Thursday, November 3, 2005

Dadcasts that Don't Suck I was so excited to see a couple of dad-produced podcasts on iTunes. So I sampled one, called "101 Uses for Baby Wipes." (I'm not going to link, for reasons that will become readily apparent.) So I listened to one podcast. He started discussing a new study that parents were barely communicating with school counselors, and went off on a whine about how his school counselor scared him, and that the only conversation he had with said counselor was to give him the big kiss-off after he had already been accepted to college. Hmm. Okay, the guy's opinionated. No problem. Every podcast's got its own set of opinions and attitudes. Then he started talking about women being represented in computer science careers. And then he lost me. He grandly declared that he had spent "25 years in the computer sciences" (whatever that means - maybe he worked at Best Buy?) and had a hard time hiring women because they couldn't get through his apparently rigorous interview process. Inevitably, these delicate flower women would get upset when he started asking "hard questions," and would walk out of the interview! Imagine that! So in his opinion, the lack of women in science all comes down to their inability to get through a tough interview. Gosh, maybe it's all women's fault that they're underrepresented in a lot of careers. Maybe that's why they never run for president - one can only imagine Hillary Clinton or Condi Rice breaking down at the podium the minute that they get asked a hard question. Maybe women just aren't cut out for certain things. And who would want a woman in a tough computer science position anyway? Just imagine - you're furiously programming away on a hot new program that just has to hit the streets on time, and suddenly half of your programming staff calls out sick because they've got "woman problems" all at the same time. Friggin' unreliable women, anyway. Needless to say, I'm not going to be wasting my time with "101 Uses for Baby Wipes" anymore. If I wanted backwards opinions, I'd be watching Sean Hannity. On the other hand, Rebel Dad's got a podcast on gender issues, teasingly called "Sex Talk." I haven't listened to any episodes yet, but if the blog is any indication, it ought to be good. P.S.  If anyone really likes the aforementioned "101 Uses" podcast, and wants to persuade me that what I heard was an aberration, give it a shot.  1:21:30 PM     Speak up!  []

MMJ #4 - Not Coldplay Coldplay has this one trick they do, which is taking a guitar or piano riff or a lyrical theme, and repeating it and repeating it and repeating it until their arms fall off. Every once in a blue moon, like in "Clocks," this repeating thing works. (Insert your favorite metaphor about monkeys and typewriters here.) "Gideon" by My Morning Jacket has the kind of effect that Coldplay always wished they could create. The repeating guitar lead builds familiarity and tension simultaneously, and by the time the song explodes (after the second verse), it's so startling and emotionally fulfilling that it's nearly orgasmic. I've never ever heard a Coldplay song that made me want to jump up and down. It's also got more feeling in it, both in the music and the vocals, than Coldplay's music-box productions. The guitars go from rhythmic to pounding, the vocals from hypnotic to howling. They know how to use both repitition and dynamic tension to drive their songs home. MMJ uses what might be a standard songwriting move and turn it into something ferocious and majestic. "Gideon" is one of those perfect songs, a three-minute opera (as Roy Orbison described his songs) and one of the best songs of the year. Chris Martin and company should take notes. 7:48:42 AM     Speak up!  []