Blogging Blue

Here’s a little music for you to enjoy…first up is “American Idiot” by Green Day:

On a related sidenote, the two greatest concerts I’ve ever been to were the Green Day concerts in Madison and St. Paul as part of their American Idiot tour. There are quite a few bands who aren’t nearly as good live as they are on the radio, but Green Day is, in my opinion, far superior live.

Next up is “She Don’t Use Jelly” by the Flaming Lips:

That’s all for today; enjoy!

I’m sure there will be more movies that catch my eye in 2009, but these two movies have been on my radar since they were first in development. The first is Watchmen, the movie adaptation of a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. The Watchmen movie is directed by Zach Snyder, the director of Sin City and 300. Here’s a trailer for Watchmen:

The second movie I can’t wait to see is the reboot of Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams:

Happy New Year! Here’s some music to help you welcome in 2009.

First up is “Undone — The Sweater Song” by Weezer:

Next up are the Queens of the Stone Age with “No One Knows,” featuring Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters on drums:

And finally, it’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana:

Due to a negotiating impasse between media giants Time Warner Cable and Viacom, Time Warner customers might not be able to watch Spongebob Squarepants and other shows, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (emphasis mine):

Media giant Viacom Inc. said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark on Time Warner Cable Inc. at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal is not agreed upon by then.

The impasse over carriage fee hikes would mean “SpongeBob” and other shows like “The Daily Show” will be cut off to 13 million subscribers, said spokesman Alex Dudley, a vice president at Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest cable operator.

Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22 percent and 36 percent per channel, an amount that could increase customers’ cable bills, Dudley said.

A fee increase that’s somewhere between 22 and 36 percent seems like a bit much to me, but I sure hope this situation gets resolved so my kids can still watch Spongebob tomorrow morning.

In honor of what might be Spongebob’s last day on Time Warner, here’s one of my favorite Spongebob moments:

H/T to Wiggy.

Rest in Peace, Eartha Kitt. I hope heaven is full of light blue convertibles.

In memory of Eartha Kitt, here’s her performing “Santa Baby” in 2006:

Courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, here’s the arrest video for State Rep. Jeff Wood’s OWI arrest:
To Rep. Wood’s credit, at least he didn’t pull out the, “I’m a state legislator” card.

For a good long time, I’ve been of the belief that Vice President Dick Cheney is not only dangerous, but that he hasn’t really done a good job as Vice President. I’ve always known I wasn’t alone in my feelings towards VP Cheney, but I suppose I never realized just how many Americans agreed with me. According to a a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, almost a quarter of those polled labeled Cheney as the country’s worst vice president when compared with his predecessors:

Twenty-three percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say that Cheney is the country’s worst vice president, when compared with his predecessors.

An additional 41 percent feel that Cheney is a poor vice president, with 34 percent rating him a good number two.

And since I’m writing about VP Cheney, here’s my favorite Dick Cheney moment, circa 1994:

It’s just too bad the 2001 version of Dick Cheney didn’t listen to the 1994 version of Dick Cheney, because if he had, perhaps 4,212 Americans wouldn’t have lost their lives.

This is how bad things have gotten during the current recession:

I don’t see how we can afford to refuse a bailout to Santa. After all, think of all those kids who won’t get their gold-plated Uggs or their 52 inch plasma TV’s!

H/T to Dan Cody, capper, and Nick Schweitzer.

…but is it really “clean?”

I guess that depends on your definition of clean, because “clean coal” technology doesn’t eliminate the harmful pollutants released by burning coal for energy; it simply reduces those pollutants. To me, “clean coal” technology would mean any coal technology that eliminates the pollutants released from burning coal, so the idea of “clean coal” technology is really nothing more than a myth at the current time.

Here’s an ad that really sums up the myth of “clean coal” technology well:

I know Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich says he’s innocent, but all I hear when he opens his mouth is, “I’m guilty, guilty, guilty.”