Sorry folks.

My so-called professional life in conjunction with my so-called private life have taken precedence for the past couple of days and …who suffers? Why, you do, of course. So, in order to tide you over and keep you off the streets where you will most likely fall in with a rough crowd and get into crazy shenanigans and indulge in the type of horseplay that always results in SOMEONE LOSING AN EYE, here are some things that are THINGS from other blogs that you should know about if you don’t already:

Via Lawyers, Guns, Money, there is actually something worth reading at Slate besides Dahlia Lithwick who, if there was a just and loving God, would have Ross Douthat’s spot at the NY Times, but what are you gonna do? The link, by the way, is a fascinating look at the how Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian came to be. Well, it was interesting to me because I have read the damn thing. Also, too, here is Lithwick’s Muppet Chaos Theory.

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Although I will probably never forgive Metrosexual Manichean Monster DougJ for pointing out this Forbes fanboi fappery over Atlas Shrugged II: The Investor Write-Off, it does have it’s unintentionally hilarious charms:

On the other hand, the casting of Francisco d’Anconia couldn’t have been more perfect. Esai Morales (Bad Boys, La Bamba) plays d’Anconia brilliantly, and one can only hope that he comes back for the third installment. In Part II, d’Anconia remains somewhat of a mystery. Still living the hedonistic life, he’s the wild card, though he starts to reveal in Part II that there’s a true purpose behind his surface image as a playboy.

This reveals itself most notably in the scene at James Taggart’s wedding when d’Anconia talks about the purpose of money. Rand purists may perhaps be frustrated by d’Anconia’s mini-commentary for it not being lengthier, but it spoke well to this viewer.

And who doesn’t want a lengthier disquisition on the purpose and utility of money during a wedding scene? I mean, besides John Tamny, who is some kind of freak? We’ll get back to Tamny in a second, but first here is his big “wrap-up”:

Readers understandably want a verdict on Atlas Shrugged II in addition to policy analysis. [TB: yes, all film reviews should include a 'policy analysis', preferably one that has been scored by the CBO] The answer is that the film is a must see because it in a very handsome way describes the world in which we live today whereby the achievers are being shackled by the moochers. In terms of the film’s quality, it seems high, but then so moved was this reviewer by the elevation of life’s winners, it’s arguably true that my bias blinds me to any weaknesses in the film that might exist.

Love is deaf, dumb, and blind. But the different ‘dumb’ this time.

Bonus Tamny who thinks that, when God closes a business, he opens up an abattoir for the jackals and vultures and maggots to feed and that is all right with him:

He also quotes a Los Angeles Times article tracking a couple of different experiences in the housing market. In one, an older man lost his job due to a heart problem, and that, plus legal costs incurred by a wayward son, led him to lose his house. But wait! On the flip side of that guy’s heart-trouble-related “failure” are Hilary and Mark, newlyweds who never thought they’d be able to afford a house in Los Angeles. Squeal!

Tamny is the kind of guy who would, ahem, in the case of finding a heart-attack victim stretched out on a Brentwood sidewalk, would empty out the guys wallet before calling 911, because, you know: services rendered, dude.

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Finally, America’s Least Favorite Not-Going-To-Be-First-Lady Ann Romney was on Good Morning, America this morning and after Stanley Tucci almost hot-buttered her muffin, Ann spent her time trying to charm America by being “fun shouty” like Kathie Lee after her seventh Mai Tai before 10AM:

[Tucci's] demonstration of Italian family recipes on Good Morning America was co-hosted by Ann Romney, in her ubiquitous red shirtdress, and Tucci spent just a little too long gilding the lily about how he got into food. The butter he was browning got too hot before he could explain the recipe, and began bubbling loudly, interrupting his story. He tried to go on while turning down the burner, but eventually the hot butter began spattering out of the pot with precious Ann nearby.

Of course, Sam Champion was chivalrously holding it away from his co-anchors and guests, and, in real life, she was nowhere near the pot. But Secret Service bristled all the same.

Most of the segment is actually just spent chuckling over the mishap and listening to Ann shout things like “I love Julie and Julia!” “They burned my welsh cakes, too!” and “Every time! My plane almost goes down, and now I’m going to catch on fire!” Yes, Ann. You were totally going to catch on fire.

Oh, sure. Mock her and her plane fire, and burnt welsh cakes and death by hot butter, but it should be fairly apparent that Ann Romney is unwittingly starring in one of those Final Destination movies and Mormon Satan is not going to give up until she spontaneously combusts in a flash of red light leaving behind only the stench of sulfur, Obsession, and privilege.

I predict Nov 6th, somewhere around the time the polls in Florida close…

ALSOTOO: I will be live twittertwatting Thursday night’s debate between America’s Favorite Uncle Joe Biden and the zombie-eyed granny-starver. I’ll see if the FDL-IT nerds can get it up and running here and, yes, basset blogging will go up beforehand so don’t you worry your pretty little heads about that.