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DL Open Thread Monday, Nov. 6, 2023
Didja ever notice that the more fundamentalist religious people are, the more hung up they are about sex? Another day, another story about what a weird creepazoid new House speaker Mike Johnson is. Seems he has a deal where he and someone else monitor each other’s online activity, acting as the porn police. Johnson’s partner […]
Song of the Day 11/5: The Beatles, “Now and Then”
Forty-six years ago John Lennon sat down at his piano, turned on his tape recorder and played a song he was working on that wasn’t quite complete. Last week, after decades of musical massaging, “Now and Then” finally got an official release as the final Beatles song. It’s incorrect to call it a “new” Beatles […]
DL Open Thread: Sunday, November 5, 2023
Nothing To See Here, Folks. I’m not a big proponent of early polls, however: President Biden is trailing Donald J. Trump in five of the six most important battleground states one year before the 2024 election, suffering from enormous doubts about his age and deep dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and a host […]
DL Open Thread: Saturday, November 4, 2023
How And Why Netanyahu Propped Up Hamas. Must-reading–if only to add a little context to the back-and-forth we’ve had here: For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making […]
‘XPN’s Top Songs By Female Artists: Nathan Arizona’s Ballot
“Based on some combination of ‘accomplishment,’ impact, historical significance and what I like.”-Nathan Arizona 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Song of the Day 11/3: Kate Bush, “Hounds of Love”
El Somnambulo posted yesterday about WXPN’s year-end countdown being devoted to female artists this year. So is this year’s class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, being inducted tonight in Brooklyn. There are three, count ’em, three women among the seven honorees: Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow and Kate Bush. Elliott and Crow are […]
Delaware Political Weekly: Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2023
1. Candidates Can Now File For The Ballot. Some Have. We now have our first two official primaries for 2024: Karen Hartley Nagle vs. Marcus Henry for NCC Council President and George Smiley (Incumbent) vs. Michael A. Brown in NCC District 7. These are both Democratic primaries. Some brief comments: Karen Hartley Nagle is unfit […]
DL Open Thread: Friday, November 3, 2023
More Proof That Israel Doesn’t Give A Shit What The World Thinks: The Jabaliya neighborhood north of Gaza City was pummeled with Israeli airstrikes for a third consecutive day on Thursday, while doctors treating the victims described nightmarish scenes of operating without basic supplies or anesthesia. Dr. Hussam Abu Safyia, director of the pediatric ward […]
‘XPN’s Top Songs By Female Artists Poll: My Ballot
Every year, WXPN does an 885 Countdown featuring different themes. This year, for the first time, they’re featuring best songs by female artists, which can include groups as well. For at least the last ten years, I think the importance of the music of female artists has significantly outshined that of their male counterparts. Here’s […]
Song of the Day 11/12: Eva Cassidy, “Autumn Leaves”
Who looks at fallen leaves and thinks of lost love instead of hours of raking and bagging? A guy without a lawn, that’s who. Iconic lyricist Johnny Mercer spent most of his life in New York and Hollywood, so I doubt he ever heard a gas-powered leaf blower. But then Mercer wasn’t working from scratch. […]
DL Open Thread: Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023
Bleep Bobby Knight. This Guy Deserves To Be Remembered: Ady Barkan, a progressive activist and attorney who used his years-long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to call for the protection and expansion of public health care coverage, died on Wednesday. He was 39. Over the course of a career cut tragically short by illness, Barkan […]
Song of the Day 11/1: The Jaynetts, “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”
El Somnambulo’s fave tunes for October includes a psychedelic cover of this 1963 girl-group nugget by the Jaynetts, who are considered a one-hit wonder but didn’t really exist at all. The Jaynetts and the song were both the brainchildren of an A&R man for Chess Records named Abner Spector, who wrote and produced a hit […]
DL Open Thread Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023
Observing conservatives over the decades, I’ve noticed they usually fall into the same trap: They believe their own bullshit or, in the parlance of our times, they get high on their own supply. They delude themselves that their policies are popular and act on that conviction, then seem surprised at the backlash. That’s probably why […]
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