tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98612702024-03-12T21:38:33.921-07:00and the Family BuickA little bit of everything...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.comBlogger1591125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-73043715291938053242013-01-10T17:13:00.000-08:002013-01-10T17:13:18.370-08:002012 YearEnderI haven't posted anything on this cherished old blog since last year around this time. I come back to continue a tradition that actually dates back a full decade. I've sent out an annual email to friends and colleagues filled with shtick
meant to summarize the year in the rear-view mirror. As in years past, I've held back the
personal sections in what follows below. But this is otherwise what
spilled out in <b>my 10th Annual YearEnder</b>. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and if you scroll down to my "2011 YearEnder" prior post, you will find links at the bottom of that offering that go all the way back through.<br />
<b>------------------------- </b><br />
<b>2012 As A Series Of Snapshots</b><br />
- <b>Mitt Romney</b> lost. Michael Dukakis gleefully handed over the "Worst
Candidate Ever" sash and tiara. Ann Romney regretted ever bothering to
learn the names of their gardeners, housekeepers, chauffeurs, stable
hands, dog groomers, elevator operators, moat diggers, and son
wranglers. <br />
<div>
- <b>Lance Armstrong </b>got outed years after taking countless
performance enhancing drugs and doing every ugly thing possible to deny
it. Finally affirming what so many had known for so long - that guy's
got real ball. <br />- The <b>UK politely hogged the spotlight </b>through
much of the year. London's Summer Olympics unfolded famously well,
while the tabloid paper "News of the World" folded poorly. Kate &
Will went topless, then got pregnant. Andy Murray actually wins
something, the real Queen and the new James Bond earn raves, "Downton
Abbey" thrilled the equivalent of PBS tote-baggers in 100 countries. <br />
</div>
- The prematurely lionized <b>David Petraeus</b> got blown
off the road to the White House in 2016 after news of an affair with his
crazily fit and creepy biographer came to light. The entire gallery of
flawed characters largely faded from memory by year's end. Yet the
buried lead still stands out for me - one driven, often shirtless FBI
agent pulled off a professional hack of the CIA Director's email.
Welcome to the New Normal.<br />
<div>
- <b>Big Bird </b>was the most discussed "Sesame Street" character this campaign cycle. Besting the usual top Muppet, Grover Norquist.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>"50 Shades of Gray"</b> by E.L. James became the biggest
publishing phenomenon since the "Twilight" series. Millions rejoiced in
the practice of openly reading porn in public.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Facebook's IPO</b> flopped. Mark Zuckerberg quickly got married. The things some people do to come up with ever more clever status updates.</div>
<div>
- <b>NASA</b>
pulled off a stunning landing of their "Curiosity" rover on Mars in the
same year they mothballed their Space Shuttle fleet to star in a series
of commercials for Toyota.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Sandra Fluke</b>'s birth controlling zeal offended Rush
Limbaugh. Leaving him no choice but to not-so-subtly mention her youth
and sexual self-empowerment. It was all just a big misunderstanding.
Because inside Rush's head, it started out sounding like a compliment. <br />
</div>
<div>
- The flaming cartwheel of horrors in <b>Syria</b> finally drove the community of Nations to intervene militarily. Didn't we? Really...not yet? Wow, we suck.<br />
</div>
<div>
- The <b>U.S. Postal Service</b> threatened to shut down thousands of small town offices while a <b>paralyzing drought </b>this
past summer decimated crops across huge swaths of America. Thankfully,
the U.S. Congress stepped in and helped people where and when they
needed it most.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Gun control</b> was on everyone's mind after an
unthinkable tragedy. Then a metaphorical squirrel ran by, causing the
nation to lose focus. But then gun control was on everyone's mind after
an unthinkable tragedy. And then a metaphorical squirrel ran by...<br />
</div>
<div>
- Fed Chairman <b>Ben Bernanke</b>'s previously unnoticed
genius with ad copy was revealed when he coined the phrase "fiscal
cliff" and thereafter changed how we all looked at...I'm not sure, floor
wax or something. Doesn't matter, really. The important point being
that Bernanke <i>is </i>Don Draper. <br />
</div>
<div>
- The <b>Mayan calendar</b>'s much anticipated date for the
end of the world passed without incident. Presenting the worst
forecasting job since the collective freakout about Tropical Storm Issac
scuttled the opening of the GOP's National Convention in Tampa.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Felix Baumgartner </b>jumped out of a hot-air balloon 24
miles above the Earth, pulled himself out of a death-spin while
accelerating to speeds over 800 miles/hour, landed safely and became an
international hero. Amazing. But his 84-year-old "coach" free fell for
17 seconds longer when he jumped from the previous record height of 19
miles. In 1960. Who the heck is <i>that </i>guy? No, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kittinger" target="_blank">not Hugh Hefner</a>.<br />
</div>
<div>
- The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that <b>"Obamacare"</b> should stand. Opponents prepared to target the thing next closest to Obama's heart and legacy. So all you fans of <a href="http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology" target="_blank">"Bracketology"</a>...you heard it here first. <br />
</div>
<div>
- The tragic killing of four Americans in <b>Benghazi</b>,
Libya became a means by which some asked hard questions about the loss
of life in foreign danger zones. Wouldn't it be nice if some small part
of that outrage could be focused upon the <a href="http://icasualties.org/oef/" target="_blank">310 Americans killed in Afghanistan just in 2012</a>? <br />
</div>
<div>
- Much of the northeastern U.S. suffered through the onslaught of <b>Superstorm Sandy</b>. One bright spot appeared for some when New Jersey Governor <b>Chris Christie</b>'s
brash and candid style elevated speculation of his future viability on
the national stage. Reaction to his stance on that stage was already
tested prior to the 2012 Election. Is this sounding like a series of
subtle fat jokes? Sure, Christie's what some might generously call "a
little husky." But the YearEnder works best when it doesn't sink to that
level. Although once you lean that way, pretty much everything starts
sounding like a rip. See what I mean?<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Comeback of the Year</b></div>
<div>
The NFL's
regular referees returned to work after an inglorious lockout. Prior to
them coming back to work, the much maligned replacement refs had a
thankless job. Which is why I won't thank them.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Lexicon Addition of the Year</b></div>
<div>
Acronyms
really failed us this year. I saw their unattributed ubiquity as a wave
that broke in all sorts of directions. A few of the most egregiously
overused and under-explained examples were <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yolo" target="_blank">YOLO</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libor_scandal" target="_blank">LIBOR</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act" target="_blank">SOPA</a>.
It's been a very long time since I went to journalism school, but even I
remember that part of the job is to provide the appropriate context
every time a new acronym is used. As much as I'm entertained by texting
lexicon entering the mainstream, too much is too often left for the
reader/listener to find on their own after the fact. <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=KWIM" target="_blank">KWI</a><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=KWIM" target="_blank">M?</a>
<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Trend of the Year</b><br /><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a>
blossomed as a means of crowd sourcing artists across a wide spectrum
of proposed projects. While it certainly shouldn't be expected to fully
replace the legitimate role of other private - and, yes, public -
funding for the arts, this avenue exist added an option for creatively
proposed projects. Abuses and bad ideas occasionally get teed up. The
overall trend, however, rose to be accepted as a net positive.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>A Few Picks For My Favorites of 2012</b><br />
<b>TV</b> - <b>"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"</b> might seem
like a rather pedestrian pick, given all the inspired shows that kept on
rolling along impressively this past year. But Jimmy's uncanny good
musical impressions and boundless likeability make him my fave this
year. I even let our 7-year-old daughter occasionally watch him play
games with guests and some of his crew's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Jg7pvVzKk" target="_blank">instantly classic skits</a>. Of which there were many. This show should only get better as they step forward and beyond the usual formula. <br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Music</b> - It was a great year for things both
Northwest-y and indie - two of my favorite musical flavorings. Which is
partly why I've settled upon Seattle's own <b>Macklemore and Ryan Lewis</b> for this year's fave with their independently produced album <b>"The Heist"</b>.
Unceasingly "posi" - that's "positive" which can be an insult but
shouldn't be. Filled with hooks and catchy beats. I met Macklemore (Ben
Haggerty) at a lit event two years back after he slayed a cold room full
of folks who wouldn't know hip hop from head cheese. No offense. Really
liked him then, love him now. Bonus points for the lyrics on "Thrift
Shop" and the timely sentiment behind the anthemic "Same Love". <br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Books</b> - An exceptional year for fiction. Yet no "book"
did more to push the physical and conceptual boundaries of how to tell
stories than <b>Chris Ware's "Building Stories"</b>. Ware packaged 14
separate graphics and text experiments in a box that looks like a board
game. The characters can get mopey and his intricate drawings might have
you looking for a magnifying glass, but the stories unfold like
mysteries with no beginning or end. For those looking beyond the
conventional, I can think of no better ground-breaker from the past
year's releases.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Film</b> - For all the prestige films left to be seen at year's end, I doubt that I'll find a tastier treat than <b>Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom"</b>.
Young love never felt so weirdly authentic. Everyone's great and not a
detail is out of place in this fully realized alterna-world.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Person o' the Year</b> - <b>Nate Silver</b>. Not only did
he completely nail the entire election in terms of predictions, he wrote
a best-seller that makes statistics seem entirely cool. For all the
time spent discussing polling numbers in politics, it's quite refreshing
to take stock of who gets those numbers right. Silver nailed it, with a
humbling lack of spin. <br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Live Performance</b> - I saw my first <b>live story slam put together by the good folks at <a href="http://themoth.org/" target="_blank">"The Moth"</a></b>
in NYC this past October. The energy absorbed from this amateur
storytelling competition led to a pair of my many New Year's
Resolutions: 1) Always throw my name in the hat, no matter what's at
stake and 2) Never show up to an open mike without at least something
prepared. The larger point being you should <i>love</i> "The Moth" and I hope you soon get the chance to experience one of their shows live.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Audio</b> - A recent but already white-hot podcast love affair of mine is with <b>Julie Klausner - a fellow ginge and the truly hilarious host of "How Was Your Week"</b>.
This podcast might just hipcheck aside all those allegedly funny shows
coming from comics who couldn't hold Klausner's hair while she hurls a
steady stream of culturally astute awesomeness. Very New York-y, best
when she's just riffing right off the top before her interviews, not for
everyone but oh-so-perfect for many. Including me.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Sports</b> - <b>R.A. Dickey</b> is a baseball pitcher who
won 2012's National League's Cy Young Award, published a memoir, starred
in a documentary about his favorite pitch, and consistently entertained
me whenever he did press for those or other endeavors. Because
knuckleballers make so many baseball people nervous, the New York Mets
traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays. Which gives me one more cool
Canadian thing to root for in 2013. The story of Dickey's evolution
proved as refreshing and unique as any in sports this past year.<br />
</div>
<div>
<b>Killer App</b> - <b>"Made in the USA"</b> became more than
just words on a label for me in 2012. If Apple can feel the heat and
subsequently move some manufacturing back home, that kind of pressure on
American corporations must have legs going forward. I believe that
appeals to this sort of patriotic pride can cut across the biggest
political divides we have. So long as the products rock. I think that
app works on whatever platform you might prefer.<br />
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>2013's Not-entirely Baseless Predictions</b><br />- Even if the <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9020-guest-list-best-of-2012/2/" target="_blank">idea was stolen</a> from a very clever musician, the game <b>"Rate 5 Things"</b>
becomes the Nation's
new favorite pastime. Here's how you play: list five unconnected things
and rank them in order. Up, down, by weight, height, karmic value - you
and your friends are the unimpeachable judges in this competition. "Rate
5 Things" is part clever-off, part Rorschach test, and can be all sorts
of fun. Here's a suggested test grouping to
limber you up - Earl Grey tea, a monocle, Samuel L.
Jackson, a hammock, and Kansas City. Got it? Well...you will with
practice. Oh, and I plan to ascend the ranks of the newly formed Rank
Professional League (RPL or "Ripple") and compete for the RPL's
inaugural National
Championship.<br />- Iran's Presidential election in June results in <b>Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being forced from office due to term limits</b>. He begins the transition to a new role in Iranian society - morning talk show host and style maven.<br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>"<a href="http://makezine.com/" target="_blank">Maker</a>" culture</b> and the widening practice of using increasingly accessible technology like 3D-printers and laser cutters to, well...make stuff <b>crosses over</b>
from the geeky fringe to the mainstream. Soon everyone will be inspired
to "print" little epoxy dinosaurs and two-inch-tall Eiffel Towers for
their junk drawers and workplace window ledges. <br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Silvio Berlusconi returns to the job of Italian Prime Minister</b>. Proving yet again that he truly is political herpes.<br />- In a rare example of successful group therapy<b>, </b>the simple <b>advance of time vastly thins the ranks of triskaidekaphobiacs</b>
(those fearing the number 13). A lobbying effort to properly rename the
13th floors of countless hotels takes hold. However, the burgeoning
confidence of <i>triskaidekaphiliacs</i> goes a step too far. Their
desire for a National Holiday (on 13/13/13 meant to build upon the
informal success of the 11/11/11 and 12/12/12 celebrations in the past
few years) manages to only pass the U.S. House of Representatives. <br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Clint Eastwood</b> gets so sick of people making empty chair jokes at his expense that he decides to turn into the skid. He <b>opens an unfinished furniture store</b>
in Carmel with the game changing idea of incorporating a
paint-it-yourself cafe and gallery. "Eastwood's Paint Your Wagon" is a
concept store that both softens his increasingly irascible side and lets
the public in on his secret love of DIY home decor. By year's end,
hugely successful franchises have opened in 14 States and two Canadian
Provinces. In a change of faith, Clint chooses to donate all the
proceeds to philanthropic causes, steers away from politics, and smiles
every time he sits down on one of the new stools he painted to match the
color of the marble on his breakfast bar as he looks out at the
Pacific. <br />- Members of the Russian protest band <b>Pussy Riot</b> license their name and trademark balaclavas to the band <b>One Direction</b> for the massive re-branding needed for a rushed second album. <br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Paul Ryan</b>'s wounded pride from people poking fun at his little lie back on the campaign trail about <b>running a marathon</b>
in "two fifty something" pushes him to train and aim for entry in the
Boston Marathon. He gets really bad shin splints and a mild case of
plantar fasciitis, but still manages a respectable 3:48 and change in a
flat, late-summer qualifying marathon. When he learns he's still over 30
minutes slower than Boston's qualifying time for his age group, Ryan
eliminates Medicare and Medicaid funding for all of Massachusetts in a
hidden line-item tucked into a Commerce Department budget rider. Then he
lies about it, claiming he has a wedding the weekend of the Marathon
back in Wisconsin so he couldn't run that stupid, liberal race anyways.<br />
</div>
<div>
- The season finale of <a href="http://www.mtv.com/shows/buckwild/series.jhtml" target="_blank">"<b>Buckwild</b>"</a>
(MTV's latest reality show phenomenon) garners the highest ratings for
any program in the history of basic cable television. West Virginia's
Tourism Board reports an annual 200% increase in first-time visitors,
while the state's hospital emergency rooms bemoan a 350% increase in
patient visits for the year.<br />
- The African warlord <b>Kony stages a comeback</b> when he's <b>paid handsomely by Donald Trump</b> to search for Obama's ancestors in Kenya. <br />
</div>
<div>
- <b>Justin Bieber</b> finally lends his monumental Twitter
influence to a political issue away from his Canadian homeland. The Bieb
implores his minions to call their "congresspeeps" after stepping up to
the mike with the following <b>debate changing Tweet</b>: "det ceiling
haters. democrats, republicrats - lets come together and raise tha roof.
#momoneylesproblems #BELIEVE" Immaculately, the debt extension passes.<br />- The <b>future looks bright for Russian President Vladimir Putin</b>.
Not only does he get to show off his nation's improved status with a
G20 Summit in September, and jauntily prepare to host the Winter
Olympics in early 2014. This year Putin also woos back home a trophy
wife that all of Mother Russia embraces - Anna Kournikova.<br />- <b>Kim Jong Un</b> leaves the family business, after being approached to collaborate on an album with South Korean pop personality <b>Psy</b> (whose "Gangham Style" became the biggest viral video of all time in 2012). Canadian singer <b>Carly Rae Jepsen</b>
("Call Me Maybe" was equally ubiquitous this past year) is brought in
to lend her talents on one song, but instead falls in love with what she
sees and hears happening in the studio. The resulting album is an
international sensation. In turn, their home countries sign a trade
agreement that directly leads to the North Korean people being saved
from the previously intractable cycle of drought and famine. This <b>new power trio appear to be shoo-ins for the Nobel Peace Prize</b> by year's end. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
-------------------------</div>
Which
somewhat sadly brings me to
the end of this thing. Meaning what you've seen here
is not only my 10th YearEnder in the series. This is the last one I
plan to write. My
YearEnder Ender, if you will. It's certainly been an exercise that I've
enjoyed, and the replies have been a joy to read over the years. Who
knows - resurrection may be possible. Life's more fun that way. But by
these means and in this context, I offer a fond farewell. Look for me in
other formats. Maybe even face-to-face. I would very much enjoy that.
Be
well. Go Pack Go.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com22Espresso Vivace47.620165 -122.3305000000000322.0981305 -163.63909400000003 73.1421995 -81.02190600000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-32907629487658803562012-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:002012-01-03T04:47:42.902-08:002011 YearEnder<span style="font-size: small;">The New Year presents us all with the opportunity to look back before plunging into what's next. I've been putting together the following - my Annual YearEnder - since 2003. And even though I'm not posting regularly on this beloved ol' blog, I plan to come back at least every year around this time to put up what I send out to friends (minus the personal bits). If you like what you see, there are links that follow for my earlier YearEnders. I hope you enjoy whatever you manage to get through - there's plenty here to consume, but I believe you'll agree it was time well spent.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>----------------------------------------------------------------</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>2011 As a Series of Snapshots</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Atlantis
flew the last Space Shuttle mission (in place of the intended
Endeavour). Ending a thirty year program of 135 missions, which held
aloft the dreams of millions like me who couldn't even pull together the
grades to get into Space Camp.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Our military's most adept soldiers and commanders found Osama Bin
Laden in Pakistan, did what they do under the cover of night, and then
plunked him somewhere in the Indian Ocean. I'm still awestruck by the
almost utter lack of triumphalism that followed that adventure. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Kate & William done got hitched. Pippa ascended to the
throne of "World's Hot Lit'l Sis" while Harry retained his title of
"World's Skeeziest Bro."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Europe got all wobbly amidst a debt
crisis seemingly caused by antiquated, carefree countries like Greece
and Italy not acting more like their stodgy, persnickety peers in
Germany and England. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Japan suffered through a massive earthquake and overwhelming
tsunami, resulting in the meltdown of a nuclear power plant. I'd bet
that somewhere out there is a screenwriter who pitched this same
cataclysmic set-up to Jerry Bruckheimer and got the reply "nah, too over
the top".</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid - "News Of The World" - folded
after a massive and repugnant phone hacking scandal. If I was an editor
in charge of writing the obit for that rag, I'd have used: "Rupe Duped,
James Blames, Hacks Whacked". Good riddance, to the bloody lot of them. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Anthony Weiner wins the 2011 Brett Favre "No Good Can Possibly Come
From Taking A Picture Of Your Junk, Much Less Texting It To Someone"
Award. My bet is next year's winner will use Instagram.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, died. We were told that our
intelligence services didn't see it coming. While, yes, I realize he was
a short man, is it too much to ask that we step up efforts to track the
leader of the (second?) most insane country on the planet with nukes?</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Along with its "Arab Spring" predecessors, Libya came largely
unhinged and morphed into a form of leaderless chaos. In so many ways,
this seems like merely a placeholder for whatever description of this
transition comes next.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A series of repeated standoffs and a continued game of talking
points brinksmanship cratered the U.S. Congress's approval ratings. In
fact, more Americans currently favor a shift to Communism than the
Congress we've empowered. Inexplicably, re-election for around 90% of
them should still be a breeze.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The Iraq War ended. I feel like the Nation should have at least
baked a cake or put up a banner. Is this how people acted in 1975 after
seeing those helicopters pull the last people off the Embassy roof in
Hanoi? Different circumstances, to be certain. Regardless, I hope
I'm not alone in asking to see plans respectfully proffered ASAP for a
memorial to the fallen
soldiers from this shared and shaded era.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Comeback of the Year</b><br />It's been tried before, but I
noticed a mass exhumation of 1980s nostalgia and revisionism in 2011.
Not just at Sarah's Dance Party, although our collective pink collar was
truly popped for that one. I'm also talking about the throwback sound
of bands like Cut Copy and M83 who released some of the best music of
the year, the neon-infused look of super-cool movies like "Drive", the
wall-to-wall fun sub-referencing in a
book like Ernest Cline's <i>Ready Player One</i>, the Steve Jobs-inspired memory lane strolling, even the early signs of a possible collapse for the current
Russian system of government - it all adds up to some serious deja vu.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lexicon Addition(s) of the Year</b><br />"Occupy"
anything and/or everywhere. The Vancouver-based magazine "Adbusters"
should be given origin story cred for coining the phrase. But this is
one of the most striking examples I've ever seen of a new usage being
taken to a truly transcendent level. </span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Trend of the Year</b><br />Protesting in public proved to have
an actual impact on the course of governing. Sometimes. Nonetheless, the
simple act of marching in the street evolved all around the world in
2011. And now that this Genie has wafted out of the bottle...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Few Picks for the Best of 2011</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">TV - No show took more chances and offered more random,
hilarious rewards than "Louie" on FX. Creator/writer/director/editor and
namesake comedian Louis C.K. is just getting better. Even while the
creative landscape in TV fills to bursting with quality shows. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Movies - There are always movies still on my "must see" list when
the time comes to hork up the YearEnder. That cop-out excuse should not
detract from my appreciation of the surprising and delightful "Crazy,
Stupid, Love." If I could bottle up the essence of the entire cast, I'd
drizzle them over my oatmeal and in my coffee each morning. I've been
waiting for Steve Carrell to find a role like this since the last time
he played Produce Pete on "The Daily Show". If you possess the capacity
to love, test its vitality with a viewing of this movie.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Sports - The ForeverSconnie side of me wants to say that the
Green Bay Packers ruled supreme over All in the Land of Sportiness this
year. Because they've had one helluva year, starting with a stunning run
to the last Super Bowl and continuing through the entirety of this NFL
Season. Yet however much it pains me to say so, the World Series Champs
from St. Louis earned this particular YearEnder nod after their epic end
of season and post-season run. The Cards were pure sporty goodness. Now
never do that again, mm'kay?</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Music - Bon Iver's second full-length, eponymous album is a
thing of richly-layered beauty. So many acts put out great stuff this
year (including Seattle's Fleet Foxes and Shabazz Palaces, just to name
two worthy competitors for this heralded honor). Regardless, Bon Iver
always floated back up to the top of my playlist. Call me out for my
obvious bias (much of what Justin Vernon creates for his band is done in
a converted vet clinic in tiny Fall Creek, Wisconsin). But give it a
chance if you've not yet done so.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Books - "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach fills the roster
spot of a very popular novel that then might not garner the literary
plaudits it should. Here again, the Wisconsin connection played a small
part in raising its position on my radar. Still the beauty and ease
shown in the storytelling made me really take notice. All those hard
slog years of writing for Harbach must now feel like time well spent.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Journalism - For those who care to notice, "long form journalism"
emerged as a category in 2011. It was packaged as Kindle Singles or
served up by new platform players like "The Atavist" (for iPad or other
devices). Not long ago, this was just called magazine journalism, by my
estimation. Nonetheless, the "Vanity Fair" piece by Keith Gessen about
Chad Harbach and the future of publishing was a trend setter in this
category of journalism. No matter what it's called.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Killer App - Siri. That one time when I asked my new phone for
"record stores" near my location and Siri made a joke about asking HAL
for help? Oh sure, I'd been hooked already. But it was then that I knew
voice recognition was WAY cooler than I'd realized.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Radio/podcast - I run way too many miles, all the while
listening to podcasts and, more recently, books on tape. Of all the
shows in my regular rotation, "Studio 360" is the most consistently
creative and almost always proves itself worth the time. Kurt Andersen
retains a lifetime pass from me for "SPY" magazine. He's still prone to
some big swings and misses (his most recent "Vanity Fair" piece on how
our culture has been stuck in neutral since 1992 is the most glaring
example of one of those). But the dood is an interviewer with a serious
twinkle in his Dadaist eye. Subscribe now, if you've not already done
so.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Celebrity flameout - Maybe an omnipotent power took a peek at
the spreadsheet listing in-no-way-deserved salaries of this planet's
celebrities in 2011, then decided to give Charlie Sheen a much needed
karmic haircut. If that were so (and PLEASE let it be) I'd bet the house
on who's due next - anyone even vaguely connected to a Kardashian.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Person of the Year - Mohamed Bouazizi was the Tunisian fruit
vendor who died last January 4th after setting himself on fire. This
unthinkable act launched a movement that toppled governments. I can
think of no more influential person on the planet in 2011.</span>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>TwentyTwelve's Largely Baseless Predictions</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Donald Trump publicly proposes to Sarah Palin. I'll paraphrase - "If
you do me this honor, it'll be huge." Never one to avoid flirtation,
The Sarah joins The Donald for pizza, leads him on for months, and still
rides off toward the horizon with Todd on a brand-new, solid-gold
snowmobile. Cut to commercial. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The Denver Bronco's quarterback Tim Tebow retires from football
before next season after being moved to a back-up role. He's
immediately drafted to run for President on the Teaparty ticket (renamed
the Tebow Party). No one on his campaign bothers to read the
Constitution until two weeks before the election, missing that whole age
requirement part. Unbowed, Tebow vows to proved the doubters wrong at
his first debate. At which he assumes his now famous "Tebowing" position
on the stage for ninety minutes and refuses to answer questions. In the
end, the doubters win. Again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">China's crackdown on artists finally causes the ground the shift in
unprecedented ways. Recently jailed writers (such as Chen Xi and Chen
Wei) along with the genre-bending master Ai Weiwei (currently fighting
trumped up tax charges) manage to spark something cloaked deep inside an
ancient culture disguised as a young nation of 1.3 Billion people. No
jokes here - just a ballsy prediction. With the acknowledgement that
upheaval there will eventually wash up on the shores of every nation
across the globe.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Afghanistan maintains its position as the most soul-draining and
intractable foreign policy entanglement in American history. An
open-ended base of operations in Central Asia? No empire can sustain
that for long. This coming year opens a road to bring 'em all home. Now
wouldn't that be a stimulus package?</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">President Obama's glide path to re-election weathers newly minted
allegations of drug abuse when he's seen sporting a nicotine patch while
playing a game of H-O-R-S-E with reporters. The manufactured buzz
passes quickly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">
The ongoing pop culture love affair with the undead shifts again.
Zombies (who had replaced vampires) make way for the embrace of these
renewed, terrifying, lifeless vessels. Ventriloquist dummies. It's Howdy
Doody Time, 2.0. The taglines almost write themselves. "The hand goes
in. The gloves come off." Bada bing, bada boom. You're welcome,
Hollywood. </span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The massive success of "The Book of Mormon" inspires a slew of
lesser knock-offs bound for Broadway. "Battlefield Earth: The Musical"
ruins the party for religion-fueled, theatrical comedy for years to
come.</span>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>GOP Candidates Nomination Odds</b><br />
As a quadrennial YearEnder bonus heading into a Presidential Election
year, I feel as though I should update the line on the various
candidates. This should not be seen as an endorsement or encouragement
to gamble on politics. A split of all winnings, however, will not be
refused.</span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Mitt Romney (3 to 2) If you believe the polls, Mitt's always
had the inside track. He's also always been this cycle's Dukakis. His
over/under percentage for the general election is 30% (translation:
we're bound to see a third party materialize).</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Jon Huntsman (8 to 1) From the family that brought us the
Styrofoam hamburger clamshell (seriously - look it up), this Huntsman is
as clean as an Amish laundry basket on Sunday morning. He speaks
Mandarin fluently, he has an attractive & articulate trio of
daughters, he's the best retail politician in the field and an endless
quote goldmine. In other words, he's too modern for most. And Huntsman
once mentioned lyrics by Nirvana during a GOP debate (again, seriously).
Ready to peak at 11% in New Hampshire.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Ron Paul (1000 to 1) He'll start off strong by tying for the
lead in Iowa. Then his previously unclaimed son - Rand Paul's twin
brother (RuPaul) - will expose the family secrets on Valentine's Day. By
year's end, Ron resigns from the House and moves to a bomb shelter just
outside of Waco.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Newt Gingrich (10,000 to 1) Over the next year, Newt struggles
through more peaks and valleys than a 100-year-old sherpa. Eventually,
his Tiffany's credit line gets revoked - crushing his credit rating. For
a short while, Newt and Calista show up periodically on QVC, hawking
commemorative plates featuring history's greatest debates. One day they
wake up broke, friendless and with a garage full of plates absolutely no
one would buy. Then an odd little thing happens - their marriage
somehow grows stronger. The happiness they find by focusing all that
love they have to give upon one another would never ever have been
possible in that stuffy old White House. Newt learns, at long last, that
sometimes you have to lose it all in order to win at something truly
important. So maybe that was the reason Newt ran the way he did, after
all.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Rick Perry (A million to 3. No, maybe 2. Wait...3.) Contrary to
everything I've said about him since he became Governor when Dubya
resigned to run for President, his timing isn't always great. In this
cycle, he begins to peak again in late November. Which prompts him to
claim, "I'll be back in 2014." Perry's next campaign never materializes.</span>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Michelle Bachman (14 bazillion to 1) Really? Do I need to justify this? OK - let's just say she's a longshot.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Rick
Santorum (Infinity to negative infinity) Dan Savage still gets credit
from me for the single most cleverly planted political timebomb in
history. This man-on-dog just won't ever hunt, no matter when he peaks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Herman Cain (suspended campaign) He's currently only in the running
for spokesperson jobs held by ex-NFL Coach Jimmy Johnson (for ExtenZe)
and that couple still sitting in (separate!) clawtooth bathtubs.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;">With all that said, let me offer up a favorite toast in the
immortal words of Colonel Henry Blake - here's looking up your ol'
address. May you be grand in all gestures, as the New Year unfolds. </span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ever -<br />E.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">----------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">As promised, the following links will take you back to my prior YearEnder work.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://andthefamilybuick.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-yearender.html"><span style="font-size: small;">2010 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="http://andthefamilybuick.blogspot.com/2010/01/2009-yearender.html"><span style="font-size: small;">2009 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="http://andthefamilybuick.blogspot.com/2009/01/2008-yearender.html"><span style="font-size: small;">2008 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="https://intersect.com/stories/1SQYtCfQzXPh"><span style="font-size: small;">2007 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="https://intersect.com/stories/0XkvC3pG7zwv"><span style="font-size: small;">2006 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="https://intersect.com/stories/1gPMHv3LSTZZ"><span style="font-size: small;">2005 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="https://intersect.com/stories/2Mx8VXdcBYrr"><span style="font-size: small;">2004 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<a href="https://intersect.com/stories/1bScCVqgryvr"><span style="font-size: small;">2003 YearEnder</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">For my recent stuff, you can always <a href="http://peltingout.com/"><b>follow me over on my new "book in progress" blog</b></a>. The work I'm doing there is quite different, but still comes only from me. Thanks for reading. Rock on. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com33Seattle, WA, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.520564 -122.4899993 47.691855 -122.1741423tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-78233553328207115132011-01-01T19:00:00.000-08:002011-01-01T19:01:59.432-08:002010 YearEnder<span style="font-size: small;">It's been a few months since I posted anything here. In the past, I've always put up my YearEnder for public consumption. It just seems appropriate to still do so. All the family stuff has been taken out. This is the meat in the sandwich. I hope a few things ring true for you. Or at least that the points I scatter somewhat all over the map hit the occasional mark. Rock on, 2011-style.<b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>2010 As a Series of Snapshots</b></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">BP unleashed an underwater oil volcano that erupted for months, yet has already been mostly forgotten.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Proving that with a few ads and some rudimentary misinformation, 50 million barrels of the crudest oil can be miraculously turned into fish food and corral fertilizer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Sandra Bullock managed to win an undeserved Oscar and a nation's misplaced sympathy almost simultaneously.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> While Jesse James' inexcusable infidelity managed to at long last give Nazi-friendly, goth tattoo models/strippers a bad name.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Sarah Palin’s achieved what for some was a stunningly irksome degree of financial success.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Which was only dwarfed by every single person working on Wall Street.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Tiger Woods spent a whole lot of solo time working on his swing, while Elin Nordegren finally got around to reading Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy in the original Swedish. In so doing, they each found their bliss. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Afghanistan became the Larry King of redundant, soul-draining foreign entanglements. And even Larry knew this year was the time to say that enough's enough.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A plucky bunch of Chilean miners came up with a unique but ultimately unsuccessful way to avoid the Great Recession</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> The political fulcrum story of the year was the "big C" conservative shellacking of the "shrinking L" left. And the most vocal part of that Teabagging, pendulum-swinging movement is only going to demand more attention in the next political cycle. Be careful what you wish for, America. Check back in a handful of months from now and we'll see how this latest hopey, changey thing is working out.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Conan O'Brien was forced to trade in a barely drivable talk show vehicle with three former owners for the equivalent of a 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with 212,000 miles - a late-night gig on TNT. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Elena Kagan joined Sonia Sotomayor as the two Obama appointees on the U.S. Supreme Court. They both bat left, throw down the middle, and impress the scouts entirely. Although their lackluster contributions to this year's Supremes Secret Santa gift exchange left plenty of room for creativity and studiousness. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Glenn Beck, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held rallies in our Nation's most storied public park. Beck claimed to gather like a billion people on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech to tell them something unintelligible about George Soros. Subsequently, Stewart and Colbert</span><span style="font-size: small;"> proved little more than it's still too early for a Father Guido Sarducci comeback. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Haiti, the poorest nation in the hemisphere, suffered an earthquake that severely damaged well over half of the nation's structures and left over 200,000 people dead out of a population of 9,000,000. Followed by the usual aftershock of our collective brief attention span and a distinctly human inability to know what to do about such tragedies. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Spain won their first ever World Cup, held in South Africa (the first African host nation). The biggest stars of the event turned out to be a (murdered!) octopus in Germany and a cheap plastic horn with an pornographic sounding name. Oddly enough, precisely matching one of the predictions from my last YearEnder.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Barack Obama got popped in the kisser while playing basketball, requiring an array of stitches.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The other elbows he took all year long left no such visible marks. But they'll prove much harder to repair.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Our troops began to leave the active theatre in Iraq, moving toward the expected full withdrawal date of 2011. Aside from the tens of thousands of military trainers, supporting personnel and diplomatic staff required to operate our fancy new Embassy - the largest maintained by any nation in any other nation on the planet. Not that anyone's counting anymore. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Blogging ended.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> For me, anyway. Been there, overdone that.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">George W. Bush's memoir fell a bit flat. He even included that ol' "miscarried fetus kept in a jar to scare the kids as they struggled with adolescence" chestnut. Please give a curious public something they haven't read in every other Presidential autobiography next time, won't you?</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Comeback of the Year</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Brett Favre's shamelessly returned in the worst shape of his career for his final NFL season. Controversy ensued when poorly staged and not at all flattering self-portraits of his, um, Little Quarterback emerged. Forever replacing jokes about his wavering retirement decisions with ones that pivot upon sexting pictures of his junk. In other words, not all comebacks are good ones.<b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lexicon Addition of the Year</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">LeBron James' NBA free agency decision was boiled down to his proclamation of “I’m taking my talents to South Beach”. Unsurprisingly, whenever a derivation of that phrase is now used, LeBron gets a cut. So think carefully before you tell your manager at Cinnabon that you're "taking my talents to the Verizon kiosk".<b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Trend of the Year</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">The troubling reality behind mining “rare earth” elements. These gnarly bits are essential to manufacturing everything from cell phones to green energy technologies and have names that sound straight out of a James Cameron movie (dysprosium, terbium, neodymium, europium, yttrium). Add in that they're crazy toxic, much of the mining is done illegally by criminal gangs and the fact that China has the market locked up like a hooker in Charlie Sheen's hotel suite.<b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Few Picks for the Best of 2010</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">This year with an added honorable mention in each category, hereafter tagged "the UnderDoggie".</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">TV – I'm left standing behind “Mad Men” as still the best show on TV.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> This season’s effort by Jon Hamm as Don Draper was the most twisted, beguiling yet. The episode ("The Suitcase" - regarding a Samsonite campaign) where Don got drunk with a fearlessly ambitious Peggy (the amazing Elizabeth Moss) equaled the best hour of filmed entertainment offered this whole dang year.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> And the UnderDoggie goes to “Louie" on FX, orbiting closely around the actual life of my favorite comedian, Louis C.K. The series started very small. Then grew a massive pair and went far out beyond the margins of what's been seen before in a sitcom format. Find it. You're welcome.</span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Movies – “Black Swan” was the very best I've seen thus far. The director, Darren Aronofsky, is the scariest and most surprising thing to come out of Dallas since Jerry Jones’ last three facelifts.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> That pesky voice in my head desperately wants Natalie Portman’s fabulous scarves collection. She's also destined in the very near term to become the biggest female movie star on the planet. UnderDoggie – “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” - the most underappreciated movie of the Year by miles.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Sports – The San Francisco Giants and/or the New Orleans Saints.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Hard to bitch about sports with stories like these around.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> UnderDoggie - Canada's impressive job hosting the Winter Olympics when Vancouver appeared to be hovering somewhere in the mid-60s. Fahrenheit. I haven't the foggiest idea what that would be in celsius, eh? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Music – Kanye West’s new album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" was far and away the best, most album-y, album of the year.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The arrangements, the beats, the featured performers, the flow.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> This one’s for the brilliant douchebag.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">UnderDoggie - the adorably dour, Dylanesque Swede stage-named The Tallest Man On Earth (Kristian Matsson) stayed in our CD changer more than anyone or anything else this year. His full album, "The Wild Hunt" is the best of his stuff you'll find out there.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Books – “Super Sad True Love Story” by Gary Shteyngart was the freshest thing I read all year. A near future dystopian novel hardly stands alone these days.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But Shteyngart's unique timing and playful humor lightens and lifts the set-up perfectly. His was also the best reading of the year I saw (at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle's increasingly posh yet still hilariously Scandinavian-dominated neighborhood, Ballard). Rest assured, there were plenty of others that would have been brightened considerably by a drunken crowd and at least one accordian. My UnderDoggie goes to Tom Rachman's "The Imperfectionists". His darkly drawn characters working to stay afloat in a sinking, stinking newspaper stuck with me like no others encountered this year.</span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Killer App – Wikileaks.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> After only 4 years old, they're already on the brink of taking down governments. Let's see Google try that. Or, please, let's not. UnderDoggie - Groupon. If your city doesn't offer them yet, those days are coming soon. </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Radio/podcast – After years of not paying much attention to them, the rock 'n roll culture program "Sound Opinions" became a podcast that I absolutely never miss at least part of. Jim and Greg's recent interview with James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem was the best chat about music I've heard all year, and they never fail to pick great stuff out of the bins I'd otherwise pass by. The UnderDoggie goes to "The Moth" - the inconsistent storytelling podcast that is more hit than miss. And sometimes a total homerun (Michaela Murphy's "All Star Game" being the best example that comes to mind from this year). </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Journalism - General Stanley McChrystal lost his job as our top commander in Afghanistan for, as best I can tell, not knowing that "Rolling Stone" magazine was in the business of writing down the stupid things he said. The other game changer scoop offered was McChrystal's affinity for Bud Light Lime. Talk about a case of "don't ask, don't tell". UnderDoggie - Ken Auletta's piece ("Publish or Perish?") in "The New Yorker" about the arrival of the iPad and what the competitive differences between it and Amazon's Kindle might mean for the future of publishing.</span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Celebrity flameout – It seems almost unfair to pile onto the keeled over mess that is Lindsay Lohan. But she's absolutely in a class by herself. Aside from spending half the year in rehab and jail, her gig appears to now only be method acting prep (heavy on the "meth", but pretty equallly focused upon the "odd") for a starring role in her own autobiography. She makes Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale look like they're mailing it in. Sadly, Lindsay's also my dead pool pick for 2011. In spite of all that, if she had a Farrah Fawcett-equivalent poster, it would be hanging above my bunk bed. Right next to Lee Majors in his red track suit. The UnderDoggie is awarded to Miley Cyrus. In advance for 2011. And 2013.</span> </li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Person of the Year – Dan Savage for initiating the inspired public service campaign for young gay people that served up proof that “It Gets Better” in the face of daunting, classless idiocy.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> And the UnderDoggie goes to former JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, for offering proof that in those cases where it won't we should all consider options that typically say "don't go there".</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"> <b>TwentyEleven’s Largely Baseless Predictions</b></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">The next Presidential election is already boiled down to two remaining Republican challengers before the first Primary vote is cast in early 2012. A robotic re-election campaign for President Obama prepares to face either the Former Governor/Current Curmudgeon George Pataki or the Current Senator/Former Skull Model John Thune. My money's on the skull guy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Taylor Swift steps up her ravenous trophy hunting by bagging a Timberlake, a Clooney, a Nicholson and a Bridges (</span><span style="font-size: small;">Lloyd, which is all the more creepy given that he’s been dead since 1998).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A new form of creative American austerity becomes all the rage, driven in part by Lady Gaga’s game-changing meat dress worn at 2010's "MTV Video Awards" show. Consumers hungry for deals will eschew designer labels, choosing instead to make their own clothes with whatever they find lying around the house. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Kate Middleton and Prince William's royal wedding becomes the most watched televised event in history, surpassing the Apollo 11 moon landing and the finale of "M*A*S*H*". Even during Prince Harry's 20-minute best man toast where he jokes about William's hair loss and some of Kate's "experimentation" in college. The world feels a bit icky for like a week.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A retro mania for the Muppets sweeps the Nation. Once more, characters with vivid, unnatural skin tones and exaggerated, childlike emotions warms the hearts of kids young and old. Until people begin to realize how similar they are to the new Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The trendy embrace by kids of SillyBandz is replaced by the new gotta-have-them craze – HamHandcuffs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Facebook fails in its broad assault meant to combine all our disparate forms of messaging. If I'm to believe their current plan, my next YearEnder might be automatically pulled from all my emails and texts, along with possibly all the long forgotten notes scribbled on cocktail napkins stuffed in the pockets of old coats dating way back to the elder Bush's Administration. I may not have rowed crew at Harvard, but I think I also have a case for why Facebook might lose on this one. Too much, too soon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The cast of “Jersey Shore” is kidnapped by North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-Un, to feed </span><span style="font-size: small;">their tasteless, limitless cheese output to a hungry nation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Justin Bieber defies expectations and records a polka album. You get it as a joke birthday present, but end up really liking it. Then you hear it playing at a Starbucks while you're waiting on a caramel latte. You cry just a skoch. Then walk out, totally forgetting your drink order. And the rest of the day pretty much goes like that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">And the anniversary of 9/11 becomes a moment for all of us to pause and consider just how much - or how little - can be accomplished in a decade.</span> </li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;">Whew. So let's just call that my spin on 2010. I wish y'all the best in the year ahead. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Be most excellent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ever -</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">E.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-14954043415821421952010-10-11T09:59:00.000-07:002010-10-11T20:37:41.760-07:00The Big Sign Off. No, really. I mean it this time. OK...one last thing. Or maybe three. But then that's it. I promise.<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=andthefamilybuick-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000G2OZ8K&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span style="font-size: small;">Before I move on, a few last reviews are pleasantly stuck in my craw that simply must billow forth. Three reviews total. Jonathan Franzen's new novel, the film "The Social Network" and the generally undisturbed state of the State of Wisconsin. On some level I will do a great disservice to everything I've written here over the last nearly 6 years unless I offer something on how I experienced them all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Franzen's novel "Freedom" has received more advance blather and inspired more critical backflips than any book in years. I can only imagine what sort of team of publicists his publisher employed on this roll out. No expense has been spared, no media placement seems too far afield, no advertising crossover will be neglected. Hello, Orpah. On steroids. Yet none of that means a damn thing when it comes to the book itself. I'd be wasting everyone's time if I tried to sum it up better than the masterful <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/books/16book.html?_r=2">Michiko Kakutani did back a few months</a> in the NYTimes. But I will offer my own rating - a larded and fried yet <b>not especially fulfilling C</b>. Skill counts for a lot. There should be no surprise in my concession that Franzen has skill up to and coming through every available orifice. Yet in the end, there's only one way to judge a book outside of all the out-sized praise and obligatory book club choice-worthy guilt applied in heaps. In effect, any reader must ask whether the book was a pleasure to read - no matter what form that pleasure might take. In that, "Freedom" is most certainly a disappointment. And given all the bunk piled on top of Franzen's efforts which I surely hope he did not ask for, I don't expect his work will do any good for the field from which novels spring. If anything, such poorly-paced, over-stuffed compendiums of properly topical references bore the snot out of readers and probably make it tougher for unnoticed writers to get traction in even a small way. Just imagine how many editors and assistants had a hand in this puppy. Not that I begrudge Franzen his stranglehold on the zeitgeist. I just hope people take the time for pleasures that don't require a front-page spread in "TIME" to break through. If you have limited time for reading, don't bother with this one. Oprah makes mistakes, too. Oh...am I still typing out loud?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"The Social Network" is equally everywhere, although in a totally different realm of exposure. The subject (Facebook, of course) and the world's obsession with it makes this film the least surprising hit since the invention of fried dough. I will concede that it is truly entertaining and paced with the sort of bracing mastery that movies just don't bring all that often. My rating is <b>a snarky B-plus</b>. The only cut against the grain of praise from me comes in the form of that moment when I realized how much of a trifle this whole Facebook obsession represents. Namely (spoiler alert, without details) when Justin Timberlake's character gets in trouble. If you haven't seen it, you won't be surprised in the least. But the point of my snark is that when the bloom comes off his rose, the whole doggone movie looks about as epic as a six-month dental cleaning. There's no denying that Facebook is a killer, ubiquitous app - worth bazillions and growing everyday. And somewhere out there right now, there's another complex prick working on a better next-biggish thing in his dorm room that will also become a verb in just a handful of years. That thing will be worth two-plus bazillions. The people behind it will do stupid crap. We'll be told that the mere existence of "it" says something about all of us. And on and on and on. I'll just bring it around and say that as far as popular entertainment goes, "The Social Network" is the full hoot. Harvard hasn't looked this sexy since the invention of beer. Still, the movie's the artistic equivalent of a full run through the tasting menu at a smoking hot new tapas bar along with a few pitchers of awesomely strong sangria. The next day, you can't stop talking about it while knocking back coffee after coffee with an unhealthy mix of Advils and vitamins. Then something comes up. Life goes on. And you forget what the big buzz was or even if you really remember what happened. Still, go see it. It's delicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTfTEPDkfV3857FiJqOgp8RV05kmdAjw4eg3dXecwvKt4tGDVVO1O9gn5yrZdIwoFiLmxCmz2v2V1Dz1HJfKowFhIWqlwQ6wXariKzsN2vi79I1Q5e5LG1g3xdfzmLOdP0jaK7A/s1600/IMG_6181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTfTEPDkfV3857FiJqOgp8RV05kmdAjw4eg3dXecwvKt4tGDVVO1O9gn5yrZdIwoFiLmxCmz2v2V1Dz1HJfKowFhIWqlwQ6wXariKzsN2vi79I1Q5e5LG1g3xdfzmLOdP0jaK7A/s320/IMG_6181.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, some of you who've read what I've put up here over the years might care that I had a recent week-long spin through my homeland - the often time-capsule authentic seeming State of Wisconsin. I saw loads of good people, most of whom seemed surprised to see me looking leaner yet not at all meaner. I hung out in all sort of old haunts. In effect, I had a just-long-enough trip down memory lane without anything like a bucket list or totally killer mix tape personal soundtrack swelling in the background. It was just great to see Sconnie in the fall. So there's no better time for me to fully acknowledge that I'm moving on. This is truly it for andthefamilybuick. I've done what I wanted to do here. <a href="http://emagnuson.com/"><b>After today, you can continue to follow me in perpetuity at my website</b></a> - don't laugh, there's not been much focus on the there there. Thus far, at least. Don't expect to see another blog from me. I've sometimes loved the gig. I've also sometimes hated the gig. But the gig is up. Thank you so so much for reading. The archives will stay up so long as there's a Blogger (thanks to them for all the hosting over the years!). So please search what I've done here before. I hope you'll look for what I do in the future. The books are coming, I promise. One last thing - please know that I do this for you. I'll always try to remember that. Come what may. Rock on.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-79980970039669282262010-09-29T10:37:00.001-07:002010-09-29T10:37:19.443-07:00Timm's Hill as seen from Hill of Beans<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846196/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5036846196_3020fde2a6_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846196/">Timm's Hill as seen from Hill of Beans</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div>Back home in Ogema in the fall, there's no place better to see than Timm's Hill. And on a morning like the one I saw earlier today, I'm left wondering if there's a more beautiful place in the world. If you do destination travel, you can't do much better than staying with the Blombergs at High Point Village. My highest recommendation. And not just in terms of Wisconsin elevation.<br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-2556752023696456022010-09-29T10:33:00.003-07:002010-09-29T10:33:54.266-07:00Forest canopy on the trails near Timm's Hill<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846208/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5036846208_fe7dc47c0b_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846208/">Forest canopy on the trails near Timm's Hill</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-22712508459680078232010-09-29T10:33:00.001-07:002010-09-29T10:33:24.471-07:00Our newly listing Swedish barn (built in 1890)<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846214/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/5036846214_6bec7af363_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846214/">Our newly listing Swedish barn (built in 1890)</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-54287016457795977052010-09-29T10:32:00.003-07:002010-09-29T10:32:55.768-07:00The business end of the family farm's barn, certainly looking the worse
for this year's wear.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846232/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/5036846232_c4fbf5d1ba_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846232/">The business end of the family farm's barn, certainly looking the worse for this year's wear.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-3931470948119619492010-09-29T10:32:00.001-07:002010-09-29T10:32:30.261-07:00Hoping the barn won't add a new obstacle amidst the curves of Forest
Drive.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846226/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5036846226_55b4865095_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846226/">Hoping the barn won't add a new obstacle amidst the curves of Forest Drive.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-60157138896233647232010-09-29T10:27:00.001-07:002010-09-29T10:27:14.525-07:00Seeing the barn's tilt from the emergency anchoring side.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846238/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5036846238_bdbe2acaeb_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/5036846238/">Seeing the tilt from the anchored side.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-25728624107079285442010-09-24T08:03:00.000-07:002010-09-24T10:23:06.622-07:00Moving on. But not before seriously looking back.<span style="font-size: small;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=andthefamilybuick-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0762747943&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>I've been in a bit of a culture vacuum over the past week. Or maybe lazily pushing one around. I won't say that what I've been reading and listening to sucks. But another stretched vacuum analogy might apply (not much worth picking up has appeared before me). So instead of reaching too far, I'd like to digress and give an update on other things. Especially since this will be one of my last posts here. For real and forever.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">If you've paid attention to what I've written here over the years (dating back to the beginning of 2005), you know a few themes dominate. The personal side has always featured Maya, from before birth to the now fully dynamic life of a proud kindergartener. The opinionated address of all things political has always been fair game. And cultural notes of particular interest to me get reviewed. Like countless blogs, I don't get paid except for a pittance of advertising. Some very limited (but appreciated) notice has come my way. But blogging is a largely one-handed juggling act. After a while, you sort of run out of tricks and have trouble keeping it fresh for those kind enough to stop by and watch.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I've had other concurrent blogging projects - most recently <a href="http://youshouldrun.wordpress.com/">my running blog that has tracked my day-by-day kvetching about training for the Twin Cities Marathon</a>. The energy that goes into each and every of these outlets doesn't spring eternal. So the waxing and waning is probably what has driven my traffic up and down over the years. With that as an awkward pivot, I've decided to shut it all down. Leave the archives up for posterity. And move on to the projects that really deserve my attention. I've got two novels to edit and sell. Ideas for two more, plus a grand non-fiction history that I've been researching for most of my life. Plans, I tell you. Glorious plans.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Before then, I have a slew of things to see and write about here. Tomorrow morning, I leave for a solo week-plus trip through Wisconsin and the Twin Cities. A trip down memory lane, plus a wide range of new trips along that path. I plan to take lots of pictures, ask lots of questions (or others and myself), and soak up as much of the autumn landscape as possible. I've always adored the fall in Wisconsin. So please check back for some fresh stuff. I think it will be worth your time. And thanks for doing so. Rock on.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-82878519143563125162010-09-17T09:49:00.000-07:002010-09-18T04:54:15.330-07:00From St. Paul to "Lisbon"<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=andthefamilybuick-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003VURG44&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span style="font-size: small;">It's way too easy to join the eruption of literary praise surrounding Jonathan Franzen's new novel. Just as it's equal parts self-promoting laziness to piss all over what Franzen's accomplished. I'm still in the middle when it comes to this event, er, book. Mainly because I haven't finished "Freedom" and I've not exactly felt driven to devour it whole. And while I'm still a big big fan of Franzen's talents, I'd like to take a slighter different tack. One utterly without plot spoilers. Namely, I need to say something about what Franzen offered up for his authorial lecture in Seattle earlier this week. In short, it was a gawddamn travesty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Big books, thankfully, still can garner big spotlights in the right places - no matter how much that list of places is dwindling. Nonetheless, that was the case in the way Seattle Arts & Lectures promoted Tuesday evening with Franzen at Benaroya Hall. It was my first visit to that symphonic wonder. Gorgeous, filled with warm wood and all the glitter of money donated from the largess of what's now a different economy. Franzen remarked himself after being bathed in a typically laudatory intro that "wow, this is a big room." And Seattle's book-thirsty population (real or imagined) really showed up in its best dress fleece and tweediness. You could practically feel the intellectual lust dripping off the seat backs and gumming up the floor throughout. Bookish horndogs are so adorable. So all Franzen needed to do was give a coy turn of the shoulder or bare a subtly original angle. In which case, he could have serviced every single sizable IQ in the place simultaneously. Instead, he read (from old, unedited notes) a "talk" he'd delivered in Germany last year. Some won't fault the dood - he admitted as much himself, making the obvious joke about how Seattle's so full of bibliophiles that he couldn't do a regular book tour event here. But I can't be so kind. As much as I admire Franzen's work and the exposure he brings to the general craft of novel writing, he couldn't have underwhelmed the room more if he'd cinched up the chastity belt wrapped 'round his wit and sprayed us all down with an ice water firehose. Well, maybe that's a bit stretched. Let's just say that a full price ticket general admission ticket ($30 frickin' bucks - still a chafe at half price) proved about as stimulating as a handjob in a glove factory. I'll come back to review the book next week. His work should merit this double billing. But that SAL event was a disgrace, dood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">On another level of satisfaction, the new album from The Walkmen ("Lisbon") has offered up one of those rare surprises that keeps me going back to my record store week after week. These guys know how to tunefully kvetch and lament. They also know better than most acts how to craf compelling songs and deliver them with full gut emotion. I'm intrigued by what they've done here. My rating for this album - an impressed and curious <b>B-plus</b>. Heading north, I expect. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-57178621707643695782010-09-08T10:46:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:46:36.858-07:00Everyone say "Moosepuke"<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971664452/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4971664452_fd7001bde8_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971664452/">Everyone say "Moosepuke"</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div>So it's over. Parenting done, dood. Maya started kindergarten. Sarah and I never looked back. She's the public schools' problem now. At least until this afternoon. A few pics follow. As you'll see, it was a fantastic first day.<br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-68328794171671027602010-09-08T10:44:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:44:41.538-07:00Keeping up appearances for the teacher. We don't really spend much time
together in real life.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971664194/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4971664194_222ecd5b9d_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971664194/">Keeping up appearances for the teacher. We don't really spend much time together in real life.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-23500495203834089792010-09-08T10:43:00.003-07:002010-09-08T10:43:23.678-07:00Too busy? Nah, it all goes together.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971050657/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4971050657_2071efb220_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971050657/">Too busy? Nah, it all goes together.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-56057635823275058332010-09-08T10:42:00.005-07:002010-09-08T10:42:46.073-07:00Showing off the boots. On both counts.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971663538/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4971663538_6fb9cd4dd3_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971663538/">Showing off the boots. On both counts.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-52061655431188260422010-09-08T10:42:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:42:01.842-07:00"Should we walk?"<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971663094/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4971663094_2ce0f520db_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971663094/">"Should we walk?"</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-39756929176530218552010-09-08T10:41:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:41:37.547-07:00For the first day, we just gave her two bricks. Adequate simulation.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971662826/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4971662826_69ef9d31fc_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971662826/">For the first day, we just gave her two bricks. Adequate simulation.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-1632707494877730172010-09-08T10:40:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:40:24.440-07:00Time for one last picture before school.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971049245/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4971049245_913434d0fb_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971049245/">Time for one last picture before school.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-24164910550183214592010-09-08T10:39:00.001-07:002010-09-08T10:39:58.518-07:00I told Sarah not to start doing Maya's homework already, but...<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971662330/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4971662330_4fd3fc411a_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4971662330/">I told Sarah not to start doing Maya's homework already, but...</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div><br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-46771701696972158042010-09-07T10:12:00.000-07:002010-09-07T10:17:53.062-07:00It's all so much clearer now<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=andthefamilybuick-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00347ZYXE&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span style="font-size: small;">The past week featured a few '90s time warp trips for me. And I'm still trying to digest how it all makes me feel. So here's a few stabs at my reaction to both the end of a <a href="http://seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/interactives/Kurt/default.asp">Kurt Cobain-inspired exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum</a> and the Pavement reunion tour that traipsed through the Paramount Theatre. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I'll start with the latter. Pavement is a favorite touchstone of mine. I fall in general agreement with the shorthand claim that their fuzzy sound and ironic slouch only masks bushels of worthy wit. And hearing <a href="http://www.soundopinions.org/shownotes/2010/073010/shownotes.html">Stephen Malkmus talk earnestly about this tour</a> as a one off deal was refreshing (don't expect to see them keep trying to cash that check in the future). You have to go back more than 15 years to really find their hopeful peak. So the easy money is on them being less than vigorous in concert. I went on my own, watched on my own, and decided on my own that...it's time for even the most ardent fan to move on. They still bring a good show. Two hours, including a 4-song encore that a more cynical band wouldn't have done at all given the bland, obligatory ovation they got as encouragement from a crowd that I saw as seriously underpacked. It was the sort of crowd you could see doing the same thing I did beforehand - fixing a nice dinner for the family AND doing the dishes before hitting the town. I saw a few pregnant women. The line-up at the merch table afterward was way deeper than that to the bar, at least while the opener was playing (Quasi, a Portland band everyone respects who packed a few decades worth of experience into a tight 40-minute set). Everything Pavement did was fine. That's the problem. The extended moment when these songs mattered has passed. When I got home, I saw the handful of CDs I'd put in our stereo's changer. When I look at my iPod, I've only bothered to upload this year's newly released (and wonderful) "Quarantine the Past" compilation. That's a wounded metaphor, but it works for me. I love Pavement. I won't say "loved". But now I can move on. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Kurt Cobain exhibit at the SAM was pulled yesterday after a handful of months. Far more local ink was spilled on it than I ever thought worthy. It always just seemed like a tourist crowd draw, especially considering how close the SAM is to the Pike Place Market. But it was First Thursday Gallery Walk night last week. What better time to see what for. And the verdict? Of course it was forced nostalgia. Creepy and almost entirely devoid of wit. Yet the point that I saw was actually pretty brilliant, albeit unintended. I'm speaking of the people watching, most of which seemed to be infinitely entertained by its own internal divisions. The partiers jostled by the gallery types, the tourists mingled with those in effect demanding acknowledgment as true locals, the stripes mixed with the solids. Where I fit in doesn't matter a hoot. But like anyone that lived in Seattle when Kurt killed himself, I've got my own stories to tell and images to share. Spending that Friday at Two Bells in Belltown with friends after hearing the news. Seeing a pile of afternoon Seattle Times issues brought in and passed around. Hearing how a friend who's office was in the same building as The Rocket had to get out of there as the media frenzy heated up. Those images are what I'd hang on the walls of the SAM. And they'd probably look just as stupid. The personal decontextualized and writ large is doomed to fail. Time and time again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Where I sit now is altogether in a different time and mental space. Maya starts kindergarten tomorrow. We're going to head out now to do some last school shopping. That's the show I can't wait to see. Call me past prime or whatever suits your taste for snark these days. But know that I'm still looking backward as I focus on what's to come. It's just that those things in the rearview mirror are no longer closer than they appear. Thankfully.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-90734039903802446792010-09-01T11:05:00.000-07:002010-09-01T20:39:54.260-07:00Let the debate begin. Seven and a half years late might be better than never.<span style="font-size: small;">Like much of the World, I'm trying to calibrate my reaction to President Obama's prime timer last night on the end of combat operations in Iraq. And since what is blogging if not therapy writ wide open and unedited for everyone to go rooting around in, here's a few thoughts. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Most importantly, it's about time we started debating what our 7+ years and $1Trillion+ in Iraq truly boils down to. Or whether we're truly at long last on our way "home" from that War. Every available metric paints a lousy current picture - the best rundown I've heard was on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/kcrws-le-show/id73331688">Harry Shearer's "Le Show" </a>this weekend. Save the only one that everyone in support of going to War still mentions straight up - no more Saddam Hussein. Instead of getting stuck there, I'd suggest that we all should think back to the actual "debate" that came prior. Take the ol' chestnut defined as the "Pottery Barn" rule attributed to then Secretary of State Colin Powell. Supposedly, "if you break it, you own it." Set aside the fact that no such rule exists at Pottery Barn and you're still left with us shattering that "rule" even beyond it's false meaning. So here we are as combat troops are redeploying. And over there? We did, indeed, break it. And now we do not actually own it. Much worse, we had to pay for the cost of doing so. Those that do now own it, I think, could be defined as exactly the sort of people we would have preferred not have possession after said breakage. I believe that Nuri al Malaki, Ahmed Chalabi and the others still wrangling over the results of an election from six months ago don't care about democracy. For them it's the spoils of victory that are still worth fighting over. And thanks to the grand wisdom of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Perle">Richard Perle</a> (ooh, I just got a chill), Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld (to touch on just a few obvious raw nerves), that's who we've now got to work with in place of Saddam in Iraq. So yes, now let's at long last have that enduring historical debate. Oh, and we will. For decades.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In terms of Obama's speech, I think he struck the tone that we should expect from him. Elegiac. Frustrating in its willingness to give up too much to the presumed opposition. Painted deep deep into a policy corner. For all his obvious intellect, I'd bet Barack plays crappy poker. In the past I've claimed he's a chess man. But it's more obvious - he's a baller. Put up your best defense and he'll shoot right over the top of you. He uses deception only insofar as a fake pass or the political equivalent. No cheating and if he's bluffing about how strong he feels or where he's going, a smart opposing player will see it telegraphed. Right now, Obama's legs are still strong. And the opposition should be seen as a joke. That, however, might be exactly the wrong lesson to take into halftime of this term. These midterms are going to be almost as brutal as the prevailing momentum's forecasting, I think. Calling this play right now is a baller move. Because no one's on the lookout for a finesse game right now. But it could show that the game Obama's playing isn't nearly as dominant as people thought just last season. Enough with the basketball analogy. It does, though, still constitute my assessment of where this speech and this policy choice fits into the larger picture for the Obama Administration. They may truly be a one-term Presidency.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">My only other comment right now is to say that no family that's had to endure a deployment wants to be told that we owe Dubya some credit now. Or ever. Hearing that revisionist crap tumble from the Bushies, John McCain, John Boehner and all the lesser chickenhawks is just salt in the wounds that aren't going away. And there are lots of wounds out there. A million and half military personnel have been deployed in Iraq. The ballpark number I heard reported this weekend of post-action mental issues is 30% of those people. So over 400,000 people would have something to say about the wisdom of giving Dubya credit for what he did to them. 'Nuff said about that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Well, like I said - this debate is just starting. I hope we all get a chance to let some of it out, while actually taking the time to listen across the divide. Be well.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-68733625376714849892010-08-27T08:28:00.000-07:002010-08-27T08:28:10.531-07:00Ferrell, Best Coast and Pike Place Market ghosts<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=andthefamilybuick-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003OJBWGK&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span style="font-size: small;">Some summer movies are so slight, so marginally interesting, that I'm always left wondering why I bothered. Such is very much the case with "The Other Guys" which I saw earlier this week as an escape from the playdates and home projects that fill the days until kindergarten gets us back on a regular schedule. Straight up, my rating is a <b>slightly pissy D</b>. Will Ferrell plays himself barely testing the limits with his overworn charm. Mark Wahlberg and a cast of sleepwalkers yuck it up. Only Michael Keaton made me feel anything like good about what goes on here. I'm still a big fan of his particular charms, even though he looks like he's been shriveling up at the bottom of a bottle of tequila for the last decade. The larger point being this movie makes me hate my instinct (or is it learned behavior?) to play catch up on movies that have been in theatres for a handful of weeks. If you're not inspired, don't force it. That, in effect, could have been the tagline of this movie. Rent it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">One new album that I dig while struggling to explain exactly why is Best Coast's "Crazy for You". The same things get said about them repeatedly. Lo-fi. Surf rock. Indie. But the standard breakdown's as lazy sounding as a first listen of the album. I think the appeal is broader. Start an arc from Nancy Sinatra connected all the way through a fuzzy Karen Carpenter up all the way through Sleater-Kinney to the current flavor of hipster female ennui and you've got the sound that's being repeated here. I like that sound. It's a bit haunting. Echoey. More than a bit pretentious. If you could boil down the sound of a band practicing some songs on their porch without amps a spleef's throw away from the ocean, you'd have <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sj5_WITMpA">Best Coast and the handful of hooks on this album</a>. An album I very much recommend. My rating's a <b>solid B</b>. Bring it on your next road trip and I'll bet y'all a round of In-N-Out burgers that it will get replayed often enough to stick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Finally, a very strange Seattle touristy mention. Not a recommendation in its current form, by any means. But something worth pointing out in hopes that it will get serious about entertaining people in the future. Almost everyone that comes through Seattle makes it to the Pike Place Market. As they should. And I think that anyone living here would love to avail themselves of opportunities to get to know the Market better. I tried to do so last night, cashing in <a href="http://www.groupon.com/seattle/deals/market-ghost-tours-seattle">a Groupon for a half-price tour</a> with the <a href="http://www.seattleghost.com/">Market Ghost Tour</a>. For those familiar with the competition, I'd say it's about half as interesting as the Underground Tour around Pioneer Square (I took it years ago and remember it was half a hoot). But I in no way begrudge the Ghost Tour folks for the effort - I love public theatre, no matter the form. I merely suggest that they seriously step it up a notch. I was the only local amidst a sold-out tour group of what the guide said would be 20 (it wasn't). What did we do? Not much. We walked a few blocks worth of the Market and got some stories that didn't really stick. I challenge the Ghost Tour to at the very least make some compelling stuff up. Deliver it with verve. Tourists will swallow it whole. The coolest thing by far was seeing that a ballsy attitude can mean you're let loose inside the Market after the producers have packed up for the day. But otherwise, my rating is an <b>encouraging D</b>. With a smile and a friendly handshake. You'd be better off spending $15 at Kell's or The Alibi Room and chatting up a Irish drunk or a trannie. Or better yet, both.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hope your own scattershot entertainment hits the mark today. Rock on. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-45058937106524899602010-08-23T13:32:00.000-07:002010-08-23T13:36:14.192-07:00Appreciating the transition<span style="font-size: small;">The transition from preschool to kindergarten is the current primary topic of conversation in our household. Maya's last hurrah at the JCC was last week, and we're very much feeling sentimental about the experience. We even had a final picnicky evening with families, teachers and various hangers-on last Friday. It was the sort of sweet coda we hadn't required, but are damn glad was offered. The best part is that Maya hit the ground running even before that rug was pulled out from under her. Mainly due to the promise of going to "big kid school" and all that entails. And partly thanks to the promise of a weekend of car camping and hiking at Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park. Truth be told, we managed a fulfilling 3-mile hike with her leading the way up - the kid's got legs. But then we failed after coming down by not having a reserved campsite or being able to find a Farmer John's meadow outside the Park to comfortably pitch a tent in. So lesson learned - this time of year, it's idiotic to chance it. Reserve ahead. But you already knew that. Or you'll be hoofin' back, stopping at McDonald's for the insanely rare foodcrack meal on the fly outside Tacoma, to pitch the tent on the deck in the darkness and rain (backyard's too slanty, apparently). Which was awesome in it's own way. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">For the next two weeks, Maya's my apprentice for a series of projects around the homestead. Which would be a promising thing, if the relationship was anchored by a more skilled master. This morning, lots of hedge trimming, general landscaping and early fall how-did-we-let-this-get-so-crappy assessing of the outside situation. Now, lunch. Soon, to shift entirely, Maya's dance recital for the end of summer. Ballet and tap. If only it could be done with a rake and gardening gloves. But I don't want to be one of those parents. You know, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/education/23college.html?scp=1&sq=velcro%20parents&st=cse">velcro ones profiled in today's NYTimes</a>. I prefer to think of our approach as more akin to static cling. Who's the sock and who's the pantleg - that's the question. We've got plenty of time to answer that later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hope your own yard is also shaping up considerably today. Rock on.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9861270.post-53783471950889515792010-08-17T10:25:00.001-07:002010-08-17T10:25:17.510-07:00What all the stayin' cool kids are wearing to the last week of Pre-K
summer school.<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4901346433/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4901346433_7e91372035_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andthefamilybuick/4901346433/">What all the stayin' cool kids are wearing to the last week of Pre-K summer school.</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andthefamilybuick/">emaggie</a></span></div>Maya's last week @ the JCC. Must. Not. Get. Cheesy. Too late.<br clear="all" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03149405456495715789noreply@blogger.com0