December 2010
21 posts
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Sharon Van Etten →
KEXP has four incredibly beautiful black and white videos from a live in-studio session with Sharon Van Etten. The set is also available as a free audio podcast on iTunes (via Muzzle of Bees).
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The Ordinary Graph →
Andrew Gelman: “[G]raphical methods have truly arrived when journalists use graphs to make ordinary, unexceptional points in a clearer way.”
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“We have two parties: bad things are going to happen, the in-party is going to be...”
– Jonathan Bernstein with near tweet-like efficiency in explaining macro partisanship
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Is Going to an Elite College Worth the Cost? →
The New York Times article has the usual discussion of future income, happiness, and school rankings. But buried toward the end, a claim that college football fosters the kind of alumni network that makes a job search easier:
If you’ve attended a big state school with a tremendous football program,” [Claremont Graduate University sociologist Scott L.] Thomas said, “there’s tremendous affinity...
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Turning Japanese →
Yeah, I mostly just wanted to make the Turning Japanese reference and this had been sitting in drafts for a while. But still Big Think did ask Is Apple Making Us Japanese?
But Apple is doing something far more radical to us as a nation, something that might even outlive the innovative firm itself: it is singlehandedly transforming us into a society that will one day feel comfortable having...
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“Let’s be honest. ‘Sent from my iPhone’ really means ‘I’m not...”
– Matt Linderman of 37signals
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“You keep asking these presentist questions Bob. As the immortal Marisa Tomei...”
– Edmund Morris
Clearly, no one ever taught this rule to the vast majority of folks who gave me political philosophy exams. And I’m pretty sure I’ve committed this crime too (via @pwire).
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The National & Hanukkah →
The National opened for Yo La Tengo on the 8th night of their annual Hanukkah stand. The often awesome nyctaper has a great recording of their set.
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The National Triumphant →
Applying the lessons of Straussian political thought I’ve picked up from my theory boys, it’s clear that Pitchfork is signaling the *true* album of year was High Violet. Nice choice folks, and nice interview with The National’s Aaron Dessner. Oh, and a Van Etten-Dessner musical sandwich? Yes, Please.
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“Without deep access to archives, and compelling ways to navigate them, real time...”
– Buzz Andersen on the real-time web we created and then left behind yesterday and the days before that.
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Best Albums of 2010
1. The National // High Violet
2. Epic // Sharon Van Etten
3. Sufjan Stevens // All Delighted People + Age of Adz
4. The Suburbs // Arcade Fire
5. Lisbon // The Walkmen
6. Teen Dream // Beach House
7. The Wild Hunt // The Tallest Man on Earth
8. We All Grow // S. Carey
9. Stuck on Nothing // Free Energy
10. Forgiveness Rock Record // Broken Social Scene
Where by best, I mean favorite....
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Other Favorite Songs 2010
My favorite songs that weren’t on 2010’s best albums.
1. Quarry Hymn // Land of Talk
2. I Hope You Die // Wye Oak
3. Cloudy Shoes // Damien Jurado
4. Goodnight Laura // Spoon
5. All I Want // LCD SoundSystem
6. Sun Hands // Local Natives
7. Something, Somewhere, Sometime // Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore
8. Deer Trail Place // The Deadly Syndrome
9. Walk with Me // Neil...
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My Favorite New Music from 2010 that wasn't from...
Albums
Long Division // Low
Emergency & I // The Dismemberment Plan
Jimmywine Majestic // Red Red Meat
Trickboxes On the Ponyline // Sin Ropas
The Fun of Watching Fireworks // American Analog Set
Songs
Die // Carissa’s Wierd
10 A.M. Automatic // The Black Keys
Black Rain, Black Rain // AA Bondy
Be Set Free // Langhorne Slim
Black Refuge // Junip
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Top Live Shows 2010
Milwaukee hosted an amazing amount of great music this past year.
1. LCD Soundsystem
2. The National
3. Phish
4. Neil Young
5. Pavement
6. Broken Social Scene
7. Rural Alberta Advantage
8. Trey Anastasio & Classic Tab
9. Local Natives
10. Frightened Rabbit
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Almost Vegan Chili
2-3 large onions chopped
1 pint baby bella mushrooms (or similar), rough dice
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small chipotle pepper, minced
1 small can diced green chiles
1 jalapeño, diced
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 can of black beans
Splash of leftover coffee
Piece of dark chocolate
4 stale tortillas, finely diced
1/2 to...
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On Point-and-Shoots →
The New York Times, working hard to spot technology trends a year after Jason Kottke blogs about them.