massdestruction

Why we need the Liberal Media

as if we actually had one...

Before the big golf tournament in Pinehurst, N.C. a couple weekends ago the New York Times ran an article about how there was all this money at the golf club and in the town and yet scant minutes away was a place that had no utilities and an average income close to negative numbers... unfortunately I can't find the article without paying for it but you get the essence.

We, of course, paid close attention to the article and its reaction because that is the area in which Cate works(Her practice is one of the good things about the area when it comes to helping the less fortunate I might add). So the article caused a bit of a stir in Pinehurst and Southern Pines and today this story broke in the local paper there.

Well, well - those liberal New Yorkers came to town and ruined everything... oh, wait... they did some good! Holy crap!

Its a little too bad Pinehurst doesn't just use the money they are spending to see if annexing the hamlet of Jackson is cost-effective to simply annex it, but then what do I know about city planning?

Let's hope this story goes where it appears to be heading.

What's wrong with you people?

Are people really this dumb? Am I the one who is dumb? Why has this one really old post on my blog become the source for people who don't know how to get Livestrong bracelets to vent their ignorance?

I suppose it could be one friend pulling my leg, but its an odd prank if thats it. I'm simply confused.

Blair Jr.

For my friends in the U.K. I just want to say that Blair's son working for the Republicans here is quite a shock to liberals here. Blair already shocked most of us by cozying up to Bush in the first place but we had no idea just how close Labour was coming to being a conservative party.

The Denver Three

I really dig that these people are making waves in Washington. Its a simple story but one that should have produced outrage over five years ago - three people get tickets to see the President speak, a Presidential handler notices a "No Blood for Oil" bumper sticker on their car, pretends to be secret service and kicks them out of the event.

Not an earth shattering event but 100% not American. This things even has many Republicans making statements to distance themselves from the President. I doubt it has the Democrats saying anything... hell, even the Citizens for Ethics in Washington can't get one lousy Democrat to sign an ethics complaint against Randy "Duke" Cunningham for living on a war profiteer's yacht so there sure as hell is no way they would stand up for three smart people from Denver.

20 dollars, same as downtown

The Chicago Police have started posting photos of people arrested for prostitution solicitation. There was a similar program in Denver when I lived there except they posted the photos in one of the local papers.

I don't get this at all. Isn't this punishment before the accused have been proven guilty in a court of law? Isn't this kind of... oh, whats the word... unconstitutional? This bugs me.

Legion of Lesions

I'd like to make a comment on Beth's latest post here if you all don't mind. Beth, I am with you. Every now and then one of Cate's medical journals is sitting right on top of the mail in the box and the cover story is some malignant something-or-other that looks like a growing turd of satan that has attached itself to someone's face.

Everytime it happens I puke and then I feel really bad for the postal workers who have to deliver mail to dermatologists. No wonder they shoot people.

Antony and the Johnsons

I'd like to talk about an album if I may. I haven't done many "album reviews" here because they are a matter of taste and what I like is probably not what you like. However, there are albums that come along that take you in unexpected directions and make you want to share the knowledge. Antony and the Johnsons I Am a Bird Now is one of those albums.

If I were really cool, I'd say something like "this album dropped a couple months ago"... but I'm not cool so I'll try to keep the jargon down. This album is unlike anything else you have heard, I promise. Antony is a man from New York who is usually in drag and supposedly puts on quite a show on stage. His voice is something I cannot begin to describe but I imagine some people will simply not be able to get past it. Its a high pitched, warbly voice that is full of melodrama, but necessary melodrama. If you can get past the voice you will find I Am a Bird Now to have some of the most beautiful music made this decade. The songcraft leans toward old soul ballads with the piano being the most prominent instrument. The lyrics are full of passion, that must come straight from Antony's own experiences as a gay man in the new millenium - if not, he has honed his character very well.

There are unexpected cameos on the album with Lou Reed, Rufus Wainright, and Devendra Banhart lending a hand on three songs as well as Boy George singing a most beautiful duet entitled You Are My Sister. And this song encapsulates this album well. On the one hand, a duet with Boy George with that title might seem funny and a toungue-in-cheek approach to such soulful music but there is no humor present on the surface of these songs, these are the yearnings of a very emotional and dramatic man who has figured out how to turn those yearnings into art.

Its a gift that most of us do not have and it is always a gift that should be experienced even if for one listen.

Paging Dr. Frist

According to the autopsy report, Terri Schiavo's condition could not have been reversed. This is, of course, only a report made by a professional medical examiner. They have not yet sought "Dr." Frist's opinion on the matter. I am sure he can consult some video tape and make an opposite and uninformed pronouncement.

Senator Tankerbell's wallet

If you were at all confused about who would prosper from Bush's tax cuts, The Hill has the answer for you

Bigger than Easy

I think it will be quite difficult to describe the Tape-op conference. It is simply a conference and having been to so many over the years it has all the problems of any of them (except the sound is phenominal!), but it is odd to see one that is about recording music. The people were the difference though and I was reminded that the people involved with making albums (before the record company vultures appear) are some of the nicest people on the planet.

Highlights included watching Mitch Easter mix a song in an hour, finding out that Winston Watson is a master-solderer, seeing Steve Wynn and the Miracle Three and Shellac play, and going out to eat amazing food with new and old friends.

In some ways going to the conference rekindles an old yearning to record musicians and in other ways it rekindles the old yearning to be recorded. Those yearnings will always be with me, no matter how long I live. The question is when or if I ever act on them again.

Tape Op

There is a small magazine called Tape Op that serves the home and professional music recording. Its probably more interesting to those who aren't music nerds for the fact that it is a highly successful magazine and completely free. Just sign up on their website and watch your mailbox (the real one, not the "e" one). Their ads pay the rent and then some. Quite remarkable really.

At any rate, this weekend in New Orleans there is a convention held by Tape Op at which my friend Alex is giving a talk. Due to his "working" the convention he was able to hook me up with a hotel room, I just had to pay my way down - thanks A-love. We leave tomorrow, just in time to meet the first tropical storm of the season. Hmmmm.

Stoatin'

There is only one place for me to stoat.

Summer's here and the time is right

This is a small weather update. The beginning of June saw someone walk over and flip the "nasty NC summer" switch. Since Saturday it has been nasty, hot, humid summer. The image included here is a webcam shot of Raleigh this morning. That ain't fog, that's pure nasty.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate summer?

Chatham County

A while back my hombre Brad started a group on Flickr for photos of Chatham County N.C. At first I gave Brad crap because he starts new groups for every photo he takes. I will not take that sentiment back (sorry Brad) but I have come to realize that the Chatham County group is a great look at a peculiar, interesting, and beautiful part of the world. Even though I don't live in Chatham County I have taken a few of the shots in the group - it looks as if there are 4 of us.

So if you want to see a slice of NC life here is a link to a slideshow of the photos in the Chatham County group. I believe it requires Flash, but I'm not entirely sure how it handles no Flash. Enjoy.

Locals only

This entry is for my local friends only.

I went to Cary yesterday to visit my sister. I have two questions: 1) when will they finally run out of room in Cary? 2) Is New Jersey nearly empty now?

I think they need to start building upward.

The problem with theocracies

Here's why we have separation between Church and State and Freedom of Speech.

A few weeks ago I met a guy on Flickr from Iran. He's a really nice guy, knows English quite well, takes decent photos, loves Chelsea FC, etc. It turns out that Iranians can't get credit cards so he was continually frustrated by the bandwidth issues related to having a free account. In the great realm of the Universe a Flickr account is not very expensive so I bought him a "Pro" account so he could upload all he wanted to. No big deal, not telling you this to brag...

Today I got an email from him telling me that the Iranian government decided to filter Flickr from public consumption. No more Flickr for Iranians. It was godless. Seriously. I guess there isn't much more for me to do or say is there?

Oh, by the way, I don't consider this type of thing much different than what Iran is doing, its just a matter of scale.