taking a break from work to note this moment

I am listening to a podcast about the pitfalls of multi-tasking while at the same time working :-)

Solar energy economics is compelling - creates boom

read here  - notice that there are twice as many solar workers as coal miners in the US now!

Les Twins - amazing dancing!! watch every second...

I'm having a Macklemore moment

Although he is a touchstone to my wife, I didn't get it until I saw a one hour broadcast of him and Ryan at the Outlands Festival, which revved me up - bought the album The Heist and now I'm enjoying this interview (1 hr).  Speaks to me in both...

John Mclaughlin,U Srinivas,Zakir Hussain,V Selvaganesh,Mahadevan- Jazz a...

In a dream last night I played drums - here is a virtuosic rhythmic concert in celebration :-)

top ballroom exhibition dancer comments on west coast swing, hustle and country western dance

In Ballroom: Obsession and Passion Inside the World of Competitive Dance, an interesting memoir by Sharon Savoy:

At the upper echelons of technical ability, the demands of ballet versus balloom skills are not comparable.  I have marveled for years that in even smaller dance communities such as country western, hustle and west coast swing, some dancers actually acquire huge egos.  My only conclusion is that these dancers have never taken class. 

Itch - Another Man Fun song and interesting video!

great audio interview: Steven Colbert on how he worked

Mother Jones

DJ Pro

this looks cool and useful...

Farewell Dr. Dobbs

I read Dr Dobbs many years but lapsed the last few...

Duet Display app makes iPad a second screen to a Mac

Business Insider on Duet Display

Oakland developments

http://nextcity.org/features/view/oakland-gentrification-libby-schaaf-tech-industry-inequality-foreclosures

music biz and Big Data

nasdaq article h/t to Steve Adams

The Colder War

Just watched the BookTV broadcast of a talk by Marin Katusa, author of The Colder War.
It's a very interesting picture of Putin's Russia, the evolution of the global energy industry and
our future in general.  Bleak...

"Tear down that Wall!" not the real story

As I said before, the sight of the Berlin Wall going down under attack by German citizens brought tears of joy to my eyes.  It turns out that a lot of Americans think it came down because Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!"  The real story is very different, one of a near-miss Tiananmen II planned by the GDR and a victory for dissidents.

Watch a talk on BookTV by Mary Elise Sarotte, author of The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall and the book she wrote about the aftermath, 1989: The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe

K and M and I discussed fascism as something that benefits from economic distress

here is more discussion, referencing Paul Krugman...

"They're killing us!"

This was the thought that popped into my mind when I heard four student anti-war protestors were shot at Kent State in 1970.  The Pulitzer Prize winning photo of a shocked witness screaming over one body was instantly iconic and ignited protests.  The CSNY song Ohio was a rallying cry.

I can only imagine what Afro-Americans feel after all the police killings of young black men
and wish something would ignite a similar level of social change as arose in 1970.

footnote: Chrissie Hynde was one of the protestors, as were her bandmates Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, who went on to found Devo

Nils Peter Molvaer live&direct (h/t to Steve Adams)

the most avant guard dance with west coast swing elements that I have seen so far

expert and expressive - bravo!

http://danceking.net/thats-something-very-different-but-its-amazing-malitowski-leunis-singapure-open-2014/

transhumanity common in 2030

io9 coverage of spy agency predictions

A very interesting interview with Chris Rock

http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html

the Unabomber was the victim of a college experiment in ridicule

I did not know that Professor Murray conducted a long-term ridicule experiment on him ( and others).
The experiment was described in a Fresh Air episode.

President Nixon pleaded guilty

I did not know that a condition of the pardon of Nixon by Ford was that guilt was implicit.
This was mentioned in a discussion at the President Ford Library that was broadcast on BookTV.

Maxence Martin & Virginie Grondin - Routine performance from the 2014 US Open Swing Dance Championships Classic Finals

http://youtu.be/VFGelelIrqM