international house of homophobic pancakes

the other day, trav (my brother) and i were getting lunch at ihop, and our 40-something year old waitress very casually referred to the name donald as being "gay (i don't remember how the name donald came up in the first place, but thats beside the point)." it was very clear that she meant gay as in bad, not gay as homosexual. in hindsight i wish i had been quick enough to take trav's hand and look her in the eyes and explain that trav was my boyfriend and that we'd appreciate more respectful adjectives.

unfortunately, both of us were caught off guard and unable to come up with such a response; we merely agreed that she was an ignorant bitch after she left. you know, i get it when teenage boys call stuff gay, thats understandable, but for a 40 year old woman to think thats ok to do, to strangers, in public? damnit utah, aside from your natural wonders, you suck donkey balls.

Jon Lester

Tom Verducci has a piece on si.com touching on Manny's annual blowup and calling attention to the string of great starts Jon Lester has put together. On the Manny front, I can't help but wonder why people care so much. This isn't exactly a shocking development - it's happened almost every year Manny has been in Boston. When Manny's on the field, he performs, and his fight for 4 years / 100 million can only help the Red Sox down the stretch. I think the chances of Manny staying in Boston next year are better than 50/50, but Peter Gammons disagrees.

Though Tom Verducci is one of my least favorite national baseball writers, his take on Jon Lester is worth reading. The bulk of his argument is a waste of space - single game performance doesn't tell you about a pitchers prospects - but there are some good nuggets. The comparison with Andy Pettitte is legitimate (and surprisingly robust). If Lester's career mirrored Pettitte's, Red Sox fans should be pretty happy. Over the last six weeks, Lester has showed that type of growth. He's been a stopper twice in two starts (Yankees, Seattle), and is consistently pitching deeper into games than any other starter. Orel Hershiser was right when he said Lester's growth trajectory over the last three seasons has been off the charts, and Varitek's comment that "he's only 60% of the pitcher he will become," has fans giddy with excitement. This is my favorite Red Sox rotation of my lifetime because of the excitement factor. No matter who's starting, whether its the established vets or young guns, you feel the potential for something special every night.

A post script to this entry: lots of commentators point to Lester's WS clinching victory as one of his major accomplishments. I don't think performance in one game, be it the world series, Yankee Stadium, or the no-hitter, can be grounds for projecting big league success. I was hoping to point to other starting pitchers who clinched recent world series to back this up, and this is the list I found. If there's nothing listed for a year, the clinching game was won by a reliever.

• 2006: Jeff Weaver 8IP


• 2005: Freddy Garcia 7IP


• 2004: Derek Lowe 7IP


• 2003: Josh Beckett 9IP


• 2002: John Lackey 5IP


• 1999: Roger Clemens 7.2IP


• 1998: Andy Pettitte 7.1IP

Going back to 1990, the only other pitchers that fit the criteria are Jimmy Key, Tom Glavine, Jack Morris, and Jose Rijo. Not a bad group at all...

LEDs

Today's New York Times has an article touting LED technology. For years I've been hearing the same hype about LEDs: they're less environmentally harmful, more efficient, last forever, are more versatile, brighter, etc. And still, the only market segment cornered by LEDs are those fucking photons. When will we realize the hype surrounding LEDs, and when we do, will anyone notice?

Hip Hop

Listening to a lot of hip hop recently, I've really been noticing the importance of production. I'll say all the right things about an artist like Mos Def, but if I'm throwing something on my headphones it's much more likely to be Lupe, Jay-Z, or NaS. It's not that the production on "Black on Both Sides" isn't accomplished, but it's certainly less lush than more radio friendly beats. Heavy orchestration, choral backings, and high hat / snare hits can help create a full, rich sound - think songs like Gangsta's Paradise or Nolia Clap.



"Hero" is the first single off 'Untitled' by NaS. Compared to a lot of his other songs, especially earlier stuff, "Hero" has a lot going on. The baseline is minimal, but there's a twinkling / starlight theme throughout, background vocals from Keri Hilson and a chorale ensemble, and a "frequency rich" hook in the chorus. Especially with an artist like NaS whose lyrics are consistently solid and interesting, my favorite songs will depend on production.

Given that I like marching snare hits, chorale backing, and strings, Keep it 100 is pretty much my favorite song ever. Click "pre listen track" to the right of the album cover to hear the song in a pop up player. This is pretty indicative of the album Ill Trill, and the reason I've listened to it three times so far today.

HEALTH / DISCO

Health / Disco is a compilation of remixes; artists including Acid Girls and Pictureplane remix Health songs to create a surprisingly coherent album. Triceratops (Acid Girls Remix A) is indicative of what I like so much about this album. The base line has a rough and raw, almost sinister feeling while the melodies are smoother, but still punchy and tight; they make me think of the synth music in some early NES games. Acid Girls are able to strike a great balance between repetition and variation. New motifs are explored to the fullest, but never with the droll repetition of some other techno. Whether it's the changing way a musical line fits within the greater texture of the song or variations to the line itself, this album stays interesting without cheating you out of your favorite parts. Though it's not similar, I would compare this album favorably to Nightripper; lots of new ideas are introduced and while Girltalk often leaves me wanting more, Health / Disco leaves me satisfied. I'm dancing in my chair, and people are giving me weird looks.

Transmaterial.net

Transmaterial is the website and blog of Blaine Brownell, a Houston based architect. In weekly entries he introduces innovative and green architectural products. Some cool examples are bendable concrete, 3D displays made by embedding LEDs in glass cubes, consumer reshapable and recyclable plastics, and Luccon - a rear projection screen made of concrete and used in Olympic '08 construction. The New York Times wrote an article about Blaine in early July, pimping his blog for its green focus. If you're interested in new materials that may be showing up in new construction (and in many cases already are), or if you're a chemisty / materials science nerd, this site is worth checking out.

Obama the Realist

My feelings about this presidential election are no mystery. I remember a conversation I had in March or April of 2007 about the relative merits of the democratic contenders, specifically Obama, Clinton, and Richardson. I believed then that Clinton would be a more effective operator "within the system." After all, Clinton surprised many during her freshmen term, gaining the plaudits of both democrats and republicans. She has also proven to be a prodigiously effective representative for the people of New York, and it doesn't look like she's going anywhere. Though I didn't think a Clinton presidency would usher in systemic change, I thought she would be the best candidate to get us "back to normal."
Regarding Obama, I was somewhat skeptical. I bought the party line that as a political newcomer, he was a policy lightweight. His "Change" agenda, though compelling, was totally lacking in legs (unsurprising for this point in the race) and I didn't think he had the staying power to be a major factor this cycle. Looking back, it's hard to tell if Obama has evolved as a candidate or if I was just wrong. In possibly the best week yet for his campaign (McCain Gaffes, record fundraising, Bush and Maliki both support a timetable (or horizon)) Obama appears unstoppable. He is driving the debate on Iraq, his opponent continues bumbling, and the biggest scandal he faces is over a dress code.
Its not only because he has turned around the culture of democratic loserdom that he's so likable, though. This article by Fareed Zakaria does an excellent job of touching on a subtle point. Though it can seem like it, it's not as if McCain supports torture while Obama is opposed, or that McCain is a warmonger while Obama is Teddy Roosevelt. Instead, they're separated by a world outlook. Whether due to rigid beliefs or political necessity, McCain has taken up Bush's mantle as the "toughness" candidate with little consideration for effectiveness. While over 30 terrorists have been convicted in civilian courts and are currently behind bars, only 1 has been convicted (and was later freed on appeal) through the disasterous military tribunal process. McCain, of course, supports the tribunal process and decries the SCOTUS decision on Habeas Corpus. On this issue, Obama is clearly in the right, but as Zakaria notes, it's his ability to clearly understand and articulate a nuanced opinion focused on effectiveness that has been such a pleasant surprise as the campaign has gone along.
Obama's incredible polish in the face of unrelenting media scrutiny has been nothing short of miraculous. It's been extremely helpful in letting him set the agenda and introduce himself to voters, but isn't without a downside. I find it unlikely that he can continue in this fashion through November, and the focus on Barack obscures the curious campaign of John McCain. The republican consistently puts his foot in his mouth in ways that, as a democrat, are almost too good to be true. Because I doubt he'll continue producing material this good (or scary, depending) I look for the Obama campaign to make a concerted effort, especially after the conventions, to shift the campaign focus to McCain. In a cycle of incredible antipathy towards republicans, the biggest challenge for democrats is to avoid making this election a referendum on Obama. I look for increased news coverage of McCain starting with Obama's US return, continuing with an early VP nod, through the conventions, and into the debate. I don't think this increased attention can do anything but help Obama's chances come November.