The Secret Origin of Rohypnol

(thanks to Barbara Raffaele)

fireworks on the beach

July

"July," we say, meaning the season's end
When summer lover turns to autumn loner --
The month when all the local bulls attend
The running of the tourists in Pamplona.

-- Matthew Wells, 7/13/07

Schrödinger’s Veep

Boy, am I jealous I didn't think of this first:

--from the Village Voice

You're All Going To Our Hell

In case you've been wondering where you're going to be spending eternity, the Führer Pope has decreed that if you ain't RC, you're SOL.

Based on a retcon of the Reformation that then-Cardinal Ratzinger produced for Crisis on Infinite Churches the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the document is the first step in the Vatican's three-part plan to protect its brand by patenting The Cross, marketing Salvation™, and copyrighting the word Church.

Code Words 101

May I draw your attention to the following passage in today’s New York Times article about former Surgeon General Richard Carmona’s charge that he was, in effect, the Spinmaster General for the Bush Adminstration when it came to public health:

Bill Hall, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said that the administration disagreed with Dr. Carmona’s statements. “It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound science,” Mr. Hall said.

What the Times neglects to inform its readers is that the term sound science is always employed by conservatives to describe research and statistics which support their anti-scientific political positions.

I don’t know about you, but to me, this kind of press-release parroting of government statements is a perfect example of “sound journalism.”

My Fair Homewrecker

It's official: Claire Danes is going to be playing Eliza Doolittle in the upcoming Roundabout revival of My Fair Lady, having stolen the part from Mary Louise Parker.

According to Las Vegas bookies, it's a probably 12 to 7 that she'll also steal co-star Jefferson Mays from his wife or dump Hugh Dancy for whoever plays Freddy Eynsford-Hill.

The first comic book I remember reading

Cover date October 1957, which means it probably came out in the summer sometime. Don't remember where it was purchased, but if it was summer, then I was in Ocean Bluff, Massachusetts, which means it was bought either at Bessie's General Store or Winship's (both of which, like my innocence, disappeared ages ago).

I still have a vivid memory of the 8-page cover story, in which Batman and Robin hopped from country to country chasing a villain who disguised himself by wearing the head of an alligator. I read it over and over again till the staples came out of the spine. At some point I let my 4-year-old brother Kevin borrow it and then yelled at him for bending the cover back, thus passing the one infallible test which separates the collector from the dilettante.

One of the joys of watching Italian toga movies . . .

. . . is seeing a credit like this:

--from the Colossus of Rhodes (1961), directed by Sergio Leone

Kill Da Wabbit

Released 6 July 1957. Everybody sing along now: