why is the nashville scene trolling memphis?

betsy phillips, a blogger for the nashville scene, wrote an insulting and inflammatory article that i have reposted below. she is a troll.

So the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being index is out and Tennessee's well-being is pretty crappy. In 2012, we were 47th out of 50 in overall well-being. Our lives suck, our emotional health sucks, our physical health sucks. We don't engage in healthy behavior. Our jobs are crap. And we don't have great access to healthcare. We, in this case, being Tennessee.

But "we" being Davidson County, Murfreesboro and Franklin? That "we" has the 28th most awesome lives of any metropolitan area in the nation. We don't engage in very healthy behavior, but we're doing okay on everything else.

The numbers look even better for us when divvied up by Congressional district. Out of 436 congressional districts, we were 108 in overall rank, 86th in life awesomeness, right in the middle of the pack for emotional and physical health and we have great work environments and basic access to healthcare. We're doing better than Marsha Blackburn's district and it's crammed full of rich people.

But perhaps the real question is what Memphis is smoking. TN-09 is at the bottom of the barrel (429 out of 436) in terms of healthy behavior and their work environments and access to healthcare suck. But they're in great shape and they come in at 32 in terms of emotional health and 38 in terms of general live evaluation. Whatever Memphis is doing to enjoy life, we need to learn it and implement it here.

[Editor's Note: Alternate headlines for this story included ...

"We're Awesome, but We Could be Awesomer if We Learn Memphis's Secrets"

"Memphis Sucks But They Don't See It That Way"

"Cognitive Dissonance On The Mighty Missisippi"

"Memphis Brings Down The State Again, Still Smiles About It"]

who's coming with me?

mccarren park pool re-opens june 28. this is a picture of it with real water inside. no word yet on whether you will be able to take turkey's nurks in for pool deck refreshments but here's hoping. via

are you socially adequate?

take the quiz and report back. via.

new broken social scene

i listened to it on my way to work this morning, and i really liked it. but they're pretty much my favorite, so there wasn't really much chance of that not happening. it's fairly down-tempo, and they try some new things, but mostly its just what you'd expect. here are 2 of my faves so far:

broken social scene - sentimental x's
broken social scene - sweetest kill

it's streaming here!

oh thank god.

broken social scene - world sick

finally a new song from the upcoming broken social scene album, forgiveness rock record, out on may 4 (too long). 

and it's good. it's good.

cool.

Broken Social Scene, K’Naan, Stars, Joel Plaskett, Steve Earle, Laurie Anderson, Martha Wainwright, Blue Rodeo, Iron & Wine, Corb Lund, Ron Sexsmith, Joan As Policewoman, and Sun Kil Moon are all confirmed to be performing in some capacity at an Olympic related event. What’s more, the boys of Wilco, who will basically be Canadians for the first part of the new Year, are also scheduled to perform at an Olympic event, this taking place on February 13th at Vancouver’s David Lam Park. (via)

keekerz speakerz

here's a lovely duet / medley from indie music's cutest couple, feist and kevin drew (of broken social scene) for a free show they played in toronto this weekend.

songs included:
kevin drew - safety bricks
feist - past in present
feist - i feel it all

ceeyute!