Susan e-mails to note Rebecca's post on Folding Star:
now that folding star's back to posting, i want to take a moment to highlight some 1 i consider a strong voice and a great friend.
As for myself, I was doing plenty of looking around (the jury chairs look very comfortable, I'm glad to say, just in case I do wind up sitting in one for several hours!), and a little worrying (it was Finals week, after all. If I was called for a case that day, I'd either have to ask to be excused or give up a lot of precious studying time. Luckily, I wasn't called).
that's from the return to posting and folding star is talking about jury duty selection. i really enjoyed that entry.
trying to make sense of what the senate filibuster means, read this entry:
The 'compromise' only specifically stated that these three nominees would not be filibustered, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next. All eyes are of course turning to the Supreme Court and potential retirements as the current court session comes to a close.I have to say that I, along with many other progressives, held this exact potential occurrence as the top reason for removing Bush from office last November. The idea that this man could (and probably will) be nominating someone to the Supreme Court is chilling, and it's made more so by the current make up of the United States Senate.
and as for reasons for removing bully boy from office, this was 1 of mine as well so i say amen to that.
Carl e-mailed this morning to note Folding Star's latest:
Also, I'd like to urge you to sign the Tell The Truth About Iraq petition over at Moveon.org if you haven't already. You may already know that as soon as they've reached their goal of 500,000 signers, Congressman John Conyers will be delivering them to the White House personally and demanding answers on our behalf.They're 95% of the way there, so be sure and add your signature to this important petition. This could well be the beginning of an investigation that could topple the Bush Presidency, and I truly do not believe that saying this is based solely in wishful thinking.
[. . .]
If you've seen the latest poll numbers, you know that Bush's popularity is at an all time low. I think in the coming weeks and months, we're going to see many Republicans in Congress striving to distance themselves form Bush ahead of the 2006 elections. This could mean that we may finally see some serious investigations into the lies that took us into the Iraq war.It also means that things will be that much harder for Bush when it comes to pushing through his agenda, including the renewal of the expiring portions of the Patriot Act. Please take the time to let your Representative and your Senators know that you are strongly opposed to such a renewal, even if you've already let them know several times.
Marci e-mailed to note Betty's latest "Thomas Friedman Dull and Duller:"
Either Thomas Friedman screeches in a high drama burst that causes his shorty robe encased body to shake -- or the even keel Thelma Ritter-style manages to calm him down. Part Bette Davis, part Marilyn Monroe, part Judy Garland, part Sharon Stone and full time creepy, I had to remind myself I was married to this Sybell-like bundle of joy who at any moment might begin acting out the monologue of his favorite scene:
Oh look at you painted up in your little halter top, you're nothing but a litle slut. I'm a Puerto Rican lady senor. You're nothing but a little slut Sybill Ann Dorsett. I'm not a slut. I'm not a slut. I'm not a slut. I ain't no slut!
That can be very embarrassing when we're walking through Central Park and Thomas Freidman is in the mood to "bask" in the "stares of recognition" from others. I always tell Thomas Friedman that they are not looking because they recognized him but because what Molly Shannon can get away with dressed up in a Catholic school girl uniform just comes off bizarre when spewing from the mouth of a stocky, middle-aged man screeching those lines in a public park.
That was Marci's favorite part.
Marci also wondered when the next installment would go up. Betty's plan is to have it up Sunday. As noted earlier, Betty e-mailed to let members know that there would be a delay due to the fact that her oldest hurt himself while climbing a tree at his grandparents. He ended up having to get stitches and that threw any plans for the week out the window. (He is fine but this was his first bout with stitches.)
Wally e-mails to ask me if I'm aware that the week's almost over and the only thing I noted from The Third Estate Sunday Review this week was the editorial.
Wally: I really enjoyed the theme of the edition and found it strongly executed.
There are a number of things that have fallen through the cracks as we've had to deal with outside topics.
If you missed Sunday's The Third Estate Sunday Review, you missed a number of things. The theme was, basically, "the tripping point" and we tripped back into the sixties.
For "10 CDs, 10 Minutes," there were ten picks of albums from that period. My own pick caused a minor flurry of e-mails to this site. I picked The Doors (self-titled debut of the band).
Questions to this site were about why I hadn't picked someone else. To those who e-mailed suggesting an Aretha Franklin album from the sixties, I didn't pick one because I don't think they're great albums. I love Aretha Franklin but for me the best album comes along in the seventies with Young, Gifted & Black. Franklin honestly didn't enter my mind as a choice. (Some went past the year 1969 using "the sixties" to refer to the time period between JFK's assasination and Watergate. I confined myself to the year 1967.)
What about Nina Simone wondered KeShawn. The Nina Simone "album" that I love (and often mention here) is actually two albums, not one. It's on one disc (British import) and I hear it as a single album. Picking one of the two would be too difficult.
What about, asked Robin mindful of the fact that I had stuck to 1967, Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow? I love that album and was prepared to name it if needed. But I went near the end (I may have been last) and had already decided if someone picked a CD on my final list or something else by a group on my final list, I'd choose something else. I honestly thought Volunteers had been picked. It was only when Robin and I exchanged e-mails and she pointed out that Volunteers, or a song from it, is quoted in another entry that I realized Jefferson Airplane had nothing on the list of ten. It was a long night/morning. I could have easily gone with Surrealistic Pillow.
A number of you e-mailed regarding a choice that someone else made. To highlight the period, it seemed beside the point, to me, to say a "Me too!" to Jess, Dona, Folding Star, Ava, Rebecca, Ruth, Jim, Ty, Betty or Kat suggestion. (And it just hit me, as I listed the names, there were eleven us! My math is bad and I'll take responsibility for it here but there were actually eleven CDs in that roundup -- and I'm only 1/11th responsible for that math error.)
"Once More Into the Blog World" was an article about people starting or about to start blogs and wondering how to get known. The point of that article is that if you think it's a road to riches and fame, you probably aren't blogging for reasons that any of us would share (or be able to help you with). It's told as a fairy tale.
Liang wrote to say how much she enjoyed the Law & Order: Trial by Jury TV review. (As requested, your e-mail was passed on to Ava, Liang.) Liang was glad we agreed to take on the L&O franchise. That was pure accident. We'd been busy all week and that ended up being something we could both grab. (I watch TV only due to the weekly TV review at The Third Estate Sunday Review.) Liang wonders what Ava and I will be reviewing for tomorrow's edition. We're wondering that too. We're going to have to break away at some point during the night to catch something. Oh, if only they had a WB Easy View Saturday. (That's a joke.)
Trevor e-mailed that his favorite article was "Essay dedicated to the mainstream press: 'Don't it leave you on the empty side?'" I agree that was a strong article. It mixes song and observation and I enjoy those sort of things. I think it made the message of the article stronger.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
