The Friday Random Ten, Support Our Troops Version...

Yes, the title is sarcasm. Sarcasm about the Republican Party support for our troops, that is. I explain:

Paul Hackett volunteered as a Marine to serve in Iraq. Served ably and nobly by all accounts. Now he's back in Ohio, and wants to serve as Senator. Which would be the first Irag War veteran serving in Congress.

Hey, great idea.

Here's the rub: he's running as a Democrat (with decidedly Libertarian leanings).

Now, Ohio is a pretty thoroughly Republican state, and he started his campaign late. However, his opponent has a few negative aspects. So once the polls showed Hackett closing the gap, what kind of response do you think the Republicans make?

Yes, that's right, start up the slime machine.

The part that raises my anger is the belittling and attacks on this man's service, a la 'Swift Boat Veterans'. This is how the Republicans support and honor our vets? If he was a Republican, he'd be touted as the greatest warrior since Patton, with unassailable integrity. But since he's a Democrat, they have no problem insinuating that he faked his way through battle, or that as a Marine, he somehow doesn't deserve to be a Senator (but running a series of failed businesses into the ground and then owning a baseball team is the perfect background to be President). The NRCC is dumping over $500,000 into this local race, 94% of which is being spent on last minute attack ads, the ones that can make unsubstantiated charges since by the time corrections are made, the election is over.


Apparently, what made the Fat Guys Go Nutzoid in this case where Hackett said"I've said I don't like the son-of-a-b--- that lives in the White House. But I'd put my life on the line for him." Maybe a bit crude, but the essential message "I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death you're right to say it" has been said before. But in response, the NRCC decides to "Bury him". Orders from Karl? Can you doubt it? Maybe President Middle Finger had his feelings hurt by being described as a son-of-a-bitch? (editorial accuracy in my view)

Here's what John Glenn has to say.

And here's a place to donate; if, like me, you'd like to let the Republicans know that unjustified attacks on Veterans ar most decidedly NOT appropriate behavior. The hypocrisy and 'Moral Relativism' inherent in this campaign is truly appalling.


So, this FRT is for Paul Hackett. Good thoughts, sir.

Desktop iTunes. 14,330 songs. 57.06 gigs


1. Aimee Mann - King of The Jailhouse. Oddly enough, This song ISN'T about Karl Rove.

2. Ultrasound - I'll show you mine. Ultrasound was one of the Great Unknown Bands of recent vintage. The are alternative in the vein of Pere Ubu, with heavier prog-rock leanings, but as if played by Sonic Youth. Released one brilliant album, then broke up because they couldn't get along.

3. Sonic Youth - Rain King. Nice segue, pink boy.

4. Joe Jackson - Pretty Girls.

5. The Cure - The Figurehead. Reagan? Bush I? Thatcher? your guess.

6. Sally Timms - Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You. Sally is a vocalist for the Mekons. Identifies herself as "The Laziest Woman In Show Business" Next best thing to a Mekons song.

7. Genesis - The Lamb Lies down on Broadway. As Norbizness has said , don't make me pull the Shut The Fuck Up card.

8. XTC - Dance Band. XTC used to have the energy of 47 Squirrel Monkeys on meth laced coffee and no sleep, before Andy Partridge suffered paralyzing stage fright and went all pastoral. This is a live version of a song from that time. Pogo along!

9. The Cure - One Hundred Years. I think my computer is depressed. Not only two songs, but two from Pornography? Bzzzzt!! Foot Fault! Three penalty random songs. Go on.

10. The Handsome Family - When That Helicopter Comes. The best Chicago alt-country goth duo ever to do a song about Lake Geneva, Jimmy Carter and Albert Einstein. "It's gonna rain champagne and the hills are gonna dance. There will be power in the blood when that helicopter comes. The sky will swim in lightning fire and the trees will shake and scream. Rocks gonna roll up hill and the sun will dive in the sea. The dead gonna wake and sing and roll their bones in the grass." You tell me what that's about.

11. Blue Oyster Cult - Moon Crazy. I told you before: STFU. It wasn't called a penalty song for nothing, OK? Don't Make Me Stop This Car.

12. Television - Venus. a punk band fronted by two guitar virtuosos? Brilliant! "I Fell right into the arms of Venus di Milo"

13. Moby - Now I Let It Go. A fitting end to the FRT.


Other than the Genesis, pretty good showing, if I had felt like dropping the NCSA.


Now go and help Paul Hackett.

While My Accordion Gently Weeps...

Back to the political sniping in a minute...

Truly a day of mourning.

And just when he was going through a critical and artistic renewal. Reports were that he planned to release an all-polka version of The Wall, with Wayne Newton, David Bowie and Celine Dion on vocals to be followed up by a national tour, backed up by the White Stripes


But I've heard that he had his problems too. You know he was known as the Happy Norwegian; apparently he was grinning because he was stoned all the time.

Introduced to marijuana in his native land while a teenager, he was a teetotaler until joining the Welk posse, legendary for the decadence and after-show brawl/orgies. He rapidly became known as "The Ironman" for his ability to hold liquor; but had a marked tendency for violence when using pot or hallucinogens. He once shredded a throw pillow with 3 foot garden shears, claiming it 'was too loud'.

While on tour with Johnny Cash in 1964-1965, the epochal Country Trash Tour, Cash's entourage introduced him to speed and cocaine; although huffing Elmer's Glue through feminine napkins quickly became his vice of choice. He was often seen backstage at the Welk tapings, nose running and looking for Dinsdale. A staffer was eventually designated as 'Stageside Kleenex' to wipe traces of powder or blood from his nose prior to entering the stage.

After the Welk show ceased production, he continued to tour, and met the members of Stone Temple Pilots in San Diego, before they had a record deal. It has been long suspected that Floren helped them get signed; but no one from either band has ever confirmed this. Eventually he became an elder statesmen of the then burgeoning grunge scene, often joining bands like Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Temple of The Dog, or the Melvins on stage with his accordion when a gig was going particularly badly; this invariably demonstrated to the audiences just how badly a gig could go. Often, the club would empty, giving the band a night off. Then they would hit the town for a night of debauchery.

Regrettably, he never performed with Kurt Cobain.

In honor of his passing, all the members of grunge bands past and present are wearing black today.

Just a Bit Outside...

Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseball around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball. ~Pete Hamill

"The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud." ~Bob Uecker


TBogg has a brilliant, beautiful post about baseball up at his site.

It starts as a discussion of the new version of The Bad News Bears (likely the MOST useless remake in the history of... well, forever. All props to Billy Bob, but just how can you improve on the original?) And segues into a discussion of his daughter's baseball career. But what it really is, of course, is a love letter to his daughter. Neither here nor there; he's entitled.

My son played Little League for the first time this summer, he's ten. So he started a bit later than some, but we've never really tried to push him into any sports or things like that (although my wife does really emphasize trying to get him to start a musical instrument or theater) and this year, he expressed some interest. Mainly because one of his best friends (remember when we used to have BEST friends?) is in the league, and one of the better players.

Fortunately, our city LL teams are handled and coached by some great guys, who really emphasize the fun part, and letting all the kids play, giving them experience at various areas and practice at all the various skills. I can't compliment the league, and our Coach Dave, enough.

E had a ball. Although being my son, he had the handicap of my innate natural anti-athleticism to overcome. He did well, and I hope to help him hone those skills throwing and catching. I hope he decides to stick with it a bit; My brother was a very good catcher for his high school team, so athletic ability is not completely unknown in our family. E's team actually did quite well.

I made it a point to make almost all of his games. As a matter of fact, last week when I had to miss one game due to some extra work to be done, I happened to see this over at Something Awful. ouch.


In high school, I spent some time working with the coaches for a couple of local Little League teams; although never having the real skill to be good at baseball, I learned the finer points of playing the game, so it was great to see E playing and learning the game. As long as the coaches can keep the game from getting overly competitive, I hope he decides to stick with it.

Tbogg talks about the inclusion of girls on the teams. When I was a kid, of course, girls couldn't play on the boy's teams. Too frail, you know (boy's egos, I mean). E's team had 2 girls on it, and both of them were better than most of the boys. To their credit, the boys had absolutely no problem with it that I could see. Players are players. It's one of those things that gives you hope.

Aw, dang it, just go read Tbogg.

Friday Random Ten, Enough with the Chewbacca Defense already! Edition

In honor of the apparent effort by the White House to move on from the Chewbacca Defense in the Rove/Plame treason case, to a more traditional Sergeant Shultz Defense (I Know Nnnnnuuthink!) we have named this week's FRT.

No auditing (NSCA); some comments.(NASC) Try to keep up, OK?

14,337 songs. 57.12 gigs.


Bad Religion - Can't Spot It. Glossy punk , but Greg Graffin is from Milwaukee. And for a bunch of old farts, they can still bang it out. Clocks in at 1 minute 9 seconds; that's punk timing.

The Police - Shadows In The Rain. Remember when this stuff was radical? I've never seen the Police, although I saw Sting on his first solo tour (one of the first acts at the new amphitheater at Summerfest) Ole Gord had the sense to surround himself with world-class musicians; cuz his voice was blown. Would have worked with the Police; didn't work with the middle age easy listening pap.

ZZTop - Heaven, Hell, Or Houston. a retro track from one of their MTV - era albums. glossy, but better than most of the stuff you heard constantly. saw them on the Deguello tour when I was in high school - regardless of the overproduction, they rock.

Styx - Young Man. don't Judge me! at least until you manage to actually find and listen to this song. Before the glossy production, before Tommy Shaw, before the sappy love ballads, there was a working man's hard rock band from Chicago named Styx... But I'm still glad I didn't coolness audit this week.

Buffalo Tom - Under Milkwood. Buffalo Tom started as a Dinosaur Jr style band, but stripped the noise away and morphed into a formidable alt rock band. Regrettably defunct.

Slobberbone - Springfield IL. Another band that just broke up. I turned on to this band due to a reference in a Stephen King novel (to the song Gimme Back My Dog) and I've seen them a few times in a couple little bars. another amazing live band. Rock and Roll lives in the bars. Stop listening to the radio and get out to see some live music.

Dropkick Murphys - Time to Go. Irish Punk. Shouted choruses. It's all good.

Monty Python - The Story of The Film So Far. The Holy grail. album. great spoken interlude.

The Mekons - Chopper Squad. old school, before they wanted to even learn how to play instruments. Seems like we can't do a FRT without some Mekes; that's a good thing.

Joe Jackson - Baby Stick Around. Too late to stay at home and sit around.


That's ten. Nothing extra, cuz you've been bad children. Especially you Karl. Go sit in the corner.

All engines stop, Scotty

James Doohan passed away.

[edited]
Just got home, and saw that CNN and Faux News both had extensive pieces on his passing. George Takei and Walter Koenig were on Faux. Showed him unveiling a star at the Grauman.

I find it amazing, and quite a testament to the power of Gene Roddenberry's work. I don't think I saw much of the series first airing, I would have been seven or so, but it was on Friday nights. But it was shown nearly continuously in syndication at 4 PM, after school, so I quickly became quite committed to the series, reading the books and watching it every chance I got. It was my Harry Potter.

At the time, it was a decidedly geeky thing to do. It was the hallmark of the bookish sort, and openly showing affection for Star Trek was a good way to get beat up.

But it lasted. Looking back now, the sets were cheesy, the special effects primitive (although very cutting edge for the time) and the acting... But the show lasted, because the stories were well thought out for the most part, and didn't talk down to the audience. And the universe invented by Roddenberry and the writers was complex, and ultimately, optimistic. For all the battles and fighting that went on, it portrayed humans AND aliens as intelligent beings who are able to understand and work with others. It also portrayed people from Earth as having thrashed out our own petty differences, gotten beyond race, religion, gender and class to unite as... humans.

It was an optimistic and inclusive viewpoint, at the height of the Vietnam war when it seemed the news was only about how The Humans just couldn't get along, and nuclear destruction was terribly imminent. They showed humans of all races, as well as aliens, working together (also televised the first interracial kiss). It was the first TV show that was resurrected by a fan based campaign. It set the stage for nearly every Science fiction show and movie that followed.

And nearly forty years later, it has become a social touchstone; everyone says 'Beam me up Scotty' (Takei reminded us that the line was never used in the series); the show has inspired ten movies, and four additional series. It has been translated into every language, and is part of worldwide culture. The movies and episodes still inspire wonder and optimism.

If we manage to develop something similar to the Star Trek universe, it will be in no small part because of the imaginations and dreams sparked by Gene Roddenberry's little 'Wagon Train in space'. Roddenberry, Doohan, all the other actors, writers, artists can be proud of that.

Thank You, Scotty.

I Know Where I'd Like To Apply The Power Cables

Our Esteemed Former Governor and Favorite Bar Tab, Tommy Thompson, has put himself at the forefront of Science!

Science!

No, he's not cloning himself. Stop shuddering.

He's having a subcutaneous chip implanted.

They say it's for medical reasons, but I think it's a GPS locator to warn whenever he gets within 200 yards of a member of the administration. They're tired of him too.

Preferably wired to electrodes in his hsorts, like that episode of Cheers.


Bzzzt!! BzzzTT! Dance, Elroy-Boy!

Friday Random Ten

No self audit. I am fearful of the complete breakdown in any pretense of coolness that looms.

Norbizness changed to a random twelve. So, unless this turns very ugly, I'm going to match his twelve, and raise him a Bonus Three!

Rush- Alien Shore.

Jon Langford - My Own Worst Enemy.

Mekons - Johnny Miner. Langford followed by the Mekes. iTunes is quite keyed into my tastes, yes it is.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Illegal Left.

The Clash - Wrong 'em Boyo. The first punk record I ever bought. Changed my life. All my high school friends hated it, especially because I played it All. The Time. Like I said, it changed my life.

Beastie Boys - Remote Control.

Pop Will Eat Itself - City Zen Radio 1999/2000 FM.

Elvis Costello - Georgie and her Rival.

Jenny Toomey - Miss Otis Regrets. Oooh. A Cole Porter song about a murdering jilted lover, covered for The Executioner's Last Songs, a compilation album from Bloodshot benefitting Illinois Artists Against the Death Penalty. If I was doing the NSCA, this would break the meter. After release of this album, Illinois rescinded their death penalty because of the documented problems with reliability and the proven cases of erroneous execution of innocent people.

Moby - Machete.

XTC - Is This Pop? Yes It Is.

Weezer - Keep Fishin'. Nice try, Rivers, but the best punk rock fishing song is 'All He Wants To Do Is Fish' by the Replacements, 'cuz it's the Replacements.

Strong end. here's the bonus three:

The Plugz - La Bamba. From the Repo Man soundtrack.
Pavement - Fame Throwa
Peter Gabriel - Mother of Violence. Old school Pete. 'Fear. Fear is the Mother of Violence.' A wonderfully appropriate end to the FRT, and the week.

We Are All British Today

union-jack
Originally uploaded by temporary costello.

Hit. The. Frigging. Wall.

Everything was going really well.

Had avoided the worst danger: A hangover that could knock a buzzard off a shitwagon. Been pacing myself, going for the long run. A few aches in the thighs and feet; expected when you're walking back and forth for several miles every day. A little stretching, no big deal.

A little sunblock; still got a rosy glow the first day. it's OK; nothing to worry about. Proper hydrating during the day prevents early fades.

Even Managed to drag ZORG the HellBeast from Planet Zyrax out of a concrete pit to join in on Sunday (and he had one of those hangovers with a personality. Well, a HellBeast should know that alcoholic beverages are poisonous to them); the cool weather kept the crowds down and managed to catch Moby, who can rock much harder than his records let on. worth it.

And we managed to create a couple of new summerfest memes: the theory of the 'Wave' which I will go into more fully a bit later. And the concept of 'Summerfest Feet' which requires balance, agility, observation and a bit of prescience in order to avoid the semi-random paths of FestDrunks. It's not as easy as it looks.


And then it rains. It's like that skier in the ABC Wide World Of Sports video. The whole thing falls right the hell apart; agony of Defeat, indeed. You stand up wondering "what the hell?"

Bah. In retrospect, we should have just gone anyway. What, are we afraid to melt?

Weather or no, it still counts as a miss. So there goes the 11 day gold crown for the year. damn this is harder than it looks.

So anyway, back to the track. Ten days is still impressive, and will be a good test for next year. Today looks like a good one: some local bands to entertain myself, some reggae (Kojo, King solomon, and steel Pulse) and some new stuff to check out; finally, Styx, as an emergency backup. Hey, sue me you pretentious musical snobs; they were the second real rock concert I went to. It's just warm enough for shorts; perfect Summerfest weather.


And since we blew the eleven-fecta, we don't have to worry about that hangover thing. Full steam ahead.



so, ZORG-baby, if you're reading this, it's your last free day. you got our cell number.

And the rest of you: Get back to work. Ha. we're not above a little gloating.

Well. That was..... well.

OK.


Now I remember why I've never been able to make it all 11 days of the Fest. hoo boy.

Beer. Sun. All 90,000 of my best friends. And every one of them a bad influence.


Got my opening day sunburn.

managed to choke through the last few Deep Purple songs. Just not my bag, Zorgie old boy. way to Fall was pretty cool tho. And as ever, Pat McCurdy was fun.


You understand, Zorg twisted my arm and forced me to drink all those beers.



sigh.


Going to go back to do it again this afternoon.

Pat McDonald and the guy from superdrag tonight. and today I got sunscreen. and the beer vendors are taking credit cards.