Friday Relaxed Random Ten plus More Links of Disgust

Whoa. For once, I've actually been able to sit back and relax once up here and away from NYC. Not even worrying so much about what COULD possibly be happening that MIGHT be disastrous for me back home.

Good.

So, a morning Random Ten from the iPod now at 20,766 songs, 72.32 gigs:

1. "I'm Allergic to Flowers" - The Jefferson Handkerchief - Pebbles Volume 3 - The Acid Gallery
2. "My Way of Loving You" - Wallace Collection - Laughing Cavalier
3. "I Am" - Molesters - Plastic 7"
4. "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" - Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright
5. "Eloise (Hang On In There)" - William Bell - Soul of a Bell
6. "Get Back" - Laibach - Let It Be
7. "On the Road Again" - Andy Prieboy - ...Upon My Wicked Son
8. "Town Talk" - Ken Woodman & His Picadilly Brass - That's Nice
9. "You Were Born for Me" - The Tunespinners - Oceanic Odyssey Volume 09
10. "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" - The Miracles - Hitsville U.S.A., The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971

Meanwhile, a couple of links from our Rotten Sons of Bitches Department . . .

toddalcott, as always, writes something smart, in this case about Katrina, two years on, and what he's learned about the government as a result.

And shortly after Alcott's opinion piece, I was led by Jason Grote to a lovely piece of investigative journalism by Matt Taibbi that just seems to confirm all of Alcott's (and my) worst suspicions about the Administration's view of its job not to be the steward of this country, but to enable its cronies to loot as much from the Treasury and taxpayers as possible during their stint, and then get the hell out of Dodge and leave the mess to be cleared up by others. Depressing and enraging.

Some pertinent lines from a film noir (I forget which one) that I quoted in WGW/WGW:

THOMAS ARNOLD, the gangster-businessman: When I spill a drink on the carpet, the maid cleans it up for me.
NED DALEY, the honest private eye: When you spill blood, your lawyer is expected to do the same.
THOMAS ARNOLD: Exactly.

And from the Department of Cheering You Up After That Department, imomus has let me know that you can find the entire (hysterical) series The Japanese Tradition on YouTube. I have one of them on videotape, "Sushi," with an English-dubbed soundtrack -- which, frankly, I think increases the deadpan humor of the "trying to educate foreigners about our ways" -- but it only seems to be up on YouTube in Japanese with subtitles, and here it is:

There are more in the series, which I haven't watched yet, but I'm glad to know they're all there. Judging from the comments on them I see at YouTube, a LOT of people don't get the joke, and are confused or angered by them. Berit has often commented on how well the British and Japanese do this kind of deadpan humor that so many in the USA don't get (though judging from some of the comments, it's Japanese who are angered by the series - "Don't tell lies about us!"), and Momus, in his piece on these, makes the excellent comparison to the British Look Around You series. Well, I like them. A lot.

Also, from toddalcott again, a cheering-up link that made my morning, and will serve for this week's Friday Cat Blogging In Absentia, HERE.

Enjoy.