Blue Crab Boulevard

Disneyland is set to open a new "House of the Future" at Disneyland some 50 years after the original made its debut.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Millions of Disneyland visitors lined up a half-century ago to catch a glimpse of the future: a home teeming with mind-blowing gadgets such as handsfree phones, wall-sized televisions, plastic chairs, and electric razors and toothbrushes.

The "House of the Future," a pod-shaped, all-plastic dwelling that quickly seemed quaint closed its doors a decade later. Now Disney is set to open a new abode in Tomorrowland — this time in partnership with 21st century technology giants.

The 5,000-square-foot home scheduled to open in May will look like a normal suburban home outside, but inside it will feature hardware, software and touch-screen systems that could simplify everyday living.

Lights and thermostats will automatically adjust when people walk into a room. Closets will help pick out the right dress for a party. Countertops will be able to identify groceries set on them and make menu suggestions.

The $15 million home is a collaboration of The Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison.

Visitors will experience the look of tomorrow by watching Disney actors playing a family of four preparing for a trip to China.

Despite denials from a Disney spokesman, it sounds like a gussied up trade show. And they'll probably be about as accurate as this attempt was:

Step into your nylon tights, pull a polyester chair near to the popup table and relax.

Because this is the luxury of 21stcentury living - Fifties style.

Half a century ago, the Daily Mail's Ideal Home Show included its first House of the Future.

Designed by radical architects Alison and Peter Smithson, it was their prediction for the style of living we would enjoy today.

And how very backward it makes us look.

In their house, there was no refrigerator. Instead, gamma rays blasted meat, fish and dairy products to kill germs.

The kitchen hob was a thing of the past - electric pans made supper on any surface.

And although most of us believe a particularly squishy sofa is a must for modern living, the designers thought soft furnishing would be history by now.

They predicted that we would relax on glass reinforced polyester chairs - and tables would rise from the floor at the press of a switch.

Showers would wash the user - and then blow him or her dry, while thermostatic controls around the house would allow us to abandon our different togs of duvets and sleep under one nylon sheet.

In fact, designers predicted nylon would be our favourite material. Even the male model, Peter, wears thick nylon tights. Sportswear designer Teddy Tinling who designed the models' clothing, said at the time: "The clothes worn by the man are plain and unembellished. This is in keeping with the times, a kind of Superman trend to fit in with the Space Age."

No, the Brits don't wear tights when lounging about - many of them don't actually wear anything. Which probably accounts for the lack of popularity of hard - cold - plastic furniture. But we still don't have hovercars. The Aussies are hogging them. 

Yahoo! is reportedly in talks with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to form an alliance that would either derail Microsoft from a takeover or bid the price of Yahoo! up to a much higher level.

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. is discussing a possible Internet partnership with media conglomerate News Corp., its latest effort to repel Microsoft Corp.'s takeover bid or pry a better offer from the unsolicited suitor, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The specifics of the proposed joint venture haven't been worked out, according to the person, who didn't want to be identified because the talks are considered confidential.

Both The Wall Street Journal and a prominent blog, TechCrunch, reported that News Corp. is interested in folding its popular online social network, MySpace.com, and other Internet assets into Yahoo — an idea that first came up last year. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.

News Corp. and a private equity firm reportedly would buy significant stakes in Yahoo as part of a complex deal designed to boost the Sunnyvale-based company's market value above Microsoft's initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.

A Yahoo spokesman said the company continues to "carefully and thoroughly" evaluate alternatives that will enrich its long-term shareholders. Yahoo's board reportedly is to meet again Thursday or Friday to consider the company's next move.

News Corp. spokeswoman Teri Everett declined to comment on the Yahoo talks.

Yahoo shares climbed 31 cents to $29.88 Wednesday while Microsoft shares gained 62 cents to $28.96 News Corp. shares slipped 10 cents to finish at $19.93.

Based on Microsoft's current market value, its cash-and-stock bid for Yahoo now stands at $29.50 per share, or about $41 billion.

This is getting to be an interesting situation. I'm on the record as not much liking Microsoft's takeover attempt. So if this were to derail them, it would not exactly break my heart. 

From The Nation of all places comes this scenario that would give Republicans sweet dreams. And Democrats extreme nightmares. 

Condoleezza Rice for Vice President.

John McCain is a formidable candidate in his own right, but if he has the political imagination to do it, he can cause the party of Jefferson and Jackson indescribable angst with Rice as his vice-presidential pick.

Besides being the greatest two-for in GOP history, Rice brings other huge pluses to the old admiral. Indeed, she may be enough to elect the venerable hero/naval aviator.

McCain's troubles with the religious wing of his party could well evaporate with the churchgoing Rice at his side. She solidifies that part of his base overnight.

With Rice on the ticket, the GOP would have somebody to get enthusiastic about. The Secretary of State is immensely popular with Republicans. For a party that up to now has been clueless about how to run against either a woman or a person of color, Condoleezza Rice is pure political gold.

Woe to any Democrat who thinks taking her on in a debate is a sure thing. The woman is tough, fast on her feet and able to give better than she gets. Anyone who has seen her in action testifying in front of a hostile House or Senate committee knows that she will be able to wipe up the floor with a plodding, ordinary pol of a Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Take Rice lightly at your peril.

In the ordinary course of things the ideal vice-presidential candidate is relied upon to carry his or her home state and keep out of trouble. With Condi the GOP gets a lot more. It gets a superstar to match the Democrats' superstars. If it comes to name recognition, glamour and magnetism for conservatives, Condi is dandy. Also, it is a plus for the GOP team that she is a snappy dresser.

This would be a classic move for McCain. If Condi was willing to serve a tour in the political meat grinder as an elected official, that is. Personally, I think it would be a masterstroke.

Uh oh. We thought giant, glowing, radioactive haggis was bad enough. But now South Korean scientists are planning to send irradiated kimchi into space.

SEOUL (AFP) - A specially engineered version of kimchi, South Korea's beloved pickle dish, has been cleared for a historic space mission this year, officials said Wednesday.

The bacteria-free kimchi, developed by top Korean scientists, will blast off along with the country's first astronaut after being approved by Russian space authorities, they said.

Instant noodles, cinnamon tea and uncooked organic food, all developed by the state-run food research body, have also been approved for the mission due in April.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said kimchi usually contains lactic acid bacteria for fermentation, but bacteria have been shown to become more virulent in space.

"The lactic acid bacterium in kimchi is a useful microbe normally, but it could threaten astronauts' health in space so that kimchi must be provided in a germ-free state," it said. 

Has anyone bothered to check if kimchi becomes more virulent in space? Giant, glowing,radioactive kimchi could soon control the space station.

(Wikipedia on kimchi here.) 

From the Seattle Times comes a sort of autopsy of the sinking and possibly soon dead Clinton campaign. It is brutal, it is ugly and if Clinton reads it, the waterworks should come on at full force. Because it is all true.

Hillary and Bill Clinton will never be able to pull a Sally Fields and announce that people like them. Because people don't.

And they are not all super fans of the Clintons.

Some are labor leaders still angry that Bill Clinton championed the North American Free Trade Agreement as part of his centrist agenda.

Some are social activists who lobbied unsuccessfully to get him to veto welfare reform legislation, a talking point for his 1996 re-election campaign.

Some served in Congress when the Clintons dismissed their advice on health care reform in 1993. Some called her a bully at the time.

Some are DNC members who saw the party committee weakened under the Clintons and watched President Bush use the White House to build up the Republican National Committee.

Some are senators who had to defend Clinton for lying to the country about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Some are allies of former Vice President Al Gore who still believe the Lewinsky scandal cost him the presidency in 2000.

Some are House members (or former House members) who still blame Clinton for Republicans seizing control of the House in 1994.

Some are donors who paid for the Clintons' campaigns and his presidential library.

Some are folks who owe the Clintons a favor but still feel betrayed or taken for granted. Could that be why Bill Richardson, a former U.N. secretary and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, refused to endorse her even after an angry call from the former president? "What," Bill Clinton reportedly asked Richardson, "isn't two Cabinet posts enough?"

And some just want something new. They appreciate the fact that Clinton was a successful president and his wife was an able partner, but they never loved the couple as much as they feared them.

As the writer of the piece, Ron Fournier, points out, never, ever count the Clintons out. But by the same token, you really shouldn't underestimate their talent for self destructiveness. But for that talent, Bill Clinton might have actually left a positive legacy behind him. And maybe Hillary would not be in the fight of her political life.

The Berkeley city council has done an about face and will not send a letter to the Marines calling them unwelcome. They are not, however, apologizing for their previous actions and are indulging in left wing pretzel logic to describe their feelings on the whole incident. You see, they're in favor of Marines, just not the recruitment of them.

BERKELEY, Calif. - City council members who were criticized for telling Marine recruiters they don't belong here have moderated their position, saying they oppose the Iraq war but support the troops.

The Berkeley City Council voted two weeks ago to send a letter to a downtown recruitment station advising the Marines they were not welcome.

After a marathon session that stretched into early Wednesday, the council decided against sending the letter, saying it recognizes recruiters' right to be in Berkeley. The council members say they still strongly oppose the war and the recruitment of young people, but "deeply respect and support" the men and women of the armed forces.

Some on the council had pushed for issuing an apology. Others rejected that, saying they just wanted to clarify their position.

Councilwoman Linda Maio said the council opposes recruitment, not the military. "It's behavior that we oppose, not the people," she said.

This would be like telling someone they are entitled to eat all the ice cream they can buy but forbidding them to buy ice cream. Ah well, at least they've backed off a bit from their ridiculous position. But there are still a lot of hard feelings from Berkeley residents who really support the troops.

UPDATE: The SF Chronicle reports that Code Pinko is now going to try to get a ballot initiative to oust the recruiters.

Code Pink activists said that even with the council backing off, they intend to place a resolution on the local ballot to oust the recruiters.

"We want voters to be able to decide … just like they have a say whether a liquor store or porn shop opens near a school," said Jodie Evans, a Berkeley yoga studio owner who co-founded Code Pink.

Evans, wearing a pink crown that said "I Miss America," sat on a lawn chair outside of City Hall in the chilly night air listening to testimony from the meeting inside, which was being broadcast to the hundreds who couldn't fit inside the building.

Iraq war veteran Javier Tenorio of Berkeley was also listening outside of City Hall. The former Army infantryman who served two tours of duty called the ballot proposal "ridiculous."

"Even if they achieve it, it's going to be voted down," Tenorio said. "There are enough people in Berkeley who support the military, including university Republicans. We're going to beat this." 

Should such a thing pass, it would be perfectly logical to deny Berkeley Federal funds - just as colleges who refuse to allow recruiters can be penalized. 

Joshua Green from The Atlantic has the inside story on what has been happening in the Clinton campaign. His focus is on the firing of Patti Solis Doyle and the political infighting going on within Hillaryland. 

 For the many people in and around Washington who obsess over the latest machinations in Hillaryland, the firing of Solis Doyle—and she was fired, several insiders confirm—is a big deal, but for reasons somewhat different from what the media coverage has suggested. Her title of “campaign manager” implies a loftier role than the one she actually played. She is the furthest thing from a Rove-like strategic genius (Mark Penn inhabits that role for Hillary), so her leaving doesn’t signify an impending change of strategy, as some reports seem to assume. Rather, Solis Doyle, who began as Clinton’s personal scheduler in 1991 (and who, as it happens, coined the term “Hillaryland”) was Clinton’s alter ego and was installed in the job specifically for that reason. Her performance in Clinton’s past races and especially in this one reflects all the good and the bad that the alter-ego designation carries. I’ve always felt that the most revealing thing about Solis Doyle is her oft-repeated line: “When I’m speaking, Hillary is speaking.” It is revealing both because it is true and because it conveys—and even flaunts—an arrogance that I think is the key to understanding all that has gone wrong for the Clinton campaign.

Such arrogance led directly to the idea that Clinton could simply project an air of inevitability and be assured her party’s nomination. If she wins—as she very well might—it will be in spite of her original approach. As one former Clinton staffer put it to me last spring: “There was an assumption that if you were a major donor and wanted to be an ambassador, go to state dinners with the queen—unless you were an outright fool, you were going to go with Hillary, whether you liked her or not. The attitude was ‘Where else are they going to go?’”

It’s important to emphasize that Solis Doyle was not the architect of the Clinton strategy. It was devised and agreed to by many of the campaign’s top staffers, and the candidate herself signed off on it. But in all my reporting and personal experience with the campaign, Solis Doyle probably embodied it more than anyone else. It’s not unfair that she lost her job; but it is unfair that no other senior staffers appear to be in danger of losing theirs.

Ultimately, it comes down to financial mismanagement. A candidate who raised more than $175 million is suddenly having to loan her own campaign money. That is pretty telling. Read the whole thing. It is a little "inside baseball" but political junkies will eat it up. 

Ruth Marcus points out that the pending train wreck that is the Democratic nominating process is actually overdue for a crash. It is also, ironically, the fault of one of Clinton's advisors.

The wonder, really, is that the nomination train wreck confronting the Democratic Party didn't happen years earlier.

The stage was set for the current stalemate over five marathon days of negotiations in June 1988. In the fifth-floor conference room of a Washington law firm, representatives of Michael Dukakis, the party's nominee, and Jesse Jackson, his unsuccessful challenger, hashed out a new set of delegate selection rules.

Jackson felt aggrieved that he had not amassed as many delegates as his popular vote total would have suggested. In the 1984 primary campaign, for instance, Jackson won 19 percent of the popular vote but received just 10 percent of the delegates. So Jackson's rules guru, Harold M. Ickes, insisted on adopting proportional representation rules that would award insurgent candidates a bigger share of delegates in future contests.

Twenty years later, the rules Ickes advocated seem to be working against his current candidate, Hillary Clinton, reducing the impact of her wins in delegate-rich states such as California, New York and New Jersey. But Clinton could be saved by an unintended consequence of the move to proportional representation: Because the system tends to produce a stalemate between two strong candidates, it ends up supersizing the role of party pooh-bahs known as superdelegates.

All this was predicted long ago by Tad Devine, the Democratic Party operative who represented Dukakis in the rules negotiations. In a prescient 1991 article, Devine and Anthony Corrado explained the paradox:

"The move to strict proportional representation, which was adopted to ensure that delegate outcomes would better reflect the will of the electorate," they wrote, may instead "have produced a system in which party leaders and elected officials will hold the balance of power in determining the outcome of nomination contests." 

Marcus has the details of just how bizarre the rules are. They virtually ensure a feel good, everybody wins scenario but are fairly useless when two closely matched candidates are running for the same spot. If the party does fracture over this there will be some changes. (After all, the horse will be gone and the barn burned to the ground - perfect time to close the door.) It might not happen, though, at the rate Hillary is losing races. The party may simply have to step in and force her to step aside. (And wouldn't that be entertaining.)

I've added a WYSIWYG editor to the comments form which should give commenters some relief from the more awkward html tagging. I've also enabled a spellchecker for that form (it is Jacuba which is supposed to run on all the major browsers). Please let me know if you have any problems with the new setup. I've tested it and it works for me, but I need to know if others can use it properly. (If you are using Firefox with the Scriptblocker plugin, you'll have to allow Jacuba.com to run.)

Wow, this is classless even for a Clinton. Hillary! has not congratulated - or even acknowledged - Barack Obama for his eight straight victories in primaries or caucuses in the past few days. There's graceless, then there's Hillary.

EL PASO, Texas (CNN) – For the second election night in a row, Hillary Clinton failed to acknowledge or congratulate Barack Obama after he won the day in dominating fashion.

On Tuesday in El Paso, hours after Virginia had been called for Obama, she stuck to her “Texas campaign kickoff” message and did not stray from an energetic, Lone Star-themed stump speech. She did mention Obama by name, only to chide his health care plan.

On Saturday night in Richmond, Virginia, Clinton spoke to a crowd of thousands at the state’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, but she ignored Obama’s quartet of blowout primary and caucus wins that day as well (Obama also won the Maine caucuses the next day).

The courtesy of conceding a primary or caucus loss — and then congratulating your opponent — is by no means required. But it has become standard practice during campaign season.

True, there is no requirement, but it makes one look small to fail to do so. This is turning quite nasty.