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June 12, 2005
Blog Stew: Cheddar Beer Soup
This weekend was hot, sticky, and sweaty... and this time I was actually talking about the weather. In honor of the 90 degrees and humid weather that's gripped the northeast for most of the last seven days, this weekend's blog stew is a hot and sticky recipe: cheddar beer soup. And with that, away we go into this weekend's blog stew.
1. Candidates For Excruciating Death. I just spent the last hour deleting an epidemic of comment spam from my blog. Not that it was all that difficult, but by the same token I had to block more than 40 IP addresses while making the effort.
I've been trying to think of the proper or appropriate punishment and torture for these lowest of all human life forms, comment spammers. I'm thinking that they should all meet the same fate as King Edward II of England.
On the night of October 11 (1327 AD) while lying in on a bed (the king) was suddenly seized and, while a great mattress... weighed him down and suffocated him, a plumber's iron, heated intensely hot, was introduced through a tube into his secret parts so that it burned the inner portions beyond the intestines.
Of course, Edward was murdered for far less noble reasons. But I think the one thing we can learn from his tormenters is how to treat comment spammers.
2. Wonder If They'll Put It Next To The Monkey Exhibit? The Christian Taliban have found another front for their war on science and fact: zoos. Yep, thanks to a bunch of Christian right wing evangelicals, the Tulsa Zoo will now feature... a creationist exhibit -- despite public statements from prominent religious leaders that this was a bad idea.
And so once again, the evangelical Christian right wing has managed to force its views upon the rest of the public, at taxpayer expense. You know, when Tom Cruise does it for Scientology, the evangelicals call it cultism... but when fundamentalist Christians use public fora and pulpits to propogate their beliefs, they say it would be discriminatory to not allow it... at taxpayer expense.
What a gaggle of hypocritical idiots. For the real truth about Creationism, I suggest you read this.
3. Pink Floyd To Reuinte For Live 8. Not that I want to disparage an effort to help poor nations out of poverty or anything... but getting Pink Floyd to reunite for one of the Live 8 concerts on July 2 is another example, to me, about how Bob Geldof has lost it. Pink Floyd? I mean, I love The Wall, and they were great in their day... which was when I was like 6.
Look at the lineup Geldof has put together for the London concert: Paul McCartney, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Madonna, R.E.M., Sting, Annie Lennox... half the lineup hasn't had a hit since the first LiveAid. Now I suppose if you're into classic rock, that's okay... but if you're trying to raise the profile of the issue of third world debt with the young people of today, don't you think you could have avoided going for Geriatrock and roll?
4. Shore dining. For those of you on the east coast, if you happen to be on the Delaware shore and are looking for casual dining, but want to avoid the craziness of Dewey Beach or the bustle of Rehoboth Beach, you might consider The Lighthouse in Lewes -- which is just north of the resort towns, right on the tip of Cape Henlopen where the Delaware River Bay reaches the Atlantic Ocean. We had dinner there Saturday night, and it's an inexpensive, quieter alternative to the resort areas in Rehoboth and Dewey.
Comments
Are they going to have Adam and Eve in a cage???
The American Taliban are idiots.
Posted by: Mileah at June 13, 2005 02:06 PM
Don't forget about the "American Taliban in London," too: Tony Blair.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 05:04 PM
Dude...seriously. Why the hell do you have such a problem with older bands getting back together to play. They're artists, after all. It's one of the few professions where most don't feel the need to "retire." Most of these older bands play better now, even with their members in their 50s and 60s, than the new bands ever have. I'll go to a Rolling Stones concert before a Kid Rock concert any day.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 05:07 PM
I'll even call you to the mat. I'm willing to bet you'd jump at the chance to see a modern-day AC/DC tour, for instance. Come on. You know you would. I'll even go with ya. They kick ass.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 05:08 PM
And I realize this particular post is primarily about the issue of providing a profile powerful enough to raise money. But you've disparaged other acts in previous posts for no reason whatsoever.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 05:10 PM
Because rock and roll is a young person's medium, born of the anger and rebellion of youth -- and 50somethings creaking around on stage is a freaking embarrassment. It's like watching a 53 year old grandmother try to squeeze herself into Britney Spears-style low-riders or Christina Aguilera outfits... like watching fat European men on the beach in Speedos.
And I learned very well last summer at the Van Hagar reunion tour that there's nothing sadder than a bunch of aging former hipsters trying to cling to their illusion of youth. It was an embarrassing display, and it's not something I want to see again.
"Most of the older bands play better today?" Are you freaking kidding me??? First of all, I couldn't disagree more. Secondly, assuming for the sake of your argument that this were true... it would only be because the bands have been playing the EXACT SAME JUNK for 25 years, which is the approximate amount of time since the Rolling Stones, for example, did anything relevant or worth listening to.
Watching "classic rock" bands try to stay relevant is like watching Muhammed Ali try to fight Larry Holmes, or watching Mike Tyson fight Kevin McBride. It's sad when someone long past their prime simply refuses to accept that their time is past.
And I think anyone of older generations that clings to the acts of their youth and says "today's music isn't half as good" is just like the old Dana Carvey character on Saturday Night Live, the "Angry Old Man." You know... "In my day, we didn't have fancy-schmancy windshields... we got bugs in our teeth and sand in our face, and we LIKED it!!!" Classic rock is for people who wish things were "the way they used to be," and I don't have a lot of patience for Mayberry or Pleasantville.
Sure... on that list of favorite songs I made last week, a bunch of them were stuff from my youth. I don't deny it. But there's a difference between liking old songs and thinking the bands that performed them ought to regroup or continue making music. Ever watch an episode of VH1's pathetically entertaining "Remaking the Band," where they got 80s bands back together? It was humiliating for every band involved. I'll listen to "Bark At The Moon" if it comes on the radio... but I think I'd be embarrassed if I went to an Ozzy concert -- I'd be the youngest one there.
I don't shop at Abercrombie and Fitch anymore; I don't go to 21 and under night at the clubs; and I don't want to see Pink Floyd on stage together again at age 60. I think I've aged rather gracefully by comparison.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at June 13, 2005 05:36 PM
Ah...your last paragraph cements my theory about you and classic rock acts: Your disdain for old bands playing in present times is really just your way of keeping yourSELF relevant at the ripe old age of mid-to-late thirties. LOL...
I'm still going to see Robert Plant this summer. His new song is bitchin' and highly relevant.
Posted by: Brent at June 13, 2005 06:54 PM
Dude, when have I ever been relevant? (Well, okay, except for when we were at BU.)
Classic rock sucks. It's a bunch of old men pretenders clinging to past glories. Deal with it.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at June 13, 2005 09:04 PM
