They Report, I Decide.

Tidbits from my ongoing conversation with the media:

How Are You Coping With the Recession?
Mostly the fetal position and denial, alternately.

What Does Your Credit-Card Company Know About You?
Let me guess: too much? What do they know about you? Let me know. You're a newspaper and I'm an English major with no graduate degree. We both need the credit, man.

Do Men Need Testosterone Supplements?
Only the wimpy ones. I kid. I kid!

Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
Sounds good to me.

Does Jon Have a Date-Other-People Contract?
I don't know, does he? If so, I'll bet a lot of people will want his lawyer's number.

What Do Astronauts Do on Their Day Off?
Not sure, but I'd say they've earned a drink and a good wanking as much as the rest of us, if not more.

Why Are Doctors Such Luddites?
Everyone carries laptops around my doc's office. Where have you been seeking medical care, Ye Olde Hospytal?

Scenes, Sounds, Sonnets: The Next 400 Years?
Huh?

Is Obama the 'Boss'?
Technically yes -- oh, I see you put that in quotation marks. Yeah, I can understand how you would confuse him with Springsteen, but no.

Are Spiritual Encounters All In Your Head?
Most things are.

Why Is Michael Phelps Tinkering With Success?
Because he's hungover?

(Headline credits, in order: New York Times, New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, ABC News, CBS News, NPR, New York Times, NPR, Slate)

One Night Stands: "Left Side Drive"

I always liked the actress Samantha Morton, not only for her performances in Jesus' Son and Sweet and Lowdown but also for introducing me to Boards of Canada via this interview.

It's not surprising that an actor would go for this band. It's music that could pop up in a lounge, but is much more cinematic than most other things in that genre tend to be. The first track I downloaded was "Dayvan Cowboy," a five-minute scene of lonesomeness and crashing cymbals that blows in and then blows out more quickly than you'd like it to, especially if you're listening to it while walking or driving in a particular mood.

Lately I've been absorbed in the clanging slog of "Left Side Drive," which feels like a good accompaniment to enduring something trying, and to coming out the other side.

If anybody else knows about BoC and has tracks to recommend, I'd love to hear.