Currently in my cd player:

Beth Orton

* Daybreaker (2002)
* Trailer Park ('97)
* Central Reservation ('99)

I've been wanting to tell you about this music for a long time, but it's so elusive, so dreamlike, I just haven't found the words.  When I'm in pain (of whatever variety) - I often put on some Orton and ride the waves 'til I wash up, intoxicated, on the far shore. 

Mark Knopfler

* The Ragpicker's Dream - this won't be released until October 1st, but I've been listening to it constantly for over a week (if I tell you, I'll have to kill you).  This is only his third album since the dissolution of Dire Straits in the early nineties.  It is by far his best.  Highly recommended.

Steve Earle, Jerusalem
Solomon Burke, Don't Give Up on Me
Dixie Chicks, Home
Bruce Springsteen, The Rising
The Blind Boys of Alabama, Higher Ground
Peter Wolf, Sleepless

California Governor signs embryonic stem cell bill

"We are going to be the only state in the nation to say it is appropriate for the state to embark on stem cell research and not limit it to adult stem cells," the Bill's author, state Senator Deborah Ortiz told a news conference on Sunday. (express india)

I don't know yet whether or not Gray Davis has said he'll sigin this.  As the November election draws near, you have to remember that, aside from the Bay Area, California is a very conservative state.

If it is passed and signed, it's only a matter of time before the Feds do something to undermine it.  If they wont let somebody with terminal cancer smoke a joint to ease their pain, they sure as hell aren't going to go for this.  If they did, it would open up all kinds of doors, including one that leads to assisted suicide in Oregon.

New Google News [bOing bOing]

excellent!

 Janis Ian interviewed on Slashdot [bOing bOing]

As mentioned here previously, Ms. Ian possesses uncommon wisdom.