Separated At Birth?

OK, one of my New Year's resolutions is to revive this blog, but that comes in the next day or two; this is just a quickie post. This afternoon, we were watching Singin' in the Rain, which was one of Brilliant Daughter's Christmas gifts, and I had a nagging feeling that one of the characters looked familiar. You be the judge:

Donald O'Conner (aka Cosmo Brown):

Kent Jones (aka Kent Jones), of the Rachel Maddow Show:

I'm jus' sayin'... Vigilance!

Our Generation's Tom Lehrer

'Nuff said:

Are You as Smart as an 8th Grader?

Oh, yeah? Prove it! Take the quiz:

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Off To Meet the Mysterions

I'm intensely proud to note that my daughter has been accepted to Yale, and will enroll there in the fall. Tomorrow, she, her mother, and I will be heading to New Haven for Bulldog Days, a 3-day "preview" for admitted students and their families.

I have no doubt that my daughter will have a wonderful time at Yale, and I don't doubt for a second that she deserves to be there. There's another question, though, that hadn't occurred to me 'til just the last couple days: Is my little 'ol middle-class, middle-brow self up to the role of Yale Parent???

Guess I'll start finding out tomorrow; I'll let y'all know...

But Will They Know It's a Joke?

I just saw this posted on MyLeftNutmeg and couldn't stop laughing.

My only concern is that some folks might miss the irony and take the faux argument seriously!

I Write Letters

So I got a letter "printed" here, at Altercation, in response to Eric Alterman's comments about the Randi Rhodes/Air America Radio dustup.

The thing is, Altercation cut the letter for length, which I completely understand... but in doing so, they put more emphasis on my comments about Rhodes and less on my appreciation of Rachel Maddow, which was my main point in writing, and completely eliminated my shout-out to former Air America host and (FSM willing) future U.S. Senator Al Franken.

Happily, I never seem to throw away my own words, so here's the rest of the letter as originally posted:

When Rhodes moved to Air America, I tried to listen, but eventually just couldn't take her anymore. Dr. Maddow (she was, amusingly enough, a Rhodes Scholar) is the perfect antidote: No less passionate about liberal ideals, she's brilliant, and tireless in her studies of issues, and brings a focus and rationality to her commentary that's the polar opposite of Rhodes' messy rants.

Oh yeah, she's really funny, too.

IMHO, the best thing that could happen to Air America is something I can't root for: The return of Al Franken. His show was the highlight of my day, and I miss it constantly... but I fervently hope Al will be busy with a much more important job for some multiple of 6 years.

Never let it be said that I don't love to hear myself talk, eh?

And Soon No Drinking and No Talking

I thought Eddie Izzard was joking in his Dress to Kill show when he teased San Franciscans about smoking bans in bars. "No smoking in bars now, and soon," he said, "no drinking and no talking!" (see ~5:02)

As always, the real world turns out to be stranger than comedy, at least in St. Charles, MO, a St. Louis area town where a proposed bill would ban "indecent, profane or obscene language, songs, entertainment and literature" in bars. And table dancing and drinking contests!

I'm imagining taverns full of people eating air-popped popcorn and drinking distilled water, while listening to children's choirs sing hymns.

At least they apparently haven't banned darts. Say, how many points is that boy soprano over there worth?

New Year's Resolution

Aside from yet another promise to keep up with this lonely blog, there's at least one resolution that will be easy to keep: I really need to drink more!

Yet another new study touts the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption. This study found that people who drink 1 to 2 drinks a day (i.e., up to 14 drinks a week!) and put in moderate exercise can reduce their risk of heart disease by 30 to 49 percent compared to couch-bound tea-totalers... but even better, it found that drinking alone provides more risk reduction than exercising alone.

I knew I put that Mr. Boston Bartender's Guide on my holiday wishlist for a reason. I wonder if Bombay Sapphire is included on my drug insurance?