Interview with Nemo Musical creators

Bobby Lopez and his wife and co-writer, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the creators of the new Finding Nemo musical at Animal Kingdom are interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel.

The Beatles Mashed-up by Sir George Martin!

The soundtrack for Cirque Du Soleil's Beatles show "Love" comes out Tuesday. Apple Records is streaming the full album online. Follow the link. It is incredible! The whole thing is a complete re-imagining of The Beatles' most famous songs by Sir George Martin. The whole thing is a mash-up. They took the original studio recordings and borrowed instruments from one song, for example, to use in another. Its incredible! Really! If you even remotely like The Beatles, you must hear this.

Cool shit

When we were kids, 'Stador was a self-styled MacGyver and so he used a lot of duct tape. I don't know if Cottie still keeps duct tape handy anymore, but if he does, he can throw it away, because we now have Gorilla Tape. $6 will buy you a tape that is 145% stronger than duct tape.

This and other super cool innovations can be seen after the jump in Popular Science's "Best of What's New".

What's Next?

Whew! What a week! Democrats take back both the House and the Senate. Rumsfeld goes. And Denny Hastert and Ken Mehlman stepped down.

I allowed myself one day of elation, but now I'm worried again. I'm worried Democrats are going to screw it up. Already, I hear talk of all the investigations they want to have. I don't think the American people want that and it is stupid political move. Robert Reich said it best in his editorial on NPR when he said that as tempting as it may be, there is nothing to gain from investigations. Bush can't run again and Rumsfeld is gone. Put the partisan past behind and show that you can lead, Democrats.

Let's face it. Pelosi sort of has an agenda. But the Democrats didn't win because of their well articulated plan. They won because people were so pissed off at the Republicans. Amazing it got to that point, and yet at the same time, I guess its not because so many of their policies and practices are wrong. But Democrats are fooling themselves if they think there will be ANY honeymoon. There won't.

It stupid decisions like this that bother the crap out of me. Pelosi is going to put John Dingle in charge of the Energy and Commerce committee EVEN THOUGH he has openly said he will oppose any raise in the CAFE standards. Why? Because he's from Michigan, of course, and his auto industry patrons don't want him to. So much for conviction over campaign funds. Can anyone explain to me why we shouldn't raise CAFE standards as we face both a global climate crisis and a global energy crisis?

Retro Epot..Center

Check out this cool poster teasing the opening of Epcot Center.

Rob Corddry wets his pants

The old saying goes "You can dance and you can prance but you can't stop the last drop from going down your pants." Its a silent problem for many man. Now The Daily Show's Rob Corddry speaks out on the last drop.

Fried Coke

My home state of Texas is known for frying just about everything. But this takes the cake. I present Fried Coca Cola in all its grotesque glory.

Finding Nemo: The Musical

Check out these pics from the new Finding Nemo musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The character costumes were made by one of the people involved in the costumes of The Lion King musical, so the resemblance is intentional.

Rumsfeld Must Go

As you may know, The Army Times, Navy Times, and Marine Time printed an editorial stating that Donald Rumsfeld must be fired as Secretary of Defense. Strong stuff from a pro-millitary publication. Here, re-printed in its entirety is the editoral:

“So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth.”


That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the “hard bruising” truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington.

One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “mission accomplished,” the insurgency is “in its last throes,” and “back off,” we know what we’re doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war’s planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee in September: “I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it ... and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.”

Last week, someone leaked to The New York Times a Central Command briefing slide showing an assessment that the civil conflict in Iraq now borders on “critical” and has been sliding toward “chaos” for most of the past year. The strategy in Iraq has been to train an Iraqi army and police force that could gradually take over for U.S. troops in providing for the security of their new government and their nation.


But despite the best efforts of American trainers, the problem of molding a viciously sectarian population into anything resembling a force for national unity has become a losing proposition.

For two years, American sergeants, captains and majors training the Iraqis have told their bosses that Iraqi troops have no sense of national identity, are only in it for the money, don’t show up for duty and cannot sustain themselves.

Meanwhile, colonels and generals have asked their bosses for more troops. Service chiefs have asked for more money.

And all along, Rumsfeld has assured us that things are well in hand.

Now, the president says he’ll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.

This is a mistake. It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation’s current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.

And although that tradition, and the officers’ deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.