i've been waiting to read this article about rahm emanuel for almost a week now, like some sort of impossibly self-denying smack addict. it came out online on monday, and my hard-copy new yorker didn't come until yesterday. so, here i sit at murky coffee, full of love for my fellow man and woman, tremendously pleased with the greatest substances on earth (classic cappuchino, big glass of un-iced cold water, pistachios, everything bagel with cream cheese), and the first three pages are so fucking good.
that's right.
i haven't even finished it yet. i came back to the internet to tell you how much i love it. also, i came back to the internet, though i never fully left (life has been busy). so, deal with it!
other things, other things, before i get back to reading/basking: 1) happy birthday yesterday, steve; come to his house tomorrow for a fun show of covers 2) new song up on the myspaces; sent in macrock application; with absolutely unbelievable help from matt, i'll be putting together some tours (YES tourS) in april and the coming months, as well as record label demos and a band and that kind of thing. for actually real this time. i think anytime i play with a band it'll be called hello, babies so if you didn't know that was me before, you know now. 3) going to texas next week. yeehaw! 4) the same people who read this blog already know, but i'm obsessed with this song. 5) i'm fully committed to applying for phd programs this fall, so, phew. talk about life plan.
so much else, but i mean, i can't tell everyone everything individually, so, blog blog blog.
i'm taking an internet sabbatical for a few weeks. i'll check my email when i wake up and before i go to bed, but the best thing to do would be to call or text me! chances are i'll be in a park someplace, or rescuing puppies, or any of the other things i assume people do when they don't have the internet.
a fruitful experiment with brian on friday. there will be a fuller version, instrumented somewhat like the only someone running cover, coming, but i think this one achieved something special in and of itself. if you're interested!
oh, barney. how i love you. let me count the ways.
1) you make the case for how a government works (you see, it collects taxes from its citizens and uses them to pay for things like education and roads and public safety).
2) you point out how asinine it is to continually preach tax cuts as the panacea for everything even though the supply-side economics underlying that theory has been thoroughly and lustily debunked.
3) you state these basic economic and public policy principles with just the right mix of clear explanation, exasperation at how simple they are and how elected officials should understand them, and pure, unadulterated derision. i will cite this anytime anyone thinks i should consider living anywhere other than the northeast, as this tone of voice is native and withers in warmer climates.
4) you bring it back to the war in iraq, which is SUCH A GOOD POINT and one that not many people have the balls to point out, because republicans have loved to keep it out of official budget resolutions so as to not have to pay for it through the normal ways. PS GUESS WHERE WE GET THE MONEY TO PAY FOR BOMBS, IDIOTS. not from selling the golden eggs that milton friedman laid during his life.
5) you do all of this while sounding like george stephanopoulos just interrupted you in the middle of lunch and you still have half a turkey sandwich in your maw.
