Nova Carmina

I've said before I love cool graphics that actually help understand the data they're exemplifying, and this graphic is cool. But . . . to be "that guy" . . . the Plague of Justinian could not really have helped "hasten" the end of the Empire, given that the last emperor in the West had been overthrown and not replaced sixty-five years before it started, and the Eastern Empire lasted another nine hundred years, so if that's "hastening" then it can't be by much! Great graphic. Somewhat less great commentary.

So I was eavesreading on Entre and Segue over in the RPG thread about U2, and they were going back and forth about Nightwish. "I'm up for some new (to me) music," I says to myself, so I hie myself over to iTunes, and -- just like I did with Genesis last March -- I started with a live album. That was Segue's suggestion, so it made sense, and he named a couple, but my level of ignorance was such that when he mention "Floor" covering all the varieties, I assumed that was an album title! Since I couldn't see one with "Floor" in the name, I started with "Showtime, Storytime." (Reading the notes, I soon came to understand my "Floor" error). Folks, I'm blown away. Early standouts for me were "Nemo," "Storytime," "I Want My Tears Back" (and did that track or Iron Maiden's "Dance of Death" come first? There's some "homage" happening in some direction there), and "Dark Chest of Dreams." I quickly moved on to "Vehicle of Spirit," "Decades Live," "End of An Era," and "From Wishes to Eternity." I've also d/l about a dozen other live shows (bootlegs) to see how they sound when all the bells and whistles aren't applied, and the answer is still big. I've already chosen sides in the vocalist debates -- I'm a Floor guy! I get what Tarja was doing, but that's just a little too operatic for me. Floor is less head voice, more chest voice, and her vocals just feel more physical, more powerful, more forceful. I guess Anette's voice is little too . . . pop or something? The earlier era did give me the heavy metal cover of Pink Floyd's "High Hopes" I didn't realize I was missing in my life, and a cool version of "Over the Hills and Far Away," one of my favorite Gary Moore songs. It's big, it's layered, it's grand; these guys realize the sheer pull of lilt and lift and riff. And now I'm bummed Marko left the band right before I signed up! It's like the cool guy at the party leaving just as you arrive. If you need me, I'll be listening to Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Knock loud; I've really got it turned up (although I am skipping the Richard Dawkins spoken-word).

And the dreck rolls on.

So far, my day remains unmade, but I'm feeling optimistic.

This one may be a little beyond the Cardinals . . .

I will be the judge . . . and the jury . . . and "The Pass" has been headed off.

The Pass is tedious pablum. Both those statements can be true!

It sounds like she has some other, bigger issues she should be working on first before tennis anyway. And while I agree with nearly all that has been said upthread about dumb questions, or drama creation, etc., let's remember that modern sports are a TV show. They're not exactly built to celebrate the purity of the athleticism, but to celebrate how much money can be made from it, and creating content churn is one of the ways to do that. She wouldn't be one of the highest paid female athletes in the world if it weren't for the media hyping her*, and sponsors wanting a piece of that hype. To pretend the media is somehow some evil "outside" influence is really just a complaint about modernity. (and her talent, of course!) Having to face rote questions after you've been crushed in some key game has got to be one of the weirder things we ask athletes to do, though.

Oof, the Leafs. Being a Toronto fan has got to be a sore trial. Such hopes, such crushed hopes. Do you suppose Matthews is already looking around at other teams?

What dafuq is wrong with people? Spitting, dumping popcorn, throwing water bottles, and now some arsehole has run onto the court in Washington. Have people simply forgotten how to behave in crowds? Are they just drunk morons?

Seconds Out is the album that made me want to know Genesis better, and Genesis (esp. the early stuff) is awesome, so it wins out.

Ooh, interesting. That's a pretty great Neil Young album . . . I went with Young for the specific, but Sabbath for the oeuvre.

I've always liked "Available Light." Good melancholy album closer.

Mixed feelings about this one, but anything in football that makes Pep sad makes me happy, so two cheers for Chelski. Now onto the off-season signings soap opera!

I remember well watching him play; what a presence.

Yes, to pile on the sports analogies, this is Secretariat winning by 31 lengths: Tull!

Cowboys nation would be glad to have you, little Quisling, as long as you understand things aren't quite like they used to be, and when the hoi polloi pop off about Dallas not winning anything for more than a quarter century, we just have to take it! (And console ourselves by looking at the trophy cabinet . . .)

There's no sort of pan-Irish affiliation you have to honor here? I voted the same way, as chance would have it . . .

Genesis over Kansas. No snappy analysis, just feelings.

Megadeth for the sweep.

This album really runs the gamut from A to B . . . Keep: The Pass First Out: uh . . . can't go wrong here . . . so, "Red Tide," a song I can't remember at all.

Presence is uneven, but its highs ("Achilles Last Stand," "Nobody's Fault But Mine") are so high.

While a good writer could probably make a case for any given year, David Hepworth argues for 1971 in Never A Dull Moment

"A win for the aged"! :codger: 50 is the new 40. Unfortunately, I’m turning 60 this year. :doh: Mickelson is three days older than me, so his win is a great affirmation! Unfortunately, the only other thing we have in common is not being Tiger Woods . . .