Beautiful. Carrie Newcomer. Glorious. She’s on tour right now. Go see her. Read more

For the Oracle of Jane Street And I would like to cry in the car.The blue violet hills and the voice of Neil Young.I left the flowers outside your door.Your curtains were flyingThough you were not at home. And I can only say that I have hoped for you.Safety from fears and darknessAre you feeling better than before? There’s a hidden life for everyone.Sorrow remains though you can tell no-one.The Host on your tongue is a perfect moon.It does shine... Read more

The Ladykillers go to church Here at GGHQ, it’s all Coen Brothers, all the time right now.Last night we were rewatching the 2004 film, “The Ladykillers,” which, frankly, grows on you after you’ve seen it 12 times or so. Anyhoodle, we were struck afresh by how fantastic the music is in the Tom Hanks/Coen Bros movie – the soundtrack assembled, once again, by the remarkable talent T-Bone Burnett. Perhaps the best music in the film, though, comes from a live... Read more

Happy Bloomsday! He had spoken himself into boldness. Stephen, shielding the gaping wounds which the words had left in his heart, said very coldly: — I am not thinking of the offence to my mother. — Of what, then? Buck Mulligan asked. — Of the offence to me, Stephen answered. Buck Mulligan swung round on his heel. — O, an impossible person! he exclaimed. He walked off quickly round the parapet. Stephen stood at his post, gazing over the calm... Read more

Tim Russert has died Unbelievable to type those words.A heart attack on the job today. He was 58. Our prayers and hearts go out to his family — Maureen and Luke — and all those who knew and loved him best. LINKS: NBC’s Tim Russert Dead at 58 (MSNBC) NBC’s Tim Russert dies (NYT/Katharine Q Seeyle in ‘The Caucus’) Newsman Tim Russert dies at 58 (CNN) This is just heartbreaking. Read more

‘And then I woke up.’ “In the dream I knew that he was goin’ on ahead, and he was fixin’ to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark, and all that cold. And I knew that whenever I got there, he’d be there.” Read more

How I’m Spending My Summer Vacation Read more

THIS IS A SNOT-FREE ZONE, THANK YOU You can create whatever comments you’d like when you hit that “comments” button at the bottom of the posts, but if you’re snotty or snarky or just a general schmuck, I’m not going to publish them. If you tend toward the uncivil, this is not the place for you. Just fair warning. Read more

Panties for Peace No, seriously.This may be one of the best acts of civil disobedience/covert peacemaking I’ve ever heard. From CANADA.COM:“UNDERWEAR A POWERFUL PROTEST” Fighting injustice and oppression is as easy as dropping a pair of panties into an envelope and mailing it to the Burmese Embassy in Ottawa. It’s all part of a campaign called Panties for Peace which was started among Burmese women in exile in Thailand last October in response to violence aimed at monks and civilians... Read more

Preach it, Johnny Cakes CLICK HERE to take the Bush/McCain Challenge Read more