GregsOpinion.com

Ezra on Kindle

2008-05-12T15:22:27Z

Ezra Klein gives precisely the type of review of the Amazon Kindle that I was hoping to read. Not that it helps move me toward purchasing one any sooner. Like Matt, I'm mostly stuck on the initial pricetag. It might be enough if my fallback use for it was for the internet-ish use it offers, but Ezra offers a rather harsh verdict on the beta browser. Still, the idea has a lot of potential and it's natural to assume the pricepoint will come down eventually. Of course, as a confirmed book-a-holic, it's just as natural for me to wish that that would be sooner rather than later.

Hip To Be Square

2008-05-12T10:58:07Z

» NYT: An Indie Scene That Comes With a Texas Twang in Denton (Lionel Beehner)

Midlake may be the current poster boys for Denton's indie music scene -- with gushy write-ups in Rolling Stone and cameos among its members for trendy causes like Al Gore's We Campaign -- but they are not the only ones vying for that title. The town's lo-fi sound, a mélange of Southern twang and experimental indie-rock that suggests Wilco and Radiohead, has garnered an eclectic following that stretches from alt-country die-hards and college radio listeners to MySpace fanatics and clubbers in Europe. At last count, more than 100 bands were polishing their sound in the city's dive bars, rooftop spaces and fraternity basements. Even the local record store, a converted opera house called Recycled, has a section devoted to Denton bands. The bin dividers read like a Lollapalooza T-shirt: Lift to Experience, Centro-matic, Jetscreamer, Vortexas, Robert Gomez, Stanton Meadowdale, Mom, Mandarin, and Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, to name just a few. Not bad for a college town of 110,000, prompting more than a few music industry insiders to call Denton the next Austin.

Trust me, if you're reading about the Denton music scene in the New York Times and Guardian, it's not exactly a well-kept secret. Still, I think the charm that exists for the scene is a direct outgrowth of the town itself - well-populated by the geriatric set, but with a sizable college infusing it. That's not exactly the makings of the next glam rock scene, so it makes sense that you'd get the style you do out of Denton. Whatever it leads to, I'm not so much worried about the commerciality of Denton music as I am the pretentiousness that seems to have existed in the Austin scene. If they avoid that, more power to 'em ... whatever they're playing. Oh, and I think it's natural to acknowledge Todd Snider as the prophet of telling us when a good thing has officially gone bad. Much in the way he did back in the 90s with this song:

Nothing Like the Real Thing

2008-05-12T10:36:45Z

» WaPo: Some Heroes Want to Get Real (Mike Musgrove) I was curious how this would play out ...

Though real musicians often regard rhythm video games like Guitar Hero with a dose of suspicion, if not contempt, it's tough to ignore a phenomenon that has created $1 billion in sales while getting young people excited about the thrill of hammering out rock-and-roll chords -- even if it's only on a guitar-shaped game controller. The folks at Middle C aren't the only ones trying to lure video-game fans over the gap between the game and real musical instruments. Earlier this year, the International Music Products Association, a trade group, announced that it was partnering with Guitar Hero's publisher, Activision, in a marketing campaign to promote music lessons. Music instruction company Hal Leonard Publishing even offers a Guitar Hero book featuring transcriptions of the same David Bowie, Aerosmith and Nirvana songs featured in the games. And some entrepreneurial tinkerers are trying to come up with ways to lighten some of the tedium involved in learning to play an instrument, plugging real guitars into computer games that are similar in spirit to Guitar Hero.

Though I've long since disqualified myself as an active guitarist, I share the disdain for any flipper-based game passing itself off as guitar-related. Oddly enough, I've got too many sour memories of how throwing a tennis ball around as a kid ruined whatever faint glimmer I might have had of playing baseball into high school. Likewise, the thought of flipping to "Crazy Train" doesn't exactly strike me as a serious refresher course for getting my chops back on that song. I'd rather work my way up with a quick reminder of some Ramones/Bouncing Souls material.

Now THAT makes me want to pick up a guitar!

The Amityville Horror Media

2008-05-11T21:36:54Z

» Media Matters: So now the press tells candidates when to quit? (Eric Boehlert) I'm not the biggest Eric Boehlert fan in the world, but dang if this isn't just the best read of the day. And even though Boehlert uses his trademark (too-)broad brushstrokes, there is something to be said for the suddenly applied standard that the media is attempting to game the system and make the same demand of Hillary that the fictional Amityville house made of it's famous inhabitants. Mind you, we've seen this before with the Florida recount ... another instance in which the MSM almost universally accepted the GOP premise. But I'm sure that since both of these instances involve media bias that operated against Democrats, it somehow won't fit into any of the propaganda that perpetuates the myth of a liberal media.

The Not-So-Big Sort

2008-05-10T14:56:51Z

» NYT Mag: Vote Like Thy Neighbor (Bill Galston, Pietro Nivola) Reading this article serves as my reminder to pick up Bill Bishop's long-anticipated book on political self-segregation. I'm a sceptic of his thesis (you can review the Statesman's archives for some detail on this), but I'm curious enough to see what there may be to the research that's gone into this. For the diehard enough, there's also the Brookings variation that the authors of this article allude to (Part 1, Part II) ... to which, I've only found time to review but a small part of this work. The question marks I take into this idea is that if you look at some examples in this great state of Texas, there are some curious datapoints that aren't immediately answered by Bishop's theory that we're all moving next door to folks who vote like us. One, is Dallas County. In reviewing the precinct-level data for the 2006 outcomes, I was a bit surprised at how Democratic the northern part of the county has grown. Part of that culminated in the election of Allen Vaught as State Rep. But you've also seen the Irving/Dallas seat formerly held by Steve Wolens now represented by Rafael Anchia - a sign that the Hispanic migration in the area is now culminating in strength at the ballot box. These showings have yet to migrate all the way north into Collin County, but even if you look at parts of Plano, the pattern is there. Now, there may be something to Bishop's thesis in that the pattern seems geographically continuous. Put another way, a precinct seems more likely to grow Democratic or Republican if it is situated next to a precinct that has a supermajority of same. Another is Williamson County. The conventional wisdom - as captured by Burka (who else?) - is that this is all due to Austinites moving to the 'burbs and securely packing their "liberal values" with them. I think that's entirely too reductionist to be accepted. Yes, there is some migration of this pattern, and there's no doubt that it accounts for a part of this. But the plural of anecdote isn't data. The drivers for population movement to the suburbs seems to get overlooked in that shorthand. For instance - among the reasons you commonly hear of people that move to the suburbs are the schools. Last I checked, that's a critical role of government ... and one that is presently driving a wedge between GOP activists who disapprove of public education in greater numbers than traditional Democrats. Fort Bend County is another instance of this, albeit one behind the curve witnessed in Williamson. Still ... again, the patterns are relatively contiguous in terms of geography. Sugar Land extends from Missouri City and Houston ... WilCo extends from Austin. The final question is Travis County. The county that voted for Bush over Gore and Kerry over Bush. There's a part of me that hates to view this trend in terms of county-level data, but it tends to be the most consistent over time. As one who's had recent fun with precinct-level data, it'd be a major pain to try and do a more extensive job ... at least out of this one-man data shop. So with those questions, there isn't exactly a complete refutation of Bishop's argument. But it's enough in my mind to go in as a skeptic. Brookings covers numerous examples of societal forces that drive polarization - forces that operate relatively independently of geography. I'll be interested to see how that gets incorporated into Bishop's book. But as one who's looked at Harris County on a precinct-basis from 1990 on, what strikes me about Harris County is that there is what might be categorized as a wave pattern that responds to the political cycle at any given time. For instance, the area that goes up Highway 290 and southwest along 59 are areas I've highlighted in the past as areas that recede and regroup as Democratic precincts. That indicates an inate level of Democratic strength in those areas (which may support Bishop), but it also demonstrates that geography is by no means destiny (and therefore refute Bishop). ADD-ON: Forgot to add this as a Harris County question. But, on a broader scale, it would be curious to see how Bishop handles the question of Harris County being a one-time Democratic county at the local level (say, 1972-1990), only to flip to a one-party Republican county, and now back to a resurgence as a possible swing back to the Democratic column over the coming few years. I guess, in part, that's no different than the swing precincts that wax and wane red or blue. But the forces that drive this are maybe easier to distill at a county level - migration, immigration, economic growth varying by region, etc ....

Newsflash: Obama In Jeans!

2008-05-10T14:44:21Z

This may be the saddest minute in media coverage of this entire Presidential campaign. It bears pointing out that with this bit of evidence, the media are now - literally - riding Obama's jock.

Cornyn By Four, Take Two

2008-05-09T16:33:24Z

One more datapoint that shows Texas as being in play at the Senate level. The most troubling sign in all of this for Cornyn is that his own number is hovering below 50 in both recent +4 showings. He's still got a sizable money advantage and I'd expect him to start showing some signs of genuine concern. It'll be interesting if he goes up on TV during the summer, when voters aren't paying much attention to campaigns. As for Rick, I say just chip in a dime or two and see how far it goes.

Four For the Road

2008-05-08T10:22:17Z

Not certain yet, but I believe I may be headed out of town for most of the day. So, instead of offering up some well-formulated pithy thoughts, I'll simply offer up a short list of must-reads and some tunage to get through the day. » NYT: For the Democrats, Signs of a Possible Changing of the Guard (Adam Nagourney) » Chron/NYT: Amputee goat finds a friend in amputee animal activist » Prospect: The Elusive Politics of Reform (Ezra Klein) » Newsweek: The Rise of the Rest (Fareed Zakaria)

Sadly, no summer dates for Patty Smyth/Scandal in this area. Bummer.

About That Cinderella Show, Take Two

2008-05-08T08:42:27Z

A little more digging and here's two important updates, which I think warrant massive blog attention: 1. Lynam ... apparently the Dio/Stevie Nicks thing? Bogus. To which I say "Well played." Darkness should have been this effective at starting rumors about the band. Still, the band looks and sounds good. So I'll show up early. 2. Lynch Mob ... apparently they ARE touring with Oni Logan on vocals. To which I say "AWESOME!!!" I guess the weirdo-rock phase he's been in is now on hiatus. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Running on Hope

2008-05-06T23:35:19Z

I wonder if this is what they mean by running on hope. 0% in in NC and they're calling it for Obama. Clinton up by 14 (19% in) ... "too early to call." Yeah, the MSM sure does love them some Clintons. UPDATE: Heh ... Crowley posits one theory as to how the early NC call helps Hillary. UPDATE 2.0: Rutenberg covers some of the drama inside the media bubble on calling Indiana.

Cornyn By Four

2008-05-06T19:26:41Z

As much as it physically pains me to do this, I'm going to have to agree with Paul Burka. In his take on the Rasmussen polling that showed Cornyn leading 47-43, the following can be said: - there's reason for being sceptical of these numbers - Rasmussen (and this poll) are still very credible, and hence there may be something to these results - that something may have more to do with party affiliation than it does Noriega or Cornyn - if nothing else, it may help Noriega raise the money to make a close race something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Really, the only tangible thing that's changed since the "Cornyn by 16" polling is that McCain has cemented the GOP nomination. Well, that and the bickering continues with no end in sight for our side. Noriega hasn't communicated much on his team's shoestring budget. Cornyn has hit the small-town circuit, but hasn't exactly been Captain Visibility for his part. Though I'm still doubtful that it fully explains a double-digit drop in partisan enthusiasm and affiliation, this could be but one sign of the challenge in front of McCain. It could also just as well be a fleeting challenge for McCain (where else are dissatisfied social-issue Republicans going to go? ... Obama?). Whether it's enough to warrant a major concern on Cornyn's part remains to be seen with another datapoint. But, as Burka points out, there's not been much going right in GOP campaigns recently. So even if it's not an accurate snapshot, I'm guessing that Team Cornyn isn't taking it too lightly.

About That Cinderella Show

2008-05-06T11:22:15Z

Revisiting the anticipated Cinderella show, it turns out that it'll be a multi-band ticket with Warrant, Lynch Mob, and Lynam all on the same bill. Warrant, I honestly don't care for a repeat viewing of (post-94, at least). Not that they're necessarily awful, just that the band never really did much for me. It's one thing when a band back in the day might have a lead singer that wants to rip off David Lee Roth, but Jani Lane always struck me as someone who tried to rip off the guy ripping off David Lee Roth. Lynch Mob, I'm moderately looking forward to just for the sake of hearing some George Lynch guitar solos. I'd prefer a full-out reunion with Oni Logan (whom everyone acknowledges is the finest singer Lynch has been paired with), but that seems to be on par with waiting for a full reunion of the original Ugly Kid Joe lineup. The band had maybe 4 tolerable songs from two original albums and I'm confident the setlist will be mercifully short. Lynam is new to me. So I head to Google to see what there is to know. All I can say is: "Wow!"

Lynams history dates back to the 70s when their dad Ronnie Lynam moved to England to front the band Black Sabbath. The band had just parted ways with Ozzy Osbourne and they were looking for a singer with a new sound. When Ronnie joined Black Sabbath, he started using the stage name Ronnie James Dio. Everyone agreed Dio sounded more evil than Ronnie James Lynam. Around the time the Heaven and Hell album came out, Ronnie was confronted by Stevie Nicks, singer for Fleetwood Mac. She announced to him that she was 8 months pregnant. Ronnies band before Black Sabbath, Rainbow had played some shows with Fleetwood Mac. On June 12th 1980, Mark was born. Their relationship secretly lasted another 2 years and they had 2 more children, David and Jacob. By the time Jacob was born, Ronnie had decided to leave Black Sabbath and start a solo career. Because of Ronnie and Stevies busy careers, the three children were placed in separate foster homes in Birmingham, AL.

Who knew Stevie Nicks was into midgets? Or that the Lynam brothers weren't into apostrophes? Anywho ... majorly looking forward to the gig. Cinderella is one band that is vastly underrated by history. Maybe due to the singer ripping off Steven Tyler instead of David Lee Roth. I dunno.

Party Like It's 1988

2008-05-05T08:21:40Z

» NYT: '88 Campaign Offers a Lesson in Using Symbols as Bludgeons

Mr. Obama, of Illinois, has promised a different politics, one that rises above the fray and the distractions of wedge issues. As Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for Salon, recently put it, "The entire Obama campaign is predicated on the belief that it is no longer 1988."

That's certainly the gamble of the Obama campaign. The one good thing he's got going for him (assuming the nomination) is that the underlying environment of this cycle make it a particularly toxic time to be a Republican. Unpopular, mismanaged war? Check. Demonstrable incompetence at nearly all levels of operation? Check. Not exactly a good time to ask for four more years of the same old policies. Kristol opines a bit on the GOP angle of this. Admittedly, his suggestion of a McCain-Jindal ticket would make things interesting. But would it help matters any? His datapoint doesn't look promising:

Another McCain staffer called my attention to this finding in the latest Fox News poll: McCain led Obama in the straight match-up, 46 to 43. Voters were then asked to choose between two tickets, McCain-Romney vs. Obama-Clinton. Obama-Clinton won 47 to 41.

It's a stretch to assume that even a McCain-Jindal combo would minimize that sort of damage.

IV

2008-05-05T06:07:13Z

Just to report on a little binge shopping over the weekend (and to return a volley at Stace), I feel compelled to plug Chuck Klosterman's "IV". I remember the first time I picked up Klosterman's "Fargo Rock City" ... read the thing in one sitting at the book store and totally deprived him of the royalties my appreciation of his work truly warrants. He did alright, though. SPIN magazine came calling on the heels of that book and this latest one - his fourth, in case it wasn't obvious - is the fruits of that labor. At first, it struck me as odd that I'd consider plunking down brick and mortar prices on a book of material that dates back to the first half of this decade. But considering that much of what Klosterman's topics cover material from final quarter of the previous century⁽¹⁾, I guess that nudged me toward the checkout counter. And nevermind that I'm picking it up nearly a year after it's publication ... that's just there for irony points. I mean, seriously, how can material from the 80s really lose any more shelf-life in the past year that the entire grunge era didn't already inflict? Suffice it to say, Klosterman is a brilliant writer for those of us who believe the following proposition: That no good band ever formed after 1989, with the exception of The Donnas, which is justified since they're schtick has been to mimic the bands formed previous to 1989. Well, that and the fact that the chicks in the band are pretty hot. So even though the book is a clip show of Klosterman's scribbling in the magazine trade, it's still required reading for understanding the way the world is at this present moment. At once, a book without the form of a book. Prescient, timely cultural observations that revolve around not-so-obvious, dated material from decades past. It may be the best book Chuck Klosterman didn't sorta, kinda really write. Even if he did ... technically. A few samplings of the genius in action ... "If you discount the crime and the poverty and the overabundance of goats, Jamaica is a wonderful place." "Being a fan of Metallica in the '80s was not supposed to be fun. Loving Metallica was like being Catholic if you truly believed, it was supposed to inform every aspect of your life." "... anti-intellectualism is a dangerous problem, but it's not as annoying as pretend intellectualism, which inevitably manifests itself as antipopulism. Which is why I always want to blow up my brains whenever I hear people talking about "guilty pleasures." Like I said ... genius. ------------- ⁽¹⁾ - There's one notable exception in the form of a story dated 1995 covering the oxymoronic notion of underground music at the time.

On NASA's Dime ...

2008-05-04T17:23:01Z

»Chron: NASA employees big spenders on government credit (Chase Davis)

NASA employees have used government credit cards to ring up iPods, video games and even clothes from the agency's own gift shop, while at other times using the cards in ways that sidestep competitive bidding rules, federal documents and a Chronicle review of agency records show. The review comes at a time when Congress is considering tightening purchase card regulations across government, after a federal report last month that found widespread abuse in government credit card programs, including charges that did not follow policies to prevent waste and fraud.

Private sector businesses aren't immune to corruption and waste, but I'm curious how something like this would go over at a shareholders meeting.