Weekend Links

In anticipation of the upcoming season of Lost (10 days to go), take a look at this blog post listing the top 5 conservative characters on the show. Were it not for the dead-giveaway earnest tone, I would really have thought it was a parody of right-wing idiocy. Sawyer's conservatism includes such shining examples of humanity as his refusal to share food and his snap judgment that Sayid is a terrorist because of his ethnicity. But at least the writer, Ben Shapiro, acknowledges that Dick Cheney is evil. Here is his appreciation of Ben:

Benry is evil to be sure – but he’s pure, solid, wonderful evil in the mold of Dick Cheney. He’s a conniving, backstabbing, brilliant leader, a guy who will do anything to win...

Speaking of projecting your beliefs onto fictional characters, a gay writer at the London Times makes a far more convincing case that Tintin is gay and expresses shock that everyone else didn't come to the same conclusion. I admit the thought never occurred to me, but it has been 25 years since I read Tintin.

George W. Bush has done many disgusting things over the past eight years but nothing matches the small-mindedness of this:

A great sign of what a petty, stupid, immoral man George W. Bush is has been his treatment of the Obama family’s request that they be allowed to stay in Blair House for the two weeks before inauguration so that Sasha and Malia could start school on time. Bush turned them down, citing the need for Blair House to host a guest for one night, thus forcing the Obama’s into a hotel and causing various inconveniences to the people of Washington and to the taxpayer as security arrangements needed to be made.

Fittingly enough, it seems that there was no genuine guest scheduled to stay in Blair House. Rather, the Bush administration asked former Australian Prime Minister John Howard to stay at the place in order to give them a pretext to turn the Obamas down.

Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer may have greater reason for his pettiness but it certainly isn't justification for censorship. A bunch of blogs posted personal photographs of the governor and his family - a gross invasion of privacy for sure. But Taseer responded by banning those websites, a far greater evil by far.

I just love the opening sentence in the Times of India's story about Obama's pick of Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon-General (via The Corner)

It is one senior US administration post that has had 'Indian' written on it for many years.

File this under the annals of hideously exploitiative. A blogger who writes about Rolex watches on website of a jewelery shop believes the watch was responsible for saving the life of actor Owen Wilson (via The Onion).

A People magazine cover story out Friday quotes a friend as saying: “Owen was very despondent. He slit his wrists. He almost did not make it.” It was a dark period in Wilson life, and Rolex played a key role in helping Owen regain his bearings and his success...After returning home from the hospital, Owen was captured by a photographer walking on the beach, wearing his Rolex Submariner. Later, he was seen riding his mountain bike in Santa Monica with the Rolex Submariner on his wrist. Obviously, the quality of a Rolex watch helped Owen realize and appreciate the quality of his own life...Whatever the hawks of the media choose to write, it is clear that Rolex played a major role in Owen Wilson’s recovery. Back in good form, the actor is nothing less than a comic genius in a time when comedy is a necessity. Wearing a Rolex Submariner and attending Rolex Benefits helped Owen Wilson realize his life was valuable and worth living. Once again, the precision and quality of a Rolex proves to be a lifesaver in more ways than one.

And finally, if you want to know why everyone makes such a fuss about the intricate, complex, beautifully woven world of The Wire, but don't want to make the effort to watch all five seasons of the dense show, this rap song will explain everything in just five minutes.