ginandtacos.com - shut up and drink the gin

CHENEY TO AMERICA: "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY. ALSO, FUCK YOU."

So apparently the conservative public advocacy group Judicial Watch has uncovered and is preparing to make public an e-mail that confirms what anyone with a functioning frontal lobe already knew - Cheney's influence was a determinative factor in Halliburton being awarded war contracts which were not open to competitive bidding.

My ability (or need) to comment on this issue at this point is completely absent, but suffice it to say that there is no God but one that will strike the Vice President down with a cornucopia of the most lethal, slow-acting, and untreatable hemmoragic fevers, after which he will spend the rest of eternity roasting on a spit in the part of hell otherwise reserved for the serial killers with whom the other serial killers refuse to be associated.

Live Music on Thursdays in Champaign

I am very happy to be able to report that the Cowboy Monkey in Champaign is running a running thursday night live music showcase. One band plays at midnight for free. You can't beat that. Come out on thursdays, or at least go over there at midnight for the show. Local music in Champaign is good and always getting better, a lot of times it just needs an audience.

In upcoming weeks:

• 6/3The Invisible
  This is Chris Bauer's band if you know him. Even if you don't know him, there is a good chance you know his band. They have been around for ages. In modern times and with several changes in lineup, they are sounding much better than ever before. Their sound is somewhere between roots rock and something a bit more spacey.

• 6/10The Blackouts
  If you don't know the Blackouts, you probably have not lived in town very long (or not watched One Tree Hill on the WB in the last couple months). With a new album out their brand of honest rock music has trancended anything this town has seen for a long time.
  

Moral of the story- I am going to be there the next two weeks and if I don't see you there I will be very dissappointed in you.

And the GOP says....Call Talk Radio!

Yes, the choir is about to be preached to!

Anyone who has switched their radio band to AM in the last couple years will have noticed that neocons dominate the airwaves. Being an official ginandtacos.com liason to conservative talk radio is a thankless and often masochistic task. However, it is not without its rewards. Time and time again you are amused by the circular rhetorical techniques employed by hosts. You become amazed at how the same sentence can get rephrased several hundred times to make a three hour program essentially consist of on statement. You are dumbfounded by a host responding to reasonalble critisism with a louder statement of the original position.

Beyond all else, I am continually amazed by the depth of callers who seem completely oblivious to reality, and yet have such a firm grasp of conservative talking points. Previously I answered this apparent enigma with the conclusion that callers are simply repeating statements they heard on other talk shows.

Imagine my surprise when I found that this is actually an endored campaign technique both the Republican National Commitee and the Bush campaign themselves. Accepting the fact that if you are a Bush supporter you clearly gave up on the concepts of original thought and logic four years ago, the George W Bush website not only gives you tips on how to get on the air, what programs to call, but also exact quotes to say.

[directly from georgewbush.com]

• Winning the War on Terror. After September 11, 2001, President Bush acted decisively to rout Al Qaeda from their hiding places, and America is safer as a result. The global war on terror continues to be waged with focus and determination.

• Defending Against Weapons of Mass Destruction.
  Our military proceeded with skill and bravery to liberate the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, and ensure that weapons of mass destruction never find their way into the hands of terrorists.

• Supporting Our Military.
  President Bush has increased defense spending in all of his budgets, giving our servicemen and women the resources and the advanced technology they need to face today’s threats.
  

I am a bit confused. There was no mention of all the jobs George Bush has created.

Republicans Hate Al Gore.

They really do. Talk radio personality Sean Hannity does not seem to be able to bring up Al Gore without using discriptive terms such as "shrill" or "insane." In fact, on his website, Sean Hannity asks the question: Is Al Gore losing his mind? The truth of the matter is, Al Gore very well might be insane. He very well might be losing his mind. Does anyone really care? Does anyone actually listen to Al Gore anyway? Democrats barely cared about him in 2000.

Despite the fact that even democrats believed him to be lacking even the vaguest shred of charisma during the last election, republican pundits in 2004 seem to be labeling him as the great democratic spokesman. Other than the 45 college students who are there to see him speak, the only people who hear what he has to say are viewers of Hannity of Limbaugh.

The truth of the matter is not that Gore speaks for the democratic party, but rather that he is a living breathing conservative talking point. Everytime he gives a speech republicans get to say the following.

• The Democratic party is desperately trying to regain the power that they previously had despite the fact that it is not what the american people want. -common Limbaugh sentiment
  
• Is the tone of Al Gore really befitting an ex-vice president -common Hannity statement
  
• Is it appropriate for prominent democrats to align themselves with Moveon.org, an organization that compared Bush to Hitler? -also Hannity
  
• And most intriguing of all... Everytime Gore speaks he gives conservatives another excuse to blame everything on Bill Clinton. "We'd stop talking about Clinton if they would just shut up." -Mark Levin on Hannity and Combs.
  

So to put it bluntly, everytime Al Gore opens his mouth, even if it is to address 27 people on some college quad somewhere, it gives conservatives justification to say things like. "Look at the lengths the democrats are willing to go to in order to win," and "Why didn't Bill Clinton kill Bin Laden when he had the chance?"

The truth of the matter is, this is just another example of how 2004 is becoming one of the most pathetic presidential elections this country has seen since the American people had to choose between Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson. Democrats are being forced to vote on how much we hate George Bush and not any affection for John Kerry. Republicans are flooding the airwaves with rhetoric condemning any statement against Bush as "inappropriate in a time of war," and "John Kerry is playing politics with national security" - yeah, as though they aren't.

We could go on like this forever. If you are interested in becoming exceptionally annoyed with the lies and half-truths are are becoming this campaign on both sides go to slate.com's doonesbury daily dose and read the line on the top titled "todays mudline" for all the up to date mudslinging in the presidential race.

A new excuse not to TIVO your commericals...

The Senate race in Illinois is shaping up to be one of the most watched elections this year. An important Republican seat is going up for grabs, and with the Illinois Republicans in complete disarray from scandal the Democratic primary winner, Barack Obama, looks like he is in great shape.

However, his Republican opponent, Wilmette's very own Jack "please seal my divorce records, please" Ryan, is going to put up a fight. After recently polling 16% behind Obama, he has hired media consultant Scott Howell to change the tone of his campaign. I had no idea why that would have been a big deal, until I just read that Howell was the one of the main guys behind the attack ad against Senator Max Cleland, who went on to lose the seat in 2002.

If you remember, the Republicans went on the offensive in 2002, with Bush going to all the big battleground states to lend a helping hand. Back then Iraq was full of people who wanted to embrace America, and you couldn't walk 5 steps without running into a mobile-train WMD lab - and the Republicans were going to bring freedom to the region. As such, even though the country was in a deep recession, the campaigns went to issues of 'national security.' In what has turned out to be one of the most cynical attack ads ever, Howell and co. put images of Hussein and Osama Bin Laden before an image of Senator Cleland, questioning whether or not he wanted national security (see image on the left). This ad is, of course, horrid. First, Cleland had lost both legs and an arm while fighting for America in Vietnam - so if he hasn't suffered enough to prove himself to America I don't know who has (presumably he didn't get the chance to leave 6 months early for business school). Second, even if he was to the left of Ralph Nader, to compare him to Bin Laden is beyond offensive on it's face. And third, he had been an author on the Homeland Security bill, and voted for Bush's tax cuts AND the Iraq war, making him not all that liberal of a liberal. So if Cleland, who has more or less supported Bush's policies, can get compared to Bin Laden in TV ads, I'm really curious as to whom Obama, a pretty liberal African-American from the South Side, will get compared to when the ads start rolling.

In order to start the ball rolling, I've created a small ad below for the Ryan campaign to start using against Obama, in the style of the above Cleland ad. Mr. Howell, if you are reading, you can use it free of charge.

2nd City.

If it always seems like Chicago is fighting for the respect of the title 2nd City, well, it's because it is. Here's a good sign though: the people at The Gothamist have spun out a sister site, The Chicagoist. The Gothamist is one of the better weblogs that covers all of the things to come out of New York - seeing the format adapted to Chicago is a bit surreal. Mostly because Chicago has none of the fashion/celebrity-fucking culture that seems to dominate the NY weblogs. Are they going to give Lisa Madigan's wardrobe a smackdown?

Anyway, go support them. Chicago needs more things like this.

UNFORTUNATELY, CHARLTON HESTON WAS NOT AMONG THE VICTIMS

Here's a cheerful summary of homicides by firearm in various countries according to The World Health Organization's "World Report on Violence and Health", assembled in convenient, copy-and-forward-to-your-right-wing-asshole-friends format. Suicides and accidental firearm deaths are not counted in these figures.

Australia - 56
Austria - 17
Belgium - 59
Canada - 159
China - 3
Denmark - 15
Finland - 22
France - 160
Germany - 155
Greece - 74
Iceland - 1 (ONE!!)
Ireland - 7
Italy - 463
Japan - 22
The Netherlands - 75
New Zealand - 4
Norway - 10
Portugal - 61
Spain - 85
Sweden - 11
United Kingdom - 45

and........

Your United States of America, where These Colors Cannot be Accused of Running: 11,802

Here's some more math. We had 25.49 times as many gun homicides as our next highest Western world counterpart (Italy). Our per capita rate of 14.55 per 100,000 people was also highest in the world (Japan's, by comparison, was 0.05 per 100,000, meaning one has a higher chance of being struck by lightning in Japan than murdered with a gun). In America we average 32.33 gun-related deaths per day, which is more than Sweden, Japan, Norway, Denmark, Austria, and other countries listed above have in an entire fucking year.

But this cannot be overstated, people: there is NO CONNECTION between having a gun and killing someone with it and not having a gun and NOT killing someone with it.

CAN YOU SAY SUBLIMATED HOMOSEXUAL DESIRES?

Is anyone else of the opinion that there's just a little bit too much male nudity in those Iraqi prisoner abuse photos? Honest to god, the next one I see that doesn't have a blurred-out penis in it will be the first. Repress much, boys?

Pvt Tommy: "Hey, let's beat some sand nigger ass!"
Lt. Dale: "Hooahh! These colors don't run! Let's do it!"
Pvt. Tommy: "Yeah! And let's......uh.....let's strip'em naked!"
Lt. Dale: "Yeah! Naked! For....um......extra security."
Pvt. Tommy: "Maybe to be extra-safe we should slather cocoa butter on all their hirsute, swarthy scrotums."

The idea that all of these pictures somehow involve inserting something into an anus or dog-piling naked men on top of one another isn't the product of stupidity (photographing it is, though). It speaks more to the overt top/bottom conquering-male homoeroticism that we, as a nation, choose to ignore when we're tying ribbons on trees and Supporting Our Troops.

The military's gay bashing always smacked a little too strongly of "The lady doth protest too much". As though collectively assailing homosexuality vehemently enough would cover up the games of "Rear Admiral" taking place in the group showers every night.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell indeed.

ME, A TRUCK FULL OF EXPLOSIVES, AND VH1's STUDIOS.

What is "soon", Alex?

Don't get me wrong, it's been a hoot watching VH-1 turn from the "adult contemporary MTV" to Viacom's opening salvo in the media trust's battle to continually downwardly-revise the lowest common denominator. But under the new ownership, it has become the Wilco to MTV's Weezer......you have to switch from one to the other after you turn 21, but no matter how much your goatee-stroking friends pretend it has artistic merit, it's every bit as annoying and vacuous.

Let me summarize every fucking show on VH-1 for the past couple of years.

"Hey, remember _______? Dude, I TOTALLY remember that. That was AWESOME. God, the 80s were so wacky. I love talking about old things, it's way easier than thinking of new things."

As Viacom's corporate tentacles have expanded to take in more media outlets, the aforementioned VH-1 shows have simply become a nonsensical pastiche of promotional appearances for other Viacom products. Not only is the concept of sitting around talking about The Facts of Life and Kajagoogoo asinine beyond belief, but further abstracting the process from reality by having Hal Sparks, the staff of Blender Magazine, ESPN's Stuart Scott, Matt Pinifield, and a parade of other Disney/ABC/ESPN/Paramount/Infinity Broadcasting/MTV stars comment on said phenomena simply takes the spectacle from idiotic to surreal.

So the next time you're sitting around staring at "I Love 1984" or "The Top 100 _________ of All Time" (or whatever other stock-footage, low-production-cost thinly-disguised commercial for the Paramount back catalog you happen to be staring at) please remember that evolution didn't stop when we grew fucking thumbs. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to partake of something new that might expand your mind or develop some new ideas rather than sitting around and watching clips of things you hated when they came out but have turned into cultural icons through the vomit-stained lens of nostalgia.

Some more information on Drinking in Champaign

Today the Champaign bar reviews recieved a much needed overhaul.

There are four new reviews, a somewhat different introduction, and a comments on bar patronage.

To find out what you've been missing, look here

UofI Rush Week Theme 2004: Abu Ghraib Style Prison Torture

As of three weeks ago, ginandtacos.com has a weekly column in Champaign-Urbana's independent newspaper "The Hub." All three of us here have attended the University of Illinois at some point (Ed for a year, I as an undergrad, and Erik as an undergrad and currently as a grad student), so it's a natural fit. We'll soon put up the columns that we have written so far, but until then hunt down the newspaper.

As part of last week's column about the abuse of POWs in Iraq, titled "We too are unfamiliar with the Geneva Convention", we examined arguments proposed on the right, notably by Hannity and Limbaugh, that what happened at Abu Ghraib is no worse than what goes on at fraternities.

Since none of us have ever been in one, we were caught a little off guard. Glow-sticks? Attack dogs? That didn't sound like rush week, but what did we know? As journalists we took advantage of UofI's strong greek presence and wrote a letter to the Interfraternity Council asking them about the link:

An open letter to the Interfraternity Council.

As they have yet to respond, we can only assume the worst.

IF THE DEAL IS "BLOOD FOR OIL", WE'RE GETTING THE FUCKING SHAFT

One of the fringe benefits of being a graduate student is the ability to justify pursuing one's own interests under the guise of scholarly research. So I've collected and inflation-adjusted (2004 = 1) the US national average gas prices (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) for every month dating back to January of 1980. Let's take a gander.

Now, if you are un-American and possibly a terrorist, you might notice that the current large spike and the most recent spike before that (late 1990) coincide with our invasions of Iraq.

If, in addition to being a terrorist, you are also a pinko child molestor, you would also note that gas prices skyrocketed under George W well before 9-11-01, which is basically the administration's catch-all excuse for everything pejorative that's happened on their watch.

So not only are we currently paying twice as much for gas as we were a decade ago, but when the late summer / Labor Day prices hit $3.00 per gallon in California (where regular gas is already over $2.30) and the east coast, we can look forward to hearing the White House explain how this is the fault of Bill Clinton and the liberal media. And with the price of Light Crude oil hitting an all-time high of $41 late last week, I would love to hear a cogent argument as to why this price escalation is not going to continue throughout the upcoming peak consumption period.

There is obviously only one solution: abstinence and more tax cuts.

SO I GUESS WE'RE ALL POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS

Pardon me for commenting on a story that is five days old, but I've been on vacation and have one burning question: Am I the only one who wants to know what this asshole Nick Berg was really doing in Iraq before he got his head lopped off?

Let's follow his alleged story for a second.

He says he was in Iraq as a "private contractor" to rebuild telecommunications infrastructure. Right. "The government contracts for telecommunications services in Iraq go to....Halliburton, Nextel, Lockheed-Martin.....and Nick Berg". My bullshit alarm is ringing softly.

Furthermore, the government has vehemently denied that he was in fact doing any official CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority, the body that is governing Iraq right now) business there. The State Department, on numerous occasions, extended offers to Berg for a flight out of the country and in fact detained him on multiple occasions to inquire about his activities there. The alarm is starting to crescendo.

Lastly, it is absolutely impossible for an American citizen to LEGALLY enter Iraq right now unless they are a contractor, according to the State Department consular information. Since the government has not disputed the fact that they were aware of Berg's entry into the country, a question becomes clear: why was he allowed entry if he was not affiliated with any official entity? Are we to believe that anyone who feels like being a handyman will be allowed in Iraq to wander about testing phone lines?

Anytime someone feels like explaining what he was REALLY doing there - covert ops, running guns, trying to join the Hezbollah, etc - I would love to hear it.

chicago's weekend

1) Go and ask George Romero why he's so cool at the Movieside Film Festival. Jack Hill, the director of such exploitation classics as Foxy Brown and (Tarantino's favorite) Switchblade Sisters, will also be on hand.

2) Mexican Wrestling Macbeth is amazing beyond belief, both as a take on campy 50s luchadores movies and radio drama as a whole. The two actors who do the radio voiceover need to be seen to be believed. And it's BYOB.

3) The Constantines play at the Empty Bottle on Wednesday (but start late, so you can still see the series finale of Angel). Also, head's up: The Thermals are at the Fireside Bowl a week from Sunday (the 23rd). They have a new album out Tuesday.

4) In response to our Save Wilmington Campaign, the staff recieved all kinds of emails complaining about Wilmington being a fuddy-duddy North Side elite who can't enjoy a good ol' fashioned entertaining movie. The arguments sometimes pointed south of I-290 towards Ebert/Roeper, critics of the masses, as being the true speakers of chicagoland.

Well I hope you all know that Wilmington gave Troy 4 stars and loved it. Even better, cinephile Rosenbaum over at the Reader gave it his critic's choice. Here's the funny part: Ebert panned it by taking the cinema high ground, even referring to the story not being fit "for a multiplex audience":

"Great films like Michael Cacoyannis' "Elektra," about the murder of Agamemnon after the Trojan War, know that and use a stark dramatic approach that is deliberately stylized. Of course, "Elektra" wouldn't work for a multiplex audience, but then maybe it shouldn't."

Slow down there Ebert! Who will defend the south side against Wilmington if you take the 'epater le patrons of mall cinema' stance?

Also: SAVE WILMINGTON!

It's official, all good disaster movies have already been made.

Yes, we have had them all. We've enjoyed more than our fair share of movies about volcanoes, earthquakes, terrible storms, insect infestations, and the great “an asteroid is going to hit Earth” genre, all of which came into being around 1998. Now, it would appear that all good disasters have been used up.

That’s right! In case you haven’t heard, Hollywood has created the fantastic, sure to be a blockbuster, eco-thriller, The Day After Tomorrow.

Just when you thought that movie-makers had done it all, they change it up on you, and the “ice age” disaster movie enters the fray. This movie is described as being about:

”A climatologist tries to figure out a way to save the world from abrupt global warming. He must get to his young son in New York, which is being taken over by a new ice age.” watch the trailer here

As would be the case with any movie with a climatologist as the protagonist, actual climatologists can’t help but voice their opinion on the movie. When will scientists learn that being quoted about how inaccurately a movie depicts the science really just makes them look foolish? Regardless, scientists (and I know this because I am one) get thrilled every time someone shows even the faintest interest in what they are doing, so naturally, this is what the experts are saying:

"The movie exaggerates how quickly climate change can happen. And higher carbon dioxide will not push us into another ice age."-Daniel Shrag, Harvard University oceanographer

"The... scenario the film portrays is scientifically ludicrous - not only in the speed of response but also by linking sea-level rise to extreme cold."-Professor Phil Jones, climatologist at the Climate Research Unit

"The The Day After Tomorrow takes its starting point from science, but ends up telling a dramatic and entertaining science-fiction story."-Professor Mike Hulme, scientist at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change

Thank you Professor Hulme, I would have never thought Hollywood was capable of something like that until you pointed it out. read more about thrilled scientists here.

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The problem with the situation is that we got caught.

The most interesting thing that came out of Rumsfeld's testimony before the Senate last week was the promise that there are more disturbing images to come. For an administration that never admits to making a mistake, much less apologizing, the fact that they have Rumsfeld out there doing premature spin control means that it's going to be really, really bad.

The second, less mentioned item, was this statement he made in his opening remarks (italics ours):

Second, we need to review our habits and procedures. One of the things we’ve tried to do since September 11th is to get the Department to adjust its habits and procedures at a time of war, and in the information age. For the past three years, we have looked for areas where adjustments were needed, and regrettably, we have now found another one.

What does adjusting to "the information age" have to do with anything? Torturing prisoners is a pretty old thing; the only thing that is new to the information age is the speed and efficiency with which images and videos can be reproduced and transmitted across the world. Which implies that the biggest problem that they've encountered was a lack of preparation for how hard it is to destroy incriminating images. Or to prevent them from leaking.

Our legal team here at ginandtacos.com is now advising R. Kelly to address his courtroom about the fact that he has to update his behavior and procedures to be in sync with the information age.

*update* From this week's upcoming New Yorker:

NBC News later quoted U.S. military officials as saying that the unreleased photographs showed American soldiers “severely beating an Iraqi prisoner nearly to death, having sex with a female Iraqi prisoner, and ‘acting inappropriately with a dead body.’ The officials said there also was a videotape, apparently shot by U.S. personnel, showing Iraqi guards raping young boys.”

The credibilty of the argument (if there even was any) that this was just frat pranks is suddenly going to take a nosedive.

And just when you thought that it was not going to get any worse...yeah right:

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (unfortunately not available online unless you subscribe) that the Red Cross toured Iraqi prisons in November of last year and approached the commanded officer about inappropriate treatment of prisoners. The response given was that this was standard proceedure.

**In case you have read one of the several articles entitled things like: "Red Cross Releases Report." You should probably know that, although the report was true, the Red Cross had nothing to do with it. The Red Cross is apparently infuriated about the leak of this information due to the fact that they rely on an agreement of confidentiality with detaining powers to gain access to prisons.
Red Cross

Despite the fact the fact that the United States has moved very quickly to court martial to low ranking soldiers, the evidence that the leadership should be held accountable is mounting. Further, in the midst of testimony to this end by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, senator James Inhofe (R. Oklahoma) rebuked all of those people out exaggerating or missplacing their criticism.
Read about it here

And finally, I am sure most of our readers are aware of the retaliation for prisoner abuse which was released today.
"So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins ... slaughtered in this way."

E True Hollywood Story!

Sunday night at 9pm the E network will be broadcasting the Jenny McCarthy Hollywood story. Promoted as: "Singled out for fame and failure, this smokin' funny girl kept on laughing."

The program claims to document the "rise and fall" of this Hollywood star. It will trace her career from playboy playmate, through the failed sitcom "Jenny" and finally to her current role as wife and mother.

If you are asking why it is that ginandtacos.com cares you need look no further than Jenny McCarthy's mother, whose last name is mike. Look for back issues of In Style magazine to see photographs of mike asleep at Jenny's wedding to John Asher.

Suggested Jenny McCarthy viewing: Baseketball (starring Trey Parker and Matt Stone)

He Named the Boat Summer

Spoliers for The O.C. Finale and Angel that aired last night. Deal with it.

Has a major character on a network TV show ever gotten an abortion? And has life been ok for her afterwards? I was trying to think of this last night - Claire on Six Feet Under gets one at the end of season three, and then goes on a ridiculous dream sequence where every dead character on the show is glowing in a halo and taking care of a new glowing baby in Heaven (take that pro-choicers!) - but that's hardly network TV.

The O.C. finished last night, and most of the episode was spent agonizing over whether or not that main character's pregnant ex-girlfriend Theresa, who he is prone to hooking up with, would get an abortion. There was an interesting class element to it that was only hinted at - we have a rich white Californian family rounding the wagons to protect their son's good fortunes by befriending the poverty stricken servant he's knocked up and "being there for her" while politely forcing her into getting rid of the child ("You'll need someone there for you. I'll drive [you to the abortion clinic]"). The Coen parents reminded me a little of newly-rich Harry in Rabbit is Rich while he is trying to explain to his son, equally as detached from it all as Ryan, that they can just bribe his knocked up girlfriend into getting rid of the child ("she has a lot of brothers and sisters....she'll understand the value of a dollar").

But while Harry was forced to marry the girl he knocked up in the earlier books, and fought as hard as he could (which being Harry wasn't all that hard) to stop his son from having to do the same, Mrs. Coen had an abortion earlier in her life, and looked like she really wanted Theresa to not have an abortion to make up for it. Was it just me or did she guilt her into having the child? Even Peter Gallagher, who is as close to a moral compass as the show is going to have, was taken aback by his wife's actions.

Anyway, the season finale was thankfully on the good side. Anyone in their mid-20s watching a completely unrealistic (kids in high schools wearing sport coats?) teen drama is more than likely a fan of nostalgic sentimentality, and the finale shovels it on.

It so sentimential that the finale ended up almost being entirely about the first episode. And not just in the continunity references - Seth's boat and plan to spend the summer sailing alone, the beach with the first party, the shots of Ryan leaving in the reverse order of him showing up. All the characters are back at base zero - Ryan's stuck in Chino in what appears to be a bad news situation, Marrisa is drinking alone and Seth is friendless again with his plan to go sailing alone for the summer (bringing him back to borderline sociopath from cutesy emo geek).

I don't know if I can wait until October for it to start again. I'm still working through my thoughts about Angel last night - Wesley was in top form, and the in-joking and earlier Buffy references are a nice touch, but I could have done without Andrew (he was good the first time on the show though). While Buffy was really funny Angel never got the humor right, and last night's episode in Italy showed that. What should have been much funnier felt flat - all the real humor was from the random Buffy trivia thrown out (I particularly liked how they each tried to take credit for saving the world at the end of Buffy Season 2 with the portal).

GINANDTACOS.COM - WORKING HARDER THAN A ONE-LEGGED MAN PLAYING SOCCER

And it's all for you.

Far from having shot our entire creative wad with the grand re-opening of the site on April 1, there are plenty of new things coming up to help you waste time at work.

- The (upcoming) Ginandtacos.com tribute to Media Consolidation. It's a comprehensive list of who owns what (it took a while to compile, seeing as how ClearChannel owns 900+ radio stations) along with an interactive game: We give you a major media outlet and you guess which bloated plutocrat of the airwaves owns it!

- New movie and music reviews. The summer movie season is right around the corner, and we know you can't live without knowing why nothing is going to be worth your $7.50.

- A new weekly Ginandtacos.com column in The Hub, a Champaign-Urbana weekly newspaper. Media critics everywhere praise The Hub for its high standards and cutting-edge reporting. Michael Moore raves: "There is no doubt about the fact that The Hub is printed weekly". Noted media critic Douglas Rushkoff observes: "It used to be called 'The Octopus'."

- For our new Champaign readers coming from The Hub's weekly column, please check out our Drinking in Champaign feature full of reviews of every bar worth (and not worth) going to in your city.

- Comics page updates from Mike.

And of course, more daily ranting. So don't go away just yet. While you're waiting, have you perused Mike's "On children, by children"? It chronicles the writings of some of his former (rich white suburban) summer camp students, featuring such musings as "Why it's important not to be queer" and "Why I hate mexicans".

Good times. Good times.

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR GENEVA CONVENTION VIOLATIONS

Memo to R. Kelly. And Rob Lowe. And the American/British soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners by beating them, urinating on them, and otherwise violating every major international agreement regarding the conduct of war.

If you're going to do something illegal, DON'T FUCKING PHOTOGRAPH IT. I mean, I guess that's the level of criminal sophistication to be expected when we send our annual supply of high school dropouts to fight a war, but FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T TAKE PICTURES OF YOURSELF COMMITTING FELONIES. I fail to comprehend the mindset of someone who thinks "I want to pee on this prisoner / 14 year old girl" followed immediately by "Someone get a camera".

It bit R. Kelly in the ass, and now a number of military heads will roll as a result of the same failure to comprehend the basic principles of extralegal deportment. If anyone still fails to see the danger of our military mentality - which teaches "what" to do but never "why" - I think the court of international opinion is about to offer its analysis. Sending off heavily-armed 18 year olds with empty skulls save for a lot of "Defend America, kill all the brown people" indoctrination gives us every reason to doubt the immediate and plaintive White House and Pentagon assertions that these incidents were isolated.

I wonder why these people hate us and failed to hail us as their liberators.