"Television Man" by Man...or Astroman? The Music Meme

Here's a current meme I'd like to share.
I have enjoyed reading the results from others as well as my own.

Rules:
1. Put your iTunes or other music playlist on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next/forward button to shuffle and get the next answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag/mail your friends and include me so I can see your results.

I used the playlist I share in my profile, so you, too, can hear these 'answers'.
http://www.playlist.com/Psychocosm


IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday - The Pogues with Cait O'Riordan

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Reefer Man - Cab Calloway

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Reasons for Waiting - Jethro Tull

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Whiskey, Mystics and Men - The Doors

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Theme from "Time" - Dave Clark 5
I love that *THIS* song is the answer!

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Ascension Day - Talk Talk

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Mr. Tamborine Man - The Byrds

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Love My Way - The Psychedelic Furs

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Back To Life - Soul II Soul

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Five O'Clock World - Dave Clark 5

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Mirror In The Bathroom - English Beat

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Love Rain - Jill Scott and Mos Def

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Wear Your Love Like Heaven - Donovan

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Long Time Gone - CSNY

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I'm A Man - Spencer Davis Group
I just keep giggling at this answer

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
That's Entertainment - The Jam

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Happiness Is Easy - Talk Talk

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Corn Liquor - Southern Culture On The Skids

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Black Betty - Ram Jam

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Today - Jefferson Airplane

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Television Man - Man...or Astroman?

Kay Yow

Today, we lost Kay Yow.

"Almost everybody is dealing with something," Yow said in a 2006 interview, referring to her battles with breast cancer.

"We're all faced with a lot of tough issues that we're dealing with," she said. "We know we need to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. You can't bring it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an escape for a few hours."

Yow won more than 700 games in her coaching career. In 1975, Yow became North Carolina State University's first full-time women's basketball coach and also coached women's volleyball and softball. Three years later, for their first season of league play, her women's basketball team earned the ACC championship. She coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1988, won four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships, earned 20 NCAA tournament bids and reached the Final Four in 1998.

ESPN article

The First 100 Hours

Writers at The Guardian list how Obama spent his first 100 hours as President.



"From ordering the closure of Guantánamo Bay to approving missile strikes, we take a look at the first 100 things he did in office."

End of An Error - Credits for the Last 8 Years

The Daily Show's Moment of Zen, 19 January.



Bush's Final Press Conference, 12January, 2009


David Letterman's Farewell Tribute To Bush

The Ascent of Money

Today I watched The Ascent of Money with Niall Ferguson,
a resident faculty professor of History at
The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard.
His book by the same name has been recently published and the video aired on PBS.

In the span of two hours he speaks of our first use of lending money with interest was a religious divide, unallowed by Christians, through the early sale of Louisiana with John Law, causing the first real estate bubble, to today's securitization trusts and the derivatives market.

Last week on Fareed Zakaria's show, GPS he spoke with Dr. Ferguson.

Currently, I'm watching My Man Godfrey (1936)

'Misunderestimate' tops list of notable 'Bushisms'

He did it again, within the first sentence or two of his last news conference, he chided the reporters in front of him for "misunderestimating" him.

No, I think they got it right.

"Of the many things for which President G.W.Bush will be remembered, his language mistakes, faux pas, and "unique" terminology may rank near the top.

Now, less than two weeks before Bush leaves office, a group of language monitors in his home state of Texas has compiled a list of the top 15 "Bushisms" -- words and phrases coined by "the decider" himself in his two terms in the White House.

"The era of Bushisms is now coming to an end, and word watchers worldwide will have a hard time substituting (President-elect) Barack Obama's precise intonations and eloquence for W's unique linguistic constructions," said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor.

"The biggest linguistic faux pas of the Obama era thus far involves the use of the reflexive pronoun 'myself.' This is a refreshing shift from the Bush years."

The Global Language Monitor said it compiled the list through nominations from language observers around the world, then ranked them with an algorithm that tracks words and phrases in print and electronic media.

1. "Misunderestimate" Stated in the immediate aftermath of the disputed 2000 election. One of the first and perhaps most iconic Bushisms (November 6, 2000).

2. "Mission Accomplished" Never actually stated by the president, but it appeared on the banner behind him when he stood on the USS Abraham and declared Iraq's major war operations over (May 1, 2003).

3. "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Said to soon-to-be-discharged FEMA director Michael Brown in the immediate aftermath of Hurrican Katrina; it came to symbolize the entire debacle (September 2, 2005).

4. "I'm the decider." Said in response to his decision to keep Donald Rumsfeld on as the secretary of defense, it came to symbolize the "imperial" aspects of the Bush presidency. (April 18, 2006).

5. "I use The Google" Said in reference to the popular search engine (October 24, 2006).

6. Iraq Shoe Throwing Incident In the Arab world, throwing a shoe is a symbol of immense disrespect. Some have suggested this to be the visual equivalent of a spoken Bushism -- inappropriate, surprising, embarrassing, yet compelling to repeat (December 14, 2008).

7. "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." Came to symbolize the president's environmental policy (September 29, 2000).

8. "You work three jobs? ? Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." Critics used this to symbolize Bush's detachment to the plight of the working class. Said to a divorced mother of three in Omaha, Nebraska (February 4, 2005).

9. "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" Uttered before the first primaries in 2000 (January 11, 2000).

10. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Cited by his critics as revealing his true thoughts (August 5, 2004).

11. "It was not always certain that the U.S. and America would have a close relationship." Used while speaking of the Anglo-American relationship (June 29, 2006).

12. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." Explaining his communications strategy (May 24, 2005).

13. "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" Scribbled on a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a U.N. Security Council meeting in 2005.

14. "When the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma." Said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, this apparent belittling of the bloodshed in Iraq provoked outrage around the world (September 24, 2006).

15. "Stay the course." Stated on numerous occasions during the course of the Iraq War. Bush's change of course with the troop surge actually made a dramatic difference in the conflict. Bush may have invented a few words, but he's not the first U.S. president to do so.

The Global Language Monitor cited examples of now-common English words invented by presidents of the past:

Administration (George Washington)

Belittle (Thomas Jefferson)

Bully pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt)

Caucus (John Adams)

Countervailing (Thomas Jefferson)

Hospitalization (Warren G. Harding)

Muckraker (Theodore Roosevelt)

Normalcy (Woodrow Wilson)

O.K. (Martin Van Buren)

Sanction (Thomas Jefferson)

I think they 'misunderestimated' the full expanse of his gaffes. I like this list and this one, too. I mean, how can this list forget the 'internets' statement?

(view original post for video)

Medics: 169 Palestinian children killed in Gaza

AP wire is reporting the number of children who are the victims of what is becoming the genocidal bombing of Gaza. And now the Red Cross is claiming Israel is delaying access to the wounded. The more this information is made available, I'm sure the more recruits there will be to Hamas and terrorism against Israel and it's allies in general.

"...In the ongoing chaos of Gaza, it's difficult to get exact casualty figures. Since Dec. 27, at least 750 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moawiya Hassanain.

Of those, at least 169 were 17 and younger, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which posts staffers at hospitals to track casualties. The United Nations, citing Ministry of Health figures, said 257 children have been killed — about a third of the total fatalities. UNICEF said at least 100 children and minors were killed in the first 10 days of fighting.

"We are talking about urban war," said Abdel-Rahman Ghandour, the Jordan-based spokesman for UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa. "The density of the population is so high, it's bound to hurt children ... This is a unique conflict, where there is nowhere to go."

Bodycount Update from AP, 17Jan09:

Today, Israel declared a unilateral Gaza cease-fire. "More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive began on Dec. 27, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials. At least 13 Israelis have also died."

Two-Tequila Lunch!

Jibarra finally opened their downtown restaurant this week! and they're offering lunch and brunch. Check them out for one of the most creative menus in Raleigh's choices for Mexican fare.

The Ultimate Power Lunch

"All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office," Obama said. "For me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary."

I wonder if this is an historical event with this number of living presidents gathered together?
Oh, to be a fly on that dining room wall! Really, I'd probably only want to engage Carter, who's my favorite - the only man to use the Presidency as a stepping stone to greater things...

Clinton apparently only commented on the light brown rug.


.

December Movies

List of movies watched in December, rentals or otherwise:

Schoolhouse Rock!
The Jungle Book
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
The Tudors: Season 1: Disc 1
Princess Mononoke
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
12 Monkeys
Talladega Nights
Duchess of Duke Street: Series 1: Disc 4
MST3K: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
Ivanhoe (1952)
Bender's Game
Christmas on Mars
Elf
Tropical Thunder
Bolt in 3D
Run Lola Run

Fullsteam Brewery in Durham to open this year

"...Three years ago, Sean Wilson led the charge to overturn the state's 70-year-old ban on high-alcohol beer, busting the 6 percent cap.

This year, he opens Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, celebrating both mad science and local flavor. There you'll find beer brewed with scuppernong grapes, sweet potatoes -- even kudzu.

If his experiment works, he will have given the state a signature drink, a beer as synonymous with North Carolina as Anchor Steam is to San Francisco.

"We want to create something that's distinctively Southern, that's us, that lays claim to this region that we love," said Wilson, 38.

Wilson's "Pop the Cap" lobbying changed beer's definition, inviting a new class of stronger specialty beers brewed to enhance a good meal.

His calling came after he sampled barley wine and triple IPA beer, then learned that his adopted home state deemed them illegal, their alcohol content too high.

So he quickly co-founded Pop the Cap, and in 2005, successfully lobbied the legislature to raise beer's alcohol limit from 6 percent to 15 percent. This was no easy feat, given North Carolina's history as a control state, managing the sale of all alcoholic beverages. Opponents argued that higher-alcohol beers would be marketed directly to poor minorities..."