Ocelopotamus

News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

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Entries Tagged as 'Blogs'

Fool MSNBC Twice, Shame on You

May 15th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Blogs, Culture, Internet, Journalism, Media, News, Politics, TV, Video

Funny stuff. Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo roasts MSNBC for mistaking a parody White House site for the real thing in their Falwell coverage. The second time around, the anchorpersonage has a wee bit of trouble understanding the nature of her earlier mistake.   MSNBC needs to hire some kids to explain the Web […]

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Roundup: Carrot Whittling Edition

May 15th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Blogs, Culture, Education, Energy, Film, Food, LGBT, Music, New Wave, News, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech

White light, green heat: LEDS aren’t just for clock radios any more. In fact, LED lightbulbs may turn out to be the bulb of the future instead of compact fluorescents. Thanks to a breakthrough in the 90s, modern LEDs can emit white light instead of just red or green. They last up to five times […]

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Comment Moderation Engaged

May 14th, 2007 · Comments Off on Comment Moderation Engaged · Blogs, Internet, Meta, Software

Ah, it’s come to this. I’ve had to turn on comment moderation because the evil hordes of the Cømm3nt-Sp@m Børg have found their way to Ocelopotomus. So, if you comment, you may experience some lag time before your brilliance actually appears on the site, depending on whether I happen to be asleep/cleaning up Mr. Blue’s […]

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EuroTrib on the Sarkozy Victory in France

May 7th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogs, Culture, Media, News, Politics

I was looking for some progressive European perspective on the victory of right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy in France’s presidential election yesterday, so I went over to the European Tribune (that’s the European sibling blog of The Booman Tribune, for those not familiar with it). Jerome a Paris, whom I know mainly from his excellent environmental diaries […]

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Roundup: Sunday Potluck Edition

May 6th, 2007 · 9 Comments · Activism, Blogs, Comics, Culture, Education, Film, Foreign Policy, Hate Crimes, Health, LGBT, Lit, Music, News, Peace, Pet Food, Pets, Poetry, Politics, Tea

Sunday was always potluck day where I grew up, so I hereby present to you this glorious covered casserole of links I didn’t get around to posting this week. With a few fresh ones stirred in, just to keep you guessing. Retired general compares Bush to a deserter: “By vetoing this bill and failing to […]

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Roundup: Giant Hourglass Edition

April 30th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Books, Culture, Education, Fantasy, Foreign Policy, Health, Human Rights, Lit, Media, News, Politics, Science, Science Fiction, Tech, TV

As part of an international day of protest over the genocide in Darfur, campaigners in London displayed a giant hourglass filled with “blood” to symbolize time running out. The image at right is from a video featuring Hugh Grant tied to the campaign. More than 200,000 have died, with 2 million displaced and 4 million […]

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Ocelopotamus and The Book of Imaginary Beings

April 24th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Blogs, Books, Culture, Fantasy, History, Journal, Lit, Meta, Mythology

Since I’m doing meta today: In case any of you are wondering exactly how I came up with such a cockamamie name for this blog, you can put at least part of the blame on The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges and Margarita Guerrero, which I’ve been carrying in my backpack for […]

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Happy Oceloversary!

April 24th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Blogroll, Blogs, Meta

Don’t worry, you don’t have to get me anything. But Ocelopotamus celebrated its one-month anniversary last week, and since I’m still figuring out the recipe for this place — what kinds of things I’m posting in what proportions, and what the readers most likely to visit a place called Ocelopotamus are actually interested in — […]

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Roundup: Forest for the Trees Edition

April 23rd, 2007 · 2 Comments · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Business, Climate Change, Comedy, Culture, Food, Health, Heroes, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Peace, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Tech, TV

France heads for a runoff election between right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy and left-winger Ségolène Royal. The country’s future hangs in the balance, and a lot depends on where the defeated centrist candidate steers his followers. Right wing blogs are now trying to push the idea that there was a massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq. […]

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Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man”

April 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man” · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Culture, History, Lit, News, Peace, Uncategorized

Gregory Rodriguez has a piece in the LA Times today in which he remembers working as an editorial assistant for Kurt Vonnegut’s publisher, and getting to know Vonnegut as he worked on revising Hocus Pocus for publication. Their first meeting, as Rodriguez recounts it, has Vonnegut displaying a vulnerability that is at once charming and […]

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Where There’s a Will There’s a Segway

April 13th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Blogroll, Blogs, Comedy, Culture, TV

New to the blogroll — check out The Will Arnett Research Project, which really does justice to the phrase “will power.” Because nobody on television wears a shorter bathrobe! (Well, except maybe David Duchovny on that one episode of The Larry Sanders Show, but that was so totally back in the Clinton Era before the […]

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And If You Let Me Stay … We’ll Dance Our Lives Away!

April 9th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Comedy, Culture, Music, TV, Video

Aaron posted the truly fabulous video of Debbie Harry performing “Call Me” on the Muppet Show … because nothing says “male escort work” like brightly colored hand puppets! But I have to say, my all-time favorite Muppet Show musical number is still Leo Sayer dancing with a giant green bird.   Bonus: Leo many, many […]

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Simone de Beauvoir’s Got Your Number, Slim

April 9th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Blogroll, Blogs, Culture, Feminism, Internet, Media, Politics

Jessica Valenti of Feministing had a nice piece in The Guardian on Friday, mulling over the state of online misogyny in the wake of the Kathy Sierra incident. And of course she touches on Ann Althouse’s nasty attack on her for the unspeakable crime of having a figure. If it’s any consolation, one side effect […]

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Comedy and the Art of Dancing Backwards

April 7th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Blogroll, Blogs, Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Film, Journal, Kids in the Hall, Meta, Neo-Futurists, Science Fiction, The Partly Dave Show, TV

My old friend AKMA (from the Billy-Bragg email list back in the 90s) has a short but insightful post up about the etiquette of responding to a straight line when it’s offered. It reminds me of why I used to enjoy talking to him online so much. Go read it. The last time I exchanged […]

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