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Our hopeless war debate, cont.
The only thing more frustrating than the debate between Congress and the White House on this war funding bill is the mainstream media’s complete ineptitude in reporting about it. Andrew Sullivan points us to this comprehensive post by Marty Lederman. The background: In budget request after budget request over the past few years, the President has failed to ask Congress
Philly live
I’ve made my peace with the fact that I’m missing tons of great live music in New York. But I’ll tell you, the Philly calendar is nothing to sneeze at. Last night, Ethan Iverson and David King of The Bad Plus met two prominent avant-gardists, violist Mat Maneri and saxophonist Tim Berne, in a quartet they call Buffalo Collision. Iverson,
Balkan Beat Box
My review of Balkan Beat Box’s Philly show, in today’s Inquirer.
The “peace” train
Sitting in heavy traffic on Route 76 yesterday, I had the compounded misfortune of hearing Deepak Chopra’s Wellness Radio, broadcast on Sirius. Chopra, a millionaire many times over, admonished us all to rid ourselves of personal demons, the kind that tell us money is important. But what struck me most was a guest appearance by Jonathan Granoff of the Global
Andrew Hill R.I.P.
This morning, America lost one of its greatest musical talents, the pianist and composer Andrew Hill. I spent time with Mr. Hill at his home in Jersey City while researching a piece for the April 2006 edition of Jazz Times. That piece is here [pdf]. [Update: There’s a really interesting Hill post at Do The Math.] [Update: What a gift.
Ban all handguns
Like Timothy Noah of Slate, I’m perfectly comfortable calling for this. I regard Noah’s piece as the definitive statement on the gun-control implications of the Virginia Tech massacre. And no, arguing for gun control after this calamity is not “playing politics” with tragedy, etc. No one argues that banning guns will stop all gun violence. But it will reduce it.
Kitty Carlisle Hart
Just a word in memory of singer and actress Kitty Carlisle Hart, who died on April 17 at age 96. I have a particularly vivid memory of meeting Mrs. Hart. It was at least five, maybe seven years ago, when I was a guitarist for hire. [Update: It stands to reason that this was her 90th birthday celebration.] I got
On Ropeadope Digital
Ropeadope Records, founded in 1999, has essentially reinvented itself as Ropeadope Digital, an online venture. My story is in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.