The kingdoms of experiencee in the precious wind they rot

* James Wolcott on political pundits vs. sports guys:

"Unlike political pundits, sports guys have to know their stuff and be able to back it up on cross exam; whereas William Safire and Andrea Mitchell can spin cobwebs every time they speak without losing oracle status. Meet the Press had a political panel this weekend that looked like a poker game for mummies."

* Top Ten Conservative idiots. excerpt:

Jimmy Swaggart, 6:

"But let's leave the serious topics behind now and get onto some more lighthearted entertainment. Last week serial prostitute-procurer Jimmy Swaggart said on his popular television show, 'I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died.' Wait a second - that doesn't sound very lighthearted. But don't worry, it's okay - see, Swaggart later clarified his position, saying his comments were 'meant to be a joke.' Oh, a-ha ha ha! I get it now! It's all a big joke! Man, don't you just love it when evangelist preachers make jokes about killing homosexuals? Hoo-boy. Swaggart made the remarks to "applause and laughs" during a televised sermon, but has since apologized, saying 'I am totally opposed to any type of violence against anyone.' He added, 'Everyone except gay men, that is. I'd kill them.' He further added, 'Just a joke, get it?' He concluded, 'Does anyone know where I can get a hooker 'round here?'

* Newsweek publishes an excerpt from Bob Dylan's new
memoir. excerpt of excerpt:

"The novelist Herman Melville's work went largely unnoticed after Moby-Dick. Critics thought that he crossed the literary line and recommended burning Moby-Dick. By the time of his death he was largely forgotten.

"I had assumed that when critics dismissed my work, the same thing would happen to me, that the public would forget about me. How mad is that? Eventually, I would have to face the music—go back to performing—the long-awaited ballyhooed reunion tour—gypsy tours—changing ideologies like tires, like shoes, like guitar strings. What's the difference? As long as my own form of certainty stayed intact, I owed nobody nothing. I wasn't going to go deeper into the darkness for anybody. I was already living in the darkness. My family was my light and I was going to protect that light at all cost. That was where my dedication was, first, last and everything in-between. What did I owe the rest of the world? Nothing. Not a damn thing. The press? I figured you lie to it. For the public eye, I went into the bucolic and mundane as far as possible. In my real life I got to do the things that I loved the best and that was all that mattered—the Little League games, birthday parties, taking my kids to school, camping trips, boating, rafting, canoeing, fishing... I was living on record royalties. In reality I was imperceptible, my image, that is. Sometime in the past I had written and performed songs that were most original and most influential, and I didn't know if I ever would again and I didn't care."