R.I.P. Rick Blood
Two years ago today the world changed for us all. Lost that day was a great friend, a model human being, and one of the finest drummers I ever played with. He refused to let the attacks in '93 and '98 deter his life and dream of working in NYC. Rick Blood died in one of the towers that day.......one of the many unreplaceable losses, we are less for his absence. Rick -- I remember and salute you. -John

SPEAKING OF SCHOOLS...

The Associated Press is reporting that a Rochester, New York, school is sending its children out to document and write essays about the poverty and drug dealing in their neighborhoods:

The public school's 75 sixth-graders are preparing for an unusual assignment this month: Using donated disposable cameras and their essay books, each one must come up with a personal view of "health and safety" in their impoverished neighborhood on the city's west side.

This is not, in itself, a particularly offensive excercise. However, a statement from one of the students is telling. As part of his assignment, one boy will be on the lookout for "those little bags they put drugs in that be all over the ground."

"...that be all over the ground"?

Maybe they should be teaching grammar instead.

SCHOOL IS IN
John, response to your issues below.

1. I'd like to let a little more fresh, free market air into the broadcasting industry, but you understand that the current restrictions on ownership are the FCC's way of restricting the free market and causing the failure of small stations in small markets. It's not market forces alone killing those stations, but the FCC's rules that prevent the stations from taking advantage of economies of scale by being co-owned with other stations in and out of their markets.

2. Estrada: The Constitution requires 51 votes to defeat a nominee for the federal courts. The Senate did it with 41 votes. If that's not extra-Constitutional, I don't know what is. Either the Constitution means something, or it doesn't. And if history is a guide, the Constitution will be completely meaningless in 50 years.

3. Buying baby boomers' meds? We agree. Screw 'em.

4. I'm a political junkie, and I don't live in California. Watching Arnold rule California would be fun. Of course, Gary Coleman would be even better. Vote the other Arnold! Vote Gary "Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes" Coleman.

Have you heard of the Hindu Love Gods? It is R.E.M. minus Michael Stipe plus Warren Zevon. Covering such songs as Mannish Boy, Raspberry Beret and Battleship Chains. Good stuff to remember the goofy fun side of Zevon.

Ah, Winston....
Referencing your blog-below, point-by-point:

1. If FCC rules do not allow more duopolies and consolidation, stations in small to mid-sized markets won't be able to compete and local broadcasting dies.

---- wouldn't your market based Republicanism make you want the market to determine this? Let's open a discussion about which media interests benefit from this the most. This is one of those sounds-to-good-to-be-true things.....

2. Estrada was never rejected by Congress in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, but by Democrats and Republicans who think they can trash the Constitutional process if it suits them. Now, a majority of Senate means 60+. The good news, maybe that means the Senate won't do anything for a long time. Who needs new laws, they are all going to be political payoffs to the unions or AARP.

-- so a bi-partisan gang ruined your vision of getting power....? aw.......its only been that way for about 80 years! why not mention the NRA's payoffs or the rest of the right? where's the trade-marked Fair&Balanced approach? Convenient application?

3. GWB is overspending, Republicans in Congress are overspending, and everyone wants free prescription drugs. First the baby boomers force the 60s and 70s on the world, and now they're going to make us by their meds. Screw 'em.

--much as I love to disagree with you, we've got the same sheet of music here. we know we've got to get Iraq and Afghanistan right and it won't be cheap. The government grows stealthily through privitization and contracting-out. The Medicare s**t will explode in our face financially in a decade.

4. Arnold was wise to skip the debate. Nothing is revealed in debates. Politicians repeat rote answers that have no basis in their actual beliefs or plans for the state. It's a charade, and Arnold knows an act when he sees it. I hope he wins.
---- I hope to all that remains sacred about electoral democracy (if that still applies to CA) that this sad political facrce loses. Farce though he may be, he is a political force. Arnold is nontheless a no-substance joke who smilingly rides a wave of free fame-based publicity. Even conservatives like Winston wink at their so-called "values" to get a Republican in CA. I almost want to see Ahnuld win if only beause CA is such a fiscal rat-hole that no benefits a year from now by being responsible for it. Perhaps the political winner will be the party who takes the long vs. short term view......

Rock on, Ahh..nuuhld.. Work on that pronounciation, eh? .......;-)?

Thanks, Warren
You should read what Hank contributed above. His description of Zevon's abilities is dead-on and he foreshadows the accolades Warren will receive posthumously. His songwriting will leave him remembered with many who had much greater financial success, but those successes are fleeting compared to what he left behind for us. Read Hank's tribute.... (nice one, Hank).

WARREN ZEVON, R.I.P.

Very sad news today.

The press is reporting that Warren Zevon, who struggled with terminal cancer while finishing his latest album, The Wind, died Sunday in his sleep at his home in West Hollywood, Calif., a spokesman said. Zevon was 56. He was the author of such wry tunes as Werewolves of London and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.

I don't know what Zevon's politics were. He was probably a liberal. But his music and tough-guy lyrics were tailor made for conservatives, being full of (as one of his best songs put it) "Lawyers, Guns and Money." While other artists in the 1970s were singing of peace, love and understanding, Zevon was gleefully writing songs about solidiers parachuting into third world countries for a little "Jungle Work." Writing about boxing in "Boom Boom Mancini," Zevon summed up the warrior aesthetic of the sport, with lyrics as blunt as "the name of the game is be hit and hit back."

With the exception of "Werewolves," Zevon never had a lot of wide-spread success as a singer. However, as a song-writer, Zevon was widely respected by his peers, with his songs being covered by such diverse artists as Linda Rondstadt, Dwight Yoakam, Meat Loaf and the Grateful Dead. In fact, Zevon was so respected that no less a luminary than Bob Dylan took to covering Zevon songs in concert, including "Accidentally like a Martyr," "Mutineer," and the ubiquitous "Werewolves." Zevon considered this late fact a special honor, telling the New York Times, ''There are levels past which things no longer connect...There's nothing to relate them to; there's no way to really analyze them. To hear Dylan sing not just one song, but another. . . . It's a big thrill, but beyond the honor, it's just so strange, beyond even computing.''

Like a lot of truly great artists, it looks like only death may bring Zevon the following he deserved in life, after laboring as a cult figure for over twenty years after "Werewolves," Billboard is reporting that his final album, the beautiful "Wind," with its self-aware cover of Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," entered the charts at Number 16 and has gone to Number One at Amazon.com.

Still, Zevon apparently had few regrets. Appearing on David Letterman last October, Zevon was asked if he had any "great insights" about dying that he wanted to share with his fans. Rather than launch into a long, self-pitying sermon, Zevon chucked and said "...Enjoy Every Sandwich."

Sleep Well, Warren.