March 2010
Lone Star (1996)
- Mickey: You findin' lots of cactus and shit?
- Cliff: Not just cactus... there's the acacias, the yuccas--
- Mickey: Looks like a lot of cactus to me.
- Cliff: Man knows 150 different varieties of beer.
- Cliff: Can't tell a poinsettia form a prickly pear.
- Mickey: Hey Cliff--
- Cliff: You live in a place, you should learn something about it.
- Cliff: Explore--
- Mickey: Cliff, you gotta look at this.
- Cliff: Don't tell me. Spanish treasure, right?
- Cliff: Pieces of Eight from the Coronado expedition?
- Cliff: [Sees half-buried skeleton in the ground]
- Cliff: Jesus.
- Mickey: [Lifts a ring out of the ground]
- Mickey: Was Coronado in the Masons?
February 2010
The Franklin Shuttle's Storied Past (Forgotten NY) →
forgotten-ny.com
This piece is fun, though very heavy on the geographic detail, so it’s hard to follow if you’re unfamiliar with the area. But this exploration into Brooklyn’s littlest subway line reveals how unstable the railroad industry could be, with lines opening, competing, merging, closing, and then opening again. And like other industrial projects and plans in NYC, the railroads/subways were often true to the form of (often greedy) epic construction, coupled with a short-sighted single-mindedness that, if left unchecked, could be deadly. WHEN SUBWAYS ATTACK.
lineman
line·man n.
1. A person employed to install or repair telephone, telegraph, or electric power lines. Also called linesman.
2. A man employed to inspect and repair railroad tracks.
3. Football A player positioned on the forward line.
Wichita Lineman (2003 Digital Remaster)
Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
There is... another.
No one has ever written a song that’s better than Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman.” There have been some ties, but no outright winners.
Bold. Considering the early work of one Mr. Biz Markie.
Listen
Queen - Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
This is me for today.
Oh, I SO approve.
This is pop heaven.
“Champagne for your real friends, real pain for your sham friends.”
—Tom Waits (via tomwaits) (via veronicles)
Rock Steady
Bad Company
Bad Company Rock Steady
Just watched Scotland, PA the other night after holding off just a little too long. Satisfying on many levels:
- Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in 70s rural Pennsylvania
- James LeGros & Maura Tierney; Andy Dick (two scenes maybe, thankfully); the incomparable Kevin Corrigan
- Walken
- Soundtrack dominated by Bad Company
Highly recommend.
Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)
Steely Dan
Steely Dan - Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)
Obscure lyrics refer to Becker’s downstairs neighbor in Brooklyn, “President Street Pete.”
Pretty pretty.
