107971722138973590

The World, The Flesh and The Devil

I am deep in the bowels of a re-read of John Leonard’s first book and am, as always, dazzled by this guy’s use of the language, by his ability to take even the most obscure quote from a piece of literature and turn it on its side and apply it to events of the day or the current media.
Every Sunday I watch him give his little television or movie reviews on CBS’s Sunday Morning, however his real genius is his writing and his literary/media criticism.

The man can write.

Boy oh Boy, the man can write.

The title essay is about Kurt Vonnegut and how Vonnegut is a little innocent man writing about a dark, somber world. However Vonnegut is also a huge Leonard fan and wrote a blurb for When The Kissing Had To Stop:

    “When I read anything by my longtime friend John Leonard, his voice is that of a total stranger. He is too polite in ordinary conversations, with me at least, to set off the fireworks of all he knows and feels after reading and comparing and responding to, in the course of his long career as a literary critic, a thousand times more books than I have even heard of. Only in print does he light the night sky of my ignorance and intellectual lassitude with sizzles and bangs, and gorgeous blooms of fire. He is a TEACHER! When I start to read John Leonard, it is as though I , while simply looking for the men’s room, blundered into a lecture by the smartest man who ever lived.”

Amen, Kurt. Amen.

Friday Fives

Friday Fives

If you…
1. …owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?
Probably Mexican or maybe a coffee shop with a good, decent cuppa Joe.

2. …owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell?
Books. Used books and maybe used records/music.

3. …wrote a book, what genre would it be?
A humorous detective/thriller novel.

4. …ran a school, what would you teach?
English and Linguistics with a special course of Common Sense!

5. …recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it?
Dirty, Missisippi Acoustic Blues.

via Friday Fives.

Friday Fives

Friday Fives

1. What was the last song you heard?
With Love From Me To You by The Beatles.

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
American Splendor (on DVD) and Mystic River (at the theater.)

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
Razor blades, shaving cream, a Sante Fe chicken wrap sandwich.

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade, wash some laundry, work out, cook Sunday dinner before watching the Sopranos, finalize my income taxes (sigh!)

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
Sara G., William B., Kevin L., Isela L., Caia S.

via Friday Fives.

107888808261571091

It’s Not All Fighting . . . But Close

The vicious hit on Steve Moore by Todd Bertuzzi was bad news. But I never would have found Hockeyfights.com had it not been for the tremendous amount of news coverage surrounding the unfortunate, felonious ice rink antics. God speed towards a speedy recovery to Steve and enjoy the sports bloopers.

Friday Fives

Friday Fives

What was…

1. …your first grade teacher’s name?
Mrs. Beaver (If memory serves, a living saint.)

2. …your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
Hong Kong Fuey (Go Scatman, go. He’s a dog, he’s a janitor, he is a crime fighting martial arts expert. What is not to love!)

3. …the name of your very first best friend?
Clancy Kingsbury. Now, that is a great name! He still lives in Rapid City, SD.

4. …your favorite breakfast cereal?
Frosted Lucky Charms. “They’re magically delicious.”

5. …your favorite thing to do after school?
Everyday, I would watch Star Trek and the Big Valley reruns on Denver Channel 2 then run outside and reenact the episodes with the neighbor kids.

via Friday Fives.

107829021492338438

The Great Leap Of Faith

“… this is after all another election hear, and almost everybody I talk to seems to feel we are headed for strangeness . . . of one sort or another. And some people say we are already deep in the midst of it. Which may be true. The evidence points both ways. . . . But from my perch in the catbird seat out here on the southernmost rim of Key West, the barometer looks to be falling so fast on all fronts that it no longer matters. And now comes the filthy news . . .

-Hunter S. Thompson, The Great Shark Hunt, “Jimmy Carter and the Great Leap of Faith.”

Kevin reminded this afternoon that Hunter once compared politics to sex. To being better than sex. And indeed it is infectious. Once you get a bit of it in your veins, you are captivated and can’t stop watching the train wreck.
One of the things I really dig about politics is that once you get past the gatekeepers, once you get past the journalistic veil you discover that politics isn’t black and white. That both parties aren’t the same and that there is a wealth of discovery in discerning the minutiae in the body politic. Why the party sends one member of Congress or the Senate to speak on the Leher news hour on PBS but a different party member to speak on Fox – these little gestures of political manuevering can be telling. Why some issues play big on the big tablet (televised news media) and some issues (taxes, defense and smaller government for the GOP, health care, education, social security for the Dems.) will always be huge issues on the local level and get almost no media coverage at all.
It is Machiavellian.
It is like watching the real world version of Frank Herbert’s Dune. It is like playing bridge or chess with a really crafty old fart who can read the tea leaves many moves in advance and taunts you to try and guess his game.
I was a newspaper reporter and editor for about six years before I tossed it all in and sought out some security and regularity in my life and joined the corporate world. But I look back rather fondly to those days and following county caucuses. The most mundane issues are discussed and micro-analyzed, over and over again. I look back on the obscene hours I kept as I covered every county convention the Denver metro area. Each party worked to nominate its U.S. Senate nominees. I laughed as I watched Democrats in Colorado’s Arapahoe County (a species that could easily file for protection under the endangered species act) or Republicans in Denver County (nearly the same status, but the Denver GOP has some huge guns, big money and a fierce temper and will never completely go away.)
And so this year, with a big political season before me and a job that bores me, I am captivated by the political process.
It seems that Sen. John Kerry (D, MA) will be the Democratic nominee. Once upon a time I predicted it, albeit it briefly. Then, I and so many other Democrats fell under the spell of Howard Dean. I also found myself charmed by Sen. John Edwards (D, NC) as well as applauding and cheering mostly everything that came out of the mouth of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D, OH) and the Rev. Al Sharpton, although I knew, as we all did, that they were unelectable.
So to get my fix I am drawn to the web and the marvelous technology of the instant publishing blog.
I go to Salon first. It is a paid subscription, but their election blog is great. Witty, snarky, astute and usually a few hours before the headlines.
Knight-Ridder newspapers has a great political trail blog as well. As one of the largest chains of newspapers in the country, they have a very seasoned staff of reporters and editors invited to weigh in on the issues of the day.
As a former Journo I must also tip my hat to the great journalism trade journal, The Columbia Journalism Review. CJR is a very respected rag that has put together a top notch blog to help put the media coverage and political events of the day in context.
If you lean to the left as I do, give Mother Jones’ Mojo Wire a look. Although not all snippets from the campaign trail, MoJo will keep you abreast of issues the progressive liberal side the debate is focusing on.
There are plenty of others to be sure, but the ones above are my favs. I have already spoken about the Democratic Underground (sardonic and bitter.) There is also Daily Kos (a good day-to-day blog of strategy and gossip) and Common Dreams (with ties to Ben and Jerry there is a distinct populist air. And check out all their deep links on the left and right sides of their home page. That will keep you busy.).

And, most importantly, remember to vote. Vote in the primary. Vote in the caucus. Vote in the general election. If the year 2000 taught us nothing else, it is that every voter counts. GOP strategist and GW Bush campaign aide Ralph Reed expects this election to be even closer than 2000 – if that is possible. And if you are Republican or Democratic, knowing that ought to get you off the couch and down to the local middle school to vote at your precinct.

107819476757764601

A Corn-Fed World

Using corn based ethonol fuel, scientists have created a hydrogen fuel and reactor that can be used “at home” to power a normal sized home with low polluting, non-fossil fuel burning hydrogen.
This pretty cool. I have some concerns, as the whole country is plowed up to grow huge, huge fields of corn, but the up side is that we are replenshing the ecosystem by growing, not destroying natural resources.
“Hydrogen does not emit any pollution or greenhouse gases. But unlike oil or coal, hydrogen must be produced — there are no natural stores of it waiting to be pumped or dug out of the ground.
The new technology holds economic potential for Midwest farmers, who are leaders in the production of corn-based ethanol.”

But what are the prospects, where is the current debate on this issue. Will it even happen. Mother Jones seems to think there is movement but not necessarily in the right direction and suggests we focus more on the ethanol fuel industry rather than the hydrogen production and hybrid vehicle production area in order see real progress in the shortest amount of time.

What Was That Song?

I do this a lot – a commercial comes on with either a very familiar oldy or some new song I have never heard and I puzzle: “Who sings that? What was that song?”
Well, find the answer here: Adtunes.