Attorney General? More like Attorney PFC Gomer Pyle

When will Congress end the long national nightmare that is the placement of Alberto "I Don't Recall" Gonzales as the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement official?

"Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."

As has been mentioned on many, many blogs today following his disastrous appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, AG Gonzales is a national embarassment. Of all the Bush Administration's flunky hires, this is the most odious. Of the many cringe-inducing moments from this morning's testimony, perhaps the most chilling was the revelation of a 2006 memo under his own signature, that he granted the Vice President and his counsel and chief of staff clearance to communicate directly with DOJ personnel on any matter under DOJ jurisdiction. Translation: Crashcart Shoot-'em-in-the-face was granted powers solely reserved for the President...namely, clemency. Say, for example, the case of a former aide to the VP who was tried and convicted of a federal charge of obstruction of justice. Ain't life a peach?

Impeach this incompetent toady yesterday!

BELATED Friday YouTube Nugget

Sorry for the delay, but I flew to NYC on Friday afternoon and didn't get a chance to post. This week's selection (actually, last week's) is from the dearly missed Frank Zappa. I've always enjoyed this video because it gives you younger whippersnappers a glimpse at what music video (and, if you can believe it, MTV) used to be like. This video is from 1981 and, while the effects look a little cheesy, the daring and audacity Zappa exhibited here is tremendous. Besides, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Any video with Ronald Reagan in an electric chair can't be wrong.

You Are What You Is

Shopping with Trent Lott

So....I'm in NYC over the weekend visiting my friend, the high-powered international financier from London. It was a gorgeous day on Saturday, so we walked around the City, concentrating mostly on Designer Row on 5th Ave since my friend is such a clotheshorse. We stopped into the Brooks Brothers store and he immediately announced he had to dial into a conference call for work....which left me wandering around a pretentious, hideously overpriced men's clothing store for the better part of 40 minutes.

Just at the point where I was considering delivering a wet sneeze into the $80 tie collection, I noticed an slightly older gentleman enter the store, dressed in a conventional blue shirt/khaki combo. He immediately looked familiar, but I couldn't place him....then it hit me:

"Hi - I'm extremely uncomfortable around colored folk"


I was standing no more than 15 feet away from Trent Lott. Senator. Racist. Asshole. Hypocrite. Devil Spawn. I had a million things to say to that imperial jackass, but I could do nothing more than stare.

I have to give him credit for this....he walked in that store solo....no entourage, no bodyguards. It takes balls for someone like him to walk around NYC without protection. Then again, people in NYC probably don't give two shits about him or his party. He just went along his merry way, buying some socks and a belt. A belt to whip some uppity black people, no doubt.

So, that's my celebrity sighting story for this weekend. Maybe next weekend, I'll see the zombie Strom Thurmond strolling around the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown.

guest appearance!

and for your reading enjoyment.... gabsosteel will be filling in for me today. and here she is!

i apologize, but there won't be any you tube links today. so, today urbanexodus and i came over to the humanist's house for me to do laundry and watch tv and generally have a jolly ol' time. and instead i was subjected to spores and horrible smells! that dude kept some super nasty stuff in his fridge. no wonder his bro gets more play. at any rate, make sure you check out his flickr page to see the "mint-flavored" chocolate cake.

this wednesday will feature the return of harley the bartender! we've missed him so. and now my laundry's done so peace out fools. good luck with the humanist. i'm working on making him suck less for ya.

Friday YouTube Nugget - Double Feature!

All righty then....before I post my uber-serious post on what happened to me last weekend, I must enter this week's YouTube lost treasure. This week's selection has very special meaning to me as I discovered this band in the spring of 1986 when I was on a school trip to Spain. So there I was, basking in the loveliness of Asturias in the north of Spain, attending school with my host and struggling to converse in Spanish. I spent my idle time in the music shops looking for European versions of Beatles LPs (I was, and still am, a fanatic and since I owned every Beatles album released in the US, I was searching for rarities or alternate versions available only in Europe). I struck gold with an original Euro release of Sgt. Peppers, but I fell in love with a group I heard in a disco one night. I found out (after a tortured conversation with my host) that the name of the group was Black and I hastily bought the LP. I listened to it for hours and it got me through a lot of difficult times on that trip and after I returned to the States. I don't know if the band did jack shit after this album, but I love them to death. So, in honor of a special memory of mine from two decades ago, I present Black and their two hits from 1986: Wonderful World and Everything's Coming Up Roses



for more info on Colin Vearncombe and Black, here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_(English_band)

Well I'm off to Chicago for a couple days...

Thankfully, no convention this year.

Friday YouTube Nugget

This week's installment - the mad genius of the Rael brothers that was (and is) Sparks. You can't put this music in a neat category...it's all over the place. This is Something For The Girl With Everything.

Our music list for Wednesday Night At Sample

Based on the recommendations of a panel of two, here's our proposed set list for the next Wednesday rite (in no particular order, except sober to snozzered):

1. Rocky Horror Picture Show (OST)

- Singing "I'm Going Home" in my best Tim Curry intonation did not endear me to the lumpenproles at Founding Fathers on Thursday night....perhaps there'll be a more receptive audience at Sample

2. The Clash

- London Calling

- Combat Rock

- The Clash

3. Imogen Heap

4. Jack Johnson - that song from that monkey movie

5. John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band

6. Johnny Cash

- At San Quentin Prison

- At Folsom Prison

- Live from Promises Rehab Center, Malibu CA

7. Paul Simon - Graceland

8. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On

9. Janis Joplin - Pearl

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me....an iPhone"

10. Annie Lennox - the covers album she did...I can't remember if it's Diva or Medusa

11. The Beatles - Abbey Road (2nd side mini-opera)

12. Green Day - American Idiot

13. U2 - we had a hard time deciding on just one, but we ended with a compromise selection....Achtung Baby

14. Wang Chung, bitches

15. Journey. Yes, Journey, bitches. This is the point in the evening when the booze took over. Don't stop believin', my ass

16. I have "Grunge mixtape" on my handwritten list and I have no clue what that's referencing. Nor do I want to know.

17. Billy Joel - "Only The Good Die Young". To be sung at maximum volume. The people next to our table looked like they wanted to crucify us upside down

18. David Bowie

- Let's Dance

- Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

19. Cake - "I Will Survive"

20. James - "Laid"

The "she only comes when she's on top" line got quite a few stares.

21. Tenacious D. - "Fuck Her Gently"

- NOT my pick. I repeat....NOT my pick.

22. Queen

- "Bicycle Race/Fat-Bottomed Girls"

- "Highlander theme"

- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

24. New Order - "Blue Monday"

more to come...

A Day In The Life of Freddie Mercury

So sue me, but I think this guy is 10 times funnier than that "Little Britain" bullshit

Be sure to check out his other videos...spot on impersonations of Bowie, Elvis Costello, et. al., plus he's got a cheeky sense of humor.