John & Belle Have A Blog

Saturday Kid Art Blogging

First, a very successful experiment.

We call it 'Greenface'. Next:

Click for a larger image. I like the fact that all the superhero drawing has caused her to draw daddy as a superhero.  That colorful thing is supposed to be my tie, apparently.

Suspending The Great Writ

I really don't know what to say. I literally can't believe this is happening. Habeas corpus? Are you kidding me? It's times like these I'm glad my beloved grandma is dead so she doesn't have to see this bullshit. She'd be dead all over again from apoplexy if I gave her a short recap of the past 6 years.

Oh Heavens to Gimbel's, Fire This Man!

For the second time in two months, the U.S. Army is extending some tours of duty in Iraq, delaying 4,000 soldiers' homecomings by six weeks, and sending others to start their year of combat duty one month early. From the Washington Post:

It also demonstrates the increasingly tough trade-offs U.S. commanders face between the imperatives of war fighting and the need to retrain and recuperate the taxed Army and Marine Corps.

In this case, commanders had to choose between extending thousands of U.S. troops serving in one of Iraq's deadliest cities -- the 1st Armored Division brigade in Ramadi -- or requiring another combat-hardened unit that has already served two tours in Iraq, a brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, to return to the desert after less than a year at home. They opted for the former.

I wonder what Donald Rumsfeld has to say about this? "There's no question but that any time there's a war, the forces of the countries involved are asked to do a great deal." Oh, gosh, you reckon? Rather than fall back on my customary profanities I'll just invite you all to consider that again. "There's no question but that any time there's a war, the forces of the countries involved are asked to do a great deal."

House of The Blogging Sun

We were all in the computer room yesterday and John was typing away in a Valve comment box. I said, "John, are you feeding the troll?" "Yes." Me: "Don't feed the trolls!" Zoe asked if daddy were really feeding trolls. I explained, sort of. Then MeiMei pipes up: "Daddy's fixin a trolls!" Now she's convinced that's what daddy's doing as he ka-tippety-taps away. "Daddy's fixin a trolls!"
My mother was a baker, lord,
She baked these whole-wheat rolls,
My father was a blogger, lord
Always fixing trolls.

Beauty and the Beast

Zoë's "Beauty and the Beast". (Click for a larger image.)

Who I Am

Matt has left out one crucial type: the pseudo-stealth-Jew. That is, the person who neither is, nor seems Jewish, but whom people for no apparent reason surprisingly frequently think is Jewish. I myself am one of these, or used to be. Norwegian surname. Spitting image of my Scottish grandfather. 'Christian' is my middle name. It is. I'm from Oregon. Yet throughout college, for some reason on a regular basis many people independently assumed I was Jewish. And then in grad school, although the effect greatly lessened over time. It doesn't seem to happen here in Singapore. Probably it was a 'you're a smart-ass philosophy major at the University of Chicago, so you must be a Jew' thing. Anyway.

Of course some people will say that a pseudo-stealth-Jew isn't really a Jew at all. (Hey. Don't get me wrong. Some of my best friends are Jewish.)

A Man After My Own Heart...With A Razor!

Via Hit and Run's Jesse Walker, an article in the NY Sun about the King of Texas Swing--Bob Wills. Great, great stuff; I urge all of you to go out and get some Bob Wills and HIs Texas Playboys (or even Lightcrust Doughboys). Plus more YouTube goodness, mmmm! Oooh, and what about Red Sovine!? Ernest Tubb? I love me some YouTube. Anyone know where I can get a costume like Red's got on...

Sympathy For the Devil

From The Kirby Collector, vol. 3. Some or other person wrote the following:

It seems to me that the least respected title Jack ever worked on has to be Devil Dinosaur. Readers must have gotten so spoiled with Kirby's action-packed superhero titles that many could not take a story about a red dinosaur seriously. It's really a shame because Devil Dinosair was an epic story about survival, honor, love, and friendship. This title is really worth searching for. Many of the issues can be found in the three-for-a-dollar boxes at your local comics store or at comic conventions. It has often saddened me to see Kirby's work in these boxes, but at the same time it gives many of us the chance to enjoy and own these great treasures.

Devil Dinosaur #1 is cover-dated April 1978. It is the amazing story of a tyrannosaurus and his companion, a young pre-dawn-of-time human called Moon-Boy who saves Devil from certain death. Upon reading the first issue I think you'll agree that it has to be one of the most endearing origins Kirby ever wrote. At first glance, Devil Dinosaur looks like a kiddie book, but upon further reading you begin to see how much thought and creativity Kirby put into this story. The relationship between Moon-Boy and Devil is similar to that of a boy and his dog. Moon-Boy calls Devil his brother and when he talks to him, Devil understands. They love and protect each other as only true friends can. One special scene in the book has to be in #6, page 30 when Moon-Boy is separated from Devil. He is afraid and lost, and as he sits in a small cave tired and hungry, Moon-Boy fears that Devil may be dead. He starts to reminisce about happier times with Devil. The images seem so real that Moon-Boy reaches out to touch them. Only the truly jaded comic reader would not find this scene touching.

This reminds me that I haven't yet praised one of the finest graphic novels things I've read this year: Wimbledon Green, by the artist known as 'Seth'. (According to this interview, Seth isn't his real name, but some rock n' roll thing the kids are into these days. His real name is Gregory Gallant - after he changed it from Glorious Godfrey, I suppose.)

The artist has a good look, I'll say.

You can download a PDF sample from Drawn & Quarterly. But I feel that the sample doesn't really do justice to the originality and freshness of the production. (I know, you're thinking 'yeah yeah, another graphic novel about how, oddly, liking comics is sort of cool - the fanboy as wise-fool. Well, yes. But this is good stuff.)

Ginger Cake

Mmm, ginger-cake. Just like they made back in my ginger-cake schooldays. Long list of ingredients but very fast to make and fun for kids. It keeps well because it has a lovely damp texture. Grate the ginger and lemon zest into a big bowl and then add the wet ingredients to them; it makes less mess. Measure out the oil and then use the same measuring cup for the molasses. The molasses will all come out instead of sticking to the sides.

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
4 t ground ginger
2 t ground cardamom (freshly ground is much better)
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 t baking powder
2 T unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger
1-inch piece peeled ginger, grated
grated rind of one lemon
1/2 c vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
1/2 c molasses
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 8x8 inch square pan. Mix all dry ingredients together and whisk well. Stir in crystallized ginger.

2. Whisk grated ginger, lemon zest, oil, molasses and brown sugar together. Add egg and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry in 3 batches, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the boiling water last and mix well. Transfer to pan and bake 30 minutes.

You can top with sifted confectioner's sugar if desired. Whipped cream or lemon sorbet could make it fancy, but it's bascially homely in all senses. Popular lunchbox fare.

Libertarians*: They Ain't All Jim Henley

Orin Kerr recently noted that Harvard has ended its early action program. They have decided that it seriously disadvantaged lower-income and minority students, which is pretty commonsensical. Students who have to wait and see whether they get financial aid are reluctant to commit early to an expensive school (not directly relevant for Harvard as it wasn't an ED program, but clearly they are hoping to influence the other Ivies). Likewise, someone who is the first person in her family to go to college just isn't likely to know that applying EA gives you better odds of getting in, and may be less likely to get all her application material together early, when it appears that the official deadline is in early January. Libertarian responses to Harvard changing its own policies to a single application date because they judged the previous policy inferior: teh funny.

Jeremy T: Why doesn't Harvard just go ahead and ban white males from campus? Seems a lot simpler than monkeying around with admissions timelines. [Harvard admissions officer slaps forehead: "why didn't I think of that?!"]

tefta2: This will give Harvard more spaces in the freshman class to admit as many of the 15,000 fully funded students the Saudi's are sending our way? Saudi sheiks already own a large chunk of Harvard, so it'll be interesting to see what the next freshman class looks like. ["Lol! all ur unis r belong 2 us! well b rockin the califate 2morrow! i'm psting your mom's n00dz on cregslist rite now!!!"--the Islamofascists]

GMUSL3: Mikeyes,

was there actually anybody who wasn't aware that you have better chances of getting in somewhere in return for applying early? Not in my mind. Any student who was so clueless as to be unaware of that widespread piece of common knowledge doesn't deserve to get into ANY college. [Yeah! That'll show those morons!]

Stephen F:
I was on my own, with inadequate guidance from parents, peers, or the school system. I learned about this stuff only after it was too late.

I didn't have much guidance from parents or counselor re: early action, either. I did, however, get a little curious when I was looking over applications that said "Check one: early action, regular action." That curiosity prompted me to read the accompanying booklet. But I guess to Harvard's mind, minorities are incapable of similar reasoning. [Didn't have "much guidance...re: early action." Why not? Too busy in SAT prep.]

Mike BUSL07: My girlfriend teaches in Bushwick and sometimes I drop her off at work. Right next to her school there is a public library. With high-speed internet access. The school too has high speed internet access. If you live in Bushwick, (you are probably black or Dominican), and you plan on applying to Harvard, then nothing stops you from going to www.harvard.edu/admissions. If you don't do it, then, as someone already said, maybe college isn't for you in the first place. [I've seen black people! Real ones! Like, from the car! And probably even Hispanics, but I was driving pretty fast by then.]

And finally, Mike BUSL07 wins the whole internet...with this:

What precisely is the problem with wealthy parents using their resources to secure advanced position for their children? After all, isn't that a large part of why we want financial security? So that our kids may have good and happy lives? As an abstraction, and its efficacy aside, I have no problem with an attempt by the colleges to level the playing field in terms of *opportunity.* But there is nothing inherently evil or wrong about inequality, an upper hand honestly obtained.

I don't know whether Harvard's decision is wise, whether it will prove to be effective, or whether it was made in good faith. But as a broader matter, let's not sink to the level of Soviet Russia. Just because someone lives in shit does not mean that everyone else should too. [Shorter Mike: if poor people don't suffer, what's the fucking point of being rich?]

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Objectivists. No, really, don't.

*In fairness to Jim Henley, a lot of Volokh commenters (and posters) are straight-up Republicans, or Schmibertarians at best. Y'all are stuck with Mike, though. Enjoy!