Friday, October 28, 2005

What Bush Meant to Say About Libby

After Irving Libby (this "I. Lewis Libby" stuff is getting annoying, and I refuse to call a grown man "Scooter") was indicted on five counts, Pres. Bush said Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people." What Bush meant to say was that Libby has "worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people who aren't named Valerie Plame. He didn't work so hard for her."

Thursday, October 27, 2005

CNB Backhand of the Day Award

The Official CNB Backhand of the Day Award (given for the public comment that serves only to show the commentee who's boss) goes to Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS). Sen. Lott, a man who knows public relations problems firsthand, decided to be the first to let now-former Supreme Court nomineee Harriet Miers know just where the door should hit her on the way out.

“Let’s move on. In a month, who will remember the name Harriet Miers?”

Yes, public criticism of her entire career was not enough -- why not speculate that she will quickly fade into obscurity as well? For that kick in the pants on the way down, Sen. Trent Lott gets the CNB Backhand of the Day Award. Keep up the good work, Senator.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Links to free music, vol. II

Here is the link to the first free music entry.


I Will Love You - Fisher
A very pretty song that has evidently been used in several movies. It is a straightforward love song that sounds a lot like Sarah McLachlan and the like. If you get lucky from this song, you can thank me later.

Me and Mia - Ted Leo and Pharmacists
This incredible song was on the top 10 list for many critics for best song of 2004. Yes, I am behind the times in posting it now. If you had never heard of it before now, then you are even more behind the times, so there.

Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
I am not big on electronica at all, but I cannot stop listening to this haunting song. I've read that it was used in the season finale of the OC (I've never actually seen the show), and Ms. Heap's group Frou Frou had a song on the Garden State soundtrack (which also brought the Shins to a much wider audience). I know nothing about the rest of her stuff -- I just know that this song is amazing.

Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens has received a lot of critical praise for his album Illinois, a theme album with songs about, unsurprisingly, the state of Illinois. This song is about the death of a friend, but the title refers to a holiday here in Chicago (go here for more detail). Very good song.

Three Good Reasons - Dwight Yoakam
A free song off of Mr. Yoakam's latest album. Even if you don't like country, you might still like this, as his stuff tends to be more rockabilly. If you like traditional country, you will, as with Mr. Yoakam's prior work, enjoy this song.

Can't Hold it Down - Andy Sullivan
Andy Sullivan used to be in a band called Steeplejack, which I followed quite a bit back when I lived in Minneapolis. They were heavily influenced by bluegrass and country long before O Brother Where Art Thou? made bluegrass more mainstream. This song is an instrumental that showcases Mr. Sullivan's adept guitar skills, and gives you a flavor of the kind of music that Steeplejack released. If you can find Kitchen Radio, you should buy it, because you will not be sorry. In addition, you should buy Mr. Sullivan's upcoming album, because I bet you'd like that, too. For now, enjoy this free song (and the rest of his music, for that matter).

Don't Look Back - Mark Dvorak
This is another instrumental, but I have a family connection here (Mark is married to my wife's sister). This is a fabulous song, which Mark self-produced by the way, that sort of sounds like it should be used in an expensive car commercial. You can find more of Mark's stuff here, which is something I highly recommend.