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Dave Taylor has it right, I think. Sony, once the personification of innovation, quality, and vision, now has none of them. That is the beginning of a lingering death.
The creator of Calvin & Hobbes gave a legendary (some say notorious) speech called "The State of Cartooning" in 1989. I'd heard of it, but never read it until Planet Cartoon posted it yesterday.
Watterson praises the three tentpost comic strips of all time: Peanuts, Pogo, and Krazy Kat. Now that Watterson and Gary Larson have retired the field, I can't think of a single strip being produced now that I would buy a paper in order to read.
Meridian's resident genius, Bob Stuart, sends along this old but still appropriate article by Janis Ian. Be sure to read her follow-up, "Fallout," as well.
As Stuart says, "It's good to hear from an actual recording artist in this debate."
This isn't exactly the way I submitted it to Tris, but if I created this list again tomorrow, it would again be different. So. My Top 10 of 2006 looked something like this:
1. TV On The Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
2. Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
3. The Dears: Gang of Losers
4. Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit
5. M. Ward: Post War
6. Silversun Pickups: Carnavas
7. Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afriad of You, And I Will Beat Your Ass
8. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegon: Ballad of the Broken Seas
9. Arab Strap: The Last Romance
10. The Killers…
Shalom Auslander didn't review Mailer's The Castle. He really, really wanted to. He just couldn't bring himself to read it. I know what he means.
Language warning: He drops a few "F-bombs," if that sort of expression irks you.
Firing Squad has an interesting take on DRM. Warning: the site has super-annoying "content links that are just as annoying as "malicious viruses and rootkits."
Huckleberry reminds me that I don't have the big ears in this household. Plus, his swivel.