Charting the Votes in Nanaimo-Cowichan

Nanaimo-Cowichan seems well on its way to becoming once again a New Democratic Party stronghold...

check out the cool sounds of the Novi Singers

"In late 1964 a young graduate of the Warsaw Conservatory, Bernard
Kawka, fascinated by the music of Bill Evans, whom he had met in
Scandinavia, decided to devote himself to jazz. In the Conservatory he
found others who shared his enthusiasm for this music. They considered
that the best way of expressing their jazz ideas would be to use their
own voices. Such decision led to the creation of Novi Singers, a mixed
vocal quartet with a truly incredible sound. In my opinion, NOVIS is
one of the best European vocal groups, of all time..."

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Half a Loaf - bread as intellectual property

"If nothing is new in food, as someone invariably points out in such discussions, think of the challenges that face anyone dedicated to the staff of life. Flour, water, and yeast are Old Testament elemental. The idea of patenting a bread seems antithetical to the generous spirit that moves most cooks and, I would add, nearly every baker. (To my mind pretty much everything besides bread is a dietary supplement.) Since The Italian Baker was published, in 1985, I have watched several of Carol Field’s recipes and techniques for previously unknown Italian breads spread across the land like the sloppy, barely yeasted, unmanageably wet doughs that, as her book taught, result in the lightest, best-flavored bread. She’s seldom credited, of course..."

Rewords: On the Multiplicitous Poetries of Lee Ann Brown by Laynie Browne

On the ballad form, Brown writes:

“Immensely flexible and with a
very long history, the ballad has been one of the backbones (and the source forms) for innovative, hybrid American art since the time of the first European settlers.

“The ballad is, quite simply, the link
between the written and the sung: it is the vehicle for children’s songs, hymns, lullabies, political anthems, folk songs, heavy metal “power ballads,” sweeping love ballads, movie soundtracks themes, and nearly every type of popular song.”

Silliman's Blog jumps the shark over harmless, funny online poetry spoof--

"I might note that the last time I felt ripped off by an on-line stunt, I sued – as a lead plaintiff in a class-action case brought by the National Writers Union. And while I can’t discuss the suit, as a condition of the subsequent settlement, I will note that we could have gotten a pretty good major league middle infielder for the final amount. Play with other people’s reps at your own risk..."

"Q. This is so liberating! Isn't it liberating?

A. No, Steve, it's forgery, a crime....

Q. Yeah, Ron, this is a crime. Like smoking pot. Or "sodomy."

A. "No, Nada, not like pot or sodomy in that in 30 years that text is likely to turn up on MY record. This is not some victimless prank. It's a world class Stupid Artist's Trick..."

Manifesting the Ineffable: A Conversation with filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky

"What’s important is that the film doesn’t break down into a dualism. It’s not a camera looking at something. It’s a unified movement: the screen is becoming something, as well as the camera is moving. It doesn’t break down into, “I’m taking a picture of that,” which is when cinema collapses..."

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Cheeta: The Autobiography

"What we have here is a showbiz memoir from a star whose gilded cage was no metaphor; who views the great days of Hollywood in zoological terms. It's a brilliant idea. Naturally, as befits the memoir genre, Cheeta defines himself as an actor (“I'm a comedian, not an intellec- tual”). Naturally, too, modesty does not prevent him from pointing out that, in his great middle-period work on the Tarzan pictures, he was a pioneer of “simian thespianism”. How much of his success in films was down to him being an animal? Cheeta will accept it's as much as 10%; the rest, however, was talent..."

very interesting new "politics" edition of historical magazine Common-place is online today, taking on everything from voter machines to sailor's hospitals to the hidden relationship of Aaron Burr & Washington Irving...

from Mad Men Illustrated - a set on Flickr

what can we do to help save the bees ??

Godard's "Contempt" on TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES tonight...

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