Yeah, there was a joke in Parks and Rec like this.  Ron Swanson received an unintentional cell phone call from two characters while they were role playing in the bedroom as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regean.  I understand why this is understood to be funny b/c I was once a child and once a liberal, but this obsession with associating the names of your political enemies with prurient imagery is, again, really sick.  I don't even like it when some on our side do this w/ Bill Clinton.  

Great point.

Maybe it's just a taste thing...  I just find them so mean--and I'm a cold hearted Ron Swanson type.  Mocumentaries seem to be written by people still stuck in highschool clique groupthink.  All laughs are aimed at people who're oblivious to social norms.  I suppose this is true of a lot of humor, but I prefer satire aimed at elites, snobs, eggheads, do-gooders, the clowns and fools of every day reality.  If only Southpark didn't have so much swearing and potty humor I'd watch it.     

Fair enough.  Is 30 Rock ANOTHER mocumentary comedy on NBC?  I've never watched because, as I hinted above, I cannot stand comedy written by women (and/or hipsters).  

Thanks for sharing, Rob.  That is great advice for whatever walk of life in which you find yourself.

And...

I'm with you, that is a hilarious skit... but I like this particular presidential impersionation a bit more!

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clinton-at-mcdonalds/2871

Just what are you insinuating, Rob?  I hope you mean to suggest that two drinks is on the light side of moderate.

I work 12 hour shifts and religiously conclude my workdays with two bottles of beer while I reading some Plato before bedtime--so I must say that this study rings true in my case.  

However, I have found it's impossible to drink just two glasses of wine.  Just try it some time.  You can have one, or  you can have three, but no one has just two.  

My favorite comment underneath this article on the guardian site is:

• Husq

  18 August 2011 7:30PM

   

  If I were an alien reading this article I would not effing bother attacking.

   

 No.

If this is true then which from of Christianity would you say takes the blame for the cultural relativism that is destroying Protestant countries?

River, I'm sorry to hear you had such a difficult time trying to come into the church.  Whenever I feel the Church or a religious authority is being too strict I remember that priests believe they are going to be held responsible for the souls under their authority which is why they want to get your formation right.  Without all the insuferable and "maddenling ridgid" formation the Catholic Church might have exploded and morphed into ten thousand different demoninations like say Lutheranism did.  If we want to keep the consitutional United States of America around for the long run, it certainly wouldn't hurt to take look at the only existing 2,000 year old institution.

Isn't 'ridig dogma' a bit redundant?  If it isn't ridig is it a dogma?  And if you don't have dogmas what's to prevent corrosive relativism?

 I like the idea of these floating waterworld fiefdoms.  This reminds me of a few years ago when I was working in the food service industry and a coworker would come in every day talking about his latest gun purchase (he was getting all he could before Obama got sworn in and outlawed them) and he also talked about his brother and his plan to buy an island.  I asked him where he'd buy an island, he said "they got a website.  Buyanisland.com"  I just double checked, the site is down.

I certainly had a 'mystical experience' about two years ago that not only converted me back to faith in God, and eventually Christianity, but also to conservatism.  I'm not embarassed about describing it but I've found that anyone I do describe it to becomes embarassed for me.  So I don't describe it anymore--I just say that I had a "conversion experience" or a "road to damascus thing".  I learned to just keep quiet about it, as St. Paul did: 

^"I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days." Galatians 1:15-18

True, riots are not a form of political discourse... until King George III starts taxing your tea.

And maybe violence shouldn't be a form of art criticism--but you can't say Duchamp wasn't asking for this one.

These were truly repulsive incidents--especially involving the Pieta.  You make a good point, the works of better artists have been under constant attack from vandals--I believe I read somewhere that the first time the David was displayed rocks were thrown at it.  It'll be interesting to see if the Matisse attacker gets off as easy as the Pieta and Danae vandals. 

I also like your point about increased security.  While I wouldn't be prepared to let a TSA agent 'touch my junk' to board a flight to Italy, I might be inclined to let a Swiss Guard do so to get into the Sistine Chapel. 

Yeah, I remember listening to this a few years back.  It's refreshing to hear Mark boast about something other than former Muslim girlfriends and flirty secretaries.  

I don't know that I ever watched "Leave it to Beaver" sounds like a good one though!  Thanks for the recommendation!

So sad, and so glad I don't watch television anymore.  I don't know what's more perverse, these people leading so many astray by flaunting their vices in public or the audience that watches and mocks them for diversion.  Not excusing myself here, I remember when I used to watch TV enjoying the show about Gary Busey and documentaries that basically mocked strange characters like "Grizzly Man", but I'm just not comfortable doing that anymore.