Smith's Blue Blog

A New Home

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:49:00 +0000

I clearly needed a change. A break from the old, even if it was nothing more than a new name, a new layout, and the sense of freedom from precedent. Thus I have started a new blog - think of it as Smith's Blue Blog 2.0. Think of it as silly. But, regardless, please, if you're at all interested, check it out. Hell, you might even like it.

Eric Drummond Smith

Paintin' on Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Well it has been, as they say, awhile. Actually one year, twelve days. Damn. I ain't got no excuse.

This one's mine, punks.

Well, you're wondering what the heck am I gonna' use to reintroduce this monstrosity. Well, how about some art? One of the main reasons I have been offline for, hmm, a month of Mondays is this: I have been painting like the Devil, and under those circumstances there is only so much work you can do on a blog that like forty people read. Ever. But such is life, and so it goes. Regardless, if you're interested in seeing some of my recent work, well, dig on these here, as well as these over here.

Anyway, I hope you like them and, mores the truth, I hope that my absurdly long hiatus hasn't resulted in the complete purging of SBB from all Bookmark lists. But, if that's the case, well heck, tumbled walls can always be rebuilt.

Deliciousness.

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:28:00 +0000

Faery Cat, probably representing Neoliberalism, from Strange Horizons

Okay, so you're hungry for some links. You can't be blamed - they are delicious with sausage. Bite off a piece of these.

First, Visualizing Economics - - - it is a collection of, well, visual models that help the numerically challenged to comprehend the whimsy that is the lingua economica. Surrender and consume.

Image from I-AA.org

Second, my friend Clint advised me on this jonx . . . ESPN Page 2's new rules for college football fans. Submit and digest.

Image from Rockabilly.us

Third - musical group with which I was previously unaware of? The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. A must listen (I suggest that you do a couple searches for some of their acoustic stuff - - - that is the fruit that really pleases). Think emo-punk with light hints of the Foo Fighters. And hazelnuts. Yield and devour.

Image from DeletedImages

Fourth and finally, check out DeletedImages, a self-explanatory delight for the eyes. And stuff. Cease and masticate.

Poetry: Arthur Lloyd Mitchell

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:54:00 +0000

Originally posted on Hillbilly Savants

A.L. "Big Al" Mitchell

Some of you reader-folk are fully aware, I'd imagine, of our A.L. Mitchell writing contest we're sponsoring here at HS. That said, unless you were a member of the Emory & Henry College/Abingdon, Virginia-area community you probably didn't have the pleasure of knowing its namesake. I was close to Mr. Mitchell, looked up to him like grandfather, and still, even over the eleven years I knew him, there was still so much I didn't know about him. For instance, I knew he had an MA from Columbia University in literature, and I knew he had a deep and abiding love of poetry, but I never read any of his own work - in fact, I'm ashamed to say, I don't think I really ever knew he wrote poetry. Well, since Mr. Mitchell passed away, I have come into a copy of a small folio of poetry written and published by Mr. Mitchell, and I thought I would share a couple of my favorite pieces. They are a bit more traditional than I usually go into (I'm an e.e. cummings sorta' guy myself), but they are touching and, sometimes, quite beautiful - especially the pieces on nature. Consider:

Birth and Death of Day

Glorious rays of daybreak finger through the eastern sky
When the sun has kissed the morn.
Gold, scarlet, and flamingo
Are tints which glow when day is born.

Pastel shades of evening float across the western sky
When the sun has slipped away.
Pink, light blue, and lavender
Are the hues that attire the dying day.

Our Days Are What We Make Them (excerpt)

Some days I awake to a gray, misty morn
And the world seems ragged and bare.
The people I meet as I walk down the street
Seem loaded with burdens and care.
Nature is dull: the birds fail to sing;
Flowers have no fragrance or hue;
Things go undone till setting of the sun.
These days end in gray dampness of dew.

Other days I awake to a bright, rosy east
And the world seems happy and gay.
The people I meet as I walk down the street
Warmly smile as they go on their way.
All nature is stirring: the bird loudly carol;
The flowers are brilliant and sweet;
The tasks of the day seem to drift right away.
Night arrives on a million ballet feet.

Recollections of Boyhood on New River (excerpt)

The rippling stream met the wide, wide river,
And swirlets danced in the limpid pool
Formed by the union of waters rushing.
As a tender youth, I would stand and quiver
As I looked on this scene, where I cam to cool
The burning thoughts from my young heart gushing.

A winding path led up beside this little stream
Over banks of mossy green and through
Flats of mud where turtles played.
Barefoot, I would trace that path as in a dream,
Drinking in each scent and sight and sound anew.
I lingered by each lovely spot and stayed
Still as blood-red cardinals, perched high
On the top-most branches of the willow trees,
Whistled their crisp, clear notes. Then, here
And there, in the crystal stream flowing by,
Rippled ever so gently by the faintest breeze,
A silver minnow would rise without fear
And kiss the surface.

It was in the time of spring,
That emerald of the year I loved the best,
When dogwoods gleamed snowy white against the green,
And hordes of violets vied with purple passion to fling
Themselves about the rocks and rotten stumps in quest
Of choice spots where they might grow and blush unseen.

In idle gestures of boyish pleasure
I would search the path for pebbles, white as chalk,
To toss into the stream. When at last
This whim, satisfied in fullest measure,
No longer held my fancy, I would slowly walk
Away, soon to fall beneath some other spell cast
By wands of springtime waved above my youthful frame.
Then suddenly, with breathless anticipation,
I would set out for my favorite spot,
Racing through the mead and playing a game
Of tag with butterflies whose only occupation was sipping nectar from the bright yellow dot
Of ox-eye daisies growing in clusters along the way.

Wooded ridges rose from the meadow's edge
And stair-stepped themselves into distant mountains.
Just over the first ridge, in seclusion and stillness, lay
My private haunt, nestled beneath a little ledge
Where water oozed from cracks, making miniature fountains
Here and there among the rocks. The mossy ground,
Spotted by warm rays of sunlight drifting through
Gently rustling branches, was a leopard skin,
Soft and spongy to my step. Growing all around,
To hide the isle of mine from any outside view,
Were towering clumps of verdant rhododendron
And waxy mountain laurel. Trilliums grew
In the shadows, and lady-slippers, soft and pink,
Stood upright on their stems as if fairy feet,
Light and tripping, were on their way and knew
Just where to put them on.

O! I would think:
No place, not even Paradise, can be so sweet
And still and soothing to the soul as this -
A downy nest of Nature, a green Aladdin lamp,
Which only I can rub.

Though panting from my flight,
Across the meadow and over the ridge, I would not miss
The smallest bit of beauty there - even in the damp
Recesses where, half-hidden to my sight,
Salamanders played.

Before an Autumn Maple

I stood today before a tree
All red aflame with autumn fire;
And now I know how Moses felt
Before the bush in flame attire.

Each Fall I Watch My Dogwoods Die

Each fall I watch my dogwoods die
(The ones beside my lane)
And with each russet leaf that falls
My heart is stabbed with pain.

I think back when these lovely trees
Were blooming pink and white
And often in my mind's eye
That rare, breath-taking sight.

And I recall how later on
Their dark green boughs were spread
And how they shortly wrapped themselves
In coats of berries red.

And so each fall my dogwoods die
(The ones beside my lane)
And melancholy thoughts well up
Within my heart again.

But such sad thoughts will fade away
Because I always know
That spring will find my dogwoods back
Safe from the winter's snow.

And in all this there seems somehow
A message meant for me;
Life's autumn days are not the end;
New springs there'll surely be.

All poems are from A.L. Mitchell's (1974) Collected Poems (Carlton Press, Inc.).

The Helmet Project

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:02:00 +0000

image from The Helmet Project

Okay, it is Saturday and it is September - and that, boys and girls, means football. Specifically, college football (I just can't bring myself to care at all about the NFL . . . yawnsville . . . no explanation, just a fact). The reason I mention this is to explain why this entry is gonna' be "brief" - the Manvision is in effect, the Low Country boil is on the stove, and the beer is cold. Huzzahlicious.

That said, I wanted to share something cool with you - specifically, since I appreciate a well-designed uniform (e.g. Penn State, Alabama, and [no matter what the pundits say] Syracuse - in other words, simple). It is called the Helmet Project, its by the guys down at National Champs.net, and well, it rules. So worth twenty minutes.

Okay, back to Georgia/South Carolina. And Mississippi State/Tulane. And Penn State/Notre Dame. And, of course, Fresno State/Texas A&M. Dammit, I love football - and my Manvision.

Back From the Dead and Words on Hobos

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:46:00 +0000

Well, I am back. Long story short, early November of last year I got married and, since then, I have been obsessed with the dissertation. Ob. Sessed. But it is done and I am back. So get ready for more sensualistic meanderings. Oh, and for your information, my website (Smith's Blue Book) is nearly done being renovated. Check it out. . . it should be awesome. In the meantime, chew on this:

HOBOTOPIA

Yeah, I know, you're incredulous. Who can blame you. It is a website centered around hobo cats and maintained by a man who refers to himself as Ape-Lad. But seriously, not only are the cartoons brilliant and often laugh so loud funny that people stare in the coffee shop, but they can be all heart-warming. And $#!%. And the geeker references? Fogettahboutit.

Ape-Lad's Laugh Out Loud Cats #156

Regardless, I'm back, I've got a PhD, and I'm looking for work. So expect me. For reallz.

Bachelor Party

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 05:33:00 +0000

Eric Drummond Smith's Bachelor Party
Kinda' Near Glade Springs, Virginia
September 30th, 2006

Front Row: Grat, Neal, Mike, & Vaughn
Middle Row: Chuck, Yours Truly, Lee, Justin, Irish, & Trevor
Back Row: Papaw, Wes, Wiley, & Clayman

[Also, Tyler, Steve, and A.K. were there, but for some reason they're AWOL.]

It is like a Who's Who of, um, people who like me.

Courtesy Mike Mason (Coolest Man in the World)

McDonald's

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:59:00 +0000

There are few absolute truths in this world. Gravity, the speed of light, the effects of cheese on grandparents, and so on. Another of these? If you go to a foreign land, and you're an American, your friends will ask what were McDonald's restaurants like there? Oh yeah, donkey.

Oh yeah, go to this site. Its cool.

Magic Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:24:00 +0000

What are you going to say about a site named Magic Butter?

I'm not gonna' lie to you. There are about one billion great things on this site - though most of them you wouldn't want to see around your mom. Or Chuck's Mom. Must-sees?

1. Rat Chicken
2. Internet: The Animated Series
3. Space Dog

and, if you're ready to have a minor ambulism,

4. Porkchops

If you like these cartoons, well, you're weird. Its a fact. Accept it, embrace it, revel in it. If you don't, well, um, yeah. . . that means you're probably sane.

Odd-Wasp II

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:25:00 +0000

Per Mr. Sike's Request - I 5k'd it up. Wrist-bands.

Odd-Wasp

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 05:48:00 +0000

Not long ago my friend Scott Sikes called me with his magical cell phone dee-vice. We reminisced and then he cut to the chase. He wanted me to draw something for a tee-shirt, specifically for a 5K run at Emory & Henry College this fall, the morning of our Homecoming. Well, I have been sketching like the devil in Florence, and have scanned a few of 'm to e-mail to Scott. Thought I'd throw 'm up here just for giggles. Remember, Emory & Henry's mascot is the mighty wasp. Huzzah.

Animatus

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 21:43:00 +0000

A month or two ago my friend Echols posted a delicious blog entry on the anatomy of cartoon characters, specifically the work of Michael Paulus. So macabre, so delicious. Well, I found something that will make him go, oh damn, I wish I'd found that. First. Probably. Whatever.

If you like cartoon character calaveras (and alliteration), or you love 18th Century skeleton museums, well, you'll love Hyungkoo Lee. So cool that it makes babies cry. A lot.

Oh, and as they say in Paraguay, muchas gracias to BoingBoing.

Retrojunk

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 02:51:00 +0000

Wow. Trevor did it again. He introduced me to a site so dangerously addictive that it undoubtedly will have to be monitored by the FDA. Its name? Retrojunk.

The premise behind Retrojunk is elementary. It collects quotes, intros, theme music, general overviews, and trailers from movies, television shows, and commercials of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s into one, easy-to-use site. Yummy, right? Oh damn, you don't know the half of it. . . you can also download the trailers, etc. to your harddrive, you know, so when you're stranded in an airport you can watch a trailer for a movie you've already seen forty, fifty times (I sought out, for no reason I can possibly explain, the trailer to 1994's ultimate hit, Ace Venura, Pet Detective. Oh. and A.L.F. Trevor? He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Gummi Bears.). Awesome.

PS - Go for the download instead of the Active X - buffering sucks.

Havaria Emergency and Disaster Information Services

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 06:49:00 +0000

Not depressed, repressed, or generally scared enough? Of course you aren't.

This should help.

Everclear: Songs From an American Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 05:22:00 +0000

Recently, as I've mentioned before, my computer died (R.I.P. Halloween). Well, I've been prepping my new computer for my life-use, which of course includes ripping my music to the harddrive so that I can work and listen to music without hauling a billion CDs all over North America. High up on my "must have" list were my old favorites, both volumes of Everclear's Songs From an American Movie.

Damn. That was the word. Damn. Not just one volume, but both were tanked - scratched and scraped to the point of un-rip-ability. Signs of hard use and much love, I suppose. Was my response sadness? Terror? Fear? No, I just got online and ordered copies of both. That very moment.

Let me preface everything that's about to come with some backstory. I had never heard of Everclear (as opposed to Everclear) my freshman year in college. Then one afternoon my pal Whittaker and I were headed off to Marion, Virginia to see a high school baseball game and he popped in another great album, Sparkle and Fade. I was mesmerized.

[If you don't know Everclear's sound, well, obviously you don't have a radio. They are unquestionably the most popular band I've ever reviewed on my humble blog, which means you should have heard of them, even if you live under a hole. In France. Regardless, check their myspace page (or even MTV, for a nearly extinct "music video") if you have been under said hole.]

The reason I was so deeply effected by this music is difficult to describe. Perhaps it was simply the fact that Everclear's lyrics conjured up very particular images in my head, both about the world in general and about my own life in particular. Okay, no perhaps, that is definitely part of it. But part of it, as well, lies in the enormous power of Everclear's albums-as-symphonies. That's right. Rock-and-roll symphonies.

Note: I don't mean that they were symphonic in the sense of a strictly contructed single piece of music. Nor do I mean that they were symphonic in the sense of 1970s or 1980s rock sagas or, more terrifyingly, "concept albums." Rather, Everclear's albums explore themes from numerous directions - from the perspectives of multiple "characters," for instance, and as time progresses. The effect is, as the very album(s) I review now seem to indicate, similar in may ways to a movie - like a 1940s musical blended with post-Vietnam bipolarism. Indeed, having written these words, I wonder if instead of "symphonic" I should have used the phrase "operatic". Hmm.

Well, it was in June of 2000 that Everclear's Songs From an American Movie: Volume One, Learning How to Smile premiered. I was in mourning for my Mom, agonizing over various relationship failures, and generally depressed. I had just moved in with Dad, had just graduated from Virginia, and I really had next to no idea what I was about to do next. And here comes this album, with its, well, its overpowering joy. And not only that, it was a kind of joy that was tempered by its realism - you had no sense that the participants in this artistic universe were free of past pains and anguish. Rather, you had a sense that they had overcome their personal anguish, found something brighter. Sure, there was a warning feeling to the final few tracks, overtones of problems to come, but alone the album made me optimistic, even unto the point of foolishness - blended with the emotional disorientation I was already deeply immersed in, well, the album, along with a dream largely inspired by the album (ah, Otis Redding), prompted me to engage in the single most spontaneous, and arguably self-destructive action of my life.

I can't bring myself to describe it again. I did it once - you can read it here - but that, well, that's the last time, at least without alcohol, low-light, and excellent music.

I should have waited - Songs From an American Movie: Volume Two, Good Time for a Bad Attitude, which came out in November of the same year, would have let me in on the joke. The first album, well, it was the lead-in, the woodwinds before the kettle drums. That's not to say that the album leaves one without optimism - it certainly doesn't. What it does do, however, is use optimism merely as an accent to pessimism. And it has a song whose mere name makes my backbone prickle.

"Halloween Americana"

This is not an album I can recommend one or two songs from. No, you need to listen to them both, perhaps not at the same time, but all the way through in no more than two sittings. From the first song, "Song From an American Movie, Part 1" to the final song, "Song From an American Movie, Part 2", the effect is astounding. Beautiful, complex, powerful. You will empathize with every conceivable emotion and you're empathy will touch on the subtle layers between the Crayola color emotions that we as humans are usually restricted to in our artistic endeavors.

My success came to fruition yesterday. My new albums finally came in the mail and I ripped them last night. My ears have been ringing ever since. Sigh.

Summary and Post-Script: I recommend, in the strongest of terms, all of Everclear's work. That said, the new Everclear album coming out in September is by a new band - led up by former lead singer Art Alexakis. That doesn't mean I won't buy it, it just means I'm taking a watch and see attitude. As to the other members of Everclear, well, Craig Montoya has co-formed a band named Tri-Polar while Greg Eklund has co-founded another band, the Oohlas. I can't testify to either of them yet, but I intend to check them out in the near future. Consider yourself warned.

The Middle East Buddy List

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:41:00 +0000

Praise the folks at Slate. They've done it again. I wish I'd had this for use in my last class - it might have saved me an hour of my life trying to explain things. Huzzah!

The Various Deaths of St. Sebastian

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 05:46:00 +0000

To quote the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Roman martyr; little more than the fact of his martyrdom can be proved about St. Sebastian. In the "Depositio martyrum" of the chronologer of 354 it is mentioned that Sebastian was buried on the Via Appia. St. Ambrose ("In Psalmum cxviii"; "Sermo", XX, no. sliv in PL, XV, 1497) states that Sebastian came from Milan and even in the time of St. Ambrose was venerated there. The Acts, probably written at the beginning of the fifth century and formerly ascribed erroneously to Ambrose, relate that he was an officer in the imperial bodyguard and had secretly done many acts of love and charity for his brethren in the Faith. When he was finally discovered to be a Christian, in 286, he was handed over to the Mauretanian archers, who pierced him with arrows; he was healed, however, by the widowed St. Irene. He was finally killed by the blows of a club. These stories are unhistorical and not worthy of belief. The earliest mosaic picture of St. Sebastian, which probably belongs to the year 682, shows a grown, bearded man in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow. It was the art of the Renaissance that first portrayed him as a youth pierced by arrows. In 367 a basilica which was one of the seven chief churches of Rome was built over his grave. The present church was completed in 1611 by Scipio Cardinal Borghese. His relics in part were taken in the year 826 to St. Medard at Soissons. Sebastian is considered a protector against the plague. Celebrated answers to prayer for his protection against the plague are related of Rome in 680, Milan in 1575, and Lisbon in 1599. His feast day is 20 January.

Anonymous Fresco (Twelfth Century)

Anonymous Fresco (Fourteenth Century)

Anonymous (Fourteenth Century)

Anonymous Tritych (Fourteenth Century)

Hans Paur (1472)

Sandro Boticelli (1474)

Andrea da Murano (1475)

Andrea Mantegna (1480)

Francesco di Simone Ferrucci (Fifteenth Century)

Vittore Carpaccio (Late Fifteenth to Early Sixteenth Century)

Anonymous (Fifteenth Century)

Alonso Sedano (Fifteenth Century)

Albrecht Dürer (1505)

Andrea Boscoli (Sixteenth Century)

Anonymous (Mid-Sixteenth Century)

Domenicos Theotokopoulos detto el Greco (1580)

Tanzio da Varallo (1620s)

José Leonardo (1635)

George de La Tour (Late Seventeenth Century)

François Guillaume Ménageot (Eighteenth Century)

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1850s)

Gustave Moreau (1869)

Gabriele Smargiassi (1892)

Adolphe Marie Timothee Beaufrere (Late Nineteenth/Early Twentieth Century)

Odilon Redon (1910)

Egon Schiele (1915)

1968

James Belton Bonsall (1975)

Keith Haring (1984)

Xavier Cortada (2000)

Niels Osthorst (2002)

The Mother of All St. Sebastian Sites.

The Various Birth(s) of Venus/Aphrodite

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:03:00 +0000

There are few new ideas. Rather, human change, especially in the fields of art, philosophy, and theology, is the product of reinterperting old themes using new mediums and cross-referencing old (and often ancient) ideas. Consider:

Attic Red-Figure Vase (Fifth Century, BCE)

Graecia Ludovisi Throne (Fifth Century BCE)

Terracotta Statue (Fourth Century, BCE)

Attic Pelike (Fourth Century, BCE)

A Pompeiian Villa (First Century, CE)

Sandro Botticelli (1483)

Titian (1525)

Paul Reubens (1636)

Alexandre Cabanel (1863)

Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1879)

Odilon Redon (1912)

Salvador Dali (20th Century)

Salvador Dali (1970)

Andy Warhol (1984)

Dune

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 02:39:00 +0000

I can't speak for other readers, but I personally believe that Frank Herbert is one the big eight science fiction writers (along with Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Orson Scott Card, Aldous Huxley, and George Orwell) who transcend the genre to such a point that literate men and women of virtually all spheres of life in the developed world have a pretty good chance of having heard of them. How? In the simplest of terms, they address contemporary (and indeed, historically universal) themes from politics, economics, and society. In other words, to a humble political scientist like me, well, they're heavenly.

Back to the point. While Herbert wrote a plethora of excellent books, it is his Dune series that warrents series note: in them he traces thousands of years of human politics and economics. Originally he intended (or so we believe based on his notes) to write eight novels, but when he died in 1986, he left us with only six - the anguish of his readers can only be imagined. Well, his son has at last taken up the torch and begun to fill in the gaps - both in terms of writing prequels to the original novels (I have read the works on the so-called Butlerian Jihad, a pan-galactic war between human beings and sentient machines - not Matrix-esque at all, if you're wondering) and in terms of finishing Herbert's original run. In preparation for the concluding novels, I have decided to reread the originals.

Well, as I read Dune I was struck by the extent of the political analysis and discussion, the richness of the economic and ecological commentary, and so forth, and I realized a man could easily teach a course in introductory political economics built just on Herbert's work. And I decided to share with you a few of the quotes from the book that I found the most telling. Now, don't get me wrong, these ain't a substitute for reading the whole thing. Think of them as bait. To get you to read. The book(s).

Page 9

The old woman said: "You've heard of animals chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an animal kind of trick. A human would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kil the trapper and remove a threat to his kind."

Page 30

"Grave this on your memory, lad: A world is supported by four things . . . the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous and the valor of the brave. But of these are as nothing . . . " She closed her fingers into a fist. ". . . without a ruler who knows the art of ruling. Make that the science of your tradition!"

Pages 138-139

Kynes looked at Jessica, said: "The newcomer to Arrakis frequently underestimates the importance of water her. You are dealing, you see, with the Law of the Minimum."
She heard the testing quality in his voice, said, "Growth is limited by that necessity which is present in the least amount. And, naturally, the least favorable condition controls the growth rate."

Page 321

The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future.

-from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

Page 371

"Hawat's a dangerous toy," Feyd-Rautha said.

"Toy! Don't be stupid. I know what I have in Hawat and how to control it. Hawat has deep emotions, Feyd. The man without emotions is the one to fear. But deep emotions . . . ah, now, those can be bent to your needs."

Page 401

You cannot avoid the interplay of politics within an orthodox religion. This power struggle permeates the training, educating and disciplining of the orthodox community. Because of this pressure, the leaders of such a community inevitably must face that ultimate internal question: to succumb to complete opportunism as the price of maintaining their rule, or risk sacrificing themselves for the sake of the orthodox ethic.

- from "Muad'Dib: The Religious Issues" by Princess Irulan

Page 428

"There are men here who will hold positions of importance on Arrakis when I claim those Imperial rights which are mine," Paul said, "Stilgar is one of those men. Not because I wish to bribe him! Not out of gratitude, though I'm one of many here who owe him life for life. No! Because he's wise and strong. Because he governs this troop by his own intelligence and not just by rules. Do you think me stupid? Do you think I'll cut of my right arm and leave it bloody on the floor of this cavern just to provide you with a circus?"

Page 451

"The city people do seem eager," Stilgar said.

"Their hate is fresh and clear," Paul said. "That's why we use them as shock troops."

"The slaughter among them will be fearful," Gurney said.

Stilgar nodded agreement.

"They were told the odds," Paul said. "They know every Sardaukar they kill will be one less for us. You see, gentlemen, they have something to die for. They've discovered they're a people. They're awakening."

PS - If you've seen Dune the movie, well, don't judge the masterpiece based on that moderate fiasco. That's not to say its a bad movie, per say, only to say that its an attempt to deal with what may be one of the two or three most complicated pieces of fiction written in the last couple decades in around three hours. Don't see it till you read it. I mean, if you haven't already seen it. Whatever.

All quotes are from:
Herbert, Frank (1990) Dune. Ace Books, New York.

De Novo Dahl

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 19:35:00 +0000

I know its been awhile since I recommended a musical ensemble. Frankly, I haven't had the opportunity to seek out new groups recently, much to my very distinct personal anguish - that said, last night I went with some pals to Barley's - a long time haunt of mine which I have, in the last year and a half or so, neglected. We went to hear music and drink yummy beverages. And did we ever.

Well, at one point during the evening several men and one red-headed woman climb up on stage. They calmly set up their instruments and then, well, they strip down. That's right. They take off their street clothes to reveal what I can only describe as 1920's-style swimsuits. You remember those, from all the Disney cartoons. Or from living in the 1920s. Yeah.

Come to find out, these people were a band, not roadies who had escaped early Twentieth Century Myrtle Beach through the manipulation of bicycle parts and a time-space interspersion. Not only that, but the Nashville rock band named De Novo Dahl, who seem to be going for the 1950s-1960s create-a-memorable-visual-impact-to-reiterate-the-auditory-impact-thing (their myspace page refers to the Beach Boys as a significant influence), kinda' rock. Okay, they don't kinda' rock. They friggin' straight up rock.

Let me describe the music. Hmmm. Well, for me, at least, they have the feeling of Modest Mouse or Franz Ferdinand blended with Weezer. No, no, that's not enough. Throw in pretty much everything awesome about the more poppy 1970s and 1980s super-groups, you know, when they were exploring what the synthesizer and electric keyboards could do without any self-restraint - energy over subtlety - not to say that they aren't capable of incredible subtlety, but their electric instrumentation has a kind of youthful exuberance, the feeling we all got when the synthesizer was new and warranted real experimentation, not just (sigh) sampling.

Okay, I'm not really getting where I want to get. Let me put this differently.

Listening to De Novo Dahl is like taking a class on the history of rock and roll. If you dig the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, the Doors, Queen, U2, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Nirvana, Everclear, Incubus, the Dave Matthews Band (circa Crash), Weezer, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, and OKGo all blended together with a hint of the blues and a little seasoning of Janis Joplin, well, get ready. Cause you will freak out and scream as soon as you hear De Novo Dahl. If you demand less cerebral musical experiences or rock that doesn't send your brain on a goosechase as you seek to pigeonhole them, well, tuff. Spelled with two "f"s on purpose.

Seriously though, this band is worth listening to - I personally have already ordered their first album, Cats & Kittens and I believe, without a single qualm, that De Novo Dahl is going to be huge. Their stage presence combined with the exemplary quality of their music and lyrics demand as much. I say, get in while the gettin's good, so you can brag to your friends about your music savvy once they start buying De Novo Dahl's albums in 2008. Listening to them play, especially live, is like opening your trick-or-treat bag as a kid - all bright colors and sugar rushes. So awesome.

But what am I saying? You don't want to read my blither-blather, you want want links. Well, let's see what we can do.

1. De Novo Dahl - Their homepage - it seems to be going through a renovation right now, but there is still a list of upcoming concerts and a small but downloadable collection of yummy mp3s.

2. MySpace.com - As with all myspace pages, the utility of this site lies largely in its music samples - all of which are, sadly, repeats of their homepage - except for "Be Your Man." Whichever of the above sites you hit, though, you should definitely lead this party off with "Subject of the Kill." Delicious.

3. theory 8 records - De Novo Dahl's publishers. Not the most dramatic site, by any means, but it has some stuff worth perusing.

4. WOXY Lounge Acts - A 23 minute interview/performance. Yummy.

As for reviews and interviews, well, I gott'm.

1. The Tennesseean
2. Rainydawg Radio
3. You Ain't No Picasso
4. MetroPulse
5. Dusted Magazine
6. Hybrid Magazine
7. Carrie Neumayer

Ahhhh. . . refreshing.

Sarah Vowell

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 05:38:00 +0000

So, there I was, checking the Technorati website to see who had and had not linked to us over at Hillbilly Savants - its been awhile since I updated said list, cause, you know. Dissertation.

Whatever.

So, one of the blogs I found was, bizzy-zizzy, this one - Jape's Japes. It is pretty cool - from what I can tell the author and his family have recently moved to Southwest Virginny - goodtimes. Well, that said, in a recent blog, he scrawled out this exciting quote:

Why I love Sarah Vowell.

I know. Nothing dramatic. But there was empathy, and has to count for something. Well, I clicked on the associated link and yes, it led me to a "letter" from Ms. Vowell to a dead Senator. Intriguing.

Here's the part where I go off. Sarah Vowell? Easily one of the best writers and storytellers alive. And, while I have written blog entries about the absolute best radio program currently in production, This American Life, well, Jape made me realize that yeah, I have been remiss. Ms. Vowell deserves her own, full-scale entry.

By the by, I should tell you what I love about Sarah Vowell. First, she is so cynical and sarcastic and caustic that it reminds me of Arab mythology. That's right. Arab mythology. According to traditional Arab beliefs (at least in some states - according to stuff I read once somewhere - probably) human beings were made, by the Deity, from the earth, the Jinn (Genies) were made from fire, and angels were made from light. Kinda' cool - vaguely alchemical. Anyway, if this is and/or were the case, I would merely say this: Sarah Vowell was made from acid. Like the Aliens.

Oh, and Abraham Lincoln's DNA.

Long story. Read enough of her stuff, or what the extra features from Disney's The Incredibles. Whatever.

Regardless, he is brilliant, hilarious, and simply cutting. When I finish my PhD, get a teaching job, and once more have the opportunity to write for the sake of art, well, I can tell you she is definitely going to be that person that people are all like, dude, you write like her. Which is nice. Her understanding of history and politics is equalled only by the degree to which she is in touch with American society - pop and otherwise. She writes, and speaks, with incredible sincerity. I have, quite literally, had to stop the car from laughing too hard at her monologues on multiple occasions, and I have cried, just a little, listening to the same artistic medium. Is she a raving liberal? Yeah, she is. But she was also born in Oklahoma. I don't know how that balances things out, but it does - quite enough that my moderate, fence-rail-sitting sensibilities are never rankled.

I do go on. Well, here are some links for you. First and foremost, you have to hit up This American Life (Wikipedia throws us this bone with a list of most of her appearances). Just scroll down through the list of old shows - you'll find Sarah's name coming up over and over again. Other samples of Sarah's storytelling include this excerpt from NPR, this Hearing Voices special,

Looking for essays and other written work? Well, of course you can check out her books, but if you're in the mood for something more immediate, I recommend this obituary from Timothy McSweeney's (for Tom Landry), a whole slew of essays from Salon, and her wry op-ed work at the New York Times.

As for interviews, dig this one from Identity Theory, great jonx from The Daily Show, this one from Survival Kit, a dollup from Powell's, and of course this one from Barnes & Noble's Meet the Writers.

[Pause for drama.]

You're addicted now, aren't you? Its just like Nancy Reagan warned us - you taste the good stuff and you'll sell your Aunt Flo to get more. That's a vague reinterpretation, of course. Anyway, you're gonna' want to know if she's coming to your town, right? Well hit her lecture agent over at Steven Barclay Agency. . . they'll tell you when she's coming to your town. If you're on the coast. Cause mainly, that seems to be where she goes. Big water.

This is just crazy.

In conclusion, I would like to make one more point - Sarah Vowell the contemporary manifestation of the spirit-being that formerly was constituted in Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. Awesome.

The Best Dramas Ever Made

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 03:27:00 +0000

To deal with the angst of losing my laptop and all its data and the simultaneous boredom produced by my rush-job spreadsheet re-writing, I have turned to my truly excellent "DVD" collection and, specifically, to my collection of fine political dramas. I want to share them with you because, well, you deserve it. May my pain, coupled with my political genius, brighten your pitiful lives.

Figure 1. Delta Tau Chi House - intended, according to Director
Landis and Writers Ramis, Kenney, and Miller, to be a discrete
reference to Descartes

I. Animal House - A commentary on Machiavellian and Hobbesian politics, with a Marxian class-relations theory twist, set satrically on an early 1960s college campus - just before the full blossom of mid-Century American revolutionary and progressive movements. Some scholars have suggested that the chief antagonists are all based on historical figures - Dean Vernon Wormer, for instance, represents (depending upon the analysis) Louis the XVI of France, George the III of the United Kingdom, or Stalin, while Douglas Neidermeyer is manifestly a symbolic manifestation of imperialist lackeys of all variants (see in particular James P. Witherspoon's esssay "Neidermeyer, the Horse, and the Flounder: A Cinematic Analysis of Franco's Spain" in American Sociology) . As to Greg Marmalard, well, the simultaneous reference jelly in his name and his own inability to perform sexually, coupled with his function as a device for and of Dean Wormer can only be described as both Freudian and a commentary on pre-Reformation abuses of the Roman Catholic church.
As to the protaganists? I will only list in brief who they are usually compared with:

1. John 'Bluto' Blutarsky: This character is obviously a realization-in-the-flesh of the ubermensch, not to mention the Romantic archaetype of the heroic, unintentional artist. He has variously been compared with Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Plato, and of course every historically significant messianic figure. A key essay? Simpleton's "Bluto: Liquor, Lincoln, and the American Dream."

2. Eric 'Otter' Stratton: Oration of this level is rare in any genre of art or literature - this magnificent performance is unquestionably a reference to Socrates, though others have compared it to the masterpiece speeches of both Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.

3. Donald 'Boon' Schoenstein: To quote William A. Reinholt's 1984 article, "Zionism and Animal House,":

Schoenstien is both the archaetypical American and Zionist. "Boon" is, of course, simultaneously "Boone," the trailblazer whose life, fraught with tragedy, assumes higher meaning through tragedy. But furthermore, Boon represents the tragedy of the Jewish people - the diaspora, the repression of the Middle Ages, the Holocaust, on and on - yielding, ultimately, a heroic volkgeist that leads to the establishment of Israel.

Beautiful words.

4. Daniel Simpson 'D-Day' Day: Probably the most unaccountable figure of the piece, D-Day most likely represents the dialectic between imperialism and libertarianism that defines modern, developed, democratic nation-states with their powerful military-intelligence-police establishments and legal systems that enshrine individual rights. Strong arguements, however, have been made asserting that D-Day is, in fact, a sort of Count of Monte Cristo figure, alighting on the scene, creating grand disorder, then disappearing. I am, however, disinclined to agree with that particular interpertation.

5. Robert Hoover: Hoover, the "House's" resident philosopher and fraternity president (read "philosopher-king") is unquestionably intended to represent the fundamental flaws attendent with political-economic schemes that lean too explicitly in idealist bents - Platonism and classical Confucianism, for instance.

To end, I would like to note one key fact - there remains some debate over where fictional Faber College was intended to be. The official line, never mentioned in the movie, is that the institution was the product of Pennsylvanian higher education. Yet, the substantial number of Southern accents throughout the movie, as well as the presence of the Tennesseean flag during the magnificent "trial scene" seem to indicate that this is not, in fact the case. The controversy among members of the academic community is tremendous.

Figure 2. "Droz" and "Gutter," played respectively by Jeremy Piven
and John Favreau, caught amidst one of their dialogues which have been
variously compared to the greatest performances of Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio and Romeo) and Christopher Marlow's Dr. Faustus.

II. PCU: This film, set at fictional Port Chester University, Connecticut, requires far less discussion, not for lack of quality, but for lack of ambiguity. PCU is a barely covert reference to the phenomenon of "PC" or "Political Correctness." In essence, it is a classical Marxist analysis of the elite, dominating class (or classes) of all society's propensity to use formal and informal methods of domination, including propaganda (read as both liberal and conservative variations on PC) as methods of dividing the underclasses that they might be more easily exploited. To summarize, consider this Orwellian monologue by Droz:

Ok, now it's true, the majority of students today are so cravenly PC, they wouldn't know a good time if it was sitting on their face, but there's one thing that will always unite us and them. They're young. They may not realize it yet. They've got the same raging hormones, the same self-destructive desire to get boldly trashed and wildly out of control. Look out that window! That's not a protest! That is cry for help! They're begging us . . . please have a party! Feed us drinks! Get us laid! Aahhhhhh!

Touchingly reminiscent of Walt Whitman and Ghandi.

Figure 3. Van Wilder orates on the innate equality of all members
of our species physiologically and essentially, and on how our
worth as men and women can only be judged in terms of our service to the community.

III. Van Wilder: Another masterpiece - MASTERPIECE. Beautifully filmed, scripted, and edited, this film follows in the tradition of Animal House in another manner as well - it perfectly integrates contemporary music with a powerful story so epically that it can only compared with Yankovic's colossal UHF in terms of scope and raw emotion. Moving on.
My first several viewings of this film challenged both my intelligence and my grasp of political literature. I was nearly convinced, if you can believe this, that it was a comedy! Well, luckily I recently read, at my friend Doug's urging, Ayn Rand's Anthem, the libertarian tome which, mirroring Socrates' Allegory of the Cave, powerfully asserts the need for messianic leaders to force, yes force, the illiterate (literally and/or metaphorically) into the light of individualism and, dare I say it, the Weberian Protestant Ethic. Unlike many such works, however, this film grasps the need of the messiah to undergo a traumatic transformation, preparing him for the responsibilities inherent in his or her knowledge of the truth of individual rights and responsibilities.
Furthermore, Taj's exploration of himself and his sexuality, a Freudian correlation of his self-value and successful ego-expressions, is a powerful commentary on psychologically medieval puritanism of American sexual culture. Indeed, Taj's experience has been used by numerous authors as a metaphor for the experiences of minorities in every culture (Issac's "The Pump and the Pimp: Race Relations in New England"), not to mention its prominent role in feminist literature (Crutchfield's magnificent "Alien as Feminine: Feminine as Weak: Weak as Immoral; Van Wilder as a New Melian Dialogue").
As to the incredible symbolism of having the actor who played Eric Stratton in Animal House play Van's father, one must defer to the interpertation of John Hayes of Oxford University, who wrote, "Bringing Eric Stratton in as a representative of the establishment and ego-repression as the means of truly freeing Van Wilder from his own ego-repression can only be seen as groundbreaking. . . the propensity of every generation to rebel and rediscover what makes the individual the key unit of society is contrasted with the horrible truth that eventually every generation establishes, and seeks to enforce, a new puritanism, a new orthodoxy."

To say that tears fill my eyes as this film ends is to lie - I weep.

Further Suggested Viewing: Ferris Bueller's Day Off - A further exploration of Rand's individualist ethos.

Figure 4. Frank "The Tank" Ricard - an advocate of the gradualistic
"evolving" revolution advocated by Adam Smith and, of course, David Ricardo -
essential to the theories of both, however, is that the system
continue to functionfor the betterment of its participants as
a whole, rather than as a plutocracy

IV. Old School: Hedonism, apparently for the sake of hedonism, is in fact a reinterpertation of the themes first explored (in the medium of film) in the masterpiece Fight Club. Modernity's tendency to alienate and isolate is manifest from the beginning of the film - Frank, ultimately "Frank the Tank," one of our everymen, bares this point clearly - he is surrounded by wealth and the accoutrements thereof - a huge wedding with a beautiful, wealthy woman; a conspicuous automobile; indeed, he even defines his days and nights in terms of consumption ("Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.").
Coincidence, a deus ex machina cross-reference of timing and trauma, set off the explosive mix which American consumerism has prepared, and three men begin a revolutionary movement. Variously compared in the popular press to the Freemasons and Illuminati, their fraternity is far more radical - a libertine (or, arguably, anarchist) expression of discontent and rage. When their rebellion is detected by the ruling elite, the result is a standoff that leads them to argue over whether they should opt for violence or merely accept the orthodox paradigm. Instead, reflecting their American discomfort with both terrorism and guerilla tactics, they opt to lead a "revolution from within." Their inevitable victory calls to mind the great bloodless revolutions of the the last fifty years - specifically the collapse of the Soviet empire, the Ukrainian Orange Revolution, and the American Civil Rights Movement.
It should be noted that Frank's "running scenes" were intended by the director to emulate a more violent series of events - specifically the history of Washington's Army of the Potomac. When Frank nakedly runs through the streets of the college town, wearing only green shoes, he represents the chaos of the Valley Forge winter, while his cross-country chase of and ultimate fight with Dean Gordon 'Cheese' Pritchard is reminiscent of the Yorktown campaign. When pressed why he elected to use this imagery, director Todd Phillips stated that he felt Washington's use a guerrilla techniques against conventional targets only demonstrates better than any other historical episode that excessive force in the name of liberty is never an answer, even when force is the only option.

I hope you've enjoyed my informed and brilliant analyses of these movies. Feel free to faun. Please be sure to e-mail me your credit card numbers as soon as possible, that I might buy more DVDs and therefore write more world-changing critical literature.

Cheerio.

Lamentations

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 03:00:00 +0000

My computer of three and a half years, my most heavily customized and personal object, has died. And taken with it my spreadsheets. Curses, tears, and wild lamentations.

I will miss you, H@lloween. I will miss your barely functioning keyboard, your incredibly loud and whining fan, my extensive collection of mp3s, and most of all, your delicate, comforting hard drive hum, like a heartbeat on my lap. Sigh.

Okay, enough. I am getting to be like Strongbad. With his "Compys." And such.

Anyways, if you want to be all morbid, look at this website. It is pretty cool, I guess. And stuff. Whatever. I think I'm going to become a goth.

Updated NCAA Football Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 06:36:00 +0000

Not too long ago, I laid out all the various major preseason, NCAA top-25 forecasts. Cool stuff, right? Well guess what time it is. That's right. Its time for an update.

First, let me drop two more significant ranking sets:

CBS Sportsline Poll

1. Ohio State
2. West Virginia
3. Lousiana State
4. Notre Dame
5. Auburn
6. Oklahoma
7. Texas
8. USC
9. Florida
10. Oregon
11. Georgia
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Iowa
15. Louisville
16. California
17. Clemson
18. Penn State
19. Michigan
20. Miami
21. Boston College
22. Nebraska
23. Texas Christian
24. Georgia Tech
25. UCLA

And, the one I've been little girl giddy about, the EA Sports Ranking from NCAA Football 2007

1. Ohio State
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. Louisiana State
6. Florida
7. Auburn
8. Oklahoma
9. West Virginia
10. Louisville
11. Miami
12. Florida State
13. Penn State
14. Michigan
15. California
16. Georgia
17. Iowa
18. Tennessee
19. Arizona State
20. Nebraska
21. Virginia Tech
22. Texas Tech
23. Clemson
24. Alabama
25. Georgia Tech

Some interesting little changes, eh? From what I can tell, the EA poll is based more on the composite skills of the players - other polls tend to take into account the peculiarities of coaches, strength of schedule, etc. . . I dunno'. That said, I entered these rankings into my previous poll spreadsheet and have updated my composite ranking - ahh, the assimilation of the wisdom of the (highly informed) masses. Note that I'm including the weighted scores so you can see where the rankings are hmmm. . . edgy?, and where consensus is much stronger. Oh, and if your wondering how I did it, I just assigned each ranking a score (a rank of #1, for instance becomes 25, of #2 becomes 24 and so on), then simply averaged them for the mean. The system isn't perfect, by any means, but it is something. And yes, it biases in favor of those states which appear on all the polls (or nearly all) - what of it?

1. Ohio State (23.86)
2. West Virginia (21.43)
3. Notre Dame (21.29)
4. USC (21)
5. LSU (20)
6. Auburn (17.57)
7. Florida (17.29)
8. Oklahoma (14)
9. Penn State (12.71)
10. Virginia Tech (11.86)
11. California (10.43)
12. Georgia (9.29)
13. Michigan (8.14)
14. Florida State (7.286)
15. Miami (7.2857)
16. Alabama (6.714286)
17. Texas Christian (6.7142857)
18. Louisville (6.57)
19. Iowa (6)
20. Oregon (5)
21. Texas Tech (3.57)
22. UCLA (3.43)
23. Arizona State (3.42)
24. Clemson (3.29)
25. Wisconsin and Boston College (tie at 3.142857)

And, of course, other schools mentioned in at least one top 25 poll: Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, and Georgia Tech.

Dig the colored sections - they aren't the only close calls, but they definitely drew my eye. So I colored them. So they'd draw your eye. Eyes.

My thoughts? Well, I have a couple, now that I've read quite a bit and played a couple games with the ol' NCAA 2007. Let me tell you what I think. First, I believe OSU is the most distinct and definite frontrunner of pack - they deserve their number 1 ranking. West Virginia, well, I think they'll get a major bowl, but I think that hopes may be a little high - though I would flip out awesome style to see them in the National Championship. Notre Dame, yeah, they're on their way back, and they'll almost definitely pull a top-10, but top five? I just don't think so. . . they have the makings, but with their schedule, well, I think they may be in for a bad way. Underrated teams (by at least say, five places): I am gonna' call, for the time being at least, Clemson, Louisville, and Penn State. Here is the gig - Clemson, I think, looks tough on paper, Louisville, I think, looks tuff on paper, and Adam Kennedy, well, he could kill me with a mere look - and I refuse to catch the death from offending his Penn State-loving sensibilities.

God I'm excited. And its just July.

Pigs as Ironic Public Relations Mascots Advocating Their Own Species' Consumption by Members of the Species Homo Sapiens

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Drummond Smith) — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 05:05:00 +0000

Fact.
This is the best blog entry EVER by anyone ever who isn't a deity or TV's LaVar Burton.

I was running through my standard set of non-news links, the ones I hit around midnight every evening, and I found this entry on Yahoo's The Spark! blog. Okay, vaguely interesting, I know. Then I noticed the link to this - The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. That's right. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. I have little doubt I'll be spending hours on that site. Seriously. No fooly. Compelling literature.

And tail-gating advice.

Ahem.

Regardless, the NHDSC (acronymrific) made me think of something from my childhood that, frankly, after years first in Charlottesville and then in Knoxvegas, I had almost forgotten about.

(Singing)

B - A -Double L - A - R, D, S spells Ballard's . . . Ballard's is the JONX for me. . .

Okay. I don't remember the song exactly. But Ballard's products (straight out of Wayne, WV) dotted meals of mine for the better part of my childhood and their advertising campaigns dominated my evening television experiences on WVVA - I mean, in between the actual shows (specifically Cheers and The Cosby Show . . . sigh). And seriously, check out the packaging - its like, wow, you know it is good, because those pigs wouldn't lie. Dammit.

Speaking of trustworthy swine . . .

This in turn reminded me of another major producer of pork and pork by-products, those irrepressible folks from Salem, VA (kinda'), Valleydale Farms. Their website is worth exploring if for no other reason than their small but pimped out collection of archived commercials. Featuring pigs. Playing instruments. In celebration of the purchase and consumption of their less talented kin.

I mean other pigs.

Okay, now that I'm pretty darn deep into this blog, does the fact that our species uses cartoon images of the animals we're eating to advertise the animals we're eating freak anyone else out? Not bad, just a little, like, maybe while you read this blog? I dunno' - its just kinda' sadistic. I mean, we're basically using Porky Pig's illegitimate kids to advertise the sale and consumption of other illegitimate kids of pigs, though these have neither readily observable entertainment value nor good representation.

Whatever. Cancel.

When the war comes, let no man question whether or not I, Eric Drummond Smith, am still, and forever shall be, Big on the Pig. Peace in the Middle East.