"You go ahead and take your money. We don't want your money. Just the bank's." - John Dillinger to a bank customer who accidently left his money at the bank counter during one of their stickups (p. 187)

Book:Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34

Author: Bryan Burrough

My review at-a-glance: Gunfights. Robberies. High-speed chases. Sprawling pursuits. And best of all: it actually happened.

The 1930s were a different time.

To this revelation you might have the following reaction: no duh. First off, there was this little thing the Great Depression. People were also overly fond of wearing fedoras. Computers didn't exist and $100 went a much longer way than it would now. But what isn't quite as well known are the stories of the "Public Enemies" during the 1930s and how their existence brought the FBI its power.

The cast of people involved in this complex web was nothing short of larger than life. In the forefront was John Dillinger, the charismatic "Robin Hood"-esque bank robber who managed to capture the public eye and, at least to some extent, the public's sympathy. Pretty Boy Floyd, another bank robber and an associate of Dillinger's, who was suspected of being involved in the Kansas City Massacre (of who's perpetrators remain officially "unknown.") Baby Face Nelson, the reckless, temperamental criminal who never thought twice of killing those whom he thought were in his way. Alvin Karpis, a member of the Barker-Karpis Gang and the "last man standing" amongst all his peers. And Bonnie and Clyde, whose romanticized Hollywood characterization deviates considerably from the true story behind their infamy.

In the early 1930s, the FBI was virtually unknown to the public and the onset of the Public Enemies' exploits pushed several members of this federal organization to the forefront. Burrough introduces us to them also, focusing on the roles of John Hoover, Melvin Purvis and Samuel Cowley. Little sympathy is reserved for Hoover, the first Director of the FBI, which is more than within reason if the characterization of him holds true. Additionally, Purvis' many blunders are detailed and Cowley's understated role in ending the "War On Crime" is reviewed.

Of course, the list doesn't end there. Many other "Public Enemies" fill out the real-life cast, as well as players on the FBI and various state police departments. Billie Frechette, Dillinger's girlfriend, and Ana Sage a.k.a. the "Lady In Red" are just two supporting characters important to the events that transpired. Burrough leaves no stone unturned in his investigation, which quenches one's desire for detail while making this a relatively long read - a trade off, perhaps - but a necessary one.

Personally, though I'm not a big fan of history and found it challenging to get all the characters and their paths straight at first, I found this book fascinating for the simple fact that all of this really happened. From the criminal masterminds involved and their escapades to the evolution of the FBI (which was much more tumultuous than you'd expect), it comes as no surprise to me that this was taken to be the stuff of a blockbuster movie - one which I fully intend to see (and especially look forward to watching the scene of an ingenious prison escape - for which I won't delve into, again at the risk of spoiling things). I shall end this long-winded review (I apologize!) with a Dillinger quote:

Tomorrow, work I will start

Books everywhere. Ahh!

As mentioned in my last blog entry, I recently got to see Coldplay during their Viva La Vida tour (with Snow Patrol and Howling Bells), and dare I say it was one of the best shows I've ever been to.

I knew nothing of the Howling Bells before that evening so I wasn't sure what to expect. Lots of bells in their music, perhaps, or maybe a shocker revelation that one of their members was part werewolf. (Get it? Werewolves? Howling? Howling Bells...oh, nevermind.) To my surprise, neither were incorporated into their music - rather, their sound was like a dance-y hybrid of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Metric. All in all, an appropriate opener act (from Australia, no less).

Next to take the stage was Snow Patrol.

Excuse me for a moment.

*I LOVE SNOW PATROL!*

Ahem.

Now that's out of the way, here's some information that might surprise you: I happen to be a fan of Snow Patrol. Having seen them perform once before, I had high expectations - Gary Lightbody has a fantastic voice - and those expectations were met, perhaps exceeded. Not much new material was played; they stuck to old favorites such as "Open Your Eyes" and "Chasing Cars" from Eyes Open, and to my delight they played perennial favorite "Run" from their album Final Straw. The new songs they did play were "Crack The Shutters" and "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It", two of my favorites from A Hundred Milion Suns. If you ever have the chance to see them perform live, take it.

While prepping the stage between acts, this fellow with a broom started to breakdance.

Yeah, I know. Awesome.

When the main attraction of the night, Coldplay, took the stage, it was nothing short of spectacular. Now let me say this: I LOVE COLDPLAY. To me, the mark of an excellent concert is being able to immediately forget about the time, work, stress...whatever was on your mind the second before...and just feel totally immersed in the music. That's the corniest thing I'll probably ever write on this blog, but I honestly believe it to be true, and it happened as soon as they took the stage with "Life In Technicolor."

One thing that I shouldn't have been surprised by (but was anyways) was Chris Martin's incredible showmanship. He was funny, engaging and pulled surprising athletics; he ran all over the stage, threw himself on the floor several times and twirled an umbrella for "Lovers In Japan", among other things. The band sung about Wayne Gretzky and Michael J. Fox, asked everyone to do a "cell phone wave" and even rewarded those with bad seats on the other side of the arena by running over to their area for an acoustic serenade which included "Green Eyes". They also did a great cover of Smashmouth's "I'm A Believer", leading to some great banter amongst themselves with Chris asking each member "If you're in love, sing oooh-oooh" before launching into the up-tempo chorus.

The stage pyrotechnics left nothing to be desired; nearly every song had an accompanying light show. Of special note was "Yellow", whereupon a bajillion yellow balls descended from the ceiling as it started (and several bandmates popped a few). Cannons shot out paper butterflies into the arena, and the band members' faces were reflected in ceiling-mounted screens.

That is to take nothing away from when the band stripped it down, however, which provided some very memorable moments. For instance, Chris Martin introduced their piano-only rendition of "The Hardest Part" by saying he originally called it the "solo" section of the concert, landing him in hot water with Will C who provided the vocal harmonies. (Paraphrasing: "please cheer for him so he doesn't leave the band".) And so cheer we did - and the performance was fantastic. Audio of this can be found here: http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=428

Of the top of my head, other songs they played which I loved included "Fix You", "Strawberry Swing"and "Death And All His Friends". The show ended, in my opinion, much too soon, though the blow was softened by a terrific encore consisting of "The Scientist" and "Life In Technicolor II".

Last but not least, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here's an essay:

"Allow me to explain. My name is John Hodgman; you live on the planet Earth; and everything is going to be fine."

Book I've read: More Information Than You Require

The story behind this case is actually quite simple, enough so that I don't feel it necessary to give a whimsical rendition of it in third person. It goes as this:

Once upon a time, there was a camera name Kodak. It was a rebellious camera, one that came from the wrong side of the tracks--

Oops. Let's try that again.

I once had a camera. It was this Kodak monstrosity - simple to use but not much else.

In the middle of transferring pictures from it to my computer one day, it decided to up and die.

After a brief moment of silence, I bought a new one - a lovely blue Lumix, on the advice of a friend.

It needed a case, so I made one.

The end.

That's better :)

Project details: This was made in 5 pieces (front + back + sides x2 + base); thinking I could get away with doing less work, I actually made a first case using just 2 (front + back), but it ended up looking terrible. It doesn't pay to be lazy, kids!

I used two fabrics: the outer is cotton with a random blue/green flower motif and it's lined with flannel (it's not visible in the above pics, but it's actually a Christmas-themed flannel: white with red snowflakes!). I gave it a velcro closure; the oversized stud is just there for decoration. Fits my Lumix a little snug but it's bearable. I'm not quite satisfied with the bottom seams but I guess I'll live.

Just for kicks, here's a "making-of" pic:

PS: Don't worry, I just used the black thread to "tack" the pieces together; it was promptly removed after everything was sewn up. (I hope that's the right terminology and not something I just made up.)

Their new album Perfect Symmetry debuted to controversy since it marked a pretty big departure from their old sound. And I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't crazy about it at first - it took a little longer to register that it was Keane I was hearing - but after a few listens I found myself coming back to it regularly and now, with the exception of one or two tracks, it's really grown on me. Here is one of the songs I'm liking from their new album, "The Lovers Are Losing":

And here is "Somewhere Only We Know" from their first album:

However, all was not well. Sansa's dream of living in a house went unfulfilled, and he went into a deep depression. His owner tried to cure him by giving him a small cardboard shelter which (was formerly a box of gum), but this box was crushed during one of the owner's daily LRT rides to school. Sansa became even sadder, withdrawing into himself until he wouldn't work completely to the chagrin of his owner.  

"*&%$!" she would say in frustration, vowing to throw out Sansa and return to iPod von Shuffle for her music-listening needs. However, after consulting with her good friend Dr. Google, she discovered how to reset poor Sansa and he became operational once more. Not wanting to see Sansa in such a state ever again, his owner decided to fashion Sansa a real home.

After days of searching the confectionary isle of grocery stores while ignoring the stares of other shoppers, Sansa's owner spotted a lovely plastic container of mints. She purchased the container, emptied it and got to work. Soon she had fashioned a home for little Sansa - a durable home, which was capable of withstanding being mashed by passengers on the LRT - and Sansa was happy at last.

Project details/how I made this bad boy:

All in all, it was a pretty simple operation. I took a plastic mint container with a detachable lid (the slot I used to insert headphones in was where the mints were dispensed from) and lined it with black felt on the sides/bottom. Originally, I wanted to use a metal hinge to keep the lid and box attached, but since I had none on-hand I made a faux back "hinge" with scrap jersey fabric. (You can't see this in the pictures.) My only gripe is that it's not quite wide enough to hold my Sansa with the clip attached - but for a $1.49 case, I'm pretty satisfied. 

And another of my favorites, Knock Knock:

Last but not least, about a month ago I had the privilege of seeing her perform live. Here is probably one of my favorite moments of that night - her a cappella version of Like A Song, one of her more melancholy songs, proved to be nothing short of amazing.