Steve McQueen

Driving by Saint Francis Hospital yesterday I mentioned to my 26 year old girlfriend that Steve McQueen had been born there.

She replied, "Who's Steve McQueen?"

WHAT??????



















I guess I'll keep her around. But we've got a lot of movies to watch. I dont dare broach the topic of Kenneth Howard.

The Lobotomist

Truly sick shit:


Watch the whole thing here: http://video.pbs.org/video/1049423655/

Further evidence of why science should always be questioned...Global Warming anybody???

Two tickets to the gun show

I'm going with Sarah today and hoping to score one of these for around $400 I've been working myself like a rented mule painting (sand, paint, REPEAT,ad infinitum) the tank and side covers on my Honda for the last week. With that and various 40th birthday antics my time has been tight. Firearms shopping will be a welcome respite. After this I dont think I am going to purchase anything else for the rest of the year. Wish me luck...

RIP Alex Chilton

One of the true unsung greats of American music. Writer, singer, producer and guitarist he was often so far ahead of his time it was as if he was from the future. I am always struck by how his work, especially with Big Star, sounds as if it were recorded last week when in fact, it was made while I was an infant. His work as the producer for The Cramps first few albums created the genre of Psychobilly and was the first step towards an underground roots revival.

I saw him perform once many years ago. He played mostly new stuff. My friends and I heckled him a bit and harassed his girlfriend Peggy O'Neill, the drummer for The Gories. Of course there was some alcohol involved. But he took it all in a very amused and good natured fashion. He was a true pro.

He died on my 40th birthday, not that it means anything. But ironically that day I had a discussion with one of my younger friends about the merits of Big Star and Alex Chilton in general. "Check it out, I know you will dig it", I said. I think that is really the best tribute anyone could ever pay to a musician. RIP AC.

Emmett Miller

"The very concept of him-a white man in blackface, a hillbilly singer and a jazz singer both, a son of the Deep South and a roue of Broadway-is at once unique, mythic and a perfect representation of the schizophrenic heart of what this country, with a straight face, calls its culture". Nick Tosches, Where Dead Voices Gather











Emmett Miller worked with Gene Krupa, Eddie Lang, Jimmie Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey who all at one time were members of his backing band, The Georgia Crackers. He was direct influence on Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstong, Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Bing Crosby, Jimmie Rogers, David Lee Roth, Eddie Arnold, Van Halen, Leon Redbone, Bob Dylan and most famously Hank Williams who reworked Miller's version of Lovesick Blues into one of his signature songs. Never heard of him? That's no surprise even though he is a cornerstone of American popular culture. To my ear there is no finer, more innovative and frankly stupifying American singer of the 20th century.

Leave the flame throwing to the pros

The Hurt Locker

I love movies. But I pretty much had given up on The Oscars and the Hollywood establishment. After years of Bush bashing at the Academy Awards ceremony all the fun had gone out of it. Compound that with this year and a crap flick like Avatar getting so many nominations while Sherlock Holmes (It's Brilliant Guy!) gets nary a second glance. Then I happened to watch The Hurt Locker on DVD and realized it was nominated for Best Picture.

I thought surely that such a pro-military movie with a raw and intense portrayal of warfare would never win. But win it did, Best Pic and Best Director too. Maybe there is hope.

If you havent seen it yet, do yourself a favor. I am hoping it gets a re-release in theaters soon.

I will turn 40 only once

http://www.liquidchopperstore.com/cb750set.html
What better chance to recieve a once in a lifetime gift?