Ink Lake

Amy Allison — Take Two

Amy is a member of the Radio Free Song Club, a group of songwriters who compose under a deadline – they have to deliver a song a month. Other members include Laura Cantrell, Peter Holsapple, and Amy Rigby.

When the songs are played live, apart from exchanging e-mails, they’ve been played through live maybe once, if at all, usually right before the show.  I’m not a musician, but I’ve long realized that Amy is a person that musicians want to play well for. Check out the playing on her albums The Maudlin Years or Sad Girl if you doubt it.

In this clip from a taping for an upcoming Radio Free Song show, Dave Schramm and company wanted to be sure they got it right.

By the way, no less a personage  than Elvis Costello called Maudlin Years, one of the “top 500 albums of all time”.

Nothing But #1 Hits!

The WFMU marathon is on, and as the station is one of the things that gives life, if not the universe meaning, you should pledge.

And when you pledge, you can get a DJ premium, and Michael Shelley, who hosts the #1  Hits Show on Saturday mornings, has put together a fantastic CD for this year’s givers.

Super-Hits of the 70s was recorded especially for the fund-raising drive. Amy Rigby, Yo La Tengo, more.. Amazing stuff, and you’ll not find it anyone else! Literally.

Here is a New Yorker article.

Everyone knows WFMU, or should: the pride of New York-area independent radio, based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and broadcasting at 91.1 on your FM dial, as well as at wfmu.org. WFMU is a rare jewel of the airwaves for many reasons, not the least of which is how it’s supported entirely by listeners—not by a university, not by advertisers, not by sponsors.

Read more , listen more, and most importantly, pledge!

A Teachable Moment - My Twitter Exchange With Randi Weingarten

With the release of the NYC teacher ratings imminent, last week, I asked Randi Weingarten, the former head of the NY union (and now head of the national), to name a single teacher who she thought shouldn’t be in the job. The data was released over the hard-fought objections of the teacher’s union.  (The Times had to sue to make the data public).

(Click to enlarge Twitter thread)

 

Dock That Chink A Day's Pay For Napping On The Job

 

On Gothamist, John Del Signore has great coverage of Wednesday’s City Council hearings that got on record, what everybody knows..the NYPD cares a lot more about sleeping bags in Zuccotti Park, and busting people for having a joint in their pocket, than they do about the leading cause of injury-related death for children in the city, and the hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists killed year-in, year-out, by cars on the streets of New York.

Already known was the police’s botched investigation of the killing of Mathieu Lefevre and the non-investigation of the hit-and-run that critically injured Michelle Matson, but the the hearing offered up a smorgasbord of new exposed things to get sick over. Take your choice..

 

• the NYPD doesn’t even investigate if a cyclist isn’t killed or likely to die (so if you’re back is broken, like Michelle Matson’s was in a hit-and-run, but you survive, Ray Kelly wishes you the best of luck at the plaintiff’s bar).

 

• or that the NYPD writes more tickets to cyclists than they do to trucks

 

Graph courtesy: Transportation Nation

 

Props to Council-members Vacca and Vallone for holding this hearing. It’s the first step to holding people accountable.

In Praise of Knives Chau

“She’s got a head start! I mean I didn’t even know there was good music until like two months ago!”

A great performance by Ellen Wong, in her cinematic debut. Scott Pilgirm vs. the World is a movie, that as Robert Wilonsky of the Voice said, “fits in more ideas per frame than most filmmakers per feature”.

Here, I think she was channeling both Ed Grimley, and Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck. (Though come to think of it, maybe Nicholas Cage is always ‘doing’ Ed Grimley).

“Chrissy, bring me the big knife!”

 

Bitch Learns That Payback Is In Fact, A Bitch

Karen Handel, has resigned as the anti-abortion zealot who as vice-president for public policy at the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She was hip-deep (or higher) in the failed attempt to cut Komen’s contributions to Planned Parenthood. Couldn’t happen to a nicer person. 

But a woman’s right to choose isn’t the only thing she hates. In her failed run for Georgia governor in 2010, she said this in an interview with a local newscaster, discussing her support of outlawing gay adoption.

Q. I guess I want to know why you think gay parents aren’t as legitimate as heterosexual parents.

A: Because I don’t.

 

My favorite bit of logic is when she says she’s opposed to gay marriage, and then says she thinks gay couples shouldn’t adopt, because...you guessed it... they can’t be married!

Fail-Safe

“But even the quiz shows will be back. Why fix them? Think about it, will you?

You could do exactly the same thing by just making the questions easier.”

 – Quiz Show

In today’s Times, Michael Winerip reports that passing the kindergarten high school English Regents exams these days, don’t have the prestige you figured. Apparently the only thing required for a passing grade is knowledge of the alphabet.

Here’s an example from the scoring guide for writing that should get a 1 (on a scale of 1-2).

These two Charater have very different mind Sets because they are creative in away that no one would imagen just put clay together and using leaves to create Art. (sic)

This one is supposed to get a 3 on a scale of 1–3.

Even though their is no physical conflict withen each other. Their are jealousy problems between each other that each one wish could have. (sic)

Here’s a sample from a future parolee leader of New York; cheer up, the kid passes, but they ony get a 1.

 

Lazy Sunday

Without ever having met him, the dog has gotten my dad’s moves down to a tee.

Everyday

Charles Hardin Holley, (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959)

I believe his mom contributed some of the lyrics to this; one of his most beautiful, and simple songs.

Jerry Allison, (boyfriend, and future husband of Peggy Sue Geron), not playing drums, but slapping his knees with his hands.