The following is reconstructed out of a running e-mail discussion I had with Greg Stene (my old roommate) the other day. Smith: I’ve been thinking about the question of freedom versus security a bit lately. 9.11 is obviously the impetus for a lot of what drives my pondering, but the fact is that 9.11 really has only coalesced and sped-up
Read more(Warning: Reality is never as neat and clean as theory, I’m afraid, but humans are inherently theoretical animals. So bear with me. The following may be a tad obscure in places, but it’s going somewhere worthwhile.) University of Texas-Dallas Professor Frederick Turner has penned an interesting take on the current WTC memorial debate, and makes some very well-considered arguments about
Read moreIt looks more and more like baseball is going on strike. Again. Let me say before I get too far into this that the issues are very real, and that all things considered a disastrous work stoppage leading to dramatic downsizing of the game may be baseball’s best hope long-term. The professional game, that is. I don’t think baseball as
Read moreYou can’t even mention the World Cup these days without touching off the tired old “soccer will never be big here/why isn’t soccer bigger here” argument, which at this point is more ritual than debate. But in light of the US team’s superb run in Copa 2002, which concluded with Friday morning’s 1-0 loss (a match where the Americans actually
Read moreMy fiancée, Angela, was talking about our genius governor earlier today, and she made a really good point about his widely reported comments on the current wildfires. Let me elaborate on her thoughts in my own brief open letter to the Honorable Bill Owens. Dear Governor Owens, On behalf of all the citizens of Colorado, I’d just like to say
Read more…don’t play “Stump the Band” with him for money, whatever you do. Adam Marsland, the lead singer for LA-based Cockeyed Ghost, played Mead Street Station, a cool little bar in Denver’s Highlands neighborhood, Thursday evening. In addition to doing several cuts from the new Ludlow 6:18 CD and treating us to killer covers from The Beach Boys (“Surfer Girl”), BJ
Read moreUmmm, let me get this straight. The Vatican, having concluded that priests raping children is both a sin and a crime, is now wrestling with whether or not to institute a zero-tolerance policy for child rape? As opposed to what? All in favor of “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” raise your hands? Okay, now everybody that thinks we should pass out seven year-old boys
Read moreI think it was fall of 1989. My friends John and Cindy Cavanaugh called to say that “Paul’s band” was playing in Winston-Salem that night, and that they were driving up from Charlotte, and did I want to meet them for the show. Sure, what the heck. I’d been hearing about John’s old buddy Paul for a long time, and
Read moreIn my initial rant about airline security, I pondered the civil liberties trade-offs associated with a security clearance ID card for frequent air travelers. I still haven’t decided whether I’d opt into such a program or not – it’s bad policy, as a rule, to make decisions about your basic rights based on convenience issues, I think. I’m not the
Read more(Please, note sarcasm…) I traveled some more this week – Dallas and back Sunday and Monday, then to Kansas City on Tuesday and back today. So that’s four trips through the old airport security machine, and I only got yanked out for “random” secondary screening twice. Wow – that 50% clip for the week drags my yearly average all the
Read moreFrom time to time somebody I know will ask if I can burn them a copy of something – I own something like 1000 CDs, and I push my tastes on others, which makes me a would-be opinion leader, I guess, and sometimes that can backfire. My gut reaction is always one of embarrassment – on the one hand, of
Read moreDo I look like a terrorist? No, seriously – I’ve been told I look “intimidating,” and cameras all seem to hate me on sight – but if you saw me boarding a plane with you would you worry that I posed a threat to your safe and timely arrival at your chosen destination, especially if I were wearing a business
Read moreLullaby Pit “Best of” lists tend to suggest a theme in the popular music of the year, but 2k1 defies quick description moreso than any year in memory. No one genre dominates, although there were plenty of strong entries in everything from Power Pop to Metal. Most of the best releases were produced by independent labels, but that’s hardly a
Read moreSome of the best things in life we trip over completely by accident. A few years back a friend of mine invited me to come see his band play a warm-up gig at The Snake Pit in Denver. The headliner was Plexi, a band he was really big on, so it was one of those two bird/one stone deals. Plexi
Read moreWhat kind of place will the ground upon which we now stand be come January 1, 2101? As we turn into a new millennium I imagine many people have pondered what the coming century holds for them, their children, and their grandchildren. Will the 2000s be a time of peace, of prosperity, an age of enlightenment and human achievement? Or
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