Shelter from the storm

Monday night the Lindsay Rakers Band played the Bob Dylan tribute at The 5 Spot - it was a swell thing to be amongst so many of Atlanta's finest, and to get to play a couple of songs, too. I don't know how Lindsay can manage to remember all 690 verses to "Tangled Up in Blue," but she does.

At right is the mighty mighty DQE, who played right after us and delivered a lesson in keeping it simple and doing it right. I just really wanted to hear them do "Go Bananas!"

Propzillas to Jeff Clark for hosting a great night!

Vote Colbert '08

Apparently some folks think that Stephen Colbert's presidential campaign makes a mockery of American politics. Friends, I think that job has been done and done well. Hell, Alan Keyes is running! If someone put a box of thumbtacks on the ballot, I would really have to like the opponent to vote against it. I envy the fine people of South Carolina if they actually get a chance to vote for nacho cheese-flavored truthiness a la Colbert. I welcome the dadaist nuttery of Mike Gravel. Bring on the Black Vampire party (Herschel P. Chocula in 2008)! Can it really get any worse?

The Somerset Sound

The Nightwatchman, Serj Tankian at The Roxy, Atlanta 10/20/2007

Sorry about the really bad phone pic of Tom and Serj performing together during Tom's Nightwatchman set, but what a great show.

It was so refreshing to see a couple thousand people slamming to Woodie Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." Tom Morello did a classic protest set on nylon-string guitar and harmonica, belting out tunes about union workers and war crimes and racism. I saw lots of young hacky-sacker types, frat-a-likes, and, most interestingly, parents with their kids all singing along with raised fists. For anybody who's ever seen Dylan or even the Indigo Girls, it was nothing new, but damn it was nice to see one man with a gut-string bring the rock old-school. Certain other git-tar heroes might spend their bands' downtime hosting inane reality shows (paging Mr. Navarro, you have a call on the lame courtesy phone) or just hanging out and enjoying their millions, but Morello has something to say, y'all, and he's out there saying it. Big ups.

Serj Tankian's set was a thrilling outburst of often Zappa-esque art metal executed by a tight-as-tick six-piece band. When there's so much mediocre crap on the radio, it's great to see a committed artist out there taking risks with their music and being successful.

witness the mastery...

...of SHRED!

And then go check out this guy's other videos.

Let's see what the Christian Right does with this...

Ann Coulter, official spokeswoman for American Christianity(tm), thinks we should all just get over it and be Christian. That goes for you, too, Jewboy!

Punks punch Monet

This happened at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, where I have been. Totally serious. I went to Paris this one time with my wife when she was still my girlfriend.

Now, I can see attacking a Kinkade at the mall, or maybe writing a really pissy critique in Art Papers, but puncturing a Monet?

Bungie to be independent

As a long time Macboy, and a Bungie fan since the original Marathon, I was thrilled to see the first Halo demo on the then brand-new PowerMac G4 at an Apple event. Then I watched Bungie become part of the Microsoft universe, with Halo becoming an Xbox title.

The NYT (linked above) is now reporting that the rumors are true: Bungie is being spun off. Can we expect to see some action for Playstation or (heaven forbid) the Mac in the near future? May I quake with glee? Is Oni 2 in the works?! Oh, the possibilities...

Notblu animates on walls

For reals.

float on

Sometimes, when you're wandering around downtown, you see things...

Thank you, asinine chain-email!

I had the most marvelous thing delivered to me today at work via sneakernet: a photocopied printout of an email hoax concerning the ACLU and praying Marines. Get the scoop here or maybe here.

I work in a public school, and despite any myths you've heard about education being a seething hotbed of liberalism, we get all kinds. I will, however, go out on a long, thin limb and venture that the more intelligent folks seem to lean leftwards, and the less intelligent (or maybe just less well educated) folks lean right-ish. Grain of salt.

This particular letter bomblet was delivered by a staffer (not a teacher, mind you). As she handed it to me, I suggested to her that with this kind of thing, you have to be wary of the story's authenticity. She assured me it was genuine, seeing as how "a preacher's wife" gave it to her.

My response: "See what I mean?"

The whole thing looked bogus, from the vague reference to a "recent event" to the names of the supposed USMC colonel and alleged ACLU spokesman. So, being the librarian that I am, I did a Google search for "marines praying ACLU" and got the links above, among many others. A few seconds of applied information literacy and there you have it. Myth busted.

So, naturally, I got a little peeved about this person blithely spreading disinformation (i.e. "lies") because Mrs. Lovejoy gave it to her, and because of her own ignorance of the ACLU and its mission. But I did not hunt her down, present my evidence, and demand a retraction. I recognized this as a moment in which I was reminded of that which I value, and that which I am committed to resist at all turns. I took an action that affirmed that commitment.

I renewed my membership in the ACLU.

So, thank you, ignorance. Thank you arrogance. Thank you, photocopied print-out of a chain email. Thank you for reminding me.

Tom Waits on Letterman

Proof that God still loves us, in spite of everything we do in His name.