SanDisk fires a shot across Apple's bow

This could just maybe work.
Hook an iPod-like device directly to your TV to play downloaded TV shows and movies? No more networking tsuris? And at a Wal-Mart price? Hmmm...

Book Day Author: Valerie Plame Wilson

As promised, this morning we feature a "Book Day" post to promote increased literacy and arm all you  liberal/progressive readers with the intellectual ammunition to face off against the conservatives in your life. This week, we have a new book by Valerie Plame Wilson, the former covert CIA agent who was outed by Junior Bush's minions in a despicable act of petty political retaliation for her husband's public criticism of administration policy in Iraq—an act for which not even convicted felon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby had to pay. Fair Game: My Life in the CIA, My Betrayal by the White House is now on sale, and last night the Wilsons turned up on CBS' 60 Minutes flogging it. At least 10 percent of her material was redacted by government edict, which tells you how afraid the Bush White House still is of these people. I will review a copy shortly and pass on my thoughts. Any good political books on your reading list?

Today's birthday wishes

Happy birthday to billroper's better half, daisy_knotwise! Hope you, Roper and Katie have a marvelous day.

Why Hillary should NOT be the Dem candidate next year

See, this is what I keep telling you people: The Democratic Party would be absolutely suicidal to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as their Presidential candidate next year. Last night's Republican candidates' debate illustrates yet again how fear and loathing of the former First Lady galvanizes the right as very few other things do; and we all know the conservative get-out-the-vote effort still way outstrips its analog on the left, for all that MoveOn and similar groups have begun to learn how to use the net-roots. A Hillary candidacy is a prescription for yet another loss of the White House in '08, between the right-wing noise machine, a highly motivated and mobilized base, and the usual GOP dirty tricks in vote-counting...particularly if Rudy Giuliani is the GOP nominee, as more and more polls seem to indicate he will be.

Not that I expect the delegates to listen to me, of course...

Dell to sell its computers and other gear at Staples stores

Courtesy of several sources, but only CNetNews.com has actually put it out there presently: This report says that Dell Computer Corp. is going to start selling its wares at stores of the Staples office-supply megachain next month. Coming on the heels of a previous similar deal between the Texas-based Wintel-box colossus and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., this would seem to indicate that Dell believes the time is finally right to give its customers a way to buy their stuff other than online, through phone or catalog orders...and that they've learned the key lesson from the debacle that was Gateway Country: namely, let someone else have the headaches of retail overhead and just lease some space in their stores, rather than opening your own. Of course, this doesn't explain the soaraway success of the Apple Stores; but then, Apple is the only PC maker not named Hewlett-Packard who's shown any sign of even coming close to nipping at Dell's heels.

Proposed group outing to hear JoCo and Paul & Storm

Jonathan Coulton of "Re: Your Brains" and "Skullcrusher Mountain" fame is coming down to Hotlanta on the 9th of next month to play a Little Five Points club called the Five Spot. He's sharing the bill with Paul & Storm, otherwise known as half of Da Vinci's Notebook, the late, great and dearly missed a capella funny-music group responsible for such gems as "Liposuction," "Another Irish Drinking Song" and "Kingdom in the Sky." (Thanks to redaxe for the heads-up a few weeks ago.) The show's at 8:30 PM and tickets are $15 in advance (available through TicketBastards if you really want to pay their fees; I don't, but then I'm local and have other options).

voiceofkiki and I are planning to make a night of it, and I need some others to come with so my Songbird doesn't think I'm stepping out on her. :-) Who's with us?

A harried mom filks the most mis-identified piece of classical music ever

Thanks to evawhitley for this link: Christian evangelical and comedienne Anita Renfroe has come up with a distillation of all the things she and every mother who ever lived have had to say to their kids, and set it to the tune of "The William Tell Overture" by Giachino Rossini (no, it's not "The Lone Ranger Theme," silly; Jack Wrather just used it in his radio show because he was too cheap-assed to pay a living composer for a real theme). The result is here, with lyrics posted on the YouTube page so you can follow along. It's a hoot and a half, whether you are a mother or just have/had one (though I note she forgot to include one classic Mom-ism: "Your face will freeze that way!").
--> The Mom Song