Sunday Open House: May 23, 2010

I don't know how long I'll be able to stick with this idea.... but..... if I can manage to keep it going I'd like to "flash back" every Sunday to some of the type of content that Veritas Lux Mea was founded upon: links to great music sites, news, and analysis that I encounter in my daily trips around the web.

This is a music blog, and so while I do want to keep it that way, its nice once a week to throw a few links up for my friends that might otherwise not find their way to the content. The interweb is a long and perilous journey, but on Sundays, perhaps we can be your guide to some interesting info.

Around the Blogosphere

It's been a while since I last checked in with my friends over at So Much Silence, but they've had some really good stuff up for you to check out lately, including this video from Friday night's Pearl Jam performance. Eddie brought up Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses to join in on a rendition of Temple of Dog's "Hunger Strike." Very cool. A few posts down they also have a video of The National playing "England" from their recent Brooklyn Academy of Music performance that you shoudn't miss.

If you're not stopping by Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands at least every Saturday you are missing out on the great covers that come along every weekend. Where else can you find Conor Oberst and Ben Gibbard covering The Ghostbusters Theme? Or Weezer covering "I Think We're Alone Now"?

Last but certainly not least, you can get your hands on a whole slew of free good music stew, including the new Interpol track "Lights" over at Ear Farm.

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Hamburger Heaven

My wife is a giant fish nerd, and I say that with love. As a result, she's really into taxonomy, the practice and science of classification. I bet she would enjoy this post over at The Huffington Post on the Taxonomy of the Different Species of Hamburgers. Ok, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't, but if you're a meat loving carnivore like me, you will.

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Turn Your Computer's CD Tray into an iPod Dock

Got an iPod but don't want to shell out the cash for one of them fancy docks? Good thing you can just use your computer's CD tray to do the trick [Lifehacker]

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Fantasy Gardens

Something not a lot of people know about me is that I really enjoy interior decorating and landscaping. Our modest l bedroom apartment might not show it all that much, but I do what I can. As is such, one of my favorite stops is the Apartment Therapy website. I particularly enjoyed this recent post about outdoor Fantasy Gardens, especially the camel-shaped shrubs.

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Oh how the mighty have fallen; photo by Getty images

Boo for the Crew

The Brewers have been absolutely terrible this year, which is really bumming me out. I went down to Phoenix recently to watch them sweep the then-hot Arizona Diamondbacks in epic fashion, but since then, it has been mostly downhill. The reason? It's gotta be the pitching.

The Brewers have won just 1 game in the past 12, a monumental losing streak, especially in a division that is as closely contended as the NL central most years. Their team ERA is 5.50, third worst in the majors, and they are already 9 games back of the surging Cincinnati Reds in the standings. To echo just how poorly they have pitched and at what cost it has been to their record, the Brewers have scored the 7th most runs in the league, and hit the 4th most homeruns. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks have a more disparate pitching/scoring gap. But whose to blame?

A lot of people are calling for the firing of Ken Macha, but last time I checked, he's not the one out there toeing the slab for nine innings. The Brewers have failed to make a significant upgrade to their pitching staff in the past few years and its coming back to bite them. Hard. Certainly the loss of phenomenal pitching coach Mike Maddux has had some impact the past two years; while the Texas Rangers under Maddux are flourishing (as much as your pitching can flourish in Arlington, at least) with a 4.04 team ERA, the Brewers staff led by Rick Peterson has floundered.