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Pat Buchanan is making trouble again. Were used to Pitchfork Pat, the barnstorming conservative contrarian ready to unleash his army on liberals and Mexicans, but the Pat Buchanan Im talking to can sound disconcertingly like a liberal himself, if not yet like a guy whos ready to tear down the borders.
Seated in his sparsely furnished office at MSNBC in the nations capital, the scourge of the left is lunching on . . . red meat? Barbecued spare ribs? No, a dainty fruit salad. And hes criticizing . . . gay-rights activists? The multiculterati? On the contrary. Both in person and in his new biweekly magazine, The American Conservative, the people Buchanan seems most upset with are his old anti-communist buddies from the Cold War days. Particularly galling are those trigger-happy neoconservatives, headquartered at Fox News and journals like The Weekly Standard and National Review, who are itching for a showdown with Iraq. In Buchanans opinion, they have betrayed the true conservative faith, which is to preserve what is good and mind your own business.
What do the neoconservatives want? I think they want an exciting life, he says of the Republican Partys pro-war wing. Theyve had boring little lives as aides, and they want to be part of a global empire. They want to hang around Versailles. They want to be courtiers to Louis XIV. This is what its all about to these guys. Theyre puffed-up people.
If Buchanan the anti-war crusader isnt enough of a surprise, heres another one: His partner in crime at The American Conservative (TAC) is Peter Theodoracopulos (universally known as Taki), a columnist and Greek-American playboy who once spent three months in a British jail for possession of cocaine. Taki, normally so right-wing hes off the charts, isnt sounding like much of a fascist these days either, even if he does have a dog named Benito. He calls Bill Kristol, the neoconservative editor of The Weekly Standard, a little dictator who wants Kristol first, the U.S. second and the world third, in that order.
Five afternoons a week, Buchanan is on Buchanan & Press, a political talk show he co-hosts on MSNBC with Bill Press, a liberal sparring partner from his Crossfire days. The guest hes most interested in today is Michael Ledeen, author of the new book The War Against the Terror Masters. Its not, to put it mildly, Buchanans kind of thing. Ledeen is a radical neocon who advocates war not just on Iraq, but on Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia as well. To make matters worse, hes also late, still en route from the airport. But at the last moment he strolls into the cramped television studio dressed in a rumpled wool sweater and sneakers, not having had time to change. Too busy, too many planes to catch -- for hawks, these are stirring times.
Face to face with the enemy, Buchanan betrays no ill will. Hes warm, friendly, his manner one of slightly barbed bonhomie. We gave you a great review in The American Conservative, Michael, he jokes as they wait to go on air, referring to the thorough lambasting of Ledeens book that has just appeared in the magazines fourth issue.
Yeah, I saw that, Ledeen replies equably as a blond makeup artist brushes powder onto his bald pate. (Oh, that feels so good, he comments lasciviously.) And then the show starts. Its November 8, and the U.N. has just voted to send inspectors back into Iraq. The president has his U.N. resolution, inspectors are going into Iraq, and there may well be war with Iraq, Buchanan says, looking into the camera. Our guest is Michael Ledeen, author of . . . Buchanan pauses. Hes forgotten the name of the book. Or is he making a not-so-subtle point about it? Offscreen, Ledeen coolly provides the prompt. . . . author of The War Against the Terror Masters, which is a very controversial book, Buchanan continues. Then, rather like a carny introducing a circus freak, he says, There it is, folks. Take a look at that cover! Michael Ledeen, a very controversial author!
Its not, surely, the preface Ledeen would have wished for, but if hes annoyed he doesnt show it. Anyway, compared to what reviewer Justin Raimondo said about his opus in Buchanans magazine, this is nothing. But Ledeen is on the defensive today, because U.N. inspector Hans Blix is on his way to Baghdad. Look, Ive read your book, Buchanan says, and from your standpoint this U.N. thing was a debacle, and it has diminished the United States power and authority to do what we ought to do in our national interests.
Ledeen regretfully agrees. Power has now shifted from George Bush to Hans Blix, he admits. As long as Blix is in Iraq, Bushs hands are tied. My view was we should have kept on going after Afghanistan -- that we should be already now supporting the Iranian people to get rid of this terrible regime that they all hate.
Do you agree with Ariel Sharon that we ought to take down Iran right after Iraq? Buchanan demands.
I think we should take down Iran before Iraq, Ledeen counters. I dont understand why people think that the Iranian people are less worthy of support to be free than were the Filipinos or the Yugoslavs or the Hungarians or the Poles. I just dont get it.
Ledeen is a very smooth character. Give him a cell phone and a credit card and he looks like hed be at home anywhere.
Youre very candid, Michael, Ill give you that, Buchanan says after the interview is over and theyve cut to a commercial.
Well, Im a revolutionary, you know. Ive never changed, Ledeen responds. As hes leaving, P he mentions that hell be in Rome all next week.
Never been to Rome, Buchanan replies chirpily, as if even the most fleeting visit to foreign soil might be faintly traitorous.
Taki has been to Rome. In fact, the 66-year-old heir to a Greek shipping fortune, who owns homes in Manhattan, London and Gstaad (not to mention a yacht), has been just about everywhere, and thats only one reason why commentators wonder what he and the mildly xenophobic Buchanan are doing publishing a magazine together. This October, Taki celebrated 25 years as the High Life columnist for the London Spectator, a conservative weekly prized for its eccentricity. He has also written for Vanity Fair, the New York Post, the London Sunday Times, Esquire and many other publications. P.J. ORourke has called him the meanest, funniest Greek since Aristophanes -- plus hes not dead and you can spell his name. Bill Kristol, on the other hand, has called him repulsive.
But the main reason why media watchers did a double take over the partnership is Takis long history as a womanizer -- hardly something of which the uxorious Buchanan would approve. In his Spectator column, Taki refers to his wife, Princess Alexandra Schoenberg of Austria, as the mother of my children while recounting escapades with aristocratic beauties less than half his age. Then theres the matter of that jail sentence. One fine summer day in 1984, Taki had just been waved through customs at Londons Heathrow Airport when the customs officer called out after him to say that an envelope was about to fall out of his back pocket. Oh, thank you, Taki replied. If only you knew what was in it! The officer took the bait. Inside the envelope were 23 grams of cocaine, purchased the previous night for $1,800 at Studio 54. Not really being a druggie -- hes a self-confessed boozer -- Taki had forgotten all about it. In fact, he hadnt even touched it. In court, he pleaded guilty and served his sentence among drug dealers, murderers and thieves.
I meet the poor little Greek boy (as Taki likes to refer to himself) at his townhouse on Manhattans Upper East Side. As expected -- hes a former Olympian who has represented his native country in skiing, tennis and karate -- he is trim, tan, and impeccably turned out in a blue blazer (buttoned), a striped shirt and tie, beige trousers and tasseled loafers. I am Taki Theodoracopulos, he says in a voice that combines weariness, vitality and irritation in equal measure.
So why has Taki chosen to ally himself with churchgoing Pat Buchanan? What made him decide not just to write for The American Conservative, but to back it financially to the tune of an estimated $5 million? The reason, he tells me, is that he and his fellow conservatives were being excluded from the mainstream media.
We were shut out, starting with myself, because of my strong opinions about the Palestinians, and multiculturalism, and political correctness. People were starting to get awfully nervous. Pat Buchanan, ditto. And Scott McConnell [TACs executive editor], because, as editorial director of the New York Post, he wrote an editorial stating that Puerto Rico would be better off staying the way it is rather than become a state that would have to pay taxes, and he got fired just for that! By his best friend, too -- Eric Breindel. So basically we got together as people who were out of the loop, because of our politics or because of the way we think.
Given the way Taki thinks -- or writes, anyway -- its no surprise that he hasnt been invited on Nightline lately or asked to contribute to The New York Times op-ed page. A 1997 Spectator piece he wrote denouncing New Yorks notoriously rowdy Puerto Rican Day parade so enraged then-Mayor Giuliani that Hizzoner (unaware the writer was an American citizen) tried to have Taki deported. There has never been -- nor will there ever be -- a single positive contribution by a Puerto Rican outside of receiving American welfare and beating the system, Taki wrote. Why in hell should the taxpayer carry the load for a bunch of semi-savages to march down Fifth Avenue?
Understatement isnt Takis style. Mocking Hollywood liberals for turning into conservative property-rights advocates when some kids accidentally crossed the line onto David Geffens beach, he wrote: This sand is my sand, according to the rich, lefty pricks, and to hell with children when it comes to my privacy. A typical Taki commentary will contain sentences such as May the fleas of a thousand camels infest his armpits and It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel, was born of the union between a cockroach and a cow. Perhaps all you need to know about Taki is that he was the favorite columnist of both Jesse Helms -- no surprise there -- and Joseph Heller, the leftist author of one of the funniest books of the 20th century, Catch-22. That Heller was a fan is something Taki learned only recently, when he met the novelists widow at a party. When he asked why Heller had liked him so much, he was told: Because you hate everybody! You hate the modern world!
For the last few years, Takis only American outlet (hes much better known in Britain than here) has been New York Press, where, until recently, he edited a stand-alone section called Takis Top Drawer. This summer, he left the alternative weekly in order to launch his new venture with Buchanan. Russ Smith, Press owner, says he was sorry to see him go. Not only was Takis section popular with readers, but Taki himself was a personal favorite with the staff.
Takis a great guy, a great fellow. Hes remarkably fit, and a superb athlete who looks 15 years younger than his age, Smith says. To me, hes the Keith Richards of journalism, because he really does drink enormously. Hell stay out until 4 in the morning, then get up at 7 and play tennis. Then he can meet you for lunch in a suit and tie, and youd never guess that hed been out all night. Hes a terrific storyteller, a real gentleman in the old-fashioned European style, and a lot of fun to be around -- a lot of fun.
At its best, Top Drawer was one of the liveliest newspaper sections in the country, featuring the philosophical musings of Jim Holt, the social mishaps of Toby Young, and the political analysis, or satire in some cases, of Taki, George Szamuely, Scott McConnell, Charles Glass and others. There was also the occasional contribution by Claus von Bulow and the even more ghoulish-sounding Clement von Franckenstein (actually a Hollywood actor). Given TACs tiny circulation (15,000 versus New York Press 115,000), I ask if Taki isnt making a mistake by changing gigs.
I wanted to have some kind of voice with people who count, Taki replies. I dont mean it to sound snobby. Its nice to be read by someone who might draft a law or something. And thats what were doing. Were targeting those people. Were sending it to every fucking policy wonk in Washington. Ive had my run, Ive had 35 years as a journalist, and now I want a little bit more gravitas. Im not going to be writing about how I got drunk and fell on the floor and chased some pussy.
Still, even if Taki isnt writing about his drunken exploits for TAC (he saves them for his Spectator column), he doesnt yet sound like the typical Washington drone. Far from it. By TACs second issue he was already in full draconian mode, suggesting that sports stars who beat up women should be flogged rather than fined. There was more talk of thrashings two columns later, when he recalled how after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, he and Buchanan were not overly moved by the novelists plight. If memory serves, Taki wrote, Pat suggested that the Anglo-Indian go to Nicaragua for help, Rushdie having advertised the Sandinistas as the best government on the planet. My suggestion was a good beating by the faithful, perhaps even a kneecapping.
In person, Taki sounds a lot less reactionary than he does in print. (I do that to piss off politically correct journalists, he says when I bring up his remarks about flogging.) Nor does he see eye to eye with Buchanan on some of the social issues, like abortion, though he is very tactful about it. Look, I disagree with him, he says, and in view of the fact that I havent been a saint as far as thats concerned at various times in my life, Im not going to be a hypocrite about it. But you know, hes very devout, and I respect that.
On many topics, Taki says that he and Buchanan are completely on the left now, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Like his co-editor, he thinks America is better off not spreading itself around the world, though probably for reasons that have more to do with aesthetics and Euro snobbery than with Buchanans non-interventionist philosophy. Americans, in his opinion, just dont have what it takes to be good imperialists. When the English went abroad, they went native, he says, puffing on a cigarette. They fell in love with the climate, with the boys . . . Americans go somewhere, they open a McDonalds. I think theyre much better off here than anywhere else.
Talking to Taki is a bit like conversing with the verbal equivalent of a machine gun -- anecdotes, one-liners, curses and theories are fired off in response to every question. When I ask him if the magazine is willing to endorse the development of alternative sources of energy, he launches into a tirade against Saudi Arabian princes (camel drivers, as I call them, I refuse to use the word princes); SUVs (If they stop people carrying guns, why dont they stop people driving almost lethal automobiles? God, they drive me mad); and, bizarrely, cigarette boats and water skis off the South of France. (In the old days, you had a yacht to get away from the huddled masses. Now you cant, because they have these goddamn water skis! Its maddening! You cant swim anymore or youll be beheaded. I mean, you need to go up to Alaska to find peace.)
But behind the scattershot ranting there is a serious, even moral point being made. Namely that capitalism as its currently practiced is not the capitalism he signed up for. All these toys are invented simply to enrich the companies that make them, he complains. Why should the manufacturers benefit while they pollute the water? When people say, Let the government off our back, I say, No, let them off our back as far as opening a small business is concerned. But the government should protect people from these excesses. They dont do that. The lobbies are too strong. How are you going to go up against the SUV lobby in Detroit? The politicians need the money, so its a joke.
Seated in his luxuriously furnished living room, Taki rails against the multinationals and globalism as fiercely as any Seattle protester, even if he wouldnt be caught dead at an actual protest. The American worker has not enriched himself at all, he fumes. He makes less money now than he did 20 years ago. Some guy takes 600 million -- Koslowsky and Welch -- I mean, thats not capitalism. Thats the kind of capitalism that Russia has today. Sixty people grabbed all the money. What is this bullshit?
Though they had met several times over the years, it wasnt until 1997, when Buchanan traveled to London to attend a funeral service for the anti-globalist tycoon Sir James Goldsmith, that Taki and Buchanan first sat down for an extended chat. Some time later they met again in New York, this time with TACs executive editor, Scott McConnell, and began to discuss putting out a magazine together. So far, Buchanan says hes very pleased by how its gone, and believes that he and Taki are fundamentally in agreement on the issues. Hes a very entertaining fellow, a likable fellow, and like me a bit out of the mainstream, he says.
In some quarters, there is a suspicion that what really unites Buchanan and Taki is a shared hostility to Israel that verges on anti-Semitism. Though he is skeptical of the anti-semitism charge, Benjamin Schwarz, an editor at the Atlantic Monthly, does note the oddity of a nativist like Buchanan casting his lot with someone many people would dismiss as Eurotrash. (Taki did, in fact, write a column called Eurotrash for the East Side Express in the 1980s.) I dont know if Buchanans an anti-Semite. All I know is that his positions dont make him one ipso facto, says Schwarz. I think his position on Israel is an intellectually rigorous one, its completely defensible, and from what I know of Takis position, one could say the same thing.
But how does Buchanan answer the charge? I put it to him that the only link most people see between him and Taki is that both men have a strong anti-Israel bent.
Were on the same wavelength, I think, on the hegemony of the neoconservatives, Buchanan replies gravely, knowing perfectly well what Im getting at. We dont think they represent true conservatism. We clearly do not believe the sun rises and sets on the head of Ariel Sharon. As I have written, I really think the Israeli lobby simply exercises too much power and leverage and control of U.S. foreign policy. I want an independent America-first foreign policy. Our magazine is going to be economic nationalist, America-first, strong on American sovereignty and economic independence. So we do have a real overlap, and I think we have in common folks whom we do not like -- to express it as simply as I can!
There are people in public life who wear perpetual P smiles on television, but when you meet them in private theyre scowling. Buchanan is the opposite. Pugnacious on the box, in person he seems almost shy, and his dark eyes peer out at you with genial curiosity. Thanks to his controversial views on abortion, homosexuality, immigration, Israel and other topics, he is one of the most reviled figures in American politics, but he is very popular among his peers. His last book, The Death of the West, argued that low birth rates, high immigration, loss of religious faith and the cult of pleasure spell doom for people of European descent, both here and in Europe itself. The book received dismissive notices all across the political spectrum, from The Nation to National Review, but sales were strong.
I think Europeans are going to face a choice, Buchanan says. They are dying off, and theyre going to have to cut the welfare state or bring in more immigrants. I feel like a country doctor, and I come in and tell somebody, You look healthy, but my chart shows that you have pancreatic cancer and youve got about 18 months to live. Im not as trained as the fellows up in Minnesota, and youve definitely got to get a second and third opinion, but Im telling you what all the data says to me from my experience. Now you can take it or leave it, but this is what I believe. And thats what I believe.
Buchanan likes to take the long view, as is evidenced by his character, which seems almost to belong to another era, and his conversation, which is laden with historical and religious references. He believes that America is a good country and that we ought to think about it in ways that will enable it to survive as a viable democracy. Neoconservatives who want to police the world, invade foreign nations and put their trust in a hyperglobal economy while piling up trade deficits, alienating allies and allowing foreigners to pour across Americas borders unchecked, are risking everything for short-term profits, cheap labor and power.
I simply am a non-interventionist, he says. Once we win the Cold War, I believe you bring the troops home and you have a traditional American defense, and thats how the republic endures. Nothing lasts forever, but for as long as possible. And we are undertaking an imperialist, almost crypto--British Empire foreign policy that I believe is going to lead to disaster.
When it comes to the famous root causes of 911, Buchanan concurs with the left that the assault on the World Trade Center would not have happened had we removed our troops from Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War in 1991, and been more evenhanded in the Middle East. He doesnt doubt that America will win a war with Iraq. Its the aftermath hes worried about, and the fear that the neocons will press for war elsewhere in the Muslim world. In his view, the best way to confront Islam is to fight terrorism but otherwise leave the Arabs alone. Eventually, Muslims will realize that theocratic governments are great on rhetoric but lousy on results, and will turn toward democracy. Nor is he interested in suppressing Islam. I dont think we can anyhow. Its been around for 1,400 years. Even the Crusades didnt work, and they were a good idea!
Undaunted by the hostile reception for The Death of the West, Buchanan is writing a new book about what he believes are the real threats facing our country. Those would include terrorism, the forthcoming collapse of the global economy, the deindustrialization of the U.S., and what he calls the deconstruction of America by its intellectual elites.
The old America is like a beautiful building. If you take it apart and reduce it to the wood, and the molding, and the bricks, and the rest of it, its just a pile of junk, he says, his voice dropping almost to a whisper, as it does when he is particularly passionate about something. Its held together by myth, and belief, and a lot of things, and I think theyre all under assault. I think thats whats going on in society. Its sad, and theres not a lot I can do about it.
Then he adds, laughing because he knows that what hes about to say amounts to self-parody, The 50s were a great time! It was a great country! They talk about how people were mistreated in Catholic schools -- I wasnt mistreated at all! It was wonderful!
Taki likes the old days, too, school included. (He came to America in 1949, aged 12.) The Italians were called wops, the Jews were called hymies, I was of course a greaseball, and every Hispanic was a spic, he says in his rat-a-tat style, which wouldnt be out of place in a remake of Casablanca. Well, we all got along famously! It was rough, but it was fine. Obviously, one doesnt like to be called a greaseball, but you know -- Greek, greaseball . . . Now, of course, all that is very, very unacceptable.
When I ask him what kind of America hed like to see, he tells me about a film called Since You Went Away, a World War II home-front tearjerker he watched the previous night on television. In it, Claudette Colbert plays the mother of two teenage girls (You cant imagine to have such wonderful children, says Taki), and while her husband is off fighting the war, his friend (Joseph Cotten) falls in love with her. Taki looks positively beatific as he describes the movie. His dark eyes shine, lost in nostalgic reverie.
They go to bars . . . the women wear hats . . . theyre drinking . . . people smoking . . . girls mooning over . . . Everybody so polite to each other! The man comes over and says he doesnt have money to pay . . . The other says, dont worry, heres the food . . . Thats what Id like to see! Obviously, its a pipe dream . . .
Obviously -- even to a romantic like Taki. His own son, he tells me, is a wigger whos had a few run-ins with the law due to his habit of spray-painting graffiti around New York. But though Taki seems quite proud that his bad-boy genes have been successfully passed on to the next generation, he still deplores the coarseness of the culture. (He excuses his own bad language on the grounds that he went through hell in the Navy.) And like Buchanan, who was an Eddie Murphy fan until he came across one of the comedians more obscene productions, Taki is extremely critical of present-day Hollywood. I truly believe that theyre responsible for the mess, he says. The day that Hollywood stops blowing up cars, using drug dealers and tough guys as icons, and the F word, I think the culture and civility will improve.
On the subject of the possible war with Iraq, I note that the magazine seems fixated on Israels influence on American foreign policy. But if one wants to be cynical about U.S. motives, isnt getting our hands on Iraqi oil a far greater inducement than pleasing the Likud?
I think its oil, and I think its Israel, 50-50, Taki replies. Look, Israel has the right to do as much as they can in order to get their side across. If I were Sharon, Id be doing exactly what hes doing. I think that the Israelis have convinced the administration after 911 that the best way to settle the terrorist question is by imposing themselves. In other words, they really want to drive the Palestinians off. And they think that if America takes over Iraq and stays there, then Iran will be quiet. So this is a plan that is not necessarily Israeli, but its an Israeli way of thinking.
As for Iraq, Taki doubts whether, for the average citizen, Saddams dictatorship is quite so nightmarish as its said to be in the media. Ive been to Iraq many times, and I dont think if you mind your own business Saddam bothers you. I do think that if you get involved in politics youre finished. The Iraqi people are the only Arab people with a middle class, a serious middle class, and they are suffering and blaming the Americans for the embargo. Theyre not blaming Saddam. Thats the truth the way I see it. The rest I see as bullshit. Will they be happy if Saddam is overthrown? Theyll be in the streets screaming and yelling, the way they would if Saddam had won. Exactly the same thing. The Arabs act like that. Whoevers in power is good.
And what happens to the magazine if we do invade, and we win easily, and the Iraqis are happy?
Well have egg on our faces, Taki concedes, and I, for one, will write that we had it wrong. And I like to do that, because no other journalist ever does it! What will make the magazine save face is that there will be terrorism -- unfortunately. Believe me, I dont want it. What Id like to see is Bush pull back, Saddam let in the inspectors, and then for us to say, We told you so. This was the right thing to do. Then all the neocons will go after Bush, and well come to his aid. Then well really go get em.
So is The American Conservative any good? Despite being bankrolled by Taki, the magazine is very much a shoestring operation. With its circulation of 15,000, it also gets far less exposure than The Weekly Standard (60,000) or The Nation and The New Republic (100,000 each). Taki, McConnell and Buchanan all work for free. The layout is uninspired, the paper cheap, the cartoons so-so, and the text peppered with an embarrassing number of typos. On the bright side, there have been long, closely argued articles against the war, as well as some informative, hard-hitting pieces on immigration, multiculturalism and greed is good capitalism. There have also been some surprises, such as Mark Gavreau Judges dissection of the work of the popular social historian Haynes Johnson, in which, by comparing Johnsons early and later work, he reveals the corrosive effect of political correctness on journalism.
Overall, the impression is of a publication still struggling to find its voice, hardly surprising given it is only seven issues old. A recent cover story, an interview with Norman Mailer conducted by Taki, McConnell and managing editor Kara Hopkins, had an unintentionally worshipful tone, as if a group of bad-boy right-wingers had sought out a renegade liberal cardinal in hope of benediction. Immigration (Open borders mean the end of the country, says Taki) also seems to weigh heavily on the editors, since its hard to ask for even a temporary slowdown without appearing mean or out of touch. Many people, of course, think they are out of touch.
I just think the world has changed and Pat has not, says Bill Press, who likes Buchanan personally despite their many onscreen dustups. Immigration is just not the issue that it was in the 1980s, or the 1990s, either in California or in the nation. You could not organize a Prop. 187 today, because even in these bad economic times, the fear of all these illegal immigrants taking over just doesnt exist anymore. People accept theyre here, theyre not going back, theyre working, theyve got jobs, theyve got families, theyve got homes, and so there has to be some other solution. Pat still feels we ought to close all the borders, put them all on buses and send them back. Its not going to happen!
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The New York Press Russ Smith, a Republican in the free-trade, open-borders vein, says that white supremacist is too strong a term for the magazine, but thinks that Buchanan would like to erect a Great Wall of China around the country. He is also bothered by what he sees as Buchanans anti-Semitism, a charge that, to a lesser extent, he levels at his pal Taki as well. Taki tosses off one-liners, whereas Buchanan has a whole treatise, he says. Which isnt to excuse it.
And what of Takis end-paper column? Worryingly for his fans, it sometimes feels strained, as if laboring under the weight of gravitas and all those Buchananite moral imperatives. (Takis been defanged, Smith says bluntly.) What makes Taki Taki is that he is beholden to no one. In the past he was dubbed a terrorist among the rich because of the fearless way he assailed the moneyed and powerful. The fact that he also attacked minorities and the poor -- witness his remarks about the Puerto Rican Day parade -- only enhanced the impression of a journalist who didnt give a damn. Now he does, with the result that too often his prose is in a straitjacket, and the ribaldry that enlivens his Spectator column dies on his keyboard.
Perhaps Taki simply respects Buchanan too much. While the magazine was in its planning stage, he promised Buchanan and his wife that he wouldnt cause them any embarrassment. Buchanan, of course, operates under no such constraints. One cant imagine him approaching Mailer on bended knee, though one can certainly envision an illuminating dialogue between the two. (Mailer did, in fact, interview Buchanan for Esquire in 1996.) Moreover, by theorizing that the Republicans are now split between value conservatives (whom he respects) and flag conservatives (whom he reviles), Mailer gave a passing nod of assent to at least part of the Buchananite program. While the flag-wavers are manipulative and power-hungry, Mailer stated, value conservatives believe in what most people think of as the standard conservative values -- family, home, faith, hard work, duty, allegiance -- dependable human virtues.
And, as Taki says, Thats Pat.


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|The Score Artists @ Work Member Directory Premier Partners Seminar Downloads SCL Videos NY Home Forum Ambassador Program Mentor Program Hall of Fame In Memoriam Lifetime Achievement Emerging Composer
Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Remarks from Dan Foliart's introduction of Alan and Marilyn Bergman in the 2010 Ambassador Induction Ceremony.
Knowing where to start in chronicling the career of Alan and Marilyn Bergman is no easy task. Their songs are literally the songs of our lives and continue to be the fabric that the art of songwriting is built upon.
The scope of Alan and Marilyn's impact on the art of cinema has been immense. The first time that I can recall having a sense of the magnitude of that gift was hearing "The Way We Were" and how that song undeniably took the film to a loftier plateau. In another case, the juxtaposition of "What are you Doing the Rest of Your Life" between the first time it occurs and the reprise at the end of the movie speaks volumes to the argument for an originally written song, as does " The Last Time I Felt Like this I was Falling in Love" from "Same Time Next Year."
I recently completed a calypso album with my long time friend Count Bernadino and of course, the featured song was their first hit "Yellow Bird." After the success of that song, their career took off and has culminated in such distinctions as 16 Academy Award Nominations, induction into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame, honorary Doctorate degrees from the Berklee College of Music and the University of Massachusetts, recipients of the National Academy of Songwriters, National Music Publishers and NARAS' Lifetime Achievement Award, numerous Golden Globe and Grammy nominations and many more industry, national and international recognitions.
Their songs are truly among the most significant contributions to the American Songbook over the past half-century.
Alan & Marilyn's long list of television credits includes the theme songs for "Maude," "Good Times," "Alice", "Brooklyn Bridge " and "In the Heat of the Night." They have received four Emmy Awards:
The Bergman's sit on the SCL Advisory Board, Alan serves as a member of the Library of Congress' National Film Preservation Board, the Johnny Mercer Foundation Board and the Artists' Rights Foundation Board. Marilyn served as President of ASCAP for 15 years and her individual impact on Congressional leaders has been nothing less than inspirational for me. I witnessed the interchange between a number of legislative members and Marilyn, namely Orrin Hatch, and the positive impact she has had on the relationship between the Hill and our community is exceptional, and we certainly owe her a debt of gratitude.
Alan and Marilyn are currently working on several projects with Michel Legrand and Marvin Hamlisch. Their musical "Ballroom" with music by Billy Goldenberg, new music by Marvin Hamlisch starring Tyne Daly is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2011. Lyrically, a CD of their songs sung by Alan is in current release on Verve Records and it is terrific.
I couldn't be more proud than to welcome Alan and Marilyn Bergman as our newest SCL Ambassadors.


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The man Gov. Malloy has on speed dial
Relationship extends far beyond realm of friendship to the world of politics, power -- and money
Al Barbarotta's iPhone is blowing up.
At the end of a Stamford Board of Finance meeting last week, a Hearst reporter asks if he's aware of the unauthorized use of a city truck by a city employee whom Barbarotta hired to do landscaping at Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Stamford home, where Barbarotta is caretaker.
"No, I haven't heard," he says sarcastically, smirking as he pulls the cell-phone from the pocket of his khaki pants.
He brashly invites the reporter to look at the screen, which shows two missed calls from "GovernorMalloy." Barbarotta likes to describe himself as the governor's "best friend." Cell- phone titles aside, he routinely calls the governor "Danny." But the relationship between the two men extends far beyond the realm of friendship to the world of politics, power -- and money.
Barbarotta's construction company, AFB Management, has earned millions of dollars in outsourcing work in the city where Malloy was mayor from 1995 to 2009 and references that money can't buy. In addition to Stamford, the firm's reach extends from New Haven to Waterbury and Barbarotta's hometown of Trumbull, with AFB managing 11 million square feet of public school facilities throughout the state and hundreds of acres of parks and beaches.
But controversy inevitably seems to follow the 62-year-old Barbarotta, a major bundler of campaign cash for Malloy, whose close ties to the governor have previously raised questions of impropriety and cronyism.
In 2003, when Malloy was mayor, Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano launched a corruption investigation into whether Malloy used his influence to award city jobs to contractors who worked on his home.
AFB was at the center of the probe, which vindicated Malloy 18 months later.
Cheri Quickmire, executive director of Common Cause in Connecticut, the elections, ethics and public policy watchdog organization, said it seems Malloy is far enough away from the Stamford probe, avoiding apparent involvement.
"At this point, it does not appear that Governor Malloy had any knowledge of or control over the subcontractor doing the work on his home in Stamford," Quickmire said Saturday. "It is good to see that the city of Stamford has a Code of Ethics in place and plans to move forward with an investigation."
Issue of ethics
Things are different now that Malloy is governor. He is a statewide office holder and Barbarotta doesn't work for the state. Malloy's spokesman Andrew Doba acknowledges the close friendship between the two, but brushes aside any suggestion of an improper alliance between the first-term incumbent and the construction manager.
"It should be noted that Mr. Barbarotta is not a lobbyist, is not a pre-qualified state contractor and does not do business with the state of Connecticut whatsoever," Doba said.
As a statewide office holder, Malloy is not bound by municipal ethics rules, which were tightened in his home city in 2004 to prevent contractors, such as AFB, from giving gifts to city employees or making campaign donations of more than $100. Nor is the governor's relationship with Barbarotta bound by state ethics laws, enacted after former Gov. John Rowland went to prison on corruption charges, because Barbarotta's contracts are municipal.
Carol Carson, executive director of the Office of State Ethics, said that since AFB does not have state contracts, the issue of Malloy's use of Barbarotta as a personal property manager seems out of her office's purview. "There does not appear to be anything that would implicate the Code of Ethics," Carson said, declining further comment.
Taking charge in Newtown
The line between state and municipal work can sometimes be blurred. In the days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, the governor needed help with the sensitive task of relocating students from Sandy Hook to a moth-balled Monroe school. Malloy turned to his friend Barbarotta, much to the confusion of other contractors at the site.
A series of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act questioned Barbarotta's role in the move, including an exchange between Trumbull First Selectman Timothy Herbst and Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra on whether contractors should send their invoices to AFB. Barbarotta's company manages school facilities in Trumbull, where he has traded barbs with Herbst.
"I do not know what legal authority Mr. Barbarotta would have to tell subcontractors working on behalf of the town of Newtown to send invoices to his office," Herbst wrote.
Herbst provided the newspaper a copy of AFB's directive to the contractors who were assigned to the Sandy Hook Elementary School relocation, as well as correspondence from Newtown counterpart Llodra.
"I am remembering a conversation I overheard when Newtown first met with the team from Monroe at Chalk Hill School," Llodra wrote. "Al Barbarotta indicated to the group gathered that he was assigned by the governor to handle the entire project, including all the invoicing and the information about costs and donations would be turned over to the governor's office."
In the Stamford landscaping work on Malloy's property, city officials are now conducting their own internal investigation into whether Ron Markey, who is the city deputy tree warden and was working as a subcontractor on the governor's property, violated the municipal code of ethics.
"Ronnie Markey works for the city," Barbarotta said Tuesday. "AFB manages the city's parks department. I'm an independent contractor so I do work all over the state. The governor asked me to help oversee his house. I called (Markey) up - the governor had no clue I called him." On Thursday, Malloy's office released a copy of a bill for $1,596 for the tree work that Doba said the governor plans to pay and includes the customary 5 percent management markup fee assessed by Barbarotta.
Barbarotta did not respond to several follow-up inquiries from Hearst Connecticut Newspapers about his relationship with Malloy, which former Stamford Board of Finance member Bob Kolenberg termed as incestuous.
"It seems like an all boy's club that they do whatever they want on the taxpayers' dime," said Kolenberg, a Republican.
Campaign donations
State Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo, who serves in a dual capacity as town party boss in Trumbull and knows Barbarotta, dismissed that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two men. "The governor does not engage in that type of relationship, nor do I think Al Barbarotta would expect it," DiNardo said.
The day before Hearst reported on the work at Malloy's Stamford home, which the governor is renting out for $8,000 a month, Malloy showed up in shorts and a polo shirt for the grand opening of Parker's Steaks & Scotch, a Trumbull restaurant Barbarotta is a partner in.
"He has known the governor a long time," said DiNardo, who was also at the opening. "He is certainly supportive of the governor. In his business, he has tried to be bipartisan."
Barbarotta, his family and his employees are major supporters of Democrats, contributing $7,700 to political action committees and candidates in 2009 and 2010, including $4,250 for Malloy and now Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
In a process called "bundling" several AFB employees gave money that was recorded at the same time. On May 21, 2010, eight AFB employees contributed $100 each to Wyman.
When Malloy won the governorship by a mere 6,500 votes in 2010, Barbarotta co-hosted a victory party for his friend at the Old Town Hall in Stamford.
"He stayed in the same hotel, on the same fifth floor, in the same room and tucked his shoes under the same side of the bed that he had on primary night," Barbarotta said at the time. "So you'd probably say Dan's a little bit superstitious."
AFB a major player
The genesis of Barbarotta's connection to Malloy came in 1998, when a consultant for AFB named Marc Lyons supervised the conversion of a 19th century carriage barn owned by the Malloy family into their residence. Lyons was a fraternity brother and football teammate of Barbarotta at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, where he was also friends with Malloy's older brother, Kerry.
Less than a year later, AFB emerged as a major player in the city of Stamford, winning a $245,000 construction management contract for Stamford High School despite being the high-bidder for the job.
"He was Malloy's boy. Before you know it he was in charge of everything that moves in the city," said Joe Tarzia, a former chairman of the Stamford Board of Finance and Republican.
Two more lucrative contracts went to AFB between 2000 and 2003, with the company earning an annual sum of $200,000 to manage 19 public school facilities and $120,000 to run the parks department.
The hiring of Barbarotta's firm was part of a broader outsourcing initiative by the cost-conscious Malloy.
"Al's been a tremendous asset to the city under both a Democratic and Republican administration," said Democrat Tim Abbazia, the current chairman of the Board of Finance. "He's put forth issues that have saved the taxpayers money numerous times. He's honest, he works hard and he's just an all-around positive influence in city government."
With Barbarotta's growing influence the city administration has met with push-back, including from some public sector managers who were replaced. His type-A personality often reveals itself during meetings of city bureau chiefs, where, according to multiple accounts, it's not uncommon for Barbarotta and vendors to discuss personnel matters and capital projects. In another episode, the city's engineer and two of his colleagues drew scrutiny when they met up with Barbarotta for a night of eating, drinking and smoking cigars in Tampa, Fla., at the time AFB was competing for city contracts.
Republican city Rep. Joe Coppola, who chairs the Board of Representatives' Operations Committee, said he thinks Stamford would have saved money by keeping its department management in-house.
"I always thought that the city could do just fine without AFB or anybody else," Coppola said. "I don't think it should have been outsourced to a private company. It's cost the city a great deal of money."
One of Barbarotta's harshest critics is Herbst, the chief elected official in his hometown of Trumbull.
Barbarotta is involved in a lawsuit against Herbst, accusing him of strong-arming a Trumbull child-care facility into dumping AFB as manager of a planned expansion. In June, the town's Ethics Commission by a 2-1 vote dismissed a complaint against Barbarotta alleging conflicts of interest for school construction, renovation and maintenance practices.
"Mr. Barbarotta chose to sue me when I decided to hold him accountable and enforce the town's ethics code," Herbst said. "I will not be intimidated by his frivolous lawsuit, which is designed to vex, harass and intimidate public officials for carrying out their duties and responsibilities." A report by the town's internal auditor posted on Trumbull's municipal website this month found that Barbarotta tried to circumvent the public bid process for an energy efficiency initiative and farmed out $972,000 in snow removal work to contractors without getting the necessary approvals.
DiNardo defended Barbarotta and wondered why Stamford and Trumbull, where Republicans hold the top offices, have chosen to stick with with his firm.
"He's very good at what he does," she said. "Both Democrat and Republican mayors recognize that he has the ability to get the job done and do it well."
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Definitions of prime
a. - Divisible by no number except itself or unity; as, 7 is a prime number. 2
a. - Having no common factor; -- used with to; as, 12 is prime to 25. 2
a. - First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. 2
a. - First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. 2
a. - First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth. 2
a. - Early; blooming; being in the first stage. 2
a. - Lecherous; lustful; lewd. 2
a. - Marked or distinguished by a mark (') called a prime mark. 2
n. - The first part; the earliest stage; the beginning or opening, as of the day, the year, etc.; hence, the dawn; the spring. 2
n. - The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection. 2
n. - That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part. 2
a. - The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds. 2
a. - The first of the chief guards. 2
a. - Any number expressing the combining weight or equivalent of any particular element; -- so called because these numbers were respectively reduced to their lowest relative terms on the fixed standard of hydrogen as 1. 2
a. - A prime number. See under Prime, a. 2
a. - An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [']. See 2d Inch, n., 1. 2
a. - To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon; to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge. 2
a. - To lay the first color, coating, or preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a canvas, a wall. 2
a. - To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to post; to coach; as, to prime a witness; the boys are primed for mischief. 2
a. - To trim or prune, as trees. 2
a. - To mark with a prime mark. 2
v. i. - To be renewed, or as at first. 2
v. i. - To serve as priming for the charge of a gun. 2
v. i. - To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed; -- said of a steam boiler. 2
The word "prime" uses 5 letters: E I M P R.
No direct anagrams for prime found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after prime (in bold), or to eimpr in any order:
d - primed e - empire epimer premie j - jimper l - limper prelim rimple o - mopier r - primer s - primes simper spirem t - permit u - impure umpire x - premix
Shorter words found within prime:
em emir er imp ire me mi mir mire pe per peri perm pi pie pier prim re rei rem rep rim rime rip ripe
List shorter words within prime, sorted by length
Words formed from any letters in prime, plus an optional blank or existing letter
List all words starting with prime, words containing prime or words ending with prime
All words formed from prime by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: pr ri im me
Browse words starting with prime by next letter
Previous word in list: primavera
Next word in list: primed
Some random words: do de edelweiss covelline jnana coital sowing
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Bending is the ability to manipulate an element and is significant to many aspects of life in the World of Avatar. There are five known bending arts; four of them bend a specific physical element while the fifth bends the energy within the human body itself.[1] The four elemental bending arts are based on the four classical elements, water, earth, fire, and air, and each is manipulated through certain martial art styles which are reminiscent of the qualities of the element itself. While bending is traditionally performed through the motions of one's hands and feet, certain benders are able to effectively manipulate their element with only minimal movement of their body, such as by using just their head or torso. In even rarer cases, benders are able to perform their bending without the aid of any physical movement at all, by instead using sheer focus and force of will, a skill known as psychic bending. Each element is also associated with a particular nation in the world; the Water Tribe corresponds with waterbending, the Earth Kingdom with earthbending, the Fire Nation with firebending, and the Air Nomads with airbending. However, other bending affiliated groups exist, such as the Foggy Swamp Tribe for waterbending and the Sun Warriors for firebending.
The fifth bending art, energybending, is unlike the other four in that little physical action is required to direct the bending itself. The four elemental bending arts are all dependent on the energy, or chi, within the human body, relying on its flow through the body to manipulate a specific element. A person is able to bend when they extend the influence of their chi beyond the body to interact with the environment.[2] Energybending, on the other hand, is concerned with the manipulation of the energy itself and is able to remove or grant bending abilities.[3]
Though each nation is affiliated to a specific bending art, not all citizens from any nation, with the exception of the Air Nomads, are born with the ability to bend an element. In the case of mixed marriages, the children may be benders of either element if they are benders at all; for example, firebender Mako and earthbender Bolin are brothers with parents from the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The only case of any one person being able to bend multiple elements is the Avatar, who has the ability to practice all five bending arts.[4]
- Main article: Airbending
Airbending is the bending art used by the Air Nomads; the flying bison were the original airbenders.[5] It concentrates on speed and evasion, forgoing a strong offense for a greater defense. Though apparently lacking fatal finishing moves, it is the most dynamic of all the bending arts. As the element of freedom, airbenders use their capability to bend unencumbered by the ground or any other environmental factors and use their own momentum as a weapon, evading attacks with astounding agility to tire their opponents out or building up massive inertia for explosive gusts of wind to make their counterattacks finishing moves. Airbenders, when resorting to physical confrontation, are able to harness the immense and intangible power of wind.[6] Airbending's opposite is earthbending and the confrontational style that serves as its foundation.[7] Airbenders can use a flight technique by operating a glider and using the air to provide thrust and lift. After the art was almost wiped from existence, the only airbender left was Avatar Aang,[4] until his son, Tenzin, and three grandchildren later inherited the ability.[8] Airbending also resurfaced in a number of nonbenders following the Harmonic Convergence of 171 AG, further reviving the almost extinct bending art.[9] The sub-skills of airbending are flight and spiritual projection. Flight has only been achieved by two people in the entire history of airbending, namely Guru Laghima and Zaheer.[10] Airbending is the element of freedom, and its season is autumn.
- Main article: Waterbending
Waterbending is practiced by some people of the Water Tribe. A versatile element, it is unique in the sense that the original bender of the element was not an animal, but rather the Moon.[11] Similar to their element, waterbenders are extremely adaptable and versatile. Waterbending concentrates on the flow of energy and focuses less on strength and more on turning the opponent's own energy against them. While a bender's victory in battle depends on their skill or ingenuity, waterbenders, unlike other benders, gain a serious advantage or disadvantage depending on the amount of water around them, although highly skilled waterbenders can draw water from anywhere; they can draw humidity from the air and bend the water in living things, especially plants.[12] As the element of change, waterbenders can fluidly and quickly alternate from defense to offense, from a wall of ice to a jet of water, turning their opponent's strength against them. The opposite of waterbending is firebending, with its relatively stagnant, direct philosophy. Due to its lunar sympathy, waterbending is stronger at night and ineffective during a lunar eclipse or when the Moon Spirit dies.[13] However, to counter waterbending's ineffectiveness during a lunar eclipse, waterbenders gain immense power during the peak of the full moon. The sub-skills for waterbending are healing and bloodbending.[12][14] Waterbending is the element of change, and its season is winter.
- Main article: Earthbending
Earthbending originates in the Earth Kingdom and it demands a special connection with the earth that is achievable with neutral jing, listening, though seemingly doing nothing, and waiting for the right moment to strike.[15] The first earthbenders were badgermoles.[5] Like waterbenders, earthbenders gain an advantage or disadvantage in battle based on the amount of earth around them, though the conditions are not as extreme. Because of their element's stability and its stress on neutral jing, earthbenders stand their ground, absorbing or intercepting attacks until they completely overwhelm their opponents.[16] Unlike the other bending arts, earthbending's strength equally lies in both offense and defense. Earthbending is in stark contrast to airbending as airbending's emphasis is on evasion and mobility while earthbending's emphasis is on fortitude and strength.[7] The sub-skills for earthbending are seismic sense, metalbending, and lavabending.[17] Earthbending is the element of substance, and its season is spring.
- Main article: Firebending
Firebending is used by the people of the Fire Nation and is the most aggressive bending art. Dragons were the first firebenders; they subsequently taught the Sun Warriors.[5] Unlike other benders who depend on external sources of their elements to bend, firebenders can create fire using their internal heat source in addition to controlling already existent flames. As the element of power, firebenders have to be able to maintain a constant source of energy and balance in battle, unleashing a volley of direct, successive attacks. Firebending's relatively simple and direct style contrasts the complex and changing style of waterbending. Due to its solar affinity, firebending is stronger during the day and at its full power at noon,[11] but completely ineffective during a solar eclipse.[18] When a comet passes close to the planet, the power of a firebender is greatly increased. For a long time, disciplines of firebending were taught to be fueled by hatred, as opposed to the original source. Skilled firebenders are able to fly using powerful jets of flames.[7] A notable feature of special firebenders is an ability to create a hotter, blue fire; Azula was the only known firebender who demonstrated this extra-powerful flame. The sub-skills for firebending are combustionbending, generating and redirecting lightning. Firebending is the element of power, and its season is summer.
- Main article: Energybending
Energybending is the art of bending the energy within one's body. It existed in the era of Raava and the four bending arts, though was considered lost. It is a highly dangerous technique; if one's own energy is impure and therefore bendable, the practitioner will be consequently destroyed.[3] Few Avatars have learned this bending art, and even fewer have used it.[19] Energybending allows the user to remove other people's bending abilities, such as when Avatar Aang used it to strip Ozai[1] and Yakone[20] of their abilities, or restore them after a bender had their abilities blocked by bloodbending, demonstrated when Aang used it to restore Avatar Korra's bending from Amon's damage, and Korra used it to restore Lin Beifong's earthbending.[21] Korra also used the art to create a spiritual projection of herself within the Tree of Time and battle the Dark Avatar.[22]
During the era of Raava, people could request a lion turtle to grant them control over an element. As the protectors of mankind, the lion turtles bestowed the ability upon those who planned on traveling through the Spirit Wilds. However, as they returned, they were supposed to return this power to the creature. After Wan became the Avatar by fusing with Raava and closed off the spirit portals at the North and South Poles, the lion turtles declared their roles as protectors of mankind over and stated that they would no longer bestow humans with the power of the elements.[23][24]
After the departure of the lion turtles, the acquisition of bending abilities became dependent on a large number of factors and complex variables; inheritance patterns are not well understood by the people of the World of Avatar. One important known factor in determining the likelihood of a person to inherit bending abilities is the genetic history of the family. It can be considered a recessive gene, since it is possible for a person to inherit bending skills even if they have two nonbending parents, as in the cases of Katara and Toph. Likewise, having one or two bending parents is no guarantee to inherit bending skills, as Piandao and Bumi, Aang and Katara's eldest son, were born a nonbender despite having two bending parents. People who have a greater genetic basis for bending are said to have more "talent", or inherent ability, than those who have a weaker genetic basis; however, genetics alone do not entirely account for the actual proficiency of a bender. While an individual with a strong family history in bending is most likely to become skilled in the art, a person with little genetic basis can also become a skilled bender through hard work, though it will require significantly more practice than someone with a good genetic history. On the other hand, it is also possible for someone with a strong genetic basis to go about their entire life without ever developing a true ability in bending, because of a poor spiritual upbringing or lack of fervor in practice. Due to these anomalies, the nature of bending acquisition fluctuates and has prevented the rise of a superior "bending social class" in the World of Avatar.
Spirituality is also an important aspect of bending inheritance. It is for this reason that all Air Nomads, the most spiritual community in the World of Avatar, were airbenders. Another notable variable is the population size of the country: for example, the Earth Kingdom is the most populous nation, but has the smallest percentage of benders relative to total population among the four nations. Generally, people can determine whether or not they are a bender before reaching puberty.[25]


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Nothing more symbolizes the great, strongly Catholic city of New Orleans than does Mardi Gras. Nothing more symbolizes, for so many people, Catholic or otherwise, Catholic pious practice than do the ashes on Ash Wednesday. Nothing outpaces the drama of Lent in popular Catholic culture.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Ash Wednesday and Lent are connected, believe it or not, in a wonderful message for Lent — and for Easter. Most people assume that Mardi Gras is a garish, high-spirited last fling before a Lent few revelers will observe. It was not supposed to be this way. Mardi Gras should be remembered for its religious message.
Several years ago I was in New Orleans for a Catholic press meeting. After lunch I ventured from the hotel to find a drugstore, intending to be back for the next session. No drugstore was nearby. I walked some distance.
At last I found a drugstore. There I purchased what I needed, but when I started to leave the store, I discovered a deluge of rain. Unfamiliar with the local weather, I wondered if this was a short event, or was it going to be a sustained heavy rainstorm. The rainfall showed no sign of ebbing, and I was due back at the hotel.
Clad in my dress blacks, I looked for an umbrella. The only umbrellas on sale were those with the bright Mardi Gras colors: purple, green and gold. I wanted black, but I made do with what was available. With a flashy new umbrella above my head, I hurried through the pounding rain and reached the hotel in time.
I wanted black because I assumed some might think a Mardi Gras umbrella was unbecoming for a priest. After all, Mardi Gras can be a rather wild time. Back at the hotel, I learned what the colors of purple, green and gold meant. Purple stands for myrrh. Green is for frankincense. Gold, of course, is for gold.
Why are these colors absolutely required for Mardi Gras decorations? It is not about the name. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French, a distinct reference to feasting. The day, however, has religious underpinnings since it is a celebration — but the last great celebration — of Christmas or, more precisely, the Epiphany.
The feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6 rejoices in that event, chronicled in St. Matthew's Gospel and nowhere else in the New Testament, and once, before Ordinary Time, the liturgy marked the weeks following Jan. 6 as the time of the Epiphany.
The Epiphany, of course, recalls the arrival of "magi from the East" at the crib of the newborn Savior to pay him homage. Clear in the Gospel are these facts. God has enabled their arrival, helping them to bypass the scheming Herod and miraculously providing a suddenly visible star to guide them as they traveled from their homes faraway.
Astrologers and Scripture scholars still debate about this star, but its theological meaning is firm. It came and sparkled in the sky because of divine creativity and might. No earthly mind or force can form a star or move a star in its course through the sky.
God's assistance assisted these magi, and without divine assistance they would not have reached their goal, but God did not push them on their way. They were resolved to find Jesus, the Son of God, to meet God in human flesh.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph received them and allowed them, obviously, to see, and to adore, the infant. Such hospitality says something. At the time, strangers often were viewed with suspicion if not with outright fear. Deeply immersed themselves in Jewish culture, Mary and Joseph would have looked cautiously upon outsiders, especially in any religious context.
In this marvelous visit, the magi brought gifts to the tiny Lord: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts are most expressive in themselves. Gold and frankincense, precious and rare, were gifts for kings. By presenting these gifts, the magi acknowledged that the infant was a king.
Over time, many long have concluded that the magi themselves were not only men of means but were royalty. How else could they have procured these gifts? The Gospel gives no explicit description of their wherewithal. Perhaps they were nobility, maybe rulers. Matthew's term of magi has defied translators for centuries. Many details of the magi are unknown.
Ultimately, however, the story is not about the magi, although, of course, they form the key to unlock its meaning. The particular character of the gifts is not about them. Rather, Jesus is the center of the story, Jesus the king, Son of God and son of Mary.
So, the role of Jesus as king is central to Mardi Gras. For instance, in every festive Mardi Gras banquet in Louisiana, even the least religious, the featured dessert is the King Cake. By old, old custom, the cake cannot be a loaf. It must be baked as a round circle, 360 degrees, no breaks, no deviations in shape. It all signifies the eternity and perfection of God. Icing must cover the cake, in the bright colors of purple, green and gold, as if the frosting is a royal mantle. It is. Inside the cake is placed a small figurine or image of a baby, Jesus, the king.
The figurine, small as it is, is dropped into the batter during stirring. The batter, with the baby lost inside, then is poured into the cake pan for baking. No one knows where the figurine is. When the cake is served, the person whose piece, randomly sliced, contains the image of the Baby Jesus must host the Mardi Gras party next year. After all, he or she, although celebrating the coming of Christ the King, found the figurine without any prior knowledge of its whereabouts. This person then must host the other guests at the party to another dinner next Mardi Gras.
We must return the Lord's love for us with our love for all others, in moments expected or unexpected.
When I left New Orleans, I took my purple, green and gold umbrella with me. It rests beside my front door, kept there to remind me, as I leave or return, that Christ is king, that Jesus came to me and to every human being, in every age, that the Lord gave everything, even life, for me, and that I must follow him, and that wherever I go, or by chance happen to be, I must give as Jesus gave.
Now where do Ash Wednesday and Lent enter the picture? The parties of Mardi Gras are past.
In St. Matthew's Infancy Narratives, this wonderful story of the Epiphany opens his Gospel. The Matthean account is magnificent, never to say that Luke's revelation of the conception, birth and early childhood of Jesus is not. As befits a revelation of the Incarnation, Matthew's narrative has human components. Mary was human. So were the magi. So was Herod.
Strong in Matthew's testimony is God, high and almighty, but loving and everlasting, forthcoming in mercy. Matthew brings forward the fact of God's work divine among, and with, humans, and the Gospel's insight is stunning.
Virtually at its close, Matthew's Gospel highlights the terrifying crucifixion of the Lord. While Christ's majesty gleams through the blackness of Good Friday, every verse is heavy with intrigue, hatred, exploitation, disregard for human dignity, agony and death itself.
Epiphany and crucifixion, adoration and scorn. The Gospel presents both scenes, and between them Christians must make their choices in life.
In a word, do they accept Christ as king?
If they decide to follow Christ the King, adored by the magi in Bethlehem so long ago, they will dance along no royal road surrounded by sweet-smelling roses. They with plod, with Jesus, along earthly streets to Calvary. As Paul so frankly said, they must die with the Lord.
The world, the flesh and the devil, wearing different disguises, will stand along the routes of faithful Christians, as the unmerciful stood beside the way of Jesus to Calvary, with their taunts and curses. Beside the true Christians also will be Mary, the devout women of Jerusalem, and Simon of Cyrene, in the strength of grace, the guidance of the Church and the compassion of the holy.
On Ash Wednesday, the ashes are lesson aids to teach us that the road ahead will not be easy. The goal is not earthly. After celebrating Mardi Gras with its religious dimension, Ash Wednesday bluntly asks us to decide what the coming of Jesus into our world means individually and deeply to each of us. Is Christ our king? Why did we celebrate?
I must ask myself this question. So, for me, to answer authentically and completely, I begin Lent. Pray that I may not stumble along the way. I shall pray, fraternally, for you. God bless us all until we rejoice in the brilliant high noon of Easter.
The cover for this edition of The Priest shows a priest imposing blessed ashes on the forehead of a young girl. It is a sight that cheers the hearts of priests, of faithful parents and indeed of all devoted Catholics. The Church will live in the next generation!
Disturbing data indicates that baptisms of infants are waning, and that attendance in Catholic schools and religious education classes is falling. It is real. It is not good, and tragic for the young souls who miss an opportunity to meet the Lord.
Cultural pressures these days are mighty. Forming children in religion is primarily the mission of parents, but pastors play a vital, usually essential, role. They must inspire children and adults alike.
In Lent, by our reflection and concentration, may God grant us priests the grace to live, to be, and to speak so that in us all see Christ and are fascinated by the vision. If priests possess in their own hearts the fire of faith, solutions will come.
This column is written with an overlay of sadness. Just before its composition, the staff of Our Sunday Visitor learned of the death of Ambassador Thomas Patrick Melady. His was a life of distinguished service to this country, by unusual scholarship and by fidelity to the Church. His term as United States envoy to the Holy See still is counted as the gold standard for anyone in the position.
We of this staff remember him as an esteemed colleague and adviser. Our Sunday Visitor is honored to have published The Ambassador's Story, a recollection of his time representing this country at the Holy See. We very much indeed shall miss his crisp insights into religious and international trends.
Most certainly, we extend our sympathy and pledge of prayers to his wife, Dr. Margaret Melady, distinguished in her own right, and to their family.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.
MSGR. CAMPION is editor of The Priest and associate publisher of Our Sunday Visitor. He is a former president of the Catholic Press Association and the Vatican's ecclesiastical adviser for the International Catholic Union of the Press.
Copyright © 1996-2019 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.


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Universal Funding, one of the country's leading invoice factoring companies, announced its February numbers.
Spokane, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/21/2014 -- A California-based injection molding company had been utilizing invoice financing for about one year when they realized that they still required additional cash flow at the time they received a purchase order. The owner at the molding company maintained a good relationship with the Business Development Rep at Universal Funding Corporation, one of the country's leading invoice factoring companies, and thought to reach out to his Rep for advice. When the Rep determined that the molding company would benefit from using PO financing in conjunction with their already established invoice financing program, the light bulb lit up.
Within a months' time an extraordinary transformation was under way for this California- based business. No longer worrying about how to fulfill their PO's, they were able to pay off suppliers and purchase more raw materials to produce and fulfill larger orders. Almost overnight they were able to bring their A/P current and built up their A/R with new larger accounts. "We are so grateful that our client turned to us to find a more flexible financing option that combined purchase order and accounts receivable financing," states Universal Funding Corporation's founder and CEO, Henry Wozow. "Our programs are uniquely designed to help businesses grow and they're flexible to change as a company's needs change over time. In this situation, it's a win-win for everyone involved." Universal Funding can provide purchase order funding for companies, up to one million dollars per month, per client, in conjunction with an invoice factoring agreement.
February Deal Update
Universal Funding Corporation funded 3 new factoring lines in February, including:
$100,000 factoring facility for a New England-based recycling center
$100,000 factoring facility for a West Coast-based aerospace supplier
$150,000 factoring facility for a Southwest-based apparel company
About Universal Funding
Universal Funding Corporation is a direct funding source providing companies with working capital to stabilize cash flow and foster growth. Since 1998, Universal Funding has been factoring receivables and developing personalized solutions by looking at an individual business, the climate of their industry, and the strength of their customers. Universal Funding is committed to its clients and are able to offer scalable programs that grow as their customer's business grows. Universal Funding assembled a dynamic team of specialists who strive to provide excellent service every day so that its customers will experience first-hand the value and quality of its business relationship far more than the quantity of business that they do together. Universal Funding, a factoring company based in Spokane, Washington, provides invoice factoring services for companies throughout the United States.
Universal Funding Corporation
Heather Burford, Marketing Manager
16201 East Indiana Avenue, Suite 2600
Spokane, WA 99216


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On November 07 2007, mnp13 wrote:the Novice classes are for people who are going to compete in Novice (A or B) obedience. That is not the same as Rally-O. The Rally classes are listed as Rally. You have to start with Beginner for the classes.
there is a Saturday morning motivational class (starts December 1) that is open to club members only right now, but if it opens to the public I'll let you know.
On November 07 2007, mnp13 wrote:I know it's "members only" because it's only open to members. It's not one of the normal classes so it will open to the public if members don't fill all of the slots. It's an outside instructor, so is a special case. I don't think any of the other classes are "closed" to non-members.
It's only $30 to join the club and you have to do some work over the course of the year to be active, but if you're going to take more than one class a year the savings is worth it. It's not a bad group of people overall. some people even like Riggs!
On November 07 2007, mnp13 wrote:well, come tomorrow night if you want. the meeting is at 7:30 but if you come at 7:00 there is food. you can fill out and hand in a membership ap if you like it. I think the fee is $10. then you attend another meeting or two and you're in.
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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Please just don't be Chris/Anastasia please
FAR from Christasia.
Robbed off the win this leg, ughh.. </3
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By John Long
Over the past 20 years I have received thousands of phone calls and emails asking for my opinion on ethical questions, and I am always happy to reply as best I can. I do not have any lock on truth, but I am always willing to try to apply some logic to the issue at hand.
Over the past six months or so, almost every ethical question I have been asked has dealt with the problems faced by still photographers who are trying to come to terms with audio or video. The question keeps coming down to, "Should we apply the ethical standards used by TV photojournalists for the past 50 years to what we do as still photojournalists, who are now being asked to create videos and sound/slide shows for our Web sites?"
Are our ethical standards different? Are still shooters more ethical than TV shooters? Do the technical limits of our respective equipment force us to act differently? Sometimes still shooters bemoan the ethics of the TV shooters they work with on the street – but we are not such angels ourselves; witness the Allan Detrich debacle at The Toledo Blade. Let's not throw stones; rather let's learn from each other.
In essence, we all tell stories and tell them truthfully, as best we can. This is our purpose, our mission, our profession, be it in stills or video.
So much of what we hold as ethical precept is actually convention – merely socially agreed upon norms, not commandments come down from the mountain. However, all photojournalists believe that the purpose of what they do is to provide truthful information to the reader or viewer. This is the ethical rule; this is the guiding principle. How we accomplish this in many ways is subject to evolution, interpretation of symbolism, and arbitrary regulations.
As we converge, as TV and still photojournalism overlap, today's still photographers feel set adrift in uncharted waters, unsure as to how to apply their photographic ethical standards to the new video and sound productions they are being asked to produce. It is not far different from the ethical angst we went through in the late '80s and '90s when the electronic revolution hit our profession, the ramifications of which are still being felt.
Today we are at this late '80s stage in regard to video and sound.
Suddenly still photographers are becoming aware of issues TV photojournalists have been dealing with for a long time: sliding sound, B-roll, sequencing, etc., and we are confused and full of that angst again. It will take time and lots of discussions before we arrive at consensus, just as it did with the digital revolution. For now, few absolutes exist.
For example, it has been suggested that we look at "B-roll" (extra footage shot to fill in gaps in the video presentation) as equivalent to the environmental portrait, which still shooters have always considered open to control. In portraiture we can move our subjects around, change the lighting, make many exposures, and control all aspects of the scene. This is a total departure from the way we deal with documentary photographs where we attempt to control nothing.
I am not endorsing this interpretation of "B-roll" footage ... yet, but it warrants debate. I just mention this as one way of using creative thought processes when dealing with our new problems.
As a result of discussions at the Flying Short Course, NPPA will be attempting to bring some clarity to this process by having a major session at the next convention to see if there are ethical guidelines we can suggest for audio and video shooters. A preliminary discussion will be held at the Northern Short Course to be held in Rochester, NY, in March.
In the digital arena we have come to realize we cannot legislate every ethical nuance but rather we attempt to set down general guidelines and principles for shooters to use when making their own decisions. The same will apply to audio and video, and the simple answers shooters are looking for are just not there.
If we begin with the first principle that we are trying to be as honest as we can, it takes away much of the angst we feel. If faced with a problem such as filming an opening shot when the only way to do so is by setting up the scene, then ask yourself: "Is this accurate? Is this fair? Is this honest storytelling?" If you can honestly answer these questions and can sleep at night with your decision, it is probably the right answer.
Personally, I could not set up a shot either in stills or on video and then sleep well.
Confusion is rampant, and simple answers are not available. The discussion over the next six months (and beyond) will be interesting, to say the least. And as Bette Davis once said (slight misquote): "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
Recently retired from a lengthy career at The Hartford Courant, Long chairs NPPA's Ethics & Standards committee and he's also an NPPA past president. His updated DVD, "Ethics in the Age of Digital Photography," is available for purchase online at the NPPA Photo Club at www.nppa.org. You can write to Long at [email protected]


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|2010-10-05, 06:53
|Link #65
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: U.S.
Spoiler for Relationship Charts:
Well, the original Light Novel is told from the Kyosuke's point of view. The manga changed it to more of a third person POV with the original writer's approval and added more detail that were endorse by the original writer.
Kirino is more complex than you given her credit for, she also has two legit side of her that are so far way from each other that the only character I can draw a comparison is Nogizaka Haruka but Kirino is levels ahead compare to Haruka just entering level one of Otaku world.
But the point of the series is really about Kyosuke repairing his relationship with Kirino and discover why they draft apart in first place.
All the while diving into the world of hardcore otaku and anime/manga/games fandom that Nogizaka series didn't and can't really dive into.
Last edited by Undertaker; 2010-10-05 at 08:39.
|2010-10-05, 08:06
|Link #66
Join Date: Dec 2006
*throws a rock*
Chill, man. First, read this:
|2010-10-05, 08:15
|Link #67
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 32
|2010-10-05, 08:18
|Link #68
Join Date: May 2010
What did this episode cover again?
|2010-10-05, 08:27
|Link #69
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Sweden
Ep 1 seems to cover the first chapter of novel #1, which is ~80 pages out of 270.
Edit: Actually, with the credits bit, I suppose it covers 100 pages.
|2010-10-05, 08:31
|Link #70
Join Date: May 2010
|2010-10-05, 08:32
|Link #71
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Sweden
|2010-10-05, 08:36
|Link #72
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: U.S.
@serenade_beta & Shiroth
I didn't think too much of it either, Japanese drama tends to have these types of relationship charts out before the drama actually airs as well and i'm just answering a question asked.
Besides, I didn't dive into any specific events or plots involves the characters.....
But if that does violates the spoiler rule feel free to ask the mods to delete it, at mean time, I add the spoiler tag for the hell of it.
Last edited by Undertaker; 2010-10-05 at 08:47.
|2010-10-05, 09:10
|Link #73
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Sweden
It's something like ... well, everything. First of all it's pretty second rate, writing-wise; jokes aren't that funny, the characters are all unlikeable, plot is meh. I can forgive that, usually. The biggest problem is the idea behind the work. The author is trying to rewrite universal values and common sense to fit his little fantasy of what the world should be like, and it's disgusting to me. It's an apologetic, otaku-pandering, thinly veiled incestuous shitfest.
Unfortunately I picked it up right after finishing Nisemonogatari (by Nishio Ishin), which has a lot of similarities, but executed by a genius. Comparing them is just painful on Oreimo's behalf.
|2010-10-05, 09:23
|Link #74
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
|2010-10-05, 10:52
|Link #76
Itadaki-nyaaa !!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Don't know about the LN but with the manga I kinda fail to see where this series is meant to lead or what the main theme is supposed to be.
Is it about girl otakus? Bro-/siscons? Simple highschool romance? I don't get it. One might say all those together but then I feel it doesn't blend well together here and whatever is supposed to be the main theme is not emphasised enough.
It's more like the series tries to pick up some popular themes and mesh them together with some vague, meaningless story.
Anyway it's not as bad as i make it seem to be, the series is solid, I just miss a clear common thread that leads the plot.
|2010-10-05, 11:15
|Link #77
Know who you are
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Resides within the depths of Ned infested Glasgow
That may sound boring but it's a rather simply plot that I think works very well.
Don't think theres a need to try and define/label it as say Girl otakus or bro/sis-con anime or whatever.
I thought it was gonna be about Bro/sis-con story but that wasn't quite the case and thats what surprised me and actually made me love this series even more.
|2010-10-05, 21:31
|Link #79
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: U.S.
I'm going to assume you are not too involve in the Eroge and Dojin area of the Anime/Manga/Game world. if that's the case, this series'attractiveness will be reduced substantially.
A lot of jokes are enhance by the knowledge in those area. For example, the scene where Kyosuke picked "kick the sister out of bed", The real punchline was actually Kirino's remark that she didn't know event that occurs afterward because anyone who bought and played that game will never pick that response even those most people who purchase thoe games have tendency of trying to unlock every events in the said game and Kirino is no exception.
Not to mention most of the joke structure leans heavily on traditional Manzei structure in which Kyosuke is the "tsukkomi" while everyone else is "boke". It actually a tough way of writing and I thought the author did a really good job with the format and that attribute to the series' popularities.
I personally didn't think it was a stretch of reality. It still portraits Eroge/Dojin fandom as an isolated group that most people still puts up a front to hide, even in front of a normal anime/manga fans. Both KuroNeko and Shiori are different types of hardcore Otaku and were isolated in their own way and in the end, other than Kirino's Otaku Friends and Kyosuke, other people who knew Kirino is a Otaku still don't know the fact that she is in it the hardcore way.
As for incest, other then the games that were disscussed and hints that Kirino might have brother complex, there isn't anything to suggest actual incest might take place. Since the series is written from Kyosuke's POV, its obvious we know he didn't think of his sister in that way. Most of Kyosuke's perverted comment [in his head] were direct to other female characters.
As for Kirino, I consider her potential brother complex to be one of the series' main plot. The series in addition to parody and showcase the hardcore side of Otaku, it is really about Kyosuke slowly repairing the relationship between him and Kirino, In addition, The books seem to lead toward Kyosuke's eventuality of finding out that Kirino did not dislike him as he first thought and finding out why the sibling drift apart in the first place. I mean, numerous time Kyosuke remarked that they were not like this when they were little, yet he can't pinpoint the event that cause the drift.
As for Nisemonogatari [and Monogatari series in general], I agree that Nishio Ishin [love his works] is a genius at playing with words but at same time their secondary plots was so different you can't really compare the two together. As good as Nishio Ishin's ability at playing words and creating sharp-tongue characters. One of his knocks has always been that the overall structures of his works tends to be a mess, and that his punchlines and comedic times tend to be awkward and does not integrate into the plot very well. You take the jokes out of his work, there is no impact to the tune not the plot of the book or vice versa.
Last edited by Undertaker; 2010-10-05 at 21:52.
|2010-10-06, 00:39
|Link #80
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
|comedy, romance, shounen, siblings
|Thread Tools


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Driving in Sweden
Driving around in Sweden takes you to places outside the big cities. This is a good way to travel if you are interested in seeing some countryside.
The European road network goes through Sweden and are the best and biggest road. The biggest ones are:
Most of the European roads are freeways.
Then there are the national roads (riksvägar) that have two digit numbers. They are the next best roads.
The three digit numbered roads (länsvägar) come in two flavors. The big ones (numbers 100 - 400) and really small ones (all other numbers).
The European roads and the national roads are very well marked with signs telling what road you are on and where to go to get onto these roads. The three digit numbered roads with numbers up to 400 are also marked. Roads with lower numbers are situated south of roads with higher numbers.
The small ones, and in some cases 4 digit roads that might show up on your GPS map are never marked with their numbers. They are just numbered for some administrative purpose and you cannot use these numbers while driving.
Finding directions
The best marking is made with big blue signs telling the name of the upcoming towns. If the road leading there is a freeway, the signs are green instead of blue. Unless you are going on a very big roads, make your directions based on what towns or villages you are passing and keep an eye out for these signs instead of the road numbers.
The current speed is very well marked by signs. The speed signs have the new speed in km/h. The signs you see are normally 30, 50, 70, 90 and 110. Two speed signs on each sign of the road means from this point this is the new speed. One sign on the right means that this is the speed on this road but there is no change in speed.
Since 2001 there are some new signs introduced or had altered meaning to also mean speed. These are:
The respect for driving in the correct speed is rather poor. Often when you driving at the correct speed on a 70 or 90-road you constantly get passed by other cars or they might urge you to get out of the way to let them pass.
Wild animals! The biggest roads normally have fences against wild animals. But the smaller roads have not. There you need to be on the watch for deer and elks that could cause a serious accident. In the north you will also have to watch out for reindeer.
In some cases there are fences along part of the road and then the fences stops for the purpose of letting the animals pass. In such cases and in other places where wild animals are often seen there are normally warning signs.
These animals are mostly moving at dusk and dawn. They go for drinks in the lakes so while driving along lakes be especially observant. Also, if driving in September, the hunting season, the wild animals might be scared up by hunting parties and moving around more than usual.
If you hit an animal and it wanders off into the woods wounded, don't forget to mark the spot where it wandered into the forest. Your car should be fit with a special paper ribbon for this purpose. The purpose for this is to be able to use dogs to hunt down the wounded animal.


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Can you believe it's nearly March already? The week of shows starts on Tuesday with Elliot BROOD at the Crocodile, Shelby Earl performing at the Triple Door, and Atlas Sound at Neumo's. On Wednesday, Anna Coogan, Sam Russell, and Joy Mills are all at Columbia City Theater. Thursday night, SOJA, Trevor Hall, and Anuhea are at ShowboxRead more…
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Yes, you read that right. Shaquille O'Neal is now shilling for Buick. The former basketball star and inventor of the Shaq-Fu form of martial arts recently shot a Buick LaCrosse TV spot in Pasadena, California.
Shaq commented on his "really smooth commercial" about the Buick LaCrosse's "Oh effect" — dramatizing the "ohhhhhhhhh" reaction from pedestrians when a Buick LaCrosse drives by. Although I've never had a pedestrian do that when I've been driving in a Buick. Well, at least not one built in the past decade
The 7',1", 325 lb former center says he loves the LaCrosse "...because I've got shoes that are bigger than a hybrid... and are more stylish." Thank God the LaCrosse doesn't come as a mild hybrid, right?