an icepick through the keyhole

Excellent fan-made anime music video of Jonathan Coulton's "Code Monkey".

[x-posted to Vox]

Watching: The Wire, Season 3. Can't say enough good things about this series, and I'm just sorry I didn't get into it sooner. By moving to HBO, David Simon has managed to do things with this show that he never got to do with Homicide: Life On The Street, and as good as that latter show was, in some ways this is even better. It's not a typical cop show, and while good and evil certainly play their way around in the streets, it's more about the system that traps everyone who's in it. "Play or be played," says one of the characters in the first season, and no matter which side of the fence you're on, the Street or the Law, the Docks or City Hall, ultimately it's about how one is inevitably compromised by the organization you're in, from pawn to King. Middle management's pain is that you're low enough to have to listen to what people are saying, but not high enough that you can do whatever the fuck you want. By Season 3, things have settled into a familiar rhythm between the cops and the drug dealers, but the new focus is on the politics of the city, and it's turning out to be just as fierce as the street, even if it's words that are being thrown around rather than bullets. Going straight, or going legit, doesn't mean that one leaves the game — it's just trading one set of rules for another. Superb and compelling all the way, this is a show that is made to be watched on DVD.

Reading: The First World War by Hew Strachan. Trying to educate myself a bit more on this slice of history. I know much about World War II and how everyone says that World War I set the stage for it, and I know a bit about the US involvement in World War I and vaguely the standard world history line about how it started, with shifting alliances and treaty obligations pushing the nations of Europe into a collision course. Time to get to know the details.

Listening: Rhythms Del Mundo - Cuba. A Buena Vista Social Club-esque mix created for Artist Project Earth and its Natural Disaster Relief and Climate Change Awareness programmes, i.e. the 2004 tsunami and global warming. Truth be told, I just picked it up because I've been in a Latin-y kind of mood lately, and the stuff they have here isn't bad, ranging from Coldplay to a Cuban version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and of course the obvious inclusion of "Fragilidad" by Sting; you can't really escape the man if you pick up a charity album.

They Might Be Giants now has a podcast.

Haven't done up a CD-fitted playlist for a while. The last time I did one was about 3 years ago. Here's one a bit specialised towards what can charitably be called sensual music. Well, okay, it's music to make out to. Or at least, in my judgment. I could be wrong.

Other Dancers

Other dancers may be on the floor
Yet but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we sway I go weak...

-- Sway, Pussycat Dolls

1. Sway - Pussycat Dolls
2. Caramel - Suzanne Vega
3. The Darkest Night of All - Lisa Germano
4. What Would Happen - Meredith Brooks
5. More Than This - Roxy Music
6. A Stroke of Luck - Garbage
7. When You Say Nothing at All - Alison Krauss & Union Station
8. That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart - Aimee Mann
9. Dream On - Fisher
10. Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young - Fire Inc.
11. Southland In The Springtime - Indigo Girls
12. Heaven Can Wait - Meat Loaf
13. Falling For You - Jem
14. So In Love - K.D. Lang
15. I've Got You Under My Skin - Diana Krall

Heard on Adam Curry's Daily Source Code.

Wax Audio | "Imagine This"

George W. Bush sings "Imagine".