Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

links for 2008-09-01

• Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America? | NYTimes.com
  "'The Daily Show' resonates not only because it is wickedly funny but also because its keen sense of the absurd is perfectly attuned to an era in which cognitive dissonance has become a national epidemic. Indeed, Mr. Stewart’s frequent exclamation 'Are you insane?!' seems a fitting refrain for a post-M*A*S*H, post-'Catch-22' reality, where the surreal and outrageous have become commonplace."
  (tags: television dailyshow journalism)
• A Short History of 'When the Levee Breaks' | Listening Post | Wired.com
  "Like almost every Led Zeppelin tune ever created, 'When the Levee Breaks' builds upon a former song. In this particular case, the Delta blues classic of the same name created by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie."
  (tags: music neworleans history)
• Cover Designs for Murakami by John Gall and Chip Kidd | design:related
  A look at the American cover design for Haruki Murakami's books: "Aside from some of the earlier American translations (such as Dance, Dance, Dance and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World), often Chip Kidd designs the jacket for the hardcover Knopf edition, and John Gall follows up roughly a year later with the Vintage paperback design."
  (tags: design art books inspiration via:dari)
• Capital Crescent Trail
  "The Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) is a shared-use trail from Georgetown to Silver Spring, MD suitable for walkers, joggers, bikers, and rollerbladers."
  (tags: hiking exercise washingtondc)
• 'Only in America' could Obama borrow the GOP's favorite Brooks & Dunn song | PopWatch Blog | EW.com
  "Last night, Barack Obama's exit music at the close of his historic Democratic convention acceptance speech was "Only in America," a song by country's foremost multiplatinum duo … Forget the audacity of hope, for a moment. How about the audacity of the Democrats stealing the Republicans' favorite song? If you’re not aware of the history of the GOP using "Only in America," a refresher is in order: Brooks & Dunn played it at the Bush inauguration in 2000. At the 2004 GOP convention, Dick Cheney used it as his exit music after his speech. And President Bush frequently used it on the campaign trail four years ago, even asking Brooks & Dunn to come out and play it live at rallies in the final week of the race."
  (tags: music election2008 election2004)