07/01/2008
Venom, Ire, ribs, etc. (in politics)
Well, I'm still quite fond of the surgeon who performed my recent surgery, even though I think he underestimated the recovery time from my collateral damage, a broken rib. I think I'll need every moment of the 2 months he initially predicted fo ... Read More
Jeff Kisseloff's Oral History of the 60's (in books)
Studs Terkel is in his 90's. Let us all hoist a dry martini in his honor. While Terkel's produced a dozen or more stunning books of oral history, it's unlikely he'll be doing many more. It behooves us to see where the next oral historians are co ... Read More
06/30/2008
Last week for Double Dee & Steinski in FLAC format (in music & sound)
If you've been holding off on purchasing Douglas's and my live set from a few months ago because you're saving up to get $7.00 for the FLAC file, it's time to get your finances in order and your butt in gear; that file is going down for a while, ... Read More
06/19/2008
"promotional use only, not for sale" ruled bogus (in copyright)
I'm belatedly posting Shawn's tip about Universal Music getting their legal ass handed to them on a plate. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a federal judge handed down a ruling that invalidated Universal's prosecution of anyone ... Read More
Wondering what to do with your spare money? (in music & sound)
Christie's is auctioning off 329 pieces of James Brown memorabilia on July 17. Thanks to Dave The Spazz for the tip. Read More
06/17/2008
A giant passes (in music & sound)
Tony Schwartz died last Saturday. There are several excellent obituaries about his life and work, including one by Doug Schulkind of WFMU. Schwartz pioneered so many of the modern techniques of audio communication that, in my opinion, ther ... Read More
05/28/2008
Nauseating self-promotion (now improved with even more self-promotion) (in music & sound)
In a true coincidence of Life Itself, the week I vanish to deal with important personal issues is the week my retrospective on illegal art drops in the marketplace. "It's an irony of musical history that one of the greatest hip-hop singles ev ... Read More
05/08/2008
(1) Where have I been? (2) Where am I going? (3) What's happening? (in music & sound)
(1) My apologies to everyone who checked this page for the zillionth time, found nothing going on, and figured I'd just fallen the hell off and that was the end of it. Truth of the matter is, I've received some dramatic news of a personal n ... Read More
04/27/2008
Who is Laura Berg and why is she getting an award? (in politics)
Better watch those letters to the editor, friend. Laura Berg is a VA nurse who wrote an outraged letter to a local New Mexico paper about Bush, his non-handling of Katrina, and the murderous bogosity of the Iraq war. Her bosses set the FBI o ... Read More
04/16/2008
The difference between lobbying elected representatives and bribing them. (in politics)
For 10 points on the exam, compare & contrast: Example 1 Political giving, Walker said, "gives us the opportunity to participate with elected officials and offer solutions to growing concerns within the energy sector." Example 2 Usin ... Read More