Archive for June, 2009

The Thriller is Gone

I was down two Ouzos in a country taverna when a snappy kick, snare, and hi-hat commanded my attention. A repetitive bass followed by a four note synth and shaker hooked me before the vocals had even begun. And not only me. The banter in the crowded Greek bar hushed as people began to dance. [...]

Best of JamSideDown, People

The revolution will not be televised. It will be Tweeted, Blogged, and YouTubed.

Iran has crossed into promising and dangerous ground – that moment when  political mobilization creates the possibility that chaos will give birth to progress or collapse in repression. Politics becomes a real and serious struggle as  history either leaps forward or falls back based on the cumulative impact of thousands of  people who cannot know [...]

Elections, History, Politics

"We must say openly the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors."

I slept soundly through the 3am alarm I set so that I could catch Obama's speech live from Cairo. It would have been worth getting up for. Its empathy, intelligence, directness, and unusual rhetoric assure that this speech will survive along with his Philadelphia discourse on race, his Notre Dame address, his talks on the [...]

Obama, Politics