The Victors: Maize & Blue & Red*
I shan't pretend that I've been paying close attention to the ice hockey team's fortunes throughout the year. Except for the Big Chill at the Big House in December, I haven't seen a college hockey game in person since '02 or '03. That said, I was once a regular at Yost Ice Arena; I have the ticket stubs & I know the filthy chants to prove it. I have been irked all year by MGoBlog's hostility toward this year's valiant Wolverines, the bizarre insistence that this team just isn't any good because it isn't as flashy as teams past. The valiant Wolverines defied expectations, earning a spot in the N.C.A.A. Tournament—extending the record-setting streak of twenty consecutive tournament appearances—& playing their way into the Frozen Four, the semifinals of the championship. On Thursday, Michigan beat North Dakota, the top-seeded team in the whole tournament, for a berth in Saturday's national championship game. The valiant Wolverines of the University of Michigan are sixty minutes of game time away from their record-extending tenth National Championship. If that's not a reason to get excited, I don't know what is.
Go Blue!
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Debate does not like basketball. The Ohio Wesleyan tournament (the forthcoming "Master Debating, 3 of 4") took place during the first weekend of the Big Dance, the frantic four days that whittle a field of sixty-four down to the Sweet Sixteen. Nationals at Vermont, a fortnight later, overlapped with the Final Four; I was home in plenty of time to watch the national championship game on Monday night (4 April), but by the time the game tipped-off I was beat after the emotional stress, sleep deprivation, & hit-or-miss diet of the weekend & not in much of a mood for the game. Shame about Butler's collapse, but having seen Kemba Walker's clinic in domination at the Maui Invitational back in November I can hardly say I'm surprised that UConn won it all.
Sunday, 20 March - N.C.A.A. Tournament "3rd Round" (Rd. of 32)
(№ 3 overall, № 1 seed) Duke 73-71 Michigan (№ 8 seed)
21-14, Big Ten 9-9
We learned that Michigan was making a game of it just as we were going into the final round at the Ohio Wesleyan tournament; that the valiant Wolverines were making a game of it against the diabolical Blue Devils was tremendously uplifting; that the game came down to the very last shot was a thrill that no one could have predicted coming into this season. I've rarely been so excited & joyous after a loss. To those who dismiss the notion of moral victories, I submit Michigan's loss to Duke as Exhibit A in favor. Wow, what a team!
Friday, 18 March - N.C.A.A. Tournament "2nd Round" (Rd. of 64)
(№ 8 seed) Michigan 75-45 Tennessee (№ 9 seed)
21-13, Big Ten 9-9
The game tipped-off at 12:30 P.M. & we departed from campus at 1:00; I was motoring to Delaware, Ohio for a debate tournament during all the action. It was thrilling to learn that we hadn't just advanced in the Big Dance, but had done so at the expense of that sleazebag Bruce Pearl & in such spectacular fashion. This was Michigan's second N.C.A.A. Tournament berth in three seasons, & second opening-game victory in those two berths. Thank you, John Beilein!
Saturday, 12 March - Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
(№ 1) Ohio State 68-61 Michigan
20-13, Big Ten 9-9
The valiant Wolverines played the hated Buckeyes, the best team in all the land, even for thirty-five minutes; unfortunately, for five minutes starting halfway through the second half, we stopped playing both offense & defense, allowing our hated foes to jump out to an ultimately insurmountable eighteen-point lead. Blast!
Friday, 11 March - Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals
Michigan 60-55 Illinois
20-12, Big Ten (regular season) 9-9
The feisty Fighting Illini lead for almost the entire game, but the valiant Wolverines lead when it counted. I was terrified that the Maize & Blue would drop another close contest, as we had against Illinois in February, but there was a discernible confidence in the valiant Wolverines' body language that buoyed by spirits even before they captured the lead. As the № 4 seed playing the № 5 seed, Michigan had the toughest quarterfinal in the Big Ten tourney, but struggled far less than the higher-seeded pesky Badgers & ill-starred Boilermakers. Woot!
Saturday, 5 March
Michigan 70-63 Michigan State
19-12, Big Ten 9-9
I spent the whole of that Saturday master debating in Portland, Oregon. A month later, I can still scarcely wrap my mind around the enormity of it: a season sweep of the dastardly Spartans. A season sweep of the dastardly Spartans! That ridiculous count of days that those illiterate pyromaniacs kept (just because they don't know their letters does not necessitate that they don't know their numbers), shoved back into their scavenger faces! Beating them in their own house, & then finishing the season by holding serve in the House that Cazzie Built! Besting that asshat Izzo not just once, but twice! Bwa ha ha ha ha! We've been so mired in basketball futility for so long that I'd essentially ceded that ground to our devious brethren in Evil Lansing. No more, because the valiant Wolverines swept the dastardly Spartans! Ha! Put that in your pipe & smoke it, you cretins.
Saturday, 26 February
Michigan 70-63 Minnesota
18-12, Big Ten 8-9
I spent the whole of that Saturday master debating in Danbury, Connecticut. (Scroll down to the recent "Master Debating, 1 of 4: West Conn.") I have great respect for Tubby Smith, the head coach of the luckless Golden Gophers; so, I'm always pleased by a win over his squad. I find having missed the game vexing.
Wednesday, 23 February
(№ 12) Wisconsin 53-52 Michigan
17-12, Big Ten 7-9
I missed the tight loss to the pesky Badgers because I was still slightly ailing & using all my meager strength to play catch-up after losing a week to the dreadful sick. Plus, watching the pesky Badgers is usually akin to Chinese water torture: it sounds kind of interesting, but soon becomes monotonous & disheartening.
Sooner rather than later, I will put down a few thoughts on the season as a whole & what it may mean for next season. In six seasons in Ann Arbor, Tommy Amaker never took the valiant Wolverines to the Big Dance, something John Beilein has now done in two or his four seasons. This season, Michigan's roster didn't boast a single senior. Wonder of wonders. Will all the discord of the Rodriguez era & all the uncertainty yet surrounding Hoke, these so young valiant Wolverines & their wild ride through the season were exactly what the Michigan Nation needed. To borrow a line from the Detroit Tigers, Bless you, boys!
Go Blue!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Chris Murray, "Let There be Peace" from Plea for Peace (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Last weekend in Burlington, Vermont, a very "crunchy" burg, a fellow defined the difference twixt ska & reggae thusly: "In ska, you just get drunk & have fun. In reggae, you get high & try to change the world, except you don't accomplish anything because you're high." Heh! I quite enjoyed that. Reggae grew out of ska, the original Jamaican ska, but by no means does reggae have a monopoly on a social conscience. Never forget that not too many years ago a multiracial band, as many ska bands have been going all the way back to 2-Tone (the second wave of ska), was an unusual sight, pioneers in the normalization of race relations. The symbolism of the black & white checkerboard pattern isn't subtle, nor was it supposed to be.
*Maize & Blue are Michigan's colors. Red? That would be Michigan's head coach, Gordon "Red" Berenson, All-American player in college & Stanley Cup winner in the N.H.L., under whose leadership the valiant Wolverines won National Championships in 1996 & 1998. Red is a legend in his own time.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Last week, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, Ph.D. visited campus for, amongst other functions, an "open forum" (a Q&A session). This morning, as part of the same speaker series & in another open forum, the campus hosted the P.B.S. NewsHour's Gwen Ifill. In both instances, I was the first person to walk up to the audience microphone & pose a question. On neither occasion had I any real wish to do so, but a great many people seem to believe that microphones are unaccountably lethal & will not approach them until they have successfully failed to kill another human person (thank you, Shawn "Sean" Spencer). The Lord only knows how long we would have sat there, increasingly embarrassing ourselves in front of our guest, before someone else had taken any action. If not me, who? If not now, when?
I know, I know, what a sorry state of affairs.
Master Debating, 1 of 4: West Conn
Ours is a minute debate team, & ad hoc to boot. At other, more traditional colleges, debate is a longstanding tradition, steeped in institutional comfort & stability. Not so with our strange little troupe, which has taken six different debaters ('twas supposed to be seven before one chap—an awful, inarticulate brute of whom we were all pleased to be rid—bailed the very morning we departed for Claremont, back in September) to seven different tournaments, with only one stable duo: Too Sly & your humble narrator. And we had to scrape together those six debaters with bailing wire & insincere smiles; by contrast, Cornell brought eleven teams to West Conn (twenty-two debaters), plus sundry coaches/judges & spare debaters, with all indications that there were yet another horde available back in Ithaca. But we have aspirations of building a program that will outlast our tenures, & as such have recently taken to decision to give our debate squad a formal name in the traditional style. Having previously described ourselves as the "debate team" & the "debate squad" (before April '10 the "speech & debate team"), we are now the U.M.F. Debating Union. We hope to print T-shirts or hooded sweatshirts one of these days.
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, Connecticut
25-28 February 2011
West Conn was the first debate trip since the inaugural tournament at Adelphi University (on Long Island) in November '10. Only a trio had made the Adelphi trip, our coach: The M.A.P., Too Sly, & me; West Conn was our first trip with the broader team since the Horror of Hart House in October. Love/Hate (now reviled within the team as "The Hasshole") had been a complete disaster, haranguing her partner & fellow novice, Sugar, whenever they didn't win a round, willfully ignoring our patient explanations that winning a Worlds round is no easy feat. It was not as if Love/Hate was the world's most luminously brilliant debater & Sugar a millstone around her neck; they were both novices with much to learn before they had any right to expect success. With The Most Dangerous Game absent a partner (the aforementioned brute), at Claremont The M.A.P. had rotated the three girls so that each got at least some experience. At Hart House, The M.A.P. allowed Love/Hate's boyflesh (almost uniformly derided as her "beard") to debate, his first & only time, partnered with The Most Dangerous Game. West Conn would be the debut of the new, stable partnership of The Most Dangerous Game & Sugar.
The much-desired stability was not in the cards, I'm afraid. After the second round on Saturday, Sugar, in great pain, asked to be taken back to the hotel to rest. Some time later, she began inundating my mobile with calls, as she did not have The M.A.P.'s mobile's number. I couldn't check my phone during rounds, but in between I heard her plaintive cries to be taken to hospital. Holy cow! I relayed this dire message to The M.A.P., who dashed off to the rescue. By the end of the day's four rounds, Sugar was in Danbury's hospital with The M.A.P. at her side, her physicians still attempting to divine her ailment. More than that we would not know until late at night.
I suppose I was tasked with leadership because of the seniority of my age; my first problem was to get Too Sly, The Most Dangerous Game, our two foster teammates from Regis University (Denver), & me from the West Conn campus to our hotel, & thence to procure dinner. The M.A.P. had suggested that we bum a ride off the gigantic St. John's team, but St. John's had enough personnel to fill both their eleven-seat vans. Their coach noted with some concern that he'd be willing to come back for us after he'd dropped his own team off at their hotel, but then seized on an alternate idea & asked me to hold on for just a sec. He asked an independent judge, but with some affiliation to St. John's, to give us a lift; the kind fellow agreed. There were five of us to transport, plus the judge, in his four-seat sedan. The Regis coach had not made the trip from Colorado to Connecticut, entrusting his two lads, The Beanpole & Meathead, to his good pal, The M.A.P. With The M.A.P. ministering to Sugar, the Regis boys became my responsibility. I thought it best to get them & The Most Dangerous Game back to the hotel as soon as possible, & volunteered Too Sly to stay with me on campus until the second shuttle run. I instructed The Game to order pizza as soon as she got back to the hotel, & subtly tasked Meathead & The Beanpole with her protection. Off they drove into the cold, dark Connecticut night with a man we didn't know from Adam.
Too Sly & I waited outside, in the cold, so as to be sure not to miss our rendezvous. As is so often the case in situations where the interval passed might prove interesting knowledge, I forgot to mark the time at the beginning of our wait; I'd hazard a guess that we stood there for twenty-five minutes, on a five-minute one-way drive to the hotel. We reviewed the events of the day & worried about Sugar, cracked jokes & gossiped about our chances of being socially accepted into "the circuit," a subject of great concern for Too Sly. In the fullness of time, our ride returned. The very kind judge, who was going out of his way to aid us, told us that they had gotten lost on the drive back to the hotel, to be rescued by the satellite navigation on The Most Dangerous Game's smart phone. (We live in such an age of marvels that we take them for granted.) We stopped at a filling station on the way, but were soon back at the Holiday Inn, where the judge was also staying. We thanked him for coming to our rescue & went to find our fellows. They regaled us with a tale of the judge's insistence that The Most Dangerous Game share a meal with him at a Chinese buffet along to route twist the campus & the hotel. Was his plan to leave The Beanpole & Meathead to wait in the car whilst he & she ate? I was glad the boys had been there to watch over her. I was less pleased to learn that she hadn't yet ordered the pizza. They could have ordered in the fifteen or twenty minutes during which the judge motored back to campus, picked us up, stopped to fuel his motorcar, & finished motoring to the hotel. Why hadn't she? She didn't know what we wanted on our pizza. Why hadn't she called either of our mobile phones to ask? She shrugged. The Most Dangerous Game' most infuriating character defect is her petulant insistence that no one may be in charge but her, exacerbated by her paralysis & inability to make a decision once in command. (This trait would have dire consequences for the Econ. Club, as I shall chronicle soonest.) Soon enough we had pizza in our bellies & anxiety for Sugar in out hearts, & all retired fairly early.
Very late, but not yet early, The M.A.P. contacted me: Sugar was afflicted with multiple kidney stones. This was quite a relief. When I was a lad, I woke up one day at my maternal grandparents' house to find that my mother had been whisked to the hospital with kidney stones. This was stupefyingly terrible news to my young self, but by the next day Mom was returned from the hospital & I learned the lesson that kidney stones have a worse bark than they do bite. Not so the case with Sugar, who has more health problems than I could chronicle even were I to devote the whole of The Secret Base to that effort, & who is still afflicted with at least one remaining kidney stone over a month later, but we knew none of this then. After the conclusion of Sunday's debates, we trucked over to the hospital & greeted a very drugged-up Sugar as she was released. We shepherded her back to the hotel, where she was soon asleep, & were able to get her on & off the aeroplanes on Sunday without serious incident. She enjoyed being wheeled through the terminals at Detroit Metro & Flint Bishop in her wheelchair, but really at that point she was so high on a cocktail of pain medications that she enjoyed everything. Her mother met us at the Bishop baggage claim & thanked The M.A.P. profusely. We all wished Sugar, who really is the sweetest girl in the world, a swift & full recovery.
As for the debating, the purpose of the journey to the westernmost extremes of Connecticut, that went pretty well. As at Adelphi in November, Too Sly & I "broke" into the "out rounds," the tournament portion of the weekend's debate tournament. At Adelphi we had broken as the five seed into semifinals (№ 5 of 8, out of a total field of 24). At West Conn we did proportionately better, breaking as the eight seed into quarterfinals (№ 8 of 16, field of 52). Alas, also as at Adelphi, we didn't advance beyond the first out round. We "hit our heads" on a ceiling; we're better than most of our fellow debaters, but we're not yet an elite duo. We experienced this in an earlier round where we debated fairly well, but were still clearly the 4. But it was some consolation to see that one of the two semifinal rounds was exactly the same as that preliminary round, except for us. We sometimes get our arses kicked, but only by the best. Still, The M.A.P., who is not profuse with his praise, expressed pride in the pace of our development; by only our fifth overall tournament, just over a semester's worth of experience, we had proven ourselves a consistent break team. Too Sly & I were eager to fly to Portland the following weekend for the next test of our steadily-increasing skill. The Most Dangerous Game was sanguine, too; the hybrid partner St. John's had supplied her as a replacement partner (producing a hybrid of two different schools, & thus the term) proved both competent & kind.
Socially, the weekend also saw our cause advanced. As aforementioned, Too Sly is obsessed with being "accepted" into "the circuit." We had our first interactions with the Ohio Wesleyan (O.W.U.) debaters, our nearest Midwestern neighbor, who were due to host their own inaugural tournament in three weeks' time. Unlike us, theirs is a student-led program. The M.A.P. is a communications professor, he teaches a variety of courses within the Comm. Department, but part of the reason he was hired as opposed to some other candidate is his extensive debate background. Running the now-Debating Union is part of his official duties, & because of his love for debate he was only too eager to ditch the "speech" part of the old "speech & debate team" in favor of devoting our energies entirely to B.P./Worlds debating. The O.W.U. kids are lead by a blonde whirlwind, the irrepressible Miss Alaska (after her comeliness & home state). She is the driving force behind recruitment & the principal driver of the van (also unlike us, they do not have the budget for air travel). We saw Miss Alaska last year at Nationals (April '10, both ours & The M.A.P.'s first Worlds tournament, in Denver, co-hosted by Regis University & the University of Denver), but had no real interaction with her or her then-partner, now moved on to another school. We hadn't seen them at any of the fall's tournaments—Claremont, Hart House, & Adelphi—due to their scarce resources, but now the moment to bond had arrived & it went swimmingly auguring good things for the fast-approaching Wesleyan tournament. We were also warmly greeted by everyone we met from Cornell (Wayback Machine.*), including a really good team who handed us our heads in the aforementioned hitting-our-heads-on-the-ceiling round. We saw them twice, in that preliminary round & again in our quarterfinal. They were especially complimentary after that second encounter. I mention this because ti is unusual; previously, the best teams, the teams capable of walloping us, had been standoffish, in some cases even condescending. (As in all things, debate has its share of jerks.) The representatives treated us with more warmth than we had experienced from any similarly skilled team, & for that we hold them in high esteem.
Though we did not advance out of the quarterfinals, Too Sly & I had broken in our second consecutive tournament, thus collecting another piece of hardware for the Debating Union's rapidly-filling trophy case on the fourth floor of the White Building, outside of the Communications Department. And I collected a speaker award, finishing № 7 out of a field of 104 speakers. More importantly, I drew even with Too Sly, who had drawn first blood at Adelphi by collecting a speaker award while I was edged out by some ridiculous novice who was the beneficiary of "speaker fairy dust," an unreasonable inflation of his speaker points.
In the dollhouse-sized aerodrome in White Plains, New York, Too Sly & I found ourselves sitting across the aisle from an amusing fellow named Mike. He was a living caricature of a working-class New Yorker, though my knowledge of New Amsterdam is not sufficient to parse whether his accent indicated a Queens or Brooklyn upbringing. He had wonderful stories of not taking crap from anybody, his sainted mother, & the love of cooking he'd discovered only in middle age. Neither of us will ever forget the way in which he said "chicken parm," though I confess that Too Sly's imitation is more spot-on than mine. Otherwise, our return from the Nutmeg State (by way of the Empire State) was unremarkable.
Next time: West Coast v. East Coast, Niflheim, & Comrade Coquettish!
Autobahn
I saw more Fiat 500s in formation today, this time a trio of them instead of a pair. Jumpin' Jack Pratt, those things are barely bigger than a breadbox!
*I've recently learned that the time machine from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was called the W.A.B.A.C. Machine, not the Wayback Machine. "Wayback Machine" hyperlinks on The Secret Base have always been intended as a reference to Sherman & Mr. Peabody's voyages, not specifically the internet archive the Wayback Machine (itself a reference to the W.A.B.A.C. Machine). Should I continue to call those hyperlinks "Wayback Machine" or switch to the more accurate but less visually pleasing "W.A.B.A.C. Machine"? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, dear readers.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Save Ferris, "The World is New" from It Means Everything (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Save Ferris's Monique Powell has the most intoxicating voice this side of Kay Hanley. Her onstage persona, however, is the perfect antidote. Save Ferris was one of the first ska-punk/third wave bands to start shedding their ska sound; more's the pity, their mostly non-ska sophomore album, Modified, is dreck.
I know, I know, what a sorry state of affairs.
Master Debating, 1 of 4: West Conn
Ours is a minute debate team, & ad hoc to boot. At other, more traditional colleges, debate is a longstanding tradition, steeped in institutional comfort & stability. Not so with our strange little troupe, which has taken six different debaters ('twas supposed to be seven before one chap—an awful, inarticulate brute of whom we were all pleased to be rid—bailed the very morning we departed for Claremont, back in September) to seven different tournaments, with only one stable duo: Too Sly & your humble narrator. And we had to scrape together those six debaters with bailing wire & insincere smiles; by contrast, Cornell brought eleven teams to West Conn (twenty-two debaters), plus sundry coaches/judges & spare debaters, with all indications that there were yet another horde available back in Ithaca. But we have aspirations of building a program that will outlast our tenures, & as such have recently taken to decision to give our debate squad a formal name in the traditional style. Having previously described ourselves as the "debate team" & the "debate squad" (before April '10 the "speech & debate team"), we are now the U.M.F. Debating Union. We hope to print T-shirts or hooded sweatshirts one of these days.
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, Connecticut
25-28 February 2011
West Conn was the first debate trip since the inaugural tournament at Adelphi University (on Long Island) in November '10. Only a trio had made the Adelphi trip, our coach: The M.A.P., Too Sly, & me; West Conn was our first trip with the broader team since the Horror of Hart House in October. Love/Hate (now reviled within the team as "The Hasshole") had been a complete disaster, haranguing her partner & fellow novice, Sugar, whenever they didn't win a round, willfully ignoring our patient explanations that winning a Worlds round is no easy feat. It was not as if Love/Hate was the world's most luminously brilliant debater & Sugar a millstone around her neck; they were both novices with much to learn before they had any right to expect success. With The Most Dangerous Game absent a partner (the aforementioned brute), at Claremont The M.A.P. had rotated the three girls so that each got at least some experience. At Hart House, The M.A.P. allowed Love/Hate's boyflesh (almost uniformly derided as her "beard") to debate, his first & only time, partnered with The Most Dangerous Game. West Conn would be the debut of the new, stable partnership of The Most Dangerous Game & Sugar.
The much-desired stability was not in the cards, I'm afraid. After the second round on Saturday, Sugar, in great pain, asked to be taken back to the hotel to rest. Some time later, she began inundating my mobile with calls, as she did not have The M.A.P.'s mobile's number. I couldn't check my phone during rounds, but in between I heard her plaintive cries to be taken to hospital. Holy cow! I relayed this dire message to The M.A.P., who dashed off to the rescue. By the end of the day's four rounds, Sugar was in Danbury's hospital with The M.A.P. at her side, her physicians still attempting to divine her ailment. More than that we would not know until late at night.
I suppose I was tasked with leadership because of the seniority of my age; my first problem was to get Too Sly, The Most Dangerous Game, our two foster teammates from Regis University (Denver), & me from the West Conn campus to our hotel, & thence to procure dinner. The M.A.P. had suggested that we bum a ride off the gigantic St. John's team, but St. John's had enough personnel to fill both their eleven-seat vans. Their coach noted with some concern that he'd be willing to come back for us after he'd dropped his own team off at their hotel, but then seized on an alternate idea & asked me to hold on for just a sec. He asked an independent judge, but with some affiliation to St. John's, to give us a lift; the kind fellow agreed. There were five of us to transport, plus the judge, in his four-seat sedan. The Regis coach had not made the trip from Colorado to Connecticut, entrusting his two lads, The Beanpole & Meathead, to his good pal, The M.A.P. With The M.A.P. ministering to Sugar, the Regis boys became my responsibility. I thought it best to get them & The Most Dangerous Game back to the hotel as soon as possible, & volunteered Too Sly to stay with me on campus until the second shuttle run. I instructed The Game to order pizza as soon as she got back to the hotel, & subtly tasked Meathead & The Beanpole with her protection. Off they drove into the cold, dark Connecticut night with a man we didn't know from Adam.
Too Sly & I waited outside, in the cold, so as to be sure not to miss our rendezvous. As is so often the case in situations where the interval passed might prove interesting knowledge, I forgot to mark the time at the beginning of our wait; I'd hazard a guess that we stood there for twenty-five minutes, on a five-minute one-way drive to the hotel. We reviewed the events of the day & worried about Sugar, cracked jokes & gossiped about our chances of being socially accepted into "the circuit," a subject of great concern for Too Sly. In the fullness of time, our ride returned. The very kind judge, who was going out of his way to aid us, told us that they had gotten lost on the drive back to the hotel, to be rescued by the satellite navigation on The Most Dangerous Game's smart phone. (We live in such an age of marvels that we take them for granted.) We stopped at a filling station on the way, but were soon back at the Holiday Inn, where the judge was also staying. We thanked him for coming to our rescue & went to find our fellows. They regaled us with a tale of the judge's insistence that The Most Dangerous Game share a meal with him at a Chinese buffet along to route twist the campus & the hotel. Was his plan to leave The Beanpole & Meathead to wait in the car whilst he & she ate? I was glad the boys had been there to watch over her. I was less pleased to learn that she hadn't yet ordered the pizza. They could have ordered in the fifteen or twenty minutes during which the judge motored back to campus, picked us up, stopped to fuel his motorcar, & finished motoring to the hotel. Why hadn't she? She didn't know what we wanted on our pizza. Why hadn't she called either of our mobile phones to ask? She shrugged. The Most Dangerous Game' most infuriating character defect is her petulant insistence that no one may be in charge but her, exacerbated by her paralysis & inability to make a decision once in command. (This trait would have dire consequences for the Econ. Club, as I shall chronicle soonest.) Soon enough we had pizza in our bellies & anxiety for Sugar in out hearts, & all retired fairly early.
Very late, but not yet early, The M.A.P. contacted me: Sugar was afflicted with multiple kidney stones. This was quite a relief. When I was a lad, I woke up one day at my maternal grandparents' house to find that my mother had been whisked to the hospital with kidney stones. This was stupefyingly terrible news to my young self, but by the next day Mom was returned from the hospital & I learned the lesson that kidney stones have a worse bark than they do bite. Not so the case with Sugar, who has more health problems than I could chronicle even were I to devote the whole of The Secret Base to that effort, & who is still afflicted with at least one remaining kidney stone over a month later, but we knew none of this then. After the conclusion of Sunday's debates, we trucked over to the hospital & greeted a very drugged-up Sugar as she was released. We shepherded her back to the hotel, where she was soon asleep, & were able to get her on & off the aeroplanes on Sunday without serious incident. She enjoyed being wheeled through the terminals at Detroit Metro & Flint Bishop in her wheelchair, but really at that point she was so high on a cocktail of pain medications that she enjoyed everything. Her mother met us at the Bishop baggage claim & thanked The M.A.P. profusely. We all wished Sugar, who really is the sweetest girl in the world, a swift & full recovery.
As for the debating, the purpose of the journey to the westernmost extremes of Connecticut, that went pretty well. As at Adelphi in November, Too Sly & I "broke" into the "out rounds," the tournament portion of the weekend's debate tournament. At Adelphi we had broken as the five seed into semifinals (№ 5 of 8, out of a total field of 24). At West Conn we did proportionately better, breaking as the eight seed into quarterfinals (№ 8 of 16, field of 52). Alas, also as at Adelphi, we didn't advance beyond the first out round. We "hit our heads" on a ceiling; we're better than most of our fellow debaters, but we're not yet an elite duo. We experienced this in an earlier round where we debated fairly well, but were still clearly the 4. But it was some consolation to see that one of the two semifinal rounds was exactly the same as that preliminary round, except for us. We sometimes get our arses kicked, but only by the best. Still, The M.A.P., who is not profuse with his praise, expressed pride in the pace of our development; by only our fifth overall tournament, just over a semester's worth of experience, we had proven ourselves a consistent break team. Too Sly & I were eager to fly to Portland the following weekend for the next test of our steadily-increasing skill. The Most Dangerous Game was sanguine, too; the hybrid partner St. John's had supplied her as a replacement partner (producing a hybrid of two different schools, & thus the term) proved both competent & kind.
Socially, the weekend also saw our cause advanced. As aforementioned, Too Sly is obsessed with being "accepted" into "the circuit." We had our first interactions with the Ohio Wesleyan (O.W.U.) debaters, our nearest Midwestern neighbor, who were due to host their own inaugural tournament in three weeks' time. Unlike us, theirs is a student-led program. The M.A.P. is a communications professor, he teaches a variety of courses within the Comm. Department, but part of the reason he was hired as opposed to some other candidate is his extensive debate background. Running the now-Debating Union is part of his official duties, & because of his love for debate he was only too eager to ditch the "speech" part of the old "speech & debate team" in favor of devoting our energies entirely to B.P./Worlds debating. The O.W.U. kids are lead by a blonde whirlwind, the irrepressible Miss Alaska (after her comeliness & home state). She is the driving force behind recruitment & the principal driver of the van (also unlike us, they do not have the budget for air travel). We saw Miss Alaska last year at Nationals (April '10, both ours & The M.A.P.'s first Worlds tournament, in Denver, co-hosted by Regis University & the University of Denver), but had no real interaction with her or her then-partner, now moved on to another school. We hadn't seen them at any of the fall's tournaments—Claremont, Hart House, & Adelphi—due to their scarce resources, but now the moment to bond had arrived & it went swimmingly auguring good things for the fast-approaching Wesleyan tournament. We were also warmly greeted by everyone we met from Cornell (Wayback Machine.*), including a really good team who handed us our heads in the aforementioned hitting-our-heads-on-the-ceiling round. We saw them twice, in that preliminary round & again in our quarterfinal. They were especially complimentary after that second encounter. I mention this because ti is unusual; previously, the best teams, the teams capable of walloping us, had been standoffish, in some cases even condescending. (As in all things, debate has its share of jerks.) The representatives treated us with more warmth than we had experienced from any similarly skilled team, & for that we hold them in high esteem.
Though we did not advance out of the quarterfinals, Too Sly & I had broken in our second consecutive tournament, thus collecting another piece of hardware for the Debating Union's rapidly-filling trophy case on the fourth floor of the White Building, outside of the Communications Department. And I collected a speaker award, finishing № 7 out of a field of 104 speakers. More importantly, I drew even with Too Sly, who had drawn first blood at Adelphi by collecting a speaker award while I was edged out by some ridiculous novice who was the beneficiary of "speaker fairy dust," an unreasonable inflation of his speaker points.
In the dollhouse-sized aerodrome in White Plains, New York, Too Sly & I found ourselves sitting across the aisle from an amusing fellow named Mike. He was a living caricature of a working-class New Yorker, though my knowledge of New Amsterdam is not sufficient to parse whether his accent indicated a Queens or Brooklyn upbringing. He had wonderful stories of not taking crap from anybody, his sainted mother, & the love of cooking he'd discovered only in middle age. Neither of us will ever forget the way in which he said "chicken parm," though I confess that Too Sly's imitation is more spot-on than mine. Otherwise, our return from the Nutmeg State (by way of the Empire State) was unremarkable.
Next time: West Coast v. East Coast, Niflheim, & Comrade Coquettish!
Autobahn
I saw more Fiat 500s in formation today, this time a trio of them instead of a pair. Jumpin' Jack Pratt, those things are barely bigger than a breadbox!
*I've recently learned that the time machine from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was called the W.A.B.A.C. Machine, not the Wayback Machine. "Wayback Machine" hyperlinks on The Secret Base have always been intended as a reference to Sherman & Mr. Peabody's voyages, not specifically the internet archive the Wayback Machine (itself a reference to the W.A.B.A.C. Machine). Should I continue to call those hyperlinks "Wayback Machine" or switch to the more accurate but less visually pleasing "W.A.B.A.C. Machine"? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, dear readers.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Save Ferris, "The World is New" from It Means Everything (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Save Ferris's Monique Powell has the most intoxicating voice this side of Kay Hanley. Her onstage persona, however, is the perfect antidote. Save Ferris was one of the first ska-punk/third wave bands to start shedding their ska sound; more's the pity, their mostly non-ska sophomore album, Modified, is dreck.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Coming Attractions
"Master Debating"
{a}West Conn
{b} Portland
{c} Wesleyan
{d} Nationals
"The Victors: Project OSPREY"
"This Week in Motorsport"
{a}"Formula Fun!", the Australian Grand Prix
{b}"By Endurance We Conquer," the 12 Hours of Sebring & the espn3.com fiasco
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Bruce Lee Band, "Go Feet Go" from Beautiful World (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The Bruce Lee Band, a.k.a. The B. Lee Band to avoid legal kerfuffles, is fronted by the prolific Mike Park, founder of Asian Man Records. I own music from four of Park's musical efforts: The Bruce Lee Band, The Chinkees, Skankin' Pickle, & under his own name, Mike Park. The world is a better, more splendiferous place for having Mike Park in it. Also, I dare anyone to listen to "Go Feet Go" without being compelled to dance by the beat. Go, feet, go!
"Master Debating"
{a}
{b} Portland
{c} Wesleyan
{d} Nationals
"This Week in Motorsport"
{a}
{b}
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Bruce Lee Band, "Go Feet Go" from Beautiful World (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The Bruce Lee Band, a.k.a. The B. Lee Band to avoid legal kerfuffles, is fronted by the prolific Mike Park, founder of Asian Man Records. I own music from four of Park's musical efforts: The Bruce Lee Band, The Chinkees, Skankin' Pickle, & under his own name, Mike Park. The world is a better, more splendiferous place for having Mike Park in it. Also, I dare anyone to listen to "Go Feet Go" without being compelled to dance by the beat. Go, feet, go!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXVIII - Charles Babbage (1791-1871), the "Father of the Computer."
Pray note that though Babbage's machines, had they been built, might have made valuable contributions to Mankind's fortunes, he was also an enemy of joy, hating both the aural delights provided by organ-grinders & the glee engendered by the children's game of hoop-rolling. The man was a monster, albeit well-meaning.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Aquabats!, "Super Rad!" from The Fury of The Aquabats! (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The Aquabats! aren't a ska band anymore, but they were once, & a darned good ska band at that. I like the music they've been putting out for the last few years, a kind of New Wave kitsch, but I'd be a liar if I claimed I didn't miss their old ska sound very, very much.
No. CCXXVIII - Charles Babbage (1791-1871), the "Father of the Computer."
Pray note that though Babbage's machines, had they been built, might have made valuable contributions to Mankind's fortunes, he was also an enemy of joy, hating both the aural delights provided by organ-grinders & the glee engendered by the children's game of hoop-rolling. The man was a monster, albeit well-meaning.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Aquabats!, "Super Rad!" from The Fury of The Aquabats! (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The Aquabats! aren't a ska band anymore, but they were once, & a darned good ska band at that. I like the music they've been putting out for the last few years, a kind of New Wave kitsch, but I'd be a liar if I claimed I didn't miss their old ska sound very, very much.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Mu330, "Vow Vow" from Mu330 (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I was introduced to Mu330 in 1998 at my very first ska show. A great many of us (Blue Tree Whackers & fellow travelers) were there, all to see Reel Big Fish; Mu330 was one of the opening acts. That was the gold standard of opening act discoveries, a standard that has been impossible for any unknown opening act since to match, let alone better. It is from Mu330 that we learned the nickname of The Guy & The Gal's adopted burg, Saint Louis, "the mighty city by the mighty Mississippi." Mu330 describe their own sound as "psycho-ska," perhaps an allusion to psychobilly?
Mu330, "Vow Vow" from Mu330 (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I was introduced to Mu330 in 1998 at my very first ska show. A great many of us (Blue Tree Whackers & fellow travelers) were there, all to see Reel Big Fish; Mu330 was one of the opening acts. That was the gold standard of opening act discoveries, a standard that has been impossible for any unknown opening act since to match, let alone better. It is from Mu330 that we learned the nickname of The Guy & The Gal's adopted burg, Saint Louis, "the mighty city by the mighty Mississippi." Mu330 describe their own sound as "psycho-ska," perhaps an allusion to psychobilly?
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Less Than Jake, "Danny Says" from Hello Rockview (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: "Danny Says," the song played over the closing credits of Smith and Winkler: The Final Hoe-down. That might not mean much to you, but to anyone who knows B.T.W. it speaks volumes about the esteem in which L.T.J. is held. They're Less Than Jake, nothing more need be said.
Less Than Jake, "Danny Says" from Hello Rockview (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: "Danny Says," the song played over the closing credits of Smith and Winkler: The Final Hoe-down. That might not mean much to you, but to anyone who knows B.T.W. it speaks volumes about the esteem in which L.T.J. is held. They're Less Than Jake, nothing more need be said.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
Reel Big Fish, "Sell Out" from Turn the Radio Off (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The very same night my eyes & ears were opened to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & "The Impression That I Get" I also saw the music video for "Sell Out" by a band that was theretofore completely unknown to me, Reel Big Fish, "the R.B.F." No one who has heard the opening brassy bombast of "Sell Out" can ever forget it, & fourteen years later that song is never too far from the front of my mind. So different from the Bosstones, Reel Big Fish opened up a world I'd never even imagined existed: the vibrant southern California ska scene. Soon "the L.B.C." was easily recognizable as a reference to Long Beach, California, & band after band after band followed R.B.F. out of SoCal onto the burgeoning national ska scene. So many posers liked ska in those days, but since we were all so new to it there was no way to tell whose love was genuine & who was following the crowd; we couldn't even know that ourselves until the third wave of ska had crested & the tide receded. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have a very idiosyncratic sound; none of my friends, not even my fellow "ska kids" (we were kids way back then), have ever liked them as I do. Reel Big Fish have a distinctive sound all their own, but they are similar enough to many other bands that they were the gateway into the wider world of ska, specifically ska-punk. "The Impression That I Get" & "Sell Out," both in one night. What were the odds? (Yes, I know, one hundred per cent [100%], but you know what I meant.)
Reel Big Fish, "Sell Out" from Turn the Radio Off (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The very same night my eyes & ears were opened to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & "The Impression That I Get" I also saw the music video for "Sell Out" by a band that was theretofore completely unknown to me, Reel Big Fish, "the R.B.F." No one who has heard the opening brassy bombast of "Sell Out" can ever forget it, & fourteen years later that song is never too far from the front of my mind. So different from the Bosstones, Reel Big Fish opened up a world I'd never even imagined existed: the vibrant southern California ska scene. Soon "the L.B.C." was easily recognizable as a reference to Long Beach, California, & band after band after band followed R.B.F. out of SoCal onto the burgeoning national ska scene. So many posers liked ska in those days, but since we were all so new to it there was no way to tell whose love was genuine & who was following the crowd; we couldn't even know that ourselves until the third wave of ska had crested & the tide receded. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have a very idiosyncratic sound; none of my friends, not even my fellow "ska kids" (we were kids way back then), have ever liked them as I do. Reel Big Fish have a distinctive sound all their own, but they are similar enough to many other bands that they were the gateway into the wider world of ska, specifically ska-punk. "The Impression That I Get" & "Sell Out," both in one night. What were the odds? (Yes, I know, one hundred per cent [100%], but you know what I meant.)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Julia Roberts Appreciation Day
Say what you will about the slick confidence tricks & chummy camaraderie of Messrs. Clooney, Pitt, & Damon, for my money the real draw of Ocean's Eleven is the luminous Julia Roberts. Her acting performances evidence a deft subtlety that I, for one, find both disarming & enchanting. She is the queen of the silver screen, & long may she reign.
Operation AXIOM
April Fools! I regard Roberts, a talentless hack of the first order, with naught but scorn & am actively desirous of never again seeing a motion picture featuring her misproportioned visage. She's awful. On this April Fools' Day, may all your pranks be successful & received with good cheer.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get" from Let's Face It (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Welcome to "SKApril," a month-long celebration of my favorite style of music, ska. I was introduced to ska in 1997, during the glorious "Summer of Ska." 'Twas late one night & I could not sleep; I went downstairs to pace in the family room & turned on the television for background noise. I tuned the television to, of all channels, MTV. Given what ensued one must surely suspect in this the hand of Providence. That night, I saw the music video for "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. (Once upon a time, MTV showed pre-YouTube YouTube videos called "music videos," & during the Summer of Ska they showed the music videos of ska bands.) I had encountered The Mighty Mighty Bosstones before, at least their name, in a magazine advertisement for Chuck Taylor All-Stars that my sister than taped to the wall of her bedroom, in which Dicky Barrett described himself as the band's "vocalist," not, he emphasized, "singer." Fourteen years later & I still can't get "The Impression That I Get" out of my head, nor do I wish to.
The R.B.D.S.O.T.D. isn't an April Fool's Day prank, I really do owe my discovery of ska to MTV; much as that knowledge sickens me, 'tis vastly overshadowed by the joy ska has given me lo these many years.
Say what you will about the slick confidence tricks & chummy camaraderie of Messrs. Clooney, Pitt, & Damon, for my money the real draw of Ocean's Eleven is the luminous Julia Roberts. Her acting performances evidence a deft subtlety that I, for one, find both disarming & enchanting. She is the queen of the silver screen, & long may she reign.
Operation AXIOM
April Fools! I regard Roberts, a talentless hack of the first order, with naught but scorn & am actively desirous of never again seeing a motion picture featuring her misproportioned visage. She's awful. On this April Fools' Day, may all your pranks be successful & received with good cheer.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get" from Let's Face It (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Welcome to "SKApril," a month-long celebration of my favorite style of music, ska. I was introduced to ska in 1997, during the glorious "Summer of Ska." 'Twas late one night & I could not sleep; I went downstairs to pace in the family room & turned on the television for background noise. I tuned the television to, of all channels, MTV. Given what ensued one must surely suspect in this the hand of Providence. That night, I saw the music video for "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. (Once upon a time, MTV showed pre-YouTube YouTube videos called "music videos," & during the Summer of Ska they showed the music videos of ska bands.) I had encountered The Mighty Mighty Bosstones before, at least their name, in a magazine advertisement for Chuck Taylor All-Stars that my sister than taped to the wall of her bedroom, in which Dicky Barrett described himself as the band's "vocalist," not, he emphasized, "singer." Fourteen years later & I still can't get "The Impression That I Get" out of my head, nor do I wish to.
The R.B.D.S.O.T.D. isn't an April Fool's Day prank, I really do owe my discovery of ska to MTV; much as that knowledge sickens me, 'tis vastly overshadowed by the joy ska has given me lo these many years.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Earthling Scum, "Getta Bloomin' Move On (The Self Preservation Society)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: If you've seen only the '00s ("Aughts") American "remake" of The Italian Job, let me recommend to you the '60s "original" British film The Italian Job. I type "remake" & "original" because I do not agree that the newer film is really a remake of the original. The two motion pictures share in common a title & the plot elements of a heist targeting a large quantity of gold & a getaway involving artful motoring in contemporary-to-the-film Minis. But they differ completely in tone & underlying philosophy: the American film is a straightforward yarn about revenge & honor among thieves (which is not a criticism, I like it quite a bit); the British film is a rather more complicated tale of nationalism, while still being a fanciful romp. As such, I heartily recommend the '60s British The Italian Job to all & sundry, even those who have not seen the '00s American film of the same name.
Earthling Scum, "Getta Bloomin' Move On (The Self Preservation Society)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: If you've seen only the '00s ("Aughts") American "remake" of The Italian Job, let me recommend to you the '60s "original" British film The Italian Job. I type "remake" & "original" because I do not agree that the newer film is really a remake of the original. The two motion pictures share in common a title & the plot elements of a heist targeting a large quantity of gold & a getaway involving artful motoring in contemporary-to-the-film Minis. But they differ completely in tone & underlying philosophy: the American film is a straightforward yarn about revenge & honor among thieves (which is not a criticism, I like it quite a bit); the British film is a rather more complicated tale of nationalism, while still being a fanciful romp. As such, I heartily recommend the '60s British The Italian Job to all & sundry, even those who have not seen the '00s American film of the same name.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXVII - Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), the "World's First Computer Programmer."
Autobahn
Twice, I have spied pairs of Fiat 500s motoring along, one pair on Saginaw Street heading south from "downtown" Grand Blanc & the other, over a week later, heading east on I-69 out beyond Belsay Road. I've not seen a lone 500, leading me to suspect I've seen witnessed road tests, either by automotive journalists or for some internal marketing purpose of Chrysler's. In both instances, the sun was at a very low, early-morning angle & I was motoring in the opposite direction, limiting my ability & time to gaze upon the wee Fiats, probably the first branded Fiats I've ever seen in person (I spotted a Maserati some months back, Maserati being a part of the Fiat conglomerate alongside Ferrari & Alfa Romeo). Welcome back to the American market, you men of Turin! Also, there has been a spat of Mini sightings this week. As petrol prices approach, & most likely exceed, $4/gallon this summer, will these tiny motorcars become so commonplace as to be unremarkable?
No. CCXXVII - Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), the "World's First Computer Programmer."
Autobahn
Twice, I have spied pairs of Fiat 500s motoring along, one pair on Saginaw Street heading south from "downtown" Grand Blanc & the other, over a week later, heading east on I-69 out beyond Belsay Road. I've not seen a lone 500, leading me to suspect I've seen witnessed road tests, either by automotive journalists or for some internal marketing purpose of Chrysler's. In both instances, the sun was at a very low, early-morning angle & I was motoring in the opposite direction, limiting my ability & time to gaze upon the wee Fiats, probably the first branded Fiats I've ever seen in person (I spotted a Maserati some months back, Maserati being a part of the Fiat conglomerate alongside Ferrari & Alfa Romeo). Welcome back to the American market, you men of Turin! Also, there has been a spat of Mini sightings this week. As petrol prices approach, & most likely exceed, $4/gallon this summer, will these tiny motorcars become so commonplace as to be unremarkable?
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Warren Zevon, "Werewolves of London" via iTunes (The Watergirl)
Commentary: A second digital copy of "Werewolves of London" has been added to my digital music library thanks to a recent gift from The Watergirl, possibly The Secret Base's most long-standing reader & the most generous & consistent supporter of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., especially in the realm of nominations. That you have never given up on this consistently underwhelming bloggy blog means much to me, my friend; I thank you.
Warren Zevon, "Werewolves of London" via iTunes (The Watergirl)
Commentary: A second digital copy of "Werewolves of London" has been added to my digital music library thanks to a recent gift from The Watergirl, possibly The Secret Base's most long-standing reader & the most generous & consistent supporter of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., especially in the realm of nominations. That you have never given up on this consistently underwhelming bloggy blog means much to me, my friend; I thank you.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "You Left Right?" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Musically, "You Left Right?" is energetic, peppy even. Lyrically, well, the lyrics contain the words "I search and seek, it's pretty bleak." So much of what I love about ska, especially third wave ska, is the juxtaposition of joy & despair; it's not just Reel Big Fish, all the bands are like that.
"Are you regretful? Are ya?
Are you remorseful? Are ya?
Are you successful? Or are ya
Just tryin' to make it through?
Did your whole world just shatter?
Are you happy or sadder?
Does it really matter?
Did I matter to you?
…
And did I ever matter to you?"
Sonntag, 27 März
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Route That I Took" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Without really knowing I took all the wrong routes,
A misguided monster in the Doc Marten boots,
In the wrong directions, against all of the grains,
Got off at all the wrong stops, back on to all the wrong trains…"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "You Left Right?" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Musically, "You Left Right?" is energetic, peppy even. Lyrically, well, the lyrics contain the words "I search and seek, it's pretty bleak." So much of what I love about ska, especially third wave ska, is the juxtaposition of joy & despair; it's not just Reel Big Fish, all the bands are like that.
"Are you regretful? Are ya?
Are you remorseful? Are ya?
Are you successful? Or are ya
Just tryin' to make it through?
Did your whole world just shatter?
Are you happy or sadder?
Does it really matter?
Did I matter to you?
…
And did I ever matter to you?"
Sonntag, 27 März
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Route That I Took" from Pin Points and Gin Joints (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Without really knowing I took all the wrong routes,
A misguided monster in the Doc Marten boots,
In the wrong directions, against all of the grains,
Got off at all the wrong stops, back on to all the wrong trains…"
Saturday, March 26, 2011
CADMUS
This weekend it all gets turned around, starting with finally cleaning the bathrooms as I promised to do weeks hence. Curse my expertise at delay & obfuscation.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "All Kinds of Time" from Welcome Interstate Managers (T.L.A.M.)
Freitag, 25 März
David Gray, "Kathleen" courtesy of The Watergirl (The Watergirl)
Donnerstag, 24 März
King Apparatus, "Death Car on the Freeway" from King Apparatus (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Have I ever mentioned how much I love ska music?
Mittwoch, 23 März
Dean Martin, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Dienstag, 22 März
Kim Carnes, "Bette David Eyes" from Take Me Home Tonight; Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
This weekend it all gets turned around, starting with finally cleaning the bathrooms as I promised to do weeks hence. Curse my expertise at delay & obfuscation.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "All Kinds of Time" from Welcome Interstate Managers (T.L.A.M.)
Freitag, 25 März
David Gray, "Kathleen" courtesy of The Watergirl (The Watergirl)
Donnerstag, 24 März
King Apparatus, "Death Car on the Freeway" from King Apparatus (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Have I ever mentioned how much I love ska music?
Mittwoch, 23 März
Dean Martin, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Dienstag, 22 März
Kim Carnes, "Bette David Eyes" from Take Me Home Tonight; Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Queue
It's not as if At Risk, Dead Line, & Secret Asset were anything but mindless diversions, but Illegal Action was such utter dreck that I doubt I'll ever be able to bring myself to read anything else by Dame Stella Rimington. Really, just awful, awful schlock. Mayhap I should excuse it as the sophomore slump, even though it was her third novel? Mayhap not. I wish Somerset Maugham had written more spy fiction than just Ashenden: or, The British Agent.
Recently
Stella Rimington, Secret Asset
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker
Stella Rimington, Illegal Action
Currently
Len Deighton, Faith
Presently
Len Deighton, Hope
Len Deighton, Charity
Byeh?*
*Options include, but are not limited to: Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy by John le Carré, Driven to Ink by Karen E. Olson, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, & Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, a gift from Ska Army.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
The Best Week Ever, "Unforgettable" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Bonne chance, Lacey.
Sonntag, 20 März
John Barry & Tom Jones, "Thunderball (Main Title)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I own the D.V.D. of the motion picture Thunderball. I have read Ian Fleming's novel Thunderball. K. Steeze & I use THUNDERBALL as a placeholder whenever we have not yet named a character. But after this weekend, the word "Thunderball" will forever have an altogether different meaning to me. Details to follow in the forthcoming, long overdue "Master Debating" post.
"He always runs, while others walk,
He acts, while other men just talk,
He looks at this world and wants it all,
So he strikes… like Thunderball!
He knows the meaning of success,
His needs are more; so, he gives less,
They call him the winner who takes all,
And he strikes… like Thunderball!
Any woman he wants he'll get,
He will break any heart without regret,
His days of asking are all gone,
His fight goes on and on and on,
But he thinks that the fight is worth it all,
So he strikes… like Thunderball!"
Samstag, 19 März
Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On" from Motown 1's (T.L.A.M.)
Freitag, 18 März
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "The Victors" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: A thirty-point margin of victory. Conqu'ring heroes indeed.
Donnerstag, 17 März
Duran Duran, "Hungry Like the Wolf" from Take Me Home Tonight: Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
It's not as if At Risk, Dead Line, & Secret Asset were anything but mindless diversions, but Illegal Action was such utter dreck that I doubt I'll ever be able to bring myself to read anything else by Dame Stella Rimington. Really, just awful, awful schlock. Mayhap I should excuse it as the sophomore slump, even though it was her third novel? Mayhap not. I wish Somerset Maugham had written more spy fiction than just Ashenden: or, The British Agent.
Recently
Stella Rimington, Secret Asset
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker
Stella Rimington, Illegal Action
Currently
Len Deighton, Faith
Presently
Len Deighton, Hope
Len Deighton, Charity
Byeh?*
*Options include, but are not limited to: Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy by John le Carré, Driven to Ink by Karen E. Olson, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, & Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, a gift from Ska Army.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
The Best Week Ever, "Unforgettable" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Bonne chance, Lacey.
Sonntag, 20 März
John Barry & Tom Jones, "Thunderball (Main Title)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I own the D.V.D. of the motion picture Thunderball. I have read Ian Fleming's novel Thunderball. K. Steeze & I use THUNDERBALL as a placeholder whenever we have not yet named a character. But after this weekend, the word "Thunderball" will forever have an altogether different meaning to me. Details to follow in the forthcoming, long overdue "Master Debating" post.
"He always runs, while others walk,
He acts, while other men just talk,
He looks at this world and wants it all,
So he strikes… like Thunderball!
He knows the meaning of success,
His needs are more; so, he gives less,
They call him the winner who takes all,
And he strikes… like Thunderball!
Any woman he wants he'll get,
He will break any heart without regret,
His days of asking are all gone,
His fight goes on and on and on,
But he thinks that the fight is worth it all,
So he strikes… like Thunderball!"
Samstag, 19 März
Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On" from Motown 1's (T.L.A.M.)
Freitag, 18 März
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "The Victors" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: A thirty-point margin of victory. Conqu'ring heroes indeed.
Donnerstag, 17 März
Duran Duran, "Hungry Like the Wolf" from Take Me Home Tonight: Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Project PALINDROME
Late, late, late, late, late, late, late… late. Just transmit the bloody thing, Mike. Come on already.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Cake, "Shirt Skirt, Long Jacket" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Dienstag, 15 März
Fountains of Wayne, "Little Red Light" from Welcome Interstate Managers (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"And it's not right, it's not fair,
I'm still a mess and you still don't care,
I go to work, I come back home,
But you're still gone and I'm still alone."
Late, late, late, late, late, late, late… late. Just transmit the bloody thing, Mike. Come on already.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Cake, "Shirt Skirt, Long Jacket" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Dienstag, 15 März
Fountains of Wayne, "Little Red Light" from Welcome Interstate Managers (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"And it's not right, it's not fair,
I'm still a mess and you still don't care,
I go to work, I come back home,
But you're still gone and I'm still alone."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Queue
Dame Stella's light, formulaic spy fiction has been enough of a break from the altogether more cynical & sinister world of Len Deighton; so, after Spy Sinker I'll dive right into the third Bernard Samson trilogy—also the trilogy with the least-cute titles—Faith, Hope, & Charity. The next Tattoo Shop Mystery, Driven to Ink, will keep until after Deighton has finished running Samson through the wringer. Somewhere on the horizon there is more of Kipling's prose & an experiment: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Recently
Stella Rimington, At Risk (№ 1 in the series)
Stella Rimington, Dead Line (№ 4)
Stella Rimington, Secret Asset (№ 2)
Currently
Stella Rimington, Illegal Action (№ 3)
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker (3 of 3, № 7 overall) ***postponed***
Presently
Len Deighton, Faith (1 of 3, № 8)
Len Deighton, Hope (2 of 3, № 9)
Len Deighton, Charity (3 of 3, № 10)
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Queen, "Flash" from Greatest Hits I (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I love Flash Gordon: not as dearly as I love The Shadow, but more than I love The Phantom. (Categorized together because of their origins in the 1930s & non-continuous endurance to the present day, unlike Superman & The Batman.) I enjoy the 1980 film Flash Gordon, even though it's campy dreck; I wanted to like the '00s television series Flash Gordon, but 'twas lifeless & mundane, devoid of the sense of grand adventure that is the very heart of Flash Gordon. No, gentle readers, if you want a good non-comic strip Flash Gordon story, go right to the master, to Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Larry "Buster" Crabbe & the trio of out-of-this-world Flash Gordon serials released by Universal Pictures in '36, '38, & '40.
Freitag, 11 März
Fountains of Wayne, "The Girl I Can't Forget" from Welcome Interstate Managers (K. Steeze)
Commentary: Steeze didn't nominate "The Girl I Can't Forget" as a R.B.D.S.O.T.D., but he regaled me with a tale that brought the song to mind.
Donnerstag, 10 März
Elvis Costello & The Attractions, "Oliver's Army" from Armed Forces (T.L.A.M.)
Dame Stella's light, formulaic spy fiction has been enough of a break from the altogether more cynical & sinister world of Len Deighton; so, after Spy Sinker I'll dive right into the third Bernard Samson trilogy—also the trilogy with the least-cute titles—Faith, Hope, & Charity. The next Tattoo Shop Mystery, Driven to Ink, will keep until after Deighton has finished running Samson through the wringer. Somewhere on the horizon there is more of Kipling's prose & an experiment: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Recently
Stella Rimington, At Risk (№ 1 in the series)
Stella Rimington, Dead Line (№ 4)
Stella Rimington, Secret Asset (№ 2)
Currently
Stella Rimington, Illegal Action (№ 3)
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker (3 of 3, № 7 overall) ***postponed***
Presently
Len Deighton, Faith (1 of 3, № 8)
Len Deighton, Hope (2 of 3, № 9)
Len Deighton, Charity (3 of 3, № 10)
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Queen, "Flash" from Greatest Hits I (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I love Flash Gordon: not as dearly as I love The Shadow, but more than I love The Phantom. (Categorized together because of their origins in the 1930s & non-continuous endurance to the present day, unlike Superman & The Batman.) I enjoy the 1980 film Flash Gordon, even though it's campy dreck; I wanted to like the '00s television series Flash Gordon, but 'twas lifeless & mundane, devoid of the sense of grand adventure that is the very heart of Flash Gordon. No, gentle readers, if you want a good non-comic strip Flash Gordon story, go right to the master, to Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Larry "Buster" Crabbe & the trio of out-of-this-world Flash Gordon serials released by Universal Pictures in '36, '38, & '40.
Freitag, 11 März
Fountains of Wayne, "The Girl I Can't Forget" from Welcome Interstate Managers (K. Steeze)
Commentary: Steeze didn't nominate "The Girl I Can't Forget" as a R.B.D.S.O.T.D., but he regaled me with a tale that brought the song to mind.
Donnerstag, 10 März
Elvis Costello & The Attractions, "Oliver's Army" from Armed Forces (T.L.A.M.)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Urbi et Orbi & Operation AXIOM
I love Ash Wednesday, not just as the beginning of Lent but also as that rare occasion when we all walk around declaring publicly our Catholicism. At the same time, I've always found Matthew 6 to be an odd choice of Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday. The sixth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew—part of the Sermon on the Mount—is chockablock with good stuff, about not making a public display of either almsgiving or prayer, of not letting your left hand know what the right is doing. The message is: do not try to win public praise & approval for your righteousness, for if you do it is not righteousness & that public praise & approval will be your only reward, whereas if you had kept your good deeds secret that would have been just the sort of righteousness the Lord rewards in the hereafter. We are told to keep our displays of the faith subtle & secret… moments before crosses of ash are placed on our foreheads for all to see. Byeh? Ash Wednesday is great & Matthew 6 is great, I'm just not sure they're two great tastes that taste great together.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Best Week Ever, "Suitcases" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
I love Ash Wednesday, not just as the beginning of Lent but also as that rare occasion when we all walk around declaring publicly our Catholicism. At the same time, I've always found Matthew 6 to be an odd choice of Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday. The sixth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew—part of the Sermon on the Mount—is chockablock with good stuff, about not making a public display of either almsgiving or prayer, of not letting your left hand know what the right is doing. The message is: do not try to win public praise & approval for your righteousness, for if you do it is not righteousness & that public praise & approval will be your only reward, whereas if you had kept your good deeds secret that would have been just the sort of righteousness the Lord rewards in the hereafter. We are told to keep our displays of the faith subtle & secret… moments before crosses of ash are placed on our foreheads for all to see. Byeh? Ash Wednesday is great & Matthew 6 is great, I'm just not sure they're two great tastes that taste great together.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Best Week Ever, "Suitcases" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Happy Birthday!
Sincerest hopes that a non-reader of The Secret Base, my father, enjoyed his birthday. In their increasing years, my parents grow ever more lackadaisical about the birthday rituals; my father's cake didn't have even a token candle, much less the sixty-one it should have featured. I prize ritual, leaving me feeling as if the occasion had been incomplete. Happy birthday, Dad!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Reel Big Fish & Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, "Don't You Want Me?" from Duet All Night Long (T.L.A.M.)
Sincerest hopes that a non-reader of The Secret Base, my father, enjoyed his birthday. In their increasing years, my parents grow ever more lackadaisical about the birthday rituals; my father's cake didn't have even a token candle, much less the sixty-one it should have featured. I prize ritual, leaving me feeling as if the occasion had been incomplete. Happy birthday, Dad!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Reel Big Fish & Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, "Don't You Want Me?" from Duet All Night Long (T.L.A.M.)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Master Debating
I am returned from the strangest land to which I have ever journeyed, a land of mist & fog that recalled to mind the mythical Norse realm of Niflheim. I have been to a land where the sky itself holds the seeds of madness. I have been to an otherworldly place. I am returned, I am not yet restored.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Hippos, "Asleep at the Wheel" from Forget the World (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Well, I've got a lot on my mind,
I've been drivin' all night,
You can bet I'll be drivin'
When out comes the light.
Well, I been on the road so long that I'm gonna crack…."
I am returned from the strangest land to which I have ever journeyed, a land of mist & fog that recalled to mind the mythical Norse realm of Niflheim. I have been to a land where the sky itself holds the seeds of madness. I have been to an otherworldly place. I am returned, I am not yet restored.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Hippos, "Asleep at the Wheel" from Forget the World (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Well, I've got a lot on my mind,
I've been drivin' all night,
You can bet I'll be drivin'
When out comes the light.
Well, I been on the road so long that I'm gonna crack…."
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXV - Charles Babbage's Difference Engine № 2, belatedly constructed by the London Science Museum.
And it works!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Polka Your Eyes Out" from Off the Deep End (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Perhaps my favorite of all "Werid Al's" polkas, I adore the finale of "Polka Your Eyes Out's" extended focus on Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby."
No. CCXXV - Charles Babbage's Difference Engine № 2, belatedly constructed by the London Science Museum.
And it works!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Polka Your Eyes Out" from Off the Deep End (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Perhaps my favorite of all "Werid Al's" polkas, I adore the finale of "Polka Your Eyes Out's" extended focus on Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby."
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
He's Dead, Jim
My fever has been gone for a week. I was healthy enough last weekend to travel to Connecticut by way of New York, but I knew myself then still to be recovering; I abstained from booze & was in general a party-pooper, trying to accumulate as much rest as I could. Had I been any less well than I was, I would have begged off. I have yet a slight sniffle & every now & again a shallow cough, but I feel again myself. My vim is returned, my enthusiasm restored. I do so loathe being under the thumb of the dreadful sick. I am tremendously glad to be myself again.
Coming Attractions
'Twixt the dreadful sick & two consecutive weekends of master debating, I know that there have been slim pickings around here for the last fortnight; upon my return from Oregon, I aim to remedy that. I owe you Project PANDORA reports on The Princess & Farr Afield, all the latest with Project MERCATOR, "Autobahn," "This Week in Motorsport," "The Atlanticist," "Vote For Kodos" & "Obamboozled," & much, much more. The Secret Base would be meaningless without you, gentle readers, & as ever I thank you for your patience & patronage.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: In much the same fashion as Green Day's Dookie or No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, the music of Jimmy Eat World summons powerful reminisces of a very specific time in my life. The aforementioned albums were the soundtrack to my high school years, Jimmy Eat World brings to mind the halcyon days in Ann Arbor at the house we called simply 1213. And even more specifically, my erstwhile friend & The Newsletter co-creator The Plate, an ardent fan of Jimmy Eat World, whose swift & thorough betrayal caught me entirely off my guard; perhaps I should have seen it coming, but he was my friend, meaning I trusted him implicitly. I know not why "The Middle" popped into my head today, bringing with it the unwelcome remembrance of that rat fink.
My fever has been gone for a week. I was healthy enough last weekend to travel to Connecticut by way of New York, but I knew myself then still to be recovering; I abstained from booze & was in general a party-pooper, trying to accumulate as much rest as I could. Had I been any less well than I was, I would have begged off. I have yet a slight sniffle & every now & again a shallow cough, but I feel again myself. My vim is returned, my enthusiasm restored. I do so loathe being under the thumb of the dreadful sick. I am tremendously glad to be myself again.
Coming Attractions
'Twixt the dreadful sick & two consecutive weekends of master debating, I know that there have been slim pickings around here for the last fortnight; upon my return from Oregon, I aim to remedy that. I owe you Project PANDORA reports on The Princess & Farr Afield, all the latest with Project MERCATOR, "Autobahn," "This Week in Motorsport," "The Atlanticist," "Vote For Kodos" & "Obamboozled," & much, much more. The Secret Base would be meaningless without you, gentle readers, & as ever I thank you for your patience & patronage.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: In much the same fashion as Green Day's Dookie or No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, the music of Jimmy Eat World summons powerful reminisces of a very specific time in my life. The aforementioned albums were the soundtrack to my high school years, Jimmy Eat World brings to mind the halcyon days in Ann Arbor at the house we called simply 1213. And even more specifically, my erstwhile friend & The Newsletter co-creator The Plate, an ardent fan of Jimmy Eat World, whose swift & thorough betrayal caught me entirely off my guard; perhaps I should have seen it coming, but he was my friend, meaning I trusted him implicitly. I know not why "The Middle" popped into my head today, bringing with it the unwelcome remembrance of that rat fink.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Less Than Jake, "Never Going Back to New Jersey" from Losing Streak (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: This weekend, at the Hat City Debates in Danbury, Connecticut, hosted by Western Conn. State University, my partner Too Sly & I were befriended by a most fetching lass from the massive Cornell team by the whimsically intoxicating name of Lacey. We'd faced her & her partner in Saturday's last round & while waiting out in the hallway for the judges to make their decision she'd mentioned that she's from New Jersey; at that point, rather by instinct, I began to sing the following, the state song of N.J. "I'm From New Jersey," excerpted by Less Than Jake in their song, "Never Going Back to New Jersey."
"I'm from New Jersey and I'm proud about it,
I love the Garden State!
I'm from New Jersey and I brag about it,
I think it's simply great!
All of the other states throughout the nation may mean a lot to some,
But I'll take New Jersey, 'cause New Jersey is like no other!
I'm glad that's where I'm from!"
Too Sly & I won the round, earning the 1, while Lacey & her partner had the misfortune of receiving the 4. Back in the central hall where all the room assignments & topic announcements were made, Lacey, now transformed with her spectacles removed, her hair pulled up, & sporting a bright red Cornell hooded sweatshirt, approached us & struck up a conversation. On Sunday, in the little time before Too Sly & I had to prepare for the quarterfinal round, Lacey passed us a scrap of paper bearing her surname & asked us to find her on the Farcebook. By & large, & even beyond Lacey, we found the Cornell debaters to be much more personable than their counterparts from St. John's, Vermont, the Claremont Colleges, & Portland State.
Less Than Jake, "Never Going Back to New Jersey" from Losing Streak (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: This weekend, at the Hat City Debates in Danbury, Connecticut, hosted by Western Conn. State University, my partner Too Sly & I were befriended by a most fetching lass from the massive Cornell team by the whimsically intoxicating name of Lacey. We'd faced her & her partner in Saturday's last round & while waiting out in the hallway for the judges to make their decision she'd mentioned that she's from New Jersey; at that point, rather by instinct, I began to sing the following, the state song of N.J. "I'm From New Jersey," excerpted by Less Than Jake in their song, "Never Going Back to New Jersey."
"I'm from New Jersey and I'm proud about it,
I love the Garden State!
I'm from New Jersey and I brag about it,
I think it's simply great!
All of the other states throughout the nation may mean a lot to some,
But I'll take New Jersey, 'cause New Jersey is like no other!
I'm glad that's where I'm from!"
Too Sly & I won the round, earning the 1, while Lacey & her partner had the misfortune of receiving the 4. Back in the central hall where all the room assignments & topic announcements were made, Lacey, now transformed with her spectacles removed, her hair pulled up, & sporting a bright red Cornell hooded sweatshirt, approached us & struck up a conversation. On Sunday, in the little time before Too Sly & I had to prepare for the quarterfinal round, Lacey passed us a scrap of paper bearing her surname & asked us to find her on the Farcebook. By & large, & even beyond Lacey, we found the Cornell debaters to be much more personable than their counterparts from St. John's, Vermont, the Claremont Colleges, & Portland State.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Travelin' Band" from Chronicle: 20 Greatest Hits (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I was in Connecticut for a debate tournament last weekend & I'll be in Oregon for a debate tournament this coming weekend. Whatever could have brought "Travelin' Band" to mind?
"737 comin' out of the sky!"
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Travelin' Band" from Chronicle: 20 Greatest Hits (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I was in Connecticut for a debate tournament last weekend & I'll be in Oregon for a debate tournament this coming weekend. Whatever could have brought "Travelin' Band" to mind?
"737 comin' out of the sky!"
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Queue
I interest would not have been piqued by At Risk—wretchedly dull title, for what it's worth—were it not for my profound & lingering affection for Christopher Andrew's Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. (Before embarking on her second career as a novelist, Dame Stella was the first distaff Director General of the Security Service.) Thus far, it's mass-market boilerplate, a far departure from the deceptively low-key, workaday world of espionage & counterespionage portrayed in Len Deighton's fiction, but that's not to say At Risk is bereft of entertainment value. There is yet a ways to go, & I am completely undecided about tackling the Other novels in Dame Stella's Liz Carlyle series. But after this brief sidetrip I'll be back to Spy Sinker, the concluding volume of Deighton's second Bernard Samson trilogy.
Recently
Len Deighton, Spy Hook
Len Deighton, Spy Line
various writers & artists, Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter, Volume Two
Currently
Stella Rimington, At Risk
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker ***postponed***
Presently
Karen E. Olson, Driven to Ink
Len Deighton, Faith
Len Deighton, Hope
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Sick Day" from Fountains of Wayne (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I wish.
I interest would not have been piqued by At Risk—wretchedly dull title, for what it's worth—were it not for my profound & lingering affection for Christopher Andrew's Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. (Before embarking on her second career as a novelist, Dame Stella was the first distaff Director General of the Security Service.) Thus far, it's mass-market boilerplate, a far departure from the deceptively low-key, workaday world of espionage & counterespionage portrayed in Len Deighton's fiction, but that's not to say At Risk is bereft of entertainment value. There is yet a ways to go, & I am completely undecided about tackling the Other novels in Dame Stella's Liz Carlyle series. But after this brief sidetrip I'll be back to Spy Sinker, the concluding volume of Deighton's second Bernard Samson trilogy.
Recently
Len Deighton, Spy Hook
Len Deighton, Spy Line
various writers & artists, Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter, Volume Two
Currently
Stella Rimington, At Risk
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker ***postponed***
Presently
Karen E. Olson, Driven to Ink
Len Deighton, Faith
Len Deighton, Hope
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Sick Day" from Fountains of Wayne (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I wish.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Warning: Eww!
He's Dead, Jim
Day 7: I'm feeling better, meaning a still feel pretty bad, but I know longer feel wretched. I no longer ache for the sweet repose of the Elysian fields. I am trying hard not to think about the sheer volume of snot & pus that has to have drained out of skull over the last week. I know, I know:
Except I'm not British, I'm American. I'm American & we panic. Panicking is one of our best traits. We panicked after Pearl Harbor & didn't stop panicking until Germany lay in smoldering ruins & Japan had been blasted to atomic smithereens. "Keep Calm and Carry On." The poster should have read, "Keep Calm and Carry On and Would You Yanks Be So Kind As To Save Us From Starvation? This U-boat Blockade Really Is a Spot of Bother." Disregard that last bit. I'm a huge fan of the stiff-upper-lip attitude enshrined in "Keep Calm and Carry On," I'm just sick, & thus even more surly than usual.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Dance Hall Crashers, "Don't Wanna Behave" (live) from The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs of Love (The Guy)
Commentary: Why, when choosing the Dance Hall Crashers as providers of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., do I so often choose a rendition from their live record, The Live Record? Do I hate their studio albums? Not at all. I suspect two reasons: {a} preference for the faster tempo that usually accompanies live performance & {b} love of The Live Record's subtitle. I've seen a great many bands live—alas, not including D.H.C.—& the on-stage banter is invariably witless, prompting the four-syllable response, "Shut up and play!" And mildly antagonistic is the way I prefer my songs of love, as well as love itself.
He's Dead, Jim
Day 7: I'm feeling better, meaning a still feel pretty bad, but I know longer feel wretched. I no longer ache for the sweet repose of the Elysian fields. I am trying hard not to think about the sheer volume of snot & pus that has to have drained out of skull over the last week. I know, I know:
Except I'm not British, I'm American. I'm American & we panic. Panicking is one of our best traits. We panicked after Pearl Harbor & didn't stop panicking until Germany lay in smoldering ruins & Japan had been blasted to atomic smithereens. "Keep Calm and Carry On." The poster should have read, "Keep Calm and Carry On and Would You Yanks Be So Kind As To Save Us From Starvation? This U-boat Blockade Really Is a Spot of Bother." Disregard that last bit. I'm a huge fan of the stiff-upper-lip attitude enshrined in "Keep Calm and Carry On," I'm just sick, & thus even more surly than usual.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Dance Hall Crashers, "Don't Wanna Behave" (live) from The Live Record: Witless Banter and 25 Mildly Antagonistic Songs of Love (The Guy)
Commentary: Why, when choosing the Dance Hall Crashers as providers of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., do I so often choose a rendition from their live record, The Live Record? Do I hate their studio albums? Not at all. I suspect two reasons: {a} preference for the faster tempo that usually accompanies live performance & {b} love of The Live Record's subtitle. I've seen a great many bands live—alas, not including D.H.C.—& the on-stage banter is invariably witless, prompting the four-syllable response, "Shut up and play!" And mildly antagonistic is the way I prefer my songs of love, as well as love itself.
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXIII - Biosphere 2: Fiasco or Boondoggle?
Bonus: I've never see the motion picture Bio-Dome, starring Pauly Shore & one or another of the Baldwin bros. (I can't tell which because I don't have my Wheel of Baldwins handy.)
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Saturday, 19 February
Michigan 75-72 Iowa (O.T.)
17-11, Big Ten 7-8
Overtime time, baby! Not as much fun to watch as the valiant Wolverines' earlier fourteen-point romp over the tenacious Hawkeyes (Wayback Machine.), but it was heartening to see the Maize & Blue struggle back from a substantial halftime deficit to first force overtime time & then triumph therein. There are no easy wins in the Big Ten, especially not on the road. These valiant Wolverines have come a very long way considering their collective youth & inexperience; they will be a force with which to be reckoned come this time next year.
Wednesday, 16 February
Illinois 54-52 Michigan
16-11, Big Ten 6-8
I did not watch the game because I was then first in the throes of the dreadful sick, & in no condition for such an entertainment. Ugh, what a misery.
Go Blue!
Project OSPREY
Sunday, 20 February
(№ 11) Purdue 76-63 Ohio State (№ 2)
A really good basketball week for my father, a week that also saw his ill-starred Boilermakers defeat the pesky badgers of (№ 10) Wisconsin. My father loves to regale me with his very limited number of Mackey Arena stories from his student days at Purdue; I listen attentively & smile because the old boy means well & Purdue's victories bring him ever so much joy.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Crash and the Boys, "I Am Sad, So Very, Very Sad" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I'd planned to follow the post-Valentine's Day week of anti-love songs with a week dedicated to the many-splendored thing that is love, but inside the iron lung of the dreadful sick as I am, I simply haven't the vim.
Sonntag, 20 Februar
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "The Tracks of My Tears" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Nobody does it better than Smokey. Nobody. Words so familiar & yet words so biting & so true.
"So take a good look at my face,
You'll see my smile looks out of place,
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my my tears."
Samstag, 19 Februar
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "The Tears of a Clown" from Motown 1's (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Now if there's a smile on my face
It's only there trying to fool the public,
But when it comes down to fooling you,
Now, honey, that's quite a different subject.
Don't let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression,
Really I'm sad
(Sad sad sad)
Oh, sadder than sadder
(I hurt so bad)
You're gone and I'm hurtin' so bad
(I pretend to be glad)
Like a clown I pretend to be glad
(Sad sad sad sad)"
No. CCXXIII - Biosphere 2: Fiasco or Boondoggle?
Bonus: I've never see the motion picture Bio-Dome, starring Pauly Shore & one or another of the Baldwin bros. (I can't tell which because I don't have my Wheel of Baldwins handy.)
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Saturday, 19 February
Michigan 75-72 Iowa (O.T.)
17-11, Big Ten 7-8
Overtime time, baby! Not as much fun to watch as the valiant Wolverines' earlier fourteen-point romp over the tenacious Hawkeyes (Wayback Machine.), but it was heartening to see the Maize & Blue struggle back from a substantial halftime deficit to first force overtime time & then triumph therein. There are no easy wins in the Big Ten, especially not on the road. These valiant Wolverines have come a very long way considering their collective youth & inexperience; they will be a force with which to be reckoned come this time next year.
Wednesday, 16 February
Illinois 54-52 Michigan
16-11, Big Ten 6-8
I did not watch the game because I was then first in the throes of the dreadful sick, & in no condition for such an entertainment. Ugh, what a misery.
Go Blue!
Project OSPREY
Sunday, 20 February
(№ 11) Purdue 76-63 Ohio State (№ 2)
A really good basketball week for my father, a week that also saw his ill-starred Boilermakers defeat the pesky badgers of (№ 10) Wisconsin. My father loves to regale me with his very limited number of Mackey Arena stories from his student days at Purdue; I listen attentively & smile because the old boy means well & Purdue's victories bring him ever so much joy.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Crash and the Boys, "I Am Sad, So Very, Very Sad" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I'd planned to follow the post-Valentine's Day week of anti-love songs with a week dedicated to the many-splendored thing that is love, but inside the iron lung of the dreadful sick as I am, I simply haven't the vim.
Sonntag, 20 Februar
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "The Tracks of My Tears" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Nobody does it better than Smokey. Nobody. Words so familiar & yet words so biting & so true.
"So take a good look at my face,
You'll see my smile looks out of place,
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my my tears."
Samstag, 19 Februar
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "The Tears of a Clown" from Motown 1's (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Now if there's a smile on my face
It's only there trying to fool the public,
But when it comes down to fooling you,
Now, honey, that's quite a different subject.
Don't let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression,
Really I'm sad
(Sad sad sad)
Oh, sadder than sadder
(I hurt so bad)
You're gone and I'm hurtin' so bad
(I pretend to be glad)
Like a clown I pretend to be glad
(Sad sad sad sad)"
Friday, February 18, 2011
Happy Birthday!
Best wishes for a phenomenally jolly birthday to The Guy! The Guy is unshakable, a bastion of reason & calm in a sea of chaotic excitement, yet simultaneously I've never known anyone else who was more at his ease in the furious maw of the mosh pit. The Guy is a man of many splendid facets, which seem to be contradictions but are in reality complements. In his wooing, winning, & in due time wedding of The Gal he is the poster boy for getting better than you deserve, an exemplar of the glory to which we should all aspire. He has been my teammate, he is my fellow Blue Tree Whacker, & it is my supreme joy to brag that he is my friend. Happy birthday, Zach!
He's Dead, Jim
Day 3: I'm still ailing, but at the risk of inviting disaster I think a corner has been turned: my fever is lessening & one of my nostrils is clear enough to permit breathing. I did not repeatedly awake during the night of Thursday-Friday as I did during the night of Wednesday-Thursday, allowing my eleven hours of sleep to be the blessed rest I needed. This bout with the dreadful sick cannot pass too swiftly for my liking.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Christina Perri, "Jar of Hearts" via iTunes (Farr Afield)
Best wishes for a phenomenally jolly birthday to The Guy! The Guy is unshakable, a bastion of reason & calm in a sea of chaotic excitement, yet simultaneously I've never known anyone else who was more at his ease in the furious maw of the mosh pit. The Guy is a man of many splendid facets, which seem to be contradictions but are in reality complements. In his wooing, winning, & in due time wedding of The Gal he is the poster boy for getting better than you deserve, an exemplar of the glory to which we should all aspire. He has been my teammate, he is my fellow Blue Tree Whacker, & it is my supreme joy to brag that he is my friend. Happy birthday, Zach!
He's Dead, Jim
Day 3: I'm still ailing, but at the risk of inviting disaster I think a corner has been turned: my fever is lessening & one of my nostrils is clear enough to permit breathing. I did not repeatedly awake during the night of Thursday-Friday as I did during the night of Wednesday-Thursday, allowing my eleven hours of sleep to be the blessed rest I needed. This bout with the dreadful sick cannot pass too swiftly for my liking.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Christina Perri, "Jar of Hearts" via iTunes (Farr Afield)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I can't be the only one who thinks the band name Lady Antebellum sounds a little pro-slavery.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Loose Ties, "Becca's Song" from the The Loose Ties E.P. (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Before The Loose Ties were The Lose Ties, most of the members were together for four years in a ska band called Another Misprint. During this period, Farr Afield (alto saxophone & secondary vocals, primary on "Becca's Song") dated front man Phil (code name pending; primary vocals & guitar). She penned "Becca's Song" about their break-up, which Phil told me makes it super fun for him to play… at almost every show. Yikes!
"So, you think there might be something out there better than me
And you'd be missing out if you just didn't look-see,
And if you find it's not true you hope there's still you and me,
But don't count on it, 'cause I won't wait.
And you realize you love me, but you just can't get past yourself,
And you can't give it all up and put me before everything else.
Well, at least you've been honest, but still all I hear is:
'I don't love you enough.'"
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Loose Ties, "Becca's Song" from the The Loose Ties E.P. (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Before The Loose Ties were The Lose Ties, most of the members were together for four years in a ska band called Another Misprint. During this period, Farr Afield (alto saxophone & secondary vocals, primary on "Becca's Song") dated front man Phil (code name pending; primary vocals & guitar). She penned "Becca's Song" about their break-up, which Phil told me makes it super fun for him to play… at almost every show. Yikes!
"So, you think there might be something out there better than me
And you'd be missing out if you just didn't look-see,
And if you find it's not true you hope there's still you and me,
But don't count on it, 'cause I won't wait.
And you realize you love me, but you just can't get past yourself,
And you can't give it all up and put me before everything else.
Well, at least you've been honest, but still all I hear is:
'I don't love you enough.'"
Happy (Belated) Birthday!
Happiest of birthday wishes to yesterday's birthday boy, Daddy Dylweed! Dylweed & the beautiful Mrs. Dylweed have not one, not two, but four wee bairns, & finer parents I cannot imagine. I have had the privilege to call myself Dylweed's friend for more than half my life, & it warms my heart to know that after all these years he's finally recovering, ever so slowly & haltingly, from his misguided devotion to the band Pearl Jam. Here's hoping that all of Dylweed's birthday wishes came true, with my apologies for being slightly out of my head with illness yesterday. Happy birthday, Dylan!
Happiest of birthday wishes to yesterday's birthday boy, Daddy Dylweed! Dylweed & the beautiful Mrs. Dylweed have not one, not two, but four wee bairns, & finer parents I cannot imagine. I have had the privilege to call myself Dylweed's friend for more than half my life, & it warms my heart to know that after all these years he's finally recovering, ever so slowly & haltingly, from his misguided devotion to the band Pearl Jam. Here's hoping that all of Dylweed's birthday wishes came true, with my apologies for being slightly out of my head with illness yesterday. Happy birthday, Dylan!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Zooey Deschanel Appreciation Day
It's been too long since the last occasion of our occasional series, "Zooey Deschanel Appreciation Day," a day of appreciation of the enthralling work of the actress & musician Zooey Deschanel. Time was that such was my mania that I'd see any picture featuring Miss Deschanel, even in a relatively bit part. I hope that age has brought a modicum of wisdom, for now I am more discerning. For example: I'm dead-set against seeing the forthcoming motion picture Your Highness, due to my disdain for the unfunny comedic actor Danny McBride. Do I dislike McBride more than I like Deschanel? Not necessarily, but it is a question of proportions: the film promises massive screen time for McBride & probably quite limited time for Deschanel. That's a shame, because I haven't seen a new film starring Zooey Deschanel since '09's excellent (500) Days of Summer. At least She & Him has released a second album, Volume Two, in the intervening time.
The Queue
Reading the Large Print edition of Spy Line was a bizarre, disorienting experience. The pages flew by with such celerity that even using the thickness of the book as a guide I had no sense of where I was in the story. Stopping in the middle of reading Spy Line to read a text message on my mobile, the text of the text looked like the fine print at the bottom of an advertisement. I shall continue to thank the Lord Almighty for my fairly good vision & leave the Large Print books to those who truly need them. After , without really intending to, I took my first foray into comics in an age, reading a volume of Showcase Presents, D.C.'s cheap paperback reprints of Silver Age comics, in this case the second collection of the adventures of one of my favorite, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter.
Recently
Len Deighton, Spy Hook
Len Deighton, Spy Line
various writers & artists, Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter, Volume Two
Currently
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker
Presently
Karen E. Olson, Driven to Ink
Len Deighton, Faith
Len Deighton, Hope
He's Dead, Jim & Coming Attractions
I'm a wee bit lightheaded from a powerfully stuffed/runny nose that sprang up overnight. The pressure in my sinus cavities has resulted in a strength-sapping headache; so, for tonight I'm pulling the plug on "Project MERCATOR" & "Perchance to Dream." I have been having some weird dreams the last few mornings. I hope to be on the mend soon so as to be able to bring you those posts.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
She & Him, "Sentimental Heart" from Volume One (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Cried all night 'til there was nothin' more,
What use am I as a heap on the floor?
Heaving devotion, but it's just no good,
Takin' it hard just like you knew I would."
It's been too long since the last occasion of our occasional series, "Zooey Deschanel Appreciation Day," a day of appreciation of the enthralling work of the actress & musician Zooey Deschanel. Time was that such was my mania that I'd see any picture featuring Miss Deschanel, even in a relatively bit part. I hope that age has brought a modicum of wisdom, for now I am more discerning. For example: I'm dead-set against seeing the forthcoming motion picture Your Highness, due to my disdain for the unfunny comedic actor Danny McBride. Do I dislike McBride more than I like Deschanel? Not necessarily, but it is a question of proportions: the film promises massive screen time for McBride & probably quite limited time for Deschanel. That's a shame, because I haven't seen a new film starring Zooey Deschanel since '09's excellent (500) Days of Summer. At least She & Him has released a second album, Volume Two, in the intervening time.
The Queue
Reading the Large Print edition of Spy Line was a bizarre, disorienting experience. The pages flew by with such celerity that even using the thickness of the book as a guide I had no sense of where I was in the story. Stopping in the middle of reading Spy Line to read a text message on my mobile, the text of the text looked like the fine print at the bottom of an advertisement. I shall continue to thank the Lord Almighty for my fairly good vision & leave the Large Print books to those who truly need them. After , without really intending to, I took my first foray into comics in an age, reading a volume of Showcase Presents, D.C.'s cheap paperback reprints of Silver Age comics, in this case the second collection of the adventures of one of my favorite, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter.
Recently
Len Deighton, Spy Hook
Len Deighton, Spy Line
various writers & artists, Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter, Volume Two
Currently
Len Deighton, Spy Sinker
Presently
Karen E. Olson, Driven to Ink
Len Deighton, Faith
Len Deighton, Hope
He's Dead, Jim & Coming Attractions
I'm a wee bit lightheaded from a powerfully stuffed/runny nose that sprang up overnight. The pressure in my sinus cavities has resulted in a strength-sapping headache; so, for tonight I'm pulling the plug on "Project MERCATOR" & "Perchance to Dream." I have been having some weird dreams the last few mornings. I hope to be on the mend soon so as to be able to bring you those posts.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
She & Him, "Sentimental Heart" from Volume One (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary:
"Cried all night 'til there was nothin' more,
What use am I as a heap on the floor?
Heaving devotion, but it's just no good,
Takin' it hard just like you knew I would."
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXII - The Eden Project.
Bonus: I'd have included a picture of "The Bee," but I've seen Them! too many times to condone giant insects in any circumstance.
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Saturday, 12 February
Michigan 73-69 Indiana
16-10, Big Ten 6-7
I suppose I've been spoilt by the valiant Wolverines' improved play of late &, really, given the extreme youth of this team we should be grateful for any win, but Saturday's win was a highly unsatisfactory experience. But I also suppose that I deserved it: when Michigan's lead grew to twenty-two points late in the second half I thought to myself that this was a suitable revenge for the nineteen-point thrashing the wily Hoosiers handed the valiant Wolverines a month earlier in Bloomington, the nadir of January's six-game losing streak. What followed were five of the most painful minutes of basketball I've ever seen as Michigan's advantage dwindled from more than a score to a measly three points, a single possession. Of course, that "five minutes" was five minutes of game-time, in excess of twenty minutes in the real world as the wily Hoosiers extended the game, stopping the clock over & over again by fouling the valiant Wolverines. This unsporting strategy would have, should have sealed their fate, had we only been able to hit our free throws at anything approaching our normal consistency. But this was a proper nightmare, & so Michigan free throw after free thrown clunked off the rim with a clumsiness that would have embarrassed even the infamously inept free-throw shooter Shaquille O'Neal. The valiant Wolverines pulled together just enough points to escape, but even then would likely have failed had Indiana had just one minute more. The Maize & Blue won, but was Michigan really victorious? Let us hope for a similar result, but a much different course to that result, against the feisty Fighting Illini on Wednesday.
Go Blue!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Maureen" from Out-of-State Plates, Disc One (The Guy)
Commentary: It's going to be a mean week for the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., day after day of songs of loss, longing, & frustrated lust, all inspired by the horror show that is America's celebration of Valentine's Day & kicked off by yesterday's "Lover Lies." Fix yourself a stiff drink & enjoy.
"Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Maureen!
You don't know what you do to me,
I know you won't be true to me,
The least that you can do for me
Is keep it to yourself.
I'm so sorry, I don't mean to shout,
But really I can do without
The details of your days and nights
And your thoughts and dreams,
Maureen! Maureen! Maureen! Maureen!
I know you think I'm just a friend,
But can we please just put an end
To all the graphic imagery that you insist on feeding me?
I can accept I'm not the one
Who's getting to have all the fun,
And maybe that's what friends are for,
But I just can't take it anymore!"
No. CCXXII - The Eden Project.
Bonus: I'd have included a picture of "The Bee," but I've seen Them! too many times to condone giant insects in any circumstance.
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Saturday, 12 February
Michigan 73-69 Indiana
16-10, Big Ten 6-7
I suppose I've been spoilt by the valiant Wolverines' improved play of late &, really, given the extreme youth of this team we should be grateful for any win, but Saturday's win was a highly unsatisfactory experience. But I also suppose that I deserved it: when Michigan's lead grew to twenty-two points late in the second half I thought to myself that this was a suitable revenge for the nineteen-point thrashing the wily Hoosiers handed the valiant Wolverines a month earlier in Bloomington, the nadir of January's six-game losing streak. What followed were five of the most painful minutes of basketball I've ever seen as Michigan's advantage dwindled from more than a score to a measly three points, a single possession. Of course, that "five minutes" was five minutes of game-time, in excess of twenty minutes in the real world as the wily Hoosiers extended the game, stopping the clock over & over again by fouling the valiant Wolverines. This unsporting strategy would have, should have sealed their fate, had we only been able to hit our free throws at anything approaching our normal consistency. But this was a proper nightmare, & so Michigan free throw after free thrown clunked off the rim with a clumsiness that would have embarrassed even the infamously inept free-throw shooter Shaquille O'Neal. The valiant Wolverines pulled together just enough points to escape, but even then would likely have failed had Indiana had just one minute more. The Maize & Blue won, but was Michigan really victorious? Let us hope for a similar result, but a much different course to that result, against the feisty Fighting Illini on Wednesday.
Go Blue!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Fountains of Wayne, "Maureen" from Out-of-State Plates, Disc One (The Guy)
Commentary: It's going to be a mean week for the R.B.D.S.O.T.D., day after day of songs of loss, longing, & frustrated lust, all inspired by the horror show that is America's celebration of Valentine's Day & kicked off by yesterday's "Lover Lies." Fix yourself a stiff drink & enjoy.
"Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Maureen!
You don't know what you do to me,
I know you won't be true to me,
The least that you can do for me
Is keep it to yourself.
I'm so sorry, I don't mean to shout,
But really I can do without
The details of your days and nights
And your thoughts and dreams,
Maureen! Maureen! Maureen! Maureen!
I know you think I'm just a friend,
But can we please just put an end
To all the graphic imagery that you insist on feeding me?
I can accept I'm not the one
Who's getting to have all the fun,
And maybe that's what friends are for,
But I just can't take it anymore!"
Monday, February 14, 2011
Operation AXIOM
'Tis not the celebration of romantic love to which I object. 'Tis not the naked commercialism to which I object. I'm not anti-love, nor am I anti-expensive baubles & candle-lit meals. I am against the unholy idea that expensive baubles necessary to the expression of love. Romantic love is a beautiful thing; Valentine's Day is a very ugly thing.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of Valentine's Day, et al.
The Atomic Fireballs, "Lover Lies" from Torch This Place (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: A sorrowful song about lust, jealousy, betrayal, & violence—all the sordid business that is romantic love.
Sonntag, 13 Februar
Sheryl Crow, "Real Gone" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The song played during the race at the beginning of Cars, which I watched on Sunday. Yes, the trailer for Cars 2 looks worrisome, but Pixar has more than earned a little faith, wouldn't you say? Eleven films, with Ratatouille hands down the worst of the bunch. Quite the record of quality & consistency. In the words of Darth Vader, "Impressive! Most impressive!"
'Tis not the celebration of romantic love to which I object. 'Tis not the naked commercialism to which I object. I'm not anti-love, nor am I anti-expensive baubles & candle-lit meals. I am against the unholy idea that expensive baubles necessary to the expression of love. Romantic love is a beautiful thing; Valentine's Day is a very ugly thing.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of Valentine's Day, et al.
The Atomic Fireballs, "Lover Lies" from Torch This Place (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: A sorrowful song about lust, jealousy, betrayal, & violence—all the sordid business that is romantic love.
Sonntag, 13 Februar
Sheryl Crow, "Real Gone" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: The song played during the race at the beginning of Cars, which I watched on Sunday. Yes, the trailer for Cars 2 looks worrisome, but Pixar has more than earned a little faith, wouldn't you say? Eleven films, with Ratatouille hands down the worst of the bunch. Quite the record of quality & consistency. In the words of Darth Vader, "Impressive! Most impressive!"
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Less Than Jake, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" from Hello Rockview (The Guy)
Commentary: The Guy recommends that I sing "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" at karaoke when next I am in Saint Louis, his Mighty City by the Mighty Mississippi. I'm game, even though he's dead-on that any song sung by Roger will be quite challenging; I'm such a sorry singer that I doubt the Roger factor will make any difference: I foul up even easily-sung songs.
Less Than Jake, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" from Hello Rockview (The Guy)
Commentary: The Guy recommends that I sing "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" at karaoke when next I am in Saint Louis, his Mighty City by the Mighty Mississippi. I'm game, even though he's dead-on that any song sung by Roger will be quite challenging; I'm such a sorry singer that I doubt the Roger factor will make any difference: I foul up even easily-sung songs.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Autobahn
I absolutely adore the "Imported From Detroit" ad campaign for the new Chrysler 200. The slogan contains more than a wee bit of tongue-in-cheek humor given that Fiat is now calling the shots at Chrysler, though to be fair the 200 is manufactured in Sterling Heights. I'm not vouching for the 200 as a motorcar, I'm just tremendously fond of the "Imported From Detroit" adverts.
Autobahn: Polizei
I was motoring behind a black & white of the Grand Blanc Township Police Department when I noticed that it was patrol car № 34. Thirty-four? The Township can't possibly have thirty-four prowlers, can it? No. No, the very idea's ridiculous… isn't it? I suppose the squad car numbers don't count up from one so as to make the force appears more numerous & thus more formidable. Or maybe № 34 is the thirty-fourth black & white in the entire history of the Township P.D.
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Wednesday, 9 February
Michigan 75-66 Northwestern
15-10, Big Ten 5-7
I wanted to watch Wednesday's game, but the 6:30 P.M. tip-off was incompatible with 7:00 P.M. debate practice. In particular, I'd have liked to have seen Jordan Morgan's huge day in the paint. I've read that the valiant Wolverines had a double-digit lead & endured a late-game run that pulled the plucky Wildcats to within one point before scoring the last eight points of the game to produce the nine-point margin of victory. Wow! Yeah, that definitely would have sent me into a conniption fit. At least I should be able to watch Saturday's game against the wily Hoosiers of Indiana University.
Go Blue!
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Eminem, "Lose Yourself" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I considered "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Coach Potato," but as you can see eventually selected the original over the parody.
Mittwoch, 9 Februar
The Hold Steady, "Chill Out Tent" from Boys and Girls in America (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: When asked my opinion of the motion picture Closer I replied, "I didn't like any of the characters in Closer or any of the actions they took, but I did like Closer." I feel much the same way about The Hold Steady. Nearly all of their songs are about carefree drug abuse & emotionless fornication, pillars of immorality to which I am implacably & utterly opposed. Nevertheless, I quite like the music of The Hold Steady. What can I say? I'm a multifaceted (read: self-contradictory) bloke.
I absolutely adore the "Imported From Detroit" ad campaign for the new Chrysler 200. The slogan contains more than a wee bit of tongue-in-cheek humor given that Fiat is now calling the shots at Chrysler, though to be fair the 200 is manufactured in Sterling Heights. I'm not vouching for the 200 as a motorcar, I'm just tremendously fond of the "Imported From Detroit" adverts.
Autobahn: Polizei
I was motoring behind a black & white of the Grand Blanc Township Police Department when I noticed that it was patrol car № 34. Thirty-four? The Township can't possibly have thirty-four prowlers, can it? No. No, the very idea's ridiculous… isn't it? I suppose the squad car numbers don't count up from one so as to make the force appears more numerous & thus more formidable. Or maybe № 34 is the thirty-fourth black & white in the entire history of the Township P.D.
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Wednesday, 9 February
Michigan 75-66 Northwestern
15-10, Big Ten 5-7
I wanted to watch Wednesday's game, but the 6:30 P.M. tip-off was incompatible with 7:00 P.M. debate practice. In particular, I'd have liked to have seen Jordan Morgan's huge day in the paint. I've read that the valiant Wolverines had a double-digit lead & endured a late-game run that pulled the plucky Wildcats to within one point before scoring the last eight points of the game to produce the nine-point margin of victory. Wow! Yeah, that definitely would have sent me into a conniption fit. At least I should be able to watch Saturday's game against the wily Hoosiers of Indiana University.
Go Blue!
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Eminem, "Lose Yourself" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I considered "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Coach Potato," but as you can see eventually selected the original over the parody.
Mittwoch, 9 Februar
The Hold Steady, "Chill Out Tent" from Boys and Girls in America (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: When asked my opinion of the motion picture Closer I replied, "I didn't like any of the characters in Closer or any of the actions they took, but I did like Closer." I feel much the same way about The Hold Steady. Nearly all of their songs are about carefree drug abuse & emotionless fornication, pillars of immorality to which I am implacably & utterly opposed. Nevertheless, I quite like the music of The Hold Steady. What can I say? I'm a multifaceted (read: self-contradictory) bloke.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Happy Birthday!
Best wishes for the happiest of birthdays to The Ace (formerly code named "The Professor")! The Ace is bar-none the smartest person I know, & that's saying quite a bit considering I know such massive brainiacs as The L.A.W.; Mrs. Skeeter, Esq.; Brother-in-L.A.W.; Comrade Coquettish; & Doctor Hee-Haw. (No offense is intended to anyone on the list, nor to anyone left off; I'm attempting a dispassionate estimation of raw mental prowess & consider, even with my bloated ego, myself outpaced by each of the above.) The Ace remains in many ways a mystery, but I also know him to be one of my best & truest chums; he is not just my friend, he isa fellow Blue Tree Whacker. Even now, as a triumvir of Project TROIKA alongside K. Steeze & yours truly, The Ace is hard at work on Tier 3 of that amazing endeavour, the second draft of the TROIKA novel, the title of which remains a B.T.W. secret. The Ace is my collaborator, my erstwhile bandmate in Murky Transport Disaster, & most dearly, my friend. Happy birthday, Jonathan!
There isn't really an extant category for this kind of hyperlink; so, I'll just say: Yikes! Late 19th & early 20th century anarchists played a vital, if underplayed in the conventional wisdom, rôle in fomenting the Great War. We would do well to fear, & thus act to prevent, what horrors 21st century anarchists might visit upon us in pursuit of their twisted, immoral philosophy. (Mayhap I should have categorized this under our occasional feature "The War for Civilization.")
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Sunday, 6 February
Michigan 65-62 Penn State
14-10, Big Ten 4-7
Yes, the ferocious Nittany Lions were the valiant Wolverines' last victory (76-69 on Sunday, 2 January) before the painful six-game losing streak, but that was in the friendly confines of Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena. In their own Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State had been giant-killers, posting four consecutive victories, including over ranked opponents Illinois (then-№ 16, 57-55) & Wisconsin (then-№ 15, 56-52). The valiant Wolverines displayed a lot of grit & maturity against Penn State, coming back from double-digit deficits in both halves when it would have been all-too-easy for such a young squad to panic, leading assuredly to ignominious defeat.
Next up is a two-game homestand against the plucky Wildcats & the wily Hoosiers, a pair of arguably lesser opponents to whom the valiant Wolverines lost on the road during the six-game winless nightmare, by far the two most gruesome & embarrassing losses of that baleful streak. Michigan doesn't have much to play for at this point other than pride & next year; in that light, the next two games are must-win.
Thursday, 3 February
(№ 1) Ohio State 62-53 Michigan
13-10, Big Ten 3-7
The valiant Wolverines had to face two opponents last Thursday night in the Value City Arena: the hated Buckeyes & the lousy Zebras. The lousy Zebras are a special team, the only team that gets to play in every single game, but do not mistake that broad perspective for impartiality; the lousy Zebras have an agenda, & when they put their minds to it they are almost impossible to beat. Michigan took a three-point lead into halftime against the № 1 team in country. On the road. The valiant Wolverines were going toe-to-toe with the hated Buckeyes. But Ohio State's coach had a very visible discussion with the lousy Zebras, a discussion upon which the E.S.P.N. commentators remarked, & after that everything changed. Prior to this game, I'd believed the hype about the hated Buckeye's freshman sensation, Jared Sullinger, but now I know that he's a very talented young man who wouldn't impress anybody if opposing players were allowed to guard him. Whenever a valiant Wolverine would step near Sullinger, the lousy Zebras would blow a whistle; Michigan's fouls were adding up more quickly than could be counted, & soon the hated Buckeyes were shooting free throws in the bonus & then in the double-bonus. At one point, Michigan's Darius Morris was thrown to the court, physically thrown to the ground by a trio of Ohio State players; no whistle was blown, no foul was assigned. Seconds later, a Michigan defender (Smotrycz, I think, but I'm not sure) approached Sullinger; before the hated Buckeye even made a move toward the basket, a foul was called on the valiant Wolverine. The hated Buckeyes are a good team: nine times out of ten, they'd beat the valiant Wolverines. But this was possibly that tenth game, possibly one Michigan could have stolen, until the lousy Zebras took their orders from Thad Matta & threw the game to the Scarlet & Gray. I can stand losing to superior opposition, but I cannot countenance losing to the verdammt referees.
Go Blue!
Project OSPREY
This upcoming weekend, I must make a effort to watch some non-Big Ten games in preparation for the looming N.C.A.A. Tournament.
Sunday, 6 February
(№ 18) Wisconsin 82-56 Michigan State
On the previous meeting between the dastardly Spartans & the pesky Badgers, in Michigan State's Breslin Center, Wisconsin dominated the game for thirty-nine minutes, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a monumental - & literally last-minute - meltdown. But the pesky Badgers minded their P's & Q's & took care of business on Sunday in their own Kohl Center, where they enjoy perhaps the most ridiculous home-court advantage in all of college basketball. I wish I'd watched this more recent shellacking, but there were carpets to be hoovered & water closets to be scrubbed. Beyond the never-dulling joy of seeing Michigan State lose, a bonus of this latest loss is that the dastardly Spartans now have a record barely better than the valiant Wolverines': 13-10, Big Ten 5-6. Welcome to the neighborhood, you jerks.
Wednesdayday, 2 February
Iowa 72-52 Michigan State
Bwa ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha! Man alive, that was almost as much fun as Michigan's 87-73 win over Iowa on 30 January. I could scarcely believe the score when I tuned into the game at the beginning of the second half, & for the next twenty minutes of game time the fun just did not stop. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! My thanks to the tenacious Hawkeyes for a gay old time.
Tuesday, 1 February
(№ 18) Wisconsin 66-59 Purdue (№ 10)
I tried to console my father (Purdue '72) with an explanation of the pesky Badgers' advantageously lop-sided home record, but he's hear none of it. In his mind, the ill-starred Boilermakers have a natural & inherent right to win every game they play, & failure to do so is due solely to some foul up on their part.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Dandy Warhols, "We Used to Be Friends" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I know not wherefore, but this morning I thought about the exquisite television series Veronica Mars for the first time in too long. The R.B.D.S.O.T.D. is thus "We Used to Be Friends," used for all three seasons as the Veronica Mars theme song. Kristen Bell's performance in the titular rôle was a revelation, & she herself remains a vision.
Best wishes for the happiest of birthdays to The Ace (formerly code named "The Professor")! The Ace is bar-none the smartest person I know, & that's saying quite a bit considering I know such massive brainiacs as The L.A.W.; Mrs. Skeeter, Esq.; Brother-in-L.A.W.; Comrade Coquettish; & Doctor Hee-Haw. (No offense is intended to anyone on the list, nor to anyone left off; I'm attempting a dispassionate estimation of raw mental prowess & consider, even with my bloated ego, myself outpaced by each of the above.) The Ace remains in many ways a mystery, but I also know him to be one of my best & truest chums; he is not just my friend, he isa fellow Blue Tree Whacker. Even now, as a triumvir of Project TROIKA alongside K. Steeze & yours truly, The Ace is hard at work on Tier 3 of that amazing endeavour, the second draft of the TROIKA novel, the title of which remains a B.T.W. secret. The Ace is my collaborator, my erstwhile bandmate in Murky Transport Disaster, & most dearly, my friend. Happy birthday, Jonathan!
There isn't really an extant category for this kind of hyperlink; so, I'll just say: Yikes! Late 19th & early 20th century anarchists played a vital, if underplayed in the conventional wisdom, rôle in fomenting the Great War. We would do well to fear, & thus act to prevent, what horrors 21st century anarchists might visit upon us in pursuit of their twisted, immoral philosophy. (Mayhap I should have categorized this under our occasional feature "The War for Civilization.")
The Victors: Project OSPREY
Sunday, 6 February
Michigan 65-62 Penn State
14-10, Big Ten 4-7
Yes, the ferocious Nittany Lions were the valiant Wolverines' last victory (76-69 on Sunday, 2 January) before the painful six-game losing streak, but that was in the friendly confines of Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena. In their own Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State had been giant-killers, posting four consecutive victories, including over ranked opponents Illinois (then-№ 16, 57-55) & Wisconsin (then-№ 15, 56-52). The valiant Wolverines displayed a lot of grit & maturity against Penn State, coming back from double-digit deficits in both halves when it would have been all-too-easy for such a young squad to panic, leading assuredly to ignominious defeat.
Next up is a two-game homestand against the plucky Wildcats & the wily Hoosiers, a pair of arguably lesser opponents to whom the valiant Wolverines lost on the road during the six-game winless nightmare, by far the two most gruesome & embarrassing losses of that baleful streak. Michigan doesn't have much to play for at this point other than pride & next year; in that light, the next two games are must-win.
Thursday, 3 February
(№ 1) Ohio State 62-53 Michigan
13-10, Big Ten 3-7
The valiant Wolverines had to face two opponents last Thursday night in the Value City Arena: the hated Buckeyes & the lousy Zebras. The lousy Zebras are a special team, the only team that gets to play in every single game, but do not mistake that broad perspective for impartiality; the lousy Zebras have an agenda, & when they put their minds to it they are almost impossible to beat. Michigan took a three-point lead into halftime against the № 1 team in country. On the road. The valiant Wolverines were going toe-to-toe with the hated Buckeyes. But Ohio State's coach had a very visible discussion with the lousy Zebras, a discussion upon which the E.S.P.N. commentators remarked, & after that everything changed. Prior to this game, I'd believed the hype about the hated Buckeye's freshman sensation, Jared Sullinger, but now I know that he's a very talented young man who wouldn't impress anybody if opposing players were allowed to guard him. Whenever a valiant Wolverine would step near Sullinger, the lousy Zebras would blow a whistle; Michigan's fouls were adding up more quickly than could be counted, & soon the hated Buckeyes were shooting free throws in the bonus & then in the double-bonus. At one point, Michigan's Darius Morris was thrown to the court, physically thrown to the ground by a trio of Ohio State players; no whistle was blown, no foul was assigned. Seconds later, a Michigan defender (Smotrycz, I think, but I'm not sure) approached Sullinger; before the hated Buckeye even made a move toward the basket, a foul was called on the valiant Wolverine. The hated Buckeyes are a good team: nine times out of ten, they'd beat the valiant Wolverines. But this was possibly that tenth game, possibly one Michigan could have stolen, until the lousy Zebras took their orders from Thad Matta & threw the game to the Scarlet & Gray. I can stand losing to superior opposition, but I cannot countenance losing to the verdammt referees.
Go Blue!
Project OSPREY
This upcoming weekend, I must make a effort to watch some non-Big Ten games in preparation for the looming N.C.A.A. Tournament.
Sunday, 6 February
(№ 18) Wisconsin 82-56 Michigan State
On the previous meeting between the dastardly Spartans & the pesky Badgers, in Michigan State's Breslin Center, Wisconsin dominated the game for thirty-nine minutes, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a monumental - & literally last-minute - meltdown. But the pesky Badgers minded their P's & Q's & took care of business on Sunday in their own Kohl Center, where they enjoy perhaps the most ridiculous home-court advantage in all of college basketball. I wish I'd watched this more recent shellacking, but there were carpets to be hoovered & water closets to be scrubbed. Beyond the never-dulling joy of seeing Michigan State lose, a bonus of this latest loss is that the dastardly Spartans now have a record barely better than the valiant Wolverines': 13-10, Big Ten 5-6. Welcome to the neighborhood, you jerks.
Wednesdayday, 2 February
Iowa 72-52 Michigan State
Bwa ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha! Man alive, that was almost as much fun as Michigan's 87-73 win over Iowa on 30 January. I could scarcely believe the score when I tuned into the game at the beginning of the second half, & for the next twenty minutes of game time the fun just did not stop. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! My thanks to the tenacious Hawkeyes for a gay old time.
Tuesday, 1 February
(№ 18) Wisconsin 66-59 Purdue (№ 10)
I tried to console my father (Purdue '72) with an explanation of the pesky Badgers' advantageously lop-sided home record, but he's hear none of it. In his mind, the ill-starred Boilermakers have a natural & inherent right to win every game they play, & failure to do so is due solely to some foul up on their part.
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Dandy Warhols, "We Used to Be Friends" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: I know not wherefore, but this morning I thought about the exquisite television series Veronica Mars for the first time in too long. The R.B.D.S.O.T.D. is thus "We Used to Be Friends," used for all three seasons as the Veronica Mars theme song. Kristen Bell's performance in the titular rôle was a revelation, & she herself remains a vision.
Holy moley, this story is within a whisker of that classic hypothetical headline "man bites dog": Man Loses Cockfight. I have to say, I'm glad this Mr. Ochoa is dead; his well-earned demise helps to make up for the disappointment over Michael Vick having not been fed to his own dogs.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The Explorers Club
No. CCXXI - The Tropical Islands Resort, built to be a latter-day airship hanger.
Oh, those wacky Germans.
The Stars My Destination
I can only imagine the anguish with which Captain Kelly has had to grapple, but I must agree that he's taken the right decision:STS-134. The man is an astronaut—a calling, not a job—& the final flight of the Endeavour may well be the last flight of an American spacecraft for years, perhaps decades, to come. Godspeed to the last crew of the Endeavour; Godspeed to Representative Giffords for a swift & full recovery.
The "cosmonauts" of the Mars-500 project are soon to make planetfall on "Mars": Red Planet. On the one hand, simulations like this make me sad, because with President Obama's relentless, remorseless campaign to bring to an end manned spaceflight these are the closest Mankind's going to get to visiting other celestial bodies for decades to come. On the other hand, they buoy my spirits, because they remind me that resistance exists to our charlatan president's war against manned spaceflight. And on the gripping hand, regardless of how I feel, why not? And who better to conduct this research than the Russians? With their long experience with the Mir space station, nobody understands the ins & outs of space madness better than those wily Muscovites.
Elsewhere in news about the Red Planet…
Science!
I've read only one tale by Arthur C. Clarke & it was tripe (the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey). Nevertheless, I cannot resist the Clarke reference: The Sands of Mars. Whyever do people suppose that Mars is a static, "dead" planet? Sure, the Red Planet is neither Burroughs's Barsoom nor Lewis's Malacandra, but what is the basis of the notion that if Mars is not teeming with sapient life it much also be devoid of geological & atmospheric processes? Keep on poking holes in ignorant, arrogant assumptions, Mars; hope to see you soon.
Science!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
They Might Be Giants, "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (live) from Severe Tire Damage (T.L.A.M.)
No. CCXXI - The Tropical Islands Resort, built to be a latter-day airship hanger.
Oh, those wacky Germans.
The Stars My Destination
I can only imagine the anguish with which Captain Kelly has had to grapple, but I must agree that he's taken the right decision:STS-134. The man is an astronaut—a calling, not a job—& the final flight of the Endeavour may well be the last flight of an American spacecraft for years, perhaps decades, to come. Godspeed to the last crew of the Endeavour; Godspeed to Representative Giffords for a swift & full recovery.
The "cosmonauts" of the Mars-500 project are soon to make planetfall on "Mars": Red Planet. On the one hand, simulations like this make me sad, because with President Obama's relentless, remorseless campaign to bring to an end manned spaceflight these are the closest Mankind's going to get to visiting other celestial bodies for decades to come. On the other hand, they buoy my spirits, because they remind me that resistance exists to our charlatan president's war against manned spaceflight. And on the gripping hand, regardless of how I feel, why not? And who better to conduct this research than the Russians? With their long experience with the Mir space station, nobody understands the ins & outs of space madness better than those wily Muscovites.
Elsewhere in news about the Red Planet…
Science!
I've read only one tale by Arthur C. Clarke & it was tripe (the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey). Nevertheless, I cannot resist the Clarke reference: The Sands of Mars. Whyever do people suppose that Mars is a static, "dead" planet? Sure, the Red Planet is neither Burroughs's Barsoom nor Lewis's Malacandra, but what is the basis of the notion that if Mars is not teeming with sapient life it much also be devoid of geological & atmospheric processes? Keep on poking holes in ignorant, arrogant assumptions, Mars; hope to see you soon.
Science!
The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
They Might Be Giants, "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (live) from Severe Tire Damage (T.L.A.M.)
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Operation AXIOM
I hope all & sundry enjoyed Groundhog Day. The groundhog predicts an early spring, but let us hope that baleful state does not come to pass. You might think I'd be sick of winter, my father & I having spent three solid hours shoveling Wilson Field on Wednesday, but you'd be very much mistaken. The backbreaking labor might not be fun in the moment, but it is an honorable & necessary ritual of the winter, & rituals add richness & solemnity to our lives. And I do so love both winter & snow: glorious, gorgeous snow. So, three cheers for Punxsutawney Phil (Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray!), but let's hope he's dead wrong about Anno Domini 2011 having an early spring.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "Science Fiction Double Feature" from Are a Drag (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Oddly enough, the proper title of the original song is "Science Fiction/Double Feature." The slash is superfluous, making this a rare case in which I'm pointing out a bit of punctuation that should have been removed—& was by the Gimme Gimmes.
Mittwoch, 2 Februar
John Linnell, "Pennsylvania" from State Songs (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: In commemoration of Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney Phil, not the upcoming Super Bowl & Pittsburgh's wholly loathsome quarterback.
Dienstag, 1 Februar
Lou Bega, "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
I hope all & sundry enjoyed Groundhog Day. The groundhog predicts an early spring, but let us hope that baleful state does not come to pass. You might think I'd be sick of winter, my father & I having spent three solid hours shoveling Wilson Field on Wednesday, but you'd be very much mistaken. The backbreaking labor might not be fun in the moment, but it is an honorable & necessary ritual of the winter, & rituals add richness & solemnity to our lives. And I do so love both winter & snow: glorious, gorgeous snow. So, three cheers for Punxsutawney Phil (Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray! Hip hip! Hooray!), but let's hope he's dead wrong about Anno Domini 2011 having an early spring.
The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "Science Fiction Double Feature" from Are a Drag (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: Oddly enough, the proper title of the original song is "Science Fiction/Double Feature." The slash is superfluous, making this a rare case in which I'm pointing out a bit of punctuation that should have been removed—& was by the Gimme Gimmes.
Mittwoch, 2 Februar
John Linnell, "Pennsylvania" from State Songs (T.L.A.M.)
Commentary: In commemoration of Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney Phil, not the upcoming Super Bowl & Pittsburgh's wholly loathsome quarterback.
Dienstag, 1 Februar
Lou Bega, "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)
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