I Laughed, I Cried! It Was Better Than Cats!

I'm going to see it again and again!

In the 1980s, it was common for Broadway TV advertisements to include short testimonials from audience members who were uniformly WOWED by the show. These man-on-the-street reports slyly convinced the unwashed masses that we must immediately rush out to see the same play.

Here is a classic commercial from this genre from 1989, for Grand Hotel:


This advertising gimmick reached the height of absurdity around 1985-86 when a woman exiting some forgotten show made reference to the current Broadway blockbuster, "Cats". The woman exclaimed: "I Laughed, I Cried! It Was Better than Cats! I'm going to see it again and again!"

It was unintentional hilarity at its best.

On October 11, 1986, the new season debut episode of Saturday Night Live parodied the commercial with a fake advertisement for hypnotist "The Amazing Alexander". All the testimonials stated, verbatim, "I loved it! It was much better than Cats! I'm going to see it again and again!"

Here's the clip:


This was a very popular parody, and since it was broadcast nationwide, it has reached many who do not know of the inspiration for it.

Both the original commercial and the SNL parody have spawned countless sarcastic uses of "its better than Cats!!" since 1986. But the original commercial seems to be lost.

Where's the Original Commercial?

In various internet forums over the past 10+ years, various plays have been suggested as the source for the original commercial. The 1985 Broadway revival of "Singin' in the Rain" had poor critical reviews and probably wished for some of the Cats audience. It also played throughout the United States in 1986, and people have reported seeing the lost commercial outside the New York metro area, so its a good candidate. Other options include Sweet Charity, which had a 1986 Broadway revival, and "Man of La Mancha".

There are countless videos of 1980s commercial breaks uploaded to YouTube, but this commercial still proves elusive. (See, for example, this July 4, 1986 commercial block which has a commercial for Drood and the long-running A Chorus Line--but its not those!)

Somebody must have this recorded on a moldy VHS tape, somewhere! Can you find it and reap everlasting Internet fame?

Sources That Are Better Than Cats

Selected early uses of "Better than Cats" joke in media

• 1990: Alec Baldwin's upcoming role caused him to say: "I laughed I cried I loved it more than Cats!"
  
• 1990: Chicago Tribune review of Johnny Depp film "Cry Baby" reports that "I laughed; I cried; it was better than "Cats.""
  
• 1991: Student movie review is titled "I laughed, I cried - it was better than Cats"
  
• 1992: College guidebook has "School v. Cats" section of students comparing their school to Cats.
  
• 1993: Time Magazine article by Margaret Carlson on Clinton documentary opens with the phrase. "I laughed. I cried. Better than Cats!"
  
• 1996: Jenny McCarthy TV show is, you guessed it, better than Cats. At this point references to the phrase are everywhere in the press.

Past attempts of the Internets to determine origin of the phrase:

• Better than 'Cats'(Snider Board, June 16, 2003, 2 page thread)
  
• July 2007 blogpost and comments
  
• July 2009 - Blogger asserts commercial was for "Man of La Mancha", currently unconfirmed

Occupy Marines - Wikipedia article.

Occupy Marines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Occupy Marines (stylized as OccupyMARINES) is a Facebook support group[1] that encourages non-active duty Marines to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.[2] Occupy Marines claims no affiliation with the United States Marine Corps, active-duty servicemembers or established U.S. veterans groups.

Contents

1 Origins
2 Mission
3 Funding
4 References
5 External Links

Origins

On October 24, 2011, CBS/AP reported that Occupy Marines formed "after videos circulated online" of Shamar Thomas, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, who confronted New York City police during an OWS march in Times Square on October 15, 2011,[2] yelling "Stop hurting these people, man! … How do you sleep at night? There is no honor in this!"[3]

Mission

The stated mission of Occupy Marines is to "support demonstrators with organization, direction, supply and logistics, and leadership."[2] [4] Active-duty servicemembers are prohibited by U.S. military law from joining the protests. For those who can join, Occupy Marines asked that they do not wear military dress uniform if actively participating in group activities, but instead advised a dress code outlined on the Occupy Marines website.[5]

On October 29, 2011, Business Insider reported that Occupy Marines requested the resignation of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, and reprinted Occupy Marines' demands for the resignation of Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan and the identification of Oakland police who engage protestors with excessive force.[6]

On October 31, ABC News quoted a spokesperson for a group calling itself "Occupy Marines Corps" [sic] as saying: "We will use any nonviolent means to convince law enforcement agencies to understand that brutality will only strengthen our resolve."[7]

On Nov. 11, 2011, a spokesperson for Occupy Marines was reported as saying: "As veterans we were led to believe [that] our service was to protect America's way of life abroad...We did not want to believe that our presence in the Middle East was to ensure an oil supply, or to deepen the pockets of the financial elites. Many…lost their life out there, and the suggestion that their sacrifice was for profits, or oil, is unbearable."[8]

Occupy Marines also called on veterans of other military branches to help "talk sense" to police and recruit them into supporting the Occupy movement.[5] Along with a newly formed online entity 'Occupy Police', Occupy Marines has been referred to as "staking out a new realm of metaphorical occupations" beyond the physical territories associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement.[3]

Funding

It was reported on Oct. 23, 2011, that the Occupy Marines website was credited as "proudly donated by The Pirate Party of New York," with a group referred to as Velvet Revolution proposed to act as fiscal sponsor to accept donations.[3] However, it was noted elsewhere on the same day that the website asked donors to wait until non-profit 501(c)(3) status had been achieved.[5]

References

^ Strauss, Gary and Rick Hampson (2011-11-2). "Former Marine's injury spurs vets to join Occupy movement". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ a b c Morgan, David (2011-10-24). "Semper Fi: Non-active Marines called to 'Occupy'". CBS News. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ a b c Kane, Muriel (2011-10-23). "Occupy movement spins off OccupyMARINES and Occupy Police". Raw Story. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ Anderson, Jon R. (2011-11-18). "'Occupy' protests lure veterans". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ a b c Johnson, Robert (2011-10-23). "Marines Are Calling In Reinforcements To Occupy Wall Street". Business Insider. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ "Reward Offered For Name Of Policeman Who Shot Veteran Scott Olsen In Oakland Protest". The Business Insider. October 29, 2011.
^ Wong, Kristina (2011-10-31). "Occupy Veterans Movement Growing Across U.S.". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
^ Cravero, Paolo (2011-11-11). "Veterans Occupy Wall Street". The Nation. Retrieved 2011-12-15.

Note: Just deleted from Wikipedia, at least temporarily.

Update: 5am PST 12/20: It has been restored.

TIME Magazine Sandusky Riot Fuckup

Yesterday, TIME magazine started posting their typical "here's the shit that went down in 2011" lists. Number 1 among the "Top 10 Sports Moments" was the Penn State-Sandusky child abuse scandal.



Accompanying the story is a YouTube video embed called "Penn state riot". But if you thought this is footage of Penn State students rioting when The Holy JoePa was fired -- you'd be wrong! Actually, its footage from October 2008 after Penn State beat Ohio State. The video was clearly uploaded on October 26, 2008--when Jerry Sandusky was still merrily molesting boys--and the top comment is very clear:

"Just so everyone knows, this video was made in 2008 after a win against Ohio State. This was 3 years ago."



Its also been called out in the comments to the TIME story, so presumably it will be quietly fixed soon and your unquestioned faith in TIME can return.



And your unquestioned lack of faith in "blogs" can return as well. Stay tuned for my next post, which will include footage of President Obama speaking on 9/11.

Straight Edge Sandusky?

(High school photo of Jerry Sandusky)

Following up on my recent post asking about the possible role of Jerry Sandusky's father, Art Sandusky, in Jerry becoming a child molester, the Washington, Pennsylvania Observer-Reporter has posted new articles in a "Sunday Xtra" relating to Jerry's upbringing in that small town in southwestern Pennsylvania.

This, no doubt, is one of the most difficult stories the Observer Reporter has ever had to handle. Its a locally owned paper, not a part of one of the community newspaper syndicates, and there will be big pressures to not "stain" the town with this story, I am sure. These are pressures that Sara Ganim, a young crack reporter at the Harrisburg Patriot-News, who is getting rave reviews for her investigative reporting on the Sandusky scandal, doesn't have to cope with.

The most interesting recent Observer-Reporter story, Childhood friends wonder if they really knew Jerry Sandusky, speaks to numerous people who knew Jerry growing up, and notes the following nugget about Jerry's upbringing:

His friends say if there is one thing that seems odd, in retrospect, it might be this: Sandusky never dated in high school.

Those close to Sandusky remarked that the popular and handsome athlete was shy around girls and people outside of his circle of friends.

"Jerry was always kind of a loner," recalled Riggle. "He never dated in high school, and he didn't date throughout most of college. All he did was study in college. He didn't go out, didn't go to frat parties, while I was out doing things you were supposed to do as a college kid. It didn't seem odd at the time, but I remember in high school, we all had girlfriends, dated, went to dances, and Jerry was just never a part of that."

In fact, Sandusky always seemed to befriend those who were mentally challenged or who had a hard time making friends. It was a lesson, he wrote in his book, that he learned from his parents: "They taught me the meaning of respect to all people."

Well, being shy around girls and not dating is one thing. But what the article implies to me, but is completely silent on, is that Jerry Sandusky really had no interest in girls. As a star athlete and not unattractive guy, there's no question Jerry could have been dating if he wanted to. I also think that if Jerry expressed that he had interests in girls to his childhood friends, this would have come out in the article. There is no evidence that Jerry ever "dated" any woman other than his wife, Dottie, whose relationship appears to have been cultivated by Jerry's mother. So, the evidence to date suggests to me (not surprisingly) that Jerry Sandusky has never been sexually attracted to women.

Skimming the surface of some research, it appears that the causes of pedophilia are really that not well understood, though molestation as a child is considered to be a risk factor. Hypothesizing any link between homosexuality and pedophilia appears to be highly controversial, and I cannot pretend to understand the scientific and political debates about this without further inquiry. Logically, being homosexual has no connection to being sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children. But if sexual oppression can be a risk factor for pedophilia, even if Jerry was not molested as a child himself, and he found himself to be homosexual in a time and place where homosexuality was an abomination--as no doubt it was in Washington, Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 60s--could his repression have contributed to his development into a pedophile? There is a common sense appeal to that inquiry to me. It could be perhaps the most crazed argument in favor of gay marriage (i.e., if you're in the Clint Eastwood school on gay marriage, like me), but repression has consequences.

That being said, since I've done lots of speculation, I suppose its possible that Jerry Sandusky was just magically born as a pedophile. Maybe that's the way it works. Maybe he wasn't molested as a child, maybe he's not homosexual. But generally speaking, there are causes for the bad things that happen in the world, and not looking for them doesn't help.

Pizza Is Not A Fuckin' Vegetable

See "Does Pizza Deserve To Be A Vegetable?" (Talking Points Memo, November 18, 2011)

No.

Pizza is not a fuckin' vegetable. Sure, I like pizza, my kids like pizza, but we don't confuse it with asparagus. The truth is that huge packaged food companies want to sell as much of their shit food to schools as possible, they don't care if kids get obese, in fact its the mission of these corporations to maximize profit, which means selling as much of their shit food as possible. They'd get pizza classified as a dessert, as a vitamin, as a fuckin' chichuahua if would sell more pizzas. If giving major $$ to congressmen will get that result, they will do it. That doesn't mean educators and Congress need to say "Sure, some concentrated tomato sauce mixed with sugar is a vegetable if you say so."

ITS NOT A FUCKIN' VEGETABLE.

via reddit:

Miss Gross Becomes Bride of Gerald A. Sandusky

Miss Gross Becomes Bride of Gerald A. Sandusky (Washington Observer-Reporter, September 14, 1966)

Happened to run across this, its an article about Jerry Sandusky's marriage in 1966. At least its a more flattering picture of Dottie Sandusky than the recent one I saw. No revelations, though I suppose all the names in here are potential investigation witnesses.

Is Anyone Asking Whether Art Sandusky Was A Child Molester Too?

Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has been serially molesting young boys for perhaps in excess of 30 years. The whole thing was covered up and not stopped by those who could have stopped it. It is one of the most disturbing news revelations of the year, and certainly one of the worst connected to college sports of all time.

In hindsight, most everything you read about what Sandusky did was creepy -- founding a charity in 1977 called "Second Mile" to ostensibly help disadvantaged local youth, he would shower gifts on certain young boys and take them to football games, slowly progressing if he could from touching them on the leg in the car to anally raping them in the shower. I'm not kidding -- go to the source and read the recent indictment -- its only 23 pages, you'll be best informed on this story if you just read it instead of news reports about what it says. Its a nightmare.

(From a Jerry Sandusky instructional video, completely unnecessary touching.)

One thing that intrigues me, and this is certain to be deeply probed soon in the press, is how Jerry Sandusky became a child molester. Was he molested himself as a child? That is not uncommon in child molester cases. As detailed in his 2001 autobiography "Touched", Sandusky's parents Art and Evie also ran a program for youths in Washington, Pennsylania. In fact, the family lived in the building--the Brownson House--where the program was run for many years. Art instituted football programs and a huge junior wrestling program. Wrestling? "We were just wrestling!" was one of Jerry's excuses when others happened across some of his unusual behavior, and its one of the few sports where an adult coach can arguably claim a legitimate reason to be physically close to a young person as a part of "coaching."

And yes, you have noticed, Jerry Sandusky's autobiography is called "Touched". In fact, how many children he "touched" through his charity seems to be the term of choice he used for many years to describe his work. The term is used about his parents' work too, as in this 1982 editorial in the Washington, PA paper, talking about how they "touched" the lives of thousands--the creepy detectors are going off for me again. It may be nothing, but someone better be looking into this. I am not saying Art Sandusky was a child molester--but its a logical investigative question that I hope is being asked. I don't feel right not putting the question out there, even though its an incendiary question. Is "Ol' Art rolling over in his grave" about the revelations about Jerry? Art and Evie moved to State College, PA to 'consult' on Second Mile in 1987, and Art did not die until 1996, during which time we are to assume Jerry was busy molesting kids.

1982 editorial about Art:

What turned Jerry Sandusky into a monster? A parent, a family member, someone in the community? He self-reports being very shy and awkward as a child. I suspect we'll find out what happened. And it won't be pretty.

Update 1:22 PST 11/16: This comment posted on Nov 13 on a local news affiliate story about Jerry's hometown defends Art against commenters who are speculating, like me:

"Mike – On the surface, you make a noteworthy point. The similarity is definitely notable. However, I come from a family that has had several generations who participated at the Brownson House on a regular basis. Many of us and countless friends and acquaintances have been around Art Sandusky (unsupervised) far too many times to count. I know for certain that I never heard a single person make a negative comment about Art. Art was an angelic, hard working and kind man who kept the kids busy and cared for them deeply. I can state with confidence that Art (and the Brownson) would never allow a child to get hurt.

The Brownson House is one of the few remaining places in Washington where the local youth can interact with their peers in a competitive, positive and safe environment. As for Jerry Sandusky, the case is troubling and the apparent truth will fully be revealed. The victims, assuming something terrible had taken place, do not deserve the agony they are experiencing. Likewise, the good names of Art Sandusky and the Brownson do not deserve any undeserved, unwarranted accusations."

Not sure this is really evidence, its just his opinion.

Update 11/22 8:57am PST: New post, Straight Edge Sandusky?

Black Flower in the White House (lyrics)

Yes, here are the lyrics to the song Muammar Qaddafi had commissioned in 2008 for his secret love, Condoleezza Rice.

Black Flower In The White House

You might be,
the U.S. Secretary of State
But you'd make,
a most attractive love-mate,

You're just a girl from Birmingham
I'm just a boy from Sirte
Why don't you pull down my pants
And check out my Libyan girth

Because I'm in love with...
A Black Flower in the White House
You know its meant to be.
Let's get together
...and strangle Dick Cheney

Come visit me at my palaces
It will just be you and me
Plus my scrapbooks filled with pics of you
and videos of Lockerbie

You denied my facebook request
You called me a Satanic pest.
But you know you want to put
Your cocoa butter skin against my hairy chest

Because I'm in love with...
A Black Flower in the White House
You know its meant to be.
Let's get together
...and commit crimes against Humanity

When I get you in the bedroom
You will not stray too far
The walls will be a shakin'
as we're screaming ALLAH AKHBAR

But what's this when I google you
Some people think you're gay?
But my 1,344 pictures of you
prove there ain't no way.

Because you're a ...
A Black Flower in the White House
Tell me you'll say "I Do"
And we'll say our wedding vows
...On an episode of The View.

Because I love you.

Jenna Rose - Wikipedia

This is the Wikipedia article for Jenna Rose as it existed on October 14, 2011. It is possible that it will soon be deleted, so I am posting here to preserve the content.


Jenna Rose
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jenna Rose Swerdlow (born September 28, 1998) is an American singer, actress, and dancer who gained media attention with her single "My Jeans". After the video went viral on YouTube and received 14 million views, Swerdlow is considered a semi-"viral star".[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Career
o 2.1 Music
o 2.2 Acting
* 3 Recognition
* 4 Discography
o 4.1 Singles
* 5 Filmography
* 6 See also
* 7 References
o 7.1 Addititional references
* 8 External links

Background

Jenna Rose Swerdlow was born September 28, 1998, in Long Island, New York.[7] She was raised in Baldwin, New York and relocted with her family to Dix Hills, New York in 2005.[5] She began performing at age 2,[5][3] and received private vocal training at age 8[1] Starting with community theater and moving on to regional productions and Off-Broadway, she has performed in over 18 plays, including principal roles in “Ragtime” and “The Miracle Worker”, as well as the title role in the new Off-Broadway play, “The Odella Williams Show”.[1] She was a finalist in Got Talent?, A Long Island talent competition, as well as the NY Knicks Kids Talent Search.[1]

Career
Music

In a 2009 , it was reported that Swerdlow was being coached by Billy Joel's sax player Richie Cannata,[8] and that Richie's son Eren Cannata wrote and produced three singles for her: Sweet Melody, The Remedy, and Spotlight[citation needed]. Since then, Swerdlow has collaborated with different songwriters, producers and choreographers, to record songs and music videos.

When a 12-year-old 7th grader at West Hollow Middle School in October of 2010, Swerdlow's first music video, My Jeans, which features a rap by Baby Triggy,[9] was posted on YouTube.[3] The video became a viral video, garnering over a million views and bring Swerdlow media attention.[2] My Jeans was panned by Youtube viewers,[10] earning her as of September 8th, 2011 26,355 "likes" and 295,189 "dislikes" for the video.[3] Detractors find fault not only with Swerdlow's song, but with her clothes, the shape of her mouth, and the video's production values.[5] The video nevertheless continues to be the center of various Internet jokes and parodoy videos,,ref name="Herald"/> with the original video reaching over 14 million views as of early September,2011.

Despite negative reviews of My Jeans, Swerdlow followed up with songs O.M.G in March 2011,[11] and recorded the song Don’t Give Up, dealing with "haters",[6] in April 2011.[6] Swerdlow and her parents claim the song O.M.G. deals with cybercritics and cyberbullying,[3] Though covered by media, these subsequent songs failed to meet the levels of interest that her original viral video, however both display similar negative ratings, and have been panned by critics.[6] Toward the video O.M.G., PerezHilton.com stated [sic] "The video is hyper-sexualized, uber-creepy and if you really want to talk about jacking swag, not one dance move wasn't pulled from another video circa 1998."[12]
Acting

Swerdlow has made several film and television appearances. The most recent of these following upon her internet music releases. She was featured in the recent documentary Actor, directed by Roberto Serrini, as well as the film Mouse House and the TV pilots for Family Practice and Which Way. She has also appeared in television, radio & Internet commercials for Sketchers, Jello and Canon.

Recognition

In February 2009, the town board of Huntington, New York recognized Jenna Rose Swerdlow for her contributions to the performing arts community.[13]

Subsequent to the release of "My Jeans" Swerdlow has been interviewed by news networks, has been written of in several newspapers, and has performed live in concert at the Westbury Music Fair.[6]

A comparison is made between Swerdlow and Rebecca Black,[9] as both teens produce videos that fall into the same genre of bubblegum pop, are "slammed by critics as being too provocative", and both receive less-than-favorable feedback from the public.[6][5]


Discography
Singles
Title
2009 "Sweet Melody"
"The Remedy"
2010 "Spotlight"
2011 "My Jeans"
"OMG"
"Don't Give Up"

Filmography
Year Title Role Note
2010 Family Practice Child Patient TV series - Episode: "Hood Cat"
Mouse House Jessica
Which Way Lilith TV series
2011 Caroline of Virginia Young Caroline
Actor Herself documentary

See also
Audio a.svg Music portal

References

1. ^ a b c d Forman, Karen (March 3, 2011). "Jenna Rose Swerdlow Making a Name for Herself". Patch. http://halfhollowhills.patch.com/articles/jenna-rose-swerdlow-making-a-name-for-herself. Retrieved October 09, 2011.
2. ^ a b Rachel Senatore (March 21, 2011). "Dix Hill teen's music vid joins the list of LI's viral videos". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/long-island-now-1.1732330/dix-hill-teen-s-music-vid-joins-the-list-of-li-s-viral-videos-1.2774963. Retrieved October 09, 2011.
3. ^ a b c d e Whitehouse, Beth (March 22, 2011). "Dix Hills girl's YouTube music video a hit". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/news/dix-hills-girl-s-youtube-music-video-a-hit-1.2774956.
4. ^ Glenn Gamboa (March 22, 2011). "The Jenna Rose / "My Jeans" phenomenon grows". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/long-island-now-1.1732330/dix-hill-teen-s-music-vid-joins-the-list-of-li-s-viral-videos-1.2774963. Retrieved October 09, 2011.
5. ^ a b c d e Chris Connolly (May 19, 2011). "Love me, hate me, know my name". Herald. http://www.liherald.com/baldwin/baldwin/stories/Love-me-hate-me-know-my-name-,32878. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
6. ^ a b c d e f Ryan Bonner (April 22, 2011). "Jenna Rose to Play Westbury, Releases New Song". Patch. http://halfhollowhills.patch.com/articles/jenna-rose-to-play-westbury-releases-new-song. Retrieved October 09, 2011.
7. ^ "Resume". Jenna Rose website.
8. ^ Jenna Rose & Richie Cannata - News 12 interview. [Television news]. Long Island, New York: News 12. http://musiclessonvideos.net/georgebenson/watch-video/7XJ492u_ziI/SRVMOE/channel-12-interview-with-jenna-rose-swerdlow.html.
9. ^ a b Daphne Livingston (April 26th, 2011). "Jenna Rose: Long Island’s Rebecca Black “My Jeans” “O.M.G.” [Video"]. Long Island Press. http://www.longislandpress.com/2011/04/26/jenna-rose-long-island%E2%80%99s-rebecca-black-%E2%80%9Cmy-jeans%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%9Co-m-g-%E2%80%9D-video/. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
10. ^ Glenn Gamboa (March 22, 2011). "Dix Hills girl's 'My Jeans' spawns videos". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/dix-hills-girl-s-my-jeans-spawns-videos-1.2776619. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
11. ^ staff (March 24, 2011). "Dix Hills girl to debut new song". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/dix-hills-girl-to-debut-new-song-1.2781031. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
12. ^ Perez Hilton (March 28, 2011). "O.M.G…Jenna Rose Is Back!". PerezHilton.com. http://perezhilton.com/2011-03-28-jenna-rose-my-jeans-fame-new-video-omg. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
13. ^ "Councilman Cuthbertson Recognizes an Up and Coming Star". City of Huntington. February 26, 2009. http://town.huntington.ny.us/newsdetails.cfm?id=1428. Retrieved October 12, 2011.

Addititional references
* Bonner, Ryan (April 22, 2011). "April 22: Earth Day, Good Friday, Jenna Rose". Patch. http://halfhollowhills.patch.com/articles/april-22-earth-day-good-friday-jenna-rose.
* Lindner, Amanda (July 12, 2011). "Fireman Fair, Graduate School And Jenna Rose". Patch. http://halfhollowhills.patch.com/articles/july-12-fireman-fair-graduate-school-and-safari-art.
* Forman, Karen (March 26, 2011). "Here is Jenna Rose's Newest Video: OMG". Patch. http://halfhollowhills.patch.com/articles/jenna-rose-to-appear-on-tv-friday-morning.
* "'She Got Talent' Contest 2009". Leisure & Sports Review. March 28, 2009. http://www.lasr.net/travel/videos.php?JENNA+ROSE-SHY-GOT+TALENT+CONTEST+2009&VideoID=316406.

External links

* Official website
* Fan website
* Jenna Rose Swerdlow at the Internet Movie Database

* 1998 births
* Living people
* People from Long Island

Tomas Transtromer WHOOOHOOOO NOBEL PRIZE FTW!!!

SO I just saw that this Swedish poet that I am sure few outside Sweden have ever head of, Tomas Transtromer, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Apparently he's been in the running for some years to win (though I see some crap about how Bob Dylan was the favored candidate to win? GOOD GRIEF NO. Dylan's Friday was a classic, but its not THAT GOOD.)

It seems hard to find any of Transtromer's poems amidst all this reporting, however, which seems a pity since he presumably won because the poems are good. So I will post one I found via Google Books: (more: "The Great Enigma" (2006 ed.))


Alone "Ensamhet")
by Tomas Transtromer
from Bells and Tracks (Klanger Och Spar)
1966


I.

One evening in February I almost died here.
The car skidded sideways on the ice, out
onto the wrong side of the wrong. The approaching cars---
their lights--closed in.

My name, my girls, my job
broke free and were left silently behind
farther and farther away I was anonymous
like a boy in a playground surrounded by enemies

The approaching traffic had huge lights.
They shone on my while I pulled at the wheel
in a transparent terror that floated like egg white.
The seconds grew--there was space in them--
they grew as big as hospital buildings.

You could almost pause
and breathe for a while
before being crushed.

Then something caught: a helping grain of sand
or a wonderful gust of wind. The car broke free
and scuttled smartly right over the road.
A post shot up and cracked--a sharp clang--it
flew away in the darkness.

Then--stillness. I sat back still in my seatbelt
and saw someone coming through the swirling snow
to see what had become of me.

II.

I have been walking for a long time
on the frozen Ostergotland fields.
I have not seen a single person.

In other parts of the world
there are people who are born, live and die
in a perpetual crowd.

To be always visible---to live
in a swarm of eyes---
a special expression must develop.
Face coated with clay.

The murmuring rises and falls
while they divide up among themselves
the sky, the shadows, the sand grains.

I must be alone
ten minutes in the morning
and ten minutes in the evening.
---Without a program.

Everyone is queuing for everyone else.

Many.

One.

(The poem in Swedish is here. You can hear Transtromer reading the entire poem, in Swedish, here. And April 2009 English commentary on the poem here)

Kolbrin Bible - Wikipedia

This is the text of the Wikipedia article for "Kolbrin Bible" as it appeared on October 3, 2011. Its likely to be deleted, but I thought it would be useful for people needing quick confirmation that the Kolbrin Bible is not authentic/is a big fat hoax, etc.

Kolbrin Bible
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kolbrin Bible (also titled as The Kolbrin) is a text which purports to be a collection of ancient texts of Egyptian and Celtic origin. Used in support of 2012 apocalyptic theories, it is widely regarded as spurious.

Structure and supposed origins
The Kolbrin Bible comprises eleven books. The first six books are said to be scribed by Egyptian writers shortly after the Exodus, and is called the "Bronzebook". The last five books are collectively called "Coelbook" or "Kailedy" and are said be authored by Celtic priests written around the time that the New Testament was being created.[1] Supposedly these texts were kept at Glastonbury Abbey and the first section transcribed to bronze sheets, allowing them to survive the fire of 1184 which the text's publishers allege was set to destroy these and other heretical texts.[2] The texts are then alleged to have been transmitted through a series of owners, including one John Culdy in the early 1300s, eventually being entrusted to "a small religious group in England" and thence to the Hope Trust, "of which little is known."[2] Finally the texts are claimed to have ended up in the hands of the Culdian Trust, formed in 1980; they claim that the current version of the text was produced by "an elderly man from the Hope Trust" around 1992, working from the original texts.[2]

At present three editions of the material are available. A hardbound edition is published in association with the Culdian Trust in two volumes, titled The Kolbrin and The Gospel of the Kailedy;[3] the same group also presents an on-line edition.[4] A softcover edition is published by Your Own World Books, ostensibly edited by one Janice Manning and with versification by Marshall Masters.[5] The connections between the various versions are obscure. The website www.kobrin.com first appears in the Internet Archive in 2004; the first reference on that site to the Culdian Trust does not appear until October of that year; the Culdian Trust website doesn't appear until February 2005.[6][7] Given the 2005 publication date of the Manning/Masters edition it might be presumed that it is derived from the other edition.

Claims and analysis
The first mention of this text is apparently in James McCanney's Atlantis to Tesla - The Kolbrin Connection, a self-published work which he put out in 2003.[8]. McCanney is, among other pseudoscientific interests, a proponent of Planet X apocalyptic theories. An early edition of Masters's version specifically lists several passages from "The Book of Manuscripts" (the fifth section of the text) in support of these claims. The text also attempts to support British Israelism as well as providing apocryphal teachings of Jesus.

Whether this was the intent of writing the text is again unclear. The text has not received a lot of critical attention but sites outside the pseudoscientific/new religion realm point to its lack of provenance and dubious history[9] and suggest that it is a hoax or at least apocryphal. One critic suggests Glenn Kimball as a possible author;[10] in 2006 Kimball published an article on the Kolbrin texts and was associated with Masters's edition of the text.[11]

References

1. ^ "Introduction". The Kolbrin Bible, 21st Century Master Edition.
2. ^ a b c "The Culdian Trust Kolbrin Manuscripts". http://www.thekolbrin.com/. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
3. ^ "Culdian Trust Publications". http://www.thekolbrin.com/buy-it. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
4. ^ on-line edition
5. ^ Manning, Janice, ed (2005). The Kolbrin Bible: 21st Century Master Edition. Your Own World Books.
6. ^ "The Kolbrin - thekolbrin.com: Oct. 28, 2004". Internet Archive. http://web.archive.org/web/20041028021306/http://www.thekolbrin.com/.
7. ^ "The Culdian Trust: Feb. 5 2005". Internet Archive. http://web.archive.org/web/20050205222414/http://www.culdiantrust.org/.
8. ^ "jmccanneyscience.com home page: July 24, 2003". Internet Archive. http://web.archive.org/web/20030724060852/http://jmccanneyscience.com/.
9. ^ e.g. "The Kolbrin Bible". crystallinks.com. http://www.crystalinks.com/kolbrin.html.
10. ^ Hughes, Paul. "Q&A — The Kolbrin "Bible"". apologetics.com. http://www.apologetics.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=400. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
11. ^ Kimball, Glenn (July 12, 2006). "The Kolbrin Bible". ufodigest. http://www.ufodigest.com/kolbrin.html. Retrieved 2011-09-25.

Skip Inabinett: Fucking Loser Homophobe

Potomac Falls woman removed from son’s Boy Scout troop, Loudoun Times (August 24, 2011)

This guy is a sad piece of shit, getting the well-loved and active assistant den mother of a boy scout troop removed because he figured out she's a *lesbian*. Good grief.

I know the boy scouts have a constitutional right to exclude people who are gay from their group, notwithstanding the fact that the founder of boy scouts may have been a latent homosexual. The KKK are also allowed to exist, but I don't support them either.

Marcus Bachmann - Wikipedia article (now deleted)

Marcus Bachmann

Born 1956
Nationality American
Education Ph.D. in clinical psychology
Alma mater Union Graduate School
Occupation Therapist/counselor
Employer President of Bachmann & Associates
Known for husband of Michele Bachmann
Religion Christian

Marcus David Bachmann (born c. 1956) is an American therapist. He is the founder and President of Bachmann & Associates, a self-described Christian counseling clinic.[1] He is the husband of United States Representative Michele Bachmann, whom he married in 1978.[2] He describes himself as the "strategist" of her campaign for president.[3]

Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Views
* 3 Bachmann & Associates
* 4 References
* 5 External links

Background

Bachmann's parents came to the United States from Switzerland in 1950[4] and took up residence on a farm in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, which his family still owns.[4][5][6] He met his wife at Winona State University, where they worked on Jimmy Carter's 1976 Presidential campaign.[2] In 1988 Bachmann graduated from CBN University, now known as Regent University, with a master of arts in community counseling.[7] He wrote his thesis on how day care “may increase the insecurity” of infants, which included a biblical perspective.[7] In 1995 he received a Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in clinical psychology from the Union Graduate School.[7] His dissertation expanded on his master's thesis, and explored the effect of day care on children 48 to 60 months of age.[7]

Views

Bachmann is a Christian. He left the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, a conservative branch of Lutheranism in 2011 after not attending for a couple of years.[8][9] The New York Times reported that together with his wife, he now attends Eagle Brook Church,[10] a non-denominational Baptist congregation.[11]

Ken Avidor, who writes for the blogspot Dump Bachmann, created by the former head of a local gay Republican group, posted audio in which Bachmann seems to describe gay people as "barbarians" in a 2010 interview with the Christian radio show Point-of-View."[8] Bachmann stated that the audio was doctored, and that he was actually comparing children to barbarians.[12] Avidor disputed that he doctored the audio, and the Point of View program did not have an archive of the original interview.[13][14]

Bachmann & Associates

Bachmann's Lake Elmo Christian counseling clinic has attracted attention. He describes it as "distinctly a Christian counseling center" and is quoted as saying, "We have 27 Christian counselors, Christ-centered, very strong in our understanding of who the Almighty Counselor is, and as we rely on God's word and the Almighty Counselor, we have the opportunity to change people's lives."[15] Alex Luchenitser, staff attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called its receiving of state and Medicaid funds unconstitutional, saying "It's wrong for the government to buy clinical services that include submission to God or proselytization."[16][17]

In July 2011, a hidden-camera investigator with Truth Wins Out went undercover at the clinic, claiming that he was a committed Christian who wished to become a heterosexual. At the same time, testimony surfaced from a former patient at the clinic whose parents had sent him there when he came out to them. Both reported that the clinic's staff practiced reparative therapy, a practice repudiated by the American Psychological Association, which attempts to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals.[18][19][20] In a 2006 interview, Bachmann denied that his clinic tries to convert people from gay to straight. "If someone is interested in talking to us about their homosexuality, we are open to talking about that," he said. "But if someone comes in a homosexual and they want to stay homosexual, I don't have a problem with that."[21]

References

1. ^ Bachmann & Associates homepage; accessed July 15, 2011
2. ^ a b Weekly Standard: From Waterloo To The White House, Matthew Continetti, National Public Radio, June 28, 2011; accessed July 15, 2011
3. ^ "Congresswoman Michele Bachmann tests presidential waters". cleveland.com. March 24, 2011. http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2011/03/congresswoman_michele_bachmann.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
4. ^ a b Michele Bachmann's husband in unwanted spotlight, Patrick Condon, Associated Press, July 15, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011.
5. ^ Marcus Bachmann: Campaign Spouse, James Hohmann and Byron Tau, Politico, July 4, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011
6. ^ Bachmann's spouse Marcus: valued strategist or liablity?, Joe Kimball, MinnPost.com, July 5, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011
7. ^ a b c d The Education of Marcus Bachmann, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, July 18, 2011; accessed July 19, 2011
8. ^ a b Michele Bachmann’s husband shares her strong conservative values, Jason Horowitz, The Washington Post, July 5, 2011; accessed July 19, 2011
9. ^ Michele Bachmann left controversial church before campaign, Brian Montopoli, CBS News, July 15, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011
10. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (July 16, 2011). "For Bachmann, Gay Rights Stand Reflects Mix of Issues and Faith". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/politics/17bachmann.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&sq=bachmann&st=cse&scp=1. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
11. ^ Merritt, Bob. "Who We Are". http://www.eaglebrookchurch.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=37038. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
12. ^ Marcus Bachmann says audio of him comparing gays to barbarians was doctored, Andy Birky, The Minnesota Independent, July 15, 2011; accessed July 19, 2011
13. ^ Doctored Marcus Bachmann Tape? Nope, Says Blogger Who Posted It, Evan McMorris-Santoro, Talking Points Memo, July 15, 2011; July 19, 2011
14. ^ Blogger Who Posted Marcus Bachmann’s ‘Barbarians’ Remark: ‘I Didn’t Doctor a Damn Thing’, Dan Mira, New York, July 15, 2011; accessed July 19, 2011
15. ^ "Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic receives state funds". Minnesota Independent. June 10,2010. http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/06/07/bachmann’s-christian-counseling-clinic-receives-state-funds. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
16. ^ Michele Bachmann's husband accepted over $137,000 in Medicaid payments, Christine Roberts, The New York Daily News, June 29, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011
17. ^ Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic receives state funds, Andy Birkey, The Minnesota Independent, June 4, 2010; accessed July 16, 2011
18. ^ The Truth Behind Marcus Bachmann’s Controversial Christian Therapy Clinic, Mark Benjamin, Time.com, July 15, 2011; accessed July 16, 2011
19. ^ Bakst, Brian (July 12, 2011). "Clinic tied to Bachmann questioned over therapies". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jDxVgLyjH-QB3gUNXyCPPAifjsfg. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
20. ^ Blake, Mariah (July 8, 2011). "'God Has Created You for Heterosexuality': Clinics Owned by Michele Bachmann's Husband Practice Ex-Gay Therapy". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/161883/%E2%80%98god-has-created-you-heterosexuality%E2%80%99-clinics-owned-michele-bachmann%E2%80%99s-husband-practi. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
21. ^ "Michele Bachmann Clinic: Where You Can Pray Away the Gay?". ABC News. July 11, 2001. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/michele-bachmann-exclusive-pray-gay-candidates-clinic/story?id=14048691. Retrieved July 24, 2011.

My Screengrabs of Nikki ("Betty") and Mari ("Veronica") Tweets

For hardcore (pun intended?) weinergate enthusiasts.

UPDATE 6/29 9:55pm PDT: Soundbitten blogpost on "Weinerology" is extremely comprehensive, including more detail than this post does, by far ...

Here are the screengrabs I took around June 2 (whenever Mike Stack's yfrog cache was discovered) showing all tweets in google cache made by Marianela (aka Veronica). The cache in google dated from May 16, and showed a total of 17 tweets starting from May 13 and going through May 14, and no subsequent tweets after May 14 until the cache was made.

If you have no idea what any of this stuff is, you are blessed, go enjoy your life. :-)






Reverse chronological list of tweets from/mentioning @starchild111 (Betty / Nikki Reid) that I have compiled, the oldest are at the bottom. Some of these are copy and pasted from text posting of the tweets previously posted by patterico awhile back (i think during Hunt for Ethel). No doubt most of @starchild111's actual tweets are missing, as you see replies to her in this compilation. Also included are screengrabs from Google cache from May 14 and May 27 which show the # of followers/followed by Nikki.

UPDATE 6:30am PDT 6/29: A cache of the starchild page from 4/11/01: here





UPDATE 3:55pm PDT: The screenshots shared by a phantom here and elsewhere soon after NYTimes revealed that Betty and Veronica are fake include a number of apparent screenshots of Nikki tweeting at @patriotusa76 and others defending AW following her. These tweets (maybe 10 of them?) date from May 16 and 17, assuming they are legitimate. I will not include full caps here, but here are links 1, 2, 3, 4. Interesting some of these screenshots apparently date from May 17-18, so someone thought they were interesting at the time.








Update 3:40pm PST: I forgot about this other cache found for @starchild111 on twitter found that purports to date from 1/1/2011 and shows Nikki as "Jenay" starting to tweet on August 14 (2010?) Its been claimed that this may actually a prior account that was closed before new account was opened by "Nikki"


UPDATE 6:35am PDT 6/29: The subsequent discovery of a cache from 4/11/01 of the starchild111 twitter account clearly shows that this is the same account. here

Anthony Weiner Is Fucked

Assuming Andrew Breitbart's promise of more compromising photos today pans out, say goodbye to Anthony Weiner. (update: did i mean goodbye? not from congress though! most surreal press conference in world history!)

At 6am EDT, Breitbart released a teaser post promising "photographs, timelines, and other clarifying details" from someone Weiner carried on communications with online, very recently. (Perhaps Dan Wolfe in drag, but that's yet to be seen.) Apparently we will be spared the Full-Weiner Treatment, though: "we will not be releasing all of the material because some of it is of an extreme, graphic nature."

At 8am EDT, the first pic came.

The URL title to the Breitbart's post includes "0800-edt", suggesting to me that Breitbart has a series of timed posts he is prepared to pummel us with today. And the title of the "me" image btw, is "IMG00256-20110505-1608.jpg" which matches with the supposed picture-taken date of May 5. I also noted that the 800x600 resolution of this photo and the exif data matches the minimal exif data of the dicktweet photo. In other words, the existence of this photo further supports the argument that weiner did post the dicktweet on May 27.

Breitbart's posting so far says this woman had come forward to them over a week prior to the appearance of the dicktweet. But timing is everything, and now that Weiner has explicitly denied sending the dicktweet, I don't see any way out of this for him. Having online affairs is one thing, but the coverup is always what makes the indiscretions fatal. And the proverbial "pics or it didn't happen" defense of the internet is evaporating.

Though I like a lot of Weiner's politics, and hoped he had been hacked, one cannot ignore evidence like this. That's what global warming deniers do. I pushed getting the evidence to see the posting source of the dicktweet, and when it was confirmed to be tweetdeck, I knew the hacking theory was in trouble. But things seem to have gotten much worse than that.

I guess after Chris Lee and Antony Weiner (and Larry Craig and David Vitter and Bill Clinton and ....) we need to ask ourselves - how many politicians are out there that can be SO FUCKIN STUPID! Probably more than we can imagine.

My only caveat: Breitbart is not reliable. He will spin what evidence there is. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not delusional.

UPDATE 10:19am EDT: Breitbart posted pic #2 at 10am EDT. The alleged subject line of the email was "Me and the pussys." Exif data matches the earlier pic, file name is IMG00165-20101119-2106.jpg suggesting pic taken on November 19, 2010.


I also don't like this:


UPDATE 1:26pm EDT: Post #3 from Breitbart at 1:19 EDT shows a shirtless weiner.

PatriotUSA76 tweets which reference sex scandal (raw)

ezradulis

@patriotusa76 was NOT the first person to accuse Weiner of a sex scandal. He RTed a friend quoting a blog: http://yfrog.com/h32ownp Monday, May 30, 2011 1:51:29 PM via TweetDeck Retweeted by patriotusa76 and 5 others

@Stranahan @goatsred It was falsely reported that I first said there was a scandal with Weiner. Not true. Go back and look at our timelines Sunday, May 29, 2011 11:21:40 PM via web in reply to Stranahan

@Stranahan There was a tip sent to someone in our group about a scandal. @goatsred reported. We all covered it. We had no names. Sunday, May 29, 2011 11:16:00 PM via web in reply to Stranahan

@NewsSpies is also now reporting on @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal. Looks more & more like @RepWeiner Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:52:37 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen. Not undera... http://bit.ly/kRUF0S Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:39:48 PM via twitterfeed Retweeted by patriotusa76 and 1 other

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen.>>@RepWeiner or @cbrangel is it you? Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:46:41 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal...girl is a teen>>@RepWeiner or @cbrangel, now we know it's not Frank Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:41:23 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen.>>@RepWeiner or @cbrangel is this you? Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:40:12 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen. Not underaged>>@cbrangel is this you? Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:38:59 PM via web

RT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen. Not underaged>>@RepWeiner is this you? Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:36:19 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen. Not underaged>>@cbrangel is this you? Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:30:57 PM via web

MT @goatsred Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pics/Cheating Scandal-Sources say the girl is a teen. Not underaged>>@RepWeiner is this you? Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:29:43 PM via web

goatsred

Update on Powerful NorthEastDem in Pictures/Cheating Scandal--Sources tell me that the girl is a teenager. Not underaged. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:19:00 PM via TweetDeck Retweeted by patriotusa76 and 1 other

@redrivergrl @Merreee1 @tamale102280 @goatsred I know how @RepNeedleDick loves a good scandal @RepWeiner Wednesday, May 11, 2011 5:14:25 PM via web in reply to redrivergrl

@vocalist69 Rumor that top rightwing blog has sexscandal pics of high profile Dem congressman, NE region. @RepWeiner, Frank, or @cbrangel Wednesday, May 11, 2011 3:08:11 PM via web in reply to vocalist69

Rumor (via @goatsred) top 5 RightWing blogger has sexscandal pics of "big time" Congressman>@RepWeiner are you next Chris Lee? @redrivergrl Wednesday, May 11, 2011 2:21:19 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) top 5 RightWing blogger has sexscandal pics of "big time" Congressman>@RepWeiner are you next Chris Lee? @Merreee1 Wednesday, May 11, 2011 2:20:50 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" Congressman>>@cbrangel are you the next Chris Lee? Wednesday, May 11, 2011 2:20:04 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) top 5 RightWing blogger has sexscandal pics of "big time" Congressman>@RepWeiner are you next Chris Lee? @tamale102280 Wednesday, May 11, 2011 2:19:31 PM via web

@redrivergrl Rumor that a top right-wing blog has sex scandal pics of Dem Congressman, high-profile. Hoping it's Weiner, Frank, Rangel LOL Wednesday, May 11, 2011 1:43:18 AM via web in reply to redrivergrl

@Merreee1 @redrivergrl @gk68 @goatsred @tamale102280 @mikemadden59 @jihadihunter No blog has come out with it yet. A rumor so far. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 1:30:09 AM via web in reply to Merreee1


@Merreee1 @redrivergrl @gk68 @goatsred @tamale102280 @mikemadden59 @jihadihunter that a top right-wing blog has pics of Dem in sex scandal Wednesday, May 11, 2011 1:17:01 AM via web in reply to Merreee1

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" DEM Congressman>> @RepWeiner are you this Congressman? Thursday, May 05, 2011 10:14:11 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" Congressman>>@cbrangel are you the next Chris Lee? Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:49:59 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" Congressman>>@RepWeiner are you the next Chris Lee? Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:49:16 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" Congressman>> @cbrangel are you this Congressman? Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:36:45 PM via web

Rumor (via @goatsred) a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has sex-scandal pics of "big time" Congressman>> @RepWeiner are you this Congressman? Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:34:07 PM via web

goatsred

A big bomb about to burst: Rumor on the Right Coast is that a" big time" Congressman was caught with a mistre… (cont) http://deck.ly/~10j0Y Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:26:26 PM via TweetDeck Retweeted by patriotusa76 and 2 others (Full tweet at link says: "A big bomb about to burst: Rumor on the Right Coast is that a" big time" Congressman was caught with a mistress .There are pix and a top five Right-Wing blogger has them.")

RT @goatsred Rumor..a "big time" Congressman caught with mistress There are pix & a top 5 Right-Wing blogger has them>>@RepWeiner is it you? Thursday, May 05, 2011 6:31:21 PM via web

Weiner's Tweet History - never tweeted a yfrog pic from Tweetdeck

The Summary: Weiner has never posted pics on his twitter via Tweetdeck, yet was only posting from Tweetdeck on the evening of May 27.

The Blather: Obviously, #Weinergate is all the rage right now, and I've made some comments on blogs and twitter about the potential that Weiner's yfrog was "hacked" via their "private" email system, which Cannonfire has ably been investigating. Its a possible explanation, at the very least. Rachel Maddow explained the theory fairly well last night. Yfrog has now (at least temporarily?) disabled posting via email. (See this analysis on Little Green Footballs for more info.)

So, this is not a HUGE REVELATION POST!!!111 but I wanted to note some observations about Weiner's twitter history, which would make it inconsistent for him to have made the infamous dicktweet on May 27 himself. Its not absolute PROOF of anything, but I wanted to share for those interested.

According to all tweets currently appearing on Weiner's twitter page, he has tweeted 478 times since his first tweet on October 25, 2009 (he didn't actually start being active on Twitter until August 2010, but he sent a single tweet in October 2009).

Weiner's history shows he has tweeted links to yfrog pictures 7 times (excluding the now deleted tweet.). On six of those occasions, he did so by posting "via Twitter for Blackberry". (4 times on May 5, 2011; once on November 3, 2010, and once on September 26, 2010.) On the other remaining occasion (on 2/25/2011) he posted "via Yfrog."

Weiner has never posted a yfrog link via any other Twitter posting option. However, his tweets on the evening of May 27, the first of which came no more than a few minutes after the dicktweet, all came from "Tweetdeck." It would be odd (though not impossible, granted) for Weiner to send a pic "via Twitter for Blackberry" at the same time he was on Twitter via Tweetdeck. TweetDeck is a desktop application, and though there are Android and IPhone versions of it, there is no Tweetdeck app for Blackberry available yet.

What about the dicktweet, you say? Where was that tweeted from? Well, we do not know! There is no existing or known screen cap of that tweet (UPDATE: See below). Twitter user @patriotusa76 retweeted the dicktweet maybe 3 minutes after it was posted, but has not produced a screencap. (He did screencap the yfrog page, but that doesn't say how the pic got onto twitter.) And Tweetcongress' feed showing the dicktweet, which many saw as the story started to spread (multiple screencaps exist), does not display how tweets it reposts are posted. So we don't know how the dicktweet was posted right now.

So, it would be interesting to see where the dicktweet was posted from. If "via Twitter for Blackberry," it would be odd that Weiner was apparently on tweetdeck around the same exact time. And the EXIF information on the dickpic which has been shared suggests the pic was taken on a blackberry, but didn't match the same EXIF information that weiner's other yfrog pics do (because weiner's pics identify his BB as a model 9650, the EXIF information on the dicktweet doesn't identify the BB model.)

Other random info: Of Weiner's 478 tweets, 208 are "via web", 107 are "via Tweetdeck" (first used 8/18/2010), and 74 are "via Twitter for Blackberry." And in the scary department, @PatriotUSA76, the sole person to see the original dicktweet, has used the word "Weiner" in 571 tweets since joining twitter in January 2011!

ETA 12:33 EDT: I see the Smoking Gun may have more stuff up right now that may shed light on tweet source. Hopefully I didn't just waste 30 minutes on this blogpost. haha.

12:47 EDT: The Smoking Gun has all the screencaps which @PatriotUSA76 sent by email to Breitbart. However, the timeline cap he sent is using the "new twitter" which does not show where a tweet was sent from - arrgghhh -- the "old twitter" does contain this information.

Oddly, his timeline screen cap shows the dicktweet sent "25 minutes ago" - does twitter automatically update that timing on your screen? I thought the dicktweet was deleted within a few minutes? Is this weird?

From Wikipedia: User:Colonel Warden/RIP

* Black Kite
* Claritas
* Codf1977
* Collectonian
* Dalejenkins aka Drawn Some
* Firefly
* Gavin Collins
* Jack Merridew aka User:Gold Hat, User:Davenbelle, &c.
* Kurt Weber
* Le Grand Roi des Citrouilles
* Otto4711 aka Are You The Cow Of Pain?
* Pilotbob
* Polargeo aka Seenock
* Proabivouac
* Ratel
* Rlevse
* The Fat Man Who Never Came Back
* TTN
* Verbal
* Wageless
* Wolfkeeper


Explanation for wikigeeks: I really have no idea what this is, but a list of wikipedia nicks doesn't really do anything. But wiki editors seem quite upset about it, it is causing lots of drama. I may update this post if I dig into this more. See

• Wikipedia:Miscellany_for_deletion/User:Colonel_Warden/RIP_(2nd_nomination)
  
• Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2011_May_16#User:Colonel_Warden.2FRIP

tamtampamela (God is so Good!) is a HOAX people!

YouTuber "tamtampamela" is rising up the charts due to her recently posted video, GOD IS SO GOOD!!! (March 13, 2011, currently 421,329 views), where she praises God for the Japanese earthquake/tsunami as sending a message to atheists.

Her current oldest video dates to January 2010, and she's been posting similar over-the-top-evangelical-whackjob videos for the past year. Ones like this make it pretty obvious that she's can't be for real:

"Simple Ways to Remember Simple Teachings"

She claims she learned this song in Sunday school, "Revelation, Revelation, 21:8, 21:8, liars go to hell, liars go to hell, burn burn burn, burn burn burn!"

What is the purpose of the hoax? To expose the ridiculousness of Christians who believe the Bible is literally true and use it for hateful purposes.

Her youtube channel also has a list of quotes such as ""If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being. - --Jerry Falwell" She also wears internet-cool t-shirts in some vids, in-jokes that a real bible girl would never know about.

Lastly, "TamTamPamela" also is a poster at the Landover Baptist Church website, which is a spoof forum about Christianity. She recently changed her username to "Sister Pamela" but its the same person.


same post with new username (prior image came from a google cache):



There's little question her performances are pretty brilliant and will dupe many people. Some say she went over the line with the tsunami video - what do you think?

ETA 4:30am Pacific, 3/15/11: I understand that Pamela posted a coming out video, which is already gone because she closed her account.

• Random youtuber repost of original God Is So Good screed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP-sSeqPywI
  
• Tamtampamela's admission video repost: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBZMCtIXjIA
  
• Another forum she trolled: Christianchat.com thread (May 2010)

Wikipedia: Deletionists Delete Article About Deletionists

A little over a year ago, the well-known comic book, etc. writer Peter David published a column in Comic Buyer's Guide magazine discussing the nonsensical recent deletion of the Wikipedia article on actor Kristian Ayre. As a result, the wikipedia entry on Ayre was restored. A scan of the Peter David article itself (which is not otherwise online, Comic Buyer's Guide is primarily a print-only publication) was also uploaded to wikipedia with the express consent of Mr. David.

This was apparently fine for a year, until last month someone decided wikipedia didn't really have appropriate permission to hold a scan of the article, and ultimately deleted it despite being informed that the author clearly had authorized its use. Oh the irony.

Now Mr. David has joined the deletion review discussion. If every such discussion on wikipedia wasn't so damn wordy, it would be hilarious.

A quote from Mr. David:

This is Peter David, the author of the piece in question, speaking. Since I post infrequently, I don't have the hang of the various codes and such required, so I apologize in advance if there are elements to this post that are missing, but the content should be clear nonetheless. While I appreciate irony as much as anyone, I feel compelled to point out that I could not have been more explicit in giving broad and total freedom to distribute the article in question as much as humanly possible. For individuals here, now, to try and seize on some aspect of Wikipedia bylaws in order to delete an article critical of Deletionists seems remarkably self-serving and--as the Church Lady would say--conveeeeenient.

Useful links

• Current deletion review discussion
  
• A scan of the deleted file, i.e., the article decrying senseless deletion on Wikipedia
  
• Feb 24 2011 wikipedia discussion of alleged problems with image
  
• November 2009 Deletion Discussion on Kristian Ayre article

Ultimately, this episode illustrates a scenario not uncommon with any large organization, especially one with with a bunch of engineers, where technicalities in rules get elevated in importance far above their purpose and substance. While this doesn't seem like a bad thing in theory (we don't want people justifying murder on a whim), it can sometime lead to disastrous results when common sense is ignored. Here, the world will not end, I suppose, but the drama was unnecessary.