Blog it like Beckham

Felicia is working a weekend shift at our favorite Northern Wisconsin pet supply catalog, so I got stuck with three baskets of dirty clothes, $30 bucks in quarters and a much needed trip to a local haven for senior citizens here in Rhinelander -- the laundromat.

I don't know if it's possible to feel masculine while folding your fiance's bras and skirts in front of a bunch of elderly people and young kids, but between loads of laundry at the ol' laundromat this morning I got to at least watch England beat Paraguay 1-0 on a David Beckham free kick that was directed into Paraguay's goal by their own defender. And speaking of masculinity, I've never been a part of the Beckham-metrosexual fandom, but I do have to say I like the man's old hairstyle, which I am currently sporting in my own slightly metrosexual way. But back to World Cup soccer.

Ze Germans got the action rolling with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica yesterday despite a pretty shaky defensive effort. SI.com's Mark Betchel says that could spell problems for ze Germans later in the round. Meanwhile, Richard Deitsch blogs about "A Taste of Germany in Gotham" in SI.com's World Cup Pub Blog. Just reading that article makes me long for a boot of beer and a couple sausages at the Essen House down in Madison, WI. Maybe a pinch of haggis as well.

And while I do love ze Germans, I might just have to pick Sweden to make it deep in the Cup because they have such, um, loyal (and by loyal I mean "great looking") fans:

Then again, Brazil is always great because you have fans like this running out onto the field just to meet Ronaldinho.

Politics & News

Inside the Cult of Kos
What makes the political blogger so mesmerizing to his followers?
By Ana Marie Cox

"If I cared what commenters said, I'd kill myself." In the high-octane non-stop flame war that is the political blogosphere, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga knows how to get attention. He's kidding, of course. We're talking about the rhetorical excesses that can spill out of the impassioned debate that takes place on his creation, DailyKos.com, the world's most popular political blog.

Compact and wiry, Moulitsas, 34, exudes quivering intensity. He speaks in staccato paragraphs, punctuated by intense stares and a raised eyebrow. His eyes bulge slightly outward, as if reacting to the pressure of all the ideas inside his head. Many of those ideas find a home on Daily Kos. A clearinghouse for liberal screeds and progressive perspective on the news, the site claims to get more than 500,000 unique visitors daily, and more than 10,000 members maintain their own sub-blogs (called "diaries") within its reaches. On Thursday, almost a thousand of these loyal readers and contributors — along with Wesley Clark, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and former Virginia governor and potential '08 contender Mark Warner — will gather in Las Vegas for a pep rally-cum-political conference, "Yearly Kos."

Read the full article and check out Daily Kos.

BBC news examines the "McJob": It is the definition of a low-paying, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job. But is there more to a McJob?

CNN host compares Gore to Hitler [via Think Progress].

Entertainment

From Penn State professor Michael Berube's Arbitrary But Fun Friday series, a post on Christopher Walken:

It’s well known that Christopher Walken has appeared in eight percent of all motion pictures ever made, and that his very presence in a film indelibly changes its character, effectively Walkenizing the entire work: witness, for example, his demonic turn as land developer Reed Thimple in the 2002 epic, The Country Bears. As David Nusair has written, “the movie just might be worth a rental if only for the sight of watching Christopher Walken belt out a musical number using only his hand and his armpit.” That’s low humor, though. The good people of The Onion‘s A.V. Club have a much more refined appreciation of the film:

in a deliriously bizarre mid-film moment, he dances around his office alone in red boxers and bunny slippers, playing with his own face, cackling, and dropping an immense remote- controlled weight on balsa-wood models of Country Bear Hall in order to practice the none-too-shocked line “Oh no! Country Bear Hall has been crushed!"

I’ve seen that scene. I’ve replayed it many times. It is sublime, I tell you...[full post]

Literature

An interview with one of the greatest realism writers existing today, John Updike, on his new novel, Terrorist [La Weekly]:

In Terrorist, a novel whose title will either roll eyes or raise eyebrows, John Updike seeks to crack open one of the hardest shells available to the New England writer: the mind of the young, angry, resentful Muslim. To meet this literary challenge, Updike concocts Ahmad, a teenage Molotov cocktail of mixed races (Irish mother, absent Egyptian father), mixed feelings of hatred and tentative love for America, and mixed allegiances to both his high school and his mosque, in dreary New Prospect, New Jersey.

Music

Picked up a great B-side from one of my favorite bands ever, Muse, this afternoon -- courtesy of The Torture Garden, one of my favorite blogs and the first one to blogroll this here little site way back when. Shane was even gracious even to dole out the "Best for Cross Market Appeal" Award to Veritas Lux Mea in a recent post. Kinder words were never said my blogging friend, thank you. Although I think I'd vote for Colbert for President before I'd thrown my own hat in the ring.

Be sure not to miss Shane's Best of 2006 (so far) as well.

Can You See the Sunset From the Soutside has been great lately (and always) with some Mission of Burma, Pants Yell, and some great jazz from Katahdin's Edge, whom I'd never heard of before this afternoon.

If you didn't know by now, Adult Swim is giving away the Danger Doom Occult Hymn EP for free on their website. Here's a preview: Danger Doom - "Sofa King Remix"

Go snag the whole thing for yourself


In honor of England's win today in the World Cup, some more music from British band Muse, off their most recent release, Absolution, a must-have for the CD collection:

Muse - "Stockholm Syndrome"
Muse - "Apocalypse Please"

And a b-side off Black Holes and Revelations:

Muse - "Soldier's Poem"

As I mentioned, grab another Muse track at The Torture Garden.

Featured Album: CBGB's and the History of U.S. Punk

During the early 70’s New York’s infamous Bowery district was to say the least seedy. Television’s Tom Verlaine recalls “ it was all skid row hotels, alcoholics on the street. It was cheap”. Drunks littered the streets, their lives entwined with the day-to-day activities of the areas large Hispanic community. Yet despite its seemingly irreversible state of decline it was here that Hilly Kristal chose to open of all things a Country Bluegrass Blues (CBGB) club in December ’73, situated beneath the Palace Hotel and next door to writer William Burrow’s ‘Bunker’.


Country, folk, bluegrass and blues had been enjoying something of a revival and significantly Kristal’s immediate circle of friends were keen advocates of these sounds. Having embraced his friends musical passions he soon found however that filling the club stage, let alone the venue was no easy task. Admittedly the club and its p.a. were as basic and run down as the Bowery itself but the following spring a passing Richard Meyers aka Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine managed to hustle themselves a gig on an otherwise closed Sunday night. Now calling themselves Television they’d begun life in 1972 as a 3 piece with Billy Ficca but when auditions for a second guitarist proved fruitless had opted to shelve the project. Both Chris Stein, then of The Stillettoes ( whose ranks included Debbie Harry ) and Douglas Colvin ( aka Dee Dee Ramone ) had both tried out for the position but the latter proved too much of a novice whilst Stein didn’t like their direction. Yet by March 1974 they’d emerged re-christened as a four piece and were keen to secure a residency where they could set about developing their sound.

Its worth noting at this point that the concept of ‘residencies’ involving a band regularly playing at the same venue on the same night over a period of time was not an uncommon one back then and CBGB’s built its reputation on employing just such a policy...

Read the full review at Union Square Music

01 - The Velvet Underground & Nico - I 'm waiting for the man
02 - The Sonic - Louie Louie
03 - The Seeds - Excuse, Excuse
04 - The 13th Floor Elevators - Slip inside this house
05 - New York Dolls - Trash
06 - Iggy & The Stooges - Tight Pants
07 - Electric Eels - Agitated
08 - Suicide - Speed Queen
09 - Pere Ubu - Heart of Darkness
10 - Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation
11 - Television - Friction (live at CBGB's)
12 - Wayne County & The Electric Chairs - I had too much to dream last night
13 - Blondie - Rip her to shreds
14 - Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles
15 - Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer (original mix)
16 - The Ramones - Judy is a punk (original demo '75)
17 - Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Born to Lose
18 - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (once)