February 2007 Archives
February 28, 2007
For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
Yesterday, the Defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers opened their spring training schedule with a 14-0 exhibition win over Florida Southern University. They followed that up today with a 5-4 win in their major league Spring Training opener over the New York Mets.
The drive to October has begun.
February 27, 2007
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New Modest Mouse video. Great song. Great video.
February 26, 2007
Dwight Howard did it again. Earlier this week, YouTube video showed the dunk Howard planned in the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk finals, if he hadn't been robbed by fuddy-duddy judges. He calls is "Kiss the Rim" because that's almost literally what he does.
In the words of my buddy Adam, BTP's official NBA correspondent:
We should all just agree on this now: LeBron may get the press, Wade may have a ring, but Howard is the most likeable megastar of his generation.
I'll comment that I think that however this video leaked, it's very very smart.
To some extent, sports are the part of society furthest along in "YouTube-ization." Highlight packages on SportsCenter have been emphasizing the flashy and the immediate in a way similar to short web clips for years.
Some have cited this trend as the downfall of sport. I think it's just an added way to appreciate sports. Solid fundamentals are a vehicle to competition. For decades, that's all sports were about - winning and losing.
Now, we're seeing a relatively new strain of sports fandom: sheer appreciation. We don't awe at Dwight Howard's dunk because it makes him a better player at winning the game of 5-on-5 basketball. We awe at it because it's a simply astonishing athletic feat. In short, it's just cool.
This appreciation of the aesthetics of sport is also seen in the way most of the new ESPN-style X Games are judged competitions, rather that first-past-the-line, score-more-points style confrontations. Think about the snowboard halfpipe. Shaun White just looks cooler. That's why he wins.
Dwight Howard can kiss the rim. That's why he wins.
February 21, 2007
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Neat roundup of what's wrong with all the presidential contenders. Interesting to learn about the Republican guys. From my dad.
February 20, 2007
My buddy Adam (BTP's official NBA correspondent) was in the boonies all weekend and still hasn't seen Dwight Howard's sick dunk. The feds block YouTube access from his office, so I'm posting it here in hopes he can view it. Plus, the dunk is rad, so you should watch it too.
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DALCDT 3B Brandon Inge has dontated $100,000 for an activity room at the new CS Mott Children's hospital. This means future kids like me will have a place to play when they get chemo. Thanks, Brandon.
February 19, 2007
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I thought this was a fascinating way to use the internet to support charity. Could something similar work for politics?
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Dwight Howard had the best dunk last night. He wuz robbed.
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My soon-to-be old neighborhood in DC has never taked off like everyone hoped.
February 18, 2007
With last night's 4-1 victory over the hapless Phoenix Coyotes, the Detroit Red Wings have moved into first place in the Central Division and the Western Conference. They trail Buffalo by a single point for best record in hockey.
The Wings have trailed Nashville most of the season, but a solid stretch of inspired play, particularly in the third period of games, has pushed the Wings to the top of the standings.
See, Nashville, this is what you get for trading for a Peter Forsberg, nefarious former member of the Colorado Avalanche. He's lost a bunch of times to the Wings before. More more would be nice. You know, for old time's sake.
February 16, 2007
As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
Everyone compares Midlake to Fleetwood Mac. While it's true they sharee a chilled out classic rock sound, I always instead compare them to Iron and Wine, a band they sound nothing like.
Like Mr. Beam, Midlake is content to make beautiful background music. It's great music to work by. It's not pushy, nor does it needily demand your attention. In some cases, that would be the classic backhanded compliment. Not here.
Occupation is simply to powerful to be denied. It might now arrogantly demand your attention, but at this album's peaks, you simply cannot look away. Songs like Roscoe and Branches build upon a steady, pulsing backbeat until they almost, almost, almost, but not quite burst at the seams.
It's these moments of tension where Midlake delivers the goods.
Official Site - MySpace
February 15, 2007
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Yahoo Pipes is a new way to mix data from different websites. Here's a great explanation of why it matters.
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An example of how Yahoo Pipes could be used to do something pretty cool.
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I thought Al Franken's announcement message today was great. Charming without being snarky. Serious, without being dour. The perfect tone.
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Joan discovered that basically all of Star Trek: TNG is on YouTube. Joe found THE BIG GUN. I love it.
As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
I'll be honest. I've never understood a word Woomble is saying. It doesn't get any better here as Idlewild's lead singer makes his major label debut.
"My secret is my silence?" "Look out across the wall and into the Atlantic?" I have no idea what any of it means. I don't care. The music is just too beautiful to be denied. Woomble strips the music down, unplugs, and gets great backing vocals from his sister. The result is different from, but intimately connected to, his work with the full band.
The only band news is that I've listened to an advance copy of the new Idlewild record and it's terrible. I'm going to give it another chance, but I hope Woomble didn't use up all his good ideas on this solo record.
Official Site - MySpace
February 14, 2007
As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
Call it the obligatory glitch-pop record.
For years, I've been following Thom Yorke in discovering the artists making compelling mashups of techno and rock. This year, Thom was all about the Liars, an album I never quite got in to. Instead, when I need to amp things up and make the people boogie, I just cranked up the Infadels.
I once heard Radiohead's "Idioteque" described as the most positively "new" sounding rock song in ages. The Infadels have made a whole album of Idioteques (if not quite to that high standard). Combining techno beats, rock guitars, cocksure lyrics, and a frantic pace, songs like "Can't Get Enough" and "Love Like Semtex" are showing us the way to the future. We're all just along for the ride.
Official Site - MySpace
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Desert for later
Pitchers and catchers of the defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers reported to Spring Training today. See you in October.
P.S. I have, indeed, taken to solely referring to the team as "the defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers" every time I speak of them. Lose 119 games and then you can complain about it.
As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
I've said before that this is the album Death Cab for Cutie would make if they were evil. Instead, former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli recorded an album of love songs by generator power in post-Katrina New Orleans. The result is raw, hypnotic, and devious.
My buddy Adam (BTP's official NBA correspondent) put it this way:
"There was a rapture, so I can never see you again." New Orleans is gone, Greg Dulli is left behind. This is what it sounds like.
Official Site - MySpace
February 13, 2007
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Macs cost the same as HPs and DIY. Interesting discussion.
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Great analysis on Apple's new anti-DRM stance.
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Cool new Kaiser Cheifs song. Debuted at #2 in the UK.
As always, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
Jenny Lewis, lead singer of the little-bit-country-little-bit-rock indie supergroup Rilo Kiley used her "solo" debut to make this year's little record that could.
Originally, I wasn't blown away by this album. The song writing really is not all that super fantastic. But you can't help being mesmerized by the expert vocal stylings of Ms. Lewis and her identical twin backup singers. For my money, Lewis has the best voice in rock, and it's on full display here.
What really makes this album, though, is that it's just so damned earnest. My buddy Adam (BTP's official NBA Correspondent) turned me on to this idea, and I think it's really true. Although the record is credited to Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, it's really a solo record. Lewis wrote and sings lead on all the songs.
What this means is that for the first time in her career, she's singing about ideas and emotions that are totally and completely hers. Rilo Kiley songs are, by definition, a collaboration. These songs are all Jenny's, which fills her already stellar voice with more and more emotion. The song writing's not fantastic. But that's OK, because you know that she's pouring her heart into every word.
I should take a minute here to tip my hat to Blake Stennett, the other primary creative force behind Rilo Kiely. He also released a terrific "solo" record this year under the name of The Elected. The record is quite charming in its own right and in many ways technically superior to Rabbit Fur Coat. But in the end, Jenny Lewis is too electric a performer to leave off this list.
Official Site - MySpace
February 12, 2007
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Obama has been speaking against the war from the very beginning.
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Edwards admitting his mistake in voting for the war.
Yeah, I've been taking my sweet time publishing my top ten records of 2006. For one, I'm a big believer that you should actually wait until the year is over before you make your list. Plus, like, it's just barely February, so... you know... quit complaining.
Anyway, the game is simple. Describe your favorite records of the year. Count backwards.
It's hard to talk about Band of Horses without also mentioning their venerable Northwestern forebearers, Built to Spill. But seriously, I mean it in the best possible way when I call BOH a BTS ripoff band.
Built to Spill has always been the jam band for people who hate jam bands. May favorite song of theirs (You Are) includes a 3 minute guitar solo mean to symbolize the awesome depth of true love.
Band of Horses, however, is the jam band for people who love pop music. All the Built to Spill elements are here: soaring sounds, trippy production, washed out vocals. But Band of Horses never allow their tightly written songs to get away from them. This is a lesson that Built to Spill never quite learned. The result is the tenth best record of 2006.
February 11, 2007
John Edwards has very publicly admitted he made a pretty big mistake.
Hillary Clinton believes she displayed sound judgement when she believed the intelligence given to her by George Bush. She also never expected him to screw it up so badly.
Today, kos takes Hillary to task for not having the courage to admit a mistake and learn from it. Now, both Clinton and Edwards made a tough vote that they probably regret now. There's no good way out of that box and I really don't want to criticize the way either of them are handling it.
At the end of the day, however, I'd much rather have a President that doesn't make big mistakes than one who's good about learning from mistakes or one who knows how to make it look like they weren't really mistakes.
That's why I lean more and more towards Barack Obama. After all, he opposed the Iraq War from the very beginning and he's got the best plan for ending the fiasco as soon as possible.
I don't mean to rag on Edwards and Clinton when I say that. There's a lot to love about both of them. They're just in a tough spot now because of a tough vote years ago.
Bill Clinton used to say the American people would vote for "Strong and Wrong" over "Weak and Right." I don't know about you, but I think they'll go for "Strong and Right" too.
February 10, 2007
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Another great recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, my new obsession.
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My favorite YouTube of the day.
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Eric Fair was an interrogator at Abu Ghraib. He's confession condemns the systematic torture my government engaged in and outlines why it matters to atone for those sins.
February 9, 2007
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I thought this was exceptionally smart.
February 6, 2007
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Bowers on how appealing to the netroots means more than just taking a specific stand on one or two issues.
CBS currently has George Bush's approval rating at 28%. That's only a few points off the all-time low, when Richard Nixon hit 24% just before he resigned.
Why then, exactly, are we still giving this guy even a shred of the benefit of the doubt? If George Bush proposed it, it's probably wrong. There's just way, way too much evidence to support that idea.
That's why we have to stop the "surge" in Iraq.
Not content with their success of last year, the Tigers top young pitchers has all reported to spring training EARLY. Verlander, Bonderman, and Zumaya know they'll have to work that much harder to get over the top in 2007.
Get ready, Tiger fans. Pitchers and catchers report for duty next week. After all, the American League Champion Detroit Tigers have a title to defend.
Via the Detroit Tiger Weblog. Photo: Roger DeWitt
February 5, 2007
Comments last week caused a stir because they were construed as racially insensitive. I think the comments in question probably weren't intended to cause any harm, but may have reflected some deep-seated prejudices that all of us struggle to overcome. It's tough to fight hundreds of years of propaganda.
More importantly, however, we've got our eyes on the prize. Let's remember my unofficial 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of your fellow Democrat.
Poor word choices that don't seem to be motivated by hatred don't, in the end, amount to a whole lot. Especially when compared to decades of racially motivated legislation and politicking. Remember Katrina? Remember the repeated and systemic attempts to intimidate and suppress the black vote? Remember the refusal to just raise the minimum wage without any extra tax kickbacks? Remember all crazy judges ready to do away with affirmative action and hate crimes legislation.
If you want to talk about politicians who are hurting black Americans, I think there are a whole lot of Republicans who have a lot to answer for. There's a reason Democrats win 90% of the black vote.
So, again, if you want to criticize a Democrat, don't. Find a Republican to blame instead. They make it so easy.
February 3, 2007
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I've been very, very, VERY patient with Lost. If it delivers even half of what this reviewer promises, it will all be worth it.
