under the flag of the greenback dollar

Kelley Vlahos at @TAC sums up some of the accusations against Blackwater Worldwide, which was just awarded an extension of its contract to provide security for the State Department in Iraq.

My only quibble: the use of the word contractor. Contractors frame houses, hang drywall, and install plumbing. They don't carry weapons in war zones for money.

The word for that is mercenary.

indiana jones and the end of my boyhood

One of my favorite scenes in all of movie history is in the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indy's conniving South American guide swings on Indy's whip across a chasm, then absconds with the whip and the idol ("No time to argue señor, you throw me the idol, I throw you the whip.").

Indy is left with no way to swing across the chasm as the temple collapses around him. So he leaps. He barely catches a vine fortuitously hanging at the other edge of the chasm. After a tense struggle, Indy pulls himself to safety, and finishes the rest of his thrilling escape from the temple. He even manages to get the idol back. That scene gives me goosebumps to this day. It's just so cool.

There is no corresponding scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but there is plenty in the movie to enjoy. An early motorcylce chase where Indy and his new greaser companion, Mutt, escape a couple of KGB agents is especially enjoyable, and ends in one of the better one liners of the whole series. Harrison Ford delivers his best performance as Indy, and Shia LaBeouf as Mutt again proves why he was the most enjoyable part of Transformers. As the Commie scientist bad guy, Cate Blanchett is Cate Blanchett. Which is to say, great.

If you expect Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to top Raiders (good luck!) or Last Crusade, you'll be disappointed. If you liked Temple of Doom(and why wouldn't you?), Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is well worth seeing.

For me, it's just good to see an old boyhood friend in action again. Yes, Indy is a friend of mine. Leave me alone.

rhymesayers is on

Nobody's drug-free; the streets would be hella bloody
Do you call yourself a patient or a junky?
The only thing that separates is who takes your money

--From "Panic Attack"

One of evil cat's favorite pasttimes is to make lists. On one of our long drives, we compiled a list of our favorite lyricists: Willie, John Prine, Steve Earle, Tom Waits, Eddie Spaghetti. . .you know, all the obvious ones. One glaring omission from that list, I must now admit, is Slug. That dude can rhyme, and last night at the Showbox SoDo, he showed he's got it live, too.

After getting warmed up at the McCormick's on 1st and Spring, evil cat and I wandered wandered down to the Central Saloon, where after a slight hitch in communications, we connoitered with Mr. Cowell and the Sarge for a couple drinks, as it was their last night in town before returning to Minnesota. They didn't have tickets (they were going for $100 each online, accoring to Mr. Cowell!), but decided to walk down to the club to see if they could get in. After a few minutes outside, they both managed to pick up tickets and joined me and evil cat inside.

Slug started off the night hosting Atmosphere karaoke by bringing a few fans up on stage, with Slug picking them up when they stumbled. It was surprisingly entertaining, and it was cool watching him interact with the young fans, a couple of whom held their own.

The opening act, Abstract Rude, was cool enough that I might check out their records, but the night was all Atmosphere. They played a good mix of older stuff with the stuff from the new record, which is seriously growing on me. The sound was good, Slug was on, and we were all drunk and rhyming along where we knew the words. I really can't recall ever having that much fun at a show, especially an all ages show.

additions to the blogroll

Evil cat fires the first shots in her war against Seattle's invading condo hoardes at Keep Seattle Seedy.

I've been reading the Cunning Realist for about two years now, and have just been lazy about putting him on the roll. He's been warning about the mortgage melt-down and inflation for some time now, but I'm sure he'd hate to say "I told you so." He's also an occasionnal columnist for The American Conservative.

The Cunning Realist lead me to The American Conservative's blog @TAC. Don't let the name fool you, The American Conservative is not a typical movement conservative cheerleader where ideology trumps reality.

More on the uselessness of the words "liberal" and "conservative" to delineate ideology soon.