That Overthinking It post has me questioning my standards as well. Every once in a while, maybe it's OK to pander to the crowd and sing stuff they wanna hear and can sing along with.
I may just hit up the Gladstone tonight, just to test myself and see whether I'm even capable of pandering. Will I sing New Orleans Is Sinking and Sunglasses At Night? Or will I torment them with Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), or whatever obscure equivalent I can find in the book?
14 Months And Counting
I've re-assembled my database of karaoke songs. Over the last 14 months, I have sung 344 individual songs and 470 performances, which gives you a solid idea of how often I (don't) repeat myself.
Most sung song is, unsurprisingly, Everlong, which I've sung in seven different months.
Most sung artists? Bowie's at 15 (spread among nine different songs), Radiohead's at 12 (spread among eight different songs), Prince is at 11 (spread among six different songs) and the Stones clock in at 10 (spread among six different songs). Nobody else is in double digits.
Most glaring omission? I don't seem to have sung any Tragically Hip in over a year. That can't be right.
Most sung song is, unsurprisingly, Everlong, which I've sung in seven different months.
Most sung artists? Bowie's at 15 (spread among nine different songs), Radiohead's at 12 (spread among eight different songs), Prince is at 11 (spread among six different songs) and the Stones clock in at 10 (spread among six different songs). Nobody else is in double digits.
Most glaring omission? I don't seem to have sung any Tragically Hip in over a year. That can't be right.
Sigh
The Rachel Corrie gets diverted to Ashdod without incident.
Note the important part of the story:
Lesson learned, I guess? Funny how they didn't use that tactic -- the one used by every other naval blockade in history -- on the ship flying under Turkish colors.
Note the important part of the story:
Israel says its soldiers boarded the Irish-owned Rachel Corrie from the sea
Lesson learned, I guess? Funny how they didn't use that tactic -- the one used by every other naval blockade in history -- on the ship flying under Turkish colors.
Towards a Unified Karaoke Theory
Overthinking It's Karaoke Quotient formula isn't bad... for typical karaoke venues like the Gladstone.
I'd want a variable with a little more flexibility than their binary doable/not doable 'Difficulty' rating though, but that's just me.
I'd want a variable with a little more flexibility than their binary doable/not doable 'Difficulty' rating though, but that's just me.
May's Travesties
See? It wasn't just blog posts I wasn't having much time for in May... I only sang 20 songs at karaoke too:
#1 Crush - Garbage
19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
Down By the River - Neil Young
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town - Pearl Jam
Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
In the Meantime - Spacehog
Instant Karma - John Lennon
Jump - Van Halen
Just - Radiohead
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection
My Iron Lung - Radiohead
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Starlight - Muse
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
This Boy's In Love - Presets
True - Spandau Ballet
Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
#1 Crush - Garbage
19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
Down By the River - Neil Young
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town - Pearl Jam
Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
In the Meantime - Spacehog
Instant Karma - John Lennon
Jump - Van Halen
Just - Radiohead
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection
My Iron Lung - Radiohead
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Starlight - Muse
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
This Boy's In Love - Presets
True - Spandau Ballet
Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
It's Now Or Never, CNN
I slag the state of modern "journalism" with abandon most of the time, but I'll give a bit of credit to the AP for stepping up its game recently.
The take-away from this, though, has to be Ron Fournier's comment that the AP's new emphasis on fact-checking (what used to be known in media circles as "doing your god-damned job") has brought about an increase in traffic.
Campbell Brown is also leaving her CNN prime time show, and the network entirely, because she doesn't feel she can complete with her hyper-partisan competitors Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann. As she said:
Hmm. Think CNN will take the hint, ditch their pathetic attempt to claim a middle ground by appeasing both parties equally, and just try being journalists for a change?
Or will they just revive some bastard clone of Crossfire and continue perfecting their ability to parrot Dem and Pub talking points?
The take-away from this, though, has to be Ron Fournier's comment that the AP's new emphasis on fact-checking (what used to be known in media circles as "doing your god-damned job") has brought about an increase in traffic.
Campbell Brown is also leaving her CNN prime time show, and the network entirely, because she doesn't feel she can complete with her hyper-partisan competitors Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann. As she said:
I owe it to myself to get out of the way, so that CNN can try something else. CNN will have to figure out what that is.
Hmm. Think CNN will take the hint, ditch their pathetic attempt to claim a middle ground by appeasing both parties equally, and just try being journalists for a change?
Or will they just revive some bastard clone of Crossfire and continue perfecting their ability to parrot Dem and Pub talking points?
One of the Classic Blunders
You don't get involved in a land war in Asia, you don't go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, you don't put The Doctor in a trap, and you never underestimate a McMahon.
If Linda McMahon beats Blumenthal in the Connecticut GOP primary, she will win that Senate seat. Book it.
If Linda McMahon beats Blumenthal in the Connecticut GOP primary, she will win that Senate seat. Book it.
Throw 'Em In the Gulf
I'm serious. Every banker, hedge fund manager, and financial services whiz in the country needs to be rounded up, flown over the Gulf of Mexico and asked to justify their existence in one minute or less. Those who can't, should be dropped into the oily mess.
What prompted today's ire? Oh, just the systematic defrauding of municipal governments:
What prompted today's ire? Oh, just the systematic defrauding of municipal governments:
They rigged bids on auctions for so-called guaranteed investment contracts, known as GICs, according to a Justice Department list that was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on March 24 and then put under seal. Those contracts hold tens of billions of taxpayer money.
The workings of the conspiracy -- which stretched from California to Pennsylvania and included more than 200 deals involving about 160 state agencies, local governments and non- profits -- can be pieced together from the Justice Department’s indictment of CDR, civil lawsuits by governments around the country, e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News and interviews with current and former bankers and public officials.
“The whole investment process was rigged across the board,” said Charlie Anderson, who retired in 2007 as head of field operations for the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt bond division. “It was so commonplace that people talked about it on the phones of their employers and ignored the fact that they were being recorded.”
Moody's In the SEC's Crosshairs
With any luck, something might actually come from this:
Shorter version: Moody's method of rating mortgage-backed securities was basically "ask Goldman Sachs what they wanted it to be", rather than the algorithms and models they claimed to use.
The Moody’s Corporation said in a regulatory filing that its credit rating unit could face enforcement action from the Securities and Exchange Commission for reportedly misleading regulators in a 2007 application to remain a nationally recognized rating agency.
...
According to Moody’s filing, the S.E.C. claimed the Moody’s description of its procedures for determining credit ratings was ”false and misleading” because of Moody’s own finding that a policy had been violated internally.
Shorter version: Moody's method of rating mortgage-backed securities was basically "ask Goldman Sachs what they wanted it to be", rather than the algorithms and models they claimed to use.
Kiss Louisiana Goodbye
BP is getting so desperate for ideas on how to stop oil from continuing to gush into the Gulf that they're resorting to stealing plot twists from Seinfeld episodes:
When that doesn't work, further backup plans include a giant wine cork, a device to create a 'counter-geyser' fueled by Diet Coke and Mentos, and breeding a new species of sea slug that eats oil and poops out gold.
BP Plc plans to have a second dome in place within three days to try and contain oil that’s been leaking from a Gulf of Mexico well since last month, the company’s chief executive officer said.
The structure will be smaller than the containment system that failed to work last week, Tony Hayward told reporters at a press conference today in Houston. The second dome may be operating by the end of the week, Kent Wells, senior vice president of exploration and production, said during the press conference.
A first effort to capture oil near the seafloor and direct it to the surface failed on May 8. The company is also within two weeks of an attempt to shoot tire pieces, golf balls and other rubber items into the top of the well to plug it, Hayward said.
When that doesn't work, further backup plans include a giant wine cork, a device to create a 'counter-geyser' fueled by Diet Coke and Mentos, and breeding a new species of sea slug that eats oil and poops out gold.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)