November 2006 Archives
Sadly, I didn't have the classic turkey-stuffing-cranberry sandwich this year, since we ate out for Thanksgiving. Instead, these leftovers are still kicking around my hard drive from last summer's sojourn in southern Wisconsin.
The CowParade has made its way to Wisconsin -- why it didn't start there is beyond me, but I'm neither an artist nor a philanthropist. In July, many of the cows were set up on the Capitol Square in Madison.
Now batting, Number 19, shortstop...
"Bobbin Yount" of the "Moowaukee Brewers." Yes, the head does bob from side to side. Bonus points for the old glove logo, though I'd prefer to have seen the baby blue 1982 uniform... the pinstripes didn't come until later.
And despite my lack of timeliness, here's a headscratcher for you:
Yes, that's U.S. Representative Paul Ryan's office in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. Ryan, an up-and-coming Republican, wasn't seriously challenged for re-election. But does this offer any hints as to why so many Republican incumbents (including unforeseens like Jim Leach in Iowa and Jim Ryun in Kansas) were shown to the door?
We can only hope that the nation begins to relearn the value of challenging the talking heads and Beltway punditocracy, of instituting checks and balances, and of the ancient art of civics (as so proudly proclaimed by Richard Dreyfus in the season finale of Bill Maher's "Real Time").
On the off-chance that anyone frequenting this site hasn't already tattooed the URL on a handy appendage, please give it up for Idolator, the latest spawn of the Gawker media empire. Monday's hot-hot-hot catch is clearly the new Billy Idol video -- where truth is stranger than fiction -- taking Der Bingle out to Vegas and perhaps earning himself a visit to Vernon Kay's Radio 1 show in the near future.
Last week's Pick of the Spork featured a not-so-sly reference to one of the more obscure moments from NME C86 -- "Console Me" by the unfortunately named We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It. After visiting Idolator to catch "Console Me" (and do it quickly -- they have a 7-day rule), come on back for one clear predecessor and two completely different slices of wacky englishfolk and intentional Factory-label obscurities Crawling Chaos:
Creamo CoylLeft Hand PathArabesque
If that's not enough, pop on over to the Malt & Barley Chronicles for a special cross-over moment. I may not have as large a family to draw upon, but I know a gimmick when I see one...
(*) UPDATE, 19-May-2007: MP3 removed at request of copyright holder. Now that Crawling Chaos has a formal web presence, I heartily recommend that you visit their site (or check out eMusic, with two albums available) and be amazed.
Another trip to central New Jersey, another guest DJ slot at WPRB-FM. Thanks again to Jon Solomon for yielding 60 minutes of his time to the gentleman from the nation's capital.
Notes: (1) I was fairly pleased with this attempt to get my computer to play nicely with the board, allowing for various MP3s (some downloaded, others ripped so I wouldn't have to bring the originals) to be part of the show. Now if we can just get a different board input ... I'd gladly give up 1/3 of the CD players instead of 1/2 of the turntables (though I represent a distinct minority in that selection). (2) Admittedly, I had a few too many "cute" ideas around segues and combinations -- especially the "occupied" theme. On the whole, though, this show worked pretty well and even gave me the space and grooves to dance around the studio. (You'll just have to guess which songs inspired the pogo / whirl-about / demented Charlie Brown bobbing.)
