Gone but not forgotten

This is an old internet tradition, at least as old as when Mark Evanier first started it. A posting of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup means you're not going to be posting for awhile. This week I'm working overnights and my body clock is just not up to sitting around on the computer. So I thought I'd borrow this from Mark Evanier, who's blog you can read by clicking on the link at the right: POVonline. It's worth the click.

Just Purchased

Rocky and Bullwinkle

One of the best, if not the best cartoon shows ever.

Funny Commerical

Everytime I see this commerical I laugh.

Lost Girls

Anyone have any thoughts on this book? I remember reading the first few chapters years ago when they came out in TABOO and enjoying them. I haven't been as big a fan of Alan Moore's work recently as I used to be, but I'm curious about this book. I've pre-ordered it from Amazon. Everyone is gearing up for this to be the big book for controvesy due to it's "pornographic" nature. Moore himself calls this a work of pornography. When Moore is on the top of his game there is no one that can come close to him. Neil Gamian has some good things to say of the book. It hasn't been released yet, but once I get it and read it I'll post my thoughts.

John Hiatt Last Saturday Night

Forget to post, it's been on of those weeks, but last Saturday was the John Hiatt concert. His opening band and his back up band was one and the same, The North Mississsippi All Stars. As always with John Hiatt it was a great show.

Charlie Brown and Snoopy

This is the fifth volume in the ongoing collection of the complete Peanuts. Note that I said complete, up till now, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, comic strips of all time has not been given the sort of colletcion it deserves. But all this is changing now. This fifth volume brings the characters up to 1960. The first five volumes cover the first ten years of the strip, only another forty years to go. The quality on these books is excellent, but that should be expected from Fantagraphics. My only problem? It's taking too long to complete the series. They do two a year (and I'm not sure on how good they've been on their schedule, it seems they're behind), at this rate it'll take another way too long to finish. I want this completed collection on my bookshelf now. I wish they would publish at least three, if not four times a year.

Are We Supposed To Feel Sorry For Him?

Former Enron President Jeffery Skilling is talking about how life got so bad for him after the company went bankrupt and the police and D.A. started questioning him that he thought about ending his life. In the interview he makes it sound like he is the victim here. Should we feel sorry for him? He, along with others around him, made millions on the backs of a lot of people that had a lot less than he did and ended up with even less when he and his friends got finished. I'm sorry but I don't feel a lot of pity or sympathy. I hope he and Kenneth Lay spend a long time behind bars.

What A Scam!

I just bought two tickets for an upcoming concert to see Trinstan Prettyman. The tickets were $12.00, so you would think I paid $24.00, right? Wrong. With all the extras that Ticketmaster adds on the final price on the tickets was $40.00. $16.00 for service charges!!!!! For what? They're not even mailing me the tickets, I'm picking them up at will call. What a racket! It's getting so you can't even afford to go to an inexpensive concert, cause they just isn't such a thing. It's a shame.

Cash and Dylan

Hurt

Tristan Prettyman

Passings

I've been negilence lately in mentioning the passings of a few greats in the comic book world: Alex Toth, Jack "Jaxon" Jackson and Tim Hildebrandt. I'll try to post more about each in upsoming posts, but there's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already and better throughout the web about these three greats. All three were giants of the industry in terms of talent if not prestige and will all be missed.

Washed By The Water video clip

This is only part of the song, but it gives the idea.

Rock and Roll Star

A video of Will Hoge

Two of My Favorite Things

This is so cool, two of my favorite things: scenes from the West Wing and a song by Shannon McNally.

It Starts!

Alberto, the first tropical storm of the new Hurricane season is out there. It's path puts it heading for Florida.

Bruce at Jazz Fest

This was one of the most emotional songs at JazzFest. You really don't see Bruce but you can see some of the crowd. Maybe I'm just a big softy but watching this video now still hits me emotionaly. This song could have been written about New Orleans after Katrina.

Springsteen at Jazz Fest

Ok, it's not the greatest, you really don't see him except for on the big screen and it ends way before the song is over, but I still just had to post it. It gives you a small idea of his performance.

Iraq Video

If Only...

A Question

This might get me labeled as one of those peace nik liberal hippies but I have a question. I've read that we killed the second in command of al-Qaida, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. I understand we're in a war and I'm not questioning that (though if I was I would question W.'s "dead or alive" speech...maybe I grew up reading too many Captain America comics where the good guys didn't act like that), but why are we putting his battered, beaten picture all over the place? When did we get to the point where we showed the dead off like trophys?

Just a question.

Joe Lansdale

I've read these books years ago but have started reading them again. The Hap and Leonard mystery novels by Joe Lansdale. These books mix humor and drama better than just about any other series I've ever read. One minute I will be laughing so hard I'm falling off the couch, the next minute the suspense has me sitting on the edge of my seat. I've started with the first one, THE SAVAGE SEASON and am already on the second MUCHO MOJO. There is only like six or seven in the series so I figure I'll read them all in a row.

6-6-06

How many headings like that are out there today? Sorry, just couldn't resist.

A ReVisit To An Old Friend...Joey

I know Joey is a favorite topic of a show that went so wrong from a show that was so good. I am a big Friends fan, got all ten seasons on DVD. Watched most of the first year of Joey, haven't seen as much of the second. Never got crazy over it when I watched it. So why did I buy the DVD of the first season of Joey? No idea, but thought I would give it try. I've always liked the character and thought it would be interesting to watch it all within a few sittings.

I'm almost done with the first season and let me tell you, it's a lot better than I thought. No where near the level of Friends. The biggest difference is that Friends moved from eposide to eposide and you felt the characters growing and changing. Joey has a little of that, but it seems to be more of a sit com of get the jokes out, let's not worry so much about character development. I think some of the biggest problems came because Joey never developed supporting characters. The only one that I warmed up to was his nephew. Everyone raved about the chemistry between Joey and the actress that played his sister, but I never saw it. And the plot line where his neighbor Alex was secretly in love with him, but couldn't tell him. Didn't we see that on Friends and done a lot better?

So after trashing it I still find that I am enjoying the first season of Joey. It's made me laugh. And Matt LeBlanc as Joey is great. Joey is such a great character.

What I regret is now we'll never see any of the other Friends come visit Joey.

Destruction Still There

I know, everyone is probably getting tired of me talking about Katrina. Going to the Will Hoge concert the other night we had to drive through New Orleans East and part of the Ninth Ward. No progress has been made. Driving down the interstate you can look over and see an apartment building split in two, half the roof blown off. There's a sign for SAVE A LOT, broken off at the bottom of its pylon and leaning over on what used to be the store. That freaking sign has been there since the hurricane. As an indication of the destruction it's not much, but to me it's a...ahem...sign of it all. Something like that would have been taken down and fixed within no time before, now it's going on nine months and it's still there, broken and bent over. Like so many others.

Driving up Elysian Fields there are signs of life. A lot of people have come back to their houses. Past houses with big X's on the side, your eyes just go to the bottom of the X and look for the number printed in big spray paint there. Luckily all the ones I saw all had 0 on them. I really don't want to think about the bodies found in the houses.

Coming back from the concert we drove past the French Quarter. On a Friday night we didn't see more than a dozen people walking around. On a Friday night! If you've ever been in the French Quarter or New Orleans on a Friday night you would know that is a sight you don't see. There should have been dozens of people wandering the streets, looking for the next party, having a party on the streets.

You might hear that things are getting back to normal, you might think everything is going ok since you don't hear much about Katrina on the news anymore, but we are far from being where we should be. Nine months later...this country has done amazing miraculous things, but this city is barely one step above from where it was nine months ago.

I'm sorry, I'll shut up now.

Will Hoge Concert

Just finally getting around to posting this, crawled into bed this morning about four in the a.m. Last night was great. Will Hoge had two opening acts, Matt Lionnete and the Whigs. I was pleasantly surprised by both acts. Matt did an aucostic show and he was very good. The Whigs were a 60's style pop band, I could hear influences from the Beatles to the Stones to the Kinks. Their drummer was really good. It's rare that I notice a drummer that much at a show, but this one really stood out.

Of course Will put on a great show. This is around the tenth time I've seen him and I've never seen him put on a bad show. He gives his all when he comes out on that stage. He did a lot of material from his new cd, The Man Who Killed Love. He ended the show with his song that he wrote about Katrina, Washed By the Water. When he got to the chorus "been washed in the water, water can't wash us away" there were a lot of shouting. It was another of those moments that the music reached out and touched the people in the crowd. A very moving end to a great night of music.

Washed By The Water

Damned old levy,
Well I knew that it would go.
Been talking about it,
Since before my daddy's born.
Nobody listens to what a poor man has to say.

But down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.
Down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.

I hear people talkin,
Say I should have up and gone.
But I ain't got nothing but this place,
To call my home.
My father and his father,
Stay until their dying days

Down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.
Down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.

Gonna put it back together,
With our own two hands.
Ain't nobdoy gonna turn us around.
It's all a little empty,
And it all seems broken down.
Oh Lord we sure could use you now.

Now the president came down,
And said this is awful sad.
But ain't no words from that man,
Gonna bring us nothing back

And in the ghost of church bells,
I hear my momma say

Down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.
Down here we're washed by the water,
The water can't wash us away.

Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed by the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed by the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
No no no no no no no
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
Sing it like you mean it
Been washed in the water, water can't wash us away
No no no no
Been washed by the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed by the water, water can't wash us away
Been washed by the water, water can't wash us away

copyright by Will Hoge

Friday: WILL HOGE!

Tommorrow night Will Hoge plays at the Howling Wolf in New Orleans. Anyone that has been reading my blog for any length of time has heard me mention Will Hoge before. I'll have more to say of him tommorrow after his show.