Listening: "Badlands", Bruce Springsteen
I have always loved Springsteen's idea about the Church of Rock and Roll. I've never seen him live, and I'm not sure I will ever get the chance at this point, but that idea of the music as salvation and the concert as the rite of purification has always resounded with me powerfully.
"It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."
I unintentionally learned that Jamie Lynn Spears, a 16 year old actress on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 television show, not to mention the younger sister of human calamity Britney Spears, is pregnant.
Listening: "No Speak No Slave", Black Crowes
The Black Crowes seemed to get the Rock and Roll Church thing when they named their second album after a hymnal.
Most of the poorly punctuated commentary about the Spears situation seems to lament the situation, which I think any sensible person would, or blame her 19 year old boyfriend, going so far as to accuse him of rape, because, of course, a 15 or 16 year old girl can't possibly consent to sex.
No one would suggest that her pregnancy was a good or wise thing-she herself would probably agree to that. She's now a mother to be with limited future earnings (you think Nickelodeon is going to touch her with a ten foot pole now?) and a father with no discernible skills. You can even argue that her pregnancy argues that she was not capable of fully weighing the pros and cons. But to accuse this man of rape goes quite a bit beyond the pale. If I were 19 years old, and a girl who looked like Ms. Spears came on to me, I would have done whatever she said. And any other honest man would say the same. It's something that American culture doesn't want us to say, but that doesn't make it untrue.
In fact, in retrospect, when I was 19 years old, if I recall correctly, I was involved with a girl who was younger than I was as well. And like this poor chap, I did what I was told to do as well. I didn't get her pregnant, but I certainly could have, shall we say.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Great Chipmunk
Josh Wilker has another couple of amazing posts up at cardboardgods.baseballtoaster.com
Listening: "Duets for One", Elton John
"He didn't say any more, but we've always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a good deal more than that. In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of fundamental decenciesis parcelled out unequally at birth."
That's the third paragraph of The Great Gatsby. Someone (Kerouac?) wrote that they used to type pages of the classics, in order to feel what it felt like to write sentences like that. It does develop a rhythm of sorts, typing that kind of prose out.
I look at it and marvel at some of the constructions, every word seemingly exactly where it belongs. "A hostile levity", "intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon", "secret griefs of wild, unknown men"-you know exactly what he means. God, he was good.
I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks today. It was cute enough. David Cross was pretty good as the villain.
Listening: "Duets for One", Elton John
"He didn't say any more, but we've always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a good deal more than that. In consequence, I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought-frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of fundamental decenciesis parcelled out unequally at birth."
That's the third paragraph of The Great Gatsby. Someone (Kerouac?) wrote that they used to type pages of the classics, in order to feel what it felt like to write sentences like that. It does develop a rhythm of sorts, typing that kind of prose out.
I look at it and marvel at some of the constructions, every word seemingly exactly where it belongs. "A hostile levity", "intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon", "secret griefs of wild, unknown men"-you know exactly what he means. God, he was good.
I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks today. It was cute enough. David Cross was pretty good as the villain.
Jesus
December 18, 2007
Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes, author of “The Scandalous Gospel”:
If you’re going to Chicago, you buy a map that shows you the way. You don’t then worship and celebrate the map. Similarly, Scripture is the route to the Good News-not the Good News itself.
“We live in a world that values Jesus but doesn’t value what he had to say.”
“The question is not ‘What Would Jesus Do?’, but ‘What Would Jesus Have Me Do?’”
“The difference between hope and optimism is that the optimist has nothing to stand on when things do not go right. Christians have hope-the ability to stand against evil, because they have something to depend on when things have not gone as planned.”
Wow. He’s a great, brilliant speaker that I heard on NPR’s “Book Tour” podcast.
Rev. Dr. Peter Gomes, author of “The Scandalous Gospel”:
If you’re going to Chicago, you buy a map that shows you the way. You don’t then worship and celebrate the map. Similarly, Scripture is the route to the Good News-not the Good News itself.
“We live in a world that values Jesus but doesn’t value what he had to say.”
“The question is not ‘What Would Jesus Do?’, but ‘What Would Jesus Have Me Do?’”
“The difference between hope and optimism is that the optimist has nothing to stand on when things do not go right. Christians have hope-the ability to stand against evil, because they have something to depend on when things have not gone as planned.”
Wow. He’s a great, brilliant speaker that I heard on NPR’s “Book Tour” podcast.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Stop The Bastards
http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/16/dodd-fisa-and-the-filibuster-how-its-going-to-go-down-and-what-you-can-do/
Apparently, Chris Dodd is taking to the Senate floor tomorrow to try to filibuster a bill that grants immunity to telecom companies for their allowing the government to tap phones and read emails without a warrant.
If I were he, I would simply read the Fourth Amendment, "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," and read it over, and over, and over again, until they get it.
Apparently, Chris Dodd is taking to the Senate floor tomorrow to try to filibuster a bill that grants immunity to telecom companies for their allowing the government to tap phones and read emails without a warrant.
If I were he, I would simply read the Fourth Amendment, "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," and read it over, and over, and over again, until they get it.
Hammer of Justice Crushes You
December 14, 2007
The Diamondbacks have apparently traded for Oakland’s Dan Haren, while sending Jose (Salsa) Valverde to Houston. That’s pretty big news, as Haren has a big upside and may perform pretty well with Chris Young running down those fly balls for him in the desert.
December 15, 2007
Mindblowing concept from Dan Carlin of Hardcore History: Isn’t it true that every civilization, throughout history, believes that they are the final stage of human evolution?
December 16, 2007
If I am among the MOST positive people at my company, we are in deep fucking trouble. Everybody I talk to lately is pretty pissy. Except Cousin Simon, who is also pissy, but he really can't help it. He's a baby.
It's good that babies are cute. As Steven Wright once wisely put it, "All my friends are having babies. I have lots of friends. Babies don't have any friends."
I look at him sometimes, with those huge eyes, and wonder if he knows, on some level, how fucking completely clueless I am.
It's good that he's probably just trying to think of new ways to drool on me.
The Diamondbacks have apparently traded for Oakland’s Dan Haren, while sending Jose (Salsa) Valverde to Houston. That’s pretty big news, as Haren has a big upside and may perform pretty well with Chris Young running down those fly balls for him in the desert.
December 15, 2007
Mindblowing concept from Dan Carlin of Hardcore History: Isn’t it true that every civilization, throughout history, believes that they are the final stage of human evolution?
December 16, 2007
If I am among the MOST positive people at my company, we are in deep fucking trouble. Everybody I talk to lately is pretty pissy. Except Cousin Simon, who is also pissy, but he really can't help it. He's a baby.
It's good that babies are cute. As Steven Wright once wisely put it, "All my friends are having babies. I have lots of friends. Babies don't have any friends."
I look at him sometimes, with those huge eyes, and wonder if he knows, on some level, how fucking completely clueless I am.
It's good that he's probably just trying to think of new ways to drool on me.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Fire Woman
December 11, 2007
Now listening: John Lennon, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
Indeed, brother, indeed.
Given my multipodcast habits, I don’t listen to music as much as I really should. It seems to put me in a better mood.
Like Bill Hicks, I wonder what Lennon would have to say about the current war. Watching the “Imagine” documentary on VH1 reminded me of just how pointed and political he was as a solo artist. No wonder he scared the crap out of Nixon.
I have no doubt he would be unreservedly against it, and would have pointed words for our President.
It still stuns me that Dana Perino admitted on “Wait Wait” that she didn’t know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. And her explanation, basically, was that it happened before she was born. Jesus. It happened before I was born, too, and I’ve heard of it. And politics, which is somewhat involved with history, is her JOB. Don’t those people read books? Ever?
Now listening: The Cult, “Black Angel”
I saw the Cult, opening for Metallica on one of the legs of the “Justice” tour. I had already seen the tour once, with Queensryche opening in support of “Operation: Mindcrime”. (There’s actually a sequel to that album, which I have been kind of afraid to get. I’m afraid it is not going to be as good, or at least as good as I recall it being. So many things aren’t as good as you remember.) So I knew Metallica was going to be awesome, but the Cult was so disappointing. I really enjoyed their first two albums(“Love” and “Electric”), and they were dispirited and weak live. And then Metallica came on and blew them into little Cult sized pieces.
December 13, 2007
Careful, it’s Thursday the 13th.
The Mitchell Report is out. I’m sure there will be yards and yards of hemming and hawing about this on the Web already. So here’s some more.
I don’t know what names are on the list, (baseball players who have used PEDs, or Performance Enhancing Drugs) as I write this. I assume there will be some non surprises-Sosa, McGwire-and perhaps some stunners.
But whoever is named, I do know one thing. It’s not going to change how I feel about baseball.
If you know anything at all about baseball, you know that baseball occurs within a context-the run scoring environment in which it is played. Pre-1947, not all the best players were allowed to play. Pre-1920, there were rampant gambling allegations, some of which were undoubtedly more than allegations. Pre-1900, there was syndicate ball, within which owners would own more than one team in the league and stack one team with all the best players. The 1995-2005 era will be the PED/Steroids era, and we will look at the numbers within that context. That’s all it means.
December 14, 2007
Well, Roger Clemens is on the list. Mo Vaughn too.
There is some caterwauling from Yankees fans about the fact that Mitchell, who is on the board of directors of the Sox, has a conflict of interest when investigating Sox players. That may be true, and as the more thoughtful commenters have pointed out, it doesn't matter if he had a conflict or not, because it appears he did, thus rendering the whole report questionable.
That being said, Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens are two of the most significant Red Sox of the last 20 years.
And the report, such as it is, depends on hearsay and the testimony of people who have something to gain by testifying. Not exactly evidence.
And we still don't know, for sure, the effect of PEDs on baseball players.
So, after all this, we have.....feh. Approximately.
Now listening: John Lennon, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
Indeed, brother, indeed.
Given my multipodcast habits, I don’t listen to music as much as I really should. It seems to put me in a better mood.
Like Bill Hicks, I wonder what Lennon would have to say about the current war. Watching the “Imagine” documentary on VH1 reminded me of just how pointed and political he was as a solo artist. No wonder he scared the crap out of Nixon.
I have no doubt he would be unreservedly against it, and would have pointed words for our President.
It still stuns me that Dana Perino admitted on “Wait Wait” that she didn’t know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. And her explanation, basically, was that it happened before she was born. Jesus. It happened before I was born, too, and I’ve heard of it. And politics, which is somewhat involved with history, is her JOB. Don’t those people read books? Ever?
Now listening: The Cult, “Black Angel”
I saw the Cult, opening for Metallica on one of the legs of the “Justice” tour. I had already seen the tour once, with Queensryche opening in support of “Operation: Mindcrime”. (There’s actually a sequel to that album, which I have been kind of afraid to get. I’m afraid it is not going to be as good, or at least as good as I recall it being. So many things aren’t as good as you remember.) So I knew Metallica was going to be awesome, but the Cult was so disappointing. I really enjoyed their first two albums(“Love” and “Electric”), and they were dispirited and weak live. And then Metallica came on and blew them into little Cult sized pieces.
December 13, 2007
Careful, it’s Thursday the 13th.
The Mitchell Report is out. I’m sure there will be yards and yards of hemming and hawing about this on the Web already. So here’s some more.
I don’t know what names are on the list, (baseball players who have used PEDs, or Performance Enhancing Drugs) as I write this. I assume there will be some non surprises-Sosa, McGwire-and perhaps some stunners.
But whoever is named, I do know one thing. It’s not going to change how I feel about baseball.
If you know anything at all about baseball, you know that baseball occurs within a context-the run scoring environment in which it is played. Pre-1947, not all the best players were allowed to play. Pre-1920, there were rampant gambling allegations, some of which were undoubtedly more than allegations. Pre-1900, there was syndicate ball, within which owners would own more than one team in the league and stack one team with all the best players. The 1995-2005 era will be the PED/Steroids era, and we will look at the numbers within that context. That’s all it means.
December 14, 2007
Well, Roger Clemens is on the list. Mo Vaughn too.
There is some caterwauling from Yankees fans about the fact that Mitchell, who is on the board of directors of the Sox, has a conflict of interest when investigating Sox players. That may be true, and as the more thoughtful commenters have pointed out, it doesn't matter if he had a conflict or not, because it appears he did, thus rendering the whole report questionable.
That being said, Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens are two of the most significant Red Sox of the last 20 years.
And the report, such as it is, depends on hearsay and the testimony of people who have something to gain by testifying. Not exactly evidence.
And we still don't know, for sure, the effect of PEDs on baseball players.
So, after all this, we have.....feh. Approximately.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Dana Perino Is A Fucking Moron
Presidential Press Secretary Dana Perino just admitted on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" that she didn't know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was.
No, really. I'm not kidding.
What an idiot.
No, really. I'm not kidding.
What an idiot.
The Bible
December 9, 2007
Author Bruce Feller says that, in a private conversation, President George Bush told him that he does not believe that the US is a Christian nation, and that he does believe that the strength of the US and its values is in its multiculturalism and tolerance.
This is, of course, true, and I would be greatly comforted if there were any evidence from any of his actions that he believed this.
“Walking the Bible”, Feller’s book, sounds fascinating, though.
December 10, 2007
Among the comments for the "Christmas in Fallujah" song on ITunes, there are a number of people slinging the same old "disloyal"/"support the troops" crap. I wonder what exactly they object to-the lyrics, which consist of words from soldier letters home, or the cause, which is wounded and crippled soldiers.
What they really object to is being shown that their ideology is busy burning to the ground.
Author Bruce Feller says that, in a private conversation, President George Bush told him that he does not believe that the US is a Christian nation, and that he does believe that the strength of the US and its values is in its multiculturalism and tolerance.
This is, of course, true, and I would be greatly comforted if there were any evidence from any of his actions that he believed this.
“Walking the Bible”, Feller’s book, sounds fascinating, though.
December 10, 2007
Among the comments for the "Christmas in Fallujah" song on ITunes, there are a number of people slinging the same old "disloyal"/"support the troops" crap. I wonder what exactly they object to-the lyrics, which consist of words from soldier letters home, or the cause, which is wounded and crippled soldiers.
What they really object to is being shown that their ideology is busy burning to the ground.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Guarantee
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20071209017&prov=ap
Steelers safety Anthony Smith, who had guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory, got toasted on both sides as the Patriots romp again.
Steelers safety Anthony Smith, who had guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory, got toasted on both sides as the Patriots romp again.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
December 8, 2007
Tony Blankley, on KCRW’s “Left Right and Center”, argues that it is a positive thing that the CIA destroyed evidence of terrorist interrogations, because the tapes will not be available to terrorists to propagandize against us.
Gee, Tony, wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have things to be ashamed of in the first place?
There was a time, at one point, when people actually asked for things, instead of demanding them. I miss those days.
Mitt Romney got a lot of press about his recent speech on religion, with plenty of comparisons being made to John Kennedy’s 1960 address about his Catholicism. Key differences include Kennedy being 10 times the man Romney could ever be, and Kennedy clearly delineating the fact that religion is personal-between you and your church and the Lord. Romney not only didn’t say that, he started throwing around the “secularism” word that keeps evangelicals up at night. Once again, keeping religion out of public life doesn’t hurt ANYONE. As Jefferson put it, it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket whether my neighbor has one god or many, or even none.
I am looking forward to the holidays being over, if only because people will have to stop saying, “just in time for the holiday season”.
The “Studio 360” show can be really, really uneven-but these last two have been great. Interesting people, engaging stories. Things that make me wish I had meaning to my life.
So this is Christmas…and what have you done?
Tony Blankley, on KCRW’s “Left Right and Center”, argues that it is a positive thing that the CIA destroyed evidence of terrorist interrogations, because the tapes will not be available to terrorists to propagandize against us.
Gee, Tony, wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have things to be ashamed of in the first place?
There was a time, at one point, when people actually asked for things, instead of demanding them. I miss those days.
Mitt Romney got a lot of press about his recent speech on religion, with plenty of comparisons being made to John Kennedy’s 1960 address about his Catholicism. Key differences include Kennedy being 10 times the man Romney could ever be, and Kennedy clearly delineating the fact that religion is personal-between you and your church and the Lord. Romney not only didn’t say that, he started throwing around the “secularism” word that keeps evangelicals up at night. Once again, keeping religion out of public life doesn’t hurt ANYONE. As Jefferson put it, it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket whether my neighbor has one god or many, or even none.
I am looking forward to the holidays being over, if only because people will have to stop saying, “just in time for the holiday season”.
The “Studio 360” show can be really, really uneven-but these last two have been great. Interesting people, engaging stories. Things that make me wish I had meaning to my life.
So this is Christmas…and what have you done?
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Fired?
The Sixers fired Billy King today.
What the Sam Hill took them so long? Talk about the barn door and the horse being stolen.
What the Sam Hill took them so long? Talk about the barn door and the horse being stolen.
Oye Como Va
BP is saying it's done, while ESPN, for once, doesn't seem to be going that far.
Getting Santana and keeping Ellsbury is a huge win for us, at least partially because it keeps him out of New York. It may just be me, but it seems like New York is becoming a little like Philadelphia, or like Boston used to be-perhaps the atmosphere is so toxic that you can't pay some people enough to go there?
I'm surprised the Tigers paid so little to get Willis AND Cabrera. There are questions with both players-heck, there are questions with every player, aren't there?-but I think it's a great deal for Detroit.
I don't think we have to defend ourselves against charges of overspending. I don't think we get people just to get people, the way the Yankees did back in the day, a la "Bronx is Burning". (I loved the series, although many others seemed not to.) The famous scene in the beginning comes when Martin brings up that he wants Grich, and Steinbrenner immediately overrules him and sets his sights on Jackson, seemingly only because he's "REGGIE!". Of course, the move worked, in a way-Jackson, in a way, was so good that he justified the hype.
And, as we always said about George at his Georgest, doesn't every fan want an owner who is completely obsessed with winning?
Getting Santana and keeping Ellsbury is a huge win for us, at least partially because it keeps him out of New York. It may just be me, but it seems like New York is becoming a little like Philadelphia, or like Boston used to be-perhaps the atmosphere is so toxic that you can't pay some people enough to go there?
I'm surprised the Tigers paid so little to get Willis AND Cabrera. There are questions with both players-heck, there are questions with every player, aren't there?-but I think it's a great deal for Detroit.
I don't think we have to defend ourselves against charges of overspending. I don't think we get people just to get people, the way the Yankees did back in the day, a la "Bronx is Burning". (I loved the series, although many others seemed not to.) The famous scene in the beginning comes when Martin brings up that he wants Grich, and Steinbrenner immediately overrules him and sets his sights on Jackson, seemingly only because he's "REGGIE!". Of course, the move worked, in a way-Jackson, in a way, was so good that he justified the hype.
And, as we always said about George at his Georgest, doesn't every fan want an owner who is completely obsessed with winning?
Trouble
Trouble with the boy ignites domestic discord.
As the great Kurt Cobain once put it, "I Hate Myself and Want To Die".
As the great Kurt Cobain once put it, "I Hate Myself and Want To Die".
Monday, December 03, 2007
Inadequate
Joyce Carol Oates makes me feel inadequate.
From her "Journals 1973-1982":
' "Keeping busy" is the remedy for all ills in America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed. '
' The childless couple...can remain romance and love indefinitely, because the sense of being young lovers, still, is never damaged. The couple with children, however, is irreparably altered; one of the issues that contributes to their estrangement is the children-arguing over the children. '
'Do we ever "read" the same book twice? Do we "read" the same book others read?'
She's brilliant, even in journal form. So good I cannot finish it, I fear.
From her "Journals 1973-1982":
' "Keeping busy" is the remedy for all ills in America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed. '
' The childless couple...can remain romance and love indefinitely, because the sense of being young lovers, still, is never damaged. The couple with children, however, is irreparably altered; one of the issues that contributes to their estrangement is the children-arguing over the children. '
'Do we ever "read" the same book twice? Do we "read" the same book others read?'
She's brilliant, even in journal form. So good I cannot finish it, I fear.
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