Found it!

The Roc Raida (of the X-ecutioners) rap ninja routine I was saying someone should upload. This is my other favorite clip from Scratch, and has some crazy body tricks. It took me a couple of viewings to see everything that's going on because he's just so fast.

Amazing... An actual case of CCM being influential

In a Rolling Stone interview with Wyclef Jean (creative force behind the Fugees, and owner of a double platinum album for the solo project "The Carnival"), Clef reports that he got into music through Petra, Stryper, and Amy Grant.

If he had announced he was producing the next Wiggles cd, I think I would have been less surprised.

As a hip-hop kid from Haiti, how did you get into rock music?

My father was a Nazarene preacher, and his English wasn't too good. He went all over America as a missionary, and one day he comes back with a cassette by a rock band called Petra, this Christian rock band. I'll never forget it. We started listening to Christian rock: Petra, Stryper.

Stryper? Really?

Yeah, of course! I also had, like, Amy Grant. That was part of our church culture. Then I was like, "Yo, man, we got to start listening to some other shit." So we started listening to Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Pink Floyd. And my dad would accept it because he couldn't speak English. If I was listening to Metallica, he would say, "What's that?" And I would say, "It's Christian rock!"

Scenes from Scratch

Scratch is an outstanding documentary from 2001 about the development of hip hop dj-ing. I found two of my favorite clips from the film today and had to post them. The first is Mixmaster Mike (best known for his work with The Beastie Boys) mixing the Robert Johnson song "Rambling On My Mind."



The second clip demonstrates beat juggling, a process that blows my mind. It involves taking two copies of the same song (or sometimes different songs) and rearranging the playing of them to create a new beat. This is especially impressive when lyrics are involved, such as in this clip. (Fair Warning: The routine ends in an obscenity).



Now if only someone would post the rap-ninja clip from the X-ecutioners...

I could care less

Here's an article that tries to provide some reasoning for the American switch of "I couldn't care less," to "I could care less," a change that bothers me to no end. It's from a website that has just this minute become one of my favorites: worldwidewords.org.

On this particular subject though, I think I have to disagree with Steven Pinker (who is referenced in the article linked above). Pinker thinks that "I couldn't care less" has been changed so that it better fits in a family of phrases that is prominent in Yiddish culture. While the cadence of the latter form does seem to lend itself to a disdainful use, I don't think that it quite fits with the grouping, "I should be so lucky," and "Tell me about it." Both of these phrases retain a delivery that indicates the speaker understand himself to be giving a sarcastic reply. "I could care less," on the other hand, is delivered matter of factly.

Before the Bo was just nine days old...

ESPN.com has up a great story about Bo Jackson. I found it fascinating that in several places the author, without hint of irony or exaggeration, suggests that we are currently privy to the development of a folk myth. He compares Bo to Paul Bunyan, but I think John Henry is a more appropriate. Bo wasn't of mythic proportions, just mythic abilities.

Personally I would love to see this happen. I'm a big fan of mythology and have always wondered what it would be like to see a myth develop, to know its origins. I'm just old enough to remember Bo playing, and I do recall being in awe of him in a way that I never was of other sports heroes. As the memories faded and I grew older, I assumed that they were merely the embellishments of childhood, but this article has convinced me otherwise.

Realizing this, it made me sad that Bo seems to have been reduced to the punchline of a cultural reference joke about Tecmo Bowl. But that said, here's a contribution to the myth-making...

Some good news

Take a look at this somewhat heartening article from the magazine Commentary. (HT: JollyBlogger) It reports significant gains in many conservative "cultural indicators" (though unfortunately not many in the arena of family).

A Jade's Trick: Shakespeare and Argument

I noticed someone pulling a jade's trick on a friend's blog today, and decided to procrastinate by ranting about the tactic: I abhor it. It's crap and completely disrespectful of one's interlocutor. It usually indicates that the debater is unable to answer some key point by his opponent. In response, he frames the debate in his own terms and declares an end to the discussion.


I take the term "jade's trick" from the first scene of "Much Ado About Nothing," wherein the two characters Beatrice and Benedict engage in a "merry war" of verbal jabs which ends with this exchange:

BENEDICK: Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.
BEATRICE: A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.
BENEDICK: I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so good a continuer. But keep your way, i' God's name; I have done.
BEATRICE: You always end with a jade's trick: I know you of old.

"Jade's trick" is one Shakespearean term that has not managed to hang around, however, it seems reasonable to guess that it refers to Benedick's attempt to get in the last word by simply declaring "game over" before Beatrice has a chance to respond.

Of course, for a spirited, comedic battle there may be nothing wrong with taking this rhetorical out. When it comes to serious discussion (or even quasi-serious, such as blog commenting), however, the maneuver can only be appropriate when one has a position of authority, such as a teacher or moderator, and is exercising that authority to avoid fruitless banter. If one wishes to end a debate, then the respectful thing to do is to retire while refusing to respond. Or, declaring that this particular point will be one's last, it may be presented with a rebuttal allowed before retiring. But attempting to make an opponent seem petty for responding is simply bad form.

To let you know I'm going to be lazy

Just a quick note to say that I'm probably not going to be posting over the next handful of days, due to the holiday. I will, however, hopefully get some good work done on the problems of evil series and have that ready to go soon.

You should really take the extra time you have this week and go participate in my one question survey on this post.

Wherein I Immitate Richard Dawson

Survey question ahead...

One of the reasons my posts haven't been quite as substantive lately is that I'm spending a lot of time working on a paper that's got me wondering about a folk epistemological question. To get a rough idea of whether or not I'm right, I wanted to ask a survey question that I'll set up with a scenario:

Suppose that I am throwing a party and I run into my friend Adam earlier in the day. Adam tells me that he thinks I'm the coolest person he has ever met, and that he wouldn't miss my party for the world.

Later on in the day I run into Beth. (Neither of us are hurt). Beth, for unfathomable reasons, is much less enamored of me and would rather not spend the evening in my presence. But I tell her that Adam is going to be at the party, knowing that Beth wants to have Adam's babies (and lots of them), so she would love the chance to get him in a corner of a party and beguile him. She looks at me incredulously and asks, "Are you sure?" I respond, "I know that Adam will be there."

Question: Is my response to Beth true?

Don't over analyze it. It's not a trick question. I just want to know what your natural answer is. Leave a Yes or No in the comments, and feel free to give some explanation if you like.

Assuming I get enough responses to see a trend I'll post later about what that trend indicates.

Tertiary!

Gorgeous gorgeosity. But don't watch if you haven't seen the Abbot and Costello version at the bottom.


(HT: My brother)

Here's the classic. The gold standard is the version from "Naughty Nineties," but, I prefer this one with an audience.

You can't make this stuff up folks

This years coaches of the year for the A.L. and N.L. are named Wedge and Melvin.

If you're not sure why this is funny, ask the nearest jr. high male.

Q: How do I make my own Turing machine?

A: Think one.

A Turing machine is the simplest possible computer, and can mimic any more complex computer. It works by having a tape (like a ticker tape) run across the head of the machine. The head reads the symbols on the tape one at a time, performs an operation on that symbol then gives an output. A more extensive informal definition can be found here.

Since a Turing machine is defined by the process above, if you can think a Turing machine (e.g. if you can visualize the symbols on the tape, think of the function to be applied, then visualize the output from that function) then the neurons in your brain that are performing these functions are an actual Turing machine and not just a representation of one.

(Of course, it seems that it would be difficult to maintain a working machine in your brain for a long time, but that makes it no less an actual Turing machine. A machine made of more standard materials would still have been a Turing machine even if it was destroyed after the first computation.)

La Lune

I have just been subjected to my first drive-by mooning.

I am speechless. I am without speech.

Clarifications concerning hip hop

A few recent blog posts on hip hop made me think that it would be worthwhile to set some things straight about which a good number of people (even those who like hip hop) seem to be confused.

• Hip hop is a genre of music. Rap is a vocal style.

Rap music may have been a common term at one time (and a cheesy dc Talk song), but it is a misnomer. However, a piece of hip hop containing rap vocals is accurately called "a rap." (Though this is now a very square way to put it... preferable options include the classic standbys "a joint" and "a jam.")

• Rapping is a musical vocalization that keys on rhythm, as opposed to singing, which is a musical vocalization that keys on melody or harmony.

• Both rapping and singing are accurately described as "talking to music," but neither is merely talking to music.

• If you ever say something like "crap music" as an attempt to make a play on the phrase "rap music," you are not funny or clever. You are, in point of fact, a douche.
  

Thanks Stadium Pal!

Men. Need a response to the question, "What do you want for Christmas?"

Women. Need a gift for a special guy?

Well joyeux Noel!

Raison d'Etre

I think I'm finally ready to write about the purpose of this blog. I've been tempted to start one for a long time (especially since I had the idea for the name "Don't Wast Wine," which I must say that I'm rather proud of). But I was stopped because I couldn't particularly see any value in the activity. So here's the value that I see now:

I enjoy putting my opinions down in writing. It forces me to make them more rigorous, and allows criticism that I then have to consider. In particular, I tend to think about art (especially film and music) with a review type of mindset, and now I have a place to give those reviews.

That was my original impetus, but it wasn't enough to make blogging seem worthwhile. It wasn't until I moved and missed this sort of interaction with the good friends that I have, but no longer see, that I felt justified in taking the time to blog.

So with that in mind, if you have something to add, or if you think I'm full of it, please comment! (Even if not an old friend). The tagline may say that this is a masturbatory enterprise, but I appreciate any help I can get.

Wait, I don't know if that came out right...

YHVH

Anyone who's been to Sunday School likely knows that Abram and Sarai got a name change to Abraham and Sarah when they entered into a covenant with God. But I learned something new about this change from a Jewish friend today. It is no coincidence that the letter H is added to both names. When we use H in the English version of these names it is a transliteration of the Hebraic letter Heh. Heh, with another mark, is a common shorthand for the name of God, so the addition of Hehs to the names of Abram and Sarai identified them as God's own.

Holocausts, torture, and Down syndrome

In preparation for a post about problem(s) of evil...



(I highly recommend all of the Mr. Deity episodes.)

Unreported Report

I honestly don't plan on blogging politics almost at all... however, I couldn't pass this up.

Three questions (answer honestly to yourself, and not according to what you think I'd blog on):
1. How bad are U.S. casualty rates in the current war?
2. Has the "surge" affected U.S. casualty rates?
3. Are military suicide rates up?

Here are three graphics from a recent report by the Congressional Research Service (ht: Sweetness & Light):

1. Current casualty rates are somewhere in the middle of where they've been for the last 27 years. (By the bye, for anyone not up on their history, for much of that time we were not at war.)

2. Casualties are down significantly since the surge started.

3. Military suicide rates are down from peace time.

Now, let me add quickly that this is obviously not a defense of the war. The purposes of the war and their achievement must be determined and judged to do that. The reasons for posting these statistics are: A, Because you're not likely to see them anywhere else; and B, To point out that you're not likely to see them anywhere else. So I recommend trusting the media (mainstream or otherwise) approximately as far as you can throw Al Roker... before the surgery.

This is one of the main reasons why I don't plan on blogging politics. It seems that there is always and forever some piece of information lying around, unreported, that would be vital to making an appropriate judgment. I rarely trust that I have the whole story.