Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Iran and the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism
Israel's National Security Advisor Giora Eiland said today that Iran is unlikely to give nuclear technology to Islamic militants.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Intimate Letters
After reading the Times's summary of Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush, I get the feeling that dialogue with Iran may in fact be feasible.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Eat Fresh
I'm a Jon Lovitz fan, but those Subway commercials are horrendous.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Miles Davis, Tokyo 1-22-75
I recently downloaded a recording of the Miles Davis Septet's 1-22-75 concert in Tokyo, Japan. This comes near the end of Miles Davis's first electric period, after which he would retire from music for a few years. Ten days after this concert, the same group would record the live albums Agharta and Pangaea.
Like those albums, the music on this recording is a stew of dense, experimental jazz-funk. Reggie Lucas, Michael Henderson, Al Foster and Mtume lay down perpetual (and yet perpetually changing) grooves, while Miles's electric wah-wah trumpet, Sonny Fortune's saxophones and flute, and Pete Cosey's screeching electric guitar raise hell on top. While the two officially released albums are strong performances, they unfortunately suffer from poor sound quality. This unofficial recording actually sounds much better.
Like those albums, the music on this recording is a stew of dense, experimental jazz-funk. Reggie Lucas, Michael Henderson, Al Foster and Mtume lay down perpetual (and yet perpetually changing) grooves, while Miles's electric wah-wah trumpet, Sonny Fortune's saxophones and flute, and Pete Cosey's screeching electric guitar raise hell on top. While the two officially released albums are strong performances, they unfortunately suffer from poor sound quality. This unofficial recording actually sounds much better.
Suns-Lakers
Tradesports shows the Suns selling as about 7-3 favorites over the Lakers. I'll agree that the Suns are favorites in tonight's matchup, but 7-3 seems a little bullish to me.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
A Blogospheric Controversy
The current catfight between Christopher Hitchens and Juan Cole is amusing -- only in the blogosphere would anybody care about an argument between a routinely over-the-top polemicist and a professor who likes to pretend that his expertise stretches much wider than it really does.
Unfortunate choice of words
Marc Stein on officiating in the playoffs:
Stein: I can't even answer this until someone explains how Reggie Evans went unsuspended after what he pulled.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Charles Mingus, Right Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop
I listened to this album for the first time last night. It's a live recording from 1964, a year known for a profusion of live recordings by one of the greatest Mingus ensembles. Mingus, drummer Dannie Richmond and tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan were part of that great band, and they appear here. Pianist Jaki Byard and reed player Eric Dolphy are absent; their replacements are Jane Getz and (on "Fables of Faubus") alto saxophonist John Handy.
Like most 1964 Mingus recordings, the performances are lengthy: both "Meditations" and "Fables of Faubus" stretch longer than 22 minutes apiece. On "Meditations", Mingus's bowed bass carries the first melody alone, without the flute that usually characterized performances of this piece. I think this is probably the biggest drawback of the album -- while Clifford Jordan does a fine job, Eric Dolphy's absence knocks the music down a notch. Still, Handy reminds me what a great altoist he was (and still is) during his "Fables" appearance.
Fake news vs. fake news
I almost doubled over in laughter after reading the following blurb on Drudge:
Ooh, impressive!
FLASH: Colbert averaging just over one million viewers a night (1,077,000], year to date on COMEDY CENTRAL, which is less than FOXNEWS's 6-11pm line-up...
Ooh, impressive!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Common Sense on the Gaza Withdrawal
Dan Halutz:
Halutz also rejects claims that the disengagement from Gaza harmed Israeli security and lead to Hamas' rise to power.
"The question is what you count. In terms of the dry statistics of casualties, it can be said that our security situation in Gaza has been changed entirely for the better. Since the withdrawal there has been no one killed on the Israeli side as a result of terror from the Gaza Strip. This is no small matter compared to dozens of people killed every a year in past. People are counting rockets, but before the disengagement thousands of mortars were fired, which hit Gush Katif."
Colbert at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
If you missed Colbert's appearance at the White House Correspondent's dinner, here is a link. For what it's worth, though the satire was on target, Colbert's been funnier. According to this story (hat tip drudge) the President wasn't amused.
