Month: January 2011

Funeral of Bil’in peace activist Jawaher Abu Rahmah.
Jawaher Abu Rahmah, subsequent to inhaling tear gas at the weekly Bil’in (Palestine) protest of Israel’s wall (which cuts the villagers off from their farm lands), was evacuated to a Ramallah hospital. She died of asphyxiation and poisoning the following morning. Abu Rahmah is the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah who was also killed by a tear gas canister during a peaceful protest in Bil’in on April 17th, 2010.

Approximately twenty five Israeli protesters gathered in front of the residence of American ambassador to Israel, James B. Cunningham.

The protesters `returned’ loads of spent tear gas canisters collected in the West Bank village of Bil’in in protest of the murder of Bil’in’s Jawaher Abu Rahmah. The demonstrators also made noise throughout the Ambassador’s neighborhood informing residents of how American military aid to Israel is being used to kill unarmed and nonviolent demonstrators in the West Bank. They chanted, “one, two, three, four stop the occupation stop the war. Five, six, seven, eight end the funding (US) end the hate.”

The issue here is not only US funding of Israel’s occupation and colonization, but the supply of weapons used to subjugate the Palestinians whose lands are being confiscated, as in Bil’in.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the tear-gas killing a `war crime.’

Here’s a report of the incident from Ahmed Moor, a participant:

About a thousand of us showed up – Palestinians, Israelis and internationals – to protest the apartheid barrier in the village. The Israeli army knew we were coming so flying checkpoints were thrown up on the main road into town. Most of us hiked around the apartheid abscesses and made it to the village where I was surprised (not really) to see Salaam Fayyad. I assume he applied in advance for an entry permit.

The march got underway after the Old Guard finished posturing for the cameras. We advanced about fifty or sixty meters when Fayyad abruptly stopped, shook a few hands, and bowed out. I heard a few jokes and sniggers as we marched on.

It wasn’t long before the Jewish People’s Liberation Army began to gas people. Sorry: It wasn’t long before the Israeli Defense Forces employed riot dispersal methods.

The Israelis used two types of gas canisters. The first, which you can see in this short video I took (below), is a fist-sized bulbous rubber projectile. It begins to dispense gas in air, causing it to spin wildly and change directions before it hits the ground. Its trajectory is very hard to predict.

The second type of canister is the more deadly kind – the kind that killed Bassem Abu Rahmah in 2009. It’s also used liberally by the young supremacists in uniform. Yesterday the steel canisters, about fifty percent larger than a neat stack of quarters, were fired directly at protesters. Their trajectory is more or less straight, but they come at you much faster.

And the gas. Well, `tear gas’ is a bad name for it. It feels like a million blue shards of glass tearing at your alveoli and shredding your eyes. You can’t see and double over, trying not to breathe. Acid tears are streaming down your face, but the overwhelming sensation is of being bombarded and suffocated. You’re ensconced in darkness and your thoughts are disrupted – you only want to get away. And every breath tears at your insides; vicious animals live in your lungs. I’d rather not breathe than take one more anguished, searing, charred breath. Then, you don’t have a choice; you can’t breathe. You’re struggling to run and are overcome by dizziness. Other people help you escape.

Only Jawaher Abu Rahmah didn’t escape. She protested, dignified and unwavering for hours. She refused to yield and for that she died. She was 36 and was killed for peacefully protesting The Jewish People’s Right to Self-Determination in Palestine. Her body now rests in the cold, red earth they deify.

We exchanged a few words of encouragement before I snapped her picture, when she was still someone’s mother.

And the source of these deadly tear gas grenades?

The teargas grenades that killed Jawaher Abu Rahmah were most likely `made in the USA’

Those rubber teargas grenades (rubber so they bounce along spreading the gas rather than get stuck in one place) are “Made in USA.” I believe that the 40mm teargas shells are also made in USA.

This is one of the tear gas grenades thrown at us by the Israeli Army at a demonstration against the Apartheid Wall outside the West Bank village of Bil’in. It is made by the Defense Technology Corporation of America, headquartered in Casper, Wyoming – http://www.defense-technology.com/.

Thanks to Mondoweiss for the coverage and material for this tragic story about peace activism in Palestine.

Wow. Like the century. he’s taking it to eleven.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is openly admitting that he couldn’t cancel his family trip to Disney World to deal with the massive snow storm because he is pussy-whipped. That is not something a wise pol advertises.

When it became clear that the storm was getting worse, Christie said his wife warned him to not “even think about” canceling the trip.

So, even though his state was clearly entering a state of emergency, the governor got on a flight for Orlando. And his lieutenant governor was on vacation in Mexico. Clearly this guy is presidential material. The best part is that he blamed local officials who actually stayed and worked to clear the roadways (which are still not clear).

When asked about mayors who said they were forced to divert their resources to unplowed state roads instead of clearing local roads Christie said, “I know who these mayors are and they should buck up and take responsibility for the fact that they didn’t do their job.”

And then the cherry on top. Never apologize.

“I wouldn’t change the decision even if I could do it right now,” Christie said. “I had a great five days with my children. I promised that.”

Meanwhile:

ALSO: Just got back from a New year’s Eve beer run up Route 35 into Monmouth County. There are still – five days after the storm – unplowed patches of the state highway where a five-foot wall of snow encroaches on the travel lane. Those driving in the right lane can find themselves suddenly forced into the left lane. When will the state finally finish the plowing job? After the snow melts, I guess.

There is no reason to vote for a Republican ever. I’m serious. This is the type of government you get. 9/11, Katrina, snowstorms, it doesn’t matter. They are not interested in governing, only looting. Chris Christie is no different.

Karin Brulliard and Karen DeYoung report in the Washington Post that no one on the American side seems to be able to convince the Pakistanis to help us clear North Waziristan of militants. This is a rather important problem because our own war strategy depends on Pakistan agreeing to do this.

[Gen. Ashfaq] Kayani, who as Pakistan’s army chief has more direct say over the country’s security strategy than its president or prime minister, has resisted personal appeals from President Obama, U.S. military commanders and senior diplomats. Recent U.S. intelligence estimates have concluded that he is unlikely to change his mind anytime soon. Despite the entreaties, officials say, Kayani doesn’t trust U.S. motivations and is hedging his bets in case the American strategy for Afghanistan fails.

Again, a key point here is that (by our own intelligence estimates) Kayani’s lack of action pretty much ensures the failure of our strategy.

Pakistan is not a simple place and our alliance with Pakistan is our most complicated state-to-state relationship in the world. It’s easy to point out seeming hypocrisy or examples of illogical or self-defeating behavior on both sides. I don’t want to engage in lazy sniping. I do find it frustrating though that we have such an adversarial relationship with the Pakistani people. I see USAID really working hard to help the Pakistani people and I feel (sometimes) like the money is just being wasted.

When it comes to military aid, I believe India is correct in their assessment that it is far in excess of what is needed to “fight terror” and that it is being diverted for potential use against them. In truth, the main reason that Gen. Kayani doesn’t want to stamp out militancy in Pakistan is because he finds it to be a useful buffer against India. It’s also not unimportant that the persistence of a terror threat emanating from his territory pushes US officials to pay him ever bigger bribes. If he solved our problem for us, wouldn’t we start bitching about human rights and threatening to cut our assistance package? You bet your ass we would.

What’s ironic, and which proves the byzantine nature of U.S.-Pakistani relations, is that the recent Wikileaks dump showed that Kayani is supposed to be “our man.”

“I am not Benazir, and I know it,” Zardari told US ambassador Anne Patterson after his wife’s death.

The Pakistan President reportedly feared a fresh army coup.

According to the ‘Guardian’ report based on US cables, Pakistan opposition leader Nawaz Sharif had a “notoriously difficult personality” while his family is noted to have “relied primarily on the army and intelligence agencies for political elevation”.

In a May 2008 meeting with a visiting American Congressional delegation, Zardari reportedly said: “We won’t act without consulting with you.”

Sharif repeatedly told the US ambassador that he was “pro-American”, despite his often-critical public stance. He thanked the US for “arranging” to have Kayani appointed as army chief.

“The best thing America has done recently,” he said.

The same Wikileaks dump revealed that Kayani dislikes Sharif intensely and that Zardari fears that Kayani will have him killed. So, I don’t think it’s safe to assume you know who is whose man, or where various alliances are aimed. If Kayani is “our man” then he is balking at doing what we consider necessary.

Kayani reportedly was infuriated by the recent WikiLeaks release of U.S. diplomatic cables, some of which depicted him as far chummier with the Americans and more deeply involved in Pakistani politics than his carefully crafted domestic persona would suggest. In one cable, sent to Washington by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad last year, he was quoted as discussing with U.S. officials a possible removal of Pakistan’s president and his preferred replacement.

On the eve of the cable’s publication in November, the normally aloof and soft-spoken general ranted for hours on the subject of irreconcilable U.S.-Pakistan differences in a session with a group of Pakistani journalists.

The two countries’ “frames of reference” regarding regional security “can never be the same,” he said, according to news accounts. Calling Pakistan America’s “most bullied ally,” Kayani said that the “real aim of U.S. strategy is to de-nuclearize Pakistan.”

That last sentence may be the most important one, and the most interesting. If there were some way to de-nuclearize Pakistan we would have to consider that a high priority. But I don’t think it is U.S. policy to deal with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons independently of India’s. I think it is more accurate to say that we have contingency plans, worked out with India, for securing and destroying Pakistan’s nuclear program if the country should ever fall into chaos. But our overriding policy is to prevent Pakistan from falling into chaos. The question, then, is if our request for action on the Afghanistan border is a potentially destabilizing request.

Kayani has cultivated the approval of a strongly anti-American public that opinion polls indicate now holds the military in far higher esteem than it does the weak civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari. Pakistani officials say the need for public support is a key reason for rebuffing U.S. pleas for an offensive in North Waziristan. In addition to necessitating the transfer of troops from the Indian border, Pakistani military and intelligence officials say such a campaign would incite domestic terrorism and uproot local communities…

…Several U.S. officials described Kayani as straightforward in his explanations of why the time is not right for an offensive in North Waziristan: a combination of too few available troops and too little public support.

From Kayani’s point of view, the U.S. is asking him to take actions which will strengthen domestic opposition to the government and the army, and which could lead to the exact kind of chaos that would justify America and India teaming up to strip Pakistan of their nuclear weapons. He may think we are asking him to dig his (and his country’s) own grave. And this is supposed to “our guy.”

So, faced with this kind of nuclear-tipped house of mirrors, isn’t it tempting to say “screw it, let’s get the hell out of there”? I know I feel that way a lot of the time. I know there is a deeper game going on here that involves both good and bad motivations. But, on balance, I think we need to stop worrying about “terrorist strongholds” in North Waziristan and stop thinking we can prop up a government in Kabul that can govern the countryside. The sooner we stop fighting the unwinnable battles, the sooner we can get back to protecting ourselves in a cost-effective and sane manner.

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Sept. 23, 2010 – speaking at his Global Initiative:

Russian immigrants in Israel pose an obstacle to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians

Jerusalem (Haaretz/CNN) — Suggesting that Russian immigrants in Israel pose an obstacle to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, former U.S. President Bill Clinton stepped into the mire of Middle Eastern politics this week, prompting a wave of criticism from Israeli politicians.

Clinton, speaking at a panel discussion of his Clinton Global Initiative, told audience members: “An increasing number of the young people in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem. It’s a different Israel. Sixteen percent of Israelis speak Russian.”

Referring to the more than 1 million Russian immigrants who have come to the Jewish state since 1989, Clinton said, “They’ve just got there, it’s their country, they’ve made a commitment to the future there. … They can’t imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it.”

… Clinton recalled a 2000 conversation he had with then-Israeli Cabinet Minister and former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky in which he asked why Sharansky could not support the Camp David peace proposal he helped broker. Sharansky’s response, according to Clinton, was, “I can’t vote for this, I’m Russian. … I come from one of the biggest countries in the world to one of the smallest. You want me to cut it in half. No, thank you.”

Clinton responded, “Don’t give me this, you came here from a jail cell. It’s a lot bigger than your jail cell.” [Deleted in CNN version]

Israel’s nationalist political party Yisrael Beiteinu, headed by Israeli Foreign Minister and Soviet Union-born Avigdor Lieberman, also condemned Clinton’s comments, accusing the former president of “meddling in the internal affairs of another country.”

ADL dubs Clinton’s Russian immigration remark ‘amateur analysis’  

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

..and I am new here at Booman, have not yet had a chance to really look around.  

I am working on (researching) a piece on Arizona’s  bigotry towards hispanic immigrants especially, and people of color generally, and am wondering if anyone here has resources I may not have.

On Monday, ethnic studies will be a huge fight here.  The (Republican) Supt. of Education becoming Atty General (Horne)  has banned the TUSD Ethnic Studies Program.  The School Board is standing behind the program, which has increased minority graduation and college entrance rates, and in fact was a response to a federal directive some years back.  It is possible that Horne will take $15 million of from the district on the day he moves from one position to the other.

I know that people all over the country are watching Arizona to see if they can follow our pattern (ugh!)

I’d appreciate any leads for background and context beyond Tucson or Arizona you might share with me.

One year ago today, I posted this in response to a friend’s New Year’s non-resolution blog post:

Can I copy some of yours? 🙂

I’ve had a lovely week of spending time with old and new friends this week, and I want to continue making time for that in 2010.

I want to spend more time enjoying my family and free time, and less time worrying. I want to go on more bike rides. I want to plan ahead for meals the way I used to, so I don’t wind up eating out more than once a week. I want to laugh more, and I want to have a nice vacation with all my boys this summer.

And first on the list: I’m ready to have this baby. Time for him to come out and meet the world. 🙂

January 1, 2010 9:41 AM

Of course, little Finny listened to his mom, and made his appearance by dinnertime (6:12 pm) that night.

It’s been a great year – here’s to many more with you, buddy. 🙂

Update [2011-1-1 20:28:23 by BooMan]: Here’s a photo from today, taken while he was opening his first birthday present ever.

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Breaking news stories were optimistic the multiple drone attacks were successful in assassinating Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a top leader of the Taliban in Pakistan. I delayed this diary to get confirmation. Apparently the drones targeted the area of their home districts in the tribal area.

‘US drone strikes kill 14 militants in Pakistan’

MIRAMSHAH, Pakistan (Dawn News) –  US drone attacks killed at least 14 militants and destroyed hideouts in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region. The twin strikes 12 hours apart struck west and east of Miramshah, the main town in the tribal district.

Both attacks targeted militant hideouts, but the identity of the dead, the networks to which they may have been affiliated and whether there were any high-value targets was not immediately clear.

Pakistani officials said 11 militants were killed in the attack in Bahadar Khel village early Friday and three in the village of Khaddi late Thursday. Meanwhile, DawnNews reported that the target of the second attack was a house in the Dattakhel village, some 50 kilometres west of Miramshah.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.

 « click for story

“US drones fired three missiles at a house used by militants around 7:30 am. Eleven militants were killed,”  said a senior security official in Peshawar. Security officials in Mirmshah said seven other militants were injured and that three of the 11 dead were “foreigners” — a term used by Pakistani officials for Al-Qaeda-linked militants operating in the tribal regions.

The areas around Khaddi and Bahadar Khel are known for being strongholds of two groups loyal to Taliban-linked warlords Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Sadiq Noor, officials said.

The two men are reputed to control thousands of fighters who attack US-led forces across the border in Afghanistan, where the Afghan Taliban are waging a nearly nine-year insurgency to evict the estimated 142,000 foreign troops.

The covert campaign last year doubled missile attacks in the tribal area, where more than 100 drone strikes killed over 670 people in 2010, compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009, according to an AFP tally.

Pakistan tacitly cooperates with the bombing campaign, which US officials say has severely weakened Al-Qaeda’s leadership. But it has stalled on launching a ground offensive in North Waziristan, saying its troops are overstretched.

Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani  

The Survivalist of North Waziristan: Hafiz Gul Bahadur Biography and Analysis

The most recent information on Bahadur’s views on international jihad comes from a public statement he issued jointly with Beitullah Mehsud and Nazir in February 2009, after their formation of the Council of United Mujahideen [pdf]. The document, which quotes several Qur’anic verses citing the need for the unity among Muslims, states:.

The objective of this alliance and shura is to fight as one force in the name of God to stop the trespasser from his trespass and the oppressor from his oppression. So that Islam, the religion of God, and Truth is glorified.
…
[It is] just as the enemies, that is, the Jews and Christians, have united against the Muslims, particularly the mujahideen, under the leadership of the United States whose leader is new President Obama. [31]

‘Taliban shadow governor killed in Kunduz, Afghanistan’  

JI warns against operation in North Waziristan

(Dawn News) – Mr Hassan said the parliament was not working properly as the policies were being made outside. He criticised the government`s foreign policy and said the present rulers were following the policies of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He said uncontrolled drone attacks in tribal areas by the US were an ample proof of failure of the foreign policy.

The JI chief lashed out at Punjab Governor Salman Taseer for advocating amendments in the blasphemy law.

Former JI Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed supported Mujahideen in Iraq for fighting the invading forces and asked the Pakistan government to support Jihadi groups in Afghanistan as well as in the country.

“Remember that Taliban are fighting against nobody but America and Nato forces. Then how should we call them terrorists. They are in fact guardians of national sovereignty,” Mr Hussain added.

The Pakistan Army accused of taking dictation from the US and the speakers asked Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to inform the general public about achievements made in the war against terrorism.

“Generals and politicians have become slaves (to the US)”, said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, adding that the US secret diplomacy had exposed its real face.

Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, and Amna Masood Janjua, a representative of families of missing persons also spoke on the occasion.

Quetta Shura

PM Gilani says drone attacks proving counter-productive

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

Will the Senate Dems change the rules of the Senate on January 5th? How will it work? What’s likely to happen? You can get a decent primer on all of this from Brian Beutler over at TPMDC.

I think the answer to the first question is ‘yes’ the Democrats will begin a process on January 5th that will result in changes in the Senate rules. But it’s very hard to predict how it will all play out. The first thing the reformers need to do is to demonstrate that they have the support of Vice-President Joe Biden. Then they need to show the Republicans that they have 50 votes in their Caucus to change the rules. Once they accomplish those two things, it’s likely that Mitch McConnell will be willing to cut a deal.

At the end of the process I think we’ll see a fairly modest reform that does not do away with the 60-vote cloture rule. But I think it will make it much more politically painful to obstruct and lead the opposition to choose its battles very carefully. We’ll go from having every bill and every nomination held hostage to a situation where the GOP will let low level nominees get a vote so they can save their bullets for a few big fights.

I think they’ll make it so you have to physically maintain a filibuster and that you have to produce 41 votes for one. They’ll also change the rules so that you can only filibuster a bill once, not at every point in the process from calling the bill up, to ending debate, to having a final vote. It should speed things up a bit.

And if a party really doesn’t want something to happen, like see another Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, they still have the power to obstruct with a mere 41 votes. Here is hoping I am right. Some reforms are obviously necessary.

A CD’s worth of the year’s best songs, generally from off the beaten path.

Introduction

If you dig these songs please consider buying them.  Most can be had for less than a buck.  They will also be hosted at Pruning Shears until Thursday, so you can try before you buy over there.

Here are my favorite songs this year from my RSS feeds. I use Sharp Reader as my aggregator but it requires the .NET framework, which older computers may not have. Feed Reader doesn’t need it and is good too. See the “Free MP3 sites” part of my blogroll for my current feed list.

Most weeks I burn as many new songs as I can fit onto a rewritable CD and give it a thorough listen (usually five times), so in that spirit I keep the list under the same limit. In a way 80 minutes is arbitrary, but it’s also respectful of listeners to show some restraint. If you fall in love with my taste in music drop me a line and I’ll get you the rest of the songs I considered but didn’t have room for.

On the reckoning of time

I age songs by release date, not recording date. Until I get my grubby little hands on it, it doesn’t exist as far as I’m concerned. When it first makes it out to the public it is new, no matter how long it may have been gathering dust somewhere.

Recommended albums

In addition to the ones mentioned in the list here are the albums in 2010 I enjoyed front to back:

B.o.B – B.o.B Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray. I know B.o.B has already hit it big, so the backlash may have begun. This is a really good album though. He seems like a musical polymath much like the young Prince. He seems poised to do what Prince did early on, too – release a string of genre-hopping albums that achieve the rare feat of being both high quality and hugely popular.

Fol Chen – The New December. “Cable TV” from their previous album made my 2008 list, so I was looking out for them. I thought they were going to be one hit wonders, so imagine my surprise when “In Ruins” turned out to be good enough to make me buy the album. It’s almost more interesting for what it promises than what it delivers. It’s a very good album but has some phenomenal flashes. Fol Chen has greatness in them. If they can sustain it for an entire album, look out.

Psalm One – Woman At Work Vol. 3. Psalm One tries out lots of different sounds and approaches, and is an intriguing lyricist. Listening to it I kept wondering, what is autobiographical and what is character driven? That kind of ambiguity makes for good listening.

Highlife – Best Bless. “F Kenya RIP” was leaked to music blogs in 2009 and ended up at #5 on my list. I still listen to it a lot, still love it and think it’s a very special song. The rest of the EP is excellent too.

Resignation of the year: Arcade Fire

A few years back all the right people were talking up The Neon Bible, so I snapped it up and was looking forward to being blown away. Nope. The only song that did anything for me was that one that ripped off John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. So when The Suburbs came out I was hoping to hear something I hadn’t on the previous one. Nope. Once again, only a single song stood out – this time “City With No Children,” which really is terrific. But the rest of it passed by unnoticed. So I’ve given up on them. I’m not saying they suck, I’m just saying I won’t be trying to get with that particular program anymore. They are one of those popular groups that I simply can’t get a grip on.

Honorable Mention

I usually reserve an Honorable Mention spot for a longer song. Most years there’s at least one 7+ minute song that I like quite a bit, but since I try to get lots of different artists on the list I don’t want a single tune to crowd out several other candidates. When a longer song really blows me away (like “Bushels” by Frog Eyes in 2007) I’ll make room, but overall I prefer to keep my selections under five minutes or so.

23. “Hunter” – Citay (Buy)
You might hear this and think, “1978 called and asked for its warmed over prog/folk back,” but I don’t care. It sounds great, and that’s all I do care about. Funny enough, after listening to it a few times I decided to see what reviewers were saying. So I looked here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. All seemed like they read the promotional material, noted the Steely Dan reference, listened to it once, gave it three stars and called it a day. Only this one from Samuel Valdes Lopez singled out “Hunter” as the standout. (The album also includes a visit from tUnE-YarDs, currently the best name in music.) Funny enough, right around this time I became aware of San Francisco’s angst over where its Next Big Thing was and its consequent championing of Joanna Newsom. Dear folks: May I humbly suggest that the artist you’re looking for has been under your nose for a while now, and in January released the 2010 Album of the Year?

The List

(And yes as proof of concept I burned them on to a CD using Winamp.)

22. (2010 Best Percussion) “I Was Never Bored at All” – Francis (Buy)
There are lots of different ways to keep the beat, aren’t there?

21. “Marken Lag Stilla” – Dungen (Buy)
So a few years back I heard “C Visar Vägen,” which I liked a lot – but not enough to put on the list. Then a couple years ago I heard “Satt Att Se,” which I liked a lot – but not enough to put on the list. Then last year I heard “Dirt Naps” by 5 O’Clock Shadowboxers, which samples “Satt Att Se” (YESS!!) and which (stop me if you’ve heard this before) I liked a lot – but not enough to put on the list. I was starting to think I’d have to make some kind of Lifetime Achievement award for Dungen because they release a lot of really good music that seemed destined to just miss the cut. Happily that is no longer an issue; they knocked it out of the park with “Marken Lag Stilla.”

20. “Ghost” – Natasha Borzilova (Buy)
In addition to having a beautiful voice, Borzilova sings in a lower register than most women. It gives her vocals a little more gravity and in this song a distinctive tone of melancholy. There’s no mistaking her for anyone else.

19. (2010 Best Handclaps) “Up Up Up” – Givers (Buy)
A very full and complete sounding song, which is particularly surprising considering it’s basically a bunch of teenagers with their first song ever. (That’s not strictly true obviously – see their site!) Released last November, but I give a grace period for relatively unknown artists. They don’t exactly get their stuff released with a blaze of publicity, so it can take some time for it to make its way out.

18. “Two Bedroom Apartment” – Danielle Ate the Sandwich (Buy)
A nearly perfectly captured sense of longing, accompanied – amazingly enough – by a lightly strummed ukulele.

17. “Running Out” – Scissor Sisters (Buy)
Every couple of months it seems like some song is the darling of music blogs, indie hipsters, and all the rest of the people in the know. Everyone posts on it, reviews it, talks about it, and the vast majority of the time it’s mediocre at best. The last song that lived up to the hype was “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. which was, let’s see, three and a half years ago. I basically don’t bother anymore, which is why I gave this one a pass when it started showing up everywhere. But when Said the Gramophone gave it the seal of approval I relented. I’m glad I did. Take this one to the nearest dance floor!

16. “Self Machine” – I Blame Coco (Artist home page)
Speaking of dance floors. There’s usually a delay between when I download a song and start listening to it, which has a really nice benefit: By the time it gets on to my playlist I’ve forgotten about it. This makes it possible to mix in the occasional bit of popular stuff and listen to it on its merits, without any of the attendant hype – good or bad. (By the way, I know Taylor Swift has become inescapable and oppressive, but if “Speak Now” is any indication she’s a perfectly legitimate artist.) It also helps tamp down expectations when there are other circumstances in play. In this case Coco Sumner is Sting’s daughter, and I’m glad I didn’t start listening with that knowledge. I’d have expected a half-assed effort typical for the dilettante offspring of the famous. Instead this is a top notch slice of electro-pop. And incidentally, having a famous parent in the industry doesn’t appear to get you too far these days. She’ll have to hoof it just like everyone else.

15. “Like The Wheel” – The Tallest Man On Earth (Buy)
Another artist I’ve been watching for a while now. First came to my attention for A Field of Birds, which is a very, very good one. But this one: oh my. Another unmistakable voice.

14. “Fidelity” – Isaiah and Hovey (Facebook page)
Since hip hop puts such a premium on lyrics it probably shouldn’t be surprising that it has some of the best. For instance, some get into topical and socially conscious territory that, with the possible exception of folk, is more immediate and topical than in any other genre. (Favorite lyrics of the year: “Don’t think you’re safe though / because you’re not black / greed is color blind / so I’m color blind / they gon’ fuck with yours soon as they done with mine.”) Sometimes it’s just wordplay, though like in this song. Literally playing with words, putting sounds and images together just because it’s fun: “Now back to Studebaker, / Keep it rolling like a wagon / I flow no circuit breaker / Spitting fire like a dragon / So my bars are extra crispy / Got a flow you can’t imagine / And on songs I’m never lagging / Because rapping is my passion, bwoy!” Also, a phenomenal hook.

13. “Do You Swear” – Amanda Palmer (Buy)
For a long time now I’ve liked the idea of Amanda Palmer’s music more than her actual music. I like what she did with the Dresden Dolls and love the idea of a David Bowie for this generation; someone with a superb pop sensibility and just enough of a skewed outlook to be unacceptable for the mainstream. Someone transcendentally cool for today’s losers and misfits to embrace, and who embraces them right back.

This right here is the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for. It’s hardly the hip sound of the moment, and in any event with lines like “we’re all gonna die and a blow job’s fantastic” it was destined to miss your local Top 40 station regardless of its instrumentation. Still, it’s got a phenomenal hook and has the kind of cheerfully semi-antisocial attitude that makes perfect sense if you feel destined to live on the margins. It’s cool, it’s way cool, it’s out there for everyone to hear, but like a dog whistle only gets picked up by its intended audience. It’s a balm for a lot of kids (I know precisely none of them personally, but I know they’re out there) who need to hear exactly this. It’s the soundtrack for a secret society that’s hidden in plain sight.

12. “Big Wave” – Jenny and Johnny (Buy)
Best pop song about macroeconomic collapse ever! From I’m Having Fun Now, which I highly recommend.

11. “Take Me With You” – Evil Ebenezer (Buy)
Genres seem to have particular strengths or weaknesses (or at least consistently draw those with them); for instance, introspection rarely seems to get done well in hip hop. That’s part of what makes this one stand out – it not only paints a compelling picture, but a very different one than usual.

10. (2010 Best Whistle) “The Sound” – Benno Herz (Artist home page)
A great contrast: a cheerful and upbeat melody for an anti-love song. Not a hate song, but an indifferent one, an “I don’t see what the fuss is all about” song.

09. (2010 Best Kazoo) “Colors” – April Smith (Buy)
That’s right – best kazoo. Just listen, OK?

08. “Drunken Poet’s Dream” – Ray Wylie Hubbard (Buy)
Great hook, great vocals, great lyrics.

07. “The Daredevil Way” – Terri Tarantula (Buy)
There’s a certain kind of droning, stinging electric guitar sound that I absolutely love and almost never hear. It sounds even better with a female voice in front of it. A couple years ago I was captivated by All The Shallow Deep by Blank Blue, but at the end of the year I kept it off the list because it didn’t have ZAZZ! I regret it now, because it sounds better than some of what’s on the list. Lesson learned: don’t be afraid to go with a quieter sound. Terri Tarantula is the first beneficiary. (That said, I probably only partially learned it and a couple years from now will regret leaving off Diamondback by J. Tillman. Sigh.)

06. “Sunshine Ft M.I.A” – Rye Rye (Buy)
A few years back I was impressed with Rye Rye but couldn’t tell if she was for real or just drafting behind Blaqstarr. Question answered.

05. “Defiance (for Elise Sunderhuse)” – Emperor X (Buy Double Cassette (limited edition!))
Lyrics reproduced with permission from the artist.

General Doom got another leg caught.
He was arming kids (who were) begging for artillery shells to kick around
and building white crosses to commemorate the martyrs’ brigade
in the Red Crescent-bearing ambulances.
It’s better than working in the mines all day.

 One vehicle’s down.
We were praising the Lord when we heard the report
of the trucks and the cranes and the double-yellow lines
and the fear and the love and the violence dissolved.
We’re told that we’ve learned a great deal,
and we’re told that your loss is collateral cost,
and stochastically inevitable,
and the price that we pay for breathing,
but we defy.

 Punk Haitians kicking under concrete
charge their phones and send another text feed to the flotilla
and it’s out, but time’s not a disease.
It’s an ordered state. It’s a firm substrate.
It’s a shocking priceless wasteland,
and it’s where we’ll raise our kids and get lost and defy.

 Letters, pixels, texts
crystallize and mutate.
Patterns amplifying forever.

04. (2010 Best Backing Vocals) “Wrote A Song For Everyone” – Mavis Staples (Buy)
An unearned visit from someone much wiser than you. Me too.

03. “Thought Of U Featuring Yvette Jarvis and Michael Beals” – Hellafactz (Buy)
So listen. I like Empire State Of Mind as much as the next guy, but there’s a problem with it that was pretty obvious from the start: It’s a big song. It’s a drop-everything-and-throw-your-hands-in-the-air song, which is great at a concert, an awards show or a promotional video but after the first flush of success feels kind of presumptuous. If you aren’t from The City or employed by its Chamber of Commerce this might not be a good choice for your next party mix. You want something that will stay in the background but still get heads nodding, something that will work its way into your guests without seeming intrusive, something like this song right here – a celebration of the much less heralded city of Halifax. Because let’s face it: Five years from now will you be more interested in hearing An Anthem or a little something you can throw on at your barbecue?

02. (2010 Best New Artist) “Heal My Hand” – Falklands (MySpace page)
This year’s proof that rock and roll isn’t dead (yet). Four minutes of smoking hot guitars, kick ass drums and a singer wailing to his love for one more chance. Off of an EP, which was followed up later in the year by Think About It, which – this is still hard to believe – can be downloaded for free as of this writing. (By the way, 2:39 of “It’s Good to See You” is 2010’s Best Second in Music.) It is the most outrageously, extravagantly generous offer in music this year, and even though you can get it at no cost you really should throw a few bucks in the hat when you grab it. Encourage them. Help them tour. These guys deserve to be huge.

01. “Blue Sky On Holiday” – Annemarie (Buy)
Wins by the Ben-Hur Rule. Ben-Hur was, of course, the winner of the 1960 Best Picture Oscar. It is characteristic of Best Picture winners because the Academy seems to go to great lengths to make sure the honoree is always – always – a movie with a message. It has to be something deep that tells us something timeless about the human condition, it must reach for great things, and it most certainly must not be frivolous or silly. You will likely never see, for instance, a screwball comedy even get nominated, because Best Picture has to be Heavy.

That’s true in other are forms as well. You won’t see lighter stuff at the top of the heap. The awards for Best have to be reserved for those things that, in the minds of the voters, best justify the existence of the art form itself. Fluff is by definition excluded.

I think that’s bunk.

In music, don’t you think some allegedly insubstantial stuff has held up pretty well? Doesn’t the golden age of Motown sound pretty good, aren’t the Monkees still a gas, and doesn’t even that era’s ultimate expression of disposable bubblegum pop – “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies – still sound pretty good?

I try to keep that in mind with my Best Song pick. I try not to exclude anything; I try to pick the song that gives me the most listening enjoyment, whatever that nebulous thing is, during the year – even if it seems like nothing more than a confection. Because it might hold up better than most folks expect, and the favored heavyweight might not.

Could a three minute ray of sunshine like this be the best song of the year? Sure – for the same reason Some Like it Hot was the best film of 1959.

Hello again painting fans.

I’ll be continuing with the painting of the turreted Cape May Victorian house.  I’m using my usual acrylic paints on an 8×8 inch gallery-style (thick) canvas.

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.

Since that time, I have continued working on the painting.

With the holidays I actually did find an appreciable amount of time to work on this painting. There is little that hasn’t changed since last time.  I’ve revised most details of the house.  Most notable among these is the turret itself, now softly shadowed across its curved surface.  In fact most of the lighting has been softened.  Note that the turret’s windows have been narrowed.  The porch to the left has had its perspective revised, details added and shadows applied.  On the roof highlights and shadows now make for an interesting geometric pattern. Below, the street and sidewalk are now complete.  The bushes and trees are now green and shadowed.  Finally, the sky is a pale but complex pattern of blue and white.  The painting is now complete, and I am very happy with it.

The current and final state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

   

That’s about it for now. Next week I’ll have a new piece to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.