Widget Me

Widgets are damn cool. Little desk top apps that do one or a few very narrow things, in a manner pleasing to the eye and convenient to use. Yahoo recently bought Pixoria, who created Konfabulator, the program that actually runs and controls these widgets.

I'm still giving it a whirl but I have to say it is pretty cool, works well, and with the acquisition, I expect the number, type and variation of available widgets to grow rapidly.

Test it out for yourself.

hot blue day

hot blue day
Originally uploaded by fallsroad.

It's turning into one of those really damn hot stretches here. 99 today, hotter than that tomorrow and on through the weekend. I know, it's worse elsewhere, but I'm *here*, aren't I?

Getting pumped

Well, not really.

I'm currently going off my feed of bad CableSpews programming, so I've been unable to work myself into a righteous lather about the Shrub's appointment to the Supreme Court.

*Snore*.

Another right wing, pro-business, anti-regulation lawyer - sounds like most of the administration and its lackey army. Perhaps the 99 degree heat here on the Southern Plains has me in a profound malaise, but I really don't care who this man is. I already know what I need to know of him - the finer points of his particular stripe of neo conservatism doesn't interest me.

I also don't care about the upcoming nomination "fight" because a fight it will not be. The alleged "party of opposition" relinquished it's remaining shred of dignity when it chose to compromise with the majority party over judicial nominees, all of whom were more objectionable than the current one. This means the dog and pony show will be short, full of hype, and end in a near unanimous vote in favor.

Like I said, I cannot care about this. Those fucks running the show are already quite capable of fucking all of us in our nether holes - one more shitbag can hardly foul the waters any further.

What's in a name?

Though I spent much of my first 20 years of life outside the US, my family always returned to the Washington, D.C. area. I grew up a football fan, specifically a fan of the Washington Redskins. The games at old RFK stadium were magical for a kid - totally sold out, raucous fans, marching band, players like giants smashing into one another, and the fight song, played and sung each time the home team managed to score.

"Hail To The Redskins", borrowing the tune from the Notre Dame fight song.

Indian themes are what this team's image was built on many decades ago, and it's logo is instantly recognizable. I had pennants and posters, trading cards and jerseys, all with that famous face, famous stylized letter R, and the name.

Time to change it.

A court case challenging the Washington trademarks stalled two years ago, but was revived yesterday on procedural grounds.

Redskins Name Can Be Challenged
Appeals Court Ruling Keeps Trademark Battle Alive

By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 16, 2005; B01

Native American groups won another chance yesterday to challenge trademarks covering the name and logo of the Washington Redskins, which the groups say disparage millions of people.

The football franchise had appeared to prevail in the longstanding trademark fight when a federal judge ruled in its favor nearly two years ago. But yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals said the case deserves another look because one of the plaintiffs might have been unfairly denied the right to pursue it.

"This keeps the case alive," said John Dossett, general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians, which represents 250 tribes.

The dispute involves six trademarks owned by Pro-Football Inc., the corporate owner of the team. The oldest is "The Redskins," written in a stylized script in 1967. Other trademarks were registered in 1974, 1978 and 1990, including one for the word "Redskinettes." The Native Americans said the trademarks should be taken away because they insult them and hold them up to ridicule.

The appellate ruling hinged on the question of whether the Native Americans waited too long to file their challenge. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled in October 2003 that the seven plaintiffs had no standing to complain because they did not formally object until 25 years had elapsed since the date of the first trademark.

But the appellate judges found that one plaintiff still could have standing because he was only 1 year old in 1967. They sent the case back to Kollar-Kotelly for review.

The outcome ultimately could affect millions of dollars in sales of Redskins paraphernalia. With a federal registration for trademarks, team owner Daniel M. Snyder holds exclusive rights to use the team name and logo on T-shirts, caps and other items, worth an estimated $5 million a year.

Teams want to have an image fans can understand and get enthusiastic about. It's a method of team identity, and a great tool for marketing. But there is no reason on earth that a team name, images, and theme need be denigrating to Native Americans. Try supplanting "Redskins" with "Jews" or "Micks" or "Spics" and so on. It just doesn't play.

I propose Washington change the name to Warriors, a more generic term for a fighting force, one that does not rely on specific racial typing and cannot possibly be offensive in the manner Redskins is now. The team symbol could be revamped into a fierce visage designed to strike fear into opposing teams, or at least sell jerseys and tickets. This isn't rocket science, and nothing says a team's name is set in stone.

Years ago Abe Pollen, owner of the then named Washington Bullets NBA franchise decided to change the team name. At the time the city was in the top ten for murder rates in the entire US. Pollen felt it was not appropriate for a basketball team to carry the name of a bit of metal designed to kill people. The team held a contest and the winning name was Wizards. Goofy, as is the new logo, but it's only a basketball team.

He set the right example. The Washington NFL team should follow it.

Jumpin' Jesus! Er, Standing Jesus!

(stumpy) christ of the ozarks
Originally uploaded by fallsroad.

Yummy Fundie goodness. Click photo to read all about it.

The wider lie

The wider lies the Bush administration crafted and repeated to take us into an illegal war are being buried beneath the "Rove scandal." I believe Rove did not commit an actual crime, but engaged in a very nasty sort of political smear campaign outing Valerie Plame.

Richard Cohen tells us why:

The truth about that truth was contained in a Post story about the leaks. It quoted "a senior administration official" who said that the outing of Plame was "meant purely and simply for revenge." It also said that two -- not one -- "top White House officials" had called "at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife." This response might be reprehensible, but it was routine for the town and, particularly, the vindictive Bush White House. What it was not, though, was a crime. The law prohibiting the outing of a CIA agent is so restrictive that it has been applied only once and does not seem to fit this case. I find it hard to believe that Rove or anyone at the White House specifically intended to blow the cover of a CIA agent. Rove is a political opportunist, not a traitor.

Washington loves farce the way Vienna loves the waltz. It once extravagantly inflated a sex act into the impeachment of a president, and it has now reduced the momentous debacle of the Iraq war into a question of what Rove or someone else said to a reporter on the phone. Soon, the question will turn on whether Rove or others actually cited Plame by name and whether the president's oath to fire anyone who identified Plame as a CIA operative applies to someone who just mentioned her job title. It will all depend on what "is" is or, to put it another way, whether Bush will concede that he inhaled.

In that second paragraph lies the nut of Rove's defense - he didn't specifically name names - and it will work.

no words need be spoken

no words need be spoken
Originally uploaded by fallsroad.

Good things are happening. Click on the photo and read all about it.