7 November 2003

  • New York's currently: so-fisticated
  • Bush plans to bring democracy to Iran, Syria – and Egypt. Related: Arabs meet Bush's statement with agreement and wariness.
  • U.S. Army helicopter crashes near Tikrit, six die.
  • N.Y. federal judge blocks partial-birth abortion ban for seven doctors.
  • Number of post offices close in D.C. anthrax scare.
  • Prime Minister returns to Sri Lanka, calls for return of parliament.
  • Joan Kroc, late widow of McDonald's founder, leaves NPR its largest donation ever – $200 million (almost double NPR's annual operating budget). Related: McDonald's to give away one billion iTunes tracks in a marketing campaign.
  • To direct he hired William 'One Shot' Beaudine (so named because he never did a second take), who dated back to the Bowery Boys serials and had made over 200 B movies. He made the whole film in six days in 1944. Joe Bob Briggs on Kroger Babb, Mom and Dad, and sex-hygiene films as porn.
  • Cheshire Dave's got another issue of Judging Books by Their Cover. This time, he covers the covers he likes.
  • 'The Time Between Ordering and Eating' by Kevin Fanning.
  • 'Like, today I went to ABC Carpet. The reason you don't hear about that is because it's not fit to print in rock mags.' Ryan Adams, Parker 'Parks' Posey, and a pleasantly entertaining interview.
  • Malaysia restricts importing of scary books. Says Harry Potter series is acceptable because it is 'benign.'
  • British former shipbuilding town protests plans to dismantle retired U.S. Navy vessels there.
  • Despite everything, R. Kelly still has it.
  • Jessica Lynch claims she was used for propaganda.
  • When 'no problem' replaces 'thank you,' chaos replaces order.
  • Make your own church sign.
  • Dr. Robert Nemiroff of the Astronomy Picture of the Day will be giving a free lecture tonight at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. [thanks j3s]