I Kan't Spell

 
Leap Me

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year

In the English speaking a world, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years. While it has been argued that the tradition was initiated by Saint Patrick or Brigid of Kildare in 5th century Ireland, it is dubious as the tradition has not been attested before the 19th century [7]. Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown, in order to soften the blow.[8] Because men felt that put them at too great a risk, the tradition was in some places tightened to restricting female proposals to the modern leap day, 29 February, or to the medieval leap day, 24 February. According to Felten: "A play from the turn of the 17th century, 'The Maydes Metamorphosis,' has it that 'this is leape year/women wear breeches.' A few hundred years later, breeches wouldn't do at all: Women looking to take advantage of their opportunity to pitch woo were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat -- fair warning, if you will." [9].

In Greece, it is believed that getting married in a leap year is bad luck for the couple[citation needed]. Thus, mainly in the middle of the past century, couples avoided setting a marriage date in a leap year.

lol - - Sadie Hawkins action.
Link posted by JVMM : 10:09 AM

 
"I just wanna feeeeel it..." and other show updates

Those were the first word out of Molly's mouth the first time we saw Genghis Tron. It was at the old loft on St Paul st. and it was sweaty and then this insane metallic pop with soft lyrics came over the speakers and everyone almost wanted to sit after the night of sweat and jumping. But we couldn't. It was just too weird and too good. It's kind of hard - - but it's really different hard. That was Genghis Tron - - - another NYC half breed invading our fair city.

CD Release tom. night. at the Talking Head- - -> They were in Spin last month as well with Deacon again... and Vampire Weekend (on the fucking cover...so much for that)...

GENGHIS TRON (Relapse Records):

GENGHIS TRON's record release show for their new LP Board Up The House, their first for megametal label, Relapse!

Hear some of the killer new shit at

myspace.com/genghistron

PONYTAIL (Monitor Records):

www.myspace.com/jreamteam

Aa (Brooklyn, NY):

myspace.com/alittlea

These guys - on their first album from Philly and Bmore are going to be gone and overseas.

In other news - - - Tapes n Tapes plays the 9:30 on the 23rd.... I hope to see some caravaning.

The Jason Dove show was great and I think he picked a niec spot in opening for DJ. A lot of people seemed tuned in... and even more so on the backing. So kudos and take the advice bro - - always on 10. ALWAYS PLAY ON 10!

Also this weekend we have at the Ottobar - - Pulaski (CD Release) The Jennifers and Abbey Mott, Doors

And as always - - don't forget Van Halen at the Arena on the 9th. lol - - That is all. And btw - I am lord of Scrabble.
Link posted by JVMM : 9:55 AM

 
When a bad idea goes insanely bad...

The Superbowl Shuffle by the 1985 Chicago Bears was one thing... it was awful but it was funny.

However - the 1986 Los Angeles Dodgers, riding the wave of the Bears, decided to make... well... shall we say "The Ultimate Deterrent to 80's Art". This may go down as one of the most insane videos I have ever seen.


Link posted by JVMM : 9:44 AM

 
Today

I can honestly say that some days I have no clue how America is still standing as a country. The amount of half-assed people that exist is so awe-inspiring that today I really almost cried at my desk thinking about how pathetic our state of the union is at it's base level. The amount of alcohol and drugs that people consume far outweigh any production they make to the world. The concert I went to last night was just a society of people dodging any responsibility and confusing their own laziness, stupidity, and self-righteous behavior with talent. I'm really pissed today at the world.
Link posted by JVMM : 12:26 PM

 
NOBODY...and I MEAN NOBODY...FUCKS WITH THE BUSEY!!!!



Look people - you don't treat LA back alley royalty like that. You ENGAGE the BUSE. Listen Seacrest...I didn't watch this last night but if I had I would have been on a phone with a guy who knows a guy and you would have been taken out for talking to the Buse like that.

In lighter news - - City and Everton play today for another step to see if City can play in Europe next year.... I'll be in the ditch by 4... come join me. !!!

Busey highlights for you:








And of course...the greatest :44 seconds of movie history - -



"...Utah...get me 2!"
Link posted by JVMM : 9:23 AM

 
Beatles Song #6 - Octopus' Garden

Just like every Beatles album... every Best of Album has to have the one shady ass Ringo song about sex, drugs, or having sex with drugs. Which is sort of what I think this song is about...getting high and then having sex. But who knows...


Link posted by JVMM : 11:12 AM

 
Beatles Song #5 : Dear Prudence



I like rules when it comes to song. I highly believe in the "formula" of music. And I also believe that the Beatles perfected it on many songs. This is another example of a very simple song with very simple lyrics that seem to take you on a roller coaster of soft-to-hand clapping chants while never threatening your ears or wasting a note.

"The sun is up the sky is blue and it's beautiful and so are you."

If a 4th grader wrote that I would fail him. If the Beatles write it, I sing it.
Link posted by JVMM : 5:23 PM

 
I Almost Forgot (this year)

When BDB released this song almost 3 years ago - - I wondered why he claimed it was the year of the rat... well the song has come to fruition now... I love it. You'll love it. It's BDB... how can you not?



Link posted by JVMM : 2:41 PM

 
What you doin' Sunday?

Well I'll be gone this weekend but on Sunday I'll be back that night to attend the killer awesome super duper Jason Dove and ...some guy...named Daniel Johnston show - -

Daniel Johnston is one of those acts that you should just go and see once in your life. Just insanely insane and yet peaceful. He's had his own HBO documentary and our pal and buddy Jason Dove will be opening up for and then supporting the man.

It goes down Sunday night at the Ottobar. I expect to see some of you in attendance. Actually I don't expect to see you because no one ever goes. But I hope that some friends that I haven't seen in a while will decide to come and have a nice evening. We may even get a late night taste of Tim's new Rock n Roll band...

http://www.theottobar.com/
Link posted by JVMM : 1:59 PM

 
Last Supper Picture

Noel, Ghandi (judas), Me, Gary Busey, David Lee Roth, Nick Nolte, Fran Healy, Harry s. Truman, Burt Reynolds, Meryl Streep, Steve McQueen, Mani Mounfield, and a Random Homeless Person.

Tim is the waiter.

T-rex, Titan, Hunter, and Pancake are on the floor.

I have a sabre of pure electricity and gold forged together with diamonds made out of alien bones.

Get with the new nuts.
Link posted by JVMM : 11:44 AM

 
Taxes

Just got done my taxes - - $21K I paid this year. And I still owe another 3k. Go fuck yourself with a giant devil dick.

Love,
Bret
Link posted by JVMM : 9:57 AM

 
3rd Greatest Day of the Year

....nah...

Pitchers and catchers start reporting today.

The greatest day - - of course being...opening day.
The 2nd would be Patty's day.
Link posted by JVMM : 10:08 AM

 
Obama v. McCain

Hey GOP! Thanks for nothing! I would also like to thank - as MSNBC puts it - the Elite Whites around the country for coming out in support of Obama. Did anyone else find it hilarious how fast this election turned race related? I maen if it's going to happen - let's let the fucking big bear out of the closet and have a long look in the mirror at ourselves as a country. It's about time we came to grips with how racist this place really is... and the mongolization of the parties and voting lines is one more thing that can heal us moving forward.

The story after Obama takes down the Hillanator in Wisonsin, PA, Ohio, and maybe even Texas....will be how much Republicans love Obama. Shit, I like Obama. But let's get some things straight here. He isn't a Republican. And at the end of the day - Obama is not going to have MY interests at heart. A Middle class white male is not at the top of the Democratic agenda. And...so until I lose my legs, impoverish myself, or become a big brother I'll be pulling the Republican lever. But...I vote for what I want and what I want is to prosper. A Democrat in office does not serve my interests as well as a Republican.

There are several issues that - on the right side of the aisle - I always disagree with Democrats on: taxes, free trade, fiscal responsibilty, and civil liberties (I actually agree with them on this but it's an issue that I want to talk about). So let's take a look.

Obama actually wants to issue a tax cut to the poor and the old, once elected. While this has never been pure stimulus in the past - - I'm all for tax cuts...even if sometimes they aren't for me. However, once a Dem always a Dem, and he won't take away any money from his annual budget so he has to get it elsewhere. He hasn't said where but if it falls in the 90k-150k range - I'm gonna be a bit fucking pissed. Hopefully it'll be the Uberrichies but...with a Democrat...you never know.

The flat tax is what I'm in favor of across the board. If you buy a yacht it should cost you quite a bit more in sales tax - if you buy bread - there shouldn't be any tax. If you buy a German car - be prepared to pay a lot more. If you buy a Chevy welcome to the gov't's good graces. See where I'm going here...? We fought a revolution over taxes. Before FDR's New Deal, tax in this country was at 13%. Then we made the middle class and taxes went to 35% across the board. I pay nearly 40% of my income in tax. I need a harbor to throw some fucking tea in. McCain will not hike taxes on my brackett so I'm all for that sort of thinking. Checkmark McCain there...

McCain is pro corporate cuts and we find that these cuts stimulate the economy more often than poor people and old people cuts. I weigh on the side of the GOP in terms of survival of the fittest and I doubt seriously that Barack will get any support from the left on tax cuts or if the agenda will pass through without every Republican hanging an ornament on it for tax cuts across the board... causing constituent floods and once again - - nothing gets done. Also McCain is pro-flat tax and he is also not in favor of bailing out all the dumb fuck McMansion buyers that are now foreclosing on their homes. Barack on the other hand wants a 20-30 Billion dollar forclosed home bailout plan...not so that these people can pay it back...but so that they can keep their BMW and 4 bedroom 3 bath in Columbia. That sounds like a Republican to me...but it also smells of fiscal irresponsibility - - and that is all Democrat.

I'm also not a huge fan of Barack's free trade policy. Free trade saves lives. Free trade stops war. Free trade while moving American jobs overseas, keeps us competitive internationally. If we had to pay a high school graduate in America to do any technical job that we export overseas to India, we would be stuck with a big cereal bowl full of legos and our high school grad smoking weed and playing video games instead of working. The globalization of today's market and economies are going to happen. Shit they've already happened. America is 3rd in the world now for consumption and with China and India developing a middle class along with countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Singapore becoming the new Eastern Block America has never been more irrelevant since pre-19th century. The dollar will be taken off the standard price of oil and possibly gold. This means we have to wait in line and we have to internationalize EVEN more. Obama's desire to renegotiate NAFTA will be a hindrance on any progress made by our companies to progress innovation. McCain is for free trade and so am I.

Civil Liberties are where I have an issue with the GOP. McCain's resigning of the Patriot Act didn't thrill me but... Obama won't be able to suppress it's reconception if elected. It's in place until 2010 and I have a strong feeling (i'll explain in a minute) that Obama's governing ability by the 2nd year of his term will have diminished to the point of a whisper and whoever the new Speaker of the House is at that point will be running more of the show than any liberal president. So...unfortunately...the Patriot Act lives on and the country slides further into a gray area of freedom. Advantage Obama but - mute at best - hell that would be advantage Nader in my book.

My largest concern about the soon-to-be DNC nominee is that he isn't yet fit to lead us into a land of prosperity out of the land of pilfering and pain. He's young, he has limited leadership, and his foreign affairs abilities can't hold a candle to McCain...or Hillary for that matter... I mean would anyone have minded Bill Clinton being an ambassador to any foreign country. That panty dropper would have an MGM Grand in Iran by the end of '09 and 4th of July parades in North Korea in '10. But Obama just doesn't scream presidential to me. Charismatic? Yes. Appears Strong? Possibly. But... ready for President...I don't see how the ex-Chicago DA makes that kind of leap.

Unfortunately, my prediction is that Obama will be elected President. Unless the Ragin Cajun switches sides of the aisle and McCain raises the ghost of Lincoln or Reagan to be his VP, Obama will slaughter McCain. The issues are too close. The country wants change. They see McCain as a "maverick republican" and that's like calling a daisy a "violent flower". He will be elected if for any other reason than a person like me would more likely vote for Obama than McCain at this point...but only if McCain reaches so far to the right for VP that he makes agenda promises based on religion and repressing gay initiatives. That would be a dagger to the heart for McCain. McCain may have to appeal so far to the right that he would take moderate Republicans and Independents and forget about the date that brought him to the dance. And that's sort of what he is going to have to do.

Obama's lack of experience and political prowess will in my opinion, make him a lame duck President. Let's imagine for a moment that Barack wins. As soon as he takes office...what allies does he have for cabinet positions? Who does he take as Chief of Staff... Ted Kennedy? I mean we haven't seen any political alignment from him as far as committees and his cabinet may be one of the most hodge podged "Have you heard of this guy for Secretary of Defense?" cabinets in history. He will be handled like a puppet by the entire DNC and all that charisma and radical tendency will get toned down to a whimper. I mean shit... at least Kennedy had his brother and best friend running his office... Obama... who knows? He's no Kennedy I'll tell you that much. Without a DNC congress we may be looking at the next Jimmy Carter...but hell... America likes a good story.

Anyway - - if you haven't been following this so far...I'm sorry. And now you really should follow this...especially come November when you get to see two really good orators go toe to toe.
Link posted by JVMM : 9:54 AM

 
Song 4: The Beatles - Come Together



When I was 14 the movie Bronx Tale came out.

Like every other English speaking person on the planet I obviously knew Beatles songs up until that point. However they were reserved to Hey Jude, Yesterday, Hold Your Hand etc... and possibly the occasional stretch of Strawberry Fields. Bronx Tale changed my view on the Beatles.

It was the scene when Sonny walks into his Italian mob bar that is now full of bikers. He locks the door and says the amazing line of "Now yous can't leave."

The pairing of that scene and the song "Come Together" really changed my view on the Beatles and allowed them to be much much cooler than they were. I then started to do my Beatles research and realized they were much closer to the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse then they were the 4 choir boys.



"Look at me... I'm the one that did this to you..."
Link posted by JVMM : 10:38 AM

 
Song 3: The Bealtes - Helter Skelter

Just hands down the hardest Beatles song there is...It doesn't have anything to do with a "race war" or whatever Manson thought it was about... apparently and the term Helter Skelter is taken from the amusement ride in Britain that would we would compare to the carpet slides...only their's are in towers...

"When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide..."



The lyrics are pretty awful but... Paul screaming just sounds about right to me...

You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer...
Link posted by JVMM : 9:40 AM

 
City beat United
All of Slainte heard my awful mouth on Sunday morning. Dazed and ...well... dazed Arsenal Ryan and I were the only City supporters around to see the blues take down United.

After watching the Arsenal vs. City game in NY last week and the fact that it was a Darby match...I figured Slainte would be rocking. I thought wrong because Slainte was just the saddest sack of boredom...There were people on laptops eating eggs and the United fans were about as forceful and relevant as a big bag of used computer parts. But... it was still a great time.

Thanks Irish Dave for not throwing me out.



This is what it should have sounded like...

CITAY!
Link posted by JVMM : 9:16 AM

 
Song of the Day: Best of Beatles Track #2 - Ticket to Ride



By far my favorite Beatles song and it's because it is the model for all of their other songs and just about every song you hear today. It was their second hit single and I honestly think it makes people insane. It has the 3 changes, 3 choruses, and
the offbeat drum.

Just listen to the downbeat from Ringo alone and you'll be hypnotised. Muted guitar, simple lyrics, men singing an octive too high (which obviously wasn't knew since the days of doo-wop), the Harrison 4 second solos, the end of the song when they change it completely before fading out, and the tiny little Beatles moment which makes it for me is when you the ....."Awwhhhhuuuhhhhwww's" right before "She's got a ticket to ride."

It is in my opinion the most perfect song ever constructed...and I'm dead serious.

I'd play this song everyday if I remembered to do so.
Link posted by JVMM : 10:51 AM

 
Song o' the Day: Beatles CD Track #1
I'm going to start posting a daily song in combination with a band "best of" album. I figure I'll just start at the top and do the Beatles - -

Track 1 - I'm so Tired from The White Album



Now this doesn't seem like your standard opening to a CD. You usually want to start out pretty raucus and tact. But... I think this song like every other great Beatles song has that change. It hits the bridge and just goes straight over it and it ends up to be a pretty fist pumping good opening jam IMO.

Tom. Song 2 - - book it.

Plus the song's lyrics seem to fit sometimes.

"I give you everything I've got for a little piece of mind."
Link posted by JVMM : 2:06 PM

 
Maryland is in Play in Super Tuesday 2 + McCain Love

Usually our little doorstop state just rolls over and votes on the second Tuesday of the Primary without so much as a whimper. Even in 92 when Clinton wrapped up the first Super Tuesday, Paul Tsongas rolled through here to tumbleweeds...but this year... this year could be interesting.

With the defacto Baltimore DNC rep being Hillary the electric Obama camp may see some opportunity in MD given its new black and young population in a highly condensed area...and to be honest I'm really pro-Obama over Hillary but come on ...let's be serious - I'll never vote for a Democrat...I would have voted for Nixon over Kennedy in a heart beat.

But that doesn't mean Baltimore can't prosper from this electoral bumble. And Baltimore at the end of the day is really all I care about...and by Baltimore I mean Maryland... so... Anyway with the DNC "machines" pulling into town to win our 91 super delegate votes (don't ask... the primaries don't work like the presidential campaign so...it's fucking weird) local businesses will have a chance to flourish outside of baseball and football season and our own insect looking mayor may have some face time on National TV where she does not have to talk about a murder, welfare, or corruption. But most likely it'll be Mukulski's wrinkled up pucker.

So - it should be exciting around here next Tuesday.

On to McCain and the GOP. I wish I was a democrat I do. But, living in Baltimore and having a job, having lower middle class parents sacrifice to send me to a better school, graduating college, paying the highest state tax in all the land next to NY and still not being able to own a home less I pay 7-10k a year in property tax...I have to say that I am at this point a Republican (Libertarian). Do I hope to one day become a philanthropic pillar of society? Sure. Is it going to happen now? No.

The sad part about last night was the GOP turn out. While many 'pubs will wake up this morning with glorious thoughts of beating the black guy or the crazy white woman in Novemeber...in all honesty I don't see that happening.

Hillary got more votes in Alabama than McCain. ALABAMA! HILLARY! Those two words go together like Ike Turner and baby strollers. So even though the GOP will elect the right man in McCain...unless he gets more support from fat Rush or punk ass Anne then he'll flounder like Dukakis against Bush. No GOP wants to stand behind McCain. He likes Brown people, and he wants women to be able to cut out their babies, and while he is pro-war...he wasn't at the start. So the uber-pubs aren't feeling McCain.

The scariest thing that can happen is if McCain feels like he needs Huckabee to carry the south. For those of you who don't know...Huckabee could give Ashcroft a run for his bible. This guy no longer wants to teach evolution or for that much Science...or reading...unless it's the bible. Basically his ideal America would be Madrassas with the bible instead of the Koran and Americans praying to Jesus instead of the flag for the national anthem. Scary shit.

That's extreme but it isn't far off... When your base is the Evangelical Christians of Tennessee... I start to worry a tad. And if McCain stretches that far to the right then I don't know if I can vote for him. I just don't know.

Despite all of this I really wish there was some higher debate in this country. The only thing Democrats know is that they don't like Republicans and don't want Roe vs Wade overturned. All the Republicans know is that they hate Democrats and that they don't want to lose their guns.

Even funnier than that is that neither of those issues will ever change no matter who is in office.

You also have the 2000 pound gorilla in the corner in the shape of Iraq and that won't change either. We have 18 permanent bases in Iraq. Nobody, not even Nader could pull us out of Iraq...so let's just save all these extremely benign agendas centered around the most unimportant of issues. Abortion, guns, and war will never change. Get a clue.

Lower taxes, build some fucking schools, balance the budget, increase small business funding, and clean up the earth. Now I think we can honestly say to ourselves that both parties want to address those issues and some want to address some more than the others. But...who can get it done? I don't think a pandering Democrat with so many bullshit small special interest will ever EVER be able to get anything done on anything more than a microscopic scale. ...anyway I could go on forever...But do some research and find out the platform and the leadership that you think just might reflect your interests... even if it's your neighbors dog.

Anyway - this is great tv.

And another thing. With a recesion coming. And it is coming. Who do you really want in office? And I swear to God if you say Bush got us here you are insane. politics run 5-10 years behind. The Clintons benefited from the venture capitol freed up by the Bush and Reagan campaigns and the 2nd Bush campaign lingered because of the state of welfare, SS, and WAY too many allowed bankruptcies and McMansions being built.
Link posted by JVMM : 10:00 AM

 
What a Weekend and...things Ahead..

Some bullet points -

1. New York in and of itself always seems to do something to me. This time all I talked about was moving there... and this time it seemed like it was just bound to happen.
a. Let me embellish on that a little - I love Baltimore. I adore my hometown I do. I know more about Baltimore and it's history than almost anyone I know. I have some of my best friends here and I feel comfortable in any place at any time and I know where all the good things are. But... I'm tired of it. I'm just tired of the bad forced music, bad bars, bad art, and just lazy crappy lifestyle that goes on here. There is such a sucking sound of apathy for people who are afraid to take a shot at other things in life. There is just a large vacuum of morons and people who hold the intrinsic value of "basic mediocrity" way too high on a pedestal. Everything in NY and maybe even Boston feels alive to me... people talk about real things like changing the world and making great music and radical moves. It's exciting to be amongst people that... and this sounds awful... people that may be a little bit more like me than Baltimore can provide right now. I just really feel as though I am outgrowing this town.

2. Craig named me his best man. I am really honored by this and it comes at a really great time in my life (and his of course) when I can actually stand and say "I am ready to be someone's best man." I feel like I could stand straight... and I can't wait to deliver my speech. lol - -

3. Danny's birthday was great. He was a really good host and everyone from the weekend showed up and we drank and fought and toasted and took way TOO many pictures. Cheers to all involved.

4. Tonight at the Ottobar - Jason Dove is releasing more episodes of "DJ's". I hope to be and see you there.

5. Seeing the Giants win the Superbowl while actually being in NY was pretty magical and definitely one of those "sports" moments I won't forget. Even though my wisdom teeth were killing me I still managed to be dragged to Blondies on 93rd and watch the game. It didn't really hit me until some random guy poured champagne over my head and the entire bar was "rockette line dancing" to New York New York. It was a really great game... even a non--hardcore-football fan like myself could appreciate that game.
Link posted by JVMM : 10:04 AM

 
The New Darlings of Music Land



Vampire Weekend. Yep. That's all.

I heard they play the Bowery this weekend. And since I'll be gone for a bit and in NY I may try to track them down, hump them, get one of them pregnant (man pregnancy is possible these days), hit them up for law suits, process their credit report, cut their hair, have them paint my toenails, itch my back with their faces, and then...have them kill 7 people for me.

But seriously...this is your first Bret SNAS report of 2008. Enjoy it.
Link posted by JVMM : 1:13 PM