http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 10 Jul 2004 11:54:39 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/10/115439.php Joe KatzmanSo, one of the things I do to maintain a long distance relationship is read my girlfriend bedtime stories, poetry, etc. I mean, why should that stop just because you're no longer a kid? Anyway, the current read is Gordon Korman's over the top rock story classic Who Is Bugs Potter - which comes with musical accompaniment thanks to the wonders of iTunes.Help! I need some reader suggestions via the Winds of Change.NET comments section, as Bugs unknowingly builds himself a frenzied fan base by jamming with his rock idols. Slots like:Dorchester Melon: British group who come onto the stage in a foggy pink mist. Lead singer Roger. Thought of Floyd or Roger Waters, but the drums just aren't there. 2 songs needed, an opener without Bugs and a second act opener that leads with a long drum solo. Help!Toast: The outfit descriptions are a bit Village People for my taste, but then the book was written in 1980 and Korman probably couldn't resist at least one joking reference. Only need one song for them... I thought of joining the joke with Thin Lizzy's S&M from Black Rose: A Rock Legend. The title fits the outfits, there's an interesting parallel with Bugs' hilarious attempted courting of movie star Bibi Lanay, and the drums are pretty good. But it doesn't rock over the top. Suggestions appreciated.Plankton: This one is hard. Strong underwater theme to their songs, but I can dispense with that if needed. No, the hard part is Bugs' 15-minute drum solo (it doesn't have to be 15-minutes, but a drum solo would be good) and continuous, relentless, whirlwind drumming throughout the second set. Ideally, it should almost sound like a band trying to keep up with a drummer - which happens live, but doesn't usually make it to albums. Need 2-3 songs: 1 pre-Bugs, 1-2 to represent the second set.Other song pairings & playlists for the book have included:Read The Rest... Music17303@blogcritics.org Sat, 10 Jul 2004 11:54:39 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/28/024221.php Joe KatzmanWhen it comes to music, Ron Wheeler is damn near a genius - and that isn't a term I throw around lightly. He spent a long time in the industry, and even though he's been out for a while they still seek his opinions. Hmm... are you thinking what I was thinking?Yup. Enter SurroundaBlog.com, Ron's platform to discuss music & culture, review albums, and turn you on to some of the outstanding new audio formats like DVD-Audio, DTS, HDAD, and SACD. In one of Ron's early installments, Metallica in full-on surround sound meets his cats... Music16882@blogcritics.org Mon, 28 Jun 2004 02:42:21 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/23/165638.php Joe KatzmanI wish I could say that Michael Moore was original, but mostly he brings to mind Lillian Hellman, the Stalinist playright of whom Mary McCarty once said: "Every word [Hellman] writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'" Yep, sounds like our boy.Watching mainstream media coverage of Moore, one reflects how fortunate the man is to have so much kissing space on his ass. Nonetheless, his hard-earned reputation for being less than truthful is beginning to catch up with him - and not just on the right. Reader Mike Daley points to a devastating review by Armond White of The NY Press, who is not exactly a member of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. White's points about Moore's class vice and the link between the Entertainment Industrial Complex and the Military Industrial Complex are worth reading. His description of Moore's work as amounting to "Liberalism with a fascist face" is a pithy summary of a literate and sophisticated aesthetic argument.Meanwhile, leftist enfant terrible Chris Hitchens (no friend of Stalinists either) annihilates Farenheit 9/11 right to its foundations in "Unfairenheit 9/11: The lies of Michael Moore." Some choice excerpts:Read the Rest... Video16777@blogcritics.org Wed, 23 Jun 2004 16:56:38 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/26/130059.php Joe KatzmanJudith Weiss has just about everything you could want to know about The Passion of the Christ". Shockingly, no British people get their asses kicked in this movie... but then, Mel Gibson isn't actually starring in this one. On a serious note, I especially liked Rev. Evans' simple suggestion. It would have resolved most of the issues with this film, without compromising the power of the script or Mel's views one iota.I will say that I'm reluctant at this point to make judgements about Gibson's personal views or his movie. His father is clearly an anti-semite wingnut and a borderline fascist; then again, so was John F. Kennedy's dad. I plan to go see the movie myself before making up my mind - though it may be out in video by that time. Video13175@blogcritics.org Thu, 26 Feb 2004 13:00:59 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/21/132306.php Joe Katzman(Part of "Good News Saturdays" on Winds of Change.NET)Canadian poet Dennis Lee is famous for this children's poems, via books like Alligator Pie. As this poem shows, there's another side to his work:Summer SongThe light was free and easy then, Among the maple trees, And music drifted over From the neighbours' balconies; Half my mind was nodding With the asters in their ranks, And half was full to bursting With a hungry kind of thanks.It wasn't just the mottled play Of light upon the lawn. I didn't hope to live back all the Good times that were gone; All I wanted was to let The light and maples be, Yet something came together as they Entered into me.Read the Rest... Books13014@blogcritics.org Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:23:06 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/04/114725.php Joe KatzmanIn response to my cross-posting of Armed Liberal's excellent "Iraq'd" article (our "Best Of..." category now has a new entry), someone in The Command Post left this in his signature. When you read it, do you think of this too?"There Morgoth stood at last at bay, and yet unvaliant. He fled into the deepest of his mines and sued for peace and pardon; but his feet were hewn from under him, and he was hurled upon his face.... and the evil realm was brought to naught, and out of the deep prisons a multitude of slaves came forth beyond all hope into the light of day, and they looked upon a world that was changed." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion Politics12354@blogcritics.org Wed, 4 Feb 2004 11:47:25 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/31/032301.php Joe KatzmanFollowing a tour of England to promote his new book, Winds of Change.NET Cairo correspondent Tarek Heggy (A Culture of Compromise | The Institutions of Democracy are More Important Than Democracy | Islam: Between Copying and Thinking | Tolerant and Intolerant Islam | Conspiracy & Response | Egypt & Democracy | Why I Write) is back with a new article.The tour was apparently quite a success, and I heartily endorse his book "Culture, Civilization and Humanity". I was also more than pleased to hook him up with the Oxblog crew, who promptly featured him at a special Oct. 16th Oxford Democracy Forum event. Thanks, Josh!Women & Progress by Tarek HeggyAlthough my writings have covered a wide range of subjects since my first book was published in 1978, the central theme that links them all together is the issue of progress. The seemingly unrelated topics to which I have devoted numerous articles in various publications and entire chapters in my books, ranging from educational development, to the need to adopt modern management techniques in all fields, to defects in our thought processes, are all tributaries of a single river flowing in the same direction: towards defining the elements of progress and removing the obstacles impeding its achievement.One of the most important indicators of a society's progress is the status it accords to women and how they are perceived in the prevailing cultural climate... [more] Books9701@blogcritics.org Fri, 31 Oct 2003 03:23:01 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/21/170158.php Joe KatzmanThis update from Winds of Change.NET reader Ken Barnes checks out... there appears to be another round of DoS cyber-attacks in progress against a number of prominent warblogs. Instapundit is down (but Instabackup is available!), as are The Command Post, LGF, Tim Blair, Pejman, Vodkapundit, Dailypundit , and others. Apparently, one of the main targets was a site called Internet Hagannah.We have full details, plus a list of resources for dealing with DoS and DDoS cyber-attacks, over at Winds of Change.NET... Culture9377@blogcritics.org Tue, 21 Oct 2003 17:01:58 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/04/164300.php Joe KatzmanJust returned from the Dave Matthews Band concert at Ontario Place last night. Great music, some wonderful company, and a band whose tight musicianship and harmonic explorations make them masters at the art of crafting musical ideas that sweep you along in their train. And we were. And we danced. And we sang, a crowd in tune with itself and the music, adding its counterpoint to the performers. And it was good. Two and a half hours of beautyjoysoul that was uniquely theirs - and wholly ours, as they played the music only they can play.Your life is a song, art on a different stage. Play the music that only you can play.-- Joe Katzman, Winds of Change.NET Music8101@blogcritics.org Thu, 4 Sep 2003 16:43:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/07/01/005228.php Joe KatzmanThe proportion of seriously hot women near Ontario Place last evening was completely off the scale. Apparently, there was a concert going on starring someone named Ben Harper, co-headlining with Jack Johnson.I think I need to check this out. Especially after Armed Liberal's recent post about his experience listening to the media: "Defeat, and doom everywhere. Death, pain, ruin. Somehow those have become the coin of our realm....For myself, when I find myself nodding, mesmerized by the soft voices of defeat, there are a number of answers. The soft slide of a motorcycle tire as you round a corner just fast enough, followed by the hard kiss of the pavement on a knee slider. My son's grin of victory as he lays down a full house. My sweetie's smile when she wakes up. The view from the hills, through the newly clear Southern California air, and out over the distant towers of downtown Los Angeles. You doubtless have your own.And art. Always art..."Funny that my blog-mate should post this, minutes after I had posted this answer. While listening to the Beatles sing "Hey Jude," no less. Art, indeed. Always art. Jah WorkTell me do you really know your brother man cause a heart speaks louder than a color can and why would you even shake a man's hand if you're not going to help him standJah work Jah work Jah work is never doneEvery man's actions belong to he if prepared for thereafter to each his destiny some people believe and some people know some people deceive and some people showJah work Jah work Jah work is never doneYou must do the heaviest so many shall do none you have got to stand firm so many shall run some they rest their head at night some get no sleep at all if you listen close to what you see you will hear the callI definitely need to check this guy out.JK, Winds of Change.NET "Liberty. Discovery. Humanity. Victory." Music6624@blogcritics.org Tue, 1 Jul 2003 00:52:28 EDT