Lou Rawls dies You'll never find... A "velvety baritone" like Lou Rawls, who died Friday of lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai in LA. He moved with his mother from Chicago in the 1950s, was a friend of Sam Cooke, and sang the National Anthem at Game 2 of the 2005 World Series
in Chicago. Rawls sang with
Sam Cooke, was awarded three Grammys, sold one platinum and five gold albums. He said: There are no limits to music, so why should I
limit myself?"
posted by SeeAych4
on Jan 6, 2006 -
31 comments
What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali? "I was frequently left with tingling all over because I had been in the presence of such a great
man and still humbled by his compassion, tolerance and understanding." Inspired by this weekend's airing by ESPN Classic of most of
Tyson's fights, I started thinking about the difference between these two men. Ali obviously transcended his sport and has become
more than just a boxer while Tyson is clearly a lost and troubled
soul. And yet Tyson's story still
inspires reflection.
Nietzche's statement that "What someone is, begins to be revealed when his talent abates, when he stops showing us what he can do" is perfectly illustrated by the twilight years of these two legendary boxers.
posted by spicynuts
on Nov 27, 2005 -
47 comments
A distinction between “old” and “new” wars is vital. “Old wars” are wars between states where the aim is the military capture of territory and the decisive encounter is battle between armed forces. “New wars”, in contrast, take place in the context of failing states. They are wars fought by networks of state and non-state actors, where battles are rare and violence is directed mainly against civilians, and which are characterised by a new type of political economy that combines extremist politics and criminality... I argue in this article that the United States viewed its invasion of Iraq as an updated version of “old war” that made use of new technology. The US failure to understand the reality on the ground in Iraq and the tendency to impose its own view of what war should be like is immensely dangerous and carries the risk of being self-perpetuating. It does not have to be this way. Iraq: the wrong war - Mary Kaldor writes of what was happening in pre-invasion Iraq, what happened thereafter and what the alternatives were. Well, there is always
Exit strategy: Civil war. And on that, note this:
Kurdish Officials Sanction Abductions in Kirkuk--a city from which, I am afraid, we will hear more and more as time goes by.
posted by y2karl
on Jun 15, 2005 -
20 comments
Elections in Iran Iran Scan is an English-language blog covering the election in Iran. One of my favorite lines... "As the Iranian elections begin to look more and more like California's recent gubernatorial elections, one wonders whether these elections will similarly be more about the candidates persona as opposed to their policy."
posted by halekon
on May 18, 2005 -
7 comments
Today I would like to share with you some personal experiences in my encounter with Arab satellites both as a contributor to their programs, as their victim sometimes, and also hopefully sometimes as their interlocutor. Let me say a few words--a background--about why Arab satellites have done probably for the Arab world more than any organized critical movement could have done, in opening up the public space, in giving Arab citizens a newly found opportunity to assert themselves. Thoughts on Arab Satellite Television, Pan-Arabism, and Freedom of Expression By Saad Eddin Ibrahim, from the very interesting Fall/Winter Edition of
Transnational Broadcasting Studies Journal--
Covering Satellite Television in the Arab and Islamic Worlds--both via the very interesting
Abu Aardvark.
posted by y2karl
on Dec 7, 2004 -
2 comments
Athletes... Steroids... blah blah blah.. Only this time it's the
pigeons. Poor birds.
posted by Lizc
on Nov 11, 2004 -
7 comments
This is the first presidential election where the power of personal computers have been put to use by large numbers of amateurs to create their own
ads,
cartoons, and multimedia
political statements.
Some are
ridiculous,
some are inventive, and
some are well, amateurish, but they are all done by people trying to express their political views in a way that may seem to make more of a difference then by casting a ballot.
I know that the links I've posted are anti-bush slanted, but to be honest they are easier to find...
posted by copacetix
on Oct 6, 2004 -
7 comments
Breathing could cost you your health. If the *best* quality air in a UK city is equivalent to smoking 10 fags a (24 hour) day, are we all going to end up like the people in the anti-smoking
adverts?
posted by asok
on Aug 30, 2004 -
19 comments
open debates is a nonprofit that's working to reform the
presidential debate process for the american election. they have some pretty big names on their board from across the political spectrum, including
john b. anderson,
angela "bay" buchanan, and
randall robinson.
From the website:
Currently, the presidential debates are secretly controlled by the major parties, through the private bipartisan corporation called the Commission on Presidential Debates, resulting in the stultification of format, the exclusion of popular candidates, and the avoidance of pressing national issues.
The major party candidates never pay a political price for their antidemocratic practices; posing as an independent sponsor, the Commission on Presidential Debates shields the major party candidates from public criticism and public accountability.
posted by christy
on May 26, 2004 -
9 comments
The Blissful Life in Utopia SUGAR LAND, Tex. -- This is the home of Britton Stein, who describes George W. Bush as "a man, a man's man, a manly man," and Al Gore as "a ranting and raving little whiny baby."
Forty-nine years old, Stein is a husband, a father, a landscaper and a Republican. He lives in a house that has six guns in the closets and 21 crosses in the main hallway.
Diary of a Freeper. Fascinating read. Insightful.
posted by nofundy
on Apr 28, 2004 -
130 comments
Camera Obscura trolls the attics and abandoned dressers of the world, finding the great lost portraits of the past, then burying them and posting these laughable ones instead. Develop Dutchophobia and learn to fear the Irma!
posted by snarkout
on Mar 29, 2004 -
9 comments
Blinky Links for Blogs AllGuinness has come up with a relatively
easy interface to generate the HTML to create a very cool and intuitive way of signifying the links between your blog and the others they link to.
It allows others to easily see the interlinking by mousing over one blog, all the others linked to it in the list will light up like a Christmas tree.
posted by fenriq
on Feb 2, 2004 -
13 comments
Faux News cites a Heritage Foundation report that asserts the poor in America are doing just fine because many of them live in their own homes and have cars.
However, I know poor homeowners who have to deal with rampant crime, high property taxes (to subsidize the suburbs,) bank redlining, lousy schools and crumbling infrastructure. Also, car ownership is a necessity for most people in most places- not a luxury as would be suggested.
Rather than citing the statistics of DVD-player ownership, I'd prefer to know more about real quality-of-life issues, such as how many of these people have health insurance. What do you think?
posted by drstrangelove
on Jan 24, 2004 -
72 comments
Techies Left Behind James Pace Jr. used to work as a steamfitter in a General Electric plant in Bridgeport. That was back in the early '70s, when the grapevine was alive with warnings: These jobs are going overseas. Go back to school. There's no future here.
Pace left the plant, enrolled in computer school, studied information technology and never looked back. That is, not until 23 years later, on the day he was told his $100,000-a-year job as an IT (information technology) consultant had been sent to India
posted by Postroad
on Jan 16, 2004 -
80 comments
Violet Books catalogs
Antiquarian Supernatural Literature, including literary ghost stories, Victorian science fiction, Yellow Nineties Decadence,
H. Rider Haggard & haggardesque "Lost Race" novels, Marie Corelli & other occult romancers, Rafael Sabatini & Jeffery Farnol & all vintage swashbuckling historical romances, Yukon adventures, jungle tales,
Sax Rohmer & all weird thrillers,
classic detectives,
vintage children's & young adult fantasies & series books,
vintage westerns, and all things old, fictional, adventurous, and weird. Make sure to check for the titles that have dustjacket scans.
posted by Pinwheel
on Dec 15, 2003 -
3 comments
"Buildings of Disaster are miniature replicas of famous structures where some tragic or terrible events happened to take place. The images of burning or exploded buildings make a different, populist history of architecture, one based on emotional involvement rather than scholarly appreciation."
posted by MrMoonPie
on Aug 11, 2003 -
27 comments
Kerouac becomes a bobblehead. From the sports promoters in Lowell, Massachusetts, to the literati, everybody thinks it's a terrific idea. "Certainly, Jack would love it," says the executor of his estate.
posted by beagle
on Jul 29, 2003 -
12 comments
Someone needs Photoshop classes. Cat Schwartz, TechTV vixen, posted some pictures of herself on her blog. Due to an obscure bug in Photoshop, she also inadvertently posted pictures of herself nude. Oopos.
Warning: Minor nudity enclosed.
posted by manero
on Jul 24, 2003 -
89 comments
