The Aroma Of A Bias, With The Taste Of A Radial

So the company known for boiling rubber is going to tell me the best places to eat?

I don't see what Bridgestone has to do with any of this.

  

I was just recently made aware of what is apparently the gold standard in restaurant and touring guides.  I thought it was Zagat...but I was wrong.  Zagat is now owned by The Google apparently, not that that fact is relevant at all to these proceedings...just thought you might like to know.  No, the place to turn for advice on travel and fine dining is the Red Guide, published annually by the Michelin company, famous maker of tires.  

Apparently, more important than a high Zagat rating is the prestigious "Michelin Star," bestowed upon worthy restaurants on a 1 to 3 star scale.  There are currently 81 3-star restaurants in the world, and only 10 in the entire United States.  I'm reasonably certain of two things.  First, I can't afford to eat in any of these restaurants, none of which I've ever heard of.  Second, while Japan and France best the United States in number of 3-star restaurants, I'm certain we're kicking the crap out of them in number of McDonald's Restaurants.  Take that, rest of the world! 

Of musicians, By musicians, For musicians

"And the rockets' red glare" – The loudest part when sung, the quietest part when played by an orchestra. Discuss


Would this have something to do with the song's full one and a half octave range making a singing performance difficult?


That's an entirely too short and convenient an answer. Instead, what we should do is examine the song "To Anacreon in Heaven" which is the song which was combined with Francis Scott Key's "Defence of Fort McHenry" to create "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's more fun that way.

Despite modern singers' attempts to convert the song into the slowest funeral dirge imaginable (commonly referred to as the "Bleeding-Gums Murphy Rendition"), the original song is actually a peppy and festive drinking song. In fact, certain accounts say that it was used as a sobriety test...in that if you could make your way through an entire verse on key, you were sober enough to be served another round.

Anyway...back to the initial point, which has long-since been cast aside in favor of interesting and amusing facts about the National Anthem. In the patriotic American version of the song, the section of lyrics "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air" coincide with the following lyrics in the original song: "Voice, Fiddle, and Flute, No longer be mute." I find this terrific. If you listen to just about any orchestral arrangement of the piece, this section of the song is played almost entirely without the brass section. As in, the only instruments playing (no longer muted) are the strings and woodwinds, which contain the fiddles and the flutes. If this was actually done intentionally, I would be very impressed.

You know...in hindsight, it probably would have been a good idea to run this Sametime Status next week, around the 4th of July. There's lack of foresight for you.

My Hero

We can all sleep better knowing that the Border Patrol is driving rusted-out old pickup trucks around southern New York


More like somebody confusing "Homeland Security" with biased, knowledge-free vigilante justice.


Exactly. This guy thought it would be cute and even patriotic to stick the words "Border Patrol" on his beat to crap old pickup truck a mere 300 miles from the nearest border with another country. (Mind you, I'm not counting the various Native American Reservations...which maybe I should, since they are sovereign entities...but I digress)

He's telling the world that he's responsible for keeping illegal immigrants out of the country, and good for him. He's got the ability and means, apparently, to know exactly who came to the country legally and illegally, and has been given the right...nee duty to apprehend them and deport them. I'm glad that there are people around willing to take on this burden, since the immigration office, the police, the federal, state, and local governments apparently haven't found the right way to deal with the "problem."


Perhaps it's because immigration and immigration reform is a horrifically complex issue, and people running around masquerading as officers of the law while enforcing their personal beliefs may not understand all of the aspects of it.


So to this guy who probably thinks himself a better American than you or me, I give a big hearty, "No thanks." You can keep your window sticker, your POS pickup truck, the in-cab gun rack I didn't see, but wouldn't be surprised if you had, and your narrow-minded views on immigration and patriotism. The rest of us are better off without them.

It would be nice to know in advance

Am I unpatriotic if I think that Lee Greenwood’s song is lousy?


Short answer "yes," long answer "no" with a "but..."


So it's that time of year again! We take a day off of work to eat ridiculous amounts of unhealthy foods (never ask what Hot Dogs are made of), sit around watching parades of emergency and military vehicles drive down a street, drink a little bit, and celebrate the day by shooting explosives into the air. Everything that makes us Americans!


I think you're exaggerating for dramatic effect a little.


Maybe I am...but it's 4th of July...Independence Day...and I'd like every member of the Most Intelligent Readership In The World to celebrate America in a slightly different way that's actually MORE patriotic than singing "Yankee Doodle". Ride a bike. Plant a tree. Buy an American-Made product (Hint, don't go to Wal-Mart if you intend to pull this one off)...especially a larger ticket item like a car or a refrigerator. And for the love of all things good and plenty, turn off the radio when friggin' Lee Greenwood comes on...and he will.


What's wrong with "God Bless The U.S.A.?


It's a crappy song! The problem is that little patriotic gestures are considered more American than anything that can truly help America. So pretending a song is good simply because it's "Patriotic" (Also see Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Red, White, and Blue") and condemning people as un-American for not liking it is the way things end up being...because it's easier. And after all, isn't THAT the real American Way?


I'll wave a flag for you.


No need...I already have one. It was made in America.


Special Note: Jeremy Is In The Office will be out of the Office tomorrow, returning on monday. Have a safe and explosive Independence Day, everyone!