Don't let the smiley fool you

Eureka! Discovery of one of the best blogs ever: passive-aggressive notes from roommates, neighbors, coworkers and strangers. And, I'd add employee-of-the-month sociopaths.

I had forgotten about the passive-aggressive note I received on my windshield when I unknowingly parked in the special parking spot of the employee of the month at a public school district parking lot but spending a little time at this blog brought the memory back. If I remember correctly, it contained a threat. It was definitely a WTF moment.

Last night's show

Saw Gove Scrivenor's show last night at the Cozmic Cafe. He's an amazing guitarist/autoharpist. Rich voice and well-crafted, engaging songs. In all, just one of those great live music experiences. He's heading back to North Carolina, but will be back in California (central coast) in October, I'm told.

The Straight Story - David Lynch

This film is on my top ten list. Probably not the first Lynch film to come to most people's minds but I think it's one of the best made films I've ever seen.

Quotable

"World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz will seek an exit deal from his romantic relationship with Shaha Riza. Under the deal Mr. Wolfowitz is seeking, he would be cleared of all wrongdoing while dating Ms. Riza and would not be required to give her his new phone number."

- Andy Borowitz, Next Week's News

Could there be a more unlikely subject in a sex scandal than Paul Wolfowitz?

Quotable

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history. The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

- Former President Carter

Make art not war

Artist: Jimmy Mirikitani

"Make art not war" is Jimmy Mirikitani's motto. A documentary, The Cats of Mirikitani has been made about his life and art which has been broadcast on PBS as part of the Independent Lens program. I missed it but hope to be able to watch the DVD when it becomes available.

Don't make me dance

Meeting Rickie Lee Jones

A while back, Howie Klein of Down With Tyranny and his friends sponsored a contest where the winners of the best sets of five to go with Rickie Lee Jones' new song "Falling Up" would win the opportunity to see one of her shows and to meet her after the show. Well, I was one of the lucky winners.

Here's my set of five:

Falling Up by Rickie Lee Jones
The Road to Ensenada by Lyle Lovett
Mary by Patty Griffin
Trampoline by Joe Henry
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley

I was given the choice of seeing any of Rickie's shows on her tour to promote her new album Sermon on Exposition Boulevard. It turned out that the only show that worked was at the gorgeous Avalon Theater in Maryland.

Great seats, fantastic historic theater, wonderful people and a terrific performance by Rickie and everyone touring with her. I loved every single moment of the experience. And, after the show we met Rickie. You know how you hear about people who get to meet people they've admired and they come away disappointed. I absolutely love this woman. More than ever.

Anyway, thank you Howie for an experience I'll treasure always.

Here's the new video for Falling Up. Enjoy.

Tinky Winky bids Rev. Jerry Falwell adieu

Lest we forget this aspect of Jerry Falwell's legacy.

From King Kaufman at Salon:

The star never has clarified his sexual orientation, insisting on his privacy and denying rumors over the years that he had affairs with two of his costars on the 1997-2001 show, the male Dipsy and the female Po.

"We love each other very much," he says. "Big hug. But it's not like that. It was a kids show, know what I mean? And this Falwell guy and his followers wanted to turn us into something else. We weren't modeling a gay lifestyle and we weren't trying to corrupt anyone's kids. We were just kids ourselves, really. Give us a little Tubby toast or custard and a film of some kids washing clothes or something, that's all we needed. We didn't give a shit about modeling a lifestyle."

Tinky Winky sounds angry. The wounds are still raw.

Koch has issues with Giuliani

Ed Koch, who is 82, finds Rudy to be a bit of a "control freak" and has offered to travel the country denouncing him if Rudy wins the GOP nomination. Since Koch's book "Giuliani: Nasty Man," which was originally published back in 1999, is going to be re-issued this month, it appears Koch is serious. Oh, by the way, Koch just happens to be supporting Hillary Clinton too.

Janet Robin's West Coast Tour

Janet Robin has a show in Placerville at the Cozmic Cafe this Friday. Can't wait! I've been listening to her CDs and am looking forward to hearing how she sounds live.

Here are some music samples:

Hope and Faith mp3 / Beautiful Freak mp3

Alaskan Bird

I have no idea what kind of bird this is but I thought it was cute. Would like to go back to Alaska some day.

Meeting Katie Gray

When we were in Kauai back in March, we met Katie Gray, a singer-songwriter from the Seattle area. I'm hoping she'll tour northern California sometime soon. Here's Katie's myspace for music samples. Enjoy.

Quotable

"We don't see poor people on television or in the advertising that surrounds us like a second atmosphere. We don't pay much attention to the millions of men and women who are changing bedpans, or flipping burgers for the minimum wage, or vacuuming the halls of office buildings at all hours of the night. But they're there, working hard and getting very little in return."

- Bob Herbert, The Millions Left Out

“The real story is not the number but the people behind the number. The men, women and children living in poverty — one in eight of us — do not have enough money for the food, shelter, and clothing they need. One in eight. That is not a problem. That is not a challenge. That is a plague.”

- John Edwards, Presidential Candidate

Quotable

"What liberals need to do on poverty is win an election in a manner that provides some kind of plausible mandate for implementing anti-poverty policies, and then implement some good policies -- not necessarily the freshest ones -- and Edwards represents the best shot at that we've seen in decades."

~ Matt Yglesias, "New Ideas"

Wine tasting in Napa Conan-style

On the silliness scale - a 10!

Conan in San Francisco

Went to San Francisco a couple days ago and was part of the audience for Conan's Thursday show. It was definitely the weakest of the shows taped this past week but fun anyway. The day before, Robin Williams was on and the day after, Tom Waits. Dang! We got some guy from American Idol. I've never watched American Idol but I'm pretty sure I would hate it with every cell in my body.

Here's Conan in Napa: