Metric - Between The Bars

One of the best Elliott Smith covers out there.


And the original:

Beatles Mashup

Quite beautiful.

Vrinda Berlin, Sonido Espiritual

Sri Gauranga--the Great Dancer

Goo Goo Dolls, Let Love In

Nickleback, If Everyone Cared

This song is another way to say what John Lennon said--imagine.

Mason Jennings - Be Here Now (live)

Mason Jennings playing "Be Here Now" in Paris, back in July.

FSU Seminoles Lack Sportsmanship

Percy Harvin #1.

Well, at least we can say Florida State Seminoles sitting in the stands of Doak Stadium in Tallahassee showed very poor sportsmanship during yesterday's game. From rivals.com:

"The Seminoles fired up Tebow before last year’s game when linebacker Geno Hayes vowed to “take him down.” This time, the FSU fans offered Tebow a little extra motivation. They cheered wildly when Harvin, the team’s leading receiver, left the game in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle. He limped off the field with the help of trainers and didn’t return. Tebow was incensed by the reaction. “That kind of irritated me,” Tebow said."

We saw what happened to the Georgia Bulldogs when one of their players vowed to hurt Tim Tebow. Speech is an action, and when you say things you shouldn't say, there is a karmic reaction. Believe me, I know--my own words have gotten me in trouble all my life.

On another note, we are all anxious to see what has become of Gators receiver Percy Harvin's ankle injury. The Walrus Speaks will update you on news of Harvin when we get it.

Beatles LP Countdown, Things We Said Today

Another unusual melody, composed by Paul McCartney.

Postal Service - Be Still My Heart

Still no word on the next Postal Service album.

Rilo Kiley - Science Vs. Romance (Acoustic)

This is from a live performance on KXLU in 2001.

Crowded House, Don't Dream It's Over

The Offspring, Come Out And Play (You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated)

I have always found this one amusing.

The Who, My Generation

School Of Rock

My kids love this film-it's a true classic for the entire family.

Glenn Miller, In The Mood

This one is dedicated to daughter #3, now celebrating her 11th birthday. "In the Mood" is her favorite song.

She also loves the Beatles.

John Lennon, Oh Yoko

Neil Finn, Sexual Healing

Neil Finn and his acoustic guitar, unaccompanied. A really great performance.



Here's the original by the legendary Marvin Gaye.

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

Kimya Dawson - It's Been Raining (France)

The legendary French Duo, Herman Dune join Kimya Dawson at a show in France from this past summer.

The Mama's Tofu Turkey

You don't really want to eat this, do you?

I've had a few versions of tofu turkey, and they all involve mashing the tofu and mixing it with other stuff. This recipe is quite different, you freeze the tofu and then deep fry it in spiced batter, then bake it with the gravy. It leaves the other tofu turkey recipes in the dust, in my opinion.

So just like I promised yesterday, here's the recipe for my wife's tofu turkey. As they say in India, it is too good.

The Mama's Tofu Turkey

2 pounds tofu, thoroughly frozen (for a few days) --first, take it out of the packages and soak it several times in purified water, then place in a freezer container, tightly covered

batter
2 cups chick pea (garbanzo bean) flour
1 cup white or whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp powdered asafoetida (hing) you get it at a Chinese or Indian store
1/4 black or cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric

Mix together

Add water slowly and mix some more until you get the consistency of pancake batter, start with one cup and increase as needed

In a deep pot or wok, fill to 4-5 inches vegetable oil

Squeeze out water as much as you can from the tofu (remove from freezer several hours beforehand to thaw) as if it were a sponge, cut into half inch slabs

Dip each slab into the batter and fry on medium high heat until golden brown, set aside

Gravy

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil or ghee (clarified butter or butter oil, you can get it in an Indian store or make your own, just click around for instructions) in a stock pot. Add 1/4 tsp asafoetida, saute 1 cup diced carrots, 1/4 cup diced celery. When the vegetables have softened a little, add the following spices

1 tbsp poultry seasoning (never fear, it's vegetarian)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tbsp sage (all of these are dry, not fresh, herbs)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce or Braggs

Add about 4 cups water and simmer 15 minutes. Then add 2 cups nuts--whatever kind you have. Let cool overnight if possible (give it a least a few hours), then blend in blender

Arrange tofu in lasagna type pan and cover with the gravy

Bake at 350 until bubbly

Then you serve it with everything else, the stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. Like real turkey, this stuff will knock you out, so settle in to watch football or something.

You should be proud of yourself. You have given a turkey a reprieve and given thanks to God and creation at the same time.

Herman Dune - I Wish that I Could See You Soon

Electrifying live performance from HD.

Ringo Starr, Me And You (Babe)

Liz Phair - Six Foot One

"It's cold and rough...
And I kept standing six-feet-one
Instead of five-feet-two
And I loved my life... and I hated you"

David Wolf's Relationships That Work

I'm the kind of person who is naturally skeptical about books that have a title like Relationships That Work: The Power Of Conscious Living (How Transformative Communication Can Change Your Life).
But David B. Wolf's latest book made me change my mind, in addition to making me want to change my mind for the better.

The operative word here is transformation when we communicate with people. Sure, we know how to establish a rapport, and set out our ideas, but does this really change anything? Perhaps it does, but if we are still having a lot of angst and dysfunctional relationships in our lives, we might want to reexamine some of our most basic presumptions about ourselves, our significant others, in fact, the entire world and the way it works.

Well, you might say, and it might very well be true, that your communication skills are excellent. OK, but how well do you communicate with yourself? This was the most important part of Wolf's book for me. I'm introspective. I go deep. But I could go deeper if I could sustain my introspection at a more intense level of application. What is the value of self-honesty if you go around in a circle, as we tend to do? And for the religious among us, Wolf invites us to apply our religious principles, too, through the power of transformative communication. We are not flattering the great religious leaders of history by accepting their teachings in a shallow way only, and we are certainly not flattering ourselves. The real test of religion, as far as I am concerned, is when we answer this question: are we happy?

Or at least, as happy as we can be in this crazy old world? Relationships That Work invites us to make our world a little less crazy. Isn't that what it is all about?

Be prepared for some nitty-gritty reading. Wolf is going to help you confront yourself.

I'm Hector Diego and I approve of this message.

Beatles LP Countdown, I'll Cry Instead

This recording is not stereo, but still great. The instrumentation is country and western. It's John Lennon warning you to hide all the girls.

Jenny Lewis - You Are What You Love

From someplace called the Shubert in New Haven, Connecticut, on October 5th, 2008.

Paul McCartney Wanted Obama

This post is dedicated to Polythene Pam, who stated in her comment in the post below that Paul McCartney would not back Obama because of his views on abortion.

Paul wants to serenade Michelle Obama by singing "Michelle".

Read the article.

Barack Obama's Mandate

I have come to the conclusion that President Elect Barack Obama represents the Beatles of politicians. See here-the television news people are still using his logo, well after the election. This has never happened in American broadcast journalism. Never.

And the crowds he drew during the campaign, and is likely to draw at his inauguration? This is unprecedented.

Of course, the Republicans created Barack Obama. After stealing at least one and possibly two elections, governing like idiots after installing one as President, and being as selfish as selfish could be, they made it as ripe as possible for the tree of the cultural revolution of the 1960s to bear political fruit. It now has a mandate.

It will not be easy, but I believe we have turned a corner.

God bless America, God bless the world. And Goddess too.

Three From Liz Phair

I've been on a bit of a Liz Phair kick, since I discovered a few acoustic reworkings of some of her great early songs. The first two in this trio are acoustic versions. The third is an album version of one of my favorite, hopefully ironic, songs about materialism.

"Supernova" (Acoustic)


"Fuck and Run" (Acoustic)


"Shitloads of Money"

Give That Bird A Reprieve!

Tofu turkey sits easy on your stomach and conscience

Every time right around the American holiday of Thanksgiving, the President of the United States pardons a turkey--but this does not mean that he does not eat a turkey. So what does it mean?

It means nothing. But you could play the President and actually pardon a turkey by eating tofu turkey. The urls for recipes I provided below are good ones, and please try them if you have compassion for animals and want to enjoy an innocent holiday. However, my wife does not use any recipes like these which require you to mash the tofu and reconstitute it with other items. Instead, she freezes the tofu, which gives it a meaty texture, completely different from what is was. Then she deep fries it in batter with spices and serves it with dressing and gravy, all vegetarian. Let me get that recipe for you, but for now, check out these more ordinary recipes for tofu turkey. Whichever one you use, at least you will be doing better than the President of the United States--granting a real reprieve to a bird that has not committed any crime!

Come on now, this is the 21st century. What is the use of so much "advancement of civilization" if it does not include compassion for animals? This post is not addressed to people living in a hunting and gathering society, who are not likely to have access to a computer anyway.

It is meant for all the computer people out there. The civilized people.

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7691.0

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tofu-Turkey-II/Detail.aspx

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1047621/tofu_turkey_a_great_alternative_for.html?page=2&cat=22

Here's an explanation of freezing tofu.

http://theflyingvegan.blogspot.com/2006/10/freezing-tofu.html

J.J. Kale, Sensitive Kind

Thanks to Jenny Lewis and the Station Agent for turning me on to J.J. Kale. He's very high quality.

Marijuana, A Powerful Medicine

"Marijuana contains an amazing chemical, beta-caryophyllene, and scientists have thoroughly proven that it could be used to treat pain, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis." This is the latest science on cannabis.

Read more.


It probably smells like a skunk, or a Christmas tree...

The Blow, Knowing The Things That I Know

Tegan And Sara, I Bet It Stung

Watson Twins, Just Like Heaven

Tilly And The Wall - Kiss Off

A Violent Femmes cover performed live by Tilly and the Wall on Australian radio.

Beatles LP Countdown, Any Time At All

A fairly unusual little ditty, pure Beatles joy.

Surreal Cheney, Gonzales Indictments Baffling, Fun

I did take note of the indictments against Bush Administration super villain Dick Cheney and his willing patsy, Alberto Gonzales. At the heart of the indictment is an industry that I have long been extremely wary of--private prisons.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Cheney is charged with "engaging in an organized criminal activity related to his investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers."

So, after starting a war based on bullshit, funneling no-bid contracts to Halliburton, helping to out Valerie Plame, shooting his buddy, burning all the shit in his safe and all types of other major league violations of both the letter and the spirit of American law, the Mighty Dick Cheney gets indicted over his dealings in the private prison business by a small time prosecutor in a border town? Seriously?

Early word has it that the prosecutor is completely insane. There's also the possibility that the prosecutor is insane and that Cheney is guilty anyway.

The indictment of Gonzales is for allegedly obstructing a 2006 investigation into abuses one of the private prisons.

David Platt at Huffington Post asks, will Cheney Pardon himself? It's not legal for a Vice President to pardon himself, but when has the law ever stopped Cheney?

By the way something, the first hearing on the indictments degenerated into something resembling the end of And Justice for All. Not the greatest beginning to an uphill legal battle, but perhaps the making of a great film one of these days.

Pearl Jam - Black

This is one of my all time favorite songs and perhaps the best song of the 90s.



Image from this person's flickr account.

Whitney Mann And The Boys, Cocaine.Murder

I think we have to pay close attention to Whitney Mann. Great stuff.

The Fugs, Kill For Peace

The Fugs were perhaps the most subversive musical group of the 1960's. You must know about The Fugs. Hopefully I can find their opus and post it, "Slum Goddess Of The Lower East Side."

Beatles LP Countdown, Can't Buy Me Love

"Can't Buy Me Love" is the last track on the first side of the Beatles' third UK album, A Hard Day's Night. The film by the same name was their greatest cinematic success, and is still worth watching forty-four years later.

Monty Python Unleash YouTube Channel

The legendary Monty Python now have a YouTube channel.

Here's the Job Interview:

Vatican Forgives Lennon, Who Cares?

Giordano Bruno, man of science,
burned at the stake by the Vatican

Forty-two years after John Lennon made his not so shocking remark about how the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, the Vatican has decided to publicly forgive him. I wonder, should The Walrus Speaks publicly forgive the Vatican for all the people it burnt at the stake during the Inquisition, or the native cultures it ruined as European colonies and settlements spread throughout the world?

I would like to forgive the Vatican for this, because the Vatican has publicly apologized for these actions--but they are not sincere. The reason I say this is because they have not taken away the status of saint from Inquisitors and other officers of the Church who personally saw to it that non-Catholics around the world suffered horrible torture and death.

What about Robert Bellarmine? From Wikipedia:

"Bellarmine wrote the preface to the new edition of the Vulgate, and was made rector of the Roman College in 1592, examiner of bishops in 1598, and cardinal in 1599. Immediately after his appointment as Cardinal, Pope Clement made him a Cardinal Inquisitor. In this capacity he served as one of the judges at the trial of the philosopher Giordano Bruno, and concurred in the decision which condemned him to be burnt to death as an obstinate heretic."

Bruno was a brilliant Italian philosopher of the 17th century who insisted that the earth went around the sun. I once contacted the Vatican by email on the subject of Bruno's murder, but they declined to respond. I wonder why...

Then there is Saint Francis Xavier, who requested the Inquisition come to Goa, in India, where the Portuguese had a colony for several centuries. Hindus and Muslims were tortured and killed their for their non-Christian beliefs--burned at the stake, hacked to pieces, etc.

So until the Catholic Church takes away the status of Saint for bastards like Ballarmine and Xavier, who gives a damn if they "forgive" John Lennon? After all, Lennon was only using words, not fire.

These slippery liars have THE NERVE to forgive John Lennon. How can they claim to represent someone as exalted as Jesus Christ?

Here's the article.

Obama's Weekly Address (11-22-2008)

Obama outlines his stimulus plan in his weekly YouTube/Radio address.



Obama adviser Robert Reich further outlines the recovery.

Here's my response:

He's absolutely right to stress how difficult the recovery is going to be. This is going to get worse before it gets better. Christmas shopping numbers will be dismal this year and that will send the market into yet another tailspin. The cost of oil could gradually rise as winter sets in and heating costs go up. Several major banks and other huge institutions are teetering on the verge of collapse and anything that comes out of the lame duck Congress between now and January 20, will be, at best, half measures that will not ignite the economy.

It sounds like his stimulus package will actually include public works projects and the jobs that come with them. The greening of our infrastructure could be the vehicle we need to revive the middle class while addressing the climate crisis seriously for the first time since Reagan took panels off the White House.

I think 2.5 million jobs over the next two years sounds like an ambitious goal. Well, I'm going to go out on a limb and say we can top that number by a significant amount.

Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon

From the Disney movie, Bolt.

Yoga Banned By Malaysian Islamic Authorities

Abdul Shukor Husin

Jaishree Balasubramanian, Kuala Lumpur, Nov 22 (Press Trust of India)

A top Islamic body in Malaysia today barred Muslims from practicing yoga, saying the ancient physical exercise was "haram" and prohibited in Islam.

Apprehensive that Muslims could be swayed by yoga's elements of Hinduism, the National Fatwa Council (NFC) issued a religious decree telling the community, who comprise two thirds of Malaysia's 27 million population, that practicing yoga was haram and prohibited in the religion.

Abdul Shukor Husin, chairman of the government backed NFC, opined that practicing yoga will erode the faith of Muslims in Islam and does not conform with the religion.

"Yoga will erode their faith. We advise Muslims not to practice it," the senior Islamic cleric said.

Apart from the physical movements, the yoga practices contain worshiping and chanting, which were prohibited for Muslims, the NFC said.

The globally popular practice of yoga, which originated in India, is a popular stress buster in Kuala Lumpur.

The ruling came after an Islamic studies lecturer recently advised Muslims, who had taken up yoga, to stop practicing it as they could deviate from the teachings of Islam.

Senior Islamic cleric, Zakaria Stapa, a professor at the National University of Malaysia, had asked Muslims to stop practicing yoga as it could cause them to "deviate from their faith".

The Council's decisions are not legally binding on Muslims unless they are enshrined in national or shariah laws. However, many Muslims abide by the edicts out of deference.

A colleague of mine is preparing her dissertation on the commodification of yoga in America, reporting that there is now yoga for babies, yoga for dogs, and yoga for Christians. It is unsure why yoga has not been Islamicized in Kuala Lampur. I suspect it has-and there is no reason why yoga cannot be divested of its religious elements; for instance, that is mainly the way it is practiced in the US. It seems that yoga's origins might offend some people.

You might as well tear the sun out of the sky--it didn't originate in anyone's holy book...

Station Agent?

Amnion, Keep In Touch

Jenny's List

A member of the RK Net forum, Sophistry, passed this along:

In the latest issue of Blender, they feature Jenny and her pick of the top 10 songs to download right now.....

1. J.J. Cale - Call Me The Breeze
2. Dr. John - Mama Roux
3. Bobby Charles - I Must Be In a Good Place Now
4. Deerhunter - Hazel St.
5. Bill Fox - My Baby Crying
6. Nik Freitas - Sun Down
7. Conor Oberst - Get Well Cards
8. Kanye West - Love Lockdown
9. Mickey & Sylvia - Love is Strange
10. Benji Hughes - All You've Got To Do Is Fall In Love

Here's a few from the list:

J.J. Cale - Call Me The Breeze

Dr. John - Mama Roux

Deerhunter - Hazel St.

The IndoPagan Project

"The IndoPagan Project seeks to be a resource for, and to unite those in the NeoPagan community who feel a deepest resonance with the Vedic, Hindu, Buddhist or other path of Indo-origin, and whose ritual practice and pantheon choice is based heavily in one or more of those spiritualities."

The Heretical Imperative
Notice the emphasis on choice in this quote from the IndoPagan Project. Sociologist Peter Berger has commented that in the modern era, we are all heretics, because the word heretic has a Latin root meaning to choose--and unlike previous ages, when religion was something you are born with, now choice is imperative. There is just too much information that one cannot ignore, so one must choose to take up another religion, stay with the religion of one's parents, or have no religion at all.

Is this correct, Station Agent?

Sean Lennon, Spectacle

Life's a movie that we sleep through.

German Professor Denies Historicity Of Prophet Muhammed

Dr. Muhammad Sven Kalisch

The Walrus Speaks takes no position on the historicity of ancient personages, as we are not historians. This article on the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is for the edification of our readers.

MÜNSTER, Germany -- Muhammad Sven Kalisch, a Muslim convert and Germany's first professor of Islamic theology, fasts during the Muslim holy month, doesn't like to shake hands with Muslim women and has spent years studying Islamic scripture. Islam, he says, guides his life.

So it came as something of a surprise when Prof. Kalisch announced the fruit of his theological research. His conclusion: The Prophet Muhammad probably never existed.

Read more about it.

John Denver, Leaving On A Jet Plane

One of Denver's greatest compositions.

Across The Universe

I have never heard this version. It doesn't sound like the single or the album version, and it lacks the ascending string section toward the end. It has more echo. I like it quite a bit, better than the other versions.

Rilo Kiley Cover, Accidental Death

The artist is J. D. Justice. Station Agent, is this another beautiful melody by Jenny Lewis?

Confucianism vs.Taoism

It appears that Laotsu wins the debate against Master Kung (Confucius). What do you think? Of course, the Tao that can be spoken of is not the true Tao...

Beatles LP Countdown, Tell Me Why

Bush Gets TWS CRAPPO Award--Again

No protection for the polar bears

This is becoming a tradition here at The Walrus Speaks. Of course, there are so many things Bush has done that would qualify him for the CRAPPO Award, but we're just giving them for recent transgressions--otherwise, it would fill our blog!

Bush is trying to undo regulations that require independent scientists to sign off on environmental issues before building projects are allowed, allowing for federal oversight alone. A Democratic administration is not likely to abuse this authority, but Bush is planning, apparently, for future misdeeds when (probably a long time from now) Republicans get back in power in Washington. The dude is trying to reverse environmental protections! Why?

He's a crappo!

Read about it.

Some Advice From Lee Atwater

Lee Atwater, the guru of Karl Rove, put the first George Bush in the White House by playing as dirty as possible in his job as political strategist for the Republicans in 1988. He wrecked people's lives as much as he could. Then he got cancer, and before he died in 1991 he had this to say.

"My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The '80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn't I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn't I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don't know who will lead us through the '90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul."

Something to consider.

Beck, The Golden Age

Jim Croce, You Don't Mess Around W/Jim

The Doors, Five To One

No one here gets out alive.

Old Crow Medicine Show, Methamphetamine

These guys are pretty good. But not methamphetamine-that stuff's pretty bad. Really bad.

Led Zeppelin, Black Dog

Nelly Furtado - Crazy

You so crazy, kitty cat!

Ditty Bops Live, Walk Or Ride

Amanda Barrett, wearing a blouse made from
plastic bags, and Abby DeWald--the Ditty Bops

They rode their bikes from LA to NY doing gigs for the health of the environment. Can you dig it?