Attack of the Clintonistas

This is why we should fear a Hillary administration.

Please send these angry women back to the couch to watch Oprah.

Those Deadheads Sure Are Funny

Since The Archive cracked down a few years ago and stopped hosting downloadable soundboard tapes of Grateful Dead shows (they are there streaming only, but the AUD tapes are still able to be downloaded), bit torrent has really ramped up as the trading method of choice in the bootleg world.

While you can often just trade one show at a time, some folks will occasionally put together 'collections' usually bound by a particular year.

Over at etree, someone's starting up a 1977 project that they will have to break up into chunks (when you combine all known sources for all shows, the compressed size of the year is a whopping 130G!).

This comment someone posted on the first installment tickled me.

I think I am one of my mother's favorite (of 2) sons...

dnick926	2008-05-29 20:27:14
Thank you very much to all that have worked to put this up. It gives me a chance to fill in all the missing shows from one of my favorite late 70's years.

As Promised

Sweet Transvestite, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

You go, girl!

Observation of Annoyance

I'm not particularly offended by what I'm posting about here, but I do find it rather curious and distasteful...

It seems to be a commonly-accepted gimmick in advertising to poke fun at 12-Step-like meetings.

One I hear regularly on my satellite radio goes something like, "Hi, my name is John and I'm addicted to Sirius."

"Hi, John!"

Then they go on to pitch buying a second radio and getting a special deal on a second subscription.

While reasonable people can certainly disagree on what kinds of ailments, mental, physical or both, are more destructive, can you imagine Playtex running an ad that claims, "Our bras offer so much support, it's like you had a mastectomy!"

$.02

Who Says Lame Ducks Don't Have ManDates?

"Say, Do Any of You Know How to Madison?"

The little Clinton joke I currently have over on the funny picture up top made me wax nostalgic for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so I had to throw up The Time Warp.

Will have to post up that transvestite song later on in the week.

Enjoy!

Praying for Rain This Weekend

When the summer months come, I'd almost-always prefer to be outside, provided the weather is agreeable.

I'm praying for rain, though, on Saturday, which would provide a good excuse to stay inside.

CSPAN is slated to be broadcasting the full Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting of the DNC starting at 9:30 AM. This is going to be a pretty key meeting because they're supposed to settle the Florida/Michigan dispute.

I don't have a really good feel for where this is going to go, but with the relative dearth of good primaries lately, this should help relieve my DTs.

I'm thinking that some banana pecan cornmeal pancakes might be in order...

I've Topped Myself

I found a picture more unsettling than the Chinese party leader below...

Try to Get This Picture Out of Your Head

Photo: Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

I can't...

It was on the front page of the Times this morning.

I suspect that this problem is not going to go away soon enough for the Party...

Perez Hilton Makes Me Giggle

Just a quickie post here...more maybe tomorrow.

But this Perez item made me laugh...

clipped from perezhilton.com That's It???? Filed under: Pete Wentz Newly married Pete Wentz shows off his wedding ring (and the number of fingers he likes up his butt when having sex with Ashlee Simpson), Friday night in NYC. Where are the diamonds??? That band is so….boring simple. Pete wears guiliner and flat irons his hair! We expected something a little more flashy! No????

Hillary's Latest

All class, baby. All class.

Courtesy of Breitbart.tv.

How Cool is This

The Archive, god's gift to us all, now allows us to embed their player and freely distribute the tunes hassle free.

This is the Grateful Dead, live at the Shrine Auditorium, January 11, 1978.

I just did a little jig!

I'll probably tinker with this over the weekend and make room on the side of the page for a Dan's Choice Show or something like that. Wow, I'm so excited. This is really neato...

Lessons Learned from the 2008 Primary Season

The Hillarybillies' latest antics practically insure that the ride is not over.

But the real lesson we should be taking home is that the founders' apprehension about mixing religion and politics was well-founded.

Today, John McCain's dropping of the Hagee endorsement only barely beat out the preacher's recantation of said endorsement.

This, of course, was only the sequel to the screenplay Barry starred in a few weeks back when he, too, had to throw a nut that he always knew was a nut, under the bus.

Both politicians pitched and caught when it came to their relationships with the venerable men of God.

They needed some of that Jesus juice to reach various yokel constituencies in America but ended up laying in the wet spot when the rest of civilized society started to examine what the hell was going on, all praise to YouTube.

I don't expect that we're going to see a huge reversal of this use of religion on the campaign trail, but hopefully people will at least exercise a little bit more caution.

On second thought...maybe not.

The Grateful Dead on Truisms

As has been noted in some private correspondence, the posting here lately has been a little bit short and shoddy...should pick up soon, perhaps with the relaxing weekend coming up...and one that the weather people are saying is going to be beautiful in Cleveland!

Anyway, I did want to throw up another little cut from a delightful Grateful Dead show I was listening to yesterday. It's the calypso favorite, Man Smart, Woman Smarter from the University of South Florida Sun Dome on October 26, 1985.

The whole show is pretty good and I actually had a hard time deciding which song to put up. But this is one I regret never having seen live and they do a really nifty little a cappella thingamajig during the last minute, so listen all the way through if you can.

Don't leave before the miracle happens.

Who Says Men Age Better Than Women

Woof!

clipped from perezhilton.com Sure To Be A Smash HIT Filed under: Zportz Shamed former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding is coming out with her memoir. She must need more money for meth! "I wanted people to see me and know me and I wanted to help other people not go through the things I've gone through," says Harding. She's so noble! "Being afraid to open up and talk to someone is really difficult," says Tonya. "That was another reason I wanted to finish the book, to get rid of my past, dealing with everything, the ups and downs, for a fresh start in the future." Can't she just come out with a sex tape like a good Zlister should??? Posted: May 17, 2008 at 3:34 pm

The Perfect Show?

I may have come across a new all-time favorite Grateful Dead show. If I didn't, it's certainly in the top darned 10.

This is the second show of a little weekend jaunt in the summer of 84, down to the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Brent was on fire for these shows and I'll probably put together a little slideshow for his breakout of I Just Want to Make Love to You in the coming days.

For now, enjoy the My Brother Esau, a standard around that time, from this well-played, upbeat show!

07-22-84 County Fairgrounds, Ventura, Ca. (Sun)

1: Dancin> Bertha, Esau, Loser, Cassidy, Ramble On, Bucket> Day Job

2: Samson, Ship Of Fools, I Just Want> Woman Smarter, Terrapin> Drumz> Morning Dew> Throwing Stones> NFA E: Midnight Hour> Brokedown

"I Just Want" tease before "Cassidy" - last "I Just Want": 11-29-66 [1422]

Sometimes, I Wish The Iraqis Would All Go to Hell

I must just be exceptionally grumpy this afternoon for some reason...but I'm putzing around the kitchen and listening to how an American commander in Iraq had to go and beg forgiveness from the mafioso kingpins over in Iraq.

And it ticked me off.

It all stemmed from some sniper who was doing practice over there on the almighty Koran.

Someone spotted it and was outraged and the mea culpas started rolling in. We apparently offended the sensibilities of certain Iraqis...the people who think it's alright to blow up marketplaces and soldiers at the drop of a turban, but when a fart is blown in the presence of their stupid holy book, they all of a sudden become as righteous as another individual who favored sandals.

(Parenthetically, this incident shows you what buttheads the people in this country are who want to make flag burning a federal crime.)

Anyway, while this incident is ultimately Bush's fault for bringing us all over there, I'm still waiting for these f**ing chieftans to start apologizing and paying us back for the lives and money we're continuing to piss into the Euphrates every day.

No One Can Resist a Good Cop and Donut Story

The Chicago Tribune's R. Kelly Trial blog is very weird because there's not a clear way to link over to individual entries...so I had to paste this out.

I listen to the Stever's podcast on the way home most evenings and have been getting a kick out of listening to one of his minions, Brendan, who won a lottery to get one of the press passes into the trial.
----

Wednesday, May 14, 10:37 AM: Doughnuts for deputies land reporter in a hole

In the weeks leading up to the R. Kelly trial, it was clear the Cook County sheriff's department was determined to keep a tight rein on the media. But an incident Wednesday morning showed just how seriously they're taking that mission.

Law-enforcement officials threatened to pull the media credential of a radio reporter who brought doughnuts for deputies working outside the building. Brendan Greeley, who works for "The Steve Dahl Show" on WJMK-FM104.3, brought the treats to thank officers who had been kind to him during the first three days of jury selection.

The deputies, among many other helpful actions, typically give reporters and photographers a few minutes' warning before Kelly arrives so they can have their cameras positioned. When Greeley mentioned this to his boss, Dahl suggested he bring two dozen doughnuts on Wednesday as a show of gratitude.

"It was warm gesture," Greeley said.

Law-enforcement officials said high-ranking officers heard Dahl discussing the doughnuts during Tuesday's show and feared that the public would consider the snacks a bribe for information.

Bless Hillary Clinton's Heart

The chick has chutzpah.

She's still yapping about Michigan and pretending that she's wanted their delegates seated all along.

Here's the email I got from her this morning, followed by a link to her original response to the DNC's Four State Pledge.

Dear Dan,

Millions of voters in Florida and Michigan are depending on you to help make sure they have a voice in this race. Will you stand up for them today?

Thanks to your efforts, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people who have already spoken out, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee is meeting May 31 to make a decision about whether or not the votes in Michigan and Florida will count.

Now I need you to urge the DNC to make the right decision on May 31. I need you to remind them that in the Democratic Party, we count every vote.

Tell the Democratic National Committee to count the votes of Florida and Michigan.

On May 31, the DNC has a chance to make it clear that the people of Florida and Michigan have a voice in our party. The decision is especially critical given the important role these states will play in November.

And your voice could make the difference for the millions of people who went to the polls in those two states to make their choice for president.

Stand with me today and tell the DNC to count the votes in Florida and Michigan.

I have consistently said that every vote must count. It is such an important principle in our party. I really appreciate you standing up for the values we share.

Thank you,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. Forward this message on to your friends, and urge them to join you!
----------------

Here's her press release to the pledge at the time...which, to her credit, she's not removed from her site.

A Cut I Forgot to Post on Derby Day

I had been meaning to throw up the fat man's Run for the Roses on Kentucky Derby Day a few weeks back, but things got in the way and I forgot.

This is from September of 1990 out at Shoreline Amphitheatre in the Bay Area. Jerryband did these shows, on dates that had been scheduled as Dead shows. Brent Mydland's death screwed those plans up and Garcia stepped up with some good stuff...that made its way onto a commercial DVD release.

Check it out if you get the itch.

In the meantime, enjoy another really pretty Garcia tune.

The GOP Is Screwed

An only-slightly-modified version of Drudge's page this morning.

Stuck on You

The Edwards endorsement announcement last night seemed to be another nicely-timed move by Team Obama.

This picture in the Washington Post, though, reminded me of the poster for the Matt Damon/Greg Kinnear flick, Stuck on You.

Barney Frank...One Cool Dude

This morning, the New York Times ran a front page article about one of my favorite members of the US Congress, Barney Frank (D-MA).

And I write that without a drip of sarcasm.

Frank is the most well-known homosexual in Congress, the poster child for contemporary liberalism, a man with biting wit and one of the smartest dudes in that joint.

I don't always agree with where he comes down on certain things, but the guy is one of the real true-believers in there and I pity the fool who tries to challenge his grasp of what he's talking about. (Frank is the chairman of the Financial Services Committee and the article is about his working for a deal to help out people being hurt during this housing crunch/crisis.)

They cite someone from the White House who just calls him 'scary smart.'

Below, I pulled out some of his funnier lines from the article....

MARCH 11 “Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry. Mr. Speaker, is blatant hypocrisy a violation of the rules of the House?”

Responding to Republican complaints that Democrats had extended the voting period for 15 minutes to win approval of a bill creating an independent House ethics office. In 2003, the Republicans once extended the voting period for three hours to get their desired outcome.

NOV. 7, 2007 “I am grateful for the obscurity of the opposition’s argument.”

In a debate over the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a bill to prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation.

JULY 18, 2006 “So, apparently, same-sex marriage is the V8 juice of America.”

During a debate over a “marriage protection” amendment, Mr. Frank said he did not understand Republican arguments that gay marriages would undermine traditional marriages, as if happily married men in Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas and Mississippi, learning that same-sex marriage was legal in Massachusetts, would smack themselves in the head and declare, “Wow, I could have married a guy.”

SEPT. 11, 1986 “I am afraid that this bill is becoming the legislative equivalent to crack. It’s going to give people a short-term high, but it is going to be dangerous in the long run to the system and expensive to boot.”

During debate on a bill authorizing $4 billion for the war on drugs, and allowing the military to protect the nation’s borders from drug traffickers.

MARCH 6, 1984 “Well, if this is a Christian nation, how come some poor Jew has to get up at 5:30 in the morning to preside over the House of Representatives?”

Mr. Frank, in an interview describing his reaction when Representative Marjorie S. Holt, Republican of Maryland, declared America to be a Christian nation during an all-night debate over school prayer. Mr. Frank, who is Jewish, was presiding as the speaker pro tem.

Secretary Gates briefed the President this morning.

He told Bush that Three Brazilian soldiers were killed in Iraq.

To everyone's amazement, all of the color ran from Bush's face, then he collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost whimpering. Finally, he composed himself and asked Gates:

"Just exactly how many is a brazillion?"

Gotta Get Me Some of That

I came across a mildly-amsuing Drudge-linked story about an Obama supporter who ran into Hillary in West Virginia.

But I ended up fixating not on the humor of this woman heading out to see Barry and instead seeing our gal, but on the restaurant they were in. This place sounds great!

At Tudor's Biscuit World, you can get just about anything on a biscuit. The Thundering Herd is a biscuit sandwich with sausage, egg and potatoes. The Peppi comes with pepperoni and cheese. Try the fried apple on a biscuit, the regulars said.

Postage Rates Going Up Again

I was kind of annoyed to find that postage rates are going up again, and I would think that they could find a better way to do this. But I did a quick search and Wikipedia had a nice chart of how stamp prices have gotten into whack with inflation rates over time.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

Terry McAuliffe Wishes Death Upon Big Russ

This cracked me up...what a doofus.

McAuliffe suggested that both his and Russert's dad would be watching (Hillary) admirably from heaven... perhaps drunk.

...Not missing a beat, Russert quickly corrected his always genial guest.

"Big Russ is in the Barcalounger still watching this," he said. "God bless him."

Makin' It

Marc PoKempner

There was a really interesting (and long!) piece on the front page of the Times this morning about Barry's rise to power in Illinois. It details all the different coalitions he had to put together and constituencies he had to satisfy as he moved from being a smart alecky Harvard Law grad to presidential candidate.

If your weather's as gray as it is here, check it out! It tells you a lot about him, but is also a really cool look at the workings of the Cook County machine.

Editorial Cartoon of the Weekend

Mike Lane, Baltimore, Maryland

Willie Nelson Performs 'Shotgun Willie' and 'Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground'

Willie Nelson & Family on September 3, 1993 in Arroyas, California. Another from my collection.

While the first pic in the slideshow has two other notable features that might grab your attention first, after that, note that Willie's wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt.

Just another reason to adore this American original.

This is What Hanky-Panky Fallout Looks Like

Yana Paskova for The New York Times

A lawyer for the Lake County Board of Elections, David Saks, talking to reporters on Wednesday about vote counting in Hammond, Ind.

This just sooooo reminds me of Northwest Indiana for some reason.

The Barack Strikes Back

Saw this posted over at my friend Dave's blog...very funny.

Your Government Is Your Friend

Well, this is a nice way to start your weekend...with a feel-good article about the good ole' government going after The Archive.

I've linked and mentioned them before here both for their amazing Grateful Dead live music collection as well as the fascinating Way Back Machine.

Archive's mission, as you can gather, is to archive pretty much everything it can electronically, including the way web pages looked Way Back when.

Well, the FBI was curious about someone who'd registered there and sent them some kind of subpoena which forbade them to discuss it with anyone.

That's pretty nifty, eh?

Well, they got the ACLU and the EFF involved and fought back...and won. The pigs backed off...at least for now.

I heard about this story first on Buzz Out Loud, CNET's Podcast of Indeterminate Length.

"There is No Hanky-Panky Going On Here in Lake County"

Those are the words of the moronic Rudy Clay, Mayor of Gary, Indiana, deflecting criticism of The Region's late reporting of election returns on Tuesday.

I grew up in Lake County, went to high school a few blocks away from the Gary border and find the whole spectacle to be embarrassing and predictable.

Rudy was a stated Obama supporter and it's not absurd to think that he wanted to model a stunt based on Cook County's (IL) role in the 1960 Presidential Election when the Daley machine delivered the margin for Jack Kennedy.

I find it particularly embarrassing that the first time I ever recall seeing a New York Times article about the area I grew up in, it's because of a situation like this.

The jackasses of Gary who elected this charlatan are getting what they asked for.

While Rudy's incentive to engage in monkeyshines is clear, his inability to pull it off is something that anyone who's seen Gary's official website could have predicted.

Just look at the welcome message from the City of the Century's Mayor. I've added some bold red for you, but not changed any grammar or punctuation.

Gary, Indiana: "We Are Doing Great Things"
I just want to say "Thank You"! I am proud to be the Mayor of my hometown. As Gary's best days are ahead, we look forward to many new development initiatives to bring jobs to our community, to revitalize, and to rebuild our city.

Gary, Indiana has a great history and has the greatest people. Now we must build the greatest city. I believe that Gary will realize it's full potential and will see a resurgence that will surpass many of our visions. Together we can make it happen.

Mayor Rudy Clay

On to West Virginia

Well, it seems that the motherland of Lake County, Indiana made it a late night for the nets trying to make a call.

I went to bed after North Carolina was called and woke to the pleasant news that my Hoosier state made it an interesting night.

The only song that immediately came to mind about the next primary state is Take Me Home, Country Roads, by the late John Denver.

I actually have a funny story about this. When I was in school in Minnesota, my program was pretty small and I think I may have been in the minority, having been born in America and all. Many of our students were from China and I'm richer for the experiences I gained working with them.

Well, when John Denver died in that plane crash, some of the most upset people I knew were from China!

Apparently they used his records over there as an English-learning tool. When I kind of giggled at this story, two of the women in my program broke out into this spontaneous rendition of the song below.

It was quite heartwarming! (Just like Hillary.)

I've Often Thought of Joining the Priesthood

Kudos to anyone who gets that reference.

Anyway, I must be on a subliminal 'mission' kick because this is my second song about them this week.

I grabbed this from another recording I have...a wonderful Sir Elton John show on March 3, 1971 in Jolly old England, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is a fantastic-sounding recording from the beginning of Reg's heyday.

Doh!

The Hillary campaign made a funny blunder today. The thing is that only the people it's probably meant to impress or persuade are those likely to find its error.

The mailer you can see below seems to be some kind of mirror image of the real gun, making it appear to be a left-handed model. Something that does not exist in the real world, apparently.

Politico's Ben Smith gets the nod on this one.

Keith Richards, the Fashion Man

I saw this Louis Vuitton ad in the Sunday paper and it kind of cracked me up...

I'll Take Your Obama Girl and Raise You

Bill Kristol comes through in this morning's New York Times with an opinion piece encouraging John McCain to pick Louisana's new governor, Bobby Jindal, as his veep.

He's not the first person to float this possibility by any stretch, but does lay out a succinct case for it.

Bobby, the son of Indian immigrants, broke through one of the most serious good old boy networks in the country to be elected there last year. This alone displays a competence that at the very least rivals Obama's rise to the Senate in IL (where he ended up running against the truly wacky Alan Keyes.)

Furthermore, bringing him aboard will help neutralize both McCain's age as well as the diversity zeitgeist permeating the current Democrat race.

He also cites polling numbers that show a generic/predictable Republican ticket losing to a Clinton/Obama (or Obama/Clinton) ticket. Maybe the GOP will have to mix it up a little bit and not go with a more conventional choice.

I think it's an interesting thought and it gives me a reason to look forward to the August convention in the Twin Cities.

Pump You Up!

Grateful Dead Perform Garcia/Hunter's "Mission in the Rain"

Mission in the Rain was traditionally a Jerryband song for the most part, but the Grateful Dead did play it 5 times during 1976.

It's a really cool song, but is not exactly a mood picker-upper.

Robert Hunter lived in San Francisco's Mission District when he wrote the words to the song, so I built the slide show with a lot of pictures from the murals in that area, which are very popular and cool.

This is from the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, 6-29-1976.

A Nice Primer on Indiana Politics

As a native of Northwest Indiana, I never thought I'd see the day when the revered New York Times explained even a little bit about the politics of The Region.

Well, these are strange days.

Tuesday's primary in the Hoosier State (as well as North Carolina) represents the first time in 40 years that Indiana's primary has accumulated a hill of beans' relevance.

Anyway, the Times article is pretty cool because it explains a little bit of the regional quirkiness of Indiana politics. My favorite part of the article, because it fits with what I know, is that the people in Gary had never heard of this little southern town they were also interviewing in.

And the people of that southern town, Salem, had, in fact heard of Gary. And they warned the interviewer to steer clear of there.

Enjoy, too, the sound of noted ladies man and macadamia nut farmer, Jim Nabors, singing Back Home Again in Indiana at the Brickyard.

Now, Tell Me Again Why People Call the Chicago Sun-Times a Tabloid?

This is today's cover.

I grabbed it from one of my favorite resources, Newseum's Today's Front Pages.

Test Post

Trying out uploading a .swf file with an embedded link.

I'll clean this up later.

Slow Posting Lately

Sorry about the slow posting lately. I guess it's a common refrain, but luckily, I suppose, this is not always the first thing on my list to do in a day and it often gets pushed aside.

We've had a few projects going on at work that have been taking my time.

But just 'cause I'm busy does not mean I have not been listening to some good tunes. Here's something I think you'll really like...

I had a copy of Sting's annual Rainforest Benefit concert from 1998. It was him, Billy Joel, Elton John and James Taylor. The second set of this wonderful recording was just them doing Beatles covers.

Here's James Taylor's interpretation of Come Together. I think it's way friggin' cool. This is another one I uploaded myself from the collection.

It should be rainy tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of opinions to post up on the primaries and all of that.