Where Streams of Opinion Come Together With the Sea of Data
Song of the day: “On Top of the World” by bluegrass fiddle virtuoso Mark O’Connor, from his 2021 release Markology II. Here is the original version from his first guitar album, Markology, released in 1978. Poem of the day: “Six O’Clock Flight to the Interment” by Philip White. Fact of the day: The action-packed story … Read more
Song of the day: “Fountain of Sorrow” by Jackson Browne. Poem of the day: “Astrobleme” by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers. Fact of the day: The number of Master’s and Doctoral degree holders in the U.S. has doubled since the turn of the century. Learned one thing today: There is a difference between price volatility and inflation. … Read more
Song of the day: “One Way Ticket (Because I Can)” by LeAnn Rimes. Poem of the day: “Tender Buttons: Objects—Food—Rooms” by Gertrude Stein. This is the entire book of Cubism-influenced ‘verbal still lifes’ that are more about the juxtaposition and sounds of words than any literal meaning per se. Beautiful stuff if you approach it … Read more
Song of the day: “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” by Solid Air. Great cover. This song brings back freshman year memories of that Basement Tapes bootleg I bought that had this song. My roomie (harp maestro Bill Newton) would sing this tune all day long … Tie yourself to a tree with roots. Poem of the … Read more
Song of the day: “Searching for a Heart” by Warren Zevon. Poem of the day: “This Is Not a Small Voice” by Sonia Sanchez. Fact of the day: Tracking global “uncertainty.” Learned one thing today: How the pandemic changed people’s view of wealth. Visual of the day: A 1978 Dylan portrait drawn by Ralph Steadman … Read more
Song of the day: “Tonight the Streets are Ours” by Richard Hawley. Poem of the day: “Muted Music” by Robert Penn Warren. Fact of the day: The good news is that there are 50 billion wild birds in the world today. The sad news is that 10 percent of species are down to 5,000 individuals … Read more
Song of the day: “Easy Does It” by the Oscar Peterson Trio with Sonny Stitt sitting in. Poem of the day: “Ants” by Alfred Kreymborg. Speaking of which, this book of incredible close-up photos of ants has just been published. Fact of the day: A wonderful and instructive collection of short notes declining various sorts … Read more
Song of the day: “Amost Cut My Hair” by David Crosby in a 1969 demo. Poem of the day: “Suburban Pastoral” by Dave Lucas. Along with his explanation. Fact of the day: The bottle of wine with the highest markup is not the second-cheapest. Learned one thing today: In a survey of people in 53 … Read more
Song of the day: “All Along the Watchtower” by Dave Mason. (Which version of this Dylan classic is your favorite? Mine is Hendrix. Did you know that Dave Mason plays on the Hendrix version? Here’s a great analysis of Hendrix’s version by Eddie Kramer who was the engineer.) Poem of the day: “Lives of the … Read more
Song of the day: “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. (See Learned link below.) Poem of the day: “Atlas” by Fady Joudah. Along with his explanation of this evocative yet disquieting poem. Fact of the day: The WHO confirms it. The global coronavirus pandemic was entirely preventable. Plans were in place. Political leaders chose to … Read more