Listening Post

Probably one of the most surprising and, ironically, original covers in recent memory -- and a song just worked to the hilt in the poetic final sequence of Donnie Darko.

Here's Gary Jules's stunning take on the Tears for Fears classic, Mad World.

Birthiness

This clip manages to be a flawless example of three points simultaneously: 1) the delusional insanity of the birther movement, one completely immune to logic and reason, 2) the futility of trying to conduct any kind of on-air interview with a lawyer in the shot, and 3) why CNN should never let Anderson Cooper go.

Everybody's a Critic

Just because I apparently enjoy making you violently ill first thing in the morning at the start of a new work week.

Gawker: Tea Party Turns On Roger Ebert, Mocks His Cancer/5.9.10

That boob John Nolte over at Breitbart's site has some strong words for Ebert as well, but there's just no way I'm gonna link to it. Feel free to go find it yourself if you think it's important.

Listening Post

Happy Monday, lab rats.

Been waiting for this for awhile. Brand new stuff from the New Pornographers -- Your Hands (Together).

(via Cesca)

Run Silent, Run Deep

You'd think that in a post-Katrina world, the near-epic drowning of an American city would be big news. If you've gone looking for extended coverage of the Nashville floods on any of the cable networks over the past week, though, you now know you'd be wrong.

Newsweek's Andrew Romano very smartly dissects the reasons why what should've been a major story wasn't. For the record, I think he's dead-on in just about every answer he comes up with.

Newsweek: Why the Media Ignored the Nashville Flood/5.9.10

...And I Love Her

Mom Rule

All of us can make the claim that we owe our mothers our lives -- but I've admittedly doubled down on that debt during my lifetime. For 40 years now, my mother has been not only my loudest cheerleader and staunchest defender -- to say nothing of someone who inexplicably loves and cares for me unconditionally -- she's also been one of my very best friends. She's an amazing person: smart, funny, eminently insightful and always unabashedly optimistic. What's more, she now shows the same love to Inara that she's always shown me -- taking phenomenal care of her during the times that I'm unfortunately unable to.

So on this, the day we wisely set aside to pay tribute to all mothers, I simply want to say "thank you" to my own.

I love you, Mom.