Sunday Funnies & So Much More

Citizen K. apologizes for the dearth of this week's funnies; neither Ben Sargeant nor Tom Toles would upload. If that continues to be a problem, I may have to discontinue this feature, as most of the other comics come from the soon-to-be-defunct Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In the meantime, click to enlarge. And for more F Minus, Tony Auth, and Zippy the Pinhead go here, here, and here...

There's something special about peer recognition in that it comes from people who share your experience and appreciate what it takes. This is especially the case when the recognition comes from such accomplished bloggers as John Hayes at Robert Frost's Banjo and Sylvia From Over The Hill. So I'm honored to have received the Premio Dardos award from RFB and the Dardos and Superior Scribbler awards from Sylvia. 

The Premio Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web."

The rules:

1. Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.
   
2. Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

Without further adieu, here are five blogs that deserve recognition for "creative and original writing:"

I'm admittedly biased on this one but...Premium T.'s verse-like entries provide a poet's perspective on the beauties of everyday life with humor and insight. Terrific photographs and meditations on recipes and food, if I do say so myself!

The artist PWALLY writes with flair and humor about work experiences, past loves, and the stories behind her paintings. Don't miss her current entry ("Attempted Murder By Cologne"), wherein a fellow employee's body odor leads to an emergency room visit.

She hasn't been at it long and I wish she'd write more, but Molly The Dog's Caterpillars to Butterflies is already a must-read for Citizen K. Molly employs plain, repertorial language to tell stories of her experiences as a nurse at an inner city clinic, writing in a way that combines realism with compassion.

Foxessa blogs at Fox Home with passion and knowledge -- two traits that don't always appear in the same person -- about any subject that comes to mind, but especially her passions of history, New Orleans and the Caribbean, literature, movies, and women's issues. Although even this sells short her eclectic range.

Strictly speaking, Renegade Eye may not be what the creators of the Dardos Award had in mind: A typical entry is an article pulled from a left-wing publication. But Ren has created an environment that encourages the left and right to debate (often fiercely) while he moderates the discussion with well-placed and articulated comments. He merits recognition, and here it is...

The Axeman of Old New Orleans: 

New Orleans. 1917. Based on a true story. A serial killer stalks the streets. 3 distinct detectives try to find him. Who will get there first? - Murder - Voodoo - The Birth of Jazz - Interracial love - Floods - Police Corruption - Intrigues. This script contains racist dialogue and characters and some violent and sexual episodes...

Leonard Pitts takes on the dittoheads here. Those people will never understand the liberal hatred of Bush and Cheney: What started out as principled opposition became hatred only after the Bush Administration personalized opposition as unpatriotic...

Ann Powers criticizes the new Bruce Springsteen album as "stirring but slight." I'm so unimpressed with what I've heard that for the first time since I became a fan -- back in 1974 -- I didn't run out and buy it on the release date. More on this later...

From Baugh to the Boss

If you didn't click on yesterday's link to Sammy Baugh's obituary, you missed this picture, one of the best sports photographs I've ever seen...

Once again, Helen Thomas tells it like it is:  "...a bevy of Republican senators from the South are trying to break up what the United Automobile Workers have struggled since the 1930s to achieve -- a middle-class life for union members." Is there any doubt of this?...

Foxessa reports that the New Orleans Public Library system faces difficult times: "It's happened before in many communities, that the public library becomes a playing field for the town or city's political rivalries and power struggles. But these plays have hardly ever been done so flamboyantly, with so little disguise anywhere else..."

Derrick Jackson wonders why in the world the Bush Administration thinks it's a good idea to allow concealed weapons in national parks: "This completes eight years of political cruelty to animals and a final imposition of the National Rifle Association on what is left of public serenity in America -- our shared natural sanctuaries..."

PWALLY 'fesses up... "I ran out and told Judy to get in the car and leave the scene, whispering loudly that they hadn’t heard a thing and hadn’t been sitting near the window so they didn’t see anything, either. Hurry!!"

FiveThirtyEight.com projects a 40-vote lead for Al Franken in Minnesota. Unreal. As much as I want Franken to pull this out, statistically speaking the race is a tie with no way of knowing who really got the most votes. By all accounts, Minnesota's recount process and the people administering it are first rate. No matter which candidate prevails, he will have as clean a decision as the circumstances allow...

Time Goes By thinks that the MSM passes over the real stories of the economic crisis: "What’s missing, however, are stories about how most of us – the poor, the middle class, the people who live paycheck to paycheck and one small emergency from destitution - are getting by."

A Chicagoan visits New Orleans and has a most unusual life-changing encounter. (T'anks to Da Ladda!)...

You Can't Make This Stuff Up Dept:  A Palinista worries about her dreams: 

This might seem like a strange question, but have any of you had dreams about Obama lately? I'm not suggesting that they are sexual dreams in nature; just any dreams about him?
I know a lot of people who are having various types of dreams about BO, and finally I did, too (nonsexual, I must add), so I'm wondering....
Maybe they just signal worry/concern about what BO might do as President?

Sock And Awe Dept: Click here and throw shoes to your heart's content. (Thanks, Stupid!)

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Friday's Choice: Bruce "D'Artagnan" Springsteen sings "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" with a little help from his friends:

A Clean, Well Lighted Used CD Store

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has so much as glanced at Citizen K. to hear that I like a good used CD store. The best kind does not necessarily have the largest selection. Any university district has a used CD store with acres of CDs that college kids have bought, burned and resold. If you're looking for something specific, these are good places to check, especially for mainstream recordings. The problem today is that much of the selection from these type places is available for downloading at the same price (or less) as the used CD version. You can even legally copy purchased downloads (iTunes allows seven copies), so in a sense downloading puts you ahead of the game.

But a small neighborhood shop can be a jewel. Last Saturday when we went over to West Seattle for dinner, I was excited to spot Rubato Records, a place with real potential. It did not disappoint. First of all, it's small enough that I could review their entire selection within 20 minutes. Second, the selection is offbeat, including a small selection of unusual imports. I wound up with four CDs that I didn't know existed, and they're all good.

Chuck Leavell has played piano for The Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones (among many others) and fronted his own band called Sea Level. Back in 2001, he released a delightful set of solo piano compositions called Forever Blue. Brief but compelling, Forever Blue makes for great morning or dinner listening...The British folksinger Donovan's Sixties hits are familiar to most people (of a certain age, anyway), but I'll bet you didn't know that in 2004 he recorded an homage to the Beat Generation called Welcome To The Beat Cafe. He captures the coffee house spirit in a fun, ambient recording that includes a version of Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight" set to music...The expatriate singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy has lived and recorded in Paris for over 25 years. He releases much of his music on his own label, including Never Say Die: The Best Of 1995-2005...And More. I got turned onto Murphy a couple of years ago; Never Say Die is a great means of catching up on what I've been missing...Rubato Records even had a Cajun selection, and I took a flyer on Authentic Cajun Music by Jackie Callier, Ivy Dugas, and the Cajun Cousins. The Cajun Cousins include a steel guitar which adds an element of Western swing to their sound. Exceptionally well produced in the bargain...And where else would one find Greatest Hits from the Seattle avant-garde composer-musician Amy Denio? Denio's primary instruments are the sax and the accordion. I'm not especially well-versed in the avant-garde, but there's a gentleness and musicality here that I don't naturally associate with the term...

So, support your local used CD store. The smaller and more cramped looking, the better!

Now this is what should have been on the cover of The New Yorker. Thanks, PWALLY!