|link| Posted 10:38 PM by Brian Linse

L.A. Blogaplaooza II

Eric and Dawn Olsen's LA stopover was the excuse for LA Blogapalooza II at Casa BadDude last night. Usual LA suspects Matt Welch, Emmanuelle Richard, Tony Pierce, Greg McIlvane, Ben Sullivan, Charles Johnson, Mickey Kaus, Oz Tyler, and Scott Rubush were in attendance, as well as Martin Devon, Ann Salisbury, Sara Rimensnyder, and Madison Slade. Bill Quick ventured down from San Francisco, and the very famous Doc Searls came down from Santa Barbara. Missing were Layne & Crane, Eugene Volokh, Armed Liberal, Atrios, Rabbit, and Rand Simberg who were all on secret missions out of town. A few non-bloggers infiltrated the event, and it seemed a good time was had by all.


Charles Johnson and Eric Olsen


Bill Quick and Doc Searls


Dawn Olsen (link updated) and one of her favorite hotties Matt Welch


Emmanuelle Richard, Martin Devon, and Ann Salisbury


I had promised Scott Rubush he wouldn't be frisked this time... I lied.


Mickey Kaus and Doc Searls


Madison Slade


BadDude and Billy the Quick


Dawn and Nigel Dick


Eric and Doc


Emmanuelle, Os Tyler, and Dawn


Greg McIlvane and Welch


Tony Pierce, Welch, and Quick


Dawn and Warren Zevon

It was an honor to have such a collection of great people at the Casa. Thanks to all who attended. I wish I had pics of everyone, but I'm sure a few shots will turn up on others blogs.

UPDATE: PatioPundit Martin Deveon has pics here, including a few folks I missed like Brian Doherty of Reason Magazine and Sara Rimensnyder (that's "Smart lady's" name Martin) of Pepper and Aresnic and Reason.

MO' UPDATE: Dawn and Eric are safe in Ohio again, Eric has a report here, and Dawn has posted a few pictures of her own. Rev. Pierce has his report here. Bill Quick has a post here. The yummy Madison Slade has her take here. Legendary Doc Searls reports at the Weblog. The lovely and liberal Ann Salisbury has a post here. And freshly frisked Scott Rubush has some dazed recollections here. Note: The frickin' Blogger Archive bug is alive and well, so these links now take you to the Main Page of the Blogspot sites.

|link| Posted 2:07 PM by Brian Linse

Where Am I?

I'm half way through my second pot of coffee, and there's a lot of cleaning up to do, but I'll try to post some pics from last night's LA Blogapalooza II later this afternoon. It was a very impressive turn out for guests of honor Eric and Dawn Olsen, and we were lucky to have both Doc Searls and Bill Quick road trip down from points north. Incriminating photos and report to follow...

|link| Posted 3:54 AM by Brian Linse

MoDo On Fire

Best line in Maureen Dowd's new column:

Can a Bush — born on third base but thinking he hit a triple — ever really understand the problems of the guys in the bleachers?

This is a classic Dowd column. Must read.

|link| Posted 2:43 AM by Brian Linse

R.I.P. Baseball 1845-2002

Full Disclosure: I have not watched a Major League Baseball game since 1993. That was the year, you may recall, that a strike cancelled the season and no World Series was played.

It broke my heart.

My dad taught me the proper way to field a ground ball before I was even enrolled in kindergarten. I was a little league star. I believed in Baseball in a way that is best expressed by the famous Ernie Banks quote: "It's a beautiful day. Let's play two!" So since that awful year of unfathomable greed from both players and owners, I have maintained my own little one-man boycott. That's just the grudge-carrying kind of prick I am. No! I shall not watch. I shall not go.

So last night's MLB All-Star game came and went without me even being aware of it... Until I read the report:

All-Star Game Ends in Tie, Teams Run Out of Players

Huh?

Baseball's mid-season celebration ended in controversy on Tuesday when the All-Star Game was called after 11 innings with the American and National Leagues tied at 7-7 and out of players.

Out of... wha...?

"I had to call the game and I apologize to fans," said a shaken Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball.

"Their unhappiness is understood but both managers came to me and said they were out of pitchers, they were out of players."

"In your wildest dreams you would never think this game would end in a tie and given the health of players we had no choice to call the game."

The health... of the players... The fucking health of the fucking players? Is this asshole serious?

So this is where Major League Baseball has evolved? These spoiled millionaires are too delicate to be able to find a way to finish the FUCKING ALL-STAR Game?

This is what it has come to? The year that the MVP Award is renamed for Ted Williams, there is no MVP? Lovely.

To all MLB players, coaches, and owners, I say, "Fuck You and Goodbye Forever".

I'm glad Ted Williams didn't live to see this.

|link| Posted 8:26 PM by Brian Linse

They're Link-O-Licious

Time for another update of the blogrolls with some sites I've been following lately. Check out Chris Bertram's Junius and Andrew Northrup's The Poor Man, as well as Laura Crane and Kill Ugly Radio with it's blog, Hot Poop.

Links are to the left and in The Vault.

|link| Posted 7:41 PM by Brian Linse

A Mind That Matters

Jay Zilber's Mind Over What Matters has moved to a new location. Update your bookmarks!

|link| Posted 2:17 PM by Brian Linse

...Wouldn't You Like To Be A Liberal Too?

Patio bound pundit Martin Devon is afraid he might be turning Liberal. Having been born a Liberal (much to my father's dismay) I can't really offer too much council to Martin, but I'm told that the pain subsides after a week or two, and the bleeding of the heart is something that you get accustomed to rather quickly.

Martin also alerts me to another fellow liberal, Jason Rylander, who I'll be checking out regularly.

I guess I must have been visiting the Patio via another blog, because when I went looking for my perma-link to him it was nowhere to be found. That situation has been remedied. Welcome to the "Left" ...of my blog, Martin. The movie quotes are lots of fun, and you even stump me from time to time.

|link| Posted 12:38 PM by Brian Linse

Disturbing Thoughts from a Disturbed Mind

David Horowitz has finally lost it. Completely.

[via Atrios]

|link| Posted 11:41 AM by Brian Linse

LA Examiner

The absence of Welch and Layne in blogland seems to be benefiting the LA Examiner site. There are more frequent posts now, and they have the best track on the LAX shooter. Go check em out.

|link| Posted 11:26 AM by Brian Linse

He's Back !

Ted Barlow is back in action.

Amount of money the Clintons lost over Whitewater: $46,000

Cost to taxpayers of eight year Whitewater investigation: $70 million

Proceeds from Bush's sale of Harkin stock before the public announcement of Harkin's losses, unnannounced to the SEC for 34 weeks: $848,000

Hearing the "honor and integrity" President say "Sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures," and having the press laugh out loud: Priceless

Welcome back, Ted.

|link| Posted 3:11 PM by Brian Linse

More Statistics, Less Consensus

InstaPundit has another link today to John Lott, Jr., author of More Guns Less Crime. In case you are new to the controversy surrounding Mr. Lott's research, you might want to also check out this debate from 1998. If you are interested in this topic, Google the title of Lott's book and you'll have fun for hours, but don't just read the article that Glenn links to and call it a day. It is a complicated topic.

I am personally not decided on weather or not Lott's research is trustworthy. The problem, of course, is that the debate is framed by extreme views from both sides. My gut tells me that Lott's thesis may have certain validity in narrowly drawn circumstances, but there are just too many questions about his methods to close the book on this for me. Though I am still open to further processing of the data and arguments from both sides, I don't think Lott is convincing enough to form public policy based on his findings.

UPDATE: In case some readers are very new to Lott and his thesis, check out this critique of his analysis. Lott is an economist, and there is some question as to weather or not his methods apply to his subject. If you are really interested, here is a brief look at the Lott analysis as well as the Black/Nagin takedown of Lott's study.

|link| Posted 3:20 AM by Brian Linse

Mind If I Shoot Up Here?

Get yer Matt Welch fix over at National Post.

[via MaxSpeak]

|link| Posted 2:35 AM by Brian Linse

I Wonder How He'd Look In A Short Skirt...

El Gringo Loco, Dawson Jackson, is channeling Coulter and it's almost as entertaining as the real thing!

Well, either that, or Ann has moved in with that big stud and taken over his blog...

Just a reminder Bro D, some of us Liberals DO have guns!