Unfocused

An Unfortunate Twitter Juxtaposition

2008-12-07T06:12:00.001-05:00

Music Documentaries from the Classic Era

2008-11-28T16:54:00.001-05:00

I'm seconding Bill Green's recommendation of the Standing in the Shadows of Motown documentary. Great historical footage and interviews interspersed with the players - The Funk Brothers - backing up contemporary singers doing some classics.

Another excellent music doc is Tom Dowd & The Language of Music, focusing on the recording engineer who created the 8-track console at Atlantic Records while working with players like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Cream, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Dusty Springfield, Clapton, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes.

2008 -> 1964 Beatles, Beach Boys, and Supremes -> 1920 Paul Whiteman and Al Jolson

2008-11-15T10:39:00.001-05:00

Timeline twins, music and movies, about comparative timelines of pop culture - listening to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is like listening to Elvis' first 1956 album in 1982 - triggered this comment.

A few years ago, I was thinking about the Beatles in this context. Back then I leaped from the Early Beatles to the Big Band era of the early 30s. Bringing it up to date... 2008-1964=44 and 1964-44=1920!!!!

This 1920 list from Pop Culture Madness is dominated by Al Jolson (including Swanee), Paul Whiteman (Whispering, The Wang Wang Blues, and The Japanese Sandman), and some guys - John Steel and Art Hickman - I've never heard of. Other songs of 1920 include I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time, St. Louis Blues, and that classic, My Little Bimbo Down On The Bimbo Isle.

Looking through the Pop Culture Madness site for the rest of the 1920's certainly confirms Paul Whiteman's status as a superstar of his day.

Cheesy Video from an Expert

2008-07-19T13:04:00.000-04:00

Back in the early days of the Food Network, my favorite of the original "Food Network Stars" was David Rosengarten. He used to devote a half-hour to a single food, not unlike my current favorite, Alton Brown, but with less gimmickry and showmanship - just good solid information and demonstrations.

David's back these days on devour.tv with a series of short vids on Cheese 101. Check it out if you're interested.

There Is No Them

2008-07-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

Patton Oswald's commencement speech at his former high school.

Bob Hope once said, “When I was twenty, I worried what everything thought of me. When I turned forty, I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. And then I made it to sixty, and I realized no one was ever thinking of me.” And then he pooed his pants, but that didn’t make what he said any less profound.

He also talks about fear, walking to create your path, and the fact that...

There is no them.

Loving Classical Music

2008-06-28T07:33:00.002-04:00

One of the best TED vids yet...

Straight Talk About Energy

2008-06-24T09:15:00.000-04:00

Straight Talk About Energy:

"...when it comes to energy politics, we have failed to meet the enemy and conclude that it is us. Remember how Jimmy Carter was ridiculed and reviled for putting on a sweater and telling us to lower our thermostats? Well, what if we had done so three decades ago rather than a few months ago?"

George Carlin - You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth.

2008-06-23T15:56:00.001-04:00

From George...

“You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth. I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like words that conceal reality. I don’t like euphemisms or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Because Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent a kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it. And it gets worse with every generation. For some reason it just keeps getting worse…

And we have no more old people in this country. No more old people. We shipped them all away and we brought in these senior citizens. Isn’t that a typically American twentieth century phrase? Bloodless. Lifeless. No pulse in one of them. A senior citizen. But I’ve accepted that one. I’ve come to terms with it. I know it’s here to stay. We’ll never get rid of it. But the one I do resist, the one I keep resisting, is when they look at an old guy and say, “Look at him Dan, he’s ninety years young.” Imagine the fear of aging that reveals. To not even be able to use the word old to describe someone. To have to use an antonym.

And fear of aging is natural. It’s universal, isn’t it? We all have that. No one wants to get old. No one wants to die. But we do. So we con ourselves. I started conning myself when I got in my forties. I’d look in the mirror and say, “Well…I guess I’m getting …older.” Older sounds a little better than old, doesn’t it? Sounds like it might even last a little longer. I’m getting old. And it’s okay. Because thanks to our fear of death in this country I won’t have to die. I’ll pass away. Or I’ll expire, like a magazine subscription. If it happens in the hospital they’ll call it a terminal episode. The insurance company will refer to it as negative patient care outcome. And if it’s the result of malpractice they’ll say it was a therapeutic misadventure.”

You can get anything at Amazon...

2008-06-22T15:25:00.003-04:00

...including "used" Metamucil.

GONZO

2008-06-06T11:09:00.004-04:00

Upcoming documentary on the life and work of the premier hyperactive observer and hyperbolic truth-teller of politics of the last 40 years...

...Hunter S. Thompson.

Imagine what he would have done with the recent Democratic primary and Old Man McCain.

An epitaph from the time of his death in 2005...

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - HST

Think I'll open that 2002 Heitz Cellars Zinfandel I've been holding

2008-06-05T12:35:00.005-04:00

New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging - NYTimes.com

Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give impetus to the rapidly growing search for longevity drugs.

[Later: Corked pulled, nose hit with fruit immediately. First sip a bit of tannin, but just a bit. Then nice, deep flavor. Great with slice of broccoli rabe and ricotta pizza with a few dabs of red sauce. Red wines almost always go better with food.]

[Still later: 3rd glass sublime and mellow. Or is that just me? To be resumed with some BBQ ribs later for dinner.]

They say bad things happen in threes...

2008-06-02T18:00:00.003-04:00

Harvey Korman, Yves St. Laurent, and today, Bo Diddly...

Gone but not forgotten.

A Meditation

2008-06-02T17:41:00.000-04:00

Take a break and Emerge.

Stupidity of the Week

2008-05-30T11:00:00.003-04:00

Rachael Ray, Terrorist?

Although RR could be considered another food crisis, couldn't she?

[Update: Proposed Alternative Wardrobe.]

It's Always Something...Food Crisis Complications

2008-05-30T10:57:00.001-04:00

Enough news these days about food supply crises. We really don't need Black Stem Rust in Wheat on top of everything. Yet another unintended consequence.

If Facebook Were Reality...

2008-05-29T11:40:00.001-04:00

Hilarious.

Is Barack Obama Muslim?

2008-05-26T13:16:00.000-04:00

A website dedicated to the question - Is Barack Obama Muslim?

Hopefully, with enough links, it will rise to the top of Google for the subject.

On Line for Nothing?

2008-05-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

This queue is the best Improv Everywhere stunt yet. (If it isn't IE, it should be.)

Update: It wasn't Improv Everywhere.

Pennsylvania

2008-04-23T07:58:00.001-04:00

The Worst Of All Worlds For The Dems

One of my favorite songs...

2008-04-23T07:14:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite songs just passed by on iTunes - Do Something Different by one of my top 5 favorite bands you've never heard of - Brave Combo (iTunes).

Interesting advice, oddly appealing...

Don't believe anyone.
Don't read your mail.
Make light of every word you hear.
Turn off your radio. Quit your job.
Do something different. Disappear.
Do something different. Disappear.

Think like a child. Laugh at cocaine.
Never ever ever do what's proper again.
Understand everyone crystal-clear.
Rid yourself of fashion. Disappear.
Remove yourself from fashion. Disappear.

Reverse your morality. Listen to bands
That play only music you can't stand.
Forget how to worry. Enjoy your fears.
Stop your life insurance and Disappear.
Stop your life insurance and Disappear.

Boom-di-ya-da Boom-di-ya-da

2008-04-16T18:15:00.002-04:00

A feel-good ad:

BTW, the skyline featured at about 0:40 is Lois' and my favorite city - Hong Kong.

Musical Rollercoaster

2008-04-12T14:28:00.002-04:00

Do you read music? I do. The audio is in sync with the animation.

How the stork is involved...

2008-03-27T11:35:00.000-04:00

Oh, so that's how the stork is involved...

Patients Like Me

2008-03-25T06:00:00.002-04:00

PatientsLikeMe - No it's not that patients like ME, but rather about patients LIKE me -- an interesting "social media" healthcare site based on "patients helping patients." Nicely done, and featured in a NY Times piece called Practicing Patients.

Word of the Day

2008-03-23T08:21:00.001-04:00

Microceph