Says the ugly American. It seems we’re not the only ones blinded by popularity —
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been named the greatest living British writer in a magazine poll.
Rowling topped the poll for The Book Magazine, receiving nearly three times as many votes as second-place author, fantasy writer Terry Pratchett.
The pair were followed by previous Booker Prize winners Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro.
More propheteering from the King family. Tragic that such historical riches will end up in private hands —
The collection, to be auctioned 38 years after the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner’s assassination, will be sold in a single lot and is expected to fetch $15 million to $30 million, Sotheby’s said. …
The collection includes an early draft of his historic "I Have a Dream" speech — four typed pages with handwritten notes — and his "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
Also included is a telegram inviting King to President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of his crowning achievements as a leader of the civil rights movement. The telegram advised him to "bring your telegram as it will be your admission card."
King won the Nobel Prize at age of 35. In a draft handwritten on yellow lined paper, he prepares to accept an award in recognition of "the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression."
Especially poignant in light of his own murder less than five years later are King’s remarks on the assassination of President John Kennedy. He quotes Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and says: "The great question today is ‘What killed Kennedy?’ He speaks to each of us in his death. He is not dead."
Sotheby’s noted in its announcement: "Thus, on one piece of paper are linked three great martyrs of American history."
It would be nice to see these artifacts in Atlanta’s King Center, which stands a most unfulfilling tribute to the 20th Century’s greatest American. Outside of the martyr’s crypt, there’s barely anything of historical signifigance to be found, and the center’s history has been marred by internal family disputes over its (mis)management.
Now that their mother has passed, the King scions have seemingly lost all discretion.
"In the wake of Mrs. King’s passing the Estate believes that it must resolve the process of finding an appropriate home for The Collection of Martin Luther King, Jr.," Sotheby’s reported. It said the King estate stipulated that the collection be kept together. …
The collection "is without question the most important American archive of the 20th century in private hands," said Sotheby’s Vice Chairman David Redden.
I have a little saying — Alabama exists only to make Georgians feel better about themselves. I’ve had to temper that, however, as one of my best friends hails from there, while my sister resides in Auburn, though I can’t resist the occassional dig at our neighbors to the west.
But not today. Alabamians deserve credit for roundly rejecting the candidacy of former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who received only 33 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against incumbent Gov. Bob Riley. Moore, you may recall, refused to abide by a federal judge’s order that he remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.
Meanwhile, the results in the Democratic primary for attorney general were a bit of a puzzler. One of the candidates, Larry Darby, founder of the Atheist Law Center, received 44 percent of the Democratic vote in God’s country. Sounds downright progressive.
Not exactly. Darby is also a Holocaust denier with white supremacist views. Imagine the dilemma faced by certain voters — “Well, he don’t believe in God but he does hate Jews and coloreds.”
Still, hats off to the state that created George Wallace for rejecting Moore’s demogogery. I can only hope Georgians will follow Alabama’s lead by rejecting former Christian Coalition guru Ralph Reed’s candidacy for lieutenant governor. If we don’t, then I guess I’ll have to retire my snarky maxim.
His Majesty responds to critics –
“I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel I owe anybody an explanation.”
Finally, a revealing statement from George W.
Nothing like a little celebrity machismo … score this round for “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven.
Piven: “Yo, what are you doing? You know you don’t need to cut the line!”
Stephen Dorff: “I can do what I want!”
Piven: “No, you can’t!”
Dorff: “Yes, I can!”
Dorff: “At least I am a movie star – you’re only on TV! Cable TV!”
Dorff’s film credits include –
*”Den Of Lions”
*”Shadowboxer”
*”FeardotCom”
*”Deuces Wild”
*”Entropy”
and
*”Space Truckers”
Sounds like the resume of a male Sybil Danning.
Pardon the visual experimentation. I’ll settle on a template in the next few days … then change it again in a week, and so on. It’s the schizophrenic in me.
I have a little saying — Alabama exists only to make Georgians feel better about themselves. I’ve had to temper that, however, as one of my best friends hails from there, while my sister resides in Auburn, though I can’t resist the occassional dig at our neighbors to the west.
But not today. Alabamians deserve credit for roundly rejecting the candidacy of former Chief Justice Roy Moore, who received only 33 percent of the vote in the Republican primary against incumbent Gov. Bob Riley. Moore, you may recall, refused to abide by a federal judge’s order that he remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.
Meanwhile, the results in the Democratic primary for attorney general were a bit of a puzzler. One of the candidates, Larry Darby, founder of the Atheist Law Center, received 44 percent of the Democratic vote in God’s country. Sounds downright progressive.
Not exactly. Darby is also a Holocaust denier with white supremacist views. Imagine the dilemma faced by certain voters — "Well, he don’t believe in God but he does hate Jews and coloreds."
Still, hats off to the state that created George Wallace for rejecting Moore’s demogogery. I can only hope Georgians will follow Alabama’s lead by rejecting former Christian Coalition guru Ralph Reed’s candidacy for lieutenant governor. If we don’t, then I guess I’ll have to retire my snarky maxim.
A day after Google offered a lame apology for allowing itself to be a pawn of Communist censors, we learn the company’s international site has been virtually shut down throughout China. But Google’s Chinese language version — which blocks politically sensitive material to comply with government censorship rules — has not been affected.
“It was only to be expected that Google.com would be gradually sidelined after the censored version was launched in January,” Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
“Google has just definitively joined the club of Western companies that comply with online censorship in China,” the organization said.
Even more stunning than yesterday’s spotlighted pic:
This blanket of fire — known as a circumhorizon arc — was spotted on the Washington-Idaho border last Saturday. It occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals in high cirrus clouds.
His Majesty responds to critics –
“I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel I owe anybody an explanation.”
Finally, a revealing statement from George W.
Nothing like a little celebrity machismo … score this round for "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven.
Piven: "Yo, what are you doing? You know you don’t need to cut the line!"
Stephen Dorff: "I can do what I want!"
Piven: "No, you can’t!"
Dorff: "Yes, I can!"
Dorff: "At least I am a movie star – you’re only on TV! Cable TV!"
Dorff’s film credits include — 
*"Den Of Lions"
*"Shadowboxer"
*"FeardotCom"
*"Deuces Wild"
*"Entropy"
and
*"Space Truckers"
Sounds like the resume of a male Sybil Danning.
Pardon the visual experimentation. I’ll settle on a template in the next few days … then change it again in a week, and so on. It’s the schizophrenic in me.
A day after Google offered a lame apology for allowing itself to be a pawn of Communist censors, we learn the company’s international site has been virtually shut down throughout China. But Google’s Chinese language version — which blocks politically sensitive material to comply with government censorship rules — has not been affected.
"It was only to be expected that Google.com would be gradually sidelined after the censored version was launched in January," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
"Google has just definitively joined the club of Western companies that comply with online censorship in China," the organization said.
Even more stunning than yesterday’s spotlighted pic:
This blanket of fire — known as a circumhorizon arc — was spotted on the Washington-Idaho border last Saturday. It occurs when sunlight passes through ice crystals in high cirrus clouds.
Overheard on O’Reilly last night (God help me for clicking over):
“I do think we’re living in a time when people are enjoying the deaths of their loved ones.”
–From some no-name Ann Coulter acolyte, referring to 9/11 widows who dare criticize the president. Why not just call ‘em cunts and get it over with? Seems to me that’s where our political discourse is headed — left and right down the gutter.
Forgive me if I’ve helped sell one copy of Coulter’s book, but fortunately I’m not that influential.
