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| There are great benefits to connectedness, but we haven't wrapped our minds around the costs. |
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Getting Out the Music Lovers |
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| Topic: Elections |
9:39 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
Can music influence Southern voters? Apparently so. "Music is so much a part of the Southern culture. These Nashville cats are the most powerful folks in country music. They can get this done." Or can they? Many country artists -- especially the younger stars -- are holding their tongues when the subject of politics is raised. Many of them said, off the record, that their reluctance is based on the fear of a backlash from country radio. Getting Out the Music Lovers |
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Sharing the Pain, in a Grayer Time |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
9:16 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
The RIAA said it had sued 493 more people over copyright infringement as part of its campaign to stop consumers from copying music over the Internet. Not everyone can be a hero. Lost online due to "Weapons of mass ligitation": 2,947
Cost: $3,000 each (I also would have accepted 'statistically indistinguishable from zero') Lost in Iraq due to "Weapons of mass destruction": ~800
Cost: priceless (I also would have accepted '$12,000' -- see death gratuity) I realize innumeracy is rampant, but please do not confuse "priceless" with "statistically indistinguishable from zero." Thank you. Sharing the Pain, in a Grayer Time |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
9:10 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
World War II had such stark moral clarity in history that it's almost irrelevant in providing lessons about conflict in a grayer time. Everyone in America had a role in World War II, men and women, young and old, all pulling together. In the Iraq war, there's not much sharing the pain. An Ode to Clarity |
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Appreciations: Roger Straus Jr. |
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| Topic: Literature |
9:03 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
"There are two questions to be asked respecting every new publication -- Is it worth buying? Is it worth borrowing?" Roger Straus Jr., the Straus in FSG, who died on Tuesday at age 87, understood the difference between asking, "Is it worth buying?" and "Can it be sold?" One by one, the last of the independents go out of business. We are supposed to accept this as the norm -- the great tidal shift to a model of publishing that has undone nearly all the vital instincts of the great editors and publishers who made publishing matter. As Mr. Straus knew and demonstrated, the only meaningful efficiency in publishing is excellent taste. Appreciations: Roger Straus Jr. |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
8:59 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
The steady expansion of Putin's control over the Parliament, the media, the courts and the tycoons suggests a neo-Soviet boss capitalizing on the fatigue of Russians to herd them back under authoritarian control. Russia's longing for a measure of security is understandable. But it is imperative that Mr. Putin not confuse the exercise of power to improve Russians' lives with a restoration of the authoritarian rule that ruined their lives to begin with. A Man in Full Charge |
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Who Tests Voting Machines? |
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| Topic: Elections |
8:55 am EDT, May 30, 2004 |
There is a real danger that elections could be stolen by nefarious computer code. "Independent" testing labs are selected and paid by the voting machine companies, not by the government. It is difficult to determine what, precisely, the labs do. "We don't discuss our voting machine work," said a spokesman for one. When Georgia's new voting machines were not working weeks before the 2002 election, uncertified software that was not approved by any laboratory was added to every machine in the state. The system requires a complete overhaul. Who Tests Voting Machines? |
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Ghost in the Drum Machine |
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| Topic: Society |
5:48 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
Modern pop music is to pre-70s pop music as pro wrestling is to professional boxing. "LL Cool J is not Marvin Haggler. LL Cool J is Hulk Hogan." Ghost in the Drum Machine |
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Over the Ridge and Through the Woods ... |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
5:17 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
"We're aware some of this week's press reports could have created confusion in the minds of the public by attempting to highlight perceived differences between the departments of Homeland Security and Justice. We wish to put aside any differences and demonstrate we're on the same page and unified in our efforts to prevent acts of terrorism." "We thought this would be helpful as we move into this period of threat." Oh, right. Focus on the reporter, not the reported. "It's not me, it's you." Over the Ridge and Through the Woods ... |
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Velvet Revolver, Making a Bang |
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| Topic: Music |
4:57 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
Perhaps never before has such predictability promised such popularity. GNR + STP = VR Yes, my friends, it's just that easy. Perhaps already sensing the inevitable meltdown of Velvet Revolver -- catch 'em while you can, kids -- Slash was a strutting, swaggering, all-or-nothing marvel at the 9:30 club Thursday, leading his much-hyped throwback band through a power-chords-aplenty 75-minute set that had a sold-out all-ages crowd of aggressive guys (and a few understandably skittish gals) eager to bang their heads -- and any other nearby noggins, as well. After all, this is an LA-born band, and its sole function is to sell the naughty lifestyle of the Sunset Strip. ... Here's hoping Slash's next doomed band is just as entertaining. This band is profiled in the Frontline program "The Way The Music Died." Velvet Revolver, Making a Bang |
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| Topic: Movies |
4:57 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
Everyone knows The Wizard of Oz. No explanation is required. So, some quotes: "For twenty-three years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now... well, being a Christian woman, I can't say it!" "Professor Marvel never guesses. He knows!" "Come along Dorothy. You don't want any of those apples."
"Are you hinting my apples aren't what they ought to be?" "With thoughts I'll be thinkin', I could be another Lincoln, if I only had a brain" "Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What have they got that I ain't got?"
"Courage!"
"You can say that again!" "I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do! I do! I do! I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do! I do! I do! I do!" "My Goodness, what a fuss you're making. Well naturally, when you go around picking on things weaker than you are. Why, you're nothing but a great big coward."
"You're right, I am a coward! I haven't any courage at all. I even scare myself." "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking." "Where do you want to be oiled first?" And it just goes on and on ... "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?" Hickory: "All right, Mrs. Gale. But someday, they're going to erect a statue to me in this town."
Auntie Em: "Well, don't start posing for it now." "You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe." "We must be over the rainbow!" The Wizard of Oz |
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