Gotta Have It

Someone just forwarded me a review of this album. I don't think I'll be able to resist...

W, Show Us Your ... Pecs!

There's a new Cold War, and it involves an Arms (and Chests, and Shoulders, and Pecs) Race. If George W. Bush really is the sitting US president in the best physical shape since Teddy Roosevelt, and if Putin looks like this, we need to fight back!

The gauntlet has been thrown. It's Sputnik all over again. We're being shamed.

Geezer cheat-sheet

For those of us who will soon be spending a lot of time around people who were born in 1989, and who will further need to be able to convince them to trust our judgment and understanding, there are materials to help. Here's one: The Beloit Mindset List 2011, filled with reminders for those faculty members for whom 1997 (or 1987, or 1977) was just a couple years ago... I mean, what? A decade ago? Dude.

Favorites:

1. What Berlin wall?
11. Rap music has always been mainstream.
39. Fox has always been a major network.
46. Most phone calls have never been private.
(Alternate: Upon receiving a call, the typical first question has always been "Where are you?"
48. Microbreweries have always been ubiquitous.
51. China has always been more interested in making money than in reeducation.
55. MTV has never featured music videos.

Gnawaton

Here's a nice blending of Gnawa music with the Latin hip-hop of reggaeton. The rapper is E.lam Jay and the Gnawa singer is Muhammad Derhem.



("Gnawaton" is not mine. It was invented by Bisbal right here.)

Rollins for Prez

Jamie at Farther Along... proposes Henry Rollins for president. I think it's a great idea. Here he is in the video Jamie remembers:

I am a resource thief

As the handbasket hurries toward hell, one more normal activity (trying to ignore advertising) is in the process of becoming hyperbolically criminalized.

According to Slashdot, some sites--objecting to a powerful adblocking plug-in that FireFox users can install--have begun blocking all Firefox browsers. Ho-hum, for me, right now. I guess I might get more upset if I get blocked from some of my favorite sites. Right now it feels more likely that I'll just stop going there... Like I have time to surf the web anyway, right?

The twisted arguments of these folks deserve some attention, though:

Software that blocks all advertisement is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers. Numerous web sites exist in order to provide quality content in exchange for displaying ads. Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing. Millions of hard working people are being robbed of their time and effort by this type of software.

It's always ultimately a question of rights, right? I guess the argument would make sense if kept to the realm of trade and commerce. But when rights are evoked and words like "stealing" used, I shudder.

It's people like these what cause unrest.

Black Uhuru

Someone is getting tired of seeing the Komina with the toy gun... And I've been listening to Black Uhuru a lot recently, particularly the Positive Dub and Red albums... And I am blogged out at present.

So behold the picture, and then click here to listen online. Or click play below, if that works.

Kominas on Tour

Click To Play

The original Muslim punk rockers the Kominas are going on tour with writer Mike Knight, the bands Vote Hezbollah and al-Thawra, and Omar Waqar (formerly of Diacritical). Keep checking their myspace page for tour dates.