6.29.2008
This Heat
Olympia has reached California levels of heat scorched hellishness this weekend. 90 degrees doesn't seem like much, but here it is too much to bear. Oh lord if you're listening, bring back the 70s...!
6.17.2008
6.13.2008
RIP Tim Russert
I was really bummed to find out that Tim Russert of Meet The Press died suddenly today. Russert was literally the only mainstream TV journalist I had any respect for. He always asked tough (enough) questions and you could tell he was genuinely enthusiastic about what he was doing. Covering the election the guy looked like a kid in a goddamn candy store. I've been watching Meet The Press since I became interested in politics and they were pretty good about not skewing the news one way or the other. There is no one at NBC that will even come close to being an adequate replacement for the guy. Possibly the final nail in the coffin of any decent network journalist integrity. RIP.
How's It Hangin Your Majestliness
Wait, What Did He Just Call the Pope?
By PATRICK J. LYONS
Um, those fellows back there with the red caps are the “eminences” . . . (Giancarlo Giuliani-Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Seven years into his tenure, it will no longer surprise many people to hear that President Bush is not the most formality-minded person ever to hold the office. The irreverent nicknames he makes up for the people around him are legend, and it is not unusual for him to err a bit on the casual side in diplomatic encounters that, in other presidencies, might have been protocol-ed to a fare-thee-well.
Even so, an eyebrow or two arched today at the way Mr. Bush addressed Pope Benedict XVI on meeting him in Rome:
“Your eminence, you’re looking good,” Mr. Bush said, the A.P. reported.
We’re not talking about the Fernando-esque second clause, which was unobjectionably friendly if perhaps a tad over-familiar in tone. It was the “your eminence” part. That’s supposed to be how you address Catholic cardinals. Popes are “your holiness.”
(It isn’t the first time Mr. Bush has put a foot wrong in pontifical etiquette. At a meeting last June, Mr. Bush appalled the Vatican heirarchy and created a small stir in the media by addressing the pope several times as “sir,” which was taken by some as a failure to show appropriate respect, though a blunder rather than an intentional slight.)
In any case, the pope evidently did not succumb today to any temptation to respond to Mr. Bush’s errant greeting with a hearty “So are you, Governor.”
By PATRICK J. LYONS
Um, those fellows back there with the red caps are the “eminences” . . . (Giancarlo Giuliani-Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Seven years into his tenure, it will no longer surprise many people to hear that President Bush is not the most formality-minded person ever to hold the office. The irreverent nicknames he makes up for the people around him are legend, and it is not unusual for him to err a bit on the casual side in diplomatic encounters that, in other presidencies, might have been protocol-ed to a fare-thee-well.
Even so, an eyebrow or two arched today at the way Mr. Bush addressed Pope Benedict XVI on meeting him in Rome:
“Your eminence, you’re looking good,” Mr. Bush said, the A.P. reported.
We’re not talking about the Fernando-esque second clause, which was unobjectionably friendly if perhaps a tad over-familiar in tone. It was the “your eminence” part. That’s supposed to be how you address Catholic cardinals. Popes are “your holiness.”
(It isn’t the first time Mr. Bush has put a foot wrong in pontifical etiquette. At a meeting last June, Mr. Bush appalled the Vatican heirarchy and created a small stir in the media by addressing the pope several times as “sir,” which was taken by some as a failure to show appropriate respect, though a blunder rather than an intentional slight.)
In any case, the pope evidently did not succumb today to any temptation to respond to Mr. Bush’s errant greeting with a hearty “So are you, Governor.”
6.10.2008
Vinyl Resurgence
Some retailers give vinyl records a spin
By SARAH SKIDMORE
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. -- It was a fortuitous typo for the Fred Meyer retail chain.
This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.
Some sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day.
The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska.
Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. And online music giant Amazon.com, which has sold vinyl for most of the 13 years it has been in business online, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.
The best-seller so far at Fred Meyer is The Beatles "Abbey Road" album. But musicians from the White Stripes and the Foo Fighters to Metallica and Pink Floyd are selling well, the company says.
"It's not just a nostalgia thing," said Melinda Merrill, spokeswoman for Fred Meyer. "The response from customers has just been that they like it, they feel like it has a better sound."
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, manufacturers' shipments of LPs jumped more than 36 percent from 2006 to 2007 to more than 1.3 million. Shipments of CDs dropped more than 17 percent during the same period to 511 million, as they lost some ground to digital formats.
The resurgence of vinyl centers on a long-standing debate over analog versus digital sound. Digital recordings capture samples of sound and place them very close together as a complete package that sounds nearly identical to continuous sound many people.
Analog recordings on most LPs are continuous, which produces a truer sound - though, paradoxically, some new LP releases are being recorded and mixed digitally but delivered analog.
Some purists also argue that the compression required to allow loudness in some digital formats weakens the quality as well.
But it's not just about the sound. Audiophiles say they also want the format's overall experience - the sensory experience of putting the needle on the record, the feeling of side A and side B and the joy of lingering over the liner notes.
"I think music products should be more than just music," said Isaac Hudson, a 28-year-old vinyl fan standing outside one of Portland's larger independent music stores.
The interest seems to be catching on. Turntable sales are picking up and the few remaining record pressers say business is booming.
But the LP isn't going to muscle out CDs or iPod soon.
Nearly 450 million CDs were sold last year, versus just under 1 million LPs, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Based on the first three months of this year, Nielsen says vinyl album sales could reach 1.6 million in 2008.
"I don't think vinyl is for everyone; it's for the die-hard music consumer," said Jay Millar, director of marketing at United Record Pressing, a Nashville based company that is the nation's largest record pressing plant.
Many major artists - Elvis Costello, the Raconteurs and others - are issuing LPs and encouraging fans to check out their albums on vinyl. On Amazon.com, one of the best-selling LPs is Madonna's latest album, "Hard Candy".
Some artists package vinyl and digital versions of their music together, including offers for free digital downloads along with the record.
"We've definitely had some talks with the major retailers about exclusives on the manufacturing end," Millar said of United Record Pressing, which focuses primarily on independent recordings.
An avid music fan himself, Millar says he has moved to vinyl in recent years.
"Once I got my first iPod ... I'm looking at my wall of CDs and trying to justify it," Millar said. "The things I like - the artwork, the liner notes, the sound quality - it dawns on me, those are things I like better on vinyl." He welcomed back the pops and clicks, even some of the scratches.
"I like that fact that it's imperfect in a lot of ways, live music is imperfect too," Millar said.
Independent music stores, which have been the primary source of LPs in recent years, say many fans never left the medium.
"People have been buying vinyl all along," said Cathy Hagen, manager at 2nd Avenue Records in Portland. "There was a fairly good supply from independent labels on vinyl all these years. As far as a resurgence, the major labels are just pressing more now."
In this game, big retailers aren't necessarily competing head to head with independent sellers' regular clientele of nostalgic baby boomers, independent label fans and turntable DJs.
"I cannot see that Best Buy or Fred Meyer would order the same things we would," Hagen said. "They aren't going to be ordering the reggae, funk, punk or industrial music."
By SARAH SKIDMORE
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. -- It was a fortuitous typo for the Fred Meyer retail chain.
This spring, an employee intending to order a special CD-DVD edition of R.E.M.'s latest release "Accelerate" inadvertently entered the "LP" code instead. Soon boxes of the big, vinyl discs showed up at several stores.
Some sent them back. But a handful put them on the shelves, and 20 LPs sold the first day.
The Portland-based company, owned by The Kroger Co., realized the error might not be so bad after all. Fred Meyer is now testing vinyl sales at 60 of its stores in Oregon, California, Washington and Alaska.
Other mainstream retailers are giving vinyl a spin too. Best Buy is testing sales at some stores. And online music giant Amazon.com, which has sold vinyl for most of the 13 years it has been in business online, created a special vinyl-only section last fall.
The best-seller so far at Fred Meyer is The Beatles "Abbey Road" album. But musicians from the White Stripes and the Foo Fighters to Metallica and Pink Floyd are selling well, the company says.
"It's not just a nostalgia thing," said Melinda Merrill, spokeswoman for Fred Meyer. "The response from customers has just been that they like it, they feel like it has a better sound."
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, manufacturers' shipments of LPs jumped more than 36 percent from 2006 to 2007 to more than 1.3 million. Shipments of CDs dropped more than 17 percent during the same period to 511 million, as they lost some ground to digital formats.
The resurgence of vinyl centers on a long-standing debate over analog versus digital sound. Digital recordings capture samples of sound and place them very close together as a complete package that sounds nearly identical to continuous sound many people.
Analog recordings on most LPs are continuous, which produces a truer sound - though, paradoxically, some new LP releases are being recorded and mixed digitally but delivered analog.
Some purists also argue that the compression required to allow loudness in some digital formats weakens the quality as well.
But it's not just about the sound. Audiophiles say they also want the format's overall experience - the sensory experience of putting the needle on the record, the feeling of side A and side B and the joy of lingering over the liner notes.
"I think music products should be more than just music," said Isaac Hudson, a 28-year-old vinyl fan standing outside one of Portland's larger independent music stores.
The interest seems to be catching on. Turntable sales are picking up and the few remaining record pressers say business is booming.
But the LP isn't going to muscle out CDs or iPod soon.
Nearly 450 million CDs were sold last year, versus just under 1 million LPs, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Based on the first three months of this year, Nielsen says vinyl album sales could reach 1.6 million in 2008.
"I don't think vinyl is for everyone; it's for the die-hard music consumer," said Jay Millar, director of marketing at United Record Pressing, a Nashville based company that is the nation's largest record pressing plant.
Many major artists - Elvis Costello, the Raconteurs and others - are issuing LPs and encouraging fans to check out their albums on vinyl. On Amazon.com, one of the best-selling LPs is Madonna's latest album, "Hard Candy".
Some artists package vinyl and digital versions of their music together, including offers for free digital downloads along with the record.
"We've definitely had some talks with the major retailers about exclusives on the manufacturing end," Millar said of United Record Pressing, which focuses primarily on independent recordings.
An avid music fan himself, Millar says he has moved to vinyl in recent years.
"Once I got my first iPod ... I'm looking at my wall of CDs and trying to justify it," Millar said. "The things I like - the artwork, the liner notes, the sound quality - it dawns on me, those are things I like better on vinyl." He welcomed back the pops and clicks, even some of the scratches.
"I like that fact that it's imperfect in a lot of ways, live music is imperfect too," Millar said.
Independent music stores, which have been the primary source of LPs in recent years, say many fans never left the medium.
"People have been buying vinyl all along," said Cathy Hagen, manager at 2nd Avenue Records in Portland. "There was a fairly good supply from independent labels on vinyl all these years. As far as a resurgence, the major labels are just pressing more now."
In this game, big retailers aren't necessarily competing head to head with independent sellers' regular clientele of nostalgic baby boomers, independent label fans and turntable DJs.
"I cannot see that Best Buy or Fred Meyer would order the same things we would," Hagen said. "They aren't going to be ordering the reggae, funk, punk or industrial music."
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