Ramsayings

Had this song stuck in my head on Tuesday morning. Odd, because I learned that the man responsible for writing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” George David Weiss, had died the night before.

As I thought about it, I looked up Matt Perpetua’s exhaustive Pop Songs ’07-’08 and found this entry for the song. So maybe that’s not the most illuminating piece ever written about an R.E.M. song, but it reminded me that Automatic for the People was such a downer of a record.

I know I’ve said it before elsewhere, but I can’t even try to listen to this absolute pill of a record anymore. Maybe it puts me back in a weird spot, remembering all the awkward moments it soundtracked while I was a gawky teen, but it’s so one note that even tracks like “Sidewinder” and “Ignoreland” can’t shake me from my sleep. Going back to that place is one weird trip, let me tell you.

This album is to me what I think an album like Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road would be just six years later: a solid adult contemporary record that lulled people into a false sense of sophistication. (How I avoided buying that Williams record I may never know.) As much as I used to think Automatic was a profound meditation on death, I realize today that that had everything to do with me knowing nothing about the subject matter. It’s the muzak disc Stipe cursed the Beatles for making. How he can even sing “Everybody Hurts” with a straight face at this point in his career is beyond me.

Facebook Places. Game, set, match. Why? Because even though every last destination I visit hasn’t been loaded into Facebook, it means activating one less wonky app that crashes unexpectedly and then scolds me if I try checking in again. Another plus? People I know actually use Facebook. Foursquare? Not so much.

Facebook Places does to Foursquare what Twitter’s acquisition of Tweetie did for everyone else in the mobile Twitter app market: killed ‘em dead, at least on the iPhone. I know Foursquare’s trying to put on a brave face, but if Facebook wanted to introduce badges and other rewards, it wouldn’t be hard and it gives people the all-in-one convenience they want in a mobile experience.

I used Foursquare off and on for months, sometimes deleting it from the phone, then reinstalling it if a friend convinced me to do so. It was pointless. The locations are silly, as are the tips and rewards. I know how it feels to be a regular at my local bar. It’s great. I don’t need an app to drive that point home. As I tweeted after Facebook Places was launched, “we don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” At the same time, I like to let friends know that I’m out if they’d like to join me someplace. Revive the drop-in visit! How fun!

Do yourself a favor and delete Foursquare already. You’re worried about privacy concerns? Here’s a thought: don’t bother checking in! I’ll go a step further and say that you should really categorize all of your Facebook contacts in a way that protects you from weirdos. That should be a no-brainer at this point in the game. As in so many things, be careful and have fun!

I arrived a bit late to last night’s game, missing the first inning, but I was there for the following 15. What happened in the top of the 4th is something I’ll probably remember — and maybe regret — for the rest of my life. I talked to Enrico over at The 700 Level about it early this morning. He posted our chat in full here.

It was a pretty amazing, if confusing experience. I knew the ball was headed directly at me from the moment it left the bat. It just loomed large as it approached. It seemed to be moving slowly right before it completely exploded into the seats next to me. Even though it ended up being a beautiful night, I’m happy Helen and Charlie weren’t with me because I don’t know what we would’ve done as the ball approached. Duck and cover!

Instead it landed harmlessly in a cupholder. I grabbed the ball and tossed it back onto the field. It nearly rolled to the infield. Should I have turned and handed it to the young girl keeping score behind me? In retrospect, yes, I probably should’ve. But I’m not sure anything will feel quite as euphoric as hearing a stadium full of people cheer the one time you throw a ball inside a major league ballpark. That was amazing.

I’m confident that if we hang on to our seats in left field we’ll probably get another shot in the future. We don’t have many righties who pull or hit for power, but I’m going to guess that sitting in the heart of the lower left field seats gives me as good a chance as any of catching one in the future. (As I wrote this, Jayson Werth hit a ball that snuck over the left field wall. See!?)

You can help the poor Astros out by watching this video of Carlos Lee’s homer here. Look for me at the :18 and listen to the cheer go up. Tell me that isn’t awesome!

I was one of the first people to write about this —  you can read my rather impolitic tweet here — and I hope I’m one of the last. I like what Tom had to say today over at P’unk Ave’s blog, but I’d like to take this a step further and talk for just a second about what it means for the Philly blogging community, inasmuch as one exists.

Y’all look really dumb. Anyone who vented spleen about the so-called “blogger tax” Monday morning really lived up to the blogger stereotype, which essentially boils down to reactionary twits who can’t so much as fact check before completely going bonkers.

Worse, it shows that for all the gains blogging has made in becoming mainstream media, most bloggers have zero news sense. I don’t work at the New York Times, but in the three years I’ve spent at comcast.net I’ve learned a ton from folks who are trained journalists about what is news and what isn’t.

Y’all got played. The news cycle is dead. If it weren’t for Elin splitting with Tiger, there’d be just about no news at all. (Little secret: people are pretty tired of the whole Lohan saga by now.) If you’re a small news org looking to make hay in late August, go with something local and definitely do something that screams link bait.

It worked. That story spread like wildfire simply because all the self-professed media firemen ran around spraying gasoline. I’m not very active in the local blogging community, but I’d be hard-pressed to join forces with people who spazzed out so relentlessly over something that’s been a known issue for quite some time.

Worse, there were a handful of people who felt that blogging should be subsidized. I’m all for government subsidies, particularly those that go toward housing and feeding people, promoting general welfare sort of stuff. Blogging? You must be kidding. Unless you’re talking about folks electing to pay donations to help cover hosting fees or what have you, you must seriously be joking. Isn’t this what student loans are for?

People really need to ask themselves who’s hurt by this. I’m guessing that most bloggers won’t have the taxman banging down their door anytime soon, or Mayor Nutter holding a press conference outside your apartment building to talk about how much you owe the city in back taxes. Call it a hunch, but I’m guessing most people don’t even have Google ads enabled on their sites. Funnier still, isn’t blogging a dying trend? Isn’t it funny how this story spread virally on Twitter and not throughout the blogosphere as it might’ve just a few years ago.

I get that $300 seems like a chunk of change to folks who are freelancing. I’ve been there. It’s a mess. The hassle made me ditch freelancing entirely and I was fortunate enough to find gainful employment. But if $300 seems like too much to start a business, you have to question your commitment to making it work, as well as possibly rehashing your business model. Fact of the matter is, people want to abolish the small business tax as a lever against all sorts of other parts of the Philadelphia tax code no doubt. Could you imagine what it would be like here if people were paying less in taxes? They’d have to shut the city down and turn out the lights! Next time you complain about the business privilege tax or city wage even, talk to your friends in the ‘burbs who are paying through the nose on property taxes, not to mention their utilities.

When I wrote that tweet about bloggers owing the same $300 bucks as someone baking cupcakes, I forgot to add that at least cupcakes provide a social good, not to mention that they’re freakin’ delicious. Blogging can be a lot of fun, but you really can’t take yourself too seriously. Try harder next time, guys. You’re better than this. It makes us all look bad when you don’t.

Elsewhere, Sean Blanda tries to set the record straight.