The End

The time has come to shut down this blog.
I am no longer a cold, hard man.

"Good night, sleep tight, may all your dreams come true" - Lawrence Welk

Public Enemy, The Roots, Jimmy Fallon. It Takes A Nation Of Millions...

On June 6, The Roots Picnic Music Festival will go down in the band's hometown of Philadelphia. Aside from playing two sets, opening and closing the festival, The mighty, mighty Roots will also back Public Enemy as they perform their masterpiece "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" IN ITS ENTIRETY.

Here's your preview of that show. Now go buy your bus ticket to Philly.

Thru You: Kutiman Mixes YouTube

Thru-You. Kutiman, an Israeli musician/producer, has edited together unrelated music videos and clips from YouTube to create one of the best records of the year. Consider it this year's "Grey Album" - except more brilliant, more innovative, and a true work of musical artistry.

Elbow: Station Approaches

The great, great UK band Elbow.

Crazy, Crazy Good Beyonce by Antony And The Johnson's

Antony and The Johnson's cover of Beyonce's Crazy In Love.

T-Mobile Dance

This clip is all over the interweb and with good reason. Imagine going to work on a regular day like any other, passing through the same subway station like you have a thousand times before, and suddenly this little bit of magic happens around you.



The idea is certainly inspired by Improv Everywhere's "Food Court Musical"(shown below). One of many Flash Mob performances they've staged over the years including Frozen Grand Central and No Pants Subway.

Day 1 To Do List: Guantanamo. Blog.

1. President Obama has ordered the U.S. government to suspend prosecutions of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for 120 days.

2. The White House Blog is up and running. Macon Phillips, Obama's White House director of new media, reaffirms a campaign promise—that the White House will post all nonemergency legislation to the site for five days and review all the comments that come in before the president signs or vetoes the bill.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

"Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled".

The Long, Cold Winter

I curse winter every single day and in return it bitch slaps me silly. In Antarctica, it pile-drives you then plays Foosball with your limp, puny remains.

Inauguration Day

In anticipation of January 20: Patty Griffin's perfect MLK Song (Up To The Mountain).

Here's To A New Year

Sandy Denny: By the Time it Gets Dark

Baby, every cloud has a silver lining
Baby every dog really has his day
And it matters to me to see you smiling
Why don't we blow all your cares away ?

Yesterday is gone and will be forgotten
And today is where every new day starts
Got to be free as the leaves in autumn
You may be sad but it never lasts.

And maybe, by the evening we'll be laughing
Just wait and see
All the changes there'll be
By the time it gets dark.

We could go walking out in the sunshine
Look at all the people out in the street
Hurrying away to a business luncheon
Waiting for a taxi for aching feet.

Light up your face, baby, let's get going
Want to see a change in those weary eyes
We'll have some fun, take a boat out rowing
Why on earth should life be so serious?

And maybe, by the evening we'll be laughing
Just wait and see
All the changes there'll be
By the time it gets dark.

Marley & Me

From Kottke's Best Link's Of 2008: Big Dog developed by Boston Dynamics. A robotic dog that cannot be stopped. Seriously. Amazing stuff.

In Memoriam: 2008

Studs Terkel, William F. Buckley Jr.

Bobby Fischer, Arthur C. Clarke

Harold Pinter, Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Paul Newman

photos: Magnum via Slate

J.D Salinger Turns 90

Happy birthday Mr. Salinger. Wherever you are.

A Christmas Miracle Of Science

An incredible breakthrough in science has just been announced: Gay scientists have isolated the "Christian" gene.