Tuesday, May 14, 2024
More Joy
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Your Moment of Joy
Thursday, May 09, 2024
zbouillabiase: Political Natterings
I haven't posted anything in a long time and I don't have anything particular cogent to say, although I've seen a few interesting pieces of political news recently.
First, the New York Times and other major media outlets reported that a parasitic worm ate a portion of RFK Jr.'s brain and then died there. Lest you assert "this is lamestream media bias against the antivaxx crowd!!" I direct you to the portion of the article that quotes deposition testimony given by RFK Jr. in which he said that doctors determined than an abnormality seen in his brain scan "was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." More succinctly, he testified under oath that he had a dead worm in his brain. He further testified "I have cognitive problems, clearly," and "I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me." In response to the article, RFK Jr. twat (xeeted?) "I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate." So he admits the whole worm thing. And he had mercury poisoning too, which also doesn't bode well for his overall health or his cognition.
Apparently you get worms in your brain by eating undercooked pork, which can carry tapeworms. Typically the tapeworm larvae wind up in your intestines but sometimes they get lost and wind up in your brain.
Finally, Trump's Veepstakes competition is well underway. All sorts of seemingly important people are willing to debase themselves on national television for a shot at being on the ticket. Kristi Noem shot her way out of contention, but there's still plenty of chatter around JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Doug Burgum, and Tim Scott. Like I said in 2016, "he's running his campaign on some next-level reality TV competition three-steps-ahead shit." So it won't be any of those jackals.
Trump needs to win this thing to stay out of jail, and he needs to stay in office for the full four years so he can run again in 2028. There's only one way out of office once he's in (assuming the Big Macs don't get him in his sleep). He's clearly unimpeachable--he literally staged a coup and suffered no consequences in the Senate. All he has to worry about is section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which says in part:
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
The key here is that the 25th Amendment can only be triggered if the VP signs on. In order to boot the Prez, you need the Veep. There is absolutely positively no fucking way in hell that Donald Trump is going to give anyone the opportunity to shiv him in the back unless that person is a rock-solid reliable supplicant. And that has to be family. Maybe Tomax or Xamot Junior or Eric, but they're both morons and The Don knows it. I think that means Ivanka, Jared, or Kimberly Guilfoyle.
You're probably saying "No way! No one go for want this!" to which I reply "Oh really?" Think about all the shit DJ Trump pulled over the past 77 years. You think the people who are willing to tolerate that won't tolerate some nepotism on the bottom of the ticket?
You don't think DJT would love to roll out "TRUMP/TRUMP" campaign signs?
You heard it here first. Trump/Trump or Trump/Guilfoyle 2024.
Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Dance, Marucci!
Continuing this week's theme of highlighting passionate and modestly weird humans putting themselves out into the world, we give you two-time World Speedgolf Champion Rob Hogan. This is what he looked like back in 2013 when he won his first title:
He's changed his look a bit in the interim:
Hogan's @speedgolfrob Instagram account is a careening bender of physiological coaching tips and madman-inflected mental advice. Here are a few samples:
I haven't played golf in a few months, but I've stored up a bunch of new swing thoughts, courtesy of Hogan. And if I'm being honest, possibly a few life lessons, as well.
Dance, Marucci!
Sunday, May 05, 2024
Trainspotting
We love the weird, the whimsical, and the eccentric in these parts. That should come as no surprise. And we embrace the enthusiasts who share their particular interests and in so doing help us both expand our parameters and give us freedom to explore our own peculiarities.
In the spirit of Gheorghiness, I give you today Francis Bourgeois (real name: Luke Nicolson).
This cat loves trains. Like, really loves trains. He's built a social media following in the millions by sharing his genuine enthusiasm for engines and boxcars all over the United Kingdom. He gives British Bill Nye vibes - a goofy, nerdy and unquestionably enthusiastic joy. As an example, here's a bit of his patter from a profile in The Guardian, "“Oh my God… Holy shit!” he yells, arms akimbo. “Look down there, that’s really rare!” Beneath us, a train is trundling along the line. “Usually there are only two locomotives on that service. This time there are four. All in the same livery. It’s verging on impossible. Fuck!” He takes a moment to catch his breath."
The Guardian reporter started the profile a skeptic and was utterly convinced of Bourgeois' genuine emotional attachment to trains. For his unique and utterly total embrace of his own passion, we salute the young man.
Thursday, May 02, 2024
The Rich Get Richer, College Edition
Did I include this image of Greg Sankey and Ted Cruz to damn by association? Hard to say. |
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Tom Carvel's Bad Fun
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
In the summer of 1986 the band went into the studio (the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England, property of Richard Branson) with producer Steve Brown. Brown had been responsible for the production of Love. Following the motto “never change a winning team”, the band set out to work. A total of 11 songs were recorded. The new album, provisionally titled Peace, was ready to go. Or wasn’t it?
When singer Ian Astbury heard the song Cooky Puss by the Beastie Boys (which was produced by Rick Rubin), he knew the band’s route had to change. It had to be more raw, direct, just as the band sounded live.
I’d never try, never think that we could appropriate hip-hop culture or appropriate hip-hop music into what we do. That would be gauche. It wouldn’t be authentic. Certainly it’s part of what we’ve done in the past. I mean the reason we made the Electric album was because of hip-hop. It was because we heard the Beastie Boys. I heard “Cookie Puss” in a club in Toronto very early on. Like ’85. I heard that song, and I was just like it’s so dope hearing that. Obviously hip-hop was this new music. It wasn’t things like Sugar Hill Gang or whatever. We were hearing some of this stuff. Until we came to New York in the early 80’s I didn’t know what culture really was. Being more directly kind of in front of clubs and hearing that kind of music, and then hearing “Cookie Puss”. There was something about that. We came to New York, we came to Electric Lady, we’re part of the Def Jam family.
It was a completely different approach. Working with Steve Brown on the initial sessions, I was actually talking about Rick Rubin. I had heard “Cooky Puss” by the Beastie Boys and I wanted to get that sound, and Steve Brown was still into that textured, layered sound and had a different vision of what it should be. I felt that the music we were making, the lifestyle we were living and what was motivating me as a writer was much rawer.
I remember hearing “Cookie Puss” in a club in Toronto in, like, ’85. And I went to the DJ and I said, “What is this?” And he went, “It’s by The Beastie Boys.” I had to know everything about them. When I found out they were being produced by Rick Rubin, I thought, he’s got to produce us because that is the sound. Stripped back, rhythmically driven, direct. We had to get that sound. So, we went and pursued Rick Rubin. We met him in ’86 and I want to say he was in an NYU dorm room but that may be a projection of time. But I’m pretty sure we were. I remember we sat in a very small room and he put on a TV. He had a VHS and he put on Blue Cheer and said, “What do you think of this?” We were like, “Wow, it’s really raw, it’s really primal.” And Rick said, “I think you need a bit more of this in your music.” We were young guys, like, 25 at the time. And we were both, like, “This is so exciting!” It wasn’t as nuanced as the English producers who were making these elaborate pop records, layered and textured and what have you. This was way primal and direct and completely reflected our lifestyle at that time. So, that was the link between the Beastie Boys and The Cult. Then, if you look at the MTV New Year’s party in 1986 going into ’87, you’ll see me on stage with them performing “No Sleep to Brooklyn.” I was part of the posse on stage. We really immersed ourselves in that world, the Def Jam world. There were such incredible things in New York at that time and the conduit was the Beastie Boys. Then, later, things like the Tibetan Freedom Concert, which we played with Adam [Yauch]. I wouldn’t say it was an intimate relationship but it was certainly a parallel trajectory in some ways.
- Like his fascination with Native America that informed his cultural appropriation and got him sued by the Sioux.
- Like when he quipped, "Peace on earth and good will toward men - that is something we need to work on. Like Nelson Mandela, we should learn from him."
- Like when he said, "I've liked the Yankees since I was a kid. I grew up in Canada so I kind of identified with New York sports teams."
- Like when he channeled Marty Balin and Salvador Dali to write, "Sittin' on a mountain, looking at the sun / Plastic fantastic lobster telephone."
- Like when he says anything. It's fun to play along.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
What is it like to be a dog? What is it like to be a squirrel?
Although the book is for 7-10 year olds, Rob and I get into some fairly deep topics: the subjectivity of consciousness; structural racism and systemic prejudice towards black Americans, human and canine; the principles of drama; and the fleeting nature of our mortality.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Overdue and Ironic
Saw the news this week that the Washington Commanders announced plans to retired Darrell Green's #28. My first reaction was something along the lines of, "what took them so long?". There aren't many ex-Skins more iconic than Green, nor many moments more memorable than him walking down Eric Dickerson.
But after I dug into it a bit, I realized that the Washington franchise really doesn't retire numbers, or it didn't (with one notable exception) in the Era That Shall Not Be Discussed. In fact, not one player from the Golden Gibbs Era has his number retired. Nary a hog, regretfully not a Riggo, monstrously no Monk, terribly not a Theismann, mournfully no Mann, distressingly no Dexter.
The Washington franchise has been pretty stingy when it comes to retiring numbers (and ain't that in keeping with Little Danny Starfucker's ethos: waste money on washed up big names, skimp on stuff that might make fans happy). Turns out they're not alone.
Retire Riggo! |
The Bears (14), Giants (14), and Niners (12) are profligate, while the Bengals (speaking of stingy owners) and Jags have one retired number each, one of which you'd easily guess, and the other you never would.
I enjoyed my little trip down NFL numerological history. Hope it'll keep you entertained for at least a few minutes.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Notify, Vol. VIII
Rob recently checked in on the WFCSAGS recurring feature and provided an update. Not sure Zman can with WCSAGD, other than to keep saying "Nobody's bought one yet!"
Well, here's an update nobody even asked for -- the Notify News! Welcome back to the Notify show, the one where we highlight songs not on Spotify!
And here's the latest, including which songs we highlighted that are now available on Spotify after all. [If you think I'm implying with such a post as this that the G:TB Notify posts have influenced the powers that be at Spotify, well, yes, yes I am.]
Here are the songs that I brought to that platform for you:
- De La Soul, "Eye Know"
- Toad the Wet Sprocket, "Rock and Roll All Nite"
- Garth Brooks, "Hard Luck Woman"
- Klark Kent, "Away from Home"
- All of Neil Young!
- CSNY, "Woodstock"
- Joni Mitchell, "Big Yellow Taxi"
- Nils Lofgren: "Keith Don't Go," "Bullets Fever," and "Jhoon Rhee Ad"
- The Blues Brothers, "Shake a Tail Feather"
- The Smithereens, "In a Lonely Place"
- The Dream Academy, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want [instrumental]"
- The Beatnuts, "Off the Books" (on compilation and Big Pun album)
- Nina Simone, "Gin House Blues [live]"
- The Pharcyde, "I'm That Type of N****"
The rest, for which we remain ever vigilant:
- Brian Wilson, "Brian Wilson"
- Stevie Wonder vs The Clash, "Casbah Uptight"
- UB40, "One in Ten"
- CvB, "Laundromat"
- Arcade Fire, "Guns of Brixton [live at BBC Culture Show]"
- The Clash, "Listen"
- Aztec Camera, "Jump"
- CvB, "Eye of Fatima"
- Strontium 90, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
- The Police, "Nothing Achieving"
- Dropkick Murphys, "Guns of Brixton [live]"
- Wyclef Jean, "Electric City"
- Pizzicato 5, "Twiggy Twiggy"
- Danger Mpouse, "What More Can I Say"
- The Clash, "(In the) Pouring Rain"
- Cracker, "Been Around the World"
- Total Coelo. "I Eat Cannibals [original]"
- Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, "Prime Mover"
- The Walkmen, "Greasy Saint"
- Ray LaMontagne, "Crazy"
- Father John Misty, "The Suburbs"
- Bruce Greenwood & Circle the Wagons, "2 Ft. O' Butt Crack"
Okay, there's the recap. But what about some new Not-ifies?
Fair enough.
Who doesn't love Ween?? Well, I don't right now, since they cancelled the show that was playing around here this weekend. But then again, it was for Deaner's mental health, and I'm for that. We waited out Gener, we'll wait for his buddy.
Here are a couple of lost tracks.
Here's a tune they wrote when Captain Trips died.
And another for an All-Star pitcher's cousin. Love this one.
Speaking of dying, the Margaritaville Man died last year, and here's an old tune he did that appeared on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.
Here's one that didn't even have a presence online until a month ago. An old tune by old VU-er John Cale, somewhere in the late 1970's.
And there there's this. 1983's sophomoric, misogynistic, ludicrous, and mildly amusing Jerky Boys precursor, "Cooky Puss!" All hail Carvel ice cream. This ain't no Fudgie the Whale.
That's all for Notify this go-around!
BUT... that's not all for Cooky Puss! Stay tuned for Part II of the Cooky Puss saga!! It's fascinating!!