February 28, 2003

Republicans do what they do best - sneak tax breaks for special interests

As per the Republican trend of placing riders on Military Bills, the Washington Post reports that On Military Bill, Add-Ons Add Up
In a little-noticed House Ways and Means Committee session yesterday, Republican lawmakers packed a military bill with tax breaks for makers of bows and arrows, foreigners who bet on U.S. horse races and other special interests.

The four-hour session turned an innocuous measure providing tax relief for U.S. troops into a magnet for House members' pet provisions. Democrats loudly protested, and at least one prominent Republican asked his colleagues to refrain from inflating the bill's cost.
In a bill which started out as tax relief for men and women in active serve [an admirable cause], the following was inserted: Again, we ask the question, "Do they think we are all stupid?" Articles like this make us very sad for our representative democracy, because our representatives - on both sides of the aisle - seem to enjoy in the sport of skirting ethical guidelines. Similarly what gets us very mad is when the title of the bill is either indecipherable or is deliberately misleading.

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Muschamp reviews - badly - the Diller+Scofido exhibition

Our favorite architectural critic, Herbert Muschamp praises his friends Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio at the Diller + Scofidio retrospective at the Whitney. Sometimes I do not know where the crap Muschamp is coming from. Case in point in the very first paragraph:

But intelligent visitors will have to pick their way through a few unwelcome booby traps: curatorial winks and nods designed to dumb things down for the chimerical unsophisticates to whom far too many museum shows today are needlessly pitched.

What does this mean? Does Muschamp state that only himself and a small cadre of learned scholars can appreciate architecture, and by extension, the art world and life itself? Why broadening a topic for others outside our small incestuous group a bad idea, and any attempt to include those outside result in a show, which "dumb things down for the chimerical unsophisticates?" What elitist drivel. Muschamp should know better that subjects, and in this case art shows, can be read in multiple layers and texts? Architects are already seen as an elite group that is out of touch with the "common man." Why add fuel to the fire? Diller + Scofidio have produced some very intriguing and challenging work in the last few years, work that acts to broaden architecture and bring back the tenuous connection with art and the ephemeral and temporal. I wish you would restrict your critique to the show's content, and be less concerned with signage, the "didactic wall texts" which obviously you fine disdainful and are just now recovering from temporary blindness, and the fact the there might be common plebes in the audience trying to appreciate a profession that is so rich and rewarding that we participate in.

Please check your elitism at the door Mr. Muschamp, and let the common man into the room - if they can get around your ego.

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U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation

John Brady Kiesling, a career diplomat stationed in Greece resigns his position due to current administrations world-view. [NYTIMES - fre reg. req'd]
The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security.

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Venezuela losing time - literally

Venezuela losing time - literally - Clocks lose 150 seconds a day due to power shortage.

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February 27, 2003

The Houses at Sagaponac

super models in archipornPhotos from Hodgetts+Fung Design Associates

Architecture Trading Cards being collected at the Architecture Zoo - otherwise known as "The Houses at Sagaponac".

Check out the Hodgetts+Fung design with the gratuitous use of super models (example above) in the renderings. Check out the slide show for more photoshopped models.

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February 26, 2003

February 25, 2003

February 24, 2003

Side Bar Blues

You might have noticed a small change here at the grubbykid, attentive reader - a small change that will add countless links to your day. We have added an errata section to the side bar below our fancy navigation scheme. We were so impressed by jason's side bar, and the fact that we could post one liner's to it without disrupting the flow of the main area, that we decided to borrow the idea.

It is a good idea - we do not think jason came up with it himself, but he probably did [he's so smart]. SO there you have it - more crap for you all to wade through.

Enjoy

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February 23, 2003

February 22, 2003

Where have you been for 2 weeks?

disney_104-0465_IMG.jpg - disney world

Continue reading "Where have you been for 2 weeks?"

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February 10, 2003

Praise for obstructing 1st Amendment Rights

NY Sun praises Bloomburg and obstruction to the 1st Amendment
Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly are doing the people of New York and the people of Iraq a great service by delaying and obstructing the anti-war protest planned for February 15. The longer they delay in granting the protesters a permit, the less time the organizers have to get their turnout organized, and the smaller the crowd is likely to be. And we wouldn't want to overstate the matter, but, at some level, the smaller the crowd, the more likely that President Bush will proceed with his plans to liberate Iraq.

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Ashcroft Porn Destroyed

Box of porn had to be destroyed by the bomb squad

Strange days.

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Dude, your getting a misdemeanor

Dell Dude Busted for Pot
Benjamin Curtis, AKA Stoner Steve [new to me], was arrested in Lower Manhattan for criminal possession of marijuana.

Because we can all laugh at the Dell Dude, now.

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February 9, 2003

Bush Administration wants secret arrests

DOMESTIC SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2003 [or PATRIOT Act II] which would permit some dasterdly activites: And those changes are the beginning. I am still reading the whole act - there are a lot of changes, which amounts to strengthening the ability for law enforcement to act covertly against non-U.S. Citizens and U.S. Citizens. This act would allow for secret arrests and the suspension of council.

And we thought the terrorists hadn't won.

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February 7, 2003

Happy birthday to me...

So not to toot our own horn, but.

This is our party and we'll celebrate if we want to.

Happy Birthday Grubbykid!

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February 6, 2003

Sad student sues school

Cry Me a River - Student sues to get A+, not A

We want to go on record that there should never be an A+, because A+ is perfection incarnite. No one ever, unless you believe in the Big JC [Jesus, that is], is perfect at anything. Not to mention this star pupil, that is beyond academic reproach, worked at his mothers office. A+ right. Our mothers say we are the best looking and the smartest too, you know. It isn't like a mother is the most objective person on the face of the Earth. The thing is, we see this more and more with the younger generations entering schools: the drive for grades as the end all be all. Grades are an indication of progress, but they should not be an all consuming objective. If you get a "C" here and there, but you learned, then that quarter is a successful one. Of course we are talking design studios here, because we realize that in some cases, there is a right and wrong answer. The grade obsessed students entering college should get a strong surprise - but often they don't. Not everyone does "A" material, all of the time, and no one is learning. Those in years below us seem to have an entitlement problem with grades and being force-fed answers. Hopefully six years of design school will beat that out of them quickly.

via Bsqwared

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Rep. Howard Coble Approves of WWII Japanese Internment Camps

Repbublicans cannot keep the bigots out
He said, among other things, ''We were at war. They (Japanese-Americans) were an endangered species. For many of these Japanese-Americans, it wasn't safe for them to be on the street.''

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Applying US policy to neighborhood disputes

I'm losing patience with my neighbours, Mr Bush by Terry Jones puts current events in perspective.
And let's face it, Mr Bush's carefully thought-out policy towards Iraq is the only way to bring about international peace and security. The one certain way to stop Muslim fundamentalist suicide bombers targeting the US or the UK is to bomb a few Muslim countries that have never threatened us.

That's why I want to blow up Mr Johnson's garage and kill his wife and children. Strike first! That'll teach him a lesson. Then he'll leave us in peace and stop peering at me in that totally unacceptable way.

Mr Bush makes it clear that all he needs to know before bombing Iraq is that Saddam is a really nasty man and that he has weapons of mass destruction - even if no one can find them. I'm certain I've just as much justification for killing Mr Johnson's wife and children as Mr Bush has for bombing Iraq.

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Human Hiccup Hypothesis

Tadpoles take blame for human hiccups

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February 5, 2003

Bill and Free Speech

Our favorite talking head Bill O'Reilly likes to shout out his guests. Check out this transcript of the 2003.02.04 interview with Jeremy Glick, whose father died during the September Eleventh Attack.

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Powell briefing: Key points

So as to be a better-informed citizen, we sat down and watched the 90-or so minutes of Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the United Nations Security Council. There was no smoking gun - not that we were expecting one. We were not convinced that Iraq suddenly has become a country that needs to be dealt with in a sudden manner, with military force. Rather, we think that Secretary of State Powell's speech, and content, are very much in the eye of the beholder. Fox News believes it is an open and shut case, as well as my colleagues who want war. We still do not see any conclusive threat from Iraq that would necessitate sending our servicemen and women into harm's way. As of February 20, there will be over 170,000 US troops in the region, meaning that this administration is going to force the world's hand, one way or another. It boggles the mind that Iraq is a greater threat than North Korea, who have admitted that they are building nuclear weapons.

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Presidential Debt

Graphical Analysis of US Deficit through the last 8 Presidents

Hint: Current President Bush is leading the nation into the deepest debt

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5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Goodbye, Columbia

Please read 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Goodbye, Columbia written in April 1980 Washington Monthly, which is getting a lot of attention.

This paragraph made me stop:
The external fuel tank, for instance, is full of oxygen and hydrogen cooled to -400°F. to make the gases flow as liquids. Ice will form on the tank. When Columbia's tiles started popping off in a stiff breeze, it occurred to engineers that ice chunks from the tank would crash into the tiles during the sonic chaos of launch: Goodbye, Columbia. So insulation was added to the tank. But while thermal cladding solves the ice problem, it adds weight. The entire vehicle, loaded, weighs 4.5 million pounds. Say you add one percent. Doesn't sound like much. One percent comes to 45,000 pounds. That's almost all of the payload.

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February 1, 2003

CamWhores Visit Studio

On a lighter note, Dean is now a CamWhore.

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Space Shuttle Columbia loses contact - all hands feared lost

Columbia shuttle breaks up over Texas

MeFi Thread

C-SPAN Coverage

UPDATES - 20030201
NASA Updates Columbia's (OV-102) Data Page
Radar Pic of Texas - Red streak is purportedley the debris trail - Local Mirror
Animation of NOAA Radar Image Showing Columbia Deorbit [.mov] gladly mirrored from S@L.

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