Staying with the theme of ’70s-style Christmas oddities, please enjoy this particularly funky yuletide gem I grabbed from the awesome Christmas music blog (oh, there are many of them!) Musical Fruitcake. In a spectacular example of Me Decade values, Santa and Rudolph decide that gift delivery is for squares… so they plan a disco-style Christmas Eve instead. (Note: I couldn’t find album art for this particular song, so I chose what I thought was an appropriate photo to accompany this post. The “Yuletide Disco” album itself can be downloaded here.) 

 

 The Universal Robot Band - "Disco Christmas": Play Now | Play in Popup

It’s time once again for your semi-regular fill of press release fantasia. In this edition, Walmart — hyphenless and loving it — reminds you to buy local this holiday season. What’s next, Burger King espousing the benefits of vegetarianism … wait, they have what?

Go to metacritic.com, find its list “Wide Releases Now in Theaters,” click “sort by score” and there you have a pretty good idea of the lack of decent film offerings as of late: “Wall-E” and “Dark Knight” — both summer releases — still claim the top ratings spots, with “Milk” sliding in only a week ago. While there has been some quality limited release offerings, those tend to have the shelf life of an un-refrigerated carton of milk at New Orleans theaters. But fear not, moviegoers, because with the influx of gifts, confections and unabashed gluttony that comes with the holiday season also comes (usually, at least) an influx of quality, mainstream film. Finally, something worth the 8-dollar Diet Coke.

However, as a fairly avid movie-goer, I find the annual offerings to be pretty formulaic. In fact, I’ve found that all of the Oscar hopefuls (and wannabe hopefuls) can usually be grouped in the following categories:
Read the rest of this entry »

(Gregory Kahn expressed his disappointment in Gambit’s endorsement process in the runup to last Saturday’s election. He was invited to respond in writing.)

As the Libertarian Party candidate for the Second Congessional District, I must express my profound disappointment at the lack of professionalism and integrity in your endorsement process. At the candidate interviews, I answered fully all your questions and, in addition, provided specific written substantive policy positions on many other issues. In your editorial, I was summarily dismissed as the candidate with the weakest grasp of Washington issues as evidenced by my response not to name any subcommittee on which I might desire to be appointed. I explained that as the only Libertarian member of Congress I would not want to be relegated to some unimportant committee but instead would ask of my colleagues the courtesy to participate as a non permanent member on any committee considering legislation of significance to Louisiana and the Second Congressional District. As a career federal civil servant who worked in Wasington and helped prepare testimony for Congressional committees I am keenly aware of Washington issues, and how the House committees are structured. Most who become Libertarians do so because they are familiar with Washington issues and are repulsed by how the Democrat and Rebublican Parties handle them. Perhaps, my positions on Washington issues are not those of Gambits but that should not have led to your accusation that I have a weak grasp of the issues. Your non endorsement editorial was virtually pointless and nihilistic. However, it might have been an improvement over your endorsement of Cedric Richmond in the first Democratic Primary as he has now had his law license suspended for perjury and over your endorsement of Helena Moreno in the Second Democratic Primary as her grasp of Washington issues was clearly not evident. One of your paramount responsibilities is to inform your readers, not misinform them.

Sincerely,

Gregory W. Kahn

By Clay A. Smith

-

-

On a Sunday afternoon when the stars appeared to have come out early — Heralded Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, MVP candidate Drew Brees, rookie sensation Matt Ryan, and explosive running back Michael Turner — who would have guessed it would be an undrafted kid out of Illinois who would eclipse them all and literally run away with the game?

-
The Saints came into Sunday’s contest against Atlanta with a 6-6 record and desperately needed a win to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. But while Bush ripped off eight yards a carry including a career-long 43-yard run, it was Pierre Thomas who carried the Saints to their seventh win of the season. Thomas had a game-high 102 yards rushing, two touchdowns, and an eighty-eight yard kickoff return to set up the go-ahead score.

Read the rest of this entry »