'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Marscon 2008
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater podcasts
Marscon, a brief conreport
Marscon is the only science fiction convention with a Demented Music Track (loosely defined as "the kind of music you'd hear on the Dr. Demento Show"). I was Fan Guest of Honor in 2004, and though I don't have anything directly to do with the convention I am on lots of programming and know most of the musicians, so will use the familiar "we". Indeed, I suggested the Music Guest of Honor for 2009, Wally Pleasant. I've never seen him in concert, and am greatly looking forward to his visit.
We attract a wide range of musicians; mostly humorous if not outright filk, but not every song is a parody. I picked up new CDs by some of my favorite artists, and filled in collections of new (to me) musicians. A week later and I still haven't heard them all. In my standard megalomaniacal fashion, I got permission from the artists to make podcasts from their CDs. More work for me. For you, a review and a sampler.
The hotel is right near the airport and the Mall of America, and sometimes we interact with the other guests, and sometimes they interact with us.
(all pictures by Baron Dave)
We partied with [redacted]
![[redacted]](bd4_20080301mars170guests_bce.jpg)
Science fiction conventions attract all types. I first saw [uniformed personnel] when they were waiting with fans in the elevator lobby. One fan was dressed in camouflage gear, a type different than the guests had. Two of them tried to buy said gear, but were unsuccessful.
They were [professionals] from [not Mpls], and had an [evening of free time] before moving on to [facility] and thence to [disputed area]. They didn't know what to expect, and neither did we. But we were friendly and supportive of their efforts, not like [allied country] where the [engagement] is even more unpopular than here. In the US, we separate the war from the warrior (no matter what the [poopy-head] Republicans say), and welcomed them as heroes and guests.
In one of the great class moves of science fiction fandom, Marscon comped all [not inconsequential number] of them.
They had a blast, going from room party to room party Saturday night, and we had a blast hosting them. Girls melted semi-chastely in their arms. Unusual drinks were proffered and accepted. [Esprit de corps] was everywhere. Incidents of overzealousness were few and handled by [someone older and wiser].
Pictures were taken, including the two here. I asked and was told we could talk about them and put up pictures, with conditions. Alas, their [outing] is [completely uninteresting, really] and we can't show their faces or [gauche] incidents. I really can't imagine that [the bad guys] pay much attention to Marscon reports, or could do much with the information if they did. Still, the request was made and I intend to honor it until [head honcho] says otherwise.
So in the meantime: Thanks for coming to Marscon! Go get 'em! Perhaps you'll come back when we can [show you the rest of the convention].
The convention was great all around
I was on several panels, including one on religion in fiction followed immediately by one on the legacy of Star Trek. Not as great a leap as you might expect. We talked about science fiction cinema, and how funny music can break out of its sub-genre. Warm body count was announced as 841, larger than last year, and it felt busier. I missed entire swaths of the event.
There were
dealers
And performers
And costumes for the
Masquerade
And the occasional misplaced
visitor
CD reviews and podcasts next week.
Clinton ve. Obama
No, I don't think Florida or Michigan delegates should count, nor should they do the primary over again. They knew the risk when they moved them up. Frankly, I'm still pissed at them (and others) for starting the whole shebang so early. They got what they wanted: Publicity. Neither Obama nor Clinton are going to gain huge swings if the delegates are awarded proportionally. Let it alone.
Notice how the conservative news media is still using terms like "going for the jugular"? Compare with Republican presidential campaigns of the recent past: In 2000, the Bush camp sleazed out rumors that McCain had fathered an illegitimate black baby, and other nasty things. In 2004, the Bush camp slandered a war hero, John Kerry, with complete lies. The Republican "base" ate it up, and swung enough independents to the Bush camp. The Democrats are, by comparison, high-minded and above board. Democrats have the values we need in a president.
I'm not worried about a "smoke filled room" scenario". For one thing, it's not really that close. For another, it will keep the GOP Slander Machine guessing just who to lie about. For a third, all the publicity will increase Obama's name recognition, one of his weaknesses vs. Clinton. And if it does come down to a brokered convention where the superdelegates hold sway, then I trust them (more or less) to make the right choices and explain them well.
As I've been saying for a long time, I don't think Hillary will be the nominee, and it's difficult to imagine a scenario where she'd be the VP candidate. We'll have a few more surprises before the election, assuming Bush doesn't tamper with the election itself, and the game hasn't played out yet.
I used to like John McCain, and now I just pity him. Same with Ralph Nader.
Project Pterosaur: A follow-up
I still have no idea if Project Pterosaur, the subject of my previous column, is real or not. If it's a joke, it's a good one. Here are two piecesof mail I got right after the column ran:
One person is sure it's
real:
I followed this link, and it's just too extensive and detailed to be a hoax. I'm familiar with Landover Baptist and enjoy it a lot. Dr. Paley and his fellow loons are not intentionally trying to be funny or satirical, and in a way, that makes it funnier or perhaps scarier. He has an account of an earlier expedition to Africa searching for a "dino" that does make one think "This has got to be a put-on." However, it's serious! The expedition, by the way, is successful. There's a sighting, a footprint, and eye witness, and even a photograph. The photo (taken accidently after the creature knocks the photographer down) looks like a kangaroo's elbow. Another series of articles prove that Apple computers are a satanist plot. The great Creationist Dr. Paley's site is a source of wonder. Waste some time and read it, and enjoy the insanity.
One person is sure that it's a
hoax:
They sell a "'Laughing Jesus Thong' $8.50". This is clearly an evolution of the Landover Baptist Church site. Don't you hate it when I can't tell the fake religious crap from the 'real' religious crap.
Gods, these people deserve a medal (or maybe sainthood!) for the work they do.
For the moment, I'm just going to sit back and let the thing trickle into the public awareness.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
--////
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Froma Harrop: Close Down the Caucuses (creators.com)
One can assume that the people brawling into the late hours of a weekday night are not representative of your broad electorate, even in Texas. Compare the orderly primary vote in Ohio - where the results were known by bedtime - to the weird "Texas Two-Step," which pasted a caucus onto a primary.
SUSAN ESTRICH: What Next? (creators.com)
The Republicans have their nominee - and the Democrats have a marathon that it's not clear can be won, at least not on conventional terms.
Jim Hightower: Swim Against the Current: Ordinary Americans Can Make Change Happen
The fight for our country's future is still in our hands. Grassroots movements are breaking free from corporate control.
Jack Shafer: More Plagiarism, Same Times Reporter (slate.com)
ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO HELPS HIMSELF TO BLOOMBERG NEWS COPY WITHOUT ATTRIBUTION.
Jack Shafer: Eight Reasons Plagiarism Sucks (slate.com)
It harms readers, in its heart beats a lie, it corrupts, and five more.
U.S. Health Care Gets Boost From Charity (cbsnews.com)
"60 Minutes": Remote Area Medical Finds It's Needed In America To Plug Health Insurance Gap .
Amy Goodman: Michael Pollan: Don't Eat Anything That Doesn't Rot (Democracy Now!; Posted on alternet.org )
Consumers are getting duped by the food industry, paying the price with their health.
Joel Stein: Fond memories of the 'Dungeon' (latimes.com)
Remembering his days as a part of the game cult created by Gary Gygax.
J. Tobias Beard: Want to Learn About Wine? Read the Label (c-ville.com)
Ninety percent of what you need to know about wine can be found on the bottle, and that knowledge can be winnowed down to four facts: the winery, the grapes, the vintage and the region. Or who, what, when and where. If you have to add why to that list, then there's just no helping you.
Mary Beard: To booze or not to booze . . . (timesonline.typepad.com)
As drugs go, it's really not got such a bad track record.
Paul Laity: The dangerous don (books.guardian.co.uk)
A life in writing: 'Wickedly subversive' and outspoken, Mary Beard has become Britain's best-known classicist. But it is her comments on modern America that have caused controversy.
'Vain, querulous and a genius' (books.guardian.co.uk)
With her portraits of oddbods and adolescent girls, Carson McCullers has captured the hearts of generations of readers. Her novels are darker and more political than they might seem, argues Ali Smith.
Reader Comment
Re: Converter Boxes
I saw KevKev's righteous rant in your issue yesterday and I couldn't agree more. But what also galls me are all those "portable" tvs I have…small ones that you take to the ball game or the picnic or just keep in another room to watch the morning weather before you head out to work. I have three of those (including one that is a tv/radio/dvd combo) as well as two analog tvs in the house. Lesseee….five tvs and I can only get two coupons (and the coupon doesn't even come close to what the cost of those sucky boxes are), so essentially I'm screwed. What, I'm going to bring my converter box along with my 5" screen tv to a Duck game?????!!!! Goll durn varmints, as Yosemite Sam says.
They ought to be flogged. But then, they should be whipped within an inch or their lives for SO many things, this is just one more "screw you" to the American public.
I'm just plain disgusted.
ducks
Thanks, ducks!
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Fragments and Sorrows of Gary Shaw
One man dead, only one book, but one royal controversy still alive decades
later?
Reader Suggestion
Fudge Recipe
Marty,
Now that somewhere between five and ten million people all over the
world are using my granola recipe, thanks to its appearance on
Bartcop Entertainment, I thought I should make sure that they don't
get too glowingly healthy by sharing a somewhat less healthy recipe:
Fudge Recipe
We saw
Atonement and hated it. I put up a nasty review on my blog,
David Dvorkin
Blog
Thanks, David!
Marty's New Computer Fund Update
Donations
There have been 17 donations for a total of $720.
Thanks!
(If you're more comfortable with snail mail, please drop me a note)
Reader Suggestion
Tolerance
Marty - Check this out:
When does tolerance of other people's religious views become intolerable?
Does it happen when "tolerance" demands rejecting science and teaching children a creation myth, instead?
Does it happen when a reclusive polygamous religious cult sanctifies child sexual abuse?
Or when Harvard bans men from a campus gym because a few Muslim women felt uncomfortable with coed workouts?
Girls-only gym time will get the right wing's attention because (1) it involves a noted liberal-leaning university; and (2) it can be spun to look like special favors for women, something the good old boys hate worse than a stale cigar.
This is good, though, because it's time the right wing noticed what kowtowing to religion does to individual liberty.
The idea that religion is under attack and in need of accommodation was planted by right-wing politicians and nurtured by their media co-conspirators. After all, is there anything wrong with this country that can't be fixed with Christmas nativity scenes, prayer in school and a plaque in every courtroom listing the Ten Commandments?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Very sunny wtih summertime temperatures.
She's A Minister, Too
Kathy Griffin
She has been a sitcom character, a sometime talk show host and the centerpiece of her own reality show. Now Kathy Griffin has appeared in an unlikely new role -- minister.
The often provocative comedian -- who raised some Christian groups' hackles by joking about Jesus while accepting an Emmy Award last September -- became ordained through an online church to officiate Saturday at the New York wedding of two fans, Brian Anstey and Elka Shapiro.
"The request came in, and how could I say no?" Griffin, 47, told the Daily News. "I love that this couple just want to have fun. They're my kind of people."
Anstey, 31, is a fifth-grade teacher; Shapiro, 29, is a marketing director. Neither is affiliated with a religion, and "the major factor in our relationship is laughter," Shapiro said.
Kathy Griffin
Top U.S. "Mental Athlete"
Chester Santos
A 31-year-old software engineer recalled the correct order of an entire deck of playing cards in 2 minutes and 27 seconds on Saturday to take the title of having the best memory in the United States.
Chester Santos of San Francisco beat two other finalists to win the USA Memory Championships in New York that saw dozens of "mental athletes" over age 12 battle through seven rounds of competition in a Manhattan auditorium.
"I'm in a good mood," Santos told Reuters after his win, in which he correctly recalled the 10 of diamonds to qualify for the World Memory Championships scheduled to take place later this year in Bahrain.
Chester Santos
Actress Banned In China
Tang Wei
"Lust, Caution" star Tang Wei has been banned in the Chinese media because of the sexual nature of her performance in director Ang Lee's steamy drama, according to local press reports.
An internal memo from China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) was reportedly sent to all television stations and print media in China on Thursday night, stating that a new television commercial starring Tang for skin care brand Pond's was to cease broadcast immediately. All print ads and feature content using the actress also were to be pulled. The memo gave no reason for the ban.
In addition, all awards shows in China were advised to exclude Tang and the producers of "Lust, Caution" from their list of guests, while discussions about the film and Tang on online forums were deleted, Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily reported Friday.
Tang Wei
Puts Putin On The Spot
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel put President Vladimir Putin on the spot on Saturday, asking if the former KGB spy had cooked breakfast for his wife Lyudmila to celebrate International Women's Day.
Putin smiled awkwardly before taking a deep breath: "I prepared her present and we will have breakfast together."
"Then breakfast means lunch?" Merkel quipped back at a meeting that took place after midday at the Novo-Ogaryovo presidential residence outside Moscow.
Women's Day is a serious celebration in Russia, where men are expected to give flowers to their female partners and colleagues and do the house work at home.
Angela Merkel
Lookalike Takes Real Madrid For A Ride
Nicolas Cage
A prankster pretending to be Oscar-winning American actor Nicolas Cage fooled Real Madrid into thinking he was the real thing and enjoyed red carpet treatment at this week's Champions League match against AS Roma.
The lookalike, Italian television presenter Paolo Calabresi, watched Wednesday's game from the directors' viewing area at the Bernabeu and was taken into the team dressing room afterwards, Spanish sports daily Marca reported on Saturday.
Calabresi organised the stunt by using the name of an agency in the United States that had recently arranged a similar meeting at the Bernabeu for another actor, Sylvester Stallone.
Nicolas Cage
Revived With New Site
The WB
The WB is springing back to life.
Warner Bros. Television Group plans to resurrect the network in the form of a new Web site, whose working title is wb.com.
Users will be able to catch free streaming episodes of all WB-produced series that aired on the network during its 1995-2006 run, including "Gilmore Girls," "Everwood" and "What I Like About You."
It was not immediately known whether WB shows produced by outside studios -- among them, "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," "Felicity" and "Dawson's Creek" -- would be featured, or whether current Warner Bros. series airing on WB's successor The CW, such as "Gossip Girl," would appear on the site.
The WB
Singing Chimp
Gridiron Club
U.S. resident George W. Bush donned a cowboy hat and sang an early goodbye to Washington on Saturday night with a performance that lampooned White House journalists and Vice President Dick "go Fuck Yourself" Cheney among others.
To the tune of country song "Green Green Grass of Home", Bush sang of longing for his ranch in Crawford, Texas and his dog Barney.
"And there to meet me is my mama and my papa, down the lane I look and here comes Barney, heart of gold and breath like honey; it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."
"For there's Condi and Dick, my old compadre, talking to me about some oil rich Saudi, but soon I'll touch the brown brown grass of home."
"That old White house is behind me, I am once again carefree, don't have to worry 'bout a crisis in Pyongyang. Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling with documents he'd been withholding, it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."
Gridiron Club
TV Trend
Real Estate
Real estate may have cooled considerably as an investment, but not real estate television.
House flipping and home renovation programs are still big hits on cable. While "for sale" signs sprout on lawns across the country, TV programmers are like developers who plow ahead with new housing projects anyway.
A new season of the A&E Network's "Flip This House" - one of a troika with TLC's "Flip That House" and Bravo's "Flipping Out" - premieres Saturday night.
HGTV had its highest prime-time ratings ever in January. Nine of its top 10 series deal with the housing market, including "House Hunters," "My First Place," "Hidden Potential," "Buy Me" and "Design to Sell." The network did a special Feb. 29 theme day of "taking the big leap," or investing in that first house.
Real Estate
How War Profiteers Support The Troops
KBR
Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick "Go Fuck Yourself" Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says.
A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.
The Defense Department's inspector general's report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.
The problems did not extend to troops' drinking water, but rather to water used for washing, bathing, shaving and cleaning. Water used for hygiene and laundry must meet minimum safety standards under military regulations because of the potential for harmful exposure through the eyes, nose, mouth, cuts and wounds.
KBR
$12B Per Month
Iraq
The flow of blood may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.
Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion - or more - by 2017.
Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line, they say.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has done its own projections and comes in lower, forecasting a cumulative cost by 2017 of $1.2 trillion to $1.7 trillion for the two wars, with Iraq generally accounting for three-quarters of the costs.
Iraq
Weekend Box Office
'10,000 B.C.'
Movie-goers went hunting for their inner caveman as they sat in the dark for the prehistoric adventure "10,000 B.C.," which led the weekend box office with $35.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Opening in second place was Disney's Martin Lawrence comedy "College Road Trip," which pulled in $14 million. Lawrence stars as an overprotective dad who tags along with his daughter (Raven-Symone) on her girls-only trek to choose a college.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "10,000 B.C.," $35.7 million.
2. "College Road Trip," $14 million.
3. "Vantage Point," $7.5 million.
4. "Semi-Pro," $5.8 million.
5. "The Bank Job," $5.7 million.
6. "The Spiderwick Chronicles," $4.8 million.
7. "The Other Boleyn Girl," $4 million.
8. "Jumper," $3.8 million.
9. "Step Up 2 the Streets," $3 million.
10. "Fool's Gold," $2.8 million.
'10,000 B.C.'
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