« June 2005 | Home | August 2005 »
July 29, 2005
Do Your Worst
Best thing to hit Flickr since the last best thing to hit Flickr.
Posted by timothompson at 05:42 PM
July 26, 2005
What was the Relationship between Karl Rove and Jeff Gannon
"Is Bush Wired?" wonders if Jeff Gannon be the key to the Plame case: "How did James Dale Guckert, an auto body shop office manager and male escort in his mid-40s, who seems never to have written anything in all his life -- who was said never even to bring up politics in casual conversation -- arrive in Washington, and within a few months become an eloquent political writer/operative, channeling with exactitude Karl Rove's worldview, rhetoric, and interests (especially his desire to defeat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle)?"Posted by timothompson at 01:47 PM
July 21, 2005
Dog Clothing Dos and Don'ts
ChiWowWow's Elvis offers advice for fashion-challenged dog owners (dog trucker hats = OK).Posted by timothompson at 06:21 PM
July 20, 2005
Fred Hembeck Does Costume Switcheroos
Nothing short of hilarious.Posted by timothompson at 09:11 PM
The Most Comfortable Men's Underwear in the World
If the spam's going to be like this, keep it coming. Yeah, baby!
Posted by timothompson at 06:36 PM
July 19, 2005
Great Comment Threads
The Sneeze: In Response To Meat Boats
I Blame the Patriarchy: Buffing the Teen Beaver
Posted by timothompson at 12:47 PM
July 13, 2005
APD Report: Two Ways of Looking at the Situation
Exhibit One: Austin American-Statesman: Use of force by police dropped 10.5% in '04
Exhibit Two: Daily Texan: APD's Taser use up 27.7 percent in 2004
Elsewhere in the news:
- Birmingham mayor orders Taser use by police ended after 41-year-old man dies in cell after being tasered.
- Teen on drugs dies after Taser hits
- Dog dies after Taser shocks
- 2 Delray officers cleared of criminal wrongdoing in Taser death
Update: A Tucson paper reports on the second death following police taser use in a week.
Update: Nova Scotia man dies after police use batons, pepper spray and tasers to detain him.
Posted by timothompson at 10:37 PM
July 12, 2005
Tattoo Villachaize
Tattoo Makes a Speech (More from Shavar here.)
Posted by timothompson at 01:13 PM
New Willie Album
I doubt this will be appearing on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart (An MSNBC article confirms it: "Universal Music Group Nashville is substituting palm trees for the marijuana leaves on CDs sold at the retail chain Wal-Mart, a huge outlet for country music that's also sensitive about lyrics and packaging.").
Posted by timothompson at 12:21 PM
The Simon: What's Behind the London Attacks?
"Think about it. The attack only benefits empires desperate to maintain a foothold in the Middle East without further eroding public opinion. Will Parliament shrug their shoulders and push their soldiers into longer tours of duty because of this? Obviously it's too early to tell, but if that happens, insurgents and rebels will have lost more than they could have ever possibly gained in destroying part of the Underground."
Not plausible? Let's read this passage Ron Kraybill wrote in 2001 on the Mennonite site:
Two generations ago, revolutionaries throughout the world confronted a similar problem in their struggle against colonial powers. The answer, argued Che Guevera, icon of revolution in Latin America, is not direct conventional engagement with the enemy. Instead extremists must engage in surprise guerilla actions that outrage the enemy, and then disappear into the civilian population.
The enemy will be so angry that he will strike wherever he thinks the extremists are located, inflicting casualties on innocent civilians in the process. This will accomplish what the extremists themselves were unable to accomplish, for now the civilian populace will hate the enemy as well. Some will go in anger to join the extremists and the less courageous will quietly acquiesce. Voices of moderation will go silent. Instead of being on the margins of their own communities, extremists will be strengthened and catapulted into the mainstream, from where they can organize the next and bigger phase of battle.
Sound familiar?
Posted by timothompson at 11:37 AM
July 09, 2005
New School Finance Plan: Tax Breaks Only for The Wealthiest Texans
That's what the latest change to the tax plan by the Texas Legislature has in store for us:
Comparisons of House legislation that has cleared that chamber and Senate legislation scheduled for debate Sunday.
Sales tax
House: Raises state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 7.25 percent, expands it to car repairs, bottled water and computer programming.
Senate: Raises sales tax to 6.75 percent; expands it to some computer repairs; grants sales tax rebates to low-income Texans who use Lone Star Cards to buy food.
'Sin taxes'
House: Raises cigarette taxes $1 per pack. Senate: Raises cigarette taxes $1 per pack over several years; raises some alcohol taxes paid by businesses.
Business taxes
(This is the part of the bills Gov. Goodhair Perry is against.)
House: Forces about 10,000 more companies to pay franchise tax.
Senate: Forces about 10,000 more companies to pay corporate franchise tax. With voter approval, also lowers tax rate but requires that it cover at least 10 percent of a company's payroll.
School property taxes(for maintenance and operations)
House: Cuts maximum rate from $1.50 per $100 in assessed value to $1.23 this fall and $1.12 next year.
Senate: Cuts maximum rate to $1.30 this fall. With voter approval, drops to $1.11 next year.
What it means to you
How the tax proposals would affect the cost of various items
Widescreen plasma TV(List price of $2,999.99)
Now: $3,187.49(includes 6.25% state sales tax) Proposed: $3,202.49 under Senate plan (with 6.75% state sales tax); $3,217.49 under House plan (with 7.25% state sales tax)Pack of cigarettes
Now: $4 (includes 41-cent tax)
Proposed: $5 (with $1.41 tax)
School property tax bill*
(For home assessed at $200,000)
Now: $2,775
Proposed: $2,053.50 under Senate plan; $2,072 under House plan
*In districts that tax at maximum rate for maintenance and operations
Tax breaks for a few
The House plan will result in lower tax bills for only the highest-earning 20 percent of Texans, according an analysis by the Legislative Budget Board. No similar analysis has been done for the Senate proposal.
Family income range Change in total tax bill
Up to $13,415 4.36%
$13,415 to $22,833 3.74%
$22,833 to $31,735 3.84%
$31,735 to $41,463 3.65%
$41,463 to $51,750 3.42%
$51,750 to $64,325 2.98%
$64,325 to $79,271 2.11%
$79,271 to $100,593 1.32%
$100,593 to $140,853 -0.44%
More than $140,853 -2.38%
If the House version endorsed by Perry and Texas business lobbyists passes, Texas will have one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation.
Posted by timothompson at 03:30 PM
A Badly Dressed Death Rocker
Ian Svenonius of Weird War in OC Weekly:
OC Weekly: What do you say to some 18-year-old kid who votes Republican?
Ian Svenonius: That’s some kind of weird death trip—the same thing as kids cutting their arms. Kind of apocalyptic in a sense. You’re really explicitly saying you want the economy to crumble, you want car bombs to go off in American cities. It reminds me of the proletarian masses marching to their death in World War I. The death urge is really central to the human psyche. The Bush people are like death rockers in a way. Goth/death weirdoes, but with really bad dress sense.
Posted by timothompson at 12:57 PM
July 08, 2005
Favorite "Too Much Coffee Man"s
Exhibit 1: What's all this "meta" stuff I keep hearing about?
Exhibit 2: A flow chart on my love life.
This one's not too bad either.
Posted by timothompson at 04:39 PM
July 07, 2005
Deathray Davies
Nice Flash site for Dallas' Deathray Davies. Seems a little Wes Anderson influenced, as also evidenced by their video featuring bad lip synching by Anderson favorite Kumar [via].Posted by timothompson at 01:23 PM
New Joos Album Details: Berman to Tour?
From Billboard: "In fact, Berman is so pleased with the finished product that the notoriously stage-shy artist seems more likely than ever to support it with live shows at some point in 2006. Estimating that he's performed "about 12" times in his career, Berman acknowledges, "My attitude about performance is more mercenary now."
Related: The Dust Congress offers "Old New York" for download.
Update: Malkmus may join the tour, according to Fitted Sweats.
Posted by timothompson at 12:28 PM
July 06, 2005
Lance Armstrong Ruined My Gym
Neal Pollack writes on Slate about the conversion of my 24 Hour Fitness into a shrine to Lance Armstrong: "This is my body," (the quote from Armstrong on the gym wall says.) "And I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?"
Update: I guess even Lance liked Neal's article. Awesome.
Posted by timothompson at 12:05 AM