Wilco at SDSU Open Air Theater

The Wilco Rock And Roll Juggernaut rolled into San Diego last night and made it be known--in no uncertain terms--they still ROCK.

The Chicago-based band blasted, boomed, swooned, swooped, two-stepped, and delicately dabbled for over two hours last night, leaving a close-to-sold-out house with two encores and excessive smiles on the faces of faithful.

Wilco, with Jeff Tweedy as its captain, have traveled quite a distance, sonically and personnel wise. The departed Jay Bennett, who was introduced to the rest of the world in the documentary movie "I'm Trying To Break Your Heart," can be forsaken. His musical stamps on Wilco are not entirely forgotten, because the new players can duplicate anything (and improve on what) Bennett contributed. The current players in the band are so talented, gifted, and creative, that the absence of Bennett is comparable to Stu Sutcliffe's termination from The Beatles.

From the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, Wilco formed with key members of the former, naming themselves from their response to former Tupelo, Jay Farrar, requesting the band not use the former name. ("Will Comply" = Wilco)

The first record ("A.M."), made almost a decade ago, sounds, and is, a universe apart from the latest release "Sky Blue Sky." For one, the latest record and band members are liberally sprinkled with two very important ingredients: inspiration and talent, two items which seem to be in short supply for most other bands. Wilco had inspiration for "A.M.," but now it's jacked-up on steroids.

The guitar playing of virtuoso Nels Cline and keyboarding of Pat Sansone add an ethereal dimension the band didn't have when they first arrived onto the scene. The creative musicianship by Cline himself is worth the twenty some dollars you'll expect to pay for a Wilco ticket.

The live translation of the new record is lush, dynamic, and at times combustible. Experiencing Wilco's live show now is like no other rock and roll experience. They may be the best rock band on the planet.

Fuzzman Unmasked! (part 3)



In this installment Ubie Fuzzman, the Hungarian, unmasked for the first time, walks closer to his ultimate destination--the high-end, Hotel Del Coronado, specialty boutique, where he purchased an item he no longer finds useful, nor practical.

Fuzzman overpaid for the item and he wants his money back.

Go Fuzzman!

Fuzzman Unmasked! Part Two



Mr. Fuzzman, unmasked for his trip to Coronado, is seen here in the 2nd video installment, walking to the store to return a piece of merchandise. Fuzzman was experiencing buyers remorse when he purchased a pair of sunglasses from the Coronado store.

In upcoming installments, we'll watch Fuzzman in the store, and how he deals with store personnel.

The online news organization Voice of San Diego posted a new tool to summarize foreclosures throughout San Diego County. I used the tool to inquire about foreclosures in the South Park neighborhood, and what I found is very interesting: South Park is experiencing a higher rate of foreclosures (per 1000 unique addresses) than the county in general.

South Park is comprised of two zip codes: 92102 and 92104.

During the first half of 2007, South Park has had at least 256 homes in at least some stage of foreclosure proceedings. That's an average of 22.24 foreclosures per 1000 homes in the neighborhood. The county average is 12.26 foreclosures per 1000 homes.

Earlier this year, an unmasked Uberstein Fuzzman decided to return merchandise he purchased (for a relatively large sum) from a store on Coronado Island. Let's say he was experiencing "buyers remorse," a bad emotional state after making a purchase.

Watch Ubie Return Stuff (part one)

"Let's Follow Ubie" is a series of video shorts, documenting one Uberstein Fuzzman as he attempts to return high-priced merchandise.

Tonight is the first really hot summer night, which required me to employ my Delonghi PAC 210 portable air conditioner. Boy is it cooling my bedroom's temperature; I can sleep tonight!

On this day in 1521, Hernan Cortes defeated the Aztecs and claimed their lands for the Spanish crown. It was the beginning of European hegemony of the Americas, and the decline of the native peoples of the New World.

(Cortes, Hernan. [Photograph]. Retrieved August 13, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-16942)

Crawford Robert, in an article published in One Thousand Reasons, argues that mainstream media's preoccupation with controversial headlines makes it very difficult for many presidential candidates to seem human. One example Robert uses is media's focus on "Al Gore’s stiffness or Hillary’s cleavage while ignoring George Bush’s horrendous capital punishment record or his stupendous incompetence and self-dealing corruption as a business executive."

But there is one argument Robert uses that has me questioning his otherwise astute observations; it is this:

If the 1860’s had television, radio and an internet, Stephen Douglas would’ve leaked to CNN about Lincoln’s constant battle with depression and Ann Rutledge’s parents would’ve been doing the morning show circuit. “Well, yes, we had spotted Mr. Lincoln near our daughter’s grave time and time again and, frankly, we thought it was quite creepy.”

The rail-splitter then would’ve lost in a landslide and we would’ve had President Douglas sitting on his booster seat in the Oval Office during the Civil War, one that would’ve surely, under his stewardship, resulted in at least a temporary confederacy, more likely a permanent one. Imagine half the United States entering both world wars, with the confederacy maybe, maybe not fighting as our ally.

Just in case we have forgotten: The debates between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were for a Senate seat representing the state of Illinois, and Lincoln lost to Douglas. Because of those debates, Lincoln became well-known, and eventually became the sixteenth President of the United States.

It's true. We can't believe everything we read.

Sloan



One of my favorite songs of this year, "Fading Into Obscurity," performed by Sloan, live at South by Southwest music festival in 2007

It's the last day of HED602, the health course for teachers, and the early start time has me reeling