News: Editorial

The Long Strategy

Ah, I wish there were a lot more people like David Brooks in this country. He seems to really get both liberals and conservatives - their strengths and weaknesses. For example, while I don't agree with all liberal policies and beliefs, I find it quite difficult to understand the morality and/or logic of many conservative views. The "right answer", though, in my opinion is usually somewhere in the middle, sometimes leaning more to the left sometimes more to the right. But for those of us who identify strongly with one side or the other, it is obviously hard to find the proper way to compromise with the other side. Really, I just want people to be healthy and happy in the end; I happen to have liberal beliefs because I feel that those are better able to meet those goals for the most possible people in the end. I think a lot, if not most, people feel that way too (although maybe they think conservative ideas serve those goals better), but we are all susceptible to selfish or self-destructive tendencies in a variety of ways, thus polluting those idealized goals.

So we need more people like David Brooks, to show the conservatives what they do wrong and the liberals do right, and vice versa. Sadly, I feel like this country is just getting more and more polarized. Our current situation, as always, is the result of a mixture of countless decisions and events, but to simplify it seems like the prestige and power of our nation is declining. Liberals would likely argue that our problems began either with the Reagan administration (such as myself) or the second Bush administration, but are also likely to see global problems (energy and environmental issues, etc.) as larger than those of the United States specifically. Conservatives would likely argue that most things were going OK (there's a wide difference in what "OK" here means, I'm sure) until Obama was elected and began making significant changes; they are also more likely to be more concerned with the direction of our nation (socialism?) than more global issues. The problem is, we need to focus on the issues of both our nation and the entire world, and how we are being affected by them in both long term and short term ways. Neither party seems capable of doing all of these. That's why we need more people like David Brooks.

News: War in Afghanistan

View Is Bleaker Than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan

Interesting development... it seems to confirm a lot of the bad things reported to be occurring in Afghanistan through real examples. Obviously the White House and Pentagon aren't happy about this, but sometimes letting the public know what is really going on outweighs what would seem to be relatively minor strategic advantages for the Taliban. I really can't say with much certainty what I think is the right thing to do in Afghanistan, and haven't for several years now. The goal, if we are to stay, would be to provide security for the government and it people until the government can do that itself (and so that, further, it can keep al-Qaeda and other terrorists out). The problem is, that doesn't look like it will be possible for the foreseeable future. The police and army are incompetent, if not corrupt in large segments; Karzai is clearly corrupt himself; the population isn't exactly going head over heels for us (and the reports show some good reasons why), and the Taliban is able to intimidate and control them better than we can support them at the moment. There are so many variables, and things that the general public still doesn't have enough information to evaluate... but it seems to me like this is Vietnam again. I think we should keep perhaps a limited presence there, to monitor the situation and to disrupt any efforts by al-Qaeda. But it seems clear that we simply don't know how to or can't affect the domestic situation in an overall way that can bring a positive resolution in a relatively short period of time and with reasonable deployment of human and material resources. So, Mr. Obama, my vote would be to get the vast majority of our forces out of there.

Music: Rites of Passage (Indigo Girls)

Album Review #1: Rites of Passage Indigo Girls

Review Notes: when listening to music in general, I pay attention to the music itself first, second, third... and lyrics only after awhile or if they are very prominent or intriguing. Thus, my reviews are based almost entirely on the melodies, singing, instrumentals, etc. with little emphasis on lyrics.

The duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers released Rites of Passage, their fourth studio album, in 1992. When listening to it, it always brings me back to times of my childhood, when my parents would frequently play it during car trips and the like. Thus, this album has is a very special one for me; but in addition, as I have grown older and can compare it more objectively to other music, I still find that it is one of the most exceptional albums I've ever heard. The Indigo Girls share several strengths in common with my favorite band, the Beatles: strong melodies, great harmonization, good variety while staying true to their own style. I have also listened to several other IG albums (which I may review in the future), but this is by far the best, in my opinion. And now for a song-by-song review:

1. "Three Hits" (Ray)
Rites of Passage starts with a great, moderately-paced and foot-tapping song. Written and sung (lead vocal) by Amy, "Three Hits" begins with just drums, bass and Ryan's singing, but soon opens up to the full band of guitars, other instrumentals, and Salier's harmonies. The song features two brief, nifty solos (one by strings, one by guitar), and both verse and chorus are very catchy. It gives just a taste of the brilliant harmonies of which the duo is capable, but it is more than a solid opened for the album, at an ideal 3.10 playing time to boot.

2. "Galilieo" (Saliers)
"Galilieo" is the single from this album, and it was chosen well: the song is certainly among probably my thirty favorite songs of all time. Put simply, I find just about everything in this song to be perfect or close to it. With a similar pace to "Three Hits," "Galileo" features a bright, up-beat sound with nifty percussion. Emily's lead vocal is phenomenal, and the harmonies burst out on this track, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I hear them. The verses are very good build up, and the chorus is among the best I've ever heard, featuring those harmonies. A fantastic middle-eight section followed by a neat solo give the song great variety, and the instrumentals are all perfectly suited to the song. Even the lyrics, which I rarely pay much attention to, are thought provoking, and in the chorus, very powerful. Please, listen to this song if nothing else.

3. "Ghost" (Saliers)
One of my thirty favorite songs of all time is followed on this album by what I consider to be one of the most emotionally powerful and beautiful. This moving ballad is again written and sung (lead vocal) by Saliers, and it strips the instrumentals down after the soaring end to "Galileo," featuring mostly guitars and strings. The first verse is sung by Emily alone, with a perfect yearning style. Amy joins in the verses, and again powerfully at the chorus. Yet again, the middle-eight stands out, even more so this time, reaching a peak of emotion with spine tingling harmony and key changes. After reaching an intense but controlled climax, the song fades on a contemplative guitar for the last few moments. Truly a touching song, gorgeous and moving (again, the lyrics impressed me) and a worthy follow up to "Galileo".

4. "Joking" (Ray)
The next song brightens the mood of the album again, as indicated by the title of the song. It's a good track, although, especially coming on the heels of the phenomenal "Galileo" and "Ghost," it's a bit underwhelming. The song is the most up tempo song on the album yet, and it's up beat. The backing guitars are one of the nicest parts of the song, symbolizing its bright nature. The chorus is actually, by the standards of the album, a small let down, and has a tendency to get stuck in your head, but I guess some song following the prior two greats had to take a hit in this regard. Essentially, it's a nice way to come back to earth after the two G's, and appropriately nothing too special.

5. "Jonas and Ezekial" (Ray)
The next track has two personalities, forming a nifty little song that is one of the better on the album. The verses are sung with quiet intensity in Amy's deeper but powerful voice, and is supported by echoing, howling, and wailing from guitars, forming an atmosphere that seems to be preparing for a confrontation. But then the chorus changes direction, and sounds more like a release of tension from this confrontation. The song is somewhat long, but the varied harmonies from Emily and, one of the song's strengths, its guitar work, keep the song fresh throughout. Various sound effects are employed, and with the song's changes in mood, intensity, and focus, it is one of the more clever and enjoyable parts of the album.

6. "Love Will Come To You" (Saliers)
For the sixth track, the Indigo Girls perform another ballad. Like "Ghost," it begins with Emily singing alone, and it is clear that this is significantly more up beat than "Ghost" but also fairly wistful, a tone that is very well supported by the guitar accompaniment. The verses are very pretty, with this mixed tone of emotion, but it is the chorus where the song truly shines. The wistfulness is abandoned for a restrained but unambiguously positive tone. Amy provides very nice, restrained harmony through much of the song. An excellent song, and one of the best on the album.

7. "Romeo and Juliet" (Knopfler)
This song is a cover of Mark Knopfler's song for Dire Straights. While I have not yet heard the original song, this cover is a strong track. It features Amy on lead vocal, using a considerable amount of what I think is referred to as "musically heightened speech." She is accompanied throughout only by the acoustic guitar; no harmony from Emily in this one. Amy puts an enormous amount of emotion into this song, from heart-strickened longing, to vocal chord-ripping fury that sounds like it will rip through the mic. For what it is, I think it's a well done song, although it's not really my style. Incredible performance from Amy on this one.

8. "Virginia Woolf" (Saliers)
This song is perhaps the most creative on the album. It starts with a string introduction that brings to mind an old-fashioned setting. This is followed by a mysterious sounding vocal by Emily, accompanied by guitar and cello, and transitions into the main part of the song. This section, the bulk of the track, is carried by a very nifty guitar hook that gives continues the theme of mysteriousness, but sounding more up beat to go with the faster tempo. I feel like the song could be a good accompaniment to looking back on one's memories with fondness, and hope for the future, as symbolized by Amy's neat harmonic ascending scale in the chorus. With its neat opening sections, guitar hook, and hopeful tone, this is one of my favorite songs on the album.

9. "Chicken Man" (Ray)
Following up "Virginia Woolf" is another favorite of mine, "Chicken Man". Amy sings the opening as a tribal (for lack of a better term) solo. The instruments begin to enter, as the tribal tone is mixed with a rock beat to form one of the coolest and creative sounds I've heard. Amy's deep yet versatile voice is perfectly suited to this song with its adventurous, up-tempo style. Emily's harmony, used selectively, is very effective as well. The song goes back to the same, slower solo later, and seems like it may end before going back to the up-tempo style for one last hurrah. If your foot isn't tapping during this song, you should check your pulse. Also, the song features the best use of the harmonica that I think I've ever heard. Definitely a favorite.

10. "Airplane" (Saliers)
While the title of this song may imply flying high, unfortunately its quality summons the opposite feeling. That's not to say it's a bad song (though some indeed detest it), but it does fail to live up to the album's high standards. The track is played at a fairly relaxed pace and is up beat. Depending on your mood, the melody could be a nice one to relax to, or grate your nerves. Shockingly, it is actually the harmonies of this song (the sickeningly sweet, high-pitched ones) that ground "Airplane." The song features a very nice piano part, but those almost commercial song-like harmonies are just too much.

11. "Nashville" (Ray)
I guess the Indigo Girls wanted to put them together so as not to affect the shine of the rest of the album as much, but this is the other weaker song on the album. Where "Chicken Man" uses the harmonica to great effect, it drives me crazy in this slower-paced country song. The fact that it is so clearly a country song may be part of why I dislike it, considering my distaste for that genre, but unfortunately, there is just not much to get excited about in either the melody or harmonies of this song. Plus, it gets somewhat repetitive in 4 minute running time. Perhaps if you're a fan of country music you'll like this more, but this one sure isn't for me.

12. "Let It Be Me" (Saliers)
This is more like it. The song opens with a nice bass part played at a laid-back tempo. The bass is soon joined by a cool guitar part, and after that Emily and Amy enter with their harmonies hitting on all cylinders. The whole song is very upbeat, but like the other upbeat songs on the album (except perhaps "Airplane"), it is a restrained feeling that avoids any sappiness. And the chorus is fantastic, with Emily and Amy going into a call-and-response and ending with entwined harmony on an extended note. Just a nice little song, not overstaying its welcome, "Let It Be Me" would have been a great final track for this album.

13. "Cedar Tree" (Ray)
Which is not to say that the Indigo Girls should not have included this track on the album. It's a fine song, although not one of the best on the album. It definitely has the tone of a wrap-up song, and a fairly slow tempo, which sometimes can make it sound a little too long, despite coming in at under 4 minutes long. On the other hand, it is a nice song that causes one to adopt a reflective mood. The harmony provided by Emily is fine, although due to the subdued nature of the song it doesn't provide the "wow" that some of the other tracks do. Certainly an acceptable contribution to the album, "Cedar Tree" is also not one of its better parts.

Score: 5 (due to my connection to it from childhood); 4.5 (when trying to be more objective; the album starts off extraordinarily well, but the last few songs are a bit of a letdown, comparatively) out of 5.

Essentials: "Galileo", "Ghost", "Chicken Man"
Weak(er) Tracks: "Airplane", "Nashville"

News: Alzheimer's Development

Drug Trials Test Bold Plan to Slow Alzheimer's

It seems that researchers are getting closer to a drug to prevent Alzheimer's disease. While it may slow things down a little, I do applaud the FDA for requiring that drugs not just prove they can reduce the enzymes that they think cause Alzheimer's, but to prove that the patients actually get better. Some of the problems seem to be that it is simply such a slow-developing disease, figuring out when to start preventive treatment - and when it may be too late. This is one of the scariest diseases, in my opinion, and so it's nice to be able to put up a good news story as my first news story :)

Sports: LeBron, Summer 2010

July 10, 2010, was one of the most important days in the history of my favorite pro sports organization, the NBA. LeBron James made the decision about where he will play basketball, possibly for the next five or six years, in the prime of his career. LeBron is an Akron native who had revived sports championship hopes in the oft-tormented city of Cleveland; he produces stat lines and highlight reels not seen since the days of Michael Jordan; he is a global star, and few current American athletes are at his level of fame. Still, despite back-to-back seasons with the best regular season record in the league, his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, failed to reach the Finals; and when they had broken through the year before, they were promptly swept by the San Antonio Spurs. All eyes in the basketball world rested on LeBron James, the crown jewel in an off season with a large number of marquee players up for grabs.

Prior to this decision, I had mixed feelings about LeBron James. Touted as the next Michael Jordan when he was still in high school, I was skeptical about all the media attention devoted to him (admittedly, this was perhaps due to not wanting to see another player eclipse my favorite). When he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavs, I was somewhat pleased to see a potential superstar come to play near where I lived, but he was still not of any special significance to me. As he rapidly improved in the NBA, comparisons popped up about who was the best player in the league, LeBron or Kobe Bryant, the best player on my favorite team. While I am also not the biggest fan of Kobe, this comparison sparked some resentment of LeBron in me; still, it was nothing unusual. Once the Cavs became one of the elite teams in the East, starting with an impressive Eastern Conference playoff run in 2007 (and ended in short order by the Spurs in the Finals), the media also began to flaunt how good of a teammate LeBron was, creating one of the most fun atmospheres in basketball and making everyone around him better. I didn't see this. Sure, there was lots of joking and smiling, and the team was doing quite well - but it didn't seem completely sincere to me. It felt like, and feel free to call me cynical, a superstar methodically cultivating his image with little or no belief or depth beneath it all (and honestly, Kobe has done much the same thing in the past). In 2009, the Cavs dominated the regular season and swept through the first two round of the playoffs. Then the whole thing began to come crashing down.

The Cavs were shocked by the Orlando Magic, a squad that clearly played much better as a team and quickly got LeBron to resort to trying to do everything himself. Following the Cavs' defeat, LeBron stormed off the court, not shaking hands with his opponents (as is customary at the end of a playoff series). In a bid to get LeBron even more help to finally get a championship, the Cavs acquired Shaq in the off season, a move that most analysts predicted would make the Cavs unstoppable. And the Cavs again wound up with the best regular season record in the NBA last year, and got through the first round of the playoffs without difficulty. This time, the Cavs lost to the Boston Celtics, a team that many thought was washed up. After winning Game 1, the Cavs got trounced in Game 2 at home by 18. James bounced back with 38 points in throttling Boston in their own arena, seeming to eliminate questions about a supposedly bad elbow. A Game 4 victory would have put the Cavs in full command of the series, but instead Rondo played like the series' superstar, outshining a timid LeBron James.

Then came disaster. The Cavs were completely destroyed in Game 5 at home by 32 points, thanks in large part to LeBron James' atrocious effort, perhaps the worst superstar performance in a crucial postseason game. In fact, teammate Shaq, a former superstar who is now all but washed up, outplayed him. After the game, LeBron commented, "I missed a lot of open shots that I normally make... you don't see that out of me a lot so when it happens, it's a big surprise." It was little wonder that many fans in attendance at LeBron's last home game as a Cav booed him on his way out. The Cavs lost the series in Game 6; while the box score shows both a close game and good statistics from LeBron, this is highly misleading. I have never seen a player, let alone a superstar, so obviously quit on his team as LeBron did in the fourth quarter of Game 6, especially in the last few minutes. As the score shows, victory was theoretically within the Cavs' reach until the last minute or so. But you wouldn't have known it if you only watched the players and not the score board. LeBron's teammates quickly collapsed due to their leader's inaction, surely shocked at his apathy. I, like LeBron's teammates and fans, was completely shocked by the superstar's performance. Sure, I was no big fan of his, but I believed he was at least loyal and would compete as hard as he could until the end.

Fast forward to July 8, 2010. I eagerly anticipated LeBron's 9 PM announcement of where he was going to sign; after all, one way or the other it seemed the future location of the NBA's most talented player would have major implications for the whole league. While ESPN sources leaked that they believed LeBron would choose the Miami Heat, I thought it was surely misleading, whether deliberate or not. They wanted to create hype for this televised event - that they would be televising - and get everyone to think he would sign with the Heat, only to show him commit to another team. And then the words "Miami Heat" came out of LeBron's own mouth. At first I could not believe what I had heard, and shortly after that I felt my stomach churn unpleasantly. And all the pieces came rushing together.

I had felt that all the camaraderie with his teammates had been forced. I had felt that his low key interaction with the media had been hiding a tremendous ego. I had seen how quickly his mood could change, following the Orlando series. And yet, I still believed, or maybe just fervently hoped, both for his sake and for Cleveland sports fans', that he would rise above all of my suspicions and fleeting glimpses of an uglier LeBron. I hoped and believed that he would stay the course in Cleveland, keep building up a team that had been regular season champs two years running, that was slowly getting all the right pieces together. That he would resist the allure of signing with New York, a city where the spotlight on him would be greatest but where there was no short-term prospect of winning; of signing with Chicago, where he would jump into a young, seemingly tailor-made supporting cast yet play in Jordan's shadow; and especially of signing with Miami, where he could bask in the sunshine and forget all his detractors, and dream of multiple championships in an unprecedented alliance with another superstar and a third perennial all-star. Bill Simmons put it perfectly (as he often does) when we wrote: "LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York). I never thought he would pick 'HELP!'"

It is hard to tell what all this will mean in the short term for the NBA. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh obviously form an impressive trio, but aside from a few veterans they've managed to sign, it's unlikely they'll have a great supporting cast around them for the coming season. And the East has now perhaps officially surpassed the West as the stronger conference: the Bulls (with the addition of Boozer and role players), the Celtics, the Magic, and now the Heat all seem to have a great shot at next year's championship. Looking long term, it is difficult to believe that the LeBron-Wade-Bosh core will not become a perennial championship contender. With this new star power, however, they will become the target of not only all other NBA teams, but also their respective fan bases.

As for LeBron James, it's impossible to know exactly how this will affect his legacy at this point. However, I believe several things are certain. One: he will never become the greatest basketball player of all time in this situation (or even be in the conversation). I certainly don't believe that basketball superstars can win championships by themselves, and the evidence is clear on this: Jordan had Pippen, Magic had Worthy and an old but effective Kareem, Bird had a really solid all around team, Duncan had Ginobli and Parker, Shaq had an up-and-coming Kobe, Kobe has Gasol... And yet, in each of those cases, the superstar was clearly the leader of his team, and took his second-in-command and cadets under his wing to heights they would never have glimpsed without him. Now LeBron dumps the team that he had taken to the brink of an NBA championship in favor of joining a player who has already done once what Jordan, Magic, and others have done before. He's saying to Wade: "show me how to do this, it's too difficult for me. I am not willing to do the hard work." What kind of true champion says that?

Second: what he did to Cleveland sports fans was historically brutal and unforgivable. I am not one of the said-Cleveland sports fans, and even I felt something of the evisceration that they experienced simply by being a fan of sports and the NBA. To have grown up just a few miles from your team as a pro, to try to show everyone how much you love playing there and how much you want to win a championship for their luckless fans, to bring that team to the cusp of said championship... and then to obviously quit on that team while still in uniform, to keep them in the dark about your intentions in free agency, and then to broadcast your betrayal on national television... Sickening. Maybe it is *only* sports, maybe it is just business, maybe you're doing what you think is best for your family... but to quote Joseph Welch, have you no sense of decency?

So there it is. LeBron James, perhaps the NBA's most talented athlete ever, with potential to become a true legend, not only renounced his right to ever make such claims, but also committed one of the most deplorable betrayals in American sports history. You've got one NBA fan who will be rooting against you from now on, LeBron, and you can count on me not being the only one.