 
Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, 1909-2003. The last living musician who played and recorded in the 1920s-1930s mandolin- and fiddle-based black string band blues style has passed away at the age of 94. He still played up until quite recently, and in 1985 was the subject of a "documentary film by Terry Zwigoff (the poster and LP/CD soundtrack covers for which were illustrated by Robert Crumb, subject of Zwigoff's next film). I was lucky enough to see and hear Howard play at Jazzfest a few years ago, and he'll be sorely missed. He was truly the last of his kind.
I'm not convinced. Statements like "I'm convinced," "I strongly believe" and "there is no doubt in my mind" are not answers to questions that ask for actual evidence, Mr. Bush. That said, Bush's comment after declining to offer an opinion on the California recall, "We don't have recalls back in Texas ... thankfully," was the funniest thing he's ever said. In other news, Bush's approval rating is sliding, and the number of people who say he's a leader they can trust is now below 50%. Droppin', droppin', sinkin' like a stone. Perhaps the American people are finally pulling the wool from their eyes as to this man's credibility and suitability for office (ya think?). We may not get his down as far as Gray Davis', but there's always hope.
Posting will be thin over the next couple of weeks. Plenty plenty overtime at the day job, plus a rather nice little gig I got on the side -- I'll be compiling a 4-CD, 100-song box set of New Orleans music (more on the label, title and potential release date later). I've gotta have it finished in two weeks, so much of my effort will be going into that instead of this ... sorry, regular readers. The box set is gonna be great, I think. Instead of being the same old 25 to 50-year-old R&B tracks (not that they're bad, they're wonderful, but a little overcompiled), I'm going to do a set that'll have a grounding in that but will also reflect what's going on in the New Orleans music scene today (for instance, anyone who's going to do a New Orleans box set with the intention of marketing it to people who just went there and had a fabulous time who doesn't include Kermit Ruffins on it is doing a bad job, in my humble opinion). Let's hope the Powers That Be and myself end up seeing eye to eye on this. *cross fingers*
Liza with
Well, it's now official. While their lavish wedding was only 16 months ago, Liza Minnelli has called it quits with hubby David Gest. While rumors were circulating months ago that the 57-year-old singer and 49-year-old "promoter" were on their way out, Liza's publicist has told reporters: "I can confirm that they're separated, but that's all I know."Yep, we were watching a relatively recent rerun of Graham last night, and my eyebrows certainly went up when he said that. She may be his beard, but she's got her pride and dignity, dammit! Le *boot*! (Credit for the headline goes to Wes. Heeeee.)
The Best of L.A. It's not in the Weekly this month, but in Los Angeles Magazine -- in a layout that looks so much like the Saveur 100 that I wonder if they're owned by the same publisher, we're given the magazine's view of 101 great reasons to live in L.A. Some of 'em are too rich for my blood, some of 'em I have quibbles with but others are places I patronize regularly. Let's have a look at some:
1. Cheese plate at Mélisse. As much as I'd love to try this, I don't want to have to take out a second mortgage on the house to eat at Mélisse. In the meantime, I'll head over to the Cheese Store of Silver Lake and say to Chris, "I rather fancy some cheese comestibles. Pick four."Oh, I nearly forgot. As for No. 71, The Abbey in West Hollywood ... they might like the atmosphere, but that places makes the shittiest drinks I've ever had. I ordered a Manhattan there once; there wasn't a bottle of Angostura Bitters anywhere in the bar, the whiskey was watered down, the proportions were wrong, the bartender was a jerk, and it was $10. Never. Again. I looooooooove L.A. ...
It is to shudder. I don't usually do this, but today I'm going to quote someone else's post in its entirety, rather than just link to it. Kevin writes:
"'How am I a closet Democrat? I'm racist, I love guns and I hate welfare.'" Michelle Goldberg of Salon checks out the college Republican convention in DC, and discovers many of the attendees to be exactly the bitter, troubled, pugnacious, and ignorant children you might expect (and as the study suggests.) "I'm a Republican because liberals make me sick," says one deluded soul, for example, "I don't like whiny people and tree-huggers." (He then proceeds to whine incessantly about how affirmative action and taxes screwed him over.) Meanwhile, the "adults" at the convention spend their time fostering this hate in the name of the almighty buck. "Gene McDonald, who sold 'No Muslims = No Terrorists' bumper stickers at the Conservative Political Action Conference in January, was doing a brisk trade in 'Bring Back the Blacklist' T-shirts, mugs and mouse pads." Scary stuff.I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Dean in 2004.
My new favorite song. "Pig Meat Is What I Crave", by Bo Carter, early 1930s, from the album Banana In Your Fruit Basket, filled with Carter's delightfully risqué songs such as "Don't Mash My Digger So Deep" and "My Pencil Won't Write No More". The first song really is about pork, though (pig meat, that is!).
Don't use (or even say) "the 'M' word." Mar ... marg ... margar ... nnnnnnnnnnn! *shudder* It's full of trans-fats and bad bad bad for you. Use butter (and in the link read everything you always wanted to know about it, in a nearly book-length treatise). It tastes far better, and it's ... not quite so bad for you! Learn about the different grades of butter, why you should only use salted butter for spreading and never for cooking, and much more. Even better, try to find European-style or "Plugra" butter, which has 11% less water and more butterfat (ooh). Learn how to churn your own butter at home, and how to make chocolate butter! And, if you like, join my boycott of Challenge brand butter, because when I was at UCLA's part-time culinary program doing my restaurant project and trying to get wholesale food prices to build my menu, they were very rude and mean to me and refused to help me, the bastards (and have therefore lost my business for life, especially if I ever open a little restaurant one day).
Whoo! Pharmacists! I have to thank the horrid traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard on the way to work this morning for this, without which I might not have seen it. The flow of cars was not unlike chilled molasses, and I found myself stopped in front of the famed Troubadour. There was a poster in the window -- behind a broken pane at that, taped together with black tape to obscure at least half the poster -- but I still managed to see that my favorite band of the last couple of years, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, are going to be there next Tuesday. Man, I've been waiting to see these guys for ages. Quirky, intelligent pop-punk with a very driving beat, hard-edged but very catchy hooks, with Ted's trademark high-pitched vocals and literate lyrics. (My favorite quote is from the web site: "I consider myself a perpetual English major, but I also get into bar fights.") Check out a few MP3s: "Under the Hedge" and "Squeaky Fingers" are on The Tyranny of Distance, and "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone" and "The High Party" are on the new one, Hearts of Oak. If you're an Emusic.com subscriber, you can download the entire The Tyranny of Distance album as part of your $9.99 monthly fee. (Have I mentioned recently how much I love Emusic?) Seeya at the Troub on Tuesday.
The Cocktailian. Today Gary Regan takes us on another visit to the Professor for an intriguing Manhattan variation that might just get me to spring for a whole bottle of Amaro Nonino ... the Uptown Manhattan. (Oh, and I'm trying out a new comments system, too.)
Gray Davis should resign. The California Gubernatorial Recall Debacle has officially begun. If you look at how it's all constructed, it's pretty insane. If voters approve the recall, whichever candidate has the most votes (not a majority, mind you) will win, even if said candidate only has 10 or 15 percent of the total. So far the only declared candidate is Rep. Darrell Issa, the third-rate Republican politician (and millionare car alarm salesman, who oddly enough was arrested twice for car theft) who paid for the recall campaign. If he were to win, it would mean that the California governorship can be bought by any jerk with enough money. Then, there's the looming prospect of a run or even a win by Conan the Republican. Davis has said that he will "fight like a Bengal tiger" to retain his office, but given the fact that a great number of Democrats undoubtedly had to sign the recall petitions in order to get the numbers the only sure way to keep the governorship from falling victim to a right-wing takeover is for Davis to resign before the general election and let Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamente take the governorship. If he cares about the state more than his own sorry ass, that's what he'll do.
"The hands come off so I can take them across the street for a manicure." The story of the Ernie K-Doe statue makes it to the New York Times, with the above being my favorite quote from Antoinette. (Thanks, Lia and Steve!) Freeeeennnnch friiiiiies ... *spirals in eyeballs* I am a French fried potato monster. It's my major food weakness. I know they're not good for me, but damn, do I love fries. I try to limit my intake to one serving a week (and a reasonably-sized serving at that; I don't do fast-food outlets and their obscene "Super Sizes" and "Biggies"). I've thought about making them at home; if you fry them properly, all the oil gets left behind except one tablespoon, just like Florence Henderson said. But who wants to deal with deep frying, leftover oil, etc.? I've tried oven-baked fries before, but they're almost always terrible. This recipe from CuisineAtHome.com claims to be a good one, and apparently the secret is this: you have to make shoestring fries, no more than 1/4" on a side. We'll see ... Arsebiscuits! Two swearing links passed our merry way this week, scholarly the both of 'em. American swearing tends to be very uncreative, just a few words culled from a rather short list and hurled more with anger than with a true desire to insult. Come on, folks. Surely we can do better than "Fuck you!" ... take a lesson from the former Yugoslavs, who raise truly foul cursing to a near-art form. It must be a Slavic thing, as the Russians are apparently very good at it too. Some good friends of mine are both Russian scholars, and I remember seeing a book at their house once entitled The Dictionary of Russian Cursing and Obscenity. You just had to admire the depth and breadth of the multilayered, complex and unbelievably vile curses contained therein; a whole book of it too, amazing considering how taboo swearing is in Russian society. I showed the book to our friend Vasily, then a recent immigrant from the then-Soviet Union, who flipped through it, appalled, and blurted out, "I do not know know these words! I have not been to prison!" I've always enjoyed swearing in the Queen's English, as the words are a bit more unfamiliar to Americans and they tend to be more fun to say. "Bloody" is a good, relatively unoffensive (at least to Americans) swear word, and it's awfully great fun to say "Bollocks!" Still, for sheer personal delight, nothing works for me like Irish swearing, given my own ancestry, the amount of time I've spent in Ireland over the years and my delight with the use of the English language by the Irish. As far as swear words go, "Gobshite" is a good one (and particularly enjoyable when shouting it at someone whilst driving), but the quintessential Irish exclamation is undoubtedly "feck", as ye fans of "Father Ted" are well aware. It's close enough to the dreaded F-word to have some impact, but it's almost completly meaningless, not nearly as rude but just as versatile and is actually kind of cute. I remember visting back in 1990, determined to snap a portrait of my friend Margaret; although she was quite attractive she absolutely refused to be photographed. In Clancy's Pub in Athy, Co. Kildare, during a rousing and fantastic traditional music session, she responded to a funny story with an uproarious laugh and broad smile, and at that moment I brought up the camera and snapped a perfect picture. Her face morphed into an expression of shock and mock horror, and she shrieked at me, "FECKER!" (Aww, how adorable.) My Irish language teacher at UCLA once told us that there are no actual curse words in Irish, but Irish speakers tend to use English swear words and put them into the Irish vocative case. We laughed and didn't believe him, but I've heard this in action. In a pub in Spiddal, Co. Galway several years ago, I was at the bar listening to traditional music from P.J. and Marcus Hernon out of one ear, but with the other was listening in to a grand tale being told (in Irish, of which I was catching about every twelfth word) at a nearby table. One woman at the table, who ostensibly was supposed to be listening to the tale-teller with rapt attention, was instead periodically rising to peek out the window at the fight that was brewing between two teenage boys out in the street in front of the pub (one of them having made a pass at the other's girlfriend). Finally, the teller got fed up and shouted, "Suigh síos, a bhitch!", which means, "Sit down, bitch!" in Irish and English-swearing-in-the-Irish-vocative. Damn, Séamus was right. Actually, there's an entire tense in Irish that's sometimes called "the blessing and cursing tense", beginning with the particle "go" and translating generally as "may this or that happen to you"; e.g.; "Go scriosa Dia do thóin bheagmhaitheasach," or, "May God destroy your worthless butt." A little Googling revealed a whole list of Irish-language curses and, of course, our old friend An tInneal Mallachtaí, the Irish curse engine. (Arse!)
A horribly wounded community begins to heal. With regards to last Wednesday's tragedy at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, Andy has already done a better job of reporting it than I could. The Market was a wonderful community of farmers, customers, foodies and chefs, and I enjoyed attending and shopping there whenever I could. The Market will come back -- it's already back -- but I fear it'll never be the same. I sincerely hope that the entire Market community will do all they can to keep the spirit of the market alive, and to remember those who are no longer with us. In a bizarre coincidence, the LA Weekly ran a long-planned history and profile of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market by Michelle Huneven. It's excellent. Also check out Chef Evan Kleiman's "Good Food" radio program on July 19; it usually features a Farmer's Market report from Market manager Laura Avery but instead Evan and Laura remember the victims. Another PayPal scam. If you get an email today purporting to be from PayPal, for Gawd's sakes don't click on the links and don't enter any of your personal information, especially your PayPal ID and password. As authentic as it may look, it's another attempt to get to your bank account and credit card information so a thief can rob you blind. Note the URLs very carefully -- they don't go to https://www.paypal.com/, but to "http://cgi32-paypal.com//cgi-bin/webscr-cmd_login-run", which is a very cleverly disguised site that looks exactly like PayPal's site. The domain "cgi32-paypal.com" is NOT PayPal, and is registered by Melbourne IT in Australia to one Richard Stanfill of 11417 Clematis Blvd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15235-3102, telephone (412) 244-8544. I'm not making any accusations, mind you, but it's probably safe to presume that if the domain he registered and owns is being used for this site then there is a distinct possibility that he is a great big fucking crook. I have difficulty imagining any legitimate use for a domain that includes the term "paypal" unless it's PayPal. If you get the email, whose subject line is "Paypal Member ID Confirmation", don't enter any information but report him to the FBI at http://www.ifccfbi.gov/ ... and if you EVER get a piece of email purporting to be from PayPal asking you to confirm your information, report it -- PayPal NEVER do that. It's always a fraud. UPDATE - The site is already down. I hope the perpetrator is on his way to jail. 29 Days Later. Although I did like Danny Boyle's new film "28 Days Later" (being a longtime fan of post-apocalyptic tales), I wasn't too sure about the ending. Not bleak enough! Now, in a rather unusual move, it appears that Fox Searchlight will tack on an alternate ending to the movie this coming Friday.
The downbeat, darker ending will run at the end of the credits. "Otherwise, projectionists would have to splice in the four minutes of footage or Searchlight would have had to strike new prints," notes John Horn of the L.A. Times.I hope it'll be on the American DVD as well. Do you feel safe yet? Last month, here in the United States, a man was sitting in a coffee shop reading an article from an alternative newspaper; the article was entitled "Weapons of Mass Stupidity" and was critical of so-called Fox News. Another patron thought what the man was reading was "suspicious", followed him, presumably got his license plate number and called the FBI ... who proceeded to pay the man a visit to question him. For reading a newspaper article. This. Is. Wrong. (Your papers, please.)
Quote of the day. "President Bush made a comment a week ago, and he said 'bring it on.' Well, they brought it on, and now my nephew is dead." -- Mary Kewatt, aunt of Edward James Herrgott, 20, who was killed by a sniper in Baghdad. If pigs could fly. Steve sent this in, after getting an email from a friend of his about something called Taylor ham. "I doubt if anyone outside of New Jersey has ever heard of this," he said, "but it is a spiced ham that is popular only in N.J. (from what I can tell) and is generally sliced thin, fried, topped with a fried egg and served on a Kaiser roll (which I can't get in Arkansas). Take my word for it when I say there is no other ham like it. "I ordered it on-line from a place called Pork Roll Express. And as soon as I receive it, I expect four cardiologists to send me invitations to see them." The Pork Roll Express site is a treat. We're big connoisseurs of restaurant and food service company logos featuring smiling, happy pigs (especially if they're waist-deep in the cauldrons in which they're being cooked), and this site is full of porcine graphics. I think my favorite is on the Delivery and Shipping page. Still, I must confess skepticism about something called "pork roll". That suggests a chopped/pressed/formed cold cut rather than real ham or any thing with true porky goodness. New Jerseyites, any thoughts? Would I do better going to Satriale's Pork Store?
"Busy, busy, busy." It's a thing we non-Bokononists say when we're ... um, really really busy. Even more on the Emperor. Ed Newman, intrepid Looka! reader in New Orleans, sends us even more on Our Beloved Emperor of the Universe:
In the 2002 Krewe Du Vieux parade, held in the midst of a desultory mayoral campaign, I came up with the idea of running K-Doe for mayor. We made up a campaign float for Ernie, crowned with his slogan ("Keep the Jive Alive", also placed on bumper stickers throughout the city) and placed the mannequin atop it. Best of all was, as the parade started rolling, Antoinette, K-Doe's widow, jumped into the mannequin's lap and rode the entire parade route so ensconced. Also, all fifty of us were dressed up as K-Doe. I ordered a nifty gold lamé shirt, with matching tie and tie chain from International Male, and paired it with some spangled clef notes on some chinos.Hey, if dead people can vote for a live guy in St. Bernard Parish, surely live people can vote for a dead guy in Orleans. The Cocktailian. In Gary Regan's column this week the Professor again meets the mysterious bearded stranger, who demands a Sazerac and one properly made, no less (the only way, really). God knows we don't need even more Sazerac talk around here -- I usually babble enough on that subject as it is. However ... I applaud the Professor's method and the fact that he eschews the use of Angostura bitters in addition to the Peychaud's. But serving in a champagne flute? Oh my, I think not. Double Old Fashioned glass is proper, but Wes and I have been known to serve them in cocktail glasses during the summer. Welcome to da Nint' Wawd, dawlin'! It's where my family's from. It's where Fats Domino is from. It's where praline bacon is from ... and so much more. Ever wonder about those references to "the Ninth Ward" in New Orleans? Where is it? What is it? What is a "ward", anyway? Bunny Matthews, creator of "F'Sure!" and "Vic 'n Nat'ly" and esteemed writer on local music and culture, takes us on a tour of his beloved Bywater and beyond.
The Emperor of the World's stand-in. A couple of people asked what was up with the whole Ernie K-Doe mannequin thing, so a note of explanation. After the self-proclaimed Emperor of the World/Universe (and famous New Orleans R&B singer of "Mother-in-Law" fame) passed away, a local musician and adoring fan constructed a rather amazing likeness of the Emperor, right down to the wacky clothes, wig, crown and long fingernails. Its creator presented it to K-Doe's widow Antoinette, who loved it. The faux K-Doe made its debut at an event K-Doe had been scheduled to attend, was a huge hit, and the rest is history. The K-Doe simulacrum holds court at the Mother-In-Law Lounge every day, and frequently appears around town. All hail the Emperor! Whooped upside the head with a baseball bat by the Karma Cops. I don't get it, me. Of course, I'm completely apathetic about sports and I've only been to one baseball game in my entire life (the tickets for which were free, and I was mostly interested in the hot dogs). Lots of people are fans, of course, and some people are fanatics, and then there's this (sent in by my baseball-loving friend Steve):
Fan who caught Bonds' record homer sued by attorneyHe "deserved" to have the ball? Well then, he shouldn't have dropped it. There's that sense-of-entitlement plague rearing its ugly head again. I'm also boggled by the idea that anyone would pay between $450K and $3.2 million for a $5 baseball. Somebody in the midst of that melée could have pocketed that baseball and replaced it was one from the sporting goods store, and no one would have known the difference. I can see why someone would pay $3.2 million for a painting by Van Gogh (although they're up to $20+ million now), but not for a $5 baseball that happened to be at the right place at the right time. Sports. I just don't get it.
Only in New Orleans... That's a phrase you hear New Orleanians say fairly often. There are some things about which you can really make no other comment other than to shake your head (either with great satisfaction or occasionally with an eyeball roll). In this case, the phrase came to mind after reading the following press release regarding an upcoming event in the city this coming Sunday. It looks like a great musical lineup and it's for a great cause, but all that aside ... the relevant part is at the end, in boldface type.
FRIENDS OF NEW ORLEANS CEMETERIESNote that the featured attraction isn't a K-Doe mannequin, it's the K-Doe mannequin. Only in New Orleans... I'm going insaaaaaaaaane! I'm mad ... mad, I tell you! Up until all hours of the night, hunched over my computer, stashing album after album after album ... I blame Josh. It's entirely his fault, because it was from the linked post that I learned about eMusic, an online MP3 subscription service that, in some ways, beats the living crap out of Apple's iTunes Music Store. Not that I don't love iTunes -- in fact, I spent about $45 in there over the last few weeks, and there'll probably always be stuff I want in there. But the kinds of music I'm really interested in -- lots of roots, folk, trad, blues and indie rock/pop -- are much more prevalent at eMusic than in iTunes. For starters, hey have almost the entire output of Shanachie's Yazoo label, which remasters rare 78rpm records. So far in my queue I've got almost two dozen compilations of old-time music, early jazz, early and proto-blues, and I see more stuff than I'll be able to download in months. My $45 for four dozen or so songs if spent on an eMusic membership would get me almost three years of downloading that's only limited by my ability to stay awake to point and click. My free trial netted me 50 songs (which would have cost me $49.50 with Apple), and I decided to sign up for a year of unlimited, digital-rights-management-free MP3s at $9.99 per month. That's what Apple charges for a single album, so if I download at least 13 albums between now and July 8, 2004, it will have been a better deal. Shit. I'll probably download 13 albums tonight.
Oops! I did it again!
In a surprising -- nay, earth-shattering --
revelation, the White House, as reported by the Toronto Star,
"has admitted that the U.S. President George W. Bush was wrong when he
said last January that Iraq had recently sought significant quantities of
uranium in Africa." Thing is, we knew that all along, and members of the
intelligence community knew that it was If I may address those dopey protesters outside Vroman's last week (and their ilk) -- yes, Clinton lied. We all know he lied. He got a blowjob (or a series of blowjobs) from an intern less than half his age and lied about it. Shameful behavior, and I'm sure his wife and daughter were very hurt by his actions. Now, how many people died because of that? As Tom Tomorrow put it today (with link inserted by me),
There are currently some 200 dead American military personnel as I write this, and certainly more on the way, and god only knows how many dead Iraqi civilians, and we're looking at a years, maybe decades-long commitment in Iraq, and untold billions of dollars to be spent, all because Bush lied about something a bit more serious than a blow job from a silly intern. And the longer the supporters of this quagmire-in-the-making deny the obvious, the more foolish they will eventually look.How far is the distance between "being wrong" and "telling a lie"? Perhaps we'll find out soon. That's, that's ... shocking!! Today's news brings us a truly unbelievable morals scandal that's certain to bring our country crashing down to the ground. I'm so stunned from the surprise that I can barely move my fingers to type this newsflash:
Britney Spears Says She's Not a Virgin(Yeah. She was going to marry Justin, then stay at home, be a homemaker, spend most of her time in the kitchen and raise the kids. Right.)
The 21-year-old Spears, whose stratospheric rise from Mouseketeer to pop megastar mirrored Timberlake's success, revealed that she had sex with the 'N Sync boy band singer because she believed they would marry someday.It's just appalling, why, how could she do such a thing?! ...
<voice="Emily Litella">Never mind!</voice> (May I just ask that on a day when the other headlines, which were only just above this one on one of the news sites and included a racist shooting massacre in Mississippi, more soldier injured in Iraq, the White House admitting to an "error" in the State of the Union address with regards to weapons of mass destruction and the death of the 29-year-old conjoined Iranian twins after failed separation surgery... why? Is? This? In? The? News?)
Ooh, I was baaaad on Saturday ... I did The Bad Thing With The Credit Card. I had promised myself that I wouldn't do this until next March, when my car was paid off. I'd take what would have been my next car payment and then use it to do what I ended up doing Saturday morning. I'll just take that first non-car payment amount and put it back in the credit card account, eh? That'll work! What I did was to go to The Apple Store in Pasadena and buy a 30GB iPod. Yeah, they're pricey, but I'll sell my old 5GB model and that'll help take the edge off. Yeah, I have quibbles with the new design (I can't stand that it has a proprietary connector now, and not just a standard FireWire port, plus the ports on the top have changed and I now have to buy another iTrip), but the bottom line is that this thing has enough room in its slim little body to play nearly three solid weeks of music (as long as you're plugged into the AC charger). Seven thousand songs. That's a lot. I've been using my MP3s and iTunes on the air a lot, but since my internal iBook hard drive is only 10GB, I've been keeping the ever-growing batch of MP3s on my big external hard drive. I got really tired of hauling that thing back and forth to the radio station, so when I heard that the new version of the iPod software allows you to make playlists on the go, right on the iPod, I was sold. My on-air setup will be much less unwieldy now, plus I'll be able to carry a mind-boggling amount of music (which, I hope, will help facilitate listener requests) in a more streamlined package that's now smaller than ever. Ain't technology grand? The weekend's cinema-going. It was hot. We don't have air conditioning. We went to the movies three days in a row. "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" wasn't a big disappointment only because our expectations were relatively low. Neither of us were terribly impressed with the Jonathan Mostow's previous effort "U-571", so we weren't expecting anything at the level of "T2". The movie looked good and had a few spectacular action sequences, would-be governor Conan the Republican is still remarkably buff for age 55 and the T-X character was well-played, with some interestingly evil attachments. However, the story was weak, the machines didn't exactly rise until the very end of the picture (and there weren't all that many of them), and then there was the constant shrieking of Claire "What Am I Doing In This Movie?" Danes. Two stars. Fortunately, Friday's letdown was overcome by Saturday's triumph. "Finding Nemo" is one of the best films of the year, period, and one of the most beautiful animated films I've ever seen. Very well written, funny, engaging for adults as well as children, great characterizations and vocal performances (Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres were perfect, and how long did it take you to notice that the angelfish was Willem Dafoe?) and just stupendous computer animation. I can hardly wait to see what's next from Pixar -- their teaser trailer for next year's "The Invincibles" nearly caused me to spray Barq's all over the back of the head of the hapless person sitting in front of me. Four and one-half stars. By this point we'd seen most everything that's out that we wanted to see, and in a fit of intellectual laziness decided against some of the foreign fare at the Laemmle Playhouse and opted for a Fourth of July Weekend-type movie (whatever that means). This time my relatively low expectations paid off with a surprise, as we both really enjoyed "The Italian Job". It was highly implausible and quite lightweight, but very entertaining throughout, and who couldn't resist a Mini Cooper chase? Three stars. Silly Flash of the Day. Four Horses, although whether or not they accompany The Apocalypse I'm not sure. Just start clicking; you'll quickly know what to do. Is that pronounced "LEER" or "lee-YAY"? (D'oh ... somehow this managed to avoid getting posted last Wednesday due to webloggy glitchiness.) A week ago Sunday morning Wes and I got together with a couple of friends and headed to Vroman's in what was a feeble attempt to meet Sen. Hillary Clinton and get an autographed copy of her book. Alas, as it turned out, one would have had to get there well before 6:30am in order to get a copy. Vroman's inexplicable rules for this signing allowed each person two copies instead of just one, meaning that of the over 1,000 people in line, only 400 or so got signed books and most of the line-standers (ourselves included) were disappointed. Still, we had fun. It was a lovely morning, we snacked on banana walnut bread and chocolate banana shakes and hung out with all the really nice people in line. We were also lucky enough to have free entertainment provided for us while we were in line -- five lone anti-Hilary protesters across the street from the bookstore. There was a grizzled-looking older guy, perhaps a veteran, who kept waving flags and replying to every statement and question directed to him with an automaton-like "We're bringing freedom to the entire world!" There was a Monica Lewinksy lookalike wearing a blue dress and knee pads (gee, what a knee-slappingly original bit of humor), dancing around and lifting up her skirt. Apparently the point was to make fun of Ms. Lewinsky, but all she succeeded in doing was allowing us to see her fat thighs and bulging panties (and believe us, dear, we really didn't care to see what was under your skirt). However, my favorites were the sign-carriers. "Monica" carried the former:
Hey, wannabe Monica, may I offer a bit of a lesson on the proper use of the apostrophe (you idiot)? The bearer of the second sign kept saying "The truth is more important than spelling!" The truth about what was apparently destined to be kept from us, despite repeated questions. They were all just so precious, bless their suppurating little hearts.
We'll set everybody free. Happy Independence Day, y'all. I hope your 4th is full of fabulous cocktails and grilled food, and no long car trips (ugh). I'll mark this 4th of July holiday with the lyrics of a song I played in my first set of music on "Down Home" last night. It's my favorite ... er, patriotic song, and although I pretty much always play in on my radio program on or near the 4th of July, it has never been more relevant than it is this year.
Political ScienceComments.
Chris Schefler, R.I.P. (1966-2003) Chris, who along with Thomas Leavitt founded Webcom, one of the first (if not the first) consumer web hosting services, passed away Monday before last; he took his own life. When I first started this web site I was one of many disgruntled Netcom shell subscribers, having to host the site out of my ftp directory (its original URL was the abominably unwieldy ftp://ftp.netcom.com/e/ea/eamon/welcome.html ... ugh). Chris and Thomas cobbled together some code to give all us would-be webmasters an automated access report for free, which was pretty cool. Several months later, in October of 1994, when I was very ready for such a thing, Chris invited me to be one of the first subscribers to his and Thomas' new venture, Web Communications. My site's accesses and popularity grew exponentially due to the easier access, the service was friendly, and they had a great four-year run until they were swallowed up by Verio (who ruined everything) and I bailed. I never knew Chris personally, but we swapped emails on and off for years while he was hosting my site. If it weren't for him I might not be virtually here, and I'm grateful for everything he (and Thomas) did for me. Thanks for everything, Chris ... I hope you've found peace.
There's a tribute to Chris on Thomas'
Savage Stupidity site;
scroll down until you see the above picture.
"There are some who feel like that the conditions are such that they can
attack us there. My answer is bring them on," Bush said. "We've got the
force necessary to deal with the security situation."
"I am shaking my head in disbelief," [Sen. Frank] Lautenberg [D-N.J.]
said. "When I served in the Army in Europe during World War II, I never
heard any military commander -- let alone the commander in chief -- invite
enemies to attack U.S. troops."
Bye bye, IE. *plonk!*
Microsoft have announced that they are
dropping
development of the Internet Explorer web browser for the Macintosh
platform. Okay, fair enough. I deleted it last night.
I downloaded the latest version of
Safari, Apple's own browser for
OS X, and set it up this morning. Even though it's only a 1.0 version not
long out of beta, I like it a lot, and I predict that before too
much longer I'll be saying, "IE who?"
This leaves my machine now almost completely
Microsoft-free, save for the free version of the Windows Media Player.
Alas, some webcasting radio stations don't offer their audio stream in any
other format.
Speaking of Austin ...
They seem to be coming on board with the
cocktail renaissance, if a recent
article in their local paper is any indication. (Thanks,
Tim!)
I have to quibble with the author, though.
While he's right that you probably won't want to use a $75 sipping
tequila to make a Margarita, just remember that the old saying for
computer programming works for cocktail creation too: "Garbage in,
garbage out." The author says, "Virtually any blanco or plata tequila
with a decent triple sec and real lime juice will taste much better."
Sweetie, I guarantee that a Margarita made with Herradura Silver,
Cointreau or Citronge and real lime juice will taste better than a
Margarita with the $8 a bottle Cuervo silver, $5 a liter Bols triple sec
and real lime juice. That said, he does well to recommend Sauza,
Herradura and Cazadores tequilas.
Here's hoping that Austinites, as well as
people around the country, will begin to demand more from their bartenders
and bar managers (hey, can't blame the bartender if all the manager orders
is crappy "margarita mix" instead of buying lemons and limes).
A little dab'll do ya.
My friend Sean sends in his recipe for chile oil. Yum.
Put a pot of tepid water on the stove (maybe 2 inches deep?), and turn on
the flame to medium heat. Put in the bottle, and let the water come to a
slight boil. Once the water is boiling, take the bottle out and, use a
funnel to add some dried chile powder to the oil. The quantity and
composition is entirely up to you; but I tend toward using maybe two
tablespoons of dried crushed/powdered chipotle, and then a few pinches of
dried/crushed ancho or cayenne. The chipotle is mellow and smokey, and
then the stronger sharper ancho or cayenne will add a bit of zing to it.
I've recently started experimenting with pasilla powder, but I'm not quite
sure how it should fit in here. I've at times added a bit of cumin
powder, too.
Do NOT add fresh garlic or fresh herbs, as this will make the oil
susceptable to spoiling (so you'd have to refrigerate it and use it within
a few days).
Once you've got the chile powder added, it'll start settling thru the oil.
Put the bottle back in the hot water, and let it sit maybe an hour. You
might put the flame on low, or just turn it off. After maybe a half hour,
the heat will have accelerated the process of the chile infusing its
flavors into the olive oil. Take the bottle out of the water and set it
on the counter to cool back to room temperature. If you wish, you can
pour off or siphon off the infused oil, leaving the chile powder sludge at
the bottom. Or, if you're very patient, filter it through a coffee filter
set in a strainer. Then seal the bottle and store in a cool dark place.
Use within a month.
It depends on what your definition of "guerrilla" is.
For the second time in recent weeks, I
listened to Darth Rumsfeld on the radio, and could not believe my own
ears. This beats even his absurd "the same shot of the same looter" and
"how many vases could they possibly have in Iraq" comments.
Q: Mr. Secretary, I'd like to ask you about a couple of words and
phrases that keep popping up in the commentary about what's going on. One
of them is "guerrilla war," and the other one is "quagmire." Now, I know
you've admonished us not to --
Rumsfeld: I never have admonished you.
Q: -- not to rush to any judgment about a quagmire just because things
are getting tough. But can you remind us again why this isn't a quagmire?
And can you tell us why you're so reluctant to say that what's going on
in Iraq now is a guerrilla war?
Rumsfeld: I'll do my best. I guess the reason I don't use the
phrase "guerrilla war" is because there isn't one, and it would be a
misunderstanding and a miscommunication to you and to the people of the
country and the world. If you think what I just answered on the first
question -- looters, criminals, remnants of the Ba'athist regime, foreign
terrorists who came in to assist and try to harm the coalition forces,
and those influenced by Iran -- I would say that those are five, if that
was five items, five different things.
They're all slightly different in why they're there and what they're
doing. That is -- doesn't make it anything like a guerrilla war or an
organized resistance. It makes it like five different things going on
that are functioning much more like terrorists.
I mean, if you think of what the Ba'athists and the remnants are doing,
well, think what they did during the war, the Fedayeen Saddam. They put
civilian clothes on, went around and took women and children and shoved
them in front of them in Basra, as I recall, during the early part of the
war, and attempted to use human shields and that kind of an approach.
Now, that is not -- it doesn't fit that word.
So, I think I think that if one analyzes what is going on in that
country, they would find a different way to characterize it. I know it's
nice to be -- have a bumper sticker, but it's the wrong bumper sticker.
Q: Well, I know. But appreciating, as I do, your appreciation of
precision in language -- (Inaudible.) --
Rumsfeld: You've got the dictionary definition?
Q: -- what the DoD definition of guerrilla war.
Rumsfeld: I was afraid you would have -- I should have looked it
up. I knew I should have looked it up! (Laughter.) I --
Q: According to the Pentagon's own definition --
Rumsfeld: I could die that I didn't look it up!
Q: -- "Military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held
or hostile territory by irregular, predominantly indigenous forces". This
seems to fit a lot of what's going on in Iraq.
Rumsfeld: It really doesn't. (Laughter.)
June Looka! entries
have been permanently archived.
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