Morning... I wonder who first uttered the utterly inept "Good morning." I can't for the life of me figure out why it caught on. I think most of us would be perfectly happy to skip the truly morning parts of morning and just cut straight to late morning. That I could get behind. "Good late morning." And we would all smile because we were happy and not sleepy.

Ah, would that it were so, Clementine.

Hem on Monday night were quite wonderful, despite the strange way we saw them. There's a NPR-syndicated radio show taped here, Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, every Monday night, that's mission statement is to promote grassroots Americana music. They get an excellent mix of bands, some not to my taste, some very much so. And I suppose that may be a byproduct of their success, because frankly, the guy who runs the thing is a folk-loving ninny. Now, don't get me wrong. He seems like a very nice guy and his house band ain't bad, but anybody who will out and out, every time, identify theirself as a "folk singer"--well, hip isn't the word, folks, but that's alright. It takes all kinds. Unfortunately, even though it does take them, they can still be excruciating to watch flail at the world.

Case in point. Folk boy kept flailing at Hem about their being from big ole New York City and how he bet people looked askance when they started playing in New York City and people in New York City don't even go out so he doesn't know how they managed to SELL OUT their first three shows on buzz alone. I must say that the band remained commendably pleasant through this, but I guess you have to when it's going to be broadcast round the world to people who've come to trust this guy.

They did a kick-ass version of "Jackson," which is on a limited-to-200 CD of four covers they were selling that is just lovely. "A dream is a wish your heart makes..."

Anyway. Somehow I managed to wrench my neck, not from watching war coverage. Thankfully, that's now become so "five days ago" that I can manage not to do it without really trying. The problem, and I suppose the brilliant thing, about what the military has done here is that yes, unprecedented access, there's no question... BUT, the sensation I get is that there's no big picture of what's going on at all, not even when they try and piece one together. It just really seems like nobody has a clue what's happening, really, with the war. So, I browse the headlines and try to ignore the shaky cams out in the desert. I go to CNN and AP and look at the still photos of the day and I get a much better feel for how awful it is. Photojournalists, especially during times of war, are heroes to me. There's something about the distance they're removed, even when they're right there, just being behind the camera gives the really good ones that edge, that ability to capture the moment that means something in the midst of a what's happening. That's a hard thing. One of the problems with the TV coverage is that sometimes we need to stop time to really see something--TV news doesn't do that. It barrels on and by the time it slows down, we've moved on.

Anyway. I'm rambling and it's getting to be, well, still early freaking morning actually. But, links:

Interesting essay from the WP on words in wartime.

Neanderthal smash.

The weirdest thing in Kentucky news yesterday (dead sheep alert).

And, last but not least, the inimitable, irreplaceable Molly Ivins.

Have a good day.