Quote of the Day

The week is winding down, and so too is my brief series of quotes about music. Today, we have a great line courtesy of someone whose name is practically synonymous with music: classical German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827):

"Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the
higher world of knowledge which comprehends
mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend."

Cool Song

I don't know a lot about this band Oakley Hall, though I do have (and like) one of their albums from a couple years ago. This song isn't on it, so I'll have to check out the rest of their catalog. This kind of reminds me of the rootsier side of Jefferson Airplane (who really started out as a folk-rock outfit) way back when:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

You should recognize the above as the source of the photo that graced the top of this blog for awhile up to about a week ago. I joked when I first put it up that the dubious look on Emma's face was aimed at me. The question now is, who is actually sitting to her left (your right), and the likely target of that look? Put your guesses in the comments section.

Last week, I asked you to identify the event that brought Sally, Tom and Nick together, and Sally herself recognized that it was taken at Natalie's first communion (Natalie, who was working on a two week quiz winning streak concurred, but her mom got it first). Thanks to all who played, and good luck this week!

More Friday Family Blogging

I think Emma may be the neatest eater of all my nieces and nephews (as infants/toddlers-- the competition might be stiffer in the teenage years). I have pictures of almost all of them post-feeding, and this is without a doubt the least sloppy. Parents and siblings are welcome to offer counter-evidence for any of the candidates.

Friday Family Blogging

This week, I have a nice picture of Sally and Natalie taken last while we were out hiking along the Niagara Gorge at Artpark. Notice that I am not the only shutterbug in the family.

Friday's Quote

This week has been devoted to the topic of music, and we continue with this snippet from the Polish novelist Joseph Conrad (1857-1924):

"All art therefore, appeals primarily to the senses,
and the artistic aim when expressing itself in
written words must also make its appeal through
the senses, if its high desire is to reach the secret
spring of responsive emotions. It must strenuously
aspire to the plasticity of sculpture, to the color of
painting, and to the magic suggestiveness of
music-- which is the art of arts."

Emmylou Does Townes

"Pancho and Lefty," written by Townes Van Zandt is an acknowledged classic. Lots of folks have recorded the song, but maybe none better than this version by Emmylou Harris. Enjoy:

Bannack in Black and White

Here's a kind of followup post to the one last week where I posted the pictures of the Hotel Meade in Bannack State Park. As you can see, the theme here is black and white. Each of these was shot in color, but converted to b&w; the two below also had some adjustments to brightness and contrast to bring out some highlights. Above is a shot of part of the kitchen (I assume-- since that's a stove on the left) in the Hotel Meade.

This is a buckboard I found inside one of the buildings behind Main Street.

And here's a view of the curving staircase leading down into the lobby of the hotel. As always, comments are welcome.

Quote of the Day

All the quotes I'm posting this week are on the subject of music. Today, we have a comment from Andres Segovia (1893-1987), possibly the greatest classical guitarist ever:

"The advice I am giving always to all my
students is above all to study the music
profoundly... music is like the ocean, and
the instruments are little or bigger islands,
very beautiful for the flowers and trees."

Video of the Day

Leo Kottke is no Lefty Frizell in the vocal department (Lefty had a big hit with this song about twenty years prior to this version), but he's no slouch on the accompaniment. Hope you like this:

Interesting Article

If anyone out there is still enmeshed in the afterglow of last Sunday's Oscar ceremony, you might want to take a look at this take on the proceedings by Armond White. White is one of the most interesting critics out there, a true cinephile who evidently devotes considerable thought to his reviews, which is pretty uncommon anymore. I don't always agree with his views (for one thing, he holds Stephen Spielberg in much higher regard than I do), but I'm almost always interested in reading how he arrives at his conclusions, and I think we're more or less on the same page with regard to The Hurt Locker-- though he makes the case more clearly and completely than I did the other day.

A Quote for Wednesday

It's all music this week with the daily quotes, and today, we're going all the way back to the immortal Greek philosopher Plato (c428-347 BC) for his comments on the subject:

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul
to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, and charm
and gaiety to life and to everything."

New Logo

I thought that, in keeping with the week's worth of quotes on music, that it made sense to shift to the above logo, which is from a picture taken at the Wilco concert in Missoula last month. For those who did not recognize the most recent heading shot, it was a picture of the Erie Canal near where it runs into the Niagara River in Tonawanda, NY (my hometown).

A Sixties Classic

I've posted at least a couple other versions of this song in the past. "Hey Joe" was almost the quintessential sixties rock song, in that just about everyone seemed to record it or include it in their live repertoire. I suspect that the version by the Jimi Hendrix Experience is among the best remembered, and here they are performing it live at their breakthrough (in the US) appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967:

Working With Photoshop Elements

Here you see two versions of the picture I posted a couple days ago that several folks said they liked. My sister Liz wondered what the original looked like (as I admitted the posted version was the result of some editing on my part using PhotoShop software), so I thought I'd see if I could get these lined up for a proper comparison. Below is the original picture; on the right is the retouched version, after undergoing some lighting and color enhancement and also processing it through a couple arty filters. I can't remember exactly which ones, but I suspect the crosshatch function and possibly
an ink outline. The idea was to create a more illustrative effect, and I think that's what I got. I think the actual photo is pretty good, but the edited version seems punchier and crisper to me. There was no cropping involved, so the composition was not affected by the editing. Apparently there's an ongoing debate about the new technology available with digital photography and the software that's been developed for processing pictures-- some think it's a perversion of the art that it is now so easy to create effects that used to take years of experience and hours of work in a darkroom to achieve. I see the point, but also realize that I don't have the experience or skill to do this the old-fashioned way, and yet take great pleasure in producing something like what you see above on the right, even if it did only take me about half an hour of trial and error clicking icons on a computer menu. If anyone would like to chime in on that debate here, I'd be glad to hear your opinions.

This week's Top Five List

Actually, this Top Five List goes back a couple of years to March of 2008. Since Art Vandalay was on the road this past Sunday, we didn't air a list, but I had this recording lying around and thought some of you might enjoy it by way of a replacement:

Tuesday's Quotation

Continuing my series on quotes about music, here's one from the great French novelist Victor Hugo (1802-1885), probably best known as the author of Les Miserables:

"Music expresses that which cannot
be said and on which it is impossible
to be silent."

Classic Creedence

Here's the song that propelled Creedence Clearwater Revival in the Fourth Round of the Battle of the Bands on my radio show, Dr. John's Record Shelf. It's short, sweet, and really rocks:

Oscar Followup

Well, I got pretty well skunked on my pre-ceremony picks for Academy Awards. Exactly one of my favorites won, Jeff Bridges for best actor. I can't really take issue with what did win, except to be mildly surprised that Up In the Air did so poorly, not winning so much as a technical award. I have a feeling that The Hurt Locker, which did so well last night, will not go down as one of the all-time classics, but then I'm not sure any of the other films up for Best Picture will last either (I actually think that Up In the Air has the best chance for that kind of lasting respect, but what do I know?). I don't mean that as a knock, but it struck me when Tom Hanks noted that the last time there were ten nominees for the top prize, the winner was Casablanca, it kind of put the current crop of films into perspective. One factor has to do with politics, defined in the broadest terms. While The Hurt Locker is certainly topical, it is also almost completely apolitical-- it does not take or even suggest a stand on one of the key issues of the day, which provides its setting, though hardly its theme. I'd argue that Up in the Air does take a stand, on the nature of our corporate culture, and that makes it a gutsier movie (whether it's ultimately gutsy enough to qualify as a classic may depend on what other films come out in response to the current economic problems). To take another example, Avatar certainly is political, but so ham-handed and generic in perspective as to be almost pointless in that regard. People always think of Casablanca as a great love story, but the heart of that movie is in its political stance, which informs virtually every scene in the film, including the seemingly romantic climax. Without doing the research right now (but maybe that's an idea for future posts) , I'd bet that most movies that stand the test of time can be shown to have had similarly strong political or social components-- that is, they are bound to ideas that the filmmakers felt strongly about during the time they being were made. Or at the very least, those are the ones that resonate the most with me (though obviously not the Academy Award voters, at least not as a rule).

Battle of the Bands Update

The Crickets

Round Three of the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf commenced last night with contests involving the no. 1 seeds from both the Northwest and Midwest Brackets-- and only one advanced. Creedence Clearwater Revival continued to cruise, stopping Country Joe and the Fish's (13) Cinderella run, but Chicago was taken down by the Crickets (5), becoming the first top seed to be knocked out of the tournament, albeit in a split decision (Creedence was a unanimous winner).

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Songs played included "Travelin' Band" by Creedence vs. "Rockin' Round the World" by the Fish and "Not Fade Away" by the Crickets over "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago. The pace of the competition is accelerating, with Round Three set to wind up over the next three programs. Right now, Creedence Clearwater Revival is looking like a powerhouse, but there are still two other top seeds (the Byrds and Velvet Underground) for them to possibly contend with down the road. Check back here next Monday for the next set of results!

Monday's Quote

I'm going to do something different with the quotes this week, namely have them all revolve around a particular theme. The theme I've chosen (which probably won't come as a surprise given some of the other stuff I post) is music. Kicking us off is this comment from the noted British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976):

"It is cruel, you know, that music should be
so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness
of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty
of disappointment and never-satisfied love.
The cruel beauty of nature and everlasting
beauty of monotony."

Cool Video

Natalie sent me this link, and it's definitely worth sharing. The song, by OK Go, is pretty good, but the convoluted contraption that is the focus of the visuals is really awesome. This gives me the idea to spotlight Rube Goldberg next week in my Sunday Funnies post:

Fun With Photoshop

I spent a couple hours on Friday strolling around Bannack State Park with my camera. Here are three shots of the Hotel Meade, which I've played around with a bit to create these version. Above, a shot from across the street (with some lighting modifications).

Second is a view from the southwest side of the building, augmented by some inking effects.

And last, a view from the southeast corner, emphasizing the wagon wheels in the foreground. This one has been passed through a couple of arty filters, to make it appear more like a drawing. Any comments on which view you like the best would be appreciated.

Soup Diary 100307

I had a really crummy bowl of soup yesterday; in fact it was so crummy, I think I will not be ordering soup at the Great Harvest in Butte ever again (I think over the years I've only ever had one decent bowl there-- the odds just aren't very good). It was advertised as Chicken Rice, but there was no sign of any chicken in my bowl, and the rice had been cooked to the point where it wasn't very recognizable either. What flavor I detected seemed to come from the chunks of onion included, otherwise the broth was indistinguishable from hot water. The irony is that the sandwiches at this plate are fantastic-- is it possible they put so much effort into that side of the menu that they can't be bothered with the soup? One wonders why they even serve it at all, if this is the result. Well, I've learned my lesson-- next time I won't even bother with the soup.

Sunday Funnies

Tiger by Bud Blake was a really fine kid strip that ran for years and years (maybe it still does, though I haven't seen it in quite some time). It was kind of a throwback to the great kid strips of the thirties like Reg'lar Fellers and Skippy (though perhaps more suburban in setting).

The main characters were Tiger, with the baseball cap generally hiding his eyes; Punkinhead, Tiger's annoying little brother; Hugo, Tiger's chubby best friend; and Stripe the dog.

If not exactly a classic, Tiger was always good for a laugh, and Blake's style was very fluid and conducive to depicting children in motion. I'm not sure that kids are ever shown today as so unselfconscious as they were in this strip , which in some ways reminds me of the old Our Gang movie comedies too. Maybe that speaks to a broader loss of innocence in relation to childhood across the culture, which would be a truly sad thing if true.

Sunday's Quote

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) may have been the first true American revolutionary of the generation that fought for independence from England. His recipe for change is certainly implied by this quote:

"It does not take a majority to prevail...
but rather an irate, tireless minority,
keen on setting brushfires of freedom
in the minds of men."

Prime Psychedelic Bubblegum Music

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote a bunch of hits for the Monkees, Paul Revere & the Raiders and a bunch of others. This was their big hit as performers. I don't know where this clip originates from, but check out the wild sixties-era special effects:

Battle of the Bands Round Three Matchups

Tomorrow evening will see the start of Round Three in Dr. John's Battle of the Bands (to determine the top American rock band for 1954-1974), playing out on my radio show (5-7 pm, 90.9 fm, if you happen to be in SW Montana). As I've done with previous rounds, I'm posting the full slate of matches, which will unfold over the next couple months (four programs altogether, but I may miss a couple weeks here and there). Remember, for each round the bands must be represented by a new song-- no coasting on one monster hit.

I believe we'll be starting with the Northwest Bracket tomorrow, so look for those results here on Monday. Original seedings are in parentheses; you'll note that all of the no. 1 seeds are still alive, along with two no. 2's, and three no. 3's, so more than half of those expected to get this far have. Also interesting is that after a single no. 5 seed, all the rest are in double digits, including two 15 seeds (out of 16 in each bracket). I'd rate the Gants as the biggest surprise, and considering they are next up against another surprise survivor (the Rock'n Roll Trio), they may actually make it to Round Four. Don't you love underdogs? So, here is the lineup:

Northeast:
"What Goes On," Velvet Underground (1) vs. "Who Are the Mystery Girls," New York Dolls (13)
"Shambala," Three Dog Night (3) vs. "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" Lovin' Spoonful (2)

Midwest:
"25 or 6 to 4," Chicago (1) vs. "Not Fade Away," Crickets (5)
"Rock Therapy," Rock'n Roll Trio (11) vs. "I'm a Snake," The Gants (15)

Southwest:
"Eight Miles High," Byrds (1) vs. "Let Her Dance," Bobby Fuller Four (12)
"L.A. Woman," Doors (3) vs. "I Get Around," Beach Boys (2)

Northwest:
"Travelin' Band," Creedence Clearwater Revival (1) vs. "Rockin' Round the World," Country Joe and the Fish (13)
"Good Shepherd," Jefferson Airplane (3) vs. "Barracuda," Standells (15)

Saturday Morning Cartoon

As a big comic book fan, I loved all the cartoons that featured my favorite superheros. Aquaman wasn't at the top of that list, but I liked the cartoons anyway. This goes all the way back to 1967:

Quote of the Day

Having passed another birthday recently, this quote from the famous Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) has some particular relevance to me:

"As I approve of a youth that has something
of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased
with an old man that has something of the
youth. He that follows this rule may be old
in body, but can never be so in mind."

This Band Deserves to Be Bigger

Here's another one of those groups that seem to be flying under the radar of mainstream success, though clearly they are as good (if not better) than a lot of more-popular bands. Maybe its their slightly unfortunate name: Wussy. Whatever the case, if you like this, maybe you can help spread the word...

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Here's a nice photo of Sally, Nick and Tom-- easily recognizable to everyone, right? The question is, what was the occasion that brought them all together on the day this picture was snapped? Put your answers in the comments section.

We had a very spirited contest last week, with lots of good guesses, in which you were asked to identify the location where the picture of Ben, Nik, Helen and Natalie was taken. But there was only one correct answer, and I believe it marks the first time we've had the same winner in consecutive weeks: Natalie knew it was from Goat Island at Niagara Falls (actually, Mom also guessed Niagara Falls, but Natalie was first, and more precise). So, congratulations to Natalie, and let's see if someone can break her two-week winning streak this time!

Soup Diary 100304

Oh, wow-- just when I was beginning to think I was in an endless wilderness of mediocre soups, I hit the jackpot last night. I had dinner with a group of friends at the Uptown Cafe in Butte and tasted a kind of soup I've never had before (in fact, I don't think I've even ever heard of it), and it was really, really good. I ordered it because it was unfamiliar, but to be honest, I was a little apprehensive. "Bleu Cheese & Bacon" certainly hinted at the possibility of something overly rich, overly cheesy, overly salty; but it turned out to be none of those things, just a creamy, bacony delight. In fact the entire meal was outstanding: I had the chicken saltimbocca with cranberry squash (which was the real standout of the meal) with the soup and an appetizer of clams maisson (Im no fan of clams, but even this was pretty good). It's kind of an upscale place (though not very expensive) and sixty miles away, so I probably won't be dining there regularly, but I'm already looking forward to the next time.

More Friday Family Blogging

I don't know what Raechelle is putting in her mouth, but she looks kind of cute doing it (as she does pretty much all of the time).

Friday Family Blogging

Here's a picture I took a few years ago of Sara tramping around up in teh Pioneer Mountains. I wonder if she remembers that day (or even the trip)?

Friday Philosophy

Lao Tzu (6th Century BC) is probably the best known Chinese philosopher in the West, with the possible exception of Confucius. Great lines like this one no doubt account for that fact:

"Treat those who are good with goodness,
and also treat those who are not good with
goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be
honest to those who are honest, and be
also honest to those who are not honest.
Thus honesty is attained."

Classic SCTV

Here's one of the all-time great game show parodies, from SCTV. Eugene Levy is especially good, delivering a quintessential slow burn:

Oscar Picks

The Academy Awards ceremony is coming up this weekend, so I thought I would chime in with my picks in the major categories. These are the choices I would make if I were voting, and not necessarily who or what I think will win. I don't think my tastes align too closely with the Academy membership (based on past years selections) or the general public, so this is merely offered as another way to keep my blog post count up. Feel free to take issue with any or all of this in the comments sections; in fact I'm kind of curious to see if I'm even remotely in synch with my readers. Also-- I'm only commenting on categories where I've seen at least three of the nominees.

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds. This was probably the movie that I most enjoyed on a visceral level this past year.

Best Adapted Screenplay: I have two favorites here: first Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche for In the Loop; second Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air. Both were very strong, and very literate-- I might lean a little towards the former because this is the only nomination it has.

Best Director: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air. I'm much more impressed by Reitman's ability to generate a thoughtful, engrossing story about working people than I am most of the other nominees' ability to pull off overblown spectacles (caveat: I did not see Precious, which I suspect was closer to Up in the Air in tone and composition) .

Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds. A big part of the appeal of this movie for me is that it looked like the classic World War II films I saw growing up-- like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes.

Best Supporting Actress: Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air. She projects nearly as much charm and likability as George Clooney playing an equally flawed character-- pretty impressive.

Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson in The Messenger. I wouldn't be upset if Christoph waltz wins for Inglourious Basterds, but I've always liked Woody and he did a great job in The Messenger.

Best Actress: I only saw one of the nominees, Carey Mulligan in An Education. She was good, but I can't say she was better than any of the others.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. Bridges has been so good for so long, that he's long overdue for an award. This isn't his greatest role, but he's as good in it as any other he's played-- in fact, he makes the film worth seeing.

Best Picture: Up in the Air. This is the kind of movie that gives you something to think about, but is also rich in the qualities that make movies popular-- it's funny, touching, with an excellent star turn (by Clooney) along with unexpected fine work from less well known actors (Farmiga, Kendrick). I wish I had seen Precious, but otherwise, I don't think any of the other nominees are quite in the same ballpark in overall quality, even the ones I liked.

Any comments?

A Note on Photos

When I post photos I took on this blog, I almost always do so on my home computer which includes a nearly new, high definition monitor. Today I realized that the black and white pictures I posted last night do not look as good on my school computer monitor; in fact they appear rather muddy and indistinct. I thought I would mention this in case someone viewing the photos was wondering why I bothered to post them-- they may not be works of art, but generally I select ones that I think look pretty good, and certainly good enough to share. In the future, I'll try to be more sensitive to the different levels of quality displayed depending on the equipment used, and try to pick pictures that won't lose so much of their sharpness when displayed on older monitors.

Thursday's Thought

Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970) was one of the best known American historians during the mid twentieth century, and in fact a graduate of my alma mater (the University of Buffalo). He wrote quite a bit on reform movements and also on the intellectual underpinnings of our political system-- arriving, unfortunately if accurately, at the following conclusion:

"It is ironic that the United States should have been
founded by intellectuals, for throughout most of our
political history, the intellectual has been for the most
part either an outsider, a servant or a scapegoat."

Cool Song

There are very, very few acts who can match the Beatles on one of their compositions. But I think I might just prefer this version of "Dear Prudence" to the original (at least until the next time I hear the original). It's Siouxsie & the Banshees, and you can definitely tell the video is from the 1980s:

Dillon at Night

Last night I went for a walk with my camera, with the intention of shooting some low-light images. I also went for black and white. These aren't so bad, so I thought I would share. Above is a shot of the front steps of the city library.

I think this might be the last phone booth in town, looking all the more lonely nder that single light bulb outside the IGA.

Here we see the back steps at the Marry Innes Elementary School. Ben and Natalie might remember playing in the playground just to the right when they were out for a visit some years ago.

Last, a kind of bookend to the library steps, here's the front entrance to the Beaverhead County Courthouse.

The Last Book I Read

I haven't actually finished reading this yet, as it's the type of book that one dips into regularly throughout the baseball season, but I'm well into this year's Baseball Prospectus. This has been my favorite baseball annual for about ten years, and although it lacks the quirky idiosyncrasies and broader cultural context that Bill James always brought to his books (which first drew me into the world of sabermetric analysis of my favorite game back in the eighties), it really sets me up to enjoy the upcoming season. The team comments are kind of a primer on the business aspect of the game, as well as offering an ongoing discussion of how to construct and manage a roster to maximize its potential to win. The player comments are succinct and pointed, and give this viewer more to watch for when I get to see a game live or on TV. Since there are multiple authors, one gets a few different perspectives on those issues, always backed up with plenty of evidence, numeric and otherwise. Over the years, it seems like the crew has become a bit more open to acknowledging that statistics aren't the answer to explaining everything, and the result is much more well-rounded analysis over all. It's always a kick when this arrives in the mail (I always pre-order from Amazon to make sure it gets here as soon as possible), signaling not just a new baseball season, but the start of another Spring. What could be better?

Wednesday's Quote

Today's quote comes from the famous novelist William Faulkner (1897-1962):

"I have found that the greatest help in meeting
any problem is to know where you yourself
stand. That is, to have in words what you
believe and are acting from."

Video of the Day

This is one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, originally appearing on his Blonde on Blonde album. It almost makes you think he coulda been a bubblegum star if he'd wanted...

Big Sky Photography

As I'm sure you know, Montana is known as Big Sky Country, and it's no coincidence that sometimes things up in the sky look pretty cool. Yesterday was a good example, so I grabbed my camera and wandered over to the train yard near my house to snap off some pictures. The above shot is the view looking south out of Dillon.

This is the same view, but taken from a bit further up the track; you can see how wild the clouds appeared to be.

Last is a shot of the old bridge crossing Blacktail Deer Creek which was running pretty quick with the melt-off of the lat couple days. This is one that I think is a candidate for some painterly effects via Photoshop, so look for another version in a few days.

This Week's Top Five List

I guess we can't have a killer Top Five list every week, and frankly this week's falls a bit short of such efforts as Top Five Plumber's Tools or Top Five Italian Catchers. But remember, we're trying our best...

Daily Philosophy

Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) was one of the founders of the Frankfurt School of Social Research, a colleague of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin. This snippet is taken from an essay he wrote entitled "The Social Function of Philosophy:"

"The real social function of philosophy lies in its criticism
of what is prevalent. That does not mean superficial
fault-finding with individual ideas or conditions, as
though a philosopher were a crank. Nor does it mean
that the philosopher complains about this or that
isolated condition and suggests remedies. The chief
aim of such criticism is to prevent mankind from
losing itself in those ideas and activities which the
existing organization of society instills in its members.
Man must be made to see the relationship between
his activities and what is achieved thereby, between
his particular existence and the general life of
society, between his everyday projects and the
great ideas he acknowledges."

Clasic Byrds

Here's an appearance by the Byrds on Hullabaloo performing "Mr. Tambourine Man"-- their breakthrough hit from 1965. What a great sound! But will it be good enough to carry them through to the finals on Dr. John's Battle of the Bands???

Battle of the Bands Update

The Byrds

We wrapped up Round Two of the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf last night, with the Byrds (seeded no. 1 in the Southwest Bracket) and the Bobby Fuller Four (12) advancing to face each other in Round Three. The competition was tight this week with both winners squeaking by on 2-1 votes (With my niece Natalie serving as the third judge this week). the Byrds vanquishing the Doobie Brothers (9), and the Four taking out Love (13).

Bobby Fuller Four

The songs played included "Mr Tambourine Man" by the Byrds; "Listen to the Music" by the Doobies; "Never to Be Forgotten" by the Bobby Fuller Four; and "7 and 7 Is" by Love. With the Byrds advancing, it means all four bracket top seeds remain alive into Round Three (the others are Chicago in the Midwest, Creedence Clearwater Revival in the Northwest and the Velvet Underground in the Northeast). I'll post the complete set of matchups for the next round in the next couple of days. If you think you'd like to serve as a judge for that round, let me know in comments and we'll figure out how to make that work.

New Hal Crowther Column

As I've mentioned several times here in the past, Hal Crowther is about my favorite commentator on the current cultural scene. Unfortunately, his columns seem only to appear about once every three or four months in the Durham Independent. I've found him especially sharp on issues related to journalism and the slow deterioration of that noble profession in recent years, less because of a lack of quality reporters than the loss of readers to television demagogues and internet poseurs (not that all of them are demagogues or poseurs-- but c'mon, Glenn Beck?) that has left the print business on shaky grounds. His latest column is again on that topic, prompted by a recent biography of the late Molly Ivins (who was a friend and former classmate of Crowther's). I think it's worth a read.

Monday Morning Philosophizing

The following is a brief excerpt from Immanuel Kant's essay "What Is Enlightenment." Though written about 230 years ago in Germany, it sounds like commentary on the current state of public discourse in America:

"Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great
a proportion of men, long after nature has released
them from alien guidance ..., nonetheless gladly remain
in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others
to establish themselves as their guardians. It is so easy
to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my
understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience,
a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on,
I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if
only I can pay: others will readily undertake the
irksome work for me. The guardians who have so
benevolently taken over the supervision of men
have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part
of them ... regard taking the step to maturity as
very dangerous, not to mention difficult. Having
first made their domestic livestock dumb, and
having carefully made sure that these docile
creatures will not take a single step without the
go-cart to which they are harnessed, these
guardians then show them the danger that
threatens them, should they attempt to walk
alone. Now this danger is not actually so great,
for after falling a few times they would in the end
certainly learn to walk; but an example of this
kind makes men timid and usually frightens
them out of all further attempts."