The Truth About Tytler

There is a quote which has circulated the internet for years, gaining incredible notoriety despite overwhelming, but little-known, doubts as to the identity of its author. I finally decided to put my nose to the grindstone and try to find some answers for myself. My findings are written up in the piece linked to below:

The Truth About Tytler

Contract with America at 10 Years

Radley Balko has some things to say about how the Republicans have (or more precisely, have not) stuck to the principles they promoted ten years ago in the Contract with America. Here's a prime example:

Since the Republican takeover, real growth in federal outlays for the Department of Education have increased by 101%; Labor by 83%; HHS by 81%; and Commerce by 82%. All were departments Republicans had discussed eliminating entirely.

Yep, those evil Republicans who want to cut education and social spending. Such is the quandary of a small-government conservative these days; vote for the guy who's helped to double the size of the Dept. of Education, or vote for the guy who says that doubling wasn't enough.

Black Irish? No, Black Scottish.

Kilt-Wearing Marine Plays Bagpipes in Iraq.

I feel like breaking out the old bagpipe trainer and following suit.

It's Greek to Me

I've been in college for seven years now, and I've never been fond of the Greek system. Now it looks like my reservations were justified.

My Weekly TV Habits

I watch a fair bit of television. Not as much as I used to, but I do follow a decent number of shows. What are they?

Sunday - The Simpsons; Malcolm in the Middle; Arrested Development; Alias. The heaviest night of the week, and the last three programs air opposite each other. I also watch CBS Sunday Morning, when I'm up in time.

Monday - The Bernie Mac Show, although I haven't seen it since it moved from Sundays.

Tuesday - 24 and Scrubs. Again, shows that air simultaneously.

Wednesday - Smallville. Usually watched at a friend's place.

Thursday, Friday & Saturday - Nothing. Scrubs got moved, and Wonderfalls got cancelled. 'Must See TV' it ain't.

There are also a handful of programs I'll tune into occasionally. The Screensavers leads this pack, as it's a daily show. Law & Order, L&O: CI, King of the Hill and Joan of Arcadia will sometimes get me to tune in, but not on a regular basis. I constantly forget to tape Fillmore, because it's aired at 5 am on Sundays. I would consistently tune into The Daily Show if I got Comedy Central, but I don't. The same can be said for some Cartoon Network shows, too.

That's a total of 5 1/2 hours of regular prime-time programming a week, when everything's new. I guess I'm not as addicted to TV as I thought.

The Domain Event

At only $10, I've made my first campaign expenditure:

VoteLoren.com

I think it's worth the investment, don't you?

Googlebombs Away!

This is the definition of a Jew. And this post is my contribution to helping take down anti-semitism on Google.

Sesame Street: The Street We Live On

What a disappointment. I had really looked forward to this 35th anniversary special, and it ended up being little more than an ordinary episode with a few bits of nostalgia thrown in. The montage of scenes at the end was really good, and my jaw dropped at the sight of the "Mahna Mahna" sketch during the credits, but was it necessary to spend several minutes showing people eat cookies? Why did an anniversary special feature a generic Journey to Ernie sketch instead of, say, a look at the different adults who've lived on Sesame Street? And if they want to devote so much time to Elmo, couldn't they at least show the most significant Elmo clip ever, when he helped Big Bird show the rest of the Street that Snuffy was real?

An hour of prime time, and perhaps fifteen minutes was worthwhile. I really miss Jim Henson.

T is for Trivia, G is for Grouch

This Sesame Street Trivia Game is surprisingly hard and a lot more fun than I expected. It's worth playing for Oscar's commentary alone. Plus, it's neat to see characters like Don Music and Sherlock Hemlock again.

In the Middle of Nowhere

Someone should create a web guide to fictional countries. The Molvania guide is an ingenius idea, and it sounds like such a perfect addition to Freedonia, Qumar, and Zamunda. Wikipedia has a decent listing, but I feel that 'real world' fictional countries like Elbonia should be separated from fantasy or future nations.

Movie: "In America"

I think I'm typically a story guy. I tend to favor films with plots and ideas and jokes. Character dramas, on the other hand, usually aren't my thing. I wasn't aware that was what "In America" was going to be, but I ended up being fairly satisfied with it in the end.

To my pleasure, on several occasions, the film didn't go where I expected it to. The apartment was not used as a means to have the junkies exploit the family or harass the women. The E.T. doll (whose presence tickled me) was actually won. And Mateo, of course, turned out to be nothing like we feared. I must admit some surprise that Hounsou received a nomination for appearing in such a relatively small percentage of the film, but Mateo is integral to the story, and Hounsou plays him powerfully in every scene.

Given the title, I had expected there to be more commentary on the nature of America. There were bits and pieces (such as the girls wanting to blend in) but nothing overbearing. Perhaps by showing us glimpses of various aspects of America, rather than dwelling on particular stereotypes, the filmmakers hoped to illustrate the broader soul of the country. On one hand there may be the friendly guy who'll pull a knife on you for a dollar, but then there's also the angry hermit who proves to be extraordinarily generous.

Is it a film I want to own. Not really; it's not the sort of film I'd watch over and again. But I certainly recommend it.

'Comment' Feature Fixed

It was brought to my attention yesterday that the 'Comment' feature on this here page wasn't functioning. So after a little playing with the code, it's back up and running, and hopefully a little aesthetically cleaner to boot. Plus, there's a new 'Trackback' feature, but we'll have to wait and see whether it works.

Open and (Dis)Closed

Canada has concocted a fantastic way to allow the public to keep tabs on the tabs of its elected officials. It's so simple, I'm surprised it hasn't been proposed here. Not coincidentally, I added the idea to my own platform.

Run, Loren, Run

Everyone needs a hobby. Something to do in their spare time. Me, I've decided to run for Congress.

Loren Collins for US House

Do I stand a chance? Almost assuredly not. But it should be fun.

April Fool's

The Top 100 April Fool's Hoaxes of All Time

It's always nice to see that even folks like PETA can still have a sense of humor.

Face-Off

Ever wonder what Hollywood looks like when it wakes up? Celebs Without Makeup lets us know.