Links of the day 8/26/09

Get naked in the Standard Hotel
Health care debate explained on napkins
Books without jackets
A guide for all of us American soccer fans

I get ridiculous voicemail sometimes

Sometimes Willie and Collin call me from Wisconsin and leave me messages:

Download Voicemail 1.wav
Download Voicemail 2.wav

Yep, watch out for the Romulans . . . thanks guys.

Images

Dope Outfits Gentlemen!

Raise It Up

Poptastraphe Podcast #3 – Electric Days

Poptastraphe Podcast #3 – Electric Days

The past week was a busy one for me. From heatwaves to heartache, girlfriends to best friends, rooftops to sporting life in the park. And of course, who can forget margaritas in the sun? False summer days in the middle of April are leading into electric days at the beginning of May. Here’s a selection of tracks that have propelled my through the past week. Hope you enjoy.

The Drew-Vels – It’s My Time
Four + 1 – Don’t Lie to Me
Martha & The Vandellas – (Love Is Like A) Heatwave
The Tartans – My Baby Doesn’t Care for You
Camera Obscura – The Sweetest Thing
The Feelies – On the Roof
Speedmarket Avenue – Way Better Now
Comet Gain – Love Without Lies
Alice Dona – C’est Pas Prudent
The Elgins – Heaven Must Have Sent You
J.J. Barnes – Every Time I See You, I Go Wild!
Kim Weston – Helpless
Jenny Moss – Hobbies
Marcy Jo – Take A Word
The Four Tops – I’ll Turn to Stone
Caroline Munro – This Sporting Life

Poptastraphe Podcast #2

Back again with another edition of the Poptastraphe Podcast, an irregularly published set of soul/girl group/indie-pop/low-fi tracks from yesteryear to today! This time around it's up with spring feelins and time to shake off that winter ennui! Hope you enjoy.

Poptastraphe Podcast #2

Track Listing:

The Vevelettes - "Needle In A Haystack"
Polly Perkins - "Young Lover"
The Pebbles - "Cavern Stomp"
Heavenly - "Atta Girl"
KG - "Candy Loves Me So"
The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - "What's"
Sexy Kids - "Sisters Are Forever"
Television Personalities - "Part Time Punks"
Owen Gray - "Lonely Days"
Christine Holmes - "Here Comes My Baby"
Ria Bartok - "See If I Care"
Chris Clark "Love's Gone Bad"
Death - "Keep On Knocking"
Wavves - "To The Dregs"
Boyracer - "He Gets Me So Hard"
Tiger Trap - "My Broken Heart"
Big Gun - "Heard About Love"
Moss Poles - "One Summer"

Poptastraphe Podcast

Here for your listening (dis)pleasure is the very first inaugural edition of the Poptastraphe Podcast, assembled by yours truly. The first edition is filled with sweet indiepop jams and some girl group tracks thrown in for good measure. Hope you enjoy!

Poptastraphe Podcast # 1

Track Listing:

Linda Laine - "Low Grades & High Fever"
Angels - "Wow Wow Wee"
The Tartans - "My Baby Doesn't Care for You"
The Paralellograms - "Without You"
The Halo Benders - "Your Asterisk"
James Dean Driving Experience - "Dean's Eleventh Dream"
Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To"
Chefs - "24 Hours"
Crystal Stilts - "SinKing"
Moscow Olympics - "Second Trace"
Comet Gain - "Love Without Lies"
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "A Teenager In Love"
Je Suis Animal - "Secret Place"
Buba & The Shop Assistants - "Something to Do"

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Everything With You"

Open Note to Senate Dems.

A word of political advice to Senate Democrats: Do not seat Burris. I know that 2-years of Congressional majority has proven you folks to be utterly inept. I know that there are currently no Black people in the Senate. By seating this man you will only be confirming the ineffectiveness of the political management skills that have been showcased since you came into the majority. Of course Republicans want you to seat a Senator appointed by a Democratic Governor who is under corruption charges, from a state with a long history of political corruption, that happens to be the home-state of the incoming Democratic President.

[Politico]

Why Do People Still Care About Soulja Boy?

I'm entirely happy if these are in fact the dudes that robbed Soulja Boy. Soulja Boy is an idiot who publicly makes statements like this:

"Oh wait! Hold up! Shout out to the slave masters! Without them we'd still be in Africa. We wouldn't be here to get this ice and tattoos."

The Lodger - The Good Old Days

Straight from Leeds, UK. This has been stuck in my head all week after discovering The Lodger on a few "Best of 2008" lists.

More VA Politicking

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has been chosen by President-elect Obama to head the Democratic National Committee, a Democratic official said.

[Politico]
[WP]

Why Talk When You Can Blow Stuff Up?

Efforts at diplomacy:

"We are serious in our intention to harm Hamas and we have no intention to give them legitimize them and pass messages on to them. We have nothing to discuss with Hamas." - Tzipi Livini, Israeli Foreign Minister

[Haaretz]

Terry McAuliffe Throws His Name into the Hat

Solidarity With The People of Gaza and Palestine

What follows is a full reprint of the Third World Solidarity Movement statement of solidarity with the people of Palestine:

SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF GAZA AND PALESTINE!!!

The Israeli armed forces, a proxy force for U.S. imperialism in the region, has began to invade Gaza after its continuing siege, land-and-sea blockade. border-occupation and captivity of the region. Aside from a criminal enforced starvation of the Gaza economy people, it has unleashed a criminal and holocaust-like mega-terrorist attack against and collective punishment of Gaza civilians, including the killing of over 100 children from bombing with U.S. aircraft, artillery, tanks, explosives and satellite assistance. And yet, it trumpets the lie that there is no humanitarian disaster in Gaza, despite the United Nations conclusion that there is.

It is Wall Street, U.S. imperialism and the neo-con Bush regime that is the principal backer, funder (4 billion dollars per year in military aid), war-technology supplier of the Zionist state, that renders non-Jews, Arabs and Palestinians as second-class citizens, refugees and colonial subjects. Bush aims to add to Iraq and Afghanistan a victim of his neocon and pro-Zionist agenda and a concentration camp of U.S., British and proxy Israeli troops. With American taxpayer money, Bush continues to bail out the Zionist aggression machinery.

Obama is now revealing his true colors as a closet neocon and pro-Zionist Bushite, nurtured by his ties to top Zionist lobbyist Ram Emmanuel and Axelrod. He virtually endorsed and gave the green light to the massacres and invasion with his statement that Israel has a right to defend itself against Palestinian rocket attacks, and his deafeningly silent acquiescence to the slaughter of the Palestinian people.

The Bush-Obama imperialist war machine and its Israeli Zionist proxy forces are able to persecute the border-occupation of Gaza and the internal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem with the aid of their puppets and agents controlled by the Central Intelligence Agency: Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Karzai of Afghanistan, Malaki of Iraq, and the collaborator Mahmoud Abbas, who has utterly betrayed the Palestinian cause. The current events show that there is no Middle East solution that involves a Zionist state, and only a no-Zionist-state will solve the Palestinian problem.

We therefore call for the following actions:

1. Condemn and protest the Wall Street-Bush-Zionist megaterrorist border-occupation and invasion of Gaza!

2. Condemn and protest the Wall Street-Bush-Zionist anti-civilian atrocities against the people of Gaza and Palestine!

3. Protest the Obama continuation of and acquiescence to the neocon Bush pro-Zionism and Israeli megaterrorism!

4. Reject, boycott and storm symbols of U.S. business and imperialism, including Citibank, Exxonmobil, Chevron, McDonalds!!!

5. Reject and boycott Israeli exports, such as diamonds!

6. Condemn, reject and remove U.S.-CIA puppets in the Middle East, including Abbas in Palestine, Mubarak in Egypt, Abdullah in Jordan, Karzai in Afghanistan, and Malaki in Iraq!

7. Stop the neocon Bushite and Zionist bailout of the Israeli war machine with U.S. taxpayer money!!!

8. Reject a Zionist state solution and support a no-Zionist-state solution!!

9. Support the heroic Palestinian resistance to smash the U.S.-Israeli occupation and drive away the Zionist aggressors!!!

THIRD WORLD SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT

Escalation

And the invasion of Gaza begins . . .

JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks and troops swept across the border into Gaza on Saturday night, opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas after a week of intense airstrikes.

[NYT]

Harold Bloom and Those Kids Today

A pleasantly charming interview with Harold Bloom ranging from the state of contemporary literary criticism (there is none) to tips on how to read Shakespeare. There's something whimsical about Bloom's standing passion for a textually focused form of criticism that illuminates the intellectual and emotional process of reading literature.

[Vice]