Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:42 PM

In the mid-sixties, Gypsy Rose Lee had a talk show. Here's a clip of her talking to Ethel Merman, who originated the role of Mama Rose in the musical of Gypsy's life:

via

If you can get your hands on them (both are out of print), I strongly recommend reading Gypsy's eponymous autobiography -- the source for the musical -- and then her son's book which continues the story, Gypsy and me.

Fascinating and funny woman.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:20 PM

Fascinating subject, dull story.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:07 AM

The Particle Zoo sells subatomic plushies. Kinda like the Giant Microbes for physicists. Any other similar toys on the market I should know? via

And, because I know it's of interest to some of my readers, the New York Times has an article on Daniel Radcliffe regarding the forthcoming Broadway run of Equus, accompanied by several photo slideshows.

Speaking of stage shows, we're catching the matinee of How Shakespeare Won the West at the Huntington this afternoon. It's the world premiere of a new play, and I have hopes for it (I have read something of Shakespeare's reception in the period in The Shakespeare Riots), although the last two new plays I've seen about Shakespeare were less-than-promising.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:54 AM

What happened between Sarah Palin and Wasilla's librarian?

ABC News investigated:

via John Cole

Don't bother sending me the booklist making the rounds; it has no relation to Sarah Palin -- just a standard list of challenged books.

For further reading, blogs now exist representing Librarians Against Palin and Librarians for Palin. [via Jessamyn West]

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:54 PM

Wow, the folks at SomeEcards work fast:

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:55 PM

From today's Washington Post:

What Was He Thinking?
More evidence of incompetence by former attorney general Alberto Gonzales

A RECENTLY RELEASED report from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General raises some fundamental questions: Was Alberto R. Gonzales the least intellectually gifted attorney general in history? Did he possess the worst memory? Was he incapable of telling the truth? All of the above?

Wow.

Via Steve Benen @ Washington Monthly

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:54 AM

Dana Milbank pulls back the curtain on the Eastern Media Elite:

via Ezra Klein

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:51 PM

Have you seen this other video making the rounds while I was away:

Some candid comments on Palin by Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy after the cameras stopped rolling.

Posted by Lis Riba at 6:24 PM

This has been posted enough places that most of you have probably already seen it.

But for those of you who haven't, The Daily Show looks at how the Palin appointment changed Republican attitudes:

Damning words from Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, Dick Morris, Nancy Pfotenhauer, and Sarah Palin herself.

And this reinforces something I observed during the primaries. Be careful what arguments you use against your opponents, because future allies may be vulnerable to the same charges. Racist or sexist attacks which can apply to wide swathes of humanity are particularly fraught with problems.

Jason Jones made a similar point the following night (beginning at the 7-minute mark in this video) when he needed Jon Stewart's help to remember who the Republicans nominated:

Posted by Lis Riba at 2:10 PM

I'm not talking finances, here, but BANCUOTFPMAIITAYNMTS, an acronym for "Been Away, Not Catching Up On The Flist, Point Me At It If There's Anything You Need Me To See."

After a weekend with family in Arizona, Ian and I came down with some stomach bug. Somewhat fortunately, the ailment affected us in turns, so he was already recovering when I came down with it Thursday afternoon.

If I hadn't seen what he'd been going thru (and just finished my period), the alternating cold sweats and hot flashes might've been even more worrisome.

Considering that I was just leaving for the airport when news of Sarah Palin's appointment broke, and I only gave a cursory glance to the news since then, what's going on?