tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203868182024-03-13T01:08:34.550-07:00Little Thom's Blog"I Can't Wait to Do a Tracheotomy" and other love songs available just because you damn well want them.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.comBlogger1727125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-74544775860555649712020-10-08T16:18:00.004-07:002020-10-08T16:18:44.359-07:00Greetings From Future Nothing<p> Future Nothing says "Eat your grass and cheese, and don't let your shoulder ache return you."</p>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-91876290992884550872018-09-03T14:33:00.001-07:002018-09-03T14:33:49.735-07:00"Good Bones"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNkzkmzOLMhbI0tHwr04zbJebdx_3uqmZ7CF5COU2pC7j1kQLJQ8Ybh9pY-uXvWuHAqycovfuNCSyMJqyWftDzJcbYjoq36u1LHCWEtDcNfuOHUiXqqFNK1E3_sU4jo5uKRai/s1600/C82InwAVwAA013M.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNkzkmzOLMhbI0tHwr04zbJebdx_3uqmZ7CF5COU2pC7j1kQLJQ8Ybh9pY-uXvWuHAqycovfuNCSyMJqyWftDzJcbYjoq36u1LHCWEtDcNfuOHUiXqqFNK1E3_sU4jo5uKRai/s640/C82InwAVwAA013M.jpg" width="523" /></a>
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<a href="https://maggiesmithpoet.com/" target="_blank">Maggie Smith</a><br />
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Found here: <a href="https://twitter.com/tomtomorrow/status/850486152037584899" target="_blank">@TomTomorrow</a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-14777972471737544922012-03-14T13:07:00.001-07:002012-03-14T13:07:24.503-07:00RIP, Harry Stamper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxodUneqICOeJF57-9K961tR3_0ttOK7FbmhdZLW_5MNesz93JZmrd7h0Fdp_H5f7jBgP2aLAcJs6kB-FqH-9Ux-eX9jlTtle9YS7CKenX15rf6ToId4jXAfe8MtXFt2ZpDkm/s1600/HarryStamper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxodUneqICOeJF57-9K961tR3_0ttOK7FbmhdZLW_5MNesz93JZmrd7h0Fdp_H5f7jBgP2aLAcJs6kB-FqH-9Ux-eX9jlTtle9YS7CKenX15rf6ToId4jXAfe8MtXFt2ZpDkm/s320/HarryStamper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm very sorry to say that my friend Tom Stamper's brother Harry Stamper <a href="http://mgx.com/blogs/2012/03/13/local-folksinger-and-union-activist-harry-stamper-has-passed-away/" target="_blank">died last Friday</a>:<br />
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On Friday, March 9th, 2012 folksinger Harry Stamper passed away at his home in Charleston, Oregon. Harry Stanford Stamper, Jr. was born September 20th, 1944 to Harry and Viola Stamper in Roanoke, Virginia. Harry wrote prolifically on a range of subjects, although he was best known for his labor songs and his work with the ILWU, his union for 37 years. His song, <a href="http://pnwfolklore.org/WeJustComeToWorkHere.html" target="_blank">“We Just Come to Work Here, We Don’t Come to Die”</a> is considered a classic in labor and folk song circles. The song is featured on <a href="http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3123" target="_blank">Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways</a> and on the album We Just Come to Work Here, We Don’t Come to Die: Songs of Health and Safety. Harry’s music has been recorded and performed by a wide array of musicians including Anne Feeney, Citizen’s Band and General Strike. Stamper’s lyrics were featured in Sing Out!</blockquote>
Tom introduced me to Harry many years ago, and I was especially honored to have him play an extended, hilarious and raucous set at my Open Mike in Ashland, in around 2005. Harry was a pro, a true pro, and an extremely funny, engaging, thoughtful, whip-quick, and just plain <i>human</i> human to be around. He was just a very special man, and it made my life better just to know him the little bit I did.<br />
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Sorry for the loss of your brother, Tom.<br />
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Here's an Oregon Public Broadcasting clip from 2001 on Harry. They did a nice job.<br />
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<script src="http://media.opb.org/clips/embed/kH13137g20120313151448.js" type="text/javascript">
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P.S. Found <a href="http://rememberharry.wordpress.com/harry-stamper-a-remembrance/">this, too</a>. Very nice:
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<b>A musical tribute in Harry’s honor will be held at the ILWU Local 12 Hiring Hall, 2064 Sherman Ave., North Bend, Oregon on Saturday, March 17th at 2 p.m.</b> The family wishes to make it a party that Harry would have liked to attend. Holly says, “We want to pack the house.” So come on prepared to play, sing and/or tell stories and celebrate a life well lived.</blockquote><br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-29859615744551981042011-12-23T16:33:00.001-08:002011-12-23T16:33:45.236-08:00"The Wild Holiday Goose"Dal Carver, owner of the <a href="http://wildgoosecafe.com/" target="_blank">Wild Goose Cafe</a> in Ashland, Oregon, and an extraordinarily gifted piano and keyboard player, and I, a ne'er-do-well folkie, came up with the idea for this album in 2005 or so. In October. With the help of a mindblowingly great group of musicians and recording people (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/freeman-sound-studio-ashland" target="_blank">Tom Freeman</a>), it was finished in six weeks. We sold a thousand or so, gave all the profits to local schools for art programs. Bonus: I only sing one song on it. You're welcome.<br />
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No lie: this is a really great album. Try "Jingle Bells" first and you'll understand.<br />
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<object height="360" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F1431019">
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I'll get all the track info soon.<br />
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And why <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Wild-Holiday-Goose-Support-Schools/dp/B000EE26NQ" target="_blank">someone in Germany</a> is selling one I do not know.<br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-91415960596194947822011-11-14T19:05:00.001-08:002011-11-14T19:12:06.492-08:00Sailing From Sydney to Hobart, Tasmania<br />
I mentioned the other day that I may be going on a sailing trip. Well, the details have been worked out, and tomorrow or Thursday (Australia time) I'll be headed to Hobart, Tasmania, on a 38-foot sailboat. Skipper: Craig. Crew: Me. (Home, gnawing fingernails on walls, ceiling: Christine.)<br />
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Short story shorter: Craig, f<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">riend of Christine's who lives in Hobart, bought a sailboat on the internet a few months ago. It's here in Sydney, so he flew up last Thursday to get it ready and sail it back home. I had expressed interest in tagging along when I first heard about this some months ago, but Craig said he had had a close friend going back with him, and said no. I forgot about it. On Thursday, when Craig got here, he said that his friend had backed out. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">There ya go. </span></div>
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">It's take up to two weeks. Highlight of the trip: the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Strait" target="_blank">Bass Strait</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">.</span></span><br />
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<b>I'll be out of internet and phone range for much or all of that time.</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobart" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003399; line-height: 1.2em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Hobart</a> is way down there: Nothing but open water between us and Antarctica. I will of course have much to post here when I return.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">The route is the same as taken in a what is a very famous race here, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_to_Hobart_Yacht_Race" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003399; line-height: 1.2em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">, held every year stating Boxing Day.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">Did I mention I've never sailed before? (I have been on the sea, as I said </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://littleaustralia.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">in that other post</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">.)</span></div>
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Here's the boat (second one out). Best I could do for now:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALSQRcuEWCty90xAkF3sAx0goS_tA92Q6JxPSN_Q5IMMWayX4WDdrC2sluvsWzsMKk0Ke2802OYRcOg1hY7kqPwef3pGEU8WHVJxErcQQKaBpnMYcAsszpf8iDRwKz1i39AY_/s1600/SouthernOcean.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALSQRcuEWCty90xAkF3sAx0goS_tA92Q6JxPSN_Q5IMMWayX4WDdrC2sluvsWzsMKk0Ke2802OYRcOg1hY7kqPwef3pGEU8WHVJxErcQQKaBpnMYcAsszpf8iDRwKz1i39AY_/s640/SouthernOcean.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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Here's Craig showing Christine around, up on the bow:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavqfV5pu_RJE-P3ZUWQ_2Q5L_COmcjwsf6QeZ5VTWRPpijJCKzQ-lYpGOUFuoeAbKeMQLGk2iab18JicCA6eJGxG2uLxINqgmcVDW1sztRSgTLVbA1ycuEUcnHMW5n3PQuNff/s1600/SouthernOcean2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavqfV5pu_RJE-P3ZUWQ_2Q5L_COmcjwsf6QeZ5VTWRPpijJCKzQ-lYpGOUFuoeAbKeMQLGk2iab18JicCA6eJGxG2uLxINqgmcVDW1sztRSgTLVbA1ycuEUcnHMW5n3PQuNff/s640/SouthernOcean2.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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Skipper Craig and Christine on the <i>Southern Ocean</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYBDDaE5H2MhGyzP6qtXvIpvkJvEbjKtGibwQfgzMIq_viyX0O2cTtI8Y1yuihiC8mlcBynDeaITzUoRe9NEOr-QVKBeYA__qqRT_m3WGhuZ8_23UXOqCcP8toT1JBImPlfs7/s1600/Southernocean3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYBDDaE5H2MhGyzP6qtXvIpvkJvEbjKtGibwQfgzMIq_viyX0O2cTtI8Y1yuihiC8mlcBynDeaITzUoRe9NEOr-QVKBeYA__qqRT_m3WGhuZ8_23UXOqCcP8toT1JBImPlfs7/s640/Southernocean3.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-7665185037642814722011-11-06T14:20:00.000-08:002011-11-06T14:20:43.441-08:00My FaceBook Music Store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCoX-42QRBFDHtcEOxkDR3GkrmTGKrIlG-BXfOQAz_XHZhWoygpei0WhwcOigf-whu6O6drxZo9vhPaiVNwD3_YATm2m-WbobSuu7XAaei02quiV8czfLGKMjeodiIOCyMF98/s1600/100_4286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCoX-42QRBFDHtcEOxkDR3GkrmTGKrIlG-BXfOQAz_XHZhWoygpei0WhwcOigf-whu6O6drxZo9vhPaiVNwD3_YATm2m-WbobSuu7XAaei02quiV8czfLGKMjeodiIOCyMF98/s640/100_4286.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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I've got a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Thom/135748159863969?sk=app_155326481208883" target="_blank">CDBaby FaceBook Music Store</a> where you can listen to and buy my songs. You lucky devils.<br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-68461889164408263762011-11-05T17:20:00.000-07:002011-11-05T18:19:59.543-07:00Stephen Colbert's Super PAC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_02TRBPt03fZ_146syQA00zW6aB59z-LjvF2wz7kVRkqThXO1EkFLCWmSFy2WjvoLccJdbPb6YfK97h5RK_F3aKzj9JcdOkfqzgtoJPNVrwi2IChj3ha7L0_GPmbgFeGGaRJ/s1600/573px-Stephen_Colbert_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_02TRBPt03fZ_146syQA00zW6aB59z-LjvF2wz7kVRkqThXO1EkFLCWmSFy2WjvoLccJdbPb6YfK97h5RK_F3aKzj9JcdOkfqzgtoJPNVrwi2IChj3ha7L0_GPmbgFeGGaRJ/s320/573px-Stephen_Colbert_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
Stephen Colbert - he of of Comedy Central's <em><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/" target="_blank">The Colbert Report</a> </em>- is doing something extraordinary to American politics, through the forming of his Super PAC, "Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow." It is not often that you get to witness someone of Colbert's stature pull off a stunt like this: using a law (or in this case Supreme Court rulings) to highlight the absurdity of said law. The whole thing is downright Mark Twainian.<br />
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To get a proper idea of what Colbert is doing, look at it this way: If the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling that said it was perfectly legal for really rich people to designate their homes as foreign countries - thereby making them off-limits to U.S. police organizations - Colbert would right now have a mansion next to the White House with a 24-hour-a-day, Las Vegas-themed, gangster/biker party going on, complete with drug-fueled machine-gun target practice contests, strippers in every window, and dogfights in the front yard. And possibly live kitten barbecues on the veranda.<br />
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And there would be nothing the cops could do, because Congress made it legal for really rich people - and Stephen Colbert is definitely one of those - to designate their homes as foreign countries. (Colbert's would probably be called "Colbertistanistan.")<br />
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Except Colbert wouldn't be doing because he's a rich asshole - he'd be doing it to show how horribly unDemocratic and morally perverse the Supreme Court ruling was. And that's exactly what he's doing here.<br />
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The Supreme Court ruling Colbert is lampooning is actually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee#Super_PACs" target="_blank">two recent rulings</a>, and they concern one thing: the role money plays in political campaigns in the U.S. In this case by the way of the "Super PAC."<br />
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What's a Super PAC? It's a brand new kind of "political action committee" (see last link for more on them), an organization that raises and spends money on advertising for or against candidates for public office. If you want to spend money on political candidates - apart from contributions directly to a candidate or a political party (these have their own rules) - it has to go through a PAC. It's the law. PACs have been around for a while, <b>but they used to have restrictions</b>: Corporations, unions, and individuals used to have strict limits on how much money they could give to PACs; and PACs were only allowed to spend so much money. Why? Because it was believed that allowing extremely wealthy corporations, unions, or individuals to spend enormous amounts of money on political advertising gave them an unfair advantage over us regular schmoes who don't have yacht-loads of cash to spend on such things - which isn't exactly rocket science.<br />
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As of the Summer of 2010, <b>those restrictions are gone</b>. Thanks to those recent Supreme Court rulings. (Well, some restrictions remain, but many are gone.) What effect did it have? 84 Super PACs were quickly formed, and, over the course of only a couple months, they spent <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2010" target="_blank">$65,326,957</a> on the 2010 midterm elections. $65,326,957. That's four times as much as was spent on the 2006 midterms, and while election spending has been rising for a long time, that was a very <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137527309/theres-nothing-funny-about-colberts-superpac" target="_blank">unprecedented jump</a>. (How much did you spend on the 2010 elections? Did it have the effect you wanted? And <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44402386/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/super-pac-backing-rick-perry-spend-million-beat-rivals-documents-reveal/#.TrXO0mAxD0Q" target="_blank">read this</a>, about the current election cycle, which is just getting started. Or don't.)<br />
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Stephen Colbert looked at all of this and thought it was just nuts. Which it of course is. And he decided he was going to show just how nuts it was. How? By forming his own Super PAC. And<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/30/eveningnews/main20075941.shtml" target="_blank"> he did it</a>. Stephen Colbert can now hold the equivalent of drug-fueled machine-gun target practice contests, with strippers in the windows and dogfights on the lawn - right in the middle of the American political election process, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. (He'll probably spare the kittens. He seems like a nice guy.)<br />
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An excerpt from Colbert's viictory speech after getting the okay for the Super PAC from the FEC:<br />
<blockquote>
Sixty days ago today, on this very spot, a young man petitioned the FEC for permission to form a super PAC, to raise unlimited monies and use those monies to determine the winners of the 2012 elections. Moments ago, the Federal Election Commission made their ruling. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to say … We won!</blockquote>
"Sorry to say" is exactly right.<br />
<br />
It's going to be a very interesting 2012 election year. Maybe some of it will be the <i>good</i> kind of interesting - thanks to Stephen Colbert.<br />
<br />
• <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2012" target="_blank">All 2012 Super PACs.</a><br />
<br />
• <a href="http://www.colbertsuperpac.com/" target="_blank">Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow</a>
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[<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_Colbert_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" target="_blank">pic</a>]<br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-25457828283748732392011-10-30T13:49:00.001-07:002011-10-30T13:49:45.561-07:00Fukushima Much Worse Than Previously ThoughtIn other words - <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/study-japan-nuke-radiation-higher-estimated-180400638.html">of course they were lying</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Fukushima nuclear disaster released twice as much of a radioactive substance into the atmosphere as Japanese authorities estimated, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl, a preliminary report says.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The estimate of much higher levels of radioactive cesium-137 comes from a worldwide network of sensors. Study author Andreas Stohl of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research says the Japanese government estimate came only from data in Japan, and that would have missed emissions blown out to sea. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The study did not consider health implications of the radiation. <b>Cesium-137 is dangerous because it can last for decades in the environment</b>, releasing cancer-causing radiation.</blockquote>
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-48582808655891624542011-10-25T19:11:00.000-07:002011-10-25T19:11:13.520-07:00High School Teacher Faces Fines For Registering Students to VoteThings that make me want to bite a moving train Number Googelty-million:
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<blockquote>
The teacher who heads up New Smyrna Beach High School's student government association could face thousands of dollars in fines. Her transgression? <a href="http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2011/10/23/new-florida-election-law-stirs-up-controversy.html">Helping students register to vote.</a> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Prepping 17-year-olds for the privileges and responsibilities of voting in a democracy is nothing new for civics teachers, but when Jill Cicciarelli organized a drive at the start of the school year to get students pre-registered, she ran afoul of Florida's new and controversial election law. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Among other things, the new rules require that third parties who sign up new voters register with the state and that they submit applications within 48 hours. The law also reduces the time for early voting from 14 days to eight and requires voters who want to give a new address at the polls to use a provisional ballot.</blockquote>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-61016899206922430852011-10-25T15:32:00.000-07:002011-10-25T15:32:44.548-07:00Northern Lights Visible in Southern U.S.<br />
Of course this happens after I move to the Southern Hemisphere:<br />
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<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141702940">A baffling solar storm</a> pulled colorful northern lights unusually far south, surprising space weather experts. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
TV stations in Georgia and Kentucky reported people calling about the sky show Monday night. And NASA posted a photo from Huntsville, Ala. Southerners normally don't get to see the vibrant red and green aurora borealis.</blockquote>
<br />
They even saw them in Texas! I saw a green <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)#Forms_and_magnetism">curtain</a> effect aurora in Alaska when I worked there in the 1980s - but in the Lower 48? Never. Lucky.<br />
<br />
MSNBC has a few shots that people sent in. One, <a href="http://dakotalapse.com/">from Wisconsin</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aSyRnBRTRvtbJdJN_PSL1g0qrR9GlUq3qhX5PjySKxmqv1T5_4srksDxm-3LKtAjJ2oNGRwsP1EywqyYDW5jkTxpN35rcgAgu7HwW3gv59lVgUUPAt1HK3QmXVd4HWWngMVX/s1600/111024-coslog--aurora5-1115p.photoblog900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aSyRnBRTRvtbJdJN_PSL1g0qrR9GlUq3qhX5PjySKxmqv1T5_4srksDxm-3LKtAjJ2oNGRwsP1EywqyYDW5jkTxpN35rcgAgu7HwW3gv59lVgUUPAt1HK3QmXVd4HWWngMVX/s640/111024-coslog--aurora5-1115p.photoblog900.jpg" width="580" /></a><br />
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<br /></div>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-91164837910450780992011-10-09T17:24:00.000-07:002011-10-10T16:51:34.548-07:00The Electric Bonsai BandGood gads, I was just persuing Twitter when Will Wheaton - yes, the kid in <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>, who is a funny and sharp dude - <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/wilw/status/123185189353562112">made a comment </a>about becoming his father. That blasted me back to seeing The Electric Bonsai Band - not electric, not a bad - in, where? Portland, Oregon? so many years ago, maybe even the 80s. My god he was good. Fast, smart, scary smart, and just as funny as hell.<br />
<br />
I am so happy to have found him (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Bonsai">Andrew Ratshin</a>) on <a href="http://music.napster.com/electric-bonsai-band-music/tracks/12630776">Napster</a>. Please go, listen. "I am My Dad" is so good - although it is much better live.
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<br />
Ratshin also played in <a href="http://www.unclebonsai.com/">Uncle Bonsai</a>.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-56177718662606787362011-10-08T17:25:00.000-07:002011-10-08T17:37:01.868-07:00The Drug War, ExplainedThe <a href="http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/10/drug-war-blowback.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter"><i>Los Angeles Times </i>today</a>:
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<blockquote>
As a student of history <b>and a retired deputy chief of police with the Los Angeles Police Department</b>, I can attest that the damage that came from the prohibition of alcohol pales in comparison to the harm wrought by drug prohibition. In the last 40 years <b>drug money has fueled the growth of violent street gangs</b> in Los Angeles, from two (Bloods and Crips) with a membership of less than 50 people before the drug war to 20,000 gangs with a membership of about 1 million across the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Justice. These gangs serve as the distributors, collection agents and enforcers for the <b>Mexican cartels that the Justice Department says occupy more than 1,000 U.S. cities</b>.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Sabet, a former advisor to the White House drug policy advisor, ignores these prohibition-created harms, making no mention of the nearly <b>50,000 people killed</b> in Mexico over the last five years as cartels have battled it out to control drug routes, territories and enforce collections. When one cartel leader is arrested or killed, it makes no impact on the drug trade and only serves to create more violence, as lower-level traffickers fight for the newly open top spot. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
U.S. law enforcement officials report that as much as <b>70% of cartel profits come from marijuana alone</b>. There's no question that ending today's prohibition on drugs -- starting with marijuana -- would do more to hurt the cartels than any level of law enforcement skill or dedication ever can. </blockquote>
Much more at <a href="http://www.salon.com/writer/glenn_greenwald/">Glenn Greenwald's place</a>.<br />
<br />
This subject is another of the vital sources of cynicism in the U.S. today. We are so far from being able to even <i>talk</i> with some sense about this issue, much less <i>act</i> on it, that it's hard to not come to thee conclusion that common sense is actually a wrong force in this world, that's how fucked up it is.
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-24075759393762046732011-10-05T13:29:00.000-07:002011-10-05T13:34:56.932-07:001 in 3 American Vets Sees Iraq, Afghan Wars as Wastes<a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MILITARY_POLL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Wow</a>.<br />
<blockquote>
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One in three U.S. veterans of the post-9/11 military believes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting, and a majority think that after 10 years of combat America should be focusing less on foreign affairs and more on its own problems, according to an opinion survey released Wednesday.</blockquote>
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-81790691185757225252011-09-27T01:29:00.000-07:002011-09-27T01:30:43.945-07:00Chris Chandler and Occupy Wall StreetSomeone put a great <a href="http://chrischandler.org/">Chris Chandler</a> song on YouTube:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PHlgYB_yttY" width="420"></iframe><br />
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More Chris <a href="https://www.facebook.com/chrischandler.org">here</a>.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-34585704400343570632011-09-21T15:48:00.001-07:002011-09-22T18:42:40.613-07:00New Widget for My CD, "Bottomfeeders"Buying LT songs just got easier, and only 99 cents a pop.<br />
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My favorite on this is probably "Sigh." Although Bob Evoniuk's National Reso-Phonic guitar on "You Can Use My Bathtub" is something to behold, too.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="575" scrolling="no" src="http://www.cdbaby.com/widgets/store/store.aspx?id=51a45UTZNqN5X1QI0Srtyw%3d%3d&type=ByCustomer&c1=0x000000&c2=0xE0E0E0&c3=0xCCCCCC&c4=0x666666&c5=0x333333&c6=0xFFFFFF&c7=0xFFFFFF" title="Store Widget" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
If you're not with CDBaby, they have links to many more digital music sites, including <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bottomfeeders/id188917952">iTunes</a> and <a href="http://www.rhapsody.com/#/artist/little-thom">Rhapsody</a>.
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-55195894693191475982011-09-21T14:51:00.000-07:002011-09-21T14:53:50.734-07:00Posted Without Comment<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_eyFiClAzq8" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://remhq.com/news_story.php?id=1446">REM.</a>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-74797448683571582052011-09-16T15:51:00.000-07:002011-09-16T15:51:37.893-07:00Criminals Ask Judge For Help Attacking VictimsThe question is, will they get it:
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<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/16/phone-hacking-met-court-order">The Metropolitan police</a> are seeking a court order under the Official Secrets Act to make Guardian reporters disclose their confidential sources about the phone-hacking scandal.
In an unprecedented legal attack on journalists' sources, Scotland Yard officers claim the act, which has special powers usually aimed at espionage, could have been breached in July when reporters Amelia Hill and Nick Davies revealed the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone. They are demanding source information be handed over.</blockquote>
This is some really sick business. <i>The Guardian </i>exposed these bastards' links to the <i>News of the World</i> phone-hacking scandal, and now they want use espionage law to cripple them. Just horrible.<br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-67204836562464810782011-09-15T15:32:00.001-07:002011-09-15T15:48:07.775-07:00Peg the One-Footed Cockatoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMZ17cU3qLfvGkfsWKy8O7lMEKYFJZT9Zid2Y4QccSnIy2b1Is7Gbi8RNY6JuknW6IR8Pdi74HIJgRzjH5Z62U78LfyLfr8WD_ykpqjLgfViXMkMR4AIYR4na7tj8zW_uIVfH/s1600/Peg3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMZ17cU3qLfvGkfsWKy8O7lMEKYFJZT9Zid2Y4QccSnIy2b1Is7Gbi8RNY6JuknW6IR8Pdi74HIJgRzjH5Z62U78LfyLfr8WD_ykpqjLgfViXMkMR4AIYR4na7tj8zW_uIVfH/s640/Peg3.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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Wild, one-footed cocky that comes to visit several times a week, on a chair on the veranda. (Click on photo to enlarge.)<br />
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Mornings at the Little Australia household.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhoMJ63LTsxFNTDGM7Kqtj7bWT1GQ6UJ3sCcuGPrwl9qmEf5jYUruL47Prdi1esfV90x4KvDj3HeoxmCfaVBqIJ5i8jpjnjNN_MOUo-pLmPYcIzTnlt20HvvuKsN7Px_Kc-4C/s1600/PegThom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhoMJ63LTsxFNTDGM7Kqtj7bWT1GQ6UJ3sCcuGPrwl9qmEf5jYUruL47Prdi1esfV90x4KvDj3HeoxmCfaVBqIJ5i8jpjnjNN_MOUo-pLmPYcIzTnlt20HvvuKsN7Px_Kc-4C/s640/PegThom.JPG" width="580" /></a><br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-82043914478438699372011-08-29T15:07:00.000-07:002011-08-29T15:07:32.477-07:00Playing "The Shack" on Saturday, September 3<a href="http://www.shackfolk.com/">The Shack</a> is a very cool Northern Beaches venue. You're even encouraged to bring your own snacks and drinks:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWITxHKqvBcu875hYbQhcPp9KtttvL9RD-R1Via6i6pGwapoU5GmBFuSuJE_tfTbIj_vuSx-XHu_2t9Py_P8xcydYq2G6Y14rA1APed7AwqQuvt2P7Crph1BmN0aIZI-BdikTF/s1600/Shackback4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWITxHKqvBcu875hYbQhcPp9KtttvL9RD-R1Via6i6pGwapoU5GmBFuSuJE_tfTbIj_vuSx-XHu_2t9Py_P8xcydYq2G6Y14rA1APed7AwqQuvt2P7Crph1BmN0aIZI-BdikTF/s640/Shackback4.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><br />
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The bio:<br />
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<blockquote>Little Thom sings wickedly funny songs about medical procedures, bikinis, an obscene dog, whiskey, and whether or not life is really all it's cracked up to be. And some other stuff. He has written hundreds of songs in his three-decade-long career, and has released three recordings, the latest of which, <i>Bottomfeeders</i>, contains no hits whatsoever, including the tender, "I Can't Wait (To Do a Tracheotomy)."</blockquote><br />
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LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-11020642278215287042011-08-26T17:54:00.000-07:002011-08-26T17:54:44.046-07:00Federal Agents Raid Gibson Guitar Co.It's about the <a href="Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.">wood they're using</a>, apparently:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.</blockquote>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-62578998198383160292011-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:002011-08-18T15:32:25.652-07:00Jef Fretwell and the DetractorsThere's four of my best buds <a href="http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110818%2FENTERTAIN%2F108180313">right there</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TJEX6DTTLE9IXNhP623ULG_R4VJ9cUxXZlGLXDweOJ7rJTW9YYDWK3kWtdeGtOkRnUdh_3qemyQgoD153Aa6V6sgggIP3A36dzPl6BBUp3PCnCu_1B1PDj-RzAKfubbtdHuM/s1600/JefDetractors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TJEX6DTTLE9IXNhP623ULG_R4VJ9cUxXZlGLXDweOJ7rJTW9YYDWK3kWtdeGtOkRnUdh_3qemyQgoD153Aa6V6sgggIP3A36dzPl6BBUp3PCnCu_1B1PDj-RzAKfubbtdHuM/s640/JefDetractors.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
Rock on, boys, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jef-Fretwell-and-The-Detractors/188119614578104">rock on</a>.<br />
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Music to come later...LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-17931030288571209892011-08-15T14:53:00.001-07:002011-08-15T15:35:03.737-07:00Email From a Fan in ThailandJust noticed an email in ye olde email receptacle. I thought it was spam, naturally, but turns out it wasn't:<br />
<blockquote>Dear Little Thom,<br />
<br />
Hi. This is Kiattisak from Thailand. I found one of your songs 'Inside Joke' from a podcast of The Word Nerds, and liked it very much. I bought the song from iTunes Store last year, so it's been a while but I can sing along only roughly. May I ask you for its lyrics, please?<br />
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Best Wishes,<br />
Kiattisak</blockquote>Kiattisak is in Thailand, singing along with one of my songs, if unintelligibly at the moment, possibly right now. Take that, Bob Dylan!<br />
<br />
Oh, wait...<br />
<br />
Thank you Kiattisak. (And yes, I sent him the lyrics.)<br />
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</script>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-53031095503099533372011-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:002011-08-14T15:59:28.069-07:008 Deployments, 1 Suicide<a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127623973.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Good god in heaven:</span></a><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A soldier's widow says his fellow Army Rangers wouldn't do anything to help him before he took his own life - after eight deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Army found Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann's body at a training area of Joint Base Lewis McChord a few weeks ago.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[...]</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ashley says her husband Jared tried to come to grips with what he'd seen and done on his eight deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"And there's no way that any God would forgive him - that he was going to hell," says Ashley. "He couldn't live with that any more."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">This coming on the heels of the news that that U.S. Army <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/army-suicides-set-record-in-july/2011/08/12/gIQAfbGlBJ_story.html">set a record</a> for the most suicides in one month in July. </span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></blockquote></span>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-4961430452678528382011-08-06T17:49:00.000-07:002011-08-06T18:09:19.431-07:00I Miss Michael HedgesWent to an open mike last night (at the <a href="http://www.terreyhillstavern.com.au/">Terrey Hills Tavern</a>). A guy there played <a href="http://www.nomadland.com/">Michael Hedges</a> style guitar, and quite well, surprisingly. I saw Hedges two or three times, at the Oregon Country Fair, in the early 1990s. I have never seen anybody glow the way Michael Hedges did when he played. Just unbelievable power, palpable, incandescent joy in his performances. (And when I first saw him I said, "He does this standing up? No way!") Such a rotten loss when he went, in such an awful way.<br />
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This is my favorite song of his:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8ulWPVb8t44" width="480"></iframe>LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20386818.post-53365983222731594612011-08-04T13:22:00.000-07:002011-08-04T13:22:13.165-07:00Morning Bird CallsMorning in Sydney, <a href="http://littleaustralia.blogspot.com/2011/08/morning-bird-calls.html">here</a>.LThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08803493932970949446noreply@blogger.com0