That "dave" guy

DaveSplash's Night Out

2004-11-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

Saw a new local band last night called Ladyfinger at Sokol Underground. Fucking rocked!! Kind of a combination of The Datsuns and Drive Like Jehu. Rob from Saddle Creek Records was in attendance. Not sure it was his "thing." Could Saddle Creek handle such a band? I look forward to seeing these guys again. Next big show: Starlite Desperation at O'Leavers on December 9!!

Bright Eyes on Letterman

2004-11-23T19:18:00.000-05:00

Found a clip of Bright Eyes on the David Letterman Show from a few years back on my hard-drive while I was cleaning up. What a great performance! I had forgotten about it.

I'm back

2004-10-18T17:03:00.000-04:00

I'm still alive. Living in Omaha. I will write more tomorrow.

No post for a few days while I move

2004-08-19T08:23:00.000-04:00

That's right, friends, I will be making my move across country tomorrow and will not have computer access for 4-5 days. I don't have a laptop, so I can't take it with me as I travel. I'm sure I'll lots of interesting things to talk about once I get to Nebraska. Talk to you all soon.

Military records prove 'Swift Boat Vets' are liars

2004-08-19T08:12:00.000-04:00

MSNBC - Military records counter Kerry critic. Yet another of the so-called Swift Boat Vets for Bush is proven to be a liar. As if it needed proving.

YO LA TENGO plan election tour for Kerry

2004-08-19T07:59:00.000-04:00

Pitchfork: Yo La Tengo plan election oriented variety show tour . That's right, straight outta Hoboken-- Ira and the rest of Yo La Tengo will be doing their part to help elect John Kerry. While not packing the star-power of the Springsteen/R.E.M. package, the show will feature a variety of artists and styles of performance. According to the band's website:"...our plan/hope is to have guest musicians, singer and comedians at all the shows. If all works out, then there will be no opening act, but just a single performance during which people will come and go from the stage, playing on each others' songs, etc."

09-21 Philadelphia, PA - 1st Unitarian Church
09-22 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
09-23 State College, PA - Dark Horse Tavern
09-24 Newport, KY - Southgate House
09-25 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
09-27 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
09-28 Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection...
09-29 Madison, WI - University of Wisconsin Terrace
09-30 Iowa City, IA - University of Iowa (Wheel Room)
10-01 Ames, IA - Maintenance Shop
10-02 Kansas City, MO - Grand Emporium
10-04 St Louis, MO - Washington University/Gargoyle Club
10-05 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
10-07 Knoxville, TN - Blue Cat's
10-08 Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre
10-09 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
10-10 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle

Poster Children release new "protest" CD feat. 80s political songs!

2004-08-18T10:21:00.000-04:00

Champaign, Illinois' finest, Poster Children, have just stepped into the political fray by releasing a new CD EP featuring covers of great political protest songs from the 80s. Accoring to the band's website, the CD will be in stores September 21 and is called "On the Offensive". However, the band is selling them through their online store and will sell it to you early if you promise to register and vote. Here is the tracklisting along with the original artist:
1. "Clampdown" (The Clash)
2. "Fascist Groove Thang" (Heaven 17)
3. "The New World" (X)
4. "Let's Have a War" (Fear)
5. "Divide and Conquer" (Husker Du)
6. "Complicated Game" (XTC)

Looks like a good collection. I'm excited to hear their version "Divide and Conquer."

Abuse of Power: GOP uses FBI to track potential protesters at convention

2004-08-17T11:37:00.000-04:00

ABCNEWS.com:FBI Tracks Potential GOP Protesters First, the GOP makes anyone who attends a rally sign a loyalty oath to the President, now they are monitoring democratic activists. Does this remind anyone of the old USSR?

Washington Times: Kerry leads Jewish vote by 53 points!!!

2004-08-17T08:51:00.000-04:00

According to right-wing newspaper The Washington Times, John Kerry is leading in the presidential race by 53 points among Jewish voters. Despite all of Bush's pandering to the Jewish community, they are by-and-large rejecting him in favor of Kerry. The Republicans, typically, say the results are biased against them. P-lease!

MOTLEY CRUE Reunion? "Everyone Is On Board And Committed"

2004-08-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

According to Blabbermouth.net, the original members of 80s hair-metal kings MOTLEY CRUE will be re-uniting for a future tour. That's right: Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars. This could be cool, but I have heard a number of rumors that Mick is in no condition to play. He has some type of degenerative disease which would not allow him to even stand up on stage. I hear Tracii Guns (LA Guns, Brides of Destruction) will be filling in on guitar for the ailing Mars. The article does not say this at all. It is a davesplash exclusive.

A direct quote from the commander in chief

2004-08-16T16:08:00.001-04:00

"Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign. I mean, you're a .... you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."-- George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004

What the.....? How does this guy tie his shoes let alone pretend to be President?

Watch this: The Prep-school Bushies

2004-08-16T13:41:00.000-04:00

Check out this funny video created by RNCnotwelcome.org. It features the "prep-school Bush administration." (Parental advisory: there is some naughty language in the video, but nothing Dick Cheney hasn't said on the Senate floor.)

How to sell American products overseas

2004-08-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

I hope this is real. This is priceless. I found this on Sarah's blog.

2004-08-15T19:07:00.000-04:00

The GOP lays the groundwork for Bush's second term.

I survived the hurricane! Now I'm getting the fuck out of Florida!

2004-08-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

Guess who's back? That's right friends, I survived hurricane Charley completely unscathed. Thank God for that. The storm took a sudden detour to the east, and missed the Tampa Bay area completely. I feel quite badly for the folks in Punta Gorda, Florida, and those in central Florida who unexpectedly took the brunt of the storm. I was ready for the worst, though (sort of)

I grew up in the midwest, and have never had any experience with hurricanes. We had tornadoes, and I've seen firsthand the kind of destruction they can cause. Even with this experience, I was pretty naive about what type of preparations are needed for a disaster like a hurricane. Last Thursday, the local media was alerting everyone about the storm's trajectory, and its' likely target of the Tampa area. In my county, Pinellas, they issued a Level C mandatory evacuation. I have lived here for three years, but had no idea what that meant. I was told to look in the phone book, and see inside what level my house was located. Best I could tell, I was in Level D. A level C evacuation meant those in levels A, B, and C had to leave their homes. This was the law, and failure to comply could result in your arrest. In my county alone, nearly 400,000 people left their homes and went to higher ground.

Seeing as I was level D, I assumed I'd be safe. If I wasn't going to be safe, they would have evacuated me, also. Right? Well, the levels only correspond to an area's elevation above sea level. It is designed for flood evacuation in case of heavy rains. Hurricanes do have heavy rains, but there is a lot more to it as any meteorologist will tell you. But since I was not "forced" to evacuate, I decided to stay put. I went to the grocery store and got a few things -- some water, some food, and batteries. I only had enough for a day or so, but figured that would be enough. I didn't get gas for my car, or get cash. If I had been hit, this could have been a huge problem. In addition, I was not one of the thousands rushing to Home Depot to buy wood to board up my house. I just decided to risk it -- hoping since I was not on the water that I would be spared any real damage. Many of my neighbors were more pro-active, but I just let it go.

By this time (early evening Thursday 8/12), the story of the hurricane had made national news. My parents began trying to get ahold of me. I do not have a land-line phone, I use a cell phone exclusively. Apparently, the cell lines were jammed with so many people trying to notify family and friends, that my phone was ringing busy. When I called out, I got through right away. My folks had said my phone was busy for the last two hours. I assured them I was okay, and would be fine sticking it out at home. They were not so sure. They suggested I leave my house and either go to a shelter or a hotel. Problem with those scenarios was that since the evacuation was many hours old, all hotel rooms within 70 miles were booked solid. I ruled out a shelter, as they forbid pets, and I wasn't going to abandon my two cats. The folks kept at it, and next suggested I drive to Orlando (a 90 min. drive with no traffic) to stay with a cousin I had never met. I figured the roads would be jammed with cars (they were) and it could take me hours to get there. This didn't seem like the way to go either.

Bottom line is...I stayed. I hunkered down in a bathroom in my house with my radio, some Doritos, water, and my two cats. The media was expecting the storm would be a direct hit on Tampa Bay sometime around 8pm on Friday (8/13). They said to expect to see the early indicators of the storm by noon. But something happened overnight. The storm began moving in a north-northeast direction. If this trend continued, the storm would hit south of the bay and I would be just fine. No meteorologist was reporting this new direction as anything significant. All of them locally and nationally still held to an 8pm touchdown in Tampa -- except one. One guy on local cable channel Bay News 9, made a bold prediction that the storm would continue to move east and spare the Tampa Bay area. I clung to this renegade weather guy and his admittedly off the wall prediction.

By mid-day on the 13th, everyone else joined this guy in predicting the storm would hit further south. I was still not out of the woods by any means. The storm was increasing speed, and was now gusting at around 145 mph, thus making it a category 4 hurricane. Even without a direct hit, I was told we could still expect major rain and wind, and large-scale destruction was anticipated.

I won't give you a play-by-play of the storm or my activities inside the bunker. Suffice to say, the storm did not hit my area. It did hit about 100 miles south in Punta Gorda, and destroyed the city. It looks worse than Iraq there now. Fortunately for me, I was spared. I barely saw even a drizzle of rain, and virtually no wind to speak of. The storm moved inland and continued to ravage central Florida. It even hit Orlando, the city I almost evacuated to. Glad I stayed in place.

I believe in signs. This was a sign that I made the right decision to leave Florida. About 10 years ago, while living in Seattle, I made the decision to leave town. I went back and forth about it for weeks. About a week before I was set to move Kurt Cobain killed himself. I viewed this as a sign that I was supposed to leave town. Now I am more convinced than ever that I am right about leaving Florida. Being a part of one major national tragedy was good enough for me. I am leaving in five days, and can't wait.

My only regret is that I can't vote in Florida, where my vote is desperately needed. It is so important to elect John Kerry as President that I almost delayed my move so I could vote here. Over the last week (excluding my two days in hurricane mode) I have discovered even MORE reasons why I feel George W. Bush is the worst president in our nation's history. It's not all his fault; his Republican party enablers allow him to engage in this awful sociological experiment he calls a plan for America, and refuses to even attempt to reign in his extremist ideology. In only three and half years, we have seen negative job growth (that means fewer people have jobs now than before Dubya came into office), record high deficits, and an unnecessary war costing billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and the international standing of our great nation.

But frankly, I don't care whether you agree with that or not. You have a right to your opinion as an American. But Republicans in general have problems distinguishing facts from opinions, and therefore will likely try to dispute those facts. The negative job growth is fact, and cannot be disputed. Republicans will try and explain away the deficits by saying over and over "9/11! 9/11! 9/11!" until you just want to strangle them. They say that if it were not for the terrorist attack and our subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, that problem would not exist (or if you are Dick "Go Fuck Yourself" Cheney you will simply say deficits don't matter). I will grant that those events have taken a toll, but they didn't have to take such an extreme toll. The Bush administration has been operating on an economic plan they devised during the 2000 election. This was BEFORE 9/11, obviously. The "plan" called for a massive tax cut for those in the top income brackets, and a few breadcrumbs for the rest of us. (I got a check for $300, but with the increases in property taxes my state had to impose to make up for the federal shortfall, I am in the red as far as tax cuts go)

Bush and his cronies made no adjustments to their plan after 9/11, or after the invasion of Afghanistan. They just spent more and more while tax revenues continued to decline. The US economy is resilient, and probably could have recovered from those two events, but then came Iraq...and another round of tax cuts. I swear, the Republican solution to any problem is to reduce taxes on the rich. "How do we stop the epidemic of obesity?" -- simple, just reduce the tax burden on the wealthy and people will start slimming down immediately. Problem solved.

The argument that Bush's economic plan is anything but a failure is simple hogwash. One cannot simply remove 9/11 and the Iraq war, and then say "were it not for those two events, we'd be in the best economic shape ever." Those things happened, and Bush failed to make any adjustments whatsoever. Maybe Iraq wouldn't be so expensive if the Bush administration hadn't alienated our allies, thus forcing us to go it alone. What was the allies' rationale for not supporting Bush in Iraq? They didn't believe there was enough proof of Bush's claims to justify invasion. They wanted actual proof, not loaded assurances (based on false intelligence) that we knew what we were talking about. They asked for something, anything tangible that showed we were right. The Bush crew countered by mocking them, and stating that our word was good enough. Obviously, in this instance, the world was right, and Bush was wrong. All Americans are now suffering because of the arrogance of Bush, Cheney, Donald Rumsfield, Paul Wolfowitz, Condi Rice, and Colin Powell. What treacherous activity did this gang engage in this week? Well, they blew the cover of the only mole we have ever had inside Al-queda. Thats' right, we had a guy on the inside who was working as a double agent helping the US. The Bushies were so desperate to regain their slipping poll numbers, that they outed this guy and ruined any future potential for information from him. Both Britain and Pakistan were shocked that the US would do such a horrible thing and jeopardize such an operation. But, nothing is too low for the Bush crowd as long as they get to keep their power! They all belong in the hall of shame.

But, again, I don't care if you disagree. I have had enough of debating conservatives in blogland, and in the real world. The Bush administration is a disaster no matter how you slice it, and those who would vote for his re-election do so at our nation's peril. They have sacrifised our national security for their economic and political gain, they have destroyed our national economy and our international standing, and have become so desperate to retain their power that they are even resorting to lying about John Kerry's war service just to get a few more votes. It is the lowest, sleaziest political move I have ever seen. Support Bush if you must, but how can anyone defend the scurillious lies told by the "Republican swift boat vets for Bush"? It is so sad that an incumbent President of the US has accompished so little in his first term that he has to resort to lying about his opponent's war record! John Kerry was a rich, white college guy who could have avoided going to Vietnam (like Cheney who took five deferments because he had "other priorities"), but he CHOSE to go. And got wounded. That beats drinking beer and snorting coke in Alabama by any reasonable measure of service to one's country. That is all I have to say on this matter. Vote Kerry -- we need a real leader, one with a brain.

But, to show that I bear no ill-will toward my conservative friends, I have posted a picture of my favorite new right-winger. Her name is Michelle Malkin, and she's a syndicated columnist. Her right-wing wack-job bonafides are in-tact -- she has a new book out that defends the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. I saw her on Real Time with Bill Maher this week, and fell in lust. She is quite beautiful, and articulate. Her views are crazy, and she is a total toadie for the administration, but if James Carville and Mary Matalin can make it work, maybe we can, too.

My new favorite right-winger, Michelle Malkin

Alan Keyes - GOP hypocrite of the year!!!

2004-08-15T10:58:00.000-04:00

This is Alan Keyes. He lives in Maryland. You may remember him from such things as: his two failed bids to become Senator from Maryland, or his two failed attempts to get the Republican nomination for President. You may also remember him being an anti-choice extremist who is against all abortion -- even in cases of incest, rape, or death to the mother.

Now Mr. Keyes is running for Senate again. This time in Illinois. In the most cynical move the GOP could make, they decided to run a black man from out of state against Barak Obama (a black man who resides in Illinois). The GOP could not find a single credible candidate in the entire state (or even a black Republican) so they decided to enlist Keyes. Do they actually believe that just because Keyes is black he will draw black votes away from Obama? Or are they just looking to appear more "inclusive" as a party. I think the move is insulting to blacks, but more insulting to Republicans in Illinois. They are now the laughing stock of the nation, and appear so desperate to win that they would try anything or anyone to achieve their goal.

The carpetbagger issue is not an issue to me. But it is for Mr. Keyes. Keyes was a huge, vocal opponent of Hillary Clinton running for Senate in New York because she hadn't lived there prior. Here is an example of his feeling in 2000:
"I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness to go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent the people there. So I certainly wouldn't imitate it."

Hmmmm....so how is it that Keyes has changed one of his fundamental principles to run for office in a state he has never lived in? Simple. Keyes claims he is running at the express wishes of God, and therefore he is not a hypocrite. So, just like with Pat Robertson and George Bush, God has again come down to earth to get involved in our political process. He has stated his preference, apparenlty, for the GOP. I dare ANYONE to defend this idiocy. Alan Keyes, like many in the GOP, will stoop to anything to advance their agenda. Even if it means claiming to talk to God. What a jack-ass!

Hurricane Charley comes dave's way

2004-08-12T14:25:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Charley is coming my way! If you don't hear from me for a few days...I may have had to evacuate. Dave's not kidding, folks.

The Bush economy

2004-08-12T13:44:00.000-04:00

The Bush economy is working exactly as predicted. (courtesy of buzzflash.com)

Onion: Kerry's One-Point Plan

2004-08-12T12:18:00.000-04:00

No Bush. That IS a good plan for America

Playlist 08.11.2004

2004-08-12T07:58:00.000-04:00

1.Bash & Pop 'Friday Night is Killing Me' (1993 Sire)
2.Spain 'The Blue Moods of Spain' (1995 Restless)
3.Sonic Youth 'Murray Street' (2002 Geffen)
4.Longwave 'The Strangest Things' (2003 RCA)
5.Beck 'Stereopathic Soulmanure' (1993 Flipside)

Playlist 08.10.2004

2004-08-11T10:26:00.000-04:00

1. Mudhoney 'March To Fuzz' (2000 Sub Pop)
2. Cheap Trick 'Heaven Tonight' (1978 Epic)
3. Helmet 'Unsung:The Best Of' (2004 Interscope)
4. Alex Chilton 'Top 30' (1997 Last Call)
5. Built To Spill 'Ancient Melodies of the Future' (2001 Warner Bros.)

Go ahead...thank a liberal

2004-08-10T14:37:00.000-04:00

By John Gray of Cincinnatti, OH (a battleground state, folks)
Day in the Life of Joe, Middle-Class Republican: Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dad's; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark)

He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.

He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.

Bush: "really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway"

2004-08-10T11:51:00.000-04:00

Bush has some class warfare of his own, stating that high taxes on the rich are a failed strategy (see more).

Well our President knows failure if he knows anything.

Cartoon: Dick Cheney on Howard Stern Show

2004-08-10T11:35:00.000-04:00

Hilarious. You must see this!

Cat in cockpit forces emergency landing

2004-08-10T10:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, but did this cat have any "contacts" with Saddam? Dick Cheney calls this further proof of the "Saddam-Al Queda-feline" axis of evil.

New Pixies Album For 2005?

2004-08-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

Pixies to make new CD. Tom Waits as producer?

Playlist 08.09.2004

2004-08-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

1. Boogie Down Productions 'Criminal Minded' (1987 B-Boy)
2. Tomahawk 'Mit Gas' (2003 Ipecac)
3. Luna 'Penthouse' (1995 Elektra)
4. Failure 'Fantastic Planet' (1996 Slash)
5. The Black Keys 'thickfreakness' (2003 Fat Possum)

I watch a fair amount of television

2004-08-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

It's Monday again, so here is your Sunday night TV wrap-up (at least the shows I watch - if yours is not covered, watch it yourself):
Cold Case (CBS)

This episode was a re-run, and I had seen it before. But it was such a good one it deserved a second look. Rush and her partner get the case of a woman who has been in a coma for the last three years. She had been thrown out of a window along with her young daughter, who died. Rush had a major chip on her shoulder with regards to this coma woman -- made her think of her old shitty life with a loser mom. While trying to learn who pushed the woman out of the window, the detectives come across a sleezy pedophile (I guess that's an unnecessary adjective) who works as a social worker. Guess what his job is? He gets to decide if a kid stays with his parent, or is put into foster care. Since it was a re-run, I'll cut to the chase. Three years ago, pedophile is recognized as the human piece of shit that he is by woman. Woman is single mom who got a DUI a while back. Pedophile threatens to take kid out of home. Woman jumps out of window in an attempt to kill both the child and herself, thus saving the child from being abused. Only the kid died. It was actually really well done.

Queer Eye for the Dead Guy aka Six Feet Under (HBO). Whoa! There was so much gay sex on this episode I thought I had tuned into Oz by mistake. First Claire tries again with Mena Suvari -- and again it's a no-go. She likes her...just not in a sexual way. I don't get it either. David gets a call from "Sarge" who is some type of professional paintball player who is in town for a tournament. They do it every which way, and then Sarge has to go. David gets all clingy and tries to keep sarge on base. No dice. What a geek. David's boyfriend fucks Celeste, the woman he is doing security for. Yes, she's really a woman. The bitch fired him the next morning. "It's not cool to fuck the boss, dawg." Rico is out on his ass, and the stripper (well played by former MTV VJ Idalis) won't let him stay with her. Stripper gets her ass kicked and her car smashed by Rico's nutjob wife and her sister. Lastly, Brenda shows yet another example of her total sluttiness when she gets caught almost having sex with Nate by Joe. That woman is toxic.

Next up, The 4400 (USA). I have decided to firmly come down as a fan of this show. My support was wobbly last week, but the season finale clinched it for me. The acting could use a little polish, but it is on USA. Some new bigshot from D.C. is brought in to look over the cases of the returnees. Collier gets a little whacky over Lilly and her baby. Turns out the fetus is showing signs of sickle-cell anemia. Wait, isn't that a black disease? Yes it is, doctor. But, doc, last week we established Lilly (white) was not pregnant before being abducted, and hasn't gotten any since returning. How can this happen? How could she have been impregnated by a black man without knowing? Well, Richard is black, and he was also abducted. He must be the baby's daddy. It works for them, and they get the f*#k out of town. Kyle is removed from the hospital and taken to a secret lab. Tom, his dad and an agent, breaks him out and they return to the spot where he was almost taken - but comatized instead. {editor's note: not sure if comatized is a word} Turns out Kyle is pretty important. Tom and Kyle enter into some other dimension once they reach the spot. The "other dimension" scene looked a lot like an early 'X-Files' scene. Maybe from the pilot. Anyway, turns out the 4400 were not abducted by aliens, but by humans of the future. They were all genetically modified and then returned. Somehow, they are the key to humanity's future. Just as we were about to learn how, the aforementioned bigshot shoots his gun at Tom and Kyle. This gunshot ends their little session in the other dimension. Will we ever find out if humanity can be saved? Only if there is a next season. Supposedly, the show is getting good ratings, so it should get renewed. Officially, though, the show is on hiatus.

Lastly, comes a pretty lame episode of Crossing Jordan (NBC).

Maybe I have a thing against vampires. I just don't find the whole goth thing interesting. Detective Woody catches a case where the dead guy has lost all his blood, and he has two fang marks on his neck. Nigel is also assigned to the case. Could it be the work of an actual vampire? Sorry to disappoint, but no. Aside from learning the word "exanguinated" this storyline was lame. "The only solution to a locked room murder is suicide" to quote Dr. Macy. The competing story featured Jordan along with new character Devin (aka blonde girl; who I hate quite a bit) attempting to figure out how some anonymous corpse left to rot in the woods for days got dead. Man that new girl is lame. Her lameness is nearly equal to the new detective the girls were working with. The two of them together almost made me fast forward (I had the show in TiVO, which sadly I won't have anymore once I move) over their parts. Through this dead guy's camera, they solve the case. Note to the writers of this show: Lose the new girl. And that detective from last night. They contribute nothing, have zero on-screen chemistry, and make a show that I like a whole lot less likeable.

Virtual Pus: GOP to black people: "Hey, we really do love you"

2004-08-09T17:42:00.000-04:00

This guy is pretty funny. I like his blog. This Alan Keyes thing is pretty shameless, even for Republicans. At least he admits he is going to lose. Actual Illinois Republicans ran for the hills rather than face Obama. I wonder how much Keyes is being paid for his role as a candidate.

Bush/Halliburton ticket will not speak in front of non-Republicans

2004-08-09T15:39:00.000-04:00

Read this crap: "I just wanted to hear what my vice president had to say, and they make me sign a loyalty oath,"says 72 year old retiree from Albuquerque. GOPs 'Us vs. Them' policy now extends to over 60% of the American people: anyone not a registered Republican! Click to read the entire story. Folks, they are getting scarier by the minute! Three more months! Three more months!

Playlist 08.08.2004

2004-08-09T08:43:00.000-04:00

1.Aesop Rock 'Bazooka Tooth' (2003 Definitve Jux)
2.Muse 'Absolution' (2003 Warner Bros.)
3.Apples in Stereo 'Fun Trick Noisemaker' (1995 spinART)
4.The Faint 'Media' (1998 Saddle Creek)
5. The Darkness 'Permission to Land' (2003 Atlantic)

Yes! Saved by the Bell - the College Years on DVD

2004-08-08T19:00:00.000-04:00

Perhaps the show that most accurately defined college life in the 90s, 'Saved By the Bell - The College Years' will be out on DVD August 17!!

Remember when Zach, Screech, Slater and Kelly went off to Cal U? Probably not. No one watched this show when it was on. But as with many other underappreciated jems (like Charles in Charge, for example**), this show got its' audience through syndication. I am still waiting for the high school reunion episode when they bring Elizabeth Berkley ("Jessie Spano") back into the fold. And why was Lisa written off the show? You laugh, but 'Saved by the Bell' was a pretty progressive show. Remember who Screech was in love with? Lisa! An inter-racial and inter-faith semi-relationship. She's a wealthy, black babe...He's a spastic,nerdy, and very white Jew. That is cutting edge, people!

In other Bell news:

**A very fat "Mr. Belding" molests former 'Charles in Charge' hottie Nicole Eggert sometime in 2003. Sadly, Mr. Belding did not appear in 'Saved by the Bell - The College Years.' He couldn't, of course, since he was a high school principal. Belding, played with such intensity by Dennis Haskins, stayed at Bayside High and tried to re-capture that Bell magic with a new cast on the dismal, 'Saved By the Bell - The New Class.' I think it lasted about six shows.

Reuters.com: US panel dismisses right-wing whining about Fahrenheit 9/11

2004-08-08T17:25:00.000-04:00

In a unanimous decision made public on Thursday, the Federal Election Commission found no evidence that the movie's ads had broken the law or that distributors of the film intended any violations in the future. Nice try, guys.

2004-08-08T15:18:00.000-04:00

A message to my detractors

Playlist 08.07.2004

2004-08-08T09:36:00.000-04:00

1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead 'Source Tags & Codes' (2002 Interscope)
2. The Fags 'The Fags' (2002 Idol Records)
3. Jurassic 5 'Power in Numbers' (2003 Interscope)
4. The Hives 'Tyrannosaurus Hives' (2004 Interscope)
5. Blinker the Star 'August Everywhere' (1999 Dreamworks)

Veteran retracts criticism of Kerry

2004-08-07T23:30:00.000-04:00

Another "swiftboat vet for truth" myth debunked Kerry's commanding officer said he had made a ''terrible mistake" in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star. ''It was a terrible mistake probably for me to sign the affidavit with those words. I'm the one in trouble here."

Want more? Follow the ever-changing tale being weaved by the co-founder of the SBVs Roy Hoffman. He has gone from not knowing John Kerry and having "no first-hand knowledge" of him in Vietnam to "I knew him well because I operated very closely with him..." in just a few months. Which was it Roy?

How can anyone take these jerks seriously?

Is this what is being taught in college these days?

2004-08-07T17:43:00.000-04:00

I have just had the misfortune of reading the silly rantings of a blogger named Jules who says she is a college freshman in Minnesota. Okay, fine. Jules decided to offer her "original" thinking on the current presidential race between John Kerry and George "dubya" Bush. She is not someone I usually read, or someone I'd have ever come across were it not for a blogger friend of mine, Jen. Jen, unlike me, is a conservative Republican. Fine with me. I like Jen, she is nice. But, Jen decided to post what I can only refer to as a regurgitation of nonsensical, error and hate-filled Hannity/Savage/Coulter-isms, and referred to it as a breath of fresh air. No wonder she is a Republican. She likes pollution!

This is an example, my friends, of when someone (in this case Jules) goes through her brief life hearing only one (extremely skewed and heavily biased) point of view on everything. Political scientists will tell you that one's party affiliation will most likely be the same as those of their parents. Makes sense, right? But party affiliation and political values or beliefs are different. Those same political scientists will further tell you that one's individual political beliefs begin to form in the late teens. Makes sense, also, considering at age 18 most of us leave the comforts of home and begin making our way in the world. I won't go on and on about this point, but you see it is important for people to experience different things, meet different people, and hear different views. This exposure is important to being a well-rounded person, and is an important life lesson.

I don't know Jules, and do not mean to be personally critical of her. She is just the example for this post. I think Jules needs some exposure to something different -- I mean, in the interest of being fair and balanced, right? So, I will re-post her essay (which I have edited for my readers' benefit, but provided the link her original posting) and give her some perspective in my own special way. Here goes (her post is italicized):

#1: I believe the Pres. did the right thing going into Afghanistan and I’ll probably write another blog in a few days discussing why I agree and disagree with the invasion of Saddam's territory, but I can tell you right now that the “pro” is going to outweigh the con. It isn’t like I haven’t heard both sides of the issue. (Jules, going into Afghanistan was the right thing, and nearly all Americans agree. The Afghan govt. harbored Bin Laden, and they needed to be punished. But, how can you "agree and disagree with the invasion of Saddam's territory "(aka Iraq)? That sounds like flip-flopping. I thought you were a Republican. They don't do that. Unless you are referring to their stance on the 9/11 commission, patients bill of rights, WMD, nation building, as just a few examples. I await your future post and its' illumination on your stance)

#2: I DO believe that National Guard service "counts" as serving one's country. (Yes it does. But the guard in 1972 and the guard in 2004 are very different. In 1972, being in the guard almost guaranteed you would not see active duty, and not get shot at by the Viet Cong. In 2004, being in the guard means you will serve in the line of fire for a much longer tour than you had ever been told about, and you will get shot at by angry Iraqis.) I also understand that the pay stubs of President Bush's "AWOL" weekends have been dug up and do exist and eyewitness' have come forward, people who served w/ Bush, stating that he was present. (Only partially true. Most of the records have been recovered. However, it shows that on more than one occasion Dubya was not able to be evaluated due to chronic absence. He also failed to take a physical, and was suspended briefly. Maybe he could have been an excellent pilot or a valiant soldier, but we will never know. Bush was too busy to show up much of the time. Also, not a single "eyewitness" has come forward to share their military experiences with Dubya. Sorry to debunk that myth. He was there, at times, but left no impression on anyone.) I’d like to also pointing out that Kerry himself had a deferment for school AND that President Bush made his Military Records available to the public years ago, Mr. Kerry has not. (Kerry did go to Vietnam, so his supposed deferment must not have had much weight. Kerry did both. College and active-duty. Bush's records came out only after the issue had been controversial for weeks, and he was suffering badly in the polls because of it. When they were released in their entirety, there were numerous redactions which were not for national security issues, but to avoid the prez some embarrassment. How honorable)

#3: I do not trust Politicians. They should never be completely trusted at any point in time, especially those who dream of power from a very young age. Mr. Kerry has always wanted to be President. If it means reinventing himself, reinventing his family, trying to pass the Democratic Party off as 'Mainstream America', he'll do it. All because he wants to be President. (It is smart not to trust politicians. But, Mr. Bush by nature of the fact that he has been elected to public office, is a politician. So, you're saying that you only distrust Democrats. Because after all, no Republican has ever done anything un-trustworthy. What? Your further comments on Kerry's long-standing presidential aspirations are word-for-word from Rush Limbaugh. This is called spin. Somehow, you guys would like a president who never wanted the job, never served in the public sector in any way, is an "outsider" and doesn't think Washington, DC is good for anything except tourism. Sorry, I have a higher standard for someone seeking the highest office in the land, and I don't mind if it is the guy's "dream job" -- less on the job training will be required. Also, more than 50% of voting Americans voted for someone other than Bush. Does that mean those people are not mainstream?)

#4: I have tried to stay focused on why I prefer Bush to Kerry. But in the end it comes down to "Bush is the best of 'em." John Kerry I loathe and do so for several reasons: A) He went overseas, served his country (I don't loathe that--he has my respect, he did serve) but then he came back and promptly stabbed his fellow soldier, his brothers in the Armed forces, in the backs. He called them "baby killers", threw his medals away (the same ones he keeps trumpeting about now), made himself a public figure in the destruction of the American soldier. I loathe him bitterly for that. These are his fellow unit members, his crew members...people who would have died for him...and he comes back and disgraces them all. (Republican blather. He did not say any of those things. Read his actual testimony before just taking Rush's interpretation and running with it. He criticized the civilians who control the military; and some commanders who ordered troops to fire in "free-fire" zones which usually resulted in civilian death. Kerry did not say he was innocent of such firing. This was what he was complaining about, and the words baby killer were not uttered. Furthermore, this is a free society, and being able to criticize the government is a constitutional right. It's even an amendment -- one that grants rights, as opposed to one that takes away a right, like, say, the right for gay people to marry. But, I digress)B) He has, repeatedly in the past, voted against increases in military/intelligence spending. (So has every member of Congress. Not EVERY program is good. Not every request is valid, and sometimes, a bill might be so loaded with non-essential pork, that it has to be voted against. Be realistic. Do some research instead of letting Hannity's intern do it for you.)

Editor's note: Jules went on to repeat some made up story by extremist conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher about John Kerry being rude to neighbors. Though I doubt the validity of the story, maybe some people did think John Kerry was rude to them once in their life, maybe 20 years ago. So what, you've never had a bad day? There's NO ONE that could share a similar story about a rude Dubya? Who cares? Interestingly, though, Jules believes Gallagher's every word, but accuses Kerry's daughter of making up the "hamster" story she told at the convention.

John Kerry would destroy us all in a heartbeat, while assuring us he has our best interests close to his heart. He would turn our sovregenity over to the UN without a second thought. He is a liar and a sneak, and should never be trusted with the presidency. (What? On what basis could you possibly believe such drivel? I understand why you say it -- it makes great angry, right-wing get togethers so much fun. But believing it? You honestly believe John Kerry wants to destroy us all? Believing that puts you right in line with the right-wing militias, and makes you a crank. You should re-think this.) I would rather have a Texan who clears his own brush on his own ranch, represent me. I would rather a Montanan who isn't going to back down for telling a dirty little sneak to "fuck off" represent me. I would rather put my life in their capable hands. Never would I calmly vote for some smooth-talking trial lawyer who couldn't get reelected in his home-state or an elitist, money-sniffing, back-stabbing wannabe-Kennedy. Bush may not have been my first choice, but he is the best choice in this situation. And I'll take him over Kerry any day of the week. (I am all in favor of Bush returning to Texas and clearing brush. I hope he gets the chance to do so soon. But, Cheney is from Wyoming. Secondly, the "dirty little sneak" you referred to is a sitting United States Senator, who is also the ranking member on the judicial committee. He did not deserve to be told to fuck off on the floor of the senate. Show some respect for our American institutions. Besides, weren't Bush and Cheney supposed to change the tone in Washington? Weren't they going to restore honor and decency? How decent is telling someone to fuck off? If it is, then I haven't been nearly as decent as I should have been this whole time)

There is more to life than watching the O'Reilly Factor. Have some fun. Go to a party. See a ball game. Something. Spouting off things like "John Kerry will destroy us all in a heartbeat" makes for good TV on Fox, but will make you an angry, bitter, paranoid person once the set is turned off. I am now going to go play some music and not think about politics. See, that easy.

Playlist 8.6.04

2004-08-07T10:39:00.000-04:00

1. Killers 'Hot Fuss' (2004 Island)
2. Grant Hart 'Ecce Homo' (1995 Rough Trade)
3. Cheap Trick 'Budokan 2' (1993 Epic)
4. Run D.M.C. 'Raising Hell' (1986 Profile)
5. Phantom Planet 'Phantom Planet' (2003 Epic)

Racist Wins GOP Primary in Tenn

2004-08-06T18:27:00.000-04:00

AP Wire 08/06/2004 Unabashed Racist Wins GOP Primary in Tenn. James Hart believes in "eugenics," won 83% of the vote. On Campaigning- 'When I knock on a door and say white children deserve the same rights as everybody else, the enthusiastic response is truly amazing," he said.

Sometimes Dad does know what he is talking about

2004-08-06T17:13:00.000-04:00

"We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq.... There was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land." -- President George H.W. Bush (aka Daddy) in his memoir A World Transformed on why an Iraqi invasion is a bad idea. This novel was published before Dubya became President.

Rick James is Dead

2004-08-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

Funk Singer Rick James Dies in Los Angeles. The Super Freak is Gone.

The Big 4 - soon you will have no choice what music to buy

2004-08-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

"As it integrates operations, Sony BMG Music Entertainment might cut as many as 2,000 jobs, according to published reports." They will no doubt cut hundreds of artists whose sales don't look right on the spreadsheet. How much does P. Diddy make off this deal? Wonder why the music business has been in decline for years? Decisions like this contribute more than you could imagine. Now even fewer "accountants" than before will decide what music you are allowed to hear, see, and buy. It's sad. But sadder that most people simply don't care.

Playlist 08.05.2004

2004-08-06T13:28:00.000-04:00

1. fIREHOSE 'fROMOHIO' (1989 sst)
2.Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 'B.R.M.C. (2001 virgin)
3. Neva Dinova 'Neva Dinova' (2002 crank)
4. Slayer 'Seasons in the Abyss' (1990 def american)
5. D.J. Quick 'Platinum & Gold Collection' (2004 Arista)

*Note: These charts are based on nothing more than my personal preference on that particular day.

Give the People What They Want? Ok, some personal crap about me

2004-08-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

And now what you've all been waiting for...a personal entry from "dave" himself. And just what has been happening in the world of "dave"? Not a ton. As anyone who is a regular reader would tell you, I am in the process of moving. Not just moving down the street, or moving across town, I am moving halfway across the country from Florida to Nebraska.

As previously reported, my house is sold. Technically. While typing this report, friends, my house is being inspected. I decided to be present for the inspection, as the idea of some stranger poking and prodding every nook and cranny of my house without my being there, is one that gives me the willies. It's not like I have any dead bodies in the crawl space, but I still like to maintain a little privacy at the homestead. The buyer's realtor is sitting in my living room watching tv. I occasionally hear her on the phone. Wilco's 'A.M.' cd is playing now on my computer, hope they like it.

While packing my stuff, getting my house inspected, saying good-bye to my Florida friends, I am also beginning to look for a job in my hometown-to-be. It's hard to do even with the internet because I can't just stop in the next day for an interview. I won't be there for a few weeks. I think the effort is wasted. My parents (yes they still weigh in on the situation even though I'm in my 30s) think otherwise. They help me a lot, so I take their thoughts under advisement.

So since I can't leave the house, I will throw you readers a bone. Some juicy tidbits about "dave."

A lot of the blogs I have been reading regularly are from folks like me who have enetered the blogosphere in the last few months. Some have begun to post some personal, lesser-known items about themselves in the form of a list. Never one to ignore a trend, I will now produce such a list (they are in absolutely no order):

1. I like Slayer. I don't worship Satan.

2. I had a cousin who died on 9/11 in the WTC. Don't feel too badly for me, though. I didn't know him. I may have met him once almost 20 years ago at a wedding. Not sure. He was a second cousin.

3. I often use too many commas when writing. I was actually told that once.

4. I don't smoke cigarettes. I tried to for a while, pretended that I did, but it never "took" with me. Lucky, I guess.

5. If I am outside of the house, I am wearing my tan Yankees cap. I have tried other hats: Tampa Bay Bucs, Israeli Police, numerous bands, companies I've worked at over the years...They just don't measure up.

6. I have seen every episode of the "Ashlee Simpson" show. I have a weakness for really bad tv, and this one makes me glad I quit the music business. There has never been a more manufactured star, or demand for product from said star, in the history of pop music. She is so phony I am almost rooting for her. I want Ashlee to succeed blonde or brunette.

7. I am somehow related to writer Jonathan Safran Foer. He wrote the book 'Everything is Illuminated' a few years back, and has become a minor literary celebrity. He is something like a third cousin on my mother's side of the family, which barely qualifies him as a relative. Rumor has it, though, his mother might have been at my bar mitzvah 20 years ago. I don't believe I have ever met Mr. Foer.

8. My favorite band is KISS. I have liked them for more than 20 years, seen them live more than 30 times, and have a tattoo of Gene Simmons' face somewhere on my body. Despite being my favorite band, I am hyper-critical of them. They are also practically the antithesis of what kind of music I normally like.

9. I don't have a lot of money despite my lavish lifestyle.

10. I am neither a cat or dog person. I like both equally.

That's about all I could come up with. I don't want to reveal too much, as my many fans might figure out my true identity and keep me from going about my normal routine: sleeping, waking, watching tv, typing. Oh, and going to the gym. I have a lot of stalkers there.

CIA Asks Bush to Discontinue Blog

2004-08-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

Another classic from the Onion

'Tigger' Found Not Guilty. The system works!!

2004-08-05T10:16:00.000-04:00

local6.com - News - 'Tigger' Found Not Guilty Of Molesting Girl. Mom's email: "Tigger had fondled under her arm and kept touching her right breast. She was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want to tell me at that time. She has been crying a lot and does not want to come back to Disney World or ever see Tigger again," she wrote I'm sorry, but this is the dumbest lawsuit ever! Those suits are so thick, you have no idea what the hell you're touching. This is some Orlando white trash loser looking to get rich by suing Disney. This guy, Tigger, refused to take a plea. Way to go, Tigger!

Repub. Sen. leaks classified info to Fox News. Guess what? He won't be prosecuted.

2004-08-05T10:09:00.000-04:00

By Allan Lengel and Dana PriestWashington Post Staff WritersThursday, August 5, 2004; Page A17

Federal investigators concluded that Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) divulged classified intercepted messages to the media when he was on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, according to sources familiar with the probe.

Specifically, Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron confirmed to FBI investigators that Shelby verbally divulged the information to him during a June 19, 2002, interview, minutes after Shelby's committee had been given the information in a classified briefing, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the case (more)

Bill Maher: "I think 45% of this country would vote for George Bush if there were pictures of him in the Abu Ghraib prison with somebody on a leash."

2004-08-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

In case you missed it, Bill Maher appeared on 'Hardball' last night (8/3/04). Here are some of his best lines:

On Teresa Heinz Kerry: "Do we have to all have this fake outrage every time she opens her mouth?...The Republicans have a way of trying to put two issues together: one on their side, one on the Democrats’ side – and say it’s a wash. Like, okay, Bush dodged the war in Vietnam and John Kerry threw his medals away. It’s a wash. Dick Cheney said to a SENATOR in the senate, ‘Go F** yourself’ and she said ‘shove it.’ That’s a wash, too."

On the Bush administration's terror warnings: " Their credibility about terrorist alerts is so poor now...This latest information they have, c’mon, it’s old enough to sue Michael Jackson."

On the TV networks only airing one hour of the Democratic convention: "Their attitude seems to be ‘this is something we HAVE to do to take us away from something really important, which is the Lacey Peterson trial.’ ...They [the networks] told him [Kerry] ‘Look, you have a window of one hour buddy. One hour. And you get your plan to save the entire world into that one hour because we got something on at 11:00 that we’re not gonna bump for you."

He was only on for about 10 minutes, and he got Chris Matthews to laugh a couple of times. I love Bill Maher.

Nada Surf on Air America Radio August 6th

2004-08-04T17:58:00.000-04:00

I just got this email from Nada Surf: Matthew Caws of Nada Surf will be interviewed and perform on the Air America show "Unfiltered" on Friday, August 6th at 11am EST. Matthew will perform "Your Legs Grow" and discuss the "Future Soundtrack for America" compilation with hosts Chuck D and Rachel Maddow. Check www.airamericaradio.com for more information.

Henry Rollins to Rock the Troops....Urgghhh!!

2004-08-04T11:32:00.000-04:00

Henry Rollins (pictured above; spoken word artist, Rollins Band, ex-Black Flag) will soon embark on a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour to provide a morale boost to U.S. troops stationed at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras.

Weekend movie wrap-up...who reads these things?

2004-08-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

Here are some snapshot reviews of movies recently viewed by yours truly. Let's start with what's new in the theatres before going rental on your ass... I don't do stars or numbers to give the lazy reader an easy way to see if I like the movie or not. If after reading one of my reviews you decide to see a movie, buy a CD, or see a concert (or decide against it), I would be surprised more than anything.

Bourne Supremacy Let me begin this review by stating, for the record, that I did not see the first movie in this series, nor have I read the book that it came from. I consider this a fresh perspective. So, when the movie begins I am already at a disadvantage seeing as I have no idea who Matt Damon's character (Bourne) is supposed to be, or why he is in India with some woman (blonde actress, can't remember her name). My friend, Luke, was supposed to meet me at the theater at 7:15 so I could get briefly caught up on the story and whatnot. He made it by 7:40; which gave us just enough time to get a ticket and get to our seat in the 2nd row! (emphasis used to stress suckiness of sitting so close) Basically, the story goes as follows: Bourne was in the C.I.A. doing secret C.I.A. stuff like killing people, and driving fast, foreign cars down European streets. He got amnesia somehow, the C.I.A. wanted him dead, and he escaped to India. Cut to new movie. The bad guys find him in India and he has to leave. The bad guys are Russian this time (maybe last time, too, for all I know), and they kill his girl. They think they got him, too, but they didn't. Bourne goes to a bunch of different countries, drives a lot of cars in a lot of unbelievable situations, has some memory flashbacks, gets betrayed, and...is still alive at the end. There was more to the story, but in row 2, it's hard to focus on more than the car chases.

from the rental store...

The Whole Ten Yards Actually, this movie is not worth the effort of a review. It has already taken up 90 minutes of my fragile attention span just to view this piece of crap. Usually in a comedy there is at least one time where I laugh. No so, with this one. If you thought the first movie, 'The Whole Nine Yards' was good, then don't bother seeing this. It might ruin your initial impression.

Starsky and Hutch Here is a real snapshot review: Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play themselves, only they are called "Starsky" and "Hutch" because there used to be a TV show in the 1970s called that, and the characters had those names, as well. They are cops with lots of flash and style. They get all the ladies. They drive a bright red car. Their boss is a jerk. I like Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and I also like Vince Vaughn (plays the bad guy) -- you'd pretty much have to in order to appreciate this movie. Those three pretty much play themselves in all their movies, and I should know...I've seen them all. Worth a rental for Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear, and for Carmen Electra's mere presence.

New Moveon Fundraiser CD feat. Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, Death Cab more

2004-08-03T11:47:00.000-04:00

Pitchfork media: Barsuk Records and Moveon.org create fundraising CD with David Byrne, Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, Death Cab for Cutie, R.E.M., Nada Surf, Tom Waits, Flaming Lips and lots more! Available August 17th

My House is Sold!!

2004-08-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it finally happened. Someone bought my house. I say "finally" like it's been an extremely long time. Actually, it hasn't (only about 3 weeks), but it felt like it has. Looks like I'll be on the road August 20th, heading towards my new digs in Omaha.

So, for the next couple weeks I'll be busy packing and making arrangements. I've lived in Omaha before, but it was 15 years ago. The city has changed a lot since then. I have been back plenty of times to visit family, but the longest stay was probably about three days. The music scene in town is actually quite good. If you're into indie music, you probably already know that. The "scene" in the Tampa Bay area leaves a lot to be desired. Been here three years, haven't seen any real memorable local bands.

What's next on the agenda for that "dave" guy? Well, been listening a lot to the new CD from Tommy Stinson, "Village Gorilla Head" and will be reviewing it soon. I like it a lot. At the risk of stating the obvious, Tommy was the teenage bass player from the 80s best band, The Replacements. He's been a member of Guns N Roses since the late 90s (I'd forgive you for not knowing that since GnR hasn't had a new record out in over 10 years). I've liked all his other bands, and the new solo album is looking like a winner. Seen a number of movies recently as well ('Bourne Supremacy' - new; 'Starsky and Hutch' 'Whole Ten Yards' - DVD), but wasn't as impressed. These, too, will be forthcoming.

Quick runthrough on Sunday night TV (now the only night worth caring about). 'Cold Case' (CBS) - re-run, already saw it; 'Six Feet Under' (HBO) - show was great as usual. Nate gets laid with yet ANOTHER new hottie, but after seeing a vision of his dead wife, realizes she's not "the one" -- maybe Brenda is. Claire is unsure about experimenting with being a lesbian...but decides to give it the ol' art school try (with Mena Suvari, no less). Not sure it will stick, though. Speaking of gay...Keith (large black man, David's boyfriend) comes out at work...whoah!...and is now better friends with the teen pop princess he is guarding. Lucky break. David is still stressing out after his abduction, and was simply unable to have sex with a stranger because it was too traumatic. I feel for you, man. Ma Fisher...don't get me started. Frederico is fucked. His sort-of affair with the stripper (he spends the time and money, but doesn't get the sex) is out in the open. The wife is on to you, buddy; 'The 4400' (USA) - still trying to decide if I really like this show, or am sticking with it since I saw the pilot, and if it takes off, can say I was one of the "cool" ones who liked it from the beginning. I think I like it. The persecution of the "4400" continues as their names and addresses are leaked on the internet. Some nutjob starts firebombing them, and rich, hotel-owning returnee (Collier?) begins to develop a neighborhood exclusively for the returnees. Some other things happened, but they weren't that exciting; 'Crossing Jordan' (NBC) - pretty sure this was a new episode, but I've only been watching a few weeks, so I have no idea. Jordan takes over as boss while Dr. Macy goes on vacation. Of course, she learns the lesson that the boss' job isn't as easy as it looks from the outside. New blonde girl (can't remember her real or character name) begins to investigate a stalking-turned-murder with Detective Woody. Woody and blonde girl disagree over who was the stalker and who was the victim. Turns out, blonde girl was right. Too bad two people had to die before we learned that. Bug learns that women sometimes use their sex appeal to get men to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Welcome to the real world.

Bill Maher is back on the air, thankfully. Great show, as usual. Michael Moore and David Dreir (Republican congressman) got into it pretty good. Dreir had no problem attacking Moore's movie even after admitting he hadn't seen it. Nice one, Dave. Dreir is usually one of the more reasonable Republicans, but on this night gave a RNC talking point dissemination instead of answering the questions given to him. He got his marching orders, and he did not waver. At the end of the show Mr. Nader stopped by. How nice of him. Maher and Moore were both public supporters of Nader in 2000, and they both subscribed to the "there's no difference between Gore and Bush"nonsense during that campaign. They have finally come to their senses. They both, comically, got on their knees and begged Nader to quit. He sat there with his weasly little half-smile, and continued uttering something about being a serious candidate. Uh-huh.

Anyway, I missed the Sunday political shows on purpose. I don't care what the pundits have to say about the Democratic National Convention. I thought it went great. Kerry exceeded my expectations; Edwards came in a little light; Obama was inspiring...don't forget Harold Ford, though; Bill Clinton, as always, delivered the goods; Al Sharpton was great - deftly managing to piss off the right, the center, and the media with his excellent, off-the-page remarks. He rarely disappoints. Oh, and the big "boo-hoo" award goes to Ralph Nader. He whined and complained about not getting press credentials to the convention. What are the Dems afraid of? The Dems are not afraid of you writing some negative column in the Delusional Times. YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT AGAINST THEM. IT'S THEIR CONVENTION. THEY DON'T HAVE TO INVITE YOU. It's not some conspiracy, dude. Bush wasn't invited in either. Give it up, loser. Let's see you get inside the Republican convention, and we'll talk. They are funding your campaign, so you might as well go celebrate with your friends. If they don't let you in, you might have something to cry about.

Republicans Defect to Kerry's Camp

2004-07-31T16:10:00.000-04:00

The new breed -- "Kerry Republicans!"

2004-07-31T15:18:00.000-04:00

Ralph Nader = Republican operative

Been kinda sick...will be back soon

2004-07-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

I gotta say, I don't know how Rush did it. I have been zonked out for the last few days on legal drugs trying to get over a bad cold. The medicine has me so zoned, I can barely even THINK about politics or whatnot. I had to TiVO the last night of the Dems convention, and Bill Maher. Will watch, and offer my commentary, as soon as I'm back at 100%.

Woman's Dying Wish: Bush Defeated

2004-07-30T22:07:00.000-04:00

Woman's Dying Wish: Bush Defeated; Let's see if we can't grant her final request

2004-07-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

BILL MAHER IS BACK! 'Real Time With Bill Maher' back on HBO tonight at 11 pm (EST)

Ex-Queens of the Stone Age Nick Oliveri Attacks Soundman

2004-07-30T09:11:00.000-04:00

Mondo Generator leader breaks nose and teeth of sound guy...couldn't get volume to 11

Bush campaign -- Unhappy Workers Should Take Prozac

2004-07-29T19:04:00.000-04:00

Aren't happy losing your old $20 per hour job in favor of a $6 per hour McJob thanks to Bush...take Prozac

AlterNet: Election 2004: The Scaife Strategy: Smother Teresa

2004-07-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

Colin McNickle, the political wife-beater for billionnaire Richard Mellon-Scaife's right-wing attack machine, has set his sights on Teresa Heinz-Kerry – good thing she's willing to stand up to it.

Shifty conservatives keep moving the ball

2004-07-29T11:30:00.000-04:00

I have recently discovered a (what I think anyway) brilliant analysis of the reasons against going to war in Iraq. Bush and Haliburton's war to liberate Fallujah was never justified by the facts or evidence. The administration changed its justification and rationale for war seemingly every week -- "You don't like that reason....try THIS one. What, there's no evidence of that...well, we have information you don't have. TRUST me...we are 100% certain we're right. Well....no, we can't SHOW you the evidence. How dare YOU question me! You must love Saddam then, why don't you go have a gay marriage with him in Iraq you...you...you...liberal."

The right can claim that Dubya never changed the rationale for our unilateral invasion of Iraq (I forgot about the 12 soldiers from Micronesia...sorry). But, he has. Most of us believed him. After all, he restored dignity to the White House and changed the tone in Washington (nudge nudge wink wink). Many, like myself, did not believe him, but were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The following is an editorial written in Nov. 2002 by a blogger who goes as This we'll defend http://www.blogger.com/profile/3907342. Afterward, I have re-printed a typical conservative response (edited)

Nov. 2002: The President has not shown that war with Iraq is morally just. Under the classic “just war doctrine,” a state is morally justified in its use of force if it meets all of the following four factors: (1) The damage inflicted (or threatened) by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain. (2) War should be waged only as a last resort. (3) There must be serious prospects of success. (4) The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. As discussed below, war with Iraq has not met the just war standard.(1) The damage inflicted (or threatened) by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain. If the facts show that Saddam is close to completion of a nuclear weapon then we should eliminate him. We don’t need to wait and be hit first before responding. His history of chemical weapons use against Iran and his own Kurdish minority demonstrate that he should not be allowed to acquire even more dangerous nuclear weapons. Is there proof that an atomic threat from Iraq is imminent? We simply don’t know. We are told that evidence can’t be shared because of “national security.” Such concerns did not stop President Kennedy from laying out his case during the Cuban Missile Crisis. If the United States is to go to war, it had better not do so under false pretenses. The administration needs to lay out its case clearly and unambiguously, just as President Kennedy did. If there really is evidence, then a way can surely be found to show it while protecting the identity of sensitive intelligence sources. This has not been done. Even after secret information was recently shared with Congress many senators and representatives remained unconvinced. No credible information has been shared with the public. Meanwhile, North Korea, which provided Iraq its Scud missiles, has openly admitted to continuing its development of nuclear weapons despite agreeing to stop doing so in 1993. Is there talk of war against North Korea? Strangely, no. Why Iraq and not North Korea?I am not willing to take it on faith, without evidence, that we must invade or suffer nuclear attack. Retired General Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander, feels the same. He recently testified before the Senate that, "It's a question of what's the sense of urgency here, and how soon would we need to act unilaterally? So far as any of the information has been presented, there is nothing that indicates that in the immediate, next hours, next days, that there's going to be nuclear-tipped missiles put on launch pads to go against our forces or our allies in the region."On 9/11 we watched in horror as two towers full of living human beings crashed to the ground. Our reaction was normal – we wanted to fight back, to punish the “evildoers.” I felt, and feel, the same. I want Osama dead. So why are we invading Iraq, a secular regime often denounced by Islamic fundamentalists such as Al Qaeda? Iraq did not attack us on 9/11. If Iraq had been behind the attacks, this debate, and Saddam, would already be over. The President’s weak attempts to use 9/11 to justify war with Iraq only point out the weakness of the case. When a president uses half-truths or untruths to justify a war, it is probably a good idea to slow down the march towards conflict. The attacks of 9/11 are unrelated to Iraq, and thus can provide no justification for an invasion. Saddam and his cronies are evil, and the world would no doubt be better off without them. He has brutally oppressed his own people. That is not a reason to invade Iraq. If that were the test, then we should also invade North Korea, Syria, Zimbabwe, Iran, and arguably Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, and on and on. Something more is required to provide a just cause for war or the sovereignty of all nations is threatened. (2) War should be waged only as a last resort. One reason given for war is that Saddam is not complying with UN resolutions. However, Saddam hasn’t complied with UN resolutions for at least a decade. Why the rush to war now? Three retired four-star American generals said recently that attacking Iraq without a United Nations resolution supporting military action could limit aid from allies, energize recruiting for Al Qaeda and undermine America's long-term diplomatic and economic interests. "We must continue to persuade the other members of the Security Council of the correctness of our position, and we must not be too quick to take no for an answer," Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Similar testimony was given by Gen. Clark and Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, a former chief of United States Central Command. The three generals, some of whom warned that a war with Iraq would detract from the campaign against terrorism, said the Bush administration must work harder to exhaust diplomatic options before resorting to military action to oust Saddam and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction Iraq may have. The three generals said a United Nations resolution was important because it would isolate Saddam internationally, give skittish allies some political cover to join any military action and bolster America's long-term global aims. "We are a global nation with global interests, and undermining the credibility of the United Nations does very little to help provide stability and security and safety to the rest of the world, where we have to operate for economic reasons and political reasons," said Shalikashvili. Now that the President has been forced to obtain a UN resolution calling on Iraq to comply with weapons inspections, he must allow time for the resolution to work. If Iraq complies, then no war is needed. If Iraq does not comply, the threat will be clear and we will have worldwide support for our actions. Why rush to war without such support? The short answer is that there is no need to rush. Make the case, build support, and then if other measures don’t work we will have the moral legitimacy we need before we issue our military a license to kill and put our soldiers in harm’s way. When (if) diplomacy fails we will at least know that we tried. Our soldiers and the innocent noncombatants who will be caught in the middle deserve our best efforts with diplomacy first.(3) There must be serious prospects of success. Our military is the best the world has ever seen. Success against the Iraqi military is a certainty, and thus the President’s call for “regime change” is bound to happen if we invade. We need to be certain, however, that such a change would result in a safer world. That is the test for success, not removing Saddam. Ralph Waldo Emerson noted that men don’t ride events, events ride the man. The war could (and probably would) have consequences beyond what most of us can predict now. The eminent military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz cautioned that when preparing for war political leaders should never take the first step until they know their last. If war with Iraq is worth U.S. blood and treasure it is worth establishing and articulating a desired political end and a plan for the political consolidation of our military success. We must not take the first step until we have thought our strategy through to the last step, until we understand all the risks and rewards. This has not been done. The first Gulf War convinced many Americans that war is cheap and easy, with few American casualties. There is an expectation that we can win easily and mostly from the air. If Saddam and his cronies hold out in the cities we will face urban combat, which is much more dangerous both to our military and to noncombatant civilians caught in the middle. It will not be a cheap victory. There is the threat that Saddam, backed into a corner and with nothing to lose, will lash out with weapons of mass destruction such as the chemical weapons he already has. He has already threatened to strike Israel and Israel has already promised to respond, throwing the entire region into even more disarray with unforeseen consequences. General Clark warned that attacking Iraq could divert military resources and political commitment to the global effort against Al Qaeda and possibly "supercharge" recruiting for the terrorist network. It would also cost a lot more national treasure than the first Gulf War. In the first effort in Congress to estimate the fiscal cost of an Iraqi war, Democrats on the House Budget Committee issued a report putting the likely price tag at $30 billion to $60 billion, less than that for the Persian Gulf War in 1991. That war cost about $60 billion, but our allies picked up four-fifths of the costs. The Democrats' estimates do not include the possible costs of a long-term peacekeeping mission or of providing aid. No doubt those costs would be enormous. Would an invasion of Iraq be in our long-term best interests, making the world safer? In short, we don’t know. The case has not been made. Rushing to war without properly considering the risks and rewards is a recipe for disaster, not success.(4) The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. If Iraq actually is close to possession of a nuclear weapon then an invasion to eliminate that threat would be the lesser evil, but as I discussed above the President has not, or can not, show that this is the case. I am also concerned about how the President used the threat of war in a partisan manner, just as Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested last year. This threatens the long-term survival of our republic. The response of Mr. Bush to valid questions and criticism by some senators was to question their patriotism. In the recent election Republicans in Georgia ran ads showing the twin towers falling and stating that Senator Max Cleland, who voted against giving Mr. Bush unchecked war powers, did not have the “courage to lead.” Cleland is a combat veteran who lost both legs and an arm fighting in Vietnam. His opponent, who never served in the military, won. Mr. Bush, a National Guard veteran who courageously defended Texas from the Viet Cong while Cleland was fighting in Vietnam, has falsely tried to link Iraq to 9/11, has refused to provide evidence of an imminent threat, has dissipated the worldwide sympathy and support the U.S. enjoyed after 9/11 by not building a case with our allies, and then wrapped himself in the flag when questioned.Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. It is ok to question authority – our founding fathers taught us this when they created our republic. I therefore question Mr. Bush’s understanding of our Revolution and our Constitution. If war in Iraq is the right thing for us to do then our President should provide evidence to the American people. He has refused to do this, citing “national security,” and until he does so (if he can) war in Iraq is unjustified. If a “wag the dog” strategy is allowed to succeed it will weaken our system of government, which is a greater threat to our national security than any possible threat from Iraq. One last note: if we do go to war in Iraq then we are all responsible, even those of us against the war. Do not blame the military for political decisions. When America wages war it is never the generals who decide to do so, but the politicians. Criticism of the war should not be directed at the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines that go into harm’s way in the name of the United States. As citizens of a republic we are all responsible for the actions of our military, whether we wear a uniform or not. I hope we don’t go to war. If we do, I will support our soldiers however I can – but not the President.

Makes sense, right. No Monday morning quarterbacking here...this was BEFORE the war. Now here is a conservative response (written July 2004):

This comes from a blogger named Frater Bovious (http://globalexclaimer.blogspot.com/) as he responded on Ala_71's blog: http://mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com/

"I am not calling Bush or anyone else a liar at this point. Facts are always borrowed or massaged or fabricated to make palatable the nastiness of life in an imperfect world....I really am not attempting to support the concept of lying or of misleading the American people in order to get something done that you think needs doing. But let's not pretend that we all don't suspend our disbelief or set aside judgement when we are hearing plausible sounding arguments that meet an emotional need.Frankly, there for a period of time, I don't think the American people cared what excuse we were hearing for going into Iraq."

Well, it depends on what the meaning of fact is. Astonishing!

2004-07-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

The Next Vice President of the United States!!

2004-07-28T18:55:00.000-04:00

TOMMY STINSON Village Gorilla Head is OUT NOW!! Buy this CD immediately.

2004-07-28T13:34:00.000-04:00

It's good to be guv-nyah! So many boobies to grab!!

2004-07-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

Conservative "hero" Sean Hannity gives us more of what he's made of. "If you don't agree with me you must be a terrorist, or at least French!"

9/11 Commission confirms 'Fahrenheit' facts

2004-07-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

9/11 Commission Report Confirms Key Fahrenheit 9/11 Facts
The September 11 Commission's 567-page final report has confirmed key facts presented in Fahrenheit 9/11. These include:

Attorney General John Ashcroft told acting FBI director Thomas Pickard that he did not want to hear anything more about terrorist threats. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 265

After Bush was informed of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, he went ahead with his classroom event. After Bush was informed that the nation was under attack after the second plane hit, Bush stayed in the classroom for nearly seven more minutes, continuing to read with the children. Confirmed, Commission Report at pp. 35, 38-39.

Bush failed to have even one meeting to discuss the threat of terrorism with his head of counterterrorism Richard Clarke. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 201.

Bush failed to react to the August 6, 2001 security briefing, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” Confirmed, Commission Report at pp. 260-262.

142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin Laden family, were allowed to leave the country after September 13. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 556, n. 25 [Note that Fahrenheit 9/11 understates the number of Saudis who left.]

Individuals were interviewed by the FBI before being allowed to leave (although the report confirms that most individuals on these flights were not interviewed.) Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 557, n. 28.

White House former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke approved these flights. Confirmed, Commission Report at p. 329.

2004-07-28T09:28:00.001-04:00

"The Bush strategy" (liberated from Gadflyer.com, drawn by Chris Ferris)

Media Matters for America

2004-07-28T09:08:00.000-04:00

Keep up with those rascals on the right! Check daily to this website to monitor the conservative misinformation campaign!

http://mediamatters.org/

Right wing nut compares dems to terrorists

2004-07-28T09:03:00.000-04:00

Here is a direct quote from the July 26 episode of the nationally syndicated, conservative show host Neal Boortz. He stated last week, on air, that those of us who would vote for John Kerry are just as dangerous to America as terrorists. He now denies that's what he meant (classic conservative double speak), and offers this as his defense: "Let's deal with the question of whether or not I was out of line suggesting that Kerry voters, as a group, could be as dangerous as Islamic terrorists. First question there we have to decide is, can voters be dangerous? I can settle that question with one simple reminder. Adolf Hitler was elected by a popular vote. Yes, voters can be dangerous. You see now, Media Matters is going to say, "Neal Boortz compared John Kerry to Adolf Hitler." [Laughter]

There you have it, a prominent conservative comparing democrats to terrorists and Nazis in the same freaking statement. So, let's get a little activism going here, and do what our friends on the right do. Let's go to his syndicator, and demand he apologize, or we'll have to take it a step further. Go to, http://coxradiosyndication.com/index.html to see the website for the company. Or email dougatl@earthlink.net directly and let him know how unacceptable this is. Mr. Boortz' website is located at http://boortz.com/contact/index.html, he only takes email through the site.

If everybody is supposed to be up in arms over Teresa Kerry telling the editorial page editor of a Richard Scaiffe (Mr. Arkansas project) newspaper to "shove it," or a moveon.org contest entry, how is this not 50 times worse? Let me know if you hear anything.

Hail to Bush - Flip-flopper in chief!

2004-07-28T08:18:00.000-04:00

Check out this great set of 25 major flip-flops from W. This guy just can't make up his mind! Or Dick Haliburton hasn't made it up for him yet! Ha ha!

Clinton - "the master"

2004-07-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

New York Post Online Edition: postopinion

Though Dick Morris is basically a republican quack, he is sometimes correct. Clinton was masterful last night, and Kerry should follow his lead. Al Gore would be President today if he had allowed Clinton to campaign for him. The small, right-wing, fringe of Clinton haters would never vote Democrat anyway. Why play by their rules and into their hands? The right-wing media spread the myth that Clinton would hurt Gore's chances, and he ate it up. The Fox News types have been saying the same nonsense this year as well, but if Kerry is smart (and we all know he is...he actually reads the newspaper) he will ignore the right-wing claptrap and win with Clinton!

May the best man win in 2004, and if not, then we will have four more years of W. God forbid.

2004-07-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

Here are Stinson and Miles from a few years ago. Stinson is the bigger cat.

Taking the cat to the vet and other exciting events

2004-07-26T22:52:00.000-04:00

Well, kind of a crumby day today. Woke up feeling sick as a dog. Actually, I was feeling pretty sick last night, but since Sunday is my t.v. night, I was able to put it out of my head. Great episode, as always, of 'Six Feet Under' and then I caught the new '4400' (a decent new sci-fi show on USA) and then a new episode of 'Crossing Jordan.' I have just recently begun watching 'Jordan' as it is in re-runs on A&E. This was a first-run episode on NBC. Strangely, the star of the show Jill Hennessy ("Jordan") did not appear in the episode. You always have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes when a show's star is absent. Maybe she is in "negotiations" for more money, or maybe she is being fired. If anyone has the inside scoop, let me know. They did introduce a new, female character, so it's hard to figure out what's going on.

When I woke up this morning, I had the unenviable task of taking one of my cats, Stinson, to the vet. He began peeing on the carpet, and since I'm trying to sell my house, that is obviously a bad thing. Turns out, he had crystals in his urine. He has had this problem twice before, so I was kind of concerned it was serious. The vet did some blood work, and he is okay. He needs some anti-biotics, and special food, and then he'll be back to normal. I love that cat, and am unafraid to say so. I've had him for 9 years, which is longer than I've had most of my friends, and much longer than any relationship I've had with any woman.

I used to not like cats. I never hated them like some people do, but I didn't appreciate them the way I do now. I grew with a dog in the house, and got used to their behavior. When I got to college, I got a dog of my own. She was a cocker spaniel, and was a great little puppy. Unfortunately, she chewed a hole in my roommate's leather jacket. The roommate freaked out and wanted the dog gone. I gave the dog to my parents who have had her for the last 12 years. She is still alive and kicking, and has had a great life with them.

A few years later, I got the urge to get a pet again. By this time, I had more experience with cats, and thought based on my lifestyle, that a cat would work out for me. They are more self-sufficient, they don't require much training, and they can be left alone during the day without needing to be walked. So, I got Stinson from a farm where he was terrorizing the little baby chickens, and causing general trouble for the farm owners.

Now, 9 years later, Stinson isn't terrorizing too much of anything. He is one of the sweetest and most social cats I have ever encountered (he just jumped up onto my computer). I got another cat, Miles, a few years back. The two get along great, though I wish Miles was more social. He is only nice to me. He hides whenever anyone else comes over, so they don't get to see what a great cat he is, also. Oh well....

Been watching the Democratic National convention tonight. President Carter just finished speaking a few minutes ago. Al Gore was on earlier, and President Clinton will be up in a little while. I have never been so convinced in my political convictions before in my life. John Kerry HAS to win. This country simply cannot take four more years of W. The Republicans are VERY afraid of losing, and it is beginning to show. Fox News Channel (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican party) didn't even air the Gore speech. Hmmmm, didn't want to remind the viewers of who actually won 4 years ago? Also, the right-wing media (in addition to Fox) is getting increasingly nasty. Right-wing wack-job Ann Coulter in her column today called the Dems convention the "spawns of Satan" convention -- and which side is slanderous? USA Today correctly refused to run the column, but, of course, a far-right fringe website called 'human events' ran it.

Coulter is a perfect example of conservatives in America: dishonest, slanderous, paranoid, violent, morally bankrupt, divisive, and completely insane! The Republicans have gone so far to the right that it is truly frightening in some parts of the country. I am one of those people that wants to believe that all Americans are on the same side. We may have different ideas about how to deal with our nation's problems, but we all have the same goal. I have begun to question whether people on the right share that view. Their vitriol has gotten so extreme that I am starting to believe we may be becoming a Balkan-ized type of country. When people like Sean Hannity (of Fox News of course) can publish a book that on it's cover says the two biggest threats to America are terrorism and liberalism, I have to question the motives of those on the right. Right wing radio host Neal Boortz said on his show last Friday that people who would vote for John Kerry are a bigger threat to America than Al-queda! What sort of person could actually believe such crap. I don't think I share the same values as those two (just two of the many), and the millions of people who buy their books, listen to their radio shows, and watch them on TV. Liberals get a little animated sometimes, and occasionally cross the line, but no one in the mainstream of the Democratic Party would ever say that republicans are as dangerous as terrorists. That is unacceptable rhetoric, and I have not heard a single prominent, or even obscure, conservative condemn Hannity, Limbaugh, O'reilly, Coulter, Boortz, Michael Savage, or any of the so-called news reports on Fox. Don't be fooled, the negative tone in politics did not begin recently. These far-right lunatics began in 1992, and have never stopped. We were forced to hear their garbage about Bill Clinton for eight years, and the right has only gotten more negative.

I gotta go. Clinton is on in a few minutes, and I don't want to miss it. Makes me nostalgic for better times.

2004-07-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

Israel for Israelis!!!

Palestinian hypocrisy

2004-07-25T15:36:00.000-04:00

Telegraph News Palestinians 'made millions' selling cheap cement for barrier they bitterly oppose

This article is just one example of many of the completely disingenuous nature of the "Palestinian" people. They are, by and large, hypocritical liars and killers. Now, they are profiteers from their own so-called misery. And the entire world supports their "cause," why again?

VH1 KISS show was better than expected

2004-07-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Whoah!! I have to admit it. VH1's "When KISS Ruled the World" was much better than I expected! First, I assumed that it would be a VH1 creation that takes clips from old interviews, and splices them together to make a "new" show. This was not the case. As best as I can tell, the interviews were brand new, and exclusive to this show.

They got new stuff from Gene and Paul (in make-up), and what looks to me like new interviews with Ace and Peter (no make-up). The stuff I really liked, of course, was the Ace and Peter interviews. These were taped after they had been fired, they were not wearing make-up, and they were happily reminiscing about the old days of KISS. Ace was the best. He looked a little haggard, but was clearly sober, and was much more insightful than he is in most interviews. The beard was a new look for Ace, and I think he pulled it off.

In addition, they interviewed Bill Aucoin (former manager), and the bands 70s publicist, and road manager. I have seen all these people before, but again, these were brand new interviews. The biggest surprise was the inclusion of a guy from The Brats. The Brats were peers of KISS in the early 70s NYC music scene. If you look at any old posters from KISS' time as a local NYC band, the Brats were always headlining over KISS!

The show will be running over and over on the channel, so if you haven't seen it, you will get a chance. Like I thought, there is no real discussion of the "replacement" of Ace and Peter in 2001-2003. The closing credits stated they are working on solo projects, and then a photo of the new, fake KISS was displayed. I guess since the focus of the show was supposed to be on the 70s, this was to be expected. I'm okay with it.

I was quite happy with the show, and am glad that the history of the band was able to be told by all the band members -- not just Gene and Paul, as it usually is. Now, if VH1 could make an extended DVD version of the show for sale we'd really be talking!

2004-07-24T13:30:00.000-04:00

Gauge (pictured above) is no longer a fan since KISS fired Ace and Peter.

When KISS ruled the world ended last year

2004-07-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

VH1.com : Shows : When ___ Ruled The World : Kiss : Episode

I am planning on watching VH1's "When KISS ruled the world" tonight. No doubt it will be an entertaining show (a little short if you ask me, I mean one hour for a band with a 30+ year career?), but what it will not focus on and probably not even mention, is the unceremonious way that Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were fired last year.

I have been a KISS fan as long as I can remember. I "musically came of age" in the 80s. This was not the best time to be a KISS fan. Their "glory days" had long been over; they weren't packing the arenas and selling millions of albums anymore. Don't get me wrong, they were still great in my 12-year-old eyes, but I now realize they were not on top of their game.

KISS in 1983 still sold a decent amount of records. Most of their 80s releases went gold (500K) or platinum (1 million) in America. I don't care who you are, that's still a good amount of records. But, it wasn't triple platinum or quadruple-duple platinum, or whatever they were selling in the 70s. But, a band can have only one "heyday" right?

What happened to this great band? Well, that my friends would take a team of psychologists and a novel to explain. So, I will try and simplify. KISS got caught up in their mega-success and every decision was based around how to maintain and expand that success. KISS tried disco, pop, whatever was hip at the time, in order to stay on the charts. The problem, in a nutshell, is that KISS started as a band that defied the trends, ignored fashion, ignored critics, and succeeded on their own terms. They made their name on constant touring, not on getting Top 40 radio airplay. KISS got lost. They forgot what made them.

KISS sacked Peter Criss in 1980. In all honesty, Peter is only a mediocre drummer. His songwriting leaves a lot to be desired, as well. He does have a good, raspy, Rod Stewart-esque, voice that lent itself well to songs other band members would write for him ("Hard Luck Woman" "Strange Ways"). He also gave KISS one of their only hits, with the sappy balad "Beth." Well, by 1979 Peter wasn't even playing on the records, he was screwing up in concert, and was a basic pain-in-the-ass. Maybe it was a good idea to let him go -- in 1980.

Peter was replaced by Eric Carr. Eric was a much better drummer, and more importantly for KISS, didn't give Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley any shit. Eric got his own make-up design, and got a taste of the superstar KISS when he did the 1980 tours of Europe and Australia. KISS was sort of over in the US, but was bigger than ever in the rest of world. Eric was a great guy, and deserves his own postings. I will get back to my main point...

With Peter gone, Ace Frehley became unhappy in the band. He was probably unhappy before, but he was 50% of the decision making with Peter, he was much less than that now. Ace wanted KISS to ignore the current trends and get back to making basic, party all night, rock n roll. Gene and Paul countered Ace's idea with a ridiculous concept album called "Music from the Elder." It is a piece of crap. KISS admits this now.

Ace quit in 1982 following the Elder disaster. He appeared on the cover of one more LP, but did not play on that record. I am not ignoring Peter and Ace's drug and alcohol problems. They were factors in their getting fired, or having their roles minimized. However, having a "wild card" as it were in the band, made it more interesting for the fans. Ace might have been wasted, but he still sounded great. Peter....well, it might have had more of an effect.

KISS soldiered on throughout the 1980s with Eric Carr and a slew of guitar players. Sadly, Eric Carr died in 1991 from cancer. All throughout this time there were rumours of a possible re-union of the original members, but it never happened.

By the mid-90s KISS had a solid, no-make-up line-up with Gene, Paul, Eric Singer, and Bruce Kulick. They made a decent album with "Revenge," but in the midst of the alternative, grunge explosion it was ignored. The band started getting nostalgic, and began putting on their own KISS travelling conventions. Fans had been doing this for years, but now the band put it's official stamp on it. This also meant that the band would be at the convention. They began doing an acoustic set made up of classics and some more obscure album cuts. The fans loved hearing the older songs again which had been virtually ignored for the previous decade.

I won't go on and on about the situation leading up to the reunion of Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter. It happened in 1996 as a result of the conventions, and it seemed like the hatchets had truly been buried. KISS was cautious in the undertaking. Gene and Paul remembered their former buddies' bouts of unreliability, and Ace and Peter remembered their old friends' controlling ways. After a test run appearance at the American Music Awards, the band went for it. And it worked out gloriously!!!

My friend Matt and I made a pact when we were just little, teenage metalheads. If KISS ever got back together with the original line-up, no matter how old we were, or what we were doing in life, we would drop everything and be at opening night. WE ACTUALLY DID IT. We flew to Detroit Rock City for opening night at Tiger Stadium. Matt, myself, and 70,000 of our closest friends witnessed one of the best rock shows ever. KISS was back -- big time!!

While the concerts were great, and the tour was the biggest seller of the year, it didn't take long for the old tensions to re-surface. Even though I love Gene Simmons (I have a tattoo of his make-up face on my leg), I think this time it was his and Paul's fault. Gene and Paul had gotten quite used to having hired hands in the band who would simply take orders, and never talk back. Ace and Peter were original members, the fans loved them, and they did talk back to Gene and Paul.

The re-united band decided to make an album, but Gene and Paul wanted subordinates not band mates or collaborators. Though it is still hard to get them to admit this, apparently KISS as a band only played on ONE SONG on the album! Ace's "Into the Void." The rest of the album was played by session musicians. The songs were written by Gene and Paul with outside writers. The album was a major disappointment (except strangely for 'Into the Void' which ruled...go figure). Psycho Circus, the album and tour, were duds.

The tour did better than the album. The show, however, was no different than the previous tour songwise, except for the addition of a few new songs. KISS was still ignoring the bulk of their career output. I still loved it, but how many more times would I be there to see the same show?

The band might got a whiff of this, when in 2000 they announced their current tour would be their "Farewell Tour." Good-bye KISS. Not exactly. After the 2000 tour ended, the contracts keeping Ace and Peter in the band expired. The tour still had some international dates left, so a new contract had to be quickly hammered out. Ace signed his, Peter held out for more cash. It might have seemed like this was a reasonable move considering how many millions Gene and Paul were making as "KISS", but Ace and Peter did quit back in the day. They were still getting paid a rumored $250K per week. That is mega-money no matter who you are. Regardless, KISS decided in 2001 just like they did in 1980, that replacing a trouble maker is easier than dealing with the trouble.

KISS went to Japan with 90s drummer Eric Singer wearing Peter Criss' make-up. He never "said" he was Peter, but obviously, this is what the band meant to convey. Eric couldn't demand such a high salary, and he didn't talk back. By all accounts the shows were good, but having fake members in the band did not sit right with me. This "version" of the band existed until 2002 when Ace was fired, but strangely, Peter came back! Ace has been a virtual recluse since his time in the band ended. He apparently is happy with things, and wants to retire from music. I take him at his word.

Ace was "replaced" by Tommy Thayer for the post-farewell tour with Aerosmith. Tommy Thayer for the 10 previous years had been Gene and Paul's assistant. He does have a musical history, and has helped KISS, but having him put on Ace's make-up and pretend to be him is just a joke. Maybe...just maybe...if they had hired Bruce Kulick, it might not have seemed so insulting to Ace. Bruce did play in the band for over 10 years, and collaborated with the band on Psycho Circus as a "non-member." For whatever reason, they didn't follow my advice.

After the Aerosmith tour, KISS fired Peter Criss for good. Eric Singer was brought back, another tour was booked (4 years after the farewell), and the KISS-tribute show began.

To me, it is insulting that Gene and Paul think that any person wearing KISS make-up can just be passed off as a member of the band, and the fans won't know the difference. I don't care if Tommy can mimic Ace's guitar licks -- he is not Ace, he didn't write those licks, and he is only copying the sound of the notes, not the feel of them. I don't care if Eric Singer is a better drummer than Peter. Hell, most professionals are. So what. Peter and Ace were there in the club days, they were there on those early tours, they helped the band reach the highest highs, and despite quitting the band at one time, deserve more respect than they are getting.

I am boycotting the current KISS "Rock the Nation" tour. I ignored the KISS/Aerosmith tour also. I will not pay my hard-earned money to see a KISS cover band. I did pay to see those kinds of bands BEFORE the reunion. I loved seeing people pretend to be KISS, do the classic 70s set and show. It was good because KISS was not doing it anymore. Tommy Thayer knows this firsthand -- he was in a tribute band (you have seen the move "Rock Star", right?).

I love Gene and Paul, but you guys have really let me down. I do want to hear obscure, older songs in the set. But, I'd rather see the real band than two sideman pretenders. If you want us fans to believe that they are more than that, give them their own make-up designs. The reason the 80s-90s KISS eventually earned the respect of the fans is that they did not pretend to be someone else. Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent got their own, unique make-up designs, and when the make-up came off, they never pretended to be someone else. Bruce never did a smoking guitar solo, Eric didn't end the show with "Beth." The band acknowledged the obvious -- they were different.

Gene and Paul, you owe the fans more than this. Either retire, bring back Ace and Peter, or give their replacements their own identity. Those are the choices. True fans will agree. Don't believe the hype coming constantly from Gene and Paul about how much better the band is now. The new version is joke. Ignore them. Let me remember the band the way they were -- the way they were meant to be. End it now. Please.

KISS does deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however. They have been eligible for 5 years, but have not been nominated. They have been shut out. Please write to: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 and demand this oversight be corrected.

Thanks for letting me say my piece.

Look at this site

2004-07-24T11:13:00.000-04:00

Wonkette

Friends, check out this site.

selling my house

2004-07-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

I am currently in the process of trying to sell my house. As anyone who has ever experienced this knows, it is an unpleasant undertaking.

Now, the house has only been on the market for two weeks. I have had about 20 showings, which I hear is a lot. I just had a realtor call me at 8:15 a.m. on a Saturday to schedule an appointment. 8:15!!! When I asked her if she knew what time it was, she just sat there silently. I told her I thought it was common to wait until at least 9 to call, she still had nothing to say. Uugghhhh.... well, if her person buys the house, then I'm okay.

As it stands now, I have to sit here and wait until the house sells before I can start the rest of my life. I am currently in Clearwater, Florida, but am moving to Omaha, Nebraska. Since I am not a millionaire (yet), I need the money from my house to get a place in Omaha. Know anyone looking for a great townhouse on the water in Clearwater?

More later...

The introduction

2004-07-23T13:18:00.000-04:00

Hello to anyone who is reading this. This is, in fact, my first ever posting. I have never commented on other blogs, or created my own. However, that does not mean that I don't have a number of firmly held opinions and views.

The contents of my postings will be somewhat varied. They will more than likely revolve around rock music and politics, which are my main points of interest. There are many others, but expect to see most dealing with those. You may or may not get my musings on books, exercise, the psychic powers of cats, traveling, the entertainment "business", drug legalization or decriminalization, celebrity gossip, DVD/movie reviews, whatever....This will be like the full digital cable package.

For music, I have quite an eclectic taste. Favorites include Kiss, The Replacements, Elvis Costello, Husker Du, Misfits, Tom Petty, Sonic Youth, and Neil Young to name a few.

In terms of politics, I am a Democrat. I support John Kerry for President, and John Edwards for Vice President. Post whatever you like in response to me, but my vote won't change. However, leave me alone if you support Ralph Nader. Simply put, you are delusional, and I don't like crazy people. Support Ralph for mayor of Mooseport if you like, but get him away from presidential politics. He has run twice, and lost twice. Neither time did he receive over 4% of the national vote. So, he does better than Lyndon Larouche, and should be treated accordingly. Ignore him.

I'll try and post daily. Hope someone out there is interested.