Planet GFMorris

The studio recordings are a smorgasboard, but the bootlegs are a salute to the Bay State. [Bleu is from Boston.]

• Feist’s Open Season.
  
• Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal.
  
• The Velvet Underground’s eponymous album.
  
• 15 Jun 2006 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-06-15: Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA, USA.
  
• 24 Jun 2007 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2007-06-24: Pines Theater, Northampton, MA, USA (disc 1) and 2007-06-24: Pines Theater, Northampton, MA, USA (disc 2).
  
• 29 Jun 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Sandra McCracken, Derek Webb, and Bleu. 2008-06-29: 12th and Porter, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-06-29: 12th and Porter, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 2).
  
• 6 Aug 2008 [Boston, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Gnarls Barkley. 2008-08-06: Wilbur Theater, Boston, MA, USA
  

Last week was uneven, but the good stuff was very good:

• Sandra McCracken’s Red Balloon. Predictably, I love it. There are a couple moments on the record that I don’t get, but all in all, I think this lives up to the hype that Derek has been giving it. Four stars.
  
• Nirvana’s In Utero. Sadly, it doesn’t have the punch that Nevermind did, probably understandable as a sophomore major-label release. That, plus a dalliance into noise rock that I didn’t enjoy, got it two-and-a-half stars from me. The goods are great! The bads are … meh.
  
• Jackopierce’s Promise of Summer. Quite, quite enjoyable. A four-star record for me, and I’ll be getting more JP records from the back catalog. [See? Giving stuff away for free works.]
  
• 3 Feb 2006 [Las Vegas, NV, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. So meh. A distant recording from the audience, and … eh. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 26 Oct 2007 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Fan-fucking-tastic. Four-and-a-half stars. If you love OtR, get it. Go. Now. You. NOW.
  
• 17 Jul 2008 [London, England] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Also kinda distant, but with a better base to start with. Three stars.
  
• 26 Jul 2008 [Anchorage, AK, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. No, I didn’t pick this in honor of Sarah Palin. This is the band whose debut release was titled A.M.; sadly, it sounds like it was recorded from an AM broadcast: over-compressed, tinny, and muddled. An example: when the band does their Wall of Noise trick in the opening cut, “Via Chicago”, everything is … the same sound level. Jeff is clearly heard. This … just isn’t the way it ought to be at all. Having looked at the mic used in the recording, I’m guessing that this is the sound guy’s fault, or perhaps just crappy mains. But, you know, if I lived in Anchorage, I really wouldn’t give a shit, because Wilco rocks. The good thing is that we get two new songs out of it, and new songs? Always good. The rating is two stars.
  

We were having a conversation about someone I know and their dry sense of humor. I then said …

“Well, you know, I like that, but I always think whatever I said is hilarious, so I just go ahead and laugh. I can’t keep a straight face.”

Misty: “But you are hilarious.”

“Oh, whatever.”

If you don’t think I’m funny, I do! In fact, I’m frickin’ hilarious … to me.

• Why is Labor Day not a day off for everyone? I mean, most everyone takes Christmas off, and not everybody in America believes in Jesus. But when it comes to a day that’s supposed to be about the working class and their struggles to make an honest buck, we end up … all going to shop and eat and make the working class work that much harder. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. [But hey, I worked some from home yesterday, too.]
• All the drama around the Bengals just about has me ready to give up on them. No, the execrable 1990s Bengals didn’t make me give up on them. But the current personnel gaffes? I don’t know, man. I guess I believed in the Marvin Lewis Era, that maybe there were some adults coming to work here, but … sure doesn’t seem like it. It’s kinda sad. I mean, I don’t want to become a Titans fan.
• I keep waiting for the same people that think a border fence is a good idea to think that a hurricane flood wall stretching from Brownsville to Key West is a good idea. I mean, look … if we can’t properly levy the Mississippi River to keep it from flooding, no damn wall is gonna work. But now that I’ve mentioned it, someone’s gonna think it’s a great idea.
• Since I’m pretty sure of whom I’m voting for, I now just want to put the next two months on fast forward.
• HDTV is evil, because it has me watching college football again. I’m just going to be disappointed. Maybe the Luddites have the right idea?
• Gosh, I really don’t want to do anything today. But they don’t pay me to whine.

Can I have another week of vacation, one where I’m not sick all the time? No? Damn.

• Iron and Wine’s The Shepherd’s Dog.
  
• Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple.
  
• Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Yeah, I know.
  
• 8 Nov 1992 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Uncle Tupelo. 1992-11-08: Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL, USA
  
• 16 Mar 2007 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2007-03-16: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2007-03-16: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 15 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-05-15: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 1) and 2008-05-15: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 2).
  
• 3 Jun 2008 [Paris, France] concert bootleg of Feist. 2008-06-03: Le Grand Rex, Paris, France (disc 1) and 2008-06-03: Le Grand Rex, Paris, France (disc 2).
  

Last week was about average:

• Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism. I should be too old to like Death Cab, but I like it anyway. Four stars.
  
• Paper Route’s Are We All Forgotten. Electronica-based stuff really isn’t in my wheelhouse, but I liked this anyway. Three stars.
  
• Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere. I am now mad at myself for taking this long to give them a try. Holy crap. Four stars.
  
• 16 Aug 2001 [Jersey City, NJ, USA] concert bootleg of Radiohead. Pretty meh. Thom’s singing leaves a bit to be desired here. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 17 Nov 2006 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Admittedly, I’m cherry-picking the CST shows because 1) they’re usually well-recorded and 2) that’s where I first saw them live, but man, this one is worth it. Four stars.
  
• 13 Oct 2007 [Kansas City, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. There’s little things I don’t like about the house mix, I guess … too much Jeff, too much treble, etc. Also, it’s definitely not Jeff’s best singing night. Three stars, and that’s no fault of the taper, who typically produces fantastic stuff.
  
• 12 Apr 2008 [Norfolk, VA, USA] concert bootleg of Spoon. It’s … solid but unspectacular. I’m not as familiar with Spoon’s discography as I should be [stow it, Gessaman!], and the recording is competent but not overwhelming. Three stars.
  

This week is a mix of old and new: old studio releases [all at least a decade old], and new bootlegs [all from 2008].

• R.E.M.’s Murmur.
  
• George Strait’s Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind.
  
• The Cardigans’ Emmerdale.
  
• 25 Apr 2008 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2008-04-25: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-25: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 28 Apr 2008 [Los Angeles, CA, USA] concert bootleg of She & Him. 2008-04-28: Vista Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  
• 16 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-05-16: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 1) and 2008-05-16: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 2).
  
• 25 Jul 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Gnarls Barkley. 2008-07-25: Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
  

Last week:

• Iron and Wine’s The Shepherd’s Dog. I hadn’t really, really loved any of Sam Beam’s previous work; this, however, sparkles. Four-and-a-half stars.
  
• Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple. Fan-damn-tastic. Four stars.
  
• Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. Three stars. [I blame listening to Girl Talk on getting this.]
  
• 8 Nov 1992 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Uncle Tupelo. A surprisingly good recording, given the age. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 16 Mar 2007 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Your standard kick-ass OtR@CST show. Four stars.
  
• 15 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Three stars. Solid but unspectacular.
  
• 3 Jun 2008 [Paris, France] concert bootleg of Feist. It’s a bit treble-y and feels weak, but it has good crowd capture, which to me is something that you want [because, otherwise, it's a one-off rendition of songs you've heard before; this is why I'm not the biggest fan of soundboards]. Two-and-a-half stars.
  

• Nirvana’s Nevermind. Nope, never actually owned my own copy.
  
• The Cardigans’ Life.
  
• Over the Rhine’s Live From Nowhere, Volume Three.
  
• 16 Jul 2006 [Florence, MA, USA] concert bootleg of The Autumn Defense. 2006-07-16: Pines Theater, Florence, MA, USA
  
• 17 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-05-17: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 1) and 2008-05-17: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO, USA (disc 2).
  
• 23 Jun 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2008-06-23: Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, CA, USA
  
• 22 Jul 2008 [San Diego, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Feist. 2008-07-22: Humphrey's, San Diego, CA, USA (disc 1) and 2008-07-22: Humphrey's, San Diego, CA, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week:

• R.E.M.’s Murmur. Admittedly, I haven’t given this enough of a listen [just getting to it on Saturday], but I’m just not feeling it yet. I’ll keep trying, but right now, it’s just a three-star record on my radar.
  
• George Strait’s Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. I don’t like a whole lot of country music, but there’s just … something about George Strait’s voice. I figure between George and Lyle Lovett, I can get all the country I ever need in my life. [And I still blame my junior-year-at-MSMS roommate, Thomas, for listening to country music in the first place. I had two choices: listen to country or kill him. I chose the former. But working in country radio right out of high school pretty well fixed me on listening to too much country.] So yeah, I’m going through Strait’s catalog some. Three stars, if you like country.
  
• The Cardigans’ Emmerdale. For a band with this much rock and roll chops—Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson had been in heavy metal bands prior to The Cardigans—it’s weird to hear a pop record from them, but it’s still solid, because Nina Persson’s voice is stellar. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 25 Apr 2008 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. The mix is just off, but I’m afraid that there’s not much to be done about it by the taper, given that it seems like everything was done that was possible with the AUD part of the mix. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 28 Apr 2008 [Los Angeles, CA, USA] concert bootleg of She & Him. Persic is one of the best tapers I know, so I lay all the fault here on the vocalists—not only Zooey [who just needs to get more stage presence, which should shock no one who's read about her on the Internet at this point], but whoever was doing the bgv’s, too. But the musicianship of the band is great … three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 16 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. The musicianship is great. The recording is solid. It just … doesn’t really feel like I’m there, which is pretty much my standard for bootleg recordings. I guess I’m faulting Steve’s mix here, which rightly focuses on the music, but feels like it weighs a bit too heavy on the SBD patch. I’m not saying that it’s not good; I’m just saying that I guess I think it could be better. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 25 Jul 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Gnarls Barkley. It’s obvious that they still haven’t gotten comfortable with being interviewed, but man … a fun listen nonetheless. Four stars.
  

• Blind Faith’s eponymous album.
  
• Lenny Kravitz’s It Is Time for a Love Revolution.
  
• Matthew Perryman Jones’s Swallow the Sea, which I’ve been waiting for since … oh, about a half-hour after I first spun Throwing Punches in the Dark.
  
• 20 Jul 1995 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1995-07-20: Dancing in the District, Nashville, TN, USA
  
• 20 Apr 2004 [Minneapolis, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst. 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 1) and 2004-04-20: Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, USA (disc 2).
  
• 18 Nov 2006 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2006-11-18: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 1 Aug 2008 [Sugar Land, TX, USA] concert bootleg of Andy Gullahorn. 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 1) and 2008-08-01: Andrews Home, Sugar Land, TX, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was very good to my ears:

• Nirvana’s Nevermind. Is there an album with a better opening than Nevermind? I mean, it’s a Led Zeppelin-esque tour de force to kick things off. Just fantastic. Four-and-a-half stars.
  
• The Cardigans’ Life. Still definitely in a pop vein, but it’s got a lot more groove behind Nina’s voice musically. Three stars.
  
• Over the Rhine’s Live From Nowhere, Volume Three. Worth the wait, as usual. Four-and-a-half stars. People, this is how you do it: put out a live album every year. Put a couple covers on it. Sell to your hardcore fans directly, and you’ll keep them happy.
  
• 16 Jul 2006 [Florence, MA, USA] concert bootleg of The Autumn Defense. I own Birds, Beasts, and Flowers, their half-and-half EP with Hem [because of the latter], but this is the first time I’ve given them a serious listen. I thought BBF was uninspiring for bringing people to Hem, and I think the same can be said for The Autumn Defense—I’ll be checking more out now. Three stars.
  
• 17 May 2008 [St. Louis, MO, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Nothing special. Three stars.
  
• 23 Jun 2008 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. A solid recording. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 22 Jul 2008 [San Diego, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Feist. A fantastic recording. Four stars.
  

Just one shopping month left until my birthday! Y’all know I love music, to the point that I have a separate Amazon wishlist for music only. Ahem.

• Sandra McCracken’s Red Balloon. When you’re friends, you get advance copies.
  
• Nirvana’s In Utero.
  
• Jackopierce’s Promise of Summer. This is a NoiseTrade success—wouldn’t have bought this album without listening to the EP. So, if you’re interested … get the EP at the end of the post.
  
• 3 Feb 2006 [Las Vegas, NV, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. I’m done with them now. 2006-02-03: MGM Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
  
• 26 Oct 2007 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2007-10-26: Highline Ballroom, New York, NY, USA (disc 1) and 2007-10-26: Highline Ballroom, New York, NY, USA (disc 2).
  
• 17 Jul 2008 [London, England] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie.
  
• 26 Jul 2008 [Anchorage, AK, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-07-26: The Moose's Tooth, Anchorage, AK, USA (disc 1) and 2008-07-26: The Moose's Tooth, Anchorage, AK, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week:

• Blind Faith’s eponymous album. It’s a shame that Windwood, Baker, and Clapton couldn’t co-exist. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• Lenny Kravitz’s It Is Time for a Love Revolution. Starts off with a bang, and then … mellows. Three stars overall.
  
• Matthew Perryman Jones’s Swallow the Sea. I have sadly not given this album the time that it deserves this week, but a copy will go in my car for my Labor Day driving. But from the first few listens, it gets four-and-a-half stars.
  
• 20 Jul 1995 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. Sometimes, the sound guy needs to get shot. This is one of those times. Two stars.
  
• 20 Apr 2004 [Minneapolis, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst. Matt started his set with a harmonica, which is a sure-fire way to have me love it. [I have yet to understand my affinity for the instrument, but it's undeniable.] Matt’s set is pretty much everything you’d expect from a 2004-era show. As usual, Jim James’s stuff confounds me—I just don’t grok it, for whatever reason. Conor Oberst’s set mostly bored me. Two-and-a-half stars overall.
  
• 18 Nov 2006 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. The taper noted that the distortion errors are present in both the SBD and AUD sources. SOUNDBOARD FAIL. Two stars.
  
• 1 Aug 2008 [Sugar Land, TX, USA] concert bootleg of Andy Gullahorn. Great recording from Jim, who hosted the show. Great performance by Gully. Fun times. Four stars.
  

And again … here’s that JP EP:

Everything that used to be on IJSM.org? Should be here. I’ll be consolidating a few other things here, too.

At the end of the day, it didn’t make a lot of sense to have all the places to write that I did. So I’ve consolidated. I still have some work to do around here, but …

My apologies for confusion.

My apologies if I’ve made everyone’s feed readers go wonky today. Every piece of content that used to be here should now be on GFMorris.com. I believe I’ve set up redirections for all old URLs as appropriate.

What’s going on here? Well, I’d like to have a place to write about management, now that I am management. So, um, this seems the appropriate place to write about it, right? And everything else, well, that all can just go in one collection spot.

So I’ll write more here soon. I have to work a couple other things before I can truly begin here …

Today, I hit the nine-year mark with TBE. To put that in perspective: I have not lived in one domicile for more than eight years. Shoot, I’ve lived in six places around town since I started working there. I turned 21 there, and I’ll turn 30 there in a few weeks.

Wouldn’t have expected that.

• Electoral-vote.com: President, Senate, House Updated Daily
  Here's the thing: no matter what Gustav does, this shouldn't be a political thing. It will be spun that way, but it's not. This is about people suffering and dying. The calculus is laid out here for what could well happen, but the thing is … it just SHOULDN'T.
  (tags: hurricane_gustav election_2008)
• Butting Heads: Palin on Obama: The Talk of the Town: The New Yorker
  Stunning.
  (tags: sarah_palin election_2008)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » Upstaged.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » Here Comes Gustav
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | a vortex of drama
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Textism: A DSLR Catechism
  HAAAAAA!
  (tags: dslr humor)

• Filmmaker Michael Moore calls Gustav timing a 'gift from God' - Breaking News from New Orleans - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
  Dear Michael Moore: Go to hell, motherfucker. This isn't a political treatise. This is an impending tragedy for hundreds of thousands of people, and for you to take glee in the event shows just what a partisan hack you are, rather than someone who purports to seek truth.
  (tags: hurricane_gustav)
• Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential Page: Global Fields
  Heat potentials in the Gulf. Nerdtastic.
  (tags: hurricane models)
• Who Killed Chandra Levy? (washingtonpost.com)
  A 12-part investigative report. The only reason Levy ever left the headlines was 9/11. Sad.
  (tags: chandra_levy)
• Brandon and Maggie on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Chris at Dawn soundboard on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Another Dubious Firing
  When the reporter went back to the police chief:
   
  Stambaugh's response was to read part of the letter given to him. ''Although I appreciate your service as police chief, I've decided it's time for a change. I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment. . . . '' ''If that's not a letter of termination, I don't know what is,'' he said.

  So Palin lied, as she did, by her own admission, in the later firing of police chief Monegan. Stambaugh eventually sued for wrongful dismissal. Palin won -  because the judge ruled that a mayor can legally fire a police chief for any reason she wants, political payback or otherwise:

  Singleton said that under state law, police chiefs serve at the behest of the mayor unless otherwise specified by city ordinance. Stein, the former mayor, had worked out an agreement with Stambaugh forbidding termination without cause, but the city council never voted on it…" OUCH.

  (tags: sarah_palin)
• P8301310 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• P8301310 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• James Fallows (August 29, 2008) - My prediction about Sarah Palin (Politics)
  "Let's assume that Sarah Palin is exactly as smart and disciplined as Barack Obama. But instead of the year and a half of nonstop campaigning he has behind him, and Joe Biden's even longer toughening-up process, she comes into the most intense period of the highest stakes campaign with absolutely zero warmup or preparation. If she has ever addressed an international issue, there's no evidence of it in internet-land."
  (tags: sarah_palin election_2008)
• Hurricane Model Plots @ South Florida Water Management Division
  You can get the raw model plots from here; NHC.noaa.gov won't show you these [with good reason].
  (tags: hurricane models)
• The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
  "The very same people who, only yesterday, insisted that Obama's resume was too dangerously thin to entrust him with the oversight of our national security, today are celebrating Palin's accession as a triumph for conservatism (evidently this is because she is hostile to both abortion and polar bears). Their hypocrisy is staggering–they truly do believe in nothing but their own entitlement to power by any means.

  And I'm very much afraid I must conclude this is as true of McCain as it is of his ghastly cheerleaders, the Limbaughs and the Hannitys. Nothing else could explain the elevation of a woman so singularly unqualified in every aspect save gender." I don't think it's this dire, but I think it's not a good thing, either. I was hoping and expecting Joe Lieberman to be McCain's choice—and apparently fears over angering the base was what stopped them. Like the GOP base is going to 1) stay home and let Obama win or 2) vote for Obama? WTF ever.

  (tags: sarah_palin election_2008)
• RU Experienced? | Politics | The American Scene
  "What’s the Vice Presidency for, anyhow? Arguably, it’s not for anything at all. There’s no need for a specific officer to be “President in waiting” without official duties; we could perfectly well have a system where, when the President dies in office, his party picks a successor, or the House elects a successor, or some other selection process, with the Secretary of State serving as interim President until the successor is chosen. In practice, the Vice President is usually selected for political purposes: to unite a divided party (Johnson, Bush Sr), to placate a particular faction unhappy with the nominee (Nixon, Kemp), to extend the reach of the ticket geographically or demographically (Bentsen, Edwards), and so forth.

  The worst VP choice in recent memory was Dick Cheney, a man with enormous experience, fully qualified to be President – indeed, so much more qualified than the Presidential nominee …"

  (tags: sarah_palin election_2008)
• Sarah Palin's Questionable Judgment | Workbench
  "I'm sure that some people will consider raising this subject a cheap shot, since the child was born healthy and it all worked out for the Palins. But you have to question the judgment of a person who took so many risks with her life and that of her baby." Just wacky. [Note: this is not about her choice to have the child. This is about how the pregnancy occurred.]
  (tags: sarah_palin election_2008)
• “Misty Says, ‘Woo!’” » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Wikipedia Edits Forecast Vice Presidential Picks - washingtonpost.com
  If nothing else, this is a tacit admission by the campaigns that Wikipedia matters.
  (tags: wikipedia election_2008)
• Growing Daisies
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Casa De Morrill » fairy tale weddings
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• My Opinion on McCain’s VP Choice : idly [dot] org
  Subtle!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part V - Feeling The Draft
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » A letter from 1865.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan’s Perspective. « Mudflats
  "It was obvious anyway, but became beat-you-over-the-head-with-a-two-by-four obvious when Palin referenced the ‘glass ceiling’ line, that this choice is a blatant pander to women. I would like to believe that women will actually feel insulted by this. Yes, it would have been historic if Hillary had gotten the nomination. It was historic that she made it as far as she did. Yes, it would be great to have a woman in the oval office, or in the VP slot if they are the right woman…a woman who got there with her own drive, grit, determination, intelligence, skill and merits. When you’re hand-picked by a man to win votes simply because you are a woman, that doesn’t count, and it doesn’t break any kind of ceiling. Would we have had a Stan Palin as our VP pick? No. So choosing a woman because you think her gender will get votes is insulting." The whole thing is a damning oppo piece from an Alaskan, and worth reading regardless of how you feel about Palin, McCain, or Obama.
  (tags: sarah_palin john_mccain election_2008)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » More From Donald Miller
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• adaptive path » blog » Peter Merholz » Our Advocacy Program
  As much as AP loves their advocacy stuff, they admit that it just doesn't scale.
  (tags: middle_management)
• What I Learned in Japan About Barbeque » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• The Kings of Huntsville » Blog Archive » sick girl
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part V - Feeling The Draft
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » Chad’s unbiased look at Auburn’s upcoming game.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Captcha is broken - now what? | Technology | The Guardian
  DED.
  (tags: captcha)
• Going Nuclear
  "Here's why: Wind and solar power have their place, but because they are intermittent and unpredictable they simply can't replace big baseload plants such as coal, nuclear and hydroelectric. Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is too expensive already, and its price is too volatile to risk building big baseload plants. Given that hydroelectric resources are built pretty much to capacity, nuclear is, by elimination, the only viable substitute for coal. It's that simple." Here you have a major player in Greenpeace pushing nuclear power. Never thought I'd see the day, but I welcome it!
  (tags: energy public_policy)
• Wanna Be in My Book? / Jeremy Cowart | Blog
  FUN! I sent him something.
  (tags: photography)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part IV - Some Assembly Required
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » One-Issue Voting
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• QDN: Another example of how the GOP hates science
  "(As a related sidenote, how does this principled stand on the part of the GOP not mean that the party should also be strongly and firmly against in-vitro fertilization? The process generally involves creating more than one embryo, and likewise generally does not involve transferring all of them, meaning that there are left-over embryos that are put into liquid nitrogen tanks and saved. After some amount of time, a significant number of these remaining embryos never get used, and end up being discarded by the families and IVF clinics — how is this somehow better than doing research on their stem cells?)" I've never understood this or the GOP stance on the death penalty.
  (tags: sanctity_of_life in_vitro_fertilization GOP)
• tap tap tap ~ Fuck the VCs
  Amen.
  (tags: venture_capital iPhone software)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » One-Issue Voting
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Guitar Hero Caedmons? at [caedmonscall.net]
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Guitar Hero Caedmons? at [caedmonscall.net]
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » This is not a drill.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | topic of conversation
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Blog-o-Price » I’m loving project Euler.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » Abortion and Your Vote
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Not so middle management
  (tags: middle_management)
• www.dimeadozen.org :: EzTorrent v0.6.2 :: Torrent details for "Gnarls Barkley - 08-06-2008 - Boston, MA - 24 Bit Master"
  (tags: dad_torrent gnarles_barkley boston massachusetts)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part III - The Art of Naming
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | not again!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• www.dimeadozen.org :: EzTorrent v0.6.2 :: Torrent details for "Wilco Eugene OR 4-Sep-2003"
  (tags: dad_torrent wilco eugene oregon)
• Social Networks: The Case for a "Pause" Button | 43 Folders
  I'm sure that the people that follow me on Twitter want a pause button from time to time.
  (tags: web2.0)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » Breaking the ice.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | not again!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• i've rejoined the dark side… on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• hehe… im a dork on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part II - To Pay or Not To Pay
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Stalk Me at Dragon*Con » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• The Other Side of Reason » Blog Archive » Mental ramblings of a single woman approaching 30.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• tecosystems » links for 2008-08-25
• Concert Review :: Derek Webb « Backseat Writer
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• prayers for blowouts » Blog Archive » CG2FF: Part I - Fantasy is the New Reality
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » Kindergarten and Pitch n Putt
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Around the web | alexking.org
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• blackrimglasses - The Frustration of Wanting Something You Can’t Buy
  via Alex King … note, Ethan works for Warner, so … yeah.
  (tags: music_industry)
• Manned spaceflight | Enter the Dragon | Economist.com
  Here's my gut feeling, as a NASA [specifically ISS] contractor: 1) We're flying past 2010 2) we'll make that decision in the next three months 3) the re-cert will solve the force drawdown problems that are logistically necessary but financially unpopular 4) posturing too much with the Russians means the Iranians get ICBMs 5) the US will encourage manned capabilities from Europe and Japan, possibly funding them.
  (tags: space_shuttle)
• Reading the Web - Ideas Blog - NYTimes.com
  Should be interesting…
  (tags: to_add_to_netnewswire)

Okay, I’ve had some time to digest why I think the nomination of Sarah Palin is wrong, and I’m now ready to make the coherent argument.

Coming into the conventions, Republicans who considered themselves likely voters indicated in most polls that, on average, 87% of them were ready to vote for McCain as President. Contrast this with Obama, who had only 83% of likely Democratic voters in his pocket. The reason for Obama’s poorer showing, heading into Denver, was singular: the Hillary hangover.

Let’s consider who those likely voters that weren’t with their party’s presumptive nominees were. For the Democrats, it wasn’t the liberal base: those folks have been with Obama over Hillary for quite some time, given their varied stances on the Iraq War. [Regardless of the effect that Obama's moderation of his stance might have on those voters, Obama voters don't seem inclined to flee him even though he's moved to the center a bit.] No, it was three groups in Hillary’s core that Obama wasn’t reaching: working-class folks, women voters who still wanted Hillary as President [which I get, I really do; in the reverse situation, you'd probably have some black voters who were reluctant to be behind Hillary with the taste of the promise of a President Obama still on their tongues], and older voters. Joe Biden, with his age, roots, and experience, ameliorates two of those three things. And Billary probably did their dead-level best to unite the party behind Obama in Denver; sure, there are going to be some defectors, but those folks were most likely already leaning that way before Barack ever set foot in Colorado.

For the GOP, it’s mostly voters from the base, the kind of folks who think McCain is too much a maverick and worry if he’s conservative enough. Palin might have the sheen of a moderate, corruption-fighting maverick from Alaska, but the first quotes I saw about her were from Ralph Reed and James Dobson—the very folks that were wary of McCain. Palin’s history—mainly her narrative about choosing to carry a Down’s syndrome child to term—solidly puts her in the conservative end of things. I see video clips of her shooting a gun and know that my dad is sitting in Tennessee, smiling that a pro-gun governor from the west kicks ass.

But here’s the difference in the calculus: if you make the argument that the bases aren’t going to defect to a third-party candidate [in this case, Bob Barr for the GOP], why not go to the center? Obama’s pick of Biden moves him towards the center, as Biden picks up the few hawkish Democrats and those in the center that were for the war but who’ve not liked how it’s been prosecuted [hello, right here] as well as helping Obama with the working-class gruffs who love that he rides the train home to Delaware every night, rather than living in Washington. [And I love that, too.] Palin, on the other hand, seems to be designed to do two things: 1) shore up the GOP base and 2) pick off Hillary supporters purely by being a female. Ummm … that seems like a grand miscalculation of the likelihood of centrists moving to McCain.

As I was writing this, Kari and I were trading emails about the Palin pick [amongst other things; our friendship is mostly based on these emails we trade when we need to talk things out, hehehe], and she pointed me to Andrew Sullivan’s piece on how Palin is not, in early polling, pulling the undecideds:

But among the critical undecideds, the Palin pick made only 6 percent more likely to vote for McCain; and it made 31 percent less likely to vote for him. 49 percent said it would have no impact, and 15 percent remained unsure. More to the point: among undecideds, 59 percent said Palin was unready to be president. Only 6 percent said she was. If the first criterion for any job is whether you’re ready for it, this is a pretty major indictment of the first act of McCain’s presidential leadership.

One other striking finding. If McCain thought he could present Palin as a moderate, he was wrong. A whopping 69 percent view her as conservative (37 percent as very conservative), and only 13 percent see her as moderate.

From this first snap-shot (and unsettled) impression, Palin has helped McCain among Republicans, left Democrats unfazed, but moved the undecideds against him quite sharply. I totally understand why.

So, who would I have picked, were I McCain? I would have taken Joe Lieberman in a heartbeat, concerns about the conservative wing of the GOP defecting and/or staying home notwithstanding. Here’s the thing: the folks on the right-wing of the GOP are scared of Obama. They don’t like his politics, but they realize that he resonates with Americans in many of the same ways that Reagan did thirty years ago. Remember, the GOP loves Reagan [and with, I would say, fairly good reason, the failures of trickle-down economics notwithstanding; all in all, I think Reagan did a very good job]; they see Obama as someone who will do the same thing for the Democrats. Also, conservative voters know that one main reason W won in 2000 was the Nader Effect. Conservatives like holding the White House, and I think that, in the end, they would’ve held their noses and voted for McCain-Lieberman.

Why do I care? Really, it’s simple: I want the best two candidates possible. I voted for McCain in the Alabama primary because I thought he was the best of the GOP field; I’m planning on voting for Obama because I think he’s the better candidate. But just because I now find myself in the Obama camp—a weird place for me, as I’ve voted Dole, Bush, and Bush since I turned 18—doesn’t mean that I want to see the GOP roll over and play dead. I want the best thing for this country, and I think the best thing for America would be a spirited, principled discussion between the two sides. And, in the case that Obama lost, I would want McCain to have the best partner in governance on his side—and I think that’s Joe Lieberman, not Sarah Palin.

If you follow my delicious bookmarks, you’ll see that I’ve bookmarked a lot about Palin already. I’m this fired up about it because I think it’s the wrong decision. I wanted the right one, because I want the best thing for this country.

AP, in conjunction with christiansupply.net, has done a podcast about Resurrection Letters, Vol. II. You can download stuff and hear the whole record. I’ve got my MP3 copy [from Centricity, in exchange for pitching ideas for marketing], and I can tell you that I really like it so far.

• EP in Oak Ridge, TN on 28 Sep
• Andy and the Andys in Canton, GA on 1 Nov

Completely blind, I had Derek throw me a list of winners for my giveaway. I had 28 comments, four of which were ineligible from my reading, so I had Derek pick ten numbers from 1-24 inclusive. I then shifted past the ineligible comment numbers so he couldn’t be accused of cherry-picking [and besides, he had no idea what this was for ... right now, he's sending me his wife's new record in the background, heh].

So, they are:

1 Jason Windsor
3 brandi
7 kieren
10 Jill
23 Hunter
24 ella
19 mikaela
6 Maria Arteaga
13 muruch
18 stephen cavness

All in all, I think that’s fairly well-distributed: four folks I know, six I don’t. I’ll email everyone tomorrow…

• Manned spaceflight | Enter the Dragon | Economist.com
  Here's my gut feeling, as a NASA [specifically ISS] contractor: 1) We're flying past 2010 2) we'll make that decision in the next three months 3) the re-cert will solve the force drawdown problems that are logistically necessary but financially unpopular 4) posturing too much with the Russians means the Iranians get ICBMs 5) the US will encourage manned capabilities from Europe and Japan, possibly funding them.
  (tags: space_shuttle)
• Reading the Web - Ideas Blog - NYTimes.com
  Should be interesting…
  (tags: to_add_to_netnewswire)
• Internet Archive: Jackopierce
  Jackopierce at the Live Music Archive. Awesome.
  (tags: Jackopierce)
• Little Miss Soccer » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » I don’t like to post pictures of my house, so you’d better enjoy it while you can get it.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• After on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• After on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Writings from the Dirt Road » Blog Archive » So Let’s Talk Football
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Casa De Morrill » sicko
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Little Miss Soccer » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• [donmillerfans.net] » Want to catch Don’s DNC Prayer?
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | anticipating great things…
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)

Eli Scored!

Originally uploaded by Geof F. Morris

So Eli’s first soccer games was yesterday, so I decided to go and take photos. Because, well, two things: 1) I love the kid and 2) it’s soccer! I played for four years, but not at his age. When I started playing in third grade, you actually had to, you know, work at scoring a goal, because the kids had figured out defense.

So when he was self-upset about not getting to score in the first seven seconds, I told him, “Dude, do you know how long it was before I scored in a game? Four years!” I could see the wheels grinding, “Four years? That’s how old I am!” Exactly, kid. Did I tell him that I played 90% of the time as a goalie or a fullback? No, because at that age, they don’t get the concept of positions. Or, well, defense. [Okay, so there was the one kid on Eli's team that got defense. I wanted to run over to him and pat him on the back, then encourage him and teach him how to knock guys off-stride without getting carded. AHEM.]

There was the most comical moment of the morning when Eli suddenly stood on the goal line and waved his arms around, making himself look big and trying to distract the kid with the ball. This technique reminded me of, well, most every penalty kick I’ve ever defended, including the one I stopped because I was too scared to move and the kid, taught by his coach that I would be moving at the kick, went right for my feet. Heh.

• A Democratic Leader on Foreign Policy - NYTimes.com
  “Fundamentally, Senator Biden believes that American engagement in the world can make a big difference,” said James P. Rubin, a former adviser to Mr. Biden and Clinton administration official. “But because he is a realist, he believes it is far better to take such actions with the support of our friends and allies.”
  (tags: obama election_2008 biden)
• Eli Scores His First Goal on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Little Miss Soccer » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Writings from the Dirt Road » Blog Archive » So Let’s Talk Football
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Obama Chooses Biden as Running Mate - NYTimes.com
  "Mr. Obama’s selection ended a two-month search that was conducted almost entirely in secret. It reflected a critical strategic choice by Mr. Obama: To go with a running mate who could reassure voters about gaps in his résumé, rather than to pick someone who could deliver a state or reinforce Mr. Obama’s message of change." This makes the Biden pick about governance, not electability. Now, watch McCain pick Romney, which would be all about electability, not governance.
  (tags: election_2008 obama)
• Bryan Allain’s Blog » Blog Archive » Praying for The Democrats
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » Makes me feel invincible.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• How To Launch Software (Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought)
  I agree … the Hollywood approach doesn't make sense.
  (tags: software)
• [donmillerfans.net] » Don Miller to Give Invocation at DNC
  So proud of Don, I could spit.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Movable Type Pro, Setting Social Networking Free, Vaporware, WordPress, BuddyPress - A Fool's Wisdom
  (tags: wordpress movable_type Automattic Six_Apart)
• Obama and McCain Tax Proposals - washingtonpost.com
  I love good graphs. It's not a great graph—as Adam and I were discussing, that'd have the population sizing in there—but when I read this, I immediately looked to see what my break would be. And … yep, I get a bigger one with Barack. But I was probably voting for him anyway.
  (tags: public_policy taxes election_2008)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » Makes me feel invincible.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Bringing the Drama | anticipating great things…
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• The TypePad Trap - A Fool's Wisdom
  OH SNAP. It seems like Automattic and Six Apart are getting snippier these days. Honestly, I feel an affinity for the WP side of things, even though I get that MT is a solid product.
  (tags: Automattic Six_Apart wordpress movable_type)
• What I Learned in Japan About Language » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• tecosystems » links for 2008-08-21
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Frying Pans, Fire, You Know the Drill » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• Through a Glass, Darkly » Strange how hard it rains now.
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• I'll Sing Thy Power To Save: 2001: A Space Odyssey
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)
• What I Learned in Japan About Science » Live Granades
  (tags: gfmorris_comment)

Bryan sucks.

1. What time do you usually leave for lunch?

I try to go as close to 1100 as I can. There are a couple places close by that are packed by 1115, so I learned to go early if I wanted a table without a wait. Every Tuesday, I meet with friends for Thai at 1115, but then on Thursdays, I have a telecon at 1100, so … it varies.

2. How long do you usually take for lunch?

It varies depending how busy I am at the office. If I’m covered up, I take a shorter break. The inverse of that is that, if I’m really stressed out, I’ll go a little longer. I’ve taken up to two hours, but that’s very rare. Usually an hour if I leave the office for lunch, a half-hour if I eat at my desk.

3. Ever eat lunch at home?

Yeah, I’ve done it. Not as often now that I live in Madison, though.

4. What are your favorite places to eat out for Work Lunch?

I personally am craving Thai Garden since we didn’t go on Tuesday. Like … I want Thai, and it’s before 0700 on a Saturday.

5. How often do you bring food in from home?

When I was a broke college kid, all the time. Now, not so much. Lazy. Plus, when I bring lunch, I tend to not leave the office, and I’ve found that leaving the office is good for my stress level.

6. Are you a lone ranger or a community eater?

I eat with co-workers or friends 2-3 times a week. Some weeks, it’s every day. Some weeks, it’s not at all.

7. How often does your company pay for your lunch?

Once a quarter or so, if a meeting runs into lunch.

8. What is your favorite lunch meal of all time?

Mmm … three-star chicken Pad Thai.

Only new stuff this week is from DW:

• DW in Waco, TX on 8 Nov.
• DW in Bogart, GA on 13 Nov.
• DW in Decatur, GA on 16 Nov at 6:00 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m..

All those dates are with Sandra, Alli Rogers, and Waterdeep.