Where Greatness Comes From.

Presidents get credit and take blame for things that happen while they're in office, whether or not they themselves actually had anything to do with these things.  Maybe they inherit a war or shitty economy, or maybe they inherit peace and prosperity, and maybe any of these things can go either way on their watch, and their legacies are based upon how things turn.

Meanwhile, this has just happened to America:

BaconAir, the zero calorie, zero fat, vegetarian, kosher, low sodium bacon-flavored oxygen inhaler.

If Obama can't breeze to re-election in 2012 and then sprint immediately to the title of "Greatest President Ever" based on this happening while he was at his post, then I don't know what else to tell him.  I mean, camon man.  You did it. The time to bask has officially begun.

Heeeey, Looks Like Someone's Single!

This fat fuck died stuck to his chair, having not gotten up in two years:

A morbidly obese Ohio man has died after police found him fused to a chair he had not moved from in two years and were forced to cut a hole in the wall of his house just to get him out, WTOV-TV reported Wednesday.

And then I see this juicy tidbit:

The man lived with two able-bodied roommates -- including his girlfriend, who officials said fed him since he never got up -- in a home in Bellaire, Ohio.  Officers who responded to the scene said that the man's skin was fused to the fabric of chair and that he was sitting in his own feces and urine with maggots visible.

My bold.  Clearly, this is a woman who won't be too upset whenever I forget to keep the ice trays filled.  (smashing my BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY Canoe Cologne box on the wall by my desk.)

Surprise! The #1 Band Ever is The Beatles

Although the rest of this list is somewhat dubious (The Ramones as low as 27? Really?), this is a pretty great article about The Beatles, including how they've become so ingrained into each one of us that it's become easy to take them for granted:

Their music has become so omnipresent, been insinuated into all aspects of culture so deeply, that we can easily take them for granted....You can be having a conversation with anyone about anything remotely related to entertainment and simply say the extremely common surnames “John,” “Paul” or “George” and everyone will know who you’re talking about (“Ringo,” too, but that one’s a lot easier)....And because the Beatles have become such an institution—the most famous band in popular music, bar none—far too many today simply look at them as some artifact, a museum display worth pausing to gaze at nostalgically before moving on to the next exhibit while their iPod is blasting the latest Kanye banger or Animal Collective collage into their ears....Behind drugs and broken hearts, the Beatles should rank about third in the leading causes of musician depression. But they don’t inspire jealousy and frustration. If anything, they’ve become the great equalizer—if pressed for inspiration or stuck in writer’s block, just rip off the Beatles. Great bands have been doing it all my life and even before that; blatantly, shamelessly, by admission. They were getting ripped off the very next day after one of their songs would first be played. You don’t even think in those terms now. It’s a sound that has become indelibly classic. And so we take the Beatles for granted. We pass right by the exhibit without giving more than a curt, “Thanks, guys.”

The writer also brings up something I have before HERE, about our curious patience for waiting for far shittier artists to put out records these days:

It is simply confounding today recognizing both the quantity and quality of their work in such a short time. When the Beatles called it a day, they were all between the ages of 27 and 29....It’s not just that the Beatles influenced the music that came after them. They were also changing it day by day—one of their singles would be released, another artist would hear it, become inspired/jealous and rush into the studio to capitalize and three weeks later, a new take on the idea or a conceptual copycat would be in stores right next to the 45 that “licensed” it. Nothing moves that fast today, which is odd because the technology would certainly allow for it. But that’s because no one today is moving as fast, as radically, as extraordinarily as the Beatles. No one else ever has, really.

It's Important to Make Friends.

Hey, maybe she'll help me with my taxes!

Xmastime Crystal Ball: Kiddie Porn Industry About to Have Massive Migration to Maine

I See Someone's Been Checking Her Traps

Finally. Tonight, I Sleep.

...but can he keep his Twitter account? please?

Whiny USAID Adminstrator Thinks "Global" Means "White"; Probably Hates Freedom.

Shitkickerville, USA

Yglesias shrugs his shoulders "meh" at this quote re: "toxic partisanship is being exported from Washington, DC into previously placid capitals":

In capital after state capital, Washington’s toxic culture is seeping in, suffocating local tradition and replacing it with the Beltway’s unique contribution to American politics—the practice of permanent, total war. The shrill partisanship, hardball politics and legislative stalemate that marked Madison’s recent turn in the national spotlight are becoming an increasingly familiar presence, exported from the national parties and the campaign tradesmen and special interests who run and finance their campaigns.

I think it's absolutely true.  Thanks to the 24/7 media blitz, it's incredibly easy for the casual citizen to see what have become the clearly marked lines "THIS is Republican, THIS is Democrat, and nary the twain shall meet!"  Knowing which "team" one should be on is a very immediate thing now.  And a governor who wouldn't mind being more than just a state governor know this; otherwise, it's hard to picture so many governors suddenly doubling down on "all or nothing, line in the sand!" so harshly without this national spotlight shining on them.

Also, social media has made it that much quicker for politicians in Shitkickerville, USA to get noticed by higher level parties, meaning that instead of spending a lot of time forming useful connections with fellow local politicians and creating a resumé of competency, they can become well-known for acting like an asshole on YouTube (see "Christie, Chris.")  THIS JERKOFF is easy to laugh at now, but if he's savvy enough ("TOO passionate about freedom!!!!"), he can turn this video into something lucrative for himself on a higher level, going from the usually nebulous position of county treasurer to national political figure, and since he was chosen by party leaders because he showed himself to be insane, there's no way he's gonna then try to win people over with his having kept a small town's books rather tidy; he's gonna have to be an extremist on whatever side will have him.  rinse, lather, repeat.

FINALLY! (Also: Cool Shit with Mars and Mercury)

Scooping up dirt on Mars:

"RA Acquire Sample with Rac Doc" is the instruction. This note and the corresponding lander code tells Phoenix to scrape up the first ever scoopful of Martian dirt. It's no ordinary scoop of Martian dirt. This scoop is a milestone in a long journey-one that took centuries to complete. It's the first human experiment ever done on the arctic plains of Mars. And a tiny step in the process of one day getting a man to Mars. A small camera mounted on the robot arm documents the moment for posterity.

Damn. Between this, our first up-close pictures of Mercury, and Burger King (fucking finally) figuring out how to make a pseudo-McNugget (I can understand centuries to get on Mars, but 28 years to crack the code on McDonald's McNugget? Really?  And you're a "the king of scientists"?), this is a helluva week to be alive.

Well. This Makes Sense.

A few weeks ago, people were crazed with anger that Obama took about 30 seconds to fill out his NCAA Tourney brackets. Now, of course, they're questioning his not taking the time to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Nationals.

I'd assume it's because he hates America, no?

Strummer

When I was in college I had a basset hound named Joe Strummer.  He liked to do the same two things I did: sit on the couch watching tv, and list to the left while walking.  One time when he was a puppy, he took a dump so vicious it woke me up from a dead sleep.

Another time I got a phone call from a friend excitedly telling me "turn on the radio!"  and found myself listening to the receptionist from the hospital, who was talking about a basset hound who had walked into the hospital lobby, become transfixed by the elevator, and spent the next 15 minutes riding up and down, to the delight of all who watched.  even at a young, dumb age I thought "is a hospital really the place for a dog to be walking around?"  sure enough it was Strummer, who had gotten loose.

Then one weekend I was dumb enough to leave him under the care of my dipshit roommate while I was away, and he ran away.  I never saw him again;  almost 18 years later, whenever I see a basset hound I throw it a Jedi-mind trick, and mutter "Strummer, it's me!" under my breath, wondering if it's him and I've found him again.

Anyhoo, here's a bunch of pictures of basset hounds running.

Garfield Strip that Ran the Day of Jeff Lamp's Last Game for UVa

And are Still Hot.

Solutions. I Have Them.

A few months ago HERE I asked if Chicken McNuggets were becoming our new Middle East.  While I was correct in asking the question, I should've progressed to the solution.

Look, we only seem to go to war in places where it's 100 degrees.  I'd be shooting mofos too.  Meanwhile, people back here at home are getting more and more upset their McNuggets aren't arriving quickly enough.  If I was running for president, my platform would be cutting our entire National Defense and local police budgets to the cost of air conditioners for every in the Middle East and free McNuggets vouchers for people here.

You're welcome, America.

Jesus Christ.

THIS seems likes the saddest thing in the world.

Louder Than Words of the Day: A Westport Junior High student named Alye Pollack, who says she’s been bullied every day since the sixth grade, has taken to YouTube to express her misery by remaining poignantly silent.

In “Words are worse than Sticks and Stones,” a video reminiscent of the visuals for Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Alye holds up placards that tell the story of a 13-year-old who is worn out by incessant emotional abuse. “I don’t cut. But I’m close,” reads one card. “HELP,” reads another.

If you’d like to show your support for Alye and her cause, you can send her an e-mail at wordsdohurt@gmail.com.

Disappointment.

Pizza Hut debuted it's stuffed crust pizza in 1995.  Since then there's been an explosion of technological innovation in every field imaginable, including food.  Think about how different your own computer/phone/cable setup was back in 1995, for instance.  I know I can.

And yet, here it is 16 years later, and we still haven't nailed wrapping a pizza crust around meat and cheese. Wtf?

"...aaaaand for My Appetizer I'll Take the Butter Asshole, Please."

Greatest Costanza Line Never Shot

At the 2:00 mark, they joke about what the scene woulda been after Seinfeld & Co. came back from prison.  Fucking dying.

Good Thing You Got a Degree in Journalism!

Ah, sweet, sweet Palin:

Goodness, cleaning up the sloppiness of reporters could be a full time job. 

Yes. And it is - they're called "editors."

Exceptionalism.

There is a strange poetry to the fact that those who most vociferously demand that the concept of American Exceptionalism be accepted without question are the very same people who, ironically, are suspicious of any American that is in fact exceptional. Curious. - XMASTIME

Joe Klein, on the absurdly entertaining clown rodeo show we're about to watch (entertaining were it not so frightening):

"This is my 10th presidential campaign, Lord help me. I have never before seen such a bunch of vile, desperate-to-please, shameless, embarrassing losers coagulated under a single party's banner. They are the most compelling argument I've seen against American exceptionalism." 

Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Reunion

This is such an incredible scene for several reasons.  For one, the high concept of it - both in it being a reunion show within a different show to begin with, and for Larry David playing the character that was, for all those years, based on himself.

But what puts it over the top is what a well-known, beloved character George Costanza is.  As in, if any one of us was asked to do the scene as George, we'd say the exact same things, with the same gesticulations and tone; everything about it, really.  Perfect.

Nangulance Report

Nangulance: n. the minor turbulences of life that, while small and nebulous, can collect to make your head explode.  (examples HERE.)

Yesterday's Nangulence Report: Off the fucking charts.  Everywhere I went, it was like I was in the middle of filming fucking Ben-Hur.  If I tried to cross the street, I'd find myself looking at the goddam Rose Bowl Parade.  I can't believe I didn't snap and punch somebody's face clear off their head.  Grrrr.

Perspective. I'm Here to Provide It.

The Barry Bonds trial is apparently finally happening, and I worry that as a nation we're not giving Bonds enough deference or respect. After all, of all the men that have been accused of using steroids, only one of them ever appeared on Beverly HIlls 90210.  And it wasn't Roger Clemens, or Khloe Kardashian; it was Barry Bonds. So please, people - a little respect.

March 30, 1981

VCU making it to the Final Four (and Richmond coming close) is very exciting, but also depressing, since it reminds us 30 years ago today Lamp/Raker played their last game for UVa in the Final Four consolation game, ie those mystical, dark ages known as When Virginia Basketball mattered.

I'm Beginning to Hope They Don't Find Him Now

Toilet Books

I'm a big fan of shiterature, the Golden Mean of books; sometimes I sit reading for so long I forget I'm actually in the bathroom. I also don't own an iPad or Kindle, so I can't say whether or not I agree with this one re: 11 Things the iPad Can and Cannot Replace:

Bathroom reading. Sorry that this website has been a bit toilet-heavy lately, but I had to include this. No piece of technology has ever been so perfectly suited for the bathroom. None. So... um... just keep that in mind next time you start touching all over a friend's iPad.

Verdict: CAN replace.

Worlds Colliding, Beautifully.

I've been loving me some Mildred Pierce, so you KNOW I loves me some of this:

Prepare yourself for this week's episode: Mildred will open her new pie-and-chicken palace and for much of the hour fried chicken will be waved in your face and it will look so tantalizingly ready-for-consumption that you will not be able to push the idea of a piece of crispy, well-seasoned pan-fried bird out of your head.

The drumsticks, breasts and thighs that make you crazy-hungry were cooked by Colin Flynn, the miniseries' chief food stylist and the man who went the extra mile to trigger your olfactory senses. Not only did he go off script and use his own recipe (turn the page) but during all those fried chicken scenes, Flynn is actually just off-camera in a small kitchen on the set, hunched over three hot plates and engaged in marathon frying sessions, something that is not so well suited to moviemaking. "Fried chicken doesn't stay attractive for very long, so I just kept replacing it and replacing it," says Flynn. "But it's really hard to cook on a stage. When they're rolling you can't make any noise. It's just difficult logistically."

Oh, schnap - Kate Winslet-Xmastime AND fried chicken??!?!?!  Dip me in flour and drop me in hot oil!

This is Radio Boss

If you told me that the number of times Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen has appeared on Little Steven's Underground Garage show was "zero," I'd be shocked.  And yet that's what the number is, until over the next coupla weeks, when it will finally happen.

Though the men have known and performed with each other going back to the early 1970s, Mr. Van Zandt said he learned a few things from Mr. Springsteen during their conversation. For one thing, Mr. Van Zandt said, “I don’t think I quite realized how big a fan he was of the Four Seasons.”

Mr. Van Zandt said he was also surprised by a segment in which Mr. Springsteen picked up a guitar and demonstrated how his song “Prove It All Night” was more or less lifted from the Animals’ “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”

Interesting, since, as you know, Prove It All Night is not a great song.

Zing!

Now that he’s gotten Mr. Springsteen through the door of his radio studio, Mr. Van Zandt is hoping the Boss won’t take another nine years to make his return visit.

“I would love it,” Mr. Van Zandt said. “He’s welcome to do it. But coming once every nine years won’t be enough to promote him as a co-host.”

"Radio show? Kiss my ass!" 

 

The Adam Sandler Box Office Paradox

The dumber he is, the more $crillah he gets:

Bizarro Sandler Box Office Conclusions:
· As long as your film is not an animated musical about Hanukkah narrated by Rob Schneider (Eight Crazy Nights) or a dark comedy starring Harvey Keitel as Satan (Little Nicky), it will probably clear the $100 million mark at the box office.

· Audiences are just as happy seeing Rob Schneider co-star with Adam Sandler as they are seeing Oscar-winning stars like Jack Nicholson and Marissa Tomei co-star with the actor/producer.

· You can make one of the worst-reviewed films of the year and as long as it includes Kevin James falling (off of a rope swing, down a ladder, out of an above ground pool, etc.), your film will net at least $120 million domestically.

I'd like to see the numbers adjusted. Also, did I miss it, or was Punch Drunk Love not in it? (I ain't looking twice.) Sandler's movies are juuuuust likable and re-watchable enough that he really doesn't hafta bust his hump coming up with anything else.  Also, just when you think he's about to make the transition to "wow, this guy could actually be a good actor", he defaults to silly voices et al.  I also liked his first two comedy albums from back in the day.  Some of which is now, apparently, karaoke.

Finally!

(maybe I was wrong, and it IS important the President knows how to shoot a gun)

 

I Guess Khloe Kardashian Will Be Around a Long, Long Time Now

Dennis Leary: My fluffy little dog.. He's so cute- There's the problem. We only want to save the cute animals, don't we? Yeah. Why don't we just have animal auditions. Line 'em up one by one and interview them individually.

Dennis: What are you?
Otter: I'm an otter.
Dennis: And what do you do?
Otter: I swim around on my back and do cute little human things with my hands.
Dennis: You're free to go. And what are you?
Cow: I'm a cow.
Denis: Get in the fucking truck, pal!
Cow: But I'm an animal.
Dennis: You're a baseball glove! Get on that truck!
Cow: I'm an animal, I have rights!
Dennis: (pointing at leather jacket) Yeah, here's yer fucking cousin, get on the fucking truck, pal!

Apparently, help is on the way for ugly motherfuckers.

A Tournament Guide

to Richmond.

The Ku Klux Klan's number was in the White Pages! Is that normal? I never noticed it in the White Pages of any other place I've lived. And I haven't checked any White Pages since. It was more like one night I was like, "Damn, I bet the Klan's phone number is in this town's phone book or something," and lo, there it was! It was just an answering machine, though. (A thoroughly racist answering machine.) Me and Justice, my coworker at the record store, would call and leave messages that graphically depicted us in the middle of some "hardcore miscegenation."

Xmas's Picks

Hot for Teacher

I've written several times that The Middle is a good show.  It's not  a GREAT show, but it's better than most, and a perfectly fine way to knock off another thirty minutes while you wait for Modern Family to come on.

And now there's another reason to watch it.  Kristin Cavallari, the "unwitting video star."
Nom nom nom!!!!!!!

How To Talk to the Ladies

Great. Something Else We Suck At.

Like assassinations.  What the fuck, America?

I Might Never Leave My House Again

Sure he's funny, but will somebody please find this motherfucker already?

Five People Cut Out of the History Books

Found HERE.

Including, presumably, Irene Morgan.

Goddammit Kate Winslet

I was already in love with you, and now you pull this Mildred Pierce shit?  Grrr.

White Oppression. It Hurts.

from Politico:

Trump's mother, it should be noted, was born in Scotland, which is not part of the United States. His plane is registered in the Bahamas, also a foreign country. This fact pattern -- along with the wave of new questions surrounding what he claims is a birth certificate -- raises serious doubts about his eligibility to serve as President of the United States.

Um....hell-O?  Does this asshole not remember that Trump is white?  Not only is he white, but Trump is our most favorite of whites: the entitled dauphin!  That is, the opposite of Obama.  Hey, if Obama hadn't been so uppitty so as to make himself president, nobody would be asking these illegitimate, already answered questions about himself.  I think Ben Smith is about to get hit with a big, fat lawsuit from Trump re: defamation of white character.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Some people are upset I dogged Darkness on the Edge of Town, but I would point one of my greatest posts ever to them, so.

Apollo High (The High School Rex Chapman Went To!)

I'm watching The Space Age: NASA's Story, and Buzz Aldrin says that as they landed on the Moon, Neil Armstrong may or may not have shook his hand, he can't remember.

Again, as I've said before: we need to get these people in front of a camera before they die.  I know Armstrong is famously reclusive, but they're 80 now, and they're still alive; someone needs to explain to Armstrong that what he did was bigger than himself, and we're dying to hear what he has to say about landing on the Moon.

The daily echo chamber of nonsense we go round and around about today is incredible considering that over 40 years ago, we put a coupla dudes in a tin can and landed them on the moon.  Incredible.

Charles Dickens

Not only a better writer than you, but a punch as well.

Hmm.

The Multi-Camera Sitcom

A defense.

This is not movie structure or movie style. It's very hard to have people sit at a table and talk for ten minutes in single-camera without the viewer getting antsy, because single-camera comedies depend on short scenes, snappy scenes. It's why when Frasier did a My Dinner With Andre tribute episode, it didn't have to explain why the characters were sitting and talking for such a long time, but when Community did it, we wondered why the hell Abed and Jeff were having such a long conversation, and they eventually did have to explain it. Single-camera is like a movie, where long speeches leave us fidgety or even wondering if something terrible is about to happen, like in Inglourious Basterds. Multi-camera is like theatre, where words and acting are enough to hold our attention. Single-camera sitcoms can have quick cutaways and short scenes, but it's much harder for them to just let scenes play and build for a long time without losing us.

I'm convinced I will one day write the shoulda-been-written-by-John-Hughes-movie of two dudes, riding in a car for two hours.  Period.

All Joking Aside...

...if they don't find this fucking snake soon, I'm going to shit myself.

Freedom

Yglesias on the myth of the Tea Party:

The freedom of the Tea Party or Jorg Haider or Geert Wilders or the fictional Jake Featherstone is a communitarian freedom, the freedom of the dominant sociocultural group to gets its way relative to cultural outsiders and reformers.

That sounds right to me.  "Freedom" basically means "what those in charge think freedom is." Should a woman have the freedom to make choices about her body?  Of course not, since old white men are in charge of dictating how things go.  Freedom is great when it's on your side, but it's pretty shitty when it's not.  And in America, we demand that the super-wealthy, white elite dictate what "freedom" is.

In their defense, those are the exact people who fought the American Revolution.  But then, The Tea Party would have to admit that the only reason we won was the French, so that will never happen.

Great. We're Fucked.

Deez Nutz

from.

Charles Schulz's Peanuts comics often conceal the existential despair of their world with a closing joke at the characters' expense. With the last panel omitted, despair pervades all.

Hey, Remember

when we all asked for Bush's birth certificate?

And Clinton's? And Bushs? No? Reagan's?  Gee, that's strange.

It's as if we're okay with whatever white person strolls into The White House. But surely, that can't be.

Oh, wait...it is.

Nope. I Need More.

2 Kids in 39 Years?

That's unbelievable.

You're Probably a Shitty Human Being.

The Bob Hurley story.  He's awesome.

Mildred Pierce

Period piece + Kate Winslet = I'm watching.

Governors

Harvard McHardvardson points out the shithead Florida governor HERE.

Of COURSE Rick Scott is a horrible governor.  Same reason Charlie Cristie is, or Scott Walker.  Their basic premise is "I will not rest until the uber-wealthy are even MORE wealthy!"  If you aren't part of that "uber-wealthy" set and you voted for these people, then you are a fool.  Period.

If you're a member of the Orlando Magic, you should vote for Rick Scott. If not, you're a fucking idiot, and I have no sympathy if your stupid state gets sold off to the fucking Mexicans.

Scratching Me Where I Itch

Ereiberg gets it:

I mean, seriously, a team from Virginia makes the elite eight and we don't hear one mention of Jeff Lamp from the lamestream media? It's Bullshit!

Mark Wade

And I'm too lazy to look it up, but that 1987 UNLV team with Freddie Banks, Jarvis Basnight (THE greatest name in NCAA history? Sounds like a Sherlock Holmes mystery!!!!), Armon Gilliam, Gerald Paddio and Mark Wade should've whipped Indiana's ass in the Final Four. Still baffled how Alford won that one. - XMASTIME

I just happened upon this little tidbit:

Mark Wade was a great point guard for our 1987 Final Four team. He only took 60 shots in 39 games that year. 

60 shots? That's beyond unfathomable to me. Mark Wade set an NCAA record with 406 assists that year, and I remember thinking him to be the greatest point guard ever, at the time.  But 60 shots all year?  I'd have about 12 shots before I got off the bus; including The Chinn Dome, I promise you I didn't have 406 assists in my entire life.

How Many Day's Til Election Day?

Matt Yglesias smarmily points out to what he thinks is the Te Party's hypocrisy when it comes to freedom:

Life, after all, begins at conception, ends at birth, and doesn’t count if you’re from Mexico.

Of course, Mr. Harvard McHarvardson fails to point out the times we live in, the current calculus.  I mean, we've been duped into having a black Muslim in the White House, this is Threat Level Midnight shit we're having to deal with.  Your grandpappy's "We like Ike!" rules do not apply here, and so we must adjust accordingly.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Even though it's disappointing in not living up to how much actual in the studio footage it contains (albeit still more than most of these kind of documentaries), I've been watching The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town on a loop since it's on HBO Demand lately.

Most uber-Bruce fans I know consider Darkness to be their favorite Bruce album, but while there's some great things on it, I've never been able to get over the fact that so much of it is just, for lack of a worse word when it comes to rock 'n roll, dullsville.

Badlands is an all-time Top 10 Bruce song (although it contains a line that might be seen as one that belies the theme of the album, "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"), and the title song of the album, I love.

Candy's Room is incredible in the beginning, and the "baby if you wanna be wild" bit is one of my all-time favorite moments in rock, much less Bruce, history.  But then it seems to fizzle out into nowhere; the song feels incomplete to me.

Racing in the Street could be a great song, but it's marred by having a much, much weaker facsimile of itself a mere two songs before it, Something in the Night, which ruins it for me.

The Promised Land is for some reason a Bruce fan favorite, but I can't imagine a more boring, mid-tempo, blech song.  Same goes for Prove It All Night, although that gets a bump because live it's so monstrous (but, again, on the album it's fucking maddeningly mid-tempo/dullsville.)

Factory I like.  Lyrically it's kind of "Bruce 101," but it at least sounds different.  I like that one.

Adam Raised a Cain and Streets of Fire have always rung to me as cheap, by the numbers "Bruce potboilers!"  We get it: you didn't get along with your dad, and you're angry.  Great.  Got it.

Anyhoo.  I'm not saying there's no value to the album, when it's great it's phenomenal, but the dullness of so much of it is baffling to me. 

Another gripe of mine is not including Don't Look Back on the album.  Which only adds to the album's curiosity for me, since if it was on the album it'd prolly be my second favorite song on it behind Badlands, and yet it might not even be my favorite song titled Don't Look Back!

Anyway.  Hey, I'm just saying.

And it turns out The Boss is an asshole anyway  ;)

We met at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, where he was tirelessly rehearsing his band, continually promising breaks that never came. Instead, he was giving them detailed instructions on performing 2005's "Devils & Dust."

The band looked exhausted. They'd been going for five hours straight. They were not so much standing as they were sagging.

"It's lunchtime," Patti Scialfa suggested.

"Let's just see what we got,” Springsteen pressed.

"Maybe we should do lunch first,” she hinted again.

"One more time, then we'll all take a break."

Wearily, horns were put to lips, violin bows to strings, fingers to accordion buttons. When it comes to energy level and focus, Springsteen, even in rehearsal, remained super-human.

Interestingly, my junior year of high school we got a new football coach, who, having only coached college before, was such a hardass that by the times the games began that season we went from over 40 kids on the team to 16 (I tried to fucking quit, but couldn't!), and months later some of us were in the gym waiting for the basketball bus to pick us up for an away game, and he was playing basketball with his two kids, who were like 5 and 7. The 5 year-old asked for a break so he could get some water, and Coach said "No breaks. Suck it up."  Interesting, because while being such a slavedriver during practice, Bruce talks about his kids during the ensuing interview.

Not many people in your position can talk about their childrens' homework assignments like that.
I'm enjoying their person-ness, you know. I enjoy having their ideas in the house, and the give and take of that. The other stuff of being a parent is all the same: You're doing a lot of chauffeuring, you’re doing a lot of driving around, you're looking a little closer to make sure everybody’s okay with this, that, and the other thing. And it's wonderful having them at that place where they have their ideas about all that. It really just graces the house.

Curt Schilling Going into Hall of Fame

Curt Schilling gave up his douchebag blog a while ago, and I've missed it like crazy cuz I loved h8'n on it.

BUT.

Good news!  His blog is going into the Hall of Fame!

COOPERSTOWN, NY—In a move not seen since Roberto Clemente’s posthumous induction in 1973, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York waived its customary five-year waiting period earlier today and elected Curt Schillings’ blog 38pitches into its hallowed halls...“38pitches really set the standard,” said baseball historian Bill James. “There had been athletic blogs before, but they were run by PR guys or by athletes with a mental filler. Schilling had neither of those"...38pitches’ career highlights include 18 spelling and factual errors in a single post in 2007, four updates in a fifteen-minute period in 2008, being the first professional athlete’s blog to announce planned intercourse with a spouse, and a career total of 1,834 references to Jesus Christ, a record for a professional athlete’s blog.

Ha! 

My New Favorite Porn Star

This is Shy Love.  I like her for several reasons, obviously because 1) she's in porn and 2) she could eat corn on the cob through a fence with those chompers.

But even better is that she insists on letting people know that she's a certified public accountant. What?  "Before you three guys give me an anal creampie, you should know that I'm also very good at attesting to the reasonableness of disclosures, the freedom from material misstatement, and the adherence to the applicable generally accepted accounting principles in financial statements."

Awesome.

Guilty Pleasures

I hate motherfuckers that claim a certain song or tv show is their "guilty pleasure." "MMM-Bop" comes on the radio and they're dancing to it sheepishly and say "oh man, I hate this music but this song is my one guilty pleasure." Yes. Cause I'm sure normally you're in your room listening to Bach's Das Wohltemperierte Clavier. Fucking christ. And you take a break from your "Masterpiece Theatre" marathons for "Real World/Road Rules Challenge", your "guilty pleasure!" If you like "MMM-Bop" just fucking say so you like the fucking song; the only people that will judge you is some douchebag like TA-DA! you!

These people, I wanna break my foot off in their asses. Would I feel guilty? Sure. And it's my fucking pleasure. - XMASTIME

Here's 28 songs you're supposed to be ashamed of knowing the words to.

SONGS FROM THE LIST I LIKE: 
Dancing Queen (I have yet to hear an ABBA song I didn't like)
867-5309 (I thought everybody liked this song?)
Mickey
Safety Dance
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Hmm. Maybe these things have to do with how old you are. Interesting.

10 Cheesiest Movie Lines in History

It's hard to take THIS LIST very seriously when it has nothing from Road House, or Rob Lowe's perfect game in St. Elmo's Fire.

Nebraska Saves Five American Jobs

Stand in the Place Where You Are

I just watched the SNL with Zach Galifinakis from a few weeks ago, and he was so killer he did the unthinkable by making a scene with the fat black guy in it funny.  But I also saw a cast member I'd never noticed before and thought "hmmm...tasty," and when I looked her up I discovered she's Chris Elliot's daughter.  Which makes me feel old for some reason, but how fucking awesome was Get a Life?  Suuuuuperslice!

Stupidist People on the Planet!

My Tea Party friends on Facebok are gleefully claiming this woman "must be a Democrat!" since she is, and I quote, "the stupidest person on the planet."

I don't know.  I feel like I've seen dumber. Sure she sounds like an idiot, but I bet 90% of civilians meeting the kleiglights of the local city council sound pretty stupid.

I'm glad they're having fun with her, but, I'm sorry to say, she's got a long way to go if she wants to catch up to THIS GUY.

Arizona is Finally Making Sense.

Language. It's Important.

One of the many ways the Democratic party has failed is in it's language; as in, it needs to stop portraying the payment of teachers as "spending," and more as "investment."  They need to stop the notion that we give teachers a pile of money, and then they flush it down a toilet.

So far, I think I heard Obama mention education as an investment in his latest State of the Union, but it quickly disappeared, and has since turned into yet another Caligula-esque fat-cats public employees taking our $crillah, dammit!!

Of course, let's say a teacher teaches for 20 years.  That's, let's conservatively say 1000 kids she DIRECTLY affects.  Now, I know that as lefty-pinko commies we like to portray teachers as sweet, Laura Ingalls Wilder-esque patriots teaching school thanks to their own sense of duty, but the truth is we hope that each teacher churns out as many students as possible that 1) create jobs 2) pay taxes.

Ergo, the less we pay teachers, and the less we incentivize smart people to become teachers, the more we churn out kids that are less capable of creating jobs, or paying taxes.  That doesn't seem right, does it?

Don't Tread on Arabs

I'm just smart enough to know that I don't understand Arabs or their history (hell, like most people, I don't even understand my own), but I like what Sully says here:

I remain stunned both by the courage of this immense younger generation - from Tehran to Tunis - trying to move past their sclerotic elders. But what really amazes is the speed and breadth of the change. Merely what has happened in Egypt would be historic enough - and Egypt, to my mind, remains the indispensable nation here. And yet, from Yemen to Morocco, the spirit of revolution has accelerated. Quite how this became the tipping point will be decided by historians. But one suspects the combination of a huge teen bulge with the communications revolution were central.

I also see some parallels with America. Of course we already had a democracy. But the mass young support for Barack Obama, his vision of a less polarized country and world, his biracial identity, his restraint and inspiration occurred first of all.

I don't really know how much any of this has to do with Obama, but it's surely interesting for a country that spends so much time patting itself on the back for "kicking ass!!!!" in fighting for democracy over 200 years ago to be able to witness these events up close.

Hurley

Everybody should watch 60 minutes this Sunday, as there's a segment on St. Anthony's coach, Bob Hurley.  I wrote about a doc I saw on him last year HERE; it's sickening the way he STILL busts his ass for those kids.

Also, if his Facebook is to be believed, and we know it is since it's against the law to lie on FB, Xmastime buddy Tinsel & Rot goes to the same church as him, which is trés impressive to Xmastime!  :)

Of course, I hope there's more footage of his daughter this time.


celebrity profile

All-Time Classic Sitcom Moments, I

The middle eight to The Beatles' No Reply was so incredible that they tried to put it into the song twice, but it made the song too long, so they just kept it to once.

This was not the case with George's answering machine, which was so funny they said fuck it, we'll play the entire thing, all the way through, twice, with no tricks to shorten it. I've seen it a million times, and I just saw it again on tv and laughed out loud.  Cap doffed.

Things I Think About.

I mentioned my mother meeting Elizabeth Taylor and Bobby Kennedy, but she also met Lady Bird Johnson, which begs the question: what if Lady Bird Johnson married Larry Bird? Would her name be Lady Bird Bird?  Would people think she stuttered when she told them her name?

"Lyndon, I'm leaving you for another man."
"Who?"
"He's a basketball player."
"Oh my god - a Negro?!"
"No. Worse."

Thanks, Dead Girls

You and your greedy fucking unions have bankrupted America.  Hope you sleep well with that Caligula lifestyle you've been given.  I hope at least the shirts were fucking great!

Assholes.

DEATH PANELS COMING TO BEN & JERRY'S!!!!!

Vermont looking for the ol' single payer:

After hours of debate, the Vermont House of Representatives approved a bill that would create a single-payer health care system in Vermont. It passed 92-49. In a meeting right after the vote, the house speaker, the governor and others who worked on the bill called it a historic moment for Vermont.

“Become the first state in the country to make the first substantive step to deliver a health care system where health care will be a right and not a privilege,” said Gov. Peter Shumlin.

Will be interesting to see how Shitt Romney (I just made that up!!!!) claims it's a horrible idea.  I like this:

This week, 200 doctors from 39 states including the District of Columbia signed an open letter saying they would seriously consider moving to the state to practice medicine if it enacted a single payer system. “The idea of having one set of rules, one form for billing, and knowing that all patients are covered – that would be wonderful,” said Scott Graham, a Kentucky family physician who signed the letter.

Wouldn't it be funny if every doctor DID move to Vermont?  “But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “they'd have to, since there's all that AIDS there since fags can get married in Vermont!!"

Fucking hell. Sometimes you people really, really disappoint me, with your "isn't this 1983?" selves. Grow up.

Oooooooohhh!

I'm looking forward to popping up more than a few times on THIS SITE after my move to London.

Mukluks: Sully

Five Famous Fires...

...and what they taught us.

I don't really know why a buncha Great White fans are more important than the 1666 Great Fire of London that directly led to Ben "beauty's just a light switch away" Franklin founding what is now known as the fire department, but then I never got into shitty hair metal, so what the fuck do I know?

And how the fuck did THIS not make the last?  What are we, in Red China?

Eyerolling du Jour

Sully calls out Sniffy's latest Facebook posting, which, even for her, is outrageous in it's "poor me"-ness

Even though it often seems like I’m armed with just a few stones and a sling against a media giant, I’ll use those small resources to do what I can to set the record straight.

Palin has a home-studio and salary from the biggest cable news network; her books have been published, without any fact-checking, by Harper Collins, one of the biggest publishing houses in the country. TLC gave her a reality show. She is, by now, a multimillionaire, based on barely two years in office and John McCain's impulsive Googling. She could get booked on CNN or MSNBC or ABC at a moment's notice. But she is beleaguered and alone against media giants? She does have a good line on my friend Bill Maher, though:

(I won’t bother responding to it though, because it was made by he who reminds me of an annoying little mosquito found zipped up in your tent; he can’t do any harm, but buzzes around annoyingly until it’s time to give him the proverbial slap.)

"By he"? But why doesn't she go on Bill's show if she wants to be David against Goliath? Or any show not on the Fox propaganda channel, or on a reality show where she doesn't get to approve the final cut?

Sully & Sniffy.  I feel like there's a John Cougar Mellencamp song in there somewhere.

What the Hell?

from.

6-year-old Enzo, who was diagnosed with life-threatening Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the tender age of three, wanted nothing more than to spend an hour or two of the few he might have left cooking with his idol, Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa. (Bed-ridden Enzo often watches the celebrity chef’s Food Network show with his mom by his side.)

But when the Make-A-Wish Foundation approached Garten to help make Enzo’s dream come true, she turned them down — twice. According to TMZ, a book tour got in the way last year; this year, she simply responded with “a definite no,” blaming “scheduling conflicts.”

Why the fuck is this kid's idol the most boring, non-hottest person in the history of cooking shows?

Have I Been Part of the Glitteratti This Whole Time?

My mother met Elizabeth Taylor.  And had her foot stepped on by Robert Kennedy.

I've met Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen and Gordon Ramsay.

Sistatime! once ate in a restaurant a few tables away from Jerry Seinfeld.

I mean, I'm just saying.  Maybe someone should follow my family around with a camera, or it's time Kitty Kelley wrote a book about us.

Things You Never Wanna See in the Corporate Shitter

Dude coming outta the stall, then washing his hands all the way up to the elbow. Yikes.

Well.  I hope no one saw me, anyway.

Paddy Mac Learning Young

Sometimes, life just dumps a pile of shit on you.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MEGHAN MCCAIN

Dear Meghan,

You have great titties, but you're not funny.  Stick to what you do best: taking pictures of your titties, and then writing long articles "indignantly bemused" that people have enough time on their hands to talk about your titties while there's still world peace to solve.  We all have our roles in this world, and that one's yours.

Thanks!
XMASTIME




ps - why you ain't called me back? Wtf? Something I said?

Life. I'm Figuring It Out.

One of my co-worker's daughter is selling Girl Scout cookies, so there's a sign-up sheet on the wall to oder them, and you can check 'DONATE" if you wanna give the cookies to the less fortunate.  The silent minority of the Girl Scout Cookieless of America, I guess. For my box of Tagalongs I checked DONATE, and I don't wanna hear all your weepy "Xmastime, you're a goddam hero!" shit from all of you.  Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, it's not up to me to say.  Probably I am, but, again, don't start with that shit. Mainly, I just want my Office Crush to notice, so she thinks "oh my God, Xmastime is donating his Tagalongs?  What an amazing man!!!!" and then walks over to my cube and asks me to take her to Dairy Queen, and then get married.

Things I Think About.

Sometimes I think that as a nation, we don't seem too concerned about Jessica Simspon's sister getting divorced from some guy from that band.  That makes me sad.  But then I'll come to, thinking "fuck man, get a hold of yourself - of COURSE we do - for God's sake, we're not animals."

The Wire

I never watched The Wire, but I do loves me some serialized Victorian literature, so maybe I'll check this out.

Too Far, T-Paw

I don't wanna spend all day yammering about George Bush, I'd rather be talking about tittays, but I'm reminded of how my saying he was an idiot would always cause his supporters to somehow smugly say that my saying he was an idiot in fact made him smart, and we're seeing the same thing re: calling Michelle Bachmann a complete nutjob is forcing people to try to say that not only is she NOT a nutjob, but she is perfectly capable of being President of the United States.  Bachmann's case doesn't really matter, it's impossible to take anyone making such claims seriously, and she is at least entertaining.  The only way to possibly take her seriously is if she's clever enough to pick someone named "Turner" as her vp.

But I draw the line at the newest example of this reverse logic, warning us of "underestimating Tim Pawlenty."  Please.  That's not remotely possible.  He is Sarah Palin without the charisma: his state fucking hates him, and he basically quit 18 months early.  But his biggest crime is adopting a Southern accent while traveling the South.  First of all, to do that shit in the age of YouTube is fucking stupid.  But more so, it's insulting to Southerners.  We like to be treated like we're stupid, but in the dignified way of asking us to give up our jobs so that rich dudes can get an extra yacht, or in the fear of a black guy owning a home somewhere.  BEING stupid is fine, but SOUNDING stupid is unacceptable, so making us sound like we're Buford Pusser will only serve to bite T-Paw in the ass.

As worthless as he is, I must admit I like the name "T-Paw."

Libya,-um,-us

I truly don't have the energy to give a fuck about what we're doing in Libya, or why we're involved.  I hope we're successful, whatever that is.  Not because I care about Libya, but because it will be fun watching Republicans try to tell me that Bush deserves the credit for it, despite their outrage whenever I try to blame him for something.  When it's blame, I'm supposed to "let the past stay in the past, man!", but I should credit him when it's applicable, even if it's based on policies he himself disastrously failed at.

Maybe as soon as the "Intellectual of the Right" finally gets a handle on how he wants to blame Obama, we'll be able to figure it all out.

INteresting...Curious, Even...

I'm fine with chalking it up to a lack of imagination or laziness, but I'm somewhat curious about this meme that Obama finally launched into action in Libya because he was "henpecked" by women.  As in, George Bush also had a woman for Secretary of State, was famously given an ultimatum by his wife to choose her or booze, and yet my Google search GEORGE BUSH, HENPECKED has so far come up with nothing. Hmm.  That's interesting.

Happy March 24

Kids in Philly Day!

To My Fellow Riders on the G Train This Afternoon:

1) There is no "5 second rule" when food hits the subway platform.  When I was a kid I licked a shovel we used on a  horse farm for $10,* and there's no way in hell I'd eat something off the platform.  But lady, I'm touched you were fine stuffing that cupcake back in your kid's mouth.  You're doing him a favor, as the rat droppings will surely kill him before the slow, gruesome, non sex-having, churning of obesity will.

2) You cannot call what you're doing "freestyle rap" if what I hear you rap on the trip downtown is the exact same as what I hear you rap on the uptown ride an hour later.  That's not "freestyle," that's "reciting words you've memorized."






*in my defense, that's $15.88 in today's money.

Reading...For Trolls?

I keep threatening to want to start a book club.

Meanwhile, was there anything more exciting when we were kids than ordering from a Troll Book Club?  You'd scrape up like $1.35 and get three books after about 2 months. Sigh.

Aaaaaaaanyhoo, here's a collection of vintage book club fliers.

And yes, I am thinking right now about hoiw much my life would be different if I had bought the break dancving book* :)






*instead of writing it.

Hey Hey Hey!

I just watched Elisabeth Hasselbeck blathering about her 5 year-old nephew kicking ass with his NCAA brackets, claiming he's a "genius."

And what exactly is his genius in picking winners based on?

Team mascots.

Hmm.  Yes, Elisabeth, that IS genius....if this was 1977, and your nephew was an average high school kid living in Watts.

My New York Times Obituary

If anyone has access, I'd sure like to see what they've got on file for me!

Finally, a Cat I Like

Smutley!

I don't know if this will cure AIDS, but it's funny as hell (my favorite is the fish.)

So you know that expression that's sometimes said about a person who just can't get enough sex? Yea. You know. How they like to "f*^k everything that moves? Well that's the kind of guy Smutley the Cat turns out to be in this French AIDS awareness video for the non-profit AIDES.

Created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the video brings us along on a ride with Smutley as he gets himself off by stuffing himself inside everything from a turtle to a dolphin to a fish to an elephant and more.

Oh, that Smutley!

Obviously NSFW.

Unless you work as a whore, but that goes without saying.

Oh, Fuck You, NBC Chicago - YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW KUNT! GO TO HELL, ASSHOLES

The Vilena Pose.

In case you were worried this pose didn't have an official name, it does:

The Vilena Pose, basically Russian women taking photos of themselves in a mirror in a modified doggy-style. Apparently it blew up a couple months ago, as a multitude of ladies began taking the pics for their social networking profiles. 

Clearly, I have been going to the wrong social networking sites.

If You Like Tittays...

...and I know you do, see the 13 Sexiest Topless Scenes from

SHOWTIME

and

HBO.

I don't watch True Blood, since vampire romance shows are gay, but I think I may re-think that policy now that I see Mrs. Xmastime Lizzy Kaplan spent some time throwing her titties around. Nom nom nom!!

Night Shift

I know Lionel Richie's there - are you telling me he couldn't get the rest of the Commodores there to sing Night Shift, with an extra verse for Michael thrown in? Seriously, does anybody else on this planet think of anything besides me? - XMASTIME

TNC is blowing up Night Shift:

It's interesting watching the upbeat nature of this video. It strikes me as a very necessary reaction to Marvin Gaye's devastating death. I felt the aftershocks, and I was, like, seven or eight. But for those in the music world, it must have been traumatizing. There must have been a real need to actually feel like it was going to be "alright on the nightshift." I don't think the Commodores had another hit after this. There must have been a large segment of black America who needed to hear this.

Boy, just thinking about that slice takes me back to either coming home from church in our white Impala, covered from head to toe in a tan polyester suit with my brown clip-on tie choking me to death, or sitting in absolute darkness at night listening to the radio my Grandpa bought me.

Butler

In a comment on my Richmond post earlier, Erieberg makes a good point:

While your Richmond/VCU run is great, let's not forget the Husker parallels to a little school from Indy who is still playing, also.

- The real Huskers were a pretty good team who lost to the eventual champs the year previous.

- The Milan coach was a very young man (and a recent graduate of where? You guessed it).

- Milan actually beat a couple smaller schools who had even more improbable runs through the tournament that year, on their way to the finals.

- Milan won the championship in the building currently occupied by the Butler Bulldogs.

And in this note: "Mack's 30-point game was obscured by the calamitous sequence at the finish.

With 1,450 points, Mack moved past Bobby Plump (1,439 from 1954-58) into 12th on Butler's all-time list."

Spooky.

It's a fun story to watch.  I will say that unlike Milan, Butler did lose their best player from last year.  And Butler's coach isn't foreced to kiss that fugly Barbara Herschey  :)

8) Speaking of movies, I’ve watched “Hoosiers” oh, maybe 5,000 times. A super-slice, my religion. But it occurs to me every time I watch it that other than Jimmy Chitwood, I have no idea which player is which. I know there’s a Rade, a Merle, a Buddy. Strap, Ollie. I have no idea which is which, and for all I know they switch names throughout the flick. Which would actually help distract us from being bothered that with millions of dollars in their hands the best chick they could get for Coach Dale’s love interest was Barbara “Ugly Farmer Man” Herschey. A banner phone call for Hackman, I'm sure. "So Gene, you'll spend all day with these 16 year-old boys, then at the end of the day we'll let you kiss Barbara here. What’s that? No, I don’t think an affair with Dennis Hopper instead is a good idea here. It’s Indiana. See ya on the set!” Ugh.

GO HUSKERS!

Sweet Valley High is Back with Older, Bitter, Probably Man-Hating Shrews.

Those little blonde minxes from Sweet Valley High who were always "on the verge of losing their virginity" are all grown up now - one of them lives in Manhattan; I'm TOTALLY gonna hit that shit! - and are coming back with a new book, Sweet Valley Confidential.

Sweet Valley Confidential picks up a decade after Sweet Valley High left off. The once-inseparable sisters—mild-mannered Elizabeth, juxtaposed against the flirty, manipulative Jessica—are no longer students at Sweet Valley High, but grown up, and with adult problems like divorce, abusive husbands, and stolen lovers. Now 27, the girls are estranged—Jessica is living with her fiancé in the impeccably glossy Sweet Valley, California, while Elizabeth is on her own in a shoebox-size Manhattan apartment, working as a writer. The girls still look identical, down to the parts in their shoulder-length blond hair. The same themes are there, too—friendship, tension, boys, sex. But the gals have matured, or at least changed with the times: They now actually have sex and use Facebook. 

Gasp!  Facebook!

I'm guessing the odds of one of them leaking a sex tape are 100%.


I wonder if my beloved McGurk will come back too.  Now pushing 40, bald and fat with three ex-wives, he's a private dick with a bottle of crappy scotch in his desk drawer.

Then Quit Holding Hands.

Bad Parenting.

How the fuck does this kid not know the flag's not supposed to touch the ground? Wtf?

Dear Westboro Baptist Church:

I'll be honest - it's gonna be harder to believe God really hates fags now that you're going Hollywood. And that makes me sad  :(

How You Got Here

Apparently, by Googling "dogs eating pussy."  Hmm.

My Bonnie

The first ever post of my XMASTIME FOOTNOTE SERIES mentioned the importance of Tony Sheridan:

I'm often fascinated by uber-footnotes in history; either in pictures (ie. who's the woman in the picture they always show kneeling over the body at Kent State?) or otherwise (ie Raymond Jones - to quote Wikipedia: The Beatles had recorded the 'My Bonnie' single with Tony Sheridan in Germany...Epstein's version of the story was that a customer—Raymond Jones—walked into the NEMS shop and asked Epstein for the "My Bonnie" single, which made Epstein curious about the group.") Who are these people? Has anyone ever interviewed them? That should be a whole book, interviews with these footnote people. There's millions of 'em.

Obviously, nobody would remember Tony Sheridan after the early 60's were it not for this happening.  Meanwhile, the last show the Beatles played was August 29, 1966, and Tony Sheridan is fucking playing a show this Sunday. Incredible.

Also, the show is in Moscow.  That PBS doc about the effect the Beatles had on the Soviet Union has popped up a coupla times, be on the lookout for it.  Still amazed the at the lengths people there had to go to to listen to The Beatles.