Raul Malo

I went to Raul Malo’s CD release party this afternoon.  I drank mojitoes until I was good and tipsy and then I called Mack and sang “RAaaahooooolllll  RRRAAAAaaaahhhhooooolllll” to him.
I found it hilarious anyway.
Can we talk frankly, America?
Okay, it’s like this.  There appears to be no one in charge of Nashville.  Seriously.  If you go [...]

Forget What John’s Writing, What’s Willie Singing?

We should have a contest and whoever can come up with the most plausible interpretation of what Blind Willie Johnson is singing when he’s singing “John the Revelator” would win some fabulous prize.  Because his version is almost totally different than the song Son House sings.
House’s version is easy enough to hear.
The chorus goes:
Who’s that [...]

What is Feminism?

I’m running late so poke your heads in here.  Here’s the only tangent I would want to go off on, if I had time.  I think I reject a definition of feminism that says “men and women are equal” unless there are a ton of caveats, because I think masculinity, as currently performed, can be [...]

One for the Academics–The Ithaka Report

So, my scholarly and librarian friends, have you read The Ithaka Report?  I have mixed feelings.  I feel ooky about the idea that the university press exists only to to supply content for libraries and, while I think that libraries and university presses do have common ground, their goals are very different.  Libraries want information to [...]

Attention Tennessee Bloggers: David Oatney is Better than You

If you think you’ve received this message by mistake, please submit a résumé and a list of your most recent charitable contributions to Mr. Oatney in the comments to this post.

I Laughed; I Cried; I Laughed Some More

Rachel Walden, MLIS! is on fire today with a bunch of good posts.  I’d like to ask y’all to check out this one, though.  I found it both hilarious and deeply disturbing.

Are Radical Feminists Happy?

I hesitate to ask that question because “insufferable, miserable bitch” pretty much goes hand in hand with “feminist” in the popular culture and I hate to add to it.  But I see these radical feminists running around the internet killing joy wherever they see it and I just have to wonder.
In a way, it reminds [...]

Random Things that Made Me Laugh and Nod My Head

1.  Little girl.  Big bamboo.  What I wouldn’t give to be that matter-of-factly adventurous again.  What happened?
2.  “If you combine an introverted streak, a slow-growing social sense, and a fast-growing sense of risk aversion, you get a nerd.”  Fast-growing sense of risk aversion!  That’s me.
3.  And Britain, too, apparently, where folks are up in arms [...]

Fun With The Butcher

It’s 6:20 and the Butcher is still in his bed.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m back to basics.”
“What?”
“You know, bratwurst.”
“Why aren’t you at work.”
“It’s noble downstairs.”
“THE BUTCHER.  Why aren’t you at work?”
“I have today off.”
“What does that have to do with bratwurst?”
“Nothing.  What are you talking about?”
Edited to add:
I think “Noble” may be a name or [...]

Random Things–Girls, Girls, Girls

–I hope Richland Creek is not too polluted, because I let Mrs. Wigglebottom play in there for a good quarter of an hour during our walk.  I’m really enjoying the greenway, even if it does just go around the golf course.  I would enjoy it a whole lot more if it weren’t ninety-five and humid [...]

Like Tuning in a Faint Radio Station

We didn’t just watch Premonition, we also watched all of the documentaries about people who actually have premonitions that they included on the disk. Bless their hearts, it made the stinking mess of the movie even more clear. If you’re not going to make a movie actually about premonitions, don’t include supplemental material that will [...]

Random Weekend Observations

–If you watched only cheesy movies, you would come to believe that all black people are originally from Philadelphia.
–Fred Claus could not look any more ridiculous.
–The Simpsonswas hilarious.  The first half is more movie-ish and the second half is more tv-show-ish, but it’s all very, very enjoyable.  Also, who does not love Lisa’s little Irish [...]

Cats are Magic, Right?

The new altar is home, but not yet in place.  The cats like it, though.

Not Water is ‘Land’

Y’all, I don’t know if it’s just the end of a long week at the end of a long month or what, but I find something so charming and beautiful about this that it makes me want to convert to LOLCatianity.
Hat tip to NM.

I’d Like Two Words

Wanted: One word that would encompass Coble, Abramson, Exador, etc. and another word that would encompass Frank, Oatney, Campfield, etc. Clearly, those are two vastly different groups of folks that, though they share a lot in common, differ so widely in whether they make sense that really, they shouldn’t be lumped under the same [...]

The Supposedly Cursed Brentwood Library

I’ve been working on this big long post for three days that brought to mind the story of the cursed Brentwood library.  I was thinking of said story on our walk this morning, too, because who, now, would believe a story about construction in Middle Tennessee that included no reference to Mexicans?
Mull that over, folklorists.
Anyway, [...]

Is It Too Much to Ask?

I want a cabinet like this.  I thought it might be easy enough to build one, but I think I might have been dissuaded from that.  But here’s the thing.  This is a hundred and fifty bucks and it doesn’t come assembled, which means, I’d still have to put it together.
I couldn’t do better putting [...]

The Summer of a Thousand Weird Rashes

Look at this!  No, seriously, look at that.  Do you see it?  I know it’s not in great focus, but that is, I believe, a poison ivy blister.

Random Things That Struck Me This Morning

1.  I want to say something about this, but I can’t quite work my mind around it.  It seems spot on, but I don’t know that I want to call it a liberal/conservative split.  Hmm.  Maybe we’ll come back to this.
2.  The perjury bothers me, but the refusal to answer questions bothers me more.  Conservatives, [...]

Dog Tired

I’m so tired. So, so tired.
I want to come up with something amusing for you, but here’s the only thing that springs to mind.  You know how when you have an itch?  Scratching an itch is a lot like having bad sex.  It’s nice to have the sensation, but the longer it goes on, [...]

Yet Again, Martin Brady Chaps My Hide… or is it Chafes My Hide? No Matter.

Is this Martin Brady the same dude who writes for the Scene? If so, I have half a mind to take Mrs. Wigglebottom down to their new headquarters and let her meet him.
Once he’s charmed and enamored with her–as most folks quickly become–I’m going to pick her up and knock him upside the head [...]

Robert L. Crosnoe, You Appear to Be a Dink UPDATED

Dear Professor Crosnoe,
Congratulation on getting your article written up over at The Chronicle of Higher Education.   Too bad you appear to be a dink.  I have only four words of advice for you–find you a feminist.
Here’s the problem (and I’m sorry I have to quote so much from The Chronicle but most of my [...]

Dropping Bombs in the Middle of the Story

Slate.com has a story about Muslim polygamy here in the U.S.  I will summarize it for you.  Blah blah blah some Muslim men have more than one wife.  Some Muslim leaders don’t mind.  Some Muslim women don’t mind.  Some do.  And so forth.
Now, you may remember Akon from such publicity stunts as dry humping a [...]

w.

Congratulations to longtime commenter W. on the pending arrival of w.

At the Vet

Mrs. Wigglebottom is at the vet. I am in full-on fret until I hear from my parents how it went.
UPDATE: So, Mrs. W. tried to bite the vet. Not my proudest moment as a dog owner. Also, apparently, her problem is in her knee. He wanted to do x-rays for [...]