Words to make policy by

Sad but true by Mark Kleiman [The Reality-Based Community]

...At the drug policy meetings I picked up two aphorisms which I intend to steal shamelessly for the rest of my career. (The ground rules forbid me to name the authors unless/until I get explicit consent.) Though they were said about the drug-policy arena, they have much wider applications.

Does research influence policy? Certainly it does. Especially bad research.

&

Yes, it would be nice to have evidence-based policy-making. But even if we can't get that, perhaps we can do away with policy-based evidence-making.

  Politics--Policy   1 comment(s)  

Those quotes definitely apply to public policy about sex education and contraceptive access!
      ...posted by Liz on November 27, 2005 3:33 PM

Add a comment...

 The Return of Bob Hillman

New album in the can, coming out in 2006. W000t!

Bob Hillman, Musician

Dear Interested Parties,

As you may know, we haven't updated this website for more than two years. I haven't disappeared from the face of the Earth, in case you were wondering! Rather, I have been focused on other "enterprises." Among those "enterprises" is a new album, called If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home. I made it at PZM Studios in Iowa City, with many (though not all) of the great musicians who live here. Although the music part has been done for awhile, we're just getting into details such as package design; I hope to have everything wrapped up and available by early 2006. Here's the running order:

My Satanic Friends
Have You Heard the One About the Rabbi and the Priest?
Another Country
Something You Said
Celebrating Nothing
The Red Light District of Iowa City
If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home
Secret Handshake
Light Hearted Years
Long Live the Revolution
List of Things To Do

I've already heard and loved the bolded tracks above, either in concert or as MP3 extras on his site (looks like the early versions of the new tracks are gone, which I guess is understandable -- there are still plenty of samples from his excellent Welcome to My Century there though).

One more thing to be thankful for!

Update - Some lyrics transcribed from an old version of "Celebrating Nothing" (slow, vaguely anthemic):

[bridge]
I can tell you what I know
but I'd have to kill you slowly
with endless
painful
details

This was the year
This was the year for make-believe
Unconditional receiving
Encapsulating
And celebrating
Nothing

  Music   1 comment(s)  

It's nice to see that Bob Hillman has gotten around to following up the brilliant "Welcome To My Century". And that is not hyperbole! Too bad very few people ever heard it! He's THAT good! I just hope the musicianship on the new one matches that provided by the NYC players.
      ...posted by Peter T. on February 23, 2006 8:02 PM

Add a comment...