Author Archives: dunster

JazzFest ’08 – Krauss, Plant, and Burnett

Last year I got a catalog from Rounder Records and saw the new Allison Krauss record with Robert Plant on the cover. I thought it was an odd pairing and threw the catalog away. I heard a single off the record – “Gone Baby Gone” and was interested. Then I heard “Fortune Teller’s Daughter,” and I bought a copy. I listened. And then I gave it away as a Christmas present to everyone I could think of!

Fast forward to Friday with Krauss and Plant on the stage at JazzFest. It was even better than I expected. They performed the songs from the album well, but it was the extras that blew me away:

  • From the record, I thought it was Krauss taming Plant, and making it all work. Seeing them on stage, I know realize the glue that binds this unlikely group together is T. Bone Burnett. He’s the mad scientist that puts this all together.
  • “When the Levee Breaks” is a totally different song in a post-Katrina New Orleans.
  • “The Battle of Evermore” was a totally unexpected gift. Sure we have Led Zeppelin’s version to listen to. And Ann and Nancy Wilson did a good version too, as heavily produced as it was for the “Singles” soundtrack. But to get it live? And so well done? It was musical bliss.

There was lots of good music this year, but this act was my favorite by far.

Krauss and Plant

Math for Donkeys

I think it was the Electoral Map that turned me on to fivethirtyeight.com, and it is fivethirtyeight.com that has this quality post.

Post Pennsylvania, he (she?) breaks down the remaining primary contests and explains what might or might not happen.  More specifically, he explains what needs to happen for Clinton to win.  He shows a few different ways to run the numbers – delegates won, popular votes, with caucuses, etc., and shows how they play out depending on the outcome of the remaining primaries.

The poll/math/stat geeks will love the whole article, but those of you seeking the bottom line should scroll to the graph at the bottom: For Clinton to get an even chance of winning the nomination, she needs to improve her polling numbers in the remaining states by an average of 13 percentage points over her current standings.  For her to lock it in, she needs 40 points improvement!

What about Florida and Michigan, you say?

Michigan and Florida are now completely irrelevant from the standpoint of the pledged delegate count. Obama will lead the pledged delegate count even with the entire Michigan and Florida delegations seated — unless Clinton improves her current poll standing by at least 23.3 points.

The race is over.  The only question is how long it will take Hillary to concede.

The Universal Hub (Blog, not City)

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy reading the Universal Hub every day.  I’ve also mentioned how I respect and admire the work that MassINC does on the Commonwealth magazine.  When Commonwealth writes about the Universal Hub, how could I not link to the excellent article?

Commonwealth hits some key points about UH.  It’s not just the big stories; it’s about the small things that aren’t necessarily newsworthy, but are the events that define our daily lives.  None of us experiences everything that the Boston area has to offer.  UH lets us see into other people’s lives, and gives us a new perspective on our own lives.

Look what I read on UH today.  A story that at least starts with pictures of flowers, but ends up somewhere else entirely (Read it to the end. You have to.)  A story for my friend Mike about his Red Line commute and fellow Quincy residents – be sure to notice the drive-by-but-totally-accurate critique of the Herald reportage.  And last but not least, a story about a guy being terrorized by a green dot.  Do you begin to see what UH does for us?  How many people have seen a random milk crate in the Fens and not given it a second thought?  How many people were delayed on the Red Line and wondered why?  How many thousands have driven past the sign in the lawn and wondered what the heck was going on?  The UH lets us see more, dive deeper, understand more about where we live.

On a more personal level, I think UH has linked to me once.  I saw the traffic spike and wondered what the heck happened.  And then there was the time I saw a link to a colleague’s wife’s blog.  When I mentioned it to him, Ned said “Oh, yeah, Adam links to her sometimes.”  I realized that I needed to be a better blogger, and work on my connections more.  And then there was the time that UH linked to the blog of a woman in Somerville.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I found that Margaret was blogging, and I didn’t even know it.  My point: UH isn’t about reading just a few websites.  UH manages to find the crannies of the community, and shares them for us all to enjoy.

If you don’t have UH in your RSS feed (or bookmarks, or whatever), I highly recommend you start.  And Adam, they say that flattery gets you everywhere; feel free to link here more often 😉

The TSA, Volume, and Mass

Megan McCardle has a short-but-amusing bit about the 3.4-ounce rule for liquids on plane flights:

I asked a screener, “volume or weight?”

He said, “Huh?”

I answered that “ounces” in English units were both a measure of volume and weight, and for most substances these two numbers would be different.

The bit is amusing enough.  It’s another nail in the coffin of TSA’s idiocy. They’ve enacted a million policies that aren’t rational, but might make people feel more safe.  In this case, the policy is so irrational that they don’t even really know what it means.

The discussion that follows is an added bonus.  Some of the commenters berate the traveler for “being an asshole to people trying to do their jobs,” and that theme gets a lot of mileage.  The general thrust of the argument is that you shouldn’t take your ire out on the poor sap doing their job; you should complain to your congressman, the person who is responsible for the stupid policy.  I don’t think that’s quite right.

I think it’s totally legitimate to tell the person applying the policy to you that you think the policy is wrong.  It is very reasonable to think that part of that person’s job is to interact with the traveling public, collect feedback about policy and implementation, and give that information to their management.  If I get a crappy experience from the TSA (and I do, every time), it’s silly to think that my only polite recourse is to complain to my congressman.  I think that if we all told the TSA what we thought about our screenings that we’d start getting a better process.

I’m not saying you get to have a screaming fit when the TSA guy.  I’m not saying you get to insult the person or their family.  But when the TSA is being dumb (when the TSA is being the TSA. . . .), you get to tell them.

People in Glass Houses (and Popemobiles) Should Not Throw Stones

The Pope says to American Bishop’s this afternoon: “Responding to this situation has not been easy and, . . . it was sometimes very badly handled.” The American Bishops’ own report says there are more than 11,000 victims of sexual abuse by priests, and all the Pope can muster is “badly handled?” I’d say it’s British understatement, but he’s German. This is not an acceptance of responsibility. This is not an apology.

He went on: “Benedict addressed clerical molesters in the wider context of secularism and the over-sexualization of America. ‘What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?’ he asked.”

Is this a flat-out “my priests are perverts because you guys watch porn at home?” Or is it even more brazen: “I know that 4% of my priests diddled your little boys and girls, but the fact that you guys watch porn is just as bad. If you stop watching porn, I’ll fire some priests. Do we have a deal?”

I know I’m oversimplifying the Pope’s statements, but the points remain.

  1. He has not apologized for the horrible pain that his organization inflicted upon the children of its members.
  2. He still has the gall to criticize people’s private and personal choices – choices that didn’t include diddling little boys or girls.

Let the one without sin cast the first stone. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. And people who ride around in plexiglass cages on the back of pickup trucks should say they’re sorry.

Worst Rain Delay Ever

I went to the Sox-Yankees game this afternoon. At first I thought the game would be rained out, then I thought it would be wet, then the sun came out. Shows what I know. It was very humid – dank, really. The temperature was in the 50s, but the air was hazy and you could see your breath. It was odd.img_0650.jpg

Then a few raindrops fell in the 8th inning. With 7 outs until the end of the game, they decided to run from a rainshower. The tarp came out, and the game stopped. We spent the next hour wondering why the game wasn’t already over, staring at a damp-but-totally-playable field. I stood there and shouted for them to start the game, but no one was listening to me. Shocking, I know.

I’ve been to a lot of games and waited out a number of rain delays. This one was the worst. It shouldn’t have happened – they should have played. I was so annoyed I gave up and went home. I listened to the Red Sox wrap it up on the radio, still swearing at the stupid rain delay.

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Say Uncle

nolan1.jpg

Congratulations to Tim and Christi who made me an uncle this morning. His name is Nolan Harris Dunn. He came a little early but is doing fine, as is Christi.