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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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Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Bush 2004-2005: "[A] wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed." Lots of recent quotes from the President that 1) mislead or flat out lie about the extent to which the Administration was required to get permission to wiretap and 2) nevertheless betray an understanding of the clear Constitutional requirement to use FISA or some other mechanism for receiving judicial approval. | Monday, December 19, 2005
The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution: Fourth Amendment - Search and Seizure The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. You don't get to ignore the Constitution just because there's a "threat". Congress can't authorize you to do it. You can't do it on your own authority, or because in your opinion the end justifies the means. You can't do it. It's unconstitutional. It's illegal. It's grounds for impeachment. What distinguishes democracies from un-free states is the idea that no man is above the law. Bush has arrogated to himself the power to ignore the United States Constitution -- the document he swore to uphold. He has placed himself above the law. As a result, I am unable to identify what distinguishes us from these unfree states. Like those countries, many of whom we've deigned to show the way towards freedom, we now have to fight to make ourselves free again. Our elected representatives need to hold the Administration's feet to the fire on this, and we in turn need to hold theirs. I am dissatisfied with the Democratic response to this issue. The fact that Bush already had a substantively equivalent wiretapping option in FISA, while galling, is neither here nor there -- the point is that he knowingly ignored the Constitution. Period. The fact that they "informed" 8 Congressmen who were not allowed to mention the information to their staffs or lawyers is, similarly, beside the point -- Congress cannot authorize unconstitutional actions either. (It was however a very shrewd move that allowed the Administration to drag Congress into the cesspool with them while still avoiding any actual accountability or oversight -- Rockefeller etc. were implicated by virtue of being informed, and thus omerta came into play). I feel the same way as I did during Iran-Contra, when the Congress explicitly rejected aid to the Contras, and the Reagan administration proceeded to aid the Contras anyway. It erases the concept of checks and balances between governmental branches, and expresses contempt for the rule of law. If it is allowed to stand, it mocks our entire system of government -- anything less than an immediate, profoundly outraged response implcitly condones the behavior and raises the risks for us all. The irony of this coup being perpetrated by the standard-bearer for the spread of American-style democracy throughout the unfree world is too bitter for me to digest this evening. The American Civil Liberties Union has fought for the preservation of American civil liberties -- speech, religion, privacy -- since 1920, and they continue that fight today. | Sunday, December 18, 2005
Big) Worldwide has a full soundboard recording of Wilco's Montreal show from this summer available for downloading in MP3 format. Sounds great so far. Check the sidebar on that page for more interesting shows to download.... | Thursday, December 15, 2005
Will life in New York ever be the same? Now that there's a badass interactive subway map of New York, all those conversations about the best way to get from A to B on the MTA will be rendered moot. Nicely done. | Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The last week has been trying at Chez Bees. You may have read a little something about it elsewhere on the Intarweb. The heretofore undocumented capper was on Sunday afternoon, when my wife and I heard an unnatural sound -- like a thunderclap -- outside our window. I ran out onto the street and saw a Ford Escape tipped on its side in front of the house opposite ours. It had hit a tree in our neighbors' yard and flipped. I told my wife to call 911 and looked in the windshield to see how many people were in there. I saw a white-haired man on his side against the drivers-side window; I yelled at him that I was going to try to get him out, and then started pulling on the back hatch. It wouldn't turn, and nor would the back window open up. I couldn't reach the passenger door to unlock it, as the Escape is such an enormous vehicle that that door-handle was a good 7ft in the air. The drivers-side door was crushed against the ground, the driver-side window smashed, and glass strewn on the ground. I yelled again that help was coming, and resumed trying to find a way to get him out -- focusing again on the back hatch, which seemed the safest option. By that point, he'd somehow managed to crawl to the dashboard and press the hatch-unlock button, as I then had no trouble popping the door open. I then said to him "It's open, come on", and he turned himself around and I helped him out. By the time he stood up and brushed himself off, a cop car had pulled into the street, quickly followed by another. The driver, a 59 year old lawyer, been looking at the For Sale sign in front of the house next door, and wasn't paying attention -- resulting in his SUV smashing into a 300+-year old oak and immediately flipping onto its side. He was almost entirely unscathed -- a small cut on his hand was the only evidence he'd been in an accident. The tree was similarly unruffled. It wasn't long before the neighbors had ventured out to see what was going on, the cops had taken their notes and left, and the wrecker was hooking the chains up to remove the car. The neighbor whose tree it was said she'd been vacuuming and didn't hear a thing. We then went off on our previously-scheduled errand to pick up some medical records, shaking our heads and wondering what else could possibly be in store for this week. One thing that made the week more bearable was Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's new podcast. The first 20 minutes of Episode 1 in particular left me paralytic with laughter. I highly recommend it -- they're posting a new half-hour MP3 each week. You will also be introduced to the genius that is Karl Pilkington. If the bit about the monkey being shot into space doesn't leave you doubled-over, then...then....feh, I give up. | Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Some things I've been digging on lately: Taylor Branch -- Parting The Waters. Martin Luther King was a pretty admirable individual. Who knew? My Squeezebox, of course. The Mighty Boosh  -- a deeply silly British sitcom. It's on BBC America occasionally. The Squid and The Whale. Watching West Ham battle their way to a Top 10 place in the Premiership, against all odds and with absolutely no right to do so. Satsumas (thanks, Mum!) Stephen Colbert. Beethoven (woke up to one of his bagatelles on the radio early yesterday morning...its beauty left me immobilized. And prostrate. And snoring. For about 15 minutes. ) My wife. Adam's hijinks. Jenny Lewis's solo album. Unexpected bursts of productivity at work that ameliorate that horrible sense of perma-anguish over all the undone tasks (still working on being a better GTD acolyte). What's floating your respective boats at the moment? | Tuesday, November 15, 2005
A great piece on Slate about the comedy of my girlfriend Sarah Silverman [via Tim O]. This is the best summation of her approach I've heard yet: she's not just a critic of PC culture: She's a connoisseur. She handles the complex algorithms of taboo—who's allowed to joke about what, to whom, using what terminology—with instant precision: "Everybody blames the Jews for killing Christ, and then the Jews try to pass it off on the Romans. I'm one of the few people that believe it was the blacks." (The joke exposes not the ancient perfidy of any particular race but the absurdity of blaming entire races for anything.) Her best jokes are thought experiments in the internal logic of political correctness: "I want to get an abortion, but my boyfriend and I are having trouble conceiving." It also uses the term "meta-bigot", which is uncomfortably close to my own coinage (ahem) "meta-racist." The author lumps South Park, Ali G, and Chappelle in with Silverman as meta-bigots, which seems fair. In some ways, meta-racism is strong evidence that the culture has substantially internalized a belief in racial equality. Can we meta- ourselves all the way back to plain old racism? | The Non-Definitive Guide to the B-side More great stuff from Stylus Magazine -- if only they'd publish an RSS feed so I could make them a daily pitstop. Probably the best review site on the web, and their features are always terrific as well. A rousing Using Bees endorsement. Something else that gets a rousing Using Bees endorsement is this little honey:  It's a Squeezebox from Slim Devices, it plays all my MP3s through my stereo speakers via my wireless network, and it's my birthday present. It also plays online radio stations through my stereo even when my computer's off, automatically imports iTunes playlists, streams my music collection across the web to other computers, scrolls RSS headlines through the display while on screensaver mode, and has all kinds of user-created plugins for additional homebrew coolness. Yes, the day of "play my entire music collection on shuffle" approacheth. Kneel before my music geekitude, bitches. Tremble, ye digital music early adopters -- AW just leapfrogged your ass. And I'm out. (Oh and honey, I'm really sorry I totally ignored you last night while I explored every nook and cranny of the Squeezebox. I'll make it up to you. It's cute, right? You will grow to love it. It won't come between us. I won't let it.) OK I'm out for reals now. | Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Decembrist: Twilight for Bush and Blair: Some mind-expanding analysis of the struggles of Bush and Blair, pivoting on the insight that Bush has moved American government towards the parliamentarian, while Blair has been moving British government towards the presidential. Leaving the conclusion aside, it is a brilliant observation. | Friday, November 11, 2005
.:: beedogs ::.: "Beedogs.com is the premier online repository for pictures of dogs in bee costumes." Wow, I guess they can smell fear particularly well then.... | Thursday, October 27, 2005
Young pitch invader 'not banned' This kid is my hero -- runs on to the pitch and attempts to slide tackle a Middlesbrough fullback. Check out the badass photo too. | Friday, October 14, 2005
I just had a superb lunch of Marmite on toast. HEB 7-grain bread proved the perfect bedding for the rich, yeasty Marmite and the delightful smidges of salted butter. More soon.... | Friday, September 16, 2005
I had to excerpt a large chunk of Mark Schmitt's recent post because it's such a clear-eyed analysis of how the Republicans work their magic -- and by extension, what those who oppose their agenda need to do to counter them. There is no one better at explaining how politics works (the Robert Caro of the bloggers? -- and yes, I invoke the Holy One's name, blessed be He). The Decembrist: Accountabilty Moment: I think their attitude, and tactically it's a brilliant insight, is that only a few things count: winning presidential elections, keeping absolute control of Congress -- which means not just a Republican majority but a malleable one -- and winning on the few things that matter to their cash constituents -- tax cuts, tort reform, tax cuts, energy bill subsidies, tax cuts, bankruptcy changes, and eliminating Social Security. The war was also important, for a lot of reasons, but not least because it established the president's authority to act without any check, domestic or external and gave Bush the advantages of a "wartime president." Everything else is means to those ends. The president's popularity dipped into the low 40s, and they passed the energy bill anyway -- what more proof do you need that the president's poll numbers hardly matter, if you control the instutions? Before Katrina, they were on the verge of permanent repeal of the estate tax plus another tax cut in reconciliation, even with Bush's numbers in the toilet! That's why I didn't fully accept Garance's argument last week that they aren't really PR geniuses because of the poll numbers -- they don't need the poll numbers until they need the poll numbers, and when they need them, they figure they can find a way to push them up a bit and/or push the relevant Democrats down. (Or, another way to put it, is that they may not be PR geniuses, but they actually know that the exercise of power does not depend entirely on PR.) I think of Rove as looking at past presidencies and seeing them as weakened because they worried too much about consequences that didn't really matter, such as the judgment of history or short-term popularity. Bush 41 thought that he had to do something about the deficit, or there would be consequences. So he got drawn into the Andrews Air Force Base budget summit, which earned him a fight within his own party. But Rove recognizes that there's a lot you can get away with if you just act like you can get away with it, especially if you raise the stakes, and as a result he moves with much greater freedom. It seems to me that part of their genius is they've gotten rid of much of the "you just can't do that" mentality of politics, and stripped everything down to the bare essence of what they can get away with. One of my biggest worries is that that's a genie that will be very hard to put back in the bottle. Politics, like much of civilization, depends on the existence of some unquestioned, "it just isn't done" customs. An example that I've mentioned a couple times is the explicity theory, proven once again in the CAFTA vote, that you want to pass a bill with as narrow a margin as possible, because every vote over 218 in the House is wasted and might represent a compromise. That's not something that legislative strategists ever thought before -- they wanted to go into votes with the most comfortable margin, and to win with enough to have a clear endorsement against future challenges. And I'm convinced that Bush/Rove brought that same mindset to the presidential campaign. Most incumbents would want to have a nice Reagan-in-1984-type landslide in order to feel a clear mandate. But Rove/Bush thought that of every vote above 51% as a wasted concession; they knew that all Bush had to do was win, and he could declare the mandate. So "accountability" means understanding one of the two or three things that they do care about, and beating them on those things. We must start beating tax cuts, ideally with Republican votes. Win back the House or Senate this fall, if only so that Democrats have subpoena power somewhere, something they can't tolerate. But if it's not one of the things that they care about -- if it's just one of their means, not their ends -- then while it may give us some satisfaction, it doesn't fundamentally break down their racket. (Bad poll #s, indictment on Plame, exposure of Medicare scam, etc.) | Saturday, September 10, 2005
"SUPER MARYO WORLD" - Javascript Virtual Machine Someone in Japan has created a Javascript version of Super Mario Brothers that you can play on the web. This is a beautiful thing. [via Waxy] | Friday, August 26, 2005
My blog juices are flowing thanks to Ranh-Ranh, so I thought I would come clean on my newest celebrity crush. Say hello to Robert Caro:  Robert Caro is the author of a truly enormous three-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson (The Path To Power, Means of Ascent, Master Of The Senate), and I have spent the last few months making my way through this torrent of words. I am currently bedded down about 400 pages into Vol. 3 and LBJ has just been elected to the Senate (Vol.4 has yet to be completed, but will pick up with his election to the Vice-Presidency...surely there will need to be a Vol. 5 as well?). It is easily the most remarkable biography I have ever read. LBJ is a fascinating subject, to be sure, but the biography also encompasses a history of modern political campaigning, a history of Central Texas (as a resident of Central Texas, not a day goes by that I'm not confronted by an example of his handiwork, even it's just walking down Congress Avenue and spotting the building from which he conducted his Austin affairs), a study of the United States Senate, a profile of how power is gathered in 20th century America, a history of the New Deal and, I am assured, a history of the civil rights movement. I find myself applying lessons and insights from this book in my work, in the way I think about current events...shoot, in my whole durn weltaunschaung. The level of research involved is simply breathtaking -- Caro knows what color shirts people wore, the placement on the page of key post-it notes, telling details of conversations that surely no-one could have heard...and best of all (SWOON! goes my amateur historian heart) it's all footnoted. He's a virtuoso, and I am humbled by his achievement. Long may you live, Robert Caro! You are in my prayers each night, as I will not be able to deal if you die before completing this project. You keep publishing 'em, we'll keep awarding them Pulitzer Prizes. | Wednesday, August 24, 2005
So I'm contributing to Ranh Ranh, a new collaborative MP3 blog. My collaborator is none other than my esteemed friend and copilot, el Jefe. He's the fire to my ice, the David St. Hubbins to my Nigel Tufnel. So bookmark it, suckas, and let peace rein down o'er the shimmering meadows of rock. | Friday, August 19, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Racquet in eyeball Blood drips from manly cut Blame it on bar fight Wacked in face, Curses poor positioning choice Had to forfeit game Drive home with one eye Watering like Chuck Dimmock Where's bloody Advil Sensitive to light Dog not too sympathetic Housecleaning on hold | Monday, August 01, 2005
From the quality headline department: ESPNSoccernet: Young Boys Wankdorf erection relief: BERN, Switzerland, July 31 (Reuters) - The supporters of Young Boys Bern have not had too much to celebrate in the 19 years since their team last won the Swiss league title. Long since eclipsed by the likes of FC Basel and Grasshoppers Zurich, the club from the Swiss capital has even got a reputation for enjoying its status as a perennial loser. But this weekend Young Boys sought to shake off their old image by officially opening the 32,000 Stade de Suisse Wankdorf stadium -- which cost 350 million Swiss francs ($271.3 million) -- with an uncharacteristically flashy homecoming party. 'I'm extremely happy, because I'm convinced this is the stadium from which Young Boys can finally launch themselves back into sporting success,' Swiss president, and Bern native, Samuel Schmid told spectators just before Saturday's show got underway." | Sunday, July 31, 2005
Perhaps inspired by the goings-on at San Benito All Stars, I'm seized at this late hour with the idea of a quick lyrics quiz (no Googling): "Mama says yes, Pop says no/Make up your minds, 'cause I gotta go" Hint: later in the song, one is regaled with the words "Short Fat Fanny is on the loose". Answers on a postcard. OK, in the comments then. | Friday, July 22, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
The Onion | New Puppy Teaches Congress Important Lesson About Responsibility They've still got it. | Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Intelligence Doesn't Guarantee Happiness: "July 14, 2005 -- Money can't buy you happiness, and a new study suggests intelligence won't do the trick either. Researchers found happiness in old age was not associated with lifelong intelligence in a group of healthy men and women living in Scotland" Er, I believe I've already found the flaw in the study.... | Friday, July 01, 2005
Mark Schmitt on The O'Connor Vacancy (sounds like a Ludlum novel): "What we saw with the recent circuit court nominations, especially Janice Rogers Brown and Priscila Owen, is that the social conservatism, which we can take for granted in any Bush nominee, is the packaging by which a nomination is sold to the base. Inside the package, the content is usually a radical libertarian economic philosophy that should make religious conservatives uncomfortable. The challenge in the next nomination will be to open the package and show the contents, rather than getting distracted by the wrapping. That's the first nomination fight of the 21st century." Interesting stuff as usual, but my concern is that social conservatives are social conservatives precisely because social issues are more important to them than economic ones. Therefore they will make that tradeoff every time --especially if they think Roe v. Wade is going to get overturned. Conversely some economic conservatives may be (for instance) pro-choice, but that issue isn't as important to them as (for instance) lower taxes or reduced regulation is. That's the tradeoff they've accepted -- otherwise they wouldn't be Republicans at all. The Republican party is a marriage of convenience, whereby social conservatives and economic conservatives trade away their second tier priorities to maximize the chances of realizing their first tier priorities. It has served them both very well. Roe v. Wade is obviously going to be the focus for a while. I don't know what's going to happen, but I recommend reading this contrarian take from a liberal on why overturning Roe v Wade wouldn't be so bad. It originally ran in The Atlantic, but I'm linking to a reprinting on a Democratic blog since they've archived the legit version.... Anyone who has read the opinion knows that Roe v. Wade exhibits flat-out dodgy reasoning and is a very slim reed on which to hang abortion rights. Hopefully we can do better. Update: for economic conservatives above, feel free to switch out "defense hawks" etc....the point remains. | This week on B3ta, just in time for July 4th weekend: CHALLENGE : PENGUINS VS MONKEYS: The time has come to settle the age old question, 'penguins or monkeys?' You may use any weapons you like, guns, bombs, chemical devices or fish. Show us this devastating war using photoshop and post your results on the messageboard. | Friday, June 24, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Coogan plans Alan Partridge movie Oh yes. I'm Alan Partridge has to be one of the top 2 or 3 television shows of all time. It's airing on BBC America these days, so for the love of all that is holy, make it a priority. | Wednesday, June 15, 2005
HOUSE OF COMMONS PRAISE FOR HAMMERS: "WEST Ham United's promotion triumph has been recognised in the House of Commons, with Ms Lyn Brown, the new MP for West Ham, voicing her congratulations to the House on Hammers Play-off Final victory. Ms Brown also praised the work West Ham United has done in the local community and the Club's continued role in helping to regenerate the East London area." Never mind that, Alan Pardew for Prime Minister! Who looks more authoritative?  Tony Blair, yesterday  Alan Pardew, right now. Probably. | Thursday, June 09, 2005
Discussion on TPMCafé: "What's the best piece of narrative history you've ever read?" Time to load up the Amazon shopping cart. | Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Wow, David Byrne's blog is, er, a bit better than mine. He's, like, thoughtful and stuff. But then again, would he post a picture of Twiki next to an enormous HobNob?   No he bloody well wouldn't. Boo-yaa, Mr. Byrne. Boo-yaa. And I'm out. | Friday, June 03, 2005
For those of you who miss her writing for Salon, Anne Lamott is posting regularly at the TPMCafe, Josh Marshall's new group-blog-like political site. Also don't miss Mark Schmitt (aka The Decembrist)'s posts there. Oh, and Kenny Baer! I like the idea of a conversational salon-type thing, but I find it hard to follow the threads...I'm sure it was a tricky site to design given the relatively novel concept, but I don't think they've cracked it. | The BBC Philharmonic is performing all 9 of Beethoven's symphonies over the next month, and the BBC is going to hook you up with free MP3s of the performances. My favorites are 4 (so underrated), 5, 6 and 8. 9 isn't too shabby either. 1 and 2 are quite beautiful, 3 is a fire-breathing baby-eater of a symphony, and 7 is just so durn lovable. So get them all. If you are a novice and are looking for something to hang your hat on, the ones you've probably heard on cartoons (let's face it, the greatest introduction to classical music there is) are the 5th, possibly bits of the 6th, and the 9th. Incidentally, BBC Radio 3 has a live stream that is real nice for listening to during the workday. | Monday, May 30, 2005
Thursday, May 26, 2005
My Uncle Henry passed away this morning, in London. He was a minicab-driver -- when his eyesight got too bad to drive, he started working day shifts exclusively and then eventually stayed back at the office as a dispatcher. I didn't know what he did when I was a kid -- I just knew he was always genuinely happy to see us, that he played the long-suffering husband to perfection, and that he was about as nice a man as I had ever met. We emigrated from England when I was 8, but when I spent my junior year of college in London, I got to know him a little better. What I found is that he was always genuinely happy to see me, he played the long-suffering husband to perfection, and that he was about as nice a man as I ever met. He was a product of the old Jewish East End, and while he ended up, like many other second- and third-generation London Jews, in Northwest London, he was very proud of his roots. He was also a history buff -- particularly interested in military history of WWII, if I recall correctly -- so when he and my Auntie Nita invited me over for dinner that year, we'd enjoy discussing whatever I was studying at the time. I had decided before I arrived in London that I would be doing my senior History thesis on Jack the Ripper and late Victorian English society. While I knew that much, I didn't know much more -- so when it came time to start researching, I asked if he would take me around the East End, Jack the Ripper's old stomping grounds. He'd heard the stories as a kid and naturally could take me straight to every insalubrious back alley or long-demolished doss-house I could have hoped for. He also managed to weave into our tour a fascinating history of the Klots, the Gvertzes, and the Abrahams, along with a social history of the institutions of early 20th century Jewish life in London. It was an amazing and enriching afternoon, and I was grateful for his generosity, his obvious enthusiasm, and his terrific memory. He insisted that I send him a copy of whatever I ended up writing, and in turn I promised to do so. 14 months later, the thesis that began percolating that afternoon won an award for Best History Honors Thesis at UT. The dedication on the first page was to him, in thanks for getting me started. The next time I saw him, he told me how touched he had been by that gesture. I was just glad I'd had the opportunity to acknowledge him. The last time I saw Uncle Henry was at my cousin's wedding last December...he was making fatalistic albeit good-humored comments indicating he knew his time was nearly up. My last memory of him is of the wedding night -- he was sitting on a bench outside a hotel ballroom, gaining some respite from the noisy reception. I'd ducked out for the same reason, and found him attempting to console his little grandson Jack. Jack was grief-stricken upon learning that someone had consumed a special dinner roll he had named and therefore had refused to eat, despite being very hungry himself. Uncle Henry was clearly relishing every nanosecond of his time with his grandson, and eventually succeeded in shifting Jack's attention to happier matters. Watching that scene, the lump immediately formed in my throat and I could feel my eyes start to well up. I knew I would probably never see him again. I took a minute to fight it back and then walked up and began talking with him about the wedding, our family, and his grandchildren. He was a nice man. | Who is that nominated for Best Director, Drama for The Philomel Project by the Austin Critics' Table? Gosh, I'm proud. Congrats also to the cast, who were nominated for Best Ensemble Performance and to Catherine Berry, the star of the punkrockgirl-co-directed Spin, who was nominated for Best Actress, Musical for her performance in that piece. New Yorkers: don't be jealous, The Philomel Project is coming to your town in late summer. | Emmylou Harris on Elvis Costello: "He presented me as a present a 40-gigabyte iPod that he had programmed with every kind of music available and a little pair of speakers. I call it the Elvis Shuffle. I just put it on shuffle and I never know what's going to happen. I put it on and I listen to it at night on low volume and I will wake up sometimes at like 4 in the morning to Desolation Row and I'll be brought up just enough, and then I'll wake up to some other wonderful old blues track. Or then there will be some jazz, or just beautiful piano sonatas. It was just the most extraordinary gift." It's the 21st century rich man's version of the mix-tape-as-flirtation-device! Elvis and Emmylou sittin' in a tree.... | Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Get Rich Slowly! A nice summary of all of those personal finance books you probably ought to read but can't be bothered to. Very sound advice all around -- simple, but somehow not that easy to follow all the time. Worth a bookmark. | Saturday, May 21, 2005
Hmmm -- very tempting. Better than email, for sure. If it comes with marmite, I might have to switch over wholesale. | Thursday, May 12, 2005
Is Woody Allen Back? Woody's had more false dawns than West Ham United or My Bloody Valentine, but maybe, just maybe.... | Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Good ol' Tofu Hut does the Internet a mitzvah with his superb categorized list of good Mp3 blogs. Bookmark this one, kids, and enjoy day-in and day-out. I've been contemplating doing a separate mp3 blog of obscure -- I mean really obscure -- Britpop. I have so many UK CD singles from the mid-90's that are rotting useless...no-one I know would want them, I sure-as-shinola couldn't sell them, and it might be kind of fun to post b-sides from Coast or Powder or Modesty Blaise for the 8 or 9 people in the world who would appreciate them. The problem is time...but if I took a Saturday afternoon, ripped a bunch at once, wrote posts up, and trickled them out slowly, it could at least go for a while. Hmmmm..... | This one's for Chewy: Monkeywire: the #1 source for news about monkeys and apes In other news, I have re-entered the world of RSS, thanks to Bloglines. There are a lot more sites with XML/RSS/syndication/whateveryouwannacallit feeds than there used to be, and I'm finding the web-based reader an improvement over the email or browser-based ones I tried before. Now I don't have to go clicking on all my bookmarks to see who's updated their damn blog...the new posts just show up in Bloglines. It's also expanded my reading material -- I'm not going to clutter my Inbox by subscribing to The Economist newsletter, but I will skim their new story headlines in my RSS reader and click on the interesting ones. Ditto with BBC Sport headlines, Ask Metafilter threads, or new live shows posted to DimeADozen. Unfortunately Monkeywire does not appear to have a feed yet. | Thursday, April 28, 2005
For no reason in particular, some online radio stations I've been listening to lately. If you're easily bored, check some of these out: BBC 6Music: quite varied playlists BBC Radio 3: mainly classical KEXP: indie rock goodness, with some good genre shows too Boombastic Radio: "free and funky Internet radio" | So the mrs. and I went to see John Wesley Harding do a post-book signing gig at the Saxon Pub the other night...he sat in with a local band that was having a CD release party, and brought Kelly Hogan with him to do vocals on one song (not that said local band didn't have a pretty good backing vocalist already). Anyway, the band -- who I was not otherwise crazy about -- came to life with Wes's songs to get their teeth into, and despite never having rehearsed with the man before (!) bashed out terrific, edgy versions of some of his recent songs. Wes was wowed and grateful, and after Kelly Hogan sat back down, they launched into Roky Erickson's "If You Have Ghosts"...which I haven't heard him do for at least 10 years. It positively sizzled, and when the band finished their own set (Wes gamely sitting in on one number despite having broken a string or two on IYHG) I went to say my usual "Hi" on the way out. Wes was standing by the exit with an older stringy-haired bloke and a younger man also clearly of genus Austinus Southus music dorkus. I extended my hand to Wes, complimented him on the set; he acknowledged me with an "Oh hi!", inquired after my lovely wife's name, and then exclaimed "This is Roky Erickson!" and pointed to the older gent. I said -- quite brilliantly, I thought -- "Oh God!" and promptly proferred a hand, which he shook vigorously. I recovered with "This is a privilege", and then said "He did a pretty good version, didn't he?" gesturing at the Arsenal-supporting folkie to my left. "Yeah, he sure did", Roky said, grinning widely. My wife grinned widely as well and gave her sweet little "pleased for my husband" laugh with the customary full body tilt-forward. Presently we scarpered, but that's the story of the night I met psych-rock royalty. | Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Thursday, March 24, 2005
I thoroughly enjoyed this year's SXSW. There weren't that many must-see bands for me this year, which allowed me to do a lot more hopping around. It were nice. Tuesday Spottiswoode, Marlee Macleod, The Silos, Steve Wynn and the Miracle Three (rockingest set I saw at the festival), Paul The Girl. Wednesday American Vodka, Sam Champion, Dr. Dog (ehh), Dolorean (ehh), Amazing Pilots, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Richmond Fontaine Thursday The Natural History, The Crimea, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Lou Barlow, Willy Mason, Adem, Aberfeldy (cute Scottish keyboard players alert -- two of them!), Robyn Hitchcock, Graham Coxon Friday Robyn Hitchcock (again), John Cale (!!), Spoon Saturday Pass. My 30-year-old ass was shagged out. For shame, as Grampa Simpson says. Highlights: Seeing the John Cale perfoming Fear, and then Venus In Furs (!!!). Watching Brooklynites Sam Champion abuse their Les Pauls in the service of catchy, fun Neil-Young-goes-pop tuneage. Getting the sweaty upper lip as Steve Wynn's ferocious guitar player battered all hell out of The Dream Syndicate tune Days Of Wine And Roses (no, not that one). Seeing Richmond Fontaine transcend a truly ass-spelunking sound guy to turn in a soulful performance. A pre-show chat with damn nice guy and Spoon bassist Josh Zarbo. Watching a grown-ass man with full-on bog-brush beard stand there with tears rolling down his cheeks as Robyn Hitchcock concluded his cover of Lennon's Mind Games. | Wednesday, March 09, 2005
You can now listen to a BBC Radio 3 progam featuring Elvis Costello's Desert Island Classical CDs. Byrd, Schubert, Mozart, Purcell, and Jeff Buckley singing Britten are among the selections. Probably a pleasant way to spend an hour.... | Jewish Fashion Conspiracy Heh heh. I'm particularly fond of the "A great miracle happened here" panties. Well, "fond of" meaning "amused by" rather than "coveting" or "considering wearing". | Sunday, March 06, 2005
Giant Steps by Michal Levy Everyone has already blogged this visual representation of Coltrane's Giant Steps, but if you haven't seen it, definitely check it out...truly beautiful. You get the feeling that Coltrane had something like this in his head while he was playing it.... | Thursday, March 03, 2005
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
History News Network: "HNN Features Articles and Op Eds by Historians from Both the Left and the Right" Hmmm. Cool. | Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Monday, February 14, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
For all you parents-to-be out there: Popular baby names. Apparently Alexander was the 16th most popular baby name for males born in 2003? And Mark is at 106?? Something fishy about this list. Must be the same people who compiled the Top 100 Jazz Bassists one. Related link: Where Have All The Lisa's Gone? | Great article by security technologist extraordinaire Bruce Schneier on why national ID cards won't work as a security measure. But the main problem with any ID system is that it requires the existence of a database. In this case it would have to be an immense database of private and sensitive information on every American -- one widely and instantaneously accessible from airline check-in stations, police cars, schools, and so on. The security risks are enormous. Such a database would be a kludge of existing databases; databases that are incompatible, full of erroneous data, and unreliable. As computer scientists, we do not know how to keep a database of this magnitude secure, whether from outside hackers or the thousands of insiders authorized to access it. Worth a read.... | Tuesday, February 08, 2005
See You in the Pit An MP3 blog dedicated to bands who will be at this year's SXSW. Fill your boots [via largehearted boy]] | Sunday, February 06, 2005
I just undertook a badly needed trim of my blogroll over in the left nav. It now better reflects those sites I actually make a point of checking. Have a glance, and if there's something that looks intriguing to you, go ahead and click it...don't worry, it won't hurt and you can come straight back here if you don't like it. | Sisters, Separated by the Holocaust, Reunite After 61 Years 45 miles apart, and they had no idea the other was alive. Amazing story -- and the online Yad Vashem archive linked to earlier is what enabled the reunion. | Friday, February 04, 2005
Lifehacker. This is right up my productivity-focused, Getting-Things-Done-Kool-Aid-drinkin', 30+-year-old alley right now. And it even compiles relevant posts from my beloved Ask Metafilter. | Monday, January 17, 2005
Shortly before we moved to Bees Towers, I stumbled upon a cache of Bethlehem Jazz reissues in a $3 bin at some godforsaken mall record shop (Hastings? FYE?), and consequently came home with a sizeable grin on my face and 20-odd obscure records to plow through. While I am often referred to as the Plow King, I didn't get around to listening to all of them before the move, and so tonight's the night (as both Rod the Mod and Neil "Forever" Young have seen fit to point out). So far it's been
Still to come: some Mal Waldron, some Claude Williamson, some JJ & Kai, and some Charli Persip. | 100 Greatest Jazz Bassists I don't know, any list that puts Ray Brown beneath Stanley Clarke has serious flaws. | Sunday, January 16, 2005
The recent White-House-pays-journalists-to-talk-up-pet-programs revelations are yet another example of the moral bankruptcy of this administration, and Frank Rich's column in the NYT is appropriately outraged at the administration, Armstrong Williams, and the TV punditocracy as a whole. It's well-written stuff, but to me was most notable for featuring another installment of "Dick Cheney displays jaw-dropping chutzpah, cynicism, and contempt for common decency": But perhaps the most fascinating Williams TV appearance took place in December 2003, the same month that he was first contracted by the government to receive his payoffs. At a time when no one in television news could get an interview with Dick Cheney, Mr. Williams, of all "journalists," was rewarded with an extended sit-down with the vice president for the Sinclair Broadcast Group, a nationwide owner of local stations affiliated with all the major networks. In that chat, Mr. Cheney criticized the press for its coverage of Halliburton and denounced "cheap shot journalism" in which "the press portray themselves as objective observers of the passing scene, when they obviously are not objective." This is a scenario out of "The Manchurian Candidate." Here we find Mr. Cheney criticizing the press for a sin his own government was at that same moment signing up Mr. Williams to commit. The interview is broadcast by the same company that would later order its ABC affiliates to ban Ted Koppel's "Nightline" recitation of American casualties in Iraq and then propose showing an anti-Kerry documentary, "Stolen Honor," under the rubric of "news" in prime time just before Election Day. (After fierce criticism, Sinclair retreated from that plan.) Thus the Williams interview with the vice president, implicitly presented as an example of the kind of "objective" news Mr. Cheney endorses, was in reality a completely subjective, bought-and-paid-for fake news event for a broadcast company that barely bothers to fake objectivity and both of whose chief executives were major contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Buying a journalist in order to complain about the lack of objective journalism? Staggering cynicism.... As my wife said, "And conservatives wonder why liberals are so paranoid about the media?" | Wednesday, January 12, 2005
I might have to spend some quality time with my Beatles records and this site. One of the things I love about Beatles songs is how damn sloppy the recordings are...there's always some fluffed harmony that got left in, or a misprounounced word (e.g "slubmarine"), or a clearly wrong note in the bassline. I assumed that during the early years, this was because they were moving so fast and everyone involved thought "Sod it, they're only pop records, no one will even be listening to this song 3 years from now". Towards the end, though, it became clear that everyone had loosened up (even good ol' George Martin, who you know must have been pained at the early mistakes) and it became part of the aesthetic to leave the corners frayed. I suspect much of this was at John's insistence. Anyway, there's lots of these that I'd never noticed. It's always nice to have an excuse to go on a Beatles bender. [via Waxy] | 100 things we didn't know this time last year Some interesting items here, but the one that really blew my mind was finding out that Scooby Doo's full name is Scoobert Doo. | Monday, January 10, 2005
Ask Metafilter thread on where to find downloadable classical music recordings. Lots of good stuff to follow up on. [via largehearted boy] | Wednesday, January 05, 2005
OK, top albums of the year. Pretty boring and predictable on the whole. My primary source of music this year was MP3 blogs, so I listened a much larger variety of music, but often just one or two tracks from each artist. This sea of tuneage meant that an album had to be really special to get many repeat listens...although it almost surely meant that records I would have really loved had I listened to them more never got the chance. All caveats being in place, we can now move on: 1.  Sam Phillips -- A Boot And A Shoe
This record shimmers and sparkles like a sequin dress in a diamond mine. Everything here meshes together beautifully -- Sam's warm croon, her impeccable phrasing, her wry but deeply-felt lyrics, her truly timeless melodic sense (see Reflecting Light MP3 below for an example), and some badass musicianship (Jay Bellerose, Jim Keltner, Marc Ribot, and of course T-Bone Burnett...clearly the subject of some of these heartbroken tunes). This record lives with you. Best live show of the year as well. 2.  Rilo Kiley -- More Adventurous
I was disappointed with this, after the glory that was The Execution Of All Things. This one seemed a little too polished and a little too self-consciously eclectic...plus the songs were a little too straightforward, after Execution's schizophrenic song structures. That said, the record rarely left my CD player and as each song decided in turn to reveal it's essential bad-assness, I eventually had to concede that it's a very strong record. "It's A Hit" boasts one of those unconventional structures, which somehow is in and of itself a hook in a song jam-packed with them. "Does He Love You?" is a little O.Henry story with a string section, leading into "Portions For Foxes" dumb-but-catchy ear candy...sonically essence du Rilo. There are some hits after that, and some misses...but the title track does something funny to my insides even after all this time, and that's all you can ask of a pop song. 3.  Madeleine Peyroux -- Careless Love
Wow, I guess I am getting old, because this is chamber music, like Sam Phillips' record. Yes, she sounds just like Billie Holiday, but she's also got some of Billie Holiday's knack for completely inhabiting the lyrics of a song. Take the version of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me To The End Of Love" that opens this record....no chorus, no bridge, just one verse after another, but you want it to go on forever because she swings those beautiful words while finding some new twist each time. A haunting version of Elliott Smith's "Between The Bars", smart, thoughful covers of Dylan and W.C Handy, plus classy arrangements and you've got a hugely enjoyable record. Despite my top 3 records being tame, I actually listened to a lot more rock this year than recently, thanks to my wife's burgeoning interest in teh indie scene. The Walkmen -- Bows and Arrows; Feist -- Let It Die; Wilco -- A Ghost Is Born; The Arcade Fire -- Funeral; The Streets -- A Grand Don't Come For Free; Graham Coxon -- Happiness in Magazines; Franz Ferdinand -- s/t; A.C Newman -- The Slow Wonder; Bjork -- Medulla; Kanye West -- The College Dropout; Trash Can Sinatras -- Weightlifting; M. Ward -- The Transfiguration of Vincent (I know, 2003, but I finally got it in every sense of the word in the '04); Elvis Costello -- The Delivery Man; Elliott Smith -- From A Basement On The Hill; Robyn Hitchcock -- Spooked; Ken Stringfellow -- Soft Commands Great singles: Estelle -- 1980; Kylie Minogue -- I Believe In You; Usher/Alicia Keys -- My Boo; The Walkmen -- The Rat; Sondre Lerche -- Two Way Monologue; Fiona Apple -- Extraordinary Machine; The Thermals -- How We Know; Nellie McKay -- David; Franz Ferdinand -- Take Me Out; The Stills -- Lola Stars And Stripes; Wilco -- Theologians Great shows: John Wesley Harding, Robyn Hitchcock and Ken Stringfellow together at El Sol y La Luna; The Shins @ Stubbs; The Walkmen @ Emo's; Lil Cap'n Travis/Grand Champeen/Moonlight Towers @ The Parish; The Decemberists @ SXSW; The Dears @ SXSW; Big Star @ Austin Music Hall; Sam Phillips @ Cactus Cafe; Wilco @ Stubbs; Midori Umi @ Room 710; The Roots @ ACL; Nick Lowe @ The Parish; Devendra Banhart/Joanna Newsom @ Flamingo Cantina | |
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