Music
The iTunes Music Store is a temptation for people who are curious about music. My recent iTunes purchases fall into three categories: Curious about the '50s: * Tutti Frutti - Pat Boone * Cerezo Rosa (Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White) - Pérez Prado & Pérez Prado and His Orchestra * Love Is a
Intellect
The examples given are ill-chosen, but the basic point is sound: If not for Christian fundamentalists, after all, we probably wouldn't have punk rock. Or rap, Goth fashion, skateboarding and lots of recent art. Strong art comes from cultural ferment, from the clash of ideas, not from
Sports
I was able to fit the Rockets-Lakers game in before the Super Bowl started Sunday. Glad I took the risk: It was a nail-biter, and when will I be able to get Lakers tickets again? I went with Camille and Austin Livingston—Camille is a co-worker and
Life
Spent a leisurely afternoon at the University of Houston main campus, with stops at the Blaffer Gallery for the Ant Farm exhibit and Hofheinz Pavilion for a Cougars men's basketball game. The exhibit had fewer items than I had expected to find (the Ant Farm warehouse burned in
Intellect
Today is the 100th anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth. Cathy Young at Reason Online notes a weakness of her philosophy that always stood out for me: In its pure form, Rand’s philosophy would work very well indeed if human beings were never helpless and dependent through no
Music
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" by MFSB (I've been on a Seventies music kick lately…)
Music
Ten songs from a random iTunes shuffle (entire library)… 1. "I Should've Known" — Aimee Mann 2. "Boy with a Problem" — Elvis Costello 3. "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" — The Isley Brothers 4. "Do You Ever Think of
Houston
Kevin Whited is right that Joel Achenbach is wrong. I wish, though, that visitors to Houston would have a better introduction to the city than I-45 between downtown and Bush Intercontinental Airport. I have never seen an uglier stretch of road, and it reinforces all of the inaccurate stereotypes.
History
During [the Teheran conference of 1943], Roosevelt had a private talk with Stalin and Molotov for the purposes of putting them in possession of certain essential facts concerning American politics. It was a cause of wonderment to the President that the Russian leaders appeared to be so inadequately informed as
Music
"Millennium" by Robbie Williams "New York Groove" by Ace Frehley
Sports
After work tonight, I headed down to Rice to catch one of the last games that San Jose State, my dad's alma mater, will play in Houston. (Rice and San Jose State will no longer be in the same athletic conference after this year.) The Spartan women'
Media
One thing I never see mentioned in these ["mainstream media"]-vs-blogs stories is how completely positive, ecstatic, and fawning the old media coverage of blogs is. The bloggers' own claims that they are transforming the media, empowering the individual, making the old fogies at the newspapers