Thursday, March 27, 2003

ABCNEWS.com : Record Labels to Reissue 3 Zevon Albums

The man who wrote "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" is taking it literally, working right up to the end. This is a guy you only hear on the radio at Halloween, and he gets people like Dylan, Neil Young, REM, and Jerry Garcia to play as his sidemen. Keep on rockin' as long as you can, Warren, and thanks for spending the last of your time here making music.

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Dead Iraqi Would Have Loved Democracy: As usual the Onion does it best.

On a more serious note get the latest Iraqi civilian body count here. Amazingly enough I found this link on Fox News.

Monday, March 24, 2003

Bill Holm: When needed most, the voice that could say 'no' is gone

"For the last several months of war drumming, I've heard in my inner ear the undelivered speeches of Paul Wellstone, almost the only large public voice to stand up to Bush on the authorization of war powers. Wellstone seems to have been the last live conscience in the Democratic Party..."

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Michael Moore scolds Bush at Oscars

"We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where we have fictitious election results, that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons."

On a lighter note

Friday, March 21, 2003

Guns N' Roses "Civil War" lyrics

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before...


I moved to Iowa City in August 1990. The Kuwait invasion was that week. By coincidence, this song was also released. Even though it wasn't directly about Gulf War I, the coincidence of time was stunning. It was also the one time Axl and company directed their considerable anger at a deserving target.

I've been thinking of this song this week.
SI.com - Hockey - Fans boo U.S. anthem before Isles-Habs game in Montreal - Friday March 21, 2003 12:57 AM

"The sellout crowd of 21,273 was asked to "show your support and respect for two great nations" before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems.

But a significant portion of the crowd booed throughout Star-Spangled Banner in an apparent display of their displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq. More than 200,000 people turned out for an anti-war demonstration in Montreal last Saturday..."

Audioslave gets political at Warfield / Cornell goes after Bush, Rage-style

"I don't like bombing people in the name of people who pay taxes," Cornell growled. "It pisses me off."

De la Rocha, eat your heart out.

On a stage flanked by anti-war signs ("How Many Iraqis Per Gallon?" and "Somewhere in Texas a Village Is Missing Its Idiot"), Audioslave -- Cornell, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk -- showed it has successfully struck a balance between Rage's musical manifestos and the dark confessionals Cornell wrote with Soundgarden.

ABCNEWS.com : New U.S. HIV Cases Rise, Spark Yawns

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in February that new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States have risen for the first time since 1993.

Between 2000 and 2001, the estimated number of new diagnosed adolescent and adult cases rose from 40,766 to 41,311 — approximately 1 percent.

The rise was small, but researchers warned that it could be a harbinger of worse times ahead and a signal that americans are no longer so afraid of HIV. One of the greatest obstacles doctors and health officials are battling in the war on virus is complacency..."

Wake up, people! There's a holocaust going on right now in southern Africa and if we bury our heads in the sand the same thing can happen here.

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Just a thought

Those of you who know me might have heard I've had a tough time lately. I don't have a lot to say about that but I do want to make one note:

I ride a bike to work now, and my route goes up and down Gilbert Street.

Twice a day I ride by the homeless shelter. And if my troubles are too much, whenever it seems like it is as bad as it can get, that twice a day reality check puts it all in perspective.

A special thank you to Chrissy Canganelli and all the people and volunteers and donors who make the Iowa City Emergency Housing Project happen.

Saturday, March 15, 2003

"Sopranos" on ice as row rumbles on

HBO, HBO, HBO. Don't youse know nuthin?

When the godfather asks for more money, give him more money.

With Sopranos, I order HBO. Without Sopranos, I don't. How many more like me are there? Exact figures not required, just round to the nearest million.

Friday, March 14, 2003

CNN.com - Dixie Chicks singer apologizes for Bush comment - Mar. 14, 2003

aaaaaaaand.... the inevitable wimpout.
ABCNEWS.com : Dixie Chicks Remark Irks Country Fans

Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London earlier this week that she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

The group released a statement Thursday saying they have been overseas for several weeks and "the anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."

In a separate statement Thursday, Maines said, "I feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."

JS Online: Now it's Ueckerstown

"If you are a baseball fan in Wisconsin, Bob Uecker has been inside your house. He's been at your cookouts and picnics. Now, as he enters his 33rd year with the Brewers, Uecker is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame."

"Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets."

"As someone who has made a showbiz career of belittling his own playing days, Uecker will gather for his July induction with the likes of Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Bob Gibson, esteemed members of the brotherhood who also happened to once share a clubhouse with Mr. Baseball."

Give the man his due. He's been a reounding success in three very different fields: as a skilled broadcaster, a decent comic actor, and as a ballplayer. Yah, I know the .200 career batting average, but he made it all the way to the big leagues in probably the most competitive era ever: post-Jackie Robinson, pre-expansion, and Ueck was good enough.

Plus by all accounts he's a hell of a nice guy.

I spent many many happy hours in my childhood and young adult years listening to Bob Uecker: puttering around the garage with my dad, riding in the car on vacation, celebrating the `82 pennant in the dorms at Eau Claire. I worked "with" Mr. Baseball in a very small way, at a local Brewer station in La Crosse. I had to pay attention to every call and every out, because I had to squeeze in the local ads and weather.

The money was lousy. But I just remember thinking "I'm getting paid - paid! - to listen to Ueck and the Brewers." Somehow it never seemed like work.

Congrats to one of the great ones. Cooperstown, just be sure to give him a seat in the front roooooooow.



Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Salon.com Audio | The antiwar sampler

Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, John Mellencamp, Saul Williams, Chumbawamba and the Beastie Boys speak out against the impending war.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

What, no Rolling Stones?
E! Online News - Stones Licked by Chinese Censors

"The government has forbidden the Stones from performing such greatest hits as "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Woman," "Beast of Burden," and "Let's Spend the Night Together" because the tunes contain too much sexual innuendo for the masses. Authorities were also uncomfortable with the interracial overtones of "Brown Sugar."

The censors don't seem mind Mick crooning "Sympathy for the Devil," "Satisfaction," or "Street Fighting Man," (as we all know, a big no-no in the Forbidden City)."

The really sad part is that the Stones wimped out and went along. Now what would have REALLY rocked would have been a "Sympathy for the Devil" update with a special verse for the butchers of Tiananmen...

Tuesday, March 04, 2003

It's Lieberman-Gore in 2004!

They've scanned my psyche and come up with my worst nightmare:

Tipper Gore and Lieberman Too!

"The political wife formerly known as the "Second Lady" is expected to announce she will join the 2004 ticket led by Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, if the Democrats allow the conservative lawmaker to wear the label of "right-wing Democrat."...

Also discussed: Ex-Vermont Governor, Presidential Hopeful Arrested as "Enemy Combatant"

ABCNEWS.com : Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a 'Peace' T-Shirt

"A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take off a T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall."

Let's make it easy and just repeal the First Amendment now...