Some awesome, sad, funny stuff

To a large extent, my blog is becoming simply a venue for reposting my favorite posts from Table of Malcontents. But that's ok, because I don't know anyone who reads this blog that regularly checks ToM.

And this was too good to pass up.

I remember being a moody depressed high school student listening to "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails alone in my room with the lights off, feeling utterly alone sobbing gently, while imagining beating up a jock and the girl of my dreams being so impressed by my masculinity that she makes out with me right then and there, while the fallen jock nurses his bloody lip.

And this version of the song is even darker. Trent Reznor had a sad, pained delivery that spoke to me as an adolescent, but Kermit can still make me cry.



If you're wondering, the pretext is that after Jim Henson's death, Kermit had his own downward spiral into drugs and despair, unable to cope with the loss of his creator. Sad, sad, sad.

The Thermals: Pillar of Salt

This is a killer band from Portland that I've been listening to for a week and a day. Nell loves them too. If you need a little more convincing, they are a Sub Pop Records, the former home of Sleater-Kinney, and current home of The Postal Service, Wolf Parade, Low, and Iron and Wine, to name a few.

Check out the description of The Thermals' 2006 album, The Boby, the Blood, the Machine:

"Envision the United States as governed by a fascist Christian state, and then focus on the need (and means) to escape. The Thermals did just that and out came The Body, The Blood, The Machine."

Plus, The Thermals features the best thing any band can have: a female bassist. Awesome!

Here is the video from "Pillar of Salt", a good tune that precedes Nell's favorite on the album.

An evolution post!

It finally happened: evolution has been conclusively disproved. I feel like such a fool for being tricked by the evil-lutionists. But my eyes have been open. How did this happen? Two words: Peanut Butter.

Wednesday Afternoon=All Good

I'm sitting on a couch cruising the net for some new music and just watched this video. The band is The Hold Steady and the song is "Stuck between stations." I really dig this song and the video is great, but you have to watch to the very end. If you do, you will find this band very endearing and earnest.

Do you love Dr. Who?

And not just the Daleks. ToM posts a YouTube video about creating the Dr. Who theme. Note also the impressive number of links in that sentence. As a blogger, I think I have really come into my own.

If you like Frank Rich as much as I do...

and you are a student at a university (which most of you are), you will be pleased to hear that the NY Times is offering free subscriptions to Times Select. All you need is a .edu email address. Here's the link. Click on University and Faculty Student Subscription.

I've Still Got It

Went golfing today with Nell, Arf, and SB. I hadn't been in five years and I was a little worried I was going to hit some vehicles (holes 3 and 4 border a pretty busy urban street). But to my pleasant suprise my first drive flew straight and true. Not super long or anything, but straight. Long story short, it was a good time, and I need to get me some more golfing.

Wednesday, Again

I don't know how it happened. I was having a very pleasant day. Nice relaxing lunch followed by a nap. I wasn't stuck at school all day numbly surfing the internet. Accounting was fairly interesting. And yet at four o'clock, half way through accounting, I started getting an ache in my stomach as a huge truckload of anxiety beset me. Now I want to explode, but I don't know how. Oh why can't I just explode.
:(

Families Against Government Slavery v. Commissioner

And who says tax cases are boring. This group was denied 501(c)(3) status. And what do they do? Well here are some great lines from the case:

"Language in the documents that Mr. Matthews distributes to the public at the referred-to demonstrations alleges that the Federal Bureau of Investigation kidnaps Hollywood celebrities and that law enforcement personnel and private gangs are joined in a conspiracy to kill, trap, and enslave Hollywood celebrities and minorities 'to gain more financial support' and to engage in activities that petitioner describes as 'blood sport.'"

"In total, petitioner submitted to respondent more than 1,000 pages of documents consisting largely of nonsensical, emotionally charged, and incomprehensible allegations."

The opinion is here.

Lists are bad!

So says ToM (Table of Malcontents).

To a point, it is impossible to disagree. Try to list your top ten movies, and the struggle that ensues when you try to rank Biodome and Rules of the Game against each other. On what basis can any separate and complex entity be determined "better" or "worse" than any other? Every movie (or book or song or artist) has so many different and subtle aspects that appeal (or repulse (or something in between or ex betwixt)) to different facets of my psyche that it is only by taking away from the entity most or all of its components that 10 (or even 2) movies (etc.) can be put on a list.

That being said, Brownlee is wrong and lists are fun; as long as we don't rely on them as the only form of exposition/discussion/etc. into art and entertainment.