LATEST ADDITIONS

To those who say the Bush Administration hasn't added anything meaningful to American society I say pshaw. He and Cheney have turned lying into an artform. Not lying exactly but a finer, more refined version of not telling the truth. It's still completely self-serving and wrong but now, if you have little or no education and/or sense of any kind, and you’re easily scared, these pronouncements sound vaguely plausible. It's all about the spin. The truth, in that view, is now relative. Everything is shaded and prismatic. Move several steps to the left and everything seems to look different. Looks like the truth. Sounds like the truth. There's a victory to be had in Iraq! Is it any wonder that we've become a more polarized society under the great decider.

"Prescription Diet I/D made me big and strong," sez Huckleberry, who demanded to be paid in kibble.

"My integrity is not for sale,"says Bagheera.

<I>The Guardian</I> shows us where the magic happens.

Last week, my wonderful coworkers completely surprised me with a delicious birthday cake.

Speaking Southern is a complex thing&mdash;and it's a growing trend.

I can't stop playing "Umo" by OOIOO. El Jeffie Wong thinks it reminiscent of the Slits. I'm not sure I hear that, but then I was never a fan. Until I saw their album cover, I thought they were named after a cheap beer.
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At least according to <I>Cond&#233; Nast Traveler</I>'s 45-judge panel, that is. It's a great list, including some usual suspects (Twain, Newby, Markham, Bowles, and Chatwin), as well as some enticing reads I have yet to assay (Peter Fleming, Rosemary Mahoney, and lija Trojanow, are on the "right now" list). There's altogether too much Theroux for my taste&mdash;my idea of hell would be traveling anywhere with that misanthropic hair-shirt of a man.

"The question as to who was a better singer, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson, may never truly be resolved. However, our analysis suggests that in terms of affecting efficient decision making among listeners, Brian Johnson was a better singer. Our analysis has direct implications for policy and organizational design: when policy makers or employers are engaging in negotiations (or setting up environments in which other parties will negotiate) and are interested in playing the music of AC/DC, they should
choose from the band’s Brian Johnson era discography."

Not a silly subject&mdash;even if chimpanzees do 'em.