Booman Tribune

Something Less Annoying

by BooMan
Sun Nov 8th, 2009 at 10:23:13 PM EST

Have you seen Al Franken draw the United States from memory?

That performance has inspired a contest:

It's good to see a little uplifting, humorous news from Alaska's Senate delegation. According to Politico's "Click," in an effort to encourage American students to pay more attention to geography, National Geographic magazine sent out letters to the members of the U.S. Senate asking them to draw a map of their home state "from memory," indicate three places on the map that are significant to them, and briefly tell why. The challenge is based on Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) famous ability to draw the Lower 48's coastline from memory. One Senator from Oregon seemed to relish the fact that Sen. Mark Begich has a tough job ahead, and joshed that the Senate is eagerly waiting to see if he can draw all the Aleutian Islands accurately. Begich's office retorted that National Geographic's new, educational video game, "The Alcan Trail" will soon surpass the popularity of the classic game "The Oregon Trail."

It will be tough for Mark Udall and Michael Bennet.



Display:
I'll take that bet:

That's me, vandalizing a Morro Bay, CA beach 10 years ago.

I could do the whole globe, too. Can Big Al do that? :)

mbr + dv + woyg

by keirdubois (keir@mybandrocks.com) on Sun Nov 8th, 2009 at 11:17:08 PM EST
Oh crap, did I just break the site?

mbr + dv + woyg
by keirdubois (keir@mybandrocks.com) on Sun Nov 8th, 2009 at 11:17:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I love Morro Bay, one of my favorite places to go to get out of Taft.

How long did it take to do that?

'Poverty is the worst form of violence'--Gandhi

by chocolate ink on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 02:08:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Maybe about 10 minutes. It was low tide. :)

mbr + dv + woyg
by keirdubois (keir@mybandrocks.com) on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 03:16:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
You want uplifting, see the Ukranian sand art lady perform.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo

You're welcome. :)

by sherifffruitfly on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 01:19:55 AM EST
That girl is gorgeous and talented, and I'm also struck by the choice of Metallica in her song selection there and how well it holds up as a violin piece.
by Paul W on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 08:06:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Heh. The metallica/orchestra idea is not a new one. See for example metallica in san francisco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFDNK-4Z7TI

Or to take the idea entirely too far:

http://www.apocalyptica.com/

by sherifffruitfly on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 12:00:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
As a hard core Metallica fan, I love the Apocalyptica stuff. So wonderful.


Recommended by Hideo Kojima
by robertdsc on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 08:11:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
he's so impressive. saw a nice video of Al Franken drawing the lower 48 at MN state fair last summer.

Viva Obama
by Errol on Sun Nov 8th, 2009 at 11:24:11 PM EST
This reminds me of a similar contest held among schoolkids in South Carolina in the early '70s, based on then-Sen. Strom Thurmond's not-very-accurate observation that our state was shaped "like a slice of pie."
by Geov Parrish on Mon Nov 9th, 2009 at 01:43:45 AM EST


Display:
Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]
Menu
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password





Find textbooks at Alibris!

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES

Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos
by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.


Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")



Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)


Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)


"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen


The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review


BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual

$79.95 * Sale: $59.95


Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)


The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!


The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan


Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----


Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review


Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey


1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus



Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"


Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)


The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

by Madeline Levine


Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com

:





We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Alibris - Books You Thought You'd Never Find
Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:
www.Patagonia.com


Listed on BlogShares

© 2009 Booman Tribune