The circus continues…
Asian Carp – The Jumping Fish
February 9, 2010Maybe I’m missing something here. A fish which grows up to 4 ft long and 100 lbs, which jumps and fights like the best game fish…
Sounds to me, that if you want to get rid of the Asian Carp – all you have to do is to declare open season, and pay a bounty of $1 a fish. Assuming the Asian Carp is edible, which is how it got here in the first place…
Convert the captured fish into food for food banks.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite ways to raise my own money was the 2 cent to 5 cent return fee on glass bottles. $3 was enough for a movie, popcorn,, and a drink at the kid’s matinee, or bowling a couple of games. I could even afford to buy one of those plastic model planes or cars… All it took usually was a walk down one of the local country roads with my trusty Radio Flyer Wagon.
$1 a fish? As a kid it would be me and my trusty Zebco, until I could afford a Penn and go after the big boys!
Dorothy Height on President Obama
February 9, 2010“We have never sat down and said to the 43 other presidents: ‘How does it feel to be a Caucasian, how do you feel as a white president? Tell me what that means to you,’ ” Dr. Height said. “I am not one to think that he should do more for his people than for other people. I want him to be free to be himself.”
Met Ms. Height at a NCNW function many years ago, that my Mother had twisted my arm into supporting. Someplace between “I’d like to introduce” and “I’m honored to meet you”, I became a fan.
Superbowl Chips…
February 8, 2010Overall it was a pretty lackluster year for Superbowl commercials, saved by a great game. Congrats to the folks of the New Orleans region, and the New Orleans Saints who overcame 43 years of frustration to grab the big prize!
Best commercial?
Little “Bad dude”!
The Doritos commercials which were generated by a public contest were overall the most entertaining in my view – meaning the Ad agencies are seriously out of creative juice.
The worst ads?
GoDaddy.
Henry Louis Gates on Colbert
February 7, 2010This one is a riot. Skip Gates has quite a sense of humor, and Colbert, as always is a riot.
more about “Colbert To Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: ‘Y…“, posted with vodpod
A New Take on “Knocking ‘em Dead” in a Performance
February 7, 2010This one takes the cake! Whatever happened to “Don’t shoot the Piano player!”?
Trying to Imitate Sinatra in the Philliphies can cost your life!
Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord
After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.”
Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.”
“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.”
The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”
The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?
Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation.
Karaoke-related killings are not limited to the Philippines. In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for hogging the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbors in a rage after they sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Karaoke-related assaults have also occurred in the United States, including at a Seattle bar where a woman punched a man for singing Coldplay’s “Yellow” after criticizing his version.
Still, the odds of getting killed during karaoke may be higher in the Philippines, if only because of the ubiquity of the pastime. Social get-togethers invariably involve karaoke. Stand-alone karaoke machines can be found in the unlikeliest settings, including outdoors in rural areas where men can sometimes be seen singing early in the morning. And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers.
Indeed, most of the “My Way” killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer…
Sno’ Ho’ Caught Cheating to Remember How to Answer Staged Question!
February 7, 2010Too stupid to use a teleprompter, the Sno’ Ho’ falls back to writing the answers to the staged question on her hand, like cheating on a school test!
more about “Sarah Palin Expressing her Inner-8th …“, posted with vodpod
At Last! A Sane Program for Small Business!
February 7, 2010Small business is the heartbeat of America. You’d have never known it the last 9 years, as first the Bushit Administration did their damnedest to crush emerging technology companies, and over the last year the Obama Administration has been consumed by the Big Banks and Health Care. Finally, in an effort to clean up the Bushit disaster, President Obama has come up with the first lucid plan to support small business growth in over 40 years!
Ella Fans – Take Heart!
February 7, 2010Hat Tip – The Grio
Ella Fitzgerald is rediscovered through lost recordings
Jazz lovers have new music to groove to from a familiar voice: Ella Fitzgerald’s. However, this music is not new at all. It comes from recordings Fitzgerald made nearly half a century ago.
“I had never heard the tapes. We ordered them up and we couldn’t believe it when we heard what they sounded like,” said music producer Richard Seidel. “There isn’t anything like this. It’s truly unprecedented.”
Back in the early 60s, Fitzgerald performed a series of concerts in Hollywood. During the 12 nights she sang, her manager Norman Granz recorded what turned out to be close to 100 hours of music. According to Verve Music Group, it is one of only two club performances she recorded.
“I’ve worked on a lot of projects, but nothing quite like this,” said Seidel, “What’s so unprecedented about it is that over the course of 10 nights, she did 50 or 60 different songs.”
Now with a new box set, “Twelve Nights in Hollywood,” Fitzgerald comes alive. Comprising four CDs that include 76 never-before-released live tracks recorded in 1961 and 1962, this set is not only a vital discovery for Fitzgerald fans, but also perhaps the best starting point for neophytes who never have had the opportunity to hear what exactly made her special.
Black History – Blues Legends 1925-1979
February 6, 2010Continuing on the theme yesterday to the soundtrack -
“As The Years Go Passing By”
Albert King & Rory Gallagher – Montreux 1975
For those of you who would like to do some exploration, the artists shown include:
Jimmy Reed,BB King,Clifton Chenier, Dr Isaiah Ross,RL Burnside,Guitar Slim, Big Mama Thornton,Fred Below,Chuck Berry, A.C. Reed,Lester Kinsey,Amos Milburn, Smoky Babe,Mighty Joe Young,Alexis Korner,
Koko Taylor,Bo Diddley,Jimmy Johnson, Eddie Kirkland,Lonesome Sundown, Lafayette Thomas, Earl Hooker, JB Lenoir, Matt “Guitar” Murphy,Louis Myers, Big Smokey Smothers,Otis Spann,Little Walter, Junior Kimbrough,Ray Charles,Bobby Blue Bland, Hubert Sumlin,Long John Hunter,John Littlejohn, Ike Turner,Junior Parker,Albert Collins, John Mayall,Byther Smith,Lonnie Brooks, Earl King,Otis Rush,Freddie King,Little Milton, Junior Wells,Little Mack Simmons, Johnny “Guitar” Watson,James Cotton, Fenton Robinson,Billy Boy Arnold, Eddy Clearwater,Sam Myers,Buddy Guy, Jimmy Dawkins,Louisiana Red,Carey Bell, Johnny Copeland,Magic Sam,Magic Slim,
Bobby Parker,Johnny Heartsman,Eddie Shaw, Phillip Walker,Spider John Koerner, Luther Allison,Roy Buchanan,Luther Jr Johnson, Little Smokey Smothers,Dr John,Lonnie Mack, Taj Mahal,Son Seals,Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield,John Hammond Jr, Mike Bloomfield,Walter Washington, Charlie Musselwhite,Johnny Winter,Eric Clapton,
Danny Gatton,Duane Allman,Peter Green, Benoit Blue Boy,Percy Strother,Stan Webb, Ry Cooder,Bill Deraime,Rod Piazza, Rory Gallagher,Duke Robillard, Sherman Robertson,Hans Theessink,Zora Young, Bonnie Raitt,Patrick Verbeke,Joe Louis Walker, Billy Gibbons,Paul Personne, Jean-Jacques Milteau,Angela Strehli, Walter Trout,Sonny Landreth,Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Bibb,Keb’ Mo’,Robben Ford,Coco Montoya, Gary Moore,Tom Principato,john Campbell, Debbie Davies,Billy Branch,Larry Garner, Ronnie Earl,Jimmy Thackery,Robert Cray,
Stevie Ray Vaughan,Otis Grand,Sugar Blue, Michael Coleman,Michael Burks,Kenny Neal, Lurie Bell,Mem Shannon,Melvin Taylor, Arthur Neilson,Popa Chubby,Larry McCray, Lucky Peterson,Bernard Allison,Jeff Healey, Tab Benoit,Corey Harris,Eric sardinas, Ana Popovic,Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa,Matt Schofield, Shemekia Copeland.
Black History – Blues Legends 1873-1924
February 5, 2010This is a diorama of the Legends of Blues including a soundtrack with -
“Nobody’s Fault but Mine” : Blind Willie Johnson
“Worried Life Blues” : Big Maceo Merriweather
“Country Blues” : Muddy Waters
Enjoy!
Haiti – US Missionaries Child Rescue?
February 5, 2010
A little background here is in order. The Dominican Republic is the child sex trafficking capital of the Western Hemisphere. Many of the children who are trafficked into sex slavery as prostitutes are kidnapped, or purchased from Haiti. When Rush Limbaugh loads up his Lear Jet with a few conservative male friends and heads down to the Dominican Republic for a weekend “getaway”…
It isn’t because of the beaches or Mojitos.
So to the Haitian Government, and to the Haitian people, the issue of child trafficking hits very close to home.
So, while the New Life Children’s Refuge may be exactly what they claim to be – there is a chance, a very real chance – they aren’t.
Dominican official: I warned U.S. church leader about Haitian kids
The Dominican consul general Wednesday rejected the claim from an American church leader that she thought her paperwork was in order when she attempted to take 33 Haitian children out of the country, saying he had told her it was not.
“I warned her, I said as soon as you get there without the proper documents, you are going to get into trouble, because they are going to accuse you, because you have the intent to pass the border without the proper papers and they are going to accuse you with kids trafficking,” Carlos Castillo said he told the group’s leader, Laura Silsby, during a meeting Friday.
Four hours later, Silsby and nine other Americans were turned back from the border. They were arrested and taken to a jail in Port-au-Prince.
“This woman knew what she was trying to do was not legal,” Castillo said.
A CNN reporter attempted to get reaction to Castillo’s comment from the jailed Americans, but they would not discuss the matter, responding to questions by singing “Amazing Grace” and praying.
Told earlier that many of the children had living parents, Silsby said, “I did not know that.”
She added, “In our hearts, our intention was to help children that had been orphaned or abandoned by their parents.”
But the interpreters the group had used said the conversations between Silsby and the parents in the Haitian town of Calebasse made clear to them that Silsby must have been aware of the children’s status.
SOS Children’s Villages, an Austrian charity, said that it has determined that at least two-thirds of the children are not orphans. Read the rest of this entry »
Clarence Thomas Tries Defending SCOTUS Sell-Out of Democracy
February 5, 2010
Sung by the massive criticism over their recent 5-4 decision that corporations have unfettered rights to purchase politicians, Justice Thomas attempts to explain the decision.
Not being a Constitutional Lawyer, I have a question. If corporations enjoy the same rights as people…
Do they not also share the same responsibilities, and as such are liable to the law?
Ergo, if a corporation is responsible for killing or harming people through some act of malfeasance or neglect…
Then why can’t the corporation be charged with capital murder?
In which case it’s officers would be subject to the same criminal penalties, up to and including the death penalty as any corporal person.
“Anti-Intellectualism” in Black and White
February 5, 2010Billy Dee Williams Says: Anti-Intellectualism Is For Negroes Too!
Richard Pryor - Yeah, he was crazy!
I reserve the right to be a nigger.
–Aaron McGruderOne thing that that repeatedly rankles me when Judis makes his “white working class” critique of Obama, is that he never engages the populist prejudice he presumably wants Obama to overcome. I’m not sure that he even accurately names the prejudice–I don’t like his broad sweeping terms.
But accepting them for the sake of argument, you get this undercurrent that it’s somehow understandable that presumably non-racist white working class people would vote against someone because their parents, like, valued education and shit….
If we were talking about a group of black voters who refused to vote for someone because they aspired to be a lawyer or politician, we would be knee-deep in “black pathology” diatribes and Bill Cosby call-outs. Mo-fos would think it was the second Maafa.
I get that Obama is a politician, and thus it’s his job to make people vote for him. But I don’t understand why anti-intellectualism among black people is pathological, and among white people is taken as evidence of working class roots.
Hat tip to Ta-Nehisi Coates over at The Atlantic on this one.
