Election Officials Defend Special Voting for Usher

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

(Source: Wonderwall)

The Associated Press, Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:14am (PST)

  • ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) — Election officials in the Atlanta area are defending their decision to allow singer Usher to bypass long lines and cast his ballot on Election Day, infuriating voters who had to wait.

     Fulton County election officials tell WSB-TV that Usher Raymond IV was escorted to the front of the line to minimize distractions at his Roswell polling place. They said in a statement that poll manager Frank Padula was directed to move Usher through the process as quickly as possible.

    WSB reports that Usher took cellphone pictures of himself voting, then posted them on Twitter.

    Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann questioned the decision. Hausmann said she can think of only a few people who might deserve such treatment, such as people with disabilities, the elderly and voters with small children.

The Beatles’ Surprising Contribution To Brain Science

09 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags: ,

(Source: NPR)

The same brain system that controls our muscles also helps us remember music, scientists say.

When we listen to a new musical phrase, it is the brain’s motor system — not areas involved in hearing — that helps us remember what we’ve heard, researchers reported at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans last month.

The finding suggests that the brain has a highly specialized system for storing sequences of information, whether those sequences contain musical notes, words or even events.

But the discovery might never have happened without The Beatles, says Josef Rauschecker of Georgetown University.

Listen to the full story here:

(Thanks, Elaine)

The Upgrade is Here!

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in General Posts Tags:

A recent upgrade to this site will make your experience as a reader or follower a more convenient and enjoyable one. All posts that recommend music (the Songs You May Have Missed and Recommended Albums entries) are now accompanied by embedded audio clips, rather than off-site links (to Grooveshark or YouTube.) This applies to upcoming posts as well as all previous ones, which have now been edited to include new audio. All video too will now be presented in embedded form, rather than as off-site links. The improvements are several:

  • Now you may play an audio clip while you read the accompanying post, rather than going off-site to hear the song–especially beneficial when lyrics are reprinted within a post.
  • The embedded audio clips represent a significant improvement in sound quality over most of the off-site links.
  • YouTube or other videos may still accompany some music posts, but only as a supplement. You won’t be at the mercy of videos becoming unavailable due to licensing issues or YouTube users closing their accounts.
  • The embedded audio will be available to users in all countries, whereas Grooveshark and YouTube have restrictions for certain users.
  • I’m no longer limited by the selection of music I can find full audio clips of online. My personal collection is now the music source, and I’ve already begun posting songs I previously could not because they were unavailable elsewhere.

Next I’ll begin revamping the posts in other series which contain music, such as the Forgotten Hits and Story Behind the Song posts. I hope you revisit some of the older posts, especially if you were previously unable to access certain music.

Let me know how you like the improvements!

~Ed

 

Does Anyone Even Remember What ‘MTV’ Used to Stand For?

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

Maybe they should change their name :)

Image by Ed Cyphers

Songs You May Have Missed #215

08 Nov 2012 2 Comments

by Ed Cyphers in Best of the Blog, Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

radio

Pat Donohue: “Sushi-Yucki” (2004)

Minnesota’s Pat Donohue isn’t just one of the finest finger-picking guitarists on the planet. His sense of humor and songwriting are just as impressive. As this song demonstrates, Donohue is a master of internal rhyme.

For many years Pat’s been the house guitarist for public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion. He blends folk, blues and jazz into an acoustic mix that fits perfectly on public radio, but he does it so well he really deserves a much wider audience.

“Sushi-Yucki” is hilarious even if you don’t get how clever a parody it is of Kyu Sakamoto’s 1963 #1 hit “Sukiyaki”.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/02/songs-you-may-have-missed-317/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/08/21/songs-you-may-have-missed-466/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2026/01/11/recommended-albums-105/

Songs You May Have Missed #214

08 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

jones

Rickie Lee Jones: “Ghetto of My Mind” (1989)

 

Ten years on from her 1979 debut, the hype had subsided after “Chuck E.’s in Love” had no follow-up hit. But Rickie Lee Jones quietly put out one of the best albums of her career, Flying Cowboys, produced by Steely Dan’s Walter Becker.

I think the percussion is particularly tasty in this one. Also listen at 5:20 for Jones’ playful: “Oh no, look what you did…hey mister could we have our ball back?”

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