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Another Gmail tool: Convert Mac Address Book contacts to GMail contacts (original)

Reuters happily informs us (original) of the following facts: John Kerry’s wife inherited $500 million. John Kerry’s Nantucket house is worth $9 million. John Kerry’s boat is worth $150,000. John Kerry’s sporting equipment cost $2,500. And George Bush has a huge ranch, but for some reason it’s not important how much that cost. Also, he fishes. No news on whether he pays $500 for a fishing rod or not, or how many rods he owns. I dunno — maybe he builds ‘em by hand, and maybe he carved the ranch out of the wilderness with his own two hands.

If you’re looking for Manly Wade Wellman to read, and you should be if you like American mythology and folklore, Night Shade Books is running a 50% off sale until midnight tomorrow. The collected stories are beautiful volumes, well-bound and nicely typeset. I recommend them highly.

I’m only a few pages into the new Delta Green novel, Denied to the Enemy, and I will no doubt finish it. However, I am overwhelmed with a strange compulsion to rant. First I will quote. Before he joined in 1938 he was frightened almost all of the time. Oh now, how he missed those innocent days. Since his induction into the group Bruning was in a constant state of paranoia and fear. The things he had seen! The way his world had changed in under one year! He had a skill you see, a talent with language which was necessary for the group to achieve its goals. Bruning had studied many ancient tongues and was lettered in three very difficult ones. In addition he had a skill with cyphers, something developed during a stint at Oxford and his study of the works of John Dee. If only he was not so clever! His mind, something he had considered a blessing in his murky past now was a terrible weapon at the disposal of the Reich, and although the intangible front he fought upon was won or lost through the study of words, of meanings and innuendoes and secrets, the casualties caused by such battles were real enough. ...

After seeing Napoleon Dynamite, I am greatly heartened to know that should something happen to Wes Anderson we’ll still have someone to make Wes Anderson movies. Very minimalist, very charming if you don’t assume it’s intended as mockery of the title character. Dryer than the average Wes Anderson movie. I liked it.

I seem to have six Gmail invites. There are no good usernames left, but if you still want one, drop me an email. Grovelling is optional.

Josh Marshall’s guest blogger, Spencer Ackerman, interviewed that anonymous intelligence official (original) I mentioned the other day. Some nice insights into the relationship between Al Qaeda and Iraq. We saw al-Qaeda execute the operation of killing one American, kidnapping another, within two days. It reinforces the idea of nearly simultaneous attacks. They posted the information about Mr. Johnson, said what they wanted, said what they were going to do, and did it. Which perhaps is the most important trademark for al-Qaeda: they tell you what they’re going to do and then they do it. ...

“Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana, that no governmental agency, including corporations with corporate authority only as approved by the President of the United States under the provisions of any law or resolution of the Congress of the United States, and no officer, agent or employee thereof, shall exercise in this state [Louisiana] any power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution of the United States, but reserved by the Constitution of the United States to the state of Louisiana. ...

Kevin Drum writes about another salvo in the CIA/Bush war (original). When a high-ranking intelligence officer accuses Bush of “an abject, even wilful failure to recognise the ideological power, lethality and growth potential of the threat personified by Bin Laden, as well as the impetus that threat has been given by the US-led invasion and occupation of Muslim Iraq,” you know someone’s pissed off. Especially since he’s got to know he’s going to get outed. Consider that this comes in the wake of the Valerie Plame leak. There’s no doubt that this guy is going to be discovered and his name is going to be published and his career is going to be over. However, he’s unhappy enough that he just doesn’t care. (So why publish anonymously if you expect to be found out anyway? Two reasons: it allows him to delay the inevitable a little while, and it focuses attention on the book.)

Hey! If I gave you a Gmail invite, I would like to request that you take a gander at this post from Wil Wheaton (original). I think it’s a good cause.