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The Brad

Published Letters: 172
Editor's Choice: 17

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 09:54 AM
Original article: Sonic Youth, meet Starbucks

this is what they've always wanted

They're not a band, they're a network, and a damn fine one at that. They've spent the last decade tepidly pleasing their core constituency (i.e., the usual big-name-in-medium-pond suspects), and they've earned that right. Three dollar tea and Bijou Phillips' favorite Goo track, please!

And here's something Paul and Sonic Youth have in common: dormant avant-garde tendencies!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 12:26 PM
Original article: Your closet's so small ...

re: the coat hanger on the "Right to Choose" billboard

Funny? Tacky? Sad? No way in hell I'm picking sides.

Thursday, June 21, 2007 02:09 PM

There's a plus side.

If your date suddenly procures a lid for her vodka tonic, you're giving off irreparably creepy vibes. Save yourself the embarrassment and end the evening right there, champ.

Monday, June 25, 2007 08:14 AM

Man come and man go

But King Tubby is here to stay!

Monday, June 25, 2007 09:21 AM
Original article: Opus

argonne

Are you running Windows? Character Map. Mac? Character Palette.

Are you on a page with apostrophes and question marks? [answer: YES] Highlight the desired text with your mouse. Copy and paste as necessary.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 11:42 AM
Original article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily

Can you guarantee the prospects'll be there?

DavidN touched on this, I think. 40-man rosters, promotions, and call-ups would mean that ESPN had better be flexible about which game they televise, no? If Shelley Duncan gets called up to the Bronx a couple days before the broadcast, you've lost your storyline (which as has been noted in this column, isn't always the storyline that emerges - if Bronson Sardinha wins the day for Scranton, good luck making non-seamheads care).

Thursday, July 12, 2007 12:26 PM
Original article: Dear Readers

But Americans aren't sick of Bush's machismo.

They're tired of his lack of results. It was precisely his carefully-groomed back-slappin' image that helped him appeal to so many in 2000, and it was his kill-first-ask-questions-later reaction to the 2001 WTC bombings that won him stratospheric approval ratings. To pin his downfall on people souring on his masculinity is disingenuous; most Americans indulge in only the basics of armchair psychiatry. They want results, and if Mission Accomplished had really been so, Congress might have erected fertility statues in Georgie's image.

Friday, July 13, 2007 08:02 AM

hep46

Otherwise I'm with ya, but it was ASU, not Stanford. Maybe the Cardinal did it too, but ASU has the notoriety.

Friday, July 13, 2007 10:44 AM
Original article: When Republicans attack

This is discourse?

I'm aware we're only getting excerpts here, but nothing herein leads me to believe the GOP's cultivating a crop of shrewd minds. number1laing gets it: banal insults, empty ad hominems and charges that, with the barest of context, dissolve like sugarcubes in tea. Maybe we're too late for the Lincoln-Douglas debates, or even PMQs, but beyond cracked ideology, it's the cynical rhetorical reductions that get me.

Friday, July 13, 2007 02:51 PM
Original article: Goodbye to Audiofile

Agreed: Video Dog is pathetic.

And sure, Davy was over his head, but bless the lad for trying. The mp3s were a consistent bet, regardless of the nth iteration of "let's talk about another print mag best-album list". And yes, it's poor management to suspend a feature without a declared game plan. "Reorganization" is one of those Politburo-type words that yields no hope. Was it that hard to figure out what's going to replace Audiofile before dumping Audiofile?

I don't have any Premium cancellation to wave around like a child's watergun; I'm just one of a few dozen unsolicited ombudspeople.

But yeah, if anything needs shake-up, it's Video Dog. No more platforms for self-styled humor collectives unable to break into Non-Internet World.

Monday, July 16, 2007 02:12 PM

"Schoolyard taunts"?

Thank God I missed that very special episode of Degrassi High.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:27 AM

Bring it on.

I've already read the epilogue because I think déjà vu is, like, the best sensation ever!

Let me be the first to confirm that THAT THING THAT YOU, PERSONALLY, WERE WONDERING ABOUT TOTALLY PROBABLY HAPPENED.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 07:09 AM

Who did the graphic?

It's fantastic. Great work.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 07:42 AM
Original article: The K Chronicles

Nah, techwriter, she was the mom.

http://www.snopes.com/risque/porn/chambers.asp

Thursday, July 19, 2007 07:20 AM
Original article: Tom the Dancing Bug

Also, this comic is pretty damn good.

Now about that driver's license...

Thursday, July 19, 2007 07:54 AM
Original article: Amma's cosmic squeeze

"Even if it were shallow and false, it's still beautiful."

This quote stuck with me. In my limited experience, that sentence has been the heart of dozens of shrugs from pantheists, Mormons, and evangelical Christians alike. To me, that's the wrong answer: tell me the core of your beliefs is ineffable, tell me God exists outside physical dimensions. That's fine. Not much to disprove there. Tell me you'd still rather believe in the face of undeniable discredit, and you've just exposed your faith as no more than desperation. It's not enough just to believe in something - either it's truth, best as you can figure, or you've run out of reasons to make a life.

Self-delusion is a part of everyone's existence, but I'm much more satisfied pruning where I find it, rather than letting it choke me. I don't begrudge the effort of spirituality, but not at the expense of realizing your finite wisdom could be taking the small view.

Thursday, July 19, 2007 09:57 PM
Original article: Goodbye, Harry Potter

Grow up, gentle readers.

If you're the type to call Rowling "Jo," and you see an article with the words "Harry," "Potter," and "review" in the first couple paragraphs, stay away, a'ight? I've read all six, I'm buying #7 the first day out, and I'm still interested in a critical take, even before the book comes out. And for those who couldn't be arsed to turn a single Potter page, it's still nice to watch the imminent cultural frenzy with a bit of background in the back of your mind. No surprise from Rowling - sorry, Jo - has yet taken my breath away. Let me have the tease before the real fun begins.

Thursday, August 2, 2007 03:38 PM

Uh... no?

If Rude had advocated not voting for a Jewish candidate, do you think Donohue would have crowed that his "gig" (sic) was up? Donohue's just sticking up for one of his own. Sorry, Joan, but I don't see this as anything more than a sectarian squabble.

For some reason, this reminds me of the vegansexual discussion yesterday. Anyway, people have voted for candidates for worse reasons than Christian denomination... were Rude advocating secession if a Catholic takes office, then we'd have something to really go goggle-eyed at.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 01:47 PM

Hey, Catherine?

Next time you link something as fucking awesome as that Duggar poster, please alert us that our co-workers will look at us like we're jackasses after the second or so minute of uncontrolled laughter. I mean, maybe I'm a jackass, but I'd rather that not go into an HR report. Glad we had this chat.

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