18 November 2009

Disinformation

Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish blog has gone silent because they're busy reading Going Rogue.

When dealing with a delusional fantasist like Sarah Palin, it takes time to absorb and make sense of the various competing narratives that she tells about her life. There are so many fabrications and delusions in the book, mixed in with facts, that just making sense of it — and comparing it with objective reality as we know it, and the subjective reality she has previously provided — is a bewildering task.

[...]

Since the Dish has tried to be rigorous and careful in analyzing Palin's unhinged grip on reality from the very beginning — specifically her fantastic story of her fifth pregnancy — we feel it's vital that we grapple with this new data as fairly and as rigorously as possible. That takes time to get right. And it is so complicated we simply cannot focus on anything else.

I know the feeling.

Fun as this is, I have a long follow-up post about how thoroughly terrible Andrew Sullivan is.

11 November 2009

Armistice Day

Ninety years ago today, the US first celebrated Armistice Day, the first anniversary of the day when the Great War ended. People said they'd celebrate it every year as a reminder to never fight a war again. Two decades later the US Congress still called it “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

Fifty five years ago, the United States renamed it to Veteran's Day, to honor the service and dedication of our veterans from the wars we're still fighting.

I would like to honour both our warriors and our peacemakers in the same breath, or to offer two breaths if that's what it takes.

09 November 2009

Zombie

I need help with zombie research.

Not the monster, the cocktail.

A few months back Mr Martin Cate, world famous bartender, initiated me into the mystery of creating the legendary Zombie cocktail from its original, secret Don the Beachcomber recipe. As this drink turns out to be unspeakably delicious, I have been labouring to secure all of the rare ingredients involved, and at last have the final variety of rum required to complete my kit.

But many questions remain. Which falernum is best? What about grenadine? Are homemade versions of these ingredients superior? There are dozens of subtle variations of the recipe which need to be tested. And lacking the fortitude to survive drinking and comparing dozens of zombies myself, I am recruiting assistance.

Mr John Gill has volunteered an apartment which includes a Tiki bar (really!), but I need your help to taste and rate the zombie variations.

Please, I implore you to help me in this vital project. This Friday, in beautiful San Francisco.