Blogging on Meds

In a stroke of genius, Tom Waits interviewed himself for the UK’s Independent. Topics include the things you would and wouldn’t expect from Waits; Route 66 and coffee, film, irony, Times Square, Marcel Marceau, literary and musical influences, and the definition of a gentlemen. Some gems:

Q: What’s wrong with the world?

A: We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness. Leona Helmsley’s dog made $12m last year… and Dean McLaine, a farmer in Ohio, made $30,000. It’s just a gigantic version of the madness that grows in every one of our brains. We are monkeys with money and guns.

Q: Do you have words to live by?

A: The director Jim Jarmusch once told me, “Fast, Cheap, and Good… pick two. If it’s fast and cheap, it won’t be good. If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast. If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap.” Fast, cheap and good… pick two words to live by.

For those in the south, good luck getting tickets to his upcoming tour dates.

The Pogues “Just Look Them Straight In The Eye and Say… Pogue Mahone!!” Box Set has finally been released. I won’t properly “review” it due partly to personal time constraints, and partly because no amount of my adulation and praise will likely get you to drop the price of a tank of gas (at current prices) on a 5 CD box set unless you’re already obsessed with the band.

That said, if you do happen to be a Pogues fanatic, your year has been made. 111 songs. An absolute goldmine of demos, outtakes, live, rare, unreleased, thought missing, cover songs, and the like that span the entire Pogues career (pre-Red Roses to post-Shane) — I only bought it yesterday, but during a once-through listen of the entire thing my jaw continually dropped; BBC Sessions, “Hell’s Ditch” outtakes, “If I Should Fall From Grace…” outtakes, Joe Strummer-fronted covers of The Clash songs, Peel Sessions, their contributions to the “Sid and Nancy”, “Straight to Hell” , and “Garbo” soundtracks, covers of “Maggie May”, “Do You Believe in Magic?” (a “Poguetry in Motion sessions outtake), “Eve of Destruction” (made famous to some by Barry McGuire, others by Johnny Thunders), a dub version of “Young Ned of the Hill” (!), the original demo versions of later Shane MacGowan solo songs (”Victoria”, “Aisling”, “The Donegal Express”), early demos of “Fairytale of New York” which showcase the musical and lyrical progression of the greatest Christmas song ever written, the list goes on and on and on… Philip Chevron wrote the liner notes, the songs and their provenance are exhaustively cataloged and the proper credit given, and a number of non-Shane-centric pictures are included.

For the uninitiated, it’s easy to overlook the Pogues greatness by concentrating on the stories of drinking and drugs, fights, affairs, and toothless gentleman. This Box Set will remind you of their songwriting greatness, proficiency of execution, and the simple fact that they are one of the best rock bands of the last 30 years. If nothing else, it’s comforting to be reminded that Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse are utter posers compared to one of the world’s all-time great substance-abusers… this dude:

I hate fraternities. Luckily, I went to UC Santa Cruz were the “Greek” system was basically non-existent. The LA Times, and The Dirty (among many other news outlets) are reporting that 96 people, including 75 San Diego State University (”SDSU”) students were busted in a 6 month undercover drug sting that involved 7 different fraternity houses. While this news should come as no shock to anyone who’s ever stepped foot on a college campus, the stupidity of some of the actions is slightly awe-inspiring. Check out this guys “drug sale”! Incredible:

Kenneth Ciaccio, 19, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, sent out a mass text-message to “faithful customers,” saying that he was traveling to Las Vegas and would not be able to make his normal cocaine sales, the DEA said.

Sounds like the California state college system is producing some real stand up individuals:

One alleged dealer was just a month away from receiving a master’s degree in homeland security and had worked with the campus police as a security officer, officials said. Another student who was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and two guns was a criminal justice major, officials said.

Does anyone actually learn anything at undergraduate college anymore? Well, anything besides how to make a beer bong with common household items, and how to scam your parents out of living expenses? Makes you want to home-school your kid, doesn’t it?

Continuing with the Grand Theft Auto IV theme, but avoiding any mention of the actual game play itself, the soundtrack (made up of car radio stations) looks great; varied and slightly ridiculous. Quick rundown of the stations:

• Contemporary Hip-Hop (w/ Lil Wayne, Ghostface, Nas…)
• Old School Hip-Hop
• Electro Dance/Rock
• Funk/Jazz Fusion
• Funk & Afrobeat (hosted by Femi Kuti)
• Jazz (hosted by Roy Haynes)
• Ambient/Chillout
• Disco (hosted by Karl Lagerfield!)
• NY Hardcore (hosted by Jimmy Gestapo)
• Classic Rock (hosted by Iggy Pop)
• Dancehall
• Alternative Rock (hosted by Juliette Lewis)
• Latin/Reggaeton (hosted by Daddy Yankee)
• Reggae/Dub
• Soul/R&B
• Eastern European Music
• 3 talk radio stations

While I question some of the songs listed as “Classic Rock” (I must be old if Smashing Pumpkins and REM legitimately deserve this moniker), and would like something besides Bob Marley on the Reggae/Dub station (no Barrington Levy?!), I can’t think of a better soundtrack for running over innocent pedestrians than Cro-Mags‘ “It’s The Limit”.

As to the game itself, the LA Times gave it an A+ on Tuesday, calling it “one of the best gaming experiences of all time.” Recently, I’ve been giving thought to purchasing a game system as I’m moving to a small island in the middle of the ocean and need something besides cheap island-brewed beer to occupy my nights. Perhaps this is the answer.

24 hours is all the Las Vegas I can handle, so that is what we scheduled to catch The Verve on Saturday night. The show took place at the Pearl Theater in the Palms Casino, and while I don’t really care about the NBA, I still felt like a d*ck giving my money to the Maloof Bros - owners of the Sacramento Kings and purveyors of crappy fashion (that super-starchy long collared shirt untucked-jeans-dress shoes look that cut-rate mortgage brokers think passes for “dressed up”).

The Bros Maloof’s basketball team may blow, but their concert theater is incredible - possibly the best sound I’ve EVER heard outside of an opera hall, held about 1500, and no seat was further than 120 feet from the stage. It was literally impossible to have a bad/obstructed view.

Now the good stuff… while I wasn’t expecting Richard Ashcroft to be wearing tan Clark’s Wallabies, I was surprised when he walked onstage, took off his boots, and played the entire show barefoot. Great call “Mad Richard”!

Here’s the set-list:

• A New Decade
• Sonnet
• Space In Time
• Life’s An Ocean
• Already There
• Weeping Willow
• Sit & Wonder (new song)
• The Rolling People
• Velvet Morning
• The Drugs Don’t Work
• Lucky Man
• Come On (w/ maracas and tambourine)

• History
• Bittersweet Symphony (which I think he dedicated to Mavis Staples)
• “Love Is Pain” (new song)

The band played great - incredibly tight, great stage presence, and I’m not sure Nick McCabe played a single riff - just free-flowing aural noise, effects, and awesomeness. My only complaint is somewhat petty; I would have liked a few more druggy/noisy/early songs - where was “Gravity Grave”, “Blue”, or “A Man Called Sun”?

I’m still pondering my feelings about the last song - “Love Is Pain”. It had a dance-floor club-anthem vibe, most notably in its New Order-esque drumbeat which Darrick from Innaway described perfectly as a “cheater drumbeat” for its “obviousness” — if that makes sense. It’s a definite departure for Ashcroft and Co., although not necessarily bad - just unexpected. That said, the British “lads” and “birds” in the crowd (of which there were A LOT) were loving this song, so I expect the bubble-club dance floors of Mallorca to be raging to this by summertime - along with MGMT/Justice/Madonna mashups. Check that YouTube link above (or NYC’ers, tell me your thoughts after MSG).

Finally, it seems between Coachella on Friday and Las Vegas on Saturday, Richard Ashcroft found time to dye his blond hair brown again:

In its Friday review of Jay Z and Mary J. Blige’s “Heart of the City” tour reaching the Hollywood Bowl, the LA Times mentioned Hova’s political turn:

Things turned most serious, though, with an image of President Bush on the screen and Jay-Z offering an unaccompanied verse about the plight of Hurricane Katrina victims. He’s spoken out on the issue before, but here he followed it with a photo of Sen. Barack Obama on the screen and an unambiguous endorsement of the Democratic candidate.

“Are you ready for change?” he asked, and the crowd responded with clear if not overwhelming applause. Good news for Obama, perhaps, but the question now might be whether Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will ask him to repudiate the endorsement because of Jay-Z’s gangsta lyrics.

Perhaps Jigga was returning the favor for Mr. Obama’s tribute to him the day before.  In response to the criticism thrown at him by Hillary Clinton and George Stephanopoulos during the Pennsylvania Democratic debate, Mr. Obama took the high road.  (The crowd’s reaction is great):

I wonder who Noel Gallagher is endorsing for London mayor?  Or is endorsing politicians not considered “guitar rock’n'roll” enough?

Tomorrow, April 19th, is “Record Store Day“.  I’m still trying to figure out exactly what it encompasses.  While I take offense at Metallica “launching” record store day (at one point the thought of them signing 180 gram vinyl copies of Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning would have been INSANE, but that would have to involve Cliff Burton driving up in a VW Bug blasting “Earth AD”… alas those days are long gone as is any credibility Metallica once had), perhaps some stores will be having sales or in-store performances?  I really don’t know, although I’ve seen a few Myspace bulletins from stores I’m “friends” with - long-running favorite Lou’s in Encinitas, CA being one.

The idea at first seemed somewhat campy and overly-hipsterish to me, but I’ve forced myself to believe this is a good concept.  As a former employee of the legendary Vinyl Solution Records in Huntington Beach, CA, and a guy who once drove around the entire United States stopping at EVERY record store we could find (Richmond’s Plan 9, Philadelphia Record Exchange [picked up 4 Walls Falling 7" on Axtion Packed!], NYC’s Generation, Seattle’s Singles Going Steady [scored Faith "Subject to Change" on blue], among many, many others) I feel like I have to support this idea no matter how vague it seems.

If nothing else, consider it a good reason to spend your $600 federal government stimulus check (has anyone actually received this yet?) on that rare Killed By Death or Dangerhouse single you’ve been itching for.

This is all over ESPN (PTI, Sportscenter, website, etc). While I agree that Tejada’s true age is somewhat “newsworthy” (barely though), I find ESPN’s set-up/sabotage approach to be totally ridiculous and bush-league. Judging by the Tom Farrey’s dramatics, you’d think he was Woodward & Bernstein breaking Watergate.

Tejada’s response is classic - especially when he calls Farrey “bro”.

In the conversation / argument over who should be the NBA MVP, some of his Celtics teammates are making a case for Kevin Garnett over Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and King James. While their argument is understandable I was amused at the multiple mentions of Garnett’s practice intensity:

P.J. Brown: “Just being able to see him since I’ve been here, he’s one of the most intense players that I’ve been around,” said Brown, who went to the Eastern Conference finals with Miami in 1996-97. “His practice habits are unbelievable and unmatched by anything that I’ve ever seen.”

Paul Pierce: “Everything he’s done for the culture of the team, his impact on the game, is just tremendous,” Pierce said. “The way we go about practice every day, the focus on games, spending some time with him on the bus . . . Those are things that can’t be measured when you talk about MVP.”

The quotes reminded me of this legendary Allen Iverson press conference:

Joe Nelson wrote a classic, funny, somewhat disturbing history of the legendary Orange County Sloth Crew over at Double Cross. While this type of thing has a limited audience, hopefully those in that audience will be as entertained as I was. Growing up in early 90’s Orange County hardcore I missed the heyday of the Sloth Crew and was only able to collect limited amounts of knowledge via oral history, the occasional bootleg videotape, and my membership in the Jim Brown fanclub. From an amateur historians standpoint this post is pure gold.

A few gems from his post:

We were Straight Edge, although we hung with surfers and skaters who definitely were not. Like any Straight Edge kid from any era we also felt we were better then the rest of the normal kids in town. We had that swagger that, unless you’ve lived as a 17 year old Straight Edge kid, you don’t really understand.

Mr. Nelson describes a variety of antics, including:

These were prime time high school days. We were total pirates. I mean just complete hooligans. Our M.O. was to roll into your party, steal your VCR, make 976 calls on your parent’s phone, spray paint O.C. Sloth Crew on the bath room mirror, piss in your dad’s underwear drawer, then blow up your keg with low grade dynamite which we’d get from Mexico, and end it all with some fight with the football team in the street. The normal kids hated us. We were eventually banned from every party in H.B. If we showed up, the kids whose house it was would immediately call the cops, who by then also knew of us. Eventually we just moved the operation to Irvine on Friday night and ran wild down there.

…but Mr. Nelson finishes the post with a bit of self-awareness and humility, stating:

I really hate to think that we were the beginning of the gross Straight Edge gangs which came around in the late 90s. I mean, kids stabbing dudes to death with Samurai swords in the name of Straight Edge is just completely disgusting. Talk about total derailment of a pretty cool train. Those kids in Utah fucking suck and missed the whole point of what Straight Edge is all about. Unfortunately, we sort of missed it as well. I also believe in some ways we were the first chapter of the evilness that came later on in the scene, which is disheartening for me personally. It is what it is though.

Phillipe (pronounced fil-LEE-pee) - the legendary downtown L.A. eatery, and arguable inventor of the French-dipped sandwich - turns 100 this year. Founded in 1908 by Phillipe Mathieu, a French immigrant, the restaurant has migrated through various downtown locations over the years (including “Frenchtown” where City Hall and the 101 now stand) into its current location near the convergence of Union Station, Olvera Street, and Chinatown. Charles Perry wrote a comprehensive, hunger-inducing article on its history and current success for yesterday’s LA Times Magazine. The article is spot-on in its recommendations and details. While an extern at the Federal court last year not only did I become an expert on the subtleties of the lamb vs. beef, once-dipped vs. twice, and blue cheese vs. spicy mustard, but I was known to frequent its predominantly male-Chinese and construction worker breakfasts - a scene that requires witnessing to believe.

What Perry failed to mention - and as every Dodgers fan knows - is that the proximity of Phillipe to Chavez Ravine makes it a true-BLUE-ground-zero for a pre-game meal.

And they bottle and sell their own mustard!

The LA Times reports that the US Navy is taking on an expanded roll in fighting piracy on the high seas:

“We want the pirates to know there will be consequences if they escalate,” said Rear Adm. Mark Balmert, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Three and point man for the Navy’s 5th Fleet on piracy in the [Persian Gulf] region.

The consequences are real: In October, the U.S. guided-missile destroyer Porter sank two pirate skiffs after receiving a distress call from a Panamanian-flagged, Japanese-owned cargo ship in international waters in the Indian Ocean.

Fighting piracy on the high seas is an increasingly significant part of Balmert’s overall mission to maintain maritime security in an ever-volatile region.

Although the United States, along with various partners, has long taken on the job of maintaining stability in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden, the mission has expanded in the last year to include piracy off Somalia. Since October, the United States, leading a coalition of 20 nations, has kept at least one warship in international waters off Somalia.

U.S. sailors also are on the lookout in the Persian Gulf for pirates who might attack the smaller merchant ships and dhows.

Continue reading the article here.

Since I’m on the subject of piracy I’ll mention a somewhat light-hearted (considering the subject matter) October 2007 National Geographic article on pirates in the Malaca Strait.

Modern lanun [pirates] have no shortage of targets. Each year, according to Lloyd’s of London, some 70,000 merchant vessels carrying a fifth of all seaborne trade and a third of the world’s crude oil shipments transit this critical choke point in the global economy. The strait’s geography makes it nearly unsecurable. It passes between Malaysia and Indonesia, known for thorny relations, further complicating the security picture. Some 250 miles (400 kilometers) wide at its northern mouth, the strait funnels down to about ten miles (16 kilometers) across near its southern end and is dotted with hundreds of uninhabited mangrove islands, offering endless hideouts to all manner of criminals.

Since 2002, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has recorded 258 pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait and surrounding waters, including more than 200 sailors held hostage and 8 killed. The insurance arm of Lloyd’s classified the strait as a war zone in June 2005. Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia responded by bolstering security in their respective waters, and Lloyd’s suspended the rating in August 2006.

Peter Gwin’s entertaining on-the-ground account of meeting and training with Indonesian pirates features a cast of characters including one “Jhonny Batam” — “a gentleman of opportunity. A ship captain by trade, he had piloted vessels for both legitimate companies and less scrupulous entities. He was said to know every ship in port and every coffee shop deal in Batam.”

Thanks to Mr. Cechin for alerting me to the existence of this insane DMX interview from XXLMag.com. The interview in part:

Are you following the presidential race?
Not at all.

You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
His name is Barack?!

Barack Obama, yeah.
Barack?!

Barack.
What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
Barack Obama?

Yeah.
What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.
I ain’t really paying much attention.

I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black…
Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit” [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

The interview also touches on DMX’s upcoming gospel-rap project and life as a father, among other subjects.  EDIT:  I wish the interviewer had asked “X” his opinion of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ “Vote or Die” campaign.

In reference to the recent on-field beef between the Tampa Bay Rays (sans Devil) and New York Yankees, general partner and all around a-hole Hank Steinbrenner was quoted as saying:

“I don’t want these teams in general to forget who subsidizes a lot of them, and it’s the Yankees, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets,” he said to The New York Post. “I would prefer if teams want to target the Yankees that they at least start giving some of that revenue sharing and luxury tax money back. From an owner’s point of view, that’s my point.”

Ole Hank would’ve made a great slaveowner.  I can hear him now:  “I don’t want these slaves in general to forget who houses, clothes, and feeds them, and it’s the plantation owners,” he said to the South Carolina Elite Gazette…

Appropriate that his look is reminiscent of James Clark - Alabama Sheriff and the man partially responsible for 1965’s “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, AL.

“It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn”… especially in India. It seems the sub-continent is either obsessed with late 80’s / early 90’s New Jersey melodic hardcore band Turning Point, or they have a penchant for naming things English words and phrases that don’t necessarily make sense.

Embroidered jacket outside the Red Fort, Old Delhi:

Cafe in Agra (note the “Minimal Water” for sale):

Along with extensive people-watching and sight-seeing, Erin and I were able to enjoy a few culinary delights on our recent spring-break blast through Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (alas, we mostly avoided street food as our 10 day trip was too short a time to afford getting infectious diarrhea). However, restaurants of note we did try were the Oberoi hotel in Delhi (same owners as Cairo’s Mena House) and the R.W. Apple, Jr. recommended TRISHNA in Mumbai’s swanky colonial-respite Fort neighborhood. Here’s an excerpt from Mr. Apple’s final column:

MUMBAI, INDIA Trishna, Birla Mansion, Sai Baba Marg, Fort; (91-22) 2270-3213.

This, I think, is the only truly remarkable restaurant I have ever discovered solely on the recommendation of a friend of a friend. Dubious, Betsey and I made our way there one night years ago and liked it so much that we went back 72 hours later. It was not the décor, which is shabby, or the service, which can be surly, and certainly not the menu, which is very nearly useless. It’s the food, stupid, the seafood.

Enormous king crabs fresh from the Indian Ocean, awash in butter, and seasoned with garlic and pepper until they make the lips tingle but not sting, draw an eager crowd of Mumbai businessmen and Bollywood stars to this little establishment on a crowded, noisy alley in the old Fort district. If you like, your crab will be brought to the table before cooking, still alive and dangling from a string held by a waiter.

These are among the world’s choicest crustaceans, and I say that as someone who lives 25 miles from the Chesapeake. But Ravi Anchan has plenty of other savory delights up his sleeve, including tender little pomfret (a kind of butterfish) barbecued in the style of Hyderabad, with black pepper; deep-fried squid; and gorgeous, never-frozen tiger prawns grilled with mint. Don’t mind the waiters; insist and they will bring what you want.

(L) Calamari; (R) Crab, Prawn (the size of a soda can), and Garlic Naan:

Jama Masjid, Delhi - one of India’s largest Mosques and Sally Kern’s worst nightmare:

Finally, I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around this Nehru graffiti from Jaipur. As a founding father, would the American equivalent be George Washington graf? Or based on time would JFK be a more appropriate comparison? A problem arises when you consider that, although dominant, the Kennedy dynasty has nothing on the Nehru/Gandhi’s. I propose it’s like JFK graffiti if Nancy Pelosi was John, Jr.’s wife and wasn’t in that plane over Long Island Sound. How’s that?

Christine Daniels in Friday’s LA Times details the partisan beef stirred up by the Roger Clemens hearing. Hard to ignore the tie-in with race issues. Would Barry Bonds receive such vigorous defense from the Grand Ole Party? I can’t even type that sentence without laughing. Here’s Daniels’ article in full:

Usually in this country, baseball partisans are paying customers who shell out for peanuts and hot dogs, move the turnstile, crack open the Cracker Jack and root, root, root for the home team.

They are not, traditionally speaking, members of Congress batting around the issue of Roger Clemens and steroids as if their party affiliation was a logo emblazoned across a cap and jersey.

Wednesday’s congressional hearing on the Mitchell Report introduced us to two new influential political action groups:

Republicans for Roger Clemens.

Democrats for Brian McNamee.

You could hear in their voices and see it in their demeanor as representatives from both sides of the aisle took turns at firing/lobbing questions at Clemens, embattled baseball legend, and McNamee, former personal trainer for the legend and the man who claims he injected Clemens with steroids.

Rep. Dan Burton, Republican from Indiana, called Clemens “a titan in baseball. All these lies, if they’re not true, destroy his reputation.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Democrat from Maryland, told Clemens, “You’re one of my heroes, but it’s hard to believe you.”

Burton told McNamee, “This is really disgusting. You are here, under oath, yet you have told lie after lie.”

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democrat from California, said, “I think McNamee has a lot of credibility.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican from North Carolina, looked at photos of Clemens taken at various stages in his career and told the pitcher, “You appear to me to be about the same size. It doesn’t appear to me that your size has changed.”

On and on it went. Now batting for McNamee, a Democrat. Coming in to pitch for Clemens, a Republican.

The battle lines were so obviously and outrageously drawn according to party affiliation, Rep. Tom Davis, Republican from Virginia, revealed some true colors as he posed a question for McNamee while alluding to the grilling Clemens was taking: “Since the other side seems to be focusing on Mr. Clemens, I will direct my questions to you.”

Political stereotypes had a field day at the hearing.

Clemens is rich, arrogant and throws right. Of course the Republicans have his back.

McNamee is a working stiff. He drew a paycheck from Clemens. He doesn’t have anything close to Clemens’ fame or clout. He’s an underdog. Of course that’s a cause the Democrats will support.

Rooting for the New York Yankees has been likened to rooting for U.S. Steel or owning a yacht. Clemens has pitched for U.S. Steel. Twice. He won two World Series with the Yankees, in 1999 and 2000. He returned for a second, less pleasant stint in 2007. In between spins on the yacht, he led the Houston Astros to the World Series in 2005, for the first and only time.

Houston is GOP territory. Houston has an airport named after George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president and a longtime friend of Clemens. In 1991, while still pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Clemens visited Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine, and pitched horseshoes with the president. They were paired on the same side, to borrow a phrase, two against two. No surprise there: They won.

Clemens testified that after his name was mentioned in the Mitchell Report, Bush phoned him while Clemens was hunting to offer support.

George Mitchell: a prominent figure within the Democratic Party.

Hunting: a popular leisure-time activity among Republicans. (Although not necessarily an altogether healthy one if you go hunting with a Republican named Dick Cheney.)

George W. Bush is also a Clemens friend. Bush used to serve as Texas governor. Clemens’ governor. In 2006, USA Today reported Clemens has a standing invitation to dine at the White House. On Thursday, one of McNamee’s attorneys predicted Clemens will be pardoned by Bush, if and when such a bullpen call is needed.

“It would be the easiest thing in the world for George W. Bush, given the corrupt proclivities of his administration, to say Roger Clemens is an American hero, Roger Clemens helped children,” Richard Emery told the Associated Press.

“It’s my belief they have some reason to believe they can get a pardon.”

Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lawyer, shot back with, “Richard Emery just has to quit smoking his own dope.”

Emery told The Times’ Lance Pugmire that he was shocked to hear of Bush’s phone call to Clemens.

“Clearly, someone OK’d letting the dogs out of the kennel,” said Emery. “There was a palpable difference in tone along party lines. I thought it was a disgraceful display.”

Once, Clemens was an unassailable folk hero in Boston. Then, after the 1996 season, he bolted the Red Sox and signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Many New England Democrats will never pardon him for that.

In other sports news, the Onion offers the following account of Sepak Takraw (note: brief, inadequate research indicates that most of what the commentators are saying actually exists / occurs / is true):

(Ray proclaimed today “music day” - who am I to disagree?)

(Hot Snakes, 11/04, Alex’s Bar - Long Beach, Photo: Chase Corum)

Rejoice fans of all things Rick Froberg & John Reis, the pair that brought you Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes have returned - although, unfortunately, separately. NYC-based Froberg is fronting Obits, who have East Coast dates in March, or you can DL their first show (at NYC’s Cake Shop) here.

Reis in the meantime has re-recruited Hot Snakes skinsm’n JSinclair to form Night Marchers whose debut comes out April 22nd on Vagrant. Ben Goetting did the cover art which can be viewed at Phazerblast. Night Marchers played their first set of shows this past weekend - here’s the first song of their first show:

In all his ‘Chard worship, Ray failed to mention that the Verve will be playing California’s Coachella Festival this April. I avoid festivals - especially ones in the desert - at all costs, but the presence of Mr. Ashcroft & Co. may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. You can search the web for a DL of “The Thaw Session”, the Verve’s first recorded output in 10 years, or watch this video version:

Spiritualized are making a Coachella appearance as well, although you can avoid dusty heat and thousands of hipsters in white jeans & Ray Bans by checking out one of their “Acoustic Mainlines” shows which, when I attended in November, consisted of guitar and keys, along with 4 string instruments and 3 back-up singers. A different take on the Spiritualized experience (more smoke - less pills), but incredible nonetheless.

Recently, I was asked about the plans for my upcoming $600 “gift” via the government’s stimulus package. Trip to Cabo San Lucas? Naw. Original copy of Antidote’s “Thou Shalt Not Kill” 7″? Hardly. Invest in a secure, interest-bearing vehicle until my school loans become due? Now there’s a thought.

As a patriotic American, should I feel guilty about my choice, as I doubt W. had this type of behavior in mind to stimulate the economy? Is it my civic duty to engage in hyper-consumerism by buying useless shit that I don’t really need? Does Dim Mak make a designer Keffiyeh (preferably in tie-dye)? How about a pair of those $100 John Varvatos Converse I saw in this month’s Vanity Fair? Why pay $30 for regular Chuck Taylors, when I can get them without laces for $70 more, thus helping to offset the recent unsound financial decisions of millions of Americans.

I’m reminded of an experience, shortly after Christmas, at a local coffee house. As I stood patiently in line behind a group of Ugg-booted young women, I overheard one complain that although she was flush with Christmas cash, she was upset because there were “no good clothes to buy right now.” I can only hope, for the sake of our waning economy, that that young lady has since found those “good clothes.”

Cursory listening to NPR voter call-ins today indicates a potential problem with the California primary voting. By law undeclared / independent voters are allowed to vote for a Democratic candidate if they choose, but a number of polling places are apparently unaware and thus denying these independent voters the proper ballot. I gathered from Larry Mantle’s questioning that in this situation poll workers are to give these voters provisional ballots, but many are failing to do so, lacking proper guidance from above. Considering that the number of independent voters in California is near 20% of the electorate, representatives for Obama have mentioned a possible legal challenge if this proves widespread and problematic.

Fortunately, I did not face such problems due to the competency of the Orange County Registrar and my friendly poll workers at the Balboa Inn. After heavy consideration, I “pulled that lever” (”pushed the electronic button”, although accurate, doesn’t have quite the same ring), and proudly attached my “I Voted” sticker to my lapel.

I’m absolutely loving this Romney vs. McCain / Huckabee West Virginia backroom deal story. If I didn’t think Romney was a tool, I might be less entertained / more concerned. Added bonus that the story involves West Virginia (John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry being one of my favorite moments in American history)

Finally, the thought of a “real” DNC is extremely exciting (as Mr. Lemoine mentioned herein), albeit tinged with sadness knowing that The NY Times’ R.W. “Johnny” Apple, Jr. won’t be offering his thoughtful, insightful, and witty commentary on the convention itself and the culinary delights that the Mile High City has to offer. R.I.P.

As the caucuses roll on it becomes ever clearer that Mike Huckabee is, at best, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Courtesy of Salon.com’s Joe Conason, consider this from Iowa’s favorite slim waisted-”ah shucks”-Jay Leno appearing-nice guy:

At a public forum on the eve of the Michigan primary, while mocking Republican opponents who don’t want to append a “marriage amendment” or a “life amendment” to the Constitution, he said: “I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards.”

Holy Constitution!

In Charlottesville, Virginia, a gentleman rolls over in his grave.