Gladwell on the Nets

I'm always excited to read new articles by Malcolm Gladwell. He's written two articles for Grantland.com, the second of which landed yesterday. I must say that I completely disagree with his assertion that NBA franchises are not businesses but works of art. I also generally disagree with his take on NBA owners. Still, Gladwell always makes me think, and that's one of my favorite things to do, nerd that I am. Check out the article on the Brooklyn Nets at the link below.

- Joel

Malcolm Gladwell - "The Nets and NBA Economics"

Gauntlet Hair

© Joel Thomason

Gauntlet Hair has a strange band name. Their music isn't necessarily that accessible. But there's something about the way they groove that I really like. Here's a new one from them, and in addition a track I've posted in the past. The picture above of the Texas state capital is unrelated to the music, in case you were wondering.

- Joel

Gauntlet Hair - "Keep Time"
Gauntlet Hair - "Top Bunk"

Robyn - "Call Your Girlfriend"

I heard this song by Robyn for the first time last night at a friend's birthday part. I'll be jamming to it for the rest of the weekend.

- Joel

Robyn - "Call Your Girlfriend"

Ready, Steady, Bang!

I just read about a new Western-style shootout game for the iPhone called Ready Steady Bang. After watching this humorously morbid video to introduce to game, I think I'll be spending $0.99 to try it out for myself.

- Joel

Happy Birthday UT

© Casey Dunn

Yesterday the University of Texas at Austin turned 128 years old. That's pretty old. Austin photographer Casey Dunn took the photograph above as part of a book on the history of the university. The building in the photograph is called the Main Building - clever name.

UT turned 128 which means it was founded in 1883. I wondered how that compared to the universities where I grew up (Kansas and Missouri), so to Wikipedia I went. I was surprised to learn that the University of Missouri was founded in 1839 and was the very first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River. The University of Kansas is pretty old too - founded in 1865, four years after the state was admitted to the Union.

Happy Birthday UT. And congratulations for being older and wiser KU and MU.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

© William Rugen

William Rugen. One day I'm going to take a few months off and do nothing but travel the American West. States I still need to see: Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington...

- Joel

© William Rugen

© William Rugen

Elliot Brood

I watched a short film called "No Deal" tonight. This song from Elliot Brood, a Canadian folk/rock trio, ran during the credits and caught me by surprise. I really like it.

- Joel

Elliot Brood - "Write It All Down For You"

9/11

I was a freshman in college when 9/11 happened. I can remember getting dressed in my dorm room and hearing my neighbors through the walls talking about a plane hitting a building in New York City. I can vividly remember thinking, "What kind of idiot pilot would run into a building like that?" It wasn't until after I returned from my 8am Psychology class that I realized what was happening. I had no cell phone back then, and I can remember calling my dad with a calling card from my dorm room phone.

The video below reminds me of what it was like to be 18 and to attempt to comprehend the seismic shift that occurred in our world that day. However, I'm also a Christian, so the video below resonates me in a unique way. Nevertheless, regardless of your disposition toward faith, I think you'll resonate in some way with Sujo's experience at Ground Zero on 9/11. It's 9 minutes long, but I found it worth every minute.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

© Jay Janner

I had the foresight to move to Texas in the midst of one of the longest droughts and hottest summers in the state's history. I've lived here for more than six weeks and Austin has yet to have any measurable rainfall. Jay Janner, of the Austin American-Statesman, has documented the drought with her camera. You can see more here.

- Joel

© Jay Janner

© Jay Janner

Boy & Bear

My roommate introduced me to the band Boy & Bear this evening. He explained their sound as, "It's like Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons had a really cool kid..." I find that to be pretty accurate. Take a listen.

- Joel

Boy & Bear - "Feeding Line"

Boy & Bear - "Lordy May"

Franklin Barbecue

I spent two and half hours waiting in line for Austin's Franklin Barbecue yesterday. After debating with classmates over the past few days about who possesses the superior barbeque (Texas or Kansas City), I was persuaded to give Franklin a try. Bon Appetit magazine ran this article making the claim, "Today, his bricks-and-mortar restaurant serves what we're calling the best BBQ in Texas, if not America. Let the debates begin." My Texas friends quickly jumped on the bandwagon saying, "Bon Appetit called Franklin the best barbeque in America!" Unfortunately, that statement is false. Bon Appetit wrote, "the best BBQ in Texas, if not America." The phrase "if not America" means that they claim it might be the best barbeque in America. They were not confident enough to claim that it is actually the best barbeque in America.

With all that being said, here are some thoughts about Franklin Barbeque.

1. It was good barbeque.

2. It's not worth waiting over two hours to eat it.

3. I spoke with the owner, Aaron Franklin, and he claimed, "Kansas City overcooks it's barbeque." I sincerely disagree.

4. Franklin spells barbeque wrong. It's not spelled with a "c", it's spelled with a "q". Since when did you ever see barbeque abbreviated "BBC"? It's abbreviated "BBQ" because it's spelled with a "q".

5. Texas barbeque is very different from Kansas City barbeque. They hardly use seasoning on the meat which makes it taste more like what you'd find at a church potluck. They do an excellent job cooking the meat to the right tenderness, but it lacks the flavor that you'd find in Kansas City.

I honestly don't believe any Texas restaurant can beat the Z-Man Sandwich or the burnt ends at LC's, but I'm willing to try out the best restaurants in Texas. My next stop on the Tour de Texas BBQ will take me to Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Hopefully it will live up to the hype.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

My birthday. July 2011. Vinalhaven, Maine © Allison V. Smith

Allison V. Smith. I love this photo that Allison took while "summering" in Maine. It reminded me so much of this photo by Robert Frank.

- Joel

James Vincent McMorrow

I really like this laid-back cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" as performed by James Vincent McMorrow. He sounds a lot like Bon Iver to me.

- Joel

James Vincent McMorrow - "Higher Love (Steve Winwood cover)"

Bon Iver

Here's a stripped-down piano version of Bon Iver's "Beth/Rest" as performed for NPR's "New World Cafe".

- Joel

Bon Iver - "Beth/Rest (Piano Version)