Originally published at parlando. Please leave any comments there.

Am I the only one* who thinks the Joshua-Bell-in-the-Metro experiment is not a sad commentary on our culture’s anything, and that the main lesson is the obvious one that a train station at rush hour is not the best time to try to expose anyone to beautiful music?

I think I’ll call ( Read more... )

Originally published at parlando. Please leave any comments there.

ESPN is running a story about ex-New England Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson’s concussion related health problems from a front page link with the headline “Ex-Pats linebacker blames Belichick for depression”.

Within the story, we discover what “depression” means:

Ted Johnson said ( Read more... )

Originally published at parlando. Please leave any comments there.

I don’t watch television if I can help it, especially serial drama, which is so calcified as a form - even Joss Whedon, yes - that exposure to its predictable plot arcs and hammy acting and stunted dialogue is like sandpaper on my brain. (I have tried over the years to not sound ( Read more... )

Originally published at parlando. Please leave any comments there.

“After a lot of drink and passive-aggressive conversation, aided in no small part by biased counseling and stupid advice from so-called ‘friends,’ we have made the precipitous and petulant decision to break up our engagement, management partnership, and most of our furniture. We ( Read more... )