Moe_Syzlak

what exactly is the big deal about mccain shaking a womans hand that is sporting an obama logo? i guess i've missed that story?

I think the point is that it is funny because the GOP has a bit of a reputation (fairly or unfairly) for parading out minorities seemingly to say "look we're not all old white men" and for his ad, the only image of him with a minority they could dig up is with a woman wearing an Obama shirt. Whatever, it is kinda funny, but there is nothing to "make of it," in my opinion.

Awesome! If you have any pictures you must post them!

Unfortunately I have pics of neither event. But here is the partial setlist from my first show.

05/21/89 (Sun) Burlington, VT

Harry Hood, Foam, Contact, Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Split Open and Melt, Dazed and Confused, The Sloth, You Enjoy Myself > Ya Mar, AC/DC Bag, The Divided Sky

Moe..thats awesome about the Phish story! What year did that happen?

I think it was in '88. I know it was before the first time I saw Phish as a whole and that was at a friend's UVM graduation party in the spring of '89.

I don't see anything contradictory about that. If you view God as the source of all good, it doesn't follow that He is the source of all evil, especially if you view evil as a lack of good rather than a positive quality.

We're talking about acts committed by individuals whose personal interpretations of "God's will" influence their actions. We may perceive the actions of Mother theresa as good and Osama Bin Laden as evil, but I'm pretty sure that there are faithful in the world who don't see it that way.

Sure. I do, at least. When I pray, I pray for two things, generally - strength to face the challenges in my life without being an asshole about it and protection for the people I care about. And I express gratitude for my life, the day and the blessings which have been bestowed upon me, many of which I do not fully appreciate or even deserve, really.

So don't you have to take the good with the bad? In your interpretation of God and the Bible, it gives you strength to do what you feel is the right thing. In some's (perhaps misguided) interpretations they are doing what they feel is good, even if we perceive it as evil. It's all human interpretation: the good and the bad.

I think all our friend wants is freedom FROM religion intruding upon his life in any way, which is gonna be tough in a nation where prob. 80 percent of the people believe in God.

Yup, but that's exactly what the separation of church and state is about. It is to protect against the tyranny of the majority.

I have a question for those saying that God (however you define it) has nothing to do with the evils committed in HIs name. What about the good deeds done in his name? Do you give god credit for that? On a more lighthearted note, I always think of athletes thanking God after a win. Are the guys on the losing team blaming Him?

Well a few good ones that are memorable:

Grateful Dead: I was visiting my newly remarried mother (I was living with my father) and my new older step brother was going to a show and took me along. I was 12. It was definitely eye-opening. More than music (i really only knew Love The One You're With played bc Stills was sitting in), I was struck by seeing a guy in a three-piece suit who looked like he had just come from Wall Street hanging and having a blast with a guy that looked like he'd just woken up under some newspapers. I really dug that.

Phish: I was in a friend's studio in NY and Trey Anastasio, an old friend of one the band members whose studio we were in, stopped by to jam. I was blown away and remember being embarrassed to take a solo. I asked him what band he was in and he gave me a tape.

Well, as I suspected I am struggling mightily with this. I first compiled a list of what felt like a list of favorite albums from throughout the years which included The Beatles, Hendrix, Dylan, the Stones, Miles, Coltrane ... But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like that was a little disingenuous. These are albums that have certainly influenced me, have made my musical tastes what they are today and even been my favorite albums of the moment at one time or another. BUT I found myself thinking "are these STILL my favorite albums? How often do I really listen to these anymore?". So I took at look at my recent iTunes listening habits and came up with a list of 20 that are probably my most "go to" albums RIGHT NOW. Given that musical tastes evolve and change constantly, I felt this was the only way to arrive at this list. It is still not in any particular order, but as you can see, I have already invested way too much thought in this. So the final list will have to wait for another day.

Again, in no particular order (actually it's alphabetically):

Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs - Andrew Bird

The Bends - Radiohead

Born Again In The USA - Loose Fur

Come On Feel The Illinoise! - Sufjan Stevens

Demon Days - Gorillaz

Feel Good Ghosts - Cloud Cult

Friend And Foe - Menomena

Fuzzy Logic - Super Furry Animals

A Ghost Is Born - Wilco

Kid A - Radiohead

Live In Chicago - Ween

The Mollusk - Ween

OK Computer - Radiohead

Phantom Power - Super Furry Animals

Rings Around The World - Super Furry Animals

The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips

Trey Anastasio - Trey Anastasio

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

You In Reverse - Built To Spill

I blame Bush! Wait, this is good news, right?

A LETTER FROM PAGE 06.26.08

Given the volume of speculation and rumors that have bubbled up recently, I have been asked to make a statement

I always hesitate to comment on things like this, because it can be so heated and I really feel like it is a personal choice. What works for you is great and I wouldn't tell you you're wrong anymore than i expect to be told I'm wrong. Ultimately, there is no answer to this question. Those like I am Jack's... will always come back to scientific method and others will scoff that science doesn't apply to the spiritual. It's circular. That is why i now consider myself agnostic, but heavily leaning towards atheist. I was raised Catholic, but never had any bad experiences with the church that drove me away. For me, it was simple: as I became older and more able to formulate my own opinions on issues of this magnitude, the concepts of religion of an "God" simply didn't pass the sniff test for me. It just didn't make sense for me and logically (the way I tend to approach things and hence probably why I reached the point I'm at now) it simply seemed that religion represented a form of comfort and control that, at least for me, was not needed. My brother died tragically at age 20, but I didn't feel I required the comfort of belief in an afterlife, for example. And I have always tried to "do right" by others and myself based on natural inclination to do so, not otherworldly rewards. In short, it's what works for me and I have no problem with anyone who chooses another path that works for them. My issues are that i don't feel my beliefs (or lack thereof) infringe on others' beliefs or ability to believe. For me, there are way too many people -- on all sides -- that wish to impose their beliefs. That is really all I would like to see change.

Saw Zappa and Miles in the '80s, both in '88, I think.

Now:

Then:

Although I might give Pearl Jam an extra spin. Sorry Kanye.

Has anyone read Michael Mandlebaum's "Democracy's Good Name: The Rise and Risks of the World's Most Popular Form of Government"? Mandlebaum was on Charlie Rose last night (after a good segment on the upcoming doc Gonzo) and the interview really piqued my interest.

Oh man.

Just got back from Telluride Bluegrass and this seemed appropriate.

I love that Huntington '78 Peggy-O!

Just got back from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I wasn't able to stay for Swell Season last night, but caught the Frames on Saturday night and thought it was great. Once again Telluride shows how to put on a festival right! Had a blast as always.

I liked Russert a lot. Didn't see MTP every Sunday but always did when I was home. I don't mean this any way to be disrespectful. In fact, quite the opposite. NBC/MSNBC should have a Tim Russert Memorial Whiteboard on election night. It seems the sort of tribute that Russert himself would have enjoyed and chuckled at.

Old White Guy Listening to a lot of white guys with guitars

I was never very good at math, but I think that may be more than 20.

We are so interested in winners and losers that we have lost sight of the fact that this sort of thing makes us ALL losers. In the grand scheme, the vast majority of people aren't that different in what they want and the disagreement isn't even that stark on how to get there. As Marge Simpson said, "Our differences are only skin deep, but our sames go down to the bone."

the truth always lies somewhere in the middle.

I don't know about that anymore. I think that is what my parents subscribe to, as well. The idea that if there is smoke there must be fire. See my earlier post:

One other thing I think is very interesting is the way baby boomers interact with email. My folks don't use the Web too much but they email with their friends constantly and it is almost ALWAYS forwards of one kind or another. And WHEN they pass it on to me, it is almost ALWAYS bullshit easily discredited with a little digging. I have told my mother to never send me anything unless she has AT LEAST checked snopes. But this generation seems to universally fall for this stuff and that is why 90% of my parent's friends think Obama would be sworn in on Thomas Jefferson's (!?!) Qur'an. It comes from a friend or relative they trust so it must be true!

I think we have gotten to a point where the most blatant of lies will be floated because people know that, if repeated enough, it will become reality. Perception is reality.

The biggest problem is that the media reports what people say (be it politicians, other news outlets, spokespeople, anonymous government sources) but rarely comment on whether what they say is true or not. They're basically just stenographers.

Yup. Although about sports and not politics, Bob Costas did a good special on HBO not too long ago analyzing and discussing how the media has changed in the cable/internet age. Opinions pass for facts and specious reports from blogs such as "developing..." news from Drudge and his ilk are reported in the mainstream news and suddenly they have credibility. See it if you can.

One other thing I think is very interesting is the way baby boomers interact with email. My folks don't use the Web too much but they email with their friends constantly and it is almost ALWAYS forwards of one kind or another. And WHEN they pass it on to me, it is almost ALWAYS bullshit easily discredited with a little digging. I have told my mother to never send me anything unless she has AT LEAST checked snopes. But this generation seems to universally fall for this stuff and that is why 90% of my parent's friends think Obama would be sworn in on Thomas Jefferson's (!?!) Qur'an. It comes from a friend or relative they trust so it must be true!

Movies Watched with the Most Tissues Needed

Backdoor Sluts 9

Crazy that they quoted Brickhouse's "any run will do" earlier in the inning on WGN.

ETA: