It’s been a while since I did a catch up post of links, so here goes:
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This past weekend I attended an “unconference” in Houston called BarCampHouston2 but found I was a bit put off by some of the presenters and the general format. There wasn’t much “there” there. Perhaps others got a bunch more out of it than I could have. And even so, I left a bit early, so perhaps I missed something important.
But when the agenda for the day is done by having a bunch of guys run to the scheduling board, racing to put their presentations up first, I knew that any organization and planning for quality content went right out the window. But, since you can’t plan who is going to show up for these events, I’ll probably be interested enough to attend the next one, should it roll around.
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Another Republican sex scandal, and the FOX news network doesn’t screw it up by putting the wrong party affiliation next to the Senator’s name.
No, they get around it by not mentioning his affiliation entirely.
Senator Larry Craig (R - Idaho) hasn’t resigned as of this writing, but when he does, we can all say, “SO LONG, SUCKER!”
(yes I stole that line)
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This time every year, there’s a counter culture festival held in the desert somewhere north of Reno, Nevada.
It’s called BURNING MAN. There’s a giant flammable sculpture out there in the shape of a man, and at the end of the whole gathering, the MAN is BURNED.
Well, this year, some avant-garde artist known for portraying whacked out author Hunter S. Thompson decided to burn up the burning man 4 days early. Apparently, it’s a faux pas to do your own thing out there, like destroying someone else’s giant wooden man. The ghost of Hunter S. Thompson is probably smiling about the whole ludicrous affair.
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When an online IM exchange turns to murder in real life. Yes, it involves an 17 year old girl. [WIRED]
Warning: This is a story worthy not only of a “ripped from the headlines” episode of LAW AND ORDER, but an entire movie. It plays out pretty much how you might expect. Fascinating and not a short read.
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Two different Iraqi bad guys have made news this week.
The first one is the red haired Iraqi — unique to me, anyway… He was known as the “King of Clubs” in the Deck of Cards that the Americans wanted captured or killed — IZZAT IBRAHIM AL-DURI. One prominent Iraqi newspaper declared that Al-Duri, leader of the Ba’ath Party and reported head of a large Sunni insurgent group, wanted to start negotiating with the Americans, and that he would put a stop to all Sunni attacks on American forces. Of course, this was quickly denied by assorted insurgent groups. Apparently, terrorists don’t like negotiating as a group… who would’a thunk that?
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The second one got a lot more press. Muqtada al-Sadr — “Mookie” — announced that he’s putting a halt to all action of the militia armies he controls. A lot of people think this “semi-truce” means he’s giving up. He’s not. What happened is, this week the big religious Shia festival in Karbala attracted the two biggest Shia militias, the Sadr militia (Mookie’s Mahdi Army) and the Badr militia. Both militias wanted to be the group that was in control. They fought, and folks died. Shia against Shia violence. So, Mookie had to back down and consolidate his power. Both religious factions within the Shia power base are ruled by corrupt leaders. But more and more the American forces seem like a needed force of restraint. But if the bad guys ever decide to quit trying to blow up Americans… well, we can all hope.
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Meanwhile, Saint Angelina Jolie is in Iraq getting ready to adopt all of Baghdad.
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Leona Helmsley left $12million to her dog.
Now her dog is worth more than Micheal Vick.
/Thanks Jay Leno!
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Would you wear a Spider-Man suit if it really worked? [Telegraph]
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And finally, in preparation for Alison’s birthday tomorrow, I’m going to follow one of these 50 Best Cookie Recipes On The Internet
Sweet!
