Unmotivated.
Here is a three page story about people who have an infatuation with Captain Kirk’s chair from Star Trek and have one in their own home.
This post is in: Open Threads
Unmotivated.
Here is a three page story about people who have an infatuation with Captain Kirk’s chair from Star Trek and have one in their own home.
Comments are closed.
Xanthippas
You can only blog about so much mendacity in one day.
gbear
I’m not sure how to respond to that.
Nicole
If anyone has nine-and-a-half minutes to spend, this was really fun to watch:
100 Quotes, 100 Movies, 100 Numbers
Ash
Are you suffering from Outrage Exhaustion? I found it on WebMD. Only cure is to move to an underground bunker and live off cave mold.
blahblahblah
I’m reposting this because it’s an interesting link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7950224.stm
Russia prepares to reform its military into a more professional force. BBC Word New report video of about 15 minutes in length.
GSD
Michelle Malkin points out that the first thing the Nazis did was to send their Jewish homosexuals to persecute the financial elites.
-GSD
Keith
Finally going Galt, eh?
cleek
and Glenn Beck points out that Al Gore is just like the Nazis because he’s trying to get children to question the wisdom of their parents, just like the Nazis did with the Hilter Youth.
Punchy
Uh…..Cole? TOURNAMENT, bitches!
Can we puleeze get a tourney thread? Somewhere I can brag when CalStateEarthquake doesn’t lose to Memphis……by more than 20 points.
Grassy-ass.
jibeaux
This video of Obama making his bracket picks is wittier than you might think. Also, he gets the champion right, inshallah. /joyful ululation!
Trinity
Ditto John. Of course, to my boss it appears as if I am ever so busy busy busy.
Just Some Fuckhead
That reminds me I need to go change some my picks.
jibeaux
This isn’t really all that hard to do. They appear to be almost hard-wired for it, matter of fact.
Sam Hutcheson
Iraq is old news. Wingnuttia needs a new fire to burn their souls. That new fire is making believe that "the Mexican invasion" isn’t a bunch of racial-natalist hate-mongering but instead a patriotic standing up against narco terrorists. You know, like those Minutemen guys at the border.
jibeaux
On the hhgregg website, you can enter your bracket to win a flat screen, but I think it’s over now.
BenA
@jibeaux:
How could he have gotten the champion right? He has UConn losing to Memphis… that’s just foolishness. ;-)
Thomas Allen
There is no reason to be motivated if billionaire economy-destroyers don’t get the full amount of their contractual "retention" "bonuses"! I almost didn’t get out of bed this morning.
Incertus
Warner Todd Huston was on fire yesterday. Pure, uncut wingnut. And I’m going to pimp the advice columnist for The Rumpus. Funny stuff, but she needs material to work with, so if you have questions for her…
pharniel
ok peeps. help a guy out.
The wife is interested in becoming more educated about Single Payer healthcare and healthcare status in genaral.
What are some good links to policy wonks on the health care topic?
she tried looking around and got "read daschelle’s book" and that was about it.
gbear
A couple days ago, Americablog posted this story about dolphins finding a new way to play. It’s a nice break from talking about talking heads and republicans.
I’ve decided to boycott Beck, Limbaugh, BillO and the rest. I don’t want to see their faces, I don’t want to hear their voices. I’m thinking of adding Keith Olberman to the list too.
I haven’t had ANY unpleasant withdrawl symptoms yet, but then I didn’t pay them much mind before I started the boycott.
The Grand Panjandrum
John I know you wanted a salsa verde recipe the other day. I didn’t post one but here is a link to my apple-jicama salsa recipe. Make a batch (or half batch if that looks like it might be too much). I’ve been making it for almost ten years now and it is just about perfect for my taste. The optional dash of good tequila does make it mighty tasty.
LD50
"We’re not criminals, Marge! We’re patriots! You know, like those guys in jail!"
Catsy
Slow news day?
I can’t really say anything about the Star Trek chair; I have two walls of our den devoted to sorted Lego bins and build things with them regularly. But wow.
argh
Mr. Cole, would you like to comment upon this editorial by Eliot Spitzer, claiming that the real AIG scandal is not the bonuses and they are only a media distraction.
You were loudly helping the rabble throwing fruit at him to step down, so I wondered if you were still happy with your kneejerk reaction.
If you would rather not comment, I certainly understand.
Xanthippas
I went with a replica of Wells’ time machine. No cup holder though.
Sebastien
Communislamist France is under another day of civil war (shorter Fox should they even deign talk about it).
Translated into as normal an English as I can muster, the unions have called for a day of strikes and manifestations to press the government into widening its stimulus plan.
Interestingly enough, while such actions are usually followed mostly by the public service and decried by the private (because such strikes always involve public transportation and thus cause a royal pain to those who can’t afford to take a day off), today even the TF1 TV news (which aren’t exactly aggressive against the government) have noticed there was a high proportion of private sector workers. People are scared, they are angry. And the good new despite that is that they start getting together.
Tonight our Prime Minister will be at the prime time hour news. Probably to whine that we French always complain (not exactly news) and that the gov’t doesn’t have anymore money to give (not exactly news either).
I just hate listening to this guy, because aside from being an arrogant twit, he’s a complete useless shill to our overactive President Sarokzy, AKA Napoleon the Shorter, AKA the One-Man-Government. Worse, even though everyone including him knows it, he stills behaves as if he had some authority. Still, there may be some interest into listening to him tonight. It’s no more just the pampered lazy public workers who protest, and that cuts down a lot of his usual arguments.
bootlegger
Good luck in the tourney pool, its ALL on the line now. Remember, we’re playing for bragging rights and status, which I think is pretty much all the resources you have on a blog’s message board.
I put Obama’s bracket up so we can measure ourselves (hey, its the best chance I’ll ever have to measure myself against him).
There are 51 Juicers and one POTUS in the pool.
I’ll get the snap going by reminding Just Some Fuckhead he can’t pee in the pool and Comrade Suck has to wear elastic plastic pants to keep the fecal matter from leaking out.
For the rest of ya, your mothers are hamsters and your fathers smell of Elderberries.
Libby
@pharniel: I know of people got mad at these bloggers during the campaign but Corrente owns the single payer issue. She could do worse than read their posts in that category.
binzinerator
@jibeaux:
No shit! My 4-yr-old daughter is already doing this.
Me: I want you to stop teasing your little brother.
Her: Why?
Me: Because I become upset when you do that.
Her: Why?
Me: Because when you tease him he becomes upset and screams and that make me upset.
Her: Oh.
Me: Why do you keep teasing him?
Her: Because it’s fun.
Getting a kid to question their parents is effortless, I tells ya. It’s refraining from screaming at them that’s hard.
burnspbesq
@jibeaux:
You had better hope that Lawson is 100 percent when y’all face Gonzaga, or they will send you home. Josh Heytvelt is Hansblahblah minus the hype, Pargo is the best point guard y’all will face all year, and the thought of watching Green and Davis try to guard Bouldin and Daye makes the Baby Jesus giggle.
Libby
There’s 51 in the pool? Weird, my bookmark is just showing the original ten or so. I’m looking forward to the games starting anyway.
For the record, Obama’s pick for the win was wrong.
burnspbesq
Unmotivated? I can relate. There’s something about a 16 percent pay cut …
blahblahblah
Brad DeLong posts this graph showing change in the interbank lending rate from 1880 to 2000:
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2009/03/chris-carroll-change-in-the-interbank-lending-rate.html
Wish I could embed the image.
bootlegger
@burnspbesq: I got the Zags in that upset too. This is their deepest team evah.
binzinerator
Also, my father-in-law will want one of those Captain Kirk chairs. In his living room too.
I’d like to think he’d pass up the outfit to go with it, but I won’t bet on it.
Michael
I hate UNC with a white hot passion. Jihad upon you, I throw my shoe!
/Louisville fan rant
blahblahblah
And WRT weirdos pretending to be Captain Kirk, here’s Mr. Shatner’s message to them:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/get-a-life-full-version-william-shatner/2504246532
"Get a life!"
(edited to include a better video)
Martin
A decent place to start is with Ezra Klein’s blog. He’s pretty good on that subject, specifically centered around single payer.
Brachiator
@pharniel:
Great question! Folks should really search the web for background on healthcare instead of blindly assuming that the Baby Jesus automatically wants everyone to have Single Payer.
The Medhunters site has some good summary articles on the health care systems in Germany, Canada, the UK, Australia and Japan. Here is a link to the article on the German health care system.
The summaries are balanced, showing the positive and negative aspects of a country’s system, and notes what consumers particularly like or dislike (as opposed to health activists’ views).
For example:
Here is a link to the Medhunters’ Index of Articles.
Libby
I’m getting a late start today because there was fire in my building and spent a couple of hours on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, so forgive me if this was posted, but has everyone seen Josh Marshall’s posts from late last night? Looks like TPM is on the AIG story and it could turn into their next Attorneygate coup. One big perp has a name and it’s Cassano.
Links to the first two posts with the preliminary research at my place. Don’t read it unless you’re prepared to get pissed off..
cleek
since last November, we’ve been working under the shadow of "your job may or may not be outsourced. we’ll tell you next month, as soon as we get the bids from the giant Indian IT shops we’ve asked to bid on your jobs."
mmm…mmm… motivation!
Michael
Live stream.
http://mmod.ncaa.com/
srv
I have posters of the great Tunch in my office and am thinking of starting a blog about him and his life as the cat behind the scenes. Anyone have suggestions for the name?
GuyFromOhio
@jibeaux:
Childrearing guide #1: Teach them right from wrong.
Childrearing guide #2" Teach them to think for themselves.
Childrearing corollary A: Offspring exposed to these guides will eventually tell the parent(s) to F#CK OFF and MIND YOUR OWN BIZ, POP.
Which I look forward to with equal parts trepidation and triumph.
Meanwhile, a Capt. Kirk fix for those in need.
GO ZIPS!!
Dennis-SGMM
@argh:
If I wasn’t a member of the rabble I’d ask you which part of "Elliot Spitzer broke some of the same laws he so zealously applied to others" do you not understand?
As it is, I am a member of the rabble: go fuck yourself.
Martin
Ok, how batshit insane will the wingnuts get if Obama’s picks are dead-on? How long would it take for Malkin to accuse him of threatening to withhold financial aid funds to universities that he picked to lose?
Paul L.
Wow take him out from behind his desk and Keith Olbermann is fat load.
srv
On the cartels, what I always said.
The War on Drugs will not be won until Mexico is a narcostate.
blahblahblah
OMG. Look at these graphs of cliff diving auto miles driven posted over at Calculated Risk:
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/03/dot-us-vehicle-miles-off-31-in-january.html
Taken from Traffic Volume Trends, a report published by the Department of Transportation. It notes a 3.1% decline in aggregate miles drives from 2008 to 2009. CR notes that this utilization decline occurred after gas price declines from $4/gal to under $2/gal across most of the nation.
Wow…
Xanthippas
@binzinerator
I can relate. Thanks to an endless succession of whys from my 3 1/2 year old, every parental pronouncement eventually devolves into an exploration of the meaning of existence, life and the universe. Every now and then my wife and I will throw in a "because Santa Claus says so" in a sometimes successful effort to bring the process to a halt.
Martin
Like Al Gore and Michael Moore!
Paultard finally has his objective rationale for why Olbermann is unamerican.
pharniel
@ everyone
WOOT! thanks.
I already told her Ezra, and i’ll warn her about corrente.
Medhunters is new. awesome.
I
GuyFromOhio
@Martin:
Does that apply to Boss Limbaugh?
Litlebritdifrnt
Yaaaaay the Obama’s are gonna dig up some Whitehouse Lawn and plant an organic veggie garden, now that’s some change I can believe in!
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/03/first-family-to.html
PS) Check out the comments on that story, "washing line" "watermelon" "chickens" and various others but this comment takes the prize
"bet there wont be any cotton in that garden LOL aint no black man gonna pick cotton" racist much? (on second thought racist and stupid thinking somehow "cotton" is a vegetable.)
Paul L.
@Martin:
It is the progressive standard.
Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot
burnspbesq
Games are underway – US labor productivity slumps.
LSU opens with a 9-0 run on Butler. Memphis and Cal State Northridge just getting started.
p.a.
Ever notice that despite all the amazing technology in all the ‘Trek’ series the nuclear war that preceeded the Federation seemed to destroy knowledge of seatbelts? A bumpy ride forany reason and they fly all over the bridge.
Incertus
By the way, Kirk’s chair? That’s nothing.
Dennis-SGMM
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Cotton has been harvested mechanically for six decades with attempts to build practical harvesters ongoing since 1850. The comment was not only racist but startlingly uninformed.
Incertus
@Paul L.: The difference is that Franken spent lots more time in that book focusing on the idiot part of it, while Moore, Gore and now Olbermann haters focus on the fat part.
John Cole
What part of gleefully prosecuting people for the same thing you are secretly doing is ok with you? And why does it make me part of the “rabble” to note he is a hypocrite and should be forced to follow the same laws and suffer the same draconian punishments he inflicted on others.
I don’t think prostitution should be illegal. It is, however, Spitzer had a hell of a good time prosecuting people and gaining politically from those prosecutions, and it turns out he was as guilty as the people he prosecuted.
Screw him.
pharniel
@Xanthippas:
alot of that is because much of the ‘long commutes’ stopped happening due to job loss.
Grumpy Code Monkey
If I had the money and the time, my living room would be an exact replica of the NCC-1701 bridge, post-refit (IOW, the bridge set from TMP and TWOK).
Martin
I don’t care what his weight is, but I find it hypocritical that a drug addict would be an authority on the moral state of the nation, and why the left is at fault for all that is wrong. I find it doubly so that knowing this, his listeners still take his moralizing message at face value.
Show my Michael Moore, Keith O, or Al Gore talking about obesity as a moral crisis caused by conservatives and then you’ll have a point.
Dennis-SGMM
@p.a.:
Good one! Notice also how showers of sparks always cascaded from the control panels when the Enterprise was attacked. The ability to make electrician’s tape must have been another lost technology. Of course, they never solved that problem on the Seaview in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" either.
Cat Lady
@p.a.:
Kinda like it was in cars in the 60’s and 70’s.
Incertus
@Dennis-SGMM:
The two do tend to walk hand in hand.
cyd
This is the sort of investigative reporting that we’ll miss when Old Media goes under—the sort that cannot possibly be produced by bloggers.
No, seriously.
Rick Taylor
There’s an article in the NY times sympathetic to AIG employees. Atrios who linked to it was less than impressed, but I found it somewhat persuasive.
That "risky credit derivatives" are out of the picture and news to me, and I’m not sure how to interpret that. Maybe just that they’re not writing new ones?
guest
is this a sublimated expression of homoeroticism? not that there is anything wrong with that.
OniHanzo
Also…just to add…they’re fat. Which means I wins the internets!
Now where’s that Hee-Haw cornfield set I asked for?
Litlebritdifrnt
@Dennis-SGMM:
Heh, I love cotton harvest time around here, the huge oblong bales remind me of battenburg cake, and they look so strange. (I live in NC btw).
Martin
They aren’t. Supposedly all they are doing now is unwinding the mess. That’s what Liddy is supposed to be doing.
I think the article is right, but I’m not sure why those who are unwinding the mess are deserving of multi-million dollar bonuses either. The anger isn’t directed at the AIG rank and file, just those who think they should be paid super-premiums for their service.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Incertus:
True. Luckily it appears that there are a ton of home gardeners also commenting and really cheerleading the idea. VICTORY GARDEN! Apparently Roosevelt also had one during the depression and as someone else mentioned I can’t imagine why the Whitehouse Chefs have not insisted on it in the past. (Apparently there is a small roof garden for herbs which Laura Bush had installed).
PS) My other favorite comment was to the effect of "nah, they’re just disturbing the dirt so that Rahm has somewhere to hide the bodies" LOL
blahblahblah
John Cole:
Now Mr. Cole, that’s just plain rude. Spitzer could well have solved all our financial crises in one fell swoop had his unicorn not been emasculated in public by the evil Bush administration. As has been reported, Mr. Spitzer has a predilection for buggery, and unfortunately Ms. Washingtoniene was unavailable for service – having now a job whoring herself as a craptastic so-called writer. Where was Mr. Spitzer to go?
You just don’t seem to have any sense of moral proportion. I mean, think of all the good he did with those prostitution prosecutions.
Hmmm… "Prostitution Prosecutions" …. sounds like it could have been the title of an old ABC School House Rock promo.
Just Some Fuckhead
@binzinerator: I went through that with my daughter. I was able to stop her "whys" when I specifically related the answer to her. So I decided that she wasn’t really asking "why" but rather "How is this my problem?"
LD50
Paul L.:
And Al Gore is fat, ergo there’s no global warming.
There. Are you a fulfilled little wingnut now?
LD50
Paul L.:
So you’re a ‘lib’ now?
We don’t want you, fuck off.
bootlegger
@Rick Taylor: No one’s saying they should be pilloried, just that they can work for wages just like the rest of us. NO ONE at that company is worth a million dollar taxpayer retention bonus, no one.
jibeaux
@Martin:
I had not thought of this, but it’s very obvious. Clearly Obama will have conspired with someone to engineer his bracket…
But won’t it be cool if Carolina wins, thereby getting to go meet ‘n’ greet with the president…that they scrimmaged with? I think that’s probably a historical first.
Dennis-SGMM
Thanks a heap! Now I have Conjunction Junction playing in my head on an endless loop.
bootlegger
@Just Some Fuckhead: No doubt, they understand it early on in the explanation, the remaining whys are simply wondering why it should interfere with their teevee time.
Rick Taylor
@Martin:
At the same time, I’m not sure why those who are unwinding the mess are obligated to stick around and clean it up if they can get a better deal elsewhere. That’s assuming they didn’t make the mess in the first place, which is what the article claims. Presumably if the bonuses had not been offered, some of the people who worked their would have left for greener fields and gotten better jobs. I can see why someone would be angry if they passed up a better job after being offered a bonus for staying, only to have it withdrawn after they kept their end of the deal.
Leaving that aside, it does seem they’ve been scape-goated. We could have made rescinding those bonuses a condition for bailout; the Obama administration did not wish to, and specifically pushed against it. And now they’re getting tongue-lashed by the President of the United States. Now these people have high payed jobs and are doing well, so I won’t shed too many tears for them, but at the same time something’s not right with the picture.
Stooleo
Folks at AIG are starting to feel the heat.
bootlegger
@jibeaux: I had to go with my Looieville homeboys. Besides, I’m an ACC hater from waaaay back.
wilfred mohammed mendoza
For all the Israel Firsters who cheered them on:
It’s just the beginning. Choke on it.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Israel-Military-Reels-From-Ethics-Claims-Over-Soldiers-Conduct-In-Gaza-Conflict/Article/200903315244891
Ned R.
Meanwhile, having had Trek on this thread, some serious Lucas/Spielberg/Indiana Jones nerdery. (Actually fascinating stuff — and sometimes pretty ‘what the hell.’)
burnspbesq
@bootlegger:
Then the Vitamin Water TV spot with Laettner and Pitino is going to make your head explode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNSl4IFRfg
smiley
Concern trolling the Leno appearance.
guest
@Rick Taylor:
i want to know who the employees are threatening to exploit their insider information to sink AIG unless they get their bonus. 1) such a bold threat deserves bold exposure. what do these people look like? 2) isn’t extortion illegal?
Colonel Danite
@ jibeaux
Go take a look at Nate Silver’s analysis of Obama’s picks. It looks like there is a strong correlation between the Pres’ picks and whether the school was in a swing state. http://www.538.com
Coincidence or smart politics?
John Cole
@Stooleo: I feel bad for them, and I think Liddy is right. A lot of them are going to leave and we will be worse off than if they had stayed. The rhetoric about pitchforks and the like aside, the crap about bombing them and hanging them with piano wire and all that crap is just inexcusable. I hope the FBI tracks those people down.
That having been said, it is still insane to me that no one at AIG thought it would be a problem to give bonuses to these guys. I can’t think of any other field where you get massive bonuses just to not leave your job. Am I sheltered, or is this the norm?
jibeaux
@Colonel Danite:
Yo’ link don’t work. There’s also a pretty strong correlation with, you know, winningness. Not a whole lot of upsets in that bracket. Three #1 seeds probably isn’t going to happen.
Rick Taylor
@Rick Taylor:
How can you say, no one’s saying they should be pilloried? Right or wrong, they are being pilloried. Congressmen are competing with each other to show how shocked and outraged they are, and the President himself said he was angry and asked, ""How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"
I agree with you the bonuses were excessive, and some way should have been found to re-negotiate them before we gave them billions of more dollars. I think Dodd had the right idea, making bail-outs conditional on limiting such payments, but again the administration opposed that.
bootlegger
@Rick Taylor: What’s wrong is the assumption they are all working with that only a handful of supersmart people out there can do the job so you have to pay the supersmart people or they will take their supersmarts somewhere else.
I heard an interview on NPR satellite this morning with a guy making this argument. The host asked him how we are to know that these folks are so supersmart. The guy admitted that we don’t know this, and maybe none of them are, but then said we can’t take the chance with so much at stake. I damned near ripped out my satellite receiver right then and there. About 10 minutes later a PhD mathematician called in, said he was one of the boy geniuses who wrote the models for the uber-complex securities. He said the finance people were not smart at all and in his experience were quite average in intelligence, bordering on dense. He pointed out that the modeling they gave the Lords of Finance to use had all kinds of technical caveats and scope conditions but that the Lords of Finance couldn’t understand them and drove the math people crazy with their inability to understand a basic idea like model specifications. They were so eager to make money, he said, they used the models even though they couldn’t understand the models.
I suspected as much, the Lords of Finance are as phony as Glenn Beck’s tears and deserve all the derision heaped upon them.
schrodinger's cat
In other news, Citi is planning on spending 10 million on new offices for Pandit.
Just Some Fuckhead
Yeah, .. about that lunch service AIG.. maybe it’s time to brownbag it.
jibeaux
@bootlegger:
Somehow I missed the pool creation…dang work! Maybe next year. Does your pool reward upsets? ‘Cause I think those are more fun.
Laura W
@bootlegger:
I can not be expected to adhere to a regulation that I was not informed of prior to signing on.
bootlegger
@Rick Taylor: I wrote that, and I was referring to the common folk at AIG that were mentioned in the article, the programmers and clerks who got small bits of the bonus money. For sure the Fat Dicks are being pilloried, though they deserve a violent ass rape IMHO.
bootlegger
@jibeaux: Yep, you get the seed difference times a multiplier that increases by round.
Rick Taylor
@guest:
The only "threat" I’ve heard is that if they can get a better deal somewhere else, they might take it. Unless you believe they are honor bound to work at AIG no matter what, that’s not extortion. The company they working at is failing. Why shouldn’t they find a better job if they can?
But good to see no one is suggesting that these people should be pilloried. We’re merely accusing them of extortion based on no evidence whatsoever and saying they should be exposed, what do they look like.
Dennis-SGMM
@Stooleo:
If the article you linked is correct, the people who made the mess are mostly gone and the people who are working to clean up the mess are catching hell for them. That stinks. I sure wish, though, that AIG would have paid them what the job is worth rather than following their standard model of lower pay + bonuses.
bootlegger
@Laura W: The pool turns blue if you pee in it, so we’ll know who the weak bladders are.
Just Some Fuckhead
@John Cole: I’m afraid to test it in this economy. Yeah boss, I’m going to require a huge bonus not to leave my crappy job here. You got twenty four hours to do the right thing.
Rick Taylor
@bootlegger:
This is insane. No, no one’s pillorying anyone, we’re just saying they should be violently ass-raped. Uh huh.
I agree that the bonuses they were getting were excessive. But I don’t even know if the people getting the bonuses did anything wrong. The article claimed the hooligans got out with their gains long ago. True or false? I have no idea.
But you know, I can understand why people would be leaving a company where the mere fact they work there entitles them to being raped in the ass in the opinion of many. Which is a pity, because some of these people didn’t do anything wrong, and maybe we do need some of them around to help clean up the giant smoking crater.
zirconium
Wow, I have five Capt Kirk chairs stored up in my attic, all in perfect condition! Those suckers will be up on ebay by tomorrow. With the big bucks I get for them, I’ll retire and leave this dump. No more Spam for me!
bootlegger
@Rick Taylor: Can you read? Or do you have ADD and get halfway through a sentence and infer the rest? Ok, one more time, slowly.
I am saying that not all AIG employees are culpable and worthy of the derision heaped on them. The article cited above noted this fact. There are other employees who threatened to leave if they weren’t paid fat bank from taxpayer funds. Believing these extortionists to be supersmart, and thus indispensable, the bonuses were promised and paid. The extortionists and their enablers deserve a pillory and a violent ass rape. The AIG employees just trying to do their job, are in the same boat as the rest of us and shouldn’t be blamed.
Do I need to write it in crayon next time for you Big Chief?
rreay
@The Grand Panjandrum:
So an apple-jicama salsa sounds like a great thing. To bad your link is broken.
bootlegger
@Just Some Fuckhead: An AIG apologist said on NPR today that the AIG employees and the UAW were different for this very reason. He also admitted he had no proof the AIG people were indispensable, but we just can’t take the chance with so much at state. I’m guessing your boss and mine, they’d take the risk.
Stooleo
I to have mixed feelings about the public outrage and threats these people are facing, but jebus the tone-deafness is astounding. If I was one of these folks, I’d return the bonus and then take out a full page add in the paper announcing that I had done so.
Texas Mike
Enjoy:
http://pictureisunrelated.com/
bootlegger
@Stooleo: Turns out a bunch of ’em are non-Americans working overseas and beyond the reach of both the IRS and the pitchfork mob.
Dennis-SGMM
@Texas Mike:
That is one deeply disturbing web site. Bookmarked.
Laura W
@Libby:
Yeah, I finally figured this out last night. Click on the "View Complete Standings" link next to:
Group Standings (Top 10 of 52).
I also just figured out how to change my picks.
Stuck had to tell me how to join because the yahoo page did not offer any instructions that I could find and Fuckhead ignored my plea for help after goading me into playing.
And now yahoo is impossible to load most of the time without constant refreshing.
You’d think a man as seemingly intelligent as bootlegger would be a better host.
There better be an open, fully hosted bar and enough porta-potties to accommodate the BJ crowd. My bladder is so weak I’ll need to reserve one of my own, unless all y’all look good in blue.
guest
@Rick Taylor:
from former bush spokesperson, dana perino ( isn’t that interesting, that they’re employing her advocacy? ) :
…the people who are working there [AIG] that are middle-class people, are expecting to get this bonus. If they do not get it, maybe they won’t be motivated enough to try to help the company turn around and getting the company to turn around and be more profitable is important for all of us.
http://rising-hegemon.blogspot.com/2009/03/just-middle-class-people.html
even a softly voiced and prettily dressed threat is a still a threat. even obama, in last night’s town hall meeting, compared AIG to a suicide bomber, threatening to explode himself.
jnfr
@pharniel:
Ezra Klein is my go-to for health care analysis of all types. His archives are chock full of wonky goodness.
bootlegger
@Laura W: I can find my away around yahoo, but that ‘s either because I’m supersmart or I know one too many real yahoos. Probably the latter.
Isn’t John hosting the Finals party at his house?
jibeaux
@jnfr:
Ezra also puts up good recipes sometimes and is rather a fox.
bootlegger
I had Memphis in the Final 4, and my pick is the kiss of death, they are down 3 to some Cal State school.
Libby
@Laura W: Just checked again and figured it out. Nice sized group and tough competition. I also apparently misread Obama’s picks yesterday. For some reason I thought he had Memphis to win it all. I see now that he made the absolutely correct choice of North Carolina.
Kind of broke my heart to pick them, being a Duke fan solely because of family connections, but I’m in to win this year. I realized I had to stop picking Duke for sentimental reasons.
AhabTRuler
@Libby: On behalf of my Alma Mater:
tavella
It’s not very complicted; the AIG people can live like everyone else, on their salary, and be grateful they have a job. Just like the rest of us.
If they manage to find another job in this climate, then rock on. There’s no lack of unemployed financial people to replace them. Or secretaries, or jesus, the lunch guy. This is, in fact, not rocket science and the pretense that they are some uniquely skilled precious snowflakes that must not be allowed to contact reality is lunacy.
What part of "a bonus a reward for a company *doing well* and their company is a bankrupt wreck" is being lost on them?
Delia
How can we believe all the bad people got out of AIG already and now there are just good guys trying to clean up the mess on the basis of a NYT article with no names or money trail? There’s way too much special pleading going on here. Certainly the poison pen letters are a nasty business, but that’s no excuse for evading justice.
Just Some Fuckhead
@bootlegger:
Well, I’ll have to include some of that in my threat.. And if ya don’t give me a huge bonus, I’ll walk right over to one of our counterparties and you’ll have the most exposed naked position in our industry.
Maybe the threat of being naked and exposed will do it.
Dennis-SGMM
@Delia:
The bonus checks should be sealed inside glass jars and then sunk in a cauldron of boiling water. Those who are pure of heart will be able to fish them out without being scalded.
bootlegger
@tavella: Word.
jibeaux
@bootlegger:
I think you may not be the only person with a lot of Memphis in their bracket…
bootlegger
@Just Some Fuckhead: Done, you have your bonus sir! Just please, please, don’t expose yourself!
Dennis-SGMM
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Wasn’t "we just can’t the chance" the blanket excuse for most of Bushco’s shenanigans?
Just Some Fuckhead
@bootlegger:
If by "Finals party" you really mean "giving kitty a pedicure", yes.
bootlegger
@Dennis-SGMM: I think the Fundie Wing of the Republican party will definitely go for this.
bootlegger
@Dennis-SGMM: Indeed. Seems their is some continuity here.
@Just Some Fuckhead: Does it come with a gland expression?
ImJohnGalt
@srv:
Balloon Mews?
Libby
@pharniel: Just to be clear, I think Corrente is doing fabulous work on single payer. Very well researched posts.
jibeaux
My stupid work computer turns about half of all videos into psychedelic green and orange vibratey Sgt. Pepper style epilepsy-inducing things. I tried to get BJers to diagnose this way back in the campaign days, without luck. I can’t really call the IT dept. as I have very little work related need for online video. Is there a list somewhere of all the different places you can watch the tourney games online…?
Libby
@AhabTRuler: LOL. I take it you’re a fan of the Light Blue?
Laura W
@bootlegger:
You might have the seeds of a proposed blog title for Tunch going here:
Tunch’s Gland Expressions
Glandular Expressions by Tunch
Gland Expectations
"Express this!" by Tunch Cole
Consistently Expressing since 2002
I’ll keep workin’ it.
bootlegger
@jibeaux: You sure it isn’t a flashback to your, um, youth daze?
Libby
@schrodinger’s cat: I don’t think this is a bad thing if they’re building a whole suite of offices and it’s not just an upgrade for one exec with $60,000 toilets. Job creation, you know.
Dennis-SGMM
@jibeaux:
Sounds like your problem would be more satisfactorily resolved if you just exercised more care when you’re picking mushrooms.
jibeaux
You guys are hilarious, but if you were looking at a blue flickering Bryant Gumbel in a sea of green and orange just trying to figure out wth is happening to Memphis, you’d be crying too.
sus
John Cole, that kirk stuff is just too weird. sorry… just too wierd.
AhabTRuler
@Libby: Nope. I am a Twerp, er, I mean Terp. Well both, actually.
And actually, I don’t give a rat’s ass about collegiate sports, but I do enjoy the outrage over the use of the phrase "Fuck Duke."
ImJohnGalt
@John Cole:
Actually, it’s far more common than you think, but usually the retention bonuses are awarded when a company takes over another company, to keep the senior-execs from the taken-over company from bolting ahead of their likely dismissal (with severance). The thinking is that there will be duplication of positions, and usually the taken-over company is the one that sees layoffs. On the other hand, the company that has done the taking over generally wants to ensure a smooth transition and business continuity.
AhabTRuler
@bootlegger: Hey I feel ripped off. All that LSD, not one fucking flashback. WTF?
schrodinger's cat
@Libby
I think it is all for Pandit’s executive suite.
guest
@sus:
i’m guessing they’re republican.
The Other Andrew
The Republicans and conservatives have to be terrified, right now: the polling against the AIG bonuses is, obviously, huge. They’re trying their "Who cares about millions, the government is using hundreds of billions!" misdirection, but the American public is raging against the poor old free market, instead of the government. That must be scary for them. Hopefully, more Repub politicians will agree with Rush and Hannity and Emo Glenn Beck on this…
guest
@The Other Andrew:
silver lining to the whole mess is that this might help pass card check. puts into amazing focus the disparity between how executives are treated and blue collar workers.
schrodinger's cat
@bootlegger
I have one more option for you
Chronicles of the ornery and the undertall
wini
Would anyone care to post a link to the BJ pool? I’m at work and would like to see if it works on my BlackBerry.. Many thanks!
bootlegger
@AhabTRuler: I know what you mean, I’d give anything to see Brian Gumble in a sea of green and orange, but I gotta settle for a blurry nearsightedness.
bootlegger
@wini: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/64456
bootlegger
@jibeaux: I’m sure it is frustrating, but I’m worthless for anything more than lame drug-reference jokes. When my ‘puter does that I chalk it up to voodoo and call for a high priestess.
iluvsummr
I posted this in an earlier thread, but it probably makes more sense in this one.
binzinerator
@srv:
How ’bout these:
You Can’t Tunch This
Cap’n Tunch’s Crunch Berries
Tunch ‘n’ Go
Out to Tunch
and of course
Meow Way or the Highway
and finally
1,000 kilograms (because that’s the weight of one metric Tunch)
binzinerator
@jibeaux:
LOL.
Does this mean you think he’s cunning like a fox or does this mean you came of age in the late 70s? : )
AhabTRuler
would get my vote.
Max
Those Star Trek geeks are pikers compared to this guy.
guest
@gbear:
they don’t belong in a tank.
J.
That New York Times article on building your own Star Trek captain’s chair is one of the most emailed, I’ll have you know. And if you don’t have the time to build your own captain’s chair, and are too cheap to buy one, you can always smell like a starship captain thanks to these new Star Trek inspired fragrances.
Less than two months until the new Star Trek movie arrives in theaters! Woohoo!
Steeplejack
Any guitar players in here?
Here’s my problem: I used to play a long time ago (mostly straight rock), haven’t played in years, then started playing again last summer. I have finally accepted that the lads and I are not going to get the band back together and stage a miraculous retro-geezer comeback, so I have been playing acoustic guitar by myself and working on fingerpicking, which I was never very good at back in the day. Love that Travis-picking, independent-bass thing and would love to be able to do it.
I have found some good book/CD combinations–in fact, I have been flabbergasted at the range of material available now, not only in print but on the Intertubes as well, compared with the few cheesy Mel Bay publications of yesteryear–but I feel like I am drifting a bit. Not having a commitment to show up and play with other people makes it too easy to say what the hell when I get frustrated. And I’m at that stage where I can’t play anything that I want to play well enough to motivate me. The fingering and technical exercises are getting old. I’m making progress, but it’s slow.
So I’m looking for advice, war stories or commiserative bitching from anyone who has been down this road, i.e., adult music self-instruction. What works as far as motivating yourself, structuring practice time for best results, dealing with the fact that you’re never going to be able to play "Embryonic Journey" as well as Jorma Kaukonen on Surrealistic Pillow? Or should I just suck it up and deal with it?
I don’t want to pull a thread-jack here, but it is an open thread, and I consider the Balloon Juice mob my people now. (Gold help me.) And it seems like a diverse enough group that I might get a hit from someone.
Thanks. That is all.
Just Some Fuckhead
Christ, is it bedtime already?
Steeplejack
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Har-de-har-har. I have a rare evening at home, so I thought I would hang out with the "normal" people.
Krista
@Steeplejack: The only thing that I can suggest is that if there is any sort of a workshop or semi-regular jam session that takes place anywhere near you, to take advantage of them. When we left Halifax, I no longer had access to fiddle lessons, and am what you would call "mediocre intermediate" – definitely in need of a lot more instruction. Having to motivate myself to practice with no actual goalposts in sight was a tough one. So I signed up for a weekend workshop with some expert fiddlers for this May. It’s given me a lot of motivation to practice and analyze my own weaknesses and work on them.
(Mind you, I’m not looking forward to the square dance that Friday night. I have never square danced, am a complete klutz, and considering the fact that I’ll be 6 1/2 months pregnant at that time….well, it makes for a rather picturesque mental image, no?)
Laura W
@Steeplejack: Do you take requests?
This, please.
passerby
@gbear:
Welcome to the club gbear. Since I don’t have cable TV, boycotting B, L, BO, et al is easy for me. I just never click those links.
And I’m in total agreement of your inclusion of KO. I catch MSNBC on line. More and more he’s sounding like a blowhard and his delivery is bordering on buffoonish.
To me, this has become more apparent now that he’s followed by the very intelligent and reasonable Maddow.
Maddow has been getting the good "gets" and makes good use of them. I cannot imagine some of her high profile guests showing up on Countdown. And also too, she’s very gracious.
AhabTRuler
W00t!
Not having cable makes it very easy for me…to not watch TV. But I listen to a lot of music.
Steeplejack
@Krista:
Thanks for the input. You really hit it with "having to motivate myself to practice with no actual goalposts in sight." That’s it exactly. I can tell I’m getting better–if slowly–but I fall victim to the feeling that I don’t have anything to show for it because I can’t play a specific song yet. (Okay, I can pick out "Dust in the Wind," but I can’t sing at all, so what’s the point? Without the vocals it’s kind of boring. Actually, it’s kind of boring with the vocals. But I digress.)
Would like to do that, but I have a part-time job right now (with health insurance!) with crazy (variable) hours, and it has turned out to be a lot of evening shifts–but not the same days each week. So I can’t plan for even a semi-regular thing.
I think I need to pick one particular song that seems within reasonable reach and shoot for "I’m going to learn that in x weeks" or whatever. Erect some goalposts, even if I end up moving them later.
Somehow I’m picturing Godzilla wading through Tokyo. Is that about right?
ImJohnGalt
Steeplejack:
I feel you. I used to sing professionally and always wanted to learn guitar, so am finally noodling with an acoustic, trying to self-teach with all those resources you mentioned.
However, if you’re looking to become more disciplined, check out indaba (http://www.indabamusic.com/), which will let you collaborate with other musicians around the world. Just hearing others lay down their instrumental tracks to your picking (or picking on their tracks) could be just the motivation you need.
passerby
@Steeplejack:
Steeplejack, I feel your pain. I’m just past the half century mark and this year decided to enroll at a conservatory for classical flute lessons. The place is crawling with young’ns and I feel like the big kid in the sand box.
I think my instructor, a masterful flutist, is accustomed to younger students and so is hesitant to correct me (or afraid of insulting me) or give me a specific practice structure even though I specifically ask for both.
So I’ve had to take matters into my own hands by going online and looking for info on "how to practice the flute" and gotten some good results there.
I played the clarinet in the school band when I was nine and was silently aghast when my flute instructor informed me that THERE IS NO OCTAVE HOLE ON THE FLUTE. My dream of being able to twitter out an allegro Bach sonata receded at warp speed to the nearest parallel dimension when I realized how much my success was dependent on embouchure.
The tendency to give up the whole idea is my default position, but, because of the money I’ve invested and the desire to be a competent musician, I’m forging ahead.
Yeah, the going is slow but that could be because I have wrong expectations about how quickly my goal can be achieved.
So I get philosphical about it, which is to say:
Press on Steeplejack. The way I see it, there are a lot worse things we could be doing with our time.
Tsulagi
Not that uncommon; I’ve gotten a couple. But shit, just like these guys in this field, sure ain’t seen any with seven or more figures.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Exactamundo! I love that warm CSN(&Y) acoustic sound, and Stills is a particular idol of mine. "Four and Twenty" is definitely on the "would love to be able to play" list.
Here’s another song I dream of playing–Tommy Emmanuel’s "Those Who Wait." But then I watch him do "Day Tripper/Lady Madonna" and I want to hang up the guitar for good. I discovered him last year when I was nosing around YouTube and getting psyched to start playing again.
Another discovery: I never thought of Dion as a guitarist, but this version of "Abraham, Martin and John" is quite nice.
P.S. I meant to tell you earlier that you can goose up your Southern greens without resorting to ham hocks or other weird objects. Just try a little smoked ham, bacon or even a shmitz of andouille sausage.
Tsulagi
@Tsulagi:
Oops, seemed to have breezed past the operative word “massive” in the blockquote. Don’t want to put on any airs. My retention bonuses have been far more in line with those guys in my link.
AhabTRuler
@Tsulagi: That’s it plunderer, up against the wall in the name of the revolution!
That is, unless you happen to have a Che T-shirt. Then we’re cool.
Bonus points if it was made in China.
Krista
How far ahead of time do you know your shift schedule? Look into it, anyway. Keep an eye out on your local bulletin board, or if you actually have a music store nearby, find out if they know of anybody they can introduce you to. Sometimes even just having one other person who you could call and say "hey, want to come over and help me hash out this tune?" is a big help.
Pretty much.
That’s exactly it. I’ll never be a Natalie MacMaster, but that’s okay too. Don’t get so caught up in the goal that you forget the journey and the small accomplishments (like the day I could play "Stan Chapman’s Jig" with slurs AND double stops — that was a happy day.)
Steeplejack
@ImJohnGalt:
Good tip on Indaba. I saw a story about it recently–maybe a link from Andrew Sullivan’s blog–and it looks really cool. Also, just the stuff that’s available now for doing computer-based recording and music-making by yourself (Band in a Box, etc.) is amazing compared to 20 years ago–even 10 years ago.
@passerby:
LOL. I can relate, because I played the clarinet in the school band way back when, and now, after breaking my jaw two years ago, just reading the word embouchure makes my mouth hurt. No octave hole. My condolences.
I don’t want to get too meta, but I think one of the things you face as an older student is the "anxiety of influence." There is a huge gap between what you are able to play and what you want to play, and you’re all too aware of that. You find yourself comparing yourself to a recording of Rampal on one of his best days ever. (Sorry, only flautist I could think of.) That’s daunting, if not outright crushing. Whereas a lot of the time kids are just happy to be producing some sound–playing, in both senses of the word–and that uncritical enthusiasm carries them along. It’s hard, but desirable, to get back to that place. I’m trying to cultivate that attitude.
Laura W
@Steeplejack:
"Day Tripper/Lady Madonna" was amazing.
Thanks for the sausage tip. I could definitely do sausage, on accounta it’s the pork part that bothers me about the other suggestions.
How about this classic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V0XOiHd74A
Too predictable and cliche?
I think it’s beautiful, even without Tracey Thorn’s voice in front of it.
Krista
Well, you folks have inspired me – I just ran upstairs and did about 15 minutes on the fiddle. Sadly, I had to take a break. I’m badly out of practice, and that fiddle workshop is looming, so I’m trying to make up for lost time. But the shoulder on my bowing arm gives up at about 20 minutes in — my deltoids are definitely not what they used to be. But, keep on keeping on, right?
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
I think you need to fix your link. You’ve got an @ at the end that farkles it up. Off to view/listen now.
Edit: I see that you fixed it already.
blahblah
@Steeplejack
I’ve had great luck with Stefan Grossman’s fingerpicking DVD video series. He starts with easy stuff, but pretty soon after a DVD or two you’ll start playing note-for-note versions of classic blues from Rev Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Big Bill Broonzy, and a whole host of others. You’ll find his stuff at:
http://www.guitarvideos.com
Also note that Merle Travis was a serious player. Most so-called "Travis Picking" is just right hand pattern playing against a chord. Merle Travis was a real virtuoso. Grossman has a collection of note-for-note Travis DVDs that require almost professional playing skills to train up to tempo. I can’t even come close. But if that’s what you want to learn, Grossman’s Travis series will teach you how to do it.
Good luck.
passerby
@Steeplejack:
I heard Bruce Lee repeat something that a martial arts master once said: A cup is most useful when it is empty. That is to say, it’s easier for one to learn something new when one is a blank slate, it hasn’t been imprinted with anything yet. Alas, I’m in the Old Dog/ New Trick mode.
For starters, I’m not accustomed to being on the receiving end of a lesson. Plus I’ve know success in most things I’ve undertaken so the anxiety of influence is in full play with me. Every week my instructor tells me to relax–and perhaps that’s what I’m really learning to do.
This is really the first real challenge I’ve had since I had to deal with gas laws back in physiology class. Lots of trepidation (and intimidation). I’ve even taken to reminding myself that failure to achieve my goal does not result in death.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
That’s a very nice version of "Time After Time," although to me it doesn’t feel like a natural fit for Tracey Thorn. But she does a good job on it, and Ben Watt definitely has the good fingerpicking thing goin’.
One thing I have learned already is that there are some songs that sound complicated but are actually absurdly easy to fingerpick because you basically park your right-hand fingers one to a string and the complex sound comes out of how you alternate them and what your left hand is doing in the meantime. (Cf. "Dust in the Wind.")
For some reason I feel compelled to send you this. I don’t know why, but I associate Corinne Drewery and Tracey Thorn in my mind, and this is an example of a song that perfectly fits the singer’s (Corinne’s) style. I know you like the live versions, but the only one I could find was execrable, and this video is so over the top that I can’t help but love it. The haircut alone practically makes the whole thing.
I can’t think of my perfect Tracey Thorn song. Any suggestions?
Steeplejack
@Krista:
Definitely keep on keeping on. Even 15 minutes a day will get you there. And it’s not really about getting "there," right? "The going itself is the path." God, I hope that’s not from The Hobbit or, worse, Yoda.
One fiddle song I love is "Drowsy Maggie," and I have thought about seeing whether I could adapt it to the guitar.
Anne Elk (Miss)
re: Steeplejack, passerby and the others on the topic of music, lessons, etc –
If I might add my 2 cents – I have a bachelor’s degree in music, (music therapy, actually) primary instrument was flute. I haven’t seriously played in years and years, but of late have been considering finding an instructor who wouldn’t mind an adult student who’s forgotten half of what she used to know.
Here’s something you all might want to consider when you’re getting frustrated – when I was in college, I had pretty good technical ability – I could play lots of fast notes and put them in the right places with pretty good accuracy, etc. – BUT, I really had no sense of "musicianship." Things like phrasing, expressiveness, understanding of the style, etc. were at a pretty basic level and were what my teacher spent most of our time on. However, the last time I seriously tried to play some of my old music, my technique was beyond rusty and I had forgotten some really basic things – but you know what? My tone was better than I ever remember it being and all the stuff that my teacher tried so hard to instill in me about expressiveness and style and all that? It made sense!! I was actually doing it! So even though I was technically much "worse" than 20 years ago, I really didn’t mind so much, because I felt like I had actually become a better musician.
So if you’re working hard on making a good quality sound and developing good overall musicianship, that’s nothing to sneeze at – you’re actually doing things the way you should do them – but that usually gets lost in the urge to play lots of notes really really fast. It’s WAYYY more difficult to play a few notes slowly and with total control than it is to run up and down the scales in a frenzy – the slow movements were always much more difficult for me – they expose all your flaws mercilessly.
And this problem is not exclusive to older students – one of the hardest things in teaching kids is finding music that holds their interest but is within their abilities. This is where a good teacher might be helpful for you – you might be able to arrange a "consultation" lesson and then occasional "revisit" lessons – something less formal than weekly structured lessons. And the opportunity to play WITH an instructor might be the spark you need, too – I always sounded way better playing duets with my teacher than I did on my own; in fact, that’s one of the reasons I’m considering resuming some kind of instruction.
Wow, long post. Hope it’s of some help – and keep playing!
Blue Raven
@passerby: I took flute for a couple of semesters in college, having only previously played the alto recorder (I was much more of a singer than an instrumentalist), and frankly, embouchure was a lot easier than I thought it’d be. Subtle tweak to the alignment and you’re off and rolling. I wonder if my voice training helped with that… jaw and breath alignment and all.
Steeplejack
@blahblah:
I am aware of all Stefan Grossman traditions. But I started with Mark Hanson’s Contemporary Travis Picking and Arnie Berle and Mark Galbo’s Beginning Fingerstyle Blues Guitar, both of which include CDs. I’m currently going back and forth between the two. I didn’t want to splurge on a DVD sight unseen, so to speak, and I had a chance to scope out these books before buying them. Grossman is in my resource file, though, and I thank you for the recommendation.
Question: How do you like learning from a DVD as opposed to book and/or CD? The one DVD I did see (can’t remember the name now) was pretty bad. I had the feeling of a low ratio of information transmitted relative to eye candy and superfluous visuals.
blahblah
@Steeplejack:
They’re wonderful. Grossman has a youtube channel where he shows how to play numerous songs:
http://www.youtube.com/user/GtrWorkShp
And I absolutely love using split screen video with closeups of fingering to tease out the how of playing a song. You’ll still need the sheet music / tab to get it note for note, but having video that you can stop and run in slow motion is a Godsend for getting it right. Particularly for me, who is nothing more than a bad amateur into it for the fun. These DVDs have really helped me learn new material in a way that I could not have done by ear and tab alone. But that’s just me.
Grossman has a range of stuff available. He also gives away a pile of free tabs/sheet music on his website in pdf form. Check it out.
Laura W
@Steeplejack:
I loved that! And am really ashamed to say I never got into that band. But now I will, God Damnit All!
This is SUCH an important question that I am going to give it due respect and mull it over all night, responding in the morrow. I will have to review my entire knowledge of her repertoire to choose The One. It’s a lot of pressure, but I think I’m up to it.
Although you did not ask, I feel compelled to also give you the perfect Annie Lennox song, so this will be doubly intense for me. I might need an executive bonus.
Pee Ess: WAY TO HIJACK a thread to call your own! ‘Bout time, since all of us are either sleeping or hiding from you when you finally get around here on your work nights.
passerby
@Anne Elk (Miss):
Thanks for the encouragement Anne Elk (Miss).
True this. In fact I play better with the instructor looking on than I do at home. More focussed on what I’m doing I guess.
Steeplejack
@passerby:
LOL. A few years ago I taught/coached swimming at a big swim center, and one of the classes I taught was adult non-swimmers. It was completely humbling–and inspiring–to be in the presence of people who were doing something they feared would result in their death but who were determined to keep on keeping on.
Krista
That’s a great tune. I was just starting to get the hang of that one when we moved and I had to give up my lessons. So it’s my long-term goalpost right now. :) But it really does pay to have other musicians for support — hell, just talking to you guys tonight has motivated me.
passerby
@Krista:
Same here Krista. It’s always nice to know that others are facing the same challenges. Sorta like, but not quite, "misery loves company. : D
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Yeah, I know, it’s kind of heady. I feel like . . . I kin wear shoes, I kin go tuh school–I can be somebody!
Lordy.
Hey, no performance anxiety on Tracey and Annie. I’m just looking for suggestions on stuff I have overlooked. And, believe me, I’ve overlooked a lot.
Damn it! I’m blanking on the name of my favorite Annie Lennox song, because it’s not one of her big hits and I haven’t thought of it in a while. Research!
Steeplejack
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Not. My previous message went into moderation, I think because I used the phrase "p3rformance anxiety."
Socia1ism. Also
Steeplejack
@Anne Elk (Miss):
I have to admit that one good experience I have had is being surprised at how much stuff I remember from playing before–not only mentally but in my hands. I am struggling with the new stuff, mostly the right-hand placement and fingering, but I can concentrate on that because my left hand knows the chords and has gotten up to speed much faster.
But I definitely cannot play those lead lines anywhere close to the way I used to be able to.
You make a good point. I don’t think I could schedule a weekly lesson, but one every couple of weeks or so might be another way to fix the goalposts and give me something to aim at.
Steeplejack
@blahblah:
Wanted to add that I love Merle Travis, as well as Chet Atkins. Both masters of that picking style. Which reminds me: must put "Windy and Warm" on the "to-do" list.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Style Council: No, they’re not women, and they don’t have cute haircuts, but this is where I got to after Swing Out Sister.