coming out of the snatch

surprisingly, you don't get to hear phrases like "clean jerk" and "he's got the jerk under control" and "coming out of the snatch" on msnbc very often. (with all the coverage of the john edwards affair, you might think they'd be more common.) that is, unless you're watching olympic weightlifting. and then, there's this...

middle america undercover

brett goes behind enemy lines.

palistinian leader is a dancing queen?

i love a good mistake. lord knows, i make plenty of them. and when you make a mistake, make it "loud and proud" as my friend james says. at least you were making a strong attempt at something.

mark halperin is editor-at-large and senior political analyst for time magazine. he also has a... well, a page online. it's sort of a blog, but not really. this was one of the articles, er...headlines today, on his...blog (which, amazingly enough, is called "the page.") it links to an article in blender magazine in which john mccain and barack obama list their top 10 favorite songs (p.s. neither one has any beatles.) as you can see from mark's "page," john mccain lists "two songs from ABBAS..."

mark must think that palestinian leader mahmoud abbas sings dancing queen and take a chance on me. and who am i to say...both songs have been covered by some pretty interesting artists...

want more war?

then vote mccain.

"From his knee-jerk Cold War posture over Georgia to his Rovian campaign tactics... McCain's trigger-happy temperament, shallow understanding of the complexities and passion for military force as the answer to everything... is a recipe for more, wider and far more destructive warfare..."

– andrew sullivan, the daily dish

"His instincts are always toward force and the people advising him come squarely from the Cheney wing of the current administration. In comparison to Bush he's not just more of the same. There's every reason to believe he'd be much worse. The current situation in Georgia and his response should make clear to everyone how dangerous a president John McCain would be."

– josh marshall, talking points memo

favorite albums of all time #3

(i wrote a post nearly identical to this one about a year ago. interesting. you can see it here. none-the-less, i think the idea is worth revisiting. and it's either signs of early dementia, or i really do miss listening to music.)

i don't think most people listen to music the way i did when i was younger. (i think i could safely say "we" – meaning people my age.) i certainly don't. and to be honest, i miss it.

back then, my dad bought me a good share of albums. hello dolly. annie. (uh, dad?) and lot's of beatles, too. but every so often, on a saturday when i'd finished my chores early (not milking cows, or mowing the lawn, or raking leaves – dusting in the living room – ugh! slave drivers!) my mom would take me to the record store in burlington, wisconsin – off the record i think it was called (a name later stolen by me for my critics column in the high school newspaper) – and i would spend the seven dollars and ninety-nine cents i'd saved up (or my mother had given me) on a big, square, colorful thing, shrink-wrapped in plastic, that i would then touch, fondle, and stare at all the way home. sometimes it was too much to handle – the waiting – and i'd slide my thumbnail along the side, into the groove, and break open the plastic. that way i could open it up and see the pictures inside: elton with the band, barbra clowning in her superman t-shirt, the captain looking longingly at tennille.

sometimes it was enough to see the inner sleave and read the lyrics:

Two drifters on the morning sky,
Two drifters sailing wide and high,
When summer breezes blow across your mind,
With you, I will walk the line.

how would that melody go? what would jeff lynne sound like singing it? was it a ballad or uptempo?

today at the gym, i listened to one of the best albums of all time. if you asked me, ten minutes before it popped up on my ipod, "what do you think are the best albums of all time?" i would have included it in my list: songs in the key of life – stevie wonder.

and i remembered how i (we?) used to listen to it:

from start to finish. in one sitting. with headphones on. no interruption, no distraction. just me, the headphones, and the album cover. reading along with the lyrics, looking at the liner notes. wondering who michael sembello was. or whad did w.g. "snuffy" walden do, and who gave him that goofy nickname?

today, when i heard the first notes of "love's in need of love today" (the first song on the album) i thought to myself, imagine hearing this record for the very first time. when it was brand new. when those notes had not been played over and over again a thousand times in everyone's head.

and i realized, i did that. in 1976. i sat there, in my bedroom with the headphones on and listened that way. fresh. new. and then i listened to "have a talk with god". and "village ghetto land". and eventually "sir duke" and "i wish" and...well, the rest.

today, as i neared the end of each song, i realized how different it is – the way we listen to music. because as one song was ending, i could easily tell you which song was next, even sing the opening notes for you. this is true through the entire album, one song after another, until the collection of songs ceases to be that – a collection of songs – and becomes a whole unique experience. an experience we don't have very often today, if at all.

if you haven't heard songs in the key of life lately, or – i'm sorry for you – ever, find it on your ipod, or in your itunes, or better yet, find the actual cd, and take time to listen to the whole thing. one song after another.

put on some headphones if you've got them. not those earbud things, headphones. and don't let anyone interrupt you. go hide in your bedroom.

grampa wants to be president

if you've ever had any inkling that john mccain is, oh, kinda forgetful, or maybe has trouble reading a teleprompter, or is perhaps in the early stages of...well, i wouldn't wish that on anyone (but i wouldn't be the first to suggest it: see here, here, and more importantly -- here.) seriously folks, this great video collection of mccain gaffes comes from josh marshall and talking points memo. and it makes me think the mccain / obama debates could be quite interesting.

you know you're a new yorker when...

...you grow up in wisconsin and the news that brett favre is going to be wearing jets green makes you happy. (and yes, i just said "wearing jets green.")

one quote, and then i'm done:

"The simple yet mind-boggling fact (is) that Packers management thinks Favre isn't good enough to win. If it thought otherwise, Favre wouldn't be the quarterback of the New York Jets today."

– espn's gene wojciechowski

and hey, there's always room for another drama queen in new york.