Friday, May 29, 2009

Up


I've been in a bit of a really blue mood of late. I think that I really need to see this movie pronto.

Disney doesn't seem too keen on allowing the embedding the trailer, but this link here has the best clip.


UPDATE:

We went to the 11:00 show this morning. GO. SEE. UP.

LeBron


Whatever happens in the Eastern Conference Finals this weekend, LeBron still has his crew from his early days to fall back on. Here's a clip from what appears to be a very well received documentary about their salad days which is slated for release this Fall.

Wingnuttia


James Wolcott linked to this piece of bile about Sonia Sotomayor today and I couldn't resist linking to it either. This a quote I culled from the post.

A woman with a skin tone slightly darker than Sotomayor’s would be called a criada—a maid. She would be seen as fit only to be hired by a wealthy white family to clean, to cook and to sleep with the white family’s sons. This is the reality of the “richness” of Puerto Rican culture.

These folks are really out to lunch. You can go read the rest of it here if'n you wanna.

Friday Random Ten


Wild Honey Pie -- The Beatles
Feel -- Stereophonics
Voice Inside My Head -- Dixie Chicks
Helter Skelter -- The Beatles
Soul Rebel -- Bob Marley
The Scarlet Tide -- Elvis Costello
Give It Away -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Untitled Instrumental -- Television
Lookin' Out My Back Door --Creedence Clearwater Revival
Stand! -- Sly & The Family Stone

Bonus extra throwback cut:

It's Only Make Believe -- Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Judge Sotomayor


If Grover and Richard Viguerie are itching for a fight, then Obama must have made the correct decision.

Gosh, they're dumb.

Jay Bennett


Former Wilco member Jay Bennett passed away over the weekend. I came to Wilco a bit late in the game but have dug their sound for several years now.

One of my faves is "Misunderstood" which seems to capture Jay's spirit quite well. Here he is on keyboards from a show they did in 2000 before things got weird between him and Tweedy.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Mr. Fish


Mr. Fish recognizes Memorial Day.

It Was 40 Years ago Today...


...John and Yoko held the World at bay.

The infamous "bed-in" was forty years ago today at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, QC. We visited there last year and wandered around the lobby for a bit. Huge hotel.

Anyway, it's always nice to remember "to give peace a chance".

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Biz Markie


Everyone was commenting last night during the game on how much they like song where the cabbie sings along with his passengers in the latest Heineken ad yet none of us knew who the artist was.

Why it's Biz Markie.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Friday Random Ten


This week's FRT goes out in tribute to our great pal, Bernie Zofcin who passed away a year ago today. He is indeed missed.

The Spider And The Fly -- The Rolling Stones
Poor Side Of Town -- Nick Lowe
Bodies -- Sex Pistols
Lazy Eye -- Silversun Pickups
American Eulogy --Green Day
Town Without Pity -- Brian Setzer Orchestra
Man Ray -- The Futureheads
The Fear -- Lily Allen
Tennessee Blues -- Steve Earle
Broken -- Elvis Costello

Bonus Memorial Day Cut:

Theme From The Black Hole -- Parliament

...to the rear march!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Lava Lamp of Hate Speech


I'm obviously a tad distressed that the Cavs lost last night, but this cheered me up.

You know, I have a habit of listening to Rush when I'm in the car on any given weekday. So, I've been playing a little game lately. I run an errand, get back in the car and count, Mississippi 1, 2, 3 until Rush says the name, Obama.

The longest I have gone so far in dozens of tries is 21 seconds before El Rushbo says the word.

And Rush claims that MSNBC is making their ratings numbers off of his celebrity.

Just sayin'...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Ooops, he's done it again...


Craig and his friends light it up with some pop tart music.

Crystal Ball


Everyone is all worried with troll-like concern over whether the Cavs can "handle" the Orlando Magic in their 7 game series which begins tonight.

Well I've got a tonic that will cure those flutters.

The answer lies in one word: Defense. (you thought I was gonna say LeBron didn't ya?)

During the 2008-2009 the Cavaliers held opposing teams to an NBA best of 91.36 points per game. During the eight games they've played so far in the playoffs, that number is even considerably lower.

Check this out....

The scoring average for the Pistons this season was 94.3 ppg. In the four game series with the Cavs, that number was 78 ppg.

The scoring average for the Atlanta Hawks this season was 98.12 ppg. Four games later with Cleveland and that number is reduced to 80.75. That is a percentage drop of about 18 percent from each of these respective offenses. Not only that, but as each game was played, the output of Detroit and Atlanta got lower with each progressing game.

Whatever defensive motivator Mike Brown has got going with these guys it is working beautifully and will not let up in this series.

The Orlando Magic has averaged 101,04 ppg this season. According to my calculations, Orlando will then average around 82.8 ppg in their series with the Cavs.

Seeing that the Cavs are averaging 94 points per game so far in the Playoffs, that leads to a chronic 12 point differential for the Magic and a quick (5 game) exit for Dwight Howard and pals.

Here endeth the lesson.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Friday Random Ten


Burning With Optimism's Flame -- XTC
If I Had It All -- Dave Matthews Band
Why Do You Love Me -- Garbage
Gimme Some Truth -- Jaguares
New York -- Sex Pistols
Sheena's In A Goth Gang -- The Cramps
Pot Kettle Black -- Wilco
Satisfy My Soul -- Bob Marley & The Wailers
A Little More Time -- John Doe
Pulling Teeth -- Green Day

Bonus dance party rock:

Flathead -- The Fratellis

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Dave


Letterman gives us a preview of Palin's new book.

And speaking of Katie Couric, I believe that she is a guest on the Tonight Show with Chin Leno along with The Decemberists this very evening.

Decemberists. Love those wacky Portland kids.

Are We Not (really big) Men?


Some of you may be aware that my brother taught Jr. High and High School in Mayfield, OH back in the heady days of the early Eighties. Besides being really good at it, I've always been certain he had an influence on several of the youngsters in his stead like a responsible teacher should.

Well, he got an email from a former student via a Facebook connection. Turns out, a couple of young gents who remember their time fondly spent with Mr. G. developed into somewhat fanatical fans of Devo courtesy of their teacher.

So this "kid" sends Dave a picture of himself and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh from a show of a couple of years ago that we, coincidentally enough, attended as well.

That's the picture here.

The cool part is that this kid, Dave Lieberman, "evolved" into a major league body builder and was 1991's National Physique Association Mr. Ohio and Collegiate Mr. America.

Anyway, no real reason to post this except I think that it's cool that my bro was such an influence on this dude from a musical perspective. And if you listen closely to the background music on the video, you can easily pick out the feint sounds of those wacky spudboys.

Dave Lieberman...beautiful mutant.

World's Toughest Milkman


I've been a big Reid Fleming fan for years. Looks like our boy is in hot water again with Mr. Crabbe in this clever animated episode.

Too bad they don't make a real movie of David Boswell's stuff one day. I used to think Jack Nicholson would fit the bill but I am now of the opinion that Jack Black would be perfect as Reid.

Code Pink


I love these women who are brave enough to go out and do this street theater. It's so clever of them to dress up and hang in the lobby. Doubly so since they're ladies and the cops really can't rough thm up like they would men in the same situation.

Rummy should receive this reception all day, every day including when he gets the paper in the morning.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Matt Taibbi


Matt Taibbi hasn't been blogging for very long, but his postings are terrific.

I too have tried to figure out the cognitive dissonance that many on the Right suffer from. Matt does a good job of at least analyzing, not really explaining, the way that these folks see everything as a team sport.

You're either with us or against us, right?...buncha daft cunts.

The Thing That Would Not Leave



Mike Luckovich on that bad penny, Dick Cheney.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Cartoon



Mr. Fish and the hard days of Aught Nine.

Sports Desk


While the Cavaliers make their way through the second round of the Playoffs in a nearly effortless fashion, as of this morning, the Tribe is officially the worst team in baseball at 11-21.

That is all.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day


Hey, check it out...SNL is actually funny again sometimes this year. It's mostly because of that Timberlake Kid.

Wanda Sykes


I love me some Wanda Sykes. Here's her speech last night at the Correspondents dinner.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Friday Random Ten


Utopia Parkway -- Fountains Of Wayne
Teddy Picker -- Arctic Monkeys
Rock N' Roll -- Lou Reed
Big Legged Woman -- Jerry Lee Louis
1020 AM -- Spoon
Look For Me (I'll Be Around) -- Neko Case
Other People's Lives -- Ray Davies
What Do I Get? -- The Buzzcocks
I Want You To Want Me -- Cheap Trick
Friction -- Television

Bonus NBA playoffs cut:

I Summon You -- Spoon

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

More Good News


Rush is the "crying on the inside" kinda clown.

It wasn't all that long ago that Clear Channel was the 800 lb. gorilla.

I truly couldn't have believed that they would, along with the Right Wing and the G.O.P., fall so far so quickly. Read this piece and soak it all in...the circle is nearly complete for these assholes.

Then again, CC was deeply wedded to the Right so it makes sense that they'd go down together.

WTAM, here in the Cleve, laid off some on-air "talent" two weeks ago.

My question remains unanswered...when all of these "talk radio" stations die off and it's an open market for local programming again, what will happen to those signals?

My understanding of the switch to all digital programming for TV was so that the signals that will be orphaned by the broadcast stations are to be snatched up by local cops and fire depts. If that's true, what will happen with these megawatt radio stations once they're out of business?

By my count, the industry, (local radio) will be stone dead by 2015.

Green Day

Know Your Enemy

Green Day's new release, 21st Century Breakdown, drops on May 15th. I don't know if these guys can catch lightening in a bottle twice, but I still like their sound and message.

Here's the single.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Cleveland Redux


Here's Act II of the tourism campaign...

Dilbert


Seems about right...wished I'd have thought of it sooner myself. (click it and bigger it shall get)

Walkable


Cleveland comes in way down the list at number 73 right between the Haight and Lincoln Park. Oh well, cool list anyway.

These United States


There are several good reasons to live here in America and equally as many rationale not to. Perhaps too frequently we who do dwell here accept the "greatest country in the world" meme and ignore all of the places who do certain things with such a difference we reject their ideas out of hand. Perhaps we should rethink that strategy.

With that, I give you this quite lengthy column from the ever librul NY Times. I've spent a few days here and there in Amsterdam and it is a very unique place that the blond and I like a lot. I'd live there if I could and may when we retire.

This guy makes a case as to why he likes it there. I have several reasons to move there besides the ones he offers up.

May 4th


Around these parts, May 4th means one thing in particular, the shooting at Kent State nearly 40 years ago.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, it was a flash point for millions including my 11 year old self as well as for Gerry Casales.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Birthday Boy


Well, seeing that he has made it another year, I made him an e-present.

Jack the dog turns 16 today and in the spirit of the event I declare him certified to drive. Here's his Driver's License. Congrats, dude!

Jeffrey Ross


I was looking for the now famous Jeff Ross quote where he declared to Sandra Bernhardt that "I wouldn't fuck you with Bea Arthur's dick". This of course was said some twenty feet from Bea herself.

Anyway, to honor Bea's passing, here's some Jeff Ross where he makes mention of Bea's dick yet again. And yes, it's rude, but if you don't laugh hard at this video at least once or twice, you and I have very different tastes in comedy.

Freeway Blogger


The Freeway Blogger has a nice posture on the Obama 100 days benchmark.

Reagan For Liberals...pass it on.

This little piggy

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Enemy Swine: A Pigcalypse Now
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorFirst 100 Days

Colbert on the Swine Flu.

Friday Random Ten


We've Got Everything -- Modest Mouse
Waiting For The Rapture -- Oasis
The Information -- Beck
Real World -- Pere Ubu
Small Favors -- Fountains Of Wayne
Na Na Na Na Naa -- Kaiser Chiefs
Can't Lose -- We Are Scientists
Theologians -- Wilco
Waiter -- Nellie McKay
Dondante -- My Morning Jacket

Bonus May Day cut:

C'mere -- Interpol