Things on my mind about love, art, music, family, friendship, and inspiration.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tired of the drama?
Here's a few things that might work if you're sick and tired of daily upheavals in your life:
3) Be as clear as possible in your communication. This is hard if you're not used to it. Tell people what you need or don't need. No one I know is a mind reader. If you're not getting what you need, you may only have yourself to blame.
5) Gossip and TMI breed drama too. Not only does it make you perhaps a not so great confidant, you are doing nothing but putting junk on your plate.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
From Nikki Hardin..............Heels!
Heel!
September 27th, 2010
I change my point of view when I’m wearing heels. I’m taller, tougher, tender…and I don’t know why. It’s such a silly cultural stereotype, but who cares? I know that Keen and Merrill and Birkenstock are all good for me, but they make my soul feel flat-footed and clunky. Like I’m a Hobbit extra in Lord of the Rings. I know flats are more convenient, but they make me feel childish. More like Madeline, less like fey and sylphy Audrey Hepburn. I know flip flops are always there by the door for errands and taking out the garbage. But they make me feel like I have dirty feet. I know running shoes are for my own good. But there is nothing remotely attractive about tractor-pull soles. Of course, I’m not going to walk around in high heels every day, all day (unless they’re black suede Cole-Hahn heels with Nike Air soles), but I love to have a reason or make a reason to dress up and step up–to bring the world to heel, if only in my own mind.
Bourbon Balls
Probably the best thing about Winter here is that as far South as we live, it doesn't very often get just uncomfortably cold...it's nice weather to be outside most of the time. The part I enjoy the least is that there aren't very many festivals going on.
This recipe makes oh, probably thirty or forty bourbon balls, so they're perfect for a party. With this particular recipe, they can be frozen for a while too, so you can make a batch and then a week or two later take them back out and enjoy them then.
The more traditional recipe for bourbon balls calls for vanilla wafers and cocoa, but this recipe is a little different, mostly because the wafers aren't used, and the bourbon balls are actually dipped in chocolate. Av likes just about anything chocolate, so I figured this recipe would suit him best:
Bourbon Balls
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1-1/2 cup pecans, chopped as fine as you like
4 tbsp bourbon (I used Maker's Mark for these)
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, thinned with a couple tbsp. butter and a splash of sweet milk (this is one of those things that you just have to play with the consistency, getting it not too thick and not too thin. Melt this chocolate/butter/milk mixture using the double boiler method - in a bowl over a simmering pot of water.)
Directions:Cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar. Once the butter and sugar is mixed together well, add the chopped pecans. I like the pecans in these to be pretty fine, but it's entirely up to your preference.
Place the mixture into a bowl, and set this in the freezer for an hour or so:
Next, I melt the chocolate mixture using the double boiler method. I use a toothpick and pick up the frozen rounds, dip them in the melted chocolate, and put them on a seperate baking sheet with parchment paper. Once these are all done, I pop them in the freezer until they're all set up (just a few minutes) and they're ready to enjoy.
This recipe makes oh, probably thirty or forty bourbon balls, so they're perfect for a party. With this particular recipe, they can be frozen for a while too, so you can make a batch and then a week or two later take them back out and enjoy them then.
The more traditional recipe for bourbon balls calls for vanilla wafers and cocoa, but this recipe is a little different, mostly because the wafers aren't used, and the bourbon balls are actually dipped in chocolate. Av likes just about anything chocolate, so I figured this recipe would suit him best:
Bourbon Balls
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1-1/2 cup pecans, chopped as fine as you like
4 tbsp bourbon (I used Maker's Mark for these)
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, thinned with a couple tbsp. butter and a splash of sweet milk (this is one of those things that you just have to play with the consistency, getting it not too thick and not too thin. Melt this chocolate/butter/milk mixture using the double boiler method - in a bowl over a simmering pot of water.)
Directions:Cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar. Once the butter and sugar is mixed together well, add the chopped pecans. I like the pecans in these to be pretty fine, but it's entirely up to your preference.
Add the bourbon, and mix again until the pecans and bourbon are entirely incorporated:
Place the mixture into a bowl, and set this in the freezer for an hour or so:
Even though the mixture will be cold, it will still be pliable enough to work into a round shape. I make these round and put them back in the freezer for a few minutes more (on parchment paper, on a baking sheet is easiest) just to make certain they hold their shape when they're dipped in the chocolate:
Next, I melt the chocolate mixture using the double boiler method. I use a toothpick and pick up the frozen rounds, dip them in the melted chocolate, and put them on a seperate baking sheet with parchment paper. Once these are all done, I pop them in the freezer until they're all set up (just a few minutes) and they're ready to enjoy.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule
God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule
NEW YORK—Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.
"Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again," said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. "Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand."
Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence."
"I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again."
The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.
"I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?"
"But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'"
Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an.
"To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall."
God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.
"This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club."
Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain."
God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.
"I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades."
Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."
"Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?"
"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore—ever! I'm fucking serious!"
Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.
Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence."
"I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again."
The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.
"I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?"
"But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'"
Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an.
"To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall."
God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.
"This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club."
Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain."
God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.
"I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades."
Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."
"Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?"
"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore—ever! I'm fucking serious!"
Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.
Phillips Collection
Things I love
Saturday, September 04, 2010, 1:00:00 AM
I've add a new category today: Things I love. This category will feature furniture designers and collections I think you should know about. Today I'm introducing the Phillips Collection.These items are available to special order on the website. Contact me for more information.
Over the past twenty years, Mark and Julie Phillips have displayed a striking skill for discovery, from one-of-a-kind treasures to new trends. Starting in Southeast Asia and continuing on to Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific Rim, they’ve searched the world for exciting products for their design-oriented customers. Today, The Phillips Collection continues to define global style for the contemporary market. With the same spirit of innovation, they discover design and designers, and match them with an incredible range of production resources developed over decades of travel.
Over the past twenty years, Mark and Julie Phillips have displayed a striking skill for discovery, from one-of-a-kind treasures to new trends. Starting in Southeast Asia and continuing on to Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific Rim, they’ve searched the world for exciting products for their design-oriented customers. Today, The Phillips Collection continues to define global style for the contemporary market. With the same spirit of innovation, they discover design and designers, and match them with an incredible range of production resources developed over decades of travel.
Monday, September 6, 2010
I'm Not Hip Enough....
Appreciate conceptual art
Have a friend named India
Wear a beret
Pretend to love anime
Appreciate Marc Jacobs ads
Own a Prius
Live in Marfa, Texas
Go to Burning Man
Live in Park Slope, Brooklyn
Understand Dutch design
Snag an all-access pass
Walk in high heels without wobbling
Stay at the San Jose Hotel in Austin, TX
Hail a cab like a city girl
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
La Antigua-Guatemalan restaurant-Nashville
In Guatemala, La Antigua is the Old City; set in the central highlands, it is renowned for Spanish Baroque architecture and colonial ruins. In Nashville, it is the only Guatemalan restaurant, housed in a modest stone-faced block building on Grandview and Woodbine. Inside this family-run establishment, it's basic, but bright and upbeat: The walls are painted sunny yellow, light Latin rhythms play on the radio and the staff is all smiles.
They'll welcome you with a basket of house-made tortilla chips. Crisp, thicker than you might expect, these are lapped in smooth red salsa, dusted with tangy cotija cheese. It's a nice treat while you peruse the menu. If you have any questions, no worries. The owners not only speak English well, but they also take pride in explaining the dishes, and making recommendations.
And, on house recommendation, you'll want to try one of the Agua Frescas: these beverages are designed to cool and refresh. The Agua de Jamaica infuses hibiscus flower tea with simple syrup; the deep ruby drink is berry-like and packed with vitamin C. More sweet-sour, but no less delicious, the Tamarind is fragrant with apple and citrus notes.
There's a steamtable-lunch buffet, if you're in a hurry. But it's worth the brief wait for some of the made-to-order specialties.
LA ANTIGUA
2600 Grandview Avenue, Nashville, 615-770-2900
Hours: 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday
Alcohol: no
Food: Guatemalan and Honduran cuisine
Cost: Breakfast: $4.99. Specialties and Entrees: $3.99-$8.99
Payment: MC/VISA
Parking: on-site lot
They'll welcome you with a basket of house-made tortilla chips. Crisp, thicker than you might expect, these are lapped in smooth red salsa, dusted with tangy cotija cheese. It's a nice treat while you peruse the menu. If you have any questions, no worries. The owners not only speak English well, but they also take pride in explaining the dishes, and making recommendations.
And, on house recommendation, you'll want to try one of the Agua Frescas: these beverages are designed to cool and refresh. The Agua de Jamaica infuses hibiscus flower tea with simple syrup; the deep ruby drink is berry-like and packed with vitamin C. More sweet-sour, but no less delicious, the Tamarind is fragrant with apple and citrus notes.
There's a steamtable-lunch buffet, if you're in a hurry. But it's worth the brief wait for some of the made-to-order specialties.
LA ANTIGUA
2600 Grandview Avenue, Nashville, 615-770-2900
Hours: 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday
Alcohol: no
Food: Guatemalan and Honduran cuisine
Cost: Breakfast: $4.99. Specialties and Entrees: $3.99-$8.99
Payment: MC/VISA
Parking: on-site lot
Monday, August 30, 2010
http://www.deepfriedkudzu.com/2008/07/fried-green-tomatoes-and-blfgts.html
http://www.deepfriedkudzu.com/2008/07/fried-green-tomatoes-and-blfgts.html
It’s Witch-Hunt Season By PAUL KRUGMAN
Now it’s happening again — except that this time it’s even worse. Let’s turn the floor over to Rush Limbaugh: “Imam Hussein Obama,” he recently declared, is “probably the best anti-American president we’ve ever had.”
To get a sense of how much it matters when people like Mr. Limbaugh talk like this, bear in mind that he’s an utterly mainstream figure within the Republican Party; bear in mind, too, that unless something changes the political dynamics, Republicans will soon control at least one house of Congress. This is going to be very, very ugly.
So where is this rage coming from? Why is it flourishing? What will it do to America?
Anyone who remembered the 1990s could have predicted something like the current political craziness. What we learned from the Clinton years is that a significant number of Americans just don’t consider government by liberals — even very moderate liberals — legitimate. Mr. Obama’s election would have enraged those people even if he were white. Of course, the fact that he isn’t, and has an alien-sounding name, adds to the rage.
By the way, I’m not talking about the rage of the excluded and the dispossessed: Tea Partiers are relatively affluent, and nobody is angrier these days than the very, very rich. Wall Street has turned on Mr. Obama with a vengeance: last month Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire chairman of the Blackstone Group, the private equity giant, compared proposals to end tax loopholes for hedge fund managers with the Nazi invasion of Poland.
And powerful forces are promoting and exploiting this rage. Jane Mayer’s new article in The New Yorker about the superrich Koch brothers and their war against Mr. Obama has generated much-justified attention, but as Ms. Mayer herself points out, only the scale of their effort is new: billionaires like Richard Mellon Scaife waged a similar war against Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile, the right-wing media are replaying their greatest hits. In the 1990s, Mr. Limbaugh used innuendo to feed anti-Clinton mythology, notably the insinuation that Hillary Clinton was complicit in the death of Vince Foster. Now, as we’ve just seen, he’s doing his best to insinuate that Mr. Obama is a Muslim. Again, though, there’s an extra level of craziness this time around: Mr. Limbaugh is the same as he always was, but now seems tame compared with Glenn Beck.
And where, in all of this, are the responsible Republicans, leaders who will stand up and say that some partisans are going too far? Nowhere to be found.
To take a prime example: the hysteria over the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan almost makes one long for the days when former President George W. Bush tried to soothe religious hatred, declaring Islam a religion of peace. There were good reasons for his position: there are a billion Muslims in the world, and America can’t afford to make all of them its enemies.
But here’s the thing: Mr. Bush is still around, as are many of his former officials. Where are the statements, from the former president or those in his inner circle, preaching tolerance and denouncing anti-Islam hysteria? On this issue, as on many others, the G.O.P. establishment is offering a nearly uniform profile in cowardice.
So what will happen if, as expected, Republicans win control of the House? We already know part of the answer: Politico reports that they’re gearing up for a repeat performance of the 1990s, with a “wave of committee investigations” — several of them over supposed scandals that we already know are completely phony. We can expect the G.O.P. to play chicken over the federal budget, too; I’d put even odds on a 1995-type government shutdown sometime over the next couple of years.
It will be an ugly scene, and it will be dangerous, too. The 1990s were a time of peace and prosperity; this is a time of neither. In particular, we’re still suffering the after-effects of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, and we can’t afford to have a federal government paralyzed by an opposition with no interest in helping the president govern. But that’s what we’re likely to get.
If I were President Obama, I’d be doing all I could to head off this prospect, offering some major new initiatives on the economic front in particular, if only to shake up the political dynamic. But my guess is that the president will continue to play it safe, all the way into catastrophe.
To get a sense of how much it matters when people like Mr. Limbaugh talk like this, bear in mind that he’s an utterly mainstream figure within the Republican Party; bear in mind, too, that unless something changes the political dynamics, Republicans will soon control at least one house of Congress. This is going to be very, very ugly.
So where is this rage coming from? Why is it flourishing? What will it do to America?
Anyone who remembered the 1990s could have predicted something like the current political craziness. What we learned from the Clinton years is that a significant number of Americans just don’t consider government by liberals — even very moderate liberals — legitimate. Mr. Obama’s election would have enraged those people even if he were white. Of course, the fact that he isn’t, and has an alien-sounding name, adds to the rage.
By the way, I’m not talking about the rage of the excluded and the dispossessed: Tea Partiers are relatively affluent, and nobody is angrier these days than the very, very rich. Wall Street has turned on Mr. Obama with a vengeance: last month Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire chairman of the Blackstone Group, the private equity giant, compared proposals to end tax loopholes for hedge fund managers with the Nazi invasion of Poland.
And powerful forces are promoting and exploiting this rage. Jane Mayer’s new article in The New Yorker about the superrich Koch brothers and their war against Mr. Obama has generated much-justified attention, but as Ms. Mayer herself points out, only the scale of their effort is new: billionaires like Richard Mellon Scaife waged a similar war against Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile, the right-wing media are replaying their greatest hits. In the 1990s, Mr. Limbaugh used innuendo to feed anti-Clinton mythology, notably the insinuation that Hillary Clinton was complicit in the death of Vince Foster. Now, as we’ve just seen, he’s doing his best to insinuate that Mr. Obama is a Muslim. Again, though, there’s an extra level of craziness this time around: Mr. Limbaugh is the same as he always was, but now seems tame compared with Glenn Beck.
And where, in all of this, are the responsible Republicans, leaders who will stand up and say that some partisans are going too far? Nowhere to be found.
To take a prime example: the hysteria over the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan almost makes one long for the days when former President George W. Bush tried to soothe religious hatred, declaring Islam a religion of peace. There were good reasons for his position: there are a billion Muslims in the world, and America can’t afford to make all of them its enemies.
But here’s the thing: Mr. Bush is still around, as are many of his former officials. Where are the statements, from the former president or those in his inner circle, preaching tolerance and denouncing anti-Islam hysteria? On this issue, as on many others, the G.O.P. establishment is offering a nearly uniform profile in cowardice.
So what will happen if, as expected, Republicans win control of the House? We already know part of the answer: Politico reports that they’re gearing up for a repeat performance of the 1990s, with a “wave of committee investigations” — several of them over supposed scandals that we already know are completely phony. We can expect the G.O.P. to play chicken over the federal budget, too; I’d put even odds on a 1995-type government shutdown sometime over the next couple of years.
It will be an ugly scene, and it will be dangerous, too. The 1990s were a time of peace and prosperity; this is a time of neither. In particular, we’re still suffering the after-effects of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, and we can’t afford to have a federal government paralyzed by an opposition with no interest in helping the president govern. But that’s what we’re likely to get.
If I were President Obama, I’d be doing all I could to head off this prospect, offering some major new initiatives on the economic front in particular, if only to shake up the political dynamic. But my guess is that the president will continue to play it safe, all the way into catastrophe.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
"Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis
The collapse of the old music industry — the happy business of spotting talent, pressing millions of LPs or CDs and wondering how to spend the profits — is so well documented that it is almost a surprise to find a new book on the subject.
If you were starting now, you might tell the story by dissecting Guy Hands' disastrous buyout of EMI, studying the Lady Gaga-to-Amy Winehouse hit factory at Universal Music or even revisiting the Japanese-German culture clash that followed the Sony-BMG merger.
Warner Music Group Corp. seems unpromising by comparison. After Edgar Bronfman Jr. bought it with private equity backers in 2004, they rapidly recouped their money in an initial public offering, cushioning the blow of subsequent share price falls.
In his new book, "Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis," journalist Fred Goodman uses Warner as an effective starting point for a crisp account of all the industry's recent dramas. Goodman's earlier book, "The Mansion on the Hill," chronicled record labels' boom era, and there is a pleasing symmetry in him tackling their crisis years in a crisp insiders' account.
Published by Simon & Schuster, "Fortune's Fool" tracks Bronfman's route from the family's Seagram liquor business, through the MCA and Polygram deals that created Universal Music, to how he fell for Jean-Marie Messier's patter and sold his holdings to the Frenchman's doomed Vivendi empire.
Goodman never quite backs up his thesis that Bronfman's attempt at a new beginning with Warner Music was driven by the need to atone for the Vivendi debacle, "as high-profile a humiliation as any businessman not sent to prison is likely to endure." Indeed, Bronfman derides the argument in the book, saying, "I made all the money I squandered."
But the story gives Goodman a structure for a sweeping tale, from the Bronfmans' days running "boozoriums" across the Canadian border during Prohibition to Time Warner Inc.'s retreat from rap after hits such as Ice-T's "Cop Killer" drew unwelcome political heat.
It is almost too sweeping. Goodman seems happiest writing about the heady era from the 1960s to the late 1980s when conglomerates fought to get into the soaring record business. Those days seem to be another age, and it takes a while to get to the industry's stark post-Napster challenges.
Reviewing Bronfman's pursuit of digital bundles, patchy investments in start-ups and "360-degree" deals with artists, Goodman concludes that they add up to "a confounding picture," with wiser moves balanced by questions about Bronfman's judgment.
Bronfman emerges as an elusive character, "as languid and patrician as a French king" one minute, an unpretentious mensch the next.
Much of the value in Goodman's account lies in interviews with the likes of Ahmet Ertegun, the late industry legend who steered artists as diverse as Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin. The book is full of anecdotes, such as a former EMI chairman's indifference to a $3,000 bottle of Château d'Yquem with which Bronfman had hoped to woo him.
Bronfman's quotes to Goodman, although often self-serving, are also sometimes disarmingly frank. "It's the downside of a family business," he says at one point. "Anything good is because I'm somebody's son; otherwise, I'm a schmuck."
"Fortune's Fool" comes alive with its portrayal of Lyor Cohen, the insatiably competitive former president of Def Jam Records, whom Bronfman picked to run Warner's record labels. "In the best way, Lyor's an animal," Bronfman says admiringly, and Goodman nearly allows Cohen to steal the show.
Bronfman's deal is as much a private equity story as a music industry tale, but readers hoping for deep financial analysis will have to look elsewhere.
Goodman's most compelling argument emerges in his epilogue, where he tells Internet users who refuse to pay for music that they are creating a more unfair economy for artists than the old record industry model.
"Why advocate fair-trade coffee but not fair-trade music?" he asks pointedly. In his nostalgia, Goodman fails to come up with much of a prescription for the future of an industry redefined by Napster and Apple. That, perhaps, will take another book.
Book reviewer Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is the New York-based media editor of the Financial Times of London, in which this review first appeared.
Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times
If you were starting now, you might tell the story by dissecting Guy Hands' disastrous buyout of EMI, studying the Lady Gaga-to-Amy Winehouse hit factory at Universal Music or even revisiting the Japanese-German culture clash that followed the Sony-BMG merger.
Warner Music Group Corp. seems unpromising by comparison. After Edgar Bronfman Jr. bought it with private equity backers in 2004, they rapidly recouped their money in an initial public offering, cushioning the blow of subsequent share price falls.
In his new book, "Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis," journalist Fred Goodman uses Warner as an effective starting point for a crisp account of all the industry's recent dramas. Goodman's earlier book, "The Mansion on the Hill," chronicled record labels' boom era, and there is a pleasing symmetry in him tackling their crisis years in a crisp insiders' account.
Published by Simon & Schuster, "Fortune's Fool" tracks Bronfman's route from the family's Seagram liquor business, through the MCA and Polygram deals that created Universal Music, to how he fell for Jean-Marie Messier's patter and sold his holdings to the Frenchman's doomed Vivendi empire.
Goodman never quite backs up his thesis that Bronfman's attempt at a new beginning with Warner Music was driven by the need to atone for the Vivendi debacle, "as high-profile a humiliation as any businessman not sent to prison is likely to endure." Indeed, Bronfman derides the argument in the book, saying, "I made all the money I squandered."
But the story gives Goodman a structure for a sweeping tale, from the Bronfmans' days running "boozoriums" across the Canadian border during Prohibition to Time Warner Inc.'s retreat from rap after hits such as Ice-T's "Cop Killer" drew unwelcome political heat.
It is almost too sweeping. Goodman seems happiest writing about the heady era from the 1960s to the late 1980s when conglomerates fought to get into the soaring record business. Those days seem to be another age, and it takes a while to get to the industry's stark post-Napster challenges.
Reviewing Bronfman's pursuit of digital bundles, patchy investments in start-ups and "360-degree" deals with artists, Goodman concludes that they add up to "a confounding picture," with wiser moves balanced by questions about Bronfman's judgment.
Bronfman emerges as an elusive character, "as languid and patrician as a French king" one minute, an unpretentious mensch the next.
Much of the value in Goodman's account lies in interviews with the likes of Ahmet Ertegun, the late industry legend who steered artists as diverse as Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin. The book is full of anecdotes, such as a former EMI chairman's indifference to a $3,000 bottle of Château d'Yquem with which Bronfman had hoped to woo him.
Bronfman's quotes to Goodman, although often self-serving, are also sometimes disarmingly frank. "It's the downside of a family business," he says at one point. "Anything good is because I'm somebody's son; otherwise, I'm a schmuck."
"Fortune's Fool" comes alive with its portrayal of Lyor Cohen, the insatiably competitive former president of Def Jam Records, whom Bronfman picked to run Warner's record labels. "In the best way, Lyor's an animal," Bronfman says admiringly, and Goodman nearly allows Cohen to steal the show.
Bronfman's deal is as much a private equity story as a music industry tale, but readers hoping for deep financial analysis will have to look elsewhere.
Goodman's most compelling argument emerges in his epilogue, where he tells Internet users who refuse to pay for music that they are creating a more unfair economy for artists than the old record industry model.
"Why advocate fair-trade coffee but not fair-trade music?" he asks pointedly. In his nostalgia, Goodman fails to come up with much of a prescription for the future of an industry redefined by Napster and Apple. That, perhaps, will take another book.
Book reviewer Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is the New York-based media editor of the Financial Times of London, in which this review first appeared.
Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times
Dalai Lama is talking to me today!
Despair is never a solution, it is the ultimate failure. In Tibetan we say, “if the rope breaks nine times, we must splice it together a tenth time”. Even if ultimately we do fail, at least we will have no feelings of regret. And when we combine this insight with a clear appreciation ...of our potential to benefit others, we can begin to restore our hope and confidence.
J. A. Widtsoe
"The troubles of the world may largely be laid at the doors of those who are neither hot nor cold; who always follow the line of least resistance; whose timid hearts flutter at taking sides for truth. The final conquerors of the world will be the men and women, few or many matters not, who fearlessly and unflinchingly ...cling to truth, on whose lofty banner is inscribed: No compromise with error." ~ J. A. Widtsoe
Tea Party Backers
When wolves of Murdoch’s ingenuity and the Kochs’ stealth have been at the door of our democracy in the past, Democrats have fought back fiercely. Franklin Roosevelt’s triumphant 1936 re-election campaign pummeled the Liberty League as a Republican ally eager to “squeeze the worker dry in his old age and cast him like an orange rind into the refuse pail.” When John Kennedy’s patriotism was assailed by Birchers calling for impeachment, he gave a major speech denouncing their “crusades of suspicion.”
And Obama? So far, sadly, this question answers itself.
And Obama? So far, sadly, this question answers itself.
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