another day another dollar

1) MO MO gets all thoughtful on Kelo. Worth a look if your knee jerk reaction was: “That poor woman who lived in that house all her life.” Kudos especially on the emphasis he gives to the narrow findings of the case – Stevens circumscribes Kelo’s precedent even as he affirms the lower court’s decision. Go over there. He unpacks some elements of the case nicely. I’m more on the fence on this one than I was upon first hearing of it, but I am probably less accepting, or more suspicious, of its rationale (and takings in general) than MO MO.

2) I wonder why I have yet to encounter a thoughtful discussion of the Aerosmith song Dude Looks Like A Lady. I abide by my decision in ninth grade to drop unequivocal hate on Aerosmith, with the exception of Sweet Emotion – an aberration if there ever was one. But from where did Dude Luke Likes A Lady come? Did Steven Tyler, in a coked out haze, come across some dude’s junk unexpectedly and decide to write a song about it? Did she really have a body of a Venus, Steven? I had a dream about this song, or the video, last night, and I’ve been in a bad mood the entire day because of it. Fuck Aerosmith.

3) 99 Luft Balloons is a trenchant criticism of Cold War paranoia. I recently discovered this.

4) A wolf’s howl can contain up to 12 harmonics. I read that yesterday.