I Don't Get It -- Dick Cheney

It's hard to put a happy face on the George W. Bush presidency, what with the costly war, economic failure, attack on science, stupid decision after stupid decision and plain incompetence.
But George W. Bush is at least making an effort. His approval ratings may be hovering lower than Britney Spears IQ, but Bush, it appears, is doing all he can to ensure a smooth change of power. He and his staff have reportedly gone above and beyond in working with President-elect Obama's transition team.
His vice president?
Not so much.
Dick Cheney has stepped out of his lair for some media interviews in the last month. He's been given the opportunity to reflect on the challenges of the last two terms and provide some insight, and some empathy.
A chance to be human.
Instead, Cheney has steadfastly stuck by every decision he's made, regardless of how wrong it seemed then, or how positively disasterous it appears now.
-- The war in Iraq? Cheney still would've done it, even without the shoddy, falsified evidence.
-- Torture? Waterboarding? Cheney approved of them, and still does.
-- Guantanamo? Keep it open.
-- Rumsfeld? He shouldn't have been removed.
-- Using the "f" word on the Senate floor? Patrick Leahy deserved it.
I'm sure if you asked him Cheney about shooting that guy in the face, he'd tell you it was the right thing to do then, and he stands by it.
The only time he kept his mouth shut since leaving the cave, was when he told a reporter that he didn't have any advice for Joe Biden.
And I think we should all be thankful for that.

This Will Be Our Year -- Part II

(Tuesday Treasure is a weekly song that is unheralded, long-lost, or buried somewhere deep on an album, yet deserves another listen.)

From the Future Soundtrack for America, OK GO (yes, the treadmill band) takes a pretty faithful stab at the Zombies' This Will Be Our Year -- last week's Tuesday Treasure.

Tuesday Treasure 1/6

Distractions' Eight Favorite Books of '08

My eight favorite books of 2008, in no particular order ...

The White Tiger. Aravind Adiga.
Adiga's book unfolds as a letter from Balram to the Premier of China. Balram recounts his life from the days in the hopelessly poor Darkness of India to his job as a driver/servant. And he explains how he became a murderer, or as he calls himself -- a social entreprenuer. Adiga's debut novel is a witty and odd take on class struggle. The first-time author won the Man Booker Prize and Distractions' accolades.

Silver Linings Playbook. Matthew Quick.
Pat Peoples thinks his life is being directed by God. And he's certain, there is going to be a happy ending, which for him would be reuniting with his wife. After getting out of a mental health facility, he works out ferociously, avoids Kenny G's music and cheers on the Eagles. He tries to remember the events that led to his stay in the mental hospital. Yes, it revolves around the Philadelphia Eagles' 2006 season. But the reason I loved this book is because it's funny, poignant and very well written. I'm looking forward to Quick's second novel book.

See Matthew Quick's Guest Playlist on Distractions.

City of Refuge. Tom Piazza.
The main character of City of Refuge is actually the gritty and diverse city of New Orleans. The book follows a black family in the Lower Ninth Ward and a middle-class white family living Uptown. We meet them as Hurricane Katrina approaches and follow them through the aftermath in places like Houston, Oxford, rural Missouri, New York and Chicago. The Donaldsons decide to evacuate, finding themselves stuck in traffic before finally making their way to relatives in Chicago. SJ Williams and his family try to stick it out in the Lower 9th. The families take some real punches from Katrina. They survive, yet the face the question -- What now?

Garden of Last Days. Andrew Dubus III.
Dubus' rich writing infuses real depth to his characters, allowing the reader to feel both repulsion and apathy for the string of unsavory people -- a stripper, a terrorist and a wife-beater. Based on the idea that one of the 9/11 hijackers stopped at a Florida strip club before the attacks, Dubus' novel is gripping. When her landlady/babysitter becomes ill, April is forced to bring her daughter to work at the Puma strip club. As the night unfolds, April's attention is turned away from keeping an eye on her daughter and then the drama begins.

Personal Days. Ed Park.
This witty workplace satire is set at a nondescript company. A group of young workers spend their workdays worrying about who will be next to get laid off after the company is taken over by the never-seen Californians. The employees create their own cubiclisms. Example: A deprotion is when someone takes over new responsibilities without getting a pay increase.
Park breaks Personal Days into three Microsoft Word-like sections -- Can't Undo, Replace All, Revert to Saved. The first chapter is written as a straight narrative. The second chapter is written as a contract, and the final chapter is written as one long run-on sentence e-mail.

Born Standing Up. Steve Martin.
A humble and self-deprecating Martin details how he went from a kid hanging out at magic shops to arena-filling shows. The memoir is filled with great stories, including his first appearances on The Tonight Show. He talks about meeting Dalton Trumbo and dating Linda Rondstadt, whose talent and beauty was a little too intimidating for Martin. She asked him after nine dates: "Steve, do you always date women and try not to sleep with them?"

Serena. Ron Rash.
Rash has created quite the evil and memorable title character in this gritty and violent novel. Set in Depression-era North Carolina, Serena is basically a tale of greed. The Pembertons battle the government-led conservationists trying to create the Great Smokies National Park and anyone else who gets in their way.

The Night of the Gun. David Carr
Carr, who covers media issues for the New York Times, didn't so much write a memoir as investigate his own life. Instead of relying on his own memories, he did extensive researching and interviewing over a two-year period. The result is a fascinating, brutally honest memoir, which chronicles Carr's long spiral into addiction. He beats women. He and his girlfriend continue to smoke crack -- even when she's pregnant. He sobers up and begins a new life as a single father, then he finds out he has cancer.

And, as a bonus, the best mid-grade novel of the year was As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President!

This Will Be Our Year -- Part I

(Tuesday Treasure is a weekly song that is unheralded, long-lost, or buried somewhere deep on an album, yet deserves another listen.)

2008 has been one of the most up-and-down years I've ever been through. I worked through several personal struggles and attended way too many funerals. And all this happened amid a media barrage of war, recession, layoffs, scandals, etc.

But this was also the year my wife's first novel was released. My Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series, giving my great hometown a long-overdue parade. And Barack Obama's historic election gave us all hope that with hard work things can, and will, get better.

So let's ring out aught eight with this hopeful song from the Zombies great pop-rock classic Odessey and Oracle.

Tuesday Treasure 12/30

A Better Class of Playlist

I missed the first night of Hannukah and Christmas, but this week's playlist makes it in time for Kwaanza ...

Serena. Ron Rash.
This gritty and violent novel is set in Depression-era North Carolina. It's a tale of greed, as the lumber baron Pembertons battle the government-led conservationists trying to create the Great Smokies National Park. Rash's attention to details and knowledge of the rural area is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy. And with the title character, Rash has created one of literature's great evil women, one whom the Washington Post has compared to Lady MacBeth. Serena -- the book and the character -- will not be easily forgotten
.
Better Class of Flying Man.
This Southern California band has a lot of potential. Better Class plays a brand of atmospheric post-rock. Songs like Unbelievable You Function Here, Cornelius and Family Tree thump along, yet there's a certain amount of space, allowing the songs to breathe, which adds to the dramatic feel. With his drawn out vocals, the lead singer sounds like the Strokes' Julian Casablancas (or Ryan Adams at his most effected). If you're in the San Diego area, look for them playing live -- and let us know what you think.

Milk.
Wow. Gus Van Sant's latest lived up to my very high expectations. Milk chronicles a critical era in the gay rights movement and provides insight into the political process. The acting is superb, from Sean Penn's emotionally packed title character to Josh Brolin's tortured Dan Brown.

Survival. Forest Fire.
Apparently, this Brooklyn-based group released its debut album earlier this year with the same pay-what-you-want method that Radiohead used. That's not the only thing that makes them different. This is a very weird indie-folk album that owes some debt to the Velvet Underground. Its gothic sound creaks and moans and delivers lines like -- I only want to seem good in front of the right people/My aura is yellow like a coward.

The Execution of All Things. Rilo Kiley.
Recently, eMusic made available many Saddle Creek recordings, including this classic from Jenny Lewis' band. It's subtle and it's in-your-face. A little country, a little folk and a lot of indie attitude. Some may find it pretensious, but I think it's one of the best indie recordings of the past few years.

The Cheese Monkeys. Chip Kidd
The book jacket designer's first foray into writing is a gripping, funny and, surprisingly, well-written coming-of-age tale. The book takes place over two semesters at a state college (Kidd's alma mater Penn State?) in the 1950s as a young naive college student develops his love for graphic design -- and a respect for the mad genius William Sorbeck. Kidd's second book The Learners picks up where this left off. Unfortunately, I read Learners first (see my review). As with his second novel, Monkeys also serves as a great introduction into the world of graphic design. And, as usual, Kidd has come up with a unique book design.

weekly playlist 12/26

Come on Let's Boogie to the Elf Dance

(Tuesday Treasure is a weekly song that is unheralded, long-lost, or buried somewhere deep on an album, yet deserves another listen.)

Tuesday Treasure 12/23

I Don't Get It -- Cursed Band Names

Holy F--k

F--k the Writer

F--k Buttons

No, my blog doesn't have Tourrete Syndrome. And it hasn't been taken over by Sarah Silverman. (I wish!)

These are actual names of bands. Bands who are currently trying to sustain a music career. And their names don't have little asterisks, dollar signs or dashes in them.

I dont' get. Why give your band such an alienating name? You think it's cool? Well, you and your group of a dozen friends will be the only ones in on the joke. Using one of these curse words for your band name is like getting a face tattoo before a job interview. You'll get some attention, but you're not going to get the job.

Ten years from now, we wont' be talking about that great album by F--k Emos. Or the great single that F--kbomb put out. And I certainly won't wonder whatever happened to F--kface. (All band names).

It's great to turn your cheek to convention and question the etymology of words as the great George Carlin did. But if you're playing music, focus on the music. Even in this day and age of satellite radio, MySpace, Facebook and music blogging, the bands who choose this four-letter word (or a variation of it) in their name?

Well, they're just f--ked.