Ireneo_Funes

It's a stretch to compare Helen Thomas (a respected journalist) with James Guckert/Jeff Gannon (who has less in the way of journalistic credentials than I do, and that's saying something). The fact that he seems to also be a gay prostitute might turn out to be totally irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that he got in to these press conferences at all. Asking about the vetting process and who approved him and why might yield some interesting answers. He also seems to have something to do with the Plame outing, which is really making the conspiracy theorists salivate.

That's kind of neat. Assuming it really was them & not some joker like the guy who writes "Reinhold Messner" in the register on top of Mt. Insignificant or whatever.

For those of you following the increasingly bizarre "Jeff Gannon" story, americablog.com is the place to go for the details: here Warning - not really 100% work-safe.

so there really is only one girlfriend for all the climbers out there No, I think it's merely an example of the "royal" first person plural. Although he could be alluding to the practice of polyandry, which, according to last night's Globe Trekker, is still alive and well in the backwoods of Nepal.

I also got it for Xmas. Rock & Roll Could Never... is by far the best track on the album, but it could have done without the "history/philosophy of hip hop" monologues at the beginning. Lord Finesse's ~30 seconds beats everything else on the disc hands down.

OK, then... write a TR about the rad crack you bolted on rappel on or near the Tooth. Then sit back and wait for Pope to post pictures of Richard Simmons. Submit to the thinly veiled suggestions that you are a homosexual.

After whipped cream, there was clam dip. Back when Soul Asylum still rocked.

Or bolt a crack (on rappel) next to a crack Dwayner & Pope are climbing. Make sure to place bolts every 3 feet for extra credit.

I don't know; you seem conflicted. Just kidding. Hope it all works out.

Hope she doesn't read cc.com and have access to your password or you might have a personal drama of your very own. No, that'd never happen.

Like CBS, I'm not shedding any tears over Stewart's conviction. I think he summed it up pretty well. As far as Churchill goes, he's guilty of tactlessness and grandstanding for sure, but he's got a right to say what he likes, doesn't he? I don't agree with his portrayal of the 9/11 victims as Nazis, but I think what he said gives some insight into why the World Trade Center was targeted in the first place. It wasn't chosen at random. That said, may everyone who died that day rest in peace.

Olyclimber & Squid, please make sure to check in with Socrates, Billy the Kid and Beethoven too. With all that brainpower you should be able to answer not only the question of which climber is having the most fun, but also... If a climber drops a biner on the Girth Piller and there's no one around, does NOLSe hear it?

I too am incredulous. They chose an interesting pair of examples of "niche" audiences. Not everyone is a "mountain climber," but everyone, in one way or another, is a member of an "ethnic group" (broadly defined). They might as well have said: "...niche audiences, such as wallpaper hangers, or those who must eat food to survive." ...of course I know that "ethnic group" is really a euphemism for "minority," but whatever.

Let's get this back on track, OK?

My god, that's horrible.

Didn't you just have surgery? What are you, a hardman? I was going to say Sahale too.

Any chance of getting "XXXXX" to weigh in on this high-minded exchange has surely vanished.

Maybe if I borrowed Olyposeur's time machine.

If I didn't have this MF'n job I'm sure I'd climb at least 2x per week, and be able to call myself a climber. But without the MF'n job I'd have no gear. Or food. Whatcha gonna do?

Or how many cascade jewels you've hiked...

I don't own a car, and my bike doesn't have any Free Tibet stickers, but when I was in the eighth grade, I had a Duran Duran "7 & the Ragged Tiger" button on my denim jacket. I hope that doesn't disqualify me from commenting on the tie-a-yellow-ribbon-Jesus-fish crowd.

If you turn your ribbon magnet sideways it means you support the troops and Jesus!

...but the Leisure Town link was funny.

When he's not posting wacky stuff on the internet, James Lileks pens moronic right-wing editorials that are syndicated all around the country, and also writes a lameass column called "Backfence" for my hometown paper, the Minneapolis StarTribune.

It's probably a little early to be calling it a success. We thought the 1967 elections in South Vietnam were a success too. Don't expect this to be even the beginning of the end of our involvement in this fucked-up region.