Arrested Development to return?

Apparently Showtime is going to pick up Arrested Development after its cancellation by Fox. Not only that, but Showtime reportedly wants 26 new episodes.

It's the annual WFMU marathon

Most of radio today is dominated by huge corporate entities playing the same lame music day in and day out. If you enjoy repetitive tripe interspersed with cell phone commercials and programmed by The Man, then read no further. Otherwise, if you can afford to help support the greatest freeform radio station in the world, then do what you can. WFMU is a commercial-free, listener-supported, non-public radio station broadcasting both in the Jersey City/Manhattan area and online. It's easy to donate via credit card or PayPal. Donations are tax deductable, and come with some cool prizes but most importantly the knowledge that you are helping keep real radio alive. Donate via the following form or visit the WFMU site.

Bush approval 34%; Cheney approval 18%

This is an all time low for Bush. Cheney continues to be only slightly more popular than drinking bleach. A new CBS News poll came up with the numbers. So just who is it who still likes these guys? Who honestly believes they are doing a good job for the country and have our best interests and not those of their cronies and big campaign contributers in mind? This could be the best evidence yet that the likes of Rove, DeLay and Diebold and not the American public put these criminals in office. How low will their approval go when the U.S. casualty count in Iraq hits 3,000 or when the Libby trial begins or when the next impeachable-offense-for-anybody-but-Bush scandal surfaces? If the mouthpieces of the administration are to be believed, then the 66% majority of Americans who don't approve of Bush are just defeatists who hate America. Does that sound like a democracy?

Hummer gets turned down by musicians with a conscience

Although General Motors has dangled dollar signs in the faces of many indy rock bands for the use of songs, most have turned down lucrative offers because they don't want their music associated with one of the most vile, irresponsible, pollution-spewing products ever put on the market.

New Stella photos

Our little girl continues to try new things and embark on new adventures. See the new featured Stella movie too.

McCloud rides into the sunset

These things seem to occur in sets of three, so the third classic TV star to die in the last few days is Dennis Weaver who died on Friday at 81.

So long to Barney Fife and The Old Man

Don Knotts died at 81 on Friday and Darrin McGavin died at 83 on Saturday. Both classic character actors will live in television reruns forever.

Four new Hazel photos

It seems a new Daddy is learning how easy it is to take a lot of photos of a cute little baby. Don't worry, Chris. You're not as bad as me. Yet.

San Francisco to convert dog waste into energy

If any city in the nation is capable of really making this happen, it is the city by the bay. It is an intriguing idea to use bio-waste to produce energy, but it seems that if successful, this idea could be expanded to include a lot more biodegradable material.

The Late Show understands the deal with Deadeye Dick

As excerpted from The Wahoo Gazette:

A MESSAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: The White House was annoyed to learn that the mainstream media will devote another week to coverage of Vice President Cheney's hunting accident. They are desperate to get this story off the front pages, but Dave is not sure about the strategy. We see the announcement.
Announcement:

"We here at the White House are anxious to move beyond the Vice President's unfortunate hunting accident. That is why we encourage the press to report the other important issues the American people need to know about, such as:
-Vice President Cheney illegally leaking the name of a CIA operative
-His stonewalling of Federal prosecutors
-His shady Halliburton dealings
-His sweetheart tax giveaways to fat-cat contributors
-His call for expanded drilling to benefit his oil buddies
-His efforts to block campaign finance reform
-His being in the pocket of big business
-His allowing of lobbyists to author energy legislation
-His secretly-crafted health care proposals which benefited pharmaceutical companies
-His manipulation of intelligence which led us to an unnecessary war
Dick Cheney: Just a big bowl of bad.

Probably no one could have summed it up any better.

Scotty and Gordo share a capsule into space

Gordon Cooper, a Mercury astronaut, and James Doohan, the world's most famous chief engineer, are embarking on a journey to the final frontier along with the ashes of 185 others.

874 miles in 9 months of walking without clothes

In Britain a man named Stephen Gough, who has been dubbed the Naked Rambler, and his girlfriend, Melanie Roberts finished their adventure, walking from Land's End to John O'Groats. A lot of people have made this journey, but this particular couple left their clothes at home. Trouble with the law along the way increased significantly the time required to get to their goal, but they finally made it.

Last call for Curt Gowdy

The multi-sport announcer and one of the most famous people to emerge from Wyoming, Curt Gowdy was a legend in broadcasting with a long list of honors and accomplishments. Curiously, he was the only living person to my knowledge to have a state park named after him. I have no idea as to why that came about. Gowdy died of leukemia on Monday. Thanks to Herr Brian for the tip.

Stella laughing

Watch as our little girl catches a case of the giggles. One of her favorite things to do recently is to laugh.

Three new Hazel pics

From deep in the snow zone are some fresh new pics of Hazel. Plus as a bonus, here's a link to a video clip. Take note, it's big (18.4MB), so either patience or a high-speed connection is a must.

Hazel photos are here Chris braved a blizzard on the Wisconsin tundra to get to a place to send these photos, just so we could have a look. It's obvious Hazel is a cute little girl. From Chris: "Both Jen and Hazel are healthy and happy. Hazel's pretty smart to have chosen yesterday, and not today. It started snowing when we left the birth center yesterday evening, and today started with thunder, lightning, and heavy snowfall. We currently have about 10 ins., and the truly bad weather is supposed to START in a couple hours--tomorrow's forecast high is 11*F."

Some Hazel info... After everyone returned home, we spoke briefly with Chris who sounded a bit tired, but excited. He relayed the info that Hazel weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 19 inches in length. They all continue to do well and are getting acquainted with each other and catching up on sleep. Chris said that he would hopefully send photos of Hazel soon, so when I receive them, I'll put them up. Apparently it's quite a snowy day in Madison, so it may be a while before he is able to have email access to send the photos. It's been a long day for the new family and all of us congratulate them and wish them well. ...and some new Stella photos Stella says hello to her new cousin Hazel with some photos to introduce her to life on the outside. It's a new role for Stella to be the big girl and she's eager to share what she has learned of the world so far.

Hello Hazel!

Preliminary reports indicate that Hazel Luna Duvall made her debut appearance at 1:35PM in Madison. Everyone is doing well. I'm certain that more info will soon follow, and I will post it when I receive it. Congratulations, Jen and Chris!

P.S. Until we have more info, here's a list of famous people who share Hazel's birthday. Or check here or here or here or here for other things that occured on February 15th in history.

Terrific machine art of Boris Artzybasheff

An incredibly talented illustrator, Artzybasheff creates anthropomorphic creatures based on tools and machines. The drawings were produced in the middle of the 20th century and reflect the intense and prolific industrialization of the time. One of my favorites is The Rod Mill.

LED graffiti

A fun diminutive invention on the Make website is "LED throwies" which are single small LED lights. These neat little items have a lot of potential for anyone of a creative sort. Here's how to build your own.

Anagram Tube

A map of the London Underground system with the names of the stops rearranged into anagrams.

But who finished last?

Often those at the bottom of the rankings in olympic events are never mentioned and lost in obscurity. If you want to find out how far back the your favorite Kyrgyz or Jamaiican athlete finished, you may find it here.

Interview with John Perkins

The author of “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” is interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! Mr. Perkins details his role and the general strategies of creating a "global empire" for corporate exploitation of the world's poor and middle classes. Truly alarming and absolutely believable.

Hair-trigger Dick's victim has a heart attack

It's not likely that Harry Whittington will receive any more sympathy from Dick because of the heart attack he suffered exacerbated by a shotgun pellet that penetrated his heart. After all, what's a heart attack to Cheney. He probably has a half dozen on any given day. Interesting to note is how the standard Bush/Cheney instinct to cover up any controversy is in overdrive today, even working to cover up the release of the information that Whittington suffered said heart attack. To top it off, Bush is cracking down on whistleblowers who threaten to shine daylight on his untold nefarious secret programs.

The Song Tapper

An ingenious site that will help you figure out that song that is stuck in your head. It's really astonishing how accurate it is, just taking the input of your finger tapping the space bar on your keyboard. Go ahead and give it a try.

More prominent Republicans should go hunting with Cheney

So the vile, sneering, shadow leader of the country shot a wealthy geriatric hunting pal. Big deal. Shooting a crony who probably deserved much worse is the very least of the crimes he has committed. Too bad he wasn't with a larger group. Just think how much better the country would be if he went "hunting" with some of his other pals like Rumsfeld or Frist or O'Reilly or Pat Roberts. Maybe all prominent figures on the radical right could be invited to a big hunting party, where they gather in a circle armed with shotguns and a covey of quail is released in the center. Did anyone notice how convenient it was that Cheney's personal medical staff was nearby to attend to the victim's wounds? Harry Whittington should feel quite fortunate of the benefits made available to him by having been shot by Cheney. Not everyone has a travelling medical staff equipped and ready to tend to any need and a helicopter for evacuation. Imagine how the story might have turned out differently if Cheney was more like the 40+ million Americans who have no health insurance at all. Next time, it may be more sporting if Cheney went hunting with some of the people in the military, the same military of which he was so eager to secure five deferments to avoid joining. The same military that he now "supports" who he has been manipulating and exploiting for his own venal political gains for the past several years. I bet they would shoot back.

Arrested Development takes a final bow

Tonight could be the final night of one of the best series on American television in recent years, the complex situation comedy Arrested Development. Apparently the final two programs will air on the Fox network, better known for its insipid so-called reality shows, not to mention the sham "news" programming that has been a willing mouthpiece in helping the Bush administration bring our civilization to its knees. In order to sneak the demise of this show out the door, Fox has pitted tonight's broadcast up against the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics. The cancellation of this program is great news for the moronic followers of such tripe as American Idol. Now there's even more broadcast time available for cheesy pop-ballad spewing hacks. Enjoy!

Another Poster for Peace

A site featuring posters made by artists donating their talent to the anti-war campaign. Download files for free and print them for yourself.

The falling sand game

An aptly descriptive title for a strangely addictive online thing, I'm not sure it can be called a game. You see, you just use some simple tools to manipulate falling sand and other substances to affect their behavior. Oh, that and the Namekuji, but I'll let you figure that out for yourself.

Zombie roaches

A type of parasitic wasp turns a roach into zombies by laying eggs in a roach's brain. Speaking from past experience with roaches, this is an act of justice.

Heat from burning corn

Alternative fuels are always of interest to me, and the possibility of burning corn as a heating fuel is no exception. It's remarkable how efficiently is can be used as a fuel and how simple it seems to install a corn burning stove.

Dave Chappelle

It's been far too long since last we heard from Dave Chappelle. He finally surfaced and appeared on of all things, Oprah. No, I didn't see the show, but I read about it in this article.

Built to last

These houses have been designed to withstand some of the worst weather conditions on earth. Not surprisingly they have many similarities to designs by 20th century visionary R. Buckminster Fuller. Building codes should be updated in all area, not just those in hurricane zones. Imagine the energy savings the country would experience if all homes could generate power on their own.

Richard Sachs project

Watch though a series of photos as master framebuilder Richard Sachs builds a superbly crafted lugged steel road bike frame, step by step.

Who cares about the First Amendment?

It seems that five years of Bush have had the Republican's desired effect on the country's youth already. Many high school students are ignorant or apathetic of the protection of free speech. An unthinking populace unconcerned with basic rights and easily distracted is simple to control. Welcome to 1984.

Charges against Sheehan are dropped

Not a big surprise, considering the Capitol Police had no grounds for having arrested her in the first place, but charges against Cindy Sheehan have been dropped. She was arrested Tuesday, just before the State of the Union speech. If this is not a prime case against the use of unjustifiable force and supression of the first amendment right of free speech, it's impossible to say what is. Her arrest in the first place is more of a statement of the state of our union than anything Bush may have said.

It would be difficult to have this problem

Apparently it is so much of a task for the Internal Revenue Service to figure taxes for Bill Gates, that they have a dedicated computer just for him. I suppose being the world's richest man does have its drawbacks. Even so, it's probably a better gig than being the world's poorest man.

Happy Groundhog Day!

It seems as though after seeing his shadow on Gobbler's Nob, Punxsutawney Phil predicts another six weeks of winter. It's a good thing the calendar agrees with him.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff put pressure on the real enemy: Cartoonists

It seems as though the people running the military, who are now involved in multiple wars with the lives of millions of people at stake have nothing better to do than to intimidate a cartoonist. See the offending illustration here, and read the letter from the Joint Chiefs.

Bill Gates and censorship

I don't frequently find something in common with the leader of Microsoft, but his position that no government will be able to completely suppress free ideas on the internet seems tenable. Gone are the days of rock solid traditional reporting. Many people search for information on their own, through blogs and other sources outside of the main stream. In fact many of the traditional news sources available in this country and around the world have been repeatedly discredited for being mouthpieces for those in power and are no longer trustworthy.

New Stella photos

Our favorite little star is back for another appearance.

Biodiesel info

For those of you with a biodiesel TDI Golf on your wish list, or a curiousity to learn more about alternative fuel transportation, here is some useful info.

Cindy Sheehan arrested at the State of the Union

Apparently she was arrested for the crime of wearing a t-shirt which happens to be questioning of the administration. It reportedly said, "2,245 Dead — How Many More??" The Bill of Rights is a thing of the past. After the completion of the radical right's takeover of all three branches of government today, are you enjoying our glorious police state yet?

Blackspot anticorporate shoes

What happens when Adbusters, the venerable ragers against the machine decide to sell something? The answer is some of the most socially and environmentally responsible shoes available. They not only look cool in a very non-blatant way, they are constructed of reused/renewable materials. Take a look for yourself.

Things are different at home

For the young soldier who appeared exhausted and encrusted with the filth of battle in a much published photo over a year ago, life back in the U.S. will never be the same.