The Big 5-0

The 2008 year in birthdays in quite something...!

Sham Marriage

Ah yes, that 17-year-old child of Gov Palin has a joyous little family to look forward to, since her preggers daughter will marry the Baby Daddy to "do the right thing". That ought to be fun at Thanksgiving. And Mommy Palin had to know what was going to shake down in the media. She had to. And for that...

"Way to shove your own daughter under the wheels of the GOP Machine, Governor Palin. Ultimate sacrifice indeed. "

Dear Sweet Mark Morford of the "San Francisco Chronicle" continues (never such truer words)...

"This just in: Hurricane of delicious irony slams Republican National Convention, flooding the streets of Minneapolis/St. Paul with rivers of savage hypocrisy as levees of evangelical denial and sexual confusion overflow into the streets, leaving stunned party members scrambling in vain for shaky moral high ground.

"Meanwhile, clever looters smash windows of opportunity and steal valuable quips about underage sex and teen pregnancy, as everyone gets a very unsettling if not downright weird taste of warped pro-gun anti-choice elk-kabob conservative Alaskan family values. YouTube at 11.

"Yes, the rumors are true. The cosmic votes have all been tallied, and I do believe we can now say, with some measure of happy certainty, that God appears to be just as sick-to-death of the Republican Party as the rest of us. "

German flag

There's something so unapologetic about this picture: the German flag.

It seems like all we ever learned in school in the US was that Germans were bad and the stigma of WWII will be there forever. While this conversation is longer than I have space, it was quite refreshing to see so many German flags waiving on my trip in June.

Patriotism of any kind is a slippery slope in Germany - even my cousin said so. But during the EuroCup the flag was everywhere, on homes, in gardens, on scooters and cars, you name it.

And no where bigger a flag or so many was here at the Reichstag Building in Berlin. The flag waives proudly and elegantly as if it were saying "we accept the past but look toward the future."

Just my translation of it. And again, it's my fucking blog...

Sean Connery "Zardoz"

Needless-to-say, it's in my Netflix queue.

Lila Downs "Minimum Wage"

From the new CD...someone has been doing pilates...

Obama - Black is Back

I was taking a walk on my lunch hour and noticed this sign. I took the snap with my phone.

You know those political placards some people put in their lawn? This guy [I assume it's a guy - no chick I know would do this] made this sign. I friggin' love it!

It screams "Rock and Roll" and AC/DC and Youth and Black Power and A New Future...all at the same time.

And in the correct AC/DC font, no less.

"Hairspray" The Musical

Had a great time last night seeing the musical "Hairspray". I came to the show with a clean slate, meaning I hadn't see the original movie, nor any touring company of the show, nor the John Revolting movie version.
Music Circus knocked me out. Their shows can be hit or miss, but this was was a hit!
Their shows are "in the round" with minimal sets. But as anyone knows, all you need is a good actor, good material, a blank canvas, and you have yourself a show.
Luckily for us (me), Playbill.com posted photos from the actual Sacramento production. To see more, go here.

The Broadway cast won a fistful of Tony's back in 2003 including Best Musical and individual trophies for Harvey Fierstein, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Dick Latessa (I loved him in "Damn Yankees"). The video clip is from the Tony telecast [not the greatest quality...sorry].

If you've got a few Euros laying around this season and the show breezes through your town, go see you. You'd be glad you did... I know I was!