text: Bright Dike apparently tore his Achilles in training in Toronto today, derailing his hopes to make the world cup squad. Poor guy just can't catch a break from these injuries. I was really pulling for him to make the squad, so I'm just gutted for him. Can't imagine how he feels.


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The arrival of Jeremy Browne's Race Plan, published by the think tank Reform, has generated plenty of coverage in the mainstream and new media. Everyone – within the community of political nerds at least – has, for a few days at least, been talking about Jeremy. Presumably that was a large part of the point. So it's already mission at least partially accomplished.
Much of the talk in the yellow corner is about quite what possessed JB to publish the book just a few weeks before a key election in which the party faces a wipeout. Given that much of what he's saying isn't Liberal Democrat policy the inevitable result will be to generate further confusion about what the party stands for in the minds of voters. You'd be hard pushed to disprove the hypothesis that he's set the dial to maximum mischief. Some commentators have condemned him for being self-interested. I'm not entirely sure he'd see that as a criticism.
Browne has made headlines by proclaiming his agenda to be one of promoting "authentic liberalism", with the implication that anyone who disagrees with him is not an authentic liberal. It's a classic tactic for marginalising those you disagree with. And given that the evidence before us would suggest Browne's liberalism is about six parts economic liberalism to three parts personal liberalism and one part social liberalism there are likely to be many within and without the Liberal Democrats who disagree with him violently. [Read more...]

subset: commoncrawl


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Lower Providence Police report that a 5500-watt Generac generator was stolen from the back deck of a home, located on the 100 block of Oaklyn Ave. in Trooper. The report states that the generator, described as black and orange, was estimated to be worth $1,100. It was last seen, covered by a tarp on the back deck of the residence on Dec. 28, 2012 and was noticed missing the following day. The report to police was made on Jan. 3.
Owners of the generator did not recall hearing or seeing anything unusual prior to the theft.


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Tricks by Apollo Robbins
Apollo Robbins is a unique combination of performer, speaker and consultant. Robbins first made national news as the man who pick-pocketed the Secret Service while entertaining former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Apollo utilizes pick-pocketing and sleight-of-hand to demonstrate proximity manipulation, diversion techniques and attention control. This unique set of skills have led to several academic speaking engagements for the science community, law enforcement and government agencies on human behavior.
In 2006, Robbins founded Whizmob Inc., a brain trust that offers law enforcement officials and ex-cons as subject matter experts on current fraud, theft, and scam trends. Apollo hosted Tru TV's reality show, THE REAL HUSTLE, and served as technical advisor on TNT's series, LEVERAGE.
In January 2013, Apollo was profiled in The New Yorker in a feature article by Adam Green. On January 16th, 2013, Apollo performed on The Today Show for Matt Lauer and Ryan Seacrest.
Q&A with Apollo Robbins
Who are some of your biggest influences in magic?
Since magic is both a passion and a career for me, my influences come from many directions...
For understanding attitude, naturalness, context and misdirection: Slydini, Tommy Wonder, John Carney & Cardini
For learning the important balance between show & business:Bob Kohler, Jon Stetson and my old friend Mark Sparks
For understanding branding & niche marketing: Derren Brown, Mac King, Marco Tempest & Kevin King (the double talk expert)
What got you into the field of pick-pocketing?
Besides two nefarious brothers and a blind father... it probably has a lot to do with my preference for effects that are both plausible and border-line possible. Super skills such as mega memory, card cheating, rapid math, and pickpocketing have always intrigued me. I've never liked asking my audiences to pretend I have super natural powers. I was drawn to pickpocketing because it allows me to create astonishing moments with context. My audience gets a glimpse into a shadowy underworld world of colorful characters with unusual talents.
Do you have any advice for magicians that would like to learn pick-pocketing techniques?
Picking pockets is an advanced art form that assumes your technique has become second nature, you have a natural comfort with people, and a sensitivity to how they perceive you.
It is becoming very difficult to perform a pickpocket act due to the increased popularity of casual attire and the dangers of performing for a litigious society. But as a skill, pickpocketing & body loading are a fantastic set of tools for gathering information, hiding predictions, assisting in transportations, etc.
Practice Tip: Your initial focus should be on loading rather than steals..
What is your favorite effect to perform?
Hard to answer... There is a precise feeling that I am trying to create for my audience. It's hard to always hit it with any one particular effect.
I can give you some ingredients for my favorite effect; unexpected plot twist, borders on the possible, seductive, final effect is deduced mentally not visually, and plausible ability - so the spectator imagines how such an ability would change their life for the better.
You perform and travel all over the world, what are the best and worst aspects of your busy lifestyle?
I am very fortunate that I get paid to do what I enjoy. It is fulfilling to have an occupation that I am still passionate about after 20 yrs.
There are times that I perform in exotic locations and stay at 5 star resorts. Sounds glamourous... until you realize that often I only see the inside of my hotel and the airport 'cause I am off to the next gig. Zig-zagging from Hawaii to the East coast and back to Vegas in the course of a week.
When I am home, I split my time between researching, consulting and developing new services that I can offer to my regular clients.


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Turning Point -- Clickers in the Classroom -- Workshop Wednesday 8/21
Turning Point: Clickers in the Classroom
Turning Point is a personal response system that allows instructors to use hand-held devices (also known as "Clickers") in the technology classrooms to receive immediate feedback from the entire class during a live lecture. Faculty members who are interested in using Clickers in technology classrooms need to coordinate with Classroom Central in advance. In this workshop, you will become familiar with the software and you will explore best practices for optimum results.
The workshop will take place on
Wednesday, August 21 from 10am-noon
in the Center for Learning and Teaching's Faculty Development Lab, Gornto 101.
To register: Log in at http://clt.odu.edu and use the teachODU module or click Events in the top navigation.
For more information: Send email to firstname.lastname@example.com or phone Susan Boze at 683-3172.
Posted By: Alison Schoew
Date: Fri Aug 16 13:46:36 EDT 2013


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The Creative Documentary programme has been envisioned as a one year Post Graduate Diploma course with an integrated approach that opens out the world of cinema to the students, enabling them to engage strongly with filmmaking and find their own voice. While a rigorous grounding in film craft will be an essential part of the programme, the idea is to create an environment conducive to exploring, experiencing and experimenting from where the students can emerge as filmmakers who are innovative and take the practice of documentary film making forward in fresh and exciting ways. The course also encourages students to work with image, sound, time and space in ways that are innovative and exploratory. It seeks to develop a keen
Author:Meenakshi Negie-mailWeb: www.sac.ac.inPhone: 9953755245


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August 31, 2006
Albany -- There may be a recall petition against Albany Mayor Willie Adams. Application forms were picked up last Friday. We don't know who picked up the applications, but whoever it is has 15 days to fill it out and lobby for signatures.
Mayor Willie Adams first learned there could be a recall against him yesterday when he received a certified letter from Elections Supervisor Carolyn Hatcher. "It's a citizen's right. If they feel that they are disenchanted with the leadership of the community. They can circulate a recall petition. That's the American way of doing it and we just have to see how it works out."
The sponsors of the recall must supply specific grounds. For example, has the mayor committed an act of malfeasance while in office, violated his oath, committed an act of misconduct, failed to perform duties according to law or misused public funds?
"A recall insinuates that someone believes you've done something wrong while in office," we said.
"Well, of course, you're right about that," Adams said. "And I'm going to think real hard this afternoon and tonight as to what have I done wrong and I'm sure that in any leadership position, you're going to disappoint some people. There's an old saying that if you don't disappoint half the people then you're not doing a good job."
But it would only take the opinion of half the people voting in a recall to determine if Adams would stay in office. He could fight the matter, question the reason in court. But he says he has no desire to do that.
"No, no. If enough people in Albany think that I should be recalled, it's the citizens' right to do that and I will go snow skiing, fishing and hunting."
Carolyn Hatcher would not tell us who picked up the application, and Adams says he has no idea who would want him out of office. But he does know this. "I have not spent one restless night thinking about what would happen if Willie Adams was not the Mayor of the city of Albany, Georgia."
But he may spend quite a few wondering who it is that wants him out. The actual application for recall requires 100 signatures of registered voters who were also registered to vote in ALBANY when Adams was elected.
Feedback: email@example.com?subject=Recall/KC
P.O. Box 3130
Albany, GA 31706
(229) 446-1010
FCC Public File
(229) 446-4005
EEO Report
Closed Captioning


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Draft versions of the bills lawmakers are expected to consider this week in a special legislative session show about $300 million in spending cuts to education and social services, as well as the restoration of funding for high-tech economic development.Read More »
Daily Archives: November 13, 2009 , 6:31 pm
Lawmakers getting hammered in court; resources strained
Arizona's 49th Legislature has been tasked with keeping the state financially afloat during the most troubling economic times in state history. But the choices lawmakers made this year in an effort to balance the budget have led to six lawsuits challenging the state's use of fund sweeps to fill in deficits.Read More »
Capitol Quotes 11/13
"The Legislature is no longer in a position of cutting - the economy's taking care of that. The money's not there." - Senate President Bob Burns, a Republican from Peoria, speaking Nov. 12 about how the state needs to approach future budget deficits.Read More »
Defending against an 'active shooter'
If an active shooter is in your vicinity, protect your own life first. That is the chief message from an Arizona State Capitol Police press release issued Nov. 12, in the wake of the shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 31 wounded at Fort Hood Army base in Texas The tip-sheet explained what to do when law enforcement arrives and how to recognize behavior that could be a precursor to workplace violence.Read More »
Lobbyist, lawmaker to resume Clean Elections clash
The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has renewed a $6,500-per-month contract with lobbyist Mike Williams, setting up another battle over the fate of the public campaign-funding system. Todd Lang, director of the Clean Elections Commission, said hiring a lobbyist was necessary to protect a system he credits with increasing political participation of the public and encouraging people to run for office.Read More »
GOP pushing for 1-day special session
Barring any surprises, Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to call the Legislature into special session in the next few days. But her 1-cent sales tax hike won't be on the table - at least not this time. Still up in the air is the possibility of doing a second special session, possibly in December, for another round of cuts and potentially approving revenue generating options.Read More »
The Pulse: Oh, Christmas tree
Pretty soon folks at the state Capitol will be taking the Holiday Tree out of storage. Well, at least that's the politically correct term former Gov. Janet Napolitano gave the artificial evergreen that sits every year in the lobby of the Executive Tower at 1700 W. Washington.Read More »
The short-lived Papago Saguaro National Monument
Shortly after statehood in 1912, the Phoenix and Maricopa County Board of Trade began an effort to have what is now Papago Park declared either a national park or a national monument. Originally, the committee recommended the creation of a "National Cactus Park" just like Yellowstone National Park, the Yosemite National Park and the Mount Rainer National Park."Read More »
UpClose with Alessandra Soler Meetze
On the wall of Alessandra Soler Meetze's office hangs an illustrated guide to the Bill of Rights in colorful cartoon drawings. One of the drawings shows a police officer morphing through a television in a living room as a family reacts in horror. Beneath it are the words, "No unreasonable search or seizure."Read More »


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15 Smart Free Fonts for Corporate Logos
Correct use of fonts is a very significant part of logo design that many of us overlook. The job of a logo designer is to make the message in the corporate logo design appropriate for the targeted customers. In order to do this, the font used in the logo design should be functional and meaningful. Several famous corporate logos are identified only because of their specific typography. Think of valuable corporate fonts like Coca-Cola and Walt Disney for instance. These corporate giants have logos with stylish and elegant fonts. Only their typography has made it a successful corporate brand.
While the use of clichéd typography will make your logo design memorable, it can also cause logo infringement issues. Many logo designers pick up clichéd typographies and try to manipulate them by adding or subtracting elements. But they end up with something that is simply unoriginal. So in order to avoid the risk of logo plagiarism, you can make use of free fonts in your corporate logo. Here are 15 of the most stylish and elegant free fonts that will suit your corporate identity.
One Response to "15 Smart Free Fonts for Corporate Logos"
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McCain Turns Back on Grand Canyon
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.—Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumed GOP nominee, has repeatedly declared himself a disciple of Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican president who first brought an environmental ethic to the nation and, as part of his conservation effort, set aside the Grand Canyon as a national monument 100 years ago.
McCain has regularly prodded his fellow Republicans to embrace Roosevelt's belief that the nation must leave to posterity a land in better condition than it was found. McCain reiterated his Roosevelt stripes in a recent interview with The New York Times, just as he had loudly declared it during his first bid for the presidency in 2000. "Theodore Roosevelt was my hero and is to this day," McCain said during a 2000 GOP presidential debate. "He was responsible for the National Parks system, the crown jewels of America. They are $6-billion under-funded, they're under enormous strain."
Nowhere is the "enormous strain" on the national parks greater than here at the nation's most famous park. Ironically, at a time of the Grand Canyon National Park's greatest need for a latter-day Roosevelt to ride to the rescue, McCain is nowhere to be found.
There has been a recent dramatic increase in mining claims on uranium-rich federal lands adjacent to the park. And there is now growing concern that radioactive mining waste could contaminate the park and also seep into the Colorado River, which provides drinking water to more than 25 million people. While out on the hustings, McCain has been pushing his plan to build more than 100 nuclear power plants over the next 50 years, as one possible answer to U.S. dependency on foreign oil. So, it appears that, rather than trying to forge a nuclear energy policy that also protects the park and the river, McCain has opted to vanish from the controversy now raging in his home state.
In the one known instance where McCain has been directly involved with state uranium mining issues, he did little more than listen to complaints from the Navajo Nation. The group's representatives were in Washington last year and wanted his help in cleaning up a Cold War-era radioactive waste site. But the Navajo Nation says the senator did not respond to their request. It was only after Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) held a hearing in October that a comprehensive clean-up plan for the reservation was prepared. A series in The Los Angeles Times, "Blighted Homeland," had spurred Waxman's investigation.
For more than six months, McCain has refused to meet with elected officials, Indian leaders, concerned environmentalists and other stakeholders trying to develop a plan to protect the park and the Colorado River from a second uranium boom that could leave the area again exposed to potentially dangerous byproducts — even as radioactive debris from the 1950s and '60s remains untreated. In fact, the usually politically cautious municipal water utilities in Nevada and Southern California are also now urging a careful approach to new uranium mining that could pollute the river.
"McCain has an historic record of caring about the Grand Canyon," said Don Hancock, director of nuclear waste programs for the Southwest Research and Information Center, an Albuquerque environmental group, "but he's been absent about this discussion about uranium development around the Grand Canyon,"
A Roosevelt Republican Turns
Early in his Congressional career, McCain pushed through legislation restricting aircraft flights in the Grand Canyon to keep the natural quiet. In what he calls one of his proudest achievements, McCain joined the late Arizona Democratic Rep. Morris K. Udall to set aside 1.4 million acres of Arizona desert as wilderness. But McCain's claim to Roosevelt-style environmentalism has been badly bruised by his silence on uranium mining near the park and on the Navajo Nation.
"McCain gave us hope that he might be a Teddy Roosevelt type of Republican," said Roger Clark, air and water director for The Grand Canyon Trust, a Flagstaff, Ariz., environmental group. "Since the beginning of his run for president, including 2000, that has kind of crumbled."
The Grand Canyon National Park has already experienced uranium mining's toxic byproducts from the abandoned Orphan Mine on the canyon's south rim, three miles from the celebrated El Tovar Hotel. (See Sidebar) Nearly 40 years after the Orphan Mine closed, two major defense contractors that employ lobbyists with close ties to McCain, are refusing to cooperate with the National Park Service to clean up the mine. Meanwhile, the Orphan Mine, which has been declared a Superfund site, is leaching radioactive waste into a creek that feeds the Colorado River.
McCain's Senate office and also his campaign staff did not return several phone calls and emails with a list of questions about uranium mining near the park and the clean up of the Orphan Mine. McCain's silence on the issue is regarded as a disappointment to many who cite him as a defender of the environment in general, and the Grand Canyon in particular.
For example, McCain's support is considered necessary to pass The Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act. This bill, introduced last March by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), permanently withdraws 1 million acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management holdings adjacent to the park from mineral development. The land includes some of the highest-grade uranium deposits in the U.S.
"The bill is not going anywhere without McCain's support," said Clark, who has repeatedly tried to meet with McCain or his staff to discuss the bill, only to be rebuffed.
Uranium Rush
The United States has been moving toward resumption of construction of nuclear plants just as other nations, including India and China, are expanding their own nuclear-power industry. Rising demand for uranium triggered a rapid escalation in prices from $7 a pound in 2003 to a peak of $136 in June 2007 before plunging this year to around $60. The price spike renewed interest in developing the high-grade uranium sites near the Grand Canyon.
More than 10,000 mining claims have been filed, most within the last five years, to explore the sparsely inhabited lands north and south of the Grand Canyon. Approximately 1,100 of the claims are with five miles of the park. There are no operating uranium mines in Arizona, though there are three closed mines north of the canyon and one south of the park that operators say may be brought back into production. While only a handful of mining claims are ever developed into mines, the recent surge in activity led Grijalva to hold a Congressional field hearing last March in Flagstaff.
Mining claims on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management property adjacent to the Grand Canyon are administered by the BLM, a sister agency of the National Park Service in the Interior Dept. The two agencies are at loggerheads over uranium mining near the park. The BLM has taken a position that renewed uranium mining can be safely conducted under the laws already in place, while Grand Canyon park officials are critical of mining near the canyon.
Rody Cox, a BLM geologist monitoring mining claims on the Arizona Strip that stretches across central and northwest Arizona between the Grand Canyon and Utah, does not share the anxiety that has gripped many others over the prospect of renewed uranium mining. "In my opinion," Cox said, "these mines have very little potential for affecting the other resources out there like water or anything else."
But Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin would like to see uranium mining stopped before it starts. "There should be some places that you just don't mine," Martin said, when asked to comment about Grijalva's bill. "Uranium is a special concern because it is both a toxic heavy metal and source of radiation."
Missing in Action
For more than six months McCain has ducked the latest uranium mining controversy that has reverberated from Indian country, to county government, to Arizona's governor, to utility officials in Southern California, to the halls of Congress.
The political uproar began in December when the Forest Service granted a British mining company a permit to begin exploratory drilling on seven uranium claims less than two miles from the park's boundary near the main entrance on the south rim. The Forest Service waived a requirement that the company, VANE Minerals, complete a detailed analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Forest Service decision to bypass environmental regulations was widely condemned in Arizona. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors in February passed a resolution opposing uranium development on federal lands within the vast county that includes areas north and south of the Grand Canyon. The board asked the Arizona Congressional delegation to intervene.
In early March, Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, got involved. She asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to withdraw from mineral development the lands cited by Coconino County. Napolitano's letter was also sent to the entire Arizona delegation, including McCain. A Napolitano spokeswoman said McCain's staff has not responded.
Two major water providers also weighed into the fray. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Southern Nevada Water Authority expressed concerns to Kempthorne about possible radioactive pollution in the Colorado River. "If adequate controls are not in place…mining activities could have the potential of contaminating drinking water sources," Jeffery Kightlinger, general manager for MWDSC, wrote in his Mar. 25 letter to the interior secretary.
The debate escalated in April, when a federal court judge issued an injunction to stop VANE from exploration. The court ruled the Forest Service might have violated the law by issuing an exclusion.
Meanwhile, with no indication that McCain or fellow Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl would introduce a companion to his bill in the Senate, Grijalva turned to a rarely used maneuver in an attempt to temporarily withdraw the federal lands from mineral exploration. In June, the House Natural Resources Committee voted 20 to 2 to adopt an emergency measure ordering the Interior Dept. to withdraw the federal lands from mining for up to three years. The resolution enraged Republicans, who stormed out of the committee meeting and boycotted the vote.
"We cannot wait while uranium claims continue to be filed and the Bush administration continues to use the exclusionary clause to allow uranium mining exploration and eventual mining operations [on] the public lands in close proximity to the Grand Canyon National Park," Grijalva said on passing the resolution.
It's uncertain whether the resolution of one Congressional committee can force the executive branch to act. The administration has indicated it may challenge the constitutionality of the resolution. Chris Paolino, an Interior spokesman, said there has been "no withdrawal" of the federal lands from mining, and that Interior is "reviewing the resolution and will make a determination on how to proceed."
The next president will have the power to order Interior to comply with the House resolution or move forward with uranium mining that could lead to the industrialization of lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon National Park.
Indian Neglect
Perhaps nowhere is distrust of uranium mining companies greater than on the Navajo Nation. The last uranium rush left a legacy of radioactive pollution, death and cancer. There are at least 520 abandoned uranium mines waiting to be assessed and then cleaned up.
Despite the lasting environmental issues, neither McCain, nor the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where he is the ranking Republican, has taken significant steps to address the widespread pollution scattered across the nation's largest Indian tribe, said Stephen Etsitty, executive director for the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency.
From 1944 to 1986, nearly 4 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from Navajo lands under leases with the Navajo Nation. Many Navajo people worked the mines, often living in close proximity to the mines and processing mills. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, potential health effects from exposure to uranium mining include lung cancer, as well as bone cancer and impaired kidney function.
The Navajo Nation remains scarred by the largest single release of radioactive waste in the country. In 1979 an earthen dam at United Nuclear Corp. mill's site in Church Rock, N.M., collapsed, spilling 1,100 tons of radioactive and heavy metal laced waste and 90 million gallons of contaminated liquid into the Rio Puerco, a Colorado River tributary that runs through the Navajo Reservation. Much of the contamination from that spill remains untreated.
Despite claims by uranium companies that they have improved their mining techniques, the Navajo are strongly opposed to renewed uranium mining or milling on or near its reservation. "Why should we believe these companies now when this industry has failed to clean up the toxic mess they left behind the first time?" said Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. in testimony before a House Natural Resources subcommittee field hearing last March in Flagstaff.
In 2005, the Navajo Tribal Council passed a resolution banning uranium mining and milling from the reservation, which is roughly the size of West Virginia. The Navajo, along with Hopi, Kaibab Paiute, Hualapai and Havasupai, remain opposed to renewed uranium mining anywhere near the Grand Canyon. All the tribes support Grijalva's bill to withdraw the federal lands near the park from mining.
Last year, the Navajo turned to McCain for help in cleaning up a small landfill near Tuba City, Ariz. that contains radioactive waste from a uranium mill operated in the 1960s by El Paso Natural Gas Co. Etsitty and officials with El Paso Natural Gas met with McCain in Washington in June 2007 to discuss drafting legislation that would require that the Energy Dept. pay for the clean up. Etsitty said they had hoped McCain would place a rider on the Iraq war reauthorization funding bill to cover this.
While McCain appeared interested during the meeting, Etsitty said, he did not advance the legislation. "The effort sort of fizzled," Etsitty said. Richard Wheatley, an El Paso Natural Gas spokesman, said McCain later told him that "attaching a rider on that piece of legislation was not the way to go." McCain has since offered no alternative strategy, Etsitty said.
Four months after that meeting with McCain, Waxman subpoenaed EPA officials to appear before the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee to discuss uranium waste contamination on the Navajo Nation. Waxman said he was particularly outraged over the decades of federal neglect in McCain's home state.
"If a fraction of the deadly contamination the Navajos live with every day had been in Beverly Hills or any wealthy community, it would have been cleaned up immediately," Waxman said at the October hearing. "But a different standard applied to Navajo lands. Half-measures or outright neglect has been the official response. It's hard to review this record and not feel ashamed."
The hearing resulted in EPA working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Energy Dept., the Indian Health Service and the Navajo tribe to coordinate a five-year plan to address uranium contamination on the reservation. The plan, released last month, calls for federal agencies to commit $161 million to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination. For the first time in the more than 50 years, the federal government has prepared a multi-agency plan to address the issue.
McCain's absence from the Grand Canyon uranium mining debate, as well as his lack of involvement in addressing the longstanding Navajo problems, bolsters the notion that he and his party care little about the environment. McCain once seemed deeply concerned about this, and he urged fellow Republicans to protect the nation's natural resources.
"A deep skepticism exists in the electorate about the party's commitment to protecting the environment," McCain wrote in the Arizona Republic on Nov. 27 1996. "Have Republicans abandoned their roots as the party of Theodore Roosevelt, who maintained that government's most important task, with the exception of national security, is to leave posterity a land in better condition than they receive it? The answer must be 'No.' "
But when it comes to uranium mining in McCain's home state, the answer now appears to be "yes."
12 Comments
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 10:22 am
Why is this Arizona Republican not supporting John McCain?
With out question it is his lack of support for our state in Washington. McCain
Comment posted July 24, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
I have lived in Arizona since 1996–and I can't tell you a thing McCain has done for the state. Actually, he has been running for President the whole time. Not only has he not helped–he has added to the mining and Native American woe. Last year, he introduced a bill last year that would give away a culturally sacred oak grove–it's huge and right in the middle of Arizona–and also potentially destroy Apache Leap. In the 1860′s, when the Calvary were chasing the Apaches, seventy-five warriors leaped to freedom rather than be captured. We gave Custer a National Monument–this site deserves the same status.
Comment posted July 23, 2008 @ 3:37 pm
It's a shame McCain isn't being more vocal about protecting the Grand Canyon. Mining is notorious for its impacts on wilderness, wildlife and water quality. Mines should never be located next to national parks. And we shouldn't be promoting nuclear energy as a solution to our energy problems. Nuclear energy not only drives up demand for harmful uranium mining, but puts communities at risk with the waste products. If McCain is serious about establishing himself as a Republican AND dedicated environmentalist, he'd better speak up and stop uranium mining near this amazing American treasure.
Comment posted July 22, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
Is there an echo in here: http://www.washingtonindependent.com/view/when-actions
Comment posted July 22, 2008 @ 11:16 am
Is there an echo in here: http://www.washingtonindependent.com/view/when-…
Comment posted July 23, 2008 @ 10:37 am
It's a shame McCain isn't being more vocal about protecting the Grand Canyon. Mining is notorious for its impacts on wilderness, wildlife and water quality. Mines should never be located next to national parks. And we shouldn't be promoting nuclear energy as a solution to our energy problems. Nuclear energy not only drives up demand for harmful uranium mining, but puts communities at risk with the waste products. If McCain is serious about establishing himself as a Republican AND dedicated environmentalist, he'd better speak up and stop uranium mining near this amazing American treasure.
Comment posted July 24, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
I have lived in Arizona since 1996–and I can't tell you a thing McCain has done for the state. Actually, he has been running for President the whole time. Not only has he not helped–he has added to the mining and Native American woe. Last year, he introduced a bill last year that would give away a culturally sacred oak grove–it's huge and right in the middle of Arizona–and also potentially destroy Apache Leap. In the 1860's, when the Calvary were chasing the Apaches, seventy-five warriors leaped to freedom rather than be captured. We gave Custer a National Monument–this site deserves the same status.
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 5:22 am
Why is this Arizona Republican not supporting John McCain?
With out question it is his lack of support for our state in Washington. McCain
Comment posted February 7, 2009 @ 10:06 am
Ha-ha.. Nice to read this now, when McCain it not the President.
Comment posted June 26, 2009 @ 12:31 am
As I read this article.. It seems to me that McCain has really do nothing good.. I'm very thankful that Obama is the president of America now..
Comment posted November 16, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
what people say and what people do are two very different things especially with respect to politics. Talk is nothing but smoke in the air.
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CHICAGO (AP) — Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan on Sunday called on blacks nationwide to curb economic disparities by cutting back on excessive spending, pooling resources and investing in land — an action plan he laid out during a three-hour speech at the movement's annual Saviours' Day convention.
The 79-year-old leader has often used the annual keynote address — part sermon, part lecture — to discuss current events and politics on a national platform, particularly after the election of the nation's first black president. But Farrakhan focused most of his new message on the Nation of Islam followers in the audience.
Saviours' Day commemorates the founding of the Nation of Islam, which has espoused black nationalism and self-reliance since the 1930s. When President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, the resounding tone of the convention was jubilant, but Obama's re-election took a back seat Sunday as Farrakhan said blacks still had to rely on themselves, and not leaders, to improve their situation.
"Even though one of our own has reached the highest pinnacle of the American political system, his presence has not, cannot and will not solve our problems," Farrakhan told the crowd of men wearing navy uniforms and women dressed in white shirt suits and matching hijabs.
Roughly 10,000 people attended the convention at the University of Illinois at Chicago, an event that drew followers from around the globe and capped off three days of workshops.
Farrakhan touched briefly on other topics — Israel, Obama's cabinet and healthier food consumption — but mostly reiterated teachings from the Chicago-based movement on a plan for blacks' economic recovery and said the biggest priority should be the purchase of land.
The Nation of Islam has more than 1,500 acres of farmland in Georgia. Ishmael Muhammad, the religion's national assistant minister, told The Associated Press that the group is looking to buy thousands more acres in the Midwest.


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Today is August 21, 2014 -
Oceanside Jewish Center
A South Shore Jewish Community
2860 Brower Avenue
Oceanside, NY 11572
Phone: (516) 536-6112
Fax: (516) 536-0347
Kol HaNeshama Minyan
Voice of Soul
The Kol HaNeshama (KHNS) Minyan is a lay led service and encourages joint davening and participation. It has received an award from the New York Metropolitan Region of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism for Excellence in Synagogue Programming.
KHNS meets once a month downstairs in the multi-purpose room creating an intimate and informal environment, as an alternative to Oceanside Jewish Center's regular traditional Shabbat Service that is held upstairs in our Main Sanctuary. At each service our voices sound a little stronger as we feel more comfortable with the chanting of the prayers and the melodies.
The KHNS Shabbat service has just completed its 6th year at Oceanside Jewish Center. Please join us in helping to shape the future and growth of the service. Email us at email@example.com if you have any questions or are interested in reading torah or a haftorah or giving a d'var torah.
We welcome everyone to join us, bring your friends and ideas to help enhance our service with you. Services Start at 9:30 AM. We have kiddish with the traditional service upstairs.
We also now hold an informal study session during the 9 to 9:30 AM half hour before the start of the KHNS service in the Bet Midrash. It is usually an engaging discussion about the weekly torah portion. We are planning to continue this practice before each KHNS service. We are looking forward to your participation and input about areas of Jewish learning for the group to discuss.
Below is the 2013-14 Shabbat service schedule for KHNS's upcoming 7th year!
Sept 21th (2013) – Chol Hamod Succot
Oct 26th - Chayei Sarah
Nov 23rd - Vayeshev
Dec 14th - Vayechi
Jan 11th (2014) – Beshalach
Feb 8th – Tetzaveh
March 15th - Tzav Shabbat Zachor Erev Purim
April 26th – Kedoshim
May 31st – Naso
June 28th - Korach


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Volunteer for the Main Event!
USCDM Volunteer Groups
Spaces in each group are limited. Once groups are filled we can not add additional volunteers to that group. Read through our Volunteer Frequently Asked Questions for information. The volunteer fee is $10, which includes a t-shirt, and fundraising goal is $30.
Contact Kayleigh Quinn, Logistics Director, at email@example.com with any questions.
Saturday, March 1
Volunteer Group A: 10am – 2pm
Volunteer Group B: 1pm – 5pm
Volunteer Group C: 4pm – 8pm
Volunteer Group D: 7pm – 11pm
Volunteer Group E: 10pm – 2am
Sunday, March 2
Volunteer Group F: 6am – 10am
Volunteer Group G: 9am – 1pm


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Villas-Boas: Roberto Di Matteo's sacking is 'just like any other day at the office' at Chelsea
Former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has slammed the club's trigger fingered approach to hiring and firing bosses.
The Portuguese boss spent under a year with the club last season before being dismissed by Roman Abramovich.
And after a disappointing spell where the Blues only won two out of seven game, culminating in their 3-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus in Turin, Roberto Di Matteo suffered the same fate.
But Villas-Boas reckons we shouldn't be surprised by the Russian's seemingly knee jerk decision.
He current Spurs manager said: "At Chelsea, I think another sacking is just like any other day at the office.
"That's my interpretation."
And he also praised his successor for his incredible achievements during his short time at Stamford Bridge.
"He has achieved so much in such a little amount of time. His CV is maybe one of the best in the world now - he has won the Champions League and the FA Cup too.
"It was difficult for Robbie and I wish him well for the rest of his career.
"Regarding the club, it's their decision, it's what they think will take them forward but other than that I can't comment."


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Róbert Mak (born 8 March 1991) is a Slovak footballer who currently plays as a winger for the German Bundesliga team 1. FC Nuremberg and the Slovakia national football team.


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Alec Wall feels Tesco could bring more to Tenbury (From Ludlow Advertiser)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting LU NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
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Alec Wall feels Tesco could bring more to Tenbury
7:00am Thursday 19th January 2012 in Tesco Debate
I AM one of many supporting the application for a Tesco Store to be built on the former Cattle Market because I believe it is the only realistic prospect for the near future to improve the eyesore of the former cattle market. I also believe it will bring more shoppers into the town. The damage caused to small towns by supermarkets was because they were built out of town.
The evidence is increasingly showing a supermarket built in the town centre benefits the town. Morton-in-Marsh, a small market town, similar in size to Tenbury, has three supermarkets in the town centre with no noticeable closure of small shops. They have a large Budgens, a Tesco Express and a Co-op.
The greatest threat to small businesses comes from television and internet sales. All the signs are that that type of trading will increase, Amazon is building a massive warehouse in Staffordshire, and delivery companies are also growing. Change is something we have to live with, at one time there were three blacksmiths in Stoke Bliss, now there are none.
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12:31am Tue 24 Jan 12
Tenbury Futures says...
With other developers now actively looking at the cattle market site and more blended developments with a smaller retail element, we think that there are better options for the site.
Only this weekend we visited Ilkeston, a town in Derbyshire. Since the Tesco was built towards the bottom end of the town the main shopping street has now seen a growing rash of closed and boarded-up shops. This trend has been further exacerbated since another supermarket settled in near to the Tesco store too causing a clutch of supermarkets.
Tesco -is- the root cause of the ruin of their highstreet; trade has polarised to the supermarket end of town and shoppers now just do a quick 'one stop shop'. They don't bother with walking off into the high street to use their bespoke and family shops. Once they have their bags of groceries in the car, chilled goods and frozen, then stopping any longer to go off into adjoining shops is neither attractive or logical.
Comments are closed on this article.


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PREPARATIONS for the Orange Tigers Central West AFL premiership defence will begin today at Country Club Oval when the black and golds host the Penrith Rams in a the club's first pre-season trial match.
An annual hit-out for both clubs, Tigerland boss Nathan Pearce said he was hopeful the Penrith trial will give him the best chance possible to analyse exactly where the 17 new faces at the club will fit in 2014.
"We'll be looking to give a few people a run in different positions," Pearce said.
"We've had good numbers at training so far and we'll have 32 [today].
"I think winning the grand final last year has certainly helped with our recruitment throughout the off season. If we can grab another handful of players that'd help."
Pearce revealed he'll likely trial gun full forward Tim Barry in the mid-field against Penrith, while new recruits Joel Ryder (Kalgoolie) and Christian Kelly (Geelong) will be given their first chance to impress come first bounce at 11.30am today.
A Tiger in 2012, Murray Robotham is set to play up front for the black and golds.
But despite the wealth of talent already on show for Orange, Pearce was reluctant to talk up his side's shot at back-to-back first grade flags.
"Not at the moment," he said.
"It's still only February and we're probably only halfway through our pre-season at the moment.
"Right now, the trial game will be about seeing where we are as a group with our fitness and ball skills and seeing where we need to improve.
"We've got a number of new players at the club this season and we'll be looking to see how they fit in.
"Winning and losing this game isn't an issue for me as coach."
Today's trial will be run over six, 15 minute periods at the Country Club Oval.
First bounce is at 11.30am.


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- Report: #1054006
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: Soulas Hearing Aid Center
Soulas Hearing Aid Center263 State Street Bangor, Maine USA
Soulas Hearing Aid Center RIPOFF Hearing Center - RUN from this Business!!!! Bangor Maine
*Author of original report: Company now has enclosed hearing booth
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: Soulas hearing aids
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My mother has been going to Soulas Hearing Aid Center for years and unfortunately gained the trust of Wanda Creed. We have been trying to get our mother to go somewhere else because she has never been happy with her hearing aids - they hurt her ears and she was still unable to hear. We just recently found out that Wanda has NEVER even tested her hearing - after over 10 years of service!!!!! What a disgrace!!!! Just think of all of the conversations with family that my mother has missed out on over the years and the discomfort she has suffered with because of Wanda's disregard for her as a person and for her hearing loss.
Finally, we took my mother to another hearing aid center and they were AMAZED that she has not had her hearing tested in years. They were also amazed at the amount of wax buildup she had in her ears (Wanda never checked that either). They also said the molds Wanda gave her for her aids didn't even fit her ears which is the reason her ears are always sore and irritated.
Anyone that sells hearing aids, should be required to test a persons hearing periodically. How can you adjust hearing aids, if you don't even know the extent of hearing loss? You can't - that's why my mother has not been able to hear for so many years.
Now she finally has had a hearing test, has molds that fit and are soft and hypoallergenic, and can HEAR!!!! Imagine that - she can hear!!!!!
Wanda should be ashamed to be selling hearing aids (which cost thousands of dollars each) without even caring about the results for her clients - many of whom are elderly and too trusting.
Shame, shame, shame.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 05/26/2013 01:42 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Soulas-Hearing-Aid-Center/Bangor-Maine-04401/Soulas-Hearing-Aid-Center-RIPOFF-Hearing-Center-RUN-from-this-Business-Bangor-Main-1054006. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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#1 Author of original report
Company now has enclosed hearing booth
AUTHOR: Lynn - ()
SUBMITTED: Friday, September 13, 2013POSTED: Friday, September 13, 2013
It is my understand that this company has fairly recently purchased an enclosed hearing booth which in my opinion should allow the company to greatly improve their services to their customers.
I hope you have continued success with building lasting relationships with your clients.
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
#2 REBUTTAL Owner of company
Soulas hearing aids
AUTHOR: Soulas Hearing aid Center - ()
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, May 28, 2013POSTED: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
This is in rebuttal to the complaint from Lynn S**** mother of S S****. I have been more than attentive to your mother over the past 10 years. I have documenttaion that I have given Sondra many hearing tests and the last time I saw her was July of last year when she picked up her new earmolds, I have not seen her since. Her earmolds were under warranty for a year so if she had any issues with them all she had to do is stop by, Your mother and I have had a wonderful relationship over the years and for you to make this complaint is not justified. I have gone up and beyond my duties as her hearing aid specialist. I have given her loaners when her hearing aid needed repair at no charge I have sent hearing aids to florida while she was on vacation also at no charge. I have repaired tubings and cleaned her hearing aids over the years also at not charge. I am sorry that you feel I was not attentive enough to your mom but YOur complaint is not justified.
Sincerely Wanda Creed
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|Police reports
|Tuesday, October 01, 2013 12:00 AM
On Sunday at 6:41 p.m. Delphos Police were called to the 300 block of North Pierce Street in reference to a theft complaint at a residence in that area.
Upon officers' arrival the victim stated that a subject known to the victim had been at the residence while the victim was away. When the victim returned it was discovered that items were missing from inside the residence.
On Friday at 12:20 a.m., police were called to a business in the 1100 block of Elida Ave. in reference to a theft complaint at that business.
Upon officers' arrival in the area, they located the subjects reported by the business and who had left. Officers found Andrew Stocklin, 28, of Delphos in possession of merchandise belonging to the business that was not paid for for.
Stocklin was arrested on charges of theft and was transported to the Allen County Jail. Stocklin will appear in Lima Municipal Court on the charges.
On Wednesday at 10:15 a.m., police were called to Waterworks Park in reference to a vandalism complaint at the park.. Upon officers' arrival the found that someone had caused some minor damage to some recently poured cement at the park. Officers later were able to identify the juveniles responsible for the damage.
Workers were able to repair the damage to the cement.
|Last Updated on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 7:26 PM


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I don't find us particularly lucky to have a news station that will NOT cover important events in our city. Every news cannot be a happy smiley face story and that seems to be what KAVU wants to only covers. How can the residents of Victoria really learn about local events if they are not informed?
THANK you, Victoria Advocate, for giving us the news like you see it with warts and all. THANK you for caring enough to actually send a reporter out to do a story (rather than hanging your head out the studio door with a camera and filming Furr's again)!! Thank you for asking the right questions to get an answer.
So rather than focusing on the bad of KAVU, let's focus on the good of the Advocate. THANK YOU....January 31, 2008 at 1:45 a.m.
Kenneth - KAVU was at the TTC meeting... but they showed a little 30 second blip about it - well into their newscast.January 31, 2008 at 1:27 a.m.
I just thought that with 1100 people showing up and that one LONE person clapping FOR the TTC - that someone would have said something about it.
But .... I am the new Toni.
I am going to stay positive and just post things on my blog and my massive email list... :)
I have my opinions... but lately I wish I could be a "comment flip-flopper" and take back some things I have said.January 31, 2008 at 12:17 a.m.
We are lucky with what we have and being from Shiner I should have thought about that before I was quick to pass judgements on writers and their articles.
Open mouth... insert keyboard.


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Goldilux, Decora, and Poison Plum...*sigh* Sugarpill...I love you lots.
I do have a tutorial on this! It''l be up on Youtube soon!
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Benefit Brow Zing in Light(powder side only)
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW25
Senna Cosmetics Brow Fix X in Taupe
Too Faced Shadow Insurance (primer)
MAC Painterly Paintpot (base and along bottom waterline)
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk (lid and bottom lashline)
Sugarpill loose eyeshadows in Goldilux and Decora
Sugarpill eyeshadow in Poison Plum
MAC eyeshadow in Dazzlelight (inner corner)
wet n wild Eyeshadow Single in Brulee (browbone and inner corner highlight)
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
Maybelline Waterproof Volume Express Mascara in Very Black
Salon Perfect Demi Wispies
Duo Clear Lash Glue
Gold, Pink, and Purple Eyes featuring Sugarpill
12 comments:
- Hell Notes for Beauty™ said...
Loving the plum and the pigmentation on those sugarpill!
- July 8, 2012 at 6:28 PM
- Jacquelyn said...
Gorgeous! Now I need Goldilux and Decora!
- July 8, 2012 at 7:13 PM
- Sweet Surrender said...
I need to get me some sugarpill. I have yet to try it but they look amazing!
Surrender to Your Inner Artist
- July 8, 2012 at 7:43 PM
- Ms. Prettyful Girl said...
I never know that to say to you! I love all your looks. LOL. I love how you did pink with gold. I would never have thought of that. I think I'm going to try this now :)
- July 8, 2012 at 8:52 PM
- GirlieBlogger@Beauty Fashion Blog Seattle said...
I always like your makeup with purple and gold. Great job with this one.
Beauty, Fashion and Seattle | Cheap Makeup Reviews
- July 8, 2012 at 10:57 PM
- Silvia Quirós said...
nice intense look, I love it! thanks for sharing this perfect finish look
- July 9, 2012 at 12:42 AM
- MZ.CYN said...
So pretty! Love the color combo!!
- July 9, 2012 at 8:41 AM
- BeautyCrushLove said...
just found ur blog look the looks totally inspires me
- July 9, 2012 at 10:58 AM
- Annie♔Lovely said...
love the color combo! <3 gawjuszz
- July 10, 2012 at 3:07 PM
- LOLLO † said...
hey, ich finde deinen blog total süß und liebe deine bilder ♥ - folge dir auch schon länger! würde mich freuen wenn du auch mal vorbei schaust , und wenn du magst gern folgst:
Danke schonmal , xoxo ♥
- July 11, 2012 at 4:00 PM
- C.L.M. said...
arata atat de binee:D la mine niciodata nu se vad culorile asa:(
- July 12, 2012 at 4:17 AM
- MrsStunner said...
Beautiful colors! Love sugarpill too. Wish they would restock their palettes though.
- July 13, 2012 at 12:14 PM
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These are also included in the 584100 LR32 Hole Drilling Set.
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Wasps welcome table toppers Saracens to Adams Park this weekend aiming to bounce back from a last second heart-breaking defeat to Northampton Saints last time out.
Young conceded that a positive result last weekend would have given his side an unlikely win, but added that plenty of hard work this week will prepare his side well for the leading side in the league.
"We were out muscled last weekend and you can't say that Northampton hadn't done enough to win it. But we showed our ability to play some really high quality rugby to get back into it and we had our noses in front going into last few minutes. We couldn't quite hold onto the field position we needed to win it, but after a rocky start we did get stuck in with a great crowd behind us."
Young said that the hard work this weekend will start up front.
"We have had a tough time of it in specific areas up front in the last few games and teams are starting to target us. The boys were very disappointed with that in our review this week and we're working incredibly hard to get that right because we know if we do we have a chance of winning any game with the kind of ability we have in attack when we get good ball"
He also praised the form of Saracens of late.
"They are going very well and are showing as well a real willingness to play wider. But we know as well they will be incredibly physical so the battle will start for us up front."
To secure your place call 0844 225 2990 or book online here.


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History was made Sunday afternoon at the 2010 Winter Olympics. For the first time ever, the United States won a medal in Nordic Combined.
The historic medal was a silver in the Men's Normal Hill 10km, and it was won by Johnny Spillane. Countryman Todd Lodwick finished fourth, missing a medal by just 0.7 seconds. Bill Demong came in eighth place, giving America three top-ten finishers.
The gold was won by France's Jason Lamy Chappuis, who overtook Spillane during the final sprint for the finish line -- he won by just 0.4 seconds. Alessandro Pittin of Italy won the bronze. Everyone collapsed in a mass pile of skis and exhaustion as soon as they crossed the finish line.
Nordic Combined consists of a ski jump in the morning, followed by a cross country ski race in the afternoon. Lodwick was second after the jump today, and Spillane was fourth. The leader heading into the XC ski portion, Finland's Janne Ryynaenen, lost his 34-second head start and ended up in 26th place.
More: SB Nation's full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.


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Tagged: The Smiths
Katy Perry's country heart
Critics are expected to make comparisons. The ability to recognize similarities between people, texts, and ideas is a skill expected of those who observe and write on culture. As music criticism continues to be transformed by post-structuralism, feminism, poptimism, and retromania, a number of writers are praised for articulating a profound connection that seems strained or completely unrelated upon first utterance. What does Taylor Swift have in common with Def Leppard, KISS, Eminem, and Nicki Minaj? Plenty, according to her. What would she have to talk about with Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino? Plenty, according to me.
Putting forth these kinds of arguments speaks to contemporary culture's continued indebtedness to the merging of high and low art that resulted from modernism accidentally rubbing elbows with postmodernism on the train after a sojourn to Warhol's factory and kind of liking it. It speaks to why my friend Jen hates that Roy Lichtenstein stole from comic books to legitimate panels and pixels for gallery dwellers. It also speaks to why so many Americans are thrilled to see themselves through Mad Men's eyes, even if they don't agree on whether or not the show actually feels like the past.
Music critics love to forge connections between artists across genres. For one, it's a way for us to show off our eclecticism. Jody Rosen making a comparison between Justin Bieber and Frankie Lymon demonstrates his knowledge of pop history. Me arguing that the Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl" is a country song lets some folks know that I understand the group's connection to Gene Vincent links them to proto-punk bands like Suicide as well as a larger songwriting tradition. It's also a way for us to launch arguments with one another. But it's also a way to challenge the definitions of what constitutes a genre by pretending the boundaries around it don't exist. There's privilege in trespassing and appropriating, of course. But there's also the possibility of liberation, particularly from meaningless and oppressive words like "authenticity" and the segregated taste hierarchies they impose.
Paying attention to what songs musical acts decide to cover can be productive when we talk about hybridity, eclecticism, genre, and cultural assumptions. People still tend to be surprised by a cover by a "rock" artist interpreting a "pop" song outside of their genre–even American Idol judges who know Colton Dixon is just copying 30 Seconds to Mars' take on Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". I was embarrassed when I visited Travis Morrison's old Web site and listened to his spirited, acoustic version of Ludacris' "What's Your Fantasy," but I knew the Dismemberment Plan well enough to not be surprised by it. I actually prefer Stars' lounge-y cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man" to the original.
When I originally encountered Lisa Robinson's Vanity Fair cover story on Katy Perry, I rolled my eyes at her comparison between the singer and Dolly Parton. A small part of me was offended–I respect Dolly as a musician and regard Perry as a bad object. My initial response is telling, particularly in how I reverted back to objectification, binarism, and misogyny–feminists are never done unlearning. But I also thought the comparison was super-obvious. Both women became famous for their particular brands of winking hyperfemininity. …And?
Then I listened to Perry's "The One That Got Away" while waiting in line at Subway one day and was mesmerized by it. What I found especially transfixing was that, if you dulled its electro sheen and slowed it down, I think you'd have a country song. My friend Sarah pointed out that you'd basically have a Taylor Swift song, which challenges my original position on both artists. Here's what I think makes it feel like a country song.
. . . Actually, I'll give you a moment to process the age makeup and Diego Luna first.
-The lyric about making out in a Mustang to Radiohead is at once a very specific reference to Perry's former relationship yet holds universal appeal. It sets the tone for the entire song, which contains references to tattoos, Johnny Cash, and delinquent romance. A hallmark of country songwriting is incorporating minute character details that seem particular to the artist and to millions of listeners.
-The elegant, austere sadness of the song's melody makes you drop a tear in your beer and gives you the forward momentum to get off your bar stool and sleep it off. The composition is at once simple, yet towering and opulent. It's as if the song was plated with gold and girded with steel, an abstract description that sounds like a Parton lyric.
-Perry doesn't have Linda Ronstadt's vocal abilities. Few do. But the wounded quality to Perry's voice makes me think of "Blue Bayou" and "You're No Good", particularly in the chorus. Listen to the twang she puts on "in another life" to deepen the song's sense of urgency and romantic ache and her rueful, muted delivery on a lyric like "us against the world," which is paired with a descending melodic line.
What I'm getting at here is country music is at once clearly defined and not one thing. So it makes sense that Perry performed this song last fall at the American Music Awards in a hot pink getup and matching guitar that looked like Jem landed at the Grand Ol' Opry (BTW, I'd totally see Perry, Swift, Rihanna, and Jessie J play the Misfits in a live-action film adaptation of Jem and the Holograms). The genre's defining characteristics are distinct, yet also malleable and permeable. That's what makes listening to music so much fun, and thinking about it continuously rewarding.
For Kristen, a few weeks ago
A day before leaving my last job, I received a text message from Kristen at Dear Black Woman, that damn near made me do a spit take. It said "blog request: can you pls tell/explain the love for bon iver? particularly white ppls love for the background story of bon iver?" My reply was "That fucking guy."
Some of this vitriol isn't even Justin Vernon's fault. Frankly, his brand of white boy croonery is too inoffensive to prompt any reaction from me. The same can be said of Fleet Foxes. And while I do like Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, my fandom isn't such that I'd staunchly defend them the way I would, say, TV on the Radio or Vampire Weekend or the Dirty Projectors. Nor is my anti-fandom on par with how I feel about Jens Lekman, who does the nervous Woody Allen routine to curry sympathy from women and hides that he looks like a model and is probably a jerk, like Woody Allen. I only opted out of one part of Whip It!, and it's the pool scene where the couple makes out over a Jens Lekman song. I quite like how Ellen Page's character cut herself off the line her indie rocker love interest strung her on, but can do without that entire subplot. I kept wondering what the derby girls were up to or if Alia Shawkat was cutting AP Bio to smoke in the bathroom.
This isn't Lekman's fault, though. It's easy to conflate your opinion of a musician with your assumptions about their fanbase. I'm sure lots of chauvinist dudes dismiss Sleater-Kinney as shrill because they're feminists, which means that all their fans are humorless feminist white women. Thus, we have to take care to separate the work from its popular reception. When I say I don't like Fleet Foxes, what I actually mean is "if Pitchfork didn't give their debut Album of the Year status, most people would dismiss them as dad rock for CSNY fans." When my partner's dad says he hates Bread, he's probably reacting against his square older brother and all the schlock he heard in the early 70s when his band was trying to make it. He can't be reacting against "It Don't Matter to Me" because that's a smooth summer groove.
I'd imagine Vernon's exile resonates with many fans as a sign of authenticity–he was able to write such personal lyrics and deliver them with so much emotion because he led a cloistered life untethered by the modern material world and central heating. That and white people like caring about things. Frankly I'm unmoved by Bon Iver's origin story, and more than a little suspicious of a white person with the means to retreat. Survivalism came into vogue at the turn of the twentieth century with organizations like the Boy Scouts of America. It may have been intended as a way for boys and men to get in touch with nature, acquire self-sufficiency, and forge intergenerational bonds. I don't doubt that those lessons continue to be imparted. But it also seems like a neat way for white men to run around in the woods, fetishize a particular kind of masculine ideal, and reconnect with a pioneer spirit while conveniently erasing the racial injustices placed against Native Americans and enslaved people of color. It's easy to go camping when you don't have to live in a tent.
I remember back in 2007, when it circulated that Vernon recorded For Emma, Forever Ago in a cabin following his band's dissolution, an epic break-up, and a bout with mononucleosis, but didn't seek it out. Look, Paul Thomas Anderson wrote most of Magnolia in Bill Macy's cabin, too terrified to leave his desk. It doesn't change that the second hour is a slog, the frog rain is gimmicky but not insufferable, and the Aimee Mann sing along is quite moving. Tom Cruise also gives one of his best screen performances.
People are obsessed with legends and origin stories. If we weren't, Hollywood wouldn't continue to exploit this fascination with shitty comic book movie franchises. Likewise, classic albums get integrated into the canon because of surrounding lore and myth-making. Stevie and Lindsey and John and Christine were falling apart during Rumours. Captain Beefheart handed in Trout Mask Replica in six hours. PJ Harvey lived on potatoes during Rid of Me. Kanye recorded "Through the Wire" with his jaw wired shut, which is why he has to Watch the Throne now.
I'm also reacting against the assumption that I would like Bon Iver. I certainly fit his demo–politically liberal, college radio listener, Pitchfork reader, cisgender white lady, alive when Bonnie Raitt swept the Grammys, inclined toward male romantic partners. But I reject the heteronormative assumption that my hypothetical fandom as a white woman would be tied to finding him or his music sexy. When I finally listened to "Skinny Love," long after Bon Iver signed with Jagjaguwar and he recorded a song with St. Vincent for the Twilight soundtrack, I felt cold, tired, and manipulated. I'm partly reacting against hipster dudes outfitting themselves in rumpled men's attire that telegraphs fucking in the woods, or at least not copping to Robbie Robertson doing it first with greater success. But the cabin in Northern Wisconsin scenario doesn't send chills down my spine. Duran Duran recorded a song about getting it on in either an actual or metaphorical Antarctica. It's not sexy so much as it is deeply embarrassing, though not the most embarrassing song on Liberty.
Part of this contrarianism also informs why I yelled at my TV when Netflix recommends "Independent Features with a Strong Female Lead." I contain multitudes, Netflix! I don't want to fit too neatly in a type. But I'm more than a little disconcerted about what that type might say about my race and gender. Just like I don't want people to think that I believe feminism is predicated on white women's subjugation of women of color and thus that a movie like The Help would speak to my politics, I bristle at the idea that a nerdy white lady like myself would, by definition, listen to Bon Iver. Or the Smiths. Or Belle and Sebastian. Or the Cranberries. Or that I'd instinctively champion a Miranda July movie, because, as Kristen noted in a post that addressed white lady quirk, where is the black mother of John Hawkes' children in Me and You and Everyone We Know?
A post on Bon Iver is really a post on whiteness, because over his songs' crisp acoustic/ambient arrangements, Justin Vernon is articulating a very messy white masculinity. Whiteness has always been at the center of rock music, and frankly it's hard for me to tell if Vernon's doing something radically new with collapsing folk and blue-eyed soul. In this supposedly post-racial cultural moment, it's common for hipster-friendly musical acts to bring the two together. Justin Vernon's British counterpart is James Blake, a white boy who gets accolades from Pitchfork for bringing his intimate singing style to an of-the-moment electronic subgenre like post-dubstep. It seems robots do cry, most likely to Joni Mitchell records.
Many of Vernon and Blake's white peers are at home with R&B. Mayer Hawthorne can't sing worth a damn, but that doesn't keep him from channeling Curtis Mayfield in his bedroom studio and connecting with a large audience. Jamie Lidell brings soul music's immediacy into the present, proving himself to be one of the most talented composers and vocalists of his generation in the process. Blake and Lidell also come from a country with a deep, problematic love for black pop music. Jamiroquai wouldn't exist without Stevie Wonder. Simply Red's biggest hit was a cover of a song Gamble and Huff originally wrote for Labelle. The Rolling Stones worship Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and Solomon Burke. Adele is channeling Dusty Springfield, who in turn was channeling Aretha Franklin.
Lidell was also at home touring with Beck, a full-grown (white) man who's not afraid to cry or build a bridge between James Brown, Kraftwerk, and countrypolitan. Beck came into cultural relevance in a decade when Jeff Buckley covered Mahalia Jackson, Nirvana covered Leadbelly, the Blues Explosion recorded with R.L. Burnside while being called out as modern-day minstrels, and Radiohead could count Maxwell as a fan. In her essay "The Soft Boys: The New Man in Rock," Terri Sutton argues that alternative rock was defined by a sensitive, self-reflexive white masculinity, but it also absorbed and appropriated soul, R&B, funk, and other generic expressions associated with black artists.
As Annie at Celebrity Gossip, Academic Style suggests, Vernon might set himself apart by having black artists accept him. Kayne West brought him in for "Monster" alongside Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and built "Lost in the World" around "Lost in the Woods." However, white artists working with artists of color is as old as popular music itself. James Taylor worked with Gilberto Gil. Hall and Oates are embraced by black and white audiences. I believe West's articulation of a black hipster masculinity, white hipsters' quasi-ironic, quasi-sincere, deeply nostalgic, and highly performative fan appreciation for quiet storm R&B and new jack swing, and the Internet fostering an uneasy but fascinating integration are the key distinctions.
It speaks to why Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake channeling Color Me Badd for "Dick In a Box" captured so much public attention. It speaks to why a cheesy genre like yacht rock resonates, resulting in Warren G sampling Michael McDonald, Michael McDonald covering Grizzly Bear, and the cult phenomenon of a Web series that imagined the lives of James Ingraham and Loggins and Messina and brought Wyatt Cenac into millions of homes as a Daily Show correspondent. It gets at why I'm thrilled thrilled that any oldies radio format for my generation must include Adina Howard and SWV. It also explains why Bon Iver invokes Howard Jones and Back in the High Life-era Steve Winwood for "Beth, Rest" and it's not totally left field. And it especially speaks to why Vernon would be involved with Gayngs, a loose assemblage of musicians that includes Andrew Bird and various members of Minnesota-based hip hop collective Doomtree that claims soft rock as its primary influence.
I don't pretend that Bon Iver will unite a people, any more I can claim that Justin Vernon's music as my own or that his performance of white masculinity is new or interesting. But parsing out the racial politics of genre hybridization, puzzling through the elision between ironic and sincere fandom and performance, and placing Vernon in that context is better than getting lost in the woods.
Kara Walker, songwriter
Destroyer's Kaputt came out last Tuesday. As a longtime fan of Dan Bejar's main project, I've been pretty taken with it since tracks started filtering out late last year. My line about Destroyer is that it's what English majors should be listening to instead of the Decemberists. That's as much a glib comparison as it is a cheap shot against a band I actively dislike, especially since they have very little in common besides being led by a nasal-voiced front man with a love for big words. I will allow, however, that I've never understood the point of Colin Meloy's lyrics. To my ears, it exists for its own sake and since I maintain that Meloy rivals Jay Leno as the public figure in possession of the most punchable jaw, I'll interpret that sake as personal edification. Bejar could be accused of similar things, though his elliptical lyrics and prismatic compositions transfix me. Notice how vast "Rubies" is in its first half, only to drop into disarming intimacy. A symphony folds into a four-track recording. Staggering.
I'm interested in Bejar's artistic evolution, particularly after Your Blues. Derided in some circles as "the MIDI album"–a reference to the antiquated musical interface used to provide much of the album's background music–many found this stylistic departure from his guitar-based compositions disconcerting. The rockist panic informing such aversion is pretty funny to me. Your Blues ranks among my favorite Destroyer records and warrants rediscovery. It's clear with subsequent releases that while he may not have been using successive albums to respond to previous ones, he was building on certain ideas. Your Blues hardly sounds like a departure in context. The most reductive connection between Your Blues and Kaputt is that he's channeling another outdated era of pop music production–one Mark Richardson places between 1977 and 1984, at the height of soft rock, smooth jazz, and new romantic pop. But Bejar's always been interested in toying with outre musical ideas. Destroyer's shimmering guitar lines recall 70s AOR staples like Bread and America, so his attempts at something we might call ambient yacht rock shouldn't come as any surprise. Also, as an Electronic fan, I'm tickled that the New Order/Pet Shop Boys/Smiths' side project is one of the album's main musical reference points.
But what does come as something of a (pleasant) surprise to me is artist Kara Walker's presence on Kaputt. I had the privilege of seeing her My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love exhibit in 2008 at the Modern in Fort Worth. It remains my most disquieting spectatorial experience. Walker is best known for recasting Antebellum-era silhouette cutouts in cinematic tableaux to reinterpret America's ongoing racist history (she also gets a shout-out in Le Tigre's "Hot Topic"). Nightmarish visions of sexual violence and abjection twine with surrealist and sensual imagery that sneak up on you once you look past cultural associations with silhouette portraiture's feminized gentility. That I saw this after looking at an Impressionist exhibit–and walking through the gift shop–at the nearby Kimbell Museum only put the vitality of the exhibit in sharper relief. There's no way one of her murals could make it onto an umbrella.
Perhaps related to serving as a curator for Merge Records' retrospective, Walker contributed lyrics to "Suicide Demo for Kara Walker," so named as a reference to the proto-punk duo. She wrote several charged phrases onto cue cards and Bejar sang them, rearranging and embellishing some passages. It's easily my favorite song on the record, though I'm disquieted as to why. Ann Powers recently offered some insights into their collaborative effort, noting their shared interest in appropriation. Bejar has been compared to Leonard Cohen, particularly his detached narration of hedonistic tales. Soft rock's seductive qualities–the backlit production, the reliance on 7th chords–disquiet in their efforts to soothe and drip sophistication, especially when Bejar whispers lines like "New York City just wants to see you naked and they will," "wise, old, black, and dead in the snow," "All that slender-wristed, white, translucent business passes for love these days," and "Don't talk about the South, she said." Kaputt also prominently features vocalist Sibel Thrasher. In the context of this song, her presence calls into question the role many black female vocalists held as background singers for artists like Simply Red.
Cohen also comes to mind when we talk about reinterpretation. Many folks who've heard "Hallelujah" might attribute Jeff Buckley, but the song originated with Cohen (actually, Buckley's version is a cover of a cover, as he cribbed John Cale's reading of it). So what happens when lyrics are drafted by an African American woman whose words are then reinterpreted by a white Canadian man frolicking in the studio? Who does it belong to? Frankly, I'm not sure. I'm inclined to rule that it belongs to both of them and to the listener. What I know for certain is that this song is stuck on repeat.
2010: The year Alyx fell in love with the Cocteau Twins
Last week, I did a quick round-up of some new releases I've enjoyed. In that post, I mentioned that upon occasion friends and acquaintances familiar with my blog will ask what I'm listening to. When they ask this question, the tacit assumption I make is that they want to discuss current recording artists. There's always a few up-and-comers I champion, but any time someone asks "who are you listening to" it's usually an older act I'm investigating. This year, if you asked "what are you listening to" my answer is "the Cocteau Twins."
At this point, it's hardly incendiary to proclaim oneself a fan of the long-defunct Scottish dream pop act. For one, there's not much to hate. It seems detractors profess indifference rather than contempt, deeming their music pleasant but inconsequential. The worst insult I've heard was that there's little difference between their sound and the pan-global efforts of 4AD labelmates Dead Can Dance and new age artists like Enya and Enigma. These artists sound good as background noise at a bougie dinner party. Pass the quinoa.
Though their releases always clutter discount bins — no doubt jewels from the reject piles of former high school goth kids' CD collections — contemporary acts like M83, Warpaint, Phantogram, School of Seven Bells, Sleep Over, and even Linkin Park cite their influence. While folks like Madonna and David Lynch noted their interest in the band early on, it's only recently become "fashionable" to like them. In 2005, there was unsubstantiated talk of a reunion at Coachella. In 2008, the band received a Q Award for their contributions to popular music, a rare accolade Fraser noted for an otherwise undecorated band.
In the past few years, I've entered into more conversations with people who like them, along with the work band members vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist-producer Robin Guthrie, and bassist Simon Raymonde did with This Mortal Coil, especially Fraser and Guthrie's contributions on It'll End in Tears. Like M83's Anthony Gonzalez, a lot of us are in are 20s and too young to directly experience the group's 80s heyday. So I'm going to guess many of us came to our fandom through other portals, perhaps exploring the reference Patton Oswalt makes in his bit about KFC bowls in Werewolves in Lollipops or listening to the haunting score Guthrie and composer Harold Budd created for Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin.
I first remember hearing Cocteau Twins on the radio in 1994. The song I heard was "Bluebeard," the lead single to their penultimate album Four Calendar Café. I liked it fine and noticed they already enjoyed a long career. I suspected Sarah McLachlan might be a fan based on songs like "Fear" and "Vox," the latter of which was originally released on her 1988 debut Touch but received some airplay following the success of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. I seem to recall that she opened for the band at some point during this time, but can't confirm this.
In 1998, I remember hearing Fraser on Massive Attack's "Teardrop," which may be where many fans in my peer group first heard her. The song is still mesmerizing to me and continues to appeal to others. House incorporated the song as its theme, though regrettably without Fraser's vocals. Friday Night Lights used José González's cover this season to underscore a heartbreaking scene where Matt Saracen learns of an unexpected death in his family. I later found out that Fraser was recording the song when she heard that her one-time confidant Jeff Buckley drowned. Fraser considered the song as something of a tribute.
During graduate school, I read Simon Reynolds and Joy Press's nebulous The Sex Revolts, wherein Fraser's opaque vocals were linked the womb and the abject. As with much of that book, I wished the authors limited their focus to something less amoebic than gender fuckery in popular music and didn't crutch so heavily on Gilles Deleuze to support their claims.
I highlight these points to emphasize that the Cocteau Twins were in my periphery for some time, but only recently a band I claimed for my own. I knew of them, but felt their catalog and devoted fan base to be rather intimidating. I started actively listening to them in winter 2008, primarily because Bat for Lashes, Gang Gang Dance, and M83's "80s album" garnered comparisons. I liked what I heard (I went with 1984's Treasure as a starting point), but then went about my business. But earlier this year, I reinvigorated a long-dormant obsession with Jeff Buckley. Out of feminist disdain for having a male musician occupy my mind, I turned toward the female musicians in his life. I listened a bit to Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser's work, but the Cocteau Twins left a more immediate impression. I dove back into Treasure and went deeper into Blue Bell Knoll, Head Over Heels, Aikea-Guinea, Love's Easy Tears, Victorialand, and Heaven or Las Vegas. I'm still "in it" and see no reason why you shouldn't be plunging the leagues with me.
Like many, I was taken by Fraser's voice. A lover of Björk, Kate Bush, and Siouxsie Sioux, who Fraser recalls in her lower register, I champion beautifully strange female voices. Fraser's dramatic style is often dialogued with her lyrics, which are usually inscrutable and laced with references to obscure words, gibberish, and slang endemic to the band's origins (i.e.: "aikea-guinea" is a Scottish term for "seashell"). Though seemingly nonsensical, many fans embue meaning in their attempts to decode what Fraser is singing. But I concur with Jason Ankeny that what makes Fraser's mouth music resonate with listeners is her emphasis on "the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions."
This speaks to Fraser's ability to subvert language, project strength, and demonstrate control, qualities for which I don't think she gets enough credit. Critics pay particular attention toward her voice's beauty. Indeed, Fraser possesses an opera singer's virtuosity, chewing on words' dexterity, skipping through complex rhythms, and leaping octaves and strange intervals. But her work tends to be described as "ephemeral," "ethereal", or "gossamer" to ultimately argue its frillery as being conventionally feminine. But I think there's something to be said for a woman who writes indeciferable lyrics to songs with names like "Cico Buff," "Sugar Hiccup," and "Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires" and taps wells of emotion using these words. It could be profoundly embarrassing for both the singer and the listener, but Fraser finds the pith surrounding emotions' ultimate intangibility.
But as this year for me is also defined by picking up a guitar, Guthrie's contributions cannot be overstated. Fraser created a vocal style a host of UK female artists would come to emulate. Similarly, Guthrie rivals few beyond The Smiths' Johnny Marr in the cultivation of a distinct guitar sound for its time that many would later attempt to replicate. This is evident in how younger artists on 4AD like Lush called upon Guthrie to produce their albums, no doubt aware of and indebted to the Twins' involvement in forging a distinct pop sensibility for the label. I think it's also noticable in Kevin Shields' work. While some like to suggest My Bloody Valentine's blissful, feedback-laden guitar drone and androgynous vocals were created in a vacuum, I suspect the band took notes on the Twins composing and recording processes.
Guthrie's guitar sound also speaks to me directly. As a guitar player, I have little interest in the monster riff foolwangery many nurture when they pick up a Fender Stratocaster in the hopes of becoming Stevie Ray Vaughn. Instead, I like how the guitar can be used to conjure atmosphere and mood, however fleeting or mutable. Like Guthrie, I'm also a fan of seventh chords, which destabilize the triad and create a sense of irresolution. Thus this music tends to shift expectations of how it's supposed to sound, requiring listeners to pay attention in order to process superficially beautiful but compositionally complex music. I suppose this sense of mastery ultimately puts Guthrie in the position of guitar god, though his indifference toward conventional melody and reliance on Fraser's voice, Raymonde's sleepy bass, and an omnipresent Roland 808 potentially shift expectations of the band's sound and his role in helping create it.
We could dwell on Fraser and Guthrie's former relationship, the daughter they share, his former dependence on heroin and alcohol, the couple's estrangement, and the band's disintegration. I'm not especially interested in it, however. But like many UK post-punk acts, I am fascinated in how the band developed such a dreamy sound out of their surroundings. In the documentary Made in Sheffield, Human League frontman Phil Oakey talked about his band's desire to break away from the tedium of work with the hope of maybe making it onto the Top of the Pops.
I've never been to Grangemouth, but I'd anticipate its distinction of housing a large petrochemical plant speaks to post-war industrialism and the assumption that its citizenry would work at the factories and refineries. A trio of spotty kids opting to spin gorgeous, incoherent post-punk inside a basement with their eyes toward heaven? I think it's worth remembering.
SXSW Day 4 and 5 recap
More like SXSWTFit's cold! Remember how I mentioned earlier that you should opt for comfort over fashion during the festival? I really ate my words on Saturday. It was in the 40s and windy, but I thought I could brave the weather wearing a peasant skirt I converted into a sundress paired with a cardigan, pleather jacket, and tights. I was very wrong.
Wye Oak – My partner and I checked out their show at the Galaxy Room's outside stage. This is the third time I've seen the Baltimore-based duo and they get better and louder and more sonically interesting each time I see them.
After that, we grabbed spicy lamb kebabs at Kebabalicious, which made the wait to get into the Mohawk more tolerable. When we got in, some power pop group was wrapping up their set outside.
Dum Dum Girls – They played inside and were fine. Much in the vein of Vivian Girls.
Demolished Thoughts – This is a supergroup with Thurston Moore and J. Mascis (Andrew WK was billed, but absent). Awww, dad's got a punk band. Because he is in Sonic Youth and his band mate led Dinosaur Jr., he gets to play outside at the Mohawk. He sings songs about adolescent disaffection that he scrawled in a notebook, with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Kim is bemused. Coco is embarrassed.
Rye Rye – She takes it back to block parties and Roxanne Shanté 45s. And I was a mere few feet away from Ms. Ryeisha Berrain, who was flanked by two male back-up dancers who sported leather jackets and tank tops that said "Rye." It's always nice to see cocky, bubbly girls having fun and I've been having fun with her since my neighbor Rosa-María brought "Shake It to the Ground" into my life.
Broken Bells – Obviously the Danger Mouse/James Mercer collaboration drew a lot of attention. They played several shows to maximum capacity crowds. And good for them. But it's only okay to me — give me Brian Burton's collaborations with Cee-Lo Green and Damon Albarn over pleasant 60s power pop that basically sounds exactly like The Shins (and a little like The Dandy Warhols) any day.
After that, I kind of hit a wall because I was cold and therefore cranky. Kinda paid attention to Real Estate's set inside.
The Black Keys – They got a late start and it was effin' cold outside but still well worth it. I've never seen the Akron duo and they were killer.
From there I had to change clothes. On the way downtown, we ran into our friend Jessalyn, who was feeling the chill too. When Canadians think it's cold, I feel quite validated. We headed back over to Frank where we saw Hector, a fellow KVRX alum, and those nice folks we met from KALX yesterday. Glad they got to find out the magic that is Austin's artisan sausage haven. We also saw Irene from The Real World: Seattle, who I think walked past me right as I was explaining her "celebrity" to my partner. A similar incident happened with Emily Mortimer in New Orleans last spring. Both ladies gave me a bit of a stink eye.
YellowFever – Back at the Mohawk. I've actually never seen this Austin duo before, but have liked them for quite a while. Lovely sound, warmed my bones a bit.
Total Abuse – Noise band that played over at Barbarella. Something tells me they've listened to The Jesus Lizard. Especially the lead singer, who was working quite a crazy eye.
Kings Go Forth – Back at Galaxy. Ten-piece Midwestern funk ensemble who have clearly spent time listening to Curtis Mayfield and Earth Wind and Fire. Pretty fun, though looser than, say, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. Also, I wonder how they will be marketed. Because I saw lots of cool kids at the show, but the band is itself pretty uncool. You know, they're mainly paunchy older dudes in tunics. I don't have a problem with it — as a matter of fact, it's kind of nice that some older musicians are getting attention from younger people. I'm just curious as to how their image will be spun. That said, there were a lot of older people there too. If ever there was a band I saw that I could recommend to just about anyone, this'd be the group.
Oooh, and speaking of older people, this one grandpa in a sport coat and cap got me real mad! As I noticed with several acts at SXSW, Kings Go Forth played their best-known hit, "One Day," at the end of their set so as to avoid a mass exodus of dabblers. When the band said they had one last song, Pappy rushed the stage and yelled "ONE DAY!" which of course they played. But this jackass started gyrating and trying to get people to dance with him like he didn't just order the band to play a song. Ugh. They aren't your monkeys, old man.
Tried to see Best Coast back at Barbarella, but had a feeling we should return to Mohawk in anticipation of a big turnout for Death at 1 a.m. Sure enough, the venue was at capacity . . . for Surfer Blood. Ya'll, I know they're a big buzz band and I was pleasantly surprised that anyone could form a band in West Palm Beach, but I was unimpressed. One minute they sounded like The Smiths, then the The Shins, and their hit sounds like The Offspring covering Big Country. Ho hum. Lots of people came only for their set, including MTV VJ/walking exoskeleton John Norris.
Once Surfer Blood wrapped up, we got in to see Dâm-Funk, which was totally worth it. His voice was great, the band was tight and, as the kid next to me texted to a friend, "the mother fucker had a keytar." I'm sure a lot of folks got pregnant after his set.
And then . . .
Death – I was stoked that they played Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I'm still excited. These guys were making this music in Detroit in the mid-70s before punk officially happened and long before it merged with funk. And they're still killing it and keeping it positive and politically conscious at the same time. Just sayin'.
On Sunday, we met up with our friends Karin and Jacob to see Jacob's friends' band RICE at Beerland for Panache's post-SXSW showcase. Good screamy fun from the West Coast by way of the East Coast. We also saw Screens, who I liked a lot. Then we ended the night at Emo's to see the way ruling Paradise Titty play another rousing show.
Unfortunately, there were plenty of shows I missed. However, I'm excited that I saw so many female artists and yet missed these acts: YACHT, The Coathangers, Grass Widow, Talk Normal, The xx, Psalm One, and Invincible. And while I wish that damn highway didn't divide the town, I think I got to see a lot of great shows. Please feel free to share your thoughts on SXSW 2k10 and we'll do it again next spring.