R.H. | Trivialities
(1) Listen to Bon Iver’s forthcoming album “Blood Bank” (four-song EP) in its entirety. Then (2a) pre-order the MP3 album (also out 1/20/09) and (2b) download For Emma, Forever Ago
, one of the better albums of 2008, if you don’t already have it.

(1) Listen to Andrew Bird’s forthcoming album “Noble Beast” in its entirety at NPR.org. Then (2) pre-order the MP3 album (out 1/20/09).

A friendly reminder from Pushkin as the holidays commence...
… tell me,
how are your kith and kin today?
And here my sentiments impel me
for your enlightenment to say
how I interpret this expression:
our kin are folk whom by profession
we have to cherish and admire
with all our hearts, and who require
that in the usual Christmas scrimmage
we visit them, or without fail
send them good wishes through the mail
to ensure that till next time our image
won’t even cross their minds by stealth …
God grant them years and years of health!
–A. Pushkin, Eugene Onegin, trans. Charles Johnston
For those unfamiliar with the current season of The Office, please excuse the inside joke. Those following the current season, however, will understand my elation this morning when, to my surprise, I beheld the following item in my office’s vending machine and concluded that Dwight Schrute had paid us a visit:

For those who do not use Facebook, rejoice; today, the day after election day, has brought out the worst in people. I have been monitoring comments related to last night’s events and have compiled this brief report based on my findings (click the image above to see a larger version).