(Of Course I Did)

From The Skipping Record Dept.   

The headline, the photograph, the predictable narrative of futility, the matter-of-fact brevity.  The level of accuracy with which the various elements of the article compliment each other is uncanny.  The hallmark nondescript style of the photography, with its deceptively understated, slightly

Jim Page, Microbiologist

The quintessential opener for a Zeppelin cover band:



...straight into this one...





"If we could just join hands..."

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And Now for This Message...

Watch the face of the guy to the left of the boss immediately after he says "Ideas."  It's in the wide shot:



"Makes all the difference."   Very funny.

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The Black Angels

I recently spoke to my friend and ever-dependable indie rock guru, Gene.  Once beyond the pleasantries about the wife and kids and a brief tip of the hat to NFL football, our conversation predictably veered toward indie rock.  The last time we spoke, he mentioned the Crystal Stilts, whom, for whatever reason, I never took the time to explore.  I will.  A stone of dejection landed in my gut when he answered my querry about what's new or good in the scene by saying that he's always busy and hadn't been following as closely as in years past.  I concurred that I know how busy he is and mentioned that I'd caught wind of a possible Luna reunion.  He said he'd heard something about it, too.  I may have mentioned The Radio Dept. as well.  (Luna has a song called "This Time Around," too.  Ahhh, the circle turns.)  The switch flicked by the Luna reference apparently closed the the right circuit, prompting him to suggest The Black Angels. 

It turns out they've been around since '06, but

Introducing The Best of C.B.S.

I've added a feature on the right side of the blog listing what I deem to be the best of

Communication
By
Symbol.

It's very interesting: when I started writing more regularly and getting feedback, I found that I was getting mixed feedback for various posts.  Since I've been writing less lately, I decided to go ahead and create this addition to the blog going by my own assessment of the writing and content.  Maybe I'm way off.  Any feedback is welcome.

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Recognition

Recognizing in person someone you don't know personally can be a bit of an odd experience.  For New Yorkers, seeing famous people gets to be old hat--quick.  My girlfriend and I literally almost ran into Woody Allen once.  One of us had to give in to avoid a collision.  Being fans, we slowed our typical New York sidewalk rush to allow the legendary director to

"Substance Abuse"

More from the Bull's-Eye Dept.

The hyper-partisan rhetorical atmospshere intitiated and perpetuated by most TV news outlets pretty much ensures that like Ted Koppel, if you choose to be the voice of reason, you're going to get it from both sides.  I wonder if all the pundets are going to go after this guy the way they went after Koppel:



In an exchange that aptly illustrates what Koppel's talking about, he and Media Critic Jeff Jarvis met on NPR's Talk of the Nation the same week Koppel and Olbermann traded statements.  Upon listening, you'll notice that throughout the "discussion" Jarvis is rather hostile, even combative in tone compared to Koppel, who at one point had to say to a shouting Jarvis, "If you'll please let me finish..."  Case and point for T.K.

Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia qualifies for this group as well.


Writing Notes
Technically, I'm still on Hiatus.  I'm glad to see this issue has made it to the FCC, so I'm willing to do a few quick-hitters on it.

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Ho...Hum

Since I was sitting in a very comfortable chair, had nice copy of The Economist to leaf through between plays and an eclectic jazz mix played in the room, I remained in front of the TV after the Ohio State Buckeyes late in the third quarter exteneded their lead over the Michigan Wolverines to 30 points.  No longer able to stand the boredom

"And such talk, as they say, is cheap."

From the "Bulls-Eye" Department:

Linked below is Ted Koppel's recent Washington Post Op-Ed piece in which the reigning heavyweight journalism champ delivers a pinpoint knockout blow regarding the Keith Olbermann situation and what it signifies for the big picture of cable and internet journalism.  In an inspiringly well-written analysis, Koppel cites

Depth Perception

But first this message: 




          It is a common misconception among novice pool players that closing one eye while executing a shot results in greater accuracy.  The opposite is, in fact, true.  Having two eyes as apposed to one provides depth perception, an attribute of vision easily deemed necessary to excelling at billiards. 
During my two years at Nicholls State University, located in the deep south of Louisiana, I developed into a decent pool player.  The dorm building I lived in, Zeringue Hall (I hadn't been there a month before I swiped the 3-dimensional aluminum "Z" from the front of the building.), had a free table in the lobby, which was rarely not in use.  The table's surface was warped 6 different ways.  It was generally not decided until during a given game whether