OK, It's Over, and Congrats

I really never had a doubt that this would happen. Obama's acceptance and McCain's concession speeches were both classy. The only thing not classy is this die-hard core of neocons and oddballs with strange beliefs about Obama bringing about a "socialist USA" (hell, he's a centrist). Look, we had to put up with eight years of the biggest global terrorist imaginable in the Oval Office, so just shut the fuck up, OK?

TV on the Radio and Dirtbombs in Denver

TV on the Radio packed the Ogden Theater in Denver Nov. 2. The above clip is a song I didn't know - you can also find full (but darker) clips for "Dancing Choose," "Young Liars," and "Halfway Home."

I was also pretty impressed with Detroit band The Dirtbombs. Here are two full songs they played from their set, and here is a short clip indicating why it's so fun to play high-energy music with dual drum kits.

Who Needs the Peace Corps? (RIP Jimmy Carl Black)

That's sad, the first drummer for the Mothers of Invention, Cheyenne tribal member Jimmy Carl Black, died Nov. 1 of lung cancer at age 70, and the only news reports I've seen so far have been in European publications and web sites. This guy gave us everything from Lonesome Cowboy Bert to Geronimo Black. Given the huge accolades when Frank Zappa died, we should at least give it up a little for "the Indian of the group," Jimmy Carl Black. Every town must have a place where phony hippies meet, psychedelic dungeons popping up on every street....

Michelle Obama in Colorado Springs

Even if I missed Barack Obama among 150,000 people in Denver on Oct. 26, I got to see Michelle Obama among 3,000 people in Colorado Springs Oct. 28. The beginning of her speech is below, with Part 2 here and Part 3 here (ran out of memory before the end of the speech). You can also see an antiwar protest outside the auditorium here, and Catholic anti-abortion protesters facing off with Obama supporters here. Sen. Ken Salazar spoke prior to Michelle Obama's speech.

Intelligence Spending: Be Sure to Read the Fine Print

Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, said on Oct. 28 that Fiscal 2008's intelligence budget was $47.5 billion. But a Baltimore Sun article admitted that this does not include tactical military intelligence. Ten years ago, the TIARA Project (Tactical Intelligence And Related Activities) totaled more than $10 billion. This means the full U.S. intelligence budget exceeds $60 billion.

Another Associated Press article stated that DOD agencies consume 80 percent, or about $37 billion of the total that does not include tactical. Since National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency are less than $5 billion in size, this probably means the National Reconnaissance Office (nation's largest by budget) must be well above $10 billion, while the National Security Agency must be approaching, if not exceeding $10 billion. Feel safe yet?

Call Orkin

Well, with a week before the election, it's time for the vermin to crawl out! Two skinhead supremacists from Jackson, TN just got arraigned for planning an "assassination" (yeah, right) of Obama, and Sarah Palin tried to stay unflustered while a supporter hollered "Obama is a nigger!" at a rally (video below). Man, oh man, seven more days of this crap, should we expect an armed coup attempt by those convinced of a Zionist Order of Government and Illuminati plot to turn the U.S. over to the UN?

Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

If you've seen a Gang Gang Dance live show, with four drum kits and random noises coming from a dozen directions at once, no explanation is necessary. If you haven't, the new Saint Dymphna album is their most melodic and accessible, sounding a little like a Putumayo world-music compilation as played by OCD/ADD-addled robots. Liz Bougatsos veers dangerously close to becoming a diva on a couple cuts, at least a diva of the Bollywood variety. Above is a clip from Tokyo, and another interesting London performance is here. Watch them in high resolution, and catch them when you can.