Beltmann

Tonight my wife and I watched the movie Drinking Buddies, and in one scene Jason Sudeikis wears the Wilco frog T-shirt:

Wilco is my favorite band. I respond deeply to their music, of course, but that's only a starting point and not the main reason why they top my list; after all, I can think of another dozen bands with records that I love equally, maybe more. But a "band" is more than just a collection of songs. The reason Wilco tops my list is because of the total package and all of the ancillary details: The music, yes, but also all of the other important facts that have made a major imprint on my life--the history; the shows; the solo shows; the impact the music made on me when I most needed it; this mess

Love this post, Jesse. Thanks for being such a good friend to Wilco, to Via Chicago, and to me personally!

I also have a friend of a friend who has visited Iran numerous times, and always returns insistent that the people of Iran are warm, friendly, and privately very supportive of Western democracy. He also says that foreigners are typically much safer than citizens, since the Iranian government knows that detaining foreigners leads, potentially, to international embarrassment. I can't vouch for any of that, but if we're trading anecdotes rather than facts, that's what I've got. I've had a particular interest in Iranian cinema for 15 years. That study has included, by extension, a keen intere

I'm acquainted with an Iranian woman who lives in Tehran--she visits my area regularly for work--and she confirms your observation about younger Iranians.

We have that dynamic, too (like many, I suppose). For example, my father truly believes that Obama is a Manchurian candidate installed by Muslims who want to destroy America from within. I wish I was exaggerating. Talking politics with these people is an act of lunacy. It's like having a conversation inside a comic book.

That was my first reaction, too. Holy hell. Good to see you around these parts, Sergio Ramshackle!

Mine are 9 and 5, and both also love the Beatles. Good to hear from you, Matt!

Yeah, loved it. Best of all, my 9-year-old daughter did, too.

I'm reminded of what Pauline Kael once said: "Is violence without blood really preferable?"

My wife gets annoyed with me because I can't eat anything with rice without saying, in that familiar halting voice, "Rice is great if you're really hungry and you want two thousand of something." I have one of Hedberg's concert DVDs, and I take it down from the shelf occasionally. Miss him, too.

Every time I see such a search in a movie, that's always my first thought! Then again, I'm a tad OCD about staying organized.

I saw her tonight (10-18) in Milwaukee. Fantastic, as always. First encore ended with "Ragtime." Second encore was "Honolulu" and "I Wish I Was the Moon."

I wasn't totally clear: I certainly don't think it was your intention to imply that; I was responding to that general argument as it has often been presented over the last few years.

I keep hearing this argument, and while it appears rooted in pragmatism, I can't help but feel that it's rooted more squarely in the assumption that I got mine, screw everybody else is a reasonable way to think about health care in a prosperous nation. Do we really want to make the exclusive-club argument that it's better to not care for our fellow Americans if it means that the rest of us might have to compromise a little to do so? "You know, I'd prefer millions of people to stay untreated just so my own health care remains untouched." I have really nice insurance through my employer. I

Right there is a classic SNL sketch waiting to happen.

I teach honors English to sophomores (and film to upperclassmen). Last semester, I discovered that one class was keeping a list of my many Wilco t-shirts, which I often wear on Fridays. I started making sure that I wore a different one each week so that their list would be complete, and I discovered right along with the kids that, to my surprise, I own 18 of them. In fact, it looked like I might not get them all in before the end of the year, so one day I worked something out: I wore one shirt, and then had the librarian sit in for me as I ran an "errand." A few minutes later I returned to

I teach high school, and today I did a spit-take upon seeing a 10th grader walking down the hall wearing a red YHF t-shirt.

Lou, I think I agree. There are tracks on the new one that rank among her absolute best--"Ragtime" comes to mind--but as a total package, it's a tad uneven, much like "Middle Cyclone." "Fox Confessor" remains my favorite. That said, the last two records, despite their flaws, still strike me as vibrant and exciting, because they represent such a unique and evolving vision.

I agree that salary is secondary, but for me the primary concerns are workload (currently unsustainable) and lack of autonomy (our methods have been micromanaged by know-nothings to the point of paralysis, which is having a severely detrimental effect on student learning). The financial hits due to Act 10 were painful, but there's nothing more demoralizing than having your once-rigorous classroom succumb to standardized mediocrity. It makes good teachers feel like frauds, powerless to maintain integrity.

I think I listened to "Ragtime" 15 times yesterday. Even more today.

I guess Mark Oliver Everett has lost favor--that new Eels record is criminally overlooked this year. I think it ranks among his better albums, and is definitely one of my top ten of the year.

Same here. That's the song that convinced me Neko deserved attention. Been a huge fan ever since. (Incidentally, around the same time that I discovered Neko, I interviewed an indie filmmaker who had used "I Wish I Was the Moon" in his movie. I asked more questions about that scene than any other, perhaps betraying my bias!) Still love that song beyond reason.

I agree that teachers are underpaid, and yet, contrary to public opinion, I'm not too concerned about my salary. I'm a simple guy who likes to live modestly, so my salary is adequate. I'm much more concerned with my workload, and in fact would gladly accept a pay cut in exchange for a manageable workload. Unfortunately, Act 10 has made it impossible for unions to negotiate any workload issues. The result in my district and many others is a workload situation that has made it impossible to do any part of the job well. We are so frantic during the day--in perpetual survival mode--that thousa

That's commonplace in the profession. The job requirements are not actually feasible in the "normal" workday, which is why I've averaged 60-70 hours per week over the last thirteen years. When crunch time comes, it's literally impossible to keep up. I never take time off for being sick--it's more work arranging for an absence than just going in--but I have taken sick days to stay home and frantically grade papers for twelve hours straight. I knew what I was getting into when I pursued this profession, and I would never argue that teachers work more hours than many other professionals. I'