Blook: Tony Pierce

I received my copy of Tony Pierce's book in the mail yesterday. I have copy number 74/125 , signed by the author and delivered via priority mail in a plain brown wrapper (Just kidding about the plain brown wrapper).

"Blook" is a compilation of the west coast power blogger's weblog entries from the past year. If you haven't yet experienced the busblog, check it out.

The first thing that impressed me was the front cover's unique imagery (busblog style), superimposed with the classy title that appears in a burst of light as if to suggest a bold and uncensored perspective. That, I agree is apropos, since "Blook" certainly delivers what it promises.

First, Tony gives special thanks to his readers, as well as the book's title creator Jeff jarvis. He then takes the reader directly to the first entry:

"Hi blog that I treat like crap. I love you. I'm making a hot meal for my hot girl tonight. I'm pretty excited, shouldn't I be? Some say you jinx it by being excited. I think Jinxing is a bunch of phooey, for if you have the ability to jinx something, you should also be able to unjinx it. I think this girl is killer."

Empowered with unadorned directness, wit and imaginative points of view, Tony pierce's "Blook" is a hit. The 111 page compilation has a down to earth and credible style that entices the reader to dig deeper. You gotta love it!

Classic New York

You already know it's the greatest city in the world. From stilettos to power lunches, let us remind you why... You don't have to look hard to catch a glimpse of classic New York. Just do what the tourists do: Look up. But tourists, being tourists, see only the landmarks. What really makes this city constant over time is not so much the bricks and mortar but what's inscribed in the city's DNA: the people, the institutions, the ways of life that may evolve over time but remain unmistakably New York.

The skyline . . . neurosis . . . “Stand clear of the closing doors” . . . Shakespeare in the Park . . . the penthouse . . . pickles . . . very wealthy small children . . . the docents at the Met . . . seltzer . . . parties where everyone’s wearing black . . . “Page Six” . . . getting bus-slushed . . . the fine distinction among bodegas, delis, and corner stores . . . the knish . . . at 5 p.m., Town Cars lined up two deep in front of corporate buildings . . . Art Deco . . . standing under the Washington Square Park arch with its decrepit statue of George Washington and gazing up Fifth Avenue . . .

“I’m on the list” . . . the beat cop . . . famous people at the newsstand early in the morning so they can be the first to read their reviews . . . apartment envy . . . Ed Koch . . . spending the day sitting in the Cloisters’ medieval garden . . . illegally tapping fire hydrants . . . [more]

Slate: How Reaganomics became Rubinomics

The bizarre Republican swoon for deficit spending.

You and I as individuals can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?"

—Ronald Reagan's first inaugural address, 1981


"Glenn Hubbard, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers … derides the 'current fixation' with budget deficits, and labels as 'nonsense' and 'Rubinomics,' the view espoused by former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin that higher deficits lead to lower growth."

—The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 17

How in the world did this happen? Once upon a time, federal government deficits were denounced by St. Ronald as a focus of evil barely less threatening than communism itself. Now that concern is mocked by a Republican White House as the nonsensical "fixation" of a previous Democratic administration. In recent weeks the term "Rubinomics" has spread through the press like a rash—promoted by people who apparently believe that the best way to discredit anything is to associate it with Bill Clinton. They are not deterred by the inconvenient fact that the economy did rather well under Clinton and Rubin—better than under either of the Bushes or Reagan himself. Even more astonishing is that the Republican propaganda machine is trying to stamp "Clinton" all over one of the cornerstones of Reaganism. [more]

Send in the clones

The Daily News has this report

The chief scientist of a group that believes humans were spawned by space aliens is claiming an American in her care will deliver the world's first cloned baby within days. Dr. Brigitte Boisselier - a member of The Raelians, a Canada-based sect that advocates building an embassy for extraterrestrials - says the clone is a girl.

Boisselier's announcement is the latest from a string of scientists racing to produce the first copycat human. Last month, Italian fertility doctor Severino Antinori promised a cloned baby boy will be born in January.

But skeptics argue the cloning claims smell about as bad as a dirty diaper.

Maybe our friend Leah in Canada can tell us if she's ever heard of this Dr. Brigitte Boisselier.

Smoking ban in NYC

The City Council overwhelmingly approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on workplace smoking, including a prohibition on lighting up in almost all bars and restaurants.

The 42-7 vote with two abstentions Wednesday came after spirited opposition from smokers and bar owners, who said tightening the city's existing smoking law will diminish their rights, hurt tourism and cut into the business of bars and nightclubs.

The report notes however that there are several exceptions, including portions of outdoor cafes; bars that build enclosed, specially ventilated smoking rooms where employees would not enter; private clubs such as American Legion halls; nursing homes and other residential facilities that have smoking rooms; and existing cigar bars.

Bush: Trip To Africa Postponed

President Bush is postponing a trip to Africa, scheduled for January. White House sources said Mr Bush needed to focus on domestic and other international issues, with an unnamed official saying that the delay should not be taken as a sign that war with Iraq was imminent. more

I'll miss Trent

Yeah, that's right ... I'll miss him because he's the only one that had the guts to say what the GOP really believes. And now that he's shot himself in the foot by talking a bit too openly about what was supposed to be spoken about, um, in private (or as Bill Clinton puts it "in the back roads") all we can do now is look ahead, but don't forget to take your blinders off so you can see both sides of the road.

And, Speaking of Bill Clinton, I always liked him ... Try to imagine a Bush or a Cheney visiting Harlem, or setting up an office there as Clinton did.

But I digress.

From the beginning, the whole Trent Lott story was like a freight train going down hill without brakes. The highlight lowlight of the moment for me was Lott's appearance on BET.

What was that all about? Was I suppose to all of a sudden get an everything's-gonna-be-allright-from-now-on type of feeling? No, it didn't work. I understood that he was coming from a position of desperation. Still others saw his appeal as groveling and pandering. Some of my colleagues even laughed at some of Lott's statements (and rightfully so) -- including his statement that he regretted voting (in 1983) against establishing a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and would vote for one now ... Oh! ok.

Oliver Willis brings up a good point when he asks: "Why, do so many conservatives assume that race is the only issue on which black Americans vote?" I was thinking the same thing.

But yes, I'll miss Trent Lott, the improbably haired Senator who had a momentary lapse of reason and dropped a bone or two out of the closet in the process.

Adios Trent !

Lott Resigns as Senate Leader

Bowing to pressure from his fellow senators and the Bush White House, Sen. Trent Lott resigned his position as Senate majority leader

Just as I expected. More later.

(Via Seattle PI)David Horsey

Putting the breaks on blowhard bloggers

If the Internet is a frontier, then the online self-publishing phenomenon called Web logging, or "blogging," is the virtual Wild West where any old varmint with a Web site can shoot his mouth off. A recent decision by the High Court of Australia, however, could civilize the Internet, perhaps to the detriment of the 1st Amendment. [more]