Normally, covering Marvin Gaye would be a way to show that you are…well, not Marvin Gaye.
Covering two of Marvin’s songs in this way should just be a way of showing you are….stupid.
But this is Robert Palmer. And while Palmer is always good, here he just digs into these classics and makes them his own. I like his cover of “Mercy Mercy Me”. But as he moves into “I Want You”, he soars.
Ok, I am miffed. I was writing about low cost wines well before Robert Parker, and now he is cutting in on my act! 🙂
Goofiness aside, he has a good article on Fifteen California Wines for Under $25 in BusinessWeek. For Parker, anything in the $20-$25 price range is low cost, and he mentions some here that go as low as $10 (U.S.).
If you can find any of them, I recommend you grab them and given them a try.
PS. If you live in Ontario, you can get the Château St. Jean Fumé Blanc for $20.95 (vs. $13 in the US!), the Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay for $19.95 (vs. $15 in the US), the Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas for $25.75 (vs $22). If it is indeed the same wine, you can get the Beringer Chardonnay Napa for $27.95 (vs $16!! WTF?!)
A few years ago, this was a famous commercial.
Humourous. Stupid, but humourous.
Now we have this.
Humourous. Anything but stupid.
True
I previously showed a photograph of Barack Obama that showed his resoled shoes. It’s a telling photograph, and it was taken by Callie Shell. Click on that hyperlink: it will take you to many more great photographs of Obama on the campaign trail. Not only are the photographs great — TIME has had many great photographers working for them over the decades, including Shell — but the commentary and the context provided make them even more enjoyable.
I am sure Barrack Obama can afford more than one pair of shoes. Instead, he got them resoled. Someone took a photo of them.
In running for president, the details matter.
How to look sharp indeed.
Photo from andrewsullivan.com
Not all business news is bad news. (Ok, maybe it’s bad news for Wall St., but not Main St.) According to the reportonbusiness.com: Oil tumbles below $67.
Hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago that oil producers were worried about it slipping below $100. And in mid-July it was over $147.
For people heating their homes with oil, this will be welcome relief for the early winter.
By the incomparable Jessica Hagy and found on the Molt:n Digital Blog
I had promised I would not blog any more about Damien Hirst, but this faux news article,
NewsBiscuit: Damien Hirst sets new auction record with ‘Investment Banker in Formaldehyde’
made me laugh.
Here’s the “work” in question.
The article is good for a laugh.
And if you are Mr. Hirst, you are laughing all the way to the bank.
Really! That’s what it is. Lots and lots of BROKERS WITH HANDS ON THEIR FACES!
Like this guy:
Actually, this is a cross between hand ON his face and punching himself IN the face, but you get the idea. Go see!
It’s another fine use of one of my favourite sites, tumblr.
Remember the Milk is a great site to help you juggle all the tasks you have to do. You can and should Learn More about it: it’s packed with good features. Just some of those features I like are:
If you want to make a lot of people feel better, here’s a very easy way to do it. All you need is a nearby marathon.
Go down to where the race is. Get yourself a coffee or tea. Then as the runners come by, cheer them on.Tell them they’re looking good, they’re doing great, hang in there, tell them about upcoming downhills, cheer, clap, yell woohoo. Whatever works for you. The best runners will appreciate you just being there. The rest will be rejuvenated by your encouagement.
I went down today to the Toronto marathon yesterday and in a short time made a few dozen people smile. Having run a few myself, I know how great it is for people to turn out and do that.
Everyone in a marathon is struggling to do their best in the face of great difficulty. Even the best of runners. Your encouragment is greatly appreciated. You can make a dozen people feel better in the time it takes you to finish your tea.
Time has a fascinating interview with Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld talking mostly about …Ford and his clothes. Lagerfeld is very generous with his praise of Ford. Ford also praises Lagerfeld, but really, he doesn’t need it: Karl is in a league of his own.
It’s interesting to hear them talk about the thinking that goes into their design. You might think mens wear is simply a matter of adjusting the number of buttons on a suit, but they are evolving the way men dress.
See Behind the Seams: Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld Talk Shop – America: Conquerer of the Global Menswear Market – TIME for the interview transcript. I would recommend you scroll down and watch the conversation between them: it’s good.
While endorsing Barack Obama today, Colin Powell spoke eloquently about this photograph. It is part of this article: Service: The New Yorker.
Update, here is the video of Colin Powell on Meet the Press.
I was reading about 100,000 people turning out in St. Louis today to see Barack Obama. For some reason, the song “People Get Ready” came to mind. When I went on YouTube, it seems that I am not the only one who associates this song with Obama: there were a number of photo montages of him with this song.
It’s a beautiful song, and there are many great versions of it on YouTube. Al Green, U2, Jeff Beck, Ziggy Marley…they all do it well. But this one, with an older Curtis Mayfield, backed up by Taylor Dane, is my favourite.
The U.S. Presidential election is coming soon. People get ready. There’s a train a coming.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is quite an event. At this year’s event, both John McCain and Barrack Obama showed up for the white tie event (as opposed to black tie). While Obama was good, McCain was great.
If McCain was more like this during the campaign, he would be doing better:
What is the difference between white tie and black tie? For that, you should check out Whit Stilman’s Metropolitan, a little-seen-but-great-film.
Sadly, the great Levi Stubbs past away today. Stubbs was the lead singer of the Four Tops, who were known for such classics as “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” and “Baby I Need Your Loving,”.
Here they in 1965 performing “Baby…”
One of the Wines of the Month at the LCBO in Ontario is CHÂTEAU D’ARGADENS 2004.
Paul Gregutt of The Seattle Times says:
‘ It’s a joy to find a wellmade, affordable bottle of Bordeaux, from a classic vintage, at a modest price. Granted, this won’t bump the Mouton off the table, but at roughly 2 percent of the cost, it delivers fine flavors of red currant and cranberry, spice and truffle. It’s supple and bright, and soundly made at just 13 percent alcohol.’
It has a nice nose and a good finish. Well worth it for $18.95. Folks (like me) used to the stuff under $10 should treat themselves to this. It’s perfect for those upcoming winter nights.
Jones Soda not only has great beverages, but a great way of packaging them.
Case in point — pun intended — is myJones.com. You can get a case of Jones with your own selected labels. They also provide some, like these lolcats. For fans of Jones, it could be a great present for them.
It is ironic that an opera house seems more innovative than many in the pop recording industry: “then” is more advanced than “now”. The latest thing they are going to do is Offer Performances on the Web. According to the NYTimes.com:
‘In the Metropolitan Opera’s relentless quest to exploit all media, the company next Wednesday will start making many video and audio broadcasts available for Internet streaming on demand.
Met Player, as the service is called, will be available through the Met’s Web site, metopera.org. At its inauguration, on the 125th anniversary of the Met’s first show, users will be able to choose from 13 high-definition video performances, 37 standard video recordings and 120 audio broadcasts dating to 1937. The company said it planned to add performances regularly, drawing on its vast historical archives and its continuing high-definition broadcasts.’
The player looks good, but the proof will be in the sound. The Met has a sterling reputation; I am optimistic it will be good.
I believe that better way to improve societies is through systemic changes. Providing everyone access to clean drinking water reduces disease. Improving lighting through a city reduces crime. Providing free education and libraries increases literacy.
I said the better way because there will still be disease, crime and illiteracy, but you greatly reduce this ills if you do this simple (but not necessarily easy) things.
I thought of this when I watched Bill Clinton speaking at this TED conference (See here). He talks about the approach they took to driving down the cost of drugs for HIV/AIDS. What I like about it is that it is a systematic approach they took: improve the supply chain, change the business model, be economical in the best sense of the term. The result is more medicine for more people which results in people living longer and better lives.
It is a common wish that everyone should live longer and better lives. But in going from the wish to the fulfillment, people can get tangled up in ideology, philosophy, and all sorts of things that don’t promote the very thing they want.
Applying systematic changes will often get us 80% of the way from wish to fulfillment. 100% might be best, but 80% is much better than 0%. And that’s why I believe that better way to improve societies is through systemic changes.
I can’t recommend the TED site highly enough.
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
New Yorkers, of course!
Having been to New York a number of times, I would say that while New Yorkers can be gruff, I have found them to be some of the most well mannered citizens that I have met. I wasn’t surprised to see that they came out on top.
As someone who lives in Toronto, I was also happy to see us come in third.
The article appeared in the Canadian edition of Reader’s Digest, which may be why there is more of a Canadian angle to the story. But it is global, and it is worth reading.
(Pointer from andrewSullivan.com)
According this article in GigaOM, Obama Is campaigning within games:
‘Last week we noted unconfirmed sightings of an “Obama for President” billboard in the Xbox 360 racing game Burnout Paradise. Today we’re able to report that it is, in fact, an official advertisement placed by the senator’s campaign team.’
Back in the day when men wore “hose”, not “socks”, and “underdrawers”. Bras were still “under-vests”, I think. Fascinating.
Found here
A good article here on the challenge of imposing some form of guidelines on the millions of people who use flickr. It’s as difficult as you can imagine, but Heather Champ, flickr’s Director of Community, and her team do as good as job as is possible.
Heather has always been on the vanguard on what is happening with the Web and a good photographer: it’s no surprise to see her in this role. Plus she is a good “Canadian girl”: perfect in the role of peacekeeper.
Great person, good article. For more, visit Nasty as they wanna be? Policing Flickr.com
I put this on twitpic, but it is so beautiful to me, I am going to put it here, too! 🙂
and here it is on TwitPic. I <heart> twitpic!
Paul Krugman could be the first blogger to win a Nobel Prize! Well, he does much more than blog, of course, but his blog is good to read generally, and very useful to read especially in this time of economic crisis. Hats of to him FTW. 🙂
See Paul Krugman Wins Nobel for Economics – NYTimes.com
(Photo Fred R. Conrad/NYT)
Update, the time blog, The Curious Capitalist, has a good rundown on why Krugman won here
Ok, not really. But this site has a nifty demo of how to make a linux cluster using an IKEA Helmer cabinet. Very innovative.
Try it yourself! If you a) need such a thing and b) have the wherewithal to do it.
(found via lifehacker)
…is a cool little site you can find here.
Click on the text highlighted, and the story unfolds. Perfect while having…a cup of tea.
(From the great blog, Molt:n Core)
Ok, that’s very dramatic, but then so is the work of the decapitator, such as this modified SatC ad.
You can see more of the work here: Flickr: the decapitator’s Photostream. It’s gruesome, but brilliant.
P.S. At first glance I thought the work is misogynistic — there are lots of decapitated women — but there are also headless men, muppets and bees too. And you might think it is gruesome, but no more than cartoon violence.
Found via http://www.moltn.com/blog/)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dramatically illustrated.
We have along way to go from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Universal Application of these rights.
It is worth dreaming about.
(Found on andrewSullivan.com)
BusinessWeek has a rundown of what is happening to Iceland in the global financial meltdown, and what might be happening next, including it doing a deal with Russia for capital. I am not sure if this deal will go through or not. If it did, I expect Russia will make some challenging moves into this founding NATO country. Meanwhile, Iceland could become an economic basket case.
One line that struck me was “Iceland’s once-proud banking sector”: it doesn’t appear to me that they did anything they should have been proud of.
See The Stunning Collapse of Iceland – BusinessWeek for more details.
This article, Zara Thrives by Breaking All the Rules in BusinessWeek, talks about how Zara is succeeding by doing things differently. However, the fallacy is saying there are “rules”. The “rules” are how other people do it. What Zara has done is seen the weaknesses in those rules and done things differently. Zara knows that the sum is what matters, not the parts. So even if parts of its manufacturing could be made cheaper, it would add additional costs down the line. That’s smart. And that’s why they are thriving.
Of course, unlike some of their competitors, they know what to make that will sell. You can have the best supply chain in the world, but if you are delivering something people don’t want, you are dead. Zara knows what people want, and they can adjust quickly when they make a mistake. Not only that, but Zara has lots of ideas, unlike some of their competitors. They seem to produce way more styles than other clothing manufacturers, making it more likely you will find something you want. That’s also very smart.
“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what other people say you cannot do.”
I have been a fan of Stephen Fry for a very long time: I’ve enjoyed his films (“Wilde”, “Peter’s Friends”), his TV shows (“Jeeves and Wooster”, “Pocoyo”) and his writing (the book “Paperweight” and his blog, “Paper Cuts”). He’s done much more than that of course. He’s a great artist.
Besides being a great artist — he would modestly disagree with that — he is also very computer literate. I have seen him speak on some of the most arcane topics with the ease of someone reading a children’s bedtime story.
When I found out he was on twitter, I thought: I had to follow him. What surprised me is that he is trying to follow everyone back! I thought this was impressive: most famous (and no-so-famous) people on twitter do it mostly to broadcast as opposed to listen.
If you are on twitter, you can follow him here: Twitter / stephenfry
Better still, use that Google thingy and find the many things that he has done and go and seek them out. You’ll be glad you did.
is Jay Walker’s. It is dense with books and artifacts, as this article on Wired points out: Browse the Artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker’s Library
…and yes, that is Sputnik hanging from the ceiling. Just one of the many many amazing items on display. You will want to see the article to get a better sense of this.
(Found on kottke.org)
The Dow over the last three years. Frightening. From http://www.electoral-vote.com/
Smart People I Know 
