"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter
George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz
here and
here.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 9, 2009 -
13 comments
We just like George Plimpton. Not personally, we never actually knew him. But we like everything we know about him. His intelligence. His good humor. His spirit.
We enjoy the way he attacked life with gusto and grace.
We appreciate how he proved that a funny upper crust accent and a rather fancy vocabulary doesn't make you any less of a real man. (If nothing else, Plimpton's life proves that once upon a time a man walked the earth who could both read poetry and throw a football.)
We admire the way he embodied everything a man of letters is supposed to be; curious and articulate, brave and wise.
We are thankful to the way he ceaselessly promoted other writers and artists and how, through his own writings and publications, became a teacher, guide and inspiration to countless others (even those he never met, life, for instance, us).
And, finally, we believe a life such as his is worth continued celebration. Because here was a man who threw himself tirelessly into the gaping maw of life, fighting onward, ever smiling, like the truest of gentleman.
ALSO, George Plimpton digs
Intellivision and thinks its far superior to Atari.
posted by Fizz
on Jul 1, 2009 -
35 comments
One of the most
beautiful and
disturbing places in Denver. It a quiet place and quite the place to see. A
movie was made about a house and the fellow who rented it one day...adjacent to the park. Scared me to death as a little kid.
posted by shockingbluamp
on Sep 21, 2008 -
16 comments
What Bush and Batman have in common. "A cry for help goes out from a city beleaguered by violence and fear: A beam of light flashed into the night sky, the dark symbol of a bat projected onto the surface of the racing clouds . . .Oh, wait a minute. That's not a bat, actually. In fact, when you trace the outline with your finger, it looks kind of like . . . a "W."
posted by you just lost the game
on Jul 25, 2008 -
82 comments
George Habash aka the Doctor, founder of the
PFLP has died. The group, still extant, were notorious for various attacks in the 60s and 70s, most notably the
Dawson's Field Hijackings in the early days of
Black September when four planes bound for NYC were hijacked. Three were evacuated and detonated on live TV at a remote airstrip in Jordon.
Leila Khaled (Mefites might better know her the inspiration for another Doctor's accomplice,
Leela) and her
Sandinista accomplice Patrick Argüello boarded a Swissair flight from Amsterdam posed as married Hondurans. Argüello was assaulted with a whiskey bottle and finally shot, while Leila was arrested and
released as part of an exchange deal. Though the group gave up hijacking, the
Japanese Red Army, armed with Czech rifles concealed in violin cases, orchestrated the
Lod Airport massacre on their behalf, killing mostly mostly Puerto Rican pilgrims. The only surviving culprit,
Kozo Okamoto is eventually granted refuge in Lebanon.
posted by harhailla.harhaluuossa
on Jan 26, 2008 -
4 comments
It has always been difficult to look up any information on the pioneers of computing. Even today, in the Internet age, one has trouble finding much about early computers--even on the ultimate computer network.
Consider the late George A. Philbrick. He was one of the titanic figures in electronic computing in the 1950s--mainly because of the company he founded, which was a major manufacturer (and pioneer) of the
operational amplifier, at a time when an "op-amp" was made of vacuum tubes. Op-amps were used to build
analog computers, which were widely used to simulate physical processes in the days when digital computers were either non-existent, or too slow and costly, for many kinds of simulation and process-control work. Op-amps, in chip form, are still widely used in electronics. Yet, despite his unquestioned status as a major pioneer of electronics, there was almost nothing on the Internet about Philbrick or his company.
Until 2005--when Joe Sousa decided to put up a website dedicated to Philbrick's legacy. Behold
The Philbrick Archive.
posted by metasonix
on Aug 4, 2007 -
10 comments
I have been called a voluptuary, a sybarite, a hedonist, a creep. .. George Meyer's silly rhapsody on conferences, symposia, seminars, etc.: "The OFF-SITE is a born provocateur. She blends the dirty fun of a PowerPoint presentation with the raw danger of a Kaffeeklatsch. One minute she’s showing you charts and graphs, then up pops a “Far Side” cartoon. It’s high-stakes poker, and everything’s wild."
from the New Yorker , May 2007.
posted by celerystick
on Jun 13, 2007 -
10 comments
Planed - a new work by Gilbert & George, available for download until 11:35pm on the 10th of May.
posted by jack_mo
on May 8, 2007 -
13 comments
Sasquatch!, the
indie music festival, returns to
The Gorge with an
impressive line-up headlined by
Bjork and the
Beastie Boys. As usual,
KEXP has a veritable cornucopia of
live performances from the artists. If you're wondering what might be in store, check out select songs from
The Arcade Fire,
M.I.A.,
Citizen Cope,
Neko Case,
The Thermals,
Viva Voce,
Interpol,
Michael Franti & Spearhead,
Spoon,
Ozomatli,
Bad Brains,
The Dandy Warhols,
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter,
Common Market,
Smoosh, and
Minus The Bear. Bring
sunscreen and an
umbrella on your
short drive from
Seattle to
George, Washington
posted by 0xFCAF
on Feb 25, 2007 -
13 comments
I couldn't have
said it better.
(single link, youtube, political, beautifully done)
posted by Lord_Pall
on Nov 4, 2006 -
53 comments
Properly Chilled, "a great guide to the downtempo music scene/lifestyle, spotlighting not only the essential release reviews, label/artist profiles and other data on the genre but also exclusive DJ mixes and all kinds of other goodies" (
via). Check out the totally free, totally chill
Radio Jazztronica #3 mix from DJ Chicken George. It's 55+ minutes of "unpredictable, energetic and heart-felt" downtempo that packs a serious punch. Did I mention it's free?
posted by JPowers
on Feb 8, 2006 -
19 comments
Republicans are threatening to revoke Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption. Not because of the
steroid scandals, or the numerous abuses of the monopoly to
shakedown cities for publicly financed stadiums.
No, the GOP is attacking baseball because
George Soros, a liberal, might buy a team and he would be a "polarizing figure."
Oh yeah,
Fred Malek, a non-polarizing, competing bidder is a GOP fundraiser and a aide who compiled a list of members of the "Jewish Cabal" at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Nixon.
This injection of politics into baseball seems
eerily familiar to me...
posted by hipnerd
on Jun 30, 2005 -
44 comments
George Bush sings (MP3 contains swearing) and shows how he imagines the world should be. Now that John Ashcroft has left the administration it was clearly time for someone else to step up and lead the vocals. There's more info at
Wax Audio.
posted by sien
on Jun 9, 2005 -
27 comments
"Joseph McCarthy must be smiling admirably in Hades" -- British MP George Galloway, on Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) We've previously discussed Galloway
here, but I thought that pan had flashed and I'd never hear his name again. This is transAtlantic Politifilter for your Friday Morning. (via Minneapolis Star-Tribune, it may ask for reg.)
posted by indiebass
on May 13, 2005 -
50 comments
George W Bush certainly makes more sense when you can write his speeches for him. Now only if we could make all of his other decisions...
posted by mule
on Feb 3, 2005 -
13 comments
Bush Relatives for Kerry grew out of a series of conversations that took place between a group of people that have two things in common: they are all related to George Walker Bush, and they are all voting for John Kerry. As the election approaches, we feel it is our responsibility to speak out about why we are voting for John Kerry, and to do our small part to help America heal from the sickness it has suffered since George Bush was appointed President in 2000. We invite you to read our stories, and
please, don't vote for our cousin!
posted by jackspace
on Oct 21, 2004 -
10 comments
It's that time of year - time for thru-hikers to start the Appalachian Trail! Last year, over
1700 hikers started the hike with only 352 completing the 2,200 mile walk from Springer Mtn, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine. Given that walking the AT takes about six months, most hikers start in March and April so they can finish before winter sets in.
With town spread out along the trail, many hikers keep
online journals - probably some of the few blogs where what you had for breakfast and what the weather was like make for interesting topics.
posted by borkus
on Feb 29, 2004 -
23 comments
Happy St George's Day. Patron saint of England, Portugal, skin diseases and syphillis amongst other things.
Saint George may not have been English, or even have set foot in England, but
a poll suggests many English people would like his day to be more enthusiastically marked. There's even an
online petition you can sign in support of making St George's day a national holiday.
The government shows little interest though. What's wrong with being English, and why shouldn't we celebrate our national day properly?
posted by squealy
on Apr 23, 2003 -
28 comments
Ye olde Axis of Evil turns out to be, really, just an exercise in getting rid of Saddam (registration required). Not that I blame W but shouldn't we get a few other countries to back us up in a potentially long, protracted war? Could North Korea be
right?
posted by boardman
on Feb 13, 2002 -
9 comments
Oooooh! Look! Bones!!!! Ladies and Gentlemen, in conjunction with
George Stetton I am able to bring you, for your amusement and delight, the
hand held Sonic Flashlight. You should visit his
homepage. He does
poetry and
music too.
I don't know what you want this christmas but this has just gone into my top ten.
This will be my last post for a while as I'm off on holiday so have a good
christmas y'all.
jingle jingle etc.....
posted by Spoon
on Dec 19, 2001 -
1 comment
Pre-Fab George. In a fascinating sidelight, it turns out George Harrison and his brother Pete actually
visited the U.S. for a couple of weeks in 1963, visiting George's sister, who lived in a small town in rural southern Illinois. Lots of history was made there: He bought the album containing the original version of "Got My Mind Set On You," which he would cover 25 years later; he bought his first
Rickenbacker guitar, the sound of which would change
rock music, and little WFRX, West Frankfort, became the first U.S. radio station to play the Beatles, thanks to lobbying by George and his sister. Not to mention he played a nearby VFW dance, sitting in with local rockers the Four Vests. There's a Tom Hanks
movie in here somewhere. Not to mention the obligatory "George Slept Here"
bed and breakfast.
posted by luser
on Dec 3, 2001 -
5 comments
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