Stewart Lee

by liberal japonicus I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been spending a lot of time watching comedians on YouTube, and beyond the laughs, I’m always interested in how jokes and routines are constructed. So it was a bit of luck to find the work of Stewart Lee, a British standup comedian. If you don’t like it, … Read more

Weekend Music Thread #06 Kile Smith

by russell I have a long time friend, Kile Smith, who is actually a living breathing composer. He heard a recording of the Brahms Requiem when he was a teenager and decided, without much other background or context other than playing some bass and singing in his high school chorus, that that was what he … Read more

When virtues become vices

by liberal japonicus I earlier noted Vance’s defenestration of his wife re: her religion, so when this article about how MAGA is none too pleased about Vivek Ramaswamy running for Ohio governor came up, it prompted a few thoughts. From the article: Ramaswamy posted a message on X soon after Trump’s endorsement, writing: Thank you, … Read more

Weekend music thread #05 Tuvan throat singing

by liberal japonicus If you couldn’t guess from the title of this week’s edition, these music threads are not always going to be music that is on my playlist, and I would be surprised if this week’s is on anyone else’s. After Russell’s fascinating dive into the clave, I thought that connections between music and … Read more

Still I Rise

by liberal japonicus via Maya Angelou re: this You may write me down in historyWith your bitter, twisted lies,You may trod me in the very dirtBut still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you?Why are you beset with gloom?’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wellsPumping in my living room. Just like moons … Read more

People and poliltics

My mother had three brothers. They came up in the Richmond Hill area of Queens, near the Jamaica rail yard. The brothers all married women from the neighborhood, and they were a very lively crew. Here they are in my grandparent’s living room, probably late 1940’s. They could make a game out of anything, and … Read more

Horrifying stuff

by liberal japonicus I can’t imagine the bravery required for this student to stand up in the middle of a Turning Point agit-prop rally. Also take note of Vance’s oleaginous reply. The fact that it is at Ole Miss, while unsurprising, is the bit that makes me truely ill.