| Friends,
I have left xanga for a new home. My new blog--which I have titled, for better or worse, "Mode of Expression"--is now at Wordpress. The web address is http://jeffreimer.wordpress.com (or just follow this link). Please update your bookmarks, links, and feeds.
Xanga has provided something of a community for the past couple of years, but alas the blogging fad has given way to the Facebook fad, and many of my friends here have either given up or simply never update anymore. But I will soldier on at my new blog in much the same fashion as here--sporadic, infrequent, and sometimes moody posts--though I hope to update this new one more regularly. So, I go elsewhere! An elsewhere with better design and without annoying banner ads. I hope to see you there. |
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| Saturday has a new purpose. That purpose is to be in the car as much as possible in between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., for during that hour Chicago Public Radio airs a show called Sound Opinions, the world's only rock and roll talk show. The two main rock music critics from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot respectively, host a show dedicated solely to the world of rock and roll. The show is thoughtful, well-produced, funny, insightful, and intelligent. Did I also mention it's about rock and roll? One of their best segments is called "Rock Doctors," where a listener with a musical ailment calls in and describes his or her symptoms. Jim and Greg proceed to diagnose the condition and prescribe two albums for the person to go listen to. Then they air the person's reactions to the music a week later. Usually they are successful prescriptions, but sometimes there are quirky side effects. It's always interesting and usually funny. The show is a great place to hear about bands you already know, but it's also a great place to find new bands. Because their opinions are, well, sound.
But beware! These two guys are not bubble gum pop deejays. They are full-fledged, unapologetic music geeks. In John Cusack's words in High Fidelity, "I'd feel bad for them if I wasn't, kind of, well, one of them." Actually, Sound Opinions is what it would be like if John Cusack's character started a radio show. It's a music geek's dream come true. They also have a very nice website, soundopinions.org, where you can download interviews and past shows. Check it out. It'll be well worth your time. If you're a music geek, that is. |
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| Here are two pictures that I think perfectly capture the feeling of sheer and utter terror.
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| The New York Times reports that U.S. prisons have removed many religious books from their libraries because they threaten to incite terrorist acts. Among such terroism-inciting tomes are works by such militants as Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Avery Cardinal Dulles and Yves Congar. For Pete's sake. |
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