Sam’s Place

For the 1st time, gene therapy has been shown to work on cancer (”Immune no longer“) but, The Economist cautions:

This sort of therapy requires that every patient be treated with his own, unique medicine. Commercialising such a therapy depends on the degree to which this process can be simplified and automated.

Still, with Moore’s Law & Carlson’s Curve, it’s just a matter of time.

And, finally! (”A meaty question“): “Meat grown in vats, rather than in the form of animals, could soon be on the menu. It might even be healthier and better for you.”

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Also, IQ & Income

I just finished reading Lisa Carver’s Drugs Are Nice: A Post-Punk Memoir. If the names Costes, GG Allin, Smog, & Suckdog mean anything to you, it’s worth reading, otherwise probably not. There seems to be a trend of 30-something women writing about their youthful sex, drugs, & music/writing shenanigans. The best of these that I’ve read, imo, is Michelle Tea’s Chelsea Whistle: blue collar Massachusetts, divorced parents, weird stepdad, lesbianism, prostitution, San Francisco, spoken word, creative writing. Drugs Are Nice: “white trash” New Hampshire, divorced parents, criminal dad, performance art, Paris, music, San Francisco, prostitution, drugs, s&m, marriage, divorce, motherhood. Beth Lisick’s Everybody in the Pool: intact family, suburban California, attempted bi-sexuality, San Francisco, M. Tea’s spoken word group, creative writing, music, marriage, motherhood.

Previous episode here.

Boys Life was not the only Boston band whose singer affected an English-ish accent.  That was one of the new music memes at the time. (Gang of Four-influenced) The Proletariat, for example, managed to be a respected punk band despite their Anglo-inflected singer & propagandistic lyrics. I liked their song “Options” but thought it was unintentionally funny:

Bend my ear
Twist my arm
Tell me the options
Tell me the options
Military service
Factory employment
Welfare assistance
Tell me the options

Turns out (see Prole link above) that the band members dropped out of college & worked blue collar jobs.

(To be continued.)

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Also, More Monkeynomics

Power of Music I, II, & III 

I thought of someone else from Malden, the band Boys Life. They were a good band that made surprisingly sophisticated music, considering their home town. I thought Malden was somewhat better than Everett, which was somewhat better than Chelsea. Michelle Tea writes about moving to Everett from Chelsea briefly & feeling like she’d moved to a better place. But an early punk rock fan friend of mine from Everett transferred to a private school in Malden & got beat up & stuffed into & locked in a locker (I seem to remember that he toned down his punkness thereafter). Not much of that treatment in Everett; though I remember an old man in Brigham’s Ice Cream yelling at DD: “Why don’t you get the hell out of this country.”

Boys Life’s singer sang in a sorta British accent, bizarrely. Kinda like Psych Furs. Their lyricist/manager wrote a book of poems called Malden. Here’s one (I can relate to) called “The Savior,” about Bobby Orr & Phil Esposito:

Streets reserved seven days a week
for endless games of street hockey
tennis courts and school yards
filled with stick wielding boys
all pretending to be Bobby
Ice rinks popping up in town after town
to accommodate
all these Bobbys:
Working class kids.
Working class Bobbys.
Irish and Italian kids.
Irish and Italian Bobbys.
all Bobbys.
all
except me:
I pretended to be Phil.

I just now found out that Boys Life’s sax player later played in Black Cat Bone — a sorta goth/blues band I liked. I knew 1 or 2 of their members, because they lived & practiced near our Thayer St loft. (1 of their songs is on this comp CD.) Small world.

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Also, The Wisdom of Independent Guessing

Power of Music I & II

Norman Greenbaum grew up in Malden, Massachusetts, near my home town. Everett, Chelsea, Malden: these are cities of tens of thousands of people yet very few celebrities. Greenbaum is the only celebrity (if that’s what he is) Maldener that I’m familiar with. Everett had football player Dan Ross, who I don’t think would be considered a celebrity any more. Also actress Ellen Pompeo. DB saw her on a talk show & she said she’s from “Boston.” At least one online source says she was born in Everett but lived in NY as a child.

Chelsea spawned Chick Corea, Scientologist jazz keyboardist. And terrific memoirist Michelle Tea.

Old roommate of mine, PN, worked w/ Greenbaum in a kitchen in Northern California in the late-’80s or early ’90s.

(To be continued.)

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Also, Ambiguity http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/26/ambiguity/

Power of Music I here.

Where was I? Oh yeah, “Spirit in the Sky.” Here’s the video to Doctor & the Medics’ ’80s cover. It was a hit a Britain, inexplicably. The arrangement is very similar to the original’s, the recording is uninspired, & the video is ridiculous. The only innovation is the haircut. Here’s the original. (To be continued.)

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Also, Re-emerging economies http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/20/re-emerging-economies/

Loss Aversion http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/22/loss-aversion/

Confirmation Bias http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/24/confirmation-bias/

GDP http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/25/gdp/

Beatrice!

I was listening to Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe,” playing the little CD player louder than usual, & thinking how good that song sounded. & it reminded me of another time I listened to abnormally loud music. It was sometime in the early- or mid-90s. I worked at a record store (that’s what we still called them then), & one night after we closed the owner blasted Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky.” [To be continued. But first, some lyrics:]

I’ve heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby
Oh no
But I don’t know about that
There’s many times that we’ve loved
We’ve shared love and made love
It doesn’t seem to me like it’s enough
There’s just not enough of it
There’s just not enough
Oh oh, babe

My darling, I can’t get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don’t know, I don’t know why
Can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh, some things I can’t get used to
No matter how I try
Just like the more you give, the more I want
And baby, that’s no lie
Oh no, babe

Tell me, what can I say?
What am I gonna do?
How should I feel when everything is you?
What kind of love is this that you’re givin’ me?
Is it in your kiss or just because you’re sweet?

Girl, all I know is every time you’re here
I feel the change
Somethin’ moves
I scream your name
Do whatcha got to do

Darling, I can’t get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
I can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh no, babe

Girl, if I could only make you see
And make you understand
Girl, your love for me is all I need
And more than I can stand
Oh well, babe

How can I explain all the things I feel?
You’ve given me so much
Girl, you’re so unreal
Still I keep loving you
More and more each time
Girl, what am I gonna do
Because you blow my mind

Baby, let me take all of my life to find you
But you can believe it’s gonna take
the rest of my life to keep you

Oh no, babe
My darling, I can’t get enough of your love babe
Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
Can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh my darling, I can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh babe
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know why
I can’t get enough of your love babe
Oh babe

And:

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that’s the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that’s the best

Prepare yourself you know it’s a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He’s gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky
Gonna recommend you
That’s where you’re gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You’re gonna go to the place that’s the best

Never been a sinner I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He’s gonna set me up with
The spirit in the sky
Oh set me up with the spirit in the sky
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best
Go to the place that’s the best

Dave e-mails & says that he’s surprised by my enthusiasm for 21st Century television. Actually, I think that most tv is terrible, & cable is 100 channels of nothing, but there are so many channels & shows that some good stuff is being made: The Office (UK), Buffy, Rome, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lost, Sopranos, etc., are better than most movies.

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Plus, Cornucopia http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/13/334/

& Why Nations Die http://www.progressdaily.com/2006/09/14/why-nations-die/

Something else weird from the NORAD tapes:

Nasypany: “Goddammit! I can’t even protect my N.C.A. [National Capital Area].”

[A] dramatic chase towards the White House continues. Two more problems emerge: the controllers can’t find the White House on their dated equipment, and they have trouble communicating with the Langley fighters. 

CITINO: 15 miles. One-five … noise level please … It’s got to be low. Quit 2-6, when able say altitude of the aircraft.… Did we get a Z-track [coordinates] up for the White House?
HUCKABONE: They’re workin’ on it.
CITINO: Okay. Hey, what’s this Bravo 0-0-5 [unidentified target]?
FOX: We’re trying to get the Z-point. We’re trying to find it.
HUCKABONE: I don’t even know where the White House is.