Category: VirgoTex

VirgoTex1 Comment

Even though Athenae has killed journalism, newspapers still wonderful

viaDaily Art Fixx, the paper sculpture ofNick Geogiou: Georgiou’s work is inspired by “the death of the printed word/world, economic collapse, political and environmental uncertainty. Georgiou states: “Books and newspapers are becoming artifacts of the 21st century. Whatever we used to read off paper, we’re now reading off digital screens. Our way of interacting with text is changing. My work is not only about the decline of the printed word in today’s society but its rebirth as art.” Continue reading Even though Athenae has killed journalism, newspapers still wonderful

Political Crack, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Republican Tricks, VirgoTex11 Comments

The view from underneath the bus

viaSalon, but Jealous also spun the same story onMaddow, and she didn’t challenge it, which I found disappointing. Said NAACP President Ben Jealous in the newstatement: With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias. Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited … Continue reading The view from underneath the bus

Geek Cred, Propaganda, VirgoTex3 Comments

The Fourth of July in my mind

Yeah, this one’s a bit early but I only get the keys on Wednesdays. The tiny little place where I live really goes all out on Fourth of July (and also on Halloween, but that’s a different post). Everything shuts down and everyone goes down to the town square or as close as they can get to it. That is, everyone who isn’t in the parade. It’s a toss up whether there’s more people marching or watching from the sidelines but the important thing is, everyone goes: the old people, the high school Shakespeare troupe, hippies young and old, ranchers … Continue reading The Fourth of July in my mind

BP Oil Spill, Science, VirgoTex6 Comments

What will happen to them in October, BP?

A whooping crane in the wild is an astounding sight. If you’re lucky to be close enough to view one without binoculars, the first thing that strikes you is the size. An adult whooper stands 5 feet tall and has a wing span of 7.5 feet, blindingly white body plumage, black wingtips, a striking red and black mask, and large dark beak. They are magnificent animals and getting to watch them in their winter habitat atAransas National Wildlife Refuge, near where I grew up, made an indelible impression on me as a kid. Without a doubt, that’s one of the … Continue reading What will happen to them in October, BP?

Music, VirgoTex

W.W.T.F.U.S: It was ignorance more than pretension

Down here in Texas the heat has settled down on us in earnest and everything moves slower, if at all. Anything from the late, great Freakwater is always a good choice no matter the temperature but I think they sound even better in hot weather. And for the record, Catherine Irwin is one of America’s greatest under-appreciated songwriters. I wish she was more prolific: I guess nobody needs to look too far about something to get either incredibly pissed off or just despondent about. The way that the government and the country are headed, they’re certainly not trying to make … Continue reading W.W.T.F.U.S: It was ignorance more than pretension

VirgoTex7 Comments

Catblogging: now we are three

Us guest posters don’t typically do much critter blogging but I hope you’ll indulge me this once. I moved into my home during the summer four years ago, so I always think of summer as my anniversary of single living. I moved in with all but one of the animal roommates. The last one, Alfie, joined us the following summer. Below, the tiny ball of fluff he was at the beginning, compared to the big palooka he’s grown into: definitely the biggest, heaviest, most muscular cat I’ve ever had. He’s actually bigger this year than he was a year ago … Continue reading Catblogging: now we are three

Music, VirgoTex2 Comments

WWTFUS: You said it was night inside my heart, it was

p> Good stuff from last weekend’s landmark livestream event, The National Live at BAM, directed by the famed team ofChris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker, highlighting the group’s brand new release, High Violet, one of dozens of great new albums falling out of the sky this month. All videos (beautiful, high quality) from the show arehere. Proceeds from the event benefited theRed Hot Organization. I haven’t fallen in instant love with this one yet the way I did withBoxer andAlligator, but it’s starting to work on me, I can tell. Love that neurasthenic white boy music. Continue reading WWTFUS: You said it was night inside my heart, it was

Do Something, Immoral Values, Propaganda, VirgoTex8 Comments

Twitterbomb alert: Tell the children the truth!

If you are on Twitter, set an alarm for9 a.m. tomorrow. Go do it right now, we’ll wait.[Jeopardy music interstitial] Okay, now that you’re back, this is what you’re going to dotomorrow at 9 a.m., and why: Send the following to the Texas Education Agency (TEA): “.@teainfo Do right by TX kids& public school kids everywhere. Reject distorted Social Studies curriculum changes. #SaveHistory” Why? Because the usual suspects at the State Board of Education (SBOE), continuing their slash and burn pillage of state curriculum standards, have proposed a social studies curriculumso egregiously out of touch with actual historical fact and … Continue reading Twitterbomb alert: Tell the children the truth!

Do Something, Immoral Values, Science, VirgoTex8 Comments

“Only in the last moment of human history has the delusion arisen that people can flourish apart from the rest of the living world.” *

After four decades, the Brown Pelican was taken off the endangered list last year. Pelicans currently nesting on Gulf Coast barrier islands are right in the bulls-eye for theoil spill as it drifts shoreward. Brown pelican, Caspian tern, royal tern, Sandwich tern, least tern, laughing gull, black skimmer, American oystercatcher, Wilson’s plover, snowy plover, reddish egret, roseate spoonbill, mottled duck, clapper rail, black rail, seaside sparrow, red-cockaded woodpecker, sandhill cranes, and all other species of plovers, sandpipers, ibises, herons, egrets, warblers, orioles, buntings, flycatchers, swallows, marsh-dwelling songbirds, ospreys, hawks, eagles. Those are just the birds. All other animals in the … Continue reading “Only in the last moment of human history has the delusion arisen that people can flourish apart from the rest of the living world.” *

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Music, Television, VirgoTex

W.W.T.F.U.S: Sittin’ in La La

If you’re not watchingTreme, you should be. I’m not saying you have to subscribe to premium cable, but make a note because the DVDs will be out sooner or later. In the meantime maybe you can just persuade someone to record it for you, or invite you over for dinner on Sundays. It’s worth it, because likeThe Wire, it’s not just a story about one particular city. It’s about the stuff you read on this blog, it’s about this country we all live in. Not for nothing, there’s a hell of a lot of great music in it too. Sunday’s … Continue reading W.W.T.F.U.S: Sittin’ in La La

Immoral Values, Music, VirgoTex2 Comments

W.W.T.F.U.S: If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher

Today’s WWTFUS begins with a recitation of an excerpt fromLincoln’s 1838 Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois. In the address, a very young Lincoln warns his audience of the threats, not from foreign enemies but from “amongst us,” to the “perpetuation of our political institutions,” calling for reason and sobriety over passion and mob rule. The emphasis below is my own. By such examples, by instances of the perpetrators of such acts going unpunished, thelawless in spirit are encouraged to become lawless in practice; and having been used to no restraint but dread of punishment, they thus … Continue reading W.W.T.F.U.S: If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher

Music, VirgoTex12 Comments

*W.W.T.F.U.S. — The Fourteenth of April, That is Ruination Day

http://listen.grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf Lincoln, the Titanic, Black Sunday, and nowPalin and Boston Tea Partiers. Patrick Semansky/Bloomberg News Let’s be extra careful out there today, people. The crazy is strong with them, and yea verily I say unto thee, theirbatshit runs deep as does a mighty river. Let us also fervently hopethis week passes without becoming even moreruinous. April iscruel enough already. *Wednesday Wake the F*ck Up Song Continue reading *W.W.T.F.U.S. — The Fourteenth of April, That is Ruination Day

Nature is Scary, VirgoTex

“Winter dead, that was buried near the pole beans”

degenerate, washed by weather cycles degenerate, bleach the deadly night shades degenerate, prepare to take the profit oh degenerate, oh degenerate We moved from New York back to Texas right after Thanksgiving. That first winter, in an old house that hadn’t been lived in for years, was cold and dusty and full of bitter arguments and second guessing the whole crazy idea of coming back home after 10 years away. Then spring happened. I remember crying a lot without warning, for no good reason. I cried when the trees started to leaf out. I stopped the car, backed up to … Continue reading “Winter dead, that was buried near the pole beans”

Stupid Republican Tricks, Television, VirgoTex6 Comments

Variations on a theme: Scott Brown raises money for MSNBC advertisers

It doesn’t have the flair or depth of the ACORN hoax (let’s hope it doesn’t have the shelf life) but Scott Brown’s attempt to raise funds by scaring Massachusetts conservatives into believing that Rachel Maddow is after his seatruns on the same fuel. Or fumes. 1.Brown sends out letter to constituents: It’s only been a couple of months since I’ve been in office, and before I’ve even settled into my new job, the political machine in Massachusetts is looking for someone to run against me. And you’re not going to believe who they are supposedly trying to recruit — liberal … Continue reading Variations on a theme: Scott Brown raises money for MSNBC advertisers

Geek Cred, Music, VirgoTex11 Comments

Pancakes with a side of Hendrix

First up, I gotnothing againstJakob Dylan. He’s written some verydecent songs. Also, one cannot argue with genetics — man’s got a sweet voice that’s weathered smoothly over time, solid musical instincts, and not for nothing, he’s awful nice to look at. (see: “dyke, not blind”) When I read thatT-Bone Burnett, Academy Award winner, definitely on the short list of greatest producer/songwriter/performer genius guys around, had signed on to produce a second album with Dylan, I thought it sounded like a cool idea but didn’t think much more about it. What got my attention was when I saw they wanted not … Continue reading Pancakes with a side of Hendrix

Music, VirgoTex3 Comments

Soul Deep: RIP Alex Chilton

Stunningly sad news just breaking that Alex Chilton died this afternoon of a heart attack. Chilton was truly one of the big ones, an impossibly, ridiculously, talented writer and performer. As Whetjust noted on Twitter, of the uber-hitThe Letter: alex chilton: SIXTEEN WHEN HE RECORDED THIS I remember in the early awful days of Katrina aftermath, Chilton was one of the NOLA musicians whose whereabouts no one was able to confirm for a few days. I remember what a gift it felt like, in the middle of that huge sad story, to hear he was okay after all. When I … Continue reading Soul Deep: RIP Alex Chilton