Interesting: Tag, I'm it

Cody says
I'm it, so here you go. Five things you don't know about Matt Kuzma:

1. I have performed karaoke in three countries, including "You Were Always on My Mind" during a high school trip to Switzerland and a recent performance of "Careless Whisper" in Mexico. What makes a great karaoke song? A groove, little to no instrumental solo, words like "la la" or "na na" that the crowd can sing along to. Please, no American Pie. Thanks.

2. I hate The Cure, but secretly like them.

3. I love running, but secretly hate it.

4. I need to buy new pants.

5. I miss my Aunt Linda.

Interesting: Helsinki Complaints Choir

From the new I+H favorite, Very Short List.

Not Helpful: Don't make a decision

From Talking Points Memo:

November 2006:
"President Bush said Monday that he has made no decisions about
altering the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, and he refused to discuss
the pros and cons that would accompany such a decision."

August 2005:
President Bush said Thursday no decision has been made on increasing or
decreasing U.S. troop levels in Iraq, saying that as "Iraqis stand up,
we will stand down" and that only conditions on the ground will dictate
when it is time for a reduction in U.S. forces.

April 2004:
"Gen. John P. Abizaid, the senior commander in the Middle East, has
asked for contingency plans for increasing the number of troops in
Iraq. No decision has been made to supplement the 134,000 troops now
there, and White House officials said it was unclear whether such a
move would help the situation."

November 2003:
"The President is going to do what is most effective in Iraq, and he
gets recommendations from his commanders on troop levels and what is
needed. No decisions have been made about future troops levels," said
National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice.

Helpful: Best pillow ever

I've had neck and arm problems for a long time, and one of the worst symptoms is sleep difficulty. Thanks to a cheesy infomercial featuring a guy who looks like a washed up old rocker, I found out about the Homedics Therapy Pillow, which has turned out to be amazing. Buy it.

Helpful: Google Bomb the Elections

It's worth a shot.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Interesting: Benson

Who knew sleeping was such hard work?

Interesting: A nightmare

No more Bell's in Chicago?

Helpful: Eight more things I learned

1) The ladies love Jeremy Piven.
2) Replacing a bike seat is expensive.
3) Replacing the numbers from a lost cell phone is impossible.
4) Guess what? No matter how powerful you are, your e-mail and IM's will NEVER be private.
5) Everything wrong with America can apparently be traced back to Bill Clinton's penis, which shall forever be referred to on this page as "The Clenis."
6) Trader Joe's is the best grocery store ever.
7) The HP 12-C calculator can figure out just about anything.
8) Want to hear something loud? Sit inside an 'L' car when it's hailing outside.

Helpful: Ten things I learned this week

1) Taxicabs have little magnets in their seats that attract and steal cell phones.
2) I can still understand 60% of the Spanish I hear.
3) The crucial question when writing standards of detainee treatment is: What would Jack Bauer do?
4) Running an actual website is hard, but great.
5) The rule of thumb Debt Coverage Ratio is 1.25.
6) Powerpoint animation is teh shnattt.
7) People who smoke weed while playing softball should not be surprised when they start playing poorly.
8) Today was a bad day for the CTA.
9) Entourage is an awesome show--I'll be meeting Jeremy Piven next week.
10) Riding your bike home in the rain after your seat gets stolen is a sad, effective workout.

You Faithful Tube Democrats dot com

Interesting and Helpful: Faithful Democrats

FaithfulDemocrats.com is up and running!

Interesting: Bookeaters and The Long Winters

We went to a fundraiser concert for 826CHI on Thursday at Park West. Saw some amazing things:

1. Ira Glass of This American Life worked his magic, producing a brilliant audio piece right in front of our eyes and ears. Ira had an iPod in a big white DJ dock which he somehow used to mix interview clips, music, and his own voice. Sublime.

2. John Roderick of The Long Winters played a great acoustic set just 30 seconds after jumping out of a cab from O'Hare. The website has five free MP3 tracks; I highly recommend them all.

3. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie played a nice mellow set on guitar and piano. He even played Cindy's favorite song from their new album.

Helpful: Framing the health insurance debate

Here's a tip: Lose the phrase "cover the uninsured."

Helpful and Scary: Katrina flood graphic

From nola.com

Interesting: One cartoon says it all

Helpful: Win by not fighting?

This post by Kevin Drum today is exactly what I have been thinking about lately. Does massive military retaliation actually achieve the goals we want it to?

Panic! on the Disco Ball

Panic! on the Disco Ball
Originally uploaded by kuzmatt9.

Indigo Steve at Lollapalooza.

Offensive does not equal offense

Just to clarify: delusional, unobjective support for the Iraq War is not the same thing as being "tough on the war on terror." Hear that, Joe Lieberman?

Helpful: Google Send to Phone for Firefox

No surprise that I love this new Firefox extension. It has:
1. Google
2. Firefox
3. Cell phone texting
4. Usefulness

What more could I want?

Interesting: Secret Radio Project!

My hometown NPR station, Chicago Public Radio, has a secret. Me likey.

IL-10: Is Mark Kirk a Republican?

Look at his website, and you tell me. Wonder what he's ashamed of.

I+H: Happ arrives

After years of anticipation, I can finally read Mike Happ's political writing at my leisure, thanks to his new blog. And you can too.

Interesting: The costs of war

$2 Trillion?

Helpful: Weather Underground

When I look for weather online I want two things: 1) a current radar map, and 2) a 5-day forecast. I've found a site that gives me that without having to click through a million links. Weather Underground does it. And for $10/year, it's ad-free. Animated Doppler!

Interesting: Latest from Fair Illinois

Just got this word from my friends at Fair Illinois, the campaign I helped run this summer. Good progress!