April 26, 2007
You Can Call Me Reverend Daniels
So if you ever want to be married by a clergyman in a Spiderman outfit, you know who to call.
| By Joshua Daniels | 07:13 AM | TrackBack (0)
April 20, 2007
Best Restaurant Name In Berkeley
| By Joshua Daniels | 03:39 PM | TrackBack (0)
March 27, 2007
Watch The First TV Episode of "This American Life" For Free
Watch it here. It will only be available online for a few days, so watch it as soon as you can.
| By Joshua Daniels | 01:55 PM | TrackBack (0)
March 19, 2007
Overheard In Chattanooga
Old Man Sitting At Counter Talking To Himself (presumably): "I was schizophrenic before I ever went into the military."
--Waffle House on Dayton Blvd.
| By Joshua Daniels | 04:32 PM | TrackBack (0)
March 15, 2007
Advising A Presidential Candidate
Dawn forwarded this email that was sent to everyone in her program:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"KaiserEDU.org invites undergraduate and graduate-level students in all disciplines to submit an original essay for the website's first competition. Students are asked to submit entries by March 30, 2007 in response to the following topic:
You have just accepted a job as a senior adviser to a Presidential candidate* for the 2008 election. Your first task is to prepare a memo for the candidate outlining your recommendation for the candidate's health plan. Your memo should discuss what the centerpiece of the candidate's health plan should be, why this issue is important to the voters, the potential challenges that your candidate may face in promoting the plan, and how it would be communicated to the public. Your candidate can have any political affiliation you choose. Please be original. This memo should describe what you would recommend to your ideal candidate. Remember, the candidate is extremely busy so brevity and conciseness are important.
*does not have to be based on an actual candidate"
_______________________________________________________________________________________
I didn't write an essay, but I thought it was a very interesting question. These are my thoughts:
It would really depend if the candidate was a real contender, or whether the campaign is about bringing issues to light. If the candidate was a real contender it would also depend on whether your allegiances are first with the candidate or with the issue of health care reform. This is primarily because solid health care reform policy, regardless of its scope or depth, would be a tremendously difficult and complex issue to communicate -- good policy isn't always easy to sell to a sound-bite culture. Selling stricter regulation (a good start) would be hard to center your stance around, much less a government subsidized heath care plan or universal health insurance.
If you are only able to make substantial changes if elected, should you really try to explain what you intend to do in office while campaigning, or should you campaign around popular catch-phrase issues that might help you get elected, but also might differ from the policy that you would really like to push through? Most people of course go for the latter...for very pragmatic reasons. Most people, myself included, wouldn't know where to start with health care reform, but, to some extent, we are entrusted with deciding its course through deciding the candidates we elect. Many, if not most politicians don't know what to fix either. The health care reform ideas from people who know what to fix -- health care professionals and analysts, and policy experts -- often don't see the light of day for political reasons. And special interest money often sways a candidates policy decisions more than research anyway. Most candidates really don't tell us what they are going to do once elected, and the majority of the public doesn't know what would benefit them. So how do we make a decision as voters? We lack the expertise, and our vote is a blind shot since the candidate we vote for might be (read: probably is) misrepresenting him/herself.
Americans fancy themselves as independent though, so the one issue that would benefit patients most - much tighter industry regulation - would probably be hard to sell as part of a campaign platform. Americans don't want to feel "regulated." Republicans, not likely to campaign for strict regulation, would find it easy to attack a Democratic rival as "big government liberal" if they campaigned for more regulation. So Democrats campaign for "Universal Health Insurance" -- a friendlier sounding term than regulation, but an impossible task in one term as President.
Since I would be advising an "ideal candidate," I would probably make my centerpiece focusing on pharmaceutical reform. The public might react better to regulation of pharmaceutical companies than to regulation of the health care industry as a whole. I would campaign that the health care industry is not a consumer driven industry, but is an industry driven by necessity. In a consumer economy you can't severely overcharge for a product or else people won't buy it. When people are sick they will pay whatever it takes to get better, or make the person that they love better. It's not that we want to take away consumer choice in health care with regulation, we want to ensure that no matter where a person receives service, that it will be quality service and reasonably priced. And once pricing is under control in the health care industry "Universal Health Care" might actually be an attainable task.
| By Joshua Daniels | 09:37 PM | TrackBack (0)
March 09, 2007
SEABEAR!!!
Seabear is now officially my new favorite band. Traditionally, I will have a favorite band for a week or two, maybe even a month, before finding yet another newer favorite band. Papercuts was my old new favorite band, but now my new new favorite band is Seabear. Actually, I've had this album for less than a day, but rare is the album that resonates with me so immediately.
Seabear is an Icelandic band with one primary performer and songwriter - Sindri M‡r Sigfœsson (your guess is as good as mine). The new Seabear album, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, is due out in May on the German label Morr Music. Morr is releasing some kickass records right now, including the new records by The Go Find, Radical Face, and another great Icelandic band Benni Hemm Hemm. While all of these records are great, the new Seabear album is really something special.
Listen to a couple of songs from it below. And by all means, buy the album when it comes out!!!
:::Seabear - I Sing I Swim:::
:::Seabear - Libraries:::
| By Joshua Daniels | 09:00 AM | TrackBack (0)
February 23, 2007
And The Winners Are...
The winners of the “Explain This Video Contest" are as follows:
3rd Runner Up: ERIC B.
This is Dennis Kucinich's 2004 campaign staff. As they saw the nomination slipping away, they made this behind-the-scenes video of his debate preparation in a last ditch effort to reach the younger generation. Rep. Kucinich was unable to appear in the video because a sore back prevented him from performing even the most basic dance steps.
2nd Runner Up: DANIEL G.
This is a reality show about kids who try to "pep up" psychiatric patients. These particular patients are afflicted with a condition known as "slapdazzle," which causes the patient to believe that the next phase for popular music is going to be driven by a combination of classical violin and early hip-hop music. The diagnosis is still premature, but an one conclusion is that the condition stems from repeated exposure to the Aerosmith/RunDMC music video "Walk This Way." Some critics would call our show "exploitative"...we call it entertainment.
1st Runner Up: BILL
On day three of the trial, prosecutor Jerry Finkle presented the video, which allegedly portrays members of the Super Outta Site Happy Time Band holding two minors against their will. Finkle alleged that, at the end of the video, the costumed abductors/entertainers can be seen forcing the children off the paved path and towards the woods, where the children would be forced to play a game of 'Big Boy, Big Girl.' Though a tape has yet to be found, the game was allegedly videotaped by Carl "Super Pop" Williamson, the group's blue superhero-attired co-lead singer.
Serge Daniellsen, the group's violinist, was allegedly in possession of a third abducted minor shown in the video, and allegedly served as a lookout for the group.
The group allegedly spent some four to five days per week in the park, singing, dancing, and collecting cash donations in the violinist's case from unsuspecting passersby.
The Super Outta Site Happy Time Band, who had a minor hit with the song 'Gonna Have a Party, People' in 1978, had fallen upon hard times after being dropped as Leo Sayer's opening act during the singer's 1981 summer tour of Canada.
…and the winner is…
DYANA, with this stunning explanation:
This is a recruitment video for the Outta Sight, Outta Mind: Bastard Children of Celebrities Commune. Nestled in the rolling hills of Northern California, OSOMBCOCC provides support and solace for the unwanted offspring of the Hollywood elite, and is the brainchild of Felix Ferraro (bastard son of Richard Pryor and Liza Manelli) and his best friend (bastard son of Christopher Reeve and Smurfette), known only as "Fly Ronnie." The community is funded by celebrities themselves, who are all too happy to have these products of drunken trysts backstage at the Tonight Show and severe lapses in judgment after their script adaptations of Germanic fairytales retold as incestuous love stories are passed over for something "more box-office friendly," be moved out of sight, and out of mind. Shipments of medical supplies, clothing, food, and LSD are regularly shipped to the community, and this video highlights the accepting and funkalicious nature of its residents, eager to welcome both high culture and pop culture, in order to share their "dreams and their passions," with the sun shining bright. With Felix and Fly Ronnie at the helm, they've got it all. Outta Sight.
I really liked most of the entries, and it was hard for me to pick the winners. I was incredibly impressed with Dawn's explanation:
This is a clip from a direct-to-video movie created as an entertaining musical fantasy for children. The story follows young Zach and Ashlee on their adventures with Rem Lezar, a superhero that Zach gets in trouble for daydreaming about. Ashlee is the first person to believe that Rem Lezar is more than imaginary, but she will not speak with him as long as he keeps up a sexist attitude. The two steal a male mannequin and dress it like the superhero, who comes to life in their arms. But Rem Lezar can live only one day unless Zack and Ashlee find the Quixotic Medallion to keep him permanently alive. The fear-mongering face, Vorock, tells them it is hidden at the height of imagination, and Zack concedes to Ashlee's idea that it might be in a building, but when the World Trade Center isn't it, Ashlee accepts going to the mountains (shown in this clip). Along the way they discover true friendship and learn the value of “sharing their dreams and their passions” and keepin’ it “outta sight.”
I was hesitant to pick it as a winner because Dawn is my fiancé, and I wanted the contest to be as objective as it could possibly be, without the slightest hint of impropriety. Then I was floored to find out that her explanation is the real story behind this direct-to-video movie. It was released in 1989 and is titled Rem Lezar.
I was also very impressed with Bill's other entry in which he posited that this was a video of The Polyphonic Spree.
Thanks again to everyone who participated! I’ll be sending an email to all the winners later today. Congratulations!
| By Joshua Daniels | 08:58 AM | TrackBack (0)
February 21, 2007
Papercuts
Papercuts is a solo project of Jason Quever of Vetiver. I just got a hold of the new Papercuts album Can't Go Back and I can't stop listening to it. It's nothing groundbreaking -- just a laid-back, hazy folk album reminiscent of The Skygreen Leopards -- it's just done so damn well.
I've included a few songs below, and if you like them be sure to purchase a copy of the album. It was released this month on Gnomonsong Records.
:::Papercuts - John Brown:::
:::Papercuts - Dear Employee:::
| By Joshua Daniels | 06:52 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 18, 2007
I'M ENGAGED!!!
...to be married that is. Yesterday I asked Dawn to marry me - and she said yes! I would write more, but I'm not sure what to say. I'm completely overcome with happiness. I'm going to be married to the smartest, funniest, warmest, most beautiful woman in the world! What more could I ask for?
Here are some pictures of us from yesterday:
Before I asked her. (Very happy.)
After I asked her. (Even happier. And no, that's not dandruff. It was snowing)
Before we went to dinner.
I am undeniably the happiest man in the world.
| By Joshua Daniels | 09:38 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 16, 2007
Explain This Video And Get A Free CD
I will be running a contest for the next week on this blog.
To win, simply tell me what is going on in this video. You can explain the back stories of the performers, what brought them together, why they are relevant to music or society, etc. Be as creative as possible.
The person with the most creative explanation for this video wins a copy of a new CD.
This is what you have to explain:
Simply leave a comment with your explanation below. I'll be taking submissions until midnight on Thursday, Feb. 23 and I will contact the winners on Friday, Feb. 23 via email. There will be a prize for the winner and there will also be prizes for the first, second, and third runners-up!
Prizes include:
-1 copy of Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
-1 copy of Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady
-1 copy of Sam's Town by The Killers
&
-1 copy of Loney, Noir by Loney, Dear
The winner gets the first pick, the first runner-up gets their choice of the remaining 3 CD's, the second runner-up gets their choice of the remaining 2 CD's, and the third runner-up gets whatever is left. Multiple entries are welcome! Get on it doggone it! Make it "outta sight"!
| By Joshua Daniels | 09:00 AM | TrackBack (0)
February 14, 2007
Badass New Songs
Patrick Wolf
Josiah actually turned me on to this guy a couple of years ago. This song is from his forthcoming album The Magic Position. I haven't heard the entire album yet, but the songs I have heard are incredible. This one blows me away.
:::Patrick Wolf - Bluebells:::
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
I think Ted Leo's albums are some of the most consistently good rock records out there right now. This new one, Living With the Living, is no exception. This song rocks.
:::Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Sons of Cain:::
Dälek
This rapper and producer out of New Jersey is one of the most exciting things hip hop has seen since Madvillian, Edan, or Gnarls Barkley. This song is from his album Abandoned Language which will be out on 2/27 on Ipecac Records.
:::Dälek - Bricks Crumble:::
Kings of Leon
The new album Because of the Times from the Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon isn't terribly consistent, but, as evidenced in this song, it does have some high points.
:::Kings of Leon - Ragoo:::
| By Joshua Daniels | 10:35 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 13, 2007
Mr. T's Fashion Show
This is exactly what it sounds like -- Mr. T encourages teens to express themselves with fashion in the 80's. Keep it hot dog, girl!
| By Joshua Daniels | 08:31 AM | TrackBack (0)
February 11, 2007
Chattanooga Is Failing To Attract And Retain Young Professionals
After more than 10 years of downtown revitalization Chattanooga is still hemorrhaging young professionals. Most young, talented people I know have either already moved away from Chattanooga, or are thinking about leaving. So why, after countless millions of dollars have been spent to rejuvenate and revitalize this city, are Chattanooga’s bright and talented young people still lining up to leave?
Several studies have shown that this new generation of young, creative professionals don’t really care so much about power, prestige, or money, but care mostly about quality of life. At first glance it would seem that Chattanooga has tremendous quality of life and a lot to offer to young professionals – the cost of living is very low, housing is widely available and relatively cheap, we have a good climate (except for the summers), we have many beautiful natural areas surrounding us, etc. Those things are true, but quality of life for young professionals encompasses so much more than these things, and Chattanooga doesn’t offer a lot of them.
Mark McKnight in a blog post similar to this one a few weeks ago cited Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, who says that to attract young, creative professionals a city must have the three T’s: Technology, Talent, and Tolerance. I would also add a fourth T: Things to do. There isn’t much to do in Chattanooga (big surprise, I’m sure). Young professionals want to be able to go to great shows and concerts on a regular basis; they want great restaurants and healthy food; they want a thriving artistic community with great art galleries - not just one museum wholly focused on American art that occasionally gets a touring exhibition; and they want fun neighborhoods – neighborhoods in the urban sense that provide all of these things within a short walk or drive.
Chattanooga’s biggest obstacle in attracting and retaining young professionals, it seems, is its lack of tolerance. Chattanooga is a white, Christian bubble and it does little or nothing to make non-white, non-Christians feel at home. Young professionals, for the most part, want diversity, even if they are white and Christian, but especially if they are not. They want to live in areas that will not only tolerate their race, religion, or sexual orientation, but also welcome it. This is, for obvious reasons, easier for large cities to manage. Because there are more people in these areas, there are more people of various races, religions, and sexual orientations in these areas also, thus providing more of a sense of belonging to a community. Chattanooga however is extremely racist, completely unwelcoming to people with religious beliefs other than Christianity, and not especially welcoming to gays, lesbians, or people with other “alternative lifestyles.” In short, young professionals tend to gravitate toward more liberal cities and away from the conservative likes of Chattanooga. They go to New York, or D.C., or San Francisco, or Seattle, or Portland, or Chicago – cities that are more tolerant, have thriving artistic communities, greater diversity, and jobs. When was the last time you heard a young graphic designer or software engineer say, “I really want to move to Salt Lake City”?
Chattanooga has other obstacles other than its lack of tolerance and things to do. Chattanooga’s cost of living is relatively low, but so is its rate of pay and its employment opportunities in general. Unfortunately our revitalized downtown was designed more around visitors to our city rather than residents, and the available jobs reflect that. You can easily find a job at a downtown restaurant, hotel, bar, or tourist attraction, but your chances of finding a job at a great design firm, high tech company, or start up company are relatively low. Since the majority of new economic development in this city has been geared around reinforcing Chattanooga’s place as a tourist destination it’s left our residents in a bit of a bind. And I can say with great confidence that Chattanooga’s bright, creative young people have little interest in working at a Toyota plant. We simply have put most of our eggs into the tourist basket, and most artists, designers, consultants, and high tech people feel the need to go to another city simply to do the job they want to do. Even if they do find a job in their field here, and even though Chattanooga has a low cost of living, salaries are far too low. So even if they move to a city with a higher cost of living, the chances that their salary will be in line with that higher cost of living will be better – so in the end they will have more expendable income in an urban center with a higher cost of living. Also, studies have shown that close to two thirds of young professionals will choose where they want to live before they find a job in that location. Even if people did want to move to Chattanooga, if we don't have good jobs to offer them they will look elsewhere.
Even for people without advanced degrees who are content working at a restaurant or hotel, other cities are more attractive because the same jobs in those cities are often accompanied by better benefits – namely health insurance. Right now there are close to 50,000 people in the Chattanooga area without any form of health insurance and that number is growing, not shrinking. And in Tennessee benefits for same-sex partners is practically unheard of.
Also, as I stated earlier, this new creative class of young professionals don’t care much about power or prestige. Chattanooga (and I hate to sound like Robert T. Nash) is a city with a very few power brokers that largely control the direction our city takes. Most young professionals from outside our area would be, and are, put off with the rigid power structure of this town. Some people are addressing the problem of our town losing its brightest and best. The Arts Move Program that offers incentives for artists to relocate to Chattanooga is a program that shows some promise. But even the Chattanooga Young Professionals Association, whose mission is to attract and retain Chattanooga’s young professionals, doesn’t even have a website (as far as I can tell), and recently had its luncheon at The Walden Club. My grandmother used to be a member of The Walden Club, but left because it was too stodgy and old. This is not enough.
I too will be leaving Chattanooga very soon and relocating to San Francisco. This is primarily because my girlfriend and future wife is in the first year of a doctoral program at UC Berkeley and will be there for several more years. But I’m also really excited about this move because of what the bay area has to offer. I look forward to living in a city with a thriving creative class; where I can go to a different museum or gallery every day; where I can see wonderful concerts whenever I want to; where there are tremendous job opportunities; where food is healthier, cheaper, and more diverse; where the communities and neighborhoods are more welcoming and tolerant of people of all races, religions, and lifestyles.
I’m not writing this because I hate Chattanooga. I am originally from here and have lived here the majority of my life. I’m writing this because I like Chattanooga. I see the potential that Chattanooga has, but to date has yet to realize. Chattanooga is a beautiful place with a lot of wonderful and talented people, but until our elected officials and civic leaders begin to address some of the very real problems outlined here Chattanooga will continue to simply be a nice place to visit and a good place to retire, if you are white, Christian, and straight.
| By Joshua Daniels | 02:18 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 07, 2007
Neon Bible: Website and Hotline
The precocious Canadian band Arcade Fire has a new website to promote their forthcoming album Neon Bible. Find it here. The site is very minimal and more than a little odd, but I really love it. Check out the "Television" section of the site when you visit. It has a TV and you can flip through the various channels of weird, quasi-religious programming. At the bottom of all the channels is a hotline number: 1-866-NEON-BIBLE. It's an actual number...you can call and listen to a song from the album or leave a message for the band.
What a cool marketing campaign.
| By Joshua Daniels | 06:26 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 06, 2007
What I'm Digging Right Now
2007 is barely underway and we are already surrounded by a slew of great new albums. Here's what I've been listening to:
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
This may be an album of the year contender. I was a huge fan of their debut Funeral, yet this album is so much better. Dark, politically charged songs that really capture the world's mood right now.
:::Arcade Fire - No Cars Go:::
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Still not sure if I like this as much as ...Eggs, but if it's not as good it's very close.
:::Andrew Bird - Scythian Empire:::
The Go Find - Stars on the Wall
This young band out of Belgium is really blowing me away. The singer's voice sounds similar to Ben Gibbard, but the music and production has an 80's feel not unlike Toto or Hall & Oates...but in the best possible way. Incredible!
:::The Go Find - New Year:::
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), as you may know, is one of the primary members of the band Animal Collective. While I love Animal Collective, this album is much better than any of their material that I have heard. This is what Brian Wilson might sound like if he was in his twenties now. Brilliant.
:::Panda Bear - Bros:::
The new one from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is a pretty big disappointment. I liked their first one OK, but the new album is terrible. No matter what Pitchfork tells you.
| By Joshua Daniels | 01:45 AM | TrackBack (0)
January 31, 2007
Thai Frown
I am constantly disappointed by the selection of good, mid-priced restaurants in downtown Chattanooga. Especially ethnic restaurants. Don't get me wrong, there are several great places to eat downtown if you're prepared to spend some money -- St. John's, Hennen's, Blue Water Grill, Hiroshi's, etc. are all great, but I'm not always prepared to part with $30-$100 to eat. And If you want to spend $10-$20 to eat downtown you are pretty much limited to bar food.
Tonight for instance, I was really craving some Panang Curry but there really aren't that many Thai restaurants in Chattanooga. There is Sweet Basil in Brainerd which is a little pricey, but very good. There is Sawasdee in St. Elmo which is reasonably priced and fairly good, but the women that run it kind of freak me out. Then there is Thai Smile 3 next to Rhythm & Brews downtown. Tonight I called in an order to Thai Smile 3 for some Panang Curry, go to pick it up...$13! Now if it was tremendously good it would be worth it, but it was made with Veg-All canned vegetables and was about as bland as mayonnaise. Really bad. Maybe that's why at 7:30PM I was the only person in the place.
I'm also confounded why fresh, healthy food is so much more affordable in California. I'm sure it has a lot to do with demand and transportation costs. But when I go into a Whole Foods store in the bay area the food is literally about half the cost of Greenlife. And I can find ten great Thai restaurants where I can get a great dinner entrée for less than $10 in one square mile...and it's made with fresh vegetables, not Veg-All.
It shouldn't be so expensive to eat a healthy diet in this town. I know it's unfair to compare Chattanooga to California's bay area, but if food can be so reasonably priced and tax-free there why can't it be here? No wonder we have an obesity epidemic here -- healthy food is prohibitively expensive to many, if not most of our residents. Our community should give incentives - in the form of reasonable prices and low taxes - to eat a healthier diet, not disincentives. Food here (unless sold ready for consumption) should be tax free and cheaper. Make up for the lost revenue with higher taxes on tobacco, alcohol, junk food, etc.
And for God's sake, let's get some good mid-priced Indian, Thai, Italian, and Japanese restaurants downtown.
| By Joshua Daniels | 08:53 PM | TrackBack (0)
January 30, 2007
Dawn and I Pictured in The Pulse Today
David Andrews took this picture of us back in December at the Stone Cup coffeehouse in North Chattanooga. And behold, today it was published in The Pulse.
| By Joshua Daniels | 12:52 PM | TrackBack (0)