Scott Douglas’ Terse Bloviation

In alphabetical order, some CDs I acquired this year that brought repeated pleasure:

Blind Pilot: Three Rounds and a Sound

Buildings Breeding: self-titled

Nord Express: Loveland

Pia Fraus: After Summer

Eric Reed: Here

Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden: self-titled

Winterpills: The Light Divides

Actually, this time I seek rather than provide the advice on stupid household minutiae: A quandary over ecofriendly dishwashing submitted to the environmental site Grist.org.

Keith Dowling and Stephanie Herbst-Lucke.

So that a certain someone will receive this band‘s CD as a present from moi, thereby allowing me to hear it. (Yes, this is akin to when Homer gave Marge a bowling ball with his name on it.)

In 1990, my training partner went to see them–all the way from Australia–with my then-girlfriend, while I stayed home to rest for a meaningless Baltimore Road Runners Club cross country race the next morning. Idiot.

Most people like food and pretty pictures and knowing what day it is. Therefore, what more would they like in their (really big) stocking than a 2009 calendar that features fine-art food photography, seasonal recipes and fun food factoids, the latter scripted by moi? Learn more and buy the abfab calendar here.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/12/07/travel/1207-SKI_3.html

12/5/08

As in many other areas, the biggest education debates are happening within the Democratic Party. On the one hand, there are the reformers like Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee, who support merit pay for good teachers, charter schools and tough accountability standards. On the other hand, there are the teachers’ unions and the members of the Ed School establishment, who emphasize greater funding, smaller class sizes and superficial reforms.