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, 19 Aug 2006 16:10:01 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/2006/08/19/161001.php Randy ReichardtOn Thursday, 17 August 2006, I went with friends to the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater to see the Michael McDonald/Steely Dan show, aka the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan - The Man ... The Legend ... The Tour. The concert was amazing -- the Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor amphitheatre on the beach in Wantaugh, New York, on the south shore of Long Island. It was a clear night, the temperature was warm, the music outstanding.Michael McDonald opened the show with a full band, and played an assortment of his solo tunes, a couple from his recent Motown songbook, and his killer Doobie Brothers songs, including "It Keeps You Running", "You Belong to Me", "What A Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It To The Streets". The intro to "Takin' It To The Streets" featured a long piano/organ shuffle between McDonald and his keyboardist, John Deaderick. After some brilliant pianistics, McDonald began the opening chords to "Takin'" and the crowd roared its approval.After a short break, the lights dropped out and the Steely Dan band appeared on stage, and began a jazz instrumental tune called Turtle Talk. A few minutes into the song, the band was joined by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. They quickly moved into "Bodhisattva", an indication that Don and Walt had plans to revisit a number of older tunes they had not performed for some time. After the song, Fagen welcomed the audience with, "Hello, kids", and the band continued to weave magic with the following tunes, post-"Bodhisattva":"Time Out Of Mind""Aja" featuring Keith Carlock's solid interpretations of the Steve Gadd solo pieces"I Got The News""Hey Nineteen" during which the band breaks from the main song, and Donald notes that trumpeter Michael Leonhart and trombonist Jim Pugh were arguing backstage earlier, and invites them to the front of the stage to discuss the issue. Leonhart (brother to singer Carolyn) and Pugh, each using a mute, proceed to perform a little "talking jazz", trading licks back and forth until Donald yells, "Okay, enough, back to your places," or something similar. The music still chugging, he asks the girls about that certain drink of a certain kind, he can't remember the name, what was it again, to which the girls begin singing the chorus, "The Cuervo Gold, the fine Columbian...""Josie""Green Earrings""Deacon Blues""Black Friday""Dirty Work" (sung by Carolyn and Cynthia)Donald began speaking to the audience about the need to feel a groove, and this was the segue to the portion of the show where the band members showcase themselves individually. Walter then introduced each of the band members, and concluded by welcoming Michael McDonald back to the stage to join in with them. While the band continued to play a low-keyed funk groove, McDonald sat down in the middle of the stage, between Becker and Fagen, settled in at his keyboard and started singing "Show Biz Kids", one of my all-time favorite SD tunes, from Countdown to Ecstasy. After enthralling the audience with his reading of this great song, featuring backup vocals from Fagen, Young, and the girls, Donald explained that when Michael was a member of SD in the mid-'70s, on tour he would often sing lead on some of the tunes, including “this next one”, which turned out to be "Do It Again", their first big hit. Once again, the audience was blown away by McDonald’s version of the song. The McDonald/Steely Dan set list included:"Show Biz Kids""Do It Again""Peg""Don’t Take Me Alive""Kid Charlemagne"McDonald joined The Dan for the encore, which opened with "FM" (the encore song for all their tours, it seems), and a wicked version of "My Old School".Steely Dan continues to impress, and the Dan music gets better with age. Becker and Fagen continue to surround themselves with brilliant musicians, and the current lineup is no exception:Jon Herington - GuitarFreddie Washington - BassKeith Carlock - DrumsJeff Young - Keyboards and Backing VocalsWalt Weiskopf - SaxMichael Leonhart - TrumpetJim Pugh - TromboneRoger Rosenberg - Baritone SaxCarolyn Leonhart-Escoffery - Backing VocalsCindy Mizelle - Backing VocalsWalter Becker - GuitarDonald Fagen - Keyboards and VocalsEleven dates remain on the current tour. If you are a fan of The Dan and Michael McDonald, and they come to your part of the world, don't miss this show -- it's worth the time and effort, and you won't be disappointed. Music51765@blogcritics.org Sat, 19 Aug 2006 16:10:01 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/12/114509.php Randy ReichardtDid you watch Lost last night, Episode #34, The 23rd Psalm? The element of science fiction was introduced - the "monster", never seen but in the background in a number of episodes, appears to Eko and the HobbitCharlie in the jungle. While Charlie sits in a tree, swirling black smoke, seemingly sentient and emitting a deep curdling techno-noise, emerges from the distant trees following two explosions, moving very fast and strong enough to destroy a tree in front of it as it speeds to within inches of Eko, then stopping on a virtual, airborne dime, hovering in front of him. The camera glides through the smoke as split-second images from Eko's past appear from within the black cloud - is the smart smoke reading Eko's mind, and sending the images back to the mother ship? After a few more seconds, it retreats at high speed and disappears back into the forest.So this is what snatched the pilot from the cockpit and killed him, rustled the trees in the first episode, and tried to grab Locke and drag him away in another episode? I waited six weeks to see the big scary monster revealed to be black smoke? Might we see the monolith from 2001 in an upcoming episode as well? The creators of the show have (apparently) stated that the story would not have a SF angle as it unfolds. Well, unless there is a brilliant scientist, inventor, or engineer hiding on the island in an undisclosed location, or the black smoke is related to the Dharma Initiative (I know, it probably is), start the Hugo nomination voting now.Suspend thy disbelief, my friends, the show can only get weirder and less believable (even with the required suspension of disbelief in the first place.) At the opening of the preceding (recap) episode tonight, the tail of the plane was shown slamming, and I mean SLAMMING into the ocean water at a speed that would have killed most if not everyone on board (assuming anyone could have survived the plane splitting apart in the air in the first place, and the subsequent descent of its parts into the ocean.) Instead, we accept that most survived without a scratch. (Remember the hijacked 767 that was forced to land on the ocean surface near the Comoros Islands in 1996? Six of the twelve crew members and 119 of the 163 passengers died. The crash was caught on video - watch it, and it becomes very difficult to accept the premise of Lost.) What's happened to Danielle, the nutbag French woman? How is Desmond doing since he split the underground bunker to go hiking? Did a polar bear eat him? How are the sharks with the Dharma logo doing these days, and what happened to the Deliverance extras who kidnapped Walt at the end of Season One?Part of me wants to think this is brilliant writing and a great story, but another part of me wants to slap the writers silly for adding so much improbability to the many threads in the show, which is becoming one multi-year cocktease. And yes, dammit, I will keep watching Lost. Video42168@blogcritics.org Thu, 12 Jan 2006 11:45:09 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/12/29/004516.php Randy ReichardtLooking for information on the many 2005 film awards and nominations announced to date? Rich Cline, a UK film critic and creator of Shadows on the Wall, a detailed British film e-zine, maintains The Shadows Sweepstakes, "compiling all those year-end accolades in one handy place..." The numbers for scoring used by Cline "are cumulative points based on Shadows' complex, highly secret scoring system." The standings as of this writing are from 24 December 2005, with 102 awards tabulated.Movie City News, my favorite film site, has a number of charts on their Awards Watch site, including The 2005 Top Tens (the BIG chart, with total scores and average votes), The Awards Scorecard, Critics Awards (by society, etc.), The Critics (list by individual critics), and The Worst of 2005, among others.Cline reviews Syriana, one of my favorite films of the year, and one that I found difficult to follow at times. He sums this up neatly:Gaghan's script wisely sticks to the human story as things twist and turn toward a series of explosive climaxes. Keeping everyone and everything straight is quite a challenge, although he gives us plenty of help. This smart, insinuating approach rewards sharp-eyed viewers with all sorts of details, layers of character interaction and powerful human emotion.I hope to see Syriana again soon, and plan to be sharp(er)-eyed next time. In my defence, when I watched Syriana the first time, my brain was numb, having spent the previous few hours watching King Kong. Video41566@blogcritics.org Thu, 29 Dec 2005 00:45:16 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/12/06/125326.php Randy ReichardtThe Internet: A Historical Encyclopedia, is an ambitious three-volume set published by ABC-CLIO. This encyclopedia is a "major expansion of the RUSA-award winning predecessor", History of the Internet: a Chronology, 1843 to the Present, by Christos J.P. Moschovitis, Hilary Poole, Tami Schuyler, and Theresa M. Senft. The 312 page title was one of the ALA's Reference and User Services Association's 2000 Outstanding Reference Sources. Rather than increase the size of the previous single volume, the editors and authors chose to separate the issues, history, and biography components into their own volumes for the 2005 edition.Volume I: Biographies, was written by Laura Lambert, and contains 41 entries on 44 personalities critical to the development of the internet. Those chosen for inclusion are not limited to pioneers associated with technological developments only: for example, Lambert includes biographies of science fiction writers William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, lawyer and professor Lawrence Lessig, and of course, Marshall McLuhan. Other entries include noted hackers John T. Draper (Cap'n Crunch) and Kevin Mitnick, Napster founder Shawn Fanning, and the usual suspects: Bill Gates, Linus Torvalds, Tim Berners-Lee, Marc Andreesen, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, et al. Each entry is from 4-7 pages, and includes suggestions for further readings, works by the subject if available, books and articles about the subject, and related websites.Volume II: Issues, was written by Chris Woodford, and has 35 entries on a wide range of topics, including: Activism and the Internet, Cookies, Cyberterrorism, Data Mining, Digital Libraries, E-books, Education and the Internet, Hackers, Internet Broadcasting, Online Communities, Open Source, P2P Networks, Spam, and Wireless Internet. At 283 pages, this is the largest of the three volumes, with entries between six and ten pages in length. For each entry, Woodford provides background, a brief history, trends, and controversies and responses. Sidebars include additional information. For example, the E-books entry includes sidebars on E-ink and SmartPaper, and E-book Horror Stories. Blogs did not warrant their own entry, but instead are included in the section, Journalism and the Internet. I was surprised that social software components such as instant messaging, social bookmarking and tagging, wikis, photo sharing, online interest groups, social networking, user forums, RSS, and even search engines such as Google and Yahoo, receive little coverage in this volume. Volume III: Chronology, was written by Chris Moschovitis and five other authors, and covers the same time period as the earlier edition, 1843-present. The history is divided into eight chapters, ending in 2004. In the early 1800s, Charles Babbage worked on designs for his Difference Engine (also the title of a novel by Gibson and Sterling), and by 1840, proposed a design for his Analytical Engine. 1843 is chosen as the opening date for the Internet's prehistory, the year that Sketch of the Analytical Engine by Charles Babbage appeared. Written by LF Menabrae, the report was translated by Ada Lovelace, who, according to the authors of this volume, quadrupled the manuscript's length by adding her own analysis and commentary. Slightly dated Internet statistics and a bibliography of online resources to Internet history are also provided.In each entry in the Biography and Issues volumes, further reading from within these two volumes is also suggested, if appropriate. The Internet: A Historical Encyclopedia is a great place to start when looking for biographical, social, and historical information about the Internet. At US$285, it is expensive, but worth the price if your library needs a current and detailed reference tool covering this topic. I like the organization of the encyclopedia: each volume is relatively small in size, and the concise, brief entries make it easy to sift through the set, find a topic or biography of interest, and start reading from there, rather than have to read each volume from beginning to end.Of note, the ABC-CLIO site includes a preview of the E-book version of this title, which, as of this writing, seems to include the entire encyclopedia! Books40592@blogcritics.org Tue, 6 Dec 2005 12:53:26 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/18/012802.php Randy ReichardtLike millions of other teevee fans, I've been watching Lost with much interest since the opening episode last fall. Last night was the 30th episode, the 7th in season two, called "The Other 48 Days." This episode crammed into one hour capsulized the 48 days in the lives of the survivors who were in the tail section of the plane, which broke apart in mid-flight, and landed on the other side of the island, away from the group of survivors we have followed since Episode One. The show is a non-stop tease, revealing small bits of information about the island and background detail about one or more survivors week after week. But I'm wondering if the show is beginning to jump the shark.From the outset, the required suspension of disbelief has been exhausting. In the first episode, the show opens with Dr. Jack waking up in the jungle, some distance away from the forty-five-plus other survivors, most of whom are on the beach near the fuselage. Later, we learn that the plane had split apart in mid-air...and forty-five people survived, most without a scratch. Still later in Ep 1, the pilot gets snatched from the cockpit section of the plane by a "mysterious force" which has never been explained. In season one, we met Danielle, a nutcase living on the island for 17-18 years, weary and frightened of "The Others." A few episodes in, we met Ethan, a resident of the island who kidnaps two of the Lost'ers, only to be killed by a hobbit Charlie a few eps later. No explanation to date of who he was, or if he was part of "The Others." Season one ended with "The Others" kidnapping young Walt, shooting Sawyer in the shoulder, and blowing up the raft on which they, along with Jin-Soo and Michael were floating, trying to escape the island; Jin-Soo dives into the water and disappears, and Michael and Sawyer are left hanging onto what's left of the raft. Season two took us into the shaft, where it was revealed that someone (Desmond) was living there with supplies, food, electricity, etc., and was resetting a computer with a series of numbers every 108 minutes to "save the world." The six numbers he entered matched the numbers Hurley had previously chosen in a lottery, which he won to the tune of $156,000,000. And, so it goes...But Episode 7 of season two had an opening that hit home for me as to why I'm finding it harder and harder to buy the premise of survival after such a horrific event. The opening shot is of a beautiful tropical beach, sand, blue water, sunny blue sky, tranquil...until shards and chunks of the airplane come flying across the landscape at speeds reminiscent of similar scenes in the movie Twister, begging the question: how in the hell could anyone survive such a crash, let alone without a scratch on them?I will continue with Lost, but confess that my interest to know the answers to some of these questions is beginning to wear thin. I really like this show. However, I think J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are taking too long to reveal enough information critical to allow their viewers to continue watching, remain intrigued, accept the barely-believable premise, and expend enough energy to maintain a continuing suspension of disbelief as more clues are slowly revealed.Oh, and speaking of sharks, did anyone notice in the second episode that the Dharma logo was on the shark's tail as it circled the remains of the raft? Suspension of disbelief? ed: JH and AK Video39710@blogcritics.org Fri, 18 Nov 2005 01:28:02 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/14/222440.php Randy Reichardt.: The USPTO has granted Boris Volfson, an inventor in Huntington IN, US Patent 6,960,975: Space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state. According to National Geographic News, the patent is a design for an antigravity space vehicle: Volfson's craft is theoretically powered by a superconductor shield that changes the space-time continuum in such a way that it defies gravity. The design effectively creates a perpetual-motion machine, which physicists consider an impossible device.The "invention" defies the laws of physics (you cannot change the laws of physics, laws of physics, laws of physics). Robert Park tracks scientifically absurd patents for the American Physical Society, and is the author of Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. Excerpt from an article in 10 November 2005 Nature, as discussed in Physics Forums:This is not the first such patent to be granted, but it shows that patent examiners are being duped by false science, says physicist Robert Park, watchdog of junk science at the American Physical Society in Washington DC. Park tracks US patents on impossible inventions. "The patent office is in deep trouble," he says."If something doesn't work, it is rejected," insists Alan Cohan, an adviser at the patent office's Inventors Assistance Center in Alexandria, Virginia. And when something does slip through, he says, the consequences are not significant: "It doesn't cause any problems because the patent is useless."But Park argues that patenting devices that so blatantly go against scientific understanding could give them undeserved respectability, and undermine the patent office's reputation. "When a patent is awarded for an idea that doesn't work, the door is opened for sham."Patent 6,960,975 was granted on 1 November to Boris Volfson of Huntington, Indiana. It describes a space vehicle propelled by a superconducting shield, which alters the curvature of space-time outside the craft in a way that counteracts gravity. The device builds on a claim by the Russian physicist Eugene Podkletnov that superconductors can shield the effects of gravity. NASA was at one stage investigating the idea, but it has become almost as notorious as cold fusion as an example of fringe science.On his own site, the inventor notes:This proposal is for the patented inflationary vacuum spaceship. The implementation of this proposal would take years and billions of dollars. All new spaceships cost billions to develop. However, it would be cheap, quick and easy to build an orange-sized, electrically-powered "breadboard" device of my patent. The device could be gently placed, with the shuttle's mechanical arm, on the shadow side of the next space shuttle, fired up, and observed whether it moves comparatively to the shuttle.More details about the Inflationary Vacuum Spaceship are available. Sci/Tech39549@blogcritics.org Mon, 14 Nov 2005 22:24:40 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/29/224716.php Randy Reichardt:: The fourth edition of Information Sources in Engineering1, published in 2005 by Saur, and edited by Roddy MacLeod and Jim Corlett, has finally arrived on my desk. It is a massive work at 683 pages, and is part of the series, Guides to Information Sources.The third edition of this title, edited by KW Mildren and PJ Hicks, appeared in 1996, and was divided into three sections, totalling 36 chapters: primary information sources (reports, standards, patents and patent information, journals, conferences and theses, and product information), secondary information sources (abstracts, indexes, bibliographies and reviews, electronic sources, and standard reference sources), and 27 chapters on specialized subject fields such as stress analysis, robotics and automated manufacturing, and thermodynamics and thermal systems. The fourth edition of Information Sources in Engineering expands somewhat on the primary and secondary information sources, while condensing the specialized subject fields of engineering to the more traditional disciplines such as chemical, civil, environmental, materials, mechanical, and so on. The book opens with a chapter on engineers and their information needs. Martin Ward provides a useful introduction to engineers, covering their role in society, themes and aspects common to engineerings, and comparisons with scientists. He addresses theory and practice, and gives extensive coverage to the engineering knowledge base, examining its contents and the engineers' use of knowledge resources. I was surprised to find no references to the Tenopir and King book, Communication Patterns of Engineers2, published in December 2003, or to Thomas Pinelli's article, "Distinguishing Engineers from Scientists - The Case for an Engineering Knowledge Community"3, which appeared in the Vol. 21, No 3/4 2001 issue of Science and Technology Libraries. Perhaps neither was available before the chapter was completed. Regardless, no mention of either article does not detract from Ward's excellent introduction.The twelve chapters that follow discuss in detail different categories of primary and secondary engineering information sources, including: journals and e-journals, reports, theses and research in progress, conferences, patents, standards, product information, electronic full-text sources, abstracts and indexes, bibliographies and reviews, internet resources, reference sources, and professional societies. Such an approach exposes the reader to the wide variety of categories and formats covering primary and secondary engineering literature.The final fourteen chapters cover the main subject areas of engineering: aerospace and defence, bioengineering/biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical/electronic/computer, engineering design, environmental, manufacturing, materials, mechanical, mining and mineral process, nanotechnology, occupational safety and health, and petroleum and offshore engineering. The most extensive subject coverage is provided in the chapters on aerospace and defence (43 pages), civil (39 pages), materials (45 pages), and mechanical (54 pages long.) These and most other chapters include information on specific resources such as handbooks and manuals, indexes and abstracts, standards, directories, monographs, important journal and serial publications, statistical information, etc.The length, style and content of each category and subject chapter varies. This should not surprise the reader, as the following is stated in the preface:As with previous editions, contributions have not been subjected to restrictive editing, and the individual style of contributors have thereby been retained.As a result, chapters do not comform to a editorial template or standard layout, which some readers may find a wee bit frustrating at times. For example, some chapters are primarily lists of resources, others mix discussion and commentary together with resource lists, and others feature mostly commentary.One chapter warranting further mention is the one on materials engineering. The first 17 pages of this chapter cover in great detail the processes used by engineers to find material data. The authors, both engineers, explain that material data needs evolve in two ways. At the start of a project, the engineer needs "low-precision data for all materials and processes", whereas near the end, the need shifts to accurate, precise data for one or a small number of materials, where a richness of detail is needed. The authors discuss material data needs for design, screening and ranking for data structure and sources, supporting information for data structure and sources, and ways of checking and estimating data. The data sources for materials and processes are listed in the appendix, an extensive 26-page bibliography, listing titles in hard-copy, database, and Internet formats. Subject coverage includes pure metals, ferrous and non-ferrous, ceramics and glasses, composite materials, woods and wood-based composites, and natural fibres and other materials.Information Sources in Engineering, 4th edition, is a worthwhile edition to the reference shelves of any library whose collections and services focus on one or more engineering disciplines.(NOTE: I must mention that I am a contributor to the forthcoming title, Using the Engineering Literature (edited by Bonnie Osif), having written the chapter on petroleum engineering and refining. No comparisons were drawn between the two titles, which would have been impossible anyway, as I have not seen the other chapters of the book, which is to be published in the near future by Dekker.) MacLeod, Roderick A, and Jim Corlett, eds. 2005. Information Sources in Engineering. 4th ed. München: KG Saur. Tenopir, Carol, and Donald W King. 2004. Communication Patterns of Engineers. New York: IEEE Press, Wiley Interscience. Pinelli, Thomas. 2001. Distinguishing engineers from scientists: the case for an engineering knowledge community. Science and Technology Libraries: 21 (3/4), pp.131-163. - Randy Reichardt Books37105@blogcritics.org Thu, 29 Sep 2005 22:47:16 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/14/213614.php Randy Reichardt.: Last weekend, I participated in my 14th consequtive Edmonton Folk Music Festival as a volunteer. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with one of my musical heroes, Johnny Clegg. Clegg and Sipho Mchunu formed the seminal South African band Juluka in the late 1970s. Their song, "Scatterlings of Africa", is an all-time favorite. Clegg and his band rocked the festival during the Sunday (Aug 7) 2:00 pm mainstage show, and later in the evening, at the after-festival party. At the party, I planted myself in front of the stage, a few feet away from Johnny, and danced to his music for 75 delirious, joyful minutes. For both shows, Johnny and the current version of Savuka played a tight, melodic and joyful show, showcasing many of Juluka and Savuka well-known songs, and mixing in many different dance steps, which I assume were based on Zulu tradition in many cases.I was thrilled when I learned Clegg was playing our festival. He is one of those artists I have always wanted to watch in performance, and to have experienced such an amazing show twice in less than twelve hours was a gift from God. I don't know how else to describe it. Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu defied apartheid authority in their early musical collaborative days in South Africa. Because Clegg was white and Mchunu black, they were subject to police harrassment, threats, and abuse. The continuing development of their unique sound, which led to the formation of their band, Juluka (Zulu for "sweat"), was in defiance of the cultural segregation laws at the time. With their music largely ignored in their home country, they played live performances on the street and at private functions. Word of mouth continued to spread, and Juluka's reputation grew, eventually leading to a record contract, and international recognition. Further details are available on the biography page on this site.What makes Clegg's music so appealing to me is his ability to mix traditional Zulu musical structure (about which I know next to nothing, frankly) and Western melodies and rhythms. He also mixes Zulu and English lyrics. Regardless of how he does it, it is music that radiates and bleeds celebration and joy in the midst of world that can be terrifying and unforgiving.Clegg and Savuka ("We have risen") are in the midst of an extensive world tour. If you get the chance, see his show, you will not be disappointed, and if you are new to his music, you will experience a sound that you have not heard before, pure auditory pleasure. I'm still smiling.Here is the set list from the party, which mirrored the 2:00 pm afternoon show as well:Jongosi Take My Heart Away Africa Giyani I Call Your Name (Ngibiza Igama Lakho) Tatazela Malonjeni Kilimanjaro Great Heart Scatterlings of Africa Cruel Crazy Beautiful World Asimbonanga (Mandela) Dela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon)At the party, we wouldn't stop clapping until the band returned for an encore. I did not catch the name of that song. At the party performance, he added one extra song, between Great Heart and Scatterlings.Mention must be made of his excellent band, the current Savuka lineup, featuring Brendan Ross on sax and keyboards, Mandisa Dlanga on vocals, Concord Nkabinde on bass, Andy Innes on guitar and mandolin, and Barry Van Zyl on drums.In February, 2005, Johnny held a braai (barbeque) at his home for as many surviving people that played for him in his career as could make the event. This photo features members of Juluka and Savuka throughout the years. An extensive discography is available here, and includes albums, singles, DVDs, books/press, lyrics, songs index, discs index, and more.Thank you, Johnny, thank you again. :-) Music34160@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Aug 2005 21:36:14 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/02/003353.php Randy Reichardt:: Six Feet Under is one of the many brilliant series on HBO, but I have found the fifth season to be the most depressing of the series' run to date. In Episode 59, one of the supporting characters tells Brenda to shut the f*ck up, because she's sick of listening to Brenda whine and complain about her failing relationship with Nate. Brenda is expecting a child with Nate, and there may be complications with the baby. Meanwhile, Nate has befriended Maggie, the daughter of George, the now-estranged husband of Nate's mother, Ruth. Maggie has invited Nate to attend a Quaker service, in hopes that he might find some peace of mind there. Brenda reluctantly goes with him. The next night, Nate goes to pick up Maggie for the service, but instead ends up sleeping with her, further fracturing his marriage to Brenda. Meanwhile, David and Keith continue to struggle with their adopted sons, Durrell and Anthony. The relationship between Keith and Durrell hits an all-time low when Durrell pulls a knife on Keith, who disarms him, slamming him into the kitchen table. Claire has left her art career, and is miserable while temping in a large law office. Rico has moved back into his house with Vanessa, but she is cold and distant, barely tolerating his presence.So far so good. But at the end of each episode in the fifth and final season, I find myself in a sour mood, angry at the continuing torment each character is facing. For a show that has been so good for so long, there is a complete and utter lack of joy in the episodes this year. The characters, while predictably and naturally flawed, seem collectively bitter and disgusted with life. Initially, I was hoping it was an aberration, but I've seen no change as the season has progressed.In Canada, we have yet to see Episode 60, which is airing in the US this week, so I don't know if anything changes for the better. In the few episodes left, we can expect various character resolutions to happen. Withing those resolutions, I hope something positive will emerge by the show's end. Video33503@blogcritics.org Tue, 2 Aug 2005 00:33:53 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/11/211007.php Randy Reichardt:: Mike sent an e-mail reminding me that Arianna Huffington's new blog debuted this week on the web. It gained notoriety weeks before it began, when it was announced that the blog, part of the new web site, The Huffington Post, and known simply as "The Blog," would feature up to 300 "celebrity" bloggers, including the following who have already contributed brief entries: Larry David, Walter Cronkite, Tina Brown, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall, Mike Nichols, John Cusack, Ellen DeGeneres, David Mamet, Harry Shearer, Paul Krassner, and David Frum. The group (so far) leans heavily to the left, and features mostly members of the entertainment industry. I love John Cusack (I want to BE John Cusack!), but I'm not sure what qualifies him and the others from film, tv, and music, to be blog columnists. Then again, doesn't that define blogs - anyone can write about anything at any time, without the worry of a deadline or an editor? In this instance, the posts are edited, according to Mike, but I can't find anything on the site to confirm this.One thing missing from the blog are comments - readers cannot respond to the posts. Another section of The Post, The News Wire, does allow comments. It's unfortunate that comments are not allowed on the blog. Comments on blogs are what make them interactive and worth revisiting. Comments make a blog lively and challenging by allowing for discussion and discourse.I was talking recently with colleagues who like myself, contribute library-related blogs to the field. There are many good blogs covering many different aspects of librarianship. That said, I wondered out loud if we are approaching the moment where library blogs experience some kind of dot-com bust, wherein we reach a critical mass, and the library blogosphere does a self-correction and reduces in size. Might the same thing happen to other subject-related blog communities? My Bloglines feeds currently number 143 - there is no way I can keep up with following most of them. Arianna Huffington has created a community blog, with up to 300 handpicked contributors, perhaps the highest profile blog of its type. Will it be possible to keep up with so many contributors, or will it be easier because all are contributing to the same site?The politics notwithstanding, I'll be interested to see how this new template of a blog is received and how it will develop. If only she would add comments to the mix. Sci/Tech29382@blogcritics.org Wed, 11 May 2005 21:10:07 EDT