A note from the Editor's of Hooray for Anything- starting with this post, we're going to be adding a new feature to this here bloggie. It's "the Brilliant List," named after one of our favorite British expressions and our fave beer commercials. Or, at least it'll be named such until we come up with a better name. Or maybe just ditch the entire title entirely along with the idea. Who knows?

So, after such a big introduction, here's this week's "Brilliant List" (please note- it'll usually be about only five things but as this one has been building for awhile, this one's a bit longer than usual. And a bit more political than hoped, but we've been listening to a lot of NPR lately so we're in a political state of mind).

Anyhoo…..

-"The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus" from Al Franken's also brilliant "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"- Sample quote: "No James, Leprosy is a matter of personal responsibility. If people knew I was healing lepers, there would be no incentive to avoid leprosy."

-"The Daily Show's" subtle shift in tone from bemused mocking to one of we're-mad-as-hell-and-we're-not-going-to-take-it mocking.

-Ricky Williams quitting the NFL to go hang out in Koh Samui and smoke thai stick. Like you wouldn't if you could.

-Prawns in garlic butter sauce at whatever the hell that hole in the wall Salvadorian Restaurant Cherry, Deemer, Hopskates, and I ate at last weekend.

-The Illinois Republican Nomination of Alan Keyes to run against Barack Obama- We here are huge Alan Keyes fans as he is one of our favorite political personalitie. As someone who was interviewed about him said on NPR, he is a raving lunatic, a hilarious combination of hyperbolic speaking style, freakish religiosity, and delusions of grandeur. So far he has compared Obama to a "slaveholder" for not voting against a bill for late-term abortion, said his possible victory over Obama would be a "Victory for God", and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on an Illinois TV station. My favorite Keyes moment was when he ran for President in 2000 and Michael Moore somehow managed to talk him into stage-diving into a mosh pit and slamming with the punkers, all to the strains of Rage Against the Machine. This, naturally, wasn't looked on too favorably by his fellow candidates and it was brought up in an actual 2000 Republican debate. Fellow Republican candidate Gary Bauer attacked Keyes in the debate for being "anti-family" for moshing to what he said was the band "The Machine Rages On."

-Last week's column in the SF Weekly proposing new campaign songs for the Presidential Candidates. We think the idea of John Kerry trying to toughen himself up by coming out to NWA's "Gangsta Gangsta" would be off the hook. And the suggestion that Bill Clinton should use Eminem's "Without Me" is, well, brilliant.

-And from last week's "Savage Love" column, here's Dan's response to someone with a dead girl kink:

" Finally, if you can't let go of your extremely-beautiful-pretend-dead-woman fantasy, and if paying for it is a turn-off, check out the local goth scene in your area, as some of those girls might not be too spooked by your fantasy. But there's always a catch: I've never actually seen an extremely beautiful goth girl myself--most of them seem to have weight problems, which has always struck me as strangely contradictory. From the neck up, the look cultivated by goth girls seems to say, "Oh, we despair of this world and long for the sweet embrace of death!" From the neck down, their look seems to say, "I'll take the bacon cheeseburger, two orders of fries, and a Diet Coke, please.""


And the not so Brilliant Thing of the Week?

Gavin & Kimberly's fashion spread in Esquire. Love ya, Gavin, but please don't embarrass us again.