Does anyone still take Kristol seriously?? Obama, re: BP oil spill:

And I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar; we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick.

Kristol, re: Obama:

Guess the criticism of him as a professor and seminar leader has gotten to him. But his pseudo-macho defense of “talking to experts” is itself professorial: He talks to experts so he’ll “know whose ass to kick.” Real men don’t need experts to tell them whose asses to kick.

That’s right! Real men force their perceptions to conform to their a priori assumptions about the world so that whose ass needs kicking is a fait accompli!!!
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what is the deal with all the talking/cgi animal movies recently?

furry vengeance – remarked to rob once that I can’t imagine who would want to see this movie:

marmaduke – continuing to mine the comedic gold of the comic strip, where every punchline is “marmaduke is a bad dog.”

cats and dogs 2: the revenge of kitty galore – not since baby geniuses 2 has there been a less necessary sequel

Michael’s mom must be freaking out right now.

Some more stuff under the cut

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0:10 – “evolution best explains the origins of LIFE????”

Interview with G. Willow Wilson – The whole interview is great, which isn’t surprising given how well Willow writes. Ross may even be interested in the book she’s promoting, “The Butterfly Mosque” because it’s non-fiction. Here’s a question & answer I found particularly thought-provoking:

If there is no universal literature, as you put it, what commonness allows us to translate between different experiences and values? Can we really understand one another, or do we only approach a respectful sympathy? Can a secular worldview engage a religious worldview?

Honestly, I hate to say it, but I think the answer is no. There is no real 1:1 translation of experiences and values that I have found. I think respectful sympathy is as close to understanding as we can get. And I think it’s vitally necessary—the grave problem with our Western idea of tolerance is that it hinges on understanding. Real tolerance means respecting other people even when they baffle you and you have no idea why they think what they think. And in this world, if we are being truthful with ourselves, one is baffled far more often than one reaches understanding. Humility and sympathy are two of the greatest unsung weapons against intolerance. This is something I learned from my friends and in-laws in Egypt, to whom my life before I converted and came to live with them was unthinkable. (Tattoos? Clubbing? These things don’t exist for them, especially where women are concerned.) Their love for me was a decision: even if we find her history alarming and bizarre, she is here now, she is our responsibility, and we are going to love her and accept her. I didn’t have to prove anything, to explain anything. That kind of acceptance blew me away. It’s shattering to be loved that way.

More after the cut.
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I realize it’s been a while since I really posted anything more substantial than a few youtube clips on RS. Chu and I are still embroiled in our house hunt. It’s not clear what we should do, exactly. The market is in this huge state of flux ATM because the first-time homebuyer credit is expiring in a few days, so I think people are rushing to get into contract to get the $8000 dollars. We might be better off waiting until after the credit is over and the pool of buyers dries up. Or maybe at that point there won’t be any properties left. In any case, if we can get a deal on the house, then we could be spending significantly less than what we are shelling out currently for our monthly rent. With the added benefit that we could get at least some small portion of the money we throw into a mortgage back when the house goes up for sale.

Some catblogging, gobie fetching one of his foam balls:

More under the cut.

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While all the talk about the alleged “death of conservatism” that followed Obama’s election was hilariously off-target, it certainly doesn’t bode well for the conservative movement if it adopts the strategy of silencing its own intellectuals.  Case in point: David Frum, who has written thoughtfully about the GOP’s tactical errors during the health care debate, has apparently been ousted from his position at the American Enterprise Institute.  The life-blood of any political philosophy is open, honest debate and a capacity for self-criticism.  I’m not saying liberals are necessarily any better – witness the rough treatment given to Joe Lieberman.  Regardless, I’d much rather see a conservative movement led by  George Will, David Brooks, and David Frum than by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck.  

William F. Buckley is rolling over in his grave…

Despite the excessive length and distracting number of policy proposals that marred Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last night, the President sent a two-part message to congressional Democrats and Republicans that I think deserves some attention:

To Democrats: you are the majority in Congress.  Govern like one.

To Republicans: don’t confuse obstructionism with political participation.

My own obvious political sympathies aside, I think it’s safe to make a couple of hopefully uncontroversial observations regarding the 111^th Congress: first, congressional Democrats would get a lot more done if they enforced party discipline and didn’t live in perpetual fear of the GOP; and second, congressional Republicans (who are masters of party discipline) have done a better job obstructing Democratic initiatives than they have in articulating their own agenda as minority party.

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This is a very personal review post for me. As I’ve mentioned previously, over the course of the year my taste in music has changed radically. Before I get into this though I just want to warn you that I say some harsh things below and I wouldn’t want anybody to think that it’s somehow directed at them. The venom primarily comes from what I consider some of my own failures and chagrin these many years on at having ever been into something which was ultimately unrewarding.

Anyway, about a year ago it seemed I was losing interest in music in general. I’ve never been die hard about buying the latest albums and primarily got into stuff through friends, but the orbit of my interest I’d say was very much within various alternative music scenes. As I inevitably found myself wanting to be free of all of that dead weight I mistook it as a loss of interest. However, I think I had to go through that period of doubt to bring into closer alignment what I say I like with what I actually like. You don’t really notice it when you’re following what’s in your heart, in a way that’s partially invisible to you (because, obviously why would you be doing anything else).

So I guess that’s it, music stopped being a chore. And for me, that’s what the whole indie music scene is. To be as up front as possible, I’ve got a mountain of resentment for the entire indie music scene but I don’t think it necessarily prevents me from giving an honest take. For all of the crap that people talk about major labels, corporate music, and greed it’s actually indie music which is the most commodified form of entertainment ever. It’s all about what you buy. Let’s face it, as far as music goes some adolescent kid taking piano lessons is infinitely more credible than the most happening indie music doofus. Ultimately what counts for credentials for indie music, basically knowledge of a bunch of tiresome people and branding and the nerve to want to serve yourself up a bunch of sterile listening experiences.

Anyway, this all coincided with a growing interest in anime. So right around the time I was checking out Eric Johnson videos on youtube I was reading Sumomomo Momomo in yen plus (the yen press anthology). I really felt it listening to the song ‘SRV’, playing guitar like that and the characters in the pages of Sumomomo Momomo didn’t necessarily have to be separate.

Manga Review

Sumomomo Momomo Vol. 2 (Shinobu Ohtaka): To me, the cover of the second volume of Sumomomo Momomo is one of the most deeply moving images I’ve ever seen. It is a picture of Momoko, the female lead, smiling. Her’s is a face of pure happiness and joy, and everything that is good in humanity and the world…basically everything that’s missing in my own life.

The plot of this manga is as follows. Momoko and Koushi are heirs to leaders of two martial arts clans whose parents arrange their marriage. While Momoko is a very strong martial artist and eager to wed, Koushi can’t stand martial arts or martial artists, has no interest in marrying Momoko, and just wants to do good in school and become a lawyer. Koushi becomes the target of an assassination plot and Momoko must use her skill’s to not only protect him but to woo him as well.

Instead of a regular review I thought I’d share some of my favorite panels. bwahaha.

What's Momoko Doing?!

Miyamoto deciding maybe she doesn't want to kill Koushi.

The class rep! Just after Koushi tells her that she's his best friend

Album Review

Venus Isle (Eric Johnson): If you listen to rock radio you may have heard the song ‘Cliffs of Dover’ by Eric Johnson which appears on his album ‘Ah Via Musicom’ which precedes the album I’m talking about ‘Venus Isle.’ This album was released in 1996. It was one of those years in the making projects due to Johnson allegedly being quite a perfectionist in the studio. In recent interviews I’ve seen he seems to have some measure of regret about losing the sense of fun in music and piecing songs together. Notwithstanding there are some great tracks on Venus Isle. Not only is there some great guitar tone and playing but Johnson has a pretty unique rock voice. My favorite tracks are ‘SRV’ and ‘When the Sun Meets the Sky’ which I’d recommend anybody to check out.

You can find the latter track on youtube. I think this song has the single greatest “yeah” in all of music which you can hear at about 1:19.

Like I said above, I was getting into some of the songs on Venus Isle and Sumomomo Momomo at the same time, and I think they’ll be forever linked in my thoughts. I can’t hear ‘SRV’ without thinking of Momoko’s face, or try to learn ‘When the Sun Meets the Sky’ without in some way imagining who I’m really wanting to play it for.

I had a long conversation with Zach the other day at Roaring Shark’s western branch (i.e. a Peet’s in midtown Sacramento), that touched on a lot of topics, including something I’ve been curious about for a while now – how housing cooperatives and communal societies in general run.  My only exposure to the cooperative lifestyle is through the students I’ve taught, and the university co-op tradition of hosting a professors’ dinner once a year.  As of this fall I can say that I’ve eaten stir-fried greens and a variety of styles of tofu with my students on three occasions, once at a co-op at Brown and twice now at a co-op at Davis. While the experience is generally the same, and not unpleasant, I do have to give the Davis co-op’ers credit for actually raising their own vegetables and tracking down some organic wine.  I’ve always said that if there’s one thing hippies should be able to do – if only to be true to their “live off the land” ethos – that thing would be actually knowing how to live off the land.  There’s nothing more indicative of the philosophical failure of the hippie dream than a co-op “garden” denuded of anything but the scrubbiest of plants, with nothing like a healthy-looking vegetable anywhere in sight.

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i know this is old hat at this point but i was into this one:

Guys, I did the legwork on what we need to create green jobs.

0:12, lower right coffee cup
0:58, just whats back there do you think
1:05, T_T
1:46, not how you play guitar
3:30, v(^_^)v