A shout-out

...to the kind people at Expedia who walked me through the process of having Christmas plane reservations canceled by the airline on Thanksgiving weekend...!

Listening

Cecil Taylor, The Great Paris Concert (Black Lion) I don't know whether it's edited or not, but because this concert was recorded in 1966, the pieces are arranged in (for Cecil) bite-sized bits of a mere 10+ minutes. (His recorded stamina grew with the CD age, so you can now hear big old long improvs.) There are really beautiful lyrical bits here, and some great bowed bass from Alan Silva, and Andrew Cyrille, my favorite of all his drummers, on drums. (We saw Andrew C in a band with Mal Waldron when we went to New York--an amazing musician and a very kind man.) And Jimmy Lyons on alto sax, the guy who knew the nooks and crannies and mountains and canyons of Taylor's music better than anyone. My only complaint: murky sound, though for some reason you never have any problem hearing the piano.

A Sweet Thanksgiving Thought

Hope it is a happy one for all! (Sorry--if you're not a Salon subscriber you'll have to watch a dumb little Web ad.)

Lessons in Democracy

Or: The pot calls the kettle a cooking implement.

A favorite artist

PM: What's a common misconception about you?
Prince Paul: Part 1: A misconception? I think that people think that everything I do is literal. I mean, not everything is contemplated; sometimes it's just me being stupid, and I don't necessarily sit down and seriously think about stuff. A lot of times it's just me having fun; 'Saying this, man, that's going to bug them out.' That's how it usually starts -- man, this will bug them out.

Where to start (all on Tommy Boy): De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising; Handsome Boy Modeling School So...How's Your Girl?; and let us not forget, Prince Paul, A Prince Among Thieves!

Iraq: Grunt's-Eye View

Another generation, another war to show what big penises its leaders have.

The Marines constantly debated the morality of what they were engaged in. A sergeant in the platoon told me he had consulted with his priest about killing. The priest had told him it was all right to kill for his government so long as he didn't enjoy it. By the time the unit reached the outskirts of Baghdad, this sergeant was certain he had already killed at least four men. When his battalion commander praised the unit for "slaying dragons" on the way to Baghdad, the sergeant later told his men, "If we did half the shit back home we've done here, we'd be in prison." By then, the sergeant told me, he'd reconsidered what his priest had told him about killing. "Where the fuck did Jesus say it's OK to kill people for your government? Any priest who tells me that has got no credibility."

He and several other Marines recently returned from Iraq (many from their second tours) whom I've talked to about the Falluja shooting say they are not sure they would have dead-checked the wounded man in the mosque had they been in the same position. Most say they probably would have, even though the mosque had already been cleared once. "What does the American public think happens when they tell us to assault a city?" one of them said. "Marines don't shoot rainbows out of our asses. We fucking kill people."

Ocean Watch

Some rare happy/cool news on the environmental front. Who knows? Maybe we won't succeed in killing off every last non-human, non-farmed species.

Charter vs. Public Schools

An interesting study from the U. S. Department of Education. In spite of the alternative charter schools provide in states with really dismal public school systems (like my old home state of Arizona), I've always had serious reservations about this idea for two reasons: (1) They suck money from other public schools, often the ones with the worst problems with funding, dropouts, etc., and (2) Many restrict teachers' rights to join unions. This article only adds to my concerns.

Bill Moyer

Bye-bye to one of the only decent journalists on a major television network.

So what the hell do Americans know?

From the Times' article (registration required):

After enduring a brutally fought election campaign, Americans are optimistic about the next four years under President Bush, but have reservations about central elements of the second-term agenda he presented in defeating Senator John Kerry, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

At a time when the White House has portrayed Mr. Bush's 3.5-million-vote victory as a mandate, the poll found that Americans are at best ambivalent about Mr. Bush's plans to reshape Social Security, rewrite the tax code, cut taxes and appoint conservative judges to the bench. There is continuing disapproval of Mr. Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, with a plurality now saying it was a mistake to invade in the first place.

While Democrats, not surprisingly, were the staunchest opponents of many elements of Mr. Bush's second-term agenda, the concerns extended across party lines in some cases. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents - including 51 percent of Republicans - said it was more important to reduce deficits than to cut taxes, a central element of Mr. Bush's economic agenda...

The poll reflected the electoral feat of the Bush campaign this year. He won despite the fact that Americans disapproved of his handling of the economy, foreign affairs and the war in Iraq. There has been a slight increase in the number of Americans who believe the nation should never have gone into Iraq. A majority of Americans continue to believe the country is going in the wrong direction, traditionally a warning sign for an incumbent.

Across the board, the poll suggested that the outcome of the election reflected a determination by Americans that they trusted Mr. Bush more to protect them against future terrorist attacks - and that they liked him more than Mr. Kerry - rather than any kind of broad affirmation of his policies. As such, the result was reminiscent of the state of play Ronald Reagan found in 1980, when he defeated President Jimmy Carter.

Even as two-thirds of respondents said they expected Mr. Bush to appoint judges who would vote to outlaw abortion, a majority continue to say they want the practice to remain either legal as it is now, which was Mr. Kerry's position, or to be legal but under stricter limits.

Americans said they opposed changing the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, which Mr. Bush campaigned on in the final weeks of his campaign. A majority continue to support allowing either same-sex marriages or legally recognized domestic partnerships for gay people.

The public appears ambivalent about the two proposals that Mr. Bush has identified as his major domestic initiatives for a second term: rewriting the Social Security system and reshaping the tax code, including more tax cuts.

On the tax code, administration officials are discussing plans that would, among other things, lower the tax rate on higher-income Americans and eliminate some deductions. In the poll, more than 6 in 10 of the respondents said people with higher incomes should pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes; 3 in 10 said all income groups should pay the same proportion.

About one-third of the respondents said the tax cuts passed in Mr. Bush's first term had been good for the economy; but nearly a fifth said they had done more harm, and just under half said the tax cuts had made little difference...

On Social Security, 45 percent said a proposal to permit people to invest their Social Security withholding money in private accounts was a bad idea; 49 percent said it was a good idea. The poll also found little confidence among Americans that Mr. Bush would assure the future solvency of the program: 51 percent said that Mr. Bush was unlikely to "make sure Social Security benefits are there for people like me."...

In this poll, when allowed freely to name the issue that was most important in their vote, 6 percent chose moral values, although smaller numbers named issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. On a separate question in which voters were given a choice of nine issues, 5 percent chose abortion, 4 percent chose stem cell research and 2 percent chose same-sex marriage.

The top issue was the economy and jobs, which was cited by 29 percent of respondents...

By 48 percent to 40 percent, respondents said they believed four more years of a Bush presidency would divide the nation more than it would unite it...

Finally, in one bit of presumably good news for a party that is looking for it, Americans now have a better opinion of the Democratic Party than of the Republican Party: 54 percent said they had a favorable view of Democrats, compared with 39 percent with an unfavorable view. By contrast, 49 percent have a favorable view of Republicans, compared with 46 percent holding an unfavorable one.

Hey, tough noogies, America! Great Leader is carrying us into the future--His way!

Well, Duh

For anyone stupid enough to believe the media's pea-brained regurtitation of Übergrüppenführer Rove's narrative re our Great Leader's mandate...

Yay

Looks like one of the coolest places in Seattle will stay free.

Senate == Big Wusses

I'd say the army of managers, A&R people, and promo people who labor selflessly in the services of artists like Britney and Ashlee Simpson deserve more protection than this! I ask you: when piracy forces CD prices below $20, who's going to pay for the hookers and cocaine DJs require to give these artists exposure (so to speak)??

Intel Reform == Doornail

Apparently reorganizing intelligence agencies (the only thing standing between us and 9/11: The Sequel) according to the recommendations of the 9/11 commission is less important than provisions to ban states from issuing drivers' licenses to undocumented immigrants. Thanks for keeping the safety of the American people your highest priority, Republican Congressional leaders!!

F@&k the Washington Post

Can't wait for the Christian Identity supplement on "The Threat of International Judaism"! (They got money too, right?)

Friday Cat Blogging

Cowboy

Murphy

Like the Rethugs give a shit

I love how Josh Marshall has been trying to bust members of Congress who voted for the "DeLay rule" (you know, the one that said it was okay to be House majority whip while under indictment for a felony). And even Red State papers are (SLOWLY) beginning to pick up on this story. Too bad Andrea Mitchell is too goddamned stupid to. (But nice of Powell to offer some good old scare tactics--on Iran!!--just to help the boss out one more time. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out the back door, Colin.)

Mark and Barb Go to the Video Store

Ned Kelley (dir. Gregor Jordan) Australia's badass #1 (cop killa!) gets a sumptuous biopic. From what I gather from this film, Ned and his brothers were Oz's own Pretty Boy Floyd & Posse, gangstas applauded as revolutionaries by the dirt-poor Irish emigrants scratching out a living under the watchful eye of English cops in Victoria State. And while the film doesn't stint on the violence (or on beautiful photography of desolate badlands), the amazing thing about this movie is the babeage density. The ladies get Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, the men get Naomi Watts and (in a hilarious cameo) Rachel Griffiths (Americans probably know her as Brenda from Six Feet Under if they don't remember her from Muriel's Wedding), and everyone has a good bad time. If you're looking for a good old ass-kicking movie to fight the Blue State Blues and all their copies of The Grapes of Wrath are checked out, you could do a whole lot worse. (Though it is sad to think what beautiful children Heath and Naomi would have had if their union had lasted.) Mark's review: ****

Mark and Barb Go to the Movies

Since Otar Left (dir. Julie Bertuccelli) A small treasure. Three generations of women in Tiblisi cope with the decay of the Soviet dream in the new Georgia--where enterpreneurial capitalism means families selling off heirlooms one by one to pay for food and (irregular) electricity to live. All have hopes pinned on their family member Otar, who has left for medical studies in Paris. The grandmother lives for Otar's letters and calls; the mother (Otar's sister) for her boyfriend and daughter; the daughter for dreams of success in the new, corporate Euroworld. The movie is beautifully photographed (who knew Georgia was so gorgeous, even with Stalin-era tenements littering the horizon?), written and acted--especially by Esther Gorintin (who, I heard, started acting in her 70s) as the grandmother. And no joke, bring tissues--'cause this movie is the best kind of non-tearjerking heartbreaker. Mark's review: ****

My meme is spreading

Okay, lefties: time to reclaim the term "political correctness." God knows (ha! ha!), these poor, persecuted Christians and other assorted right-wingers are way, way overdue for a little pinprick in the sanctimony bubble. See here for the latest appearance in the "real" media of this idea!

Update: here it is again!

I've seen some close elections...

...but this is ridiculous!!!

Update 11/18/2004: Lord, lord, in the final count it's Rossi (R), by 261 votes. We'll see what the recount brings.

That "values" vote...

You mean...gasp...the big media might be wrong about the totality of Bush's mandate?? Who'd'a thunk it???

More Reasons Not To Cap Ourselves?

Another column positing reasons for hope? The mind boggles.

ID me, please!

Hey, Jim Hightower has a blog! And a story about how you can feel at one with your pets! (Thanks to Cleo!)

Liberalism...not going away? So maybe there's hope? I keep telling myself, anyway.

Other wonderful listening: Cecil Taylor European Orchestra, Alms/Tiergarten (Spree) One of the 20 CDs Cecil made during a musical residency in Berlin in 1988, this one is Cecil with big (17-piece) band. He's always claimed Duke Ellington as his biggest inspiration, and on this huge, explosive, brilliantly colored release I can finally hear that influence come to fruition. Something that's surprised me listening to many of CT's albums from the '80s is how lyrical and beautiful they are. (Ferocious you know about.) And he's able to develop his themes orchestrally (as well as rhythmically and dynamically), so the structure of the compositions and the comp/improv balance are clear.

And let's not forget Hank Jones. So much swing and mastery--what a soloist!!!

Tonight's listening (for Rhapsody subscribers): RHAPSODY Link

"I always been Jesus. I don't know what the big secret's been all these years."

RIP, Big Baby Jesus.

Mark goes to the movies: Bright Leaves (dir. Ross McElwee)
If you have a problem with self-absorbed people or unfocused storylines, Ross McElwee's probably not your favorite documentarian. But he has interesting friends, and he shows you how beautiful he thinks his home state of North Carolina is by photographing it (beautifully). Mark's review: **½

A beautiful, frightening series about a family holding on. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

Musical moments Finally found the words to Blind Willie Johnson's "Leave it There" (actually written in 1916 by Charles A. Tindley), played it most happily on the National. Decision: to leave any spiritual songs I sing in the original context. I may be a Buddhist, but Blind Willie Johnson wasn't, and while I recognize the spiritual energy as the same in both of us I feel I owe it to him to sing it the way he wanted it sung.

And discovering what an amazing song "Absolutely Five Believers" is...never listened to the words. So many great blues out there.