The Rules, Once Again

Just making sure I have it straight:

 

If you're a singer, and you say you're not proud of your president/ashamed to be from the same state, etc., well, by goly, you're an un-American scuzzball who hates Liberty.  Insulting a president during a time of war is UNPATRIOTIC!  What are you, French?

 

But, it's perfectly okay to call your president a racist.

 

Just another example of Glen Beck's Common Sense!

Posting From E-Mail

Testing the e-mail to post function

A Week Later, A Word About MJ

The death of Michael Jackson almost brought the web to its knees last week, signifying that it was truly a Big Event. Hell, the last time I can recall the interwebs taking such a beating was the morning of 9/11. For me it showed how the mdeia landscape has changed. I was on Twitter when I noticed a trending topic entitled "Michael Jackson". After muttering "What has he done now?", I clikced and saw the literally hundreds of tweets indicating that he was taken to the hospitalm after collapsing. The only source cited was TMZ.com. A quick check of the standard news sites showed no mention. TMZ then mentioned that a source said "it doesn't look good". No mainstream media reports. Hmm, over to Fark.com, as news spread within one of the forums. Skepticism abounded, since the only source was a celeb gossip website. I immediately thought, who better would be on top of this as it breaks? They live for this shit, right? Sure enough, TMZ.com was the first to report his death, while the other sites were just posting items that "reports" indicate MJ was rushed to the hospital. As we saw 15 years ago with all things O.J., the tabloid media got there first, and had it right all along.

As for Jackson, it's weird, this was the kind of thing that should not have surprised anyone, yet did. Here was a man who lived a bizarre, reclusive life, always appeared to be frail and sickly when not performing, and was known for generally strange behavior. Reactions varied, not surprsingly, in light of the more recent events surrounding the man. It was a bit surprising to see several "I'm glad the pedo kicked" type of responses. I mean, he was found not guilty, right? (I know, so was the aforementioned O.J.).

Undeniable is the impact the man had on music and pop culture. You youngsters might be amazed to learn that before Jackson, the only black face one would see on MTV was that of J.J. Jackson the VeeJay. A threat from the record company (back when they had real clout) forced MTV's hand, and the rest was history. Before the freak show set in, the guy was about as big a star as one could be. As he literally grew up before our eyes, from the amazingly energetic child frontman of the Jackson Five to the megastar solo act, he never failed to amaze and entertain.

Rest in peace, MJ.

A Rebranding, If You Will

Why the new title for this blog? A couple of reasons:

1. The "Habitual Line Stepper" thing seems to have run its course
2. Googling the above returns far too many hits
3. Why not?

It kinda fits what this is all about, right? It's not about striving for excellence, just me posting random stuff which hopefully entertains you or makes you think for a minute. Enjoy the new name and new look.

Song Of The Day - 6/5/09

"Weird Al' Yankovic


"Trapped In The Drive-Thru"





Being Weird Al cannot possibly be as easy as it he makes it seem. I mean, everyone sits around and substitutes nonsense lyrics for songs currentl playing, right? If I had a buck for every time I'd mocked a Top 40 song for the kids while fighting the urge to pull my leg hairs out one at a time since I'm forced to endure Lady Gaga for the six hundreth time in the past five weeks, why, I'd be quite well off indeed.



But Weird Al has endured. The guy has been at this since the early eighties, and continues to pump out amusing, listenable stuff, as well as display a great comedic sensibility in his videos, the medium which it could be argued, was more instrumental to his vaulting to stardom in the early MTV days.



This gem, from his Straight Outta Lynwood album, eluded me upon release. My son turned me on to it, and suffice to say it is a keeper. The idea of parodying R. Kelly's overwrought bloated "Trapped In The Closet" would, one first glance, be thought impossible. After all, how can you parody something that is already unintentionally funny? Yankovic delivers, in spades. Making the mundane experiences of a couple faced with the monumental task of deciding what to eat, or if they're even hungry, and spinning a painfully detailed tale of the acquisition of dinner, along with every tiny detail encountered along the way, in right in his wheelhouse. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't heard it, but know that it is pitch perfect in both tone and musicality, and well worth the ten minutes or so invested in listening.

You're awesome, Al. Long may you endure.

I Caved

Yep, I tried to resist for the longest time, but I finally caved and signed up for Twitter. This would normally signal the death knell for anything remotely trendy, as I am not known as an early adopter (example: I only recently signed on for Facebook), so it remains ot be seen how much longer Twitter remains in the public zietgeist. You've been warned.

For the riveting details, simply look to your right.

Whoo-ah!

Is There Anything This Can't Do?

No opening line, just this, form a recently concluded study:

The main chemical in marijuana appears to aid in the destruction of brain cancer
cells, offering hope for future anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain
wrote in a study released Thursday.

We're getting closer and closer to the tipping point here, folks. It's getting harder and harder for anyone to legitimately prove the harmful effects of marijuana, isn't it? Honestly, now that THC gives cancer cells such a hard case of the munchies that they begin eating themselves, what else is left to say?

I touched upon the legalization issue a few years back, and it seems like it's gained a lot of steam since. With the economy in the crapper, a varied group of individuals has called for everything from decriminalizing small amounts of weed to outright legalization (and more importantly, taxation) to an end to the uncreasingly fruitless War On Drugs.

Now before you think me just another stoner looking to promote the only cause that matters, know that I do not use pot in any way shape or form. I'm simply no longer able to stand the hypocrisy involved in laws which promote and allow tobacco and alcohol, while not allowing a naturally occurring plant to flourish. A plant which has myriad benefits above and beyond getting one high.

Decriminalizing weed, which is now being considered in my home state, is a logical first step. As the barriers have come down, and more and more of those in power are old enough to have used pot in their youth, and realized that it is no worse than alcohol, ascend to power, the attitude has begun to shift. Despite President Obama's rejection of outright legalization last week during his internet Town Hall, this issue will not go away. It's pretty telling that from the Town Hall, which bypassed the traditional media and since it took place online, thus naturally attracted a younger audience, one that in all likelihood got the man elected, chose this issue as it's most popular.

For those think admitting pot is not so bad "Sends the wrong message", think of all the tax revenue you'd gain from not only the legal sale, but from people who will be actually paying taxes (by not being in jail) as opposed to draining tax dollars (by being incarcerated).

The clock is ticking, people, and for the first time, well, ever, there might actually be light at the end of the tunnel.