Using Bees To Effect Vengeance |
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I get to be as self-indulgent as I want without wasting anyone's time. Guilt-free solipsism -- excellent!
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Monday, October 27, 2003
Well, I'm unemployed. Not surrounded by co-workers -- on my own, just like Patti Labelle and Michael MacDonald. And like Chic (and Robert Wyatt) I find myself singing, "At last I am free/I can hardly see in front of me." Elliott Smith is no longer with us, and I don't know what to say except that I will miss him -- and in my selfish way, I'm mourning the loss of all the great music he had in him that no-one will ever hear. Each of his records (particularly the last three) is a work of art -- brimming with melody, emotion, musicality, honesty and (let's not forget this in our rush to Cobainize him as a mere conduit for Pain) gorgeous artifice. He could be straightforward but he also knew how to turn an illuminating phrase a la Costello. I think he was possibly the best songwriter of the last 10 years. John Cougar Mellencamp ranks quite a few places below Elliott in the BSOTLTY stakes, but clap clap has a thoroughly enjoyable appreciation of "Pink Houses" to which I'd direct your attention. | Thursday, October 16, 2003
No Surrender Japanese Holdouts After WWII: "World War II did not neatly end with Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945. At its height the Japanese Empire was more than 20 million square miles of land and sea. Soldiers in isolated regions fought on for years after the surrender some unaware the war had ended, other refusing to believe. Some hide in the jungles alone, others fought in groups and continued to make attacks and conduct guerilla warfare. These men were called Japanese Holdouts, or Stragglers and their stories are some of the most fascinating human interest stories of the 20th Century." Absolutely astonishing stuff. [via TalkingPointsMemo] | Austin just passed a ban on smoking in restaurants and clubs -- it hasn't gone into effect yet and there's a good chance it will be overturned before it can. I counted myself among the opponents of the ban -- it infringes on personal freedom, and as a CCMOTACLU, I don't believe that being irritated by cigarette smoke merits governmental abrogation of personal freedom. The health risks to workers in those establishments is a different story, however -- and the results of a study recounted in this New York Times editorial may have pushed me into the pro-ban camp. [via TMN] | Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Absolutely bursting with absurdity. Sure, a dog giving it the Heil Hitler gets you some of the way there, but a Hitler t-shirt strikes me as just as strange. Such a weird consumerist trivialization -- he couldn't be there during the war, so he wears the t-shirt. Not to mention the image of an uniformed Hitler-tache-sporting Deutschlander professing bemusement at all the fuss while he orders his dog to give a Nazi salute. -- nothing to see here. And what is an Aryan supremacist doing with a mongrel dog anyway? Anyway, without further ado: Dog taught to give Hitler salute: BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who taught his dog Adolf to give a Hitler salute by raising his right paw has been charged with violating Germany's anti-Nazi laws, a Berlin court says. Police investigated after members of the public complained they had seen the man giving the stiff-arm 'Hitler salute' and telling his dog: 'Adolf sit, give me the salute!', a court spokeswoman said. As he was questioned by police the man ordered his black mongrel to give them the Hitler salute as well, she said. Germany has strict laws banning the use of Nazi symbols, but the man, Roland Thein, sporting a Hitler-style moustache and military tunic, said he didn't understand what the fuss was about. Thein demonstrated Adolf's 'Hitler salute' trick to a Reuters photographer in his back yard in southwestern Berlin after summoning the dog from a kennel with 'Adolf' painted over the entrance. 'Adolf, give me the salute!' Thein barked as the dog raised his right paw. Thein also said he welcomed the media attention he and his dog were getting. The trial is set for Thursday. Thein is also accused of shouting the Nazi battlecry 'Sieg Heil' in front of Berlin police and of wearing a 'Hitler' T-shirt and shouting 'Heil Hitler' at a market in the city." | The New Stop-Dean Candidate: "The more Dean's rivals expose his record, the more I suspect that the centrist who's going to spare Democrats this left-wing nightmare isn't any of these guys. It's Howard Dean." | Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Friday, October 10, 2003
Oh well, looks like EMusic just shot themselves in the foot. I guess it wasn't going well. 40 downloads a month isn't much of a value proposition for customers. | Thursday, October 09, 2003
One of the negatives about having your office in the muthascratchin' hallway is that when you burst out laughing for no apparent reason the sound carries somethin' fierce. | Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Arnold Kling (whose book I've been reading lately) has written a great Open Letter to Paul Krugman which delves into the distinction between what Kling calls Type C arguments (arguments about consequences) and Type M arguments (arguments about motives). In good Hayakawan fashion, I feel this is an absolutely crucial distinction and the key to cutting through bullshit from both the left and the right. The hallmark of the sophisticated mind is the ability to say "I don't like George but I like this idea he supports" and "I like George but this idea of his is a poor one." I think Paul Krugman is great, but his widely-heralded "radicalization" of the past couple years has left me cold because he's taken to opining about the motives of the people pushing the right-wing policies he attacks. When he sticks to skewering the illogical and destructive policies of the W administration, he's brilliant. | Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Monday, October 06, 2003
Black artists take over US top 10: "The American Billboard singles chart top 10 is made up exclusively of tunes from black artists for the first time." Hunh. I confess, I love the fact that tracks #4-#7 in the US Top 10 are: 4. Right Thurr 5. Frontin' 6. Damn! 7. P.I.M.P | Blogging about losing my job in real-time! Just got out of my manager's office...wholly expected, a sense of relief more than anything else. I'm remarkably calm, unlike last time. I guess these things get easier with practice. I'm still here for two weeks to transition my accounts -- because they would be fucked if I just walked out, and we both know it. Now what? That's the question. | Sunday, October 05, 2003
Lost In Translation -- one of the most beautiful films I've seen in ages. Can't summon the words at the moment, but Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson turn in truly remarkable, nuanced performances and Sofia Coppola proves herself to be more than a one-trick pony as a director. I can't wait to see it again. | I just got back taking Dexter for a walk around Brentwood Park, behind our house. As we headed into the homestretch, I could hear music -- live music -- coming from one of the backyards facing the park. It turned out to be emanating from an impromptu stage set up in someone's driveway. A fiddle player, pianist and drummer, each in their 60s or 70s, were nonchalantly bashing out an infectiously swinging version of Sweet Georgia Brown, replete with Le Jazz Hot soloing. A gaggle of guests, most of whom appeared of a similar age, sat watching in lawn chairs arranged across the concrete. A younger woman held a video camera, a little girl slinked around and through the legs of those standing around the periphery. I told Dexter to sit (it worked!) and stood across the street, taking in the scene and enjoying the novelty. It didn't take long before some of the guests noticed our presence and began doffing their baseball caps and smiling at us. I smiled back and kept tapping my foot so that they could see I was genuinely enjoying the music, despite the impression an Afghan Whigs t-shirt might have conveyed to the contrary. Before long an older lady walked across the street to me to fill me in. The musicians had a band together as youngsters, when they all attended a school for the blind. Over the years, their paths had diverged, but this weekend was their reunion -- they had not played together in 47 years. My jaw dropped. "47 years apart and they sound like that?", I said. She nodded, smiling -- "47 years, and they're blind." And they were playing in the driveway, their backdrop a garage door. "The piano player is Bobby Doyle, I don't know if you've heard of him", she continued. I hadn't, but I just looked him up: he wrote songs for Fabian, was a member of Blood Sweat & Tears, and put out a solo album featuring the great Steve Cropper on guitar. "He plays at Eddie V's downtown," she said. "Thanks for telling me the story, they sound great," I said. We waved goodbye and Dexter and I walked on. | Friday, October 03, 2003
MP3 of the Time Increment: god, how long has it been? I've been busy, folks. Consumed -- consumed -- with all manner of bullshit. I'm still waist deep in it, but it's time to turn my attention back to what matters. Our love is all we have: Wilco performing Jesus, Etc. on Leno. If that organ and Tweedy's exquisite vocal doesn't slay you, then you've already been slayed by something else. Now I lie awake at night and dream about what I will do if I'm ever set free: The New Pornographers version of The Donner Party's When I Was A Baby. John Wesley Harding used to cover this live, and I thought it was one of his -- that same slightly twisted narrative sensibility. Instead it's from the pen of Sam Coomes, and the Newps turn this into a harmony-soaked perversely-uplifting waltz. | Upcoming.org is a collaborative events calendar -- you can browse through stuff going on in your town, mark what you're planning to see or do, and take a look at which events your friends are planning to attend. All my theatrical and musical peeps (and I know you're out there) -- latch onto this as a promotional tool. Add your play/gig to the list. See who else is going to see that show and email them to meet up for dinner beforehand. Once you've joined, add me as a friend here. | Some Friday morning goodness from b3ta: a fun early '80s video game-meets-Van Halen video some amusing Amazon customer reviews of "Sex, Freud and Folly" by Martin Wank and last but not least, ArafatBoy Slim. | Thursday, October 02, 2003
It looks like Dean has raised about $15 million this quarter, roughly triple what the Democratic runners-up will have raised. But while everyone raves about the raw total -- and it is very impressive -- equally important is the low "cost of sales". Raising money by direct mail is expensive (printing, postage, return postage), and Dean's supremacy in online fundraising means he keeps more of each dollar he raises. That advantage translates directly into more staffers, more TV ads, etc. People should be looking at the "profit margins" in addition to the "revenues". What's more, raising money by direct mail is slow. Printers need time to print, even first class mail adds a few days to the cycle.... Having an "on-demand" online base means Dean can raise money in a more ad-hoc fashion to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. It's a much more nimble infrastructure. | A remarkably personal piece on Howard Dean that I'd missed when it first ran in February. Synopsis: he's a New Yorker, he covers Willie Nelson songs on his guitar, his house is a mess, he and his wife raised their kids Jewish, and a loss in his family probably makes him more attuned to the dangers of outing undercover CIA operatives than a lot of other people seem to be. | |
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