December 21, 2004

Farewell Message To Bill Moyer

Bill Moyer is leaving PBS's stealth propaganda show Now. And i'd like to say to him, if i could: "Good riddance you fucking hack."

He's being replaced by the aptly named David Bronchitis, another fucking hack. Nothing changes on PBS.

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December 20, 2004

Holiday Gift Advice For The Jazz Lover

annika's musical revue

Since both of my parents are big fans of traditional jazz, Derrick and i grew up hearing that music almost exclusively in the house. My listening tastes branched out when i got into high school, but now that i'm older, i find myself returning to the old standards more and more. i'm not an expert, but you might be surprised how many standards i can sing along to. And i probably have as many opinions on jazz as i do on popular music.

That's just my way of prefacing the following helpful hints for those visitors here who may have one or more jazz lovers on your gift giving list. Trust annika. i've built a pretty decent CD collection over the years and since the standards, by definition, never go out of style, i'd like to share some of my wisdom with you. Here are my recommendations from out of my own collection. i could never get tired of listening to any CD on this list.


Big Bands:

Kansas City, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - i never saw the movie, but this disk is full of loud, hella fun big band horns. The one Kevin Mahogany vocal is a highlight.

Slide Hampton & The Jazz Masters, Dedicated To Diz - i saw this band in concert at San Francisco's Masonic Hall. There's a back and forth battle of the high note trumpeters on one song that knocked me out when i heard it live. It is my number one favorite CD of my entire collection.

The Best of Woody Herman & His Big Band, The Concord Years
- This one features a trombone version of Round Midnight. Yes, trombone. But it's one of the best versions of that song i've heard.

Count Basie At Newport
- Basie, live. What more do you need to know? The all-star appearances include Lester Young, Jo Jones, Roy Eldridge and one of my favorite vocalists, the late Joe Williams.


Small Combos:

John Coltrane, My Favorite Things - The title song is my favorite Coltrane tune.

The Best of Bill Evans Live on Verve - A great selection of very romantic and soft piano standards.

Johnny Griffin, The Little Giant - i heard 63rd Street Theme on the radio once and i was compelled to rush to the nearest music store for this CD. i was not sorry. Puts me in the mood of being in the big city on a cold wintry day, i don't know why.

Wynton Marsalis, Standard Time, Vol.3: The Resolution Of Romance - One of the first jazz CDs i ever bought. Very romantic stuff, and brings back some nice personal memories every time i listen to it.


Vocals:

Mack The Knife, Ella In Berlin
- This classic jazz recording shows why Ella was and always will be the best, ever. She puts on a clinic.

Carmen McRae, Carmen Sings Monk
- Another classic jazz CD. The only way i can remember the names to any of Monk's instrumentals is to think about Carmen singing the words.

Sammy Davis Jr., The Sounds Of 66 - Anyone who likes Sammy will absolutely love this live recording from the Sands Hotel's Copa Room.

Mel Tormé, The Great American Songbook: Live at Michael's Pub - i got a ton of Mel Tormé, but this is my favorite.


Compilations, etc:

Duke Ellington, Reminiscing in Tempo - This is a great intro to the music of America's best composer. Some of it's in mono, but one of the stereo songs is an eight minute version of Come Sunday by Mahalia Jackson that brings tears to my eyes.

Frank Sinatra Sings The Select Rodgers & Hart - Every song is a winner.

The Essential Dinah Washington - My mom and Dad wore out the grooves to their Dinah Washington records when i was a kid, so when i finally bought my own CD, it was this one.

All The Things You Are: The Jerome Kern Songbook - Lots of different artists here; mostly hits and a few misses. But Ella's version of All The Things You Are is so beautiful i have to recommend it for that alone.

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Armor Geddon

Don't believe chicks dig tanks? Go read Redsix's latest installment of his Fallujah experience. It's all about firing that bad boy called the 120mm smoothbore. There's quite a few chicks in the comments section. i find myself looking forward to every new post by Lt. Prakash. Call it penis envy if you want, but chicks dig tanks.

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December 19, 2004

Blog Of The Year

Powerline has been named Time Magazine's Blog of the Year, to go along with their Wizbang Weblog Award. Both well deserved, in my opinion. Congratulations guys, you have done us all proud!

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Here's A Secret, Just For You

As my holiday gift to all of my visitors, i'm going to let you in on a secret i discovered. Overstock.com is selling Season One of 24 (the TV show) for only $14.99. That DVD set retails normally for 70 bucks! If you're interested, go to the site and search for "24: Season One." But for pete's sakes keep this quiet. i'm pretty sure Overstock.com fucked up and meant to price it at $41.99. We don't want them to realize their mistake. Don't worry, i completed the transaction, and indeed i was only charged $14.99! Shhhh!

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December 18, 2004

Exams

In case anyoneÂ’s interested, hereÂ’s my take on law school exams. i finished with civil procedure, torts and contracts (my favorite). Next up are criminal law and property. i've been in school most of my life and i've mastered just about every type of test there is. But the law school exam is a different kinda bitch altogether.

One key to taking a law school exam, which i just learned this week, is panic management. How come nobody told me about the panic thing? i first discovered this phenomenon while doing timed practice exams during the week before finals. Panic attack severity seems to be inversely related to the amount of time remaining for exam completion.

iÂ’ve finished three exams so far, and iÂ’ve had three panic attacks. Each one occurred somewhere between the halfway mark and three quarters of the way through the exam. Each was accompanied by dry mouth, an increased heart rate, and a curious rushing sound in my ears; not to mention a morbid feeling of dread helplessness, as if i were drowning or being buried alive.

The first panic attack occurred soon after i congratulated myself for having completed question two of the civil procedure examination well ahead of schedule. That should have been a warning - i ain't that smart. i suddenly realized that i had completely missed the arcane issues of ancillary and pendent jurisdiction. Instead of having extra time for the third question, this blunder required me to go back and add shit to my previous answer. I ended up having to rush through the third essay. Luckily, i managed to finish just as time was called.

The torts panic attack came not from any brain fart of my own - i got that subject down cold - but from the sick realization that there was too much to write and not enough time to do it. Time management again rears its ugly head. The final essay, though easy, simply had too many issues for the amount of time left. i raced through it, abbreviating as much as i could without degenerating into something akin to IM speak.

D prvlgd by prvt ncssty b/c DÂ’s invsn of PÂ’s ppty was rsnbl 2 prtct DÂ’s ppty, t/f no trspss, hÂ’ver b/c prvt ncssty = qlfÂ’d prvlg, D mst py 4 dmg csd by non-trts cndt.
Well, not quite that bad, but i was definitely in what i like to call “finished product mode.”

By Friday, i greeted the panic attack as if it were an old friend. The thing to do is recognize that it is coming and push through it. i never had panic attacks in undergrad or grad school exams. ThatÂ’s the cool thing about the liberal arts. i always knew if i got stuck i could always b.s. my way out of it. If i wasnÂ’t sure about one aspect of the subject, i could always emphasize the stuff i knew really well. Distract the professor with my brilliance on what i did know, so he couldnÂ’t in good conscience penalize me for what i didnÂ’t know. It usually worked.

But the law school exam is not so forgiving. If there are five elements you have to apply, and you do an awesome job applying four of them, but miss the fifth, you still blew 20 percent of the grade. ThatÂ’s what worries me. i think i spotted all of the issues presented in the exams. But how would i know if i didnÂ’t? i guess i wonÂ’t know until grades come out.

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Memo To All Burglars, Robbers, Rapists and Terrorists

The wonderful, beautiful, picturesque City and County of San Francisco welcomes you with open arms. Enjoy!

Publicola has the text of the proposed law.

Within the limits of the City and County of San Francisco, the sale, distribution, transfer and manufacture of all firearms and ammunition shall be prohibited.

. . . Within the limits of the City and County of San Francisco, no resident of the City and County of San Francisco shall possess any handgun unless required for professional purposes, as enumerated herein.

What's really funny is that, according to my reading, the law doesn't prohibit people traveling to or through San Francisco from carrying a pistol. Apparently the supervisors are only concerned about gun violence committed by residents of San Francisco. So if you're just visiting, have at it.

Also, the proposed law prohibits the sale or transfer of handguns at the same time as it outlaws their very possession. Oh, but you can turn them in to the SFPD within 90 days. And i'm sure the City won't just turn around and sell them, either.

And let's not forget the obvious. This law, if enacted, will increase criminal gun violence in the City. Guaranteed.

It's been about eight years since Frank Jordan lost his bid for re-election, and the City has been on a downhill slide ever since. It's really a shame, because i do love San Francisco.

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Apologize To A Cow

Via Serenity:



If you're going to keep eating them, the least you could do is say you're sorry.

Damn. Of course i'm hungry for bar-b-cue now.

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December 16, 2004

Chicks Dig Tanks: The Sarah Interview

i'm in the middle of my first week of exams. i'll let you know how that's going later on. But in the meantime, Sarah of Trying to Grok was nice enough to let me interview her earlier this month, so i could post it during my finals. She's a pretty amazing blogger with a wide array of interests, as you will see. Sarah's blog has been a daily must-read for me ever since she came over to Munuviana. Trying to Grok isn't your typical mil-blog either - Sarah is a teacher and a military wife. i love her honest writing style and she's always got really good links to fun and informative stuff. Enjoy the interview, and i'll try to check in again this weekend. more...

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December 14, 2004

If Gershwin Blogged...

Cas-a-cading style sheets,
You've got me on the go!
Cas-a-cading style sheets,
i'm all a-quiver.

When a mess iÂ’m writing!
The neighbors want to know
Why i'm always typing
Sounds like a flivver.

Each morning i get up with the sun -
Start a-blogging,
Never stopping -
To find at night no work has been done.

i know that
Once it didn't matter -
But now iÂ’m doing wrong;
When i start to patter
i'm so unhappy.

Can't i take a day off?
Decide to run along
Somewhere far away off -
And make it snappy!

Oh, how i long to be the gyrl i used to be!
Cas-a-cading style sheets,
On won't you stop picking on me?

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December 13, 2004

Skankwoman Update

This skankwoman update is so skanky, i'm glad Kin posted it and not me.

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December 09, 2004

Should i Apologize For Missing Poetry Day, Or For Writing This Poem?

Finding good poems to post is hard. i need to feel inspired, and i wasn't yesterday. But you're in luck. To make it up to you, i decided to dash off an annika original. Yes, i wrote a poem. It loosely follows the Elizabethan sonnet format. Took me about five minutes too, but hey. Here you go: more...

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December 08, 2004

Communist Broadcasting Agency

Just when i think CBS can't get any farther off the deep end of partisanship, they amaze me even further.

The owner of Nonviolence.org, Martin Kelley, said he got an interesting phone call yesterday from a CBS News publicist for—you guessed it—Dan Rather's 60 Minutes Wednesday, the same program that carried the infamous bogus memos.

'Yesterday I got a call from a publicist for CBS NewsÂ’s 60 Minutes. TheyÂ’re running a story tonight on "Deserters," U.S. military personnel who have fled to Canada rather than serve in Iraq. She was requesting that I talk up the program on Nonviolence. In nine years of publishing the peace site, I canÂ’t remember ever getting a call from a publicist before. IÂ’ve talked to reporters from major news networks and papers, and IÂ’ve talked a booking agent or two to arranging appearances on radio shows, but never a publicist.'

'So now CBS News publicists are courting bloggers. ThatÂ’s great: hey, if yÂ’all want to buy me that new Treo Smartphone or a gift certificate to Gohn Bros IÂ’ll say Dan Rather is hotter than an armadillo sunning himself between the yellow lines on the interstate'

. . .

Other liberal/anti-war bloggers who have talked about the upcoming story in preparation for tonight's broadcast include No Capital, Daily War News, Bankrupt Artist v.3

These blogs link to the same CBS News story that Kelley linked to after being contacted. [links omitted]

i'm waiting for my call from CBS, the next time they do a story that highlights a conservative point of view. Think i should hold my breath?

That's just outrageous. CBS is not a news organization; it's op-ed on TV. They should stop lying and admit it.

Via RatherBiased.

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December 07, 2004

Happy Hanukkah!

A very Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish visitors. Here is the text of President Bush's 2004 Hanukkah Proclamation:

I send greetings to all those celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights.

On the 25th day of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, Jews around the world commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago. During this time of darkness, the Temple had been seized, and Judaism had been outlawed. Judah Maccabee and his followers fought for three years for their freedom and successfully recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple. Jewish tradition teaches that the Maccabees found only one small bottle of oil to be used for temple rituals, but that oil lasted eight days and nights. The miracle of this enduring light, remembered through the lighting of the Menorah, continues to symbolize the triumph of faith over tyranny.

The bravery of the Maccabees has provided inspiration through the ages. We must remain steadfast and courageous as we seek to spread peace and freedom throughout the world. This holiday season, we give thanks to God, and we remember the brave men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. We also pray that all who live under oppression will see their day of freedom and that the light of faith will always shine through the darkness.

Laura joins me in wishing you a blessed and Happy Hanukkah.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Hat tip to commenter Shelly.

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Public Service Announcement For All Guys Who Are Single And Looking

That sickeningly sweet and condescending tone of voice that Joe Rogan and Bill O'Reilly use when talking to pretty women is way unattractive. Way unattractive.

Try to avoid using it.

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December 06, 2004

My Idea Is Picking Up Steam

Thanks to the Instalanche, word is getting out about my great idea. Check out this exclusive photo, from last night's Kennedy Center Honors gala, where i imagine there was a lot of behind the scenes lobbying on behalf of Sir Elton.

beattypowell.jpg

It's only a matter of time before the mainstream media picks up on this, and when it happens, i plan to take full credit, of course.

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Monday Night Football Pick

And at wide receiver, in his twentieth season out of Mississippi Valley State, at 6'2" and 200 lbs., number 80, the legendary Jerry Rice.

i was eight years old when Jerry Rice played his first NFL game. i remember watching the victory parade and cheering as he rode by me on Market Street after winning the Super Bowl in 1995, arguably his best year.

Tonight, Jerry Rice and the Seahawks play the Dallas Cowboys in Seattle. The Seahawks are favored by seven. This may be Jerry's final Monday Night appearance, so for sentimental reasons i'm going to go with Seattle minus the seven points.

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December 05, 2004

After The Deluge...

...comes the constellation.

Cassiopeia, that is.

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Good Thing i Didn't Buy Those Rose Bowl Tickets

WTF is the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl? Are there goldfish in it?

Oh well, the BCS sucks, but at least Cal will have the consolation of playing in "America's Most Exciting Bowl Game."

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RWN Warblogger Awards

Right Wing News has posted the results for its Third Annual Warblogger Awards.

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