Comments on: Today’s Miscellaneous Local Links

By: Pete Scholtes

Pete Scholtes — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:25:11 +0000

That Keillor piss-take is, to my mind, the first truly worthless thing Hitchens has ever written.

By: jderusha

jderusha — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 15:45:34 +0000

I linked to the game in my blog, and got deluged with e-mails from people telling me their scores. If the WCCO news didn't make any sense on Friday night, it's because our managers and producers were playing Escapa!

By: patrick

patrick — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:51:35 +0000

29.5 seconds. . . what now?

By: mattmckinney

mattmckinney — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 21:35:12 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of Keillor either, especially when he sings, but it’s funny that Hitchens, the author of Why Orwell Matters, would slam our hometown guy for using plain language. The elaborate Hitchensian voice with all of those verbal doilies would get a red pen and a sharp edit from his more famous countryman.

It just gets worse when Hitchens uses Keillor’s existence in middle America as evidence that he’s stupid. Always good for a laugh outside of Minnesota, that old stereotype of the moronic Midwesterner just can’t seem to die in some places. Meanwhile, like Taylor says, Hitchens never actually tries to contradict Keillor when GK gets bothered by BHL’s use of rhetorical questions. Twenty in a row? That’s got to be some kind of record.

By: alexis

alexis — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 00:34:04 +0000

I found another game for those of us with slower hand-eye skillz.

By: alexis

alexis — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 21:15:24 +0000

Huh. My score has improved substantially since heeding johnny’s advice. I should probably stop playing, though, or I’ll never get to the mall this afternoon.

By: alexis

alexis — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 21:05:56 +0000

Paul could be on to something.

However, I’ve concluded that, because I’m left-handed and I mouse with my right, I have an immediate disadvantage. This somehow makes me feel better about my inadequacy and I’m content with my 4.522 seconds.

By: taylor

taylor — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 20:59:51 +0000

Although I'm not a fan of Garrison, I've been defending him more than I think I should have to for the last few weeks.

Hitchens -- whose isn't all bad, his review of Perry Anderson's new book in this month's Atlantic Monthly is really a fantastic read -- simply ignores GK's criticism and takes pot shots at GK.

Maybe it's because the "American Vertigo" dispatches originally appeared with Hitchens in AM. Maybe it's because lots of people simply hate GK. But Keillor's point is that the brief and lazy peeks from BHL don't tell us anything about America. And he's right. The summations at the end of American Vertigo, which Hitchens doesn't mention at all, are pathetic: Americans are obese in not just their bodies (yep, duh), Americans unfairly enshine the past (who doesn't?), etc.

Someone should really come out in a major publication and support GK's criticism.

By: CFKC

CFKC — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 20:33:07 +0000

I just want to say that if I'm going to spend my time moving my mouse hand around as quickly as I can, it's going to be for something more productive...if you know what I mean.

In the meantime, I just want to second Hitchens. Keillor is an ass. Of course, so is Hitchens, but his bloviation is so much more...erudite???

And, Franken or Rybak? Isn't it bad enough that Rybak is mayor? If he makes senator, I'm moving to Texas.

Back to rapid mousing.

By: taulpaul

taulpaul — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 20:30:16 +0000

Wow, I suck at that game!

Must be the red wine hampering with your right mouse button.