Amen, Brother!

My younger brother Bill sent the following comment regarding the closing of the legendary Muscle Shoals studios:

If the much vaunted and conspicuously over advertised "philanthropy" of people like Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones had any purpose other than self-promotion, that place would still be viable.

Amen, Bro.

Behind The Cheddar Curtain

If you're in the vicinity of Madison, Wisconsin next week, check out yours truly hosting middays (1-3P) on WTDY-AM 1670, Monday-Wednesday 2/28-3/2.

Or you can listen online at http://wtdy.com/beta/index.php

Enjoy. I know I will...

Big Kiss O' Death, Dept.

From All Access:

Look for PREMIERE weekend "COAST TO COAST AM" host ART BELL as he lends his considerable UFO expertise to ABC's TV special "PETER JENNINGS REPORTING: UFOs- SEEING IS BELIEVING" on THURSDAY (2/24).

And the mainstream media wonders why it has a credibility problem...

As Ms. Mag would say, "No comment..."

From a panel following a New York screening of Inside Deep Throat:


[Elvis] Mitchell looked on helplessly as [Catherine] MacKinnon did her thing, claiming that the film we had just watched was promoting the acceptance of rape. At one point, however, her righteous zeal became unhinged when she claimed that it was not possible to do deep throat safely, that it was a dangerous act that could only be done under hypnosis. "What's so funny?" she snapped as the audience rippled with mirth. Todd Graff's hand shot up -- "I can do it," he said, and the room echoed with a chorus of gay men going "me too!"

(Thanks to Jesse Walker at reason.com)

Why I don't believe in karma

Three passings of note this weekend:

1) John Raitt, the original Billy Bigelow on Broadway and father of Bonnie - complications from pneumonia

2) Sandra Dee, aka Gidget, aka Tammy, widow of Bobby Darin - kidney failure

3) Hunter Thompson, granddaddy of Gonzo Journalism and scourge of the Nixon administration - suicide

Three more people I like a lot gone from the scene.

Question: when is somebody I DON'T like gonna check out? God knows the list is long enough...

Strange Bedfellows

God, it would be soooooooo easy to make some joke about why the Christian Right have so much sympathy for the brain-dead, but the fact is this just ain't funny.

It's not often that I find myself in strong agreement with card-carrying socialists, but here is one such case:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/oct2003/flor-o31.shtml

By the way, folks: if something like this ever happens to me, I ask two favors of you:

1) Don't ask people to "pray for" me

2) Let my immediate family decide what to do about it. Keep the Falwells and the Robertsons and the Randall Terrys and the Jeb Bushes and the other Bible-Thumping opportunists out of my - and my family's goddamn business.

Let me rest in peace.

Randi Strikes Back

As promised, the Amazing Randi has responded in depth to the ABC Prime Time Live puff piece on "healer" John Of God. If you want to know why Randi (and I) are disgusted with ABC's kid-gloves treatment of this South american charlatan, go straight to the site:

http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html

Next week, ABC is "covering" UFOs. I think I'll pass.

Setting The Record Straight (includes some bad words)

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE ALERT

(If you're easily offended I suggest you check out, scroll down or just fucking deal with it...)



I would like to set the record straight on a quote attributed to me during my most recent tenure as a radio talkhost.

I am quoted as saying, "I wouldn't support the Bush administration if Condi Rice herself offered me a blowjob."

I never said that.

I would never think of saying that.

That is crass, cruel, and more desperate than amusing.

What I did say was that I WOULD support the Bush administration under said circumstances.

She would, however, have to swallow...

Genius Remembered

A good night at the Grammys. A bunch of my faves won:
Green Day, Los Lonley Boys, Steve Earle, John Mayer, Loretta Lynn, Brian Wilson.

And of course Brother Ray...

For the moment at least, all is right with the world.

Go Right To The Source

I had a major rant prepared about the "John Of God" show on last Thursday's "Prime Time Live."

I clicked the post button and the sumbitch crashed. Lost everything.

So instead, I'll refer you to James Randi's website. He has promised to address the issue in detail later this week. http://www.randi.org

Enjoy.

Max Schmeling Was A Mensch

I note with interest the passing this past week of Max Schmeling, the German-born ex-heavyweight boxer. You could be forgiven for assuming he was already dead (I did). Schmeling is best remembered for his unwanted role as the Great Nazi Hope and his two bouts against the divine Joe Louis (Schmeling won the first fight, went down in the first round of the second). Less known is his contempt for the Nazis, how he reportedly helped get Jews out of the country in the years before the war, and how he quietly paid for the funeral of his old adversary and friend Joe Louis when Louis died penniless in the early eighties.

How deliciously ironic that the man once touted as the symbol of Aryan Supremacy, Max Schmeling, would turn out to be such a mensch.

"Super" Bowl Autopsy In A Nutshell

It's amazing how such a close game can be so crushingly dull. By the fourth quarter, I was watching "The Puppy Bowl" on Animal Planet. That one little Terrier could really protect the pocket, couldn't he?

Sir Paul was a pleasant surprise, though. Sticking to the hits, smart move.

Oh, and who was that bimbo on "GMA" this morning "analyzing" the ads? Maybe I'm, like, getting old but I, like, remember a time when, ya know, to be on TV you had to, like, have an I.Q. at least at large as your FRICKIN SHOE SIZE!!!

The hell with it: Turn the puppies back on, and start counting the days until spring training. Go Phils...