tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142464922024-03-23T14:35:27.984-04:00The Musings of David AmuletIf you want to read about kids or see pictures of cats, you're in the wrong place. But stick around if you enjoy satricial essays about world affairs, pop culture, and offbeat news. I'll make you laugh—and just might make you think.David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-25966482758241714832009-04-17T08:36:00.001-04:002009-04-17T08:37:28.117-04:00Tax ReturnTax day has come and gone. And I’m just as annoyed as anyone about the ridiculous amount of money I pay throughout the year (and symbolically on April 15).But I’m not going to rant about it.Why not? Because this blog is remaining on hiatus for the indefinite future. I’ve just been getting too much done on other projects, including a book proposal I’d put off far too long, to devote the time here David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-79316383815362309702009-01-13T13:12:00.002-05:002009-01-13T13:42:35.580-05:00Dramatic PauseMy dog was acting up today. She kept pawing at the air while rolling around on the floor to entertain me.You could say she has dramatic paws.But that's not important right now, because it's the other kind of dramatic pause I'm going to tell you about. After three and a half years of feeding material to this site without any break of more than a couple of weeks, it's time for a rest. I'm juggling David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-64622978628101015112008-12-30T21:09:00.007-05:002008-12-31T06:26:27.882-05:00Fourth Annual Best and Worst of the Year: 2008Every December, I find myself reflecting on the high and low points of the 12 months gone by. It’s hard to believe I’ve been putting my choices here on the blog for four years now.But enough about me and more about my picks. As in my other annual lists, I’m only including things I’ve actually experienced directly. Thus, in the categories that follow you won’t find any mention of campaign David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-86167372953674417762008-12-24T07:14:00.007-05:002008-12-24T07:27:21.388-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: December 24, 2008This week has been a slow reading week, but a busy listening week. I’ve even pulled out my one and only Christmas album for a few spins. Something about that jazzy approach—and the images in my head of the Peanuts Christmas dancers—gets me in the holiday mood.Three side notes:(1) Check out Whole Lotta Album Covers this week for the Best and Worst of 2008 according to Mark, Ray, Bob, Chuck, and David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76238792496248888572008-12-17T06:10:00.002-05:002008-12-17T06:11:51.664-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: December 17, 2008Usually I post what I’m listening to in my car, where I get through about six CDs a week. But when not in my car, I also listen to music on my iPod.So today, you’ll get the iPod edition; I’ll show you the last 20 songs that came up on my iPod shuffle play. Enjoy. Reading:Titan Unveiled: Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Explored, by Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton. Planetary science fascinates me, and David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-13457495531956226762008-12-12T06:28:00.001-05:002008-12-12T06:32:21.423-05:00The Art of Musical ParodyGood musical parody is hard to find.Saturday Night Live relies on it, but often falls short. Case in point: newscasters rapping the news. Not quality parody.Other skits have been brilliant. Two great ones stick in memory:7 Degrees Celsius. I can still see host James Van Der Beek as one of the members of a boy band even more ridiculous than ‘N Sync and 98 Degrees. I cannot find this video online David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-60928785878878418112008-12-10T07:16:00.003-05:002008-12-10T07:22:40.970-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: December 10, 2008Two of the CDs in my car’s six-CD changer got multiple plays this week: Metallica’s Death Magnetic, which I hadn’t yet given a sustained listen to, and Saga’s Worlds Apart.I’ll state it simply: I’m impressed with the new Metallica album. Containing just enough complexity and diversity to keep me interested all the way through, Death Magnetic stands among my best of the year.Only one question: DidDavid Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-37892372685526570372008-12-05T06:11:00.007-05:002008-12-05T06:26:43.639-05:00So Sue MeIn case you missed it, Guns N’ Roses—or what’s left of it, seeing as Axl Rose has driven anyone else of consequence out of the band—has finally released Chinese Democracy. It’s been a whoppping 17 years since the last album of original GNR material.But the biggest story isn’t the music. It’s the Dr Pepper.The beverage maker (which, by the way, officially dropped the period after “Dr” in the 1950sDavid Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76106900981671837252008-12-03T06:20:00.003-05:002008-12-03T06:24:59.907-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: December 3, 2008Ahh, Thanksgiving. One of my favorite holidays after Halloween. Seeing family was nice, but it gave me less time to read than during a typical week. At least the travel duties provided me many opportunities to listen to music.I focused on only one book this week, but it was a whopper: Presentation Zen. This mind-stretching work offering insights into effective PowerPoint or Keynote presentations David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-19600914058019344952008-11-26T05:31:00.002-05:002008-11-26T05:33:24.453-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: November 26, 2008After binging on Gabriel-era Genesis last week—I’ve still got the second disc of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in my car as I finish up the box set—I’ve returned to a more typical wider mix of things this week.I love the fact that much of the metal I’m hearing this week owes so much to classic progressive rock. The influences are clear when you listen to something like Mastodon right after earlyDavid Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-29204425159507891192008-11-21T16:22:00.003-05:002008-11-21T16:27:17.662-05:00Musical RootsSo Paul McCartney is now saying that The Beatles might finally release “Carnival of Light,” the much-hyped, fourteen minute avant garde audio experiment from early 1967.The track wasn’t good enough to include in the Anthology set, which should tell us something. The “new” songs there, the embarrassingly mixed “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” were mind-numbingly bland and served as a warning thatDavid Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-89384658599082602312008-11-19T06:08:00.000-05:002008-11-19T06:10:27.106-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: November 19, 2008Usually I split my time among many visual and audio inputs. In addition to two or three books going at any given time, I flip between CDs rather frequently.Not this week.My attention since last Wednesday has been solely on one box set: the just released Genesis set covering the Peter Gabriel years. Five albums are here—Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, and the David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-35370984895323418342008-11-14T06:19:00.001-05:002008-11-14T06:22:57.977-05:00Don’t Believe Everything You ReadRemember that “news” reporting about a McCain policy adviser who leaked that Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country—not a continent?Remember how it fed into our beliefs about her lack of Palin’s intellectual heft, reinforced by the way she sounded in media soundbites more like Frances McDormand from Fargo than a traditional politician?Psychologists call this the “confirmation bias.” It’s a David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-59732079164061776032008-11-12T11:24:00.002-05:002008-11-12T12:16:26.078-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To Wednesday: November 12, 2008I appreciate your response to this new feature. It’s been great to see what’s getting your attention, and it’s given me a few ideas for future readings and listenings. Don’t worry—this Wednesday thing will not supplant all other posts here; despite a crazy couple of weeks, I’ll have a “traditional” rant post up later this week.I’ve finally wrapped up Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded. (David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-40873583007517971652008-11-06T10:49:00.006-05:002008-11-06T10:53:43.996-05:00Whatcha Readin’ and Listenin’ To WednesdayIt’s a new feature on this site—and a tribute to one of my favorite bloggers—even if a day late.Ray over at The Metal Minute is taking a well deserved blogging break to take care of higher priorities, something I greatly respect.To honor his choice—and to keep alive one of his most entertaining “audience participation” features—today I begin a weekly series both to let you know what I’m reading David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-12371258808236260052008-10-31T12:20:00.001-04:002008-10-31T12:21:58.008-04:00License to MockVanity plate—those vehicle tags with personalized expressions usually limited to seven characters—have always bugged me.I see more of them than most of you. According to a study by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, Virginia has the highest “vanity plate penetration rate” of any US state: more than 16 percent.Sure, it’s a great way for states to make extra money, thus David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76318357831133514922008-10-21T07:15:00.002-04:002008-10-21T07:20:49.396-04:00What's In a Name, Version 2.0Some hack writer from the late 16th and early 17th centuries named William Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” He’d be shocked by what goes for a name these days.Jennifer Thornburg wanted to make a statement about animal dissection in schools. She simply went a step beyond what most of us would do by officially changing her name to a URL address:www.CutoutDissection.comHer name, as David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-26886051397937135652008-10-09T13:31:00.005-04:002008-10-09T20:24:15.931-04:00Amulet, Bringer of TruthI call things as I see them. It’s just what I do.Many people don’t like it. Especially when they think I’m on “their” side. It turns out that I’m on the side of only one thing: the truth.With all of the spin and propaganda flying around, our world needs someone like me. But jacked up. Super-sized. Ginormous.A man to speak the truth, no matter how much it shocks our beliefs. A bastion of honesty David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-71517122465497794432008-09-30T17:01:00.003-04:002008-09-30T20:26:56.830-04:00Are You Serious?I see and hear many things that I have difficulty believing.Sometimes a friend or colleague bungles badly. Or the television shows a public figure saying something that numbs the mind. And I’m often tempted, during such times, to just look at the offending party and ask, clearly and loudly, “Really?”Well, a bank teller in New York beat me to it. According to this story from the Boston Herald David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-72909962263182061332008-09-12T13:10:00.005-04:002008-09-12T13:17:46.064-04:00Blown Away: The Guts and Glory of A Hurricane Hunter (repost)Well, well. Here we go again.Another tropical monster bearing down on the Gulf coast, another day for intrepid reporters to brave the worst nature can throw at them in pursuit of a good broadcast. Another chance for me to put up one of my favorite posts.First appearing in 2005 and making a return trip in 2006, this one is an ode to the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. Keep up the good work, David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-18915370284497159482008-09-09T16:39:00.007-04:002008-09-09T17:02:00.113-04:00On KeyboardsSome things just don’t look cool. And they never will.As a case in point, I flipped by Metal Mania on VH-1 last weekend, catching something I had not seen in many moons: Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”Something struck me about the video for this 1988 tune, with its central, defining synthesizer sound. You rarely see the keyboards or their accompanying musician. Even during the parts of the song David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-35682009584278013932008-08-29T14:50:00.009-04:002008-08-29T15:07:29.167-04:00And Then There Were ThreeNot long ago I heard Morgan Freeman had been in a car crash—and the presence in said crash of a lady friend spurred the revelation of his divorce, which had been kept out the media spotlight.Didn’t he play God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty? I guess it’s time for the Catholic Church to update its stance on divorce.Then last week, we found out that Chris Kattan, best (only?) known from his David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-6219161031657991882008-08-15T17:37:00.001-04:002008-08-15T17:37:49.741-04:00A Saucy CallIf you’re like most people, you can remember plenty of situations when you wish a police officer had been nearby.Maybe you watched someone steal a purse and run away into the crowd. It’s possible a car ran a red light in front of you. Or perhaps something more serious befell you, and you witnessed battery, arson, or murder.Whatever it was, feel free to imagine yourself getting so upset at the David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-16999994014573709192008-08-03T07:14:00.001-04:002008-08-03T07:14:49.143-04:00David Amulet, R.I.P.?In just over three years, this blog has offered more than 200 posts and—with only a few exceptions—has been more fun than I expected.It’s also been taken precious time away from paying clients while becoming (I suspect) decreasingly entertaining for you as I’ve put less time and energy into each posting.I started this site as a venue to practice different humor writing tricks. And you have been aDavid Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-87763495267392167112008-07-28T19:27:00.003-04:002008-07-28T19:28:57.128-04:00What a Wonderful World, Part III’m leaving later this week for a couple of weeks overseas, so the world is on my brain. Not literally; that would hurt.I’ve been staring at maps, which has brought back memories from my extensive geography knowledge—the result of an unfortunate childhood obsession with atlases.Hey, don’t mock me. It’s better than playing with dolls.So I'm following up my post from about a year ago about our David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17