Olio

Random thoughts on a chilly Thursday.

First, I'd like to borrow a feature from the guys over at Marginal Revolution. On occasion, one of the writers will share the "best sentence I've read today." So, from my former UAH department chair, talking about a philosophy job candidate who is weighing his offers:

Somehow I think its a sign of social health that a philosopher has multiple job offers with which to tangle.

Second, I feel sorry for Merle Haggard. Now I know most folks don't feel sorry for entertainment stars and such, but bear with me. Over the past several years, almost all the old country stars have had their moments in the sun. The American Recordings and Walk the Line revived Johnny to the point where people who had no idea what "Luther played" suddenly went nuts over Johnny. Van Lear Rose (and Jack White) returned Loretta to the spotlight, Dolly's gotten some mainstream attention, Willie (of course) has just been Willie, even Buck Owens got some attention after he died. Merle, though, has been sort of under the radar. Why? His body of work is just as impressive as any of them -- even Johnny. [Yes, I believe that.] I heard an interview with Kristofferson, or someone like that, who pointed out what a shame it was that Merle was left out of The Highwaymen project. I agree.

While I'd really like to see Merle cash in on the country nostalgia movement, I'm not sure Untamed Hawk will help. It's a 5 disc box showcasing 133 tracks of his "early" recordings. Is there really a need for 133 of Merle's early recordings? Isn't the passage of time supposed to help pick out the gems from the ordinary? There can't be 100+ unknown "Silver Wings" (his best song EVER) out there. Of course this is just my standard opinion toward "deep cuts" boxed sets. For the most part, I figure there was a reason the songs weren't released before. On the other hand, I haven't heard Untamed Hawk, and for $127.49 I'm not likely to. Still, I wish some modern day "cool rocker" would adopt Merle and get him some modern day popularity.

Other than that, ... Well, I got to skip my morning class today. Weather conditions prompted a 1 hour delay in CCC's day and that meant my morning class didn't meet. I know it makes no sense, but I still LOVE a snow day (or hour). I've got no time for those "grown ups" who yammer on about how they'd rather not have to deal with schedule disruptions and such. Maybe I've just got a much higher rate of
time preference. Sigh, I never was good at those "discounting" problems.