Jon Stewart is a GOD

I'm kicking back on the sofa, folding some laundry & watching TV, and trying to stifle my laughter as I keep distracting my wife from her work on the computer.

I can't help it. I'm starting to think that The Daily Show should be required viewing.

Jon Stewart had a particularly good segment tonight (April 7, 2009 - go check out the web page and view the first half of the show if you haven't seen it). He was making a good example of the hypocrisy of the conservatives (or should I say "ultra-conservatives"? maybe just the neocons?). He was showing clips from pundits and politicians expressing their "terror" at the "tyranny" of Obama's presidency, how it's an erosion of our rights and the Declaration of Independence.

Huh?

And (of course) he points out the criminal actions that occurred during the Bush presidency, and the nose-dive the US took in the international arena under his leadership. Contrast that with the reception that Obama got at the G20 conference, and the shared vision we are now working toward with respect to nuclear (pronounced correctly!) disarmament and the components of Obama's campaign platform.

The most poignant comparison was how - during the last eight years - anyone criticizing Bush or his policies was "unamerican." But now, not only do we have the conservatives flinging around "socialist," "tyrant," and other epithets while they criticize his policies ... we also have idiotic hate-mongers like Rush Limbaugh voicing his hopes that Obama's policies fail - even at the cost of recovery from the economic crisis. Hypocrisy at its best.

I can't help but think of what the Dixie Chicks went through after their criticism of Bush and the Iraq war in 2003 (if you missed that or need a refresher, check out their wikipedia entry. What was "high treason" then is par for the course now?

Only because their guy didn't win in '08.

I know, I know, there was a war on then, and we all get little blinders on when there are polarizing issues. But be rational - at least try to see the other side's story without automatically demonizing it. America is all about protecting freedoms - you know, like free speech? The venom that Limbaugh and some of these pundits get paid to spew - that is protected as well. I'm just glad Stewart and his colleagues (like Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow) are around to assemble the clips and expose the bullshit for what it is - 'cause I sure don't have the patience for all that. But at least I have hope.

Addendum 4/8/09:
Now that it is available, here is the clip I am referring to. [If you are NOT a fan, please hold tight until at least the middle - it picks up a bit more there and gets to the point(s) I was commenting on.] The rest of the episode can be seen (either as full episode, or as clips) by going to The Daily Show and clicking on "full episodes" or "videos" and selecting the appropriate date.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

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Pictures lifted from Wikipedia. Clip from The Daily Show website.

music as art

Here is a great image (click on it to get a bigger version) - sort of a puzzle relating to the music industry. First saw this in 2006, just getting around to posting it now. Unfortunately, par for the course....






Don't scroll down yet - how many bands can you identify?

No cheating!

Ok, below is a list of what I got initially (with almost no help):

the scorpions, dinosaur jr., crannberries, the beach boys, prince, the police, iron maiden, men at work, pink, korn, deep purple, hole, radiohead, alice in chains, the eagles, nine inch nails, rolling stones, 50 cent, the gorillaz, the pixies, U2, cake, queen, whitesnake, white zombie, phish, blondie, the cars, garbage, red hot chili peppers, blind melon, ratt, B-52s, eminem, green day, smashing pumpkins, pet shop boys, matchbox 20, led zeppelin, guns & roses


after looking at a list of answers, i *should* have also found (band names i recognize):

lemonheads, sex pistols (hehe), BeeGees, seal, madonna (w child, painting), crowded house, white stripes, black crowes, wings, ... maybe a few more. not too bad. many i could have guessed but did know the band names (black flag? yellowman?).

Here is a version of the answers - don't know how complete it is, and I'm not gonna bother counting if "74 bands" are listed. But I think it is a pretty cool image / puzzle. Hope you like it too!

Hump Day?

Well, okay so it's Thursday not Wednesday... but figured I'd post this here... for posterity, LoL!

From what i heard, this was Alanis Morissette's contribution to April Fool's Day this year.

I certainly enjoyed it :-)

Oh, here's the "original" for comparison:

can you hear me NOW? - latest update April 2010

CD in the player now:

The Cars (Anthology)

We recently down-graded from our broken-down three-disc shelf system to a single-disc compact stereo, which also has the capability to play mp3s from an iPod. Not *my* iPod, mind you, as it is such an older model that the software is not compatible. I can squeeze out a single song at a time from the iPod through the stereo, but who wants to unmount and remount after each song....

So I have returned to my roots, and am once again slowly working through the "classics" in my collection. Sitting ready to go near the stereo are double CDs of The Doors and The Cars. Most recently listened to the latter, which has a nice mingled sound of pop and late classic rock, a feel-good kinda sound.

Last listened to on the iPod:

The Animaniacs

My wife is a big fan of the mid-90's cartoon show that featured a lot of songs and silly cartoon bits. When we hooked up, one of my fringe benefits was raiding her music collection, and these worked their way onto the iPod for a recent car trip. Although they are obviously geared toward a younger audience, some of the tunes are rather catchy - and some are nice throwbacks to real classics (like "The Pirates of Penzance"). For a nerd like me those parodies can be a lot of fun.

Most recent ear worm:

"Inside Out" by Eve 6

Don't know why this caught me again - but I've always enjoyed it despite it being overplayed back in the late 90's. Lately I keep hearing it on the radio, and again find it hitting a cord. It's sorta from that alternative genre of songs with interesting phrases strung together, that may or may not really make much sense overall. But still very catchy.

Favorite new find / recently heard:

The Rambling Blues Band

Since relocating to Springfield, my wife fell-in with a blogging / tweeting crowd, and got to personally meet some people that turned out to be in a popular local band, Music for Big Kids. My wife has become a pseudo-groupie, and one of their gigs was shared by The Rambling Blues Band. I don't know if they play any original music, but I was quite wowed by their range and skill in doing cover songs. From Led Zeppelin to Tom Petty to Tracy Chapman, I nearly thought I was hearing the original. And from my limited exposure to them, they seem to play long sets and are a real crowd pleaser.

Recently rediscovered:

"Sweeney Todd"

Had seen the play once upon a time back in college, and remembered enjoying it (although didn't remember much of it in detail). When the Johnny Depp movie was coming out, the wife and I managed to catch two or three different productions of it (one with Ben Kingsley, another with Ray Winstone) along with the "original" broadway soundtrack with Angela Landsbury. I enjoyed the remake by Tim Burton, and started listening to that soundtrack quite a bit too much. Finally left it for a while, but the song "A Little Priest" is too good of a gem to leave forgotten for long. The version from the original broadway album is a bit longer and has a slightly different flavor to it (pun intended), but the voices of Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp are more pleasing overall.

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This is my own pathetic version of a dynamic music blog. Check back periodically for updates!