The Order of Myths - a film by Margaret Brown

MOVIE PREMIERES HERE
The Mobile premiere of Order of Myths is this Thursday at the Saenger at 7pm. This film by Margaret Brown has gotten some attention in the international arts community and looks like something worth seeing. Check out the trailer (no, not that kind of trailer) at their website.

Speaking of movies, two recent movies of note, both of them foreign movies, both having to do with Jews and both of them remarkably moving: Black Book and Broken Wings. Paul Verhoeven's Black Book is a Dutch film about a woman hiding out in Holland during the nazi occupation. Verhoeven has made big main stream blockbusters and this one has that feel. Broken Wings, on the other hand, has the feel of a little independent movie. Set in Israel this story about a mother and her kids is on the other end of the spectrum but is every bit, perhaps even more, satisfying. And, in the interest of equal time, another film well worth seeing - and for the same feel good reasons - is the Lebanese (christian) film Caramel, about a bunch of ladies in a beauty shop. (Eddie Murphy eat your heart out.)

FOOD FRONT: MIDTOWN
I'm aware of only three changes in Midtown Fare: Mellow Mushroom, Trolley's and The Pillars.
Mellow Mushroom just opened a new site at the Loop. I'd been hearing that is the place to go but I don't venture much past Broad Street except maybe to visit Mohawk Street or eat at my favorite, Yen's Restaurant. So, here they go and open up just a few blocks from Mohawk. What a great place! And, although it looks like something put together in San Francisco, these guys are from Auburn! War damn Eagle.
Good Friend Tammy Morgan has taken over the Michael's Midtown (the second one, not THE Michael's Midtown Cafe) and just won some well-deserved raves from the Nappy Awards. Although it has the "joint" ambiance - like the Blind Mule - Trolley's will shock the hell out of you at how way-past-good the food is and how pleasant they make you feel in there. It's like a joint in Austin. Having come from Guido's (and Texas) Tammy knows how to put together a fine, but still non-pretentious, dining experience. They have these leetle-beeety burgers with bloooo cheeeese that are just perfect. And, they are giving Silver Horse a run for their money as a favorite nighttime bar spot. Rocky Top!
As for The Pillars, since I was thinking about this email and their touting of the new Tapas menu, we went there Friday night for super. Never ordered the tapas as it looked pretty ho hum. (Go to the Global Grill in Pensacola or downtown to David Rasp's Royal Scam). The service was great, the food excellent but it looks like they're taking a beating from all of the new competion. Your parents' friends were there reliving the golden Mims years but not many others.
Speaking of competition, I was telling Anhn over at The Bakery about Mike Ivy and his new place and she got all pumped up about beefing up the menu, beginning with Sushi on Thursdays. If you're looking for muchies to pack in the beach basket, The Bakery is still the place to go, it's on your way and is owned by friends. But, don't forget that 219 (conti and joachim, also owned by friends) has a market with some really great consumables and they seem to be better prepared for things like sandwiches and meals. (But you have to get there before 2 on Saturdays and they're not open Sundays. WTF?).
If you haven't done the market at Cathedral Square you are missing out on a special treat. Don't know how long that is going to go on.
PS: I had assumed that Mike Ivy's invitation to lunch meant he was open for business. That's still pending.
PPS: Roll Tide!

FOOD FRONT: DOWNTOWN
Some interesting shifts in the local food front lately. Sadly Guido's has closed. Zitzos' has lost their lease and is probably on its last legs. After a costly and disastrous move from "the cellar" occasioned by some sort of building malfunction, our favorite Greek ladies have been told by the building management that the smell from their food is some sort of distraction. (Probably has nothing to do with the new building right across the street and the fact that they're trying to sell that white elephant. Speaking of which, the Joe Cain Cafe is getting good feedback. Their menu looks good.) That's a shame, because the new location on the mezzanine floor was such a perfect fit and it looked like Claire and Momma Zitsos might actually get a break.
On a positive note, Michael Ivy has started a new joint in the old Uncle Simi's building and is open for lunch. (Don't know much right now, I'll tell you after I go there for lunch today.) The address is 101 N. Conception. Last week Jo and I were looking for a decent place to have a salad. Woody Walker recommended The Blind Mule. If you haven't been there you are really missing out. (BTW: Ditto, If you haven't tired out the Bicycle Shop's MexMenu.) The Mule is something well worth keeping a locals' secret. The place is oh-so-perfectly low-rent (in a good, Thirsties - not in a Greyhound terminal or Hayley's bathroon - kind of way). Not only is the ambiance pleasant, when you get the menu (and your food) you'll be really knocked out.

Cryptex Concept Phone Solves Da Squinty Code - Gadgetell

A TOO SMART PHONE
Okay, this one goes on the counter right next to my watch rewinder and my salad washer (for which, in my younger days, I actually had some use). Here's a "concept phone" that uses a cryptex device (a type of puzzle that uses a cylindrical set of combination rolls that has to be aligned in such a way so it will open up to reveal what is hidden inside) to dial the number. Once you have input the number you want, just twist the top until an LED turns green. And here I went and wasted my time standing in line for the new iPhone.
(Gadgettell)

GET OVER IT!
This is an interesting collection of the buzz on the Obama magazine cover. Make sure you follow all of the links within the story.
According to insiders within Conde Nast, sales execs have been inundated with responses to the New Yorker cover, to the point where one said, "I feel like I should be wearing a bulletproof vest" One ad sales executive said this week's issue was discussed at every meeting with advertisers he attended on Monday, "and not in a good way"
WaPo: Unfortunately, as debate about the image grew, The New Yorker missed a golden opportunity to question the rather odd American relationship to satire. Why must it be broadly effective rather than just funny? Why must humor, like grief, somehow be good for us on a deeper level? Instead, the magazine fell into the deadly trap of overanalyzing the funny in public, writes Phillip Kennicott.
Slate : Although every critic of New Yorker understood the simple satire of the cover, the most fretful of them worried that the illustration would be misread by the ignorant masses who don't subscribe to the magazine, writes Jack Shafer.
E&P : Cartoonists not fond of Obama art.
Salon : The blogosphere's reaction to the New Yorker cover proves that the Bush era has killed a lot of liberals' sense of humor, writes Gary Kamiya.
NYDN : Some called for New Yorker editor David Remnick to step down, while others praised him for calling attention to the smear tactics.
FBNY : Barry Blitt: A Modest Retrospective.
(MEDIA BISTRO)

Woman Arrested at McCain Event for "McCain=Bush" Sign | Video | AlterNet

FIGHT BACK
"Excuse me," the cop asked, all of a sudden sounding polite. "Yes, I do," I repeated, pissed off that for a few minutes I had let him scare me into a steaming pile of silent complacency. I admit it, he had scared me when he asked me if I wanted to go to jail. In those days cops were scarry things, especially Prichard Cops. They were mostly tobacco-chewing good ole boys They wore those crumply and ill-fitting uniforms topped with the soft garrison Kit Carson caps like those assholes in those photos who are grinning during their Mississippi trials for hanging black kids. These were "troubled days" and they were the lilly white front line of falangist resistance, pulled in like all of the other cops in the area for Nixon's visit to Mobile.
From the moment our group had walked past Broad Steet heading for the International Trade Center we had been bird-dogged by an all-too-obvious surveilance. Cop cars and "undercover" government cars paced behind us, some of them backing up as we walked down the street. Helicopters hovered. The scene was surreal. When we reached Water Street we were ringed by police. The cop had asked to see my sign. I handed it to him, never expecting him to rip it up. So, when I composed myself, I told him that I was ready to go to jail, that I had merely been asserting my rights and that he had been wrong. Taken aback, he answered that he was just "following orders". "That's what Calley said," I told him, "you saw how they let him hang in the breeze," and he just walked away.
To his credit, local lawyer Graham Gibbons offered to file a civil rights action for us. I found out years later that while it was happening Clay Swanzy, Jack Edwards' press secretary had voiced concerns about what he saw as a clear violation of our rights. But it went away because we didn't do anything about it.
So, when you see this video of the lady who is arrested for having an anti-Bush sign or hear about the reporter and Scalia, or any of the other reminders of just how much we have come to tolerate all of the encroachments on our liberties, take a second to recompose yourself and fight back, dammit.
(ALTERNET)

Ron Paul Campaign Cola ~ Chris Pirillo

POP POLITICS
Jones Soda launched its Campaign Colas with three limited-edition colas honoring each of the major presidential candidates: Obama’s Yes We Can, McCain’s Pure McCain or Clinton’s Capitol Hillary. Bowing to public pressure, they recently added Ron Paul’s Revolution Cola. If you're interested, here's a page that features discount coupons.
(LOCKERGNOME)

WHAT THE POLLS SHOW
The most recent polls show how Barack Obama and John McCain are faring against each other.

SEE ALSO

(CQ POLITICS)

CHENEY'S CHENEY
Think of David Addington as the id of the Bush White House. Though his hidden hand is often merely suspected - in signing statements, torture policy and other brazen assertions of executive power - Addington's unbridled hostility was live and unfiltered yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee.

FOR A THUMBNAIL SKETCH ON ADDINGTON CLICK HERE

FOR A THUMBNAIL SKETCH ON YOO CLICK HERE

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO FIND GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN A PERSON'S FOREIGN-SOUNDING NAME:

Find out who Zalmay Khalilzad and Ziad Abdelnour are by clicking on their names.
(WASHINGTON POST)

Deputies Reprimanded After Officer Bitten By Alligator - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME
Volusia County (Orlando) Sheriff's Deputy Keith Baughman threw a towel on an alligator he and other deputies encountered in an apartment parking lot. He jumped on its back and tried to wrestle it. Baughman was thrown off the back and then bitten, witnesses said. "His pants ripped up and blood was gushing out and everything," witness Carlos Martinez said. "He started limping away and the alligator was laughing at him. The dude then shot it twice in the head."
(LOCAL6.COM, unearthed by Fark)

The Associated Press: Texas GOP cuts off vendor that sold racist button

NOW THEY'RE PC!
The Texas Republican Party is distancing itself from a vendor who sold campaign buttons at last weekend's state convention that asked, "If Obama is president ... will we still call it The White House?
(AP)

Fairhope safe opened, marijuana found inside - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com

EAT YOUR HEART OUT, GERALDO
A crowd of nearly 30 Fairhope, Alabama citizens and media folks watched as a locksmith lifted away the heavy, black door of a city safe that had been abandoned and unused since 1971. The event, planned and advertised for weeks as a promotional for the new Fairhope Museum of History turned out to be a surprise. Apparently, (hopefully?), it had last been used by the Police Department prior to 1971 to store drug evidence and yielded a small cache of marijuana.
(PRESS-REGISTER BLOG)

West Virginia Blue - Democratic politics and progressive policies for WVa

MCCAIN IGNORES GOVERNOR'S REQUEST
An aide to Gov. Chet Culver said Thursday that Republican presidential candidate John McCain ignored the governor's request to cancel a campaign visit amid a massive flood recovery effort in the state.
(WEST VIRGINIA BLUE)

t r u t h o u t | Big Oil Firms Ready to Sign Agreements With Iraq

BIG OIL TO GARNER IRAQ CONTRACTS
Iraq is preparing to award contracts to several Western energy companies to help develop its vast oil resources. The two-year, no-bid contracts will be awarded to companies that have been advising the Iraqi Oil Ministry in recent years, said Asim Jihad, a spokesman for the ministry. He said officials expect that U.S.-based Exxon Mobil and Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, France's Total and British oil company BP will secure the biggest contracts.
(TRUTHOUT)

Op-Ed Columnist - Frank Rich - Do Angry Clinton Women Love McCain? - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

MCCAIN'S SOFTER SIDE
While the McCain campaign apparently believes that women are easy marks for its latent feminist cross-dressing, a reality check suggests that most women can instantly identify any man who’s hitting on them for selfish ends.
(NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED)