A New Muppet Movie!

Apparently, this past weekend at Disney's D-23 expo, the Muppets showed up on stage and announced that they will be making a new movie, called "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made", from an idea of Jim Henson's in the mid-1980's.

How exciting!

Quote of the Day

William Saletan:

Today's morality cops are less interested in your bedroom than your refrigerator. They're more likely to berate you for outdoor smoking than for outdoor necking. It isn't God who hates fags. It's Michael Bloomberg.

NB: If you don't get it, see def. #6 here.

Happy Constitution Day!

Do your country a favor and read it. Carefully.

And then there were three...

I didn't know that right after I posted about Henry Allingham, the third-last British World War I vet passing away, his friend, Henry Patch died, too. That leaves Claude Choules as the last remaining soldier for the UK to have seen combat in the 'War to End All Wars'. There are still two more remaining--Jack Babock of Canada and Frank Buckles of the USA. It really is something that they've made it so long.

Go Ahead...

Call your girlfriend pulchritudinous and see how she reacts.

Late, But Interesting

This week, I've been doing a lot of mindless busywork. Sometimes, I may be frustrated by that, but this week, I discovered the Federalist Society online.

Now, I know that most people have no idea what that is. I know that others will either think it's great or be horrified by it. For you who are going "eh?": the Federalist Society is an organization of conservative lawyers studying law and public policy from a (primarily) 'originalist' school of thought.

I have to say, their multimedia cache is really, really good. Just recently, they finished up their 2008 Supreme Court wrapup, in which they summarize every case that the Court decided. They also have a slew of conferences from months and years past that are very interesting. Today I learned about The Presidency and The Courts and Counterterrorism and the Obama Administration. If you are interested in law and public policy--even if you are a liberal or something else entirely, check it out. It's very informative.

Did This Really Happen?

It's owner, the great-great grandson of a prominent Viennese Jewish political man, says so.

Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin faced off in a chess game in 1909.

The etching that is going up for sale at auction, was allegedly done by Emma Lowenstramm, purportedly Hitler's Jewish art instructor during his stint in Vienna. It is being displayed together alongside the chess board with which they played, distinguishable because of the interestingly shaped bishops and kings. On the reverse are two signatures--supposedly by the two future dictators. Though handwriting analysts aren't positive, they give an 80% chance of authenticity.

The timing would have been right. Hitler, according to Mein Kampf, arrived in Vienna in 1905 at the age of 16. Lenin at the time was meandering across Europe, fomenting socialist rage. It is not at all suspect that he could have been in Vienna, at the home of a Jewish politico.

Hitler, of course, after being rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, decided to get involved in politics. It was there, once again according to his memoirs, that he began to hate Jews.

So, it's amazing because it was possible. It will be astounding if it actually happened. Jonah Goldberg at the National Review says that if ever there was a time for God to strike a dwelling with a bolt of lightning, that game was it. Together, those two wrought the world and caused millions and millions to die. But one afternoon in 1909, before Hitler was anybody and before Lenin was taken seriously by anyone but the tsars, they may have shared a cup of tea over a quiet game of chess in Vienna.