Opening Line

"Man, the talking animal, not only talks but he talks about his talking." (DeFleur and Larsen, "The Flow of Information," 1957)

With an intro like that, how can this book fail? [[justin]]

"We're on a mission from God."

You know, I'm all for equal voting rights, and few things made me more ill than the systemic disenfranchisement of Black and poor voters in Florida in 2000. But that said ... things like this make me wonder if maybe there are some people who really shouldn't be out casting ballots and having their voices heard.

- from the Smithsonian Museum of American History [[justin]]

Visceral Impact

This is a section of the communications antenna from the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, as seen at the Newseum in Washington, DC, framed amidst a collection of front-page headlines from around the world on Sept. 11-12, 2001. Watergate may have been the defining institutional moment of my lifetime, but there's no question that 9/11 will be the most significant overall. [[justin]]

... Rock Over Chicago

The Ten Best American Cities:
10. Berkeley, CA
09. Washington, DC
08. Seattle, WA
07. Portland, OR
06. Boston, MA
05. Oakland, CA
04. Philadelphia, PA
03. San Francisco, CA
02. New York, NY
01. Chicago, IL

[[justin]]

I Think I Missed My Calling.

Well, at least it's a recession-proof career. [[justin]]

You Say, "Pop" ...

... I say, "only in the Midwest." [[justin]]

Bitter. Sweet. Bittersweet.

Album of the Moment: Jawbreaker, "24 Hour Revenge Therapy"

I'll still go on record as saying that "Dear You" is a better album and, with the exception of "Do You Still Hate Me," has all their best songs ... but man, there's just not a whole lot about this one that I can argue with. [[justin]]