So You Say You Want to Cut Government Spending

On what exactly???



Via the Monkey Cage.

Greatest Research Job... Ever

An article in the New York Times explains that movie makers are getting better at pacing movies to correspond with a rhythm that occurs all over nature.

This is something scientists are studying, and I believe I was cut out to help:

“For two days straight, I went through the movie, ‘Spies Like Us,’ with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase,” said Christine E. Nothelfer, who worked on the project as an undergraduate intern. “I went through it frame by frame, I knew where every single cut was.” She added, “I still haven’t seen the movie as a real filmgoer.”

I think I could tell you where every cut was with my eyes closed! They have definitely hired the wrong person for this job. This whole thing makes me think of one of my favorite Spies Like Us quotes.

Austin Millbarge: Show some balls, man!
Emmett Fitz-Hume: I think it's too late to try and impress them.

College Basketball Update

A few notes about college hoops:

Syracuse is #1! Unfortunately, because they are a host school for a region in the NCAA tournament, that will not translate into the usual home court advantage during the tourney that #1 teams often receive.

I keep hearing that John Wall is the player of the year. I agree that he is awesome, and that he will probably make the best pro of the guys playing college basketball today. However, Evan Turner is having an unbelievable year and now has Ohio State atop the Big Ten. Ohio State really depends on him too. I say maybe he is player of the year at this point.

The Missouri Valley Conference is going to need Northern Iowa to lose in the tournament if they want more than one team in the Big Dance.

I haven't quite figured out the RPI still. Currently Kansas sits at #1 in RPI with a record of 27-2 and a strength of schedule of 17. Syracuse is #3 with a record of 27-2 and a strength of schedule of 10.

Joe Lunardi has 7 at-large teams from mid-major conferences. After a 6 year decline that culminated in only 4 mid-major at-large teams being selected last year, I'll believe it when I see it.

I hate the ACC. Lunardi has them slated to get 7 teams in the tournament (and I don't doubt it) despite the fact that Wake Forest and Duke are the only two that had any significant wins outside of the conference. Somehow, this is Billy Packer's fault.

I am afraid Mizzou is in trouble without Justin Safford... but I hope not.

Why the NBA Would be Better for KC than Baseball

Bill Simmons has an article at espn.com that talks about how the NBA's business model is broken and what could be done about it. It's a good piece, but I'm most interested in one small aspect of it:

This is how the NBA differs from any other professional sport. In a league with 12-man rosters, in which only five guys can play at once, you're really only as good as your franchise guy. If you don't have one, you're screwed.

This is something a buddy and I talk about regularly. NBA teams are built around a guy. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James.

This should interest anyone who would like to see a playoff win from a Kansas City team in their lifetime. It should interest them because a professional basketball team has a wildly better chance of contending for a championship than do the Kansas City Royals (or perhaps the Chiefs, but that isn't because of the structure of the sport). Baseball is the most difficult sport for a team with small resources to field a winner. That is because it takes so many players to put together a team that can compete.

Last year, the Royals had a pitcher who posted one of the 10 best seasons in baseball history... and they finished 32 games under .500. There is 0 chance of that happening on an NBA team. A nice example is Kevin Durant. This season, he has become one of the league's top 5 players and the Oklahoma City Thunder are sixth in a tough race for the Western Conference playoffs.

Let's say the Charlotte Bobcats (who have had some attendance woes) decided to move to KC. They have some pretty decent pieces in place already, and they are currently sitting about .500. Now let's say they win the lottery. You add a guy like John Wall to that team and within a couple of years you have a top half of the east playoff team.

I don't care how much Kansas Citians tell sports talk radio stations they don't want an NBA team. They'd be ecstatic to have a winner.

Nightmares for the Rest of Your Life

I seriously can't think of anything that would traumatize an 8 year old much worse than this:

An employee at SeaWorld Orlando has died after being attacked by a killer whale...

...Park guest Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see.

Biniak told the station the whale suddenly came up from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waist and "thrashed her all around" to the point that the trainer's shoe fell off.

There is an entire crowd of kids who will never ever set foot in the water again. I know I wouldn't.

Quote of the Day

From Kevin Drum, commenting on research presented in Washington Monthly regarding the relationship between consolidation and job creation (or lack thereof).

One of the pathologies of modern conservatism — a pathology that's shared more often than I'd like by mainstream liberals — is that they're pro-business, not pro-free market. The difference is critical. Pro-business means passing laws that your business pals like, and as economists since Adam Smith have observed, what businessmen mostly like is lack of competition. The operation of a true free market, conversely, depends crucially on competition and plenty of it. And just as crucially, that requires government intervention to prevent a few behemoths from taking over every sector of the economy. Keeping a free market free takes a lot of work.

The whole post is interesting, as is the piece it is based on. Read it and remind your pro-market friends what they really mean.

Stuff for a Friday

As I continue my near complete disregard for fresh content on this blog, the least I could do is pass along interesting stuff that other people are doing. And hopefully, once I finish the seemingly interminable project I've been working on, I'll start getting some posts up again.

In the meantime:

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Kevin Drum passes along a Newsweek article about Republican Hank Paulson's thoughts on Republicans during the financial crisis.

Paulson delivers a continual and biting critique of Republicans....Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning is a “cantankerous conservative” (page 275). Meetings with Senate Republicans were “a complete waste of time for us, when time was more precious than anything” (page 275). Ideas that Republicans do add are “unformed,” like Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor’s plan to replace TARP with an insurance program. In a rare moment of sarcasm, Paulson goes off on the minority Whip: “I got a better idea. I’m going to go with Eric Cantor’s insurance program. That’s the idea to save the day” (page 285).

Could be a fun book.

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At Gone Mild, Dan has posting with some regularity about the kinds of issues that you would think about if you thought about beer with same frequency most people think about sex.

But I don't want it called "domestic" any more. It's inaccurate, it's insulting to real American brewers, and it siphons money to foreign corporations. SABMiller and AB-InBev are NOT domestic corporations. There are thousands of true "domestics" crafting great beer, and the American beer scene deserves to be recognized as a point of national pride. When you claim that Miller Lite and Budweiser are the "domestics", you are saying that Boulevard and Schlafly are somehow less American. It's just not right.

For what it's worth, I agree.

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Have you ever listened to Minnesota Public Radio's The Current online?

You should.

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Kansas City sucks. At least that is what Forbes Magazine says. And it is the Chiefs and Royals fault:

"High taxes and crime rates hurt Kansas City's standing, but what moved them up our misery list were its two awful pro sports teams. The Royals and Chiefs combined finished outside of last place only once in the past three years."

I suppose this means that if you don't like sports, you may not be so miserable. Plus, we aren't St. Louis. They have a really good baseball team and they still came in 5 places more miserable than us.

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Matt Yglesias points out that ABC tried to do a piece on the economists who thought the stimulus worked versus those who did not... but they couldn't really find any in the second group.

“The stimulus worked,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Bank. Without it, “the unemployment rate would probably be closer to 11 percent” and the economy might not have grown at all last year.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com thought the nation would be “still in recession.”

“It played a significant role supporting recovery,” said economist Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial.

Not all the economists who responded to our survey agreed the stimulus was necessary.

“Throwing a trillion dollars at anything will move it,” said Standard and Poor’s David Wyss, “but the recovery would be beginning and the unemployment rate nearing a peak” without it.

“The economy would probably be recovering,” argued Jay Bryson of Wells Fargo, just maybe not “as fast as it is.”

Unanimity!

Happy Friday.

Nothing to Do With the Decade

Since I missed the boat on the turn of the decade musicality, and since both AA and BSD are much better equipped to deal with the best albums and tracks of the decade, I chose a different path. Thus, the following list of the Top 50 Tracks on my Sansa MP3 player, right now, that are Least Likely to be Skipped, Ever (in alphabetical order by Artist):

Aberfeldy - Tie One On
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
The Beegees - Jive Talkin'
Big Smith - Quarry Anthem
David Bowie - Golden Years
Built to Spill - The Plan
The Clash - Train In Vain
Coconut Records - Nighttiming
Danger Doom - Old School
The Darkness - I Believe In a Thing Called Love
D.V.D.A. - Now You're a Man
Bob Dylan - Days of '49
Bob Dylan - Went to See the Gypsy
Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down
Fatlip - What's Up Fatlip?
Flight of the Conchords - The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
Genesis - That's All
Ben Gibbard - You Remind Me of Home
The Gourds - Caledonia
Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue
Group X - You Would Give Me Kiss
The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
Dallas Jones - Johnny Tyler
Damien Jurado - Tragedy
Marcy Playground - The Vampires of New York
Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
Paul McCartney - Comin' Up
Modest Mouse - Float On
Mos Def - New World Water
The New Amsterdams - Bad Liar
Ol Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Walls
Wilson Pickett - Land of 1,000 Dances
Rogue Wave - 10:1
Eric Sermon featuring Redman - React
Paul Simon - You can Call Me Al
Simon and Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York
Todd Snider - Alright Guy
Spoon - The Fitted Shirt
The Streets - Could Well Be In
Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
Vitamin String Quartet - Tangled Up In Blue
Ween - Voodoo Lady
Whiskeytown - Drank Like a River
Wilco - Handshake Drugs
Wild Light - California On My Mind
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On a Gravel Road
Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.
Warren Zevon - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner

[Bonus] Last track out: Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

[Double Bonus] Awesomest Lyric Currently on MP3 Currently: MCA of Beastie Boys from the track Hey Fuck You of the album To the 5 Boroughs - "I've got billions and billions of rhymes to flex, I've got more rhymes than Carl Sagan's got turtlenecks"

Worst Date Movies

According to an article in Slate, the worst date movie of all time is Closer.

In my book, that dubious distinction belongs to the Julia Roberts/Natalie Portman/Clive Owen/Jude Law psychodrama Closer. The movie isn't gross like Antichrist, or menacing like The Comfort of Strangers, and no one gets raped. But the movie is deeply cynical about love—each character uses romantic connection as fuel for his or her ego. Fans of Pretty Woman or even Erin Brockovich might have gone to see the film because it starred Julia Roberts. They were expecting the toothy grin of America's sweetheart and the happy ending that usually follows her around. But in Closer, Roberts and her dashing lovers (Owen and Law) are selfish and manipulative. It's an alienating viewing experience, one that diffuses, rather than facilitates, romantic connection.

That is a bad one to be sure. But I think there are worse ones. Generally, I think horror movies are bad date movies because I'm a wuss and I don't want to jump/hide/scream/cry in front of a date. The worst horror movies, though, are ones where a seemingly normal (and often very attractive) woman turns out to be the monster.

Species is one of the classics of this sub-genre. Nothing ruins a date more than the suspicion that any amorous activity might end in the removal of your spine through your mouth.

Because I Think It's Funny

From The Onion.

The WHO still got it!

tomorrow morning, you might hear that the Who's performance at the superbowl was just so-so. you will probably hear people saying things like: daltrey can't hit the high notes like he used too, townsend looked silly in sunglasses, and they both looked out of breath. these people are morons. morons!

the WHO melted faces like a brick-layer lays bricks: one at a time, until everyone gets laid. and judging from the women in the crowd, i am sure they had plenty of offers.

now i will be the first to admit--i wish they would have played a more obscure set, but that was always wishful thinking. they gave us the hits, and tomorrow morning (if not already) sales of Who albums will sky rocket. and that seems to be the whole purpose of the "superstar at the superbowl" concept anyway, right? to have one more career boost to carry an artist for the rest of their existence? mission accomplished.

i also found it interesting that 3 out the 5 selections from their 15 minute show were currently theme songs for TV shows on CBS (CSI, “Who Are You,” CSI: Miami, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and CSI: NY, “Baba O’Reily.”). i suppose "interesting" is the wrong word choice. "no-brainer" is probably more appropriate. surely, i am not the first person to make this connection.

now, on to the performance: i thought it was great. really great. i thought they sounded tight, looked like they belonged there, and proved they still got the goods, man. even the light show was stunningly relevant for once! yes, of course i wish entwistle and moon were still alive to have played the gig. can you imagine keith moon at the superbowl with access to an unlimited amount of explosives and pyrotechnics? one word: awesome!

some will also argue that the WHO are no longer relevant: they are has-beens. they are hacks. they no longer rock and should just quit trying to recapture their youth.

to the naysayers, i say suck it. The WHO are to rock-n-roll what earnhardt is to NASCAR: as long as people speak the word "rock" they will speak of the Who. and for that, and that alone, they deserved to be on that stage tonight. the fact that they also kicked major ass was just the icing on the cake.

while i won't comment on pete's sunglasses, i will say this about roger: he TOTALLY nailed the high note scream at the end of "won't get fooled again". that alone would have been worth the trip to miami...

At the Red House!

I used to believe that local commercials were feces by default, then I went here. Behold!

I'm not saying this dude is wrong, but...

I have couple of questions for the toter of this protest sign before I join the cause:

1. Do you think consistency is important?

2. How about apostrophes?

3. I am very much opposed to the high fullutent, but I've never been able to identify a definition of 'fullutent.' Could you please expound?

4. Is this list in order of damnation? As I am only sophisticated swine and a sports nut, this is very important.

5. Also, could you please clarify whether devil lovers are avid sports fans or leisure activity genitals?

6. What does P. K's mean? If it means either philandering kittens or phat kids, then I'm in.

A quick comparison

Watching the President deliver the SOTUA the other night made me think of the following excerpt:

There was once a party that came out against concentration of wealth. They called for regulation of food, drugs, and big corporations. Called for a square deal for the average American. And their robust spokesman, the leader of their party, said this of his countrymen:

"There is not in the world a more ignoble character than the mere money-getting American, insensitive to every duty, regardless of principle, bent only on amassing a fortune."

That quote was delivered by Teddy Roosevelt as leader of the Republican Party. Seems pretty similar to the other night, right? At the time, I wondered why Biden was wearing a Panama hat and a moustache, but now I know.

What's in a name? Apparently, a lot.

The legal name of this man is Julius Andreas Gimli Arn MacGyver Chewbacka Highlander Elessar-Jankov. But set aside the name for a moment, and try to see the man for himself. Please also try to stifle your laughter.

Maybe adultery isn't so bad

...if the alternative is a complete lack of compassion. Recent comments by South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer likened government welfare for the poor to feeding stray animals. I presume that the Lt. Gov didn't think through the logical progression of that train of thought, which is the suggestion that poor people should be left to starve, turn feral, or be euthenized.


So if you're like me and wondered why Governor Mark Sanford wasn't immdiately removed from office after betraying his deep conservative values by spending tax dollars to fund personal international travel, the answer is simple. All he wanted to do was fornicate with an Argentine on the sly. Who among us can cast the first stone on that one?

Denny Matthews Could Debate Pat Buchanan

Baseball references abound in politics. You can play hardball. You can step up to the plate to get things done. You can hit one out of the park. Judges are just there "to call balls and strikes."

But last night watching the State of the Union address, I realized I could describe it with another metaphor (albeit a more specific and less pithy one). I believe instead of saying, "The President delivered the State of the Union Address," you could say, "The President went to Kansas City Royals spring training."

Here's why:

- Both require the participants to say things they can't possibly believe, but they know people want to hear.

- Both require fans to acknowledge that progress is possible, and critics to denounce all as illusion.

- And both give me a fleeting sense of hope. Hope that will be dashed within weeks or even days.

I'll end up more disillusioned than the year before, until the next season rolls around and the whole process starts over again.

Play ball.

Chart of the Day

Kind of speaks for itself, but here is the context.

I Didn't Know I Couldn't Do That

I really think ESPN blew it. They cut former NBA player Paul Shirley from his bloggin duties after Shirley posted what might be one of the best bits of career immolation in the last few years. In his post about Haiti, and why he wasn't giving, Shirley said:

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Anyway, back to my thoughts on ESPN. They clearly screwed up. Everyone knows you don't cut a player you could get some value for in a trade. And imagine what the 700 Club might have been ready to give up to get their hands on Shirley. Pay attention ESPN.

Growlers Are Back!

So says the New York Times:

“In the beginning we tried to figure out, ‘Who’s going to be our market?’ ” said Ben Granger, 32, an owner of Bierkraft, which began filling growlers in spring 2006. “We thought, mullet-heads and beer-bellied dudes. But the first run was ladies with strollers. They will tell you they’re buying them for their husbands. Three weeks later, they’ve got two. One’s his and one’s hers. The next one that caught me by surprise was dads coming in with their kids. Then there’s the beer crowd who’ll rush in to get on this or that before it’s gone. There’s no age limit.”

There are several interesting pieces of this quote, but perhaps the question that first came to mind for me was, "Has this guy ever met a mullet-head?"

I have, and I can unequivocally tell you that unless he's serving Keystone Ice in those growlers, his business plan was way off.

Strange goats are delicious

The growing trends of local and exotic cuisine are feeding the new industry of rare breed preservation. There are obvious reasons to protect biodiversity, chiefly the fact that decades of inbreeding and over medication have made our industrial food supply shockingly vulnerable. Perhaps a less obvious reason is shown by the Tennessee fainting goat:

They have a habit of seizing up and falling over when frightened or excited (just like me). While a terrible threat response, I find this reaction hilarious! They're like Soupy Sales on all fours with fur and a Van Dyke. That's disgusting. Still I say 'Cheers to you Science' for guaranteeing this daffy breed will never leave us.

State of Mind

A question for fun:

If they actually redivided the country based on the criteria below, would you feel blessed or cursed that Missouri would be one of very few states essentially unchanged?

This map is by Neil Freeman from FakeIsTheNewReal.org. It's based on a division of the country into 50 state units with more-or-less equal population -- 5 to 6 million apiece -- and preserving existing boundaries where possible.

For my part, I'll say at least KC doesn't end up in Kansas.

The Elway, er, Marino Theory?

Years ago, my good friend AA and I formulated a theory that describes the correlations between procrastination, panic, and practice. For a name, we settled on 'The Elway Theory.' Basically, it breaks down like this: the fourth quarter is all that matters.

With sufficient mental faculties, and enough practice at harnessing panic into a high degree of intense attention to one task, it is possible to, for example, acquire the knowledge presented in half a semester of a university philosophy class in the span of roughly 90 minutes.

We found that this practice leaves the bulk of the day free to focus on the really important stuff in life, such as composing Top 10 lists, imagining how awesome it would be to hang out with Curtis Mayfield, or determining whether it's the biscuits or the gravy that holds the most energy.

Since each of us has largely lived our lives according to this theory, I was very much shocked to learn that, if you trust the numbers and logic, we may actually be living according to the ways of Dan Marino. Can it truly be that a fatherless skidmark like Marino is the inspiration of my life? The numbers don't lie; it's Superhead by a slight margin.

So, theories sometimes requiring revision, I've made a small concession in crafting: 'The Melway Theory.' The improved collection of concepts gives a nod to Marino's fourth-quarterness. However, it also incorporates the assertion that even if you're not technically as proficient as the competition, your chances of success increase greatly when you're not a shitheel Like Dan Marino. Do yourself a favor by practicing the 'The Melway Theory,' just don't forget to send me thanks for making your life non-stop awesome.

Sucking the Hind One

That's what Kansas City is now officially doing. With the Saints' win yesterday, New Orleans officially became the 31st of the 31 other cities with at least 2 professional sports franchises (the big 4, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) to have one of its teams play in a championship game since one of KC's last did in 1985.

Below is the updated list of what other cities have had to root for since the Royals won the I-70 series. The first number is appearances is title games. The second it the number of times they won the championship. Read and weep.

Atlanta 6 app. (1 title)
Baltimore 1 app. (1 title)
Boston 14 app. (7 titles)
Buffalo 5 app.
Charlotte 3 app. (1 title)
Chicago 10 app. (8 titles)
Cleveland 4 app.
Cincinnati 2 app. (1 title)
Dallas 6 app. (4 titles)
Denver 8 app. (4 titles)
Detroit 12 app. (7 titles)
Houston 4 app. (2 titles)
Indianapolis 3 app. (1 or 2 titles)
Los Angeles 13 app. (8 titles)
Miami 4 app. (3 titles)
Milwaukee/Green Bay 2 app. (1 title)
Minneapolis 3 app. (2 titles)
Nashville 1 app.
New Orleans 1 app. (? Title)
New York 22 app. (13 titles)
Oakland 4 app. (1 title)
Philadelphia 6 app. (1 title)
Phoenix 3 app. (1 title)
Pittsburgh 7 app. (4 titles)
San Diego 2 app.
San Francisco 5 app. (3 titles)
Seattle 2 app.
St. Louis 5 app. (2 titles)
Tampa 3 app. (1 title)
Toronto 2 app. (2 titles)
Washington D.C. 3 app. (2 titles)

A trickle of a ray of hope

Much like AA, I've recently been feeling downtrodden by our collective political situation. But, I felt somewhat better about our prospects following President Obama's announcement regarding limitations on large, vertically integrated financial institutions.

Is this movement by the president a decisive step towards progressive change that carried him to the Presidency? Is it an outright indictment of a Congress that has yet to enact meaningful legislative change despite a previously commanding Democratic majority? Is this a populist movement for the betterment of the regular folks and all Good Americans? Promises kept and paid in full?

It's too early to be certain, but one thing is for sure, I will be selling my Bank of America stock right..........now!

In Keeping With Yesterday's Theme

There is a long, but very interesting email from a Democratic Congressional staffer posted over at TPM. Here is the gist:

The worst is that I can't help but feel like the main emotion people in the caucus are feeling is relief at this turn of events. Now they have a ready excuse for not getting anything done. While I always thought we had the better ideas but the weaker messaging, it feels like somewhere along the line Members internalized a belief that we actually have weaker ideas. They're afraid to actually implement them and face the judgement of the voters. That's the scariest dynamic and what makes me think this will all come crashing down around us in November...

... This is my life and I simply can't answer the fundamental question: "what do Democrats stand for?" Voters don't know, and we can't make the case, so they're reacting exactly as you'd expect (just as they did in 1994, 2000, and 2004). We either find the voice to answer that question and exercise the strongest majority and voter mandate we've had since Watergate, or we suffer a bloodbath in November. History shows we're likely to choose the latter.

Take 5 minutes and read the whole thing. I promise you, you'll find it depressing.

How I'm Feeling Today

Republicans - Cynical and Malicious

Democrats - Feeble and Feckless

I may need to stay away from political coverage for awhile.

kings of the sad bastard

yes, today has been a good day for music. in addition to the albums mention by AA, another one of my favorite bands released their 9th full length studio album today: Eels.

okay...so is it eels? the eels? Eels? EELS? no one really seems to know for certain, and i have see all sorts of incarnations of the moniker which is represented (for the most part) by one man. mark oliver everett (also known as E) is one weird dude and his latest album is no exception. "End Times" gets back to what E does best: sad bastard lyrics that sound both pretty and fun, though not necessarily at the same time. E is one of the rare exceptions in music that can break your heart right before you dance your ass off. or vice-versa.

recorded primarily on an old 8-track machine in his basement, E has given perpetual hope to a generation of at-home musicians who dream of one day holing up in their basements for 6 months and delivering a studio quality album to the masses. with this aspect in mind, "end times" is spot on. this is arguably the best sounding album from an old 8-track that i have ever heard. nice work, man!

if you have never indulged in the world of Eels, do yourself a favor and jump right in: the water is fine. and to be honest, "end times" is as good a place to start as any. yes, today was a good day for music indeed...

New Music

As I begin my 10 year prep for the next Best Music of the Decade list, 2010 has already produced two albums that will at least be in consideration.

Vampire Weekend's first album was on the previous best of the decade list, but it seemed idiosyncratic enough that they might not be able to produce another as good, or at least as interesting. But the new album, Contra, is better and I think more interesting. The songs are just as catchy, but there is a little more going on beneath the surface.



In the 2000's, Spoon was an incredible band. They put out four albums that I considered for my decade retrospective list, and one made the top 5. Their first album of this decade, Transference, just came out today (I think, but I've been listening to it this morning and they are off to a pretty good start to replicate their previous success. The album seems a little darker, but it still has the signature Spoon bounce and swagger.



Perhaps it's going to be a good decade.

Until They Remake BJ and the Bear...

.. this will be the most exciting remake of something I watched as a kid.

I know it will probably be terrible. Even what you see here looks kind of silly. But that doesn't really matter when you have a problem,no else can help, and you can find them.



Incidentally, when I went to YouTube to watch this, it recommended I watch the trailer from another of my childhood favorites. I was at first disappointed to see that it wasn't real, but you'll see that I pretty quickly didn't care. Awesomeness.

Please forgive me for this post

I've often wondered why religious organizations don't directly address problems like pollution and naked disdain for the environment. As a result, while likely old news for the well informed Catholic, it was certainly surprising to me to find recently that the Church has updated the deadly sins for the new millennium.

Included are the sins of environmental pollution, inflicting poverty, accumulating excessive wealth, drug trafficking and consumption, morally debatable experiments, and violation of fundamental rights. At this point, conversion is seeming like a pretty good idea. Then, just as the thought that 'morally debatable experiments' might mean gene therapy rather than animal testing, I read the last new deadly sin: genetic manipulation.

An internal dialogue that trys to understand the thinking that damns the polluters that end lives, while simultaneously damning the physicians that use genetic manipulation to save lives, is beginning to brew when further reading reveals a quote that just blows the top right off my head. The same Archbishop Girotti that initially delivered these new sins during a teaching session named abortion and pedophilia as two of the greatest sins of our time, then promptly brushed aside cases of sexual violence against minors committed by priests as 'exaggerations by the mass media aimed at discrediting the Church.'

Wow! Now that's some double talk! It appears to me unlikely that this push to update the Church will draw few intelligent converts or enhance adherence if in nearly the same breath Church leadership exhibits a total disregard of reality, fairness, and positive change. The cliche of 'the more things change, the more they stay the same' seems appropriate. It also seems that the dangerous lives of altar boys will remain dangerous, and I will remain reprobate for writing posts like this.

A Few Things Going On

A lot of interesting stuff while I was out of commission:

One year after the team lost like 800 pounds or something, the Chiefs gained the weight back by hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators.

The Raymore city council decided not to become the OK Corral.

Watching TV is bad for you.

To combat the television, here are some foods that are good for you.

Sarah Palin still makes me cringe, and now she's a Fox News Analyst!

NBC is mucking things up with Conan O'Brien, for the questionable goal of putting Jay Leno back in his time slot.

Driving Cross the Land, Kickin' Up Sand...

Back from a 3,000 mile journey for a very sad event that you wouldn't want to go to if it were 3 miles away. But, as usually happens at such times, you learn a lot about the people with you on the journey. I am happy to report that part of the experience was pleasant. Hopefully, regular life may now resume for a bit.

best albums of 2009

a bit late on this one, but soon enough to remain relevant i suppose. i thought 2009 was a pretty good year for music, with a couple of these making my top 50 of the decade list.

1. ryan bingham- roadhouse sun
2. the avett brothers- i and love and you
3. iron and wine- around the well
4. ben kweller- changing horses
5. away we go- soundtrack
6. bob dylan- together through life
7. son volt- american central dust
8. wilco- wilco (the album)
9. monsters of folk- monsters of folk
10.the decemberists- the hazards of love

i should also mention that the 4 disc Tom Petty Live Anthology is unbelievable, but i didn't feel like it qualified for this list. otherwise...TOPS!

Hey, I can see the desert from here!

I don't know why it fascinates me, but it does. This is one really, really tall building.

First Post of the Year (Income Chart)

Kinda late, but here it is. And since I don't use tagging, I thought using the first post to put up a chart I might want to refer back to would be useful.

So here it is:



I've referred to these numbers on several occasions, but this is the nicest depiction I've seen. If you're almost anyone, you are economically disadvantaged by voting Republican.

top 10 favorite movies of the decade

i am running a bit behind on my list making these days, but i felt compelled to at least throw up my top 10 favorite movies of decade. like AA before me, many of these are certainly classics in the making, while some of these may only appeal to me and me alone. these are certainly not THE BEST movies of the decade by any means--just the ones that i enjoy the most. a top 50 might surface, but this is all i got for now...

1. Almost Famous
2. High Fidelity
3. School of Rock
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (also cheating!)
6. Juno
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Moulin Rouge
9. The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Love Actually

A Christmas Wish from The Onion and Me

The Onion, funny as usual.

SOUTHFIELD, MI—Bored with scaring elderly misers, the Ghost of Christmas Future is spending the holiday season taunting modern children with visions of Christmas 2016's hottest toy: the Sony PlayStation 5, a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play.

Silly Liberals

Kevin Drum noticed the following Mike Potemra quote at National Review online in a piece about Jean-Luc Picard.

I have over the past couple of months been watching DVDs of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show I missed completely in its run of 1987 to 1994; and I confess myself amazed that so many conservatives are fond of it. Its messages are unabashedly liberal ones of the early post-Cold War era — peace, tolerance, due process, progress....

Sometimes I try and convince myself that part of the problem with liberals and conservatives is that we see cartoonish versions of one another that aren't a true picture. Then I read something like this.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Playing with the blog look a little over the holidays. May stick, may not. Hope to add a few more things to the sidebar as well. Suggestions welcome.

Garfunkel was Merely a Pawn

There is an individual I work with who comes around a couple of times a week to explain to me what new nefarious plots the government and the "New World Order" are up to currently. Today, I found out that the government is working on controlling our minds via HDTV and "the sound of silence."

This technology is about to be used, albeit in a more subtle fashion, against American citizens in a highly classified and covert operation to mind control and manipulate the entire population into 'compliance' with our New World order overlords. The technology will utilize a combination of HAARP transmitters, GWEN towers, microwave cell phone towers, and the soon-to-be-mandatory High Definition DIGITAL TV that will enter your home via A) Cable, B) Satellite, C) HD TVs, or D) those oh-so-easy -to-obtain "Digital Converter boxes" that the government is so anxious to help you obtain and underwrite most of the cost on your behalf...

...Moreover, what if televisions across the U.S. and Canada all went 100% DIGITAL [E.g. the mandatory HD conversion to take place in Feb. 2009] in their signals (which must happen in order to successfully link to pre-positioned, interconnected GWEN (Ground-Wave Emergency Network) Towers) which of course would allow the unrestricted use of the Sound of Silence frequencies in a complete and massive control of the nation’s mind and consciousness?

I made a crack about Paul Simon being in on the deal, but as it turns out after going to the Internet, the joke was on me.

Paul Kane's (Paul Simon) musical work in the early 1960's was primarily as a contracted songwriter in the famed "Brill Building machine." He would write songs for other artists to record. He did try his hand at performing, however. Assuming a new stage name - Paul Kane - he wrote many ballads and rockabilly tunes which were recorded, both by Paul and as a member of the mildly-successful Tico and the Triumphs. Paul also had a famous collaborator - Carole Kane (who changed her name to Carol King). Paul Simon, a Jew whose family was part of the 'military-industrialist complex' was very likely a product of the early 1960’s military experimentation in Silent Sound mind control –which is clearly what the lyrics of “The Sound of Silence” convey to those 'in the know'.

I'm starting to fear that the bridge over troubled water is actually a bridge to let those dirty communists Julio, Cecilia, and Mrs. Robinson into the U.S. to convert the country into some sort of dystopian Graceland.

Temps

An article in the New York Times helps highlight an under publicised problem with our current labor situation:

Halfway across the country, in Burlington, Iowa, the recession bypassed the Winegard Company. That is perhaps because Winegard makes television antennas and satellite receivers, and in hard times people watch more television, said Denise Baker, Winegard’s director of human resources. Whatever the case, to keep up with new orders, the company has added 70 workers in the last two years — all of them temps.

“An actual employee with benefits costs more than a temp or a contract worker,” Ms. Baker said, “and as long as I can still get highly skilled temps, I’ll go that route. It gives me more room to reverse course if the economy weakens again and sales do finally sink.”

Unemployment is certainly bad, but people don't just need jobs. They need jobs that come with some sense of security (and hopefully benefits). Trends like the one in the article are the kind of thing that will keep the income gap in the U.S. high and will keep many Americans in a dangerous situation.

Best of the 2000s: Movie Analysis

Because making a list of your favorite 50 movies of the decade isn't nerdy enough, here is a little analysis of the list to take it the extra mile.

A little by the numbers for your entertainment:

1 western

2 animated films

3 Wes Anderson movies

4 movies with George Clooney

4 kung fu movies

5 fantasy or sci-fi movies

6 movies that have virtually no chance of making any critics' top tens

7 movies from each of 2003, 2004 and 2005 (tied for top spot)

8 or so crime dramas

12 films from the years 2006, 2008 and 2009 listed without producing a top 10 designate

14 as a total score for the year 2001 if you inverted the top 10 list and assigned each movie the number the next to it and then added all the movies from the same year (2001 is #1 by that system)

Best of the 2000s: My Favorite Movies

Here are my favorite movies of the 2000s. I'm not claiming them to be the best movies of the 2000s from a critical perspective. Some really are testaments to great film making (Traffic) and some are ridiculous movies I just happen to really like (The Transporter). There was a pretty big list of movies that I had to leave off to pare down to 50. Feel free to comment on any serious omissions. (Note: I did cheat by listing both the Lord of the Rings movies and the Kill Bill movies as group entries. But it's my list.)

As an aside, I think 2009 is getting the shaft here because I haven't seen enough 2009 movies yet. From everything I have heard (and the quantity of George Clooney movies on this list), Up in the Air is going to be on this list once I see it, and perhaps there will be some others as well.

2000 – Traffic
2000 – High Fidelity
2000 – Gladiator
2000 – Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
2000 – Almost Famous
2001-2003 – Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2001 – The Royal Tennenbaums
2001 – Amelie
2001 – Monsters Inc.
2001 – Ocean’s Eleven
2002 – Road to Perdition
2002 – The Pianist
2002 – The Transporter
2002 – Punch Drunk Love
2003-2004 – Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
2003 – Lost in Translation
2003 – Old School
2003 – Bad Santa
2003 – Seabiscuit
2003 – Shanghai Knights
2004 – Hero
2004 – Shaun of the Dead
2004 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004 – Miracle
2004 – Napolean Dynamite
2004 – Layer Cake
2005 – The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
2005 – A History of Violence
2005 – Good Night and Good Luck
2005 – The Matador
2005 – Wedding Crashers
2005 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2005 – Kung Fu Hustle
2006 – Pan’s Labyrinth
2006 – Volver
2006 – Children of Men
2006 – The Lives of Others
2007 – 3:10 to Yuma
2007 – Michael Clayton
2007 – The Darjeeling Limited
2007 – No Country for Old Men
2007 – Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
2007 – Charlie Wilson’s War
2008 – The Dark Knight
2008 – RocknRolla
2008 – In Bruges
2008 – Gran Torino
2008 – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2009 – Away We Go
2009 – Star Trek
2009 – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Top 10:
1. Traffic
2. The Royal Tennenbaums
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
4. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
5. Lost in Translation
6. Hero
7. Amelie
8. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
9. 3:10 to Yuma
10. Monster’s Inc.

Back to School

Brandon Jennings has had a great rookie season thus far for the Milwaukee Bucks. After spending a year in Europe instead of college, he has offered us yet more proof that the NBA's rule that forces players to wait a year after high school before entering the draft is dumb.

On the other hand, perhaps Jennings should take a little of the money he is now earning and take a few college courses. He was recently fined by the league for a tweet that fell too close to the prohibited tweeting time around a game. But I think the timing should probably be excused before the message itself:

"Back to 500. Yess!!! "500" means where doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys."

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I think maybe an English class is in order.

So Russia is like, "I don't want to say I told you so, but..."

It was reported today that militant insurgents have found a way to hack U.S. drones in flight over conflict areas using a $26, off-the-shelf computer program. This seems both terrifying and hilarious given that an unnamed government official related that the unencrypted signals represented a flaw that was noticed during Bosnian operations in the '90s. Furthermore, the officials related that "...the Pentagon assumed local adversaries wouldn't know how to exploit it."

I'll leave broad interpretations to others in favor of a simple comparison of these separate intelligence approaches. The U.S. Government spends roughly 4.5 Million on each predator, plus expenses for maintenance and operation. The insurgents spend $25.95 plus shipping on software and something like $40 on a used Dell laptop attached to an old umbrella for an antenna.

In Cahooters

The Chamber of Commerce wants you to be aware of "how to protect your family's future and bring common sense solutions to the health-care debate." More to the point, they want you to help them fight healthcare reform.

Just in case you can't be motivated by protecting your family's future, however, they have another offer for you:

To qualify for your $150 Amex gift card for use at Hooters you must continue through our survey below and complete the participation requirements. Click "Yes" to as many offers as you like and please make sure you click "No" to offers you don't.

Person of the Decade Bracket

The Washington Post has a bracket up allowing readers to help pick a most influential person of the decade. George Bush, I think stands a pretty decent chance to win this thing. On the other hand, it may just turn out to be a popularity contest, in which case he has no shot.

For my money, I think the technology guys, Steve Jobs, the Google guys, and Mr. Facebook have to at least be in the discussion. Hu Jintao probably has to be considered pretty highly as well, though he realistically has no shot in an American poll starting out against Obama.

I must say, as contrived gimmicks go, this is one I'm willing to follow.

Dreams are Weird

And here is my proof.

Last night in my dream, I wrestled Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt for a newspaper containing the box score of a game I had just watched in an old church gymnasium.

Get out of my dreams Hewitt!

Best of 2009: Songs

As we've been mentioning, songs are a little more difficult than albums. Your favorite songs can change daily, and there are so many good songs that narrowing a list is a chore. Perhaps, however, doing the decade list was like training to run a mile by running a marathon. The song list seemed much easier than in years past, and I'm attributing it to the task of putting together a song list for the decade first.

Enough narrative, here are my top 10 songs of the year:

1. Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
2. The Fixer - Pearl Jam
3. Hysteric - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. Got Nuffin - Spoon
5. Animal - Miike Snow
6. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits
7. Dylan's Hard Rain - Ryan Bingham
8. Pendergast Machine - Ha Ha Tonka
9. Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
10. When I Died - The Thermals

25 favorite songs of the decade

unfortunately, this list was compiled totally off the cuff without the assistance of my cd/digital library. i also limited myself to only one song from each artist. again, this list is ever-changing, and could be drastically different tomorrow. it is, however, a damn fine list...

25 songs favorite songs of the 2000's
1. bob dylan- mississippi
2. wilco- pot kettle black
3. ryan adams- sweet carolina
4. iron and wine- naked as we came
5. son volt- afterglow 61
6. damien rice- cannonball
7. damien jurado- window
8. rilo kiley- with arms outstretched
9. jenny lewis- the charging sky
10. jay farrar- voodoo candle
11. eels- packing blankets
12. ben kweller- wasted and ready
13. bonnie prince billy- ease on down the road
14. ryan bingham- don’t wait for me
15. tom petty- flirting with time
16. the shout out louds- the comeback
17. SSLYBY- modern mystery
18. she and him- sentimental heart
19. sun kil moon- glenn tipton
20. bright eyes- another travelin’ song
21. band of horses- the general specific
22. the national- fake empire
23. spoon- the way we get by
24. gillian welch- red clay halo
25. moore-healey- good fortune

Best of 2009: Albums

Almost lost in all the hoopla over end of decade lists was the fact that 2009, in fact, had some good music in it. I don't think it matched up with 2007 or 2008, but I also think there is much that I just haven't been able to absorb, and much much more that I haven't heard at all.

Anyway, I still liked quite a few albums and here are the 10 I liked the best (and a couple of the best tracks on each).

1. It's Blitz - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
(Hysteric, Soft Shock)
2. Roadhouse Sun - Ryan Bingham
(Dylan's Hard Rain, Country Roads)
3. Backspacer - Pearl Jam
(The Fixer, Supersonic)
4. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
(Lasso, 1901)
5. It's Frightening - White Rabbits
(Percussion Gun, They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong)
6. Farm - Dinosaur Jr.
(Ocean in the Way, Plans)
7. Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective
(Summertime Clothes, Taste)
8. Metric - Fantasies
(Twilight Galaxy, Help I'm Alive)
9. When the Devil's Loose - A.A. Bondy
(Oh the Vampyre, On the Moon)
10. Technicolor Health - The Harlem Shakes
(Strictly Game, Nothing but Change)

This list is subject to change, of course. The beauty of these things is that there is always more music out there. Metric actually just made the list this week when I started listening to them after seeing them in concert. There will surely be someone else who I find out about in the next few months who easily could have made the list. Other people's year end lists are often good sources to find those new albums.

I also wanted to mention a great live album, Nirvana's Live at Reading and a fantastic greatest hits album of sorts, The Vaselines' Enter the Vaselines. Neither fit my criteria for a best of 2009 list, but both were really, really good. What did you like in 2009?

In Which Hulk Hogan is Played by Nick Saban

Once again, the most furious month of the U.S. sports season is upon us. It's the college football postseason where competition has no place when there is money involved.

As usual, the national title game will be played by the champions of two BCS conferences, Alabama and Texas. And as usual, there are a few other teams who have a quite a case that they should be there instead.

Texas beat by a single point a Nebraska team that basically won the woeful Big 12 North by default. They beat two ranked opponents this season; Oklahoma State on the road and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, there are three other undefeated teams who will not be playing for the title in Cincinnati, Boise State, and TCU. Cincinnati beat 3 ranked opponents on the year, 2 of those on the road. Boise State beat the only ranked opponent they played this season in #7 Oregon, and then beat the crap out of everyone else on their schedule. And TCU beat 2 ranked opponents, one on the road, and went and beat two ACC schools on the road.

None of this is to say that these 3 teams are definitively better than Texas. But Texas certainly isn't definitively better than them either. Which is, of course, the problem with college football. Texas is essentially in the title game because they were ranked higher to start the season. That is stupid.

College football is stupid actually. Fortunately, it will be over in a month.

25 Songs from the 2000s

Alright, this is much harder than an albums list. The number of songs I like over a period of 10 years is really, really high. I decided to just pick 25 songs I really love. This list could have 15 different songs on it if I did it again next week, but you have to start somewhere right? I decided to limit each band to one song, so I didn't end up with 2/3 of the list taken up by 3 or 4 bands. So here it is:

12 Inch 3 Speed Oscillating Fan – Big Smith
12:51 – The Strokes
Anything You Want – Spoon
Back in Your Head – Tegan and Sara
Banquet – Bloc Party
Black, Red, Yellow – Pearl Jam
C’mon C’mon – The Von Bondies
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – The Postal Service
DLZ – TV on the Radio
Donde Esta la Playa – The Walkmen
Hey Ya – Outkast
I Burn Today – Frank Black
The Late Greats – Wilco
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups
Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues – Eels
Party Hard – Andrew W.K.
The Runner – Kings of Leon
Sister Do You Know My Name – The White Stripes
Solid Gold – Eagles of Death Metal
Summertime Clothes – Animal Collective
Too Drunk to Dream - The Magnetic Fields
Trashcan – Delta Spirit
Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show
Young Folks – Peter Bjorn & John

Interesting Maps

I like maps, and this Slate slideshow features a selection of odd maps from across history. There is even one map that unifies Kansas City.

There is also the map above, which charts different soil types and craters on the far side of the moon. Pretty neat stuff.

Assorted Items

- Start looking for rum drinks at fashionable places everywhere.

- Kansas City Star reporter Kent Babb should probably acknowledge the complete lack of pass rush when writing an article that criticises the secondary.

- In case you didn't know and you like rockabilly music, tune into KKFI on fridays from 5-7.

- A.I. a Sixer once again.

- Perhaps it is too early to tell if the Missouri State basketball team is really a contender in the MVC, but it is not too early to say that they are exponentially more fun to watch than they were last year.

But It's Less Fun When You Do it to Me

Republicans are mad at Al Franken.

The Republicans are steamed at Franken because partisans on the left are using a measure he sponsored to paint them as rapist sympathizers — and because Franken isn’t doing much to stop them...

...At issue is an amendment to the Pentagon spending bill that would bar “future and existing” federal contracts to defense contractors and subcontractors “at any tier” who mandate employees go through a company’s arbitration process for workplace discrimination claims — including claims of sexual assault. The measure passed 68-30, with 10 Republicans voting yes and 30 voting no.

The story goes on to say that Republicans voted no because of concerns over the cost of trials for discrmination claims. That, in and of itself, is pretty irritating considering the dubious history of the mandatory arbitration process.

But the ridiculousness here comes from the fact that Republicans are angry that the left is mischaracterizing their motives and using the episode for partisan gain. If the last decade has taught us nothing else, it is that Republicans can find a way to mischaracterize any Democratic action and use it for partisan gain. If they didn't want Democrats to do it, they shouldn't have taught them how.

The Christmas Spirit

Some charities in Houston are into it... unless you're a kid whose parents are illegal immigrants.

The Salvation Army and a charity affiliated with the Houston Fire Department are among those that consider immigration status, asking for birth certificates or Social Security cards for the children.

The point isn’t to punish the children but to ensure that their parents are either citizens, legal immigrants or working to become legal residents, said Lorugene Young, whose Outreach Program Inc. is one of three groups that distribute toys collected by firefighters.

“It’s not our desire to turn anyone down,” she said. “Those kids are not responsible if they are here illegally. It is the parents’ responsibility."

Well, there is no better way to punish parents than to make sure their kids can't get Christmas presents. Maybe someone should introduce a law that says for every speeding ticket a person gets, their kid loses a candy cane.

50 favorite albums of the decade

Alright, it is time. while i am quite certain this list will change the second i post it, here it is in all it's temporary glory. i have listed the top 5 in order of preference followed by the remaining list in chronological. also, if 50 albums seems to daunting a task, feel free to post your 50 favorite SONGS of the decade instead.

1. Wilco- yankee hotel foxtrot (2002)
2. eels-daisies of the galaxy (2000)
3. Ryan Adams- heartbreaker (2000)
4. Shout Out Louds- howl howl, gaff gaff (2005)
5. Loretta Lynn- van lear rose (2004)

Big Smith- big rock (2000)
Billy Bragg and Wilco- mermaid avenue vol. II (2000)
Ryan Adams- gold (2001)
Bob Dylan – love and theft (2001)
Gillian Welch- time the revelator (2001)
Jay Farrar- sebastapol (2001)
Kasey Chambers- barricades and brickwalls (2001)
Bob Dylan- bootleg series 5: the rolling thunder revue (2002)
Ben Kweller- sha sha (2002)
Spoon- kill the moonlight (2002)
Gillian Welch- soul journey (2003)
Jay Farrar- terrior blues (2003)
Damien Jurado- where shall you take me? (2003)
The Decemberists- her majesty (2003)
Drive by truckers- decoration day (2003)
Wilco- ghost is born (2004)
Rilo Kiley-more adventurous (2004)
Bonnie Prince Billy- BPB sing greatest palace music (2004)
Iron & Wine- our endless numbered days (2004)
Son Volt- Okemah and the melody of riot (2005)
Bright Eyes- I’m wide awake it’s morning (2005)
eels- blinking lights and other revelations (2005)
Sun Kil Moon- tiny cities (2005)
Sufjan Stevens- come on feel the Illinois (2005)
Jenny Lewis- rabbit fur coat (2006)
eels- live at town hall (2006)
Tom petty- highway companion (2006)
Cat power- the greatest (2006)
wilco- sky blue sky (2007)
Rilo kiley- under the black light (2007)
Neil young- live at massey hall (2007)
Band of horses- cease to begin (2007)
Shout Out Louds- our ill wills (2007)
Ryan Bingham- mescalito (2007)
Elliott Smith- new moon (2007)
The Avett Brothers- emotionalism (2007)
Bob Dylan- bootleg series 8: tell tale signs (2008)
SSLYBY- pershing (2008)
She & Him- vol. 1 (2008)
Fleet Foxes- fleet foxes (2008)
Bon Iver- for emma forever ago (2008)
Pete and the Pirates- little death (2008)
Ben Kweller- changing horses (2009)
Ryan Bingham- roadhouse sun (2009)
Iron & Wine- around the well (2009)

Top 50 Albums of the 2000s

It's the end of the decade. This is great news for those of us who love to make lists because we not only get year end best of lists, but also best of decade lists.

BSD and I undertook the project some time ago to come up with a list of the best (i.e. our favorite) albums of the 2000s. This list is as I see it today. I can't guarantee that if I had made a top 5 of 2000 in 2000 that it would have included the albums listed below. But it does now.

The albums are in year order. At the bottom, however, is a ranked top 5. Please feel free to leave your lists in the comments.

2000 The White Stripes – De Stijl
2000 Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
2000 Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica
2000 Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
2000 Eels – Daisies of the Galaxy
2000 Radiohead – Kid A
2001 The Strokes – Is This It
2001 The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
2001 Spoon – Girls Can Tell
2001 System of a Down - Toxicity
2002 Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
2002 Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2002 Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf
2002 Ryan Adams – Demolition
2002 Los Halos – For Ramona
2003 Postal Service – Give Up
2003 Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts of the Great Highway
2003 Pearl Jam – Lost Dogs
2003 Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
2003 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
2003 TV on the Radio – Young Liars
2004 The Black Keys – Rubber Factory
2004 Arcade Fire – Funeral
2004 Old Crow Medicine Show – OCMS
2004 Wilco – A Ghost is Born
2004 Dallas Jones - Wherever You Roam
2005 The National – Alligator
2005 Spoon – Gimme Fiction
2005 Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak
2005 The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
2005 Iron and Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle
2005 Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
2006 Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon
2006 Cold War Kids – Robbers and Cowards
2006 The Walkmen – A Hundred Miles Off
2006 TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
2006 Tom Petty – Highway Companion
2007 Kings of Leon – Because of the Times
2007 The National – The Boxer
2007 Peter Bjorn & John – Writer’s Block
2007 Radiohead – In Rainbows
2008 TV on the Radio – Dear Science
2008 Vampire Weekend – VW
2008 The Walkmen – You & Me
2008 The Dodos – Visiter
2008 Johnny Flynn – A Flarum
2008 Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. 8
2009 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
2009 Pearl Jam – Backspacer
2009 Ryan Bingham – Roadhouse Sun

Top 5:
5. The White Stripes – De Stijl
4. The National – The Boxer
3. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2. Spoon – Gimme Fiction
1. The Walkmen – You & Me

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hey all,

I hope everyone has a safe and happy time giving thanks and eating your body weight in food.

Healthcare Reform in Missouri

Kathleen Sebelius has a website that breaks down what healthcare means to each state. The link to Missouri is here.

Here are a few of the big numbers:

790,000 residents who do not currently have insurance and 335,000 residents who have nongroup insurance could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange.

516,000 residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.

961,000 seniors would receive free preventive services.

171,000 seniors would have their brand-name drug costs in the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” halved.

79,900 small businesses could be helped by a small business tax credit to make premiums more affordable.

(Side) Hug the Ones You Love

When I was in high school, I remember occasional proselytizing about the dangers of oral sex or even heavy petting. I do not remember, however, anything as militant as warnings not to hug people before marriage.

Apparently, times are changing:

Yes, now it’s abstinence only for Christian teens when it comes to hugs. The basic message is that “front hugs” should be saved until marriage, This is told to us while using a lot of ghetto rap hand motions. (”Word!”) I think the fear here is if teens give each other a “full frontal hug” it’s leads towards the Satanic road of no return of crotch-to-crotch dry humping. The next thing you know, you’ll be on that slippery slope of supporting gay marriage and believing dinosaur bones aren’t a test from God. Best to keep it safe with a “side hug” (at least until one is declared man and wife).

Via Matt Yglesias.

Airlines Suck

I normally don't like to use this blog as a forum for bitching about my personal life, I'm making an exception. There has bee a lot of attention paid over the last few months to airlines charging for bags.

I, of course, don't care for this move anymore than anyone else. However, I like to think I am pretty easy going and I decided to take it in stride. What I didn't know, until this trip anyway, was that some airlines will charge you to pick your seat in coach. "Premium seats" I believe they are called.

I also was not aware that the common practice now is to charge you not for a flight change if you make it on standby to an earlier flight, but to charge you for the "opportunity" to go on standby whether or not you actually make it on the earlier flight.

I was talking to Nate about this and he pointed out that fuel prices could usher in the era of high speed trains in the next couple of decades. That sounds great to me, but then I suppose the trains may end up being run by former airline executives.

Your Road Map to the Salary Cap

Via Matt Yglesias, here is Larry Coon's comprehensive FAQ about the NBA salary cap.

I realize about 3 of you may be find this interesting, but maybe you're the three most important.

One of my favorite discoveries was that there is a provision named after Gilbert Arenas. Unfortunately, it is not generally known as the "Hibachi Provision."

Eat It Buffalo!

That is what Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams was apparently thinking, and is now taking some heat for, after his team knocked off old AFL rival Buffalo on Sunday.

"The Blew-Gray Game"

Bill Simmons points out the utter misery that is Sunday's Chiefs-Raiders game.

By the way, I am declaring this game ungamble-able. The Chiefs are the only 2009 team without a rushing TD; Oakland has given up 13. The Chiefs have given up 12 passing plays of 40-plus yards; the Raiders have a QB with a 48.3 rating. The Chiefs have amassed 2,231 yards and given up 3,172; the Raiders have amassed 1,793 yards and given up 3,086. The Chiefs have given up 30 sacks; the Raiders have turned the ball over 25 times. I'd say this was the worst game of the year, but remember, Oakland plays in Cleveland in Week 16. That's the Stupor Bowl. This is more of the Blew-Gray Game.

Kansas City sports!

Swimming on the Moon

Humankind was just given our most recent reminder that we really don't know anything.

A "significant amount" of frozen water has been found on the moon, the US space agency said Friday heralding a major leap forward in space exploration and boosting hopes of a permanent lunar base.

Preliminary data from a moon probe "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," NASA said in a statement.

"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," it added, as ecstatic scientists celebrated the landmark discovery.

If only it had been cheese that they had found.

Stagnation

A great article by Daniel Gross at Slate. He talks about 2000s as the lost decade economically,and he leaves very few depressing stones unturned,

Jobs:

In September, on a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 108.5 million private (nongovernment) payroll jobs in the united States—almost precisely the number there were in June 1999.

Stocks:

...stocks went precisely nowhere in the past decade, despite all the efforts to help the market, from slashing capital gains and dividend taxes to keeping interest rates extremely low to bailing out just about everyone.

Investing:

According to the securities industry's Equity Ownership in America 2008 report, the proportion of the population that owned stocks or bonds fell from 57 percent in 2001 to 48 percent in 2008.

Income:

The latest report from the Census Bureau on income, poverty, and health insurance is full of interesting data that show that median household income in 2008, at $50,303, was below where it was in 1998. The same report shows (see Table B-1 on Page 44) that both the number and the percentage of people living below the poverty line rose, from 11.9 percent in 1999 to 13.2 percent in 2009.

Healthcare:

Between 1999 and 2008 (see Table C-1, Page 59 of the census report), the population of the United States rose 9 percent, but the uninsured population of the United States rose 19.5 percent.

Homeownership:

Once the housing market peaked in the summer of 2006 and foreclosures started to mount, the homeownership rate declined. Today, it stands at 67.6 percent—almost precisely where it was in the fall of 2000.

And yet, I still regularly read pieces from the right talking about economic ruin that will befall us if don't allow tax cuts to continue, or we impose regulations on industry, or we raise the minimum wage, or... you get the picture.

If you read such a piece or talk to such a person, take the time to ask them exactly what a tax-cutting, deregulated, pro-development, anti-worker, poor healthcare, debt-encouraging economy has produced for us. If they have a good answer, please let me know.

And It Makes You Feel Happy Too

You really can't drink red wine for breakfast without people staring at you like you're sitting on the curb drinking from a bottle of gin. But if you are trying to fight off atherosclerosis, maybe now you don't have to:

Blood tests found that after participants drank chocolate milk twice a day for four weeks, they had significantly lower levels of several inflammatory biomarkers, though some markers of cellular inflammation remained unchanged.

Participants also had significantly higher levels of good HDL cholesterol after completing the chocolate milk regimen, according to the study, which appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and is already online.

And, of course, there is the side benefit that drinking chocolate milk makes you feel like you're 10 years old. And that is almost never a bad thing.

When In Rome

Go see this incredibly designed modern art museum.

Whatever You Say J.R.

The notes attached to NBA game recaps are not usually where you go for comedy gold. But this is the funniest thing I've read in a some time.

Denver's J.R. Smith scored five points in his first game after serving a seven-game suspension. He said he wants to go by his given name, Earl III, although the Nuggets plan to keep calling him J.R.

There are various levels of being in the doghouse, but I think the bottom level has to be when your organization refuses to call you by your own name.

Who Needs a Coral Reef...

when you've got a trash pile twice the size of Texas in the ocean?

One

And that one is Anh Cao of Louisiana, the only Republican to vote for the healthcare bill on Saturday.

Yeah, a Few Maybe

Michael Gerson in a fundamentally silly piece about Tuesday's elections signaling Obama's ceding of the center:

By creating deficits unequaled as a percentage of the economy since World War II, by proposing to nearly triple the national debt in the next 10 years, by using the economic crisis as an excuse for the massive expansion of government authority over health care, Obama has become a polarizing figure. Of course, some Republicans thrive on ideological combat and would seek it even if unprovoked.

Maybe one or two.

Of Course He Does

A Bit Puzzled

My question for today:

How is it that two gubernatorial wins coupled with two Congressional losses equals a groundswell of support for the GOP and a stern rebuke of Obama?

No one has really explained it yet, but they all keep saying it.

Classic Ad 2

The same site, Martin Klasch, also has this testament to truth in advertising.

Classic Ad

While working on our department Christmas card at work, I stumbled across this gem of a holiday ad.

Is There Enough Handicap Parking on Pennsylvania?

One fact in these three paragraphs stands out to me as odd.

An 81-year-old man told police that he was robbed this morning while waiting for his wife who was shopping for groceries.

The robbery occurred about 1:55 a.m. at the Hy-Vee store at 7620 State Line Road in Prairie Village.

The man told police that he was waiting in his car while his wife popped into the store. The woman approached his car, opened the door and pulled him out, according to police.

If you asked yourself why an 81 year old man was out grocery shopping at 1:55 a.m., you have a similar thought pattern to me.

I've known several 81 year old men, and I can't remember one who I ever knew of going out after 10, let alone 2. Maybe there are some special circumstances.

Or maybe not. I'll be looking for octogenarians the next time I'm out late in Westport.

The All-Time Team (mostly of guys from long ago)

The aforementioned bastion of journalism excellence put out a Chiefs all-time team for the organization's 50th anniversary. A few facts about the list:

There are 26 people on the list.

15 of those players became Chiefs before 1970.

Of the remaining 11, 5 played in the 80's and 90's.

All of those guys were defensive players.

The final 6 were from the Dick Vermeil era (00's).

All of those guys were offensive players.

There are 0 current Chiefs on the team.

Todd Haley is not the all-time coach.

Who Needs facebook When You have the Star?

Newspapers really are in trouble. What other conclusions can you draw when the Star now has what appears to be a permanent place at the center of the homepage reserved for party pics?

If the only reason someone is going to read you is that you might include a picture of someone they know, you should probably be an alumni magazine... not the newspaper of record for a top 50 media market.