her late husband's fortune.

It all reminds me of the illustration in America: The Book, with a foreward by Thomas Jefferson himself, where the SCOTUS Justices are shown de-robed.

***UPDATE***
Oh the humanity. I just saw a headline that read "Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington"

Well, it's all gone now. I took that shot yesterday evening.

And when I went to take a closer look at the gaping hole in the ground which was once a historical site, I saw the above sticker and it made me chuckle out lout.

My flickr set of Rindelaub's Row.

Previously.

Now I'm not a bit statistician. Nor am I a Vice Presidential scholar. But I do have some common fucking sense. While watching Jon Stewart run circles around a very out of it Larry King last night, King noted that Veep Dick Cheney had an 18% approval rating. Wow. Eighteen percent. Chroist. 82% disapprove of whatever it is that Dick does.

And I think King noted Bush's number somewhere around 34%.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Stupid whole numbers.

I recall getting somewhere around a 710 on my SAT Math score. I got a 4 on my AP Calculus test in high school, didn't have to take a wink of math in college. Yay for me! I did this in about 60 seconds.

Via Susie via Duncan.

Another blog from Philly.com?! Digging Out about your workplace desk basically. I wonder how long it will take db_cooper to rail on Mrs. Jane M. Von Bergen.

Brought to you by Blogspot!

I wonder if Philly.com will eventually have a cost-free blogspot blog about getting fired from the Inquirer or Daily News.

Between the ages of eight and twelve or so, I played a shitload of my single favorite game, no, not a video game [although Mike Tyson's Punch Out was probably a close second], but Dungeons & Dragons. To nitpick a little, I was actually playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons; I can't recall what the real difference between the two was/is more than a decade later though. I haven't played since, but I still very much still have all my dice which may still worry Joey Sweeney. From d4 through d100, I got 'em.

And earlier today, I read this NY Times article on how D&D is about to go online. At first I said Nooooooo! But then I thought of all the knock offs that are already online. All those sim games are derivative of D&D. The one that sticks out the most, and the one that has gobbled up dozens of hours of my life, is Final Fantasy. The original Nintendo game which is now on Play Station and is set for it's thirteenth or so iteration. I'm gonna buy it up and not be heard from for many hours when that happens. But then I thought that while all these derivative games were out there already, D&D was different in that it was always a pencil and paper game and never was simply a video incarnation of a role-playing game.

Transforming that analog/organic pencil and paper game online, that's just about impossible. There's some form of the gathering of friends around a table with masses of dice and junk food that cannot be transferred online, call it, say, the organic geek quotient. Something about the clack of the die as it hits the table and rolls around. The eager looks of anticipation on your teammates' faces as the dungeon master reads aloud a scenario. Stephen Colbert knows what I'm talking about. So does Vin Diesel [so does Vin Diesel?!].

Mmmm. Lady has been on a tear with these Whole Foods recipes. Last week, we cooked up Pasta w/Broccoli and Gorgonzola along with some homemade bruscetta and a Caesar salad. It was a great and filling meal.

Recipe #6 over on the foodie blog.

Oh how I love the Colbert Report. Their "Better Know a District" is one of my favorite recurring segments. "Formidable Opponent" is my absolute favorite with the athletes using performance enhancing drugs my single favorite segment.

Over the weekend, the NY Times took a look at the "Better Know a District" series. It made me recall all the hilarious moments once again.

And it's not as if Democrats are getting off easy. Mr. Colbert knew just how to get under the skin of one of them, Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey, by suggesting that Mr. Pascrell, a co-sponsor of legislation seeking an end to offensive media portrayals of Italian-Americans, was not a true Italian.

"Congressman," Mr. Colbert said, "your name doesn't end in a vowel."

"Italians don't have to end in a vowel," Mr. Pascrell parried. Mr. Colbert demanded that he name one.

Flustered, the congressman blurted out: "Sole! Tom Sole. S-O-L-E."

According to this WaPo article, there have already been more than sixty bills filed in state legislatures this year in regards to emergency contraception.

Many of the state bills intended to expand access give specially trained pharmacists in states including Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois the right to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription. Other bills require pharmacies to stock and distribute the drug, and to ensure that the pill is made available to women who come into emergency rooms after a sexual assault.

But some bills would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception, which is effective for only 72 hours after a woman experiences a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed, and more than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right not to stock the drug and pharmacists the right not to dispense it, even to women with valid prescriptions.

And then there's an interesting article from Nerve.com [I used to work there] via AlterNet on access to birth control in general and Planned Parenthood. The writer of the piece describes the troubles of several young adults who have had problems in obtaining birth control from Planned Parenthood as a result of high cost.