There's a bit in Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's FROM HELL where the fake psychic, Lees, says: "I made it all up, and it all came true anyway." That's how I'm starting to feel about TRANSMETROPOLITAN. "Feedsite listeners" are multimedia bloggers. Girls with necrotising fasciitis scars from the streets of the City turn up in Marilyn Manson videos. Two-headed cats. Smiling politicians throwing advisors to the wolves following suspicious deaths. Glasses that take photos. We're living in the future. And God help you all, it's my future we're living in.
(C) Warren Ellis 2003God help us all, I think he's right.
Bush traumatizes Waco Little Leaguers by dropping his dog. As Mel said, this man is our president? It's really the kids expressions that make that photo so hilarious.
Another bit of strange news I found while reading Warren's site was this story on
Star Trek tribute bands. Thankfully this disturbing trend seems to be localized in Sacramento, which is far, far away from me. Another reason California creeps me out.
Leaving Las Vegas, with $1.37 is not a movie title. It's a sad look at the "situational homeless" who are the victims of our economy. It has some scary unemployment figures at the end. Like 9.3% in Houston, which is higher than Austin's I think. It disturbs me really.
The future of Burning Man
looks troubled. The county doesn't seem to like the organizers much, and there's a geothermal company interested in that very spot of land right next door. Burning Man isn't really my thing, and no one's going to convince me spending a week in the desert getting dirty and high is going to bring me closer to my fellow man or epiphany. Though as long as the organizers have their shit together, I don't see why they can't continue to do this. It's all logistics really. Let the crazy people run around in the desert, I say.
I must confess an evil sense of pleasure in the new DWI fines going into place in Texas.
You're looking at between $8,000 and $11,000 for your first-time DWI," said Ken Gibson, Austin defense attorney. It's a grand every year for three years, and additional DWI convictions could tack $1500 on. One might say that's pretty harsh, but drunk driving is a huge problem here. There's an attitude that it's okay in a lot of places, an attitude shared even by some friends of mine. To me, it's despicable. All very well and good to risk your own life doing stupid things, but risking the lives of other people is repugnant. The DPS will only be getting a fraction of the money generated through these fines, with the rest going to trauma centers and the Texas mobility fund, which deals with public transportation and such.
