November 6, 2010 archive

“Viewer Discretion” advisory on videos

Oakland Man killed by Bart Cop. Video made on cell phone by witness on nearby train. January 1, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Today, November 5, 2010

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…

A jury in Los Angeles County, where the trial was moved, found Mehserle guilty of involuntary manslaughter in July, acquitting him of the more serious charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. Mehserle testified that he killed Grant accidentally, after mistaking his service pistol and his Taser.

The jury also found that Mehserle, a Napa County resident, had used a gun during the crime. However, Judge Robert Perry threw out the gun conviction today, saying it was not supported by the evidence, and gave Mehserle two years for the involuntary manslaughter conviction, the shortest term possible.

With credit for time he has already served behind bars, Mehserle will be eligible for release in about seven months.

MILESTONES

For the first time ever in Japan, a woman who received a kidney transplant has given birth. The new mom, who is in her 40s, delivered a baby boy at Osaka University Hospital.

Ahead of next week’s APEC summit in Yokohama, a police bomb unit conducted Japan’s first-ever antiterrorism drill on a shinkansen. The exercise took place at Shin-Osaka station.

Sign of the times: a mass electronics retailer will operate a shop in Ginza for the first time when Laox opens a branch inside Matsuzakaya department store.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has unveiled a massive container ship that cuts CO2 emissions by 35 percent. The vessel uses an “air lubrication system” to reduce the “frictional resistance between the hull and seawater by running air bubbles along the bottom.”

JAXA announced that it will shift the focus of its astronaut training programs to Russia ahead of NASA’s planned retiring of its space shuttle fleet next year.

This week’s cover version was performed by an album-rock oriented jazz rock group who became known to the country in 1972 with their first ever Top 40 hit, which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 18, 1972, rising to #6 in 1973.  Although the song was credited to “Trad”, it was actually co-written by the group’s two enigmatic leaders.  It was written in the key of G minor, employing a significant amount of syncopation in the vocal melody, which was somewhat rare in rock music at the time.  It was also one of the first times in pop music in which the pitch-shifting technique was used during the organ solo.  An electric sitar solo was also included for additional effect.  

The group itself peaked in popularity in the late 1970s, having released seven albums that were a unique mix of jazz, rock, funk, R&B and pop.  Rolling Stone magazine referred to them as “The perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies.”  Contrary to the simple 1-4-5 chord sequence of classics such as “Louie, Louie”, the group’s songs were characterized by complex jazz-influenced structures and harmonies, not exactly the kind of music that most musicians could play by ear unless they were very talented.  Their lyrics have been referred to as “cerebral, wry and eccentric”, punctuated by sharp sarcasm, exploring themes such as crime, drugs, love affairs and their true-to-life contempt for hippie culture.