First Drafttag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-6152772009-11-07T09:25:00-06:00Writing is only real on the first draftTypePadSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationWeekend Question Threadtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6ac1ed8970c2009-11-07T09:25:00-06:002009-11-07T09:25:00-06:00AthenaeWhat's your favorite guilty pleasure food? (I know, I know, we're all good DFH's here, we only eat organic carrots after a prayer of thanks to the vegetables for giving up their carroty lives for us, seriously. For me? Real...Saturday Blogwhoring Threadtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a656a931970b2009-11-07T09:23:00-06:002009-11-07T09:23:00-06:00AthenaePost away. A.The Idas of November tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65f3e97970b2009-11-07T00:00:00-06:002009-11-06T23:52:04-06:00AdrastosWe had an extended summer in New Orleans this year. It was hot enough during Oktoberfest to melt your fricking lederhosen und wilt your wienerschnitzel but am I complaining? Hell, no. It was a blissfully dull hurricane season: we didn't...Fundraising Drive Ends: Thank You Alltag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0128755ffed6970c2009-11-06T21:51:27-06:002009-11-06T21:51:27-06:00AthenaeThank you to everyone who contributed to the fundraising drive, who linked or donated or sent encouraging notes. I tried to reply to everything; if I missed somebody in there somewhere, THANK YOU. Your support means a great deal. A.Friday Ferretbloggingtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6ac2232970c2009-11-06T09:31:00-06:002009-11-06T09:31:00-06:00Athenae,* waits patiently for jokes about having a ferret stuck in the pipes, ma'am I think we've identified your problem, etc *A.Quiet hate hurtstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65bfc70970b2009-11-06T08:09:14-06:002009-11-06T08:09:14-06:00DocA few months ago, I found myself in one of those Disneyland-style lines at the airport as we attempted to pass through security. Just behind me in the line was a beefy, muscular guy, about six feet tall, who had...Malaka Of The Week: John Boehnertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65a847e970b2009-11-06T00:00:00-06:002009-11-05T23:12:59-06:00AdrastosI have a big day ahead of me and there was too much malakatude to choose from this week so I took the easy way out. (Jeers erupt in the peanut gallery.) House minority leader John Boehner (hereinafter Boner) is...Walking The Story Backtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65a3518970b2009-11-05T20:33:05-06:002009-11-05T20:33:05-06:00AthenaeThe only part of this Fort Hood business I feel remotely qualified to begin to talk about is the coverage, of which it is impossible to judge the accuracy right now. But on TV people are calling up anyone they...Horribletag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6ade4db970c2009-11-05T18:24:32-06:002009-11-05T18:24:32-06:00AthenaeJust horrible: FORT HOOD, Texas – An Army officer opened fire Thursday with two handguns at the Fort Hood military base in an attack that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman and apprehended two other...Tear Down This Wall, Mr. Bonotag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a657541e970b2009-11-05T13:42:21-06:002009-11-05T13:41:26-06:00AdrastosI wonder if this could be called a Bono no-no: A U2 show marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has run into controversy - after organisers built a wall around the venue. A two metre...Throwing in Their Lot With the Looniestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6abef65970c2009-11-05T08:32:08-06:002009-11-05T08:32:08-06:00AthenaeWell, you own it now, bitches. Try disavowing it later. And you know, I'd like every cowardly Democrat who refused to show up for an anti-war rally in the past nine years to check this shit out. Just look at...ConservaChrist® and His Roman Buddies Celebrate the big GOP Wintag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6abe71c970c2009-11-05T08:20:14-06:002009-11-05T08:20:14-06:00Michael FFrom Album3 You might think that what amounted to (no pun intended) a wash in an off year election, not to mention a rather sound rebuke of the idea that local issues are merely "parochial" and should never get in...First Draft Fundraising Continuestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6557548970b2009-11-05T00:43:24-06:002009-11-05T00:43:24-06:00AthenaeNew posts begin below. I get a question a lot, variations of "What do you write about on your web site?" or "What is your blog about?" And I usually respond with "it's about cat macros, Chris Dodd and making...Keep Your Hands Off Pop Culture's Pointy Objects, Kidstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6557398970b2009-11-05T00:37:33-06:002009-11-05T00:37:33-06:00AthenaeSo I actually TiVo'd "V" last night because I was curious, and ... wow, so not the new Galactica. Annoying in all the ways sci-fi can be annoying, in that everything is very clean and slick and pretty, the aliens...This Will End Welltag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6aad863970c2009-11-04T23:57:46-06:002009-11-04T23:57:46-06:00AthenaeLet's rile up a bunch of lunatics, march them around, tell them Nancy Pelosi (who I don't understand why she seems SO SCARY to Republicans, like, Dennis Hastert aside from looking like a Weeble never freaked Democrats out that much)...Caption Ittag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6547ad0970b2009-11-04T18:03:20-06:002009-11-04T18:03:20-06:00AthenaeA.A day latetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6a938c1970c2009-11-04T14:28:32-06:002009-11-04T14:28:32-06:00Virgo TexA lot of people weren't surprised by it, but still, the loss last night in Maine was a severe blow for marriage equality and LGBT civil rights. So where do we stand today? What do we do next time? It's...Yes, I Would Like Him When He's Angrytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a651210d970b2009-11-04T07:46:00-06:002009-11-04T07:46:00-06:00AthenaeSteve: Target Markets * "Although the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times both looked at property tax increases across the city on Tuesday, neither paper mentioned that across Chicago, black and Latino neighborhoods will see the highest percentage hikes in...Tangipahoa Parish Malakatude Updatetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a651d098970b2009-11-04T00:57:55-06:002009-11-04T00:59:41-06:00AdrastosRemember former malaka of the week Keith Bardwell? He's the Tangipahoa (Louisiana) Parish Justice of the Peace who didn't believe in performing interracial marriages. He resigned yesterday. I hope he still lets black folk use his terlet...The Off Off Year Electiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65198ee970b2009-11-04T00:15:30-06:002009-11-04T00:38:18-06:00AdrastosThat's a helluva lot of offs innit? And, no, I'm not talking about Off to deal with skeeters although we had a pretty darn wet October in New Orleans. But I digress, which is what I do best. Where the...First Draft Fundraising Day Threetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6a71682970c2009-11-04T00:04:47-06:002009-11-04T00:04:47-06:00AthenaeNew posts begin below. The drive continues. Back when we were mocking the Freepi and their Freep-a-Thons, and how they complain all the time about how blogging is so hard and unrewarding, I kept thinking about what a shitty argument...Teabagger Asplosiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a65188d0970b2009-11-03T22:40:49-06:002009-11-03T22:40:49-06:00AthenaeTommy's gonna have some fun with the Freepi on Monday. You know, I have been watching this clusterfuck with sort of horrified fascination since about Saturday. Let me see if I've got this straight, these Palinite teabag idiots, who all...Shorter Fox Barbie Dolls: Life is Haaarrrrrrd!tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a64ebc74970b2009-11-03T13:31:00-06:002009-11-03T13:31:00-06:00AthenaeOh, God, the whining: “It sucks,” says Democratic direct-mail consultant Liz Chadderdon, a regular on the network. “It is very, very tough to be a Democrat on Fox.” During an October 2007 hit on “The Factor,” Chadderdon referred to the...Mainetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a64d4e49970b2009-11-03T10:13:00-06:002009-11-03T10:13:00-06:00AthenaePlease please please please please: PORTLAND, Maine – Bolstered by out-of-state money and volunteers, both sides jockeyed Monday to boost turnout for a Maine referendum that could give gay-rights activists in the U.S. their first victory at the ballot box...Just Say No to Joetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6a44ab5970c2009-11-03T09:14:44-06:002009-11-03T09:14:44-06:00BuggyQI admit it--this post is purely an excuse to celebrate the hotness that was the movie Witness. I mean really, Harrison Ford, Alexander Godunov and a very young and very adorable Viggo Mortensen? Three men who could actually make those...First Draft Fundraising Week: Day 2tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a6a2c39c970c2009-11-03T01:04:00-06:002009-11-03T08:18:24-06:00AthenaeNew posts begin below this. This year, during a lot of conferences and meetings and summits and "whither journalism" discussions that basically had very little to do with blogging to which I went anyway, people kept asking about the business...Carl Hiaasen Goes Roguetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a64d96b4970b2009-11-03T00:29:17-06:002009-11-03T00:28:10-06:00AdrastosCarl Hiaasen is one of the funniest writers the US and A has ever produced. He's best known for his hilarious crime fiction novels. My favorite is Skin Tight wherein the heavy has a weedwacker for an arm prosthesis. I...Concern Trolling: Even Movie Reviews Aren't Immunetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a64a9446970b2009-11-02T17:10:00-06:002009-11-02T17:10:00-06:00AthenaeWow: The documentary has a laudatory tone; after following Obama for two years both Rice and Sams said they voted for him. The film could leave Obama fans pining about potential yet unfulfilled and give opponents another example of the...Editorial Decisionstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a69fc84e970c2009-11-02T15:31:00-06:002009-11-02T15:31:00-06:00AthenaePeople make them all the time: "Nancy Grace called and wanted to have some of us on her show, but before it aired there was a white woman from Georgia that went missing. The Nancy Grace show was canceled," Knight...First Draft Fundraising Week Beginstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c5ced53ef0120a699b76b970c2009-11-02T09:51:00-06:002009-11-02T09:51:00-06:00AthenaeAll right. We do this once a year, ask those of you who read the site and like the site to support the site. Cat macros ain't cheap, y'all, and the ferrets need new shoes for school. Seriously, in the...