A big boo-urns to newly elected Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels for proposing a tax hike. The Wall Street Journal editorial explains here, complete with one of those neat pencil sketches.

My favorite line is the closer:

In Washington, President Bush called Mr. Daniels "The Blade" for his budget carving. It's a shame that the people he's giving the knife to in Indianapolis are his own voters.

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As a Hoosier fan I have a hard time cheering for the Maryland terps, but you can't deny Thighmaster's brilliant homage to the Terps after their recent victory over the undefeated Dukies. Hilarious stuff.

This stuff would make great Xmas cards for your IU friends (that is if it weren't January already).




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A hero of the Right as a reincarnation of a hero of the Left.

Robert Higgs explains why Bush II is another Roosevelt II.

[Via Cafe Hayek].

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Social Security privatization.

In this post (How Much Does SS Screw You?), Will Wilkinson makes a clear and succinct point about reforming Social Security.

FYI: My personal stats have me earning a rate of return of -2.63%, losing out on over $15k a month, not to mention I'd be a millionaire. And mind you, this uses a very conservative rate of return -- I'd expect much higher with some level of activism and savvy.

[Via Fly Bottle]

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Just got a new disc in here at the office, and let me just say that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings got it goin' on in a major R&B / Soul-Funk revival kind of way. I would encourage anyone who digs the late-60s / early 70s R&B to pick this dish up. The Dap-Kings pick it up right where the JBs left off. No Doubt, Berry Gordy will shit himself when he hears this one. The whole disc plays out like a lost treasure of old soul and funk 45s - piercing horns, Hammond B3 swipes, overhead-mic'd drums and a badass slice of gospel vocals (not the kind that makes you wish they would stop showing off, but more the kind that makes you say "Oh, damn!"). Definitely an early contender for Mike's best of 2005.

Naturally is out on Daptone today. Follow that link for audio. I'll try to post my favorite track later this week.

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"The Bush administration plans to announce Tuesday it will request about $80 billion more for this year's costs of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, congressional aides said Monday.

The request would push the total provided so far for those wars and for U.S. efforts against terrorism elsewhere in the world to more than $280 billion since the first money were provided shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001

Adding additional pressure, the Congressional Budget Office planned to release a semi-annual report on the budget Tuesday that was expected to include a projection of war costs. Last September, the nonpartisan budget office projected the 10-year costs of the wars at $1.4 trillion at current levels of operations, and $1 trillion if the wars were gradually phased down." -- WSJ Online, AP.

So, I'm not sure what this means to the normal person, but to me this is an obvious "more of the same." I think this budget proposal could give some light into exactly how much more wars we are planning on. (hahahaha). Maybe they will add in $50 Billion on War Planning for Iran? oh man I'm funny...seriously though. It's basically obvious that there will be no "gradual phasing down as hoped." They Killed EVERYONE, You Bastards.

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Pitchfork has the lowdown on the new, free to download record from B-towns own, ex-Macky Ole neighbors, the Impossible Shapes. Drop by the Secretly Canadian website and get your hands on Turn, the first of two 2005 releases from the Shapes. It's only up till March 3, so hit that shit swiff. The group also has a nice little tour lined up - here are the stops coming near you regular readers:

02-10 Pittsburgh, PA - Public Health Auditorium
02-22 Tucson, AZ - Plush
03-04 Bloomington, IN - 2nd Story
03-05 Chicago, IL - Schubas

Also, for some clownin' (that means you Teddy) reading, check out Buddyhead's Worst Records of 2004 list.

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I caught a few minutes of Fresh Air today at lunch. All should check out Terry Gross interviewing Daily Show's Stephen Colbert from the earlier today. Hilarity gauranteed.

The man does a dead-on Stone Phillips.


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Hey Everyone. Since next weekend will be my last in the state of Indiana I would like to see as many of you as possible. I propose we all get together at the Wellington in Broad Ripple for drinks, darts, and discussion of good things. Details:

The Wellington in Broad Ripple
Saturday, January 29, 9pm

For those who don't know how to get there, give me a call: 812.219.4366
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I didn't get a chance to watch either game yesterday since Ali and I were in Chicago all weekend scoping out potential new digs. If all goes well we hope to snag a place near Belmont harbor, just east of Wrigleyville and south of Boystown.

Anyway, back to football. Sucks that 'em Stellers couldn't beat the Pats n'at. Now I have to root for the damned Eagles of all teams, because who really wants to see a team crowned as a dynasty that isn't their own? I think the key matchup will be Philly's D against the Pats offense in this one. As much as I want to see Philly win, I'll call the game 24-21, Pats.

I wish the NFL would do away with the week off between league championships and the Super Bowl. I hate waiting that extra week. I might be wrong, but I feel they've gone without the extra week for the last 3-4 years. Either way we have one more game to watch, then march madness, and then my motivation to watch sports goes into hibernation until September.
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I've had my iPod for a few months now so it's time for the proverbial most-played post. Other iPodders and iTuners should throw theirs out if you can. I'd love to stay up on other people's favorite traxxx.

1. My Morning Jacket - Jsut One Thing
2. Delgados - All You Need is Hate
3. From Bubblegum to Sky - Operation Big Beat
4. New Pornographers - Letter from an Occupant
5. Junior Boys - More than Real
6. Rogue Wave - Every Moment
7. Rogue Wave - Falcon Settles Me
8. Interpol - Slow Hands
9. The Shins - Caring is Creepy
10. Sufjan Stevens - For Widows in Paradise
11. AC Newman - Secretarial
12. AC Newman - The Town Halo
13. The Delays - Wanderlust
14. Impossible Shapes - Sounds to Charge the Wind
15. Interpol - Not Even Jail
16. Junior Boys - Birthday
17. Mirah - Engine Heart (Ali have you been stealing my iPod?)
18. Prefuse 73 - End of Biters International
19. Rogue Wave - Swen Up
20. Delays - Long Time Coming
21. Delays - Nearer than Heaven
22. Belle & Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown
23. Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers pt. 1
24. Palace - More Brother Rides
25. Flake Music (the Shins) - Blast Valve

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The next object of discussion, the monstrosity known as the Hardee's Monster Thickburger. Some stats:

2/3 LB worth of Beef
4 Strips of Bacon
3 Slices of Cheese
1,420 calories
107 grams of fat

Has anyone tried / finished this beast? I gotta admit, it looks sorta tasty, and at nearly 1500 calories you probably wouldn't need to eat much more that day. Thoughts?

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Rejoice Beck fans, unmastered cuts from his new album started to crop up on the internets this week. I'm at work and haven't had a chance to check any of them out yet, but snag them while you can at these spots:

One Louder - Two tracks
Aziz Is Bored - More tracks, with mini reviews of each
Nappy Cat Reviews - Has entire album (hurry hurry! Won't be up for long!)

I'm sure the whole thing is up on Soulseek (for you PC users).

Again, these are rumoured to be rough mixes. A few people over at stereogum claim to have heard the real versions, and apparantly those have a lot more effects. Dust Brothers are back at the production helm once again.
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For those that weren't on Wolff's mass email list, check out this unreal before/after of the tsunami devastation. Wow.

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What is all this hoopla around Vanderjagt this week? Just because the has made some ill-advised comments in the past doesn't mean sports media should be making a big deal about this.

"I think they're ripe for the picking." and "I think they're not as good as the beginning of the year and not as good as last year."

So what??? He's only stating the obvious in my opinion. They're not as good as last year, and with a beat up secondary they're not as good as they were at the start of this season. What's wrong with a little self-confidence going into a big game? What is he supposed to say, "I think they're tough and probably going to beat us?" Of course not. Shame on yourself ESPN. That goes for the rest of the sports media too. Don't try to create a controversy around the kind of comment that gets spit out in lockerooms week after week.

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Hey All. Just wanted to let you know that 1.21 HQ will be officially relocating to the big city on February 7th, as I've just scored myself a new gig. Hopefully I will have many new zany moments to report. I'll be doing research for Bacon's Information Inc. (sort of the AC Neilsen of paper press) right down on Michigan Ave, across from the Art Institute - where I'll be most Tuesdays on lunch hour since it's free that day.

I command all to come visit.



Also, if anyone knows of someone looking for a temporary roommate, drop me an email ASAP (see sidebar).
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Too much good stuff is out today. My favorite music blogger, Coolfer, has just posted a genious list of the most over-blogged bands of 2004 (click for full story). I'm guilty.

10. Death Cab
9. Morrissey
8. Ashlee Simpson
7. U2
6. Joanna Newsom
5. The Killers
4. Dangermouse
3. Franz Ferdinand
2. Ted Leo
1. Arcade Fire

That said, I would encourage anyone who is interested in the business side of music to check out his blog. Lots of great commentary and forward thinking.
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Our recent discussion over Ashlee Simpson's credibility as a musician sparked a heated conversation at the office the other day. It was my inherent duty to attack my co-worker's defense of lip syncing as a legitimate musical practice. It is, of course, a practice which I have vehemently opposed for some time. In pop music, dancing is apparently an integral part of the musical performance. And I am wrong for expecting a musican to be able to both sing and dance simultaneously. After bantering with my co-worker for some time, I caved. Clearly, the music industry has gone to great lengths to de-sensitize us to these talentless stage antics and the audience seems to love it. So perhaps I am stubborn. The times are changing and so should I. However, I added that if I am to embrace this widely accepted musical practice, I need something more. I suggested that perhaps the music industry should refine the art of lip syncing to encourage those less willing to embrace the practice. And thus lip syncing, becomes butt syncing.

Picture the infamous ass talking scene from Ace Ventura, only bare assed of course. The performer would maintain a firm grip on both ass cheeks (much like the firm grip they have on their talent) and emulate the vocals. All the while, the audience, captivated by amazing dance moves and impressive "vocals", is energized by elaborate ass choreography and brief flashes of the artist's asshole. Now that's a performance. And like lip syncing, butt syncing would be a practice reserved for a select, gifted few. I'm not suggesting that we all line up to see Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf, butt sync Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Actually, that would rock. But imagine butt syncing performances by artists like Bobby McFerrin, Michael Bolton, Hatebeak, Busta Rhymes (when he used to rap really fast), Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, The Starland Vocal Band, and even Michael Bolton. Legendary.

Hmmm...perhaps I am just talking out of my ass. Or am I?


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For Mac lovers with too much time on their hands - here is a minute by minute look at Steve Jobs presentation this morning from the Engadget folks.

As of 1:45 EST, no new hardware has been rolled out yet, but plenty of stuff about Tiger and the new iLife '05.

Gizmodo also has a slightly more humourous approach to coverage.

UPDATE: My favorite thing about this new iPod SHuffle thing that they just annouced, check out #2 in the fine print:



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Thanks again to A-Ron and Ben for letting me nod off on their premises this weekend. Hopefully I'm about to put this Chicago job search to bed since I owned my first interview on Monday.

I also enjoyed scoping out the superb Napoleon Dynamite on Sunday evening. There weren't a whole lot of crack-me-up type moments, but the whole premise of the movie and the characters themselves were over-the-top fantastic - a constant chuckle. Speaking of characters (via Thighmassa), answer the enternal question: which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?

As for me, I'm pround to be...



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Back to real music now. Here's a rundown of all the CDs releases that I am personally stoked (or amped, jazzed, etc, if you prefer) about for this coming year:

M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us, Jan 25
Low, The Great Destroyer, Jan 25
Chemical Brothers, Push The Button, Jan 25
Ambulance LTD, [Title TBA], Early 2005
Beck, [Title TBA], Early 2005
Broken Social Scene, Windsurfing Nation, Spring 2005
Built To Spill, [Title TBA], 2005
Deftones, [Title TBA], Spring 2005
The Flaming Lips, At War With The Mystics, Summer 2005
Magnolia Electric Co, [Title TBA], Early 2005
Massive Attack, [Title TBA], Spring 2005
Nine Inch Nails, [Title TBA], March 2005
The Notwist, [Title TBA], 2005
Out Hud, [Title TBA], 2005
OutKast, 10 The Hard Way, June 2005
The Shins, [Title TBA], Fall 2005
Sigur Ros, [Title TBA], Spring 2005
Weezer, [Title TBA], Early 2005

Check out the full list over at Metacritic. 2003 was one of the best years in recent memory, and a lot of groups that broke through or had semi-masterpieces in '03 will drop new stuff in '05.
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With all the Ashlee-bashing in that last post, why not offer up this footage of Ashlee's ?performance? last night at the NCAA Championship footbal match (via Stereogum). You know - just incase you'd like to hear what 70k boos sounds like.

Download it - It's 22mb, dial-uppers beware
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If someone were to ask me "Who's a person you love to hate?" I think I might have to go with Mark McGrath. This guy gets my nominaton as #1 douchebag of 2004 for his recent migration over to the guiltiest of all pleasures, the 30 minute commercial for Hollywood known simply as Extra. (By the way, props to those web designers for cooking up the everyday webpage that most resembles that of an "Adult" site. Very classy indeed.)

It's not enough that the man soldout like no musician can, abandoning the funk/metal roots of Sugar Ray's first album (not that I own it) in favor of the cool and breezy summer flavor that almost makes Sheryl Crow's "Soak up the Sun" bearable. This guy now parades his shit-eating grin all over L.A. as the host of the most useless 30 minutes on TV today.

I really pity the people who waste their time watching a show like Extra. It has to be the most vapid, plastic, starry-eyed peice of trash ever to set foot upon the unholy grounds of syndicated television. At least shows like Hard Copy were so outlandish that they could be funny. Who really cares if Julia had a baby, who Colin Ferrell fucked last week, or what dress J-Lo wore to Spago. Infotainment makes me sick. If you watch shows like Extra your life needs more direction than most. As judgemental as that comment may be, I'll stand by it.

Is there a celebrity out there that brings you great discomfort? Please share.

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