I’ve been a member of an online music discussion list for over a decade. Here is Postcard’s Best of 2007 list. The list is compiled from the top 10 new releases as submitted by list members every year. Here was my list:

Here they are.

1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
By far, my favorite album of ‘07. My whole family likes it, including my 4-year-old son. He knows the words.

2. Wilco - Sky Blue SKy
I ended up listening to it quite a bit. There are some clunkers, but that’s pretty much true with any Wilco record other than maybe YHF.

3. White Stripes - Icky Thump
I’m amazed at their consistently high-quality output. I loved “Get Behind Me Satan” although apparently the critics thought it was weak. This was another great album from Jack and Meg. One thing that I thought was interesting: they sounded a little less AC/DC and a little more Led Zepplin on this release.

4. Dr. Dog - We All Belong

5. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
I actually heard this album on NPR for the first time. This got played a lot this year.

6. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
An early favorite this year.

7. You Am I - Convicts
It’s encouraging that there are bands still making great, raw music that is worth listening to.

8. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living with the Living
His show here in Denver was fantastic, too.

9. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
This could just as easily have been Band Of Horses or The National. I listened to Ryan a bit more than those two, so he wins.

10. Babyshambles - Shotter’s Nation
God help me, I actually like this album.

- - - - -

Other very worthy contenders:

Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
The National - Boxer
Broken West - I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On
Feist - Remainder

I also listened to the Fratellis quite a bit, but does this one count?

- - - - -

My most anticipated album of 2007, but ended up being a disappointment:

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

- - - - -

Good Lord, what the hell was this?

PJ Harvey - White Chalk

Check out this little widget:

I got it at Danasoft.

Here are our Jack O’ Lanterns for Halloween 2007.

Cute, eh?

This sums up my problems with today’s conservatives in such a succinct way:

What’s happening, presumably, is that modern movement conservatism attracts a certain personality type. If you identify with the downtrodden, even a little, you don’t belong. If you think ridicule is an appropriate response to other peoples’ woes, you fit right in.

And Republican disillusionment with Mr. Bush does not appear to signal any change in that regard. On the contrary, the leading candidates for the Republican nomination have gone out of their way to condemn “socialism,” which is G.O.P.-speak for any attempt to help the less fortunate.

Here’s a link to the whole article:
Conservatives Are Such Jokers, by Paul Krugman. NY Times, October 5, 2007

I’m conservative by nature. And yet I do think it’s our business to help others. You might say it’s our obligation to do so as God’s children. You can even find imperatives to help others right in the Bible, the book by which many conservatives supposedly turn to for guidance — that is, when they’re not too busy laughing at the weakest among us.

I hadn’t used my old desk in years. I’d been reticent to part with it, but household reorganization demanded it must go. I told my wife, “I’m going to sell this desk. It’s too cool to throw away. Someone will love it as much as I have.”

My wife said, “No one will want your old beat-up desk. Let’s saw it in half and put it out for the garbage pickup.”

I said, “You may be right. Let me write an ad on Craigslist, and we’ll see if anyone wants it.” Here was my ad:

World’s sturdiest and most lovable desk

I bought this desk as a college student back in 1984. Since then it has lived in Missouri, Chicago, and now Colorado. This desk has seen countless art projects, ancient Macintosh computers, and occasional Thanksgiving dinners. I wrote term papers and love letters to my wife sitting at this desk.

Now it must go. It’s too big, too heavy, too beat-up, sayeth my wife. It’s an old friend, and I’d hate to see it end up in a landfill.

It would be perfect for an artist’s studio or someone’s workshop. Make no mistake; the desk is showing its age. Of course, it wasn’t perfect when I bought it in 1984 — the wear has always been part of its charm.

The center drawer locks and I have the key. The top can be removed for easier transportation. It has a file drawer on the right side that can hold standard-size 8.5″ x 11″ papers.

There’s a stamp on the bottom that says 1929. I still have a tag that was in the desk when I bought it that says 1962. I’m more inclined to believe 1962 than 1929, but who knows.

This desk will bring you luck and love. It’s solid wood. It’s always warm, never cold.

Come, give my cherished old desk a good home.

The response was amazing. I had a dozen e-mails inquiring about the desk within a day. I ended up selling it to a girl who gave it as a surprise gift to her boyfriend, a college student majoring in journalism. It was apropos, given that I had been a college student in J-school when I bought it. I actually delivered it to him, and I could tell immediately he saw the charm and character in the old desk.

As I left, I told him, “Someday, when you grow tired of the desk or no longer need it, pass it on.”

I found a sticker inside the desk when I cleaned out all my stuff. I had bought the desk in 1984 at Warehouse of Fixtures, 3270 Laclede, St. Louis, MO (314) 534-3250. I googled it, and they’re still in business. Even their phone number is the same.

The Republicans are attempting to rig the 2008 Presidential election by splitting the California electoral vote. See this article from the NY Times. Funny how they’re not suggesting this should be done in Texas, isn’t it?

It’s time for one person, one vote. Make the whole thing a popular vote system and get rid of the opportunity for stacking the deck in anyone’s favor.

I’m still amazed that the Dems didn’t try to force this after the travesty of the 2000 elections. You can bet that if the situation had been reversed — if Bush had won the popular vote but lost the electoral college — the Republicans would have figured out a way to change the whole system in favor of “fairness.”
I’ve said it before: the Republican party is full of smart crooks, and the Democratic party is full of dummies who want to do the right thing.

A few months ago, I got an e-mail from Wired Magazine, to which I subscribe. They asked me to send in a photo. If I was one of the first 5000, I’d get a copy of Wired featuring my own photo on the cover. I sent in a photo, and they told me, “Thanks. If we decide to use it, you’ll hear from us.”

I heard nothing and promptly forgot about it.

Today I received my copy of the July issue, and my picture is on the cover!

You can read about the whole deal in the NY Times.

Pretty cool. I should’ve sent in a better picture.

When I was a kid, there was only one ice cream store that I wanted to go to: Baskin-Robbins. They had 31 flavors of ice cream, some of which changed every month. We used to count all the flavors on the menu to make sure they weren’t cheating.

When we moved to Colorado, we quickly located the B-R stores nearby, and frequently visited. They were looking a little shabby and run-down, and the freezers were so loud you could hardly talk. But the ice cream was still delicious, and you could go outside to talk anyway.

Then a bunch of them became KaleidoScoops. Here in Colorado, a bunch of stores defected en masse. I don’t know the story, but from the little bit that I read on the KaleidoScoops web site, it sounds like B-R was screwing their franchisees.

Our local store looks nicer since the name change (although I miss all the ancient posters from the 1970s). The problem is that the ice cream isn’t the same. It’s not quite the same caliber as Baskin-Robbins was. The worst part is I can’t get Baseball Nut every spring. Baseball Nut is vanilla ice cream with cashews and a black raspberry ribbon. It’s wonderful.

Since our local store became a KaleidoScoops (2000? 2001?), we’d often take the trek up to a very old B-R store up at Colorado Blvd. and Evans. The store was really run down, but the ice cream was still tasty. Yesterday, I drove to the store in hopes of bringing home a hand-packed quart of Baseball Nut. Alas, the store has closed.

So what the hell happened to Baskin-Robbins? How do you take a brand that was as American as McDonald’s and Chevrolet, and manage it to extinction?

This is strange, but fun.

You know those weird distorted words that you have to type sometimes when you register for a web site? They’re called CAPTCHAs, and they prevent spam robots from registering on web sites.

Here’s a suggestion that takes the idea one step further: a CAPTCHA that requires a good understanding of grammar. This guy suggests that such a test should be required in order to use the Internet at all. Hit refresh (F5) on your browser to get new, fun grammar and spelling questions.

Darth Vader agrees.