CBS Sunday Morning Power Rankings

Before finishing up The Ballad of Weaves #53 , I'll just point out that I listened to the album Transmissions From the Satellite Heart by The Flaming Lips for the first time in awhile today. The semi-novelty hit from that record "She Don't Use Jelly" is not even in the top half of good songs from the album. I'm not such a fan of Mr. Coyne or the Lips anymore, but for awhile they were great. The Ballad of Weaves #53: Part 4: Denouement Someone I know would very vehemently complain that that problem with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was that the climax was the pod race scene, which is only the halfway part of the movie which threw off the whole emotional arc of the movie. Well, there's a lot about that movie you could choose to complain about, but I'm sort of a Phantom Menace apologist. It's the best of the prequels. That's not saying much. It's still got some very cringe-y parts, but at least I also remember it being sort of fun in

It was an absurdly lovely day out, so I spent most of the day outside either on a bike ride: or sitting on my deck reading Joel Drucker's extremely deep dive into the 1972 Davis Cup Final between the US and Romania from Racquet Magazine Issue 15 , "Battles of Good & Evil." Calling Drucker's nonfiction an essay or article gives it short shrift both in terms of the quality of the writing and the sheer length of the piece. It was one of the best things I've read in recent memory. I'd link to it, but Racquet's business model means that only a select few pieces ever get posted online. All I can really link to Joel's remembrance of one of the piece's central figures, Dennis Ralston , shortly after he passed away. I'm guessing you don't have a subscription to Racquet (which, to be fair, is a bit steep). If you find a copy and have and hour or two, I highly recommend "Battles of Good & Evil." You don't have to be a tennis fan

Before we get to the CBS SUNDAY MORNING POWER RANKINGS, we're going to do this. I give you the oft delayed, yet not forgotten: The Ballad of Weaves #53: Part 3: The Conclusion (?) For those who have been following, this all started the week of Grammy's. Part 1 focused on the quaint charm of the small music venue . Part 2 was a reflection on growing old and losing touch . This week's conclusion (?) focuses on music and nostalgia. Despite not being the indie music aficionado I once was, I still try drop by the local record shop a few times a year and drop some money on some CDs. Vinyl is too cumbersome and I just don't own the equipment for it. I like having a digital copy and CDs are easily rippable into a variety of formats. Because I am crazy, I keep my digital library in triplicate FLAC (lossless!), Ogg Vorbis (open!), and MP3 (compatible!). I like being able too look at the album artwork and whatever else comes in the packaging, whether it is the traditional jewel ca

This week was Easter Sunday and days surrounding a weekend were a bit of a mini spring break for the power rankings committee, so apologies ahead of time for this being somewhat of a tardy, yet perfunctory entry. Sadly, I don't have much to offer in the way of blathering or pontification this week, so if that's what you tune for, sorry to disappoint. If my meandering musings are not your cup of tea: Sorry, The Ballad of Weaves #53: Part 3 is bumped yet again. It has officially turned into the running Matt Damon gag of this blog . Next weekend, I promise I'll have time to finish the story (if anyone cares...) The CBS SUNDAY MORNING POWER RANKINGS! 1) Tracy Smith Did we jump the gun by putting Tracy at #2 last week ? Call it weakness if you want, but you try and resist when someone favorably compares your writing to F. Scott Fitzgerald, even jokingly. We'll give anyone a one week bump for flattery. But you've got to earn the top spot and there is no question that Tra