Top Diaries

It is interesting how one simple chord sequence can support 50+ years of popular music.

by asdf on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 12:22:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

and the Lady Sings the Blues:

by sgr2 on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 12:24:23 PM EST

5,000 4s for Billie Holiday!

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 01:45:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hooray for Billie, even if Germany won't let your video in.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 02:55:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

German court case fails to settle YouTube copyright controversy | Germany | DW.DE | 21.04.2012

A German court has ruled that YouTube must erase seven contested videos over copyright issues. However, the decision has failed to settle the protracted copyright row raging on the Internet.
Hamburg's State Court ruled on Friday that YouTube will have to take seven videos offline, including "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.
The verdict strengthens the position of Germany's royalty collections body GEMA which has been battling Google-owned YouTube over copyright issues for years.
The last agreement expired in 2009 and the conflicting parties have since been at loggerheads over the proper method to collect copyright fees.

No music in sight.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:28:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Dear Germany,

The year is 2012. That means it's the 21st century. Please catch up.

Your guest citizen,
Wife of Bath

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:37:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Crikey, where is everyone ?

'Fraid i've got nothing tonight. I've been volunteering all day and have been tied up with other stuff since I've got in

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 02:50:58 PM EST

Ha, chelski have just kicked off against barca, wearing (nearly) all white. Which is interesting cos chelski's away kit is all black.

Now which team do you know of who play in all white, the wearing of whose colours might just wind Barca up?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 02:52:51 PM EST

The Ku Klux Klan?

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:23:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

given the history between Barca and Real Madrid, it might as well be.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:29:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

They have a third kit which is all white...

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:41:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A third kit ??? Yea, commissioned should be play Barca. I imagine they have a 4th kit hidden away featuring red and blue vertical stripes for the final

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:47:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

It's on the Whiskeypedia page...

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:49:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Choice of kit is determined by TV visibility. Black and the red-and-blue stripes of Barca would be insufficiently contrasted.

(As if Chelski would even imagine a ploy to wind Barca up...)

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:24:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Boo, you're no fun ;-))

Anyway, 2-2 Chelski are in the final, but half the team are suspended for the final.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:37:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

:( Not a good year for Barca

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 05:23:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

but half the team are suspended for the final.

Bunch of chavs owned by a Russian. Could it be any other way?

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:47:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Viva Chelsea (none / 1)

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:49:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

I had loved the blues at least as far back as Elvis Preslely's Heartbreak Hotel. I used to listen to The Platters on AM radio in Whizbang Oklahoma when I was 14 and loved Ray Charles from the time he released Georgia On My Mind, but my first acquaintance with delta blues was via the Rocking Chair album by Howlin' Wolf, which I purchased to play on my Dynaco 35W Stereo Amp and AR3a speakers in 1966. I love how his voice mimics a bottleneck or slack string guitar on this song.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 02:54:36 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

Forbes: CoinLab Attracts $500,000 in Venture Capital for Bitcoin Projects

CEO Vessenes said, "if there is a currency that can trade around the world, it's semi-anonymous, it's instant, it's not controlled by government or bank, what's the total value of that currency? The answer to that is, if it works, it's gotta be in the billions. It just has to be for all the reasons you might want to send money around the world."

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:05:19 PM EST

Gave a 4 even tho' this:

The idea of a private currency has always been appealing to me as a way to diversify away from holding currency in irresponsible governments.

Raises some warning flags.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:30:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I agree, but it is still an interesting development - one of many in this area. A couple of nerdmeisters of my acquaintance are quite hot for it.

I just watched a new Sitra video called 'New Democracy?' (In Finnish, so don't bother). The basic premise begins with a game of football in which you can only touch the ball once every 4 years. And then follows the different ways in which Finland is creating ways to get in contact with the ball in between those rare occasions.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:51:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

One way:

Each legislator gets nominated and elected to the office as is which gets them access to the floor of the Eduskunta.

BUT they cast as many votes in the Eduskunta as they have signed, witnessed, proxies of registered voters anywhere in Finland.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:58:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I think BitCoins will crash and burn the day that tax authorities decides BitCoins is just a handy way of evading taxes. Heck, even the rumour that an important enough tax authoirty was looking into it might send the rates down the tubes.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:48:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

BitCoins have already crashed and burned. They're too easy to fake/hack/steal.

There will be a few bubbles first though.

IMO Money Is Stupid™, so I won't start being enthusiastic until the ethics change into something more post-acquisitive.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 04:18:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I have a strange feeling that changes to our world in five years time will be as momentous as the 100 years of the Industrial Revolution.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:55:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I know a start-up company that would help things along.

:-)

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:59:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Indeed. A potential Strange Attractor around which chaos will whirl.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:18:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

the bonkster party?

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:25:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mitt Romney for President! AND Vice President. ?

That's my take on this bit.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:10:38 PM EST

In a close election that could be a problem, thanks to the Twelfth Amendment. Or could Romney have two different views on the State he lives in, as he seems to have on most other issues?

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:20:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Drat, you get your own back for all those youtubes. Can't watch it

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:28:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Damn. Well, gist is that NOBODY, and I mean even the nobodies, want to be Mitt's VP choice. Of course, he can't really run solo.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:40:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Santorum hasn't rejected the idea.....

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:43:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Well, at least that would give the Secret Service a clue where the biggest threat to Romney's life would be

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:45:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Romney has a life?

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 04:19:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Santorum hasn't rejected the idea

I Laughed. Out Loud.

The "Dog On Car/Man on Dog" ticket.

If I wanted to be cruel: "Dog on Car/Daughter in Jar" ticket.

But I'm not that cruel.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:53:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Allen West ? He's certainly T-party crazy enough.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:43:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

They'll find somebody. Could be someone who wants to become a Big Cheese in the GOP national party hierarchy. Could be someone who wants to end their career with the nomination/run (ego thing.) Could be someone so totally stupid they think RomBot has a chance. Could be someone angling for a Cabinet Post in the next GOP administration. Could be a 'dark pick' like Palin.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:50:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Is that a typo when Jon Stewart calls this Endless Suffrage 2012? Shouldn't it be Sufferage?

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:51:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Suffrage is correct as political franchise, but the addition of 'endless' implies another reference that would connect the audience to another idea. Perhaps it recalls a movie or TV show title, or some other bit of Americana-meme that has passed me by.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:05:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Heh... your "sufferage" spelling would have been funnier (no end to the age of suffering) but in the USA, suffrage is the correct spelling for the voting rights.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:16:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mad-Cow Case Confirmed in Central California, USDA Says

Between that and the end of pink slime, there could be another financial crisis triggered by the hamburger industry going bust...

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 03:58:14 PM EST

We mostly buy our meats direct from people we know, butchered locally. Time to turn the "mostly" into "only."

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:00:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Won't you think of ConAgra?

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:02:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Expressing our opinion of ConAgra would cause your monitor to melt.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:07:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What is the word for when someone appeals to you symathetically but ironically? ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:21:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

For some reason I read "Won't" as "What."

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:33:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Hah... that's so sweet that you think USAians would stop eating beef because of health worries.

Okay, I'm being snarky, but I seriously can't imagine, given all the other crap they eat without complaint, that most of my fellow citizens are worried about anything but "yummy and cheap as possible."

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:18:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

There's always bison...

by asdf on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:30:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

what's the difference between a buffalo and a bison ?

You can't wash your hands in a buffalo

{/rimshot}

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 02:47:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Unpossible. (none / 0)

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 06:58:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Unpossible. (none / 0)

I was looking forward to some exploding heads...

by asdf on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:43:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Unpossible. (4.00 / 2)

I totes just Googled "happy cows come from california," and posted the first video that popped up. The inadvertent Scottish sheep were a bonus.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:55:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Unpossible. (none / 0)

Now we just need PETA's "milk gone wild" video.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 03:57:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Unpossible. (none / 1)

Lest we forget:

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 04:24:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Helsingin Sanomat | Wonders of the East:

You know, based on this quote

Hollande and the right-wing Sarkozy -- who beat off eight other candidates in Sunday's first round -- will now square off in a final round on May 6 that opinion polls say the Socialist will win.

I expected this story to be much more salacious.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:07:05 PM EST

Slightly O/T (none / 1)

I'm very tired of the US media casting everything in in a frame of sex and/or violence.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:10:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Slightly O/T (none / 1)

You must have been exhausted when Santorum quit the race. I never saw so many funny but unprintable jokes...

by asdf on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 07:44:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Finland Has It All (none / 0)

In Heinävesi, or more particularly in the village of Kerma just to the south, there is a site under a preservation order from the nation's Board of Antiquities.
This is not the Orthodox monastery of New Valamo, though that is close at hand, but an object that looks disconcertingly like a large pile of sawdust.
The reason why it looks like a pile of sawdust is that it is, in fact, a pile of sawdust.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:28:47 PM EST

Re: Finland Has It All (4.00 / 2)

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:53:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Finland Has It All (none / 0)

"We're so far from Japan" is quite the selling point.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 02:15:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The dark heart of this strange affair (none / 1)

Here's a fun read for those of you who are just starting their day.

...it is clearly possible that this strange affair, which began so quietly with the minor crimes of a single journalist and which has already brought acute pain and senior resignations to the Metropolitan police, the Press Complaints Commission and Murdoch's ranks in London and New York, may yet reach deep into the heart of government and do its damage there, too.

Yes.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 04:44:40 PM EST

Re: The dark heart of this strange affair (none / 1)

Today was quite intense, tomorrow may be a strap in and see where the ride takes us

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Apr 24th, 2012 at 05:01:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The dark heart of this strange affair (none / 0)

I think it will be more of a strap-on.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 01:50:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The dark heart of this strange affair (none / 1)

The evidence is likely to be disputed. These are merely Michel's versions of what was said, so they are hearsay. Furthermore, Michel has told the inquiry that his messages that claimed to report conversations with Hunt were in fact based on talking to Hunt's officials, which would mean that they are also secondhand. But, if the evidence stands up, we are looking at a story of secret and improper collusion of precisely the kind that Murdoch's critics suspected.

USA, Federal rules of evidence regarding hearsay provide in part:

An admission by a party-opponent is a statement offered against another party that meets one of five criteria:
The party against whom the statement is being offered is also the declarant of that statement either personally or in a representative capacity.
The party against whom the statement is being offered manifested an adoption or belief in the statement's truth.
The party against whom the statement is being offered authorized the declarant to make the statement.
The statement is made by an agent of the party against whom it is being offered and concerns a matter within the scope of the employment and is made during the course of that employment.
The declarant was a co-conspirator of the party against whom the statement is being offered and the statement is in furtherance of their conspiracy.

Much of this also applies in state courts, not just Federal. Don't know what the rules are in GB. Sometimes I miss trial law.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 02:26:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I'm a bit fascinated with Alzheimer's, as I figure I'm on my way there on a fast train, so this title of a book on offer caught my eye: "100 Simple Ways to Combat Alzheimers."

And then I thought "keeping track of 100 things is, in and of itself, quite complicated, so even the title renders the book a sham."

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 02:30:43 AM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Not at all. Keep your mind occupied with 100 silly things is mental gymnastics that will keep Alzheimer's at bay.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Apr 25th, 2012 at 02:49:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]