Republicons

"Instead of conducting witch hunts, we should consider bipartisan legislation to reduce the price of gas, reduce crime and secure the borders."

--House Republican LAMAR SMITH, blasting his Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for voting to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress

more:

White House aides not immune from subpoenas, judge says

House panel votes to cite Karl Rove for contempt

related:

Lawless Legislators - A Brief History of Indicted Senators

I Con! I Con! I Con!

related:

Bush continues GOP push for offshore oil drilling

"American drivers are counting on Congress to lift the ban, and so are American workers," President Bush said after meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

Most Americans favor an increase in offshore oil drilling, but the public is split over whether it would result in lower gas prices in the next year, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted this week.

More than two-thirds of Americans say they favor increasing drilling efforts off America's coasts, while only 30 percent disapprove of such action. Meanwhile, 51 percent think increased drilling offshore would reduce gas prices, while 49 percent believe it wouldn't.

more Bushism:

For White House, Hiring is Political

more Republican news:

Alaskan Senator charged with 7 felony counts in scheme to hide oil firm gifts

I CAN! I CAN! I CAN!

related:

Pickens rips Yahoo management, sells entire stake

Harvest Calender - Pennsylvania

[click here for more information]

Redux

Food Stuff Consumption

Friday, July 25, 2008

1/4-1/2 bottle of fruit punch (6-8 fl. oz.)
1/4 roast beef/cheese hoagie (lettuce/tomato/onion/mayonaise)
1 coffee (light/sweet) 20 fl. oz.
1 sausage/egg/pancake breakfast sandwich
1 hash brown (ketchup)
1 bottle of lager
1 pint of Kenzinger Ale (diff. location)
2 slices of strawberry shortcake
2 1/2 handfuls of snack medley (nacho cheese tortilla chips/pretzels/potato chips)
1 slice of strawberry ring cake
pint of lager
2 pints of lager (*) diff. location
1 small bag of cheez-it crackers (net wt. 3 oz.)
2 pints of lager (*) diff. location
1 can of 7-Up soda (12 fl. oz.)
1 shot of Jack Daniels
1 honey maple turkey/cheese on whole wheat bread sandwich (lettuce/tomato)
1 Brazilian shrimp burrito (net wt. 12 oz.)
1 1/2 packs of cigarettes

(*) plus additonal pint of lager

Quick Picks

Recommended Reads:

What You Lose on the Roundabout (Infinity Publishing, 2007) is Christine Weaver's compelling memoir detailing her diagnosis of Parkinson's and her fight to keep a sense of normalcy while her body begins to shut down. Taking it in turns being both funny and painful, Weaver tells her story with a no-holds-barred honesty and a clear and engaging narrative voice. Combining photographs, poetry, and lucid scenes of struggle and redemption, Ms Weaver's story illuminates the difficulty of overcoming illness while bolstering an innate spirit of survival that, in the face of the most adverse conditions, makes humans of us all. - Aimee LaBrie

A.F. Rutzy's End Credits (Casperian, 2008) offers an imaginative romp through the mysteries of the afterlife. The fun begins when the novel's narrator, Raymond Kessel, dies while crashing the wrong funeral. The only problem is that the afterlife isn't remotely like anything his Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Simmons, promised. Instead of plucking a harp behind the pearly gates, he finds himself desperately trying to get a straight answer from a Grim Reaper named Cleo while inhabiting the body of a wealthy advertising executive. From here, the novel only grows curiouser and curiouser (to borrow a phrase) as Rutzy introduces us to a wide cast of memorable characters including (but not limited to) the previously mentioned angel of death, a desperate would-be rock star, a bumbling accountant, and a pair of wild hogs with an apparent fondness for sunglasses and shopping malls. Conjuring his vision of American excess with a careful balance of exuberance and aplomb, the Finnish author weaves an intricate web of characters and amusingly outlandish scenarios that had me hooked from the word "go." - Marc Schuster

Quote Of The Day

"The oil industry goes up there and industrializes what has been a pristine area...suddenly it becomes the new Houston."

--FRANK O'DONNELL, president of the nonprofit group Clean Air Watch, protesting a plan to drill in the Arctic Circle. Experts determined the area could fulfill global demand for oil for three years

10 Things You Should Know about John McCain

There are some things I never seem to hear about John McCain from the media. I thought you should see this list. Please check it out and pass it on!

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.


John McCain is not who the Washington press corps makes him out to be. So forward this link to your personal network! And if you want stay in the loop on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here.

Thanks!

SOURCES:

1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008


2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008


"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008


3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008


4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007


5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008


"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007


6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008


"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008


7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008


"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008


8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008


"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008


9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008


"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008


"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008


10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008

Music - Circus Devils

Eye Razors


Get me Extra!

Philadelphia Phillies

[previously at the Corner Bar]

July 17th

Today's Highlights in History

On July 17, 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind.

On July 17, 1899, James Cagney, the Academy-Award winning American film actor, was born. Following his death on March 30, 1986, his obituary appeared in The Times.


On this date in:

1821 - Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

1898 - Spanish troops in Santiago, Cuba, surrendered to U.S. forces during the Spanish-American War.

1900 - Hall of fame pitcher Christy Mathewson made his major league debut with the New York Giants.

1917 - With the country at war with Germany, the British royal family changed its name from the German Saxe-Coburg Gotha to Windsor.

1945 - President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II.

1948 - Southern Democrats opposed to the party's position on civil rights met in Birmingham, Ala., to endorse South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond.

1955 - Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif.

1961 - Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb died at age 74.

1967 - Jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died at age 40.

1979 - Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza resigned and fled into exile in Miami.

1981 - A pair of walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a dance, killing 114 people.

1996 - TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 bound for Paris, exploded and crashed off Long Island, N.Y., shortly after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 230 people aboard were killed.

1997 - Woolworth Corp. closed its last 400 five-and-dime stores, laying off 9,200 employees.

2000 - Bashar Assad, son of Hafez Assad, became Syria's 16th head of state.

2004 - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mockingly used the term "girlie men" during a rally as he claimed Democrats were delaying the state budget by catering to special interests.

2005 - The Iraqi Special Tribunal filed its first criminal case against Saddam Hussein for a 1982 massacre of Shiites.

2007 - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Va., on charges related to competitive dogfighting.

Fridge

related:

Hunger Can Make You Happy

Stats

This chart shows the daily hits for the last 30 days.
Hits for today are the hits counted since midnight.



This chart shows the weekly hits for the last 52 weeks.
Hits for this week are the hits counted since midnight on Sunday morning.

Statistics as of July 10, 2008 at 1:07 pm CDT
Site: Automotive Acne Productions

Your counter was created on October 22, 2007 at 10:05 am CDT with a starting count of 0. You currently have your counter set to increment on Unique Hits Only.

Total Hits: 1000
Hits Today (so far): 9
Hits Since Start: 1000
Average Daily Hits Since Start: 3.81

Roll Call Vote

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 2nd Session

Vote Summary

Question: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 6304 )
Vote Number: 168 Vote Date: July 9, 2008, 02:47 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Bill Passed
Measure Number: H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 )
Measure Title: A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes.

Vote Counts:

YEAs 69
NAYs 28
Not Voting 3


Alphabetical by Senator Name

Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Barrasso (R-WY), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Nay
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brown (D-OH), Nay
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Cantwell (D-WA), Nay
Cardin (D-MD), Nay
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting
Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Not Voting
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Nay
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Nay


Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---69

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs ---28

Akaka (D-HI)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 3

Kennedy (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)


Grouped by Home State

Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Not Voting Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California: Boxer (D-CA), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado: Allard (R-CO), Yea Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Nay Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Nay Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Nay Obama (D-IL), Yea
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Nay Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Nay
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Yea Reid (D-NV), Nay
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Sununu (R-NH), Yea
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay Menendez (D-NJ), Nay
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Domenici (R-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Nay
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Yea Dole (R-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Nay Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Yea Graham (R-SC), Yea
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Thune (R-SD), Yea
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Nay Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Nay Murray (D-WA), Nay
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Enzi (R-WY), Yea

more:

TELECOM IMMUNITY: The Cover-Up Is Complete

related:

War Powers Act has not worked, study concludes

politics continued:

King Karl & Executive Privilege

update:

Rove ignores subpoena, refuses to testify

To a Good Home: Animal Art

Group Show to Benefit Main Line Animal Rescue


"Old Dog,"oil on paper, Ed Bronstein, 2007.

Over 20 artists show their work of all animal subjects. Proceeds of all sales go to the Main Line Animal Rescue, a wonderful organization that saves animals from puppy mills and all types of abuse. Please come and join us for a fun evening of animal love and support...and wine and cheese, too! Feel free to bring your favorite animal. We hope that you'll take an animal (artwork) home with you.

TWENTY TWO GALLERY
236 S. 22nd St.
(on 22nd between Locust &Spruce Sts.)
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 772-1911
Summer Hours: Mon. thru Sun. 7 am to 2 pm
or by appointment.

Opening Reception: Second Thursday, July 10, 2008, 6pm to 9pm
Refreshments served
Exhibit continues through August 7, 2008

The Believer

The Fourth Annual Believer Book Award
—Hereby Presented To

Remainder by Tom McCarthy

“What’s the most intense, clear memory you have?” asks the narrator of Tom McCarthy’s Remainder. “The one you can see even if you close your eyes—really see, clear as in a vision?” Dispensing with Proustian reminiscence, McCarthy brazenly assumes the role of conceptual artist and literally reconstructs moments of time. In the same way that Robbe-Grillet’s Jealousy tells its story through architecture in book form, Remainder is an art installation disguised as a brilliant novel.

After enduring hospitalization due to an undisclosed falling “something,” the novel’s nameless narrator receives a massive corporate reparation, which gives his post-traumatic mind the opportunity to fund any bizarre project it imagines. In this case, that means physically realizing his memories and quasi-metaphysical visions, creating a fantasy world he can inhabit for the duration of the book.

On the surface, the narrator is concerned with uncomplicated things, such as “blue liquid gushing out of an air conditioning unit” or “taking a carrot in your right hand”—but as with William S. Burroughs or Raymond Roussel, there exists a remarkable system of intersecting ideas governing every detail of Remainder’s hermetic universe. McCarthy conjures miniature worlds and explores the fabric of time with the creative ambition usually reserved for science fiction authors. Every movement of every character is McCarthy’s way of asking his larger question: What does it means to be an authentic human being?

McCarthy wields all the literary essentials—neurosis, repression, subconscious desires, etc.—but wields them like newfangled weapons, aiming them into strange little pockets of life, such as déjà vu and nostalgia. He manipulates the what-would-you-do-with-a-million-dollars hypothetical to take free reign with his imagination, and bravely rethinks the way people act out their lives.

*

AN EXCERPT FROM REMAINDER

As far as positions and movements were concerned: I took care of these myself, as before. I showed the Michelin Man boy re-enactor where to stand and sway, and the other two how to kick his head between them. I made them kick it with their legs mechanically, like zombies or robots. The driver, the person re-enacting my role, had to get out slowly. Like the concierge, he wore a white ice-hockey goaltender’s mask, so as not to overrun my personality with his—or, more precisely, so as not to impose any personality at all. I just wanted the motions and the words, all deadpan, neutral—wanted the re-enactors to act out the motions without acting and to speak the words without feeling, in disinterested voices, as monotonous as my pianist. The oldest boy had to take the tyre from the boot, carry it over to the lathe and fix it; the middling one had to attempt to help him lift it and the oldest had to push his hand away; the youngest one had to come over and then lurk outside the door. I showed them where to step, to lift, to kick, to stand. Most of the time they only had to stand, completely static.


more:

Tom McCarthy interviewed by Mark Alizart

“Art has become the place where literary ideas are received, debated, and creatively transformed.”

Fact & Fiction

"John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country - but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area his judgment has been flawed - he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues."

--General Wesley Clark

opposing conservative view:

Back Channels: John McCain, he's brave and he's honest

bonus round:

more cartoons of the week

Free Admission

Beginning July 1, 2008, ICA will be free to the public for the first time in its history!

This initiative is made possible by a generous gift from Glenn R. Fuhrman. ICA Overseer and contemporary art collector, Mr. Fuhrman is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (undergraduate 1987; graduate degree 1988).

The Fuhrman gift will underwrite admissions at the ICA for the next five years allowing access to all exhibitions. ICA plans to celebrate this new initiative with a community-wide event Thursday, September 4, 2008. This event, which will also be free and open to the public, will kick-off our fall exhibition schedule to include the work of artists Douglas Blau, Robert Crumb, Kate Gilmore and Odili Donald Odita.

Free admission to the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania for the public is sponsored by the Glenn R. Fuhrman (W87/WG88) Fund.