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In the coming months you'll be hearing more and more about partitioning Iraq.

Peter Galbraith has been the leading proponent of this and the cosnervatives swiftboated him as a "cut and runner" for it.

Rumors are that Bush is going to adopt the partition proposal in the next year.

Partitions have always sounded better in theory than in messy reality. I can think of cases where countries were divided up and there has been has been horrific blood letting: Israel out of Palestine; Bosnia out of Yugoslavia; Eritrea out of Etheopia.

But the granddaddy of them all was Pakistan out of India. I strongly recommend that anyone who is enthusiastic about Iraq's partition, read about India's partition.

I suggest Freedom at Midnight for the average person because it reads like a novel. The sections on the violence of partition are vivid and chilling. I've read this book a couple of times.


Probably even better is Liberty or Death - India's Journey to Independence and Division by Patrick French. If you like history written like history (rather than like a novel) this is the better book.

I've had both Indian and Pakistan friends recommend this book which is a good testimony to its balance. Ironically, I've heard pretty universal criticism of "Freedom at Midnight" by both Pakistanis and Indians which is another kind of testimony to balance, I suppose.



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Bo Diddley, Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood fell into a swamp... out crawled CC Adcock.



These days I'm listening to CC Adcock's Lafayette Marquis. CC Adcock's been getting a litte buzz lately. I picked up Lafayette Marquis and I'm hooked.

He seems like a guy who's honed his sound in a lot of juke joints and knows how to get a bunch of horny drunks to take notice.

He's old school enough to let out some great guitar breaks but he's modern enough to use drum loops. (But don't think sticky techno or tiresome hip hop ... think earthy and dirty.)

He certainly has his own sound, worthy of BB King or Dr John but he's not a slave to it. His guitar work makes me miss Stevie Ray Vaughn but unlike most good guitarists, Adcock doesn't think every song has to be guitar-driven. Some one-instrument heavy bands start to blur by the end of a CD but not Lafayette Marquis.

I've listened Lafayette Marquis at least a dozen times and I'm sure I'll listen to it many more. It's not often I find a CD like that.




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I just finished seeing the Curious George, one of the best children's movies I've seen in a long time.

It has a very traditional sensibility, in a very good way. It's one nod to modernity is the soundtrack by Jack Johnson

As a parent, I am always looking for music that my child will enjoy but won't bore me to tears. Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George does a whole lot more than that! It is quality, gentle folk music with a clean modern sound.

So, if you already like Jack Johnson and you're looking for music to share with your kids, this CD hits that perfect sweet-spot.

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A few years ago I was riding by the high walls of Sheik's compound when a fellow passenger say, "My folks were good friends with this family."

I was impressed. These days, we westerners hardly interact with the Arabs, let alone be friends with them. Especially the ruling family.

But his story was from several decades ago when the oil wealth was kicking in and when westerners were still a novelty in Arab countries.

This wing of the royal family is now second-tier but, according to my friend, they were in the seat of power when his folks knew them. They are still fabulously rich but they are no longer rulers. I asked him how this happened.

The story he told was essentially the plot of Syriana. In his story there was no Matt Damon or George Cloony nor where there any assassinations .. but the western meddling in oil politics was pretty much as portrayed in Syriana.

I can not say if this story was true but it does seem to confirm the basic premise of Syriana.

Bush will tell you that many Muslims hate America because of her freedom. Many Muslims will tell you they hate America because of her foreign policies.

One of those foreign policies is America's (and the west's) meddling in Middle East to keep oil cheap and free-flowing. In some countries they have installed un-Democratic leaders and in others they keep them propped-up.

I recommend Syriana as an easy and entertaining way to get a lesson in oil politics.

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(T Bone Burnett, that is.)

And he actually hasn't been gone at all and even earned a Grammy for "O' Brother Where Art Thou?" and has produced a huge number of albums.



But he hasn't cut a record of his own in almost fifteen years. Starting with Alpha Band and then solo, Burnett made some brilliant music but most of that is languishing on vinyl or eight-track tapes.

(Click to see T Bone Burnett's collection at Amazon.)

Until now! T Bone has two new releases.

Why are we fans still faithful after all these years?

T Bone Burnett is an American original.

He's southern but also progressive.

He's rooted in folk but creates new music.

He's Christian but not church music.

He's pop but goes for timeless.

He's down-to-earth but a poet at heart

Clerks at used record stores always treat you better if you say you're looking for a T Bone Burnett album.

Burnett is a musicians' musician. Your favorite musician is probably listening to T Bone Burnett right now. Doesn't that make you curious?

If, like nearly everybody, you missed this terrific musician in his earlier years, you can catch it on his retrospective, "Twenty Twenty."

Since T Bone Burnett was ahead of his time with progressive folk, most of this music sounds newly-cut.

His second album is The True False Identity is a collection of new work. I'm getting it for Father's Day but thanks Amazon's pre-view service, I'm listening to it on-line now. (Don't tell my wife. This is like sneaking a peek at Christmas presents.)

If you are new to T Bone Burnett, then I recommend you start with Twenty Twenty.

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(The Dual Disk has a video of T Bone Burnett on the other side.)


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I use my computer to play and record audio/video but got SICK of plugging and unplugging those dang little mini-plugs. Also, I got tired of adjusting the volume with the software controls instead of a trusty real-world volume nob.

The Behringer Eurorack UB502 Mixer is a $35 solution that solves that problem with true quality.

The term "professional feel" get way over-used in marketing but, in this case, you can actually say it. The knobs, connections, even the case, are the very same ones they Behringer uses on it's bigger professional mixers.

First hook your this mixer to your line-in and speaker-out of your sound card. Then plug your speakers into the mixer and -- viola -- you have professional quality control of every in-and-out option on your computer. You will need to get/make cords with those big phono plugs, instead of the mini ones but the big ones are way better, so it's worth it.

With a little turn of a knob and maybe a press of button, you can switch between whatever you are doing... Internet phone; dubbing an audio tape to disk; using WinAmp; listening with speakers or headphones; etc. etc.

Random notes:

I've used mine, never turning it off, for two years and it has worked flawlessly in a rather hostile environment -- a testimony to Behringer's quality control.

The size is perfect alongside a computer.. about like a paperback book.

It would be terrific for low-budget Podcasters.

It does not have phantom power, so you'll need a dynamic microphone or battery powered condenser. (This is only an issue if you have a studio-quality condenser microphone.)

It has a (superior) XLR input for one of microphones... if possible use a XLR microphone XLR cords are less likely to pick up noise from your computer... which is electronically noisy.

Suggested microphones: I use the Sennheiser (below) which sound great and is cheap but it comes in a 3-pack. I'll guess that the Shure, Sony or the Audio Technica microphones, below, would sound good in most applications (VOIP, video narration, podcasting, etc.) and would be a huge improvement over whatever cheap microphone-headset that came bundled with your computer.

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iPods are everywhere and are undeniably cool but I've gone another route and am very happy with it .... MiniDisc player/recorders. Probably you've never even heard of them.

If you mainly download music or burn your CDs, then get an iPod or one of the many MP3 players out there.

But for some of you, MiniDisc players are much better because they are the easiest way to "steal" audio from other sources and enjoy them later.

Free music is EVERYWHERE... on FM radio, music television, streaming audio, etc. etc. etc. With a MiniDisc player, you pop in a $1 disk and you get five hours (minimum) of free music. Best yet, it is very easy to cut out commercials and the songs you don't like. It's so easy, I do it on my evening walks.

For example, I recorded the recent Grammy Awards and easily made a "Best of the Grammies" CD. It's a favorite now.

Recording just about anything is a breeze: with a $2 patch cord from Radio Shack, connect the earphone of any audio source into the line-in of the MD player. Press "record" and that's it! Endless free music.

Sony is the leader in MD players and has a huge range of choices, mostly because the Japanese are crazy about MD players.

There are so many choices that it can get confusing. Here is my buyers guide:

1. Cost: You can get an older close-out model for $75 or maybe less. Or you can spend +$300 on the newest high-end models.

2. Player-only vs. player-recorder: This is a no-brainer... get the player-recorder. (If you just want a player, by an MP3 player.)

3. "MD" vs. "HiMD": This is the hardest decision. A couple of years ago, the far superior HiMD standard was introduced but at about twice the cost. They sound about the same but the HiMD gets a lot more time on the disks.

Here's my guide to MD vs. HiMD:

a) If you plan on using your MiniDisc player primarily to "time shift" listen-and-erase, go with MD. It's much cheaper. If you search around, you can get a older model for around $50. Although MD's are an orphaned product, players and discs will be around on the used market for years.



b) If you're an audio collector, get the HiMD. The HiMD allows you to upload your "stolen" music to your computer. This solved the main criticism of the original MiniDisc.



(The only way to get music off the MD is by playing your MD -- real time -- into your sound card. The result sounds fine but it's slow.)

A note about uploading: You must use Sony's Sonic Stage software. On Amazon you'll read lots of bad stuff about SonicStage but this refers to the earlier versions. The new version is much better. Still, it is one more piece of software. Also, Mac compatibility is very limited and Linux is non-existant.

Random comments:

MiniDiscs are a favorite of audio professionals, especially public radio journalists. Rumor has it that Sony accidentally killed off the professional "DAT" (digital audio tape) by producing a consumer item that sounds just as good but is way cheaper.

MiniDiscs are terrific for live concerts... it would have been a Deadhead taper's dream. You'll need a stereo microphone like the Sony ECM-DS70P Stereo Microphone but be sure to buy a HiMD model with a microphone input. (Some models only have line in.)

The actual minidiscs are much better than CD-Rs... you an record, erase, record again almost endlessly. I use them all the time and I've had only one fail on me.

There are plenty of players that hold more songs but MDs aren't bad, either. A single HiMD disc holds about 600 songs which should be plenty for a day trip... but if you're travelling, toss a small box of five disks in you suitcase and you'll have all the songs you could ever want.

I have yet to find a better player for audio books, mostly because of the "mark track" button which creates a bookmark. You can also easily delete the parts you've heard. However, to use this feature, you need to dub the audio over analogue (real time, line-in) tricking the MD into thinking it is an original recording.