Yes, another year down. In political terms, it was sort of a win for our side, kind of a crab victory, because most of the advances came from walking sideways at best. It wasn’t that good a year for the president, for both good and bad reasons, but despite many articles dubbing him “Loser of…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Akira Takahashi—“Reflections”
Akira sings Jon Hendrick’s lyrics to Monk’s tune in unaccented English, but all the information is in Japanese, so I can’t identify the pianist. The video is a bit informal (please ignore the baby on the soundtrack), but I can seldom resist a Monk vocal. Posted by Akira
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Dude, you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. Down here it’s ‘righty loosey, lefty tighty’.” “About fucking time.” “Okay, here’s the deal. I don’t have a leak. But I do have coconuts that need cracking.” “How does it feel to be the Plumber from Hell?” “Dude, you’re supposed to fix the leaks, not make…
Edward Snowden, patriot
Kudos to my not favorite newspaper the Washington Post by giving us a real Christmas present, an honest interview with Edward Snowden, who makes President Obama and his various assorted mouthpieces look like the moral midgets they are. When the history of these times is written, Snowden and the unhappy Chelsea Manning will be remembered…
Lydian Sound Orchestra—“Reflections”
Monk for Christmas? Believe it! Live at Jazz Club Blackmail (Firenze) il 16 febbraio 2012. Con Pietro Tonolo, Robert Bonisolo e Rossano Emili (sax), J Kyle Gregory (tromba & tasca), Roberto Rossi (TBN), Dario Duso (tuba), Paolo Birro (pianoforte), Marc Abrams (contrabbasso), Mauro Beggio (batteria ). As you might have guessed, I’ve cribbed these notes….
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Okay, Helen, no more Scotch for breakfast. I think I’ve achieved déjà-vu à voo-doo.” “Where’s the damn botox, bitch? And don’t make me ask twice.” “I don’t know why, but somehow I’m in a Thirteenth Amendment state of mind.” “Call Al Roker and tell him he’s free. I mean, free to stop…
Obama: “You say ‘fascism’ like it was a bad thing!”
Is President Obama a fascist, or has he merely sold his sold his soul to them? Call me a sentimental fool if you like, but I think the president is not entirely a fascist; he’s just very, very sensitive. And when people hurt his feelings—for example, by exposing all the lies he and his administration…
The Budget Deal: same old same old, same old
The budget deal that President Obama will soon be signing is in fact so old-fashioned that the Republicans are apologizing for it, claiming that either 1) they’re going to get their pound of flesh before raising the debt ceiling next year (probably sometime in March, depending on Uncle Sam’s cash flow) or 2) they’re just…
David Ignatius: Yes, I’m an asshole! An asshole who wants to keep his job!
America’s allies are growing restless, David Ignatius warns. “Is President Obama an American version of Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader whose well-intentioned reforms led to the demise of his country’s global power? That’s the anxiety a traveler hears these days from worried U.S. allies, and it’s mirrored in a provocative new article.” Which American allies are…
Helen Sung & Ron Carter: “In Walked Bud”
Posted by Helen herself