We may be a bit cold here in NY this week, but look what we're missing back home.

Well, there's snow on the ground in Hyde Park, NY today. First I've seen in at least a couple of years. Absence supposedly makes the heart grow fonder, but not in the case of snow for me. Yeah, it's pretty, but it's also a cold, wet, slippery pain in the ass! Despite the snow, I'm having a great time here. We've been off to see my grandmother in the nursing home a couple of times. Since the last time I saw her about 6 months ago, she's lost quite a bit of sanity. She still has the same personality which is very sweet and cute, she just doesn't make a whole lot of sense anymore. It's funny to see her tell stories that go from English to Italian and back with sweeping hand gestures and great inflections, yet they don't make one bit of sense. She seems to be reliving her days as a teacher, talking about her students and saying that they all visit her all the time. I think she thinks that my stepfather is one of her students. I'm not entirely sure if she recognizes me as an adult, rather just remembering me as a baby. Anne and I gave her a talking picture frame with a picture of us in it and one of the nurses told us that she's been having conversations with it. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner at my sister's place. She lives in an apartment that was once my great grandparents' grocery store. When they turned it into an apartment, there was a drop ceiling and carpeting put in, but one time my brother in law was trying to wire something above the drop ceiling and found that above it were high cathedral ceilings with tin textures which they have since restored. They also pulled up the carpet to expose beautiful hardwood. They built a bar to helps separate the living room from the dining room. And they painted it a deep red wine color with a fresco look. It's really nice! We ate a delicious meal, opened presents, and then laughed our asses off watching some Ali G. Over the next few days, I'm going to try to show Anne some of the historic things that my hometown has to offer. I've driven her by many of the tourist attractions here, but we've never done any of the tours together, so we may be hitting the Vanderbilt Mansion, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Library (which would definitely have to include a stop to the wonderful brew pub across the street!), Valkill (Eleanor Roosevelt's home - yes, she had her own place), and other historic homes along the Hudson River. It's been quite a few years since I've been to any of these places myself, probably since high school. I wonder how they'll stack up to the big tourist attraction near Anne's hometown.

Well, tomorrow we are off to spend Christmas with my family in NY. It's the first Christmas in years that we're going to be there so I'm very excited. We've had some great holidays with Anne's family and they're a little bummed that we won't be there this year, but such is the bi-costal life. Needless to say, there probably won't be a whole lot of blogging going on around here. So to all my loyal readers, blogroll buddies, and even the random folks searching for prank calls with George Takei, various assorted things gone bad, and other things that I've mentioned off hand, Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, Joyous Kwanzaa, (sorry for my Jewish readers, Hanukkah has come and gone, so belated wishes for that) and a happy new year. The political smackdown will resume upon my return.

TRASHY!

More Zappa stuff on his birthday: Video from a 1986 appearance on Crossfire during the height of Tipper Gore's crusade against rock and roll. Frank tells some bozo from the Moonie Washington Times to kiss his ass. As relevant today as it was then! (via firebrand) Here's a picture of Frank with William Burroughs. Here's another interview with Frank on the subject of censorship (via Gern Blandston). The Classic Rock on Online Radio blog has a link to a 3 hour Zappa tribute from KFAI which will only be streaming until 12/27. Homefire Mother of the Day has a Zappa Quote of the Day for every day. Many more Zappa-related rumblings from the blogosphere can be found here (where I pulled all of these links from).

More music for you today. In honor of Frank Zappa's birthday, here's a sweet show from Cobo Hall, Detroit, 11/19/76. I miss you, Frank!

Mashup fun for today: Meet the Beastles! In case you couldn't guess, it's Beastie Boys/Beatles mashups. Not exactly a stretch since Paul's Boutique was swimming in Beatles samples, but these are quite different.

Got a PDA? Want to find something to read? Check This Out! This site has lots (826 as of this post) of books in a variety of formats that you can download to your handheld device and read on the go. I tried to start a site like this focussing on radical political texts, but it never really found its niche and I let the domain expire (though it's still up and gets a few hits every now and then), but this site has a much broader apeal. So today as I ride the bus to work, I'm going to do something I've been meaning to do for years... start reading Ulysses.

I've seen this linked on a bunch of blogs that I read and have wanted to check it out. I finally did today (thanks Sarcasmo) and it gave me quite a chuckle. Christmas Letters to Christopher Walken.

George W. Bush takes his rightful place next to Hitler, Stalin and the Ayatollah as he is named Time's Person of the Year. And in other news, what kind of parents would let their kids go to this???

Chewie, is that you?

Suprnova.org, the original and best site for finding stuff to download with bittorrent, has been closed down along with a host of others. Here's a good place to find links to sites where you can find torrents. For completely legal music downloads by band who allow and encourage recording and trading, check out Etree and easytree. You can also try the Pirate Bay (for everything), or BTEfnet (for TV episodes).

Never satisfied with just one URL, I've gotten a few other ways that you can get to my blog. My evil URL is now http://evilurl.com/deadTITTYBUTT (get your own evil URL). And here's my new Huge URL: http://hugeurl.com/?YTJjMzFhYzk5ZTRjMmJhNTBkNWQwZWI4NzkwMmM2YTYmMTEm Vm0wd2QyUXlWa2hWV0doVVYwZG9jRlZ0TVZOW FZsbDNXa1JTVjFac2JETlhhMk0xVjBaS2MySk VUbGhoTVhCUVZteFZlRll5VGtsalJtaG9UV3N 3ZUZadGNFdFRNVTVJVm10a1dHSkdjSEJXTUZw SFRURmFjVkZ0UmxSTmF6RTFWVEowVjFaWFNrb FJiR2hYWWxob00xWldXbUZrUlRGWlkwZDRVMk pIZHpGV2EyUXdZVEZrU0ZOclpHcFRSVXBZVkZ Wa1UyUnNjRmRYYlVacVlrWmFlVmRyV25kV01E RkZVbFJDVjAxdVVuWlZha1pYWkVaT2NtSkdTb WxXUjNoWFZtMHdlR0l4U2tkaVNFWlRZbGhTV1 ZWcVJrdFRWbFowWlVoa1YwMUVSa1pXYkdoclZ qSkZlVlZZWkZkaGExcFhXbFphVDJOdFJraGhS azVzWWxob1dGWnRNSGhPUm14V1RVaG9XR0pIV WxsWmJHaFRWMFpTVjFkdFJteFdia0pIVmpJeE 1GWlhTa2RqUkVaV1ZqTm9lbFpxU2tkamJVVjZ ZVVprYUdFelFrbFdWM0JIVkRKU1YxWnVVbWhT YXpWd1ZtcEtiMkl4V1hoYVJFSm9UVlpXTlZaW E5VOVhSMHBJVld4c1dtSkhhRlJaTVZwelkyeH dSVkZyT1dsU00yaFlWbXBLTkZReFdsaFRiRnB xVWxkU1lWUlZXbUZsYkZweFUydGFiRlpzU2xw WlZWcGhZVWRGZUdOR2FGaGlSbkJvVmtSS1QyU kdUbkphUmxKcFZqSm9lbGRYZUc5aU1rbDRWMW hvWVZKR1NuQlVWM1J6VGtaYVdHUkhkRmRpVlh CNlZUSTFUMVp0U2xWV2ExSmFaV3RhYUZreFdr dGtSa3B6Vld4a2FWSldhM2RXYWtvd1lqSkZlV kpyWkZoaWF6VnhWVEJrTkZsV1VsWlhibVJzWW tac00xWXlNVWRoYXpGV1RsaHdWbFl6YUROWmE yUkdaVWRPUjJKR1pGZE5NRXBKVjJ0U1IxTXlU WGxVYTFwaFVteHdjRlpxU205VlJscEhXVE5vY VUxWFVucFdNV2h2VjBkS1JrNVdVbFZXYlZFd1 ZtcEdVMVp0UmtoUFZtUk9WakZLU2xac1pEUmp NV1IwVTJ0b2FGSnNTbGhVVmxwM1YwWnNObEpz WkdwaVNFSklWMnRrYzFVeVNuSlRiVVpYWVRGd 2FGWlVSa1psVmtweVdrWm9hV0V6UWxGV2JYaH JWVEZaZUdKSVRtaFNWVFZ2VlcxNGQyVkdWblJ OVldSWFRVUkdlVlJzVm05V01VbzJVbXRvVjFa RldreFdha3BQVW14YWMxcEhiRk5OVlZZelZte GFVMUl4YkZkWGJrcE9WbXh3V0ZsWWNGZFdSbF p5Vm10YVQxVlVNRGs9 (get your huge URL. here) Please update your bookmarks.

Need a little inspiration in the sad post-election political climate? Need to have faith in your fellow Americans again? Check out this moving video, The Battle for America. (Quicktime - Don't even try it on a dialup!)

I saw this poll today on Salon: It's good to see that so many of Salon readers voted no, but it's troubling to see that slightly more said yes and don't seem to realize that a republican in his seat would make practically no difference whatsoever. Now that Zell Miller is retiring, Holy Joe is going to be the biggest republican in the democratic party. I wonder where he can do less damage, in the Senate or as the homeland security czar. If you don't know just how bad Joe Lieberman is, here's a good place to start looking. I think he's up for re-election in 06. I'd love to see this clown lose his primary.

This just completely sucks. Evil media empire Clear Channel just acquired 85% of the Elvis Presley Estate from Michael Jackson's ex wife, Lisa Marie Presley, through a concert promoting business that they own. They now run Graceland. I'm sure glad I got to go there before that happened. Clear Channel must be stopped!

Worst toy ever!

FUNNY! Dreamworks films sends threatening letter to Swedish file sharing site. File sharing site responds.

For all the people who come to this blog searching for George Takei goofs from Howard Stern and friends, here's a Sulu link for you. You can even ask him questions, like "have you ever seen a midget naked?"

I hate to have two NSFW posts in a row, but this one just had to be posted. What not to do with fireworks. (via metafilter)

Woman soldier in Iraq takes naked pictures to email home from public terminal, deletes photos, does not empty recycle bin... photos wind up on some website. (NSFW)

This was forwarded to me by one of my freelance clients and I thought I'd share with my loyal readers because it sounds good... Next week, December 17,  Bill Moyers will be broadcasting his very last TV show on PBS NOW!  Please tell your friends!   "I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee," says Moyers. "We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."

Here's a little something fun that I came across on a blog called Restless Angel that I found in my referers: (A) First, recommend to me: 1. a movie 2. a book 3. a musical artist, song, or album (B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask whatever you want. (C) Then go back to your blog, copy and paste this so people can ask you questions. Have fun, everyone!! Please post your answers and questions in the comments for this post and I'll answer them as soon as I can.

File under justice: Pinochet indicted, under house arrest, awaiting human rights abuse trial. Will Hank Kissinger be next?

File under our tax dollars at work: What do Colin Powell's son and his FCC do when they're not going after Howard Stern? They investigate possible statue nudity in the Olympics.

File under not in the least bit surprising: Ohio is the new Florida.

File under DUH: Polls in several of our allied countries are solidly anti-Bush.

I need another weekend to recover from this weekend! It started early Friday afternoon with my company's holiday party. We took over a corner of the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley and proceded to sample every beer they make. The unfiltered amber ale, cream porter, Belgian white and imperial stout were particularly tasty. Two of my co-workers and I also took the opportunity to take the brewery tour which included another tasting. It would have been nice to be able to sleep that off, except that Anne needed to be up early on Saturday to go to her friend Jen's house where they were doing more work on their wares for the craft show they did yesterday. We went straight out to do christmas shopping after that, then were up until 1:30 in the morning so she could work on more stuff for the show, then up early yesterday for more preparation for the show. We rolled into the venue at around 1 in the afternoon and set up their table. It was right near the Vagina Lady, Attaboy, Sweet Moves: The Workout, and Civilian Gear. There was also a booth for a company called "I Don't Believe it's Pot Butter" who sold brownies and cookies with a not so secret ingredient, and a booth selling absinthe, which I sampled for the very first time. There was also stilt dancing, fire spinning, and Run DMC marionettes. People seemed pretty receptive to Anne and Jen's jewelry, and they made pretty decent sales (I'll post some pictures when we get them from Jen). It was definitely one of those uniquely San Francisco events which we don't get to do enough of. We saw lots of people who we knew from Tribe, and I got to do some networking with people about doing some film and video stuff. Hopefully today will be an easy day at work, because I am definitely not running on a full tank.

Entire government resigns! Why can't the Bush administration be more like the Portuguese? "President Jorge Sampaio on Friday called early elections for Feb 20, one year ahead of schedule, because he said Santana Lopes' government had lost credibility and could no longer guarantee political stability." Lost credibility? Check. No longer guarantee political stability? Check. Resignation? Still waiting, George.

Just in time for Christmas, it's the most sacri-liscious bartenders guide around!

There's a car on my block with a very loud alarm that goes off every time a loud motorcycle goes by. Here's what I want to do the next time I hear it.

A month after the fact, even more electoral shenanigans in Florida start coming to light.

Anyone who listens to Howard Stern regularly has already heard the soundbyte of Fox News loudmouth dumbass Bill O'Reilly answer a letter from a "Jack Mehoffer." Now you can see the video! Mike Hunt and Haywood Jablowme were unavailable for comment.

Writers, ranters, graphic artists and fans of the late Bill Hicks, check out this contest!

I had previously blogged about a marionette sex scene in Team America: World Police that was considered too hot for an R rating by the MPAA. Well, here it is (windows media, no sound, NSFW - via Monkeyfilter)!

Holy crap! Somebody got up on stage and shot Dimebag Darrel and a bunch of other people. I was never a fan of Pantera, but I always thought Dimebag was a hell of a guitarist.

Well, it looks like even the Pentagon realizes that the war in Iraq has been a complete fiasco. "The mea culpa is contained in a shockingly frank 'strategic communications' report, written this autumn by the Defence Science Board for Pentagon supremo Donald Rumsfeld. On 'the war of ideas or the struggle for hearts and minds', the report says, 'American efforts have not only failed, they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended'. 'American direct intervention in the Muslim world has paradoxically elevated the stature of, and support for, radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single digits in some Arab societies.'" Despite this, the rightwingnuts still have a lot to say about how great this war is, yet still are not enlisting to put their money where their mouths are.

As the Iraq war continues to prove to be just one of Bush's many miserable failures, now there's a lawsuit by 8 soldiers over being forced to stay there past the end of their enlistment. I've always thought that the military should form a union. Their lives are at stake and we have a perfect example of how bad things could be when management doesn't have a clue. Would the strike have started before the war began, or at some point when no WMDs were found?

I wonder if conservatives will keep on blathering about the "liberal media" now that Fox is providing news to Clear Channel stations.

What do you do when you have a Civil Rights Panel that keeps pointing out how bad your civil rights record is? Well, if you're George W. Bush, you replace them, preferably with a bunch of yes-men.

Oh look, I just got some hatemail from some right wing assclown named Micah Janazak. Usually these folks either take issue with my politics or my distaste for Metallica, but this guy is bent out of shape about both. What kind of loser sends hatemail to a website anymore anyway? Jeesh!