Going to see the Killers in Atlantic City tonight. I’m stoked.

Like it was written in my soul from me to you…

I will now attempt to give you a crash course on Bob Dylan.

I’m not trying recruit new converts—

No, you see. Here’s the problem. You don’t know the history of rock and roll. I do—

I just hope you will give it an honest chance, and possibly come away with a better understanding of one of the masters.

Your lesson begins after the jump. (more…)

Tonight I should really be doing laundry or varnishing a cabinet or something, but I will instead be watching No Direction Home: Bob Dylan with Edo and a friend. I’m really looking forward to it, in spite of only catching two hours of sleep last night.

The documentary covers what are probably the most important years of Dylan’s career (1961-1966), and will include a lot of previously unseen footage from that era, as well as recent interviews done exclusively for this project. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it has received wide critical acclaim from both fans and casual observers alike.

Bob Dylan is more than just a musical icon. He’s one of the most important artists of the 20th century, and whether you love or hate him, his legacy is a piece of our cultural heritage. No Direction Home is premiering on PBS tonight and concluding tomorrow (it’s a two-parter), so I encourage all of you to watch.

You got nothing to lose.

Something to distract from the Monday doldrums for a minute:

New Office Slang [The Big Picture]

Thanks to the latest in digital imaging technology, I will now present you with a picture of my brain:

I am so glad it’s Friday.

Not that I’m really surprised.

Grand jury harshly criticizes Archdiocese for hiding clergy sexual abuse [Inky]

See Also:
–Blogging the Grand Jury Report [Blinq]
–Look what’s in Rick Santorum’s backyard… [Attytood]
–Grand Jury Report

From Ananova:

This is a pink rabbit on the side the Colletto Fava mountain in the Piedmont region of Italy. A 200 foot pink rabbit. Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay….

And it’s supposed to stay there for the next 20 years.

This has got to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read in a long time…

Mom, Dad … How did you get my screen name? [Daily Pennsylvanian]

(more…)

Last night Edo and I were having a lively little debate about food. Specifically, about foods that I won’t eat. Like watermelon. And pears. He thinks I’m a defective human being because I don’t like pears. According to Edo, all food aversions besides real allergies are psychosomatic.

I do think that’s true in some cases with certain foods. After my freshman year of college, for instance, I couldn’t drink orange juice without tasting vodka. But that said, I believe there really are tastes that just don’t appeal to some people (excluding those who simply refuse to try something at all).

So I started wondering, what foods do other people dislike?

I finally got around to doing the pages for Day Two of our road trip. Hopefully I can get through the rest of it a little more quickly. Anyway, the second day’s journey took us to Zion, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Kodachrome Basin. Hope you like it.

The Sun Online presented their list of the top 20 tearjerkers, as reported by men and women:

What are YOUR nominations?

People who want me to tell them the “heighth” of an object.

People who pronounce the “l” in “salmon.”

People who are not my mother, father, grandmother, aunt or uncle, a close family friend, or over the age of 65, but find it acceptable to call me “honey” or “sweetie.”

People who ask me if I would like an “expresso.”

People who want to “axsk” me a question.

People who say “yous.” As in “How are yous guys doing?” or “What did yous do last night?”

And the most dreaded of them all: People who say “nuke-u-lar.”

*shudder*

Go ahead and call me a snob. I don’t care. I admit that I’m not immune to this problem. After all, you can’t help but catch a disease if you are in constant contact with infected people. But as far as I know, my only glaring offense is occasionally pronouncing “water” as “wudder.” At least I’m not creating an additional syllable. And I do admit to saying “down the shore.” Damn Philadelphia dialect.

Of course, non-native born English speakers are exempt from my wrath, as would only be fair since I haven’t included my butchery of other languages.

I know this is a little old (try four months) but I just got around to downloading it from my phone. It’s a pretty crappy picture, I know, but it’s close to my heart.

A view from on high: U2 Vertigo Tour, May 14, 2005
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA

Editor’s Note: This post has been having issues. For some reason last night, the SQL server deleted it, and then after I recreated the post, the server hid it from me. In other words, last night the SQL server was being a vindictive bitch. So please forgive me if you witnessed it changing content and/or disappearing/reappearing.

Well, with the summer winding to a close, I thought I’d ask some questions about travel, since people tend to do a bit of it in the warmer months.

The usual rules apply: answer truthfully or lie your ass off, whichever you prefer.

1) What’s the last vacation you took (where did you go, what did you do)?

2) Name three places where you would like to travel some day.

3) How many US states have you been to? Driving through counts, flying over does not. Here’s a map to help you count.

4) Does your job ever require you to travel?

5) Beach or mountains?

6) How many foreign countries have you been to? Feel free to list them (or just your favorites).

7) Do you have a current passport? Did you know that only 20% of Americans have one?

8) Any trips planned for the near future? If so, care to tell us where?

9) Culture or leisure (i.e. museums, historical sites, landmarks or laying on the beach, gambling, shopping)?

10) Is the journey really more important that the destination?

Gahhhh… sorry for the recent barrage of music posts, but I’ve finally been listening to some good new stuff, and I’m a bit excited. And I’m also going to like eight concerts over the next three months, so I’m pumped for them as well.

Anyway, I’ll keep this short and sweet for you: the new Franz Ferdinand album is a little piece of ecstasy.

I’ve only heard the UK pre-release, so it might change a little, but I think you’d best be getting yourselves out on October 4th to pick up a copy.

I was looking at something on Wikipedia today (can’t remember what it was now), and I saw a link to their “red hair” article. I was curious, so I clicked on it. Their information looks pretty standard, but I was rather amused by the pictures they had. So, I had a look at their blond and brunette entries to see if they were similar.

	This was their brunette:	Their predictable blond:

Okay, no suprises there. Now take a look at my hair color’s representation…. (more…)

To follow up on my earlier post, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is now on the radio blog (The Bravery is still there, below).

Bear in mind that it’s self recorded/distributed, so don’t judge it by the production value.

Enjoy!

(And thanks, Edo.)

Last night I went to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at The Khyber. I had a great time. Once in a while I need a good no frills rock show to remind me why I love music so much.

Anyway, I have to inform all of you that this band is very good, and you should all check them out if you have the chance. Mark my words, you’ll be hearing more about them.

Later, if you’re lucky, I might update the radio blog to include their album.

More Info:
–Pitchfork
–Stylus Magazine
–MSNBC Independent Study

Scored Franz Ferdinand tickets this morning. Third row, right center. I am so psyched.

And all I have to say, is fuck Ticketbastard. And I hate myself for being too weak to resist them.

In an interview with a central PA radio station, Rick Santorum claimed that the National Weather Service failed to predict the severity of Katrina, and said that its warnings were “not sufficient.” [Capitol Buzz via Atrios]

Well according to Atrios (I haven’t been able to find an official source), the NWS Employees Union issued a statement that lashed out at Santorum. (The following is my excerpt of the full statement.) (more…)

I just got around to watching the daily show from Tuesday night. So many great moments. Anyway, I’m posting this a little late, but I didn’t see it out there on the internets, so what the hell…

From The Daily Show 09.07.05
Ed Helms: Well Jon, as you know, administration fiascos are named alphabetically…

Love the Princess Bride reference. :-)

Thanks to Edo for getting me the screen grab.

Via Attytood:

The New Katrina Express Debit Card: It’s Everywhere You Don’t Want To Be

So when I first envisioned the format of this blog, I thought I’d be updating the music portion all the time. After all, music is really important to me and I love to share it.

The problem is that like everything else I do, my ambitions got too lofty to manage. I had planned to do thoughtful themed mixes complete with commentary, but it never seemed to happen and the damn thing never got updated.

While I haven’t completely ruled out more complex compilations, I will try to keep things fresh with the music I’m currently digging or really want to share.

There were several albums I could have picked, but I decided to go with The Bravery since Melissa was asking about them last month. These guys are a little like Depeche Mode meets New Order crossed with the Cure. Good stuff.

So without further adieu, here is The Bravery’s self titled debut album.

Skating with Celebrities Coming to Fox

As if Dancing with the Stars wasn’t bad enough.

The city of Philadelphia is preparing to house up to 5,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees, starting as early as tonight. I volunteered to help, but I imagine they will have more offers of help than they need, so we’ll see.

More info:
-Evacuees: Phila. is ready for 5,000 [philly.com]
-In Philadelphia, residents prepare for evacuees. [philly.com]
-Project Brotherly Love [phila.gov]