Oh, man, this is, like, so wack. Do they have to taint my music with their slimy spending orgies?
A new report slams $11.5 billion worth of what it calls wasteful government spending in 2010, including more than a half million dollars to digitize Grateful Dead itemes.
First we had people doing duets with dead singers, like Natalie singing with Nat and Hank Jr. singing with Hank Sr. Now comes George Lucas to really push the idea of getting all we can out of the talented dearly departed:
Did I fall asleep in the Twilight Zone and wake up in 1996? Bill Clinton is currently the most popular politician in America, and Kiss isn't being considered for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, again.
I think we need to update the superhero canon to reflect modern sensibilities.
I think there might be a country song in here somewhere:
HAMMOND, Ind. — Police said a man who had been drinking alcohol to celebrate his release from prison crashed his bicycle into a railroad crossing gate in northwestern Indiana.
[. . .]
Police said the man was drunk and that he told officers he had been trying to beat the train but didn't know how he wound up on the ground.
Speaking of lists, here's one I heard on Bob & Tom this morning, the "Top 50 Guitar Albums of All Time" from Gibson.com (where they should know something about guitar albums}. I'd quibble a little with the Top Ten. "Are You Experienced" should be No. 1 insead of "Van Halen." "Led Zeppelin" (29) should be ahead of "Led Zeppelin IV" (3) or "Led Zeppelin II" (6). But, hey, it's all great stuff.
"Lost cause" department:
Tapes are making a comeback. Chunky and hissy, plastic in custom colors, with crafty artwork on tiny rectangle sleeves and custom-made “j-cards,'' they're finding a second life as the go-to medium for underground bands working on shoestring budgets. For a handful of fans, tapes are the perfect antidote for the information overload ignited by digital music and blown up by the iPod.
How many more near tragedies do our musical greats have to endure before we take their safety seriously? We all remember how Mozart almost self-immolated while setting his violin on fire for a performance at Salzburg, an audience pleaser later stolen without credit by the shameless Jimi Hendrix.
Juxtaposition of the day: On our home page, this is the top story,
GARY — The childhood hometown of Michael Jackson is planning a tribute Friday at his former house to mark the one-year anniversary of his death, and the mayor says his mother is among the people expected to attend.
and it's followed immediately by this one:
We all know the "falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater" exception to the First Amendment (see Schenck v. U.S.). Can a case be made that statements or activities could be actionable even if the standard of falsity isn't met but the person making the statement knows mayhem is likely to ensue, perhaps even wants it to? The thought springs from a reading of "Nightclub lot shooting incites group response," a lengthy story in Frost Illustrated that is recommended reading.
