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Two anniversaries to cover today...

First, it's good to see that people are still remembering and sharing their thoughts on New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. Over the past few years, I've offered my own commentary and recollection on the city and storm, along with the now-infamous Nagin/Robinette interview during the disaster. Love or hate him, Ray Nagin did hit the nail on the head in these ten minutes.

Listen (and read) again, experience the shock and devastation again, and make this year the year that you don't just brush aside the tragedy.

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Second, it's now been 12 years since a car chase of uncertain origin ended in a tunnel in Paris, resulting in the deaths of Dodi Al-Fayed (heir to the Harrod's fortune) and Diana, Princess of Wales. I recall sitting in a bar in Madison, WI, just before the start of my second year of law school, somewhat shocked that the crash was really the only story on TV that evening even in a bar that should have had the Brewers game (or Packers pre-season hysteria).

The good boys of Let's Wrestle, likely 6-7 years old at the time, have offered their own tribute in the form of "Diana's Hair." The song was written a year ago, so that opening line is slightly off, but "ell-leh-ven" just sets up the song so beautifully ... I've had this song running through my head for most of the day -- melancholy descending chorus, brooding disillusionment, and thoroughly random tale of youthful peeping tommery.

From the album "In The Court Of The Wrestling Let's" (2009, Stolen Recordings).

Nearly three years ago, I noted my support for this display of a then-commonly-held sentiment.

Given what continues to be uncovered, and even with the change in administrations, I think the message holds true for the former administration with one small change... the "I" should now stand for "INDICT," since "IMPEACH" is no longer necessary.

I suppose the noun should also be plural. There are more than enough offenses, allegations, and currently unemployed/under-employed attorneys to handle the whole shooting match...

1. Unfortunately, the afterlife got a whole lot funkier today, as Isaac Hayes has passed on.  Go have a slow jam (or crate-digging sample fest) of your own as a fitting memorial.  My well-worn copy of Hot Buttered Soul is cranked up as I write -- keep your ears peeled for the most sinister Bomb Squad sample of all time during Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalimystic.

2. If you happen to live in the middle of the northeastern Atlantic seaboard, I have shows to recommend this week.

• Tuesday (12-Aug), my old pals at WPRB are holding a free concert, in connection with the Free Yr Radio campaign, down in Philadelphia. Secret Machines headline, DJ Dave P (of Making Time / RVNG fame) provides the general entertainment. Hurry on over to see if tix are still available -- they are free but registration is required.
• Wednesday (13-Aug) and Thursday (14-Aug) mark the first US appearances by Sky Larkin, both in New York City.  I've mentioned this Leeds threesome before (March 2007, October 2006) and am excited to see what they've got in store now.  The new studio recording of Molten (available as a free MP3 from the band's site) is quite promising and a bit different from the version I posted in March 2007. All indications point to a full length release on the horizon which could be something special. Wednesday at Pianos (8pm stage time -- really!), Thursday at Union Hall at a more civilized hour.
  

3. Belated Show Reviews (after the jump) -- NYC Popfest Finale, The Feelies.

Marking the passing of yet another crazed session of clock adjustment, the empirical research is starting to stack up against the institution of daylight saving time.  The New York Times has a nice resource page on the institution (frankly preferable to the Wikipedia version), while the naysayers started last spring in analyzing the 2007 extension  of DST in the United States (Ars Technica) and have picked up steam in the days leading up to today's "spring forward" (TreeHugger, Gizmodo).

Here's a more radical approach, born of my once-upon-a-time engineer's heart: why not abolish time zones entirely and switch to a single world clock?  The British established Greenwich Mean Time as a de facto world standard back when the sun never set on the British Empire, while today we've got UTC (Universal Time, Coordinated) which conveniently bolts atomic standards onto the Greenwich system.  The time zone I've inhabited most of my life, in the eastern United States, is variously UTC-5 (during standard time) or UTC-4 (during daylight savings).  As the world becomes flatter and more interconnected, it seems far easier to schedule and plan in UTC, rather than playing the whole "how many hours ahead/behind are you" game. 

Maybe I'm just reacting to the pain of scheduling cross-country conference calls in my day job, but I'm not all that attached to the "9 to 5" work-a-day convention.  Would it really be that difficult to switch gears to just designate all scheduled actions in UTC?  Or am I imagining some Star Trek dreamworld where time is even more arbitrary than it seems today?

Here's a brief musical interlude while I contemplate "ticking away the moments that make up a dull day" ...

Scrawl -- "Clock Song" (from Bloodsucker, Feel Good All Over, 1991 / Simple Machines, 1993)

This post is not really about music, except for the background riff rattling through my skull.  Fans of intense, moody, propulsive rock music from the late 70s and early 80s ought to get their tails over to Zeno Records and pick up the box set of the first three Wipers albums -- if only for the outtakes and bonus tracks. (If you already have this set, then take a few minutes to visit and learn about Greg Sage's tangential role in Portland's professional wrestling scene -- but do turn down your speakers first thanks to the embedded auto-play musical selections.)

Anyway, most everyone has ranted about "those darn kids today" at some point. It goes back a few thousand years, at least, with those witty Romans sighing "O tempora, o mores" as they sashayed to the Colosseum to watch people maul each other for entertainment. Today, though, it's as much about their parents as it is about those darn kids.

One of the best interpretations I've seen appeared in a recent thread on Jezebel (part of the GawkerMedia family) about the nightmare that is recutting old Sesame Street episodes (i.e. the era I grew up watching) to remove the negative influences -- like "Alistair Cookie" taking a bite out of his pipe. Commenter Cycles does the honors:

Sunny day (so be sure to put on sunblock so you don't get cancer)
Sweepin' the clouds away (but bring a raincoat and umbrella in case they come back)
On my way to where the air is sweet (but don't breathe in too hard, what with all the exhaust fumes and pollution)

Can you tell me how to get (kids, if you're lost, go to a police station. do not get directions from strangers)
How to get to Sesame Street (get an adult to help you cross the street, you could get run over)

The rewrite goes on for the second verse, as well.

This latest incident gives me the chance to pull out some material I'd been meaning to mention for some time.