Poem: Ephemeral Communication

Native American smoke signals
May be the most transitory
And ephemeral communication of all,

Next to the voice
—A Jiminy Cricket whisper
In your ear—

That transmogrifies instantly
Into memory
While the smoke signal

Takes its own sweet time
And rises in a langorous backstroke
Drifting slowly and inexorably

Toward Heaven,
Achieving evanescence
Somewhere in the troposphere.

[Irvine, California 4/16/2008]
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Shine a light! Martin Scorsese's rolling stones movie

click the stones to enlarge

I am not a huge Rolling Stones fan--I liked them in the 60's/70's, but pretty much lost interest sometime around Some Girls.

This concert film reminded me of why I did like them--they wrote some good tunes, and they always had attitude. We saw the movie at IMax--on the six story screen with fantastic sound. It really made me think about what would have become of the Stones if Brian Jones had lived.

The movie was edited with a lot of rapid cuts--and you rarely if ever saw the whole stage. And, of course, the focus was often on Mick, who is still an amazingly energetic dancer and performer. I think the cuts would probably be more tolerable on a smaller screen. It took a couple of minutes to get used to the jump cuts.

The best moments were where Keith Richards was in the spotlight (he sang two tunes). And the camera would frequently zoom in on him. He seemed to happy to have survived, and I had forgotten what an amiably lovable rascal he is. I will buy this movie just to savor those Keith moments. Jack White, Buddy Guy, and Christine Aguilera also did guest shots. Jack White's was just OK. but Aguilera and Buddy Guy were off the hook. You should go see this film. Even if you're not a fan.

/jack reporting from Orange County, California...


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Obama issues clarification on his "bitter" remarks

by Pablo Fanque,
National Affairs Editor, All this is that

(Seattle, Wash. - All this is that wire) — Senator Barack Obama on Sunday attempted to clarify (and mitigate!) what he meant when he said some small-town Pennsylvanians are "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion."

Sen. Barack Obama told All This Is That's Pablo Fanque that his statement was misunderstood and misrepresented. "I didn't say it as well as I should have," Obama admitted to Fanque in Muncie, Indiana, on Sunday, the day after he first defended his comments,

"Many of these traditions are passed on from generation to generation -- but that doesn't mean they're right. These people in the flyover states are shooting innocent animals, are inveterate racists, homophobes, and I understand many still have sexual relations with cousins, in-laws, siblings, and even barnyard animals. Just because these are traditions with these backwoods folk, Pablo, doesn't mean they're right, or that they shouldn't be changed."

"But will the peckerwoods and crackers ever make these changes?," he asked Fanque on Sunday. "No freakin' way! And that, friendos, is why we need to make the changes for them."

"That's why my first act as President will be to round up every single gun in this country. And the second will be to enroll every citizen in this land in mandatory sensitivity training. And in case you're interested, I also plan to raise taxes. Through the roof. And in case you're interested, I have not ruled out mass involuntary sterilization."
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Digital painting: 16 heads (from a drawing by jack brummet)

click to enlarge

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Senator Barack Obama: These people are a bunch of gun nuts, tariff freaks, racists, and cross wavers, or, an Obama Nation Abomination

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign began taking on water yesterday after he thumbed his nose at the middle class of Pennsylvania.

Obama's rival, Hillary Clinton, and Republican presidential nominee John McCain both pounced on the comments Obama made last weekend at a fundraiser in San Francisco.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said.

Video of the speech, which was closed to the press, surfaced as Obama was campaigning in Indiana on the working-class issues like job losses and rising mortgage foreclosures.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said.



His opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton responded at a rally in Pennsylvania: "Pennsylvania doesn't need a president who looks down on them," she told the crowd. "They need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."

The McCain campaign, of course, also lambasted Obama: "It shows an elitism and condescension toward hard-working Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking," said Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to the Arizona senator. "It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."
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painting: George W. Bush in full regalia

click to enlarge

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Alien Lore No. 127: NASA's UFO

click to enlarge the saucer - photo by NASA

Actually, of course, this is not a flying saucer,but the domed top to a 70 foot tall vacuum tank at the John H. Glenn Research Center's Electric Propulsion Laboratory.

The three technicians in protective suits had just emerged from within the tank where they had been cleaning in the toxic mercury atmosphere, following ion engine testing in the tank. NASA has used this photo many times over the years and features it prominently in their galleries, since it looks so much like something it isn't.

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Keelin Curran talks about marriage to Jack Brummet

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Poem: When the devil comes knocking

"It's for you. I think it's The Devil."

I always wondered when
And how he would come knocking—

Maybe in a two-button Armani suit
Or clad in a red unitard

With a baffle for his tail—
And ask me why I blame him

For the ills in our hearts and world.
Will he flip open a dusty,

Bartleby-scriven ledger
And call me to account

For my good deeds,
Or did he come to claim me

For the accumulation
Of a succession of transgressions?

Does he realize I have a problem
With authority figures?

When The Devil comes knocking
Will he show up half-drunk

And reeking of sulphur
Or will he come in stealth

Looking polished and rakish
Like George Clooney or George Raft?

Will he proffer a Faustian deal?
Or is he coming because I earned

My passage into the underworld
The hard way, sin by sin

And he's nearly an innocent bystander
Just collecting the bill?
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TBTL --- Too Beautiful To Live? Luke Burbank's Talk Show On Seattle's Kiro 710 AM

Luke somehow doesn't seem like a baseball hat guy.

I should be, since I grew up in Kent, Wash.

I love these people! I have been a radio fan since sometime around 1960, when I got my first seven-transistor radio. When I was young, I used to listen to the talk shows on KGO (like KIRO another 50,000 watt powerhouse) in San Francisco at night, when their signal would skip all the way up the coast. When I lived in SF, I listened to KGO too, and when I lived in NYC, I used to listen to a couple of different talk stations. I have a collection of about 600 Jean Shepherd radio shows I listen to frequently--all from WOR in NYC from about 1960-1977. Alas, Jean Shepherd signed off the air on WOR just about the time I arrived. Next to Jean Shepherd, my favorite radio show of all time is a brand new one, that has only been on the air since January in Seattle (with podcasts available for the unfortunate who live out of broadcast distance). You hear that Luke? In some perverse way, you're up there with Shep!

Jen, who grew up in my neighborhood,, Ballard.

In January, in Seattle, talk radio began to live again. Or at least someone was performing artificial recussitation in hopes of breathing life back into what had become a loud and moribund format. Unfortunately, according to its creators, it may be Too Beautiful To Live. Luke Burbank, who was working on NPR returned to Seattle for his own talk show on KIRO 710 AM Radio.

Luke Burbank's TBTL is a bit [extreme understatement] of a departure from "typical" AM radio — "I'm going to hang out with my friend and talk about things," Burbank says — and that's the whole point of these three hours a night. The show spits in the face of talk radio conventions, and they are fatalistic about it. But, I have heard people on the street, at work, and at parties mention the show. That's never happened before with a local show. People write in from around the world and all over the U.S. "There's something happening here/What it is ain't exactly clear..."

Sean, cook, engineer, and mixmaster

"Too Beautiful To Live" runs from 7-10 p.m. weeknights on 710 KIRO-AM, with a Best Of... on Saturdays. You can download the MP3s a/k/a PodCasts from KIRO's Web site Mynorthwest.com, and also from iTunes.

Luke is vain, funny, often a smart-ass, and always sharp. His partner in crime, Jen, is also funny, and extremely bright. She has a wicked sense of humor along with a heart of gold. Their engineer Sean, is an amusing knucklehead who sometimes talks about making eight bucks stretch the last four days before payday. TBTL is like sitting around with some funny friends, friendos. And the strangest and best part: they almost never take calls. Unlike most talk shows, you're glad. Unlike most talk shows, you actually want to hear the host.

"You have to treat it [the show] like it's a firefly and you've put it in a jar and it's flickering," said Luke in an interview.

Burbank and producer Jen Andrews have daily weigh-ins along with their engineer Sean. As most diet experts tell you, you shouldn't weigh yourself every day. But it's a great icebreaker and they treat it like it matters (also a recurring segment on the show: "Why ____________ [insert the name of something cool like Office Space] Matters." And then, they often delve into just what, and how much, they drank the night before (even Luke, who is now training for a marathon).

Just tune in and you'll figure it out on your own. Or you won't. You'll either detest it, or become a fan for life. Like most people (I'm too ancient to say peeps), I can't describe the show. . .I just ask is that you give them a listen. The podcast, with its high fidelity and no commercials is excellent.

I guess I am one of the 10's...a group of people who've been listening since the show's listeners numbered in the 10's. I tuned in the very first night after reading an interview with Jen and Luke before the shows began. Sure, I'm old enough to be their Dad, but I love these people. Even when they rant about pushing the graybeards out of the way (as they did this week)! Tune in M-F 7-10. They live in that dead zone...one of radio's worst possible time slots. They may be too beautiful to live, but I hope they're just homely enough to survive.

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Charlton Heston, R.I.P.

From www.coloringbookland.com - click to enlarge

I actually liked Charlton Heston, aside from his stint with the NRA advocating firepower, self-defense, and the one useless amendment to the constitution. Most of the post-Baby boom generation remembers him from his work in the Planet of the Apes series. And Ben Hur.

In his best movie roles, he had this populist heroism going into head-to-head combat with ignorance and oppression. Yeah some of his movies were jokes. But don't forget, despite his later bad rug and ranting about guns, that he was marching with the civil rights people back in 1963.
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FDA Orders Massive Cow Head Recall

According to the United Press: "The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall of approximately 406,000 pounds of frozen cattle heads due to a health hazard.The FSIS said Elkhorn Valley Packing of Harper, Kan., is voluntarily recalling the frozen cattle heads because the animals' tonsils were not completely removed, in violation of federal regulations.The products being recalled are various weight bulk boxes of the heads bearing package codes "91700" or "93700" that were sent to distributors and wholesalers nationwide.Consumers with questions can contact the company at 620-896-2300."

In case you did buy any cattle head over the weekend, take note.

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