Framing

Where is the best placed to get things framed? I have so many little pictures that I want to hang on my walls.

- Joel

Next on my reading list...

What The Dog Saw

What I received as a Christmas gift, I have finally finished reading. That it took me more than three months to get around to reading Malcolm Gladwell's What The Dog Saw is no indictment on the book's quality; there were other things to read before I could get around to this one. Gladwell is a special author, though he doesn't always write special books. The Tipping Point was an incredible book, but I found Blink to be below average and lacking direction. Outliers was good, full of interesting stories and remarkable facts, but not great. For those unfamiliar with Malcolm Gladwell or who have yet to dive into his writing, What The Dog Saw offers the perfect primer. The book is a collection of the best (or at least the author's favorite) articles he has produced in his years as a staff writer for The New Yorker. I find Gladwell to be significantly more compelling in these articles than in the long-form books he has written. His writing packs a punch from beginning to end. My favorite articles from this collection were these:

• "Open Secrets: Enron, Intelligence, and the Perils of Too Much Information"
• "Million-Dollar Murray: Why Problems like Homelessness May Be Easier To Solve Than to Manage"
• "Blowup: Who Can Be Blamed for a Disaster like the Challenger Explosion? No One, and We'd Better Get Used to It"
• "Late Bloomers: Why Do We Equate Genius with Precocity?"
• "Most Likely to Succeed: How Do We Hire When We Can't Tell Who's Right for the Job?"

Treat this book like a Gladwell buffet: pick and chose what you want; bounce around the book without any guilt for what you are missing. It is all good.

- Joel

Spotlight Video

My brother put this music video on as we were setting up a BluRay player this weekend. It reminded me of what a great video/song this is...even if it first appeared on the Twilight Movie Soundtrack. Gotta love one take videos.

- Joel

Song of the Day

Best Coast sounds to me a lot like driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in the 1960's. This song comes from her not-yet-released debut album, due out later this year.

- Joel

Best Coast - "Our Deal"

Roll Out Cowboy

I met Chris Sand last year at a house party in Marfa, Texas. I must say that of all the rapping cowboys I know, The Sandman is by far my favorite. In all seriousness though, it took only one conversation for me to call him a friend. His itinerant lifestyle takes this truck driver/folk artist/rapper across the country from truck cab, to stage, to living room and back again. And like many who have lived their life on the road, Sand can talk to pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. I can only imagine the sights and sounds and stories that surface in a life on the road - a Jack Kerouac novel in the flesh. Now we can get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind life on the big screen. Roll Out Cowboy documents Sandman The Rappin' Cowboy as he criss-crosses the country on a 2008 whirlwind tour. Too bad it wasn't a year later, I might have made a cameo appearance in the film!

- Joel

Having A Coke With You

What a gorgeous poem - one of my new favorites (though it is an old poem). "Having a Coke with You" by Frank O'Hara. Click on the image below to enlarge the text.

- Joel

Quote of the Day

Now I am quietly waiting for
the catastrophe of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting, and modern.

- Frank O'Hara, from the poem "Mayakovsky"

Song of the Day

Bon Iver partnered with Peter Gabriel to co-release a single on Record Day 2010. Both artists contributed a cover of the other. Below is Bon Iver's contribution.

- Joel

Bon Iver - "Come Talk To Me (Peter Gabriel cover)"

NYU's Best Journalism of The Decade

NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute recently released it's list of "Top Ten Works of Journalism of 2000-2009". Subjects covered in these ten works include the 9/11 attacks, America's Wars in Iraq and on Terror, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and resulting recession, Hurricane Katrina, and the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. I found this list to be sobering on two accounts. First, stumbling across this list of reminded me of the immense challenges our country has faced in the past ten years. However, more importantly in my opinion, this list is an unfortunate (and clearly unintentional) indictment on the state of journalism in the 21st Century. In an industry increasingly preoccupied with scandal, controversy, and criticism, I find it disappointing that not one "journalistic highlight" of the past ten years featured something positive.

Read the list on NYU's website here. The list includes links to read/listen to the original content for most of the ten nominees.

- Joel

Song of the Day

Sharon Jones is as soulful as they come these days. Her sound comes straight from 1960's Motown, and she and the Dap-Kings get down on today's song of the day. You can find the song on the band's latest album I Learned The Hard Way

- Joel

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Mama Don't Like My Man"

Changes In the Sports World

I've never been a fan of ESPN's The Sports Reporters. The show features pompous, self-absorbed sports reporters that offer little in terms of substance while trying to paint their commentary as socially meaningful. Plus, it's boring. Not surprisingly, the show airs on Sunday morning, when most sports fans are either in church or sleeping off their Saturday evening activities. Howard Bryant is one such reporter featured on this Sunday morning sleeper. However, yesterday I read Bryant's take on Ben Roethlisberger, Tiger Woods, and a sports world slowly awakening from it's misogynistic slumber. Bryant writes, "For the first time, in a meaningful way, the wink-wink, nudge-nudge acceptance of the professional athlete and his murky late-night encounters with women has been replaced by a demand for maturity and accountability." I found his commentary to be insightful and, I hope, foreshadowing of an important change taking place in the world of professional sports. Read the entire article at the link below.

- Joel

Howard Bryant - "Ben Roethlisberger and Societal Change"

Delorean - Subiza

Subiza. This is an album worth checking out. Delorean sounds a lot like Animal Collective with a more melodic, club vibe. A few weeks ago I posted their track "Stay Close". Now it's time that you listened to the entire album, or at least the few tracks posted below.

- Joel

Delorean - "Stay Close" (link removed by request)

Delorean - "Real Love" (link removed by request)

Delorean - "Come Wander" (link removed by request)

Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon, indie-folkster extraordinaire, covers hundred year old Appalachian folk tunes (and one R. Kelly slow jam) in his latest album I See the Sign. I'm digging the low-key, backcountry spiritual vibe of many of these tunes. Listen to one new track and one old one below.

- Joel

Sam Amidon - "Way Go Lily"

Sam Amidon - "Wedding Dress" (from the 2008 album All is Well)

LOST/Photographer of the Day

I don't know who took this photo, but I'm sure you could find some hidden clues about LOST if you studied long enough. Click on the photo to enlarge.

- Joel

Songs of the Day

© Joel Thomason

Two songs of the day that feature hypnotizing female singers.

- Joel

Memoryhouse - "Lately (Troisième)"

jj - "CEO Birthday"

Volcano

There were some incredible photographs taken documenting the volcanic eruption in Iceland. See more here.

- Joel

Addicted to Hipstamatic

© Joel Thomason

If you own an iPhone, you need to purchase the Hipstamatic app. I can't get enough.

- Joel

Mountains

© Joel Thomason

Here are a few more from my time in Rocky Mountain National Park. I'll be heading back to Colorado in both June and July. We are already planning a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip across the park. I can't wait!

- Joel

© Joel Thomason

© Joel Thomason

Rocky Mountain National Park

© Joel Thomason

I spent the weekend in Colorado with two of my best friends. We spent Saturday hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. It gave me an opportunity to try out the Hipstamatic app for my iPhone. Here are a few pictures from our trip. I'll post more photos in the days to come.

- Joel

© Joel Thomason

© Joel Thomason