The Crows Nest
Crow's Nest Mostly Unmanned
Yes, I know the Crow's Nest has mostly been moribund since the site's relaunch. I do plan on using it more often in the future, I promise. I'll be spending a little more time on these posts as a way to link out to the blogosphere. Keep an eye on this space.
Also, please note that I've put the Amazon search bar on the main page, in the right sidebar. If you want to do some shopping at Amazon -- and who doesn't? -- be sure to shop through Captain's Quarters. Amazon does pay a small percentage of the sale to me, and it helps pay for a few sundries related to the blog. Much appreciated!
OpenCongress Web Widget
Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.
Maybe They're Flotation Devices?
The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.
The Thinking Blogger
Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!
Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money
NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...
Support The Al-Dura Petition
Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....
There Goes The Undefeated Season
Notre Dame managed to get its first loss out of the way as soon as possible -- and as badly as possible. Georgia Tech came to South Bend and stomped the Irish, 33-3, in the worst home opener loss in school history. The offense fumbled twice and allowed seven sacks on Evan Sharpley, who must have longed to have Brady Quinn back on the field instead. If Charlie Weis doesn't turn this debacle around fast, he may want to start asking Ty Willingham for some career counseling ....
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Comments (28)
Posted by pettyfog | October 14, 2007 3:17 PM
Which one would most likely engage in conversation with you?
Toss-up in my opinion.
Posted by mediaura | October 14, 2007 3:42 PM
Very cool, running into Stephen Tyler, but I would have to vote for Fred Willard!
Ed, great meeting you at CLC, and congrats on the award.
charles
Posted by Tom Shipley | October 14, 2007 4:34 PM
I'd say Willard is a cooler sighting. But then again, I'm a bigger fan of Christopher Guest's movies than Aerosmith.
Both, however, are better than a Larry Craig sighting. (sorry, couldn't resist).
Posted by Roger M | October 14, 2007 4:54 PM
I saw Willard about 20 years ago in the Nashville airport. I didn't bother him by asking for an autograph or anything like that but he was traveling alone and seemed like a regular person to me and was very amiable looking to the few that were staring at him.
Posted by bayam | October 14, 2007 5:29 PM
OMG, Ed is starting to sound like a Hollywood fanboy...
Posted by Ironman | October 14, 2007 7:29 PM
Fred Willard, hands down. While Stephen Tyler is a good rock musician with a remarkable talent for the blues, Willard is, for my money, one of the sharpest people in the world of entertainment whose improv skills are unbelievable.
You'll find a lot more people with Tyler's talents than you'll find with Willard's - he's a truly rare commodity.
Posted by NahnCee | October 14, 2007 7:34 PM
I'm gonna vote for Steve Tyler. He'd be more fun to watch out of the corner of your eye.
Posted by william | October 14, 2007 8:21 PM
Funny...we saw Steven Tyler and his female companion getting preferential treatment at security going into terminal 3 at LAX this past Friday (10/12). The TSA let him and his entourage cut in line in front of about 100 people.
By the way, Mr. Tyler sure like he has done some truly hard living.
Posted by Swede | October 14, 2007 8:32 PM
I saw Charles Nelson Reilly at a convenience store in Jupiter, Florida.
He had a red Porsche.
Not in the store, of course, he got out and walked in just like any regular person.
Posted by Tom | October 14, 2007 8:57 PM
I waited in the lost luggage line last year in Washington Dulles Airport with Ben Stein.
Posted by RD | October 14, 2007 9:14 PM
You would be for me Cap'n Ed cuz I don't know either of those fellows-when it comes to current stars I'm way out of the loop but then I always preferred brains over looks. (My husband had both and you too Ed...boy did I almost put my foot in my mouth there.)
Posted by RBMN | October 14, 2007 10:25 PM
My biggest celebrity sightings so far are Tom Smothers, and Eric Idle I'm pretty sure. He looked like Idle, his British voice was spot on, and he acted like he was used to being recognized in public, and appreciative of it. That was in Northern California.
Posted by Chuck Ziegenfuss | October 14, 2007 11:11 PM
Ed, the funny thing is, you were talking to a celebrity right before the plane boarded... ME!
I dinna make the connection until later. I was the guy who pulled up a piece of carpet, checked mail and took a brief snoozybear whilst you cooked in the sun. (Grey cap, white shirt.)
Well, pleased to meet you, albeit unawares.
Chuck
http://tcoverride.blogspot.com
(PS I posted a pic of me and Steve right after TSA gave us the once over. I'm the pretty one.)
Posted by Bender | October 14, 2007 11:22 PM
Here in D.C. you run into celebs all the time. One of the more enjoyable was waiting for BBQ at the Red, Hot, and Blue take-out counter and this still very attractive woman keeps trying to give her name to pick-up her order, "Donahues. . . . Donahues . . . No, it's Donna (pause) Hughes" (aka Donna Rice).
She was certainly nicer to run into than sullen (former Senator) George Mitchell, who is as dour in person as on TV. On the other hand, Brian Lamb was as nice running into him at Borders as he is on TV.
Posted by Beldar | October 15, 2007 2:53 AM
Best airport for celebrities is Aspen, hands down. Last time I was there, I spent several minutes trying to work up my courage to fight a duel to the death with Ric Ocasek for the hand of Paulina Porizkova.
Posted by Brian | October 15, 2007 2:57 AM
Fred cracks me up...remember the "History of White People in America"???? Was he not in the scene where his heart monitor goes off the scale on the golf course???
His friend Martin Mull has the best line in "Serial", a movie, Sally Kellerman is getting married and her vows are "Me'ness, you'ness, us'ness , we'ness..and Martin Mull turns to his wife and say's "Sickness"...Classic!!!!
Posted by swabjockey05 | October 15, 2007 4:55 AM
Gotta be the Rock and Roller, Captain.
You're right about DC, though. Only "somebody" I ran into at the airport was James Carville. He was just as much a foul creature in person...but maybe that was because I was in uniform.
Coolest person I saw was Danny Devito at Jackson Hole. It was cool not because of who he was, but because of the fact that he had a group of 5 or 6 star-struck kids surrounding him (8-10 year olds). He was chatting with them for at least 20 minutes before I walked by...and that was in spite of the tired and bored look on his female companion's face (she was holding both sets of skis/poles).
When he made eye contact with me, I couldn’t help myself when I threw the ol’ “You look taller on TV” comment. My wife's still mad at me for that one. She's right as usual. I regret saying it to this day.
Posted by RD | October 15, 2007 6:44 AM
Many years ago on local Tv there was a weatherman who combined piano playing and giving the weather. I watched him on the news every evening. One day a man waited for me to get close to the door of a hotel I was staying at and then he held the door open for me. I looked at him and thought I know that guy and I wanted to say something but I just stood there with my mouth open as he looked at me as if expecting a comment. All I could come up with was a thank-you. When I got inside and met my husband who had watched the whole thing with amusement, he said "you know who that man was don't you?" "No" "He's your weatherguy" However, in my defense I have met Senator (now VP) Cheney and other very prominent politicians and would recognize them anywhere.
Posted by Donald | October 15, 2007 6:53 AM
I was in the bathroom at Hartsfield (Atlanta) airport a few years ago, just standing at the urinal doing my thing, when I looked over and there was Jon Waters (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos) standing next to me. I had to say "Fancy meeting you here"! He laughed and was very cool.
Posted by harleycon5 | October 15, 2007 6:59 AM
Captain,
I had a friend who used to work years ago at Knott's Camp Snoopy down in the Megamall in Bloomington. She was surprised to see Aerosmith entering the amusement park (nobody had yet noticed them, remarkably). I have to say she was pretty excited, and offered to go get them free day passes to the park, if they would follow her to the main office. During the walk up to the office, one of the bodyguards got snippy about how long it was taking to get the passes, to which guitarist Joe Perry told him, "Give the girl a break, she is just following the rules".
Aerosmith was very gracious and friendly throughout, even if the same can't be said of their underlings. All of the group are very kind to the fans, as you probably noticed.
Posted by L88SS454 | October 15, 2007 7:10 AM
Steve Tyler. Aerosmith puts on one heck of a show. Tyler is non stop,on the go from the first note until the last one. He has the energy of a teenager. Their show is not as good as KISS used to put on,but the music is much better. Aerosmith comes in a close second behind my all time favorite group,Pink Floyd. Haven't met many celebs. Does Billy Carter count?
Posted by Dr. Mercury | October 15, 2007 7:59 AM
"OMG, Ed is starting to sound like a Hollywood fanboy..." - bayam
Incorrect. Ed is showing us that he has a lighter side, something VASTLY appreciated in an otherwise somewhat droll and colorless right-wing blogosphere.
P.S. Your "OMG" makes you sound like a 16-year-old Valley Girl.
On the question, I'm with Tom on this one. Any fan (or "fanboy", as Valley Girls call them) of Christopher Guest has got to put Willard over some ancient rock star. I go back to the "Mary Hartman", "Fernwood 2-Nite" days, so Willard and Mull will always be faves.
As a small BTW, if you're not into Christopher Guest's movies, by all means try a few. "A Mighty Wind" is probably his best, but "Waiting For Guffman" and "Best In Show" are also terrific. These are 'mockumentaries', and are unscripted for the most part. The actors (usually the same bunch, which keeps a fun continuity going through the movies) are handed an outline of the scene and allowed to ad lib their lines. As such, the movies come across as very real, very spontaneous, and, of course, very mockish.
Posted by newton | October 15, 2007 8:05 AM
Didn't Ed live in SoCal for a long time before going to MN?
No surprise there. My sister and aunt live in the San Fernando valley, and they have seen several celebs. I really don't care who, but...
Posted by SWLiP | October 15, 2007 9:49 AM
This reminds me of the day that I realized I was really getting old:
As my daughter and I were watching television, Steve Tyler was featured in a commercial (I think it was for a digital camera). My daughter asked, "Who's that?"
Me: "He's a rock star."
Daughter: "Never heard of him."
Me: "He's, um, Liv Tyler's dad."
Daughter: "Oh, cool!"
Posted by jpr | October 15, 2007 12:04 PM
Coming back from LaGuardia we saw Wallace Shawn, from Princess Bride "Inconceivable!!", at one of the shops past the security area. Nice fellow.
At O'Hare I was waiting for my wife at baggage claim and Bob Costas, who was on the same plane, walked right up to me and thinking I was his limo driver. Hilarity ensued.
Posted by Dawn | October 15, 2007 3:49 PM
Fun to read!
Hmmm. I'd say it's a toss up. Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic was one of my first albums along with Ted Nugent/Free For All and Led Zeppelin II. Never watched Willard on Fernwood but have to say I didn't like his Roseanne days but I do like his new show.
When I was little Lloyd Bridges sat down next to me and said hi while we both put our ski boots on.
Willie Nelson came up to me three times and grabbed by hand during his first performance at Harrah in Tahoe. I ended up with the scarf from his head around my neck and all these old ladies tried ripping it off me.
Waylon Jennings and his crew visited my work and even though he hung back in the shadows I spied him right off. When his manager started to sign in I interrupted and said I knew who they were. He seemed surprised and asked how (since it wasn't a scheduled visit) I said, "There's only one Waylon!" to which everybody laughed. Waylon stepped right up and gave me his autograph even though I hadn't asked.
Posted by Bob Mc | October 15, 2007 4:24 PM
I've got ya'll beat:
Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones at the Charlottesville, VA airport.
Both very classy and "real"; no snootiness at all.
Posted by Xango Annie | October 15, 2007 10:08 PM
I am going to give a partial list...you may not believe them all...but true...I am old and I have traveled a lot...
Barry Goldwater, Sean Connery, Suzanne Pleshette, Barbara Walters(voice in person like a harpy), Claudine Longet, OJ Simpson, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Ponys, Candace Bergen, Bobby Morse, Tony Roberts, Dudley Moore with Susan Anton, Andy Garcia, Steven Spielberg and wife..Kate., Scott Hamilton, Brian McKnight, Rhea Perlman, Lee Ann Rimes,Renee Russo, Dave Thomas, Stevie Wonder, N'Sync boys group..Rob Schneider, there are more, but my mind has gone blank....