Friday, July 31, 2009

Steve Earle


We're going to see Steve Earle tonight at the Kent Stage. Here he is from last month's Letterman show. I love Steve Earle's music. Seriously dig me some Townes Van Zandt as well.

It's all coming together now.

I've attached a picture of the boys in more, ummm, festive times.

The Bad Seed


As several of you may be aware, I started a new job this week after many months of searching for higher ground. Much to my chagrin, the job was way down the end of the pay scale and very entry level inside sales kind of stuff. But, I took it like a good soldier because it was gainful employment regardless that it was a pay cut of approximately 80% from my previous income.

Well, I walked away from that job yesterday.

I mostly bolted because as soon as I landed the gig several new, better fitting and more lucrative positions appeared in my inbox. Secondly, and more importantly to my psyche, because the woman who I quickly realized was my direct boss was strikingly like the little girl in this classic film version of the Maxwell Anderson stage play.

By the way, I was the Eileen Heckart character in this particular drama....

Coen Bros


Looks like the boys have done it again. A Serious Man is slated to drop sometime in October.

Friday Random Ten


21 Guns -- Green Day
Little Bird -- Annie Lennox
Hella Good -- No Doubt
Your Strange Face Is Going To Hell -- The Stooges
The Last Balloon -- XTC
Runnin' Out Of Fools -- Neko Case
Poetry -- T Bone Burnett
Jewel Of The Summertime -- Audioslave
Territorial Pissings -- Nirvana
Chinese Radiation -- Pere Ubu

Les Canadian Bonus...

Raised On Robbery -- Joni Mitchell

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday Random Ten (Finally got a new job ediion)


I'm Afraid Of Americans -- David Bowie
Halfway To Paradise -- Nick Lowe
African Herbsman -- Bob Marley
My Baby Only Cares For Me -- The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Song 2 -- Blur
Changes -- David Bowie
I Put A Spell On You -- Screamin' Jay Hawkins
M79 -- Vampire Weekend
The Owl -- Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers
Last Of The Small Time Playboys -- Dirty Pretty Things

Non Bowie Bonus Cut:

Heroin -- Lou Reed

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Max Keiser


I've read some of this guy's stuff before on The Huffington Post but I'd never heard him speak before.

Wow. You'd never hear this kind of talk on 'Murkan teevee. He's spot on about these Goldman Sachs crimes. It's yet another notch in my belt of why Obama is quickly becoming my second least favorite president this decade.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

We're All Collapsitarians Now

As the kids are fond of saying, I'm down with this.

Greasy Pate


I found the link to this story out on Drudge's site. Plus, Skye News is a fuggin' Rupert Murdoch joint.

The Right is certain to use this kind of stuff as fodder for how Socialized medicine is a failure in those crummy Yurpeein systems.

Idiots.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Over There


Did anyone else out there know that July 2009 has been the deadliest month in Afghanistan for US Troops ever? I didn't.

We've been in country since late 2001 and this month's fatality count is higher than any other month since we flew in and it's only the 20th of July.

Remove these troops from there ASAP, Mr. Obama before you're officially a modern day LBJ.

Get. Out. Now.

Lying Hypocrites


Super smart young'un Matt Yglesias makes some keen observations that should be held in high esteem by the media types who run the show at the networks.

Um. Yeah, right.

One of these days...Pow!...right to the moon


I have always admired Tom Wolfe's writing style and his Op-Ed in this weekend's NY Times is no exception.

I was a big 10 year old fan of the first moonwalk. It never had occurred to me then, or now for that matter, that July 20th, 1969 was the beginning of the end for NASA.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A couple of boys from Missouri


A fond farewell to Walter Cronkite. I really enjoyed some of stuff for PBS in the later years.

His famous quote that probably helped Roger Ailes with a rationale to start Fox News went something like this..."I think that being liberal, in the true sense, is being nondoctrinaire, nondogmatic, noncomitted to a cause—but examining each case on its merits. Being left of center is another thing; it's a political position. I think most newspapermen by definition have to be liberal; if they're not liberal, by my definition of it, then they can hardly be good newspapermen".

In another story, what's not to like about old timer and Kansas City native, Tom Watson being tied for the 36 hole lead in the 138th Open Championship? Cool stuff indeed.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday Random Ten


G.E.S. -- Nellie McKay
Puppet On A String -- The Hives
American Eulogy-- Green Day
505 -- Arctic Monkeys
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue -- The Ramones
This Is Us -- Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Paper and Iron -- XTC
Fool Such As I -- John Doe and The Sadies
Bring Your Lovin' Back Here -- Gomez
Ruby Tuesday -- The Rolling Stones

Bonuspalooza:

Been Caught Stealin' -- Jane's Addiction

Monday, July 13, 2009

Poetry from the Old Man


my father

was a truly amazing man
he pretended to be
rich
even though we lived on beans and mush and weenies
when we sat down to eat, he said,
“not everybody can eat like this.”

and because he wanted to be rich or because he actually
thought he was rich
he always voted Republican
and he voted for Hoover against Roosevelt
and he lost
and then he voted for Alf Landon against Roosevelt
and he lost again
saying, “I don’t know what this world is coming to
now we’ve got that god damned Red in there again
and the Russians will be in our back yard next!”

I think it was my father who made me decide to
become a bum.
I decided that if a man like that wants to be rich
then I want to be poor.

and I became a bum.
I lived on nickels and dimes and in cheap rooms and
on park benches. I thought maybe the bums knew something.
but I found out most of the bums wanted to be
rich too.
they had just failed at that.

so caught between my father and the bums
I had no place to go
and I went there fast and slow.
Never voted Republican
never voted.

buried him
like an oddity of the earth
like a hundred thousand oddities
like millions of other oddities,
wasted.

Charles Bukowski

Friday, July 10, 2009

I'm actually starting to like this kid...


Levi, Levi likes his money
He makes a lot they say
Spends his days counting
In a garage by the motorway.*


*apologies to Reg and Bernie.

Friday Random Ten


Don't Look Back In Anger -- Oasis
The Harder They Come -- Jimmy Cliff
Dog Door -- Tom Waits
The Delivery Man -- Elvis Costello
The Name Of This Thing Is Not Love -- Elvis Costello
Meanest Man In The World -- John Doe
Make It Rain -- Tom Waits
I Will Be There -- Nellie McKay
Paint It Black -- The Rolling Stones
God Speaks, Of Marty Robbins -- The Who

Pretty dark subject matter this week. Let's leaven the loaf with a bonus cut, shall we? Why, look here...it's...

Come Back Jonee -- DEVO

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Money, money, money


I just love how John Boehner, El Rushbo and their ilk are constantly harping on how the latest round of stimulus spending and the costs associated with fixing health care are going to bankrupt this nation.

Instead, why not have a real dialogue about the extraordinary costs tied to our global and frequently unneeded and unwanted military footprint.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Sarah Palin


I never really wrote many posts about the Shrilla from Wasilla during her starburst moment with the 'Murkan public.

And even now I don't have much to say about her bizarre resignation except that she's effectively giving the finger to the entire state she was elected to govern.

One thing I will guarantee for all the speculators out there who think that she's running for president in 2012. Never. Going. To. Happen.

As I said in November when she lost as the running mate of that old man whose name I've forgotten, Sarah Palin will be the lead-in for Sean Hannity's show on Faux News by the end of this calendar year. As someone else has already opined on the Innertubes, Palin is White Trash Oprah.

Mark my words, I'm 100% correct on this one gang.

It's the 4th of July


Dave Alvin doing an acoustic version of his song so perfectly crafted by X so many moons ago.

Friday Random Ten (seriously fucked up late night kinda really Saturday morning edition)


Next Year -- Foo Fighters
The End -- The Beatles
Around My Heart -- X
Good Night -- The Beatles
Gypsy Biker -- Bruce Springsteen
You Got Your Cherry Bomb -- Spoon
The Senator's Daughter -- Fountains Of Wayne*, **
Jacqueline -- Franz Ferdinand
Ashes Of American Flags -- Wilco
Sunny Skies -- James Taylor

Bonus Late Nite Johnny Fever cut --

Mother Mary -- Foxboro Hot Tubs


*No one hears the desperate screams of the techno DJ...

** The laziest cool band in the world.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Upon closer examination


Even though there is legitimate reason for being pleased with yesterday's announcement of the withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities, Juan Cole puts things into a more reality based perspective for us.