Scanner art by Craig Cramer, gardening & more
Small consolation that there would have been little new on the air this holiday week. I’m more or less resolved to make it until spring without Colbert or TDS. ‘Twill be the winter of my discontent.
Meanwhile some strike snark from Letterman’s striking writers:
I miss me my Colbert and Daily Show. But our lives would not be so rich were we without writers. Hat tip to Avedon at Eschaton.
Update: Folks are contributing ideas for the sequel over at drifty’s:
“He’ll accept my offer because it will be a good offer.” — The Godfather
“Kansas has much different terrain, so we must be someplace else.” — The Wizard of Oz
Best I could come up with: Please proceed and provoke me. It will be a memorable occasion. — Dirty Harry
Update: Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer from the Daily Show gets to the point in Daily Show style, and really let’s you know that (despite my love of Jon Stewart et al) how much the writers are responsible for the snark.
Update 2: And this from Colbert’s striking writers:
I broke a milestone this week. Akismet spam filter has removed 100K spam comments since January.
Still have a dozen or so sneak through each week.
The Dalai Lama is in town to dedicate a new monastery here in Ithaca, and spent most of the day on the Cornell campus. He stopped by the Johnson Art Museum to bless both a sand and a string mandala that monks from India have been working on since September 11. It’s been an experience to see them the past few weeks strolling across campus in their robes in the warm fall weather on their way to Collegetown for their lunch break.
The Ithaca Journal has some great photo essays of the monks at work constructing the string mandala and sand mandala.
The Cornell Chronicle also has great coverage of the visit, and the web folks have streaming video of the Dalai Lama’s address to a full house at Barton Hall. It’s worth a peak just for the invocation chant by the monks. I only caught bits and pieces this afternoon. But from what I could hear, the Dalai Lama is entertaining (jovial is the word that came to mind) as well as enlightening.
One of the great things about living outside a college town is the vibrant culture. This weekend was the Ithaca Apple Festival. The Commons (a product of ’70s revitalization efforts) had food, fun and live music all weekend. A favorite stop every year is a booth organized by our Department of Horticulture grad students raising money by selling apples, cider and pawpaws and raffling off a giant pumpkin. (Note to Chad: Don’t forget pawpaw trees next year.)
I love the scrap iron pony. Similar sculptures (recycling at its best) are scattered around the Commons and downtown.
Friday night, Air America Radio host (and frequent commentator on to Keith Olbermann’s Countdown and other new programs) Rachel Maddow brought her radio show to Ithaca’s State Theater. Rachel frequently features politically active artists and musicians on her program. So it was no surprise that local favorites The Burns Sisters performed this song at the show. (This version from the 2006 Philly Folk Festiva.)
Apple Festival. Scrap iron ponies. Burns Sisters. There’s hope for this world.