Florida heads to Canada; Who will head ULL?

"Creative Class" author and economist Richard Florida is doing a reverse snow bird and heading north to the University of Toronto's up-and-coming Rotman School of Management.

The Washington Post story on Florida's decision to leave George Mason University in Virgninia provides this information:

Florida, who joined GMU in 2004, has theorized that smart, innovative thinkers -- such as engineers, writers, entertainers and artists -- are crucial to the success of U.S. cities. He expounded those theories in two top-selling books: "The Rise of the Creative Class," published in 2002, and "The Flight of the Creative Class," published in 2005.

His departure comes just a few months after GMU featured him in a Business Week advertisement touting the Washington region's blend of cultural, sports, academic and service amenities as being a magnet for the best and brightest young people.

At Rotman, Florida will be a professor of business economics and academic director of the school's newly established Centre for Jurisdictional Advantage and Prosperity, a $120 million project to study how localities make themselves more attractive to companies and top-flight talent.

So, Florida, who spoke in Lafayette a couple of years ago as part of The Independent/IberiaBank speaker series, will still be looking at issues that have significance for those of us in Lafayette who are committed to driving change and growth using technology and innovation.

One possibility that has opened up with the announced retirement of ULL President Ray Authement is that the new president (whoever he or she may be) will have the opportunity to energize faculty recruitment (hell, energizing anything on campus would be an improvement).

The horse farm fiasco is not what tarnished Authement's legacy at the university. That episode was symptomatic of the larger problem which was the loss of his ability to distinguish the interests of the university from his own interests and those of his circle of friends.

After 30-plus years of the same management, my hope is that the next president of ULL will be someone young and out to make a name for themselves (much like Authement was when he first took the post). Rather than looking to build an empire here, the university would really be best served if the next president is some energetic person who comes here looking to shake the place up; someone seeking create some a buzz about the university that matches the growing buzz about Lafayette in business and technology circles around the country, and then used their good work here to move on to something else.

There's some serious plaque in the academic and operational arteries of ULL. What this university needs is the anti-Authement: someone with no ties to the status quo and with an eye to letting their great work here serve as a spring board to something bigger and better down the road.

ULL won't thrive if the job of president comes to be viewed as the last stop before retirement for someone who made their reputation back in the day. And, if ULL doesn't thrive, it will be a brake on Lafayette and the region at a time when our community needs ULL to be contributing to the forward thrust.

Acadiana Counters the Filibuster

Lafayette and Acadiana joined with MoveOn.org members at about 130 sites on Tuesday evening to calling on Republicans in the U.S. Senate to end their obstruction to changes in U.S. policy in Iraq. The event was held in front of the John Shaw Federal Courthouse in downtown Lafayette. It drew about 20 participants including Republicans, veterans, members of Pax Christi, and, of course, members of MoveOn.org.

We also drew three counter-counter-filibusterers (people who support the war). As the event progressed, they ended up being badly outnumbered.

It was a very moving event and one that drew significant media attention. Here's the story from The Advocate. Here's the story from The Daily Advertiser.

Our target was disgraced Louisiana Senator David Vitter. Vitter pretended to work in Washington on Tuesday, being hounded by the media for answers to questions he refuses to take.

If this man is serious about redeeming his political soul, one possible path would be to demonstrate that he is willing to put the good of the country ahead the good of his party and stop defending a failed policy in Iraq that has destabilized South Asia and the Middle East, turned Iraq in to a recruiting weapon for Al Queida, and imperiling the viability of the Army and Marines, as well as the safety of the country.

Other Republicans are listening. Vitter has yet to demonstrate that he cares for anything but saving his own skin.

Blanco Reaffirms Louisiana Commitment to Sanctity of Sperm

Governor Kathleen Blanco signed yet another act of the Louisiana Legislature that reaffirms the second class status of women under Louisiana law.

You can read about the current law here.

As you may recall, last year the Legislature passed and Blanco signed a law that apes a South Dakota law that bans abortions — even when the life of the mother is at stake — without exceptions for rape and incest victims.

Let's see. Among the worst states in quality of education. Among the highest states with the percentage of people not covered by health insurance. The state with the highest rate of incarceration. Among the highest rates of poverty. And the toughest abortion laws in the country.

Looks like that last one is a good fit with the rest of that list.

Bas Clas "Fireworks" at the Blue Moon Saloon

For about as long as I can remember I've been friends with one or more of the Picous, beginning with Skip Picou whom I met at age 5.

His cousins, Donnie and Steve, have played music all of their lives. For the past 30 years or so, they've been the core of the band Bas Clas (that's French for "low class").

Although the band hasn't played much over the past decade, they managed to meet in Lafayette last December and play a gig at the Blue Moon Saloon. I managed to video a good portion of that event.

This is the first of what could be a series videos from that event.

Musical Treats: Re-issues from Traveling Wilburys and Elvis Costello & The Attractions

The past two months have literally brought music to my ears in the form of re-issues of music from the Traveling Wilburys and from Elvis Costello & The Attractions. What treats!!!

The Traveling Wilburys – George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn and Bob Dylan (along with drummer Jim Keltner) recorded a couple of albums in the mid to late 1980s. The fact that they worked under assumed names and just sort of fell together by accident gave the venture a casualness that readily translated to the music. They weren't out to impress anyone; they just wanted to make some music together. And it was great!

Just after the first album was released, Roy Orbison died. The group put out a second album (called Volume 3), then went dormant. The music went out of print.

George Harrison died in 2001 and, according to accounts, he had led the group by handling the business end of the operation (which was pretty complicated since all the musicians were on different record labels).

For some reason, I'd been looking for their music in recent months — though, it wasn't exactly a quest. I check on iTunes periodically, to no avail. Occasional trips to the music section at Barnes & Noble were equally unproductive. Until, I saw this story on CNN.com a couple of days ago!

Rhino Music put together the CD version of the release of the two Wilbury albums as well as DVD versions that include videos of a few of the band's songs.

What a great company Rhino is!!! It was their re-issue of Get Happy!! (which included 30 — count 'em, 30! — bonus tracks) that a few months ago renewed my appreciation for just how great Elvis Costello & The Attractions were (when he plays with The Imposters these days, it's The Attractions with a different bassist).

That release, purchased at Barnes & Noble, sent me on a quest for a digital version of one of the great rock recordings of all time: Elvis Costello & The Attractions' version of Nick Lowe's (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding. Again, this was not available in its original version on iTunes or any other (legal) online service. Until last month, when digital versions of remastered early recordings from the band were re-issued by Hip-O/Universal Music Enterprises.

Well, it's all there now!

Costello's lyrics and word-play have always been his strength, regardless of the style of music he's produced. But, what comes crashing through these recordings is just how powerful a band The Attractions were. With Costello playing guitar, it's a four-piece band. The Thomas brothers provide the rhythm section. Pete Thomas is, in Costello's estimation, the best rock drummer of all time. The band's induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame revealed that Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas didn't get along well. Bruce Thomas, in fact, did not play during the live set that was part of their induction into the Hall.

But, for my money, the most distinctive player in the band is keyboardist Steve Nieve (pronounced Ny-eve). His mastery of the keyboards gives those early albums their distinctive sound. His work on the Hammond B3 with Costello and Allen Toussaint on The River In Reverse demonstrates a versatility and a feel for New Orleans music that is rare even among locals. The way Nieve's playing complements and blends with Toussaint's piano work is what makes that album so moving — in every sense of the word! He's got a website, which includes a blog.

How can anyone listen to "Tears, Tears and More Tears" and not dance? That song is part of three successive cuts on the album that constitute the irresistible core of the album. "Tears" is a Toussaint original. It is followed by Costello's "The Sharpest Thorn" which is followed by Toussaint's "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" in which Toussaint makes his first vocal appearance on the album.

Back to the Costello re-issues: I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I once owned the vinyl versions of most of these re-issues. "Imperial Bedroom" is a lush recording where Nieve's piano work gives the album a polish not common in recordings of any kind. "Armed Forces" has the same sonic qualities, although the lyrics focus on more topical subjects. There's a "Best Of — The First 10 Years" that provides a decent (though too small) sampling of the first decade of Costello's work.

It's instances like this, though, that the ability to buy singles that iTunes provides really comes in handy. Go ahead! Roam around the catalog; sample the singles from Costello & The Attractions as well as The Traveling Wilburys. Bet you can't buy just one!

Senate Republicans Defend Corruption of the Justice Department

Senate Republicans, including Louisiana's David Vitter, blocked an attempt by 53 other senators to vote that they had lost confidence that the disgraced, incompetent, law-breaking rule of the U.S. Department of Justice by political hack Alberto Gonzales.

I called the offices of Senator Vitter and Senator Landrieu today to express my support for the no confidence measure.

The call to Landrieu's office was first. Starting with my name and the city in which I live, I explained to the person who took the call, that I was calling to urge Senator Landrieu to vote in favor of the no confidence measure. When I finished talking, the person taking the call thanked me and hung up.

The call to Vitter's office was pretty similar, with the exception that after I stated my intentions, the person on the phone asked for my address.

Vitter's office gets points for their handling of the call, but Landrieu wins on the merits of her vote.

Vitter is supposed to be a smart guy (Rhodes Scholar and all that), but he's been swimming close to the Republican corruption since he first became a member of Congress (I'd like to know more about his dealings with Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff).

This vote indicates that Vitter puts partisanship above the rule of law and the Constitution. Still, he tries to get away with positioning himself as a conservative. This is a sure indication that he thinks we're all idiots.

Warner Music Group attacks Apple's DRM-free music?

A couple of months ago, I found AOL's webcast of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at their site. More importantly (to me, anyway) I also found archives of earlier inductions — including Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

Included in the list of archived footage was a clip of Costello and the Attractions playing Nick Lowe's "What's so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding."

I'd periodically returned to that page to view the clip since then.

I went back tonight, clicked on the link and the page loaded, but included this message: "We're sorry, content protected by Digital Rights Management is not available on the Macintosh."

Could this be the Warner Music Group's revenge against Apple's DRM-Free music?

Any word of other sites engaging in this kind of behavior?