The Onion's AV Club has posted a list of the best music of 2007. Number 1 on the list is Arcade Fire, with their alblum Neon Bible. Naturally, a firestorm of comments erupted disputing/confirming the AV Club's choices. One commenter began an interesting thread with this:
The Arcade Fire is just Neutral Milk Hotel for people who like suspenders.
What's your alma mater?
Submitted by Lies.Knox College in Galesburg IL.
Show us something you believe in.
If your Vox Neighborhood had a potluck dinner tonight, what dish, drink or dessert would you bring?
I would bring a loaf of excellent bread from Central Market and a bottle of cheap but tasty red wine. Can't go wrong with bread and wine. Unless you're dining with carb-averse teetotallers. But what would I be doing that for?
I read this article in the NYTimes about Christian Iowans' concerns about Romney's Mormonism; here's an excerpt.
At a recent Huckabee event in Iowa, Glenda Gherkey, an evangelical from Evansdale, posed a question to the candidate.
“I’m concerned a lot of Christians are thinking about the values issues and forgetting about the creator behind the values issues,” Ms. Gherkey said. “I guess I feel like this country and this world needs a president who would be able to pray to the God of the Bible and he would be able to hear his prayers.”
She wondered, Would Mr. Romney’s prayers “even get through”?
Staggering. She's concerned that the divine creative force that brought us life, the universe, and everything can accept calls only from members of its (His) network. God can't hear you unless you're on his Buddy List. Christianity is only 2,000 years old (a laughably short time given how long God has been around), and it looks down its nose at Mormonism as some kind of wrongheaded upstart?
Barbara Heki, 51, from Johnston, Iowa, who began volunteering for Mr. Huckabee over the summer...admitted that her evangelical faith also figured prominently in her choice.
“Mormons spend two years of their lives as missionaries, preaching an anti-Christian doctrine,” she said. “I don’t want someone out there, if I can help it, who’s going to be acting on an anti-Christian faith as the basis of their decision-making.”
This made me curious. How anti-Christian could the Mormons be, given that their religion is based on Christianity? I went to Beliefnet.com's handy chart that offers a point-by-point comparison of traditional Christianity and Mormonism. Really, there doesn't seem to be THAT much difference. Compare traditional Christianity to Hinduism--now there's a study in contrasts. It makes me think of this absolutely wonderful Emo Phillips joke (best heard spoken by Emo Phillips, if you ever get the chance):
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are you christian or buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you catholic or protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me too! Are you episcopalian or baptist?" He said, "Baptist!" I said,"Wow! Me too! Are you baptist church of god or baptist church of the lord?" He said, "Baptist church of god!" I said, "Me too! Are you original baptist church of god, or are you reformed baptist church of god?" He said,"Reformed Baptist church of god!" I said, "Me too! Are you reformed baptist church of god, reformation of 1879, or reformed baptist church of god, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed baptist church of god, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum," and pushed him off.
My personal view of Romney has been strongly influenced by one of the citizen responses in The Onion's American Voices feature of May 18, 2007: "Wait, Mitt Romney? The flip-flopping Mormon whose favorite novel is Battlefield Earth? I thought he was a fictional character."
Like any religion, the Mormon church has some incredibly strange and obnoxious practices, such as proxy baptizing dead non-Mormons. In response, the simply brilliant International Jewish Conspiracy web site has developed the De-Bapper--an online hair dryer designed to de-baptize Mormons (Let's Dry 'Em Out!) and other Christians in an attempt to thin their ranks. I assume this method is 100% as effective as the Mormon posthumous baptisms themselves. The De-Bapper description notes that
"De-bapping' is done on a specially consecrated Macintosh G-4 computer, known as the Mac A/B. It's faster, and since you use fewer towels, better for the environment....All told, it takes 14.2 seconds per goy, and we think we can improve on that with firewire."
The De-Bapper is no more preposterous than proxy baptism (or concern that an omnipresent divinity can hear the prayers of only one, ridiculously specific sect), plus it's better for the environment! I went ahead and de-baptised myself, as a test. The De-Bapper then allowed me to send a taunting notice of this event to the LDS church. Kick ass! I had to provide an email address, so I used one I rarely check anymore, fearing Mormon spam. I can't wait to see what happens.
I ordered an EP from DC band Deleted Scenes back in July. It just arrived this morning, with the following note:
Maurine [sic],
This CD is coming so late, and for that we're sorry. If it will calm your rage at all, our slackness entitles you to a free copy of our LP, being recorded right now. Keep it gangsta.
Dan, Deleted Scenes
Regarding the LP: he wrote a capital C and then scratched it out, writing LP instead. I might be getting actual vinyl at some point! That would be nifty.
Now, how do I go about keeping it gangsta? Am I gangsta to begin with? Any suggestions or insights on this matter would be welcome.
Also, enjoy this track from the EP.
Oh my GOD I love Canadians. Look what they're up to now:
The great thing about the most recent outing by Montreal’s Socalled is how brilliantly he merges traditional Jewish music with contemporary hip-hop. There undoubtedly, one would think, be a large margin of hits and misses when tackling such varying forms of music. But Socalled (aka Josh Dolgin) is a rare breed. ...
If Socalled’s goal with Ghettoblaster was to "represent" – he does so in every hood. Juxtaposing spoken snippets from traditional records, fresh funky synth-based beats, laid back intimate studio dialogue, Motown infused accordion lushness and Yiddish rock-funk, there really are few genres left untouched. To top it all off, Ghettoblaster is an excellent CD to party to, "(These Are The) Good Old Days" showcases Socalled on the mic, and the song not only has an upbeat accordion fronted structure (yes, I said accordion and upbeat in the same sentence), but it also has a philosophical message that seems to weigh life in a unique way: "say what you want while your still allowed to / every silver lining has its cloud too". It’s a fresh departure from the repetitive hip-hop culture of guns, and gang rivalry.
Socalled represents who he is, and what he is is a Jewish dude from the country trying to save what he can of his traditional music while adding all the right ingredients needed to move it forward in the most original of ways. (review from PanPot.ca: http://www.panpot.ca/reviews/renderAlbumReview.php?id=141)
because I am watching the movie 300. Dudes, this movie is so METAL.
I recently auditioned a cat named Steve for a place in our household. He did OK and so we've kept him on. I've been spending a lot of time reading the comments at Jezebel.com lately, and was bowled over by the cat-related thread in this posting: What Does An Orgasm Really Sound Like, Anyway? Man, I love Jezebel commenters. They all jumped in to help! Note: I'd toss Steve out in the rain, if he got in the way like that. In the rain, Steve.
By the way, Steve actually allowed my dog Chloe, who is Love Personified and adores cats (much to their confusion), to lick him today. It was like watching the Berlin Wall come down. Yay, cats and dogs living together peacefully!
Lookit my pretty new running shoes!
I have just learned that the ASICS company name is an an acronym derived from the Latin phrase, Anima Sana In Corpore Sano (a sound mind in a sound body). Whatever; they make shoes in pretty colors!
