Nineties Classic

I was a big fan of Tanya Donelly's band Belly, which she formed after leaving Throwing Muses.  And this was possibly my favorite song by them:

This Week's Top Five List

One never knows what the crack staff will come up with for the Top Five List on Dr. John's Record Shelf.  I sure didn't see this one coming:

Tuesday's Thought

If true, I hate to think what this comment from George Bancroft (1800-1891) says about contemporary America.

"The exact measure of the progress of civilization 

is the degree in which the intelligence of the common 

mind has prevailed over wealth and brute force."

Cool Song

The Modern Lovers self-titled album has to be one of the greatest debuts in rock and roll history (and it actually sat on a shelf for a couple of years between recording and release!).  Here's one of the tunes competing for best off that album:

Photo of the Day

Okay, if I can't think of anything else to post here (a situation that is becoming all too common after four years of blogging), I'm just going to throw up the odd photograph.  These will be pictures I took, probably edited to some degree in PhotoShop (mostly cropped and maybe a little playing around with the brightness/contrast), that don't really fit into a set of the type I've posted in the past.  So the first one, seen above, is Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park in Buffalo. I was probably there with Ben, just wandering around snapping pics.  You can make out one end of the Park Casino on the right side of the image.   

Monday's Quote

Advice (sort of) for insomniacs, courtesy of renowned wit Dorothy Parker (1893-1967):

"How do people go to sleep? I'm afraid I've lost the knack. I might try busting myself smartly over the temple with the nightlight. I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remember any of the damned things."

A Folk Classic

Here's one of my favorites from the great folk scare of the 1960s, courtesy of Tom Paxton:

More Friday Family Blogging

This is one of the first pictures I ever took with a digital camera, which I borrowed from the school library.  I think it was a 1.8 megapixel  job, with images saved onto a 3.5" floppy disc (remember those?).  Anyway, I mention it in case you were wondering why Gerik looks a little splotchy-- it was the camera.

Friday Family Blogging

Here's a nice shot of Natalie that I took a few years back. I don't remember why she was imitating the famous tower at Pisa.

Friday Philosophy

I kind of like this line from Jean de La Bruyere (1645-1696), the noted French essayist:

"The true spirit of conversation consists more in bringing out the cleverness of others than in showing a great deal of it yourself; he who goes away pleased with himself and his own wit is also greatly pleased with you."

Good Song

Chip Taylor wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning" way back when; he's also Jon Voight's brother.  But he really came into his own as a performer when he hooked up with Carrie Rodriguez a few years back.  Here's one of their earliest, and best, songs:

Toonerville Thursday

Of all the wonderful characters who inhabit Toonerville, no one makes me laugh as much as the terrible tempered Mr. Bang!

A Thought for Thursday

You know, with this line I think that Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) hit on the inherent flaw of politics:

"When a man asks himself what is meant by action he proves that he isn't a man of action. Action is a lack of balance. In order to act you must be somewhat insane. A reasonably sensible man is satisfied with thinking."

Cool Song

The Mutton Birds were out of New Zealand, so I'm guessing that Dominion Road is in Auckland or Christchurch.  But it really doesn't matter much-- it's a great song even if it's a totally made up place:

This Week's Top Five

From this week's edition of Dr. John's Record Shelf, it's the Top Five List-- on a topic I'm surprised we didn't get around to much sooner...

Tuesday's Thought

An interesting comment from the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976):

"Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it. But we are delivered over to it in the worst possible way when we regard it as something neutral; for this conception of it, to which today we particularly like to do homage, makes us utterly blind to the essence of technology."

Cool Song

If you were a fan of the late great Joe Strummer, this tune by Billy Childish will require no explanation.  If you weren't a fan of Joe Strummer... well, you've got some catching up to do:

Summer Movie Roundup 2

Another movie I saw this past summer was The Dictator, starring Sascha Baron Cohen.  I think I get Cohen's particular brand of comedy, and he certainly makes me laugh pretty regularly, but like his previous films I found this one ultimately shallow and unsatisfying.  His idea to spoof the likes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi is valid, but not as edgy as he seems to think (heck, the Three Stooges took on Hitler even before the US declared war on Germany in World War II). One can marvel at Cohen's deep immersion into character, and the way it carries over into real life, but that doesn't make the film itself anything more than a series of gags, some of which hit and some of which don't.  Given the subject matter, some real biting satire would demonstrate actual thought about his subject. But he seems satisfied to zero in on those superficial characteristics that can be played broadly for easy mocking-- the sort of  comedic riffing that can be applied to any nitwit fad that captures the public attention, like reality shows or pop stars.  To put it another way: if the goal is to take on the truly evil elements of the world (something comedy is well-positioned to do), how about taking aim with ammunition more potent than a fake beard and phony accent.

Today's Quote

Something to think about from writer Shel Silverstein (1930-1999):

"Craftsmanship is something that's really going out now. The young people have no patience with craftsmanship any more. They think, therefore they am. It's not enough. You don't think, therefore you are. You do, therefore you are, or else you aren't."

Birthday Song

As I recall, this is a song that my sister Liz (aka Birthday Girl) likes.  So here it is for everyone to enjoy: