David Kuo, most famous for being formerly of George W. Bush’s office of faith-based initiatives, and for later exposing much of that initiative’s cynicism, submits to Andrew Sullivan’s “ask me anything” videos. The question in this video, which is rather too simplistic for my taste: “Is faith foolish?” I don’t want to beat up on Kuo, for a number of reasons: He is obviously not, himself, a fool, but a wise, intelligent, well-meaning fellow, and his variety of religiousness is... Read more
The Boston Globe has a really good behind-the-scenes look at what went wrong for the Romney campaign, including the still-baffling decision to put a Clint Eastwood improvisational sketch in a prime time convention spot in lieu of a very compelling biography video. But what really caught my eye is this assertion from Romney's son Tagg: More than being reticent, Romney was at first far from sold on a second presidential run. Haunted by his 2008 loss, he initially told his... Read more
My little tiny-violin, poor-me post about CD Baby clearing its shelves of my old 2004 album has become something of a roller coaster. After I posted the piece, I then went to follow CD Baby’s instructions and told them to go ahead and recycle the three copies of the four they had, and they’d keep one in stock. Upon reading the piece, one person actually buys a copy. Then CD Baby themselves post in the comments section, and here’s the... Read more
Cory Booker just announced that he will not be running for governor of New Jersey in 2013, and instead will look to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (and I don’t think we yet know if he’s spoken to Sen. Launtenberg, as he definitely hasn’t said he’s going to retire). I actually think this is a wise move: He avoids a bruising and likely losing battle with a popular and nationally-famous incumbent, and he avoids having to attack the... Read more
In 2004, I had a couple of months off between theatre gigs, and I took that rare opportunity to pour my heart and soul into the recording of my first full-length album. This was a decidedly low-rent affair (though a huge deal for me), produced on a middle-of-the-line Dell desktop using Cakewalk Home Studio 2002, which I barely understood, and recording in the closet-nook room in my then-girlfriend’s bedroom in the theatre company’s actor housing. (I eventually got a Powerbook... Read more
The Economist‘s Lexington blog: As for the National Rifle Association bumper stickers arguing that only an armed citizenry can prevent tyranny, I wonder if that isn’t a form of narcissism, involving the belief that lone, heroic individuals will have the ability to identify tyranny as it descends, recognise it for what it is, and fight back. There is also the small matter that I don’t think America is remotely close to becoming a tyranny, and to suggest that it is... Read more
NYT outlines the ways in which Instagram is about to become creepy and sleazy. The long and the short is that they can share your information, use your photos in ads without your permission, use pictures of folks in ads who may not even be Instagram or Facebook users, and will show advertising content and not distinguish it as such. Does this mean that I shall angrily boycott this service out of principle? The evidence suggests otherwise. See, Facebook is... Read more
Lookin' good, Joe. Read more
The president on Sunday, in Newtown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftlT41LpIOY&feature=player_embedded Full text here. Almost unbearable to watch, for the heartbreak. A few quick observations: You can see the gravity of sadness — almost the literal gravity — weighing on this man, as though the force of grief itself is pulling on his face. His hair is whiter than ever. I’ve never seen him more sincere than when he said, “We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change.” And the line that... Read more
MG Siegler: Honestly, I don’t give a shit that you think you have the right to own a gun because someone 200+ years ago said you do to prevent (or allow for) an insurrection or whatever. If this issue is going to be solved, you’re going to have to agree that in the 21st century, maybe your right to own a gun isn’t as important as people — children — living or dying. Read more
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