Tuesday – 07.14.09

Word: impetus [im-pi-tuhs] n. 1. a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city’s cultural life 2. (broadly) the momentum of a moving body, esp. with reference to the cause of motion

Birthday: Jules Mazarin (1602), Gertrude Bell (1868), A. B. “Happy” Chandler (1898), Irving Stone (1903), Tom Carvel (1906), William Hanna (1910), Woody Guthrie (1912), Gerald Ford (1913), Ingmar Bergman (1918), Arthur Laurents (1918), Harry Dean Stanton (1926), Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier (1932), Jerry Rubin (1938), Sid Haig (1939), Vincent Pastore (1946), Joel Silver (1952), Angelique Kidjo (1960), Tanya Donelly (1966), Matthew Fox (1966), Nina Siemaszko (1970), Taboo (1975)

Quotation: Small miseries, like small debts, hit us in so many places, and meet us at so many turns and corners, that what they want in weight, they make up in number, and render it less hazardous to stand the fire of one cannon ball, than a volley composed of such a shower of bullets. ◊ Rudyard Kipling

Tune: You’ve just got to love a band that cultivated a following for itself by throwing (and headlining) large, illegal, outdoor parties. A good marketing strategy, to say the least. By the time the cops got wise and finally shut down the guys in Mystery Jets (and their Eel Pie Island get-togethers), the band had already made enough of a name for itself to get signed by 679 Recordings, a London-based record company. One critic (Sam Wolfson of Observer Music Monthly) wrote, “Mystery Jets thrive in the gap between naivety and cynicism.” Um. I’m not sure Wolfson meant it as a compliment but I think it is. Listen to “Diamonds in the Dark.”

Gallimaufry: Ever stub your toe or grab a burning hot pan? It hurts, right? Now, how many times, after experiencing the unexpected pain that followed, did you curse the object that inadvertantly caused it? Be honest. Well, you needn’t feel bad about it anymore. Researchers at Keele University in England have found angrily swearing as a result of, say, stepping barefoot on something sharp in the dark, triggers your “fight-or-flight” response. Basically, they’re saying, by cursing up a storm, you’re raising your levels of aggression and, truly, lessening the painful sensation on the bottom of your foot. ∞ Seattle’s Modest Mouse has an affinity for outstanding album titles. This Is a Long Drive for Somebody with Nothing to Think About. Good News for People Who Love Bad News. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The title of its upcoming EP is no exception – No One’s First and You’re Next. Spin.com has an exclusive on the first track named “Perpetual Motion Machine.” As is always the case with me, I need a few more listens to make sound judgement, but it’s a solid tune, for sure. ∞ For myriad reasons, I possess exactly no love for Oprah Winfrey. I know she does a lot of good, but that good is accompanied by – what I feel is – an intollerably high amount of smugness. It’s for that reason, I enjoyed reading “Top 12 Oprah Mistakes, Lies and Embarrassments.” Yes. I know she’s only human. But still. Live your best life, indeed.