I've Got Friends in High Places

We know that former NYC Top Cop and Giuliani confidante, Bernie Kerik was indicted on as series of charges in the Empire State the other day.

Understandably and predictably, he's set up a legal defense fund for himself.

The amusing and interesting thing to me (and HuffPo which has this as their splash this morning) is the theme they chose with the pictures. All over the site are pix of him with Mayor Guiliani, GeeDub and L. Paul Bremer, as well as Kerik walking around doing security in Iraq.

While these relationships and events probably are high points in his public life, they're hardly beacons of success and only sure to draw in the nincompoops who didn't need the pix anyway to believe the lie that he's being picked on.

The New York Times Editorial Page Gets it Right?

I had to check and see what my coffee was laced with this morning as I nodded my head in agreement with the Times editorial staff.

Lamenting the current writers' strike in Hollywood, they rightly point out that the last strike was a catalyst in the growth of "reality TV" shows. I, along with their page, hope that we are not led down a similar path again!

Larry David....Ass Man Extraordinaire

This is one of the funniest sequences ever on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Here's hoping the season is already written now that the writers seem to really be digging in on the strike.

The Internet Has Everything

You can order books, my favorite pizza, truffles, and a Polish bride just as soon as you get rid of your current one!

More Queen...With a Twist

I had been in the mood to post up some Queen that I liked the other day and came across something hilarious and fascinating. I think I've heard something about the dancing Filipino prisoners at some point, but I guess they're quite the internet phenom. They got their 'start' with a production of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" but I prefer this late-Queen cut of "Radio Gaga."

Have a good day!

The Important Observance Today

Today is a big holiday in some circles, I guess....it's Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day.

Hmmm...

I'm not much of a fan of the spicy foods, but a friend of mine who works in our Texas office sent me up her favorite chili mix recently. Perhaps I'll throw that in the pot tonight....

Richard Pryor on the Mafia

I remember vividly the first time I heard Richard Pryor do his 'working for the mafia' bit.

I had just picked up a compilation of his album releases, was listening to it in the coche on the way home and had to pull over because I was laughing so hard.

The man was a damned genius.

The Second Oldest Profession

Ronald Reagan used to have a line to the effect of, 'They say that politics is the world's second-oldest profession, but the longer I'm in it, the more I understand its similarities to the oldest.'

No reasonable person can argue that people running for office, particularly the highest office in the land, have to whore themselves out, but Giuliani's Robertson endorsement really puts the nail in the coffin.

I don't have a particularly hard time dealing with rational people of faith who like to speak about their faith publicly. I don't mind that they argue for, for instance, public support of religious-based organizations offering certain social services. While I am no legal scholar, I think it's hard to justify Medicare payments to religious hospitals or student loans to people attending religious colleges. Reasonable people can disagree on these points and it's worth at least debating.

But Robertson is an outright nut. His decision to demonize members of our society and encourage assassination of foreign heads of state, while cloaking it in religion, sickens me.

He has every right to his opinions and to mobilize his flock to vote in lock step with him.

But I really get turned off by the pols who kiss his holy ass.

Unfortunately, this was a big power grab for the Rudy campaign and it's going to pay off for him big time.

Now I'm off to search on Monster for jobs in Canada.

Great, This is Just the Allegiance We Needed!

this is pretty sickening....

Now Where Did They Come Up With Their Name Again?

Queen, in the delightful video (not all that well-received in the States, however) for "I Want to Break Free."

Thank Goodness for CNN

clipped from www.cnn.com Disappearance of cop's fourth wife suspicious, relatives say

Interesting Little Firefox Plug-In

Just trying out Clipmarks to see how it works in posting straight to the blog. This clip is from Rolling Stone's National Affairs Daily.

clipped from www.rollingstone.com 11/5/07, 1:48 pm EST When In Last Place, Gay Bash Politics as usual for the Kentucky GOP; listen to Pat Boone’s anti-gay robocall. Earlier, Pat Boone’s Folsom Street phase: UPDATE: How low will they go: Here’s another robocall, this one purporting to be from the Homosexual Lobby itself, endorsing Bashear. -- Tim Dickinson More National Affairs, Gay Marriage

>> Yep, that tool is pretty neat. I'm adding this comment post-post, but clipmarks is very useful. Once you install it and you are on a site w/ interesting content, you just click the app on, float over what you want and clip it. Then you have the option of saving it for yourself, emailing it, or in this case posting it to a blog. In the past, pulling content from a site like that would be kind of a pain and would not bring along clickable links as I did above. I downloaded, installed and posted this to the blog on my first try, all in like 2 minutes. Thumbs up.

What a Sad Day

The Chicago WCKG that I grew up on has lost its way. First they abandoned the classic rock format for a talk station anchored by Steve Dahl. Now they changed formats as of this week for this format.

Icky....I pray for its quick failure.

Random Question

Before Heather would agree to marry him, did Sir Paul McCartney go down on one knee?

I Have No Self Control

Don't feel like posting much that requires too many brain cells, but with the King Tut stories in the news the last few days, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to throw this out there.

Who knows how long it will be until the next time it's even mildly relevant...

The Only Thing That Got (Him) Off Was Breaking All the Rules

"James Dean" was always one of my favorite Eagles songs. They really get to show off what made these guys gods of 70s rock. It's a shame it doesn't get as much play as lesser-songs like "Tequilla Sunrise," but what the hell are you going to do.

Fall is finally setting in here in Cleveland...blowing rainstorm coming in out the window.

Enjoy this live cut from Houston in 1977.

Perez Hilton Made Me Laugh

With this post.

Blackbirds: Satis est Satis

Loyola University Chicago, my alma mater, has found itself leading the Sun-Times news this evening.

It seems that their literary magazine, Diminuendo, had some kind of a racy drawing on the front cover and the Society of Jesus decided that they'd had enough...the issue has been pulled.

This is such a run-of-the-mill story that it's not worth my having a very strong opinion on, but looking back on some of our adventures during those days (none of which landed us on the front page of the city's blue collar paper, mind you), it's good to know that the students there still have some, uh, spunk in them.

I'll be keeping an eye on The Phoenix for the rest of the story.

Go Ramblers!

Play of the Week...Barack Obama

The Junior Senator from Illinois seems to have had the best week of all the candidates.

Not only was he able to tag-team with Superfly Edwards the other night against Hillary Clinton and let her walk right into self-caused clothesline, but he got to deliver the famed, "Live from New York...It's Saturday Night!" last night on NBC.

The skit itself is actually kind of clever and amusing, so give it a watch if you've not already checked it out.

More Sunday-Appropriate Music

Johnny Cash and countless others have performed "Run On" but I really dig it when the Blind Boys of Alabama crank it out.

Jack Kevorkian Memorial 5K Funeral Run

Another marathoner, this time an elite Olympic hopeful, has kicked the bucket during a a case of the runs.

The US was holding its Beijing team trials the day before the famed New York City Marathon today and 28 year old Ryan Shay dropped dead at the 5.5 mile mark of the race. An autopsy is pending.

This comes after another runner died a few weeks back at the unseasonably-warm Chicago marathon.

I get that these two deaths fall well inside the expected norms when we talk about the number of people participating in this nonsense.

But, I couldn't help remembering the tragic irony of old Jim Fixx, once the high priest of the running religion...who also died of a massive heart attack out on a training run.

Larry King Is Such an Idiot

While I do love the show, Seinfeld, after watching enough Curb Your Enthusiasm (which doesn't have Jerry's involvement), I think it's clear where the genius really is.

I've always found Seinfeld, outside his role on the show, to be quite a bore.

But I have to hand it to him for handing Larry King's nonsense right back to him the other day.

Notre Dame / Navy 3OT

One thing I really like about Sirius Satellite is that they have such a wide offering of NFL and college sports. I don't have the patience or interest to sit in front of the TV to watch a full game, but if I'm putzing around the crib, I've found myself listening to a lot of football this year.

So I'm getting caught up in (what is now) a triple overtime Notre Dame-Navy game in South Bend. The Irish are in serious danger of blowing their 43 year winning streak against the Midshipmen.

But with as piss poor as these teams are, it kind of struck me that getting fired up about this game is about as silly as it would be to get excited about a wrestling match between these two titans...

(Yes, I know I'll burn in hell for this one...)

Neil Sedaka Performs "Calendar Girl" with Chris and Adam from Fountains of Wayne

I was browsing around, trying to stash away some stuff by one of my favorite bands, Fountains of Wayne, and stumbled upon something absolutely charming.

It's Neil Sedaka at some club in New York, singing "Calendar Girl" with FOW's Chris and Adam doing backup vocals.

What a treat!

Playing With the Queen of Hearts

I've been really tied up and without much time for posting, but I did notice today that Barack Obama is not backing off the Junior Senator from New York.

He's now chiding her for playing the gender card after a rough debate performance the other night.

He's specifically referencing her speech the other day, cheerleeding women to rally behind her against "the boys club of presidential politics."

Fifteen Years Ago Today

Owoooooooo.....

This is a bootleg video, so I'm including it more for historical purposes than appreciation of its quality, but this is the fat man performing Zevon's "Werewolves of London" at the Oakland Coliseum on Halloween 1992.

The show is relevant because it was one of his "I'm not dead!" shows. Garcia slumped into a diabetic coma after summer tour that year and this was a little comeback show for him before he headed out with the boys for some December shows in the Western US.

Vince Welnick's band actually opened this night.

I'm out teaching today so no posts in the afternoon.

Don't eat too many Butterfingers.

The Decline of the Gayborhood

The Times ran an interesting item this morning about the decline of some notorious "gayborhoods" in major cities like the Castro in San Francisco.

As a backdrop, and perhaps for other reasons, the story is draped in the annual San Francisco Halloween bash being canceled this year. There was considerable violence last time and way too many posers showing up.

The neighborhoods are going away because people are now spreading out to the suburbs and the prior enclaves invaded by heterosexuals.

The reason for this seems to be that it's becoming less and less a big deal to be gay.

While my cohort probably has somewhat higher-than-median wages and education, I can't name a person I know under the age of 60 who I believe would give a crap if a homosexual couple moved in next door. That's not a statement about my virtue or that of my company, it's just become such an irrelevant thing to characterize someone as.

When you know this information about someone, what does it really tell you besides the obvious?

While there's something charming about the surviving socio/ethnic neighborhoods that survive in our cities, their demise is probably a good thing because of the larger story they tell. Shells of the neighborhoods will survive for a long time, but the areas no longer have to serve as the only place certain folks feel comfortable to be themselves.

My Cubs hat is tipped to the Times for an informative feel-good read today.

Why Is Everybody Always Picking on Me?

As guessed-at earlier here, the story is not going to be how Obama et al put on the gloves against Hillary, but how it's perceived.

Hillary has already staked her claim, putting up on her news site links to articles about how all the boys are ganging up on her.

Dems to Debate Tonight in Philly

ManTan Williams moderates the latest Democratic debate tonight in Philadelphia on MSNBC.

With the World Series over and one day till the Cav's opener, this is the only game in town tonight.

Given my addictive tendencies, I'll probably tune in looking to find out:

• Everyone wants to know just how far Barack is willing to go in his much-ballyhooed offensive against the Junior Senator from New York. The more interesting question, really, is how it's going to be received. It's a difficult balancing act to go after her without falling into the viper's nest of being framed a male pig. Just ask Rick Lazio! Hillary's cunning stunts when it comes to her cafeteria style feminism will make this an entertaining show.
• How will John Edwards manage to stay in the front pack? Will he make a stink about his latest "college for everyone" proposal?
• Will anyone in the Democrat party ever catch on and realize that Joseph R. Biden would actually make the best President of this bunch? With his tendency for warming a whole auditorium by merely introducing himself, he might not be the best candidate in the world, but the risks he brings to the table are outweighed by the fact that someone like me has a hard time articulating why I could never vote for him.
• Who will be the first person to make a brotherly-love joke in reference to Obama's latest La Cage aux Folles.

Is That a Banana In Your Pocket? And Is it Ripe?

Funny article about the Hot-or-Not hiring practices of Trader Joe's that caught my eye this morning.

Trying to Cash in on a Little of That BoSox Mojo...

Kind of in a big of funk with some work things, so I was not in the mood to post before, but I did want to throw a tune out there to make your day complete.

I was trying to think of cool Boston-area band and the challenge became choosing between The Cars, Boston (duh), Aerosmith and New Edition.

So I decided to settle on the band best-known for a tune I'm not posting here ("Centerfold").

The J. Geils Band is still around, I suppose, but one of their songs that I'll always crank up also seem to be titled in poor grammar.

Enjoy "Must of Got Lost"....and I have no idea what The Mamas and the Papas are doing at the end of this video...I didn't do it.

G'night.

Hell Hath No Fury

Not a whole lot of geopolitical significance to this story, but it caught my eye as kind of amusing.

Man and woman date circa 1999 and, for whatever reason, things don't work out.

Fast forward to 2007.

Man has moved on and gotten married.

Woman still feels jilted and decides to get creative, creating some kinky ads purporting to be man's new wife.

Single woman should have messed with someone less-computer-savvy.

Crazy chicks are great.

Quickie Post

Boy, is Dodd taking a spanking on MTP this morning.

He's stuck in the same position a lot of folks are....trying to back out out of the parking spot they got themselves into in the 2002 Iraq vote.

Now that I think of it, they do remind me of a 15 year old trying to get into or out of a parallel parking spot...

It Being Sunday and All, We're Going to Do a Song of Spiritual Derivation

It's not too often that I will choose a 'spin-off' band's' version of a song over the way the Grateful Dead did it, but I might have found an exception to the trend.

This is Bobby Weir's Ratdog performing "Samson and Delilah" down at Bonnaroo last summer. While the Dead's version was nothing to sneeze at, it sometimes rocked a little bit too hard. Bobby takes the song back closer to its roots and sounds more like the version favored by his teacher, Rev. Gary Davis.

Enjoy!

No More Mr. Nice Guy

I'll resist the temptation to post up the Alice Cooper classic because I'd rather put on some Grateful Dead music appropriate for the Lord's Day.

That said, Democratic prez hopeful Barack Obama said yesterday that he's taking off the gloves with his ballsy opponent, Hillary Clinton. To date, he's held off on much direct confrontation of her record, audaciously choosing the high road.

While we'd all love to believe in this Mr. Smith Goes to Washington fantasy he was presenting us with, it just couldn't carry him all the way. At some point, his patrons started to warn him that the cupboard would go bare if he didn't show at least some bit of spunk in this race and call Hillary on some of her poop.

With John Wayne McCain starting to show some signs of life out there as well as this Obama development, this is shaping up to be a wonderful early primary season for the junkie class.