Adam Walter blogs a Mark Helprin book tour stop. While the purpose was to promote The Pacific and Other Stories., with Helprin, politics invariably comes up.

[T]he first question asked was political. A man said he had read A Soldier of the Great War and taken it to be very humanitarian & anti-war in tone, but in reading about Helprin recently he was shocked to learn of his “hawkish” leanings. The man referenced New York Times reviews of Helprin’s books.
In beginning his response Helprin said, “Well, let me tell you a story about the New York Times” – This drew an appreciative laugh from those of us who could understand the sort of trouble that that ultra-liberal paper would cause for a conservative author. His trouble with the paper began when they ran a spurious report that Helprin was someone who “read no living authors.” There was no truth to this comment; he had never said anything like it. Later, they “outed” him as a conservative, beginning a piece on him by listing the political party he belonged to; something that’s just not done in book reviews, and something they hadn’t done with other authors. The paper also ran a piece representing him as a terrible liar, accusing him even of lying about his service in the Israeli infantry. Since then the paper has routinely misrepresented him and his work, and he has had to work very hard on book tours to counter the unprofessional animosity the paper has directed at him. The New York Times has refused to print his refutations of their lies, and they’ve refused to retract them. All of which is doubly frustrating for Helprin, considering that his father was once an editor at the paper.

Lots of other interesting observations, and a brief foray into an unfortunate stereotype, but not a bad read.
Know nothing about Helprin? Start with this excellent e-review

A couple of people have sent me this link to before and after satellite photos of tsunami ravaged coastlines. It takes a bit of time to download over dial-up.

Spectacular photos of the tsunami at NBC

I had originally written something complaining about the snow I had to shovel when I got home this afternoon. Changed my mind.
update – my sitemeter shows this page is recieving a lot of hits. This link to bloggers who are located closer to the scene may be of interest to visitors surfing in. Wizbang has a list of video links.
(If you aren’t familiar with the blogosphere, this is an individual entry – the “main” link at the top of the page will take you to the home page and links to many more.)

Well, it’s been a fairly typical McMillan clan Christmas, though we delayed gift opening until early this afternoon. The turkey was a success. No room for pie just yet.
Unfortunately, I forgot my digital camera at home, or I would have captured the moments for all to share. My sister was speechless with emotion, watching the faces of her 11 and 13 year old boys light up as they ripped off wrapping paper to discover Grandad had given them hatchets. They nearly forgot the knives in their excitement! “You’ll have to take those to school”, he offered.
Among the final tally: 5 knives, 2 hatchets, 3 model warplanes, a Socom II Navy Seals playstation war game and 6 John Deere logos. I got some pliers.
Just like a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting.

Yesterday started out pretty well. I figured it had to be better than the day before, when I struggled with everything from freezing fingers to unexpected paint splashes down the front of a nearly finished paint surface. I had two goalie masks to paint, both needed for Christmas. The out of town mask had a gorilla /flames pattern on it, the other was to have a simple dragon.
Whenever possible I try to do two at the same time – it’s more efficient to have both up on the same bench where colours they have in common can be applied at the same time. Both masks came in pretty banged up, so the project had already been pushed back a day by repair work and priming.
By late afternoon Tuesday, I had finally completed the gorilla, it was in the booth for clearcoating , and the dragon was well on its way. I thought a short morning yesterday would be lots of time to complete that, and then I’d head out for some Christmas shopping, drop off a few gifts to good customers, track down a friend who was in town from the US and get ready for the trip to the farm for the holidays.
On arrival at the body shop yesterday morning, I checked out the newly cleared gorilla mask. As I turned it over, preparing to remove the masking paper and tape protecting the interior padding, I saw a word, written in pen.
“dragon”
This paragraph could describe my reaction, but it would be too profanity ridden for the traffic that frequents this site. One of the painters offered weak encouragement … “no rest for the wicked”, he offered.
“No rest for the idiot“, was my reply.
I spent the entire day repainting both masks. After three days emersed in scotchbrite pads, metalglaze, featheredgers, base coat and gun wash, my hands are so raw that typing is uncomfortable. And I have all the errands from yesterday that have yet to be accomplished, and a five hour drive to Arcola tonight.
Nice day for it, though. The radio just announced the windchill factor is around -39C.

Via Boyd, at Texas Native these Google Labs projects;
Google Suggest provides a list of suggested search terms as you type. (Though it may not work on older browsers.) Even more useful (to me, at least) , is Google Scholar – which provides hits on published scientific articles.
It’s indeed fortunate that I have no life, or I just wouldn’t have the time to devote to this stuff.

After 40 years in North Korea, Charles Jenkins is home to tell his story.
hat tip – Bob Tarantino

Times Online reports on efforts to solve Zimbabwe’s food crisis;

The so-called Obesity Tourism Strategy was reported last week in The Herald, a government organ whose contents are approved by President Robert Mugabe’s powerful information minister, Jonathan Moyo.
Pointing out that more than 1.2 billion people worldwide are officially deemed to be overweight, the article exhorted Zimbabweans to “tap this potential”.
“Tourists can provide labour for farms in the hope of shedding weight while enjoying the tourism experience,” it said, adding that Americans spent $6 billion a year on “useless” dieting aids. “Tour organisers may promote this programme internationally and bring in tourists, while agriculturalists can employ the tourists as free farm labour. ”
“The tourists can then top it all by flaunting their slim bodies on a sun-downer cruise on the Zambezi or surveying the majestic Great Zimbabwe ruins.”

I can’t believe Scott Ott hasn’t thought of this.

A car pulled up for fuel at one of the local gas stations yesterday.

Hello sir, would you like it filled?
Yes, thanks.
What with?
Whatever’s cheapest.

So, he filled it with diesel.

A headline ripped from the pages of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”…
Khmer Rouge Embraces Jesus
The Guardian:

The Khmer Rouge followed a harsh brand of communism, killing nearly two million people in their bid to return Cambodia to Year Zero. Now they have a new faith: evangelical Christianity.
Hundreds of former fighters have been baptised in the past year. The Khmer Rouge’s mountain stronghold, the town of Pailin in south-west Cambodia, has four churches, all with pastors and growing congregations. At least 2,000 of those who followed Pol Pot, the guerrillas’ former leader who died six years ago, now worship Jesus.
Many new converts were involved in the bloody battles, massacres and forced labour programmes that led to the Killing Fields. Between 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge sought to eradicate religion, ripping down the country’s biggest cathedral, killing Muslim clerics and turning Buddhist temples into pigsties.
According to one pastor, 70 per cent of the converts in Pailin are Khmer Rouge. For many, it offers a hope of salvation. ‘When I was a soldier I did bad things. I don’t know how many we killed. We were following orders and thought it was the right thing to do,’ said Thao Tanh, 52. ‘I read the Bible and I know it will free me from the weight of the sins I have committed.’

(Hat tip – Kathy Shaidle at the Shotgun, who thinks this “kinda” vindicates Ann Coulter.)

The lengthy gap between posts today represents the time I spent priming and painting the exterior door and window trim on my house. I actually finished the whole thing in one afternoon, second floor included.
Except, I’m not sure about the colour. I wanted something softer than the deep red-toned brown fascia that wouldn’t clash with the cream siding. I hated the dark brown trim that had been on the house when I bought it, so I selected a warm, softer, mid-toned brown, and co-ordinated it from thirty miles away … by memory.
Now that it’s all finished, I’m not entirely certain it’s working, chromatically speaking. The colour is closer to a peachy terra cotta.
Whatever. I’ve decided to give it a few years before passing judgement.

Hours before the game, he approached a ticket booth. “Is this the House of Ruth?” he asked.
“This is it.�
“This is it, just like that? This is her house?”
“His,” the ticket seller said.
“His?” Roger asked.
“His.”
“Ruth was a woman,” Roger stated.
“Ruth was a Babe, but he wasn’t no woman.”
“That’s not true,” Roger said, “but it doesn’t matter. I’ve come to save the Yenkiss.“

If the company photocopier suddenly starts pumping out ads for penis enlargement products, there may be a reason…

Using Google hacks — requests typed into the search engine that bring up cached information on networks — hackers are discovering and using login details for networked photocopiers so they can watch what is being copied.
“You don’t have to be a genius to do this,” said Jason Hart, security director at Whitehat UK. “You can see what people are photocopying on your monitor. You just have to search for online devices on Google.”

Something like searching for passwords, I presume?

I lived and breathed Alice Cooper in my junior high years. Lived and breathed.
Alice was pulled from obscurity by Canadian producer Bob Ezrin’s promotional genius to become one of the most colourful, successful, and influencial acts in the history of rock. Legend has it that Ezrin discovered the band by spotting a club where patrons were leaving in droves – reasoning that anyone who could drive away a crowd with such efficiency could just as easily attract one.
Ezrin’s involvement as producer qualified Alice Cooper albums for inclusion under Canadian content regulations – and heavy airplay in Windsor, across the bridge from the juicy Detroit market.
After Alice, later versions would always be viewed with a wink and a nod. (“Yes, Marilyn …. you’re very disturbing in all that freaky makeup. Umhmmm, corrupting the youth… yes dear, we’re very shocked …. here, have another cookie and run along with your friends…”)
Today, he’s still thriving, healthy, with sense of humour intact. The new Staples commercial is one of the funniest I’ve seen in some time. (A Republican, he’s recently had choice words for entertainers who get mixed up in political campaigns. You got to respect him for that.)

Alice Cooper – living proof that not taking oneself too seriously may be the key ingredient to surviving the whims and fortunes of celebrity. 35 years in makeup looks good on you, Mr. Nice Guy.

Tour dates here. He’ll be in Saskatchewan in October.

The box office success of this dubiously named flick reminds me of a man to whom I owe a great deal as an airbrush “candy” artist.

Thankyou, kind sir for your special twisted genius. I, and many like me, owe much of our success to unashamedly ripping off your ideas.

Pictured: Tony Tice racing his YZ426F (click on the photo for full size image)

A legend is gone.

July 4, 1776

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

May you have many more.