Old FURIOUS nads! by The One True b!X

A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.

…

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs–on the Hindenburg.”

- Editor & Publisher (Video)

It’s streaming Neil Young day.

Liverpool, UK (PRWEB) April 25, 2006 — In June this year, film goers plan worldwide theatrical screenings of the Universal Pictures flick ‘Serenity’, with proceeds going to Equality Now. 24 screenings are already being organized across 4 countries, with more being added daily. The move is a direct effort to help raise funds for Equality Now, one of writer/director Joss Whedon’s favorite charities.

- Serenity Now/Equality Now Press Release

STFU.

Once upon a time, this was sort of a joke phrase, the title here. Back then it generally was more specifically Usenet than the Internet as a whole, although it eventually did graduate to being the whole thing.

Problem today is that it’s not such a joke anymore.

Get reading, get up to speed. Congress is seriously looking at removing the principle and philosophy of net neutrality and letting the near-monopoly telcos give preferential treatment to the traffic of some online publishers over others.

Back when I lived in New York City, in the mid-90s, I spent much of my time at a place in Williamsburg called Oznot’s Dish. Although not named, it’s essentially where this piece take places.

I went back there a couple of years ago, when I was visiting New York for the first time in basically a decade. Oznot’s Dish was very different. Brighter, airier, more expensive, and less cluttered.

Here’s what I need from anyone out there who knew the old Oznot’s and might just happen to have one: I need a scan of one of Oznot’s original menus. Not what they became, and what they served later. But what their menu was back during the first couple of years after they opened.

Someone must have one.

So, in the past few days, I have gone from biting my tongue over the newly-arrived “Serenity Day” plan which “just happened” to pick the same day as the charity screenings proposal; to starting to make my position clear in non-confrontational arenas; to having a number of attention-influencers get my back; to a near flame-out over the whole thing erupting today.

I have gone from being irked and irritated to feeling sick to my stomach.

I absolutely, positively, guarantee everyone here that the press coverage come June 23 will now be “fans try to get more of what they are fans of” instead of what it would have been, which was “fans try to do for others.”

I pretty much feel like I’m going to vomit.

This entire time, as much of a challenge as it’s been to get people to pick up on the idea, and as frustrating as it’s been at times, I’ve enjoyed working on it. While wanting to see the movie on the big screen of course is self-interested, the point was to harness that self-interest to do good for other people.

Now, I have to spend every other moment fighting back the impression that this is just part of yet another instance of fans campaigning to get more of what they’re fans of.

The point of this was supposed to be pure, outward, and other-directed. It was supposed to be a joy to work on.

Now, it’s drudgery. A chore. I have to hold my nose every time I wade into helping someone answer their questions about the screenings. And it will only get worse once the press gets wind of June 23 efforts.

So, exactly why are we rewarding drivers with a full-length auto lane on the transit mall when too many of them don’t properly use the partial one they have now, choosing instead to drive in the bus lane(s) even where there is an auto lane?

Today’s Theo reports that neither EarthLink nor VeriLAN will file an appeal of the City’s decision to choose MetroFi for the “Unwire Portland” project, although both have sent letters.

“EarthLink warned the city that MetroFi’s free, advertising-supported model may prove unworkable,” says the article, “while VeriLAN complained that the city chose an out-of-state company instead of a homegrown one.”

Sounds familiar.

VeriLAN, it seems, says they won’t appeal because “you can’t stop someone from making a bad decision.” But the choice sentence in the article comes from the other losing competitor for the contract.

“EarthLink, which is a minority investor in MetroFi, declined to say why it didn’t appeal.”