Don't Do Newark $8,000. That's how much it takes to make Newark International Airport hospitible to human beings. Why? Well, that was explained to us by some guy who works there when Marty (while brushing his teeth) bumped into him in the restroom. He said the powers that be at Newark have a "feeling" that it could get cold again and it would cost **eight thousand dollars** to switch the airport from heat to AC. Fuck them. We sat there for three hours sweltering in heat that was more extreme than anything that can be experienced currently outdoors in Austin.
Reboot Computers can be rebooted. Servers can be rebooted. Routers can be rebooted. Networks. Airplanes. Yes, friends ... airplanes can be rebooted. After an hour sitting on the tarmac at Newark (thank god we were in the cool confines of the plane instead of the terminal), our pilot informed us that he was going to shut down the plane and "reboot it" in hopes of kickstarting a communication system that had been under repair the entire hour our asses had been assuming the shape of the cushion under them. He warned us not to be alarmed by the emergency lights that would come on in the cabin after everything went black. ... Everything went black. The emergency lights came on. It took two tries for the pilot to restart the plane. And ten minutes later, we were on our way to Amsterdam. Yay.
All Is Now Better We're in Amsterdam. It's not hot. The rain and clouds and temperature are pleasant. We will soon move to Seattle. Be not surprised. ... Just kidding. But the thought did cross our minds. Hell, if we understood Dutch, we'd probably read over the help-wanted ads and move here instead. Maybe we'll ask James for his advice. Or at least, for some mind-altering substances to aid us in our soul-searching.
Its backers expect to lose money. For them, it's enough that expression will at last be given to political views that — apart from a few lonely voices at the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, two or three score nationally syndicated columns, a couple of dozen magazines, a few hundred 24/7 talk-radio stations, the Fox News cable network, the Bush administration, the Supreme Court and half of Congress — have been ruthlessly suppressed by the liberal establishment.
Hendrik Hertzberg, in the April 8 New Yorker, on the new daily, The New York Sun, which begins publication tomorrow.
I just heard a wonderful quote. On the Inside the Actor's Studio 100th Guest Celebration, they showed clips of previous shows, including one with Anthony Quinn (who passed away in June of 2001). The host, James Lipton, always asks his guests the same set of questions (called the Bernard Pivot Questionnaire). Here's the segment they played:
James Lipton: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
