the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Live 8 line-ups being announced, etc.

I was going to post on the Deep Throat story springing from the Vanity Fair press release, but I’m sure everyone’s got that covered by now, so it’s on to entertainment/activism/my birthday news:

Via Philly Future (and Promohthree), I stumbled across some news of the Live 8 (official site) performer line-ups, in Philadelphia (the one I could actually attend) specifically.

In looking at the multi-location listings at Stereogum, I’m thrilled to see that Philly has landed the second-most star-studded line-up so far—though it’s light years behind what they’ve got in London. But that might change, and at least they’ve got Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, Bon Jovi and Dave Matthews Band(only two of which I really have any interest in—but Will Smith playing in Philly will be a big boost to the free attendance). On the flip side, the Elton John fans in Philly will get a boost two days later, as he plays the July 4 show. Philly in early July is a pretty active place, as one would imagine; they always bring in at least on well-known performer to precede the fireworks show at the art museum. The last time I trekked down (with about a half million people) we had the pleasure of watching a Beach Boys show—woohoo…

Oh, and as I mentioned, this Live 8 event will be happening on my birhtday, so add it to my list of things to do this year.

UPDATE: For more accurate updating, refer to the line-up and Philly-related changes (which have already occurred in the past hour since I posted this), refer to the Philly Future post I mentioned earlier.

A cast too expensive…

I was watching TCM late last night, when I found myself watching the 1977 war epic A Bridge Too Far.

I’ve seen it before, but each time I view this film, I’m amazed at the depth of the cast—how expensive would it be to gather a cast of this magnitude today (not taking into account the actors who have since died)? How many of these actors would be commanding multi-million dollar salaries in today’s market?

I couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of the name Frank Grimes, but alas, it’s not the same Frank Grimes who pops into my head…

Tom’s Memorial Day post

Tom Carter, a man with intimate knowledge of the sacrifice this day is meant to honor, posts this profound, insightful Memorial Day remembrance.

I had earlier referenced a Philly Future article that links many Philly-based blog sentiments this Memorial Day, but I haven’t seen anything in the blogosphere today that matches what I just came across on Tom’s site.

For Memorial Day: Experiencing war

I came across a recent effort from the Library of Congress called Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project while digging up blog references for a Philly Future story. (The PF article links a wide range of Memorial Day sentiment)

I have noticed, and have been a little discouraged by, the magnitude of people in the U.S. who tend not to appreciate the meaning of Memorial Day (or most other observances, for that matter). This Library of Congress project seems like a good way to remind ourselves that today is more than just a good excuse for a cookout.

-a tip of the hat to Pstupidonymous, who first brought this link to my attention.

UPDATE: The Chicago Tribune has this article that delves into the experiences of some military families who’ve suffered loss. And The Christian Science Monitor notes how American perceptions of soldiers have improved, regardless of people’s feelings on the war itself.

The ups and downs of filtration

Omni asks “How observant are you?” -yet another fascinating post that makes me regret the lack of feedback on her site.

Weekenders

Today will be the first official day of the annual Willow Grove Air Fest. It has become a favorite tradition of us Philly suburban folk, and the recent news of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station being on the base closing list makes one wonder how much longer this tradition will survive.

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Friday random ten

This week’s sampling started off lively, with one of my oldest favorites from one of my first ever rock albums. Surprisingly representative for a random sampling:

1. Like a Song – U2 (War)
2. Calling Sarah – Jellyfish (Bellybutton)
3. Man of the Hour – Pearl Jam (Big Fish – Music from the Motion Picture)
4. Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye (The Very Best of Marvin Gaye)
5. Only Superstition – Coldplay (Brothers and Sisters)
6. Pray Your Gods – Toad the Wet Sprocket (Fear)
7. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for – Various Artists (Pickin’ on U2: a Blue-grass Tribute)
8. Didn’t I – Jayy Mannon (demo)
9. Yours and Mine – Fountains of Wayne (Welcome Interstate Managers)
10. All Eyes on Me – Goo Goo Dolls (Dizzy Up the Girl)

Why did Padme have to be pregnant?

I thought it was so Luke and Leia could be born. Or maybe it was so we could be afflicted with this Alternet rant on feminist values from Kimi Eisele.

Please don’t misunderstand me, my reaction to Eisele’s article has little (possibly nothing) to do with my views on female empowerment. It just seems like railing against the veiled sociopolitical ramifications of anything written by George Lucas is, at best, a huge waste of time.

Quote: Bertrand Russell

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”

I’m almost certain that this is a great fact of life, but to avoid coming off as stupid, I’m only almost certain…

For the hardcore RSS fanatics reading this…

There are now two syndication feeds available for this blog, expanding the possibilities for those who are in too much of a rush to visit every day. One is the summarized version (which, if you’ve been subscribing for any length of time, is the one you’re been using) and the other is the full feed (which I’ve just added). The links are now categorized accordingly on the sidebar. Choose your source and enjoy.

Saying goodbye to the best open mic night ever

The Point coffeehouse in Bryn Mawr is closing. To read the entire email announcement of the closure I received the other day, just read the rest of this post.

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The kids from Philly

It took a random peak at Pax Romano’s blog to remember that Marah still existed. Now that I’ve gotten a little refresher by visiting their website, I can’t believe I ever forgot about them.

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The flip side of desecration

In Hypocrisy Most Holy, Ali al-Ahmed notes the inconsistency between the way some Middle Eastern governments expressed outrage over alleged desecration of the Quran and the way they often show institutional disrespect for the sacred texts of other religions.

As a Muslim, I am able to purchase copies of the Quran in any bookstore in any American city, and study its contents in countless American universities. American museums spend millions to exhibit and celebrate Muslim arts and heritage. On the other hand, my Christian and other non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia—where I come from—are not even allowed to own a copy of their holy books. Indeed, the Saudi government desecrates and burns Bibles that its security forces confiscate at immigration points into the kingdom or during raids on Christian expatriates worshiping privately. … (Read the whole Opinion Journal piece)

This, of course, offers no absolution for any possible desecration that may have been undertaken by our military, but it’s good to remember that least we don’t have laws on the books to confiscate and burn religious texts.

No wonder we couldn’t find any drugs in those babies’ diapers…

Drug Dogs Trained to Find Talcum Powder

Or, as one police official quipped, “If there are any missing kids out there, we’d find them fairly quickly, I should think.”

What’s he got against America?

This is right up there with “What does West Virginia have against Jesus?”

Via Atrios

Magazines don’t kill people, unless you get a really bad paper cut

“You were pretty as a picture; it was all there to see
‘til your face caught up with your psychology…”
-U2

(the opening quote is just a song lyric that reminds me of Michelle Malkin)

Newsweek may have lied, and people may have died, but is it enough to justify the presumptive conclusion that the two are inextricably linked?

I was never one of those “Bush lied—people died” folks. Not that I agree with him or what he’s done with this war, but I’m just not that quick to trash people. And until very recently, I didn’t expect the Bush administration to engage in this sort of shameless accusation. Whatever was I thinking?

We “civil discourse” types often find ourselves in the unfortunate habit of over-estimating the sense of decorum in those around us. And in most cases, it’s understandable; if an individual citizen, or even a group of them, should cast aspersions on the leader of their nation, that’s just one of the many by-products of a free society. But when the administration starts casting similar aspersions on others, it just sounds pathetic. And sadder still is the fact that so many lack the decorum to grasp that.

As people like Richard Boucher, Scott McClellan and others who are definitively linked to George W. Bush have implied, none of this would have happened if Newsweek hadn’t soured all those America-loving Muslims with that badly-sourced story. Right?

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Friday Random Ten

Here it is again, this time on Friday:

1. “Take it Back” – Garrison Starr (Somethin’ to Hold You Over)
2. “Knives” – Fuel (Something Like Human)
3. “Lemon (Jeep mix)” – U2 (Best of 1990 to 2000/B-Sides)
4. “Diminished” – R.E.M. (Up)
5. “Space Between” – Dave Matthews Band (Everyday)
6. “Best-Laid Plans” – Guilded Lilies (Zero)
7. “Imagine” – Neil Young (America: A Tribute to Heroes)
8. “You Satisfy” – Lost Dogs (Little Red Riding Hood)
9. “Offer” – Vigilantes of Love (Blister Soul)
10. “Airplane” – Indigo Girls (Rites of Passage)

Still a bit obscure, but I guess that’s the real beauty of it—at least this time I included the album information. That should help.

The history of the big apple

No, not that big apple—this one:

Founded in 1910, Styer’s was run as a family business and surrounded by vast stretches of farmland and apple orchards, up until the late 1990’s. That’s when it was sold to the township (Middeltown), in a purchase funded by the local open space initiative. The store is now run as a more-or-less public interest, with items from other area farms, not the least of which is my favorite ice cream in the world, which happens to come from Goodnoe’s Dairy (I’ll plug that some more in another post).

And thank God for the open space plan, because otherwise the whole spread would have become just another 900 luxury homes on half acre lots. But enough about that, for a little bit anyway.

In addition to noting the fine local business signified by the above-pictured sign, you may also notice a large apple below the sign—to be more specific, a large concrete apple. The apple is in its 50’s now, a fact I only know because it used to sit in front of another apple growing farm, and that’s the one on which my father grew up.
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Debunking diabetic origins

The Tattered Coat posts about a New York Times article, in which some researchers purport to offer explanations for the origins of type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes.

And it all makes perfect sense, as Matt notes, unless you happen to know something about the disease. His post is better written than anything I could add right now, so read it if you’re at all curious.

On getting organized, or not

Earlier, I mentioned a couple Cziltang posts that caused me to want to clarify some thoughts on labor-related matters. Well, here goes:

Unlike some in labor’s army, I don’t necessarily believe that all workers are better off in unions. I hinted in a recent comment that some companies do such an adequate job of providing for their employees that union organizing offers their workers little reward. I have worked for such a company, in management no less, so I know that this can be a conscious strategy for some businesses. And I believe there are many businesses that follow such a model. In cases like these where a company makes reasonable efforts to take care of its own employees, the employees are much less likely to opt for union representation. And to be honest, it amazes me how many companies fail to use this approach to labor management.
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