German DA Files Arrest Warrants Against CIA Agents

The District Attorney's office in Munich, Germany has filed international arrest warrants with Interpol for nine CIA operatives. This is a big deal. The Agents are wanted for questioning and potential charges arising from the illegal, CIA kidnapping of a Lebanese-born German citizen. This case has roiled already tense diplomatic waters, and following on the heels of a similar case in Italy, adds considerable new fuel to the CIA "renditions scandal." Even more astonishing, German investigators were able to use simple, Internet search tools without the help of the US Justice Department (of course, no surprise there) to identify key CIA players in this caper from hell. Now that's embarrassing. Read about it all here, in a very eye-opening Der Spiegel article.

Historical Revisionism - Everybody's Doing It

Historical revisionism is nothing new. The power elites have been re-writing history to suit their own ends for as long as humans have populated the earth. And people wonder if skepticism is hardwired; and if so, why. Uh huh, no brainer that. We've all heard the old adage that to "...ignore history is to repeat it." I guess that depends on just what "history" one refers to.

Today, discussions around inaccurate historical portrayals even extend to video games.

In the real world, the most visible and egregious historical revisionism is going on in Japan. Conservative lawmakers last week denied that there was ever a "rape of Nanking." No, the massacred Chinese must have died in some other manner 70 years ago this anniversary year. The Japanese Prime Minister insists that the Imperial army didn't use "Comfort Women;" and now, new textbooks that ignore the military's edict to loyal residents of Okinawa to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans have so riled the island natives that their parliament has issued a statement condemning the oversight by design. Read about it here. How is it that a country that makes such great cars and robots can get accurate historical reporting so wrong? Unbecoming at best, a PR disaster at worst.

And of course, Japan, China and Korea are engaged in a vocal and sometimes naval confrontation over several small groups of disputed islands that are largely uninhabited but hold some sway over fishing and oil/mineral rights. Each side has historical claims to buttress its arguments.

Holocaust deniers; apologists for repressive dictators; and, the obsessed with power and security are always - it seems - busy re-writing history for their own ends. Nowhere is this phenomena more prevalent than in long-running ethnic and territorial disputes. Take the Northern Irish "troubles," the Turkish/Kurdish wars; the Middle East morass; Tibet, and just about every case where indigenous populations were displaced by colonizers for example. And when potential war crimes are involved, the re-writing of history reaches a fever pitch. Wingnut Christian fundamentalists are even trying to re-write American history to ignore the animists, theists, Unitarians and agnostics among our founding fathers and their families. And I won't even get into the major historical debate recently stimulated by a fiction novel: The Da Vinci Code. There's no shortage of relevant contemporary efforts to re-write history.

Not to be outdone, the Bush administration has taken the trend to new heights. For this crew, history is a fluid, moving target that can be altered and substantially re-written on a minute-by-minute basis dictated by need. Reality does not play an important role in the equation. And the main-stream media appears to be willing participants in the charade. In this environment, it is encouraging to this observer that citizen journalism and bloggers have risen to provide alternative sources of information, analysis and opinion. Leave it to the grassroots to get it right, governments and the traditional media are doing a great job of proving that no-one else can be trusted.

Title Nine Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Title Nine is 35 years old today, and the world of youth sports in the U.S. will never be the same - thankfully. My eldest daughter, the serious jock in the house as I've noted in previous posts, reminded me of the milestone this morning. And of what still needs to be done to fully implement the spirit of the groundbreaking law.

To review, Title Nine prohibits federally-funded education programs and activities from discriminating on the basis of sex. Sounds simple, but of course it's not. Sports and a bunch of other programs in public education have always been unfairly focused on males. I can only think that this anachronism is a result of the puritanical fundamentalist view that only males matter and females are, after all, just chattel. It is important to remember that females now represent a majority of the U.S. population, are often wage earners, combat veterans and, well, you know the story. There's just no reason at all for any remnants of the exclusive, male-only fraternity to be holding on to any part of the old model. So happy anniversary Title Nine. Hoo-ya, have another micro-brew.

Spain's Musical Regions & Traditions

I was listening to my local NPR station the other day and to my surprise was treated to a story about my favorite Spanish band, Ojos de Brujo. I first discovered this group in a mesmerizing LINK TV video about a year ago. I was hooked. I was surprised to hear the NPR announcer refer to the band's eclectic and infectious style of music as Barcelona Bastardo. Didn't think the respectable Catalans would take a shine to this edgy sound. I was wrong (again). When asked, I describe this band as "Flamenco Fusion." With Gitano roots and a Flamenco soul. To this core, the band adds hip-hop; Andalus Arabic ornamentation; Cuban rhythms, even raggae. And it all works in a magical sort of way. Check out this video for a taste.

When most music lovers think of Spain, Placido's tenor or the guitar of Andres Segovia often come to mind. Perhaps a favorite Flamenco tune. Digging deeper, Spain has arguably the richest musical tradition in all of Europe.

The music of Andalucia in the south is influenced by the Moorish era and has distinct Arabic elements. Thanks to another NPR story, I recently discovered the music of Ghada Shbeir. A Lebanese singer with an Masters in Musicology, she has taken some time, effort and love to reconstruct the songs of Al-Andalus. There are few other opportunities around to hear thousand year-old songs. Not exactly easy listening, these pieces are however very valuable bits of Arabic and European history, reflecting a unique moment when the two cultures were at their closest. For the musically curious, this new CD is a real wonder. And yet another thread in the colorful tapestry that is Spanish music. You can hear a BBC interview with Shbeir and a sampling of her songs here. During Moorish rule in Spain, diversity was encouraged and common. The Spanish Jewish community flourished at this same time. I've posted before about the Ladino language music of the Sephardic Jews here.

Travel a little farther north and you're in the heart of Flamenco country. Gitanos, Spanish Gypsies, are the principal performers of Flamenco song and dance. Their colorful and musical festivals are a regular draw during the "Flamenco season." Here are some Flamenco artists of note.

Of course, the Castellanos of cental Spain have their own unique folk traditions outside the Flamenco space. There is no better exemplar of this kind of traditional music than the celebrated band: La Musgana. Check out a sample of their sounds in this video (Picao).

The Catalans in Barcelona have their own musical traditions and further west into the Pyrenees one encounters Basque country with a decidedly different musical tradition that pre-dates even the Moors. Basque music, often dances played by a small group including a diatonic accordion, Alboka flute, fiddle and a wooden percussion instrument, is rich in folk tradition with a unique sound all of its own. The group Alboka is building quite a substantial presence on the World Beat scene.

In the north, on the Atlantic coast of Spain is one of only two Celtic colonies remaining on European territory. (The other is Brittany on the coast of France.) Here's a piece of trivia that will win some free microbrew in a pub wager: The world's most popular bagpipes player, based on CD sales, is a Spaniard. That's right, as counter-intuitive as it may sound. In 2007, when this post was originally written, Hevia sold more CDs of bagpipe music than any other recording artist. Who'd a thought? His video gives one a taste. Yea, that's what I'm talking about. Hevia is following in the footsteps of the greatest Galician piper of all times, Carlos Nunez. He performed at Celtic Colors on Cape Breton Island last year.

Then, of course, there's that sort of dreamy, new-age flamenco guitar thing. Since I'm not much on "new-age" music, I'll leave that alone.

Ah, Spain. The most "emotional" country I have ever had the pleasure of visiting - and I've been back on three occasions. One element that is common across all Spanish music I have heard, regardless of genre, is the passion and authenticity that is communicated through song, dance and instrumental performance.

Torvalds Lauds Open Solaris - Gets Invited to Dinner

Open conversations, like "Open Source" communities, are a wonder. There's an intriguing conversation going on right now online between Linux author/guru Linus Torvalds and Jonathan Schwartz, president of SUN Microsystems around Open Source Solaris. Solaris is, of course, SUN's wonderfully robust operating system.

For background, Open Source refers in this post to software that is by design open to public modification, enhancement and updating. Thus, Open Source code is generally released with very few copyright restrictions and collaboration is presumed. Torvalds is responsible for the LINUX kernal in the popular LINUX version of UNIX open source code.

Back to the story. Torvalds, a legend in the coding community, recently posted an article about Open Source Solaris from SUN where he expressed considerable enthusiasm, and some reservations about the company's future plans for making their services truly public. And, he made a couple of cynical predictions. Read his post here.

Not to be outdone, and ever mindful of the power of public discourse, Jonathan quickly responded with this post, and invited Linus to dinner. Sweet. It *is* important for these guys to talk. At least to users, managers and IT professionals everywhere. Read the posts for yourself and decide: Solaris, really open? Or not? Leave me a comment.

As with many of my peers, I confess that SUN is a particular interest and sentimental favorite of mine. I've posted about the company and its products before, here and again, here. We're all depending on Java a lot these days, and I often wonder if users really appreciate the role that SUN had in making that important technology widely available. Sure, they're competitive (What successful company isn't?) but the company also has made substantial and long-lasting contributions to the industry.

Obit: Mr. Wizard Dies

I learned today of the death of an individual who, more than any American I can think of with the possible exception of Ben Franklin, was responsible for stimulating our interest in science.

The Los Angeles Times today runs the obituary for Don Herbert, known to an entire generation as Mr. Wizard. His famous television program, Watch Mr. Wizard, helped an army of future scientists discover the wonder of the real world and scientific investigation. Today, with science and intellectual thought under assault from the religious right, it is appropriate to take a minute and celebrate the life of this modest man of learning.

Predatory Business Practices

Did you know that almost one-half of the profits made by banks and wireless cell-phone carriers come from fees and penalties? Surprised? I didn't think so. But a recent study by two Harvard Business School professors confirms our worst nightmare. It's not big brother that's out to get us, it's big business. And they are getting us, in case you haven't already noticed. Fleecing us good, robbing us blind. SFGate.com and San Francisco Chron columnist David Lazarus writes about the abuse here. Thank you David.

It wasn't long ago that the customer was king. Now, we're told (when we can get a real human to talk to us) to shut-up and consume. Buy now, and buy big. There's always plastic. You know the story, it goes something like this: "...and for everything else there's Mastercard." Or, "Visa...everywhere you want to be." The message is clear: don't hesitate, you can have it now. But make one late payment, on any card you may own, and you'll pay a steep price. Forever. These predatory business want to own your soul, and that of your spouse, children and living relatives. Just look at the recent sub-prime housing mortgage scandal if you need more proof than your monthly credit-card statement.

First, the banks float the idea that anybody can own a home. Anybody. Doesn't matter if your credit score is below 650 and you're barely scraping by. No, "buy now" was the message. You can always sell for a profit later. Now, the American dream has been lost for a huge number of well-meaning, working-class folks who trusted their banks. Hey, how many of *you* read every word in your home mortgage agreement and did all the math?

And cell-phone companies are habitual offenders. Like insects sucking the blood of their customers with fees, charges and penalties; they actually design their programs to confuse their customers and increase their profit potentials in the process according to the Harvard report. That's what I'm talking about: Predatory business practices that seek to dupe trusting customers with disingenuous products and services that are actually designed to rip us off. This kind of corporate behavior is now the rule, rather than the exception. And we tolerate it. We hold for hours; patiently negotiate online forms; and submit multiple inquiries, requests and volumes of documentation to no avail. Give me a break. This model, as the academics correctly note, is not going to win friends and create loyal customers in the long run. But we're talking a feeding fenzy here. I can find no evidence of any long-term planning at all, just a wild, greedy rush to profit in any way possible.

This is a long rant, but there are so many examples that beg attention. Large Pharma refusing to develop new antibiotics because they're concentrating on drugs that people need to take every day. It's a profit thing, after all. What an excellent argument for nationalized, single-payer health coverage. Airlines devaluing their frequent flier programs, overbooking to excess and then tolerating delay rates approaching 70 percent. And don't even get me started on the insurance industry. When you have to sue your provider to recover from a hurricane, you're not in good hands.

I think we need a good, old-fashioned consumer revolt sometime soon. Buy local, support only ethical businesses, and vote with your wallet or pocketbook. It's time to heat up the tar and start collecting feathers. No wonder Halliburton moved its corporate headquarters out of the country to Dubai. Angry consumers (like this one) are spoiling for a fight. We could use a sympathetic big brother to watch our backs. So let's make sure to elect one next time around.

Rhetoric & Costs of War - Make Love not Stress

As candidates for president parade for the cameras and conduct their first series of presidential debates, the war in Iraq is never far from the surface. No wonder. The entire country is reeling from the human and financial costs involved and our very reputation as a world power is being called into question.

In this scenario, the Bush White House is rushing to shape perceptions, control the message and frame events in a positive light - only to have reality on-the-ground lay waste to all their efforts. Can you say: poetic justice? Mark Danner, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and author of a number of books on war and the war in Iraq recently delivered the commencement address at the University's "School of Rhetoric." In that address, reprinted in its entirety in the Asia Times, he holds forth on the rhetoric of war and how politicians manipulate language to their own ends. The upstart is, in this case, that reality has outpaced the administration's ability to frame events and control the message. It is a very long piece, but way worth the read.

One of my favorite online sources of opinion and news, the Asia Times also takes a much-needed look at "Financing the Imperial Armed Forces" of the US. The hard-hitting and fact-filled piece notes that we're going to spend $1 trillion this year alone, in the absence of any credible threat. Living in a county that has just closed all of its libraries due to cutbacks in federal timber subsidies (hey, we take care of the roads and steward the land), I can tell you that this kind of expense is hard to justify. The country is suffering financially, with millions of families and children without health insurance and a decaying transportation infrastructure, and we're sending this kind of money overseas. I recall Paul Bremer, the first Duke of Iraq, reporting that he gave away billions in unaccounted for cash that was literally loaded onto palates in bundles for distribution. A government investigative report issued in 2005 found that under Bremer's leadership, $9 billion in reconstruction funds (taxpayer $$) just plain disappeared. Uh huh.

What has this staggering investment bought us other than a host of deceased young men and women and countless misspent dollars? Certainly not the end of terrorism as we know it, which has fed on our folly. And if you believe as many do that Bush is on a crusade against Islam and you buy into the "Clash of Civilizations" scenario, consider this: Muhammad is now the most popular name for newborn boys in Great Britain, and maybe in the entire world. That's right. Check it out.

On a lighter note, Der Speigel reports today on the dangers of all work and no nookie. German scientists (bless their hearts) have finally established a direct link between a lack of sex and increased stress. Flip side: the more sex, the less stress. Like we didn't know that. But the study went further, indicating that postponing resolution of sexual frustration leads to more work - and even less sex. Read the study, there are some thought-provoking observations as well as a few wickedly clever lines.

Global Warming - Street View & New Software

While the most senior White House aide since Reagan (interesting juxtaposition) is declared a felon and sentenced to 30 months in prison, president Bush is in Europe trying to convince a skeptical public and colleagues in the G8 that he is serious about finally recognizing global warming and doing something about it. He's not, of course. Not this president. He's all about image and PR, sticking to his reactionary guns, and never listening to advice that doesn't come to him from his trusted inner circle of yes-men and yes-women. So his conversion is immediately suspect.

We are well advised to critically examine what Bush is actually doing while he's posturing for the press. One recent revelation puts his conversion in some perspective. While he calls for new "studies" (god forbid we should have actual emission targets), his administration is practically eliminating the country's ability to track global warming with its array of weather satellites. Now that's intuitive, don't you think? Give me a break. Check out James Hrynyshyn's great post on the subject here. This president is all about oil, coal, consumerism and he's more than willing to live with the consequences.

The Germans appear to have him figured out. Der Speigel calls attention to "The Emperor's Green Clothes" here. And speaking about Germany, the same source has a fantastic article about what really is possible. A farming village collects its waste products, converts them to methane for power, then transfers the resulting heat to a variety of local settlements for free or very low cost. Read about it here.

Another controversy appears to be unfolding around Google's new Street View app. I know I'm coming late to this, following posts on Boing Boing and a firestorm of opinions, comments and net conversations. I submit, however, that the focus of these conversations is misplaced. Street View is not the issue, the images are in not in real time and the convenience of having 3-D views of areas mapped is profound. Again, Google is very good at balancing access to data with reasonable privacy concerns. They've built-in flagging capabilities and have a very easy procedure for removing offending images. The real issue here is around privacy in the digital age, the utter loss of anonymity and the ability of large commercial concerns to build deep profiles and share intimate personal data about customers. The National Academy of Science explores the issue here. So let's leave Google alone and take a look at the Pentagon, large corporate data-mining practices and archives, and the kind of "interception" that may be employed to grab our email correspondence, net-surfing patterns and personal data without our knowledge or permission.

Finally, some real competition for Microsoft Office and the new Google online office apps. Robert Scoble's post first attracted my attention to Zoho and their new suite of surprisingly robust office apps. Check out this hot new desi company and their equally hot software.

Honor and Public Service

I was struck this week with the juxtaposition of several news stories that highlight the loss of accountability and even more importantly personal "honor" in the conduct of domestic politics. Consider this: In Japan, a cabinet minister and associate snared in scandal actully committed suicide rather than face the shame associated with the widening corruption probes. They also checked-out to take "responsibility" for their errors and practices. What a concept. In China, which is also struggling with corruption at every level, the head of the country's equivalent to the FDA was recently sentenced to death for allowing counterfeit, killer medicines into the domestic and foreign distribution channel. Now that's accountability. Big Pharma take note.

Contrast that to the current American administration which has lost control of the food supply in this country and squandered our good name and reputation worldwide. An administration that refuses to accept accountability for anything while wallowing in corruption, political dirty tricks, secrecy and failure. An administration that is so very obviously intent on circumventing the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, and the wishes of its citizens. Witness the President's recent interpretation of the last election. According to Bush, the thrashing his party and positions took last November were a clear message that we need to send MORE troops to die babysitting a dysfunctional government involved in a bloody civil war. How clueless is that?

And Alberto Gonzales is the poster child for the loss of honor in government. I've posted about Gonzales before, calling for his resignation for derelection of duty, obstruction of Congress and politicizing the Justice Department. For an update on the Impeach Gonzales effort and a look at Robert Greenwald's newest video on the subject from Brave New Films, click here.

Memorial Day Diary

There is a lot to remember on this holiday. As a product of the Viet Nam era, I am constantly reminded of the potentials of war gone bad. But rather than dwell on a potentially divisive issue on this day (I'll leave that for another post), I'd like to offer some numbers for your reflection. Warriors die in wars. An axiom, that. But so do the innocent, many children. So consider this:

War has claimed the lives of 2 million
children in the past ten years.

Today, about 20 million children have been forced to leave their homes and communities because of war.

Landmines, one for every 29 children around the globe, remain ready to claim their next victim.

Speaking about war zones check out this article in the U.K.'s Guardian News for a great analysis of the recent U.S. - Iran talks about Iraqi security.

On the technology front, I am intrigued by the news that Facebook has opened its API, creating an open platform for third-party applications. Everybody's Widgit will work on Facebook. I am quite impressed, as this is so NOT MySpace philosophy or behavior. Kudos to the Facebook team for having the good sense and the cojones to take this stand. Now if someone will just hand me a ready-made app to mine political data and trends from the social network space, make that a dashboard with multiple functionalities, I'll be ready to rumble.

For a real political rumble, check out this very gratifying video of former Presidential aide extraordinaire, Andrew Card being BOOed at the UMASS commencement - where he was awarded an honorary degree. This is just wonderful footage of popular outrage. Gotta love it.

Spring Break is Over Redux

After a long absence for Spring Break, bloggers block, some real work, and a dust-up over an electronic system error with the Oregon Department of Revenue around state taxes, I am finally back at it. Apologies for my absence. Spring chores got ahead of us this season, and my tractor broke down twice making matters worse.

Regular readers will note that I've added a "Help Russ Stop the War" widget to my permanent sidebar. I'm giving up on my self-imposed restriction against being too political. There's just so much at stake. So no rants, just a new widget and some upcoming articles around sensitive issues. Be ready.

My friend and colleague, Don Roberto, forwarded this link with the caption: The video that had to be made. So have a laugh at Alberto's expense. I'll be back soon with the finished versions of some long-simmering articles; including, a look at ethnic music in Spain, from Flamenco, through the Basque country to the Celtic sounds of Galicia. Spain has so much going on, it's hard to resist.

John Poindexter: The Fed's Uber Geek

Is retired Admiral John Poindexter (AJP) the best software architect alive today? I think he just might be, and I'm not sure whether to feel warm-and-fuzzy about that - or to be very, very afraid. That's because Poindexter, a convicted felon with a criminal record of lying to congress, is the federal government's "Uber-Geek." Nerd in chief. The individual most responsible for the conception, design and execution of the DHS's massive security technology apparatus. At least the data mining and analysis piece, which is the core functionality of the new system. His convictions, I should note, were modified on appeal.

AJP has been working on this stuff for years. And I know that to be a fact. I first met the Admiral in the late 80s - when he was back in civies after Iran-Contra. He was a developer at the time, and worked with DESQview/X, a multi-tasking, windowing environment provided by my employer. He showed up at the annual developer's conference one year, and joined the company's trade-show crew and other developers on the floor of Network World (might have been InterOp) on at least one occasion that I remember. I also remember him hanging with Wayne Ratliff and Bob Byers, of dBASE fame, who shared his passion for software design and database architecture. Even then, there were lots of animated conversations around collecting data from disparate sources on multi-platform networks; buffering and caching that information in novel constructs, while providing multi-layer hooks and handles so that external software agents could organize, optimize and process the aggregated data to achieve certain, pre-defined goals. Heady stuff, at the time. There was a lot going on in the data base developer universe in those days, Brian Russell and Mitch McConnell had finished Clipper 5.0. Ratliff & Byers were collaborating on new stuff, and The Admiral was right in the middle of all the action.

Poindexter was the mind behind the Total Information Access (TIA) system first proposed after 9/11. Congress was so intimidated by the reach and constitutional implications of that model they cut off funding and told the program to go away in 2003. It didn't, of course. Now, TIA has returned on steroids - and has been rebranded as ADVISE - for Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement. Parse that. It makes for some interesting disambiguation. The Christian Science Monitor covered the story here.

ADVISE is capable of cross-matching material from websites and blog posts to government records and personal data. Techies, ponder this: The Feds can take ten-terabyte gulps of data and process it in under a minute. As good as that may be for advancing scientific research, it does not bode well for personal privacy.

As I understand it, massively scalable, grid- or blade-based computing architectures based on commodity components connected by 10Gb Ethernet networks and Core XGE Ethernet-based backbone switches are delivering over one terabyte/minute table scanning rates in a variety of available Data Warehouse Appliance configurations. Another model, "share-nothing" architecture, is the key to the MIT Media Lab's new petabyte storage, terabit I/O bandwidth "Human Speechome" project. That is one of the largest and highest performing commercial systems that I am aware of. And you know the Feds are way ahead of that curve.

And now, the feds have a great Beta site for all of their machinations: Singapore. Wired Magazine recently reported on the re-birth of TIA/ADVISE and the work of AJP in rolling-out the tightly controlled country's internal surveillance and data mining program. Dubbed Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning (RAHS), the new system is being deployed by Poindexter protegees. Singapore is widely expected to fine-tune the system, work out any bugs, then sell it back to us. It's just so convenient that I can't avoid the conclusion that the old "nod-and-wink" is at work to circumvent the will of the Congress of the United States and the opinions of our citizens. Just peachy.

A worthy data mining and privacy guru, Jeff Jonas of IBM (check out his fine blog here), adds this humorous take: "Data Mining, noun, 1. Torturing data until it confesses ... and if you torture it enough, it will confess to anything." Therein lies the conundrum for privacy advocates. I can guarantee that outsourcing our systems development and beta testing to entities that are beyond our authority and public oversight will only exacerbate that conflict. But then again, that's how AJP and his crew have always worked.

Spring Break is Over

Spring has definitely arrived in rural, southern Oregon. So I've taken some time off for Spring Break, Spring chores and now, tax preparation. Apologies to my readers for an extended absence. I've got a number of new articles queued-up, including pieces on Celtic Fiddle; French Manouche Gypsy Jazz; John Poindexter, the Fed's programming uber-geek; and, a travel note about "high tea" on Vancouver Island. So bear with me for another day or so, and I'll be back with some new stuff. ITMT, I've taken to posting some reviews at Blog Critics Magazine, by their own description, A sinister cabal of superior writers. More on that later.

The Zoot Suit - East LA's Fashion Revolution

Quick, imagine the most elegant male figure you've ever seen. If he's not in a Zoot Suit, then think again. Who can forget the image of Edward James Olmos as El Pachuco in the film version of Luis Valdez's famous play. Or Jim Carrey in that bright yellow Zoot Suit in The Mask.

Though the distinctive suits, first called "drapes," made their original appearance in Harlem, it was the large Chicano population in East LA that made the look their own. And during the repression of the 30s and 40s, the suits became a symbol of resistance and rebellion. The ensuing "Zoot Suit Riots" inspired the Valdez play and subsequent movie - forever enshrining the Zoot Suit in Chicano culture. (image courtesy of El Pachuco, used with permission)

A proper Zoot Suit can still be hard to find. The ensemble includes long, wide-legged trousers called Tramas, and the long Carlango coat replete with wide lapels and notoriously padded shoulders. Shoes must be European, preferably French and often two-tone, made from the finest leather with pointed toes. The look is completed with a long chain that dangles prominently from the belt to the knee and back - tucked into a side pocket. A colorful, brimmed felt hat with a feather tops it all off. Oh, then there's the pose. One foot forward, weight on the back foot with a slight backwards lean, hands in pant pockets or resting on the belt, and a very serious look around the eyes. It helps if you've got a thin, black mustache and a tailored goatee.

You know, when you work hard all week and the system isn't structured to provide your community with all the rewards of the American dream, you make your own dreams. You create your own look, and you wear your best with pride. You dress up for whatever you've got going on on the weekend, and you look sharp. That's what it's all about.

There's this shop in my old neighborhood - Fullerton, California - that has been making Zoot Suits since 1978. That's right, the real deal. Inspired by the play, by the symbolism and by the fashion, Phyllis Estrella made it happen. Now a larger, family enterprise with a really good-looking web site, El Pachuco is a legend in Southern California. These are the suits you see in Lowrider magazine. If you love fashion, and are looking to make a serious statement, check out this place. You won't be sorry.

Ian Murdock Joins SUN

Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Nasdeq) today announced the appointment of Ian Murdock to the position of Chief Operating Platforms Officer. Murdock posts about the move on his weblog today.

A legend in the open source software community, Murdock will retain his title and role as chair of Linux Standard Base (LSB), the Linux platform interoperability standard group. Prior to joining Sun today, Murdock was Chief Technology Officer of the Linux Foundation. He co-founded Progeny, a major Linux distributor; and, was founder of Debian (a combination of the first three letters of his wife Debbie's name and his own first name), arguably the first, decentralized open source project run by volunteers.

On his weblog, Murdock is coy about his charter - but allows that working to close the interoperability gaps between Sun's Solaris operating system and Linux will be a priority.

Tony Furtado - New Album from an Amazing Musician

How do you classify the music of cross-over innovators like Bela Fleck? Can genius be pigeonholed? I don't think so. Tony Furtado's music, all thirteen albums, are in the same vein. All defy cookie-cutter musical categories.

Somewhere between alternative bluegrass and alternative country - with a few jazz, Celtic and Latin influences for good measure - Furtado is often compared to Bela Fleck. Like Fleck, he started out as a banjo sensation - twice winning the national banjo competition. But unlike Fleck, Furtado extended his instrumental repertoire to include almost everything with wires and wood. His slide guitar playing is exceptional.

Where Bela pushes limits, builds mathematical constructs with his music, and has composed an entire song that is a palindrome, Furtado is driven to extract every last ounce of emotion from every note he plays. A natural storyteller and songwriter, his melodies are sweet, fluid and often haunting. That's when he's not thrashing his slide to evoke some raw country blues with Kelly Joe Phelps on vocals. I love both Fleck and Furtado, but I tend to react to Bela's work with my brain and my feet; and to Tony's music with my heart, soul and body chemistry.

I'm rarely happier than when I'm listening to Furtado's American Gypsy (2002), Tony Furtado Band (2000) or Roll My Blues Away (1997) discs. His music reaches down and turns on a fire hydrant of emotions. It has a welcome, masculine vibe that is strong, confident and unrepentant - sure to appeal to alternative music-loving males as well as their female counterparts. My partner's enthusiasm testifies to that.

Some of Furtado's sweetest slide guitar tunes include: "Can You Hear the Rain," "Promise of a Better Day," Song for Early," and "Crow Country." These songs are the musical equivalent of soulful cowboy poetry, featuring the artist's strong, instrumental voice. And Tony has mastered the art of speaking to his audiences with only his instruments. They weep, cajole and moan. There is authentic passion in all of his music. It's all real, nothing sounds contrived or formulaic. Honest music.

Songs like "Willow Tree," "False Hearted Lover," and Bill Munroe's "Molly and Tenbrooks" showcase Furtado's country blues licks and the sultry moan of Kelly Joe Phelps' unique and pleasing voice.

In January, Tony Furtado released his 13th album; appropriately dubbed 13. It has 13 tracks. Furtado is 39 years old, three times thirteen. The work marks a departure from previous compilations in that it features a bigger cast of supporting musicians, and a nod to alternative, southern-style rock. So this album speaks to the "feet" thing. It is definitely "danceable." In addition to ten original compositions, he performs three covers on this disc. Furtado's covers always bring something new and unexpected to the work of other songwriters. On 13, he offers versions of The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Sun," and Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot." The artist also showcases more of his own vocals on the new disc. He's got a nice tenor, and is maturing as a songwriter.

If you count yourself a fan of alternative bluegrass or country; and you are intrigued by a gifted artist and storyteller, dial-up Furtado's web site and check out his tunes and discography. He's back on a min-tour after a year's hiatus. I'll be there when he appears a the Mobius in Ashland, Oregon in April. Wouldn't miss it.

Malware Reported on Google's Blogger

Internet security appliance firm Fortinet is today reporting that Google's blogger.com site has been invaded by malware. Pop Impulse uses the blogger.com platform and I am quite concerned with this unwelcome news. I have forwarded the "owner" of the blogger.com "help group" an email asking for clarification. None is forthcoming at this point. We're watching this development closely and will post clarifying news or notices of fixes.