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1 August, 2008
The Wrecking Crew
I’ve just seen a documentary that is transformative. I am exactly the target demographic for The Wrecking Crew, a film by Tommy Tedesco’s son, Denny.
Entering my fifties I’m discovering gaping lacunae in my musical knowledge. Only recently, for example, did I discover the Brecker Brothers. How could I have missed them like that? No idea. Man, could they play.
Well, I just got to shake hands with Hal Blaine, a life-long hero who I never knew by name before today. He was here with Denny Tedesco to present the documentary, and we had a Q&A afterwards.
It’s difficlut for me to put into words what it was like for me. Blaine, Tedesco, and a small group of session musicians (including Glenn Campbell and Leon Russel) turn out to be the musical muscle behind nearly every hit rock and roll song of the sixties and most of the seventies. Only about 120 of them are represented in the movie, but Blaine himself has been on so many records they’re still trying to count. With the help of two musicologists he is trying to reconstruct a list. He’s up to 5,070 in his database so far, but that’s only up through 1971.
It was like putting my life on fast forward and rewind over and over. With each snippet of a song – Beach Boys, Herb Alpert, Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley – I thought, “they did that one too?” Nearly every memorable tune I grew up with turns out to really be the product of the Wrecking Crew. Yes, they were even really The Monkees and Alvin and the Chipmunk’s band.
This is Tedesco’s first documentary. It’s a labor of love that’s taken him over a decade so far. Sadly, his father passed away before it was finished. But the connection with his dad makes an intimate emotional connection to the material that literally had me laughing and crying the whole time. In a stroke of genius, Tedesco has several of the musicians, now much older than in their heyday, play along with the original tracks. All at once you see who played that, how important it was to the song, and that they can still play it!
The film has the best of a first-time effort, in that it feels fresh and intimate, and Tedesco found a really good editor to shape the material. It flows well, has zero annoying interviewer footage, and benefits from Tedesco’s narration as not just his dad’s son but a witness.
Right now the documentary is just making the festival circuit, looking for distribution. Once they get that Denny hopes to have a DVD and, tantalizingly, a soundtrack album. It would have to be a box set, and would be the first time the musicians actually get credit on most of the songs.
They’re trying to arrange a post-screening concert with some of the guys – and maybe Dave Brubeck – for when it comes to the Mill Valley Film Festival. If I’m not there I’m either dead or in jail.
Spread the word, and if you see it coming to a festival near you just go.
Update:
I found a very nice article on the Wrecking Crew which covers even more players than the documentary could. It’s well worth reading.
Democrats Write Republican Campaign Spot
I heard the audio for this today on KSFO.
Today Sen. McConnell offered several Unanimous Consent requests to lift the ban on deep-sea exploration. Democrats objected.
He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $4.50. Democrats objected.
He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $5.00. Democrats objected.
He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $7.50. Democrats objected.
He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $10.00. Democrats objected.
The designated objector was Sen. Salazar of Colorado, for those who are interested.
The RNC or McCain should grab that audio, trim it to thirty seconds, and run it. Over and over.
Update:
Well! Something is indeed stirring over at McCain HQ. They finally woke up to the fact that nobody writes a better pro-McCain ad than Barack Obama.
Another Update:
Here’s video of the RNC campaign spot the Democrats wrote.
Breaking News: Feingold is a Moron
Chertoff’s jackbooted goons still maintain that they have a right to paw through your data when you enter the country whether or not there’s probable cause.
Senator Russel Feingold is properly alarmed, and plans to introduce legislation that would require reasonable suspicion for border searches. So far so good. But get a load of the kicker:
…as well as prohibit profiling on race, religion or national origin.
What a maroon. We absolutely should be profiling on religion and national origin. Sheesh.
Electrolysis Breakthrough
I can’t tell from how it’s being reported just what separating water into hydrogen and oxygen has to do with photosynthesis, but it does seem there’s been a major breakthrough in efficiency. This could make fuel cells quite viable. It certainly seems like good news for solar energy.
31 July, 2008
Awww, Is Widdle Empewow Feewing a Dwaft?
Perhaps another MSM birdie is fleeing the wire.
A new CNN/Opinion Research poll out Wednesday shows that despite nine solid days of blanket media coverage from overseas with Barack Obama cheered by adoring throngs of Germans and parlez-vousing with the French, making a three-point shot in the Middle East and standing outside No. 10 Downing Street, the freshman Illinois senator is stuck right where he was in the polls before he left.
Or maybe this is just whining that translates: We did our best to campaign for him, but the rubes aren’t buying it!
Look, if touring Europe made one qualified for office, we’d be electing tourists. Maybe touring Europe just makes you look like a tourist.
Water!
As rumored, it has been officially found on mars.
“We have water,” said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. “We’ve seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted.”
And, as a bonus, there’s also a beach on Titan.
The Church of Obama
He is a symbol of all that is good, but there is some splintering among his adherents.
*Southern Obamaists: This is the chief fundamentalist sect of Obamaism. Their most important tenets are that every word spoken by Obama is to be taken literally and that there are no contradictions in anything he has ever written. They also believe that the world was created 46 years ago.
*Evangelical Obamaists: This denomination is hard to distinguish from the Southern Obamaists politically, but in appearance its members are less dour, put more focus on spreading the word of Obama, and will often sway to the music at Obama rallies (hips not included). They are often referred to as Born Again Barackites, as they have voted for other candidates from different parties in the past, but have been baptized by re-registering.
Read the whole thing.
Quick: How Many Presidents on the Dollar Bill?
Hint: None of them look like Obama.
Even generously allowing that he meant all U.S. bills he still comes off as a race-baiter no better than Je$$e Jackson. Just why does he get to call himself “black” anyway? Does anybody else see the racist political correctness in identifying only with his father’s race? It’s even a little misogynistic when you think about it. And why should it make a whit of difference? It’s the color of his politics to which I object.
At some point Americans have to start noticing what a shallow jerk he is. Maybe some have, because in spite of the fact he’s running a poor, at times juvenile campaign, McCain stays even with him in the polls. (Or ahead, if you count “likely voters”.)
Update:
Oh. He wasn’t talkin about his race. He was talking about his ears.
30 July, 2008
The Audacity of Arrogance
Had your fill of this charming windbag yet?
That’s OK, because he’s already held the election without you.
Along the way, he traveled in a bubble more insulating than the actual president’s. Traffic was shut down for him as he zoomed about town in a long, presidential-style motorcade, while the public and most of the press were kept in the dark about his activities, which included a fundraiser at the Mayflower where donors paid $10,000 or more to have photos taken with him.
Untangling the Brain
I hope this pans out: A new drug is being hailed as the biggest advance in Alzheimer’s treatment in a hundred years.
‘We have demonstrated for the first time that it may be possible to arrest progression of the disease by targeting the tangles that are highly correlated with the disease. This is the most significant development in the treatment of the tangles since Alois Alzheimer discovered them in 1907.’
Pop Quiz
Peter Kirsanow has a quiz for reporters. First question is this:
Sen. Obama: “I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.”
Simple assignment for the press corps: ask the senator to name three specific traditions to which America will return upon his election and why his election will prompt their return. No teleprompters allowed.
29 July, 2008
State of Nirvana
You know, where you’ll find Utopia State University.
The Chosen One, careful as he has been not to leave a paper trail, left one as Professor Obama. Credit where credit is due: The New York Times dug this up.
Look especially at the 2003 final exam (PDF). KLO calls it “Christmas in July.” I call it “a tough sell in Peoria.”
Update:
About that credit being due… NYT still gets credit for running it, but not for being first. Not by a long shot.
Big Fish?
Bob Owens reports that Al Qaeda’s “Mad Scientist” may have been sent to his 72 raisins. Let’s hope so.
Heller, Take 2
Heller is filing a new complaint, and he has Stephen Halbrook on his side.
The Globe Reverberates With Laughter
I hope this is right. Although the Lefties will just find a new excuse to control our lives once AGW is widely regarded as false.
I still remember global cooling, overpopulation, nuclear winter, and the “hole” in the ozone. And a lot of other stuff you really shouldn’t worry about.
28 July, 2008
Beware the Charismatic Young Man
Drawing parallels between the Obama and Castro seems likely to credit Fidel with too much charm and Barack with too much substance. Yet let’s let Manuel Alvarez, Jr. have his say. It’s not like there’s a lot of daylight between Marxists and Stalinists.
Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day and on July 4 I celebrate America’s. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.
On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.I’ve thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.
When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said “Praise the Lord.” And when the young leader said, “I will be for change and I’ll bring you change,” everyone yelled, “Viva Fidel!”
But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner’s guns went silent the people’s guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I’m back to the beginning of my story.
Luckily, we would never fall in America for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America?
Would we?
27 July, 2008
At the half: Savage 0, CAIR 1
A judge tossed Michael Savage’s lawsuit against the Saudi-funded, pro-terrorist group called CAIR.
Savage sued the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, for copyright infringement and racketeering lawsuit late last year, claiming the group violated his rights by using a segment of his “Savage Nation” show in a letter-writing campaign to get advertisers to boycott the program. In the broadcast used by CAIR, Savage also called the Muslim holy book “a throwback document.”
In her ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said people who listen to a public broadcast are entitled to use excerpts for purposes of comment and criticism. She also said no evidence was presented to show that advertising on the show’s broadcast was affected by CAIR’s actions.
The racketeering element of the lawsuit alleged that CAIR was not a civil rights group, but a political organization with ties to terrorist groups. CAIR denies those claims, saying it opposes terrorism and religious extremism.
Can’t argue much with Savage’s description of that so-called “holy book”, but it seems the judge was correct to throw out the suit. Excerpting should be allowed. The funny part is that CAIR’s attempted boycott failed so miserably that it didn’t affect Savage’s ad revenues. Savage can be a dead-on provocateur, but he’s also unstable and prone to muddled thinking, so I don’t know how good the racketeering charges are, but I’m glad his attorney is going to file a new racketeering suit. I hope CAIR gets hit with a lot of those since CAIR is obviously not a civil rights group and obviously is a political organization with ties to terrorist groups.
Understatement OTD
Glenn Reynolds says “The NGO sector could probably use a bit more scrutiny.“
26 July, 2008
Sweet Nothings
Peter Robinson, who knows a thing or two about presidential speeches in Berlin, recommends reading Andrew Ferguson’s piece on Obama’s load of post-holes and sailboat fuel.
So do I.
Don’t Blame the Speculators
I’m going to find a way to send this article to the AOPA. It’s a good read for anybody who thinks “speculators” are a bad thing.
Executive summary: They’re a very good thing.
Update:
Here’s why speculators actually make oil cheaper.
Even the comments to that article are instructive:
If you replace “speculation” with “forward-looking price” it will help resolve some of the intentional confusion Harry Reid and other disingenuous persons have been spreading. Actually, when an airline sells tickets for a plane flight, it is speculating on actual future demand for those seats. It often overbooks, speculating that not everyone will show up and demand will be slightly less than what has been signaled through the initial orders.
Often, this works and the airline has reduced the risk of flying with 15% less passengers due to the expected last-second cancellations. They’ve provided passenger liquidity and have hedged their risk. Had they been prohibited by Congress from speculating on the market for seats, they would have no choice but to pass that cost directly on to you. Curious, how speculation is always bad when it’s someone else, but it’s ok for an airline CEO, or for that matter, all of us.
Some are Worthy
Others less so, but JibJab gets them all to do the Star Spangled Banner together.
Waiting for Apologies from CAIR and the ACLU
Their poster boy has kidnapped his own kids.
25 July, 2008
Stupid Reporter Tricks
I’ve about had it with the coverage of the recent Qantas incident.
Qantas flight QF30, with 300 passengers and crew on board, plunged 20,000ft after the faulty door caused an “explosive” depressurisation.
The Boeing 747 had just taken off from a stopover in Hong Kong when the incident happened. As the plane dropped from 30,000ft to 10,000ft, oxygen masks fell from the ceiling.
What’s all this about “dropping”, “plummeting” and “plunging”? And doesn’t 10,000 feet ring a bell with anybody? (Hint: You don’t need supplemental oxygen at that altitude, and it’s easy to read on an altimiter.) Is it too much to ask a reporter or editor somewhere to look up emergency descent? (Took me all of five seconds.) Or phone, you know, a pilot somewhere?
Just remember: Pretty much everything you learn about aviation from the popular press is wrong.
