Ima Same Ima Sound of Moccasin (or) I Was Saved by the Sound of Michael's Song

The younger Crum children have only heard stories about the acrobatic skill that used to take place on the living room floor when the "Thriller" record was put on the turntable (that's an old-timey listening device, predating CDs and tapes (small casettes with ribbons of tape that could record sound and play on stereos)). The carpet became a dance floor, break-dance floor, as Peter would back-spin and twist to Beat It and Matt would break it down to Billie Jean. As I recall crotch grabs were not in vogue with the Crum kids (nor allowed). Ben and Mom would duet on PYT and Pop would chime in for the Vincent Price dialogue on Thriller, great memories to reflect on this past weekend as the world said farewell to the King of Pop. As a pre-teen I remember Jamming with Peter to the Dangerous album, and looking forward to network TV premiers of MJ videos... Remember the Time and Black or White to name a few. As Michael began to change, not just in appearance but also his personality, I lost interest in his newer music. Several years back I witnessed Jim Hogue do a dang-good impersonation of Michael's dance moves and remebered that when I ran into him in Wal-Mart on Friday, we chatted briefly, talked about the loss, and I asked him if his wife (Annie) was O.K.
Over the weekend I added a few MJ songs to my iTunes library (for you old folks that's a computer program that stores MP3s (digital music files) for play on my iPod (a hand-held device that can hold thousands of songs))... the Bad album and a few of his newer hits.
The Man in the Mirror may no longer 'Be There but he can still Rock My World. The Way he Makes Me Feel encourages me to Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. The Bad news is it isn't all Black or White. The Thriller, the Smooth Criminal is Gone To Soon, but I can still Remember the Time. Who is it?.... Shamone!!!

Heroes and Fools

Today is the anniversary of Custer's Last Stand. Back in 1876, close on the heals of the Civil War, Custer and his regiment were gunned down in the Montanan territory by a combined force of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne indians. I don't think I ever considered Custer a 'hero', but there was always a sense of awe regarding his bravery and courage. I don't really want to get into a discussion about the idea of the 'noble savage', the modern thought that indians, being 'one with all of nature' were somehow more pure than 'the savage white man'. I know that terrible crimes were committed against the primitive natives, but what I really want to look at it is that magnifies a man to the level of 'hero'.

For our wedding a woman from Mongolia gave Michal and me leather wallets. Michal's has a beautiful floral pattern and mine has a stamped image (now fading) of 'Chingis [Genghis] Khan'. Growing up I had only heard the name 'Genghis' in association with barbarian, tyrant, and monster. The history, as I knew it, was that this leader expanded his empire by brutal conquest. The truth is, he did.

Does that make him a monster? Maybe. But can a man simultaneously be a monster and a hero? I think the answer is yes. George Washington, hero or traitor? Abe Lincoln, hero to the freed slaves, or unjust tyrannical oppressor and constitution breaker? In our modern American way of thinking we are quick to dismiss any 'white oppressor' as simply being a tyrant, a monster, but we forget that all heroes to us must be someones Kahn.

Khan [wikipedia]
Custer [Wired.com]

Picture of the Day or "How to Become an Instant Nerd"

From [site]

What is this? (you might ask). Don't ask.

If you can't figure it out, you are way cooler than the rest of us.

For the kids...

The Flintstones - Have A Smoke

Whooped

Well this family done has us whooped. Some of you may have heard of the Dugger family of Alabama. There 18 kids put our measly 11 to shame. 10 boys, 8 girls, and apparently only one two set[s] of twins.



Looking through their photo album it appears as if all the boys share a room and all the girls share a room. They also have a cafeteria style lunch buffet and a coke dispenser in the dining room. I remember someone responding to Mom telling her how many children were in our family by saying "that's insane!"

"Insane?" Maybe not 'insane', but certainly not normal.

Dugger Family [site]

P.S. It looks like they might have some eligible young men and women for our eligible young woman and men.

Blue Monday

Check this out. Not some footage from the local air show, this is real, cockpit footage of the Blue Angels. I think the coolest part is hearing the pilot 'yeehah' like a cowboy:

2 Blurbs

So, I have one of the worst migraines that I have ever had. This is almost as bad as the ones I had as a kid. Now my migraines are different than yours 'cause I can listen to music when I have them. Go figure.

So I'm laying in bed and I put on the Sweet Baby James record that Jon has and I listen to the entire record straight through like in the olden-days. This is the first blurb. If you haven't listened to that record latley, than you should set some time aside and just listen to the entire album straight through. It is one of the best records and I just realized that.

Second, I want to talk about Dave Matthews and his new album. This is one of my favorite albums and I think the band's best. I just listened to the new song Funny the Way It Is and i have some thoughts to share. First, Carter Beuford is the best drummer and this song proves that. Second, this is one of the songs on the record that is inspired by Leroi Moore (the sax player who died last summer). Dave Matthews shows us a depth of emotion in this particular song in relationship to Leroi. This makes me sad for two reasons. The one is that Dave is not a Christian and therefore everything that he does falls short of the glory of God. The other reason that this makes me sad is because Dave shows a deeper love and respect for Leroi than any Christian artist out there shows love for anything. Christian music is so weak and gutless. Dave steps out on a limb and puts every thing, a normal person would keep in the dark, into the light. There is more raw emotion in his one song than in a christian music store. Period.

Dave Matthews Band - Funny the Way It Is

Bertie Wooster on Twitter

Here's a short audio clip from actor Hugh Laurie on the subject of Twitter. During election years I get really annoyed at celebrities spouting their feelings and thoughts as if we, the normal people, should care. This, however, is refreshing. Hearing someone, who could be using Twitter to grow his fan base by typing short messages about inane subjects, condemn the site as pointless is great. Now if only the millions of twitterers could stop typing on their phones, and start having real conversations... I don't know what that would do, but it would do something.

New Music Monday - Drakkar Sauna

Something New, Something Old.

This is one odd video. The sound is like 'Brother Where Art Thou" but the look is, well, you just have to see it.

Drakkar Sauna - The Family Who Prays

Drakkar Sauna: The Family Who Prays
Uploaded by eikonproductions - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

There web site is really bizarre, check it out at your own risk [site]

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Tomorrow night Michal and I are going to see this band. They just hit No. 8 on the Billboard charts for their new album. There sound is an odd combination of old-school Beach Boys, Beruit, and Fleet Foxes. I am real excited.



[Grizzly Bear site]

Black Cab Sessions

What could possibly go together better than live, acoustic music, and tiny British cabs? Well, maybe a lot of things, but here are some great selections from the Black Cab Sessions.

Bon Iver - For Emma

Bon Iver from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

Spoon - I Summon You



Brian Wilson - (wait for it...) California Girls (I think Jon and I have done a better rendition. In fact, I don't think Wilson sings for more than 30 seconds altogether)



And of course, Fleet Foxes - Crayon Angels (by Judee Sill)

Bird-brained

WARNING!!! The following video contains the misuse of a cricket ball and may not be suitable for small children, English aristocrats, or pigeons.



I haven't watched much cricket, but from this clip and from watching a lot of European league soccer games, I make the claim that English announcers are the most interesting to listen to for sporting events.

Daylight

This song is in the new Bacardi commercial and I think that both are pretty sweet.