Air Force Memorial. I find public art facinating -- particularly Memorials. Driving in to work, I've been watching the raising of the new Air Force Memorial. I confess they way it is looking in development had me apprehensive -- it it going to be a monstrosity? or merely tacky?

However, looking at the plans on the Air Force Memorial webpage, I think this is going to be okay. In fact, it may be beautiful.

"I have heard the future of rock and roll...." and it sounds a lot like it did the last time. The Killers have released the first track from their next disc, "Sam's Town" you can hear a streaming version of it here (or here, on their myspace page). Interestingly, it's got a great opening verse that could come directly from your pastor:

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus

That's right, salvation is not in a guy, "can I get an Amen?"

Anyway, the song is very catchy and the "burning down the highway skyline" is classic Springsteen.


BTW, the opening lines of this post are a play on Jon Landau's famous review of Bruce Springsteen.

While we're at it, here are the lyrics:

"When You Were Young" by The Killers

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagine when you were young

Can we climb this mountain?
I don't know
Higher now than ever before
No, we can make it if we take it slow
Let's take it easy
Easy now, watch it go

We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane
That started turning when you were young
When you were young

And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young

They say the devil's water
It ain't so sweet
You don't have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once and a little while

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagine when you were young

(Talks like a gentleman like you imagine)
When you were young

I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But more than you'll ever know

The Williams Shift. Here's a nice story which includes a tip of the hat to the great sports writer, Shirley Povich for a sweet turn of the phrase:

Ted Williams stepped out of the batter's box and stared. Then he shook his head and laughed -- exuberantly, like he did everything else.

The Cleveland Indians, following the lead of shortstop and manager Lou Boudreau, had shifted into the strangest defense Williams had ever seen. Third baseman Ken Keltner was slightly to the right of second base, meaning there were no infielders on the left side of the diamond.

Where was everybody else? Boudreau had moved between second and first. Second baseman Dutch Meyer was in shallow right field. First baseman Jimmy Wasdell stationed himself behind the bag on the right-field foul line. Beyond them, the Indians had, in effect, one center fielder and two right fielders.

Thus, the "Williams Shift" was born in the third inning of the second game of a doubleheader on July 14, 1946, at Boston's Fenway Park.

The reason was obvious. At 27, the left-handed Williams was the best hitter in baseball, and an estimated 85 percent of his swats went to the right side. In the first game that day, he had slammed three homers and driven in eight runs. In his first-at bat in the nightcap, he ripped a bases-clearing double. Frustrated, Boudreau thought he might improve the Indians' chances of stopping Teddy Ballgame with an unorthodox defensive strategy.

Shirley Povich, the superb Washington sports columnist, described the moment most pungently: "At first the crowd was silent, not realizing what was happening. But then it was that the shift hit the fans."

WWIII? Newt Gingrich made news by saying the conflict in Israel could be the beginning of World War III.

I disagree on two counts.

First, I think we're done with WWIII -- that was the world wide conflict known at the Cold War.

Second, I think what's happening in Israel is just another chapter in the on-going conflict which Norman Podheretz accurately described as World War IV.

Now then, what to think about this? Right now, the most important essay I've seen is Stephen Bainbridge's Just War Analysis.

Also beneficial is Jeff Jacoby's column explaining the Iranian connection.

Additionally, I recommend these segments from the Hugh Hewitt show: Christopher Hitchens (transcript) (download .mp3), Michael Ledeen (transcript) (download .mp3), James Lileks (transcript) (download .mp3), Victor Davis Hansen (transcript) (download .mp3), Mark Steyn (transcript) (download .mp3), and Mark Helprin (transcript) (download .mp3). [I like to download these and then burn them as audio tracks to a re-writeable CDR -- I listen to them as I commute and then erase and record new tracks as they become available.] All of these are from last week and give a good overview. I've listed them in chronological order and it can be helpful to listen to them in this order -- for example, Hitchens has been on the side of the Palestinians but is also opposed to Islamofacism -- and while he has some good points, Steyn later comes on an points out his inconsistencies.