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Tom Lehrer, 1928-2025
4 weeks ago
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Opening Sat. Sept. 27: James Adelman
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Beginner's Guide to "No Homo"
Lawlz! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this. Expect to see more videos from Jay Smooth posted here in the future. -HR
Sinking to New Depths
You knew that McCain and the GOP were in trouble this year when Karl Rove started criticizing them for putting out ads, "that are, you know, beyond the 100-percent-truth test." Think about how low you have to sink to have your integrity and the veracity of your statements questioned by Turd Blossom. The mind boggles.
But apparently the McCain campaign decided that running false ads, choosing an unqualified VP, and creating lame distractions isn't going to be enough to carry the day. It looks like the GOP is jumping in their wayback machine for a "what's old is new again" dirty trick: voter disenfranchisement.
There's been a lot of talk about disenfranchisement in Florida during the 2000 election, but the GOP seems to have decided to expand their program. Naturally, after the Michigan GOP got cold busted in the cynical and, dare I say, downright unAmerican attempt to stifle voting rights; they immediately started backpedaling but still admitted to using other tactics and techniques to suppress voter turnout.
Thankfully our man in the field, Senator Obama, has directed his campaign to file suit over the disgusting practice of using foreclosure lists to keep people from voting. It also looks like slightly more mainstream media outlets are starting to pick up on the story as well.
When the GOP wonders why there aren't more Black Republicans, they would do well to remember this kind of shit and how it looks to us African-Americans.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Steampunk is Dead?
Who knew Steampunk was even alive? I had heard of Steampunk a while back and had even seen some examples via TechRepublic and the like. Still, steampunk struck me as one of those esoteric trends that gets endlessly jocked by the hipsterati only to be dissed minutes later by someone trying to burnish their too cool for this universe credentials. In this particular case, at least the folks declaring the trend dead did it with a wink and a nod.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Beautiful Struggle
I've been in the tank for Ta-Nehisi Coates since the first time I read his blog a few months ago. In addition to bringing a strong voice new voice to the Blogosphere, TC is the only blogger (that I'm aware of) that has seen fit to bless me with a link. I hold tight to that link as a soupçon of legitimacy for my blogging. Herr Coates just published his first book earlier this year, The Beautiful Struggle and I finally got a chance to read it.
I'm gonna try not to get too caught up in a bunch of superlatives here, but the book is damn good. Even though I'm a few years older than TC and we had vastly different upbringings, I knew that as a Black man and an aspiring writer this book was going to have something to say to me. I read the book in two sittings; after I woke up from a nap today I read the first half while enjoying a couple of hours home alone and then after I put BabyRat to bed I finished it off. I think the last book I devoured like this was the Godfather.
What struck me about this book was that it seems like a spiritual companion to so many other great coming of age stories, both real and fictional. Even though I want every Black man and boy in America to read this book, I hope that others who didn't grow up Black or in an urban environment will read this book and find some reflection of themselves and their life in TC's words.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Friday Night Links
On the music front, I'm all about Santogold right now. Here's a video for the song L.E.S. Artistes, totally badass.
Interested in Google Chrome? Via Twitter, I found a guy named Matt Cutts who seems to have a lot of good background information if you're interested.
Are you ready for some football? I sure as hell am.
How does a Playboy Playmate allow herself to get impregnated by David Spade?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
After the Speech
I'm feeling slightly better, but WTF was up with that music after Obama got done speaking? Naturally I would have preferred that he played "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" or I would have settled for the Godfather's theme. OK, obviously I'm joking but what if he had finished and then dropped "The Message?"
[updated]
This song would have worked as a nice outro too. Check out the video of NaS over at the Cynics' Party killing Fox News.
Was it just me or was the end of Obama's speech kind of weak? He waited until the last possible moment to mention MLK and then it was like he threw cold water on himself and finished up with some lame bromides about unity. I understand that if Obama wants to win this election he has to avoid being seen as "too black, too strong" but finishing up with some weak-ass, whack-ass, generic country music was a punk move.
Feeling Jaded & Cynical
As a (relatively) young Black man today is supposed to be a joyful day of triumph for me, but I'm not feeling that way right now. I don't know if my cynicism about party politics has prevented me from enjoying the coronation of Barack Obama as the Democratic Party Presidential nominee or it's my fear of having my hopes dashed by the reality that Obama is a politician and will ultimately be forced to make the compromises that all pols must make to get elected. Regardless, I'm taking no pleasure in what is one of the most significant political moments in American history and probably the single most important event in African-American history.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Working From Home and its Discontents
While we're out here in F-M area the wife and I are both working from home. I have still have a more or less regular job that happens during regular business hours, so I'm usually out of bed and in front of my computer some time between 7-8am making sure there's not some sort of asinine USDA fire drill jumping off. After extinguishing any early morning fires, I'll make breakfast, get everyone ready, and then send them on their merry way. The wife likes working at the coffee shop, so she takes the little one to school and goes there while I sit around in my underwear all morning working, scratching, and farting not necessarily in that order.
This setup is fine when we can pack BabyRat off to school for the day, but this week her school is closed until Thursday. So now the unpleasant chore of prioritizing either my job or the wife's job rears its ugly head.
To me this seems like a no brainer. I have a regular gig complete with a boss riding my ass, co-workers asking about deliverables, and meetings that I'm expected to attend. My wife on the other hand, is on sabbatical right now. Yes, she has a book to finish and a publisher that has set a deadline that she may not meet unless she gets busy. But having just gotten tenure, it's not she's going to get fired anytime soon.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Back From the Lake
Christ, I keep finding myself in this dilemma; so much to write about and not enough time to do it. The life of a family man is hard (but rewarding), time is tight, and a silly, navel-gazing indulgence like blogging is the last thing on the "to do" list. So for now I'm going to give up on creating a coherent narrative and hit y'all off with some bullet points.-The Dark Knight
I finally got to see this a month late. As of right now, the best superhero movie I've ever seen. There are some haters out there, but they can eat a dick. If I had any say in the matter, I would let this version of Batman marinate for 10-15 years and do a straight up adaptation of the "The Dark Knight Returns". To set the stage, have whoever the best comic book fan/movie maker of the day is do a 30-40 minute uncensored, untouched by studio hands (but with studio budget) viral video 2-3 years ahead of time.- Thoughts About the Lake
I had a blast. BabyRat was able to run buckwild for eight days with a bunch of her cousins; I loved see her able to play and be free without a bunch of restrictions. There was a playground about 50 feet from our cabin and a couple of 9-10 year old cousins who were only too happy to be left in charge of a posse of kids. We were able to go swimming, boating, and fishing just about every day and while you're at the lake you don't have to sweat bedtime and shit too much either.
WifeRat was relaxed and happy because BabyRat was happy, and of course I was happy because they were happy. The fact that I probably drank close to a hundred beers and liter of bourbon over the course of the week may have contributed to that happiness. The beauty part of the setup was you really only had to be on your game a total of less than two days over the course of eight days. This probably sounds really bad to someone reading this, but I was sober when I needed to be. Don't be a judgmental prick.My New Favorite Blogger?
With apologies to my man Ta-Nehisi Coates - the only blogger that's ever given me any shine. Check his blogroll, Woot! - is there anyone who's ass Ken Silverstein isn't scorching these days? The Democratic National Convention? Check. The Taliban/Al Quaeda? Check. Obama? Check. GOP? Check. Mainstream media? Check. Not only is this guy bringing the heat all around the political dial, he's also telling stories and giving analysis you just don't really hear about world events.
I heard this guy on mad lefty radio station WPFW, but what impressed me the most was that in the ten minutes I heard him talking he very and forthrightly copped to his own predjudices and how they affect his work. It was the kind of honesty that you don't typically get from say, someone like David Broder of the Washington Post.
Flame on my friend, flame on!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Big Pine Lake
One of the defining experiences of life in this part of the US is spending the Summer going to "the lake." Minnesota is billed as the land of 10,000 lakes, now I don't know how accurate that count is but it seems like it could correct. There's Lake Lizzie (where BabyRat caught her first fish), Detroit Lakes, Big Pine Lake (where I am right now), and list goes on.
Now I've been warned by WifeRat not to write about my in-laws and I'll respect that as much as possible, but I'll go on record as saying that it's massively unfair to have me in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of people who say things like, "Uff da" and expect me to not mine that vein of comedy gold.
Tomorrow is the big day, we (me and all the assembled brothers-in-law) are cooking a whole pig. The setup here was that each family would have a day where they cooked for the assembled masses.
Friday, August 08, 2008
No Writing, Just Links
I was just in DC for a few days, but I don't feel like writing right now. Here's what I'm reading about:
Kwame Kilpatrick, just resign already. Seriously, in the words of Oran "Juice" Jones, "close your mouth, 'cause you're cold busted."
Could you imagine the foaming at the mouth if Obama was getting a bunch of shady donations from the Abdullah family?
I found this place Coilhouse via the copyranter. Categories at Coilhouse include: drugs, cthulhu, and stroke material. I lack the verbal skill to do the site justice, go see for yourself when in the mood for something different.
Please, let this be true so that I may cut Comcast out of my life like a cancer.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Separated at Birth?
The second installment in an occasional series.
Presented for your consideration, musician Lil Jon and clubhouse cancer Manny Ramirez.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
From the Mouth of Mark Thorp
mornin'
this friday, 8/1 , DJ L S. y'all know ellis. post-punk like nirvana, pop like madonna, old skool, new skewl... all takin the shortbus...
this saturray, 8/2, Re:sonance (dj's mike darpino & chris diamond). placebo, clutch, underworld, ladytron, damned... definitely rides the shortbus... here's their last setlist http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=165842744&blogID=415104203
next friday, 8/8, DJ Mob Beat. gorillaz, james brown, pixies, tribe, prince... meanderin' all over the map (yes via shortbus)...
next saturray, 8/9, Big Nick. hip hop w/ old funk & soul deep from the vaults... & this here's the master of the shortbus so come get you kiddies learned...
thanks so much for all the offers to speak to ABRA on our behalferage. turns out the investigator isn't interviewing anyone from our team 'cause there's no case against us. the hearing's september 3rd, should be good sport if anyone wants to come cheer. we gotta cheer that goes like "ya ya tequila! ya ya tequila! i amn't drunk! still jes' drinkin'!", which is a real good cheer 'cept some of the other kids don't get it. as diamond dave ravikoff would say, them other kids is "clownshoes".
shortbus does wheelies
troy&dawn&mark
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hulu? Who Knew?
So I've been on TiVo's tip for a couple of years now. I've seen the Comcast DVR and the new DirectTV DVR, but the interfaces aren't as smooth and even though I don't spend a lot of time rating programs to take advantage of TiVo's higher brain functions, I still manage to get some good recommendations out of it. In fact, I almost never look at the suggestions my TiVo makes for me, but one of the few times I looked at the list I found a show called Mad Men.
While we're out here in the middle of nowhere, WifeRat and I decided to roll TV free. We didn't bring one with us and turned down the numerous offers of TV sets as well. When our young cousin came to stay with us last week I thought he was going to have a stroke when he realized we didn't have a TV.
I was talking with one of my teammates before I left town and he told me that he and his wife didn't have cable, but still watched TV over the internet. I knew that networks had started showing streams over the internet, so when I was jonesing for some TV the other night I watched a couple of episodes of 30 Rock that I had missed during the season.
Then the other day I was reading Wired (which alternates between brilliant, insipid, and a collection of press releases for the Silicon Valley flavor of the moment) and saw their "Wired, Tired, Expired" list that contained Hulu, TiVo, and Blockbuster. Blockbuster is most assuredly expired, that one I get, I haven't set foot in a video rental store in at least four years. But calling TiVo "tired" and WTF is Hulu?
Not that I live my life according to lists in magazines, but I just spent almost $1,000 on a new dual-tuner HD TiVo (upgraded with an additional 500GB of storage, natch) with a lifetime subscription less than a year ago and the technology is being declared obsolete? Fuck me gently with a chain saw.
After posting to the other blog I'm contributor on I wanted to watch some TV so I took my stinkin' ass over to Hulu. Interesting stuff, they have a lot of TV shows over there. In the Summer when shows are off the air and the entire previous season is available it seems like a good deal for the low, low cost of free. But this seems awfully forward thinking for companies like News Corp and NBC/Universal. Anybody reading this on the Hulu bandwagon?
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I'm in Fargo on Saturday Night, Here are Some Links
If TC’s stuff wasn’t always so on point I wouldn’t constantly link to him; but he is, so I do. Maybe I’ll just ask him if I can be his publicist.
And here I was thinking this kind of stuff only happened to us Black guys.
Ha, ha! Wanksta rappers get brutally clowned
Here I am stuck in Fargo for six months and the first band worth seeing (the SuperSuckers, at a small venue to boot) comes around on a weekend when I gotta head back to DC. So. Fucking. Lame.
Also harshing my mellow; the Points are playing at Memory Lanes on August 11 in the cities while I’m going to be at the lake with the whole in-law clan. I’ve been warned not to write anything about how badly a certain in-law was annoying me earlier tonight.
Just downloaded Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair the other day, can’t believe I missed this album the first go ‘round. Attention Avril, Alanis, and all of you other angst ridden grrrrls: you will never get close to doing anything this good.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Old Picture
I was irate when I saw this and meant to post it immediately, but better late than never.
It's bad enough (not to mention really ironic) when Parking Enforcement (PE) parks illegally to give a parking ticket. In that case at least PE is doing their job, a job stealing money from District citizens, but a job that has to be done. But this numbskull was illegally parked while running into a convenience store on June 11, 2008 at about 2pm. If you're a PE supervisor who sees this, you should bust this motherfucker's ass!!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Straight Outta Grafton
Shit, I have way too much to write about and not nearly enough time to do it. Hopefully that will change now that we've finally moved out of my in-laws spot and into our place. The next big move is to get BabyRat into daycare out here so WifeRat can finally finish her book.
We spent last weekend visiting "the Aunts", one lives in Grafton, ND and the other in East Grand Forks, MN. These are the places where white meets bread.
It's always great to see the Aunts because they're super nice, have an endless supply of cold beer, and always cook me whatever I want. No one is going to be making me seared pork belly or any kind of haute cuisine, but they make some good ass fried Walleye and do amazing things with the fresh new potatoes that are in ample supply this time of year. When I say fresh, I mean fresh like a farmer they know waves them over as they're driving past the field and gives them potatoes they just pulled from the ground. Then they take those ultra-fresh morsels and get stupid with cream, dumplings, and fresh dill; it's carb-tastic!!
This time we were up there mooching because they were supplying us with basically everything we needed for our place: beds, dressers, linens, dishes, desks, chairs, tables, and a couch. So while I was up north in addition to saving myself a ton of money on furniture I ate like a pig, had free child care in the form of various cousins and aunts, and I got to play golf too.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Fargo Field Report
I guess I should first explain that I'm not actually living in Fargo. Right in the middle of Fargo is the Red River; on the west side of the river is Fargo, on the east side is Moorhead, Minnesota. Collectively the two cities make up the Red River Valley and are generally known as the Fargo-Moorhead area. We're living in a small town right next to Moorhead called Dilworth, MN, but to keep from having to explain this all the time I just say that I'm living in Fargo.
So far things have been pretty chill; I've been taking full advantage of the fact that we're staying at the in-laws place (built-in child care, woo-hoo!) and have been to the movies twice. Yes, I'm living on the edge.
When we got here we had no idea where we were going to live. WifeRat was determined to live as close to her folks as possible, which means we ended up in an apartment about a five minute walk away from their house. I'm mildly disappointed because I didn't move all the way to the middle of fucking nowhere to live in an apartment, but considering it's not quite 1200 sq ft (almost 50% larger than our place in DC) has two bathrooms, a heated garage, a balcony and only costs $790/month it's more than OK. We looked at a 6BR farm house that was gi-normous and only $1100/month; but once we factored in fuel oil costs, the logistical nightmare of getting broadband internet, maintaining the place (I haven't cut grass in almost 15 years), and the fact that we have no furniture we decided on the apartment. The farm house would have been dope, but for six months it wasn't worth the hassle.
Working remotely has been cool so far, but I've actually been working harder than usual. I've got to keep my production up to justify my continued existence on the contract, so I now find myself attending more phone conferences and nonsense than before. While I'm out here, I'm taking the opportunity to do some analysis on exactly what kind of effect the dumb ass policies and initiatives that come out of USDA headquarters have on the actual customers of USDA (farmers) and the field offices that they're supposed to be supporting. My boss is in my corner, but we have a feeling that people aren't going to be happy with what I find out though.
Later,
HR
So far things have been pretty chill; I've been taking full advantage of the fact that we're staying at the in-laws place (built-in child care, woo-hoo!) and have been to the movies twice. Yes, I'm living on the edge.
When we got here we had no idea where we were going to live. WifeRat was determined to live as close to her folks as possible, which means we ended up in an apartment about a five minute walk away from their house. I'm mildly disappointed because I didn't move all the way to the middle of fucking nowhere to live in an apartment, but considering it's not quite 1200 sq ft (almost 50% larger than our place in DC) has two bathrooms, a heated garage, a balcony and only costs $790/month it's more than OK. We looked at a 6BR farm house that was gi-normous and only $1100/month; but once we factored in fuel oil costs, the logistical nightmare of getting broadband internet, maintaining the place (I haven't cut grass in almost 15 years), and the fact that we have no furniture we decided on the apartment. The farm house would have been dope, but for six months it wasn't worth the hassle.
Working remotely has been cool so far, but I've actually been working harder than usual. I've got to keep my production up to justify my continued existence on the contract, so I now find myself attending more phone conferences and nonsense than before. While I'm out here, I'm taking the opportunity to do some analysis on exactly what kind of effect the dumb ass policies and initiatives that come out of USDA headquarters have on the actual customers of USDA (farmers) and the field offices that they're supposed to be supporting. My boss is in my corner, but we have a feeling that people aren't going to be happy with what I find out though.
Later,
HR
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