Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind: Still More Current Events

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June 3, 2011 - 9:44am

1,297 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

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June 22, 2012 - 5:00am

#381

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

Joe Smith (Capitol Records CEO) on the Grateful Dead

Smith was on Morning Joe this morning talking about his interactions with different musicians in the 60s and touting his new book: Off The Record. He kept bringing up the Grateful Dead and how he was petrified of being dosed by members of the entourage to the point where he was freezing in NYC one evening as he got into the backstage area of a Dead show and Garcia offered him a coffee to warm up but he said -- "No thanks, I'll get my own coffee." This anecdote has been cited several times somewhere on this site. Apparently he got quite scared as he was told that he would never understand the music of the Grateful Dead unless he tried acid, which he was certain he would never do. The Grateful Dead, an American icon of the 60s still making the morning talk shows now and again.
June 22, 2012 - 12:04am

#382

Anonymous (not verified)

Joined:
March 29, 2017

death having been revealed

"Who did the council fight?""It split in two and fought itself." "That's suicide!" "No, ordinary behaviour. The efficient half eats the less efficient half and grows stronger. War is just a violent way of doing what half the people do calmly in peacetime: using the other half for food, heat, machinery and sexual pleasure. Man is the pie that bakes and eats himself, and the recipe is separation." "I refuse to believe men kill each other just to make their enemies rich." "How can men recognize their real enemies when their family, schools and work teach them to struggle with each other and to believe law and decency come from the teachers?" "My son won't be taught that," said Lanark firmly. "You have a son?" "Not yet." - from Lanark by Alasdair Gray.
June 21, 2012 - 8:10am

#383

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

20th Anniversary of 1992 LA Riots

I just watched the special on the 20th anniversary of the LA Riots, the worst single riot in American history: 58 dead and 1 billion in damage in three days of rioting. It was brutal. I don't think enough attention was paid to our system of justice in this country that allowed the 4 cops to walk after the whole thing was on video for the world to see -- Rodney King being beaten by baton wielding maniacs. Rodney King, recently found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool shortly after the 20th anniversary of the riots... The footage in this video was gripping. Reginald Denny being pulled from his truck and bludgeoned with a brick. The mania that grips a crowd and turns it into a wild animal bent on blood lust. This is something that every person would rather forget and in forgetting we are doomed to repeat it in the future. Apparently corporate America decided that no white people would be interested in watching this special. The only sponsor of commercials was Burger King. In 1993 the Dead started to play the LA Sports Arena and did 9 or so shows there through the end in 1995. This venue is in South LA and borders the trouble area. There was a couple of years following the riots where everybody just chilled out and caught their breath. Race relations between the Koreans and the black community have improved. Race relations between blacks and whites remain largely the same. As long as we just spend money to contain pockets of poverty we will never be rid of this problem. Slaves brought from Africa become free, gain rights and are integrated into a social welfare system. A very few of the best and brightest and most athletically capable break out of this cruel segregation while the rest, including a large percentage of talented, above-average people, are doomed to lives of poverty and mediocrity based simply on the color of their skin. If ever there was a recipe for anger and frustration periodically over-boiling, this is it.
June 17, 2012 - 8:08am

#384

fluffanutter

Joined:
February 25, 2012

The handwriting on the wall for baby-boomers

While there are a lot of baby-boomers in their fifties who are already suffering greatly after being buffeted about by strong economic winds they haven't really felt the intense shock that will be surely be coming as they reach old-age and find that the social safety net is being pulled out from under them. Medicare cuts, higher retirement age and reduced social security benefits are three things that are surely coming. We shouldn't have our heads in the sand regarding these looming issues. Why? Because the national debt is soaring. The interest on the debt is now 250 billion diollars a year and will shortly shoot up to one trillion dollars a year unless drastic steps are taken. The Bowles-Simpson approach to cutting the debt will surely be adopted in some modified version by a bi-partisan commission. There will be many other cuts to social programs as well as deep cuts in the military. It'll be worse if these cuts come with a Republican president rather than a Democratic one but the crunch IS coming, no matter which is in power. An interesting thing to know would be what percentage of baby-boomers don't have steady occupational jobs till age 65 that would allow them to retire with social secuirty, 401k, pension and investment income... I would venture to guess that the figure is somewhere around 80% who don't have that kind of security. Probably another 30% have some combination of two or more of those. That leaves a probable 50% who are counting on a meager bank account and a social security check to see them through retirement. If the social safety net is cut, the age at which social security may be collected raised and the amount of social security reduced -- as well as section 8 housing and food stamps -- the vast majority of baby-boomers will be suffering greatly. Their ability to pay for rent, groceries, utilities and health care will be slight. If their kids are not in a position to help them for whatever reason, who can they turn to? This is going to be a horror show. This is something to think seriously about and plan for in the future. I could make predictions about what this 50% would do, but it would be dark and depressing. I don't see any way out of this for the people who haven't worked hard and scrupulously saved for their retirement.
June 17, 2012 - 7:04am

#385

fluffanutter

Joined:
February 25, 2012

This summer's swan song

I'll be doing two shows this summer: Furthur on July 5th and Mickey Hart's Mysterium Tremndum at Salisbury Beach on July 18th. Both are tour openers. They should be good shows. After that I've decided to call it quits on attending further Grateful Dead related acts. I've supported a lot of the post-Jerry acts in the past and for the most part haven't been disappointed but there comes a time to say "It's been a great ride! Thanks for the memories...". I think now is that time. I wish the younger fans and the older "young-at-heart" heads the best times in the future. My interests will now gravitate to folk and blues and bluegrass, looking for the best in each of those genres. Thanks for the memories!
June 15, 2012 - 6:30am

#386

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

Resupplying the troops in Afghanajam

Since the US bombed a Pakistani troop position and killed 24 troops last October the Pakistan government closed down resupply routes through that country. (Speaking of which, Obama recently declared that any military age male in the vicinity of a Coalition air strike is an enemy combatant. Guess the Coalition is done apologizing and compensating for that class of collateral damage) Anyway, that left a huge pipeline filled with supplies backed up in Karachi. The US has been resupplying through northern routes, utilizing Turkey and Russia and other countries to the north of Afghanistan. There is one tunnel going under a mountain in Afghanistan that is now backed up for almost three days with thousands of trucks waiting to pass. The US Quartermaster Corps is crowing that they are moving even larger amounts of goods now than they were before, albeit at a much greater cost. Still, the US would be very grateful if Pakistan would reopen the routes through it's country. Not likely. The Pakistani government and people have basically told the US to stick it. The US has come, in return, to recognize that powerful elements within the elites in that country are the enemy. "A fine state of affairs, General Olllie!" "Don't start with me, General Stan. I've had quite enough of your fly-boys bombing the wrong people!"
June 15, 2012 - 5:48am

#387

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

So global warming doesn't exist in NC?

Lets all stick our heads in the sand and pretend there is nothing wrong. That will certainly take care of the problem! Barnum-like con-men can continue to front for rich interests and swindle people who don't feel they need to pay attention to the news. I don't know how anybody can be that much in denial. I was outside for two hours yesterday at the peak of a bright, sunny day that might have been 75 degrees and I got a sunburn! I gather the newest topic at conservative think tanks is: How do we make money as the planet crashes and burns? They have to get that last load of gold bricks lowered into the survival bunker. The timing is quite tricky...
June 15, 2012 - 4:58am

#388

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

repugnant nc repubs

Reserving the right to discriminate. Three cheers for those crazy no-ka-lah republicans.
June 15, 2012 - 4:54am

#389

gratefaldean

Joined:
June 22, 2007

One more from NC

What with the polar ice caps melting and sea level rising as a result, planning coastal develpment can get to be a little tricky. With predictions for as much as a meter rise in sea level by 2100, the last thing that you want to do is build homes, hotels, and roads in places that will be underwater in 20 or 30 years. Fear not, though. The NC legislature has figured out a nifty way around this pesky problem: a Bill currently making the rounds would mandate the method used to predict how quickly and how much the waters will rise, to the exclusion of all other means of projecting rising sea levels. Specifically, only historical (going back to 1900) trending data can be used for these calculations -- current data and extrapolations from those trends MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED. Not coincidentally, the "historical" method for making these projections shows only an 8" increase in water levels through 2100. Note that scientists who argue that our current climate warming trend is not the result of human activities, who argue that it is part of the natural warming/cooling of the earth and not due to manmade GHG emissions, generally do not deny that we ARE going through a warming period. Some politicians, it seems, disagree. I'm thinking that future Wishful Thinking legislation could be key in solving nearly all of our country's problems. If only we don't let the facts get in our way, the future is bright, my friends. Buy those sunglasses today! Matt Cain, what a game. I'm hoping for his sake, and the Giants, that he doesn't suffer the same fate as Phil Humber, who seems to have forgotten how to pitch since he tossed his perfect game. A lot less likely for that to happen to Cain, I think.
June 15, 2012 - 4:16am

#390

gratefaldean

Joined:
June 22, 2007

More news from NC

Maybe this tells you what you need to know about the North Carolina Republican party...Article III from the party's platform: "Government should treat all citizens impartially, without regard to wealth, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sex, political affiliation or national origin. We oppose all forms of invidious discrimination. Sexual orientation is not an appropriate category." I'm so glad that the authors oppose all forms of invidious discrimination, except the forms that they don't oppose. Come on folks, don't be shy, tell us what you REALLY think. Note that the first qualifier is "wealth?" Maybe I'm reading too much into that one. Naaahhh...

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

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News and Talk

Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

hey, it's a press release

email 'em and ask for yourself! Seriously, never hurts to raise this stuff as an issue.

good idea!

good idea!i'll have to wait until their website is up and runnin' as i don't use Facebook.

--------------------------------(-----@

Alright! Thank you marye, xo!The Sweetwater Music Hall read was fantastic! Very special to have such a historic site in good hands. ----------------------------------(----@ Woo Hoo Indeed, xo! How about a new thread called the Newspaper. Trouble ahead and Trouble behind---isn't very fitting for such a great read. Current Events - does it but---(eye's crossed) only -kinda, xo. Okay, 1,000 other things to say but only time to say.... I love you, all, xo! Congradulations Bob and The Other Ones! @smmmmm- Sweetwater -@smmmmmmm

from the Marin Independent Journal

Jonapi, I saw this while surfing around the 'net this morning: Sweetwater Music Hall tickets are available at http://sweetwatermusic hall.inticketing.com. From the same article, Phil Lesh announced that he's bought the Seafood Peddler restaurant in San Rafael and an adjacent ballroom he's transforming into a concert hall called "The Grate Room." Is this to be the Terrapin Crossroads?

where crickets and cicadas sing

yep, that is certainly Terrapin Crossroads, Gr8fulTed!!!!see here - http://terrapincrossroads.net/home/ absolutely fantastic news, i think we all agree. and yes, i saw that address for inticketing; had a quick search to look into them but can't yet confirm whether that's all they're going to use. i really hope so. be splendid to think that both enterprises will be independent. i know i know, it sounds like more kvetching, but i really don't mean it in that way; just believe that, as both are one-off venues, how wonderful would it be if they kept everything in-house and handled all their own sales. a perfect opportunity, right? (can't seem to find any contact email for Terrapin either, but maybe that will come in due course). i recently read your article Mary, Burners Without Borders, and your musings about wishing 'Shakedown Street' was more Burning Man-like; "...would turn into–a group of creative, skilled people assembled for a common purpose to accomplish a shared goal". just would love to see that these two ventures maintain or generate such a spirit. but am really excited about what lays ahead. both venues are fantastic news.

Lancaster, Calif., Mayor Thinks Bird Song Reduces Crime

This is a headline from today's Wall Street Journal We all know it's a great song, but I was very happy to hear it also reduces crime.

show me all that you know

on the nights they nailed it, i think that song could cure cancer.

cutest new arrival

Gotta love those aardvarks

Samantha Fish is coming to Europe!

This young lady is phenomenal!! Samantha plays a Telecaster and sings the blues. She'll be in Germany, with visits to France, Switzerland, Romania and Denmark. I'll see here at a bar down the street tomorrow in Overland Park, KS, her last U.S. show for awhile. http://www.samanthafish.com/

and now a message from Bob Weir about The Cove race car...

Bob Weir I wanted to share this project with you, which is very important to me personally and desperately needs help now: On behalf of dolphins everywhere, my sister in law Leilani has teamed up with the Oceanic Preservation Society (makers of the Academy Award winning documentary "The Cove") to bring awareness to mainstream America about the captivity and slaughter of our friends in the sea. There are many recorded incidents throughout history of dolphins saving the lives of people, and now it's time for us to return the favor. This will be the first ever ocean awareness themed race car to race the high banks of Daytona, and you can help make it happen! Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated and tax-deductible: RACE CAR DRIVER & ECO ACTIVIST LEILANI MUNTER IS GETTING IN GEAR TO TAKE "THE COVE" MOVIE TO THE HIGH BANKS OF DAYTONA: Activist Raising Funds For a "The Cove" Themed Race Car to Help Raise More Mainstream Awareness of Dolphin Captivity and Slaughter WHERE: Daytona International Speedway, FL WHEN: February 18, 2012 WHAT: #1 Spectator Sport in America WHO: Leilani Munter, race car driver and passionate environmentalist TRACKSIDE AUDIENCE: 100,000 TV: Live on SPEED, available in 79 million homes in USA FUNDS ALREADY RAISED: $15,000 REMAINING FUNDS NEEDED: $30,000 HOW TO HELP WITH A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION: http://www.opsociety.org/donate/DaytonaCarDonation.htm Full story here: http://leilanimunter.com/12-01.03.htm

the babbster, the babbsmeister, the babbs-in-the-wood, the....

probably the wrong topic for this but it's a current interview so i'm gonna clutch some straws here!! great little interview with Ken Babbs - http://www.jambands.com/features/2012/01/21/kesey-cassady-meatspace-and…

blue coral sway

that's great news about The Cove. the film definitely needs more widespread attention, especially in Japan where a lot of people really weren't aware of the situation. (Japanese media notorious for not reporting anything that shames or embarrasses it's own people).i just really hope that the government deals with it in a sensible, practical way. it's a bit like the whaling issue; simply stopping the hunting outright will not work. these people have families and responsibilities. you can't suddenly take it away without some serious planning and forethought. employing the hunters as conservationists or educators as they did in the nature reserves in Africa with the poachers would be a great start. involve them in contributing towards scientific and marine biology data. involve the tourism industry. turn the cove into a reserve. offer help with relocation maybe for those who want it and integrate them into other areas of the fishing industry (maybe not the best time for this considering the still appalling and vastly under-reported radiation that is still being found-in cement used for construction and in school playgrounds, let alone the ocean and it's inhabitants). some of these dolphins were used for marine parks in the U.S. and around the world. this also needs to be addressed. personally, i'm not a fan of zoos or these kinds of attractions. if you can't see an animal or mammal in it's natural surroundings i'm afraid that's too bad. (i remember the great Alexei Sayle noting that children in London have no right to see tigers up close; just like a child in Africa has no right to see a Chelsea Pensioner!!). but i fear pride will get in the way of such advancements and common sense. i think the Japanese have had enough of America telling them what to do and interfering that they will drag their heels and be stubborn out of sheer bloody-mindedness. not an intelligent way to act but understandable i guess. hopefully this car will come to fruition. anything to publicise this is greatly appreciated. never mind the mercury levels in the meat, now we have radiation to consider too. so sad. by the way, someone has posted the entire film on dailymotion. the first part is here - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbc9ds_the-cove-part-1_animals also, a quick shout out should be given to Bill Kreutzmann for highlighting this film a long long time ago on his website (ya a bit behind Bobby, even when you first mentioned it ha ha!!!!!). I'd highly recommend checking out his 'Tribes' section; there is a lot fantastic ocean related conservation links. http://www.billkreutzmann.com/

Super Bowl 46

or is it XLVI ? Wonder who Lamagonzo(not verified) will be rooting for (LOL). I'm leaning toward the Patriots; however, the Giants are on a roll w 2 impressive road victories.

i couldn't agree more

well worth supporting everyone.sweet-vibed new song to highlight and protest against Walmart invading downtown Athens, GA. don't let them gut the heart of a vibrant community. more details can be found here - http://protectdowntownathens.com/

no reason or rhyme but the mattress was my defense

not sure about the Super Bowl Gr8fulTed.but let's hope it doesn't descend into the horrific spectacle that recently occurred in Egypt between two rival football teams. what is the world coming to? let there be chili dogs, jalapeño laced nachos, philly cheese steaks and cold cold beer....not missile propulsion, violence and death. mmmmmmm nachooooooosssssssssssssss...... mmmmmmmmmm beeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......... man, brings back memories of American Football first being broadcast in the U.K. in 1982. obsessed as a youngster. my first ever real American football saw plenty of action in that sleepy suburb.

SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend SImone and I will be watching it, with our sons! GO GIANTS!! Midnight snacks, and am looking foreward to it! :D

melted smoked cheese in the wee wee hours

gonna be some mental scheduling here in the UK too but i'll do my best!is there anything better than midnight snack-aroos? i don't think so.....

Midnight snacks

are the BEST! Since it's so cold, I am making mushroom and wild rice cream soup with garlic bread for ours :D Maybe some jerk chicken wings too

monchichi says cheesy smoke, monchichi says cheesy smoke

do you do takeaways?two portions of your very best to our humble establishment if you please!! ours, maybe hot onion soup with sunken french bread dripped in Stinking Bishop cheese! some Gruyère possibly also. corn chips, garlic comfort and scotch bonnet heat; smoked paprika amongst the cheesy lava flow. garlic chutney says the Giants to win! crackers and crispy biscuit snap. did i mention cheese? finger dips and horizontal gait. i raise cold ones to the winners. but, tee hee, i have garam masala tuna and dwarf bean savoy cabbage curried pasta to introduce first. well.....it IS only 6.00pm here...... snack-aroonies come later. much later.....

really!

sounds like a feast at TL's!

Super Bowl and flame retardant chemicals

I truly am a Giants fan. I truly am a Patriots fan. It's a long story, but here I am. 100% sure that the team I'm rooting for will win the Super Bowl. 100% sure that the team I'm rooting for will lose. Can't win for losing. What's a body to do? I spent the day in a small workshop listening to Arelene Blum tell us why flame retardants are killing us. And then brainstorming ways to make it all stop, as if we can magically make these persistent organic pollutants all disappear out of our bodies, out of our homes, out of this hunk of plastic that I'm typing on right now. Sometimes this stuff is so energizing, and sometimes it's just so overwhelming. Today it was both. Somehow, these two stories are connected. Maybe I'm just a little toasty around the edges today. Or burnt to a crisp. Early flight home tomorrow. Maybe I just need some sleep.

Superbowl & Flame Retardants

Interesting combination, Ted! :) Honestly I don't care who wins, I just wanna see a good game. Am just leaning towards the Giants, cuz my son is favoring them, and a buddy in Ireland is a life-long Giants fan. But you are right, one will win and one will loose, and who will butcher the National Anthem this time? Quite a descriptive food-flow Jonapi! :)

earplugs, i need earplugs...

bring back Roseanne Barr, TL..........!!

Isn't Roseanne

but you still might need your earplugs, I heard this morning it's gonna be Madonna!!! Luckily the German network doesn't broadcast the halftime show. I guess it costs a couple more million that they don't want to dish out. We get to watch game analysis instead.

pass the bucket

come on sniper, where are you?!!!!!!! maybe Bob Weir is pleased though; he liked wearing Madonna shirts in that cheeky little tight shorts combo! very Shoreline, dahhhling......

Jeez TL

I know I haven't been around here much lately, but don't confuse me with Ted. You can call me Al, if you'd like. So I found another little crack in the wall my company's servers have erected around this site. Maybe it's a backdoor that I can use, or maybe I just get lucky now and again. We'll see. It's fun trying, if nothing else. So the Giants win, Pats lose, and as exciting as the game was, I spent the entire time half-wishing for a blowout so that I could stop the incessant push-pull over which team to cheer for. The next time that these two meet in a Super Bowl, remind me that I've vowed NOT to watch... Meantime I need to 'splain this flame retardant stuff to my bosses. I'm not going to be making myself particularly popular, I think.

Flame retardant stuff?

Does it work for forum posts too? If so, you could probably sell some to jonapi, or Gonz if he ever comes back...

FR stuff?

Not a bad idea, Mr Pid. If it could reduce the online flamethrowing that goes on, while spreading its associated toxicity in a digital format -- as opposed to spreading it through the biosphere -- well, food for thought. BTW, I'm blaming the "spreading through the biosphere," in large part, on a 1975 (or so) regulation in California called "Technical Bulletin 117." As a result of that ineffective regulation (ineffective at reducing fire deaths) that became a de facto national standard (big state, big market, big influence), we've been spreading organohalogens all over this planet of ours for decades, but mostly in North America, and especially in CA. So if you see some legislation to rescind this regulation, make sure your representative listens to the scientists instead of to the scare tactics from the FR chemical manufacturers' lobby ("Californians for Fire Safety") when casting his/her vote. SB147 went down in flames last year due to that lobbying effort...don't let it happen again! Soapbox moment ended.

flaming nerve

Just what are you suggesting, Mr. Pid?How very dare you, Sir!!!! Am i to understand that you regard my posts as some form of verbal flame thrower?!!! that i pour molten verbiage upon the open forum of the very most High?!!! Why, drop and give me twenty you fiend!!! I haven't posted a diatribe or rant-asaurus, inflammatory language-bomb in quite a while now, i'll thank you!!!! You are a dastardly cad my dear fellow! the only retardation has been proffered on behalf of multiple entheogenic enlightenment and no mistake! I offer a hand of shake-ability in your direction and hope your handicap, in the very most golfing terms, is lowered to facilitate maximum birdy potential. check your PM for aural accompaniment you P-meister, you.

Bye Bye Birdie

Retardant would be used to deter flames, not promulgate them. I'm a big free speech proponent. Don't like what others have to say? It is possible to choose to not listen, or read, as the case may be. My son in law is a Marine, and perhaps he can put together shaking your hand while doing push-ups, but I guarantee you that's well beyond my physical abilities at this stage of the game. So I'll pass on the push-ups, toss you the missing R from fiend and meet your outstretched hand. No longer strangers, k? Canyon Critter is the resident golf pro around here. I'm just a hacker, and that's okay by me.

left, right, left, right, left

just realised that i didn't reply to your post, Mr. P!!!too busy cozying up to you in a PM stylee; couldn't drag myself away from the mirror either (well it was Valentine's day yesterday)......my appearance takes time, ya know? because i'm worth it, yessir! disappointing to hear you're not in tippity-top press-up condition. you really must try harder, babes. personally i can push-up on one little finger but i won't brag about it here...... can't think of anything topical to post. lots of death and destruction and famine and silliness around but then what's new? true to form, there was a typically ghastly front page headline in that toilet paper of a tabloid (i won't even type it's name in case my fingers get dirty) here in the UK, about Whitney Houston...."Whitney's Death Bath", accompanied by a blurred picture of a bathtub and an even blurrier-eyed Whitney. How utterly ghastly and contemptuous. luckily, a fantastic documentary on the Berber people in my wife and i's beloved Morocco, cheered me up. thank the Lord for small mercies. anyone interested in the Arsenal vs AC Milan game tonight? No? Just me then.

I'm not here

To cast aspersions on the deceased, but am I the only one who's dismayed about Whitney Houston's death (aside from its real and all-too-familiar tragic nature) because I'm once again being barraged by that finger-nails-on-the-chalkboard sound of "I Will Always Love YOUUUUUUUUUU-oooooo-ooo-ooo" a couple of decades after its first time around? Must be the Mean Al in me coming out, but I've always loathed that song and can't...take....hearing....it....EVER....again!

seppuku, if you please

no, you are not the only one.personally, i simply cannot STAND that abysmal song. inadvertently, she spawned a whole host of appalling singers who have habitually ruined any notion of real emotion. it's beyond poison; the devil's utterances and no mistake. but that isn't her fault of course. she is most certainly not to be held accountable for others (even if she is patently guilty of inflicting such babbering and histrionic caterwauling in the possibly the worst and most wasted 4:35 in history). a crime against the tympanic membrane!! but, she as an individual, had some demons. and that's a sad thing. lurid reportage only reduces her very spirit to a state of worthlessness. fodder for the educationally challenged. i am only commenting on the music, not the person. (i'm happy to admit that a tear was shed when footage of her singing the star mangled banner was shown. even if those performances have the tendency to make the rest of the world laugh, i'm a sucker for that kind of sentimentality. i inadvertently felt myself getting to my feet and yelling "Go, girl!!!". and i make no apologies for it). i think it's a crying shame that another human being's life (this life, anyway), is cut short. i hope she now finds the peace that she was always, perhaps inevitably, looking for. she did have some powerful lungs; (and no, that punctuation isn't meant as a "wink") she had some strength inside her, she had some battles and she expressed herself, perhaps not enough, through music. a disappointing aside was LL Cool J's probably planned, forced, goaded and dare i say trite opening at the grammys. starting with a "prayer". i wonder just how much of a "sister" she was to everyone before she died prematurely. i will, of course, stand completely corrected if respect was always there and i've let my annoyance, suspicion and cynicism get the better of me. i hope she rests in peace and the hacks leave her alone in perpetual memory and refrain from digging up exploitative and sensationalistic tidbits to feed to the hungry, stupid masses. lets remember her, if applicable, for the music that may have entertained us so. not for human frailty or alleged "faults". i for one, do miss her on the physical plane. the planet is emptier. let's hope she isn't hounded posthumously. it isn't nice.

now personally

I love the song, though not particularly Whitney's version. The Dolly Parton/Vince Gill version caused me to pull the car to the side of the road till it was over so I could listen to it better and find out what it was, and go buy it. That Dolly is a hell of a songwriter, and if Whitney made her another boatload of money with that movie, good for her.

I watched

AC vs. Arsenal, and YAWN! Shouldn't Henri be retiring soon, instead of being on loan?

what a surprise

another class act from the Arsenal defenders!!!!why they are there is completely beyond me; two of them in particular routinely make mistakes. my young nephew's team defends better than that!!! bye bye champions league.... and yes, i'm with you mary!! i love Dolly Parton!! classic writer and performer. still going strong!

Not so much the song

As the performance. I'm also in Dolly Parton agreement. But that over-the-top over-faux-emoted singing style, that let loose the Celine Dion and Mariah Carey set onto the world: I could have lived without that. Actually, with today's laser-edge segmentation of the rock/pop world (as opposed to my 60s youth -- remembering the days of hearing both the Supremes and the Vanilla Fudge versions of "You Keep Me Hanging On" on the same radio station), by and large I HAVE been able to live without coming into much more than casual contact with it. But still, some of it filters through. So we're talking about some kind of sporting event? Have you caught onto "Lin-sanity?" Much preferable to "Tebow-mania," IMHO.

gooners gone

Us Tottenham fans greet Arsenal's thrashing with unconfined delight. I hope Arsenal fire Arsene Wenger and they make him England manager so we can keep Harry "Houdini" Redknapp.

C.B.

My footie-friend (remember mythicalethicalicycletricycle) posted me this on FaceBook last night, when I asked him if he were watching the game. His observations about soccer never cease to crack me up! "Yeah, with the sound down. Arsenal are pathetic in both the big and the small picture. Wenger gets 'em a stadium built to accommodate 22K additional fans per home match and then serves 'em up a bunch of second-tier chinadoll continentals who can't handle the brio of the English game and are out hurt for club internationals. When they finally hit bottom, will they hear themselves go :splatt!: ?"

and yeah, Dean

a soccer match last night was the other topic. Sorry also about the name confusion before!

arsehole-nal more like....

yep, that about sums Arsenal up.will never understand why they signed Miyaichi (a fine player) and then gave him a sporadic kick-around before loaning him to Bolton!!! the age old tactic of letting him make a coupla mistakes and giving him experience at some other club's expense before (hopefully), taking him back in top form. we'll wait and see.... if it wasn't for CSKA Moscow being relentless pricks, Wenger might've signed Honda (now THERE'S a player). Atsuto Uchida is unhappy at Schalke, and he's probably cheap too, so start doing a bit of signing action, Arsene!!! and Badger, deny all you like, but we all know that Harry will eventually leave Spurs!! he could use that money in...ohhh, where is it?...on the tip of my tongue....errrrm...oh YEAH, Monaco!!!! (i was actually a Spurs fan back in the days of Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa!! used to pretend i was from Argentina in my garden!!! that back fence took many a right-footed strike!!).

Being from New Cross/Peckham

Being from New Cross/Peckham I used to go to Millwall as a boy, but it got so violent there I was not allowed to go and my dad took me up to Spurs to get me away from it. There I saw Jimmy Greaves etc and there I stayed (but I always look for the Millwall results too). As for Harry..how he got away with that tax evasion charge I do not know! But his admission in court that he had never written a letter in his life, is useless with money and can hardly read and write is remarkable since he runs a multi million pound business. Last of his kind.

'ave a banana....

yeah, Harry is a classic!! some of his interviews are priceless!but we all, and certainly, methinks, smells a rat ha ha!!! but Spurs are looking pretty happening; Bale is world class amongst others, so good luck to 'em. and yeah, i thought i spotted the badger throwing bricks from the Millwall terraces...brings it all back now. nothing like a bit of casual racism to get the game rolling!!!

Eagles in Iowa

A nesting pair of eagles are nesting in Decorah IA. Check out Mom eagle rippin' apart a grey squirrel, too. She should be laying her first egg any minute. Raptor Resource Project has placed a camera high up in a cottonwood tree. http://www.ustream.tv/channel-popup/decorah-eagles

star mangled banner

looks good

cookies and beer

i'm missing johnman today. i want him to smack me upside the head with some cookie logic in the religious topic and make the world feel better again! anyone any further news? wherefore art thou, brother? hope you and your son are hangin' in there. i miss you, man. and clean up those crumbs, dammit!!!!!