The Observer's Blog

Top N Essential Albums

Since I haven't posted in a while, I owe you dedicated readers more content than usual in this post. I think that an list of essential albums is something everyone likes to read and critique, even if silently. Here are my "Essential" albums. This is not meant to be a list of the best albums ever, and is certainly only a subset of my collection (now including mp3s). I'll do this in categories: the Canonized are classics that may or may not still be in the rotation much but must be considered in high regard, while the Beatified are permitted to be considered in high regard currently and may one day join the Canonized. In no particular order:

Canonized
Tori Amos - Under the Pink
Better Than Ezra - Deluxe
Cardigans - Gran Turismo
Shawn Colvin - Fat City
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting
The Cranberries - No Need to Argue
Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions
The Cure - Disintegration
Depeche Mode - Violator
Ani DiFranco - Dilate
Elastica - Elastica
Nelly Furtado - Whoa Nelly!
Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Indigo Girls - 1200 Curfews
Jewel - Pieces of You
Jennifer Knapp - lay it down
Led Zeppelin - IV
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay
Natalie Merchant - Ophelia
New Order - Substance
Old 97's - Too Far to Care
Poe - Haunted
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
Sleater-Kinney - The Hot Rock
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Sundays - Static and Silence
Outkast - Stankonia
They Might Be Giants - Flood
Til Tuesday - Voices Carry
Travis - The Man Who
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Weezer - Blue Album
Wilco - Being There
The Rentals - Return of the Rentals

Beatified
Lauryn Hill - Miseducation of . . . (on the Mother Theresa fast track)
Frente! - Labour of Love EP; shape
Fiona Apple - When the Pawn . . .
Aimee Mann - Lost in Space
Police - Synchronicity
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Neil Young - Harvest
Dar Williams - Mortal City
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far
Better Than Ezra - How Does Your Garden Grow?; Friction, Baby
Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five
Beck - Sea Change
Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Blur - Parklife, The Great Escape
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs
Ben Harper - Burn to Shine
Hum - downward is heavenward
Diana Krall - When I Look in Your Eyes, Love Scenes
Morrissey - Your Arsenal
Pearl Jam - Ten
Velocity Girl - ¡Simpatico!
Kathleen Edwards - Failer
Built to Spill - Live
Nelly Furtado - Folklore

Perhaps some should be moved from canonized to beatified. As you can see, I ahven't felt compelled to canonize more than one album by any one aritst.

"African-American Problem" Solved

When I first came to the University of Texas at Austin, I knew there was something wrong, and it took me some time during my first year to figure out what it was that was so strange: the number of black students. There were literally hundreds of black students in a school with a population of only 50,000. Then sometime my sophomore year the campus newspaper The Daily Texan published a graphic that confirmed that my concerns were real:

Amazingly, 3% of the university population is composed of black students, whereas the state of Texas has four times that. Let me put this another way, the state of Texas has somehow managed to admit 25% of its black high school students. I was under the impression that the national average for such a rate was much lower, perhaps 10% or less. This then confirmed that there were indeed a disproportionate number of African-American students at UT, but why?

Until last night I was clueless, but a post-mass trip to Baja Fresh shed light on this issue at last. There I actually saw one of UT's black students enjoying a meal with his girlfriend while wearing a t-shirt from a sorority crush t-shirt which displayed the following on the back:

Texas A Chi O Crush

Hangin' With Our Good Ol' Boys

Yes, that's right, I was able to find the exact image they used on the internet. Clearly, this black student is very much in touch with whiteness. Look at the evidence: he wears a shirt prominently featuring the General Lee, apparently considers himself a "Good Ol' Boy," and has a white girlfriend. You may argue this was an isolated incident, but while I was eating there a second "black" student and his white girlfriend came up to this guy and exchanged pleasantries. He clearly approves of this student's lifestyle and probably even partakes in it himself. So this must be why there are so many "black" students at UT: many of them can hardly be classified African-American on an ethnic basis at all! Finally, I no longer have to invoke the fact that we have a large athletics program to explain the disproportionate number of black students here.

Astro-Frat

Since you people who read this are cool, I will let you in on a little secret plan of mine. I just hatched it. I was pondering over my future in astronomy, and I realized that I don't really have any enemies in astronomy. I don't know about you, but this strikes me as a problem. If nothing else, I would like to feel at least a little bit justified in making disparaging comments with no basis in fact about other astronomers in the future. And like a bolt of lightning I realized how this problem could be resolved: an exclusionary astronomy fraternity! I guess we'd let girls in, but in keeping with the great tradition of fraternal organizations open to both sexes, it would be called a fraternity. While the Greek letters of this organization is far from decided (though I think Chi Chi would be appropriate), and though we're probably a long way from our first pledge class, the idea is there and unstoppable! The details can be worked out later, but old as well as young astronomers should be allowed in, as well as astronomers from all fields: galaxies, stars, theory, observation, instrumentation, and planetary. Just so long as you are cool. And not Dick Cool. It was my desire to make a joke regarding Mr. Cool, a person I know practically nothing about except his name, that prompted the frustration that ultimately led to the conception of this organization. I just hope that the unworthy do not find this site.

She-Ra vs. Rainbow Brite

Some months ago I suffered an embarrassing defeat on a toss-up question at a college quiz bowl tournament. For those unaware, quiz bowl is a team sport, where each member of each team has a buzzer and tries to beat the other team to answer questions. If a person answers correctly they get to answer bonus questions, and if you answer incorrectly after interupting a question you lose points and forfeit the right to bonus questions for your team.

The question began, "She wore knee-high white leather boots and rode a flying unicorn . . ." and then I buzzed and guessed Rainbow Brite. Neg! After the rest of the question was read, such clues as "He-Man's female counterpart" revealed the answer they were looking for was She-Ra, Princess of Power. I have finally taken the time to investigate this wrong answer and see just how wrong Rainbow Brite was. First, I submit a TV still from She-Ra, in which she is not wearing white boots at all, but gold boots. In fact I can find no evidence that She-Ra wore white boots ever, though she obviously did ride a unicorn.

What about Rainbow Brite? Well, she doesn't wear thigh-high white leather boots, but in this picture her boots are clearly very high and there is some white trim on them. This is at least closer to the description in the question. And a unicorn? Well, it's a white horse, but not just any white horse. It has a gold star on its forehead! I contend this is pretty close to a unicorn, because it's a horse with something weird on its forehead.

In the end, I think I shouldn't have lost the points on the grounds that She-Ra has golden boots, but I obvioulsy was pretty wrong in guessing Rainbow Brite. However, not as wrong as the people who laughed at me and took away my points thought. The question remains, could a heroine-come-lately like Eco-Ra (whom I speculate is the product of the union of Captain Planet and She-Ra) stand a chance against either of these fembots? I give Eco-Ra an 80% chance against Ms. Brite (the fight would begin over Rainbrow Brite wanting to make winter more colorful) and a 10% chance against She-Ra because I mean come on.

Sneak Preview of Lent 2005

Yep, now that Lent is officially over (as of Thrusday night for you folks who aren't sure when that happens), it's time to start planning the biggest, craziest, and all-around most Jesusiest Lent ever! Lent 2005!

In past years I've given up* some pretty crazy things for Lent: no eating in between meals, nothing to drink but water, and this year no meat (not even fish!). Well get ready, because in 2005 the stakes will be raised! After considering options such as giving up the internet, channel 15, or hip-hop, I decided on something even more radical. In 2005, I will be giving up my sight for Lent! All I have to do is not wear my glasses for 40 days, which correct for my near-sightedness.

I will still be able to see close up things (meaning I could read and work at a computer which will be my job next spring) but just not far away things in detail. The only real problem I've thought of so far is driving. I experimented with taking off my glasses while driving home for Easter, and I think it's doable. I can't really read any road signs without my glasses, but I could probably tell the difference between an Exxon and a Mobil station (or Aloha and Mahalo stations). I could probably also see all signal lights on cars on the road, but I wouldn't be able to tell you if the car changing lanes is a Miata or a Z3. If anyone else has ideas of what other problems I might run into please let me know. Classes and talks are other problem situations, but I figure I can just sit in the front row. Incidentally, I got the idea for giving this up by wishing that I could have the ability of checking out girls walking by on campus or during communion taken away from me. It can be very distracting.

* - This should not be considered a "sacrifice." I don't really think of it as such, and in light of the current conversation, I would not be so bold.

Selection Effect

Today we will talk about an interesting selection effect that relates to blogging. When I'm at my most productive, and busiest, I often have many ideas for entertaining and timely entries. But at the same time I'm really busy and have just enough self-control to keep from doing this. I suppose this hasn't really been a factor until my computer at home stopped working. Because before then I could easily make a quick entry before bed. Now the only access I have to a computer in the sma eplace where I work, and I'm less likely to take time out for a blog there.

Incidentally, the amount of time I spend reading other people's blogs and commenting on them increasing when I'm at my busiest. This is because I'm looking for a quick distraction, and not necessarily in a creative mood. Maybe I'll have something more interesting to say soon.

Decision 2004: Hawaii v. UCLA

I just wrote a long e-mail to the UCLA admissions chair explaing why I decided not to go to their graduate school. I've gotten to be sort of an expert at writing rejections and now I've got to write my acceptance. I feel like it should start out, "Congratulations! I'm coming to your graduate program!" Maybe I should try for something more modest.

I don't think I mentioned how much I hate making decisions; if that can be considered a pet peave, then it's one of mine. I loathe decisive action so much that I now refuse to decide whether I want to go to Hawaii this year. Yes, in order to put off my decision even more I will now consider deferring admission at Hawaii for a year. I will only actually defer if there are other viable options available to me in the intervening year (service, living in community, etc.). Meaning, now I need to start look into these options. See, it's not the decision making process I dislike; I enjoy gathering data. It is the decision itself that I cannot suffer.

The Half-Tuck

Last night while watching an excellent television show that I discovered called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, I received validation for a fashion technique I employed and was ridiculed for in middle school. It solves the age old problem of whether to tuck in ones shirt or not: untucked the shirt is often too long but tucked in completely is just dorky. My solution was to only partially tuck in my shirt, sometimes having it tucked in on the side and sometimes in the front: the half-tuck. My peers would often challenge me to choose whether the shirt was in or out, because I couldn't have both. However, Carson Kressley of the "Fab Five" suggested to the Straight Guy that he should tuck in his shirt in the front in order to both show off his belt and avoid the dilemma I outlined above. I have received many correct criticisms from my peers over the years, and I'm glad to know that the super-upper crust of the fashion community in fact encourages my half-tuck method.

Ironically, at that time I only wore belts when "dressing up," and thus the half-tuck may have in fact not been appropriate for me to use since I would have shown off unbelted trousers. My offense deepened when I chose in response to the challenge of my peers to go with the tuck in as opposed to out, this even without a belt. But I think anyone would agree middle school was a tough time for all of us.