Support Your Local Film Festival

Landlocked Film Festival is on this weekend in Iowa City- if you're in town and looking for something to do, go check it out.

About That Ground Zero Mosque...

...I don't care. Despite what the media would have us believe, the thing isn't towering above the gaping hole in the ground where the Towers used to be- in fact, there isn't even a direct line of site to Ground Zero from where it's going to be. Do I think it's in bad taste and perhaps deliberately provocative? I do. You had to know people would wig out about this, so why do it? Someone out there was going for a headline grab and guess what, attention has now been paid.

Which is why I could care less. Let 'em have a Mosque, community center or whatever. If, as Laura Ingraham suggests that this is more about appeasing and appearing tolerant towards Islam at the expense of other religions, like say Christianity, then people quit your bitching, start raising money and build a damn Church down there. (Personally, I'm all for building whatever religious buildings they want down there. Mosques, synagogues, Hindu temples, Churches, bring them all- because I'm willing to bet that people of all faiths died in those attacks, so all faiths have a right to have places of worship nearby. Including Muslims.)

So let me sum up: I don't care. All this talk about hallowed ground and Ground Zero, well, hell, if you're going to blabber about that, then you have to be consistent. There are, I think I saw somewhere at least a half-dozen titty bars within blocks of the sacred hallowed ground of Ground Zero and if there's to be no Mosque, then out with the Titty Bars!

Iowa Heading East?

What? This makes no sense whatsoever- I think it's more likely Wisconsin heads east and Michigan heads west. Geographically, it makes no sense whatsoever and I'm hoping Barry Alvarez has this wrong. I want Iowa-Minnesota. I want Iowa-Nebraska and although to me, the Heartland Trophy doesn't really have the cache of the immortal Floyd of Rosedale, I'd like Iowa-Wisconsin as well, but if one of those three has to go, I'd say chuck the Badgers.

What say you, people: should Iowa go east or west?

19th Amendment at 90

Today is the 90th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote. It's gloriously simple, so I'll quote it in full here:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Forbes has some thoughts on the road behind and the long road ahead. The litany should be familiar to anyone with half a brain and a vague connection to the world we live in today. Women get the majority of college degrees these days and yet earn 78% of what men do. They're expected to be (and usually are) the primary family caregivers in families, even today. Yes we have 3 female Supreme Court Justices for the first time ever, but only 17% of Congress is female and only six out of 50 governors are women.

Birth control, access to abortion, the strides women have made in the past 90 years are amazing, but there's a long road ahead. While women have the right to choose to end a pregnancy, there's a quiet battle being waged for women to have a right to choose how to have their baby, with midwives and women facing off against the money and power of the industrial medical complex. Women still haven't made it to the top spot in the country, despite oodles of other countries electing women, some of them multiple times now. Let me say again: women make up about the majority of the workforce and yet only earn 78% of what men do. Women who choose to stay at home and raise their kids are facing even steeper barriers when it comes to re-entering the workforce and are being failed not only by modern feminism but by society as a whole.

Yes, 90 years later there is still plenty of work to be done, but there is also hope for the future. Sarah Palin, for all her many faults seems to have done the impossible and broken open the glass ceiling for conservative women in this country and they, as a group are on the rise. Iowa, who has yet to send a women to Congress in any capacity is on the verge of sending either a Senator (Roxanne Conlin) or Congresswoman (Miller-Meeks) to Congress for the first time ever.

But I'm going to be bold and say that women are on the verge of a serious breakthrough and by the time the 19th Amendment gets to be 100 years old, we will have a woman as President of the United States.

Michigan-Ohio State Divorce?

As the Big 10 powers that be hunker in their caves and plot divisions for the 2011 season, rumors are swirling that Michigan and Ohio State might be heading for a divorce. If this proves to be true, it would effectively end what many consider to be the marquee matchup of the Big 10 conference and put the kybosh on a very long tradition and a very storied rivalry. Well, not completely- after all, both Wolverines and Buckeyes could meet in the conference title game.

The rumors continue to swirl...

Albums2010 #24: A Rush Of Blood To The Head

I didn't know what to think about Coldplay when I first heard them. In general, I liked them. I more than liked them, I approved of them. It was that point late in high school when teeny boppers like N'Sync and Britney started growing up and losing their mass market shiny, crap commercial appeal and music started become real again. A season of Chris Martin staring moodily at the camera and moaning about how something, whatever it was, was all yellow. But they were odd. And I didn't know how to feel about them and then, they released this album and suddenly, amazingly, they were awesome. Really and truly awesome.

This album represents a high point in Coldplay's ongoing career that probably won't be matched again. This is their 'Highway 61 Revisited' their 'Sergeant Pepper' and it's damn good, dreamy, ethereal and downright exquisite from start to finish. From 'Politik' to 'In My Place' 'Clocks' 'Daylight' and 'The Scientist' the songs ranging from the melancholy to the dreamy this entire album just works and I love it.

This may seem like something of a weird tangent, but I remember the first time I read Ramesh Menon's excellent translation of The Ramayana, I was listening to this album and I was struck how the beauty and dreaminess of the music fit in so perfectly with Menon's prose and carefully constructed dreamscapes of long-ago India. I don't know whether there was something in the water that day, but I will always associate this album with that particular piece of writing.

What else about Coldplay? Well they seemed to be at the forefront of this kind of weird, ethereal wave of bands that came out of Britain that included the likes of Keane and a few others that escape me right now, which probably means it was just Coldplay and Keane in that bunch. They were new, they were unusual and while no one can accuse them of being a hard-core rock band, they made a good album with this one.

Overall: The 'you know how I know your gay' riff from '40 Year Old Virgin' aside, if you feel the need to dip your feet in the pond of Coldplay, start with this album. It doesn't disappoint and it'll give you a good feel for their music. OK, they rock harder on a few more albums, but if you want heavy metal, don't come lookin' here.

Kids,

I'm not ignoring people on purpose, I swear- it's just that the Missus and I are between interwebs at the moment, having dumped the sheer piractic lunacy of Mediacom for the cheaper and cable-free glories of Qwest, we seem to be having an issue of some kind with our connection and they should be coming to fix it Monday.

So hopefully I'll be back soon...

Favre Is Back

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Told you he didn't want to go to trading camp.

Aaaaack!

For fans of the Funny Pages, 'Cathy' is set to end this October after 34 years gracing the comics page of American newspapers. Can't say that I was a huge fan, but 'Cathy' was a lot like 'Golden Girls' you may not sit down and actually read it, but it was somewhat comforting to know that it was there.

Of course, the strip has its hardcore fans, but chocolate, men and finding the perfect swimsuit don't really resonate all that much with me, but hearing that its riding off into the sunset is sort of nostalgic, as another comic strip of my childhood (even if I never really read it) ceases to be.

Cali For The Win!

The Judge who struck down Prop 8's gay marriage ban in California has ruled that marriage can resume starting August 18th- presuming the appeals court next in line for the case doesn't step in and issue a stay of its own. (Gay marriage opponents are already asking for just that.) No one is completely happy about it (peeps want to get married now, you know) but it made a certain amount of sense after both Governor Terminator and his AG said weddings should resume.

Also, on an interesting side note- I had to read this a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating or had accidentally ingested LSD or something, but Glenn Beck, of all people could care less about gay marriage and in a surprising burst of sensible thinking, doesn't consider it a threat to America. The loud crashing sound you hear is the Earth slowly stopping in its rotation- and get all the juicy details over here, courtesy of Instapundit.

Stay Dry, Central Iowa!

Had some training in Des Moines today for work, so drove out there this morning, wondering if the Interstate would even be open. It (thankfully) was, but there was a good ten mile stretch between Colfax and Mitchellville that was heavily waterlogged- the ditches running along 80 were full in and around Baxter and if rain shows up as expected this weekend, it wouldn't surprise me if 1-80 shuts down for a day or two.

But water is receding in Ames and I-35 is back open. The trick is now to keep the central part of the state dry for a few days. Fingers crossed for 'em!

Primary Night In The Medium White North

I thought Margaret Anderson Keliher was going to pull off the upset, but it looks like former Senator Mark Dayton pulled ahead at the end to win the DFL primary last night up in Minnesota. On the GOP side of things, Tom Emmer ran past his opponents (none of them serious) and for the Independence Party Tom Horner got the official nod, all of which sets up what promises to be another corker of a governor's race up in Minnesota.

Interesting fact: the Democrats haven't won the Governor's mansion in Minnesota since 1986. That I didn't know and frankly it was surprising to me. Minnesota has been the most faithful of blue states since the 70s (last Republican they voted for in a Presidential election was Richard Nixon) but since 1986, it's been Republicans and Independence Party folk in the Governor's Mansion- no DFLers. That's quite the drought, which makes Dayton's ability to unite the party a crucial factor in shaping this race as the campaign season gets underway.

While Iowa's race for Governor looks to be more cut and dried than Minnesota's, it's worth pointing out that I don't really have the measure of GOP nominee Tom Emmer just yet. Star Tribune and the press I've seen seems to be spinning this as advantage:DFL for the governorship this fall, but I think Emmer will have a more united party behind him than Dayton will and then there's Tom Horner and the Independence Party to ponder. Do I think Horner can win the day? It'd be nice if he could, but Dayton and Emmer are going to have a lot of money behind them that Horner won't and unless Dayton and Emmer start bludgeoning each other to death and Horner emerges as a more positive alternative, I'm not sure how much noise they're going to make.

Either way, it's going to be one heckuva campaign up in the Medium White North.

Bookshot #7: Mandela

I remember South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994. I went to hear Former President FW De Klerk speak when he was on the University of Iowa campus when I was a freshman. I remember hearing the stories about the life of Nelson Mandela and how he had lead the fight against apartheid and spent nearly two decades in prison. I remember my mother listening to Ladysmith Black Mambazo and watching Sarafina. So I knew about South Africa and I knew about apartheid, but it wasn't until the World Cup kicked off in early June that I realized that I actually knew very little about Nelson Mandela himself.

So, I ran to the local book store and snagged a biography of what the Boston Globe accurately called 'one of the century's most extraordinary lives.' And appropriately, Anthony Sampson's biography lives up to the billing. Sampson, who spent decades in South Africa as a journalist first met Nelson Mandela in 1952 and was given unprecedented access to Mandela's papers and accounts of his time in jail in what is billed as an 'authorized biography.' What emerges is an incredibly detailed portrait of an iconic man that told me so much that I didn't know about Mandela.

The first thing that stands out about this biography is that its essentially a meticulous history of contemporary South Africa stretching from before World War II right up until the present day. Things like the Defiance Campaign, the Sharpeville Massacre, the Soweto Riots in the late 70s/early 80s that reignited the fight against apartheid- events that had previously been merely words on a page swung into sharp focus and put together with the regional turmoil that came from the white South African government policy of holding and buttressing the so-called White Redoubt of Rhodesia, Angola and Mozambique- a policy that became more difficult with the collapse of Portuguese rule in the latter two countries after 1975. Cuban intervention in the Angolan Civil War became a Cold War flashpoint and Namibia's (then Southwest Africa) fight for independence put even more pressure on the white government and domestic pressures to end apartheid helped bring the situation to a boiling point by the 1980s that eventually saw Mandela released and apartheid end.

However, appropriately because after all it is a biography of the man, the meat of this volume concerns Nelson Mandela. Popular perception, at least in my head seems to think that Mandela has been presented to the world as a sort of Gandhi-like, Martin Luther King Jr-type of figure. Non-violent with gobs of moral authority that lead his country peacefully out of apartheid and into democracy- and while some of that is true, what surprised me was that throughout the struggle against apartheid, Mandela and the ANC never renounced the use of violence. As terrorist groups go, the ANC was far from what I would call successful, never really being able to mount a sustained campaign within South Africa's borders. This failure to renounce violence only perpetrated criticism of Mandela and the ANC as merely a terrorist organization and made it all too easy for the apartheid government to use them as a whipping boy to maintain their hold on power.

Were they communists, as many more conservative critics of the ANC and Mandela had charged? Well, yes and no. Early on Mandela seems to have been influenced by socialist thinkers and certainly the Communists within South Africa were important allies in the struggle against apartheid, but unlike many Communist Parties, they didn't really take their marching orders from Moscow. And to his credit, Sampson takes pains to illustrate Mandela's evolution in thinking throughout his time in jail- Mandela's imprisonment being covered in greater detail for the first time.

The real astonishing feat of Nelson Mandela came after his release from prison, where he managed to negotiate an end to apartheid and hold his country together, despite the threat of Civil War, which seemed very real in the early 90s. That and the continued stability of South Africa to this day is a testament to his leadership, moral authority and strength in leading first the fight against apartheid and then his country into a democratic future.

Overall: Everything you ever wanted to know about Mandela but were afraid to ask in a detailed, meticulous biography that illuminates Mandela's life and accomplishments to the reader.

California Right Next Door

Illinois is broke.

Why Do We Have Dollar Coins Again?

A pointed question (with attached article) from the BBC- I forgot that the US Mint is making the Presidential dollar coins (and I have yet to see one) but they are apparently piling up in vaults around the country and people are scratching their heads over why they can't seem to get them to be popular.

A few years back, I know the main problem was that vending machines wouldn't take them, but I think that's starting to change a bit and then there's this whole attachment to the dollar bill that this country has. Strippers everywhere (of both genders) depend on it- though it's worth noting that if we did take the dollar bill out of circulation, it would act as something of an economic stimulus for strippers, as I doubt the practice of putting dollar coins in g-strings would catch on, thus making a move to larger bills for your strippers more likely.

Either way: if dollar coins are to work, we need to stop printing dollar bills. And if we're not going to do that then making dollar coins is just a waste of time and money.

Scenes From Our Mini-Vacay

The Missus and I had a mini-vacay Sunday and Monday camping for the night at Wildcat Den State Park near Muscatine and wandering through the Quad Cities before heading home this afternoon... it was hot, humid and beautiful!

The Pentagon Gets It

Maybe. Certainly more so than any other part of the government.

(Speaking of which: not that I care much, but should the First Lady be jetting around the Costa Del Sol right now? I mean, sure she's footing the bill for hotel rooms and the like, but there's still a hefty taxpayer bill for her security detail and travel on Air Force Two. What about leadership by example? Aren't there plenty of places in the United States worth visiting? Like say, Florida with its beaches that maybe could use a tourism boost in the wake of the BP oil spill? I could really care less where the First Family takes their vacay (Bush The Younger, after all, would decamp to Crawford for a good month in August) but bad, bad optics in this time of economic strife.)

Albums2010 #23: Brothers In Arms

What can I say about Dire Straits? It's like a smooth, ice cold beer after a hard day at the office. Their music is nothing particularly fancy, it's nice, laid back and bluesy. Formed in the late 70s by brothers Mark and David Knopfler, Dire Straits went for a more stripped down, laid back sounds moving against the more bombastic sounds of 70s stadium rock and interestingly enough, against the hard driving sound of punk that was emerging at the time.

What makes that notion interesting is the fact that while punk bands were moving against mainstream rock in a loud, angry way, Dire Straits went for a more, shall we say, chillaxed route and it worked. Per the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, The Brothers Knopfler would actually ask pub owners to turn down the volume, so people could talk and converse while they played. These guys seem laid back, love their blues and it shows in their music, especially with Brothers In Arms, probably their most well-known album and there are so many good songs to choose from with this one.

'Money For Nothing' was the song that put Dire Straits in the forefront of the music video era and even though the lyrics may seem a little dated and certainly embodied the excesses of the 1980s in many respects, it still works nearly three decades after the fact as a damn good song. 'Walk Of Life' is another well-known Dire Straits song that can be played again and again, but to me, it's the title track 'Brothers In Arms' that stands out as the embodiment of the stripped down, laid back, understated glory of the music of Dire Straits. Aaron Sorkin used this song with devastating effect at the climax of the Second Season Finale of 'The West Wing' (Two Cathedrals ranks as probably the finest hour of television I've ever seen even today.) and it's quiet and amazingly powerful at the same time and it proves to be the soul of the album.

Dire Straits had other great albums and other great songs, but 'Brothers In Arms' is probably the Ace in their very stacked deck of laid back blues. (Other faves of mine: 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Water Of Love') and eventually Mark Knopfler broke up the band and went solo, with his distinctive voice and guitar chops and did extremely well for himself. (On a side note: I have a deep appreciation for unique voices and the ability to play some guitar, hence my love of Tom Waits, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, etc and Mark Knopfler didn't just 'do well for himself' he ranks, in my book as one of the foremost under appreciated guitar gurus of all time and has a gravelly, raspy voice that almost, but not quite reaches the perfect imperfection of Tom Waits.)

Overall: If you like laid back blues with some wicked guitar work ('Lady Writer' and 'Sultans of Swing') then Dire Straits is the band for you- and if you're a fan of the music of the 1980s, then 'Brothers In Arms' a must have album and Dire Straits is a must listen-to band.

New UIMA Director...

...is Sean O'Harrow, current Director of the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. I am very optimistic about this appointment. Behold, the nuggets of O'Harrow's resume (courtesy of the Press-Citizen):

A native of Hawaii, O'Harrow has been executive director of the Figge since 2007. During his tenure, the Figge has been re-accredited by the American Association of Museums and has seen increases in both fund-raising and attendance, setting an all-time record for annual visitors and program participants in 2009-10 of over 69,000, including more than 20,000 students from pre-school to college age.

O'Harrow helped the UIMA house, preserve and display its collection at the Figge following the flood of 2008 that devastated the UI arts campus.

Prior to arriving in Iowa, O'Harrow was an official fellow and development director of St. Catharine's College in the University of Cambridge for five years, where he helped raise $34 million. He spent three years as a senior executive in a U.S.-based investment banking firm in London, responsible for strategic growth in Europe. He also worked for four years as chief operating officer of an international financial consulting and software firm in London.

O'Harrow earned his doctorate in art history from the University of Cambridge in 1997 and a undergraduate degree with honors in art history from Harvard in 1990. He is the recipient of a number of academic awards, including a British Academy postgraduate studentship

I am very happy and very optimistic about this! The University of Iowa has one of the most amazing collections of Art in the Midwest and no one knew it was there before the flood and I'm hoping O'Harrow comes out of the gate swinging for the fences and working every source of money he can get his hands on to get a world class facility for this world class collection of art. (If he can get $50 million and some land downtown we'll be rolling!)

The Art Museum has been down for the count, worrying about where the art's going to go and what to do about it for far too long. It's time to get off the mat and go, go, go and hopefully O'Harrow can and will do that! Let's bring the UIMA back to life and back to campus!

Don't Bring Everything...

...not your parents' dorm rooms, says the Press-Citizen, which is true- because Residence Halls and the array of choices that are being offered to incoming students are getting fancier and fancier and broader and broader and I think that's a good thing and a great selling point for any University.

But! If you're sending your kids off to college this fall, let me offer this piece of advice: pack light. For all the amazing things that are in dorms these days, the fact remains is that the rooms are still damn small and you usually have to share them with someone else. Please, parents, please, please, please- I worked move ins and outs as a security guard last year and finding a place for the ridiculous trailers many people brought with them, chock full of little Janey and Johnny's assorted crap was a total nightmare.

Pack light. You'll save yourselves hours of stress in the August heat if you do!

From Across The Pond...

I'm feeling political tonight apparently, so here's a dab of the good stuff from across the pond: the Independent is reporting that barely two months into a coalition government with the Conservatives, support for the Liberal Democrats is slumping to their early April low of 16%- which will only increase the sense of unease amongst the parties left wing.

I hope Nick Clegg and company take a deep breath and hold their ground. It's going to be tricky with the local elections next year, but if they have solid policy victories championed by the Lib Dems to take to voters next year, I think they can sell it to their supporters. The fact of the matter is that the Lib Dems had a moment and did the right thing! A stable government (even a coalition one) is good for the country, especially in a time of economic crisis and the voters had dealt a huge slap to Labor's mandate to govern. (More than a huge slap, more of a buzzsaw/machete/fillet type deal) and the biggest mark against the Lib Dems on the national level has always been the fact they had no experience in government and people weren't ready to take on a untried party for national government.

OK, so their Robin to the Conservative's Batman in this particular coalition, but they're in. They're governing. They need to take a deep breath and start selling their piece of the coalition pie to their party faithful and to the country at large.

(Random thought: assuming this lasts five years, how do you campaign against your former coalition partner? I want to see how they handle that.)

But hang tough, Lib Dems. Hang tough!

Hillary for Veep?

An interesting piece of writing from the Wall Street Journal... here's why I think it will amount to nothing:

1. The problems with this administration start at the top of the ticket, not the bottom.

2. This is all piss and wind until after the midterms, anyway.

3. And if the midterms are as disastrous for the Dems as many are predicting, I wouldn't be surprised if Hillary goes for the top of the ticket.

Branstad 52%, Culver 36%

So says the latest polls from Rasmussen. I think this will tighten once campaign season really gets going after Labor Day, but Culver has one helluva mountain to climb. The economic situation favors Branstad in a huge way- probably in a fatal way when it comes to Culver. Branstad got the state through the Farm Crisis of the late 80s in more or less one piece and with the ship of state heading for rough waters, I think the voters are going to want an experienced Captain at the helm.

We'll see what Labor Day brings...

Albums2010 #22: Meddle

This album was extremely hard to review for some reason and I'm not entirely sure why, but after a month off I've sat down, thought about it and came up with the following: Meddle is completely and utterly random.

No seriously. If you snag this Pink Floyd album expecting ethereal tones and dark psychedlia that marks a lot of their other albums, think again, because what makes Meddle both interesting and maddening is that there's not one single thread that joins this album together, other than the fact it was recorded by the same band. Every song (and granted there are only six) is fundamentally different from every other song on the album which makes this disc very hard to deconstruct.

Let me illustrate:

1. One Of These Days- Instrumental, Hard Core
2. A Pillow Of Winds- Soft and Dreamy
3. Fearless- Football Anthem
4. San Tropez- Peppy Love Song
5. Seamus- Blues Song Featuring Actual Dog
6. Echoes- 20 Minute Psychedlic Rock Song

See what I mean? There's no easy way to break those six songs down into one package, which is what was driving me somewhat nutty last month, so upon reflection, I've decided that I just don't care anymore and I'm just going to do the best I can with this- so apologies if this review seems a little scattershot, because really when you get right down to it, this album was pretty scattershot as well.

So what did I like about this album? Well, the sheer joyful randomness of it all is very appealing. Floyd breaks their usual mold with this one and it's interesting to listen too. 'One Of These Days' and 'Echoes' bookend the album with the more typical Floyd sound, but the four tracks in the middle? Not so much: 'A Pillow Of Winds' feels like a soft and dreamy love song. 'Fearless' jams out over a recording of the Kop Choir of Liverpool F.C. singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' which might be Floyd's attempt to be all Gary Glitter and get something that sounds good over stadium speakers, I don't know. 'San Tropez' really shocked me, because it was peppy, upbeat and a real live love song, something which I had never heard on a Pink Floyd album before. And finally 'Seamus' (which many Pink Floyd fans consider to be their worst song EVER) was a nice little blues tune feature a dog howling along with the music. Odd, but strangely it worked.

And I think that last statement probably sums up Meddle perfectly: Odd, but strangely it worked. And it does and it's fascinating and it's certainly good enough, in my view to deserve a place towards the top of Pink Floyd's pantheon of really great albums, including The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here. Two tracks that kicked the most ass: 'Fearless' and 'One Of These Days' (in other words, if you're going to download anything from this album, snag those two bad boys.)

Overall: An underrated, wonderfully random album from Pink Floyd. Worth a listen and if you're a serious fan of Pink Floyd, a must have.

Oust Justices!

Vander Plaats is back and this time he's got three State Supreme Court Justices in his sights- mounting a campaign to convince voters not to retain them when they come up for their retention votes in November.

First of all, and believe me I can't believe I'm saying this, but kudos to Vander Plaats for figuring it out: process matters! No crazy executive declarations, but rallying the voters behind a cause. OK, so it's a cause I don't agree with, but the fact the guy seems to be actually proposing to do things right this time is a giant step forward in my book. (Oh and he's not endorsing Branstad and not mounting an independent bid for Governor either, preferring to concentrate his fire on the State Supreme Court Justices instead.)

One small, potential flaw with this grand plan: retention votes, if memory serves are usually at the ass-end of the ballot and you have to rely on voters paying attention that long, actually going to the polls and knowing whom to retain and not to retain when they get there. Although I'm happy Mr. Vander Plaats seems to be respecting the democratic process for once, I'm less wild about the notion of politicizing our judiciary at the ballot box as judicial decisions are usually picked apart and politicized to death without bringing voters into this.

We'll see how this builds... it's certainly an interesting strategy.

Everybody Take A Deep Breath

Football season is almost upon us and crazily enough there are only 2 seats left at Kinnick if you're looking for tickets. (2 seats for the entire season, that is.) Pre-Season polls have Iowa hovering between #10 and #13 depending on where you look and for sure, after last season's excellence expectations are going to be super-high for this fall.

But everybody take a deep breath and stop polishing our Rose Bowl Trophies- and let me break down my preseason prediction:

Eastern Illinois: Win
Iowa State: Win (but be careful and play hard)
Arizona: Win (the first real test of the season, if we get this it's BIG)
Ball State: Win
Penn State: Win
Michigan: Win (but a tough one)
Wisconsin: Win (another tough one)
Michigan State: Win
Indiana: Win
Northwestern: Win (I want REVENGE)
Ohio State: Loss
Minnesota: Win (can Minny please score one touchdown and make it interesting?)

For an 11-1 record. But I think our non-conference games aren't going to be as easy as they seem- especially Iowa State and Arizona. We haven't won out west since 1987 (so you could argue we're due) and Arizona is going to be geared up for this game after the loss at Kinnick last season. Plus, if there's one thing the Iowa-Iowa State game has taught us over the years is that there's no such thing as a sure bet, so anything could happen there too.

The Big Ten is going to be brutal (as usual) but I believe we have the talent and the ability to be at the top of the pack when the dust clears. Penn State is going to want a piece of us, but they get us for Homecoming at night (always a tough ticket.) Michigan isn't quite there yet, but we play them at home (always tough) and I really think we can't afford to sleep on Indiana. I do think we as a team are going to want a piece of Northwestern after last year's loss and I think if the season breaks down the way it seems to be headed then the marquee match-up could well be our game versus Ohio State and if there's one team we can't seem to get consistently good with, unfortunately it's the damn Buckeyes.

At the end of the day, we got the goods to be playing in January again- but we cannot let expectations go to our heads- and Ferentz seems to be doing his damnedest to make sure we don't. Of course an early stumble could be a blessing in disguise as it'll knock us off the national radar and get us back to what we're good at: flying under the radar and kicking ass.

Bookshot #6: Eat, Pray, Love

I hate to jump on anybody's bandwagon, but having worked my way through this book, I'm sort of glad that I did. Along with 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' this seems to be the book of Summer 2010, so on my little break from blogging, I took the opportunity and read it- spurred on by mild curiosity about just what all the fuss was about and all those previews for the movie version, which comes out on the 13th.

And, I'm happy to report that this book is pretty good. The author, Elizabeth Gilbert goes through something of a quarter life/mid-life crisis following a brutal divorce and messy break-up and depressed, decides she's going to travel the world for a year to discover pleasure, devotion and a balance between the two that when put together might resemble something called happiness. To do this, she spend four months in Italy, four in India and four in Indonesia (more specifically Bali). At initial glance, you might think this seems a little self-absorbed and an exercise in something resembling narcissism, but it's not. As an author, Gilbert is brutally honest about her journey, her failings and what's she's feeling over the course of her journey. It also helps a great deal that she's funny and self-deprecating about it as well. So, unlike a lot of memoirs out there, there's not a lot of ego-stroking going on with this book.

However, if you like, the difficulty comes when you consider that Gilbert is essentially on two journeys: her external one through the world and her internal voyage of self-discovery (or whatever you want to call it.) Her stated goal is to find something that you could generally call happiness, but there's an immediate problem here, because happiness is just so damn subjective. So yeah, I'm going to have to say that she is pretty self-absorbed, but it's for a good reason. This isn't about a random travel trip through Italy, India and Indonesia- it's also about Gilbert tackling her 'issues' and trying to figure herself out once and for all so she can be content with what she has. And she does.

This book made me want to go back to Italy, and go to India and Indonesia for the first time- though to be fair, I'm not sure how enthusiastic I am about Indonesia and for sure, I wouldn't be spending four months in an ashram when I visit India. But oh man, did this book make me miss Italy. Walking everywhere in Rome, the Trevi Fountain, the food, the food, the food and that awesome gelato we had in that little place near the Piazza Navona that I'll probably never be able to find ever again. The travel to exotic locales in this book really make it the perfect summer read. If you're relaxing on a beach somewhere, even if it's say, the fake concrete one at the local waterpark, where the only exotic view is that of a Menard's across the cornfields and the freeway, Eat, Pray, Love is a charming, uplifting, perfect summer escapist fare.

However. And I hate to say that, but I'm not the only one who has out there in the big, wide world of the internet- so forgive me for leveling one tiny bit of feminist criticism at this book: namely that's drowning in white, middle-class privilege. Gilbert gets the money to go and do this. The rest of us poor working schlubs usually don't get that lucky. And everyone wants to find happiness of some kind, everyone wants to be content with what they have in life- but the one little bitter aftertaste I had with this book was this. Happiness shouldn't be about money or traveling to exotic locales to 'find yourself.' Happiness, I think is usually found from within. (Zen of me, I know.)

But Overall: My little nit-pick aside, this is an amazing, uplifting, enjoyable book that is well worth a read.

Albums2010 #21: Disraeli Gears

Q: What do you get when you combine a love of blues with what I imagine was probably copious amounts of marijuana?

A: Disraeli Gears! (by Cream)

I have this odd feeling that if I would have listened to this album baked out of my mind that I probably would have loved it- as it was, working for a law enforcement agency has some drawbacks (mainly that I have to be 'good' now, damn puritanical drugs laws!) so I was completely sober and Cream's album, Disraeli Gears was an odd experience to say the least.

First of all, the title of the album actually has nothing to do with 19th Century British PM Benjamin Disraeli- but rather it was a random inside joke between the band. Wikipedia spake thusly:

The title of the album was taken from an inside joke. Eric Clapton had been thinking of buying a racing bicycle and was discussing it with Ginger Baker, when a roadie named Mick Turner commented, "it's got them Disraeli Gears", meaning to say "derailleur gears," but instead alluding to 19th Century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli.

I'm sure that had them rolling in the aisles at the time, but it seems very random when viewed in the present day- and point of fact, 'random' is a very good way to describe this album.

The American Breakthrough for Cream, songs like 'Sunshine of Your Love' and 'Strange Brew' will probably be the most familiar to casual fans of Cream, but aside from those two, this is 60s psychedelia personified and it might not be for everyone to listen too. That said, probably the strangest song on this album has to be the third track, 'World Of Pain.' Lyrically, it's pretty dark and strange at the same time, opening with: 'Outside My Window/There is a Tree' Not sure what the tree has to do with anything, but whomever is singing obviously is pitching a major nutty, staring out his window, looking at a tree. It just seemed incredibly odd to me, listening to these repeatedly couplets about a tree. I don't get it. Sorry.

Conversely, probably the best song of this album has to be 'Take It Back,' which is pure fusion rock n'roll blues glory at its best. Inspired by contemporary media images of American students burning their draft cards (spaketh Wikipedia again), its got spicy touches of harmonica throughout and it's a nice slow jam towards the end of the album that steps away from the psychedelic rock feel throughout the album.

Of course, rearing up above all of this is the guitar work of Eric Clapton. Clapton, Clapton, Clapton- well, what more can you say? He's a guitar GOD and he's in fine form throughout the album, keeping the overall tone of the album from being totally crazy and loopy, which is good- because with his guitar work and the psychedelic tone of the album, something truly unique emerges.

Overall: Perhaps not for everyone, but for serious music fans and serious fans of Clapton, it's a must have/listen.

Albums2010 #20: II

Hmmm, can someone help me out on this score? Would the title of the album be 'II' or would it be the somewhat redundant 'Led Zeppelin II'? An interesting thought. Anyway, well, here's Led Zeppelin's first entry onto the list and, well, what can you say? It's Led Zeppelin. Considered by many to be one of the greatest rock n'roll bands of all time and listening to this album, it's not hard to see why that is so. There's not a bad song on this album. Period, end of discussion. It's pretty much kick-ass from start to finish.

Second of all, the combination of this band is probably one of the most fortunate coincidences in all of rock n'roll, for Led Zeppelin emerged from the wreckage of The Yardbirds (another great band, which Clapton called home for awhile) before evolving into the line-up of Plant, Page, Bonham and Jones which went on to deepen the sound of the band, earning it the moniker of 'the heaviest band in rock n'roll' and almost pushing themselves into heavy metal territory. I personally wouldn't go that fire, but there's no denying that Led Zep is not, at least with this album, about the acoustic, the light, the fluffy or the experimental. II is rock n'roll at its best, with my personal favorites being the duo of 'Heartbreaker/Livin' Loving Maid' and 'Bring It On Home.'

But the interesting song on this album has to be the purely instrumental 'Moby Dick' which sees John Bonham take what could be a simple, run of the mill drum solo and turn it into a lengthy, intricate piece of percussive art, making it probably the first time I've heard a drum solo with all the quality of a guitar solo in any song on any album I've ever heard. (Side question: greatest drummer of all time? No question Bonham belongs in the debate- but you can throw in Keith Moon of The Who (also died before his time) and of course, Neil Purt of Rush, who would be my personal pick. But discuss amongst yourselves.)

Other interesting tidbits from/related to this album: For the fans of classic British television out there, the song 'Whole Lotta Love' will of course, be familiar as a long time theme song for now canceled music show, 'Top Of the Pops.' Thing #2 that I found interesting: Led Zeppelin was signed to Atlantic Records without actually being heard by anyone from Atlantic, mainly on the strength of a recommendation from, of all people, Dusty Springfield. (So sayeth Wikipedia, anyway- and she sang 'Son of A Preacher Man.' Youtube it if you don't know it, peeps.)

Also another interesting question raised by this album: when did British folk become so damn good at the blues? No really, I'm asking. Of course- by this point in the rock n'roll chronology, peeps should have been fairly familiar with the idea, with The Yardbird, Cream and others too numerous too mention playing with the sound, mood and melodies of the blues. However, this album is drenched with the perfect fusion of blues and rock n'roll with a healthy dose of power that makes Led Zeppelin one of the greatest bands in rock history.

Overall: Dude, it's Led Zeppelin- perhaps not their best album ever, but how do you make a bad album when you kick ass in general? Personally, 'Bring It On Home' makes this album worth listening too. And if you're a true fan of rock n'roll you should own some Led Zeppelin albums and II is a worthy addition to any music lovers collection.

Fraud At For-Profit Colleges

I'm SO glad people are waking up to this. I did financial aid counseling for a For-Profit College (give y'all a hint: it rhymes with 'CAFTAN') and it was the one job I've held that gave me serious moral qualms, because these shucksters were selling obscenely overpriced half-assed degrees to people based on the notion that they can afford to pay back upwards of $30,000 in student loans with a $13/hour job.

Keep an eye on this and if you're looking at a for-profit college think very, very carefully and go to your local community college instead.

The Real Foo Fighters

Apparently, the British Government took UFOs pretty seriously back in the 50s.

Proposition 8 Overturned

California's Prop 8, banning gay marriage has been overturned by a Federal Judge. I'm not sure how exactly to feel about this. (Obviously, I'm happy about it, but I'm not sure how to feel about it from the point of view of analyzing the decision itself. To be more specific.) On the one hand, glancing at basic summaries of the decision, it's hard to argue with. Yes, to me, this is an equal protection violation. You can't say that one group of people can have a right and another can't- that's pretty clear in the Constitution.

The due process argument part of the decision (strange how this seems to center around the newly and perhaps increasingly unpopular 14th Amendment) seems to be more of a stretch. It looks like there's legal precedent for the idea of marriage as a fundamental right and if that holds up, then yeah, we can count this as a violation of the due process clause as well.

The core of the arguments seem to be pretty good from where I'm sitting. Basing the argument on equal protection and due process will carry the legal arguments further than anything else I can think of- but then again, I'm not a lawyer. What makes me queasy about this decision is that people voted and said 'thanks, but no thanks.' And while the court decision recognizes the importance of popular sovereignty, it also seemed to take the line that the voice of the people cannot trump the basic notion of fundamental rights. On the one hand, that's a perfectly valid position to take: if people vote slavery back into existence, amend the constitution and everything does that make slavery OK? I would say 'no' to that.

But in terms of further appeals, especially with an eye towards the Supreme Court, I'm just not sure how the notion of overriding a vote of the people is going to play. In general, I'm not sure how the Supreme Court is going to take this once the case gets in front of them.

Wyclef For Prez

President of Haiti that is. Apparently, he's for real about taking a run at his native country's top office and is expected to make it official in the coming days...

I wish him luck, because he'll need it. Let's look at the stats, shall we?

President Obama is currently the 44th President of the United States and as a country, we've been kicking for 234 years. Wyclef, should he succeed in winning, would mark the 62nd time someone has assumed the office of the President of Haiti and they've been kickin' it for 206 years. (Oh and and all those Presidents? You can add 2 military juntas, 2 Emperors, 1 Head of State and 1 Governor-General to the tally. Needless to say, this hasn't been the most stable of places.)

So, good luck to Wyclef. Hopefully he can win and if he wins, hopefully he can make a difference in his homeland.

UPDATED 8/6/10: The haters come running from far and wide and at the head of the pack: Sean Penn. I don't know about hating on Wyclef running for Prez of Haiti, but then again I'm not Haitian and neither is Sean Penn for that matter. I think eyebrows were going to be raised, as they were when Soccer Star George Weah ran for President of Liberia. No one doubted that Weah's heart was in the right place, but he eventually lost to Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and it wouldn't surprise me if Wyclef brings a lot to the table and eventually loses either.

But you can't say that Wyclef's heart isn't in the right place. The guy seems to genuinely want to make a difference, which isn't bad at all.

First Thoughts On The CWRC

The shiny new Campus Wellness and Recreation Center on the UofI campus has opened it doors and we (the Missus, Mother Dearest, Cousin J and myself) went down there to check it out. First thoughts:

Color me impressed: They have done an excellent job on this building and if I was on the swim team at Iowa I would be freakin' out, because the Swimming and Diving Team has gone from drab to fab overnight. (No offense to the Fieldhouse Pool, which is aquatically historical and all, having given birth to the butterfly, but it was time for an upgrade and they pulled out all the stops for the Swimming and Diving Team and they got a majorly nice upgrade out of it.) I honestly think I will be going to a Swim Meet this year, just for the sheer novelty of it.

The Climbing Wall: Wow. Wow. Wow. If you've seen what passes for a climbing wall up at the Fieldhouse, prepare yourself, because this sucker is impossible to miss and it's 52ft high. Daddy like and Daddy want to rope up and scale that sucker!

The Leisure Pool: makes me wish I was 6 years old again, because with the lazy river, 25 person spa and climbing wall over a chunk of the pool, it's like Chucky Cheese for Swim Fans of all ages. Can't wait to get in there.

The Equipment: I'm sure this place will be a zoo once the students hit campus, but if you think about it, Mayflower and Hillcrest have decent fitness centers of their own that are open if not 24 hours, then certainly close to it. The West Dorms have the Field House right there, so I think the majority of student traffic will eventually be from the East Dorms of Burge, Stanley and Currier (though come to think of it, Currier's got a fitness center too.) It'll be interesting to see how it breaks down, but the equipment looks nice enough. I just don't anticipate arriving at an hour where machines will be readily available.

The One Downside: Parking. I'm not sure how many community members are going to sign up to this, due to lack of nearby parking. After 4.30, there's Lot 11, which would be the logical choice, but not everyone is going to want to work out after 4.30. There's the Court St. Ramp up the hill, but that means walking (which I don't have a problem with, but peeps might.) I don't know- part of the appeal of the Fieldhouse when I used it a lot was that it was an easy walk to and from my apartment at the time. Whether the CWRC will gain my use as much is going to be dependent on how easy it is to get there everyday, especially once school gets going. We'll see, though.

Overall: Wow. Nicely done, peeps. Nicely done.

Just Say Now!

An interesting collection of peeps has launched a national campaign to legalize marijuana and it's very, very exciting to me... In the days of my naughty youth, I did enjoy a puff of the wacky tabacky now and again, but working for a law enforcement agency now I sorta have to keep my nose clean (and do). So legalizing marijuana is something that I am very much in favor of!

Check out their site, here.

Favre Done?

ESPN says yes, StarTrib is saying the Minny Coach Brad Childress hasn't been told either way. What this amounts to: a slow week in the world of sports and the return of the annual 'will he or won't he' melodrama over the status of Brett Favre. Personally, I'm leaning towards him leaving. He may have had a fantastic year last year, barring that one god awful, throwing across himself interception in the NFC Title Game, but knowing Favre and knowing the luck of the Vikings, bring him back this year and he'll probably get hurt or just suck big donkey balls.

Time to leave, I think. Stick some glue on AP's hands and hope that Gerhardt can handle the ball as well as he can and start getting your running game going. And maybe see how well Sage Rosenfels can do at QB. (I know people expect T-Jack to be back, but I have no faith in T-Jack.)

UPDATED: Family Favre says nothing's been decided yet, while Vikings Teammate Visanthe Shiancoe says Favre told teammates he was done. You know what I think? I think somebody doesn't want to come to training camp! What a prima donna...

UPDATED AGAIN, 8/4/10: Yeah, he totally doesn't want to go to training camp and I'm betting he'll be back for the season.

Is College A Waste of Time?

In a word, yes.

If you don't believe me, here are 7 more reasons to think about. But you should believe me, because you know I'm right. The entire educational system is about keeping people in their cushy academic jobs at the University level and making sure teachers get to keep their jobs at the secondary level, regardless of whether or not they're qualified or even good at what they do. (More thoughts on that, over here.) And to be frank, in the wake of my educational experience, I become more and more pissed off over what amounts to the massive swindling of my generation by the educational-industrial complex.

We were told, spoon-fed, had it pounded into us time and time again that a college education is a necessary thing to have in order to achieve something resembling a middle class existence. Problem is that notion is becoming increasingly untrue, especially today. Students are graduating with higher debt loads than ever before, only to find that there are no jobs out there. They try delaying the real world (I'm guilty of that, I admit) by going to grad school only to end up with even more debt. And even after that, jobs are damn hard to find these days. Student loans can't be discharged through bankruptcy and those people are assholes about it too. No love, no mercy, no help- just an end to a halfway decent credit score and once you default on those loans, well, kiss your chance of a house goodbye anytime soon.

The education system is sucking young people into a debt trap and with little or nothing to show for it, it's no surprise that skepticism is growing about the value of higher education and education in general in this country. High school is bullshit. It's basically a social experience rather than an educational one and high schools by rights should have vigorous curricula set up to help kids find their passion and figure out what they're going to do with themselves once they actually grow up. Universities should be fiendish about insisting on graduation in four years (guilty of being a super-senior, as well I'm afraid.) and career training, job placement and internships should all be required for every single student.

I've become increasingly convinced we need a major revolution of some kind in this country- not a violent one, because I'm a lover not a fighter. But things need to change, drastically and the need for that is nowhere more obvious than in our educational system.

UPDATED, 8/4/10: Hmmm, I might have to check this book out.

Hmm, The 14th Amendment?

Well, GOP Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona actually didn't support a full repeal of the 14th Amendment, just a reworking of citizenship laws to strip citizenship from the children of illegal immigrants. That latter notion is starting to pick up steam in some Republican circles and if they must do it (ick) then I hope they leave it at that, because a full repeal of the 14th Amendment?

Pass on that. Due Process and Equal Protection are things I happen to like- we can debate the ins and outs of citizenship at a later date, but I do hope the Republicans note the delicious irony in all this kerfuffle over illegal immigration, as the last major amnesty for illegals happened on the watch of none other than President Ronald Reagen.

As the silly season (also know as the electoral campaign season) gets underway, I'll try and unpack the issue of immigration a bit more, but I'm pretty sure laws aren't going to solve this problem. If you want to put blame where it's due, let's slap the massively inefficient federal bureaucracy that's supposedly protecting our borders. Paper pushers with bajillions of forms aren't getting the job done. It's time for the government to start slicing and dicing the bureaucratic fat until we can get something that actually works.

Prepare For Epic Fail

The Grey Lady herself is warning about the potential failure of Social Security. Where the NY Times has been on this all this time is something we could talk about for a long time indeed, but props to them for slowly prying their collective heads out of their collective behinds.

I'm young, I'm cynical, I'm pissed as hell that my tax dollars have to pay for the elder generation's retirement- especially since they're busy pissing away the future of my generation and this country with nary a care in the world. As for the Social Security? I'll believe in it when I get my first check...

The Triumphant Return...

Well kids, I'm back- and almost as soon as I'm back, I'm going to be going dark yet again, as we prepare to disconnect our cable and switch to internet service with Qwest. I'm sorry, Mediacom, but $118 a month is freakin' ridiculous for cable and internet! So you gotta go! I'd say I was sorry, but I'm really not...

But I'll be around for a little while before the lights go out again and I'll try and post-date some posts to keep peeps (if anyone is left reading this thing after a month) out there interested and tuning in. I'm not sure what the months ahead are going to bring, but there are challenges to discuss and issues to unpack. I gotta a new job (which happened awhile ago, but I've been in training.) The Missus is heading back to school (hopefully, if she can swing some financial aid, which I'm praying that she can) and I'm going to work with my schedule to see if I can get myself one step closer to a teaching certificate before taking the plunge and getting my student loans in order so I can start knocking those bastards off... (Very, very scary and intimidating.)

I've been reading books, listening to music and watching the occasional movie or two, so expect reviews to be forthcoming. And although my despair at the state of the country is rapidly reaching an all-time low, I've got to saddle up and prepare some election coverage for the fine people who read my blog, so look out for discussions of the issues, endorsements and my general thoughts on what's going down with this latest round of electoral nonsense.

In the meantime kids, rest easy. The Cigar is back from Summer Vacation.