armagideon timez

I said this about the Big Apple in 1995 -- it IS true...

2006-06-20T23:27:00.000-06:00

New York Ranks #1 Out Of 35 Major Cities Around the Globe in an Unprecedented Global Courtesy Test

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- Although New Yorkers may sometimes enjoy their global reputation for gruffness, Reader's Digest has found that the Big Apple is tops in courtesy when measured against other big cities around the world.

From Toronto, Mexico City and London, to Johannesburg, Mumbai and Moscow, Reader's Digest sent out undercover reporters in 35 cities -- half of them men, half of them women -- to assess the politeness of their citizens. Points were awarded for polite responses, and the results for each city were tallied and compared.

In each location the magazine carried out the following three tests:

* Reporters walked into public buildings behind people to see if they
would hold the door open for them.

* The reporters bought small items from stores and recorded whether the
sales assistants said "thank you."

* A folder full of papers was dropped in busy locations to see if anyone
would help pick them up.

New York, Zurich and Toronto rated as the top three cities worldwide. The Reader's Digest Global Courtesy Test showed that beneath that gruff exterior, New Yorkers really are a polite bunch: 90% held the door open, 19 out of 20 store clerks said "thank you," and 63% of men and 47% of women helped with the papers. In total, four out of every five people encountered by Reader's Digest passed the courtesy test -- making New York the most courteous city on the list.

While not a strict scientific survey, the Reader's Digest Global Courtesy Test is the world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy, with more than 2,000 tests of actual behavior, and it provides a fascinating snapshot of behavior in the countries tested.

Among the more surprising global results: younger adults -- the under-40s -- were more courteous than the over-40s; men were more polite to men and women more polite to other women.

The region that most lacked courtesy was Asia, where eight out of nine cities tested finished in the bottom 11. In Europe, Moscow and Bucharest ranked as the least polite cities. When a woman failed to hold a door in Moscow, she replied, "I'm not a doorman. It's not my job to hold doors. If someone gets hurt, they should be quicker on their feet."

According to the Reader's Digest reporters in the field, the most common reason people cited for being kind to others was their upbringing. "It's the way I was raised," said one Brooklyn woman.

World of Courtesy: Ranking of 35 Cities

Below is a ranking of the most courteous to the least courteous -- 35 major cities included in RD's Global Courtesy Test. Figures reflect the percentage of people who passed in each city. When multiple cities had identical scores, they are listed in alphabetical order.

New York --USA 80%
Zurich --Switzerland 77
Toronto --Canada 70
Berlin --Germany 68
São Paulo --Brazil 68
Zagreb --Croatia 68
Auckland --New Zealand 67
Warsaw --Poland 67
Mexico City --Mexico 65
Stockholm --Sweden 63
Budapest --Hungary 60
Madrid --Spain 60
Prague --Czech Republic 60
Vienna --Austria 60
Buenos Aires --Argentina 57
Johannesburg --South Africa 57
Lisbon --Portugal 57
London --United Kingdom 57
Paris --France 57
Amsterdam --Netherlands 52
Helsinki --Finland 48
Manila --Philippines 48
Milan --Italy 47
Sydney --Australia 47
Bangkok --Thailand 45
Hong Kong -- 45
Ljubljana --Slovenia 45
Jakarta --Indonesia 43
Taipei --Taiwan 43
Moscow --Russia 42
Singapore -- 42
Seoul --South Korea 40
Kuala Lumpur --Malaysia 37
Bucharest --Romania 35
Mumbai --India 32

I just remember before leaving, when I told people [in the South] that I was taking a trip to NYC , I heard nothing good about it.

"Watch yer wallet" -- "Try not to get mugged" -- and most of all: "Enjoy the rude people"

When I was there it was nothing short of amazing how nice everyone was, on top of the fact that it's the coolest place anyway. I could not wait to tell the same folks how wrong they were, only to find out that most had never been anyway. Typical of the Southern culture , just scared of the unknown, and pre-judging stuff they know nothing about. I believe it was then that I knew I had to get out of the "quaint little southern towns" and the South in general... the overwhelming negativeness and bigotry, and find a big city to call home. Denver, for Me, is that city. While no where near as "Off the Hook!" as NYC, it does have all the perks of a big city, and all the nice & polite people that come with that. Perhaps some day I'll be lucky enough to live in the heart of the world, but for now: A Mile High ain't too shabby.

Panhandling Out of Control in Denver

2006-06-12T07:31:00.000-06:00

The citizens of Denver give over $4.5 million annually to panhandlers. In a recent survey, 42% of Denver adults gave money to panhandlers in the last year. People understandably give to panhandlers who look hungry, not realizing that much of the money given to them is spent on cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. By providing a regular supply of money to panhandlers, we further enable and encourage that lifestyle.

Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, in cooperation with Denver's Commission to End Homelessness is asking the community to redirect temporary handouts on the streets to organizations that are making a real difference, and to invest in long-term solutions. Next time you feel compelled to give, go to Denversroadhome.org. Your contribution, no matter how small, will bring about significant change, through job training, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, proper mental and general health care, food and housing. Together, we can make change for the better.

The more you know about panhandling, the more you can choose to help in ways that make a difference.

Individuals who panhandle are not always homeless

When asked for spare change, it's OK to politely say "no" or "sorry."

Many people who panhandle suffer from drug and alcohol additions, and giving spare change often sustains those addictions.

Aggressive panhandling, such as touching, pestering or the use of threatening gestures or language, is illegal. If you feel endangered, see out a police officer or call the Denver Police non-emergency hotline at 720-913-2000.

Go to Denversroadhome.org and we'll direct you to ways you can donate and volunteer. You'll also learn more about the 10-year plan to end homelessness in Denver. The people in need in our community appreciate your help.

Here are just a few ways your re-directed donations will really make change for the better:

$625 Provides a homeless family with food, shelter, clothing, employment assistance, and case management for one month

$216 Provides 10 days of transitional housing for an individual or family who is homeless

$75 Provides a night of shelter and support services for a victim of domestic violence

$15 Provides a meal for 10 homeless individuals

A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR JOHN HICKENLOOPER

Smarter and better government involves strategic investments that deliver maximum results with limited resources. That is the principle behind Denver's Road Home. Our approach focuses on both accountability and services, balancing compassion with results. Through transitional housing, counseling, treatment services and employment training, we will decrease the cost of homelessness while giving people the tools to become self-sufficient.

In order for our plan to work, however, everyone has to do their part. Mile High United Way and the human service agencies already at work in our community are bringing their skills and assets to the table, building on hundreds of years of experience. We’re asking these agencies to find innovative ways to serve homeless and at-risk individuals and families. Denver’s faith-based institutions are committed to this plan as well. We’re asking every place of worship to embrace at least one homeless family. We’re asking homeless individuals to work with their case managers to find a job and pay at least part of their rent. We’re asking corporations and foundations to invest in the future of our community. Now we’re asking for your help as well.

GiveABetterWay.org

Today in Rock History... [06.11]

2006-06-11T08:29:00.000-06:00

1949 -- ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard - the one with the sensible facial hair - is born in Frankston, Texas.

1958 -- Eddie Cochran releases Summertime Blues in the US

1964 -- The Rolling Stones hold a press conference on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. It ends when the police arrive to break it up.

1965 -- Janis Joplin debuts with Big Brother and the Holding Company at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom, where they become the house band.

1965 -- The Rolling Stones record Got Live If You Want It during a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall... Well, not entirely. Several numbers were "added" to the record with overdubbed audience noise.

1966 -- The European media report that the Who's Roger Daltrey has been killed in a car accident, Confusing reports of a minor accident involving Pete Townshend.

1966 -- The Rolling Stones reach #1 with "Paint It Black".

1968 -- London's Olympic Studio catches fire while the Rolling Stones are there recording Beggars Banquet.

1969 -- Always with his eye on the main chance, David Bowie releases his single "Space Oddity" to cash in on this month's Apollo 11 lunar landing.

1976 -- Wild Cherry release their sublimely daffy single "Play That Funky Music."

1977 -- Bob Marley's Exodus hits the UK charts

1979 -- Chuck Berry pleads guilty to income tax evasion and is sentenced to four months in prison.

1989 -- Joined by new members Warren Haynes (guitar) and Allen Woody (bass), a recharged Allman Brothers Band hits the road.

1995 -- Courtney Love is hospitalized in Seattle after experiencing "a bad reaction to prescription medicine."

1996 -- Rockabilly hero Carl Perkins gets his own slab of pavement on Hollywood's Rock Walk.

Jack W. Catt

2006-06-10T17:02:00.000-06:00

A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's editions.

Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey property on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat.

After about 15 minutes, the bear descended and tried to run away, but Jack chased it up another tree.

Dickey, who feared for her cat, then called Jack home and the bear scurried back to the woods.

"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said.

Bear sightings are not unusual in West Milford, which experts consider one of the state's most bear-populated areas.

Dubbya: "Not MY Problem!"

2006-06-10T07:09:00.000-06:00

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The former emergency management chief who quit amid widespread criticism over his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina said he received an e-mail before his resignation stating President Bush was glad to see the Oval Office had dodged most of the criticism.

Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Friday that he received the e-mail five days before his resignation from a high-level White House official whom he declined to identify.

The e-mail stated that Bush was relieved that Brown -- and not Bush or Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff -- was bearing the brunt of the flak over the government's handling of Katrina.

The September 2005 e-mail reads: "I did hear of one reference to you, at the Cabinet meeting yesterday. I wasn't there, but I heard someone commented that the press was sure beating up on Mike Brown, to which the president replied, 'I'd rather they beat up on him than me or Chertoff.' "

The sender adds, "Congratulations on doing a great job of diverting hostile fire away from the leader."

CNN has been unable to verify the authenticity of the e-mail, but the White House designation "eop.gov" is part of the sender's e-mail address, indicating it came from the Executive Office of the President.

A White House spokesperson said in an e-mail to CNN: "This is an old rumor that surfaced months ago and we're not commenting on it. This story has already been reported and I have heard nothing at all that would substantiate it."
The e-mail was provided to CNN on the condition that the sender's name be redacted. Brown said only that the sender was a "good friend of the president," who has been with the president "a long time."

Brown said did he, too, considers the sender a friend.
While acknowledging that part of a political appointee's job is to "take the sword" for the president, Brown said he has grown weary of Chertoff making him a scapegoat for FEMA's failures in the wake of Katrina.

"I'm not willing to take that sword for Michael Chertoff," Brown said.

"I'm frankly getting tired of Chertoff out there, every time he testifies, talking about how Brown didn't do this or that," Brown said. "As long as Chertoff continues to criticize me, I think we need to recognize that I was doing everything I needed to do down there."

Brown also reiterated an earlier call for the resignation of Chertoff, whom he said suffers from "political tone deafness." Brown suggested that despite announcements to the contrary, FEMA is not prepared for the 2006 hurricane season, which began June 1.

"I want the White House in general, in particular Michael Chertoff, to stop dragging me through the mud every time the issue of FEMA comes up," he said. "There's a lot of things that need to be done to fix FEMA and continuing to throw that at me is not going to solve anything."
Brown's attorney, Andy Lester, who first wrote about the e-mail in the conservative weekly publication Human Events, said the White House was handling the situation in "a cowardly way."

"What the White House was actually doing was taking some stories that got started in the media and pushing them and pushing them until everything got diverted to Mike," Lester said. "Mike Brown was being made the scapegoat."

Continuing Yesterday'z Theme

2006-06-07T09:25:00.000-06:00

Top Ten Signs It May Be The Apocalypse

10. Gas is now $6.66 a gallon

9. Earlier today George W. Bush correctly pronounced "Apocalypse"

8. The minute you finish washing your car, it starts raining, am I right, people? You know what I'm talking about?

7. On tonight's "Anderson Cooper 360," his head spun around 360 degrees

6. At lunch my alphabet soup spelled, "eat it"

5. People are actually buying a razor with five blades

4. Two words: Governor Schwarzenegger

3. While getting dressed, you discover pitchfork marks on your ass

2. Kenny Rogers knows when to hold'em and fold'em, but not when to walk away from plastic surgery

...and #1. The Mets are in first place.

Solving Three Problems Easily

2006-06-06T15:45:00.000-06:00

1. -- Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.

2. -- Take the dirt and raise all the levees in New Orleans.

3. -- Put those Florida alligators in the moat.

Any other problems you'd like me to solve?

Today in Rock History... special bad luck 6/6/6 edition

2006-06-06T08:10:00.000-06:00

1960 -- Widdlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddlywiddly-SCREECH! Yes, the devil's own guitar shredder Steve Vai is born today in Long Island, N.Y.

1964 -- On the American singles chart, the Beatles' "P.S. I Love You" goes to No. 10. But in today's music trade papers, an anonymous advertisement declares, "In the public interest, watch the Rolling Stones crush the Beatles!" Sympathy for the devil himself !

1968 -- The Rolling Stones add new lyrics to their forthcoming single "Sympathy for the Devil" referring to the recent assassination of Robert Kennedy.

1975 -- Pink Floyd fly to America for a tour. It would end in disaster when an addled Roger Waters spits on the audience. He later records The Wall in an attempt to exorcise his demons.

1977 -- The Doobie Brothers pioneer the Fairway to Heaven format with a Golf Classic and Concert (to benefit the United Way) , a hell-ish combination of DinoRock AND Golf.

1987 -- After the religious sect expresses much disapproval over his behavior, Michael Jackson officially severs his ties with the Jehovah's Witnesses. So don't expect to see him knocking on your door... unless you have a pre-teen son. Muah ha ha ha ha

1991 -- Sax great Stan Getz dies in Malibu, Calif.

2003 -- A fan is electrocuted while walking walking barefoot on a wet concrete stairway and dies at a Red Hot Chili Peppers/Snoop Dogg concert at Charlottesville, Va.

2003 -- Officials at Six Flags in Darien Lakes, N.Y., ban the Devil's own son Marilyn Manson's Ozzfest appearance in August. The amusement park invoked a contract clause that allows them to restrict artists from performing.

2003 -- Dave Rowberry, keyboardist with '60s hitmakers the Animals ("House of the Rising Sun"), is found dead in his East London flat. He was 62.

2004 -- ZZ Top are nearly swept offstage by a rainstorm at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in Dallas. Other performers include James Taylor, Santana, John Mayer, and Robert Randolph, as well as Clapton himself.

06/06/06 . . . Welcome to HELL, kidz!!!

2006-06-06T07:37:00.000-06:00

HELL, Michigan -- They're planning a hot time in Hell on Tuesday.

The day bears the date of 6-6-06, or abbreviated as 666 -- a number that carries hellish significance.

And there's not a snowball's chance in Hell that the day will go unnoticed in the unincorporated hamlet 60 miles west of Detroit.

Nobody is more fired up than John Colone, the town's self-styled mayor and owner of a souvenir shop.

"I've got `666' T-shirts and mugs. I'm only ordering 666 (of the items) so once they're gone, that's it," said Colone, also known as Odum Plenty. "Everyone who comes will get a letter of authenticity saying you've celebrated June 6, 2006, in Hell."

Most of Colone's wares will sell for $6.66, including deeds to one square inch of Hell.
Live entertainment and a costume contest are planned. The Gates of Hell should be installed at a children's play area in time for the festivities.

"They're 8 feet tall and 5 foot wide and each gate looks like flames, and when they're closed, it's a devil's head," Colone told The Detroit News for a Saturday story.

Mike "Smitty" Hickey, owner of the Dam Site Inn, wasn't sure what kind of clientele would show up Tuesday.

"We're all about having fun here. I don't think we're going to get the cult crowd, the devil worshippers or anything like that," said Hickey, whose bar's signature concoction is the Bloody Devil, a variant of the Bloody Mary.

Colone, meanwhile, has been in touch with radio stations as far away as San Diego and Seattle that are raffling off trips to Hell in honor of 6-6-6.

The 666 revelry is just the latest chapter in the town's storied history of publicity stunts, said Jason LeTeff, one of its 72 year-round residents -- or, as the mayor calls them, Hellions or Hell-billies. But LeTeff wasn't particularly enthused.

"Now, here I am living in Hell, taking my kids to church and trying to teach them the right things and the town where we live is having a 6-6-6 party," he said.

According to the town's semiofficial Web site, there are two leading theories about how Hell got its name.

The first holds that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schoene hell" -- roughly translated as, "So bright and beautiful." Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.

The second holds that George Reeves was asked after Michigan gained statehood what he thought the town he helped settle should be called, and reportedly replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." The name became official on October 13, 1841.

'Bout Time Seattle...

2006-05-31T06:24:00.000-06:00

(Seattle, WA - May 25, 2006) - It may have taken nearly 36 years, but Seattle finally appears to be set to honor the music, artistry and legacy of Jimi Hendrix with the naming of a new park near Seattle's historic Colman School in the heart of the Central District. During meetings on May 22, Seattle's City Council recommended naming the new park after Jimi Hendrix, with the final decision resting in the hands of Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ken Bounds. "There's a saying that prophets are not recognized in their time. It's long overdue," says Janie Hendrix, President & CEO of Experience Hendrix, L.L.C..

Apart from a few privately funded memorials and a Proclamation by then-Mayor Norman B. Rice that November 27, 1992 be declared Jimi Hendrix Day in the city of Seattle, nothing official has ever been done to recognize Jimi Hendrix's immense accomplishments. "This recognition is long overdue," explains Council Member Jean Godden (sponsor of the council resolution). "The city of Seattle has yet to establish a fitting tribute to honor the significant historical and cultural contributions of Jimi Hendrix, one of our most famous native sons." The new Jimi Hendrix Park will be situated next to Colman School (2300 S. Massachusetts Street) in Seattle's Central District; the same area that a young Jimmy Hendrix grew up in. The property also sits adjacent to the new Northwest African American Museum at the Urban League Village, which is set to open up next year.

In addition to the park naming, Michael Malone of AEI Music has agreed to relocate his life-size bronzed statue of Jimi Hendrix to the new park. Malone's tribute to Jimi Hendrix currently sits outside of his business at 900 East Pine Street and is part of the company's Music Legends Collection, which also includes Jimi's 1970 Sunburst Stratocaster (AKA, the Electric Lady studio guitar). The Jimi Hendrix Park will join previous privately funded installations dedicated to Jimi Hendrix throughout Seattle including:

Woodland Park Zoo - A golden sun plaque mounted on a viewpoint within the African Savannah exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo (5500 Phinney Avenue NE). This plaque was funded by Seattle radio station KZOK with funding support from fans, Warner Bros. and members of the rock group Heart. Garfield High School - Sculptor Jeff Day donated a bronzed bust of Jimi Hendrix to Garfield High School (400 23rd Street) in the early 1980s, where it has been placed on display in the school's library. The school also includes a mural featuring different images of Jimi Hendrix.

Centralia College Clocktower - Located 85 miles south of Seattle, Washington; the Centralia College Clocktown was unveiled on May 22, 1997 and features dedication plaques to Jimi Hendrix and several local area honorees. Greenwood Memorial Park Cemetery - Located at 350 Monroe Avenue NE in Renton, Washington; Greenwood is home to Jimi Hendrix's final resting place. In 1999, Jimi's father, Al Hendrix, commenced work on an expanded Memorial features a large granite dome and plots for up to 54 members of the Hendrix family.

Nice Throwin' J.J. !

2006-05-30T07:02:00.000-06:00

Well... I've been wanting to post some more Braves stuff on here , just to piss Tim off, but I guess I missed my chance with the 6 - 3 road trip that included a sweep of the Lowly Cubs (C.ompletely U.seless B.y S.eptember) , and after Monday's 5 - 12 Debacle, I've chosen to focus on the Home team for a change.

Yesterday, The Rockies once again pounded the SanDiego Padres 5 to 0, with Jason Jennings throwing a complete-game, 2-hit shut-out . . . perhaps the best performance of his entire career.

So . . . How 'bout them Purple Pinstripes, eh?

Final Score: Colorado 5 , San Diego 0

San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Jason Jennings was stellar as he tossed a two-hit shutout to lead Colorado to a 5-0 win over San Diego in the first of a three-game series at Petco Park.

Jennings (3-5) mixed a low 90's fastball with a good sinker and an effective changeup en route to seven strikeouts and only three walks. It was the fourth-career complete game for Jennings.
Brad Hawpe went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and Matt Holliday collected three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the Rockies, who have now won back- to-back games after a five-game losing skid.

"I am trying to slow down my approach and stop moving my hands," said Holliday. "I'm starting to see the ball better and I think we are heading in the right direction."
Mike Thompson (2-1) suffered his first-career loss as he allowed three runs on six hits. He issued his first-career walk in the second. He had previously gone 13 innings spanning three starts without issuing a free pass. Mark Bellhorn and Adrian Gonzalez recorded the lone hits for the Padres, who have lost two of their last three.

The Rockies jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play courtesy of the long ball. Holliday hit his 12th homer of the year to start the second, as his drive to center just eluded the outstretched glove of the Padres' Mike Cameron. Hawpe deposited the ball over the wall in right center just two batters later, after a walk to Garrett Atkins, giving the Rockies their three- run advantage. It was the 11th homer of the season for Hawpe.

Colorado upped its advantage to 5-0 with a run in the seventh and another in the eighth. Ryan Spilborghs hit his first major league homer with two outs in the seventh and Holliday led off the eighth with a double and scored on Hawpe's RBI double.

Game Notes :
Jennings is now 4-0 in six starts at San Diego... The Rockies were 10-3 on the road in the month of April, but are now only 4-11 away from home in May... Aaron Cook gets the ball for Colorado on Tuesday and will be opposed by Chris Young for San Diego.

Today in Rock History... [05.30]

2006-05-30T04:40:00.000-06:00

1943 -- Jack Bruce was born.

1955 -- Clash drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon is born in Bromley, England.

...you are Nicky "Topper" Headon. You played drums like a pro (cause you were) unfortunately, you developed a nasty heroin addiction that got you thrown in jail for supplying the heroin that killed a guy. You now drive a cab. But on the bright side: you wrote "Rock the Casbah".

1964 -- The Wailers hit #38 with "Tall Cool One".

1971 -- At San Francisco's Winterland Auditorium, 36 Deadheads have to be treated for hallucinations after ingesting apple drink at the venue. Not surprisingly, the drink was spiked with LSD.

1978 -- Led Zeppelin begin recording the highly underrated "In Through the Out Door."

1987 -- The Beastie Boys rapper Adam Horovitz, aka Ad-Rock, is arrested in Liverpool, England, for allegedly assaulting a female fan during a riot at one of their gigs.

1992 -- Paul Simon marries singer Edie Brickell.

1993 -- Jazz guru/madman and native of Saturn, Sun Ra dies in Birmingham, Ala. The bandleader had been hospitalized by a stroke.

1997 -- Neil Young cancels his European tour after cutting his finger open while slicing a ham sandwich.

2000 -- Garbage's Shirley Manson confesses to mutilating herself as a teenager. "I'm speaking out because I feel this problem is getting worse for kids," she says.

2000 -- During their first gig without guitarist Noel Gallagher, in Milan, singer Liam tells the audience, "Oasis are a fucking band, not just one person."

Is Uncle Teddy Off His Rocker? You Decide.

2006-05-30T04:27:00.000-06:00

He owns 350 guns, wants to nuke Iraq and makes his friend George Dubbya look like a liberal. Now 1970s heavy metal star Ted Nugent has his sights set on a new target: entering US politics

During the private inaugural party at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2000, President George W. Bush glanced across the room and recognised a man who - by his own account - has urinated on a nun, soiled his trousers for a week in order to avoid the draft, and been detained on a charge of indecent exposure, after experiencing difficulties with his loincloth in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The President confronted him as a matter of urgency.

"When he noticed me," Ted Nugent recalls, "he was surrounded by these huge bankrollers from his campaign. He literally swept past all of them and said: 'Laura! Look who's here! It's Ted!' Then he hugged me and took me by the shoulders. He said: 'Just keep doing what you're doing. Don't think that we don't know what you're up to out here. Stay on course. You're doing great.'"

Like Jesus, Gandhi or Hitler, Nugent tends to inspire this kind of extreme reaction. He rarely gives interviews to the British press; the last time he did, some years ago, he managed what is possibly the most extraordinary achievement of his remarkable career - proving too right-wing for the Daily Telegraph.

For the rest of this lengthy, but interesting article go to:

enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article571538.ece

Today in Rock History... [05.28]

2006-05-28T10:32:00.000-06:00

Editor's note: Oops... apparantly there is a 'Save as Draft' button right next to 'Publish Post' that I never saw before, thus: this is why the Today in Rock History for 5/28 is being posted on 5/29. Sure... it'z a letdown, but we will get thru this thing together. --bk

1910 -- T-Bone Walker is born in Linden, Texas, as Aaron Thibeaux Walker. T-Bone was one of the first to plug in his guitar and turn the blues electric.

1931 -- Rockabilly star Sonny Burgess, who dyed his hair red to match his band's suits, is born in Newport, Ark.

1945 -- Creedence Clearwater Revivalist John Fogerty was born.

1966 -- Percy Sledge hits #1 with "When A Man Loves A Woman".

1969 -- Mick Jagger and girlfriend Marianne Faithfull are arrested in London and charged with cannabis possession.

1969 -- Creedence Clearwater Revival debut on UK chart with Proud Mary.

1973 -- Bassist and songwriter Ronnie Lane leaves the Faces (to form Slim Chance).

1976 -- The Allman Brothers Band break up in disgust for the first time after Gregg Allman testifies against a road manager accused of drug trafficking.

1977 -- Bruce Springsteen is free to enter a studio again after settling out of court with his former manager, Mike Appel. Their legal entanglements had prevented Springsteen from recording. Appel receives a million dollars.

1979 -- Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, inaugurating a legal wrangle with his old label (Shelter) and the major label that acquired it (MCA). Petty agrees to record for a newly created MCA subsidiary, Backstreet Records.

1981 -- The Clash begin seven nights of gigs at Bond's in New York. The seven shows were oversold and The Clash had to play seventeen shows back-to-back to satisfy demand.

Go Nads ! ! !

2006-05-27T05:56:00.000-06:00

RISD’s infamous hockey team, known as the “Nads,” meets for practice and competition against other colleges at the Brown Athletic Complex. The team encourages all students to participate. [Rhode Island School of Design @ risd.edu/org.cfm]

Seriously... The mascot, pictured (obviously), is “Scrotie.” It takes balls to dress up like that. -- I wouldn’t lie to you about this. That’s a winner!

All Time Worst Team Mascot.

Right On, Barack . . .

2006-05-24T13:21:00.000-06:00

Dear Bill,

I don't know about you, but I think we've all had enough. Enough of the broken promises. Enough of the failed leadership. Enough of the can't-do, won't-do, won't-even-try style of governance.

I've had enough of so-called leaders who don't think government should even try to solve the big, national problems. In their clouded philosophy, government is the problem. I've had enough of the attitude that we'd be better off if we just divvy up the federal budget into individual tax breaks and let everyone fend for themselves. I think we've all had enough of being told to buy your own health care, your own retirement security, your own child care, your own schools, your own private security force, your own roads, and your own levees.

This idea of America can never actually work because it so fundamentally ignores our legacy as a people. Our greatness as a nation has always depended on our sense of national community and mutual responsibility. Everybody has a stake in America. We're all in this together and everybody gets a fair shot at opportunity.

As Democrats, we still believe in the idea of America. We're ready to compete in an increasingly interconnected world. We're ready to conduct a smart foreign policy that matches the might of our military with the power of our diplomacy.

In short, we're ready to lead. Electing a Democratic Senate is the first step to rejecting the failed leadership and failed philosophies. That's the job the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will be doing over the next few months, but believe me, they need your help to change our country.

It's the timidity - the smallness - of our politics that's holding America back and making our people uncertain. The idea that some problems are just too big to handle, and if you just ignore them, they'll go away.

You and I have seen what this can't-do attitude has brought us: failure.
We, as Democrats, have a responsibility to change our politics. Now is the time for us to stand up and make our mark on history. It's time for America to learn how to dream again and to do great things in the face of serious challenges.

That's the idea of America our Democratic Senate candidates are fighting for. In state after state, our candidates are leading in the public opinion polls. But they still face an uphill battle because our opponents can simply outspend our candidates and drown out Democratic ideas.
Now is the time to take action. With your help, the DSCC can make sure Democratic Senate candidates have the resources they need to compete and win. We can only begin the hard work ahead of us once we have changed the balance of power in Washington.

Electing a Democratic Senate is the first step in changing our politics and our country. It's a step that we can accomplish in just a few short months. And it's the sole mission of the DSCC. We need your help to succeed.

Please join me today and help the DSCC realize the idea of America Democrats hold dear.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Serenity now . . . serenity NOW!

2006-05-24T05:21:00.000-06:00

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was issued a summons for an alleged road-rage incident in April, Englewood police said Tuesday.

Investigator John Hoehler said Plummer was issued the misdemeanor summons Friday, after being contacted at his home in Cherry Hills Village.

The summons stems from a minor crash on April 20 in this suburb south of Denver.

A message left for Plummer through the Broncos was not immediately returned Tuesday night.

A man told authorities he was involved in a road-rage incident with the driver of a Honda. When the two cars stopped at a red light, the Honda's driver got out and kicked the front of the man's vehicle.

The driver then got back into his vehicle, put it in reverse and hit the front of the man's car, Hoehler said. A witness copied the license plate number of the gray Honda, which was listed to Plummer.

When contacted by police, Plummer said he was involved in a rear-end crash, not road rage.

"He went out and looked and didn't see any damage so he didn't report it," Hoehler said.

After he left the scene he told investigators he changed his mind and called 911 to report the accident and said he was told it would be taken care of.

Hoehler said there was a delay in issuing the summons because the officer in charge of the case was busy and didn't get a chance to pursue the case until recently.

No specific court date for Plummer has been given. SI.com

Today in Rock History... [05.24]

2006-05-24T03:30:00.000-06:00

1941 -- Bob Dylan was born. Aging rock critics everywhere dance around - it's Robbie Z's birthday! Cue much lyrical exegesis, crying over John Wesley Harding, burning of Empire Burlesque, etc. {In 1971, Bob Dylan's 30th birthday is commemorated with a Peanuts cartoon commenting on the event. Dylan himself spends the day visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.}

1955 -- Country singer Rosanne Cash is born in Memphis. Her parents are Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto.

1968 -- Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull are arrested on charges of marijuana possession. The same day the Stones release "Jumpin' Jack Flash," generally seen as a comeback record following the flop of Their Satanic Majesties Request. It goes to No. 3.

1968 -- Pioneering San Francisco album-rock deejay Tom Donahue moves from KMPX-FM to KSAN-FM, taking the station's entire staff with him. KSAN thereupon becomes the top progressive-rock station in town, if not the entire country.

1970 -- Peter Green quits Fleetwood Mac , reducing them to mere Pap.

1974 -- Peerless American composer Duke Ellington dies in New York from cancer. He was 75.

1975 -- "Shining Star,' from Earth, Wind & Fire's 'That's the Way of the World', reaches #1 on Billboard's singles chart. It earns the first of many Grammys for the group, winning Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group.

1982 -- Drummer Topper Headon leaves the Clash.

1991 -- Gene Clark of the Byrds dies in Sherman Oaks, Calif., only a few months after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2004 -- Bruce Springsteen's lawyers shut down an online auction of what purports to be the Boss' birth certificate.

You Go Gurlz!!! Give 'Em Hell & Welcome to the Other Side

2006-05-24T03:06:00.000-06:00

Old 'tude keeps Dixie Chicks' new music off the air

Many listeners still peeved over Maines' slap at Bush in '03

By JOEY GUERRA For The Houston Chronicle (Chron.com)

The Dixie Chicks aren't ready to make nice, and it seems the feeling is mutual.

With their new album, Taking the Long Way, in stores Tuesday, no Houston stations — country or pop — claim to be playing any of the trio's new music.

"We got so many calls and e-mails asking us to stop playing their music that KILT hasn't played it since the meltdown in London," says Leslie T. Travis, host of the popular Texas Roadhouse on KILT (100.3 FM).

Travis was referring to the 2003 controversy that erupted after singer Natalie Maines told a London concert crowd that she was "ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas." At the time, the Chicks — Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison — were one of country music's top-selling acts, with album sales of more than 20 million.

"I did get a couple people call and ask what I thought about the new material and if we were going to play it. Most of those wanted to make sure KILT wouldn't," Travis said.
Not Ready to Make Nice, the album's fiery lead single, peaked at No. 36 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Follow-up single Everybody Knows currently sits at No. 48. That's a far cry from the six chart-toppers and slew of other radio hits the Chicks have racked up since the release of their breakout album, Wide Open Spaces, in 1998.

Don Cusic, professor of music business at Belmont University in Nashville, said he's surprised the anger's lasted this long.
"Politicians say worst things all the time," he said. "But something like 30 percent still like President Bush, and that core crowd is running (ruining?) country radio."

That means the Chicks will have to survive outside of the country music mainstream, like Steve Earle, he said, and they shouldn't be worried, because if they had kept their Wide-Open Spaces cleanliness instead of their political fiestiness, they wouldn't be on the cover of Time magazine.

K-STAR (KVST, 99.7 FM) in Conroe, which can be heard in Houston, has also shied away from Dixie Chicks songs. Promotions director Tobi Dahl says a single spin during a syndicated countdown show incited "several complaint calls."
While Maines eventually apologized for her comment, she takes it back in the current issue of Time magazine, saying, "I don't feel that way. I don't feel he (President Jack W. Ass) is owed any respect whatsoever."
In the same interview, Maguire says she'd "rather have a small following of really cool people who get it, who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do."

"When you are a celebrity or in the spotlight, you have to learn to bite your tongue and keep your mouth shut no matter what your opinion is," Dahl said. "You would have thought they learned from the first comment they made. I think they rekindled an old fire."
Not all the reaction to the Chicks' new album has been negative, even in Bush's home state.
"We are playing the new single (Everybody Knows) quite a bit. We base our choices solely on musical quality," says Jody Denberg, program director at KGSR-FM, a country station in Austin. "I had one very negative e-mail, and a couple of people who wanted to thank us for playing (the Dixie Chicks), and a few requests."

But Bob Cole, co-host of the KVET-FM morning show in Austin, says that "brief on-air discussions have elicited over 100 (unsolicited) e-mails. Folks are feeling betrayed in a most emotional way — so much so that they sit down at the computer and vent their anger and send it to people like me."
The anger also lingers outside of Texas. Bob Barnett, program director at WKIS-FM in Miami says the "first single was a classic example of a radio station-listener disconnect. We attempted to play it. We pulled it after a week or two due to negative listener response. Call me cynical, but this felt like they were just stirring the pot for publicity sake." [OKay: "You are cynical".]

Regardless, the Chicks seem on the verge of more success. Taking the Long Way is the top seller on Amazon.com and the No. 1 download on ITunes. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and the trio is launching a 43-city U.S. tour of major arenas, with a Sept. 30 date at Toyota Center.

While the Chicks have shifted their focus to pop and rock audiences — the new disc was produced by Rick Rubin, who has worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run DMC and Neil Diamond — in Houston, at least, the music has yet to penetrate Top 40 and pop radio stations. KRBE (104.1 FM) is taking a wait-and-see approach, hinging on how the music first does in other major markets, said a spokeswoman.
KHMX (96.5 FM) midday personality Kat Cortez says she plays Landslide, an earlier Chicks' hit, but that she has yet to get "any e-quests for the Chicks' new music."
While their popularity with a new audience remains uncertain, it seems the Dixie Chicks' rift with country radio may be long-lasting.

"They have all the talent in the world and they make incredible music. This is their best effort to date. It's like any war where two sides are too stubborn to give any, and when they feel one has gotten an advantage, the other one reacts. I think that's where country radio and the Chicks are right now," said Newman, midday jock on WSXI-FM in Nashville, Tenn.

Please ladiez & gentlemen: Don't Mess With Tejas -- ignore the piss out of 'em!

Oil Executives March On D.C.

2006-05-23T06:10:00.000-06:00

May 23, 2006 "We Just Want Our Voices Heard"

WASHINGTON, DC—More than 1,000 majority shareholders and executive officers from the nation's largest oil companies gathered in the National Mall and marched to Capitol Hill Monday in a mass demonstration for petrochemical corporations' rights and, according to several of those who attended, "to let our voices be heard at last."

"We're American citizens, and we demand to be part of the national dialogue," said John S. Watson, vice president of international exploration and production for Chevron Corporation, the world's second-largest oil company. "Many people in our industry think nobody in Washington cares about us, and that our opinions don't matter. We're here today to change that."
Guest speakers, including folk-singing lobbyist Anne Novotny, international drilling-rights activist Bill Marshall, and several Saudi princes, focused on the need to extend subsidies to offshore drilling efforts, grant tax breaks for the construction of new refineries, and stop oppressive environmental regulation.

But the real message of the protest was more personal: To demonstrators, the oil industry is unappreciated and even persecuted by large segments of the public who only want them for the gasoline they sell. Protesters hoisted signs reflecting this sentiment, bearing such slogans as "Enough Is Enough," "Power To The Petroleum-Producing People," "Texaco-American Pride," and "I'm Pro-Oil And I Vote."

"Politicians are supposed to work for everyone," said Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute. "For years, they've pretended like we didn't even exist. But today, with this many people from the oil industry right here in our nation's capital, we're sending an undeniably strong message."

Oil executives traveled from as far as Irving, TX to attend the event. Some, such as Exxon Mobil chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson, said they were missing important board meetings and sacrificing as much as three days of vacation time just to be among their fellow oilmen.
"You can't ignore us any longer, America," a flag-draped Tillerson said. "Get used to us, because we refuse to stand in silence. From now on, the power brokers in Washington will sit up and listen."

The march, which took place just after lunchtime, was limited to a strict route, and was closely monitored by hundreds of DC police in riot gear. Authorities reported no arrests or instances of violence, even after a tense moment when some protesters chanting "Members of the board will not be ignored!" passed a security barricade and crossed Pennsylvania Avenue.
"Today is the day my American oil comrades and I stand together as one and announce that this is our country, too," said BP Global's chief financial officer, Byron Grote, who oversaw British Petroleum's acquisition of ARCO, SOHIO, Amoco, and Vastar in 2000. "None of us in international oil production are looking for special treatment. We just want a fair shake. That's what democracy is all about."

Organizers applauded the peaceful protest as a "positive first step in governmental–petrochemical coalition-building." But the systemic marginalization of one minority group—in this case, Big Oil CEOs—by those in power can make it difficult to get past feelings of bitterness and resentment, said corporate-disenfranchisement expert Jonathan Foner.
"They feel like they've just been shouting into the wilderness," Foner said. "So today, many of them were hoping that if they spoke loudly and clearly enough through their bullhorns into the wilderness, those in power would listen to them."

ConocoPhillips CEO J.J. Mulva was scheduled to deliver a speech about civil disobedience, but called it off at the last minute due to unspecified medical complications. His brother, Exxon Mobil controller P.T. Mulva, said "heartbreak" is what kept the older sibling at home.
"The oil business is a labor of love for our family, and J.J.'s been fighting for our rights for years," Mulva said. "When he heard that the marchers would not be permitted to pass the White House due to security issues, it was more than he could take. That really broke his spirit."
President Bush, vacationing at his Crawford, TX ranch, released a statement Tuesday morning expressing his respect for the protesters' right to free speech, saying America "tolerates diverse viewpoints."

"The people have a right to protest in this country, but my administration is not going to be intimidated by the opinions of an outspoken few," Bush said.

theOnion.com

Today in Rock History... [05.23]

2006-05-23T05:25:00.000-06:00

1963 -- blues performer Elmore James passes away.

1968 -- Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher is born.

1971 -- Brown Sugar (The Rolling Stones) was a hit.

1976 -- NBC tapes Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue at Colorado State University. The concert later airs under the title Hard Rain.

1978 -- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off their first major arena tour in Buffalo, New York. It ends seven months and 109 cities later in Cleveland on January 1, 1979.

1979 -- Tom Petty files for bankruptcy after MCA buys his label ABC Records.

1979 -- The Who documentary The Kids Are Alright debuts in New York.

1984 -- The Clash come offstage from a concert at Michigan State University to find someone has stolen the $17,000 in box office receipts.

That's Just Great. Season Eighteen, for real???

2006-05-23T05:11:00.000-06:00

MTV's "Real World" house at 1920 Market St. [LoDo] is some fancy pad. But we won't get to see the insides until the show airs in the late fall.

By that time, it will probably be for sale. Heritage Bank, which took the deed to the property from the former owners of B-52 Billiards in lieu of foreclosure, sold it to the show's production company in March for $2.7 million. Workman have been transforming the 21,927-square-foot club into a cool pad for weeks now. The kids are due any day.

After filming, insiders imagine that the place will go on the block again. It still has a liquor license. Rock Island's David Clamage is "babysitting" it so it'll be there at sale time.

...fantastic.

Today in Rock History... [05.22]

2006-05-22T18:48:00.000-06:00

1914 -- Jazz visionary Sun Ra is born in Birmingham, Ala. The visionary part is that he said he came from Saturn. The reality is his name was Herman Sonny Blount.

1954 -- Bob Dylan, or rather Robert Zimmerman, celebrates his bar mitzvah. He was actually born on May 24.

1955 -- Cuddly pianist Fats Domino finds his concert in Bridgeport, Conn., has been canceled because police fear a rock 'n' roll riot.

1958 -- As Jerry Lee Lewis begins a British tour, accompanied by his fourteen-year-old wife (and third cousin), Myra -- a scandal erupts over his marriage , as well as his two prior divorces. Lewis is booed offstage, the tour is canceled after three shows, and he returns to the U.S. to find himself mired in controversy.

1966 -- Castilles record That's What You Get in New Jersey. It is never released. Nothing special, except the band included sixteen-year-old Bruce Springsteen.

1966 -- When a Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge) was a hit.

1971 -- The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers tops the American albums chart.

1974 -- A performance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, inspires music journalist Jon Landau to write, "I saw rock and roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen."

1980 -- Five Jimi Hendrix gold discs are stolen from Electric Ladyland studios in Los Angeles

1981 -- Bob Marley's funeral takes place in Jamaica

1999 -- New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena sells out of tickets for 15 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band shows there. The concerts set a record for number of shows during a single arena stay.

2000 -- Steely Dan receive the Founders Award for a lifetime of songwriting at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards. "When you start getting awards, you start feeling old," groans Dan guitarist Walter Becker.

2005 -- Oasis top the UK singles chart with "Lyla."

OKay... This is too freakin' WEIRD...

2006-05-22T17:02:00.000-06:00

I've alwayz thought that the Hot Sauce (packets) from Taco Bell must contain some sort of hallucinogen , because every time I ate stuff from there, I would have very vivid and extremely weird dreams that I'm able to remember (odd as well!) after awakening, and they actually seem to Me as though it really happened until I'm fully awake!

Then I kinda chalked it all up to the fact that I usually only ate there late at night, perhaps after a few other recreational adult beverages and all. Yeah... Must just be that.

I haven't even been to the Border in a few months, but stopped by today for a quick lunch -- I mean: who can resist an Ultimate Steak Chalupa, right? So I get one, and a spicy chicken burrito too, a delicious Pepsi, ate it all up, and continued with my day.

Upon returning home, the weather was changing, and I was a little tired, so I laid down for a nap. Well: I'll be damned if after waking up 35 minutes later I vividly remember dreaming VERY strange adventures, that I probably shouldn't mention here! I'll just say it involved rollerskates, random girls I knew in Highschool, mud, a sixth-grade teacher that I didn't even have for class, and foot-rubs. Sure... it evolved from there, but that'z another tale.

The really scary part is: I didn't even use the Hot Sauce this time, although I did have that Spicy chicken burrito - so . . . something made that hot too. Now , more than ever I'm convinced I'm right about the hallucinogenic powers of something at the Border -- pay close attention next time you "dine" there. I'm just glad that little chihuahua didn't make it into the dream!

"yo quero peyote"

Today in Rock History... [05.19]

2006-05-19T08:46:00.000-06:00

1919 -- Pete Seeger was born.

1945 -- Pete Townshend was born.

1949 -- Dusty Hill (Z.Z. Top) was born

1951 -- Jeffrey Hyman (a.k.a. Joey Ramone) is born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York.

1960 -- DJ Alan Freed and eight others charged by federal grand jury for commercial bribery, better known as payola. Freed refuses to testify and becomes the scapegoat for others.

1976 -- Keith Richards crashes his Bentley in Buckinghamshire, England, after falling asleep at the wheel. There's more rude awakening to come after police discover cocaine and marijuana in the car.

1998 -- Rod Stewart releases 'When We Were the New Boys,' which contains songs by Oasis, the Waterboys, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and Nick Lowe – as well as the Faces and Stewart himself, a return to form but, sadly, his last decent album.

"A great singer of great songs, but a shitty singer of shitty songs as well" -- Ron Wood on Rod

Today in Rock History... [05.18]

2006-05-18T05:05:00.000-06:00

1911 -- Big Joe Turner is born in Kansas City, Mo. His shouting blues inspired rock singers like Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In 1954, he even topped the charts with "Shake, Rattle and Roll."

1963 -- The Kingsmen record their controversial "Louie Louie."

1966 -- It's Bruce Springsteen's first day at a recording studio as the Castiles (of which the Boss is a member) cut their song "That's What You Get." The work is done at Mr. Music Inc. studio in Bricktown, N.J.

1981 -- Tom Petty withholds the tapes for Hard Promises, his fourth album, until MCA abandons plans to hike the list price from $8.98 to $9.98. He at one point even suggested that the title would be changed to EightNinetyEight ($8.98) if they would not back down.

1982 -- Joe Strummer reappears after fleeing the Clash and moving to Paris for a month. He claims his disappearance was due to exhaustion and doubts about his career.

You'll have to drop $140,000 somewhere else kiddiez

2006-05-18T02:36:00.000-06:00

DETROIT — Get ready to say goodbye to the Hummer H1, the hulking, gas-guzzling status symbol that has attracted celebrities and off-road enthusiasts but has drawn the ire of environmentalists.

General Motors Corp. said Friday that the 2006 model year will be the last for the H1, which has been the foundation for the automaker’s Hummer brand. Based on the military’s Humvee, the about 12,000 put on the road since 1992 defined the Hummer name.
“It’s a reflection of where we’re going with the Hummer brand,” Hummer general manager Martin Walsh said of the decision. “The Hummer DNA still resides in the Humvee. ... It will always be the core from where we come.”
GM expects the last H1s to be built next month.

Walsh said Hummer plans to focus on models with broader appeal instead of the niche-market H1. Since taking over the Hummer name in 2000, GM has introduced the still hefty H2 and a midsize H3 sport utility vehicle.
The H1 gets about 10 miles per gallon, but Walsh said rising gas prices didn’t factor into GM’s decision. He noted that H1 buyers typically have been less sensitive about gas prices than most other drivers. Perhaps it's the $140k price tag that has driven sales down.

Auto analyst Erich Merkle with the Grand Rapids consulting company IRN Inc. said the decision fits with steps GM has taken to bring the Hummer brand to more mainstream drivers with the H2 and H3.
“They’re going to continue moving Hummer in that direction,” Merkle said. “It’s a great brand. There is a lot that can be done with that in terms of leveraging its ruggedness and toughness.”

Merkle added that the kind of drivers who buy the H1 don’t worry about things like gas prices.
“It’s really one of those over-the-top vehicles,” Merkle said. “It doesn’t really have much of a place in everyday society. You can’t put it in the parking ramps. Parking spaces can’t accommodate it.”

The H1 attracted well-heeled drivers looking for a military-style vehicle with an intimidating stance. For the 2006 model year, the H1 was offered as a high-performance H1 Alpha that costs about $130,000 to $140,000. The 2004 model year H1 sold at a base price of about $106,000.
The vehicle first was marketed to the public as the Hummer in 1992 by AM General, which also makes the military version. Under a 1999 deal, GM bought marketing rights to the Hummer name and called the vehicle the Hummer H1.

Hummers often have been associated with celebrities who owned them, such as actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was AM General’s first civilian customer, buying a custom-made conversion of the military model as well as civilian production models.
Schwarzenegger once owned a fleet of Hummers but now has two. The California governor’s aides say he rarely drives them anymore.

The Hummer’s critics include the Sierra Club, which has faulted the vehicle for its bulk and poor gas mileage. Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club’s global warming program, welcomed the news, which comes as Congress tackles fuel economy standards and some drivers face $3 gas prices.
“The timing is pretty amazing,” Becker said.

Last year, GM sold 374 H1s, down 16 percent from 447 in 2004.
GM is working to turn around its North American automotive operations and this week announced its first quarterly profit since 2004. Last year it announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. It also has stockpiled parts in case workers at supplier Delphi Corp. go on strike.
AM General, which builds the H1, H2 and Humvee in Mishawaka, Ind., said it doesn’t plan to cut any jobs as a result of the decision. It said workers there were expected to be shifted to military production.

With the war in Iraq, the end of H1 production comes at a time when military demand for Humvee has increased, said AM General spokesman Craig MacNab. Publicity surrounding the Humvee in the Persian Gulf War — and the drop in military demand afterward — helped lead to the civilian model.

“The military production is way up, the civilian production is way down,” MacNab said. “You can’t make a business case for making any investment in the civilian vehicle. ... It’s a good time to stop.”

Maybe they just saturated the market, I mean: just how many uber-wealthy, tiny prick'd assholes can there possibly be?

...Not to mention the rediculous $140k asking price... kinda high for a Hummer -- you can get one for about $25 up on Colfax Ave.

'Bout Time there Larry

2006-05-17T23:07:00.000-06:00

Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones is mobbed by teammates after his three-run game-winning homer against the Florida Marlins in the 11th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May, 17, 2006, in Atlanta.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Braves trailed going to the bottom of the ninth inning. They were in the same predicament heading to the bottom of the 11th.

No worries.

That's right where they like to be.

Atlanta pulled off another improbable comeback when Chipper Jones hit a three-run homer in the 11th to beat the Florida Marlins 6-4 on Wednesday night.

"We've been playing a lot of close games," said Jones, who had gone 70 at-bats since his last homer on April 28. "It just seems like our offense is never out of the game."

He'll get no argument from the shellshocked Marlins, who squandered a 3-2 lead in the ninth and a 4-3 edge in the 11th -- basically the same script as the previous night, when they blew leads in those two innings for a 4-3 loss. The Braves got the series started by overcoming a 5-0 deficit to win 11-8 on Monday.

"We're playing a lot of baseball, that's for darn sure," manager Bobby Cox said.
Not that he's complaining. Atlanta (20-20) won for the eighth time in 10 games, got to .500 for the first time since April 23 and closed to 4 1/2 games of the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.

The Braves were nine games back just 11 days ago, but they've taken advantage of the schedule to halve their deficit. Atlanta's last nine games have been against Florida and Washington -- the two worst teams in the division.
"This is an important stretch for us," Jones said. "We've made some headway to get back into this thing."

After Matt Treanor's RBI single put the Marlins ahead in the 11th, Randy Messenger (0-3) didn't even get an out in the bottom half. Marcus Giles led off with a single, Edgar Renteria worked for a walk and Jones followed with his third homer of the season, a no-doubt-about-it shot into the seats in right-center.
With two runners on, Jones was looking for a fastball on the first pitch. He got it from Messenger.

"I've struggled with guys in scoring position," Jones said. "But when the other guy is struggling with his control, it's the perfect situation to sit on a first-pitch fastball. I knew he didn't want to walk me to get to Andruw (Jones)."
This was actually the fourth comeback win in five games for the Braves. Jeff Francoeur hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Nationals 8-5 over the weekend.
Atlanta tied it up in the ninth when Chipper Jones hustled to beat out a relay throw with the Marlins trying to turn a game-ending double play. The throw was wide of first, but it appeared Jones would have been safe anyway. That allowed pinch-runner Pete Orr to score the tying run.
It looked like the Braves would win in the 10th when Adam LaRoche singled up the middle with pinch-runner Brian Jordan at second. But Reggie Abercrombie made a perfect one-hop throw home to nail Jordan.
The Marlins' defense let them down in the 11th. They called a pitch-out with Renteria trying to bunt and had Giles caught halfway between first and second. But he managed to scramble back to first ahead of the throw.

"We let people up all the time," Marlins manager Joe Girardi said. "It's not always pitching. Half the time it's our defense."
Oscar Villareal (6-0) won it despite giving up the 11th-inning run.

John Smoltz blanked the young Marlins for seven innings, throwing 112 pitches. When he went back out in the eighth, Florida rallied against the 39-year-old pitcher. Dan Uggla had a sacrifice fly and Mike Jacobs hit a two-run single off reliever Mike Remlinger, with all three runs were charged to the starter.

Smoltz wound up throwing 130 pitches, his most since a 132-pitch outing against Colorado on Sept. 14, 1997. He was feeling a little better after his teammates rallied to win.
"That's the only way I was going to sleep tonight," he said. "I would have wandered in my yard all night.

Smoltz, who has undergone four elbow surgeries, insisted that he didn't stay in too long.
"As long as I keep making the pitches I'm making, that's the only thing I'm concerned about," he said.
The Marlins went with a makeshift lineup that included fill-in starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco and shortstop Robert Andino, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque before the game with Hanley Ramire bothered by a sore shoulder.

Of course, it's a thin line between the majors and Triple A for this budget-conscious team. Florida's most seasoned starter was catcher Miguel Olivo, with a little over two years of major league service. Smoltz, an 18-year veteran, had more big league experience than all of Florida's starters combined.

The Braves scored a pair of unearned runs in the third after Nolasco made an errant throw to second base while trying to start a double play. Nolasco went 3 2-3 innings, giving up five hits and walking three.
Braves Catcher Brian McCann, leading the NL in hitting, improved his average to .354 by going 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly.

Hero of the Moment: Somewhere the Babe Smiles Again

2006-05-17T20:24:00.000-06:00

HOUSTON - Nobody wants to surrender Barry Bonds' next home run, and Astros (and former BRAVE) right-hander Russ Springer wasn't about to wind up on the wrong end of history Tuesday night.

He wound up and plunked the San Francisco slugger instead.
Bonds went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for the second straight game in the Giants' 14-3 victory over Houston. Just when it looked like he had rediscovered his stroke, Springer couldn't find the plate.

And Bonds is still looking for home run No. 714.

This from ESPN.com :

Some day, once Barry Bonds' 714th and 715th homers are out of the way (assuming they ever are), no one will remember Russ Springer's role in this saga.

But on a crazy, history-free Tuesday evening in Houston, Springer vs. Bonds was your official DVR moment of the night.

Not because Russ Springer gave up any Barry Bonds home runs, you understand. Once again, for the ninth straight game, nobody gave up any Barry Bonds home runs. So that's 36 trot-free trips to the plate for Barry since homer No. 713 if you're still keeping track. And he isn't even expected to play Wednesday.

Barry Bonds had two hits and flied out to the warning track in right field prior to getting hit by Russ Springer in the fifth inning.So without any homers to chronicle, the story of this night was that Russ Springer came in to pitch -- and pretty soon you had to check your scorecard to make sure that wasn't Jerry Springer.

It was the fifth inning of what would turn into a 14-3 Giants' wipeout of the Astros. It was already an 11-3 game by then. So about all the drama this game had going for it was that No. 25 kept showing up at home plate.
As Bonds dug in against Springer, he was 2 for his first 3 -- with two hard-hit singles and a towering, hold-your-breath-aw-never-mind fly-ball out to the front of the right-field warning track.

For some reason, as at-bat No. 4 loomed, the boos in Houston seemed to get a little louder and a little angrier. Maybe these people knew something the rest of the world didn't know.

Springer's first pitch was a slider that skipped two feet behind Bonds. Bonds tiptoed out of the way, then turned and politely scooped up the ball as it caromed back at him.
But as he tried to hand it to home-plate ump Joe West, he found West was kind of occupied, because he was busy issuing warnings -- to Springer, to manager Phil Garner, to everyone but the BALCO grand jury.

So naturally, Garner and Springer descended on West to debate those warnings. Bonds just leaned on his bat, taking it all in, an amused look on his face.
When the debate ended, Springer kept firing. Ball two was a slider that nearly drilled Bonds in the knees. Next came a fastball that Bonds had to squirm out of the way of, only to have it nick the knob of his bat for a foul ball.

The fourth pitch was a 93-mph fastball, also way inside. Then came the grand finale -- a 92-mph smokeball that nailed Bonds in the upper back.
Joe West lurched into his ejection dance. And off marched Springer, to a major standing ovation.
It was pretty clear how this looked. And it started looking even clearer once the Elias Sports Bureau had finished digging up the last three times these guys had faced each other:

• May 22, 2001: Bonds homers off Springer.
• Sept. 21, 2004: Springer faces Bonds for the first time since the home run -- and hits him.
• Tuesday: Springer meets Bonds for the first time since that 2004 HBP -- and makes it two in a row.

Obviously, accidents happen. But this looked about as accidental as a sunrise.
Springer, however, wasn't available afterward -- because, according to the Astros, he was driving back to Louisiana to be with his wife for a medical procedure.
Bonds, you'll be stunned to learn, wasn't available, either.

Bonds hit an RBI single in a five-run first inning for the Giants. "What's that mean?" wondered one Astro. "We'll have to wait till 'Bonds on Bonds?' "
You got it, man. Consult your local listings.

So it was left to the nonparticipants to sum up this fascinating slice of non-history.
"You saw the same thing I did," said Astros manager Phil Garner. "Do I really need to ... ?"
Well, yeah, as a matter of fact. He did really need to. So when asked what conclusions the planet should draw from those five pitches, Garner replied:

"Draw this conclusion: His first couple of at-bats, everything was away, and he raked the ball pretty good. So where do you want to go next time? Why not try the inside part of the plate? Doesn't that make sense? That's the conclusion you should draw."
OK, maybe. But clearly, it was not the conclusion the manager of Bonds' team drew.
"There are a lot of people watching this game -- especially the at-bats with Barry," said Felipe Alou. "Let all the people watching with honest hearts and with honesty say what they want to say."

Great idea. Unfortunately, all those people with honest hearts don't have their own reality show. So we were pretty much left to dissect the normal clubhouse spin.
Except for this noteworthy quote from Springer's bullpen amigo, Mike Gallo:

"If you go back years in baseball," Gallo said, "there have always been purpose pitches like that. If there was a reason for them, I'm sure that reason will come out."
Gallo said he didn't personally know that reason, however. And he didn't personally know of any history between Bonds and Springer, either. But he does know, particularly personally, that Springer is a leader on a pitching staff that has given up 25 runs in the last two games. And this might have been a time when leaders take action.

"Everyone looks up to him," Gallo said. "He's got the longest time in the big leagues in our bullpen. He's been around a long time. He's seen a lot of things. So if he did do it on purpose, I'm sure he had a reason for it. And it won't be a bad reason."
But will those of us with honest hearts ever learn that reason? Well, maybe some day -- if we can just find the time and date of the next episode of "Springer on Springer."

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

What? No "Sweet Neo-Con" or "Condi, Condi"???

2006-05-17T01:35:00.000-06:00

“Hey now baby, get into my big black car, I wanna show you just what my politics are…”

The Ten Best Musical works -
chosen by Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State

1 -- Mozart Piano Concerto in D minor
At the age of 15, Rice began piano classes - although she has played since she was three - with the intention of becoming a concert pianist. This concerto holds many memories for her: "I won my first piano competition at the age of 15, playing this work."

2 -- Cream 'Sunshine of Your Love'
Cream - Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce - were one of the first of the great supergroups. Despite the fact that the band split up in 1968, Cream's fans are still going strong. "I love to work out to this song," says Rice. "Believe it or not, I loved acid rock in college - and I still do."

3 -- Aretha Franklin 'Respect'
"The Queen of Soul's anthem", in Rice's opinion. Aretha Franklin is best known for her soul and R&B music, but is also skilled at jazz, rock, blues, pop, gospel and opera. The singer, known also as Lady Soul, has won 18 Grammys and earned the music world's unstinting respect.

4 -- Kool and the Gang 'Celebration'
Released in 1980, "Celebration" was a No 1 hit for Kool and the Gang in the US, although it only made No 7 in the UK charts. Rice loves this upbeat track, saying: "It's just such a great song." Not so great was Kylie Minogue's 1991 cover version, which reached No 22 in the UK top 40.

5 -- Brahms Piano Concerto No 2
This is considered one of the most difficult piano works to learn, but Rice isn't fazed. "It's a stormy, difficult piece, but I'm going to learn to play it before I leave this earth!" Premiered in 1881, the Second is unusual because it is in four movements instead of the usual three.

6 -- Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor
This piece by Johannes Brahms is "passionate without being sentimental", Rice says. The work, composed in 1864, is the piece she most loves to play with her quintet. Like most piano quintets, it is written for piano and string quartet (two violins, viola and cello).

7 -- U2 Anything {Ah.... now the blandness shines thru}
Founded in 1976, U2 have regularly topped the record charts since the late 1980s. The band have sold 130 million albums and had six No 1 albums in the US and nine in the UK. One of the most successful groups of all time. Rice, a big fan, is happy to listen to any of their tunes.

8 -- Elton John 'Rocket Man'
This pop ballad was co-written by Bernie Taupin. It first appeared on John's 1972 album Honky Château and became a hit single. For Rice - and many children of the 1970s - this song is a blast from the past: "It brings back memories of college, friends, my first boyfriend."

9 -- Beethoven Symphony No 7
"Quite simply the greatest symphony of all time," is how Rice describes Beethoven's Seventh. The work was written in 1811 and 1812 during what is known as the composer's middle period, at a time when Beethoven was struggling with his increasing deafness.

10 -- Mussorgsky Boris Godunov
"The greatest opera of all time," Rice says. "If you love Russia, you have to love Godunov." The composer, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, was one of five Russian composers who became known as The Mighty Handful, and were the chief innovators of Russian music in the 19th century.

The Ten Best is edited by Rebecca Armstrong for independent.co.uk

I'm still shocked Ghostface didn't make the cut.

Jack B. Ass

2006-05-14T01:12:00.000-06:00

More Barry being Barry

By Jeff Passan, sports.yahoo.com

SAN FRANCISCO – Since Barry Bonds is sure to take a public flogging for almost hitting into a double play when he failed to run out a pop-up, I will refrain from ripping him for the act itself. Surely Bonds knows what he did was wrong, much like the 3-year-old who chucks silverware across the dinner table.

Difference is, children have parents who dole out punishment and make the kid apologize and, hopefully, learn from the mistake. Barry Bonds, the biggest child in baseball, doesn't seem to care, and he has done such a magnificent job of shielding himself from everybody except the yes-men and stooges in his employ, he no longer understands the meaning of accountability.

To his teammates.

To his manager.

To his fans.

To baseball.

To himself.

Surely all of Bonds' slights are borne from a self-centeredness that seems to have been rubbed with a dab of the Cream. Not that Bonds ever has been a great teammate or an easy player to manage or a peach to the fans who pay to see him or a man the sport can be proud to support.
With this latest mishap, he managed to disrespect himself.

Even the most myopic Bonds devotees will have trouble defending him here. You are taught to run out pop-ups and ground balls for a reason: Fielders are fallible, and in this instance, Jeff Kent, Bonds' former teammate and nemesis, dropped a routine pop.

Bonds, of course, did not realize this because his back was turned. It was the eighth inning, in his third at-bat of the night, and Bonds was facing a journeyman named Joe Beimel. Bonds lifted a fly ball at Kent and took exactly eight steps down the line before pirouetting toward San Francisco's dugout. Not until someone yelled at Bonds did he start running again, and Los Angeles shortstop Rafael Furcal barely missed turning a double play after he'd received the throw from Kent for a force out.

On the field, Bonds was seen asking about the infield-fly rule. Boy, that's fresh. A ballplayer in his 21st year who doesn't know the infield-fly rule.
No, this was simply another red herring in a long line of them. Blame the media. Blame racial discrimination. Blame ignorance toward the rulebook. Blame, blame, blame until the story has morphed about the issue at hand into another episode of Angry Barry.

We fall for it, all of us. Because we're disaffected in that way, too. Shucking responsibility would make things so much easier. Imagine screwing up a cursory job at work that embarrasses your co-workers and company, then not having to explain it to the boss.
Bonds slogged into the dugout at the end of the inning, the Giants on their way to an ugly 6-1 loss, and didn't say anything to Giants manager Felipe Alou.

"I've got to talk with him," Alou said.
Alou threw out the idea that Bonds might himself address the bungle.
"No," Bonds said, "I'm not talking."
Someone asked whether he'd play Saturday.
"Still ain't talking," he said.

That is Bonds' prerogative. If he doesn't mind watching all of the attention on him funneled to teammates tired of talking about Barry, Barry, Barry, and to a manager so weary of the chase for Bonds' 714th home run that he regularly plays him in the ninth inning of blowouts, bully for him.

It simply reinforces Bonds' disconnect. When you're hitless in your last nine at-bats, you don't dog the 10th, even if it is a pop-up. When you're batting .231, slugging .487 and swinging through 90-mph fastballs you used to pop like Pez, you answer why. When you're moving like Abe Simpson in the outfield and can't help on a misjudged fly ball in the gap, you owe a reasonable explanation, at very least, to center fielder Steve Finley, who looked pretty silly without any help.

"We know (Bonds) has a lack of range," Alou said. "It didn't lose the game for us tonight."
That's not the point. The Giants have created the same kind of enabling environment for Bonds that baseball in the late 1980s and particularly the '90s created for steroid users. While there is no outward condoning of the actions, there is a passive acceptance. Barry being Barry, goes the lame excuse.

All of this happened the night the Giants celebrated Willie Mays' 75th birthday. Before the game, they presented Mays with a cake and commemorated his career and released colorful balloons. Bonds, his godson, admired the ceremony from the dugout before he went out and added another tick mark to the list of reasons fans loathe him.

In a way, it was sad to see this 41-year-old man, beaten down by injuries and pressure and who knows what else, hobbling through a nine-inning game. Because it was obvious that when the game ended, Bonds wasn't going to own up to any mistakes, miscues or missteps.
He had thrown his forks and knives, and he would go unpunished again.
____________________________________________________________

– Outside of the building at 1520 Gilbreth Road, the dandelions are dead. The windows need a wash. A bush grown too tall could use a trim. The wood seat of a bench is warped, the green metallic frame caked with rust.
Everything about the BALCO headquarters, the nerve center for the biggest doping scandal in American sports history, looks completely abandoned.
Except the light that leaks through the top of the blinds.
There's life inside, and three knocks reveal it: James Valente, the vice president for BALCO who's got another 2½ years of probation after pleading guilty to distributing steroids, opens the door. Behind him is a tall cardboard placard advertising ZMA, the legal supplement BALCO president Victor Conte peddled to the public.
"BALCO isn't here anymore," Valente says.
What is?
"It's a new company," he says. "SNAC."
With that, Valente closes the door and locks it.
In any other case, James Valente would be a forgotten perp, someone doing his time anonymously. Same goes for Conte, who spent four months in prison, and Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson, who received a three-month jail sentence. But this involves Barry Bonds, and now this involves another grand jury, so BALCO, no matter how much the principals try to forget it or ignore it or separate themselves from it, keeps sprouting up like a weed, at the most inopportune time, in the most inopportune places.
Like on the Internet. Valente, obviously, wanted to return to the days when BALCO wasn't a famous acronym, when it was the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, in a strip mall, south of the million-dollar homes and the airport and the Giants' old stadium, in sleepy San Mateo County, where Bonds went to high school. So he adopted SNAC, which stands for Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning.
It uses the same office BALCO did, the one where authorities sprung a raid that exposed the company as a steroid-distribution warehouse and provided substantive evidence that Bonds used steroids. On its web site is a picture of Conte with his left hand on the shoulder of Anderson and his right hand on the shoulder of Bonds. Another link offers visitors a chance to "Ask Victor," who, it says, is the founder.
Maybe Valente thought SNAC sounded better than BALCO, Part Deux.
Actually, anything sounds better than BALCO. Bonds would rather room with Jeff Kent than talk about it.
"Is that a baseball question?" he's fond of asking.
The only reason BALCO persists, though, is because of Bonds' fame, which makes a potential perjury indictment appealing to the government. Valente, Anderson, Conte and Remi Korchemny, the track coach who is serving one year of probation, would all be home free if not for Bonds.
Yet Anderson and Valente have been subpoenaed to testify at the grand jury hearing for the perjury case, and Conte twice went public denying he gave Bonds steroids, first to the Associated Press and then in an article under his byline published by USA Today.
From the start, Conte was the loudest member of the BALCO enterprise. And not just in his product- and self-promotion.
"He only came over a couple times," says Linda Kahrs, the owner of Tout About Toys, BALCO/SNAC's next-door neighbor, "to yell for us to move our car out of his spot."
Kahrs was there Sept. 3, 2003, during the raid. To her, BALCO was just another unassuming company. She had seen Bill Romanowski and a few other athletes stop by – never Bonds, she says – and didn't think anything of it. BALCO invited her into the office once; she remembers it as "sterile."
Now, almost every morning, Valente's wife, Joyce – who cried as a court clerk announced the counts against her husband – goes into the office, Kahrs said. DMV records confirmed that the BMW 3 Series outside was registered to her. On this particular day, James Valente was around, too, working for the company Kahrs was told will sell "supposedly vitamins, nutritional supplements."
Eric Uldrick and Ali Pickering, two of Kahrs' employees, would rather talk about the Giants game Wednesday night than BALCO. They want tickets, just in case Bonds ties Babe Ruth for second all-time with 714 home runs.
"To see if he does it," Uldrick says.
"It's still the Giants," Pickering says. "It's still Barry."
And isn't that the moral of this story? It's still Barry. It's always going to be Barry. No matter how hard Valente or anyone else tries, BALCO won't die. Not with the company's logo stripped off the sign in front of the building. Not with a portion of BALCO's building open, with a visible FOR LEASE sign hanging in a window.
Back in front, traffic hustles by on the highway a fly ball from the front door. Why not try to knock again? Once. Twice. Three times. No answer.
Valente, like everyone involved with BALCO, is trying to ignore the past. Only it won't ignore him.

You're with Me, Leather

2006-05-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

And, at last, they arrive.

For generations, man has struggled with the eternal question: How find woman? How make woman go to bed?

But with one phrase, brilliant in its simplicity, devastating in its effectiveness, all has been revealed. You’re With Me, Leather. It is all there is, and all there ever needed to be.

This shirt captures this rare cultural moment in all its understated glory. They’re 100% cotton, lovingly made sweatshop-free in downtown LA by American Apparel. Ideal for chasing down ESPN crowd cameras and background GameDay shots. It’s a beautiful thing.

Plus, it’s a certain ESPN broadcaster’s birthday today. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
_______________________________________________________________

Just in case you have no idea what this refers to [itz been blowin' UP on the sports radio & blog sites lately] , here's the first entry on it at Deadspin.com

OK, we haven’t officially done athlete run-ins for a while now, but this is too great. Besides, it doesn’t technically involve an athlete. We just heard this story yesterday and will not let another hour go by without sharing, because it must be out there, in its glory, hidden no longer. This was told to us verbally, over the phone, and we actually at one point reflexively spit out a lozenge which very nearly struck someone close and dear to us. We recreate the story here. Enjoy.

A friend of mine just told me he’s getting married. When he gave me the news I immediately thought of the time we were in Scottsdale at spring training, because it’s the best pickup story I’ve ever been a party to. It was about nine years ago, and I actually forget the bar. But my friend was seriously putting the moves on this somewhat attractive young woman, who was wearing leather pants and had a leather jacket draped over her lap. They had been chatting at the bar for about an hour, and my friend thought he was in the house. I had never seen someone work so hard for a score. But just as he was putting on the finishing touches, Chris Berman walks by. And without even breaking stride, Berman looks at the girl, points and says “You’re with me, leather.” And the girl looks up, instantly recognizes Berman, snatches up her jacket and walks out with him, leaving my friend in mid-sentence.

Because we made another call to independently confirm this tale, “You’re with me, leather,” now officially enters the pantheon of Chris Bermanisms, of which there were probably several more uttered later during the evening in question. Yeah, we should have noted earlier that this thing gets really horrifying if you think about it too much.

and...

Sorry, folks, but we still can’t quite get over the psychological ramifications of the Chris Berman story we ran earlier today. Our brains are fried, and we don’t believe in an afterlife anymore. We also agree with one of our commenters; the first ESPN anchor to use the phrase “You’re with me, leather” in reference to a great defensive play officially becomes our favorite anchor — lo, human — on earth. And hey: We now understand why he was hanging out with Huey Lewis all the time.
Perhaps most surprising about this: Within an hour of posting that item, our inbox was flooded with similar Berman stories. We had no idea the man could chase a skirt with such aplomb. Here are a couple of our favorites:

Berman would have hit on me too … If his wife weren’t standing right next to him.

Berman’s seat was next to me at a Jackson Browne show. By the end, when everyone was dancing (really), he was dancing more with me than his wife. He signed my stub, “Rock Me On The Water.” So, I find this “leather” story rather easy to believe.

and...
I was reading about the Berman story. At the Super Bowl a few years back (Giants v. Ravens) in Tampa, I was downing a few drinks in Champions sports bar in the hotel. A guy I was with was working an excruciatingly hot woman at the bar for about an hour. Suddenly in walks Boomer and stops right in front of the woman, reaches out, and grabs her by the arm (gently). She gets up, as we all look on in disbelief, and they take off together never to be seen again. I did not hear any cute pickup lines but whatever he did was enough to make her leave immediately and leave her cell phone and digi cam.

Story sounds amazingly similar to the one told on the site. Additionally, she was a brunette of about 5-11, rocking bod and claimed to be in Maxim and Playboy. I am just confirming the M.O.
Honestly, our whole perception of humanity just dramatically shifted.

You go, Boomer.

Hero of the Moment: Somewhere the Babe Smiles

2006-05-10T04:48:00.000-06:00

SAN FRANCISCO -- former Rockie Juan Pierre had to take out his frustration on someone.
So Barry Bonds was a perfect choice.

"If I'm not getting any hits, nobody is getting none my way,'' the Cubs center fielder said. "I try to make it a point to be that much better on defense at this point. I know I ruined about 40,000 people's night.''
Pierre soared above the wall in center in the fifth inning Tuesday night to take away what would have been Bonds' historic 714th home run.

"He's a guy you play deep,'' he said. "If I play him normal depth, I probably never get back on that ball. I didn't really have to jump until the last a little bit.''
After another loss, Pierre was in no mood when asked if he could tell his grandkids about the catch.
"Right now it's a tough time for us,'' he said. "I know a lot of you all don't believe it, but our goal is to win the World Series, and we haven't been playing well. Maybe if we were going well it would be a bigger thing for me personally. The way I have been playing and the team, I can't look at it as far as telling grandkids.''
Bonds jokingly waved his right hand at Pierre, as if telling him to get out of here with that stuff.
"I shrugged my shoulders at him,'' Pierre said. "He can hit as many as he wants once we get out of town.''
Derrek Lee was rooting for Bonds to homer. No, Lee has not been traded to the Giants.
"I hope he hits a couple, and I hope we win all three games,'' the injured Cubs first baseman said beforehand. "That's how I look at it. It's history. I'd like to see him break the record and be in the dugout when it happens.''
Lee was asked if the shadow of steroids tainted Bonds' quest to be included with the greats, such as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.
"Obviously, you wish it wasn't there,'' Lee said. "It's one of those things; he hasn't been caught yet. You'd like to have a guy innocent until proven guilty. You wish the shadow wasn't there, but either way, he's a great player. You have to respect what he does at the plate.''
Has Lee decided for himself if he believes Bonds used steroids? He narrowed that down to a present-day situation.
"You can't judge someone,'' he said. "We all get tested. Obviously, he has passed all the tests so far.''
Even if Bonds has his own reality show on ESPN, he often seems unacquainted with the reality concept. Until he was told by reporters before Tuesday's game that most of them would be departing town and leaving him alone once he reached 715 homers, he perked up.
"I hit it and you guys will leave,'' Bonds said happily, more a statement than a question. 'Excuse me, I got to go get ready [for the game]. That's the best news I have heard since my kids were born. I'm ready to hit right now.''

Avalanche Warning: Colorado on Brink of Elimination

2006-05-10T04:30:00.000-06:00

DENVER (AP) -- For the first time in a while, Ilya Bryzgalov wasn't impeccable.
He didn't have to be -- because Joffrey Lupul was.
Anaheim and its rookie goalie are still perfect against Colorado thanks to Lupul, whose three goals in regulation and one in overtime gave the Ducks a 4-3 win on Tuesday night and a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.
Lupul became the first player in NHL playoff history to cap a four-goal game with an overtime score.
"They just went in tonight," he said. "I got a couple of good passes. And some breaks."

Bryzgalov's shutout streak ended at three games, but the Ducks are still a win away from advancing to the conference finals.
The Ducks can complete the sweep Thursday night at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche will try to join the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams tin win series after losing the first three games.
"Obviously, it's slim," Avs defenseman Rob Blake said of Colorado's chances. "We're not too worried about winning four games in a row. We've got to win one. We understand our effort needs to be greater in the next game because they matched it (tonight) and beat us again."
Colorado had won its last six playoff overtime games, tops in the NHL and a franchise record, including three over Dallas in the first round of this year's playoffs.
After both teams killed a power play in the extra period, Dustin Penner stole the puck from Patrice Brisebois in the Colorado zone and fed Lupul, who added to his first career hat trick with a shot from between the circles that beat Avs goaltender Jose Theodore at 16:30 of overtime.
"It is the best feeling I've ever had," Lupul said of his game-winner.
Theodore said he had a good look at the shot but couldn't react in time as it bounced off the stick of Avs defenseman Brett Clark and slid underneath his legs and into the net.

"It hit the stick in front of me. If not, it's right in my chest," Theodore said.
Lupul said he hadn't scored four times in a game since junior hockey.
"He's making a name for himself, four goals," Avs forward Ian Laperriere said. "Good for him, I guess. Bad for us."
The Avalanche took a 2-1 lead on Jim Dowd's short-handed goal early in the third period, but Colorado was lax on defense and allowed Lupul to score his second and third goals less than two minutes apart.
Blake got caught pinching in on the blue line and Alex Tanguay's turnover led to a 2-on-1 breakaway and Lupul tied it with his second goal at 8:54. He gave Anaheim a 3-2 led at 10:40 with a slap shot from between the circles.
The deflated Avs fought back to tie it at 3 on Blake's slap shot at 13:35.
Bryzgalov allowed a goal for the first time in 249 minutes, 15 seconds when he gave up a goal late in the first period. The rookie goalie's streak is the second-longest in NHL playoff history, trailing only George Hainsworth's 270:08, set in 1930 for Montreal.
After posting three straight shutouts, including two against the Avalanche in Anaheim, Bryzgalov finally gave up a goal when Dan Hinote tapped the puck past him with 26 seconds left in the first period, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.
The Avs wanted to put more bodies in front of Bryzgalov and they did.
"They put a lot more traffic. Sometimes I saw three or four players in front of me. It was tougher for me to see the puck," said Bryzgalov, who made 26 saves.

The 25-year-old Russian was closing in on his 13th straight perfect period when the Avs finally scored.
He had stopped 99 straight shots dating to the Ducks' Game 7 win at Calgary in the Western Conference quarterfinals before Andrew Brunette got control of the puck behind the net and with one arm slid it to the left side of the crease to Hinote.
The Avs, who didn't get off a single shot in a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted more than a minute, acted as though they'd won another overtime game. It was, after all, their first goal since April 30.
The celebration was short-lived, however, as Lupul tied it at 9:02 of the second period with a slap shot after the Ducks controlled the puck in the Colorado zone for more than a minute, even managing a line change during that time.
The Avs found it hard to be happy about finally scoring on Bryzgalov when Lupul broke free so often.
"It's frustrating, but obviously we didn't do enough good things to win the game," Laperriere said. "I thought the guys played really well tonight from goalie on, and still we didn't find a way to win. We just need to be more desperate next game."
Notes
Bryzgalov stopped the first seven shots he faced, passing two other goaltenders from the 1930s: Dave Kerr of the New York Rangers in 1937 (248:35) and Normie Smith of Detroit (248:32) in 1936. ... Colorado, the fourth highest-scoring team in the NHL, was shut out just twice in the regular season. ... The Avs were 0-for-8 on the power play.

New 'Sucker behind the Skinz

2006-05-10T04:07:00.000-06:00

From Eddie on the Supersuckers messageboard at Supersuckers.com :

...Well... I don't know who this "guest" is or how they got so damn knowledgeable about our bid-ness but... Yes, it is true and we couldn't be happier to announce that Scott "Scottzilla" Churilla will be our main man behind the skins starting on June 1st in Portland, OR (just like "guest" said. Who is that guy?).

We really wanted to wait and do a big, splashy press release to coincide with our touring and new EP in June (wtf... y'all are too far along in yer career to just be putting out EP's!) but apparently someone on the inside just couldn't wait. No big deal, just a little earlier than I'd like. We'll still do the "big splashy" but I guess you people here really deserve the first word. For those of you who are wondering - we had Scott fill in for a tour awhile back and he was so good and easy to get along with that he just seemed like one of "us" already. So we were thrilled to hear that he was leaving the Heat. It's a perfect fit. It's funny because Scott and I really rubbed each other the wrong way for years but when we started touring together again in the last year or so, we found we had way more in common than we thought and have become good friends since then. First impressions really can be misleading. So there you go, straight from the horses mouth. I can't wait for June! --Eddie S.

Good . . . they really needed to get a permanant drummer, not that Murderburger and others weren't great, but ever since Dancing Eagle left the band , the spot has been a revolving door. It just makes a better "band" to name a new member.

Updates

2006-05-09T21:17:00.000-06:00

The current month is May, Keef had brain surgery and is OK , all is good.

Today in Rock History... [04.28]

2006-04-28T10:19:00.000-06:00

1934
Pre-eminent delta blues singer Charley Patton dies in Indianola, Miss. His appetites for women, liquor, and trouble helped create the persona of the 20th-century bluesman.

1938
The Turk of Twang, Duane Eddy is born in Corning, N.Y. His distinctive guitar playing has influenced countless disciples and remains one of creation's wonders.

1953
Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon is born in Rochester, N.Y.

1963
Andrew Oldham sees the Rollin' Stones for the first time at London's Crawdaddy Club. He would agree to manage the band the next day.

1970
Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsies "The Cry of Love" tour begins at the Forum in Los Angeles. Mitch Mitchell is back on drums.

1973
Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," produced by David Bowie, hits #16.

1987
Bruce Springsteen's live box set goes platinum in US

1999
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Kenyon Who? Thank You for Ignoring K-Mart

2006-04-28T09:55:00.000-06:00

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets didn't need their fiery forward to get back into their playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers. Nor did they need a breakout offensive performance from star Carmelo Anthony or even a nice night from their long-range sharpshooters.

They just needed to make free throws -- and they had plenty of opportunities Thursday night.
Playing without Kenyon Martin, who was suspended for insubordination, the Nuggets beat the Clippers 94-87 Thursday night behind Anthony's hard-fought 24 points.
The Nuggets still haven't shot better than 38 percent the entire series, but for one night it didn't matter.
"We have to keep shooting," Anthony said. "We had our bad shooting game out there tonight. So we are bound to have a good shooting night."

The Nuggets snapped a six-game losing streak that started after they clinched their first division title in 18 years on April 10 in Portland, and they did it despite shooting 37 percent and going 0-for-11 from beyond the arc -- and with Melo shooting 6-of-17.
But the Nuggets made just enough of their free throws, going 32-of-46, and will try to tie the series 2-2 Saturday night in Denver, after which Martin might be allowed to return to the team.
Corey Maggette scored 23 points to lead the Clippers, who got 20 points from Sam Cassell and 17 from Elton Brand, but they were done in by 40 personal fouls as half a dozen players ended up in foul trouble.
"They shot a lot of free throws," Cassell said. "I can't respond to what the referees call. They shot, wow, 46 free throws to our 31. That's a lot.

"At the same time, they played harder than us. They took it to us tonight. I tried to warn our guys before tonight's game that on the road, when a team is down 2-0, they come punching. They come feisty, they're nasty. And we just didn't match their intensity."
The Clippers never controlled the flow of the game as they had both times in Los Angeles, and a foul-filled third quarter kept either team from getting into any kind of rhythm to pull away.
Tied at 70 heading into the fourth quarter, the Nuggets seized momentum with a 10-3 run capped by Anthony's 19-foot jumper, and Los Angeles never recovered.
The Clippers didn't go down quietly, though. Brand sank a jumper and Cassell swished three free throws to keep it close.

The Nuggets suspended Martin after he had a blowup with coach George Karl at halftime over his lack of playing time Monday night, then sat out the second half of the Nuggets' 98-87 loss at the Staples Center with a towel over his head.
Martin issued an apology through the team Wednesday after he was suspended indefinitely, but Karl said he would miss at least two games, maybe more.
But the Nuggets didn't seem to miss K-Mart on Thursday night, when they held their own on the glass and the trio of Eduardo Najer, Francisco Elson and Reggie Evans locked down the Clippers' inside game.
"It's a tough situation for everybody. I don't think I it needs to be commented on other than I'm proud of the guys that played," Karl said. "Najera, Francisco and Reggie gave me everything they had and we came up with a win. Let's celebrate their performance."
Martin's latest run-in was met with a collective yawn this week from many of his teammates who practiced and played without him for much of the season as he struggled with tendinitis in his surgically repaired left knee, missing 26 games. The Nuggets won 19 of those.

"Having three, four power forwards on our team, being so deep at that position, at this point it really doesn't matter," Anthony said of Martin's forced hiatus.
Najera got the start, with Elson and Evans rotating in to help cover Brand and center Chris Kaman, who played despite a sprained right ankle but managed just one basket.
Kaman didn't score until 2:15 remaining and Brand shot just 6-of-15.
"Kaman to me looked like he was hurt," Karl said. "He didn't seem like he had good bounce to anything."

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said a hobbled Kaman wasn't the reason for his team's troubles.
"This loss had nothing to do with his ankle or any other injuries we might have," Dunleavy said. "This all had to do with Denver came out and played a really good ballgame. They gave a great effort tonight and they just beat us."
The third period featured 20 fouls.
"The referees were just calling everything," Elson said. "Both teams had a lot of fouls, so hopefully we will adjust to that and the refs will adjust, too. There were a lot of cheap calls and when that happens you can't get a rhythm."

Notes
The Nuggets sank 31 baskets after tying a franchise playoff futility mark with just 27 field goals in Game 2.
Anthony's 19 free throws is a franchise best, eclipsing the previous mark of 18 by Dikembe Mutombo against Utah in 1994. --AP NEWS

Armagideon Business Newz

2006-04-28T01:45:00.000-06:00

The long rumored merger between FOX News Corp. and The White House (U.S.A.) was made official earlier this week as President Jack W. Ass named Tony Rice to replace former liar-in-chief Scott McClellan.

A newsroom wag quipped that Fox News pundit Tony Snow at least won't have to change his 401(k) retirement plan when he goes to work for President Bush as White House press secretary. The little joke was that most perceive (and rightly so) Fox, despite the motto "fair and balanced," as the conservative pro-Republican network.

Snow is an engaging guy, adroit in being the referee between big political and journalistic egos. More TV commentator than reporter, he showed an easy facility for cajoling and sparring with the media.

Preparing to replace Bush's embattled spokesman Scott McClellan next month, Snow will be tested by a White House press corps at times openly hostile to administration policies in Iraq and at home.

The Associated Press reported that by naming a new press secretary, the president was "putting a new face on a troubled administration." The AP added, "Snow’s appointment is notable in a White House that has a reputation for not suffering criticism. He has had some harsh things to say about Bush."

With the help of think tank the Center for American Progress, the wire service dredged up some partial Snow quotes, calling the president ‘‘something of an embarrassment,’’ a leader who has ‘‘lost control of the federal budget,’’ the architect of a ‘‘listless domestic policy’’ and a man who has ‘‘a habit of singing from the political correctness hymnal.’’ Oh , and "the boy who can't say no" when it comes to federal spending.

Accustomed to press corps sniping by now, Bush shrugged it off. [what hasn't he shrugged off!?!?]

‘‘He’s not afraid to express his own opinions,’’ Bush said of Snow. ‘‘For those of you who’ve read his columns and listened to his radio show, he sometimes has disagreed with me. I asked him about those comments, and he said, ‘You should have heard what I said about the other guy.’ ”
Snow thanked Bush for the job and told reporters, ‘‘Believe it or not, I want to work with you.’’
There's a lot more to Snow than just a Bush critic, of course. He goes way back with the first family, having served the father, former President George H.W. Bush, as head speech writer and deputy assistant for media affairs.

Let the gamez re-begin again.

That'll Teach Him

2006-04-27T16:22:00.000-06:00

ColoradoSprings, CO -- A 17-year-old high school student says he was humiliated when his teacher made him sit on the floor during a midterm exam, for wearing a Denver Broncos jersey.
Joshua Vannoy says teacher John Kelly called him a -quote- "stinking Denver fan" and made students throw crumpled paper at him on Friday, two days before the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Broncos for the A-F-C title.

The junior at Beaver Falls High School says he was so unnerved that he left a third of the questions blank on the test.
Kelly, who wore a Ben Roethlisberger jersey Friday, and the school's principal didn't immediately return messages left on their school voice mail on Monday.
Vannoy says he wants out of Kelly's class because he's afraid he'll be treated unfairly now that the story has reached the media.
Vannoy says he wore a Number seven Broncos jersey that day because he's a fan of John Elway.

This Note'z for You... for FREE too !

2006-04-25T10:59:00.000-06:00

News on Neil Young's upcoming protest album, Living With War, hit the Internet at a rate of approximately 100mph over the weekend. (thnxx Johhny!)

Also: see the previous post from Sunday April 16th on the Timez

With a Living With War blog to track details on the release, a bare-bones official website to run lyrics, and a load of reporters on their toes, Young certainly has the Reprise Records new media department working overtime.
The tracklist features the previously reported "Living with War" and "Let's Impeach the President", as well as eight other not surprisingly titled songs.

For your eyes, restless consumers:
01 After the Garden
02 Living With War
03 The Restless Consumer
04 Shock and Awe
05 Families
06 Flags of Freedom
07 Let's Impeach the President
08 Lookin' for a Leader
09 Roger and Out
10 America the Beautiful

Living With War will be posted on Young's website for free streaming starting April 28 (that's this Friday, folks). The record will then be made commercially available for digital download on May 2, and is slated to be well-stocked at yr local record store shortly afterwards.

Oh and this just in! According to Billboard.com, Young will join David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young "Freedom of Speech" tour this summer. Smart planning, guys: hit the kiddies with the free music and the blog, and the old folks with the expensive concert tickets. Got your demographics covered. --pitchforkmedia.com

Press Release:

Lyrics From New Protest Album Are Now Posted Each Day on www.neilyoung.com ; Full Album and Lyrics to Stream at Young's Website on April 28

BURBANK, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 24, 2006 -- On May 2nd, Neil Young will release "Living With War" -- a 10-song collection that the artist describes as a "metal folk protest" -- as a digital download album. The full release will be made available for streaming at Young's website -- http://www.neilyoung.com/ -- on April 28th. In addition, the lyrics to a different song are being posted each day on the website through April 27th.

In an unprecedented release pattern, the compact disc will be sent to retail outlets as soon as copies can be manufactured in early May. Young feels the best way for this music to be understood is to be heard in its entirety.

"This album is about exchanging ideas," Young told CNN in a live interview last week on the steps of Warner Bros./Reprise Records in Burbank. "It's about getting a message out. It's about empowering people by giving them a voice. I know not everyone believes what I say is what they think, but red and blue is not black and white. We're all together. It's a record about unification."

"Living With War" has already set fans and the media abuzz over the Internet due to its reflections on the Iraqi war and the turmoil in this country. It was written and recorded in two weeks with Young on electric guitar, vocals and harmonica, Chad Cromwell on drums, Rick Rosas on bass, and Tommy Bray on trumpet, along with a 100-member choir. One choir member, speaking to a British newspaper, said the recording session was "like being at a 12-hour peace rally."

It is not the first time the 60-year-old Canadian has touched on current events in his songwriting. In 2002, Young released "Let's Roll," a tribute to the passengers who died taking down the hijackers on United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania on September 11, and in 1970 wrote and recorded with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young the song "Ohio," after four students were killed by the National Guard during a peace rally at Kent State University.

Today is the Day...

2006-04-25T01:39:00.000-06:00

There is no doubt that Bruce Springsteen is a star. His image has the burnished patina that very few of his peers have achieved. He is respected by the moneymen and adored by the faithful. However, there has been a nagging doubt in the back of many serious music fans’ minds; is this guy for real? Is he the man of the people he seems to be? Is he a great songwriter or a masterful imitator. Finally, this question can be put to rest once and for all.

“The Seeger Sessions” proves Bruce Springsteen to be one of the most heartfelt American performers since, well, Pete Seeger. Any analysis of lyrical content or songwriting prowess is moot-these songs are American classics-proven in the socio-political crucible of the last century, and above suspicion of any kind. These are songs that almost every American school child is well acquainted with in both the simple singalong way, but also in the –“hey that defines the way I think about things” way as well. From the first moment, this CD explodes from the speakers with the joyous sound of a group of great musicians making music for the sheer love of it. I defy you to sit still during the opening number “Old Dan Tucker.” You have absolutely got to start “hamboning” your way to the supper table. Similarly, you will be moved to make a fist during “Eyes On The Prize,” you’ll weep for a lost home while Springsteen moans out “Shenandoah,” you’ll swell with pride during “We Shall Overcome” or “Jacob’s Ladder” and you’ll bust a gut at the goofiness of “Froggie Went A Courtin’.” Springsteen employees a huge (largely non-E-street) band that just kills it. The horns are loose and punchy at the same time, and all the right Americana is present-honky-tonk piano, spine-tingling fiddle, Banjo, Accordian, but the real revelation is of course, Bruce himself. He has never sounded so relaxed in a studio setting. You can actually hear him smiling-or you can see it on the Dualdisc version of the CD if you desire (although you really gotta hear it on vinyl to get the full effect in my opinion). The crushing weight and expectation of being Bruce Springsteen seem to have been thrown aside and he sings in a voice that is content, confident and knowing throughout. I feel like Bruce Springsteen has been experiencing a renaissance as an artist in the last five years. After a long, uncomfortable period, where he didn’t seem to fit into his band, his songs or his skin, he has rebounded with two very solid albums (“The Rising” and “Devils and Dust”) yet with “We Shall Overcome” he has picked up where he left off on “Nebraska,” and he is creating music that will lift the spirit and remind us of who we should be. This album, unlike “Nebraska,” does not ponder the darkness, it is a meaningful stride into the light, a prideful bow to the best thing we’ve done as a people- create our own music. Every home in America needs this CD. --Paul Epstein, owner Twist and Shout

---------------------------------------------------------------

The record stores will open soon, so I'll keep this short and sweet... rehearsals are doing what they're meant to do, with tonight's (the second of four Asbury Park dress rehearsals) noticebaly tighter than Thursday's, but no less raucous and fun. Two changes in the set: replacing "Adam Raised a Cain" was "Cadillac Ranch," weirdly but quite effectively mashed up with "Mystery Train"; and in place of "Devils & Dust," "If I Should Fall Behind" -- a new arrangement in three-quarter time that owed a great deal to "The Tennessee Waltz." Before the newly worked up "Fall Behind," Bruce called for a couple of shots for himself and the missus -- "sort of a disclaimer for whatever happens next." By the end, though, no apologies: "That mid-set pop really greases the wheels, man!" Bruce laughed. "Should have thought of that 30 years ago!" Yeah, the band was greased, the crowd was greased, it was a stellar show and a good time was had by all -- we'll just see how everybody feels at 6:30 a.m. Said Bruce with both a laugh and a cringe: "See you in the mornin'!"
-------------------------------------------------------

A few dozen yards from the deserted Asbury Park boardwalk, where a cold April wind is fighting a warm April sun, Bruce Springsteen steps to the microphone inside an empty Convention Hall and blasts into "This Hard Land," a classic Springsteen tale of desolation meeting defiance.

"Hey there mister Can you tell me what happened To the seeds I've sown. ..."

"This Hard Land" isn't a new song. It was bumped off his 1984 "Born in the USA" album and spent a decade on bootlegs before he released it in 1995.

Whatever its history, the song has never sounded like this.

The opening has a country lilt, reinforced when the banjo, fiddles and pedal steel kick in. But it's not exactly a country song. It's more like something out of a Saturday night dance party.
"Once the solos start," he tells the band near the end, "we gotta give it up to the rhythm."
His band can do that, even though it's very different from his E Street Band. This is a 17-piece outfit full of strings and horns. It does include familiar faces like Soozie Tyrell and Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, who also play a big role in working out the vocal harmonies.

Its musical mission is country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, activist anthems, New Orleans jazz, old-style ballads, a touch of blues and whatever else peeks in. After rehearsal and between a few bites of takeout, Springsteen says it's basically "all the beats and styles I don't use with E Street, which is my rock band."
He's doing this now, some suggest, because he has to.
"Bruce makes records that reflect the time in America in which he makes them," says Meg Griffin, a longtime NYC radio host now at Sirius Satellite. "An artist who does not travel new roads experiences creative death, and like all the great ones from Van Gogh to Hendrix, Bruce has the courage to explore his soul."
He also does it because he can.

"I have no rules left," says Springsteen, matter of factly. "I don't have to get on the radio. It's wide open for me. The singer-songwriters I admire - Dylan, Neil Young, Woody Guthrie - move forward all the time."
As does he - a rocker who stepped away for 1982's dark and brilliant "Nebraska," 1995's stark "Ghost of Tom Joad" and 2005's pensive "Devils & Dust."
This time it's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," which is released Today and features 13 songs recorded by, among many others, Pete Seeger.
Some are well-known, like the spiritual "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" and the folk ballad "John Henry," but Springsteen says familiarity wasn't his criterion.
"I looked for characters I knew," he says. "I'd say, okay, in 'Erie Canal,' I know that guy. I know this guy. I heard 'Oh Mary' and I thought, I wrote like that in 'Promised Land.'"

Several songs have spiritual themes, he notes, "and I've written a lot of religious music."
In the folk tradition, he also added touches of his own to traditional songs. The merchant seaman's lament "Pay Me My Money Down" is now a wild workout that includes the line:
"I wish that I was Mr. Gates They'd haul my money in in crates. ..."
So "The Seeger Sessions" is no exercise in musicology. It's personal. "It returns me to some of the music I was doing when I started recording," he says. "My second album had an accordion, a tuba, jazz sounds, circus sounds. When we streamlined E Street into more of a rock band, we did less of that. So it's an area I like getting back to."

He's also taking it on the road, with rehearsal shows tomorrow through Wednesday at Convention Hall, then three weeks in Europe. Back home, he starts in Boston May 27 and comes to Madison Square Garden June 22 and the PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, N.J., June 24-25.
"This show is going to be fun," he says, because the record was already fun. "We did it in three days, all live, no overdubs."
That's a big step for a notorious perfectionist.
"The sense of raggediness in this music is important," says Springsteen. "You want to keep the raunchiness of the characters, because they were raunchy. They lived in a raunchy time.
"Part of this music is the wide elbow room you feel inside it. I sometimes tell the band, 'If this gets any better, it'll be worse.'"

Another part of his mission now is figuring out which of his own songs fit the tour's rhythm.
"Cadillac Ranch" requires little reworking, but "Open All Night" has become a foot-stomper and "Johnny 99" is now a funk number. Then there's "Adam Raised a Cain."
"It's bluegrass, like from 40 years ago," says Springsteen. "Those guys loved biblical and religious imagery, and they could easily have done 'Adam.'"
The broader challenge, he says, is that "unlike E Street, this band has no previous material. My 30 years of previous songs, we're not playing any of that. I have this long-standing arsenal and all of it is gone."
He laughs. He likes this.

Not all of his fans agree.

"I just have no interest," says Mark Ashkinos, a fan since the '70s. "I'm a rocker. When he rocks with 'Where the Bands Are' or 'Mary's Place,' I'll pay attention again."
Springsteen says he will be back - at some point.
"I love playing with E Street," he says. "I always will. I have a bookful of new songs sitting there to play with E Street."
But not yet. "I have a very good and really sizable core audience that's adventurous," he says. "It's not as large as the audience with E Street, but it's a good size and I'm interested in taking them on an adventure."

In Europe, that's a go: Fans snapped up every ticket in minutes. Back home, there may be some hesitation, as this week's Asbury Park shows were not his usual instant sellouts.
He seems confident word will soon get out that these shows are just a plain good old time.
"There will be no seats on the floor," he says. "It's rowdy music. I'm hoping my rock fans will respond to that part."
And no, the man who sang for presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004 isn't throwing a show without a message.
"I'm always looking for topical things in songs," he says. "Not rhetoric or demagoguery, but broader implications, like in 'Oh Mary' or 'Eye on the Prize.'
" 'My Oklahoma Home' jokes about this guy's woman being carried away by a twister. It's light. But it's really a song about losing everything - and in New Orleans today we have our biggest disaster since the Dust Bowl. That's the way our lives tie into old folk music. It's why songs like this last."
"I guess if you think you'll wake up and walk around tomorrow, you're an optimist," he says, after a brief pause. "And I sing about hope. But I've also played the other end heavily.
"A song like 'Promised Land' has very sharp internal edges. The verses are blues and the chorus is gospel. The blues is like you feel something big pressing down, a real perniciousness, and then you look for something to lift the weight. There's so much brinksmanship. That's how the world feels so often."

Springsteen's contribution to lifting this burden, the reason he still matters even to people who wish he'd play "Jungleland," is music, particularly live music.
So, at the age of 56 and long past the point where he needs the money, he keeps doing it, which makes especially intriguing another verse he adds to "Pay Me My Money Down":
"If I were born a rich man's son I'd sit on the river and watch it run ..."
Is that going to happen?
"I'd love to watch the river run," he says. "My problem is that I'm not very good at sitting still. My children have taught me to be a little better at it. But I tend to like to keep moving."
And maybe, on the way, keeping track of the seeds he has sown.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

It's as if Bruce Springsteen rounded up the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, gospel legend Clara Ward, and Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, took them to an undisclosed hideaway (perhaps a juke joint in the backwoods), tossed them old vinyl of Pete Seeger's songs, and said, "This is what we'll be playing." Then he recorded the results for his new album, The Seeger Sessions: We Shall Overcome.

When Springsteen's operation first disclosed in March that his next project would be a collection of songs identified with the folk-singing legend, it was easy to assume that Springsteen was about to release an overly earnest set of ballads, perhaps stripped down in the style of his just-me-and-my-guitar-alone-at-night Nebraska disc. Was he an aging rocker returning to the noble and elegant simplicity of folkie roots? And if so, why was he reaching back to Seeger? Why not Woody?

But in celebrating Seeger, Springsteen concocted not a post-Mighty Wind effort to birth yet another folk revival. Instead, he cooked up an amalgamation of American musical styles that places Seeger and the folk tradition he has tirelessly served for decades in the center of a much larger (and more rollicking) universe. It was an intriguing calculation. This ain't your father's Pete Seeger.
Springsteen took the old-timey songs that Seeger popularized--some that are known to us from nursery school sing-alongs, some from protest marches--and cast them in wide-sweeping arrangements that mixed bluegrass, gospel, New Orleans jazz, R&B, and rock. Explaining why he focused on Seeger, Springsteen told The New Yorker, "Pete's library is so vast that the whole history of the country is there....Everything I wanted, I found there." But Springsteen has taken that songbook and thrown it into a blender with an assortment of American musical elements.
Folk purists--and you know who you are--might cringe. This is not Springsteen strumming along the path that Seeger and others strummed. This is not Springsteen abiding by one of the old rules of folk music: performers should make music the way their listeners could do at home with their own friends and kin. He has pumped up and orchestrated these saved-by-Seeger classics. That might cause some offense. Seeger always said the song was the deal, not the singer. The musician was merely the medium through which a living song--embodying the spirit of those who had sung it before--was passed along to the next generation. A critic could perhaps charge Springsteen with overpowering these songs--juicing them up too darn much with all those guitars, fiddles, banjoes, crashing cymbals, drums, organs, a horn section, and big-voiced background singers. But that would be a question of taste. I'd happily sign up for any choir that believes that keeping a song alive by making it swing is indeed a public interest endeavor. And these real-time, one-take, jam-session recordings--especially the gospel-infused "Jacob's Ladder" and "O Mary Don't You Weep"--do swing. A preservationist ought to get points for that.

Springsteen's song selection (of Seeger's song selection) emphasizes the range of folk songs: ballads, reels, spirituals. There are silly songs ("Old Dan Tucker" and "Froggie Went A Courtin'") storytelling tunes ("Jesse James," "John Henry") and serious numbers ("We Shall Overcome"). Springsteen, who has written topical songs of his own ("American Skin," "Streets of Philadelphia," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," "Youngstown"), recorded and performed protest songs ("War," "This Land Is Your Land"), and campaigned for one presidential candidate (John Kerry), doesn't overdo the political-preaching side of folk music. He focuses, as Seeger often did, on its communal nature--the transmission of stories and voices, not necessarily overt messages. It's true that Seeger cannot be separated from his politics; he sang to make people feel empowered. And he was persecuted for being a communist and prosecuted for refusing in 1955 to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about his political views and affiliations. Refusing to invoke the Fifth Amendment, he said to the committee, "I will be glad to tell what songs I have ever sung, because singing is my business...But I decline to say who has ever listened to them, who has written them, or other people who have sung them." Seeger was sentenced to a year in jail for contempt of Congress. In 1962 the verdict was overturned; he remained blacklisted for years. But years before that, he and the Weavers had a number-one pop hit with the toe-tapping and unradical "Goodnight Irene," and his children's songs have helped out many a parent for decades.

With the Seeger Sessions, the Boss gets in a few send-a-message licks. On "Mrs. McGrath," a 19th century Irish song about a war amputee--that is, about a mother's sorrow for the missing legs of her son--Springsteen, singing as that mother, declares, "Oh, foreign wars, I do proclaim/leave only blood and a mother's pain/I'd rather have my son as he used to be/than the King of America and his whole Navy." That's certainly not how the Irish Republicans sang this tune (which originally focused on the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars.) His version of "We Shall Overcome" avoids "Kumbaya"-like sentimentality and comes across as a prayerful lullaby--not a tune of idealistic optimism, but one of cautious hope, a rendition for these days not the 1960s. His "Eyes On the Prize" is a quiet, gritty and growling declaration of defiance--again, an arrangement appropriate for the present moment. Springsteen purposefully eschewed "If I Had a Hammer," believing any version of this well-known classic would overwhelm the other cuts.

In the end, the album is not so much a tribute to Seeger the performer and musician as it is to the history of American song and its assorted stylings. (It could have been called The American Song Sessions.) One could argue that by focusing so much on Seeger, Springsteen distracted from his larger goal. Still, choosing the 82-year-old Seeger as the common thread in this crazy quilt is a brilliant homage.
Rock music, in its essence, is about yearning, and Springsteen the rocker frequently captured that fundamental. Folk music, in a way, is about becoming. To be corny about it, America becoming America--whether it's a song chronicling a specific slice of the nation's history (say, the era of the barge workers of "Erie Canal") or a song capturing the stories and sentiments that gripped the imagination and hearts of Americans who lived in earlier times (say, the longing for home of "Shenandoah"). Seeger has devoted much of his life to preserving and promoting this social history. Springsteen, with this album, has, yes, earnestly pursued a similar mission. But he's not taking dictation. He allowed Seeger's songs to inspire him, as he brewed a bastard's mix of American music.

Today in Rock History... [04.25]

2006-04-24T23:45:00.000-06:00

1923
Blues guitarist Albert King is born in Indianola, Miss. Guitarists like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan have spent their lives searching for his unique expressive tone. GenEric Clapton is obviously still looking...

1950
Steve Ferrone, drummer with the Average White Band, is born in Brighton, England. Most recently , he has been the go-to drummer for Tom Petty after Stan Lynch left the Heartbreakers.

1964
In England, Peter & Gordon take the Lennon/McCartney song "World Without Love" to the top of the singles chart, where it knocks off the Beatles' own "Can't Buy Me Love." Now that's funny.

1974
Rolling Stone reports that concerts by Yes, Gregg Allman, and the Beach Boys have all been hit by streakers, no doubt inspired by Ray Stevens' No. 1 hit "The Streak." Meanwhile, Allman himself performs the last date of a solo tour. To reassure the audience that the Allman Brothers Band are not splitting up, the entire band comes out and performs a 90-minute encore.

1985
"King of the Road" singer Roger Miller opens his musical Big River on Broadway. The Twain adaptation wins the Tony Award for Best Musical.

1990
The Fender Stratocaster on which Jimi Hendrix played "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock sells at a London auction for $295,000.

1994
A judge sentences Beastie Boy Adam Horowitz to 200 hours' community service after he beats up a TV cameraman during River Phoenix's funeral.

1997
Warren Haynes and Allen Woody quit the Allman Brothers Band to tend to their careers as Gov't Mule.

2003
Jim Morrison's parents sue the Doors to the 21st Century - made up of Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger and The Cult's Ian Astbury - claiming their U.S. tour "maliciously misappropriated" the name and logo of the original Doors lineup. Ohh, right! Like you could possibly make the Doors any worse!

Get outta Dalla$ baby , we're comin' back to CowTown now!!!

2006-04-24T23:23:00.000-06:00

DALLAS (AP) -- Just like two years ago, the Colorado Avalanche have won the first two games in their first-round Western Conference playoffs series against Dallas.

This time, the Avalanche haven't even been home yet.

Joe Sakic scored his NHL playoff-record seventh overtime goal Monday night, tipping in John-Michael Liles' slap shot from the point past goalie Marty Turco at 4:36 of the extra period to give seventh-seeded Colorado a 5-4 victory.

"I didn't do much," said Sakic, the Avalanche captain. "I was just trying to get a screen in there. He shot it, and it just went off my stick."
Sakic broke a tie with former Montreal star Maurice "Rocket" Richard for the most overtime goals in the playoffs. It was Sakic's 79th goal in 12 playoff seasons.

"It was the kind of overtime goal you expect," Liles said. "It was a rolling puck and I just got as much on it as I could."
The game winner came only seconds after Dallas' Jason Arnott hit the post at the other end, a puck that got past Jose Theodore put not in the net.
"I knew Jason has a really hard shot, so I give him the glove side," said Theodore, who had 18 saves. "He still beat me. I couldn't get over in time, because he has a rocket."

Game 3 of the Western Conference series is Wednesday night in Denver.
Colorado has won 11 straight playoff series after taking a 2-0 lead, including 2004 when they won the first two at home against Dallas before winning the series in five games.
The Stars haven't come back from an 0-2 deficit since their first playoff series in 1968.
After blowing a 3-0 first-period lead, Colorado forced overtime when Brett Clark scored a short-handed goal with 2:04 left in the third period. The Avalanche got an odd-man rush and Milan Hejduk, who also got an assist on the overtime goal, got the puck to Clark.

"We hoped that maybe we could get a power play ourselves and get the equalizer," Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. "We got lucky."
Stars captain Mike Modano, whose goal with 3 seconds left in the second period made it 4-3, had a backhand swipe that Theodore grabbed with about a minute left in regulation.
"We dug ourselves out of a hole. That's the bright spot. But they just kept coming," Modano said. "We came from behind all year and had solid finishes to games. To lose that one is tough."
At the end of the second period, Modano had waited anxiously, looking up at the replay being shown from multiple angles on the huge videoboards above the ice after the puck ricocheted off his skate and into the net.

After a nearly 5-minute review by NHL officials in the arena and Toronto, referee Marc Joannette confirmed Modano's 52nd career playoff goal.
Jere Lehtinen had a pair of ugly goals 1:04 apart -- one that bounced high in the air and over Theodore -- and rookie Jussi Jokinen also scored in the second period.
Rob Blake, Andrew Brunette and Hejduk each had a goal and an assist in the first period for Colorado, which scored the last five goals in its 5-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday.

Turco, who made 18 saves, has allowed at least three goals in all seven of his career playoff games against Colorado. He's given up five goals four times.
"Whether it's Marty or the team, you can't win if you give up five in the playoffs," coach Dave Tippett said.
Alex Tanguay was called for high-sticking with 1:26 left in the second to set up Modano's goal. Time was running out in the period when Janne Ninimaa shot the puck that bounced off Theodore's pad and ricocheted off Modano's skate.

After Jokinen and Lehtinen scored to cut the lead to 3-2 with 15:17 left in the second period, Quenneville called timeout to try to calm his team. It didn't work.
Sixty-four seconds later, Lehtinen took a swipe at the puck, which was blocked and popped up in the air. Theodore had no idea where it was until it fell behind him and bounced into the net to tie the game.
Modano's goal helped make up for his penalty in the first period that got Colorado's early scoring barrage started.
The Avalanche were on a power play after Modano's hooking penalty when Blake's shot from the top of the point made it 1-0 with 12:54 left in the first period.
Less than 2 minutes later, Turco went to the right side of the net to glove a shot by Hejduk. But the puck fell out of the glove, and Hejduk knocked it back out to Brunette for an easy open shot and a 2-0 lead.
Colorado also scored on its next shot, going up 3-0 when Sakic pushed a puck toward the net and it was poked in by Hejduk.

Turco has allowed at least one first-period goal in all seven of his career playoff games against Colorado.

Drunk Will Show You, Everybody.

2006-04-24T04:13:00.000-06:00

YOUNGSTOWN, OH—In response to the shit he knows everyone is saying about him, local resident Todd Stenerud, after a prolonged drinking session, announced his intention to show you and everyone else just minutes before closing time at a local bar Monday.

"You people don't know [what] the fuck you're talking about," Stenerud announced from his stool at Dan's Pub. "You think I can't? Know what? I'll show you. I'll show everybody."
Stenerud, who is frequently drunk, added that if those assembled were opposed to his announcement, they could kiss his "entire redneck ass."

Although Stenerud did not specify what he intended to show, he addressed a number of issues in detail, including the lack of credit he is given "day in and day goddamn out," his endless payment of dues "day after day after day," and a general sentiment of not giving a fuck today or any other fucking day.

"Look, there's me," Stenerud said, pointing out his reflection cast in the bar-length mirror. "That's the guy that's going to kick all of your asses."

Bartender Hope Krzysch said that Stenerud, a regular patron, was served eight bottles of Miller Genuine Draft and six shots of Jim Beam in the four hours prior to making his remarks.
In a statement typified by earnest, strongly worded proclamations, one of Stenerud's most impassioned comments was that the occasion marked the very first time that he had ever spoken the truth to anyone.

"It's all clear to me now. I can see right through you sons of bitches. Too bad you're not me right now. That's just too fucking bad for you."
The announcement was cut short when Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" played over the bar's jukebox, prompting Stenerud to remark, "I love this tune," close his eyes, and silently mouth the lyrics for the duration of the song.

Patrons at the bar reflected on Stenerud's charges of shit-talking. "I don't know the guy," Web designer Steve Dreyfuss said. "But I hope he eventually shows everybody. I wish him well."
Stenerud, known in the area for inebriated, forceful announcements, has in the past shown everyone his ability to lift a table over his head, remove a hard-boiled egg from a glass without touching the glass, and construct a tiny man from a paper match. Still, observers said it was unlikely that these actions were what Stenerud was determined to show Monday.

Though he focused on showing everyone, Stenerud also demanded to know what the fuck everyone was laughing at.
"You think that's funny?" he asked on one of the few occasions he rose to his feet. "I'll show you what's funny. Come on."
After a series of alternatingly aggressive and inquisitive gestures, Stenerud nearly toppled to the ground, narrowly avoiding striking his head on a footrest.

Semiregular Dan's Pub patron and die-cutter Ed Sieves tried to assure Stenerud that nobody was laughing, and, after a brief staredown, the walleyed Stenerud embraced Sieves in an emotional bear hug.
"This guy's like a brother. He's a good fuckin' man," Stenerud said, attempting to lift Sieves off the ground. "You're the best friend a guy could have. No. No. No. No. I mean it. There's nobody I'd rather want to spend time with than all you fuckers. You guys. You guys. I fuckin'."
Stenerud then asked, "Did you see me pick him up?"

After two minutes of a silence described by witnesses as "sullen," Stenerud announced that he had one last fucking thing to tell the audience.
"You'd think? Fuckin'. I want to go call my ex-wife," Stenerud said, apparently concluding the speech.
Stenerud is expected to return to Dan's Pub on Friday, but it is unknown whether he will show anyone anything else at that time. --theonion.com

Not Surprising under THIS Administration

2006-04-23T21:40:00.000-06:00

We all know Satayana's Famous warning about those who forget their history; but I wonder what special damnation waits for those who sell it off to the first megacorporation that cuts a check?

Thanks to a secret, no-bid deal cut in the beginning of this year, the complete terms of which they refuse to release, The Smithsonian, "the Nation's Attic", has become Showtime's Candy Store instead.

As part of a near-exclusive deal with Showtime Networks, the Smithsonian Institution is restricting filmmakers' access to its scientists and archives...., Now most filmmakers will not have in-depth use of Smithsonian materials unless they are creating work for the Smithsonian/Showtime unit.

Which means effectively that $800 million a year in taxpayer funds we spend on the venerable institution has just become another form of corporate welfare:

To understand what an utter outrage this deal is you must first understand the incredible depth and breadth of the institution and its archives. First, the Smithsonian is not a single museum but 15 separate museums covering almost every imaginable subject from the Famous Air and Space museum to the National Zoo to the newly opened American Indian Museum. And even that only scratches the surface of what the Institution really is. The institute's archives hold millions of historical documents, and photographs, miles of film ( 8 million feet in the anthropology archive alone), and thousands of hours of recordings that are unique and able to be found nowhere else in the world. And all of it, every last treasure, was just made off-limits without permission from the Smithsonian's corporate partner Showtime.

Or to quote noted firebrand Documentarian Ken Burns:
"History's just been made for sale to an inside deal," said Ken Burns, the Emmy-winning producer of the documentaries "Baseball" and "The Civil War."

Or to put it even more bluntly:
"I was horrified that the Smithsonian would even contemplate a deal that would give a for-profit broadcaster the right of first refusal," said Nina Gilden Seavey, an Emmy-winning filmmaker and director of the Documentary Center at George Washington University. "It is a fire sale of the nation's history."

It is important to understand the contract term "right of first refusal" and what it effectively does to anyone wishing access to the Smithsonian. . Effectively it means that from now on anybody who wants to do ANYTHING about the Smithsonian, its collections, or even staff has to offer to sell Showtime the finished product:

Jeanny Kim, the vice president for media services at Smithsonian Business Ventures, said the filmmakers who were doing "more than an incidental treatment" of a subject mainly from Smithsonian materials or wishing to focus on a Smithsonian curator or scientist would first have to offer the idea to Smithsonian/Showtime. Otherwise, the archives could not be used

Not only is this an outrageous enrichment of a private company at public expense, but it is literally allowing a corporation to spin our history as it sees fit. According to the deal, to get access to the Archives, Filmmakers MUST sell their final products to Showtime if Showtime wishes to purchase them. However there are no control on what Showtime does once the film is in their possession, whether or if they ever air it, and what edits they may chose to make before doing so. They are now free to spin pieces of the historical record anyway they find convenient and no one can effectively rebut them. It almost goes without saying that this is an unbelievably dangerous idea.
Worse yet, Showtime is a only a tiny part of the Communications Giant Viacom. Viacom's other holdings include: CBS, dozens of Local TV and Radio Stations , 20 different cable channels (including MTV and all its demon-spawn), Simon and Schuster publishers, King World Distributors, etc. and it would be utterly naïve to believe that they have no plans for leveraging their access to the Smithsonian's collections for corporate synergy purposes. Those things they find helpful or profitable can be promoted and those they find unhelpful can be suppressed (for example inconvenient historical records that contradict a Blockbuster Biopic made by Paramount, might never see the light of Day if Viacom decided releasing them would hurt the Box office gross)

Principle has never been more imperiled than by this back room, still-secret deal that effectively turns over millions or unique and irreplaceable historical records, knowledge and artifacts to a giant entertainment company.

When Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the voices of dissention were drowned out by the whining meat grinder of corporate media. What was at stake were two important principles of democracy: free speech and the power to use it.

The act created the environment where it was okay for media monopolies to gobble up the competition, which was a tremendous win for free speech as long as you were Clear Channel. It also gave away the public airwaves to 21 broadcast companies, who will undoubtably gain more than even the estimated high value then of 70 billion dollars. The American citizens of this country who owned these airwaves got nothing.

What was the reason for this giveaway? We want our HDTV. The act was supposed to expedite the process, getting high definition to the American people quicker and remaining affordable to all. The irony? The top reasons for not getting HD today are price and a lack of HD content.
Now some geniuses have decided the Smithsonian is for sale. Last month, the Smithsonian signed a secret deal with Showtime that gives them exclusive rights to steward some of the Smithsonian's archives. The deal includes Showtime's right to refuse any persons requests to use that material. Think Progress reports that yesterday a letter signed by 215 people, including Ken Burns, Michael Moore, and Alex Gibney was sent to the Secretary of the Smithsonian concerning this betrayal of the public trust.

This is a true outrage. The Smithsonian Institute is an American treasure, one of the few things we have left that is free and open to the public. It is still to this day amazing to me that we can walk up to the steps of the Museum of Natural History and see a life size model of a blue whale and it doesn't cost a dime.
There is a difference between an accomplished filmmaker like Burns, who can create an incredible series about jazz or the Civil War and make it available to everyone on a public television station, and one subscription-based movie channel that has a dizzying lack of programming except for a few exclusive content shows. To think that the reason for selling history is to compete with the Sopranos is truly horrendous. -- DailyKos.com

Americans get shafted yet again.

Wow! Great Time to Wake Up

2006-04-22T23:20:00.000-06:00

DALLAS (AP) - Maybe Dallas thought it was going to be that easy. A decided favorite going into their first-round series against Colorado, the Stars already had a two-goal lead.
Except there were more than two periods left in what turned into a 5-2 victory by the seventh-seeded Avalanche.

Colorado cut the deficit in half before the end of the first period, then scored three times in the second period. Rookie winger Wojtek Wolski tied the game at 2 before Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles scored on power-play goals only 2:04 apart.
Joe Sakic, the Avs captain and leading scorer, had two assists to start his 12th playoff appearance. Goalie Jose Theodore stopped 16 shots in only his sixth game for Colorado.
Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas.

The Avalanche certainly looked like a playoff-seasoned team, one starting its 25th playoff series since moving to Denver in 1995 - more than any other team. Not the squad that lost 10 of its last 16 regular season games for its lowest playoff seeding since 1987 while still in Quebec.

For the Stars, it was eerily similar to their last playoff series two years ago. Colorado won that first-round series in five games and twice scored five times against Dallas goalie Marty Turco.
This is the fourth time in seven years the two teams have meet in the playoffs. Dallas won a pair of incredible seven-game Western Conference finals in 1999 and 2000 to get to the Stanley Cup finals.

Dallas went up 2-0 when Jason Arnott slid by the net and made a backhand pass to Bill Guerin, who slammed the puck behind Theodore with 4:58 left in the first period.
That came only two minutes after a one-timer by Brenden Morrow on Dallas' third shot of the game. Stu Barnes made a pass from behind the net to Morrow at the edge of the right circle.
But the Stars didn't hold on to that momentum very long.

With Turco sliding to his right, Sakic pushed the puck back toward the middle and Milan Hejduk knocked it into the open net with 3:18 left in the opening period.
Another defensive mistake led to Colorado's tying goal 5 1/2 minutes into the second period. Turco was still on the side of the net after playing the puck when defenseman Jon Klemm gave it away. Jim Dowd passed the puck to Wolski and Turco couldn't get back in time to prevent the goal.

After Blake's power-play goal, a puck through traffic that Turco didn't see until it was too late, there was only 15 more seconds of play before Colorado was on the power play again. Liles scored past a sprawling Turco for a goal assisted by Sakic and Andrew Brunette.
Turco stopped 26 shots, but has allowed 23 goals in six playoff games against the Avalanche.
Theodore was 1-3-1 down the stretch for Colorado. The former league MVP didn't make his debut for the Avalanche until a month after coming from Montreal at the NHL trade deadline March 8 for David Aebischer, the goalie who beat Dallas in the series two years ago.
The Stars didn't make Theodore work too hard after their first two goals. Dallas only had four shots in the second period, and their nine in the third period matched their total before that.

Chicago Rockers Rise from the Ashes... Maybe

2006-04-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

"It's official, the Smashing Pumpkins are currently writing songs for their upcoming album, their first since 2000. No release date has yet been set, but the band plans to begin recording this summer."

Well, there you have it-- the latest update on the Smashing Pumpkins reunion, taken straight from the band's official website. That's all. Nothing else to report, sorry!
No, we don't know who exactly is in the band now, although we assume it's some combination involving Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain, since Billboard.com reported earlier this year that the pair signed a management deal under the Smashing Pumpkins name.

In related news, last night I was watching Fuse and the "Tonight Tonight" video came on. That video rules.

...That earlier story:

This is like that time when Paul and Ringo revived the Beatles. Oh wait, that didn't happen...yet. But another band you may have heard of is reuniting, sort of. According to Billboard.com , Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have signed a management deal under the Smashing Pumpkins name, and are set to start working on the first new Pumpkins album in six years.

As of now, guitarist James "I Heart Annie" Iha and original bassist D'arcy "The Great One" Wretzky have not joined the party. D'arcy's replacement, Melissa Auf der Maur, is not involved yet either, but she graciously told MTV News, "The coolest thing would be if D'Arcy was around, but I don't know where she's at and I don't think [Corgan or Chamberlin] do either. But I feel very comfortable being second best...My services are there for [Corgan] whenever he needs them."

Touring, of course, will likely follow the album. Smashing Pumpkins were previously rumored to be headlining Coachella (Tool is an adequate replacement, right?), and now the grapevine is suggesting they will play Lollapalooza this August in the band's native Chicago. However, MTV News quotes a mysterious "source" denying the Lolla rumor.

Last year, on the same day his fabulously successful (a whopping 69,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan) solo effort TheFutureEmbrace came out, Corgan announced plans to reunite the Pumpkins via a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune. In December, Corgan left the following cryptic message on his MySpace page: "The surprise I have in store for you all will be announced soon enough....hold on to your horses. Afterall, good things surely comes to those who wait....Don't you just love the suspense?". --Pitchfork

Today in Rock History... [04.22]

2006-04-22T09:44:00.000-06:00

1937 -- Jack Nitzsche is born today in Chicago. His arrangements have graced albums by the Monkees, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, and Mink DeVille. He also wrote "Needles and Pins."

1965 -- Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde LP released in the US

1969 -- In Dolton, England, the Who perform their rock opera Tommy live in its entirety for the first time.

1977 -- The mighty Jam release their first single, "In the City."

1978 -- Johnny Thunders plays a surprise gig at London's Speakeasy, backed by a band featuring Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones.

1978 -- In a historic moment, Bob Marley unites Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley with his political rival Edward Seaga onstage at the One Love Peace Concert.

1979 -- Keith Richards performs a concert at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The show is part of his punishment for a 1977 drug bust. The Rolling Stones also perform two benefit concerts for the blind in Toronto to fulfil terms of Keith's sentence for heroin trafficking.

1982 -- The British trio Motorhead debuts on US chart with 'Iron Fist'.

Dang , no frontrange dates.

2006-04-22T08:25:00.000-06:00

A US tour has been confirmed for Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band.

Following the band's initial US date in New Orleans on April 30, and a series of ten concerts in Europe, the US tour resumes with a series of 18 shows kicking off in Boston on May 27, and finishing in New Jersey on June 25. Each night, an all new evening of gospel, folk, and blues will be presented by Springsteen with the 17-member Seeger Sessions Band.

Tickets for the European tour dates have all sold out swiftly. Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band sold out London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in ten minutes, The Manchester Evening News Arena in six minutes, and Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall in just four minutes, all unprecedented. Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany also sold out in a matter of minutes. Legendary promoter Harvey Goldsmith said, "We announced Bruce Springsteen¹s concerts in the UK at 9.00am on Friday 7 April. By 9.10am both shows had sold out. This is the fastest selling show ever in Manchester."

In addition to Springsteen on vocals, guitar and harmonica, the US tour dates for the Seeger Sessions Band will comprise the following lineup:
Sam Bardfeld (violin), Art Baron (tuba), Frank Bruno (guitar), Jeremy Chatzky (upright bass), Larry Eagle (drums), Charles Giordano (accordion, keyboards), Curtis King (vocals), Greg Liszt (banjo), Lisa Lowell (vocals), Eddie Manion (sax), Cindy Mizelle (vocals), Mark Pender (trumpet), Marty Rifkin (pedal steel guitar), Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg (trombone), Patti Scialfa (vocals), Marc Anthony Thompson (vocals) and Soozie Tyrell (violin).

In Springsteen's note from 'We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions,' the musician describes the music on the album. He writes, "It was a carnival ride, the sound of surprise and the pure joy of playing. Street corner music, parlor music, tavern music, wilderness music, circus music, church music, gutter music, it was all there waiting in those old songs, some more than one hundred years old. It rocked, it swung, it rolled. It was a way back and forward to the informality, the freeness and the eclecticism of my earliest music and then some."

April 30 New Orleans, LA Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 27 Boston, MA TD Bank North Garden
May 28 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
May 30 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheatre
May 31 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Amphitheatre
June 3 Phoenix, AZ Glendale Arena
June 5 Los Angeles, CA Greek Amphitheatre
June 6 San Francisco, CA Concord Pavilion
June 10 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
June 11 St. Paul, MN Xcel Arena
June 13 Chicago, IL First MidWest Bank
June 14 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
June 16 Cleveland, OH Blossom Amphitheatre
June 17 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Center
June 20 Philadelphia, PA Camden Tweeter Waterfront Amphitheater
June 21 Saratoga, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 22 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
June 24 Holmdel, NJ PNC Amphitheatre
June 25 Holmdel, NJ PNC Amphitheatre

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:07 a.m. ET April 22, 2006

ASBURY PARK, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen, rock 'n' roll icon, stands on a cramped Jersey shore stage surrounded by 16 musicians. There's a fiddle, a banjo, a tuba, an accordion — and not a single electric guitar.
The music swells, a glorious noise, as Springsteen leans into the microphone and sings a familiar song: "He floats through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young man on the flying trapeze."
The vintage tale of a high-flying, womanizing circus star is followed by "Poor Man," a reworking of a Blind Alfred Reed song from the 1920s. This is the music of the moment for Springsteen: folk songs from decades past as he releases an album of songs culled from the Pete Seeger catalogue.
Bob Dylan once went electric. This is Springsteen going eclectic.

"The songs have lasted 100 years, or hundreds of years, for a reason," Springsteen explains in a spartan dressing room after rehearsing with his new big band. "They were really, really well-written pieces of music.
"They have worlds in them. You just kind of go in — it's a playground. You go in, and you get to play around."
"We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" arrives Tuesday, with a tour to follow (including a trip to New Orleans for the Jazz and Heritage Festival). Springsteen, still damp with perspiration from his rehearsal, sat backstage for a 40-minute interview with The Associated Press that covered his musical past, present and future.

The new album is Springsteen's most sonically surprising since the spare "Nebraska" in 1982. Springsteen compares its variety with his second album, "The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle," where the music veered from straight rock ("Rosalita") to jazz ("New York City Serenade") to oompah ("Wild Billy's Circus Story").

Leaning back on a couch, Springsteen said he was intent on getting out more music, including a group of songs already written for the E Street Band and a follow-up to "Tracks," his collection of unreleased studio cuts. He was working on the latter before deciding to do the new record.
"After a long time, you get a lot more secure about what you're doing," Springsteen said between sips from a bottle of water. "I spend much less time making decisions. Incredibly less.
"It used to be, like, there's a line in a song that I sang a certain way. I might mull it over for three days. Maybe longer, right? Now, you know, it's very different. I realize it's not necessary. You know your craft better."

"The Seeger Sessions" featured Springsteen making an album in record time. The rock hall of famer, who in the past went years between releases, did the new album in three days. The 13 songs, plus two bonus tracks, were recorded inside the living room of a farm house at Springsteen's New Jersey home — with the horn section playing in the hall.
There were no rehearsals, no arrangements, no overdubs. Springsteen wasn't even sure if the results would become an album.

"It was just playing music," Springsteen said of the sessions. "I didn't have any intention for it. I knew that I enjoyed making this kind of music. ... It was really just purely for the joy of doing it. It was a lot of fun."
Springsteen, 56, is coming off a busy year when he toured extensively behind his Grammy-winning solo album "Devils & Dust." Last year also marked the 30th anniversary of "Born To Run," the classic album that turned him into a star.

Springsteen first connected with the Seeger songbook in 1997, when he recorded "We Shall Overcome" for a tribute album. His interest grew as he delved into the material — sturdy songs like "John Henry," "Erie Canal" and "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep."
"I wasn't aware of the vast library of music that Pete helped create and also collected," said Springsteen, who was more familiar with the work of Woody Guthrie. "Just this whole wonderful world of songwriting with all these lost voices. Great stories. Great characters."
Like Seeger, Springsteen is well-known for his role as a social activist. In 2004, Springsteen campaigned for John Kerry and criticized the Bush administration for bringing the country to war in Iraq. He's been a longtime advocate for local food banks, and played benefits for union workers, flood victims and other causes.

Seeger paid a heavy price for his beliefs. During the McCarthy era, he was summoned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as it investigated supposed subversive influences in entertainment. He refused to cooperate and was blacklisted for the next decade.
So was releasing an album of Seeger's songs during President Bush's second term a political statement?
"I'll let somebody else sort that part of it, I guess," Springsteen said. "But a lot of 'em seem pretty applicable, you know? `Mrs. McGrath' is basically an Irish anti-war song, but it's ripped right out of the headlines everyday today."

The songs once sung by Seeger "shine a continuing light on a whole set of not just wonderful stories, but obviously a lot of social issues, the direction the country is going down," he continued. "There's still a place for a lot of that music."
Once Springsteen decided to forge ahead with the project, he called Seeger with the news. Seeger asked which songs would be on the record.
"He'd start giving me the history of each song," Springsteen said. "He actually knows about all those things. So it was an enjoyable conversation, and I hope he likes the record."
Seeger, through his manager, declined to comment on the Springsteen project.

Springsteen had no concerns about audience reaction to his foray into a new musical landscape. He expects "the adventurous part of my fans" will enjoy the album. And he considers change a requirement for any successful musician.
"Your job as an artist is to build a box, and then let people watch you escape from it," Springsteen explained. "And then they follow you to the next box, and they watch you escape from that one. ... Escape artistry is part of the survival mechanism of the job.
"If you want to do the job well, you have got to be able to escape from what you've previously built."

There's one other major difference between "Seeger Sessions" and all of Springsteen's previous work: He didn't write a single song for this project.
"A real pleasure," he said of the break from writing. "Once we put it together, it was like, `Wow. I can make records and I don't have to write anything.' There are thousands of great songs sitting out there waiting to be heard, and I know a way to act as an interpreter on these things."

from Backstreets.com :

The first rehearsal show, and the public debut of Springsteen with his 17-piece Seeger Sessions Band. And the first words out of our reporter's mouth after the concert: "Do you like music? Do you like Bruce Springsteen? Then you're gonna love this show." A spirited Dixieland romp, already a success that the '92-93 experiment with other musicians reached for and arguably never achieved. The rehearsal aspect was evident, as Bruce acknowledged, with some rough edges, miscues, and sound problems; but as he directed his stageful of players, under a pair of old chandeliers, it was that rare thrill of music being made right before your eyes -- a glorious noise.

A glorious lament, in a way: there was a political edge throughout the night, subtle yet unmistakable, particularly in the three-pack of "Devils & Dust," "Mrs. McGrath" (dedicated to Cindy Sheehan), and "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" The last of these is a Blind Alfred Reed song from the '20s, covered more recently by Ry Cooder and the Del-Lords. Springsteen took the time to set up many of tonight's numbers, offering some history to introduce songs like "Old Dan Tucker" and "Eyes on the Prize." In all, the band performed eleven songs from the album plus "Buffalo Gals" from the flipside; and six Bruce-penned songs from his catalog: "Johnny 99," "Adam Raised a Cain," "Devils & Dust," "Open All Night," "My City of Ruins," and "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)." Bringing the total up to 20 songs (the show started at 7:30, ended at 9:35) were two unreleased covers: the aforementioned "Poor Man," and the show-closing "When the Saints Go Marching In." For another idea of the sound, as another concert-goer told us, "Think 'Walt Whitman's Niece,' from start to finish." Take the weekend to break out your copy of Billy Bragg & Wilco's Mermaid Avenue if you need a refresher . . .

Today in Rock History... [04.21]

2006-04-21T14:15:00.000-06:00

1924 -- Ira Louvin of the influential country duo the Louvin Brothers is born today in Rainesville, Ala.

1945 -- The Bihari brothers found Modern Records. Over the years, the label will become an R&B powerhouse, releasing discs by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, and Etta James.

1947 -- Rock's wonderous frontman, Iggy Pop, is born today in Michigan as James Osterberg. He's led the wild and wildly influencial band, The Stooges, and recorded a string of solo albums.

1963 -- Beatles and Rolling Stones meet for the first time during a Rolling Stones performance at Crawdaddy Club. 'We got all nervous', says Bill Wyman, 'but then we had a chat with them afterwards and stayed up all night rapping and became really good mates.'

1971 -- Rolling Stones release Sticky Fingers LP

2001 -- R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck is arrested at Heathrow Airport after allegedly causing a drunken ruckus during a flight from Seattle to London. He's later found innocent of all charges.

2003 -- Members of the late Clash singer Joe Strummer's old band the 101ers reunite with Mick Jones in London for a gig. The show also launches the Strummerville charity, which aids struggling musicians.

Today in Rock History... [4:20 dude!]

2006-04-20T09:15:00.000-06:00

1957 -- Elvis Presley tops the chart with "All Shook Up." Otis Blackwell wrote the song after Shalimar Music exec Al Stanton challenged him to come up with a tune in the space of time it took Stanton to drink a Pepsi.

1964 -- Elvis Presley's film 'Viva Las Vegas' premieres.

1976 -- The Rolling Stones finally release their long-awaited album Black and Blue.

1991 -- Steve Marriott dies after his home in Essex, England, catches fire. With the Small Faces, the vocalist was responsible for witty singles like "Itchycoo Park," as well as the excellent psychedelic album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.

1991 -- Bruce Hornsby, Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Jackson Browne, 10,000 Maniacs, Queen Latifah, and Indigo Girls play a concert in Massachusetts to celebrate Earth Day. {which comes this Saturday this year}

1992 -- In London, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Roger Daltrey, Liza Minnelli, David Bowie, George Michael, Def Leppard, and Spinal Tap all perform at a memorial concert for Queen singer Freddie Mercury.

1999 -- The Clash's 1980 triple-album, Sandinista!, is finally certified gold.

2004 -- UK rockers The Darkness ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Get Your Hands Off My Woman, M.F.") perform on the late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, directed by 'Pulp Fiction' auteur Quentin Tarantino.

Pedro Martinez Credits Success To Lucky Midget, Sun God, Magic Beads

2006-04-20T08:50:00.000-06:00

April 20, 2006 theOnion.com

NEW YORK—In an interview following his 200th career win Monday night, Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez said he never could have reached this milestone without the aid of his lucky midget, the Egyptian sun god Ra, and every person and thing who helped him along the way, including an enchanted necklace, former British prime minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain, and a talking whale who lives off the coast of his native Dominican Republic that only he can communicate with.

"To make it this far in this sport, it takes a whole lot of luck, and this has been provided to me by my lucky midget," Martinez said, referring to either two-foot-tall dwarf Nelson de la Rosa, who accompanied him during the Red Sox's historic World Series run in 2004, or one of the 12 other midgets whom Martinez has used as a mascot at various points during his 15-year career.
"Over the years, I've learned the secret to longevity in this game: Whenever your mechanics aren't working or your shoulder starts tightening up during starts, it's time to get a new lucky midget," said Martinez, whose midget friends have each "disappeared" following their dismissal, although Martinez's critics note that the drained corpses of midgets identified as his former good-luck charms have been found on ancient Egyptian holy sites at times coinciding with the start of spring training or immediately following prolonged slumps. "You can't rely on the same old midget for your whole career."

Martinez, who has compiled the highest winning percentage of any pitcher with at least 200 wins, claims that the main influence on his pitching style—and the most important presence in his life—is Ra, the Egyptian sun god of Heliopolis.
"Ra is always looking down on me, beaming with pride, and making me a much better pitcher—especially in day games when he casts a shadow between the mound and home plate," Martinez said. "When I point my fingers up and look skyward after a big out, I am thanking Ra for his help. Oh, and sometimes I'm asking the countenance of Juan Marichal that appears to me in the north sky what pitch I should start the next batter off with. He speaks to me through the stars."

"This is much more specific and tactical in nature than the lucky help provided by midgets," Martinez explained.
According to Martinez, the game of baseball is 90 percent mental, so even if a pitcher "summons the physical energy running through all the ley lines of the Earth," he still has to be able to outsmart hitters using good old-fashioned necromantic mind-reading.

"Sometimes, when I'm looking for that last bit of strength to strike a batter out late in the game, I'll turn to my secret weapon: a magical necklace," Martinez said, referring to a string of glowing colored beads given to him during his rookie season by someone Martinez would only describe as "a mysterious stranger who I met in the Caverns of Sorrow during a dark time in my life." "Also, when I'm in a tight, pressure-packed situation, my invincibility goggles give me the supreme, unwavering confidence I need to get out of the inning."

"And I must add that what really pumps me up is knowing that all my fans in my home planet are cheering their loudest for me," added Martinez, who is able to hear the cheers of the angelic Chiroptera of Martinez-Prime through an omniwave radio receiver installed in the metal spikes of his cleats.

Martinez, whose career ERA stands at 2.72, credits a portion of his success to his "quirky pregame rituals," which include wrapping his right arm in a poultice of live caterpillars, bathing in a tub of ice-cold buttermilk, and hoisting a midget over his head while standing in the first row of Shea Stadium's upper deck and reciting incantations from The Ancient And Accepted Scottish Rite Of Freemasonry.

"I'm very superstitious—unless all my sasquatch-tallow candles are lit in the correct order by the trained familiar-monkeys only I can see, I'm not going to be comfortable on the mound," Martinez said.
Among other reasons that Martinez believes he's been able to maintain such a consistent level of success during his career are the beneficent gaze of Azazel, the archangel that Adam has set to watch over Those Who Pitch; hard work and proper nutrition on the part of his midget; and the inspiration of growing up watching and reading about "all the greats," including I.M. Pei, Nikola Tesla, and the ancient race of star-pilots who guide the Earth in its cosmic course from their seats deep within the planet's core.

Martinez made sure to thank his fans and midgets profusely, and added that his quest for 300 career wins will be made easier by the fact that he daily places his faith and trust in his personal savior, Jesus Christ.

Spam -- Armagideon Style

2006-04-20T01:35:00.000-06:00

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans ONE by ONE – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers and NASCAR dads, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united as ONE to help make poverty history. ONE believes that allocating an additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries. ONE also calls for debt cancellation, trade reform and anti–corruption measures in a comprehensive package to help Africa and the poorest nations beat AIDS and extreme poverty.

For more info on ONE , please check My links section -- thnxx

'bout dern time they worked My idea!

2006-04-20T00:55:00.000-06:00

Heineken is set to launch its Heineken Premium Light brand nationwide in the US after a “successful” test launch in selected states last year.

The Dutch brewing giant said earlier in the year that Heineken Premium Light would hit the US on-premise in April and reach the country’s off-trade the following month. Last year, Heineken tested the brand in four states as it looked to capitalize on growing demand for low-calorie and low-carb beers in the US.

Heineken said it would spend {USD} $50million to support Heineken Premium Light with a nationwide print, TV and Internet marketing campaign planned for the brand. The brewer has forecast sales of around 5 million cases in the brand’s first year, adding that the brand is expected to break even in 2007.

Heineken warned, however, that the marketing investment behind Heineken Premium Light would hit full-year earnings by EUR25m {US$30.1m}.

Heineken already sells Amstel Light, which it describes as a full-bodied beer, giving consumers the option of different types of lighter drink. Heineken says it is providing domestic light beer drinkers the option of "socializing without sacrifice."

The company has already hosted 15 star-studded promotional events in cities across the US to raise awareness of the new product. The beer has been available at bars and restaurants since March and is now available for the first time nationwide at grocery, liquor and convenience locations in both six and 12-pack bottles with the same recommended retail price of Heineken Lager and Amstel Light.

I always thought they could sell a LOT more beer if they just changed the name of Amstel Light to Heineken Light, so I suppose a 'new' beer will do the same thing. Whatever... I see these in my fridge & belly in the near future!

Waddaya think...? Four-and-out???

2006-04-19T23:33:00.000-06:00

SEATTLE (AP) -- Ray Allen broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season, finishing with 269, and the Seattle SuperSonics wrapped up their disappointing season with a 109-98 victory over the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Nuggets coach George Karl watched his Northwest Division champions lose their fourth straight game to conclude the regular season, but didn't seem concerned about the outcome before the game. He rested starters Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby as well as Kenyon Martin, who has left knee tendinitis.

Eduardo Najera played in the first half for the Nuggets, but as a precaution taken by Karl, put on his street clothes and watched the game from the bench in the second half. He has been bothered by a right foot injury.

"Overrated," Karl said when asked about momentum going into the playoffs. "Teams that have it, brag about it. Teams that don't have it, don't."

The Nuggets didn't fly back to Denver after the game. Instead, Karl kept his team in Seattle, where it will practice Thursday and Friday before flying to Los Angeles on Friday for the Clippers' series. Karl explained he didn't want to arrive back in Denver about 3 a.m. on Thursday after Wednesday night's game. What!?!? These guyz are going downhill in a hurry.

JULY baby ! ! !

2006-04-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

Tom Petty's Summer Tour His Last?

From RollingStone.com

The Heartbreakers turn thirty with a blowout tour, movie
In 1976, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their debut album, and this summer Petty plans to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary in grand style. He and the Heartbreakers will hit the road in June on a tour that Petty says might be the band's last major summer outing; there's an ambitious documentary in the works; and Petty is finishing Highway Companion, a solo album tentatively due on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label this summer."It's a quieter album than I've done before," Petty says, sitting behind the sound desk in his home studio in Malibu. "I don't think I wasted any lines on this album. I think the songs are all there." Petty exudes genuine pride as he debuts for Rolling Stone nine of the songs slated for Highway Companion, including "Square One" and "Turn This Car Around." He began recording the album last year with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne. Each contributes guitar parts, Lynne plays keys and a Hofner bass, Campbell plays a hefty amount of slide guitar ("He's never been better," says Petty) and, for the first time on record, Petty plays drums. (!) Though they all but finished recording in February, Petty says, "The only thing keeping me from wrapping things up is just going, 'Well, I wonder if there's one more in me?'"

Petty plans to incorporate some of these songs into the Heartbreakers tour this summer, which will kick off in June with openers including Pearl Jam, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio and, Petty hopes, the Strokes and the Allman Brothers Band. "I think we should do this tour and then put an end to doing national tours, and just play now and then where we want to play," he says. "The idea of doing sheds or arenas . . . you turn into an animal by the time it's done." Also, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Mask) has begun shooting a documentary about the Heartbreakers' history. "We've given him access that we've never given anybody," says Petty. Bogdanovich will interview Petty at length and hopes to talk with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and members of Petty's family. "We're trying to give a sense of what happened to this group of kids that came from Gainesville, Florida -- how they made the big time," says Bogdanovich. "How did that change them, and how did they change the world? "I'm not an expert on Tom Petty, I'm just a fan," adds Bogdanovich. "But what appeals to me is that he's a real American artist -- an impressionist -- very much of the American grain."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tour dates thus far:
6/16: Manchester, TN (Bonnaroo Music Festival)

With Pearl Jam:

6/26: Saint Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center
6/27: Saint Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center
7/2: Denver, Pepsi Center
7/3: Denver, Pepsi Center

Awww.... Where do I rank in Old Fans then?

2006-04-19T09:47:00.000-06:00

When the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., invited major league teams to nominate their most loyal fan, the Atlanta Braves chose Pearl Sandow.

Sandow had attended 1,889 consecutive Braves games at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, from the first game the Atlanta Braves played there in 1966 through the 1989 season. For 21 years, she was a regular at spring training in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"Pearl never married, so the Braves became her life," said Bob Hope of Stone Mountain, a former Braves public relations director. "She became a part of my family and of a lot of the other office workers and players. She would take a bus to the stadium, and often one of the Braves' office personnel or players or wives would drive her home to her apartment on Piedmont Avenue. She was very special."

Sandow, 103, of Canton died Monday at Canton Nursing Center. The body was cremated. A memorial service is 2 p.m. Sunday at Huey Funeral Home. She has no immediate survivors.
On May 12, 2002, the Canton native was honored as the Braves Best Fan in a ceremony at Turner Field. Four days later, she celebrated her 100th birthday with the gift of a special Braves jersey — numbered 100, of course — at her assisted living center in Canton. Among the guests were former Braves pitcher Phil Niekro, sportscaster Ernie Johnson Sr. and some former Atlanta Crackers.

When in 1975 then-Braves owner Ted Turner learned about Sandow's loyalty, he issued her a lifetime pass. She sat in Seat 1, Row 9, Section 105. Sandow purchased an adjacent seat to park her purse and paraphernalia. She always listened to the game on the radio while watching.
"She was a great lady, a special person," Braves manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday. "She was an institution at the ballpark. She loved her Braves, and those are the kind of fans you want."

Sandow's collection of baseball memorabilia grew and grew, including a huge collection of autographed balls and photos of her with the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Hank Aaron.
It wasn't just Braves players who took a liking to Sandow.
"I remember one day I was there, and a player hollered to her, 'Hey, Pearl,' " said her cousin, Dot Patterson of Canton. "It was Pete Rose."
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda made sure Miss Sandow received a ball with players' autographs each year.
"He'd put it in a long sock with knots tied all the way up to the top, so she would have to untangle it," Hope said.

Former Braves third baseman Jerry Royster developed a special fondness for Sandow. After a game in which the infielder made several errors, Sandow walked by the dugout and saw Royster crying, Patterson said. "She sat down with him and talked with him and helped lift his spirits."
Royster stayed in touch after his playing career was over. "Jerry would call her three or four times a year," Hope said.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It seemed like she was always at the games, the first one in the ballpark," Braves first base coach Glenn Hubbard said Tuesday.
Sandow, a supervisor with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development in Atlanta, was born into a baseball-loving family.
In 1936, she bought season tickets to the Atlanta Crackers. She missed only one home game from then until the team disbanded in 1965.
"She missed a game in 1961 when her mother had a stroke," Patterson said.

In 1990, Sandow fell and broke both shoulders and ruptured an artery. She was unable to attend Braves games afterward but kept her seats. Her seat at the new Turner Field—Seat 1, Row 15, Section 207, which she never used—remains empty, marked with a plaque in her honor.
A lifelike papier-maché statue of Sandow was created for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but she was never able to make the journey to see it.

D'oh! I didn't expect to get CAUGHT!!!

2006-04-18T21:14:00.000-06:00

By Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain NewsApril 18, 2006 www.rockymountainnews.com

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

A year ago, when business was slow at his Smokin' Mayor Barbecue restaurant, Federal Heights Mayor Dale Sparks took a side job as a doorman at the town's only all-nude nightclub.
Sparks, 55, said he thought briefly then about what his constituents would think. But after talking it over with his wife of 35 years, he decided it would be fine to sit at the door, check IDs and collect the cover charge.

"The bottom line is (that) what I make being doorman pays for my health insurance," he said. "Still, I knew there would be an issue from a few citizens' perspective about working there."
All went well enough until this weekend, when about two dozen officers stormed Bare Essence, 8485 Umatilla St., with warrants to arrest 10 people, including the owner, DJ and eight dancers.
Dancers Tyisha Lipscomb, 21, and Jennifer Sylvester, 19, were arrested and charged with prostitution. Dancers Sherri Kay Newson, 30, Olga Glazkova, 22, and Petra Sheely, 21, were charged with violating the city's adult entertainment code of conduct for allegedly performing lap dances, which the code prohibits.

Owner Leonid Tsodikov, 42, and disc jockey Donald Macleod, 50, were charged with violating the code and with complicity.
Police were still looking Monday for three dancers, who were not working at the time of the sting, Federal Heights Police Lt. Gary Toldness said.
Sparks was questioned for more than two hours at the police station then was released without being charged.

"I didn't know any of this was going on," Sparks said. "I've never been back there to receive a private dance. I've never been back there to watch one. So I don't know what goes on back there."

Nonetheless, Sparks said he has decided to quit working at Bare Essence, at least for the rest of his mayoral term, which ends next year, to prevent any perception of a conflict of interest. And he will continue to recuse himself whenever the City Council discusses the club.
The city attorney plans to brief the council privately tonight on the strip-club investigation. Sparks said the city will probably take action against the club at some point.
"I don't want a house of ill repute in our city, period," he said. "If these charges are founded, let the democratic process work and they probably won't be around."

By Mike McPhee Denver Post Staff Writer www.DenverPost.com

Even the mayor has to make a living.

Dale Sparks, mayor of Federal Heights for six years, was working his third job Saturday night when the cops showed up to raid the Bare Essence Gentleman's Club. Sparks was the doorman at the all-nude strip club, a job he works three nights a week.
"When the commander walked in, I got up to greet him," said Sparks, 55. "He told me to keep the gate open, that they were serving a search warrant."
Officers from Federal Heights and the North Metro Drug Task Force entered the club with arrest warrants for the owner, the disc jockey and eight dancers, some of whom were wanted on prostitution charges.
Once the police were inside, Sparks agreed to give them a statement and drove his car to the police station, he said. Police arrested the owner, Leonid Tsodikov, 42, of Lakewood; the disc jockey, Donald MacLeod, 50, of Denver; and five female dancers. Three remain at large.
Lt. Gary Toldness said the club had been under investigation for four months for code violations of improper touching and fondling, as well as for state charges of prostitution.
Sparks said he worked the third job because he needs the money for health insurance. The city of Federal Heights, with about 12,000 residents tucked in between Thornton and Westminster, doesn't pay benefits for elected officials.
"I make $100 a night, three nights a week, checking IDs and collecting the cover charge. Our health insurance is $1,200 a month," said Sparks, who also owns the Smokin' Mayor barbecue catering company.
Sparks said he never knew of any touching or prostitution because he couldn't see the area where dancers performed for individual customers.
Toldness said it was in that area, blocked from view by trees and plants, that the dancers got quite a bit closer to their customers than the 3-foot minimum required by city codes. The club does not serve alcohol.

FEDERAL HEIGHTS, Colo. -- The Federal Heights City Attorney planned to brief the City Council Tuesday night on the investigation into a strip club where the mayor worked.
Police raided the town's only all-nude club over the weekend, while Mayor Dale Sparks was working as a bouncer. Eight people were arrested and Sparks was questioned for two hours and then released.
Sparks, 55, said Tuesday that he thought everything was OK at the Bare Essence nightclub because police checked out the establishment when he started work there as a doorman April 1, 2005. His job entailed checking IDs at the door and collecting the cover charge.
He said he had no idea anything was wrong until police officers stormed the nightclub Saturday night. Two dancers were charged with prostitution, and three others were charged with performing lap dances, in violation of city code. Club owner Leonid Tsodikov and a disc jockey were charged with violating city code and with complicity.
Sparks told police that he hadn't been in the back of the club and was unaware of any illegalities.
He said he took the job to pay for his health insurance because the mayor's position doesn't pay enough. He said he will no longer work at the club while he is mayor and will recuse himself from any city discussions involving the club. www.thedenverchannel.com

Hey hey hey . . . it'z PHAT Albert !

2006-04-18T16:03:00.000-06:00

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Albert Pujols is so good and home runs come so naturally to him, he isn't even aware of the history he's making.
Pujols tied a major-league record by homering in his fourth consecutive at-bat to account for the St. Louis Cardinals' only runs in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.

"I don't look at numbers," Pujols said. "I don't know. I didn't know anything about it until you guys (reporters) just brought it up. That's not me. I get locked in on seeing the ball and helping my team win and hopefully do some damage out there. And that's what I did today."
A day after hitting three homers, including a gamer-winner, Pujols homered to center off Pirates starter Paul Maholm (0-2) in the top of the first to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Pujols doubled in his next at-bat in the third and walked his next time up before flying out to left in the seventh.
"Nothing really surprises me about him anymore," said Cardinals starter Jason Marquis, who pitched eight innings of three-hit ball to win his third consecutive start. "Everyone knows he's the best hitter in the game and he has the ability to do some great things. It's fun to watch him on a daily basis, and I'm glad I don't have to throw to him."

It was the 35th time in Major League history that a player has homered in four straight at-bats. Carlos Delgado, then with the Toronto Blue Jays, last did it Sept. 25, 2003. The previous time it was accomplished in the National League was by the Atlanta Braves' Andruw Jones from Sept.7-10, 2002.

"It's awesome, but we got the win, and that's more important to me," Pujols said. "All the credit today should go to Jason Marquis."
Pujols joins Stan Musial (July 7-8, 1962) as the lone Cardinals player to homer in four straight at-bats.

"He keeps doing things that put him in company with the greatest players of all time," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball."
Pujols and the Detroit Tigers' Chris Shelton lead the majors with nine home runs and are just the fourth and fifth players to homer at least nine times in their team's first 13 games. Mike Schmidt had 11 home runs during the first 13 games of 1976; Larry Walker (1997) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) also had nine homers in their first 13 games.
"When you get in a groove like that, you're locked in," Pujols said. "When you're seeing the ball the way I am right now, you trust your hands and just use the whole ballpark."
Jason Isringhausen allowed a lead-off double to Jack Wilson in the ninth before retiring the middle of the Pittsburgh lineup -- Jason Bay, Jeromy Burnitz and Craig Wilson -- for his fourth save.

The Cardinals have won three straight.
"They got a home run in the first inning from a very special player," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "But beyond that, we matched them pitch for pitch and play for play."
Marquis (3-0) had allowed only one hit and two baserunners -- with neither of them reaching second base -- through seven innings before the Pirates scored their only run in the eighth on pinch-hitter Nate McLouth's RBI single.
"The guy was dominant today," Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. "You're going to run into some pitchers that just have great stuff that day."
Pittsburgh's only other hit Chris Duffy's infield single.
Marquis, who struck out only two, retired 14 in a row in one stretch.

"We came up with a gameplan and we stuck with it," Marquis said. "That was to throw good quality sinkers down in the strike zone. We really took the aggressive approach, and my defense made some great plays to keep me in it."
Maholm entered the game with a 7.71 ERA but had his best start of the young season, permitting only two runs on seven hits in six innings.
"Both of (the starters) threw well," La Russa said. "Give Maholm credit, too. But Jason came after (the Pirates) and showed how good he is."

This guy ain't the next Stan Musial, as has been tossed around in the press, he is the First and ONLY Albert Pujols!!!

Clash, Led Zeppelin Fan Held As "Terror Suspect"

2006-04-17T12:35:00.000-06:00

Apr 06, 2006 Story by: Matt Pullman, www.cmj.com

A 24-year old male was taken into custody by police as a terror suspect because of his song selections in a cab on the way to the airport. Harraj Mann, a mobile telephone salesman, was playing punk-rock legends the Clash and classic rock god's Led Zeppelin on his MP3 player en route to Durham Tees Valley Airport.

The cab driver's suspicion was raised after hearing lyrics such as "Now war is declared and battle come down," sung by the late, great Joe Strummer in "London Calling" and "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands," in Led Zep's "Immigrant Song."Mann played Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale" first, which the taxi driver liked.

"I figured he like the classics, so put on a bit of Led Zeppelin 'Immigrant Song.' Then, since I was going to London, I played the song by the Clash and finished up with ‘Nowhere Man' by the Beatles," Mann said. After Mann got out of the car, the cab driver called the police.

Mann got onto his plane, but the take off was delayed and police jumped on board to arrest him. Mann was then "frog-marched" and his bags were seized and searched. He was asked "every question possible" for nearly three hours as a terrorist suspect for his music choices. "He didn't like Led Zep or the Clash but there was no need to tell the police."

"Know Your Rights" indeed.

Today in Rock History... [04.17]

2006-04-17T11:54:00.000-06:00

1934 -- Don Kirshner is born in the Bronx, N.Y. He created the Monkees, and ran the Screen Gems publishing company. He was responsible for giving Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, and Carole King early writing jobs... not too rockin' but: he did give us "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert".

1960 -- Eddie Cochran is killed and Gene Vincent is injured when their speeding taxi runs off the road en route to London's Heathrow Airport.

1961 -- Duane Eddy hits #39 with "Theme From Dixie".

1964 -- Leading the band Them, an 18-year-old Van Morrison rocks the Maritime Hotel, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the group's debut performance.

1969 -- The Band make their solo stage debut at the Winterland, San Francisco. The Band step out from behind Bob Dylan for the first time to perform at San Francisco's Winterland auditorium.

1970 -- 'First Step,' the first album by the re-formed Small Faces, with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood having replaced vocalist/guitarist Steve Marriott, is released.

1970 -- Johnny Cash performs for President Nixon at the White House. Nixon doesn't let him leave until he plays "A Boy Named Sue," but Cash refuses Nixon's request for "Okie From Muskogee", Merle Haggard's tune.

1980 -- Bob Marley performs at Zimbabwe's Independence Day celebration. Marley says the event was "the greatest honor of my life."

1995 -- Not "ROCK", but cool! : MTV launches a national television advertising campaign featuring "Jimmy the Cab Driver." The campaign is composed of ten spots which look at different elements of the wonderful world of MTV from Jimmy's (Donal Logue) perspective.

2001 -- The late Ramones singer Joey Ramone is buried in New Jersey following a private funeral service in Forest Hills, Queens.

"...where do we go from here?"

2006-04-16T21:45:00.000-06:00

Neil Young sets his sights on Bush

He is country rock's biggest icon, and he is angry. Recorded in secret, his forthcoming album savages the war in Iraq. One track says it all: 'Impeach the President'

By Andrew Buncombe
Published: 17 April 2006
http://www.independent.co.uk/

It started as a rumour - gossip shared by fans on internet chat sites. Could it true, they asked? Could Neil Young, a cultural lodestone for a generation of country rock fans, really be turning his attention to President George Bush and the war in Iraq? Now Young himself has confirmed it. Not only has he recorded an entire album about the conflict, but in one of the songs he spells out who he thinks is to blame for the ongoing chaos and violence and what the consequences for that person should be. That track is called "Impeach the President".
"I just finished a new record - a power trio with trumpet and 100 voices," the 60-year-old says in a ticker-tape message posted at the bottom of his official website. "Metal folk protest? It's called Living with the War."
Further details about the album came from Jonathan Demme, the film maker who produced the recently released documentary Heart of Gold about the singer-songwriter. "Neil just finished writing and recording - with no warning - a new album called Living With War," he told the music magazine Harp by e-mail. "It all happened in three days ... It is a brilliant electric assault, accompanied by a 100-voice choir, on Bush and the war in Iraq ... Truly mind blowing. Will be in stores soon."
Those who have followed Young's twisting career, stretching over more than four decades - from the psychedelia-tinged rock of the folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in the Sixties, his joining up with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, his huge solo success in 1972 with Harvest, as well as the experimentation of the Eighties and finally his return to country rock - may be a little surprised by Young's decision to launch such a blunt political assault against the Bush administration.
Indeed, in the aftermath of the al-Qa'ida attacks on the US of 11 September 2001, it seemed that Young had taken the side with the President and supported the steps he was taking in the so-called "war on terror". Having written a song, "Let's Roll", to honour the passengers on board United Airlines' Flight 93 who apparently fought with the hijackers and forced the plane to crash-land in rural Pennsylvania rather than letting them use it to target the White House, he announced his support for the Patriot Act. The Act, which gave law-enforcement bodies a whole range of new powers, was condemned by many campaigners as an assault on civil liberties. Young said at the time he thought the legislation was necessary.
Speaking at an awards banquet in Hollywood where he had received the Spirit of Liberty award by the liberal campaign group People for the American Way, Young announced: "To protect our freedoms it seems we're going to have to relinquish some of our freedoms for a short period of time." But now it appears that for whatever reason, the Canadian-born singer's support for President Bush has run it's course and that his latest incarnation is as a protest singer. He has joined list of musicians such as the Dixie Chicks, Lou Reed, Dave Matthews, Steve Earle and REM who have used their platforms to speak out against the war or the administration in general. His song urging that Mr Bush be impeached reportedly accuses him of "lying" and features a rap with the President's voice set against the choir singing "flip-flop" - an accusation Mr Bush and other Republicans aimed at John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, during the 2004 election campaign.
Meanwhile the lyrics to the new album's title track include the words: "I'm living with war right now, And when the dawn breaks I see my fellow man, And on the flat screen we kill and we're being killed again, And when the night falls I pray for peace, Try to remember peace."
Whilst details of the 10-song recording are still incomplete - it is known that he is accompanied by Chad Cromwell on drums, Rick Rosas on bass and Tommy Bray on trumpet - a further insight into what to expect has come from the California-based musician Alicia Morgan, who was recruited to be part of the 100-strong choir. In an entry on her blog on Friday she wrote: "Have you, like me, been recalling the great protest songs of the Sixties, and wondered where the new protest songs are? Yesterday, I found out." She said she and the other singers read off the lyrics as they flashed onto a giant screen, with cheers of approval coming up from the choir. With the main tracks having been previously recorded, Young himself directed the backing singers. "Turns out the whole thing is a classic beautiful protest record. The session was like being at a 12-hour peace rally," she said.

"Every time new lyrics would come up on the screen, there were cheers, tears and applause. It was a spiritual experience ... We finished the session by singing an a cappella version of "America the Beautiful" and there was not a dry eye in the house." She added: "I've never been at a recording session that was more like being at church. Heck, I've never been to a church that was more like a church than that session." Speaking from Sherman Oaks, California, yesterday Morgan told The Independent that many people liked Neil Young because he "pisses everybody off".
She said: "I have always enjoyed his music and respected him. People have told me he used to be a Reagan supporter but I don't think he is bound by any ideology other than his own. He writes and sings about whatever is going on in his life. Sometimes it's political - sometimes it's not."
Asked if she thought Young had enjoyed the 12-hour session, at which they completed the 10 tracks, she added: "Very much so." Young, who has served on the board of Farm Aid, fellow singer Willie Nelson's project to help rural Americans, for more than 20 years, is not the first person to have suggested the impeachment of Mr Bush. With his approval ratings in the low 30s, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold has sought to have Congress pass a motion to censure the President, though the effort has received only limited support from Mr Feingold's Democratic colleagues.
Meanwhile Mr Bush can apparently do nothing to shift his ratings, the worst for a president in second term since the days of Richard Nixon, for whom, incidentally, Young also wrote a song. Young, who has said he has previously voted for the Republicans, was apparently inspired to write the words for the song "Campaigner" - originally called "Requiem for a President" - after watching television news about Nixon's wife suffering a stroke and seeing the broken president arrive at the hospital. In the song he wrote: "I am a lonely visitor, I came too late to cause a stir, Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal."

Songs of shame

By Geneviève Roberts

* ROLLING STONES
Despite being famously apolitical, the band launched an attack on George Bush in their latest album, A Bigger Bang. The track "Sweet Neo Con" contains the lyrics: "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, Well I think you're full of shit."
Despite Jagger saying: "It's not aimed personally at President Bush. It wouldn't be called 'Sweet Neo Con' if it was," Stones fans were not convinced, especially as Jagger had previously said of the tune: "It is direct. Keith said: 'It is not really metaphorical. I think he's a bit worried because he lives in the US. But I don't."

* EMINEM
In 2004, rap artist Eminem urged fans to vote against George Bush in the US election by issuing a music video specifically to criticise the Iraq war. The lyrics for "Mosh": "Let the President answer on high anarchy, strap him with an AK-47, let him go fight his own war," accompanied a video depicting a US soldier arriving home from Baghdad, to be told he must return.

* DIXIE CHICKS
"Not Ready to Make Nice", to be released in the US in May, is an attack on people who sent the Texan band death threats after they criticised Mr Bush. Singer Nathalie Maines, performing in London on the eve of the Iraq war, said: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." Many US radio stations dropped the band and their CDs were smashed.

Happy Easter !

2006-04-16T09:26:00.000-06:00

Jesus is Comin' . . .

...Hide the eggs!

Today in Rock History... [04.16]

2006-04-16T09:10:00.000-06:00

1939 -- Dusty Springfield, one of pop's most beloved singers, is born in London. Her hits include "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "Son of a Preacher Man."

1943 -- Lonesome Dave Peverett of blues/rockers Foghat is born in Dulwich, England.

1969 -- Elektra drops the MC5. The Detroit band had placed an advertisement in a local paper reading "Fuck Hudson's" after the record store chose not to stock its records.

1974 -- Queen play their first American concert at Denver's Regis College.

1976 -- The Ramones' self-titled first album, the initial volley in the punk-rock movement, is released. By contrast to all the big-budget pomp-rock albums of the mid-Seventies, 'The Ramones' cost only $6,000 to make.

Ahhh... Back on Track . . . FINALLY.

2006-04-16T00:55:00.000-06:00

ATLANTA (AP) -- John Smoltz gave the Braves pitching staff a much-needed lift.
Smoltz served as the Braves' stopper with a four-hit shutout to lift Atlanta past Jake Peavy and the San Diego Padres 2-0 Saturday night.
Smoltz (1-1), relying more on a changeup he says he threw about 25 times, recorded his 16th career shutout and 51st complete game.
"This is the type performance I expect," said Smoltz, who earned the first victory by an Atlanta starter this season.

The Braves starting staff began the day with the worst ERA in the major leagues.
"I would say normally it's no big deal but when you've dealt with what we've dealt with over the last week and a half ... this hopefully will get guys thinking more positively," Smoltz said.
Peavy (1-2) gave up only four hits and two runs in seven innings as the Braves were held under four runs for the first time this year. He struck out eight batters and issued two walks, one intentional.

"Against John Smoltz, you have to be really good to win," Peavy said. "I wasn't good enough."
Smoltz walked two batters in his first shutout since June 21, 2005, a 5-0 win over Florida. He pitched his first complete game since June 26, 2005, against Baltimore.
"It was a well-pitched game on both sides," said Padres manager Bruce Bochy. "(Smoltz) was on the top of his game. He threw great. We didn't get many opportunities."
Braves manager Bobby Cox said the 2-0 score "was indicative of the way both guys pitched, which was outstanding."

The Braves needed the strong start by Smoltz. Through their first 11 games, no Atlanta starter had a win and they had an 8.17 ERA to rank last in the majors.
"Statistically there was no way they could keep doing what they had been doing the first week and a half of the season," said Adam LaRoche, who gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with his second-inning home run. "It was gonna turn. It was just a matter of time."
It is the first time in franchise history the Braves played their first 11 games without a win from a starting pitcher.

"This broke the ice," Smoltz said. "It's been a storyline for a while and it's an interesting one because it's never happened before."
But the Braves stayed close to .500 by leading the majors with 74 runs through 11 games. They set another franchise first by scoring four or more runs in each of the first 11 games.
After all the early season offense, the Braves finally returned to their one constant of the last 15 years.

Smoltz, the only player left on the roster from the 1991 team that started the string of 14 straight division championships, was the logical choice to provide the Braves' first quality start.
Smoltz allowed only one baserunner past second base. In the third inning, Peavy reached on an infield hit, moved to second on Dave Roberts' bunt and advanced to third on a long fly ball to center by Termel Sledge. But Brian Giles lined out to right field to end the inning.
Smoltz had the help of some strong defensive plays, especially in the outfield. "Our defense won the game," he said.

Andruw Jones made a diving catch while running toward the infield to catch a sinking liner hit by Vinny Castilla in the fifth inning.
Later in the inning, Jones had to race to the warning track to catch up with a long drive hit by Peavy. Still running at full speed, Jones had to reach up for the catch.
"Andruw ran down everything he could run down, and then some," Smoltz said.
After LaRoche's third homer of the year, Peavy gave up only one more hit -- a third-inning single by Edgar Renteria -- until the seventh inning.

Peavy hit Jones with a pitch to lead off the inning. He stole second and moved to third on an infield hit by LaRoche. Jeff Francoeur followed with an RBI single.
With one out and runners on second and third, Peavy issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Peavy struck out Smoltz on three pitches and ended the inning on Marcus Giles' fly ball to center.
________________________________________________

The new owner of the Braves should be known by midseason, the investment banker handling the sale of the team for Time Warner said Friday.

"I would think we'll have picked a winner prior to the All-Star break and maybe well prior to the All-Star break," said Steve Greenberg, a managing director of New York investment bank Allen & Co. "Given the early start we had in January, I just think we're far enough along that it's not going to be an all-season process."

The comments marked the first time Greenberg has ventured to put any type of timetable on the sale process. But he said it's still too early to handicap which of the bidders is most likely to land the team.

"I would say I have a good idea what the price is going to be, within a narrow band," he said. "And I think we're progressing along nicely."
Greenberg would not disclose his anticipated sales price — others have said Time Warner is seeking $400 million-plus — and he would not comment on any specific bidders.

Four bidders are known to be involved in the process: Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who broke off talks in late February but resumed them a month later; an investment group led by Atlanta-based real estate executive Ron Terwilliger; the family of Atlanta-based radio mogul Lew Dickey Jr.; and Colorado-based Liberty Media Corp.

Liberty Media, a holding company that owns stakes in many businesses, has said it wants to swap some of its $3 billion worth of Time Warner stock for a company asset such as the baseball team in a "tax-efficient" exchange. There could be tax benefits to Time Warner in swapping the team for stock.

Other potential Braves buyers could emerge after a new owner of the Washington Nationals is chosen from among eight bid groups, perhaps within the next week or two. One or more of the seven unsuccessful Nationals bidders could redirect their efforts toward the Braves.
"I do [expect that to happen], but they may be too late," Greenberg said. "We're not sitting around waiting for them. We never were.

"We've gotten some vibes that at least one [Washington bid] group would be interested in talking. But we've been dealing in good faith with the people who expressed interest in the Atlanta Braves early. My expectation is that we will continue to deal with the groups dealing with us in good faith."

The negotiations have grown increasingly detailed. Bidders are "going through a lot of data, asking a lot of questions," Greenberg said.
"We're going down from 30,000 feet to the grassroots level of looking at every grain of detail and answering every question and making sure people understand what the numbers are and why trends are a certain way and what to expect going forward. We are dealing with the minutiae."

7 years from now, y'all can drink my OWN Whisky!

2006-04-15T08:24:00.000-06:00

So... I check the mail yesterday, and there's a big official envelope marked "Historic Birth Annoncement Enclosed" addressed to Ambassador William Knox inside. "Weird." I thought to myself. Upon opening the thing, I see it's from Maker's Mark and proclaims "The newborn you've been waiting for", believe me: I haven't been waiting on any newborns, much less any whisky-soaked ones. But it'z cool, I've been getting stuff from these guys for over 5 years, mostly things like tumblers, stir sticks, coasters, notecard stationary, etc. But this, this is something special. Let me just transcribe the letter enclosed:

Dear Ambassador Knox,

Finally, it has arrived - your newborn Maker's Mark barrel. Hope you're as ecstatic as we are on becoming the guardian of a brand new barrel of our bourbon. Plus, your name has been etched into bourbon history!

The letter goes on to tell how they've filled a barrel with whisky, put a plaque on it with the name I chose (obviously... we'll get to that later), and it will now age for 6 to 7 years before bottling. This is awesome! So I continue along with the very nice looking folder enclosed to find that it contains a "Barrel Dedication Certificate" proclaiming:

"This certifies that Maker's Mark Barrel No. 690388 will bear the name of rOadbill's Chili-Mo$t Select in recognition of the loyalty, outstanding dedication, in-depth knowledge and services as an honorable Maker's Mark Ambassador." Hand-signed by Bill Samuels, Jr. President & Ambassador-At-Large, Maker's Mark Distillery and stamped with the famous red wax insignia -- enclosed along with the diploma worthy looking cert, are 25 'business cards' w/ their logo and "Ambassador William Knox [#171777] barrel # 690388 , member since 05/04/2002 on them!

Best Junk-mail ever.

...and y'all had been wondering what I've been up to

The Younger Brother Also Rises to the Occasion

2006-04-15T07:58:00.000-06:00

RICHMOND, Va. -- NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was ticketed for reckless driving in a Richmond suburb Wednesday night. The misdemeanor charge carries up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and a driver's license suspension, said Sgt. Don Lambert, with Henrico County police. The charge also calls for a mandatory court appearance; Busch will appear in Henrico County General District Court on May 23.

Lambert said the incident happened at 10 p.m. near Richmond International Airport, a few minutes outside the city. Neither speed nor alcohol was a factor, though Lambert would not provide further details. "The officer observed his driving behavior consistent with reckless driving," he told The Associated Press late Thursday night.

The 20-year-old Busch, who drives for the Hendrick Motorsports, grabbed his first series victory on May 14, 2004 at Richmond International Raceway. He went on to four more victories and completed the year with five poles and five wins, becoming the youngest top rookie in series history at age 19.

Tuesday, Busch again appeared at the Richmond raceway for the Virginia kickoff of "Focus on Driving," Sprint Nextel's attentive driving education program. (!) Busch's older brother and NASCAR star, Kurt, had his own legal problems because of a traffic incident last year. Kurt Busch was banned from two NASCAR races and authorities ordered him to perform 50 hours of community service after he became belligerent with Phoenix police during a 2005 traffic stop. Police charged him with reckless driving. Busch later apologized. Henrico County authorities said the younger Busch, who lives in Mooresville, N.C., was cooperative.

____________________________________________________

Busch and two other crew members were in a rental car on their way to the airport. They were near the airport when Kyle squealed the tires. They then pulled into a KFC to get something to eat when a cop pulled them over and told him squealing the tires wasn't a good thing to do and Busch agreed. He was very cooperative. There is no police report. He received a citation. There was no burnout and no donuts in a parking lot. Busch is scheduled to address the situation in the media center at 4:30pm central time.

Hmmm... I thought it was at the Hello Deli

2006-04-14T22:51:00.000-06:00

Molly the cat is finally free. After two weeks stuck behind a brick wall in a 19th century building, the bashful 11-month-old feline was rescued from her plight Friday night by a volunteer who found her wedged in a crawl space between bricks and a piece of sheet metal.

At the end of the ordeal, the black cat emerged from the building lying in a metal cage — calm and docile as cameras flashed and onlookers cooed.
"I think you'll all agree that she is in great shape," said Peter Myers, who owns the delicatessen housed in the building and kept Molly in his store to catch mice.

Her first meal? Nibbles of roasted pork, sardines in oil and water, Myers said.
Hearty fare, but perhaps not surprising for a feline who spends her time in Myers of Keswick, a deli specializing in meat pies, clotted cream and other British food specialties.

Molly's ordeal became international news this week as reporters and onlookers gathered to hear her distressed meows. Rescuers drilled and hammered out bricks in the cellar of the 157-year-old building and tried everything from special cameras to traps to get her out.
They even tried using kittens as bait to appeal to Molly's maternal side. A pet psychic and self-described "cat therapist" offered their aid. But it appeared that good, old-fashioned elbow grease ended up doing the job.

Resuers drilled a hole in the wall from inside the store, cutting through three layers of brick to get to Molly, said Mike Pastore, field director for Animal Care & Control, a private organization with a city contract to handle lost, injured and unwanted animals.
She was finally retrieved by a tunnel worker who was working on a project nearby and has been volunteering for the rescue effort.

Very happy this whole ordeal has come to an happy end so the fine workers in NYC can finally get some rest , and try to restore some normalcy in their lives . . . although the meal of PORK Nibbles seems a bit in bad taste on Good Friday !

Today in Rock History... [04.14]

2006-04-14T11:41:00.000-06:00

1934 -- Coal miner's daughter Loretta Lynn is born Loretta Webb in Butcher Hollow, Ky.

1945 -- Lester Flatt (guitar) and Earl Scruggs (banjo) join Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys. After a three-year stint, they leave in 1948 to form their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys.

1955 -- Fats Domino releases "Ain't That a Shame," previously popularized by Gene Autry and Glenn Miller. Domino's version tops the R&B chart for 11 weeks, eventually entering the pop charts in mid-July. It is the first in a string of 37 crossover hits for Domino during the next eight years. The great Rockford, IL band CheapTrick would later rock it up to par on their seminal 1979 live album At Budokan.

1975 -- Mick Jagger announces that guitarist-singer Ron Wood will assist the Rolling Stones on their forthcoming tour of North and South America.

1980 -- A resolution is introduced in the New Jersey Assembly to make Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" the official state song. Surprisingly, the resolution fails to be passed, prompting riots by mullets and beehives in the streets of Freehold, NJ.

1983 -- Pete Farndon of the Pretenders dies at age 29 of a heart attack.

Don't expect THIS, or any other piece-O-crap to step down though

2006-04-14T11:20:00.000-06:00

The widening circle of retired generals who have stepped forward to call for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation is shaping up as an unusual outcry that could pose a significant challenge to Rumsfeld's leadership, current and former generals said on Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack, Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, on Thursday became the fifth retired senior general in recent days to call publicly for Rumsfeld's ouster. Also Thursday, another retired Army general, Maj. Gen. John Riggs, joined in the fray.
"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores," General Swannack said in a telephone interview. "But I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq."

Another former Army commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the First Infantry Division, publicly broke ranks with Rumsfeld on Wednesday. Rumsfeld long ago became a magnet for political attacks, but the current uproar is significant because Rumsfeld's critics include generals who were involved in the invasion and occupation of Iraq under the defense secretary's leadership.

There were indications on Thursday that the concern about Rumsfeld, rooted in years of pent-up anger about his handling of the war, was sweeping aside the reticence of retired generals who took part in the Iraq war to criticize an enterprise in which they participated. Current and former officers said they were unaware of any organized campaign to seek Rumsfeld's ouster, but they described a blizzard of telephone calls and e-mail messages as retired generals critical of Rumsfeld weighed the pros and cons of joining in the condemnation.

Even as some of their retired colleagues spoke out publicly about Rumsfeld, other senior officers, retired and active alike, had to be promised anonymity before they would discuss their own views of why the criticism of him was mounting. Some were concerned about what would happen to them if they spoke openly, others about damage to the military that might result from amplifying the debate, and some about talking outside of channels, which in military circles is often viewed as inappropriate.

The White House has dismissed the criticism, saying it merely reflects tensions over the war in Iraq. There was no indication that Rumsfeld is considering resigning. [big surprise]
"The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, told reporters on Thursday.

Among the retired generals who have called for Rumsfeld's ouster, some have emphasized that they still believe it was right for the United States to invade Iraq. A common thread in their complaints has been an assertion that Rumsfeld and his aides too often inserted themselves unnecessarily into military decisionmaking, often disregarding advice from military commanders.

The outcry also appears based in part on a coalescing of concern about the toll that the war is taking on American armed forces, with little sign, three years after the invasion, that United States troops will be able to withdraw in large numbers anytime soon.
Pentagon officials, while acknowledging that Rumsfeld's forceful style has sometimes ruffled his military subordinates, played down the idea that he was overriding the advice of his military commanders or ignoring their views.
His interaction with military commanders has "been frequent," said Lawrence Di Rita, a top aide to Rumsfeld.
"It's been intense," Di Rita said, "but always there's been ample opportunity for military judgment to be applied against the policies of the United States."

Some retired officers, however, said they believed the momentum is turning against Rumsfeld.
"Are the floodgates opening?" asked one retired Army general, who drew a connection between the complaints and the fact that President Bush's second term ends in less than three years. "The tide is changing, and folks are seeing the end of this administration."

No active duty officers have joined the call for Rumsfeld's resignation. In interviews, some currently serving general officers expressed discomfort with the campaign against Rumsfeld, which has been spearheaded by, among others, Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who headed the United States Central Command in the late 1990's before retiring from the Marine Corps. Some of the currently serving officers said they feared the debate risked politicizing the military and undercutting its professional ethos.

Some say privately they disagree with aspects of the Bush administration's handling of the war. But many currently serving officers, regardless of their views, say respect for civilian control of the military requires that they air differences of opinion in private and stay silent in public.
"I support my secretary of defense," Lt. General John Vines, who commands the Army's 18th Airborne Corps, said when questioned after a speech in Washington on Thursday about the calls for Rumsfeld to step down. "If I publicly disagree with my civilian leadership, I think I've got to resign. My advice should be private."

Some of the tensions between Rumsfeld and the uniformed military services date back to his arrival at the Pentagon in early 2001. Rumsfeld's assertion of greater civilian control over the military and his calls for a slimmer, faster force were viewed with mistrust by many senior officers, while his aggressive, sometimes abrasive style also earned him enmity.
Rumsfeld's critics often point to his treatment of Gen. Eric Shinseki, then the Army chief of staff, who told Congress a month before the 2003 invasion of Iraq that occupying the country could require "several hundred thousand troops," rather than the smaller force that was later provided. General Shinseki's estimate was publicly dismissed by Pentagon officials.

"Rumsfeld has been contemptuous of the views of senior military officers since the day he walked in as secretary of defense. It's about time they got sick and tired," Thomas E. White, the former Army secretary, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. White was forced out of his job by Rumsfeld in April of 2003.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold of the Marine Corps, who retired in late 2002, has said he regarded the American invasion of Iraq unnecessary. He issued his call for replacing Rumsfeld in an essay in the current edition of Time magazine. General Newbold said he regretted not opposing the invasion of Iraq more vigorously, and called the invasion peripheral to the job of defeating al-Qaeda.

General Swannack, by contrast, continues to support the invasion but said that Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war in Iraq, rather than leaving it to senior commanders there, including Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., of the Army, the top American officer in Iraq, and Gen. John P. Abizaid of the Army, the top officer in the Middle East. "My belief is Rumsfeld does not really understand the dynamic of counterinsurgency warfare," General Swannack said.
The string of retired generals calling for Rumsfeld's removal has touched off a vigorous debate within the ranks of both active-duty and retired generals and admirals.

Some officers who have worked closely with Rumsfeld reject the idea that he is primarily to blame for the inability of American forces to defeat the insurgency in Iraq. One active-duty, four-star Army officer said he had not heard among his peers widespread criticism of Rumsfeld, and said he thought the criticism from his retired colleagues was off base. "They are entitled to their views, but I believe them to be wrong. And it is unfortunate they have allowed themselves to become in some respects, politicized."
Gen. Jack Keane, who was Army vice chief of staff in 2003 before retiring, said in the planning of the Iraq invasion, senior officers as much as the Pentagon's civilian leadership underestimated the threat of a long-term insurgency.
"There's shared responsibility here. I don't think you can blame the civilian leadership alone," he said.
Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army general, called for Rumsfeld's resignation in March.
The criticism of Rumsfeld may spring from multiple motives. General Zinni, for example, is in the middle of a tour promoting a new book critical of the Bush administration.
General Riggs, who called for Rumsfeld's resignation in an interview on Thursday with National Public Radio, left the Pentagon in 2004 after clashing with civilian leaders and then being investigated for potential misuse of contractor personnel.
There were also signs that the spate of retired generals calling for Rumsfeld's departure was not finished. Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, who is retired from the Marine Corps, said in an interview Thursday he had received a telephone call from another retired general who was weighing whether to publicly join the calls for Rumsfeld's dismissal.
"He was conflicted, and when I hung up I didn't know which way he was going to go," General Van Riper said.

That a general, retired or otherwise, would come out publicly saying the Secretary of Defense should resign, let alone several generals saying it, is more rare an occurance than Halley's Comet! It also means these generals - and others - are genuinely upset with the way the country's defense is being handled. I don't think the generals have come to be 'politicized' so much as have come to their senses.

http://freeinternetpress.com/

"We went to war with a flawed plan that didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime. We also served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership, who was abusive, who was arrogant, and who didn't build a strong team."

-- if that's what we're going after , better start from the bottom and go all the way to the top of the entire administration... why just focus on One war criminal?

A Belated Happy Birthday...

2006-04-13T18:22:00.000-06:00

...to the one and only King of Late Night TV : David Letterman, who turned 59 yesterday. I did not know this until watching him last night.

We all know that I am speaking in terms of 'Now'. There's only ONE true King, and it was Johnny, and his reign ended in May of '92. But as far as now . . . there's only one king, and he ain't working for NBC, and he's not in Cali, and doesn't even do the Tonight Show. Like Peter Griffin says: "If you like Jay Leno and his humor, chances are I don't care for you much as a person."

Johnny's most famous post-retirement appearance came on Letterman's late-night CBS talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman, on May 13 , 1994. During a week of shows from Los Angeles, Letterman was having Larry "Bud" Melman (Calvert DeForest) deliver his "Top Ten Lists" under the impression that a famous personality would be delivering the list instead. On the last show of the week, Letterman indicated that Carson would be delivering the list. Instead, Melman delivered the list, insulted the audience (in keeping with the gag), and walked off to polite applause. Letterman then indicated that the card he was given did not have the proper list on it, and asked Carson to bring out the "real" list. On that cue, the real Johnny Carson emerged from behind the stage curtain; when the audience realized that it was truly Carson, they exploded into a standing ovation. Carson then requested to sit behind Letterman's desk; Letterman obliged – and the audience, seeing Carson back behind a desk for the first time in two years, went absolutely berserk. A clearly overcome Carson mouthed "I'm back home" to the stage director, ran his hands over the desk, and after a moment walked back off stage without delivering his planned joke.

You people have got to stop telling "us" if "we're" ready for stuff or not.

2006-04-13T17:57:00.000-06:00

Nothing sickens Me more than being told "you can't see this", "it's too soon", or "this isn't appropriate". Fantastic.... real American idealism there. Tell 'Ya what smart-guy... how'z about YOU shut up about it, and YOU don't go see it , listen to it, or look at it, and guess what!?!? It'll probably go away. But stop trying to "save my soul " or protect me from making my own decisions , OK?

Although it will still open the Tribeca Film Festival this month, "United 93" has been deemed too unsettling to have its trailer shown at one New York theater.
Management at the Manhattan-area AMC Loews Lincoln Square 12 has pulled the "United 93" trailer after it left audiences upset. The Paul Greengrass pic, which depicts the events of the doomed September 11th flight in real time, is scheduled for release nationwide April 28. The trailer for the Universal Pictures film has been shown theatrically before films with a more adult-appropriate R or PG-13 rating, but its subject matter remains very sensitive to audiences in a still-reeling New York City.

From the AP: ""I don't think people are ready for this," theater manager Kevin Adjodha said."One lady was crying," Adjodha told Newsweek. "She was saying that we shouldn't have played the trailer. That this was wrong."Universal Studios in Los Angeles, meanwhile, said it would go ahead with plans to show the trailer for the thriller, which is scheduled to open in theaters on April 28.

Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of marketing, said the trailer would be shown only before R-rated movies or "grown-up" PG-13 ones." The film is not sanitized or softened, it's an honest and real look" at the events of Flight 93, Fogelson told The New York Times in Tuesday editions. "If I sanitized the trailer beyond what's there, am I suggesting that the experience will be less real than what the movie itself is? We as a company feel comfortable that it is a responsible and fair way to show what's coming."

With everyone buzzing about Paul Greengrass' United 93, another 9/11-centric project has fallen into the background ... for now, anyway. But IGN FilmForce has a few tidbits reharding Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, including a plot recap, a cast list, and a pair of pics.

Says IGN FF: "Set for release on August 11th, 2006, is Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, starring Nicolas Cage (Matchstick Men), Michael Pena (Crash), Maria Bello (Coyote Ugly), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) and Frank Whaley (The Doors). The movie tells the story of John McLoughlin (Cage) and William Jimeno (Pena), Port Authority police officers who were trapped for 22 hours at Ground Zero.

In early November of last year, upon commencement of photography, the filmmakers were quick to emphasize that the movie will not focus on the large political issues. "We're not doing the Towering Inferno-Titanic version," producer Michael Shamberg told The Associated Press. "We're not doing everyone's story that day. We're trusted with the accuracy of the particular story that we're telling."

C.U.B.S. : Completely Useless By September

2006-04-13T16:58:00.000-06:00

April 13, 2006

CHICAGO—Despite their impressive 4-2 start and the fact that their pitching and offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders, Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that he has "no doubt" that his team will be able to turn things around in time to miss the playoffs.

"I know things look good right now, and you hate to see Cubs fans get encouraged early, but I'm certain that things will straighten themselves out and we'll be in third place by early May," Baker said at a press conference Wednesday. "With the talent and drive we lack, it's foolish to think that this team can continue playing at this rate all year."
"If it's September and we're still atop the division standings? Then we'll start panicking," Baker added.

In their disappointing series sweep of the rival Cardinals last weekend, the Cubs did all the little things right, winning ballgames with a combination of solid pitching, good defense, and timely hitting—fundamentals that Baker says his team will eventually ignore as the season goes on.
"The guys are in a bit of a groove right now, but they'll snap out of it," Baker said. "It's early yet. There's still plenty of time to get back off track and give the fans the kind of season they've come to know and expect."

"I'd love to go out there and lose all 162 games for this city, but both the players and the fans know that's not possible no matter how bad you are," he added.
Longtime Cubs fans have echoed Baker's sentiments, saying that, despite the emergence of Derrek Lee as a triple-crown threat and the acquisition of a top leadoff hitter in Juan Pierre, they still have complete faith that the Cubs have what it takes to make it all the way to October without ever factoring into the playoff picture.

"Sure, other teams may look just as awful on paper, but the Cubs have all the intangibles—the inability to play as a cohesive unit, management that always seems to make the wrong moves, a storied history of crushing, tragic defeats despite favorable odds," said Chicago-area resident Matt Grant. "No winning streak can get that lose-at-any-cost mentality out of our Cubbies' heads."

"This is the year," Grant added. "This is the year we extend our World Series drought to 98 years."
Baker cited several other reasons he thinks the Cubs will work into a slump and quickly get back under .500, including his inexperienced pitching staff returning to their usual form, his plan to rush injured stars Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back to action in time to inflame their injuries and cause enough arm damage to make them miss the entire season, and the fact that his son Darren is now older and larger than he was in the 2002 playoffs, and therefore capable of more effectively obstructing the basepaths while his team is trying to score.

Although his harshest critics say that the Cubs appear to be doing everything right so far, Baker points to Tuesday's 9-2 drubbing at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds as a clear indication that his team is moving in the right direction.
"Tuesday's loss was a prime example of the kind of baseball this team is capable of playing on a regular basis," Baker said of the game in which the Cubs managed to score only two runs while leaving 15 men on base and allowing six home runs. "The key is that this was a balanced attack against us. Any team can allow a big inning—as we did in the five-run sixth that featured a grand slam—but the Reds also scored a run in each of the first four frames. If we can consistently take that kind of well-rounded beating—and if any team can do it, it's us—I truly think we can lose 90 games."

Baker said that, although the box scores show that the Cubs won four of the first six games, in reality, they had the opportunity to lose "any or all of them."
"Unfortunately, we just happened to get some lucky breaks, some good bounces, and had some calls go our way—over the course of a long season, that's gonna happen to any team a few times," Baker said. "We'll be fine, though."

He added: "Talk to me in June."

www.theonion.com

I Miss Ronald Reagan -- at least he never started armageddon

2006-04-13T12:16:00.000-06:00

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

--Albert Einstein

Dubbya dismissed talk of military action against Iran as "wild speculation" and emphasized that his doctrine of preempting threats does not necessarily mean the United States has to use force to stop other countries from developing weapons of mass destruction.

Bush did not deny reports that his administration has studied airstrikes as an option if Iran does not agree to abandon its alleged nuclear-weapon development program. He said he still considers the country part of an "axis of evil." <==Nigga pleeze... this shit is gettin' tired. But he emphasized that he wants to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Tehran and played down his policy of reserving the right to launch first strikes against potential enemies.

"I know here in Washington prevention means force," he said in response to an audience question after a speech at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "It doesn't mean force, necessarily. In this case, it means diplomacy. And by the way, I read the articles in the newspapers this weekend. It was just wild speculation, by the way. What you're reading is wild speculation, which . . . happens quite frequently here in the nation's capital."

This means absolutely NOTHING . . . you know why!?!? "Say one thing -- do the other" EVERY SINGLE FRIGGIN' DAY since this administration has been in office. Honestly, this jackass finds new wayz every day to become the worst ever , if not the most evil ever... and there's a lot of competition for that title! But he's really givin' 110%

An investigative article in the US magazine “The New Yorker” reports that President George Bush is seriously considering military strikes against Iran – strikes aimed not only at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but also at achieving “regime change.” The White House assumes that Iran will retain its nuclear weapons program as long as it retains its current government, writes author Seymour Hersh, and so believes that a war could prevent Iran’s fundamentalist theocracy from threatening nuclear war. Moreover, Hersh reports that the Bush administration is so intent on guaranteeing military success against Iran that it clings to plans that include the use of “bunker-busting” nuclear weapons against underground Iranian facilities – plans opposed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The accuracy of Hersh’s account, however, remains shrouded in mystery: UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dismisses the idea of nuclear war against Iran as “completely nuts” and insists that the US remains committed to diplomacy. Such regime change was the neo-conservative expectation for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The UN Security Council has given Iran until the end of April to end its nuclear-enrichment program, and made no decision about the next step if the nation does not comply.

The US is planning military action against Iran because George Bush is intent on regime change in Tehran - and not just as a contingency if diplomatic efforts fail to halt its suspected nuclear weapons programme, it was reported yesterday.
In the New Yorker magazine, Seymour Hersh, America's best known investigative journalist, concluded that the Bush administration is even considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against deep Iranian bunkers, but that top generals in the Pentagon are attempting to take that option off the table.
Hersh, who helped break the story of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, quoted an unnamed Pentagon adviser as saying the resurgence of interest in tactical nuclear weapons among Pentagon civilians was "a juggernaut that has to be stopped" and that some senior officers and officials were considering resignation over the issue.
There is also rising concern in the US military and abroad that Mr Bush's goal in Iran is not counter-proliferation but regime change, the article reports. The president and his aides now refer to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as a potential Adolf Hitler, according to a former senior intelligence official.
Another government consultant is quoted as saying Mr Bush believes he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do" and "that saving Iran is going to be his legacy".
"The word I'm hearing is messianic," Mr Hersh said yesterday on CNN. "[Bush] is politically free. He really thinks he has a chance and this is his mission."
There was no formal response from the White House yesterday but Fox News television quoted unnamed officials as saying Mr Hersh's article was "hyped, without knowledge of the president's thinking". In Britain, Jack Straw told the BBC that the idea of a US nuclear strike against Iran was "completely nuts".
Military action against Iran was "not on the agenda", the foreign secretary said. "They [the Americans] are very committed indeed to resolving this issue ... by negotiation and by diplomatic pressure."
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, dismissed the reports as "psychological war, launched by Americans because they feel angry and desperate regarding Iran's nuclear dossier".
Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counter-terrorism operations chief, said Mr Bush had not yet made up his mind about the use of direct military action against Iran.
"There is a battle for Bush's soul over that," he said, adding that Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser is adamantly opposed to a war.
However, Mr Cannistraro said covert military action, in the form of special forces troops identifying targets and aiding dissident groups, is already under way.
"It's been authorised, and it's going on to the extent that there is some lethality to it. Some people have been killed."
He said US-backed Baluchi Sunni guerrillas had been involved in an attack in Sistan-Baluchistan last month in which over 20 Iranian government officials were killed and the governor of the provincial capital was wounded. The Iranian government had blamed British intelligence for the incident.
Last week, the Iranian regime made a public show of its combat readiness by test-firing some of its missile technology during seven days of war games in the Gulf, images of which were broadcast repeatedly on state television.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Pentagon and CIA planners had been exploring possible targets, including a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a uranium conversion site in Isfahan, as part of a broader strategy of "coercive diplomacy" aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But that report made no mention of the possible use of a tactical nuclear bunker-buster, such as the B61-11, against deep underground targets, reported by Mr Hersh.
The UN security council has given Iran until the end of this month to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which most western governments believe is intended to produce a nuclear warhead, not generate electric power as Tehran insists. There is no consensus in the security council over what steps to take if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports back that Iran has failed to comply. The IAEA director, Mohamed ElBaradei is due in Tehran this week for talks.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton said last week the US would explore other diplomatic and economic options if the security council fails to agree. He has also told British parliamentarians that he believes that military action could halt or at least set back the Iranian nuclear programme by striking it at its weakest point.

The Washington Post reported that while no military action is likely in the short term, the possible targets went beyond suspected nuclear installations and included the option of a "more extensive bombing campaign designed to destroy an array of military and political targets".
It is a widespread belief in Washington's neo-conservative circles that a comprehensive air assault would disorient the Tehran government and galvanise the Iranian people into bringing it down. The departure of senior neo-conservatives from the administration after Mr Bush's 2004 re-election was thought to have weakened their clout, but Mr Hersh's report suggested that the president's personal convictions may yet prove decisive.

Source: The Guardian

Today in Rock History... [04.13]

2006-04-13T11:45:00.000-06:00

1944 -- Jack Casady is born in Washington, D.C. His jazz and blues inspired bass playing helped shape the character of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.

1945 -- Lowell George of the highly regarded L.A. funk rock band Little Feat is born in Hollywood, California.

1946 -- Legendary soul singer Al Green is born in Forest City, Ark.

1967 -- The Rolling Stones play in Warsaw, Germany - their first gig behind the Iron Curtain. When people without tickets crash the venue, police disperse them with tear gas. Mmmmm..... tear gas . . . it'z a GAS! The gassiest.

1973 -- Roger Daltrey releases his first solo album, Daltrey.

1979 -- Dave Lee Roth collapses from exhaustion onstage in Spokane, Wash., during a Van Halen concert. HA - ha.

1999 -- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers release their tenth studio album Echo.

2004 -- The reunited Pixies play their first show together in over 10 years at Minneapolis' Fine Line Cafe. They open with "Bone Machine."

2005 -- Rock 'n' roll pianist Johnnie Johnson dies aged 80 in St. Louis. A member of Chuck Berry's band, Johnson co-composed many of Berry's seminal hits and was the inspiration for the anthem "Johnny B. Goode."

Today in Rock History... [04.12]

2006-04-12T12:16:00.000-06:00

1962 -- Bob Dylan's Town Hall concert in New York is recorded. Tomorrow Is a Long Time later released

1969 -- Led Zeppelin takes the band on to UK LP chart for the first time with their self-titled debut in its third week of release.

1972 -- The Rolling Stones release Exile on Main Street.

1977 -- Suzi Quatro is cast on ABC-TV's 'Happy Days' as rocker Leather Tuscadero.

1978 -- Bob Marley orchestrates a Peace Concert in Jamaica that features key reggae acts, including the Wailers, in an attempt to cool down the violent conflicts that are tearing Jamaica apart.

1999 -- Boxcar Willie dies at age 67. The country singer's real name was Lecil Travis Martin and his hobo character was known around the world.

Today in Rock History... [04.11]

2006-04-11T12:51:00.000-06:00

Today in the history of RAWK . . . absolutely nothing happened. Although there was this:

1984 -- At an Atlanta gig, Adam Ant discovers his onstage diving pool is filled with goldfish. The stunt was pulled by his support act, the Romantics.

See . . . I told 'Ya . . . Nothing.

I hate this part of getting older

2006-04-11T12:11:00.000-06:00

Two things I do in the bedroom that maybe not many folks do (get yer minds out of the gutter) are:

I sleep with the TV on low volume -- I need some background noise usually, can't stand it totally quiet.

And: I keep a pen and some paper on the nightstand.

You see, I can't remember anything anymore it seems. I've always had a less than great memory, but after turning _0 (insert your own milestone here) , it seems that I have absolutely none anymore.

Anyway, during the night I often think of things (or maybe I dream them) , but I'll write them down so that I can have them in the morning. It may have something to do with the TV being on, because many times when I get up, all I have are what appear to be notes, perhaps little one-word reminders to look up something online, or just to look into something further.

Last night though, at seperate times I thought of two really fascinating things I wanted to put on the ole Blog today. However... I had no paper with my pen. I wasn't getting up to get any, hell, I might never get back to sleep! So, I tried this: every other time I awoke briefly during the night, I tried remembering what it was I wanted to say... and it worked! Every time I was able to recall what I had thought of, and sometimes even expand on the idea, then right back off to dreamland.

Well, it's noon now, I've been out and about this morning, and the whole time I've racked my brain to remember just what was so cool, or so important to me, or what I wanted to look up online. So far this is what I've come up with:

Nada.

Zip.

Big Zero.

Nothing.

I think one of them had something to do with numbers & a song, while the other was a great news story & a humerous take on it, but I'm not real sure. Now I understand why Keith Richards kept a little tape-recorder by his bed at night, he actually hummed the classic "Jumpin' Jack Flash" riff into it, and was surprised to hear it the next morning. Maybe that's what I need. If I ever remember those two things, I'll be sure to note it when I post them. For now I'll just try to remember to get more paper for the nightstand... and where it is I'm going to grab some lunch.

[In case I talk to any of you shortly, it's: Griff's -- be sure to remind me]

Know Yer State Mottos...

2006-04-09T12:40:00.000-06:00

Alabama -- Hell Yes We Have Electricity!

Arkansas -- Lituracy Ain't Everythang.

Colorado -- If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.

Florida -- Ask Us About Our Grandkids . . . And Our Voting Skills.

Georgia -- We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.

Hawaii -- Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, Leave Your Money)

Kansas -- First Of The Rectangle States

Kentucky -- Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Louisiana -- We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos... But That's Our Tourism Campaign.

Minnesota -- Land of 10,000 Lakes... And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Mississippi -- Come And Feel Better About Your Own State

Nevada -- We have Hookers and Poker! No NEED for a Motto

New Jersey -- You Want A Fuckin' Motto? -- I Got Yer Goddamn Motto Right here!

North Dakota -- We Really Are One Of The 50 States!

Oklahoma -- Like The Play, But No Singing

South Carolina -- Remember The Civil War? Well... We Didn't Actually Surrender Yet

Tennessee -- Home of the Al Gore Invention Museum.

Tejas -- Se Hable Ingles

Utah -- Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus

Virginia -- Who Says Government Stiffs And Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

West Virginia -- One Big Happy Family...Really!

Wyoming -- Where Men Are Men... And The Sheep Are Scared

...and The District of Columbia -- The Work-Free Drug Place

Daddy: featuring six-string badass Will Kimbrough & Tommy Womack

2006-04-09T10:53:00.000-06:00

They're called Daddy because they are. No pretending these are young pups who wouldn't have kids yet. Besides, there ain't no young pups who can play guitar like Daddy. Sure, they've had their individual successes. Will Kimbrough has garnered the Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year. Tommy Womack brought home the Nashville Scene Critic's Poll for "Best Song." But together they're nothing but Daddy. They met back in the '80s, when Will was fronting Will & the Bushmen and Tommy was in Government Cheese, both of them chasing that original college rock dream. Both bands folded at about the same time and in 1992, the two of them found themselves in the now-legendary band called the bis-quits. They wowed Nashville audiences for two years and even made a record for John Prine's Oh Boy! label before calling it quits. Since then, Will and Tommy have sought every opportunity to play together while juggling respective solo careers, session gigs, road gigs and, yes, being Daddies. Of course, we all know about the constraints of time. Which makes this record something of a miracle - these musicians in this place in this little window of time.

Tattooing the Ludwigs is the illustrious writer, Paul Griffith, one of the greatest, behind-the-beat, New Orleans-style thumpers in the world. World traveler by way of Massachusetts Dave Jacques plays bass, because if he's good enough to play with John Prine he's good enough for Daddy. Working double-time as keyboardist and engineer is John Deaderick, whose work on the upright has received the Dixie Chick seal of approval (yep, he was right there onstage when Natalie spoke her mind). Then, of course, there's Will and Tommy, who use Daddy as an excuse to explore every musical territory they've ever wanted to visit: from up-tempo gospel ("Glory Be"), wailing blues ("Slide it In"), redneck country ("Cousin Darryl"), boozy, shit-kicking ambience ("Happy In Your Skin", "I Don't Like It"), full-bore rock ("Cold Chill", "Nightmares"), ragtime humor ("I Miss Ronald Reagan"), low-down gospel ("Gloryland") and some things that defy description ("Martin Luther"). A particular highlight is Daddy's appropriation of the bis-quits' "The Powers That Be" which sails right into the Faces' "Ooh La La." This kind of spontaneous magic only comes when something is completely unrehearsed, as this cut was. From track to track, one thing is consistent--the sound of two guitarists being as loud, or as funky, or as low-down as they want to be, pushing each other on, nudging the sound forward to a place higher and farther than either could reach alone. "Daddy at the Women's Club" is exactly that: a debut album recorded live at the Frankfort (Kentucky) Women's Club building in front of 100 or so devoted internet fans and friends. It's two of Nashville's finest guitarists, indeed five of Nashville's finest musicians, who went to Kentucky to make a record like they wanted to make, where no one could tell them they couldn't. The result is pure music, pure joy, and pure entertainment. And no dirty words! Bring the kids. Daddy's for everyone.

Here is Rick Cornell’s review of Daddy at the Women’s Club in NoDepression magazine:

The five-piece Daddy is co-led by Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack, long-time Nashville undergrounders and former Bis-quits bandmates, and this live debut makes it clear where their loyalties lie. They believe in guitars and when that’s not quite enough, more guitars – typified by the Crazy Horse tumult that opens “Nightmares” and the whole of the epic, lurid Johnny Thunders tribute “Slide It In”. They believe – in no particular order – in Jesus, Elvis, and Keith, the last two getting to share a couplet with the first over the course of the evening. Above all else, they believe in rock’n’ by god roll in a crowded club on a payday Friday night. Well-placed pauses for breath come via Womack’s trademark off-center character sketches, with guitar-playing cousin Darryl, feces-flinging Martin Luther, and crossing Vicky Smith among those drawn. And his “I miss Ronald Reagan” is three shuffling minutes that serve as a setup for a punch line that will be received along party lines. Even true believers occasionally stumble – “Happy in your Skin”, kind of a bar-band take on reggae, feels like a work in progress – but most everything else clicks. Kimbrough’s “I Don’t Like It” is a standout, its expressive guitar-slinging and calls to the operator suggesting Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” reconfigured for a new (but no less primal rocking) era. Best of all is “The Powers That Be”, a perfect marriage of The Band and the Faces, with the latter half of that couple underscored when the song segues into Ronnie Lane’s “Ooh La La”. The combined results represent my favorite seven and half minutes of music in 2005. Honest to Keith. ~ Rick Cornell/NoDepression

My OldSchool Look & Feel Is Back

2006-04-09T09:57:00.000-06:00

You might have noticed the return to the original look of the Armagideon Timez, and I for one couldn't be happier about it. I had some HTML "issues" a while back that forced the change to a more boring and plain white-bread look. Me being the computer genius I am (not!) , that is how I generally handle problems. I hope to keep this look going for a while , if not for perpetuity, but no promises there, and be sure to click on some of those ads if you get a shot, it helps make a little cash & just might keep me interested enough to keep it up. Thanxx for your kind support, I hope to keep you interested.... so: keep livin' for today

RTD Strike Is History Come Monday

2006-04-09T03:30:00.000-06:00

Jason Zett walked away from the highest-paying job of his young life Monday, then struggled to pay rent on his one-bedroom apartment in Westminster.
On Friday, the 19-year-old put on his brown uniform and maroon necktie and voted to go back to work for RTD.
"It's the right thing for me," said Zett, who earns $13.69 an hour and was in bus-driver training when fellow members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001 voted last weekend to walk off the job. "The bills are starting to pile up, and I don't know what to do next. I've been worried sick."
While Regional Transportation District bus drivers, light- rail engineers and mechanics accepted a deal Friday that will front-load a three-year contract with financial incentives, deep ambivalence lingered among union members as they questioned the costs and benefits of the week-long strike and its impact on one of the country's most respected transit agencies.
"Was this worth it? That's hard to say," said Roger Hoag, 50, a 16-year RTD driver from Denver who voted for the revised contract. "We'll never recover (lost wages from the strike), that's for sure."

Many union members said the walkout gave them a brief upper hand during a tumultuous bargaining period, proving to RTD management that they were serious about wage increases after a three-year salary freeze.
But the uncertainty among workers was prevalent even Friday as union membership voted on the three-year pact, which will give top pay-scale workers $1.80-an-hour raises spread over three years - 50 cents-an-hour of which would be doled out this year. RTD initially proposed 15- cent-an-hour raises quarterly, an idea that union members narrowly rejected last week.

Long-term respect
Even as the revised proposal passed, some workers said the deal was akin to moving furniture around a house without any substantive changes. Some wanted to hold out for more money and stay on picket lines.
"We're not being greedy; we just want to be treated fairly and with some respect for the work that we do," said Deloris Halfacre, 47, a bus driver who voted against the revised proposal. "I still don't think this is good enough."
Labor-relations experts said that although the strike hurt workers financially in the short run, measuring the strike's long-term effect is more complicated.
"If you're looking at it from a monetary point, it's the idiot's guide to dumb moves, but that's far from accurate," said Raymond Hogler, a Colorado State University professor who studies labor law and human- resource management. "You have to look at this in the broadest concept, and a strict cost- benefit rationalization doesn't always tell the whole story."
The strike could give the union more leverage in future bargaining sessions, experts said.
"There's an old adage that you don't want that strike sword to get too rusty," said John Heywood, director of the graduate program in human resources and labor relations for the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. "They've shown management that they'll consider walking out if they have to, and that could weigh heavily on other agreements."
But Jamie Mallard, 34, a bus driver from Denver who opposed the revamped proposal, said too many workers were unprepared for an extended stoppage, weakening the union's resolve as the week wore on. Bargaining power, she said, would have been more powerful if RTD workers had stayed off the job longer.
Outside the voting hall Friday, she worried that "when we go back to work, (management) is going to think, 'We just fooled them."'
"Nothing really changed with this," she said. "We were told months ago to prepare for this, but (workers) didn't. They didn't put money away, didn't get all their bills caught up."
Such worries were apparent by midweek, as workers attempted to balance home budgets without guaranteed incomes.

Thoughts of crossing line
At Nancy Narrin's east Denver apartment last week, the bus driver fielded calls from friends who were considering crossing the picket line Monday.
"They wanted to know if I would think any less of them, if I'd still be their friend," said Narrin, 59, a second-year driver who was able to pay only half her rent for fear that she would run out of money later this month. "I couldn't think poorly of those people because they have families to feed, and I understand that."
Though Narrin lives paycheck to paycheck, "there's something morally that says it's the wrong thing to cross the line. I know it sounds stupid, but that's how I feel."
She bought a cigarette roller to save money and was preparing to look for another job.
Making sacrifices
Other cutbacks happened in homes across the metro area as RTD workers anticipated a longer, more intense, strike.
Charles Gallegos, a 13-year driver, eliminated allowances to his two daughters and prepared to make other sacrifices at the grocery store.
"I promised my (9-year-old) daughter that she'd get a new bike," Gallegos said. "With the strike, I couldn't do it."
Royola Willrich, a 40-year- old light-rail engineer, refinanced her home and sent an e-mail to Oprah Winfrey, asking for help.
And another light-rail engineer, Gary Welch, planned to borrow $1,500 from a friend to help cover costs for his family in Lafayette.
"We were already struggling," Welch's wife, Christina Welch, said. "I was thinking, 'How are the bills going to get paid? Are the house payments going to be paid?' It was driving me crazy."
Zett, the teenage bus driver, was worrying long before the strike happened. As the breadwinner with a fiancée who makes $8 an hour, his wage already was barely enough to feed the couple and keep them in an apartment.
"I was just glad to have a job before," said Zett, who approved both proposals. "There was no money left."
Mike Dunn, a mechanic who also approved the agreement, overheard Zett.
"I'm happy to have a job, too," he said. "But let me tell you, you have to start saving money now."
"After this," Zett told Dunn, "half my check is going into savings."

Staff writer Robert Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-1282 or rsanchez@denverpost.com.

Now, just what demographic are we marketing this crap to?

2006-04-08T23:39:00.000-06:00

The Coca-Cola Company announced that it will launch Coca-Cola Blāk in January in France, the first of several countries – including the United States [April launch] - that are expected to introduce the new Coca-Cola and coffee fusion in 2006.

Coca-Cola Blāk is an invigorating and stimulating blend that has a perfect balance of the effervescent taste sensation of Coca-Cola and natural flavors, with real coffee. The lightly carbonated, mid-calorie beverage, which is designed to appeal to adult consumers, is yet another example how The Coca-Cola Company reaches out to new audiences and addresses new beverage occasions."Coca-Cola Blāk is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured. We believe we have created a new category of soft drink – an adult product in a carbonated beverage – and a whole new drinking experience.

This brand is ideal for any part of the day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a break," said Marc Mathieu, vice president, Global Core Brands, The Coca-Cola Company.The launch will be supported by television, print, outdoor and in-store communication. Advertising and creative for Coca-Cola Blāk will be developed locally and regionally.

Just stick with the BlackCherry Vanilla Cokes , those thingz are friggin' addictive ! {Coke? addictive?}