and get my beastie boys tickets.

there are very few times in my day where minutes and seconds mean everything, besides the shootouts, and the car chases, and the knifeplay,

but thats a given,

and now that i think of it, so much of that is pre-planned, that a minute here or there shouldnt matter because when you work as a team its sorta like

group a … GO!

group b, hold back.

group c, cover the alley.

but ticketmaster… fuck. when the shits go on sale at 10am, you better have your shit together at 10am.

and lord help you if youre hitting reload cuz it wont click to a new screen at 10am when the floodgates open.

you have to click the Back button and then click the link.

its all so terrible.

if i had ten minutes with our new president John Kerry i would spend the ENTIRE time asking him why we should tolerate this monopoly?

not only did i get stiffed $9.55 per ticket for “covenience fee” but they got me $3.35 for the order processing fee.

so to buy two $45 tickets, i have to pay them $20 for the priveldge.

i still dont know the difference between convenience fee and order processing fees.

i did get 5th row for my favorite rap group.

but no thanks to ticketmaster.

thanks to my former xbi mate rob t, who didnt need to flow me with the kroq internet presale password, but he did. (BOROUGHS).

and now on 9/13 i get to take my true love to see a great show.

despite my phone ringing off the hook, despite being pissed off that ticketmaster gets such a huge cut. despite now being really hungry.

imagine if the instapundit spent a quarter of the time and effort and influence that he has to help break up Ticketmaster’s unfair stranglehold on the american consumer, which would actually benefit the average citizen of this fine land

instead of being a righty tool by joining in on the latest smear campaign by trying to convince his millions of readers that john kerry really didnt earn those purple hearts and wasnt the soldier that he (and his band of brothers) says that he was

you may say im a dreamer

i probably am.

bruner + coyote + flagrant‘s error page + danielle

a new photo essay

about mr. jim gilliam, the co-producer of Outfoxed

and the man who just pulled off the first quicktime fisking of television’s own bill o’reilly.

and he did it beautifully.

actually his About page on his website says it perfectly:

Jim Gilliam is a former dot com executive turned activist filmmaker.

In the wake of 9/11, Gilliam left his position as chief technology officer of high-profile startup Business.com and devoted his time to more pressing matters. Through MoveOn.org, in 2003, he hooked up with veteran filmmaker Robert Greenwald to research and help produce the groundbreaking documentary, “Uncovered: The War on Iraq” about the faulty intelligence that led the U.S. to war. Bringing together the world of film, politics, and the internet, “Uncovered” defined a new generation of films — the grassroots political documentary.

Gilliam then co-produced Greenwald’s next film, “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism,” an unprecedented look at the propaganda techniques employed by FOX News.

Prior to Business.com, Gilliam was the chief architect at eCompanies, a venture capital firm and incubator in Santa Monica, and a principal software engineer at Lycos, one of the first internet search engines. He has been blogging at jimgilliam.com since 1999.

i cant wait to see his next film.

media matters + moore v oreilly at the dnc convention + nuance + i cant wait to vote

she was very sweet, quite willing, wonderful, cute as hell, and quite good at shaking her hips as well as letting her backbone slip.

when you date girls from other worlds you learn a little about their backgrounds and she taught me a thing or two about Cuba and Castro’s version of communism.

it was interesting because being born in Washington DC and growing up in Chicago and living the last 20 years here in southern california, i have experienced America in a way that i wouldnt change for anything.

i am proud to be from such a country that on many levels does provide freedom and opportunity.

therefore i was shocked when she told me that she believed in communism and admired how Castro ran his tiny little dictatorship in the shadow of the US who has done everything it can to destroy it.

i bring this up because friday is Fidel’s 79th birthday, and i saw this picture above and it struck me as interesting that when we think of communism we think of things like a depletion of human rights, unfair imprisonment, kangaroo courts, no hope for justice, a uniformity that restricts individuality, and a domineering government that imposes its will On the people instead of being at the will Of the people.

she admits that Castro doesnt like people who stand out in the middle of the streets and denounce their country. but the truth is, neither does the blogosphere. difference is, you can go to jail for doing that in havana.

so the irony of the US using Guantanamo in Cuba as a holding station for alleged Al-Qaeda and Taliban members is striking to me because we are doing to these people all the things we feared that communism would do if it was “allowed” to spread.

we have held these people for a couple of years now. we have not given them lawyers to defend them. we have not charged them.

we just basically locked their asses up.

even in cuba you are told why youre being locked up.

in all of this patriotism that we’re hiding behind, theres a dirty little not-so-secret happening right in front of us that something should be done about.

my question to the president is, if these are bad people, and we know how theyve been bad, why arent we putting them on trial?

and if these are bad people, but we have no proof why they are bad, then how do we know they are bad without a trial?

my other question is, whats the delay?

youve had nearly three years now to build a case against these people. if you dont have enough evidence to fuck them, then quit fucking them.

is that so hard?

meanwhile im still waiting for the president to release his military records or Any proof that he was not a deserter in the National Guard during the Vietnam War.

seems like this administration loves to make people wait.

all i have to say is release the records because there will be nothing worse for the Repubs than to win the election, but then find their president being impeached when the records show that he, indeed, did Not report to duty during those three months, and now he must be court-martialed with the possibility of death for deserting during a time of war.

where do you think those records might be?

when do you think we’ll stop acting like fucking commies to these prisoners?

when do you think the liberal media will actually start asking these questions in a serious manner to those in charge?

and if communism isnt a threat any more, which it obviously isnt, when can i go to cuba and meet more girls like the lil conchita who no longer wants what i can deliver?

these, my friends, are the questions that go through my head this evening as i wait for my ride home.

by tony pierce

yes the cubs are eleven games out of first place in the national league central.

yes they are behind the st. louis cardinals, who are the hottest team in all sport.

but because of a design flaw in major league baseball’s post-season wild-card dealie the cubs, if they win the wild card slot, which they probably will, wont have to play their rivals, the cardinals in the first round.

according to mlb rules, the wild card team plays the divisional winner with the best record Unless they are both in the same division.

that means the Cards will play either Atlanta or LA in the first round, giving the Cubs the chance to not only play a less-hot team than St. Louis;

but the Cardinals and their weak-ass pitching staff have a chance to get knocked out in the first round, leaving the Cubs to win that NL Pennant that they were one foulball away from nabbing last year.

so to secure this world series heres what the cubs need to do

1. disallow anybody named Steve to gain access to Wrigley Field during the playoffs and world series

2. dont trade anyone named Ruth, Dent, or LoDuca

3. with a rotation of Wood, Prior, Zambrano, and Clement– put Greg Maddux in the bullpen to set up or possibly be the closer.

4. fire steve stone and chip caray

5. pitch around Beltre

6. pitch around a-rod, jeter, and sheff in the world series

7. pray pray pray

steph did LA + that ashley girl + wonkette

im remembering this because of emmanuelles post where she reports on a challenge that i was given.

we were talking about morrissey’s new cd and how he sings about how america acts superior because we gave the world hamburger.

i said, we dont feel superior because we gave the world hamburger, but because we gave the world mcdonalds.

some one said, are you serious?

i said, yes, other than french girls and swedish girls, (i forgot to say asian girls but i was drinking, and think even less during those moments) america has given the world everything that everyone loves

and thats why they so desperately want to be like us.

ugly americanism at its best.

and only mostly true.

around 2am we were debating free trade.

we’ve come a long way since dropping acid and gazing at the palm of our hands.

i was all, i have no problem giving Nike a bribe, i mean a tax cut, i mean an incentive for setting up a factory in hollywood so that americans can produce $150 american-made shoes that can be sold alongside the $100 indonesian-made sneakers.

let the lebron james shoes or the new air jordans get made in america. the 75% price increase will more than absorb the cost increase of american workers and the union they will probably join.

and i bet all the cool kids would be more than happy to have the latest kicks made in hollywood… where dreams are born.

blair and welch of course poo pooed the idea, unfamiliar with logic and progressive ideas, rigid in their hardlined freeeeee-traaaaaade mantra. ambivalent to the fact that when americans had jobs under clinton the economy boomed, there was prosperity, and there was no need to inject the collective psyche with fear.

their philosophy, i imagine, is that as developing countries come out of their tin shacks to nike factories to earn their $5 a day, those countries will begin to prosper and they can then import american goods and services.

like mcdonalds, ford trucks, and nike shoes.

sorry, but i dont have 100 years to wait for such malarky. and why are some people so hesitant to infusing THIS country with the aid that they’re so willing to ship off around the world?

have you ever spent much time in downtown LA?

it’s my belief that a strong american workforce will inspire a stronger american entrepenuer culture. one that will take what successes it learned here and go to foreign lands and start up newspapers, soul food chains, and Foxy Boxing circuits.

a shoe factory in hollywood or compton in 2004 producing quality trends will not only foster a work ethic that exists in every zip code in this country, but it will create generations of americans who can have pride in what they do, while improving their currently dilapidated community from within.

no offense but fuck indonesia while ive got concerns in my own backyard.

of course my ideals were shot down by the learned gentlemen of letters, so i brought it home.

fine then, screw shoes, i said. screw factories.

america is the worlds breadbasket.

i pointed to blair’s pack of smokes.

i said, from what i can assume, a pack of cigarrettes contain about 1/8 of an ounce of tobbacco. from what ive read, 1/8 an ounce of marijuana goes for about $60.

the cost of cigarrettes to the manufacturer, including advertising and shipping, etc. is probably about $1 a pack.

i said, you could put a $14 a pack tax on marijuana cigarrettes, if you had the free trade courage to legalize it, and with the tax and production revenues, pay for all the education and free health care that the dems cry about, but you could also pay off our debt and probably have a little left over for all the bombs youre dying to drop on the taliban.

america would have an export that could be made in the usa. the quality would be unmatched. their boys, big tobacco, would have the new product they are dying to release, and the enviornmentalists would be thrilled because hemp would replace trees for producing paper.

and the Christian right would be appeased because god’s happy plant, so perfect you plant a seed in dirt, water it, and it creates a weed that when ingested makes you smile, would be freed to do what He intended it to do.

but the only reason you wont do it, i posed, while lifting my half drunken bottle of rum at them

is because youre racists, and you know that by keeping weed illegal, you keep minorities under your thumb, and in prison

where you think they belong.

and thats why people take me into dark alleys and beat my ass when i say shit like that in the xbi.

welch and blair, gentlemen that they are, just laughed and called it a night.

the holy writer has finally moved to blogger + Outfoxed producer catches O’Reilly in a new lie + best new blog design ive seen + one year ago today

last night i was up till 3am talking politics with welch and blair. a completely delightful evening.

earlier in the day ms. heather rabbit was there, cathy seipp and her lovely daughter was there, mr. mickey kaus was there telling me that i am the only blogger that has ever gotten laid from his blog (not true), amy alkon, ben sullivan, kate sullivan, greg and molli rudnick, and of course lil sean.

all was good in the hood.

mr. steve coulter was there cooking up some delicious pork for us with his lovely wife heather. shanon and justin were there.

coulter by the way is the new drummer for the Royal Trux.

it was a crazy night, and yes that is eddie van halen on the left.

i must insist how great it was talking to tim about poltics.

the guy knows aussie history and politics, american history and politics, and middle east history and politics. and hes funny. and hes evenkeeled.

and he does a pretty good ken layne impression at times.

and he has some bright ideas about how conventions should be run in the future which i wont reveal at this time.

it was gorgeous last night and we all sat outside under the palm trees listening to the possums eat from the fruits of the trees.

the pit bulls barked at the moon,

and the neighbors yelled at their wives.

fullon east hollywood on a sunday night.

blair confided that he didnt read my blog very much because he got jealous of all the girls that i got and i was all, dude, nothing in here is true

and he said nothing?

and i said nothing,

and welch said, he gets way more ass than he writes about.

and when they looked at me for confirmation i just took another swig from my green bottle of beer.

cuz nobody likes a braggart.

linda + matt welch + emmanuelle

talking about what they do when theyre fucked up.

ive got groceries in the trunk, the cubs on the telly, and a bbq at welches house that i am fixin to attend.

just after i write and tell you that this ipod deal is pretty sweet, i must admit.

miss montreal has a honda element that has an AUX jack right there on the passenger’s dashboard. and under that jack is a little tray for things like your wallet, your camera, and an ipod.

a mini plug connects the music to the dashboard and the radio automatically goes into AUX mode.

pretty sweet.

last night we listened to tsar as we drove around venice.

i taped the kxlu show on a really bad vocal tape, then i digitized it. now i have to figure out how i can cut the half hour show into 7-8 mp3s and post them on here once a week.

i would also like to know how i can pause something in the middle of the track.

for example, lets say that someone emails me a four hour radio show.

lets say i park the car, turn off the ipod, go into the liquor store and come out… how do i resume where i left off?

the ipod just goes back to the begining of the track. so lame.

and how do i fast forward faster than just hitting the >> button?

there should be a >>> button somewheres.

or if you hold it down for a good while it should skip from ever :30 seconds to every five minutes. ive got three hours i have to skip through.

i realize that thats not the typical use of this lovely item, but at 40 gigs i would imagine people are going to have long things on their after a while.

barry bonds is up against kerry wood.

shit if i knew id be hanging with welch and blair i woulda brought over my outfoxed dvd instead of leaving it at my true loves house.

these are the problems you face in hollywood.

the cubs have only lost one game since they got nomar you know.

and yes, the clothes in that picture are hanging from a noose.

emmanuelle richard + tim blair + matt welch

starring Bill O’Reilley, Walter Cronkite, and Rupert Murdock

produced and directed by Robert Greenwald

i write you from sunny santa monica, my third favorite city of all time. isla vista. amsterdamm. vegas. hollywood. santa monica. ensenada. santa barbara. chicago. goleta. maui. manhattan. eugene. paris. tijuana. florence.

ok fourth. fifth. who’s counting?

my trueist is making bacon that i can smell. there might be some eggs and toast happening. its hard to tell. shes listening to kcrw. harry shearer.

last night we watched Outfoxed. the film about how Fox News is completely slanted to the right.

to be honest, i didnt have that much hope for it. i didnt think anyone could do a better political documentary than michael moore.

and i was all, so Fox is right wing, so what?

but after watching this i realize they might have a point that maybe they helped influence the presidential election of 2000. it is a strange coincidence that all the other network news shows flip flopped and named bush president after they named gore president.

i know this was brought up in F 9/11, but in Outfoxed, it rings truer.

i also liked how they exposed the Republican way of debating: don’t bother proving the other side wrong, just yell them down by calling anyone who disagrees with you unamerican, a threat to national security, or a wacko in hopes of getting the debate into a draw, and therefore a win for the right.

but the strongest part of the film is when it goes after Bill O’Reilly.

Using his own footage against him, they expose him for not only being a liar when he said that he only told one guest ever to shut up (turns out he has told many guests and likes to say “shut up” a lot), but for being intolerant of people who he can’t out-debate. A behavoir that spills over to other hosts of Fox News shows.

This was eye-opening to me because i don’t find myself watching Fox News too much. It’s all just a little hysterical and fake to me.

Sean Hannity went to UCSB when I was there. He wanted to have a conservative talk show on the alternative radio station that I was playing grunge and hip hop and metal on. I supported him. I thought we should have a conservative voice on the extremely college liberal station. Every dreadlocked pot smoking hippie had at least one tie-die that said “Diversity” on it.

And lots of us had that Censorship is UnAmerican poster or tshirt (that many said looked like me). So of course we shouldnt censor a different opinion than the rest of us on the radio. Especially if many on campus shared his views.

But alas, Sean was not allowed on the air for free and he settled for eventually working for Fox for millions.

Anyway, the reason I don’t watch Fox News is because Sean Hannity doesnt walk around wearing suits. O’Reilly doesnt sit around getting upset about Ludacris getting sponsorship deals with Pepsi. Bret Hume isnt a news anchor.

If I want fiction all i have to do is turn on HBO.

Which is far more entertaining than Fox.

my true love’s exboss produced outfoxed + his researchers have a blog

eggs are on the table.

caio!

batty baby + gorilla mask + tonecluster + dr. c calls this a true blog. thank you!