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January 31, 2006
The REAL Reason the Kerry-Led Filibuster Died
The REAL reason that the John Kerry-led filibuster against the appointment of Samuel Alito happened is because, even to many Democrats, the words "John Kerry" and "talking for a really long time" are even more revolting than the thought of Mr. Alito being appointed to the Supreme Court.
Posted by colrus at 12:07 AM | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
What World Leaders Should Be Focusing On
Bigfoot. Like these folks in Malaysia are doing.
With so much tumult on this orb these days, I think the verifiable discovery of Bigfoot would turn the world on its ears. How could we fight a war if Bigfoot was suddenly found? How could terrorists focus on killing people if live pictures of the first-ever captured Yeti were beamed via satellite across the oceans? All the talk radio hosts would be talking about the same thing: Bigfoot. Both down-south rednecks and northern hicks would be making a beeline to wherever the beast was found, hoping to catch one.
Think about it.
Posted by colrus at 11:47 PM | TrackBack
Cuckoo for Coco
Well, since my last Red Sox post, the team has made quite a few moves that have improved my feelings about the team for the 2006 season. The team will again be a contender and -- if a couple of guys bounce back from subpar seasons -- could actually win the division.
The big move, obviously, was getting Coco Crisp from Cleveland. Johnny Damon was a fave, don't get me wrong, but obtaining Crisp was stellar. He's only 26, will be with the club through at least 2009 and, let's face it, with a name like Coco Crisp, he will be HUGE in Boston. His numbers are similar to Damon's, and if he can be a tad more patient at the plate, he'll do just fine. Plus, he doesn't have that "throws like a girl" shoulder problem Damon fought most of last year. By overpaying for Damon, the Yankees have made it that much harder for them to make any additional moves. Granted, they will be strong, but not THAT strong -- and certainly not initimidating at this point to Boston.
Getting David Riske from Cleveland was another good move. Riske strikes out a batter per inning, is death to lefties and, with Guillermo Mota's shoulder health questionable, Riske's durability can only help the already-deep Red Sox bullpen.
(In case you haven't noticed, the Red Sox have a TON of pitching depth, the likes of which I've never seen in my 25-plus years as a fan. Much of the depth is young, too, which is nice.)
Yes, we traded away Andy Marte in the deal for Crisp, but I like our end of things. And Josh Bard gives us four catchers now. It'll be interesting to see who lands the backup slot. My guess is Flaherty, but who knows.
NOW, if the Red Sox can sew up the deal for Alex Gonzalez (a member, like Beckett, of the 2003 Marlin team that beat the Yankees in the World Series), I'll be pretty happy with our chances. Gonzalez is definte upgrade over Renteria defensively, has some pop in his bat and should fit in well. Don't count out Julio Lugo coming to Boston from Tampa Bay, either, as that deal could still be swung, too.
The Red Sox 2006 Possibles:
C: Jason Varitek, Josh Bard, Ken Huckaby, John Flaherty
1B: Kevin Youkilis, J.T. Snow
2B: Mark Loretta, Tony Graffanino, Dustin Pedroia
SS: Alex Gonzalez(?), Alex Cora
3B: Mike Lowell
LF: Manny Ramirez
CF: Coco Crisp
RF: Trot Nixon, Dustan Mohr
DH: David Ortiz
Starting Pitching: Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, David Wells, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement, Bronson Arroyo, John Lester
Relief Pitching: Julian Tavrez, Rudy Seanez, Mike Timlin, Jon Papelbon, Craig Hansen, Keith Foulke, Lenny DiNardo, Manny Delcarmen, David Riske, Jermaine Van Buren
Posted by colrus at 09:32 PM | TrackBack
January 27, 2006
The Weirdest Video Ever
Click here to be freaked out.
This woman oversaw FBI involvement at Waco.
Posted by colrus at 07:15 PM | TrackBack
January 21, 2006
Chattablogs: Part Deux
A post on Michael Kelley's blog, led me to this. It reminds me, like it does Michael, of Chattablogs.
Give it ten years, folks. These online communities will be where we get -- and collaborate to produce -- our news.
Posted by colrus at 09:30 PM | TrackBack
Quickies: January 20, 2006
Why do Bonefish Grill servers wear chef garb? If you sit and think about it (like I did this evening while eating there), it gets weirder and weirder.
Why was I mailed TWO copies of Time Life's new bullriding retrospective? Sure, I AM going to watch it, but how did they know that my ex-brother-in-law was once a cowboy? Seriously, he was. Man, I need to write about THAT sometime...
I think as I continue to convert my rather large VHS library to DVD, I'll give away the VHS stuff to whomever I think might want it. Tonight, I dubbed a 1991 British documentary about the band Genesis. Pretty good stuff until Peter Gabriel left...
The Red Sox re-hired Theo Epstein. Man, now if they could just swing a deal for Coco Crisp...
Brian Cagle's film premiere at the Hunter last night was a resounding success. I was VERY encouraged to see the STANDING ROOM ONLY crowd, the wide mix of folks who turned out to pack the room, the reception Brian got afterwards and to hear the great questions people asked during the Q&A; session. I will be posting pictures of the event this weekend and writing about it in next week's Pulse.
...Speaking of The Pulse, I am sketching out plans for a new column by yours truly. It will be slightly different than my previous column, but no less browraising. I miss the abuse, I suppose. And, according to your e-mails, some of you miss me.
Today, I (finally) picked up the crib Melissa and I put on last summer layaway and paid off just before Thanksgiving. Seeing as we were expecting a baby when we picked it out, but have since lost the baby, it was a difficult trip to make. Sometimes, when you think you've gotten over something, you really haven't. Hopefully, we'll have new, better news soon.
Posted by colrus at 01:35 AM | TrackBack
January 18, 2006
Dear White Politicians: Please. I beg you. Stop your annual invoking of the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to equate, rationalize and pimp your political ideas, desires and, worst of all, "dreams."
All of you. It is annoying. And transparent. And I am not voting for you.
Thank you.
Posted by colrus at 10:00 PM | TrackBack
January 17, 2006
Fripp records sounds for Windows Vista
Yet another reason to check out Robert Fripp at Rhythm and Brews on February 27...
He recently recorded a bunch of sounds that will be used for Windows Vista. Check out a video of the recording session here. I'm a Mac guy, myself, but its still pretty cool that they tapped him to do it...
Posted by colrus at 09:12 AM | TrackBack
January 16, 2006
Robert Fripp to play Rhythm and Brews
First, we had the California Guitar Trio.
Then, Adrian Belew.
Now, the King Crimson guitar circle is complete as Robert Fripp is slated to play a solo soundscapes show -- "An Evening of Words and Music" -- at Rhythm and Brews on February 27.
This show will not be for everyone (read my review of his latest solo soundscapes disc), but for those keen on Fripp's brand of guitar wizardry (#42 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list), it will be quite the evening.
Fripp pioneered his synthy, looping solo guitar approach on two albums ("No Pussyfooting" and "Evening Star") with Brian Eno in the '70s. This style was somewhat at odds with his heavy, methodical and gorgeous axemanship within King Crimson, but "Frippertronics" eventually made its way into his playing with the band, too.
Aside from spending parts of FIVE decades in King Crimson, Fripp has also played with David Bowie (that's him on "Heroes"), The Roches, Blondie, Talking Heads, Van Der Graaf Generator, Andy Summers (The Police) and others.
His solo albums -- as well as his League of Gentlemen, League of Crafty Guitarists and Robert Fripp String Quintet albums -- are pretty amazing, too.
Per Fripp's request, this will be a seated, no smoking, no taping show. Check out the new, pretty darn amazing King Crimson/Robert Fripp/DGM site for details, journal entries, downloads, etc.
See you there.
Posted by colrus at 11:30 PM | TrackBack
January 15, 2006
Bands I Love: The Sugarplastic
The Sugarplastic, 2000: (From left): Ben Eshbach, Kiara Geller, David Cunningham.
If you've been reading The Pulse, or have talked with me about music lately, you'll know that I have constantly been mentioning one band: The Sugarplastic. And while my impassioned hysteria concerning their work seems a recent revelation, it's really not.
In 1996, while I was managing a record store in Connecticut, a promo copy of their DGC (Geffen) Records release, Bang, The Earth Is Round landed on my desk. A "sort of American XTC" I thought to myself at the time, the album earned repeated listens that year -- and every year since, really. It is a sharp, funny, powerful, slick piece of work with nary a bum note played or sung throughout. Ben Eshbach's voice became an instant fave, as did his pop acrobat guitar work. Kiara Geller's bass playing is gorgeously metronomic and melodic at the same time, and Josh Laner's drumming is all-pocket, all the time and fun to play along to through my headphones. Gretchen Parlato -- now a full-fledged jazz diva -- appears on three tracks as a perfect harmonic counterpoint to the joyously cartoon-like proceedings.
While the whole album holds up, the leadoff track -- "Another Myself" -- still amazes me more than any other song by any other band. Ever. It's a simple tune, really, but after over (probably) 10,000 listens, its "Respectable Street"-stomps-The Beatles attack still sounds wonderfully fresh.
The Sugarplastic were signed to Geffen in the midst of a mid-'90s signing frenzy, and would eventually be dropped as the label did a wholesale housecleaning. But they had already released a few vinyl singles prior to DGC (including the playfully catchy "Ottawa Bonesaw") and another album, Radio Jejune, on Sugar Fix Records. The album is a bit more straightforward than Bang, as well as tad harder, and its title track is almost self-fulfilling prophecy, seemingly asking, "Why isn't the really good music (like ours) ever played on the radio?" Copies of this album reguarly appear on eBay.
The band's follow-up to Bang, Resin, takes the eccentricities both to another level AND down a notch at the same time, as Geller lends a hand with the songwriting on a rollicking collection that features the band's typical rock prowess coupled with the occasional odd nod to, yes, Disney. David Cunnigham replaced Josh Laner on drums for this album. The Japanese version available from GEMM.com includes two bonus tracks, including the shuffling "Motorola Rocketship," which features King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto.
The band also released a tidy B-Sides collection in Japan, Primitive Plastic, giving proper digital release to some of their hard-to-find vinyl singles. The band then started releasing a series of seven limited-edition vinyl singles on Tallboy Records, each containing a track written by Eshbach and a track written by Geller. The whole series was issued on CD -- called 7x7x7 -- late last year. (Click to download tracks: "Sins Can Swim Like This" and "Here Comes Mr. Right".)
Which brings me to Will. The album was released on Tallboy Records last year, and was my pick for Album of the Year. I reviewed it back in September, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars after just a couple of listens. I have since added the missing half star.
The album is all over the place, offering up a swirling assortment of sounds -- some thoughfully derivative, some I've yet to fully wrap my head around. It's almost the aggregate of all their previous work, hinting at the handful of styles that dominated each of their previous albums. While the album is best heard as a complete unit, one tune -- the rocking "The Runaround" -- is (almost alarmingly) infectious. No single song got to know my car stereo more this year. Other swell tunes like "What the Boy Said," 'Very Stereo," "Underwater" and "Jesus Is His Name" followed closely behind. The band even made a quirky little video for "Autumn All The Time."
Geller also released a tasty, self-titled solo debut this year, and the band was named "Best Pop/Rock Band" at the L.A. Weekly's 2005 Music Awards. Cunningham recently left the band, however, as he is again working on some material with his band, Catorce. A new drummer is currently working with The Sugarplastic on material for their next album. I know I'm missing a few things, like the band landing a song on the Powerpuff Girls soundtrack and being mentioned on an episode of The Gilmore Girls, but this overview should be enough to get you started on the road to Sugarplastic fandom.
If the music of The Sugarplastic sounds interesting to you, click here to hear an archived 88.1 BSR Radio show featuring a bunch of their tunes. Visit Ben's site here, too, and watch him order lunch.
Posted by colrus at 02:56 AM | TrackBack
January 13, 2006
Bru-tal
In case you missed it, tonight's episode of The Office was brutal. I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time.
...and I'm a laugher
(In case you didn't know, you can download episodes of The Office for $1.99 each from iTunes.)
Posted by colrus at 12:19 AM | TrackBack
January 09, 2006
Country Boys on PBS
I just caught the first part of the three-part PBS documentary series, Country Boys. Good stuff. Parts two and three air Tomorrow and Wednesday nights.
The series traces two rural Kentucky boys as they fight their way through high school and on into adulthood. Pretty powerful stuff. I wanted to reach through the screen and give Chris a word of encouragement. Low self-esteem can rob potential faster than almost anything.
Posted by colrus at 11:41 PM | TrackBack
January 02, 2006
New Year's Life Updates
Man, what an antiseptic post title, eh?
Anyway, here's some stuff that's going on in my world:
The Pulse is now an inhabitant of Warehouse Row. Yes, after more than two years, we have left the Hamilton County Small Business Development Center, or the "incubator" as it's often called. I guess the move means that we've been succesfully incubated. Come to think of it, I do feel like I can fly. This is a good move for us. Not only is it a good location for a business like ours, but now I can finally sell some of those slacks I've been hoarding at the house. Right now, I'm running a special on Boot Cut Extra Huskyslim Fit Crack Rise Cords.
I have ventured into MySpace territory. This move allows me to satisfy my need to make lists of things I like. I can also gain friends with the click of a mouse. This is convenient. Except that all of these friends are 12.
Somebody e-mailed me today to tell me that they appreciated my Top Ten Albums list. The e-mail was diametrically opposed to another e-mail I received, calling me a "douchebag" (see comments on aforementioned article) because I dared to include a couple of compilations and re-releases amongst the picks. Whatever. Sigh. Pop songs, folks. Pop songs.
On the ever-increasing list of Web- and video-related projects that I'd like to tackle is a podcast. I think I'd like to create something funny. Maybe with some guest contributors. I've got a few scripts which might fit. Podcasts remind me of the ridiculously elaborate mix tapes my friends and I used to make back in the day. And seeing as they are in a simple audio format, they could be easily transformed into a variety of platforms...
I found an out-of-print Sugarplastic album from an online retailer in Japan. I know I've mentioned them before, but I am going to keep mentioning them. Because this is my blog. And because I can. And because they rock. I am in agreement with Josiah about Kidsmoke. And if you like them, you'll probably like The Sugarplastic. I will soon prepare a very linky, very pic-y post about this band for your informational convenience. And you will continue to ignore me. But that's OK. I'll just talk to my MySpace friends.
Reminder: The Office moves to Thursday this week. It is also a brand new episode. It airs at 9:30. Also of note, Scrubs returns for an hour tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 9 p.m. Another show that slays me...
More later.
Posted by colrus at 07:39 PM | TrackBack