"Something Emergent"

Beyond Wow. Notice the audience's irresistible urge to applaud.

"Texpatriate, Why Are Your Comments Disabled?"

Separated at Birth?

Watched Anthony in Beirut last night. Not yer usual glib Travel Channel pablum, what with the attack helicopters dropping flares & airstrip bombing strikes & scoping out escape routes & mass population exodus & aircraft carrier evac and all.

Also stumbled on This American Life's MySpace page. Francesca listens to it on her laptop before bed each night at our house.

Listening to This Today

What? What are you saying? Stop it.

Please don't talk to me like a pirate. I swear to god.

For Pastafarians, today is DON'T talk like a pirate day. Did you know that?

FAR more cool and collective:
The Mp3 Experiment

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

According to the Abilene Reporter News, it's time to don your finest and stuff yourself with desserts!

During this 10-day celebratory time, you're not supposed to look at the moon. The moon laughed at Ganesh, when he fell off his rat (among other reasons), so don't give it the satisfaction of your gaze.

One of the gajillion versions of his story (the first one I heard) tells that Ganesh was born to Parvati, wife of Shiva, who was off fighting in a war. When he returned to find his wife cavorting with a young, handsome man, he drew his trident and beheaded him. When dad realized his mistake, he cried to Parvati that he would go into the forest and replace his son's head with the first animal he could find.

Buddha was a Hindu, and the Bhuddists call him Vinaayaka. Vignesha means "Lord of Obstacles" (vighna is sanskrit for obstacles). As in, the one who sets them up and brings them down.

Once in Kathmandu I watched some kids my age giving puja to a Ganesh statue. I asked my friend (who spoke more fluent Nepali) what they were doing - he said they were preparing to take their exams.

Chris Oglesby's Lubbock All-Star Reunion

This was intense. More on this later. I can still barely see straight.

Virgin Lubbock Visit

Off to Hub City tomorrow, and Oges' one-year anniversary of Fire in the Water, Earth in the Air. I found this vid by searching "Lubbock" on YouTube. Imagine my surprise at the end, where it gives photo credits to "C. Oglesby."
Chris wrangled a tour at the only brewery in town, which (HAIL, yes) is right across the street from the gallery. Ray Wylie Hubbard had to cancel his show Friday night because everyone was going to the book signing instead.

I am extraordinarily psyched about this trip.

I Miss the 1/2 Hour News Hour

From middling TV actor and Republican Presidential Candidate, Fred Thompson:

“Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. … NASA says the Martian South Pole’s ‘ice cap’ has been shrinking for three summers in a row. Maybe Mars got its fever from earth. If so, I guess Jupiter’s caught the same cold, because it’s warming up too, like Pluto. This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, nonsignatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle.”


That's so funny, I forgot to vote for you.