King Felix pitches the M's to victory 4/5/2010

Opening Day!

I’m so excited about the M’s season this year. Jack Zduriencik did such a good job in assembling this team. There are some head scratching aspects as well (Eric Byrnes at 11.6 mil per year?!), but all in all it seems as though the potential is there to build upon last year’s success.

So the Mariner’s took the A’s 5-3. King Felix delivered, if a bit clumsily. Way too many walks. Sheesh. The fantastic aspect of the game was Kotchman going 2-4 with 4 RBI’s. I was not expecting that, but run production is what this team desperately needs. Great job!

I can’t wait to actually see some games. And I don’t mean at the park, though that would be awesome as well. My television is dead, and I have yet to figure out how to stream the games on teh intrawebz (I will tho… I will!). MLB is out of their frickin’ minds if they think I’m going to pay for some “ticket”. I looked at it and it’s off the charts expensive for viewing baseball.

GTFO!

We are talking baseball here, folks. Baseball. Even hardcore sports fans have trouble staying riveted for a baseball telecast. I don’t have that problem, but I’m still not going to shell out hard earned cash for what should be 100% free. It’s publicity/advertising you schlubs!

Fookin’ greedy owners!

p.

Go M’s! 1-0! is a post from: savant garde

The last time I posted about music at The Triple Door it was from the point of view of being a worker bee, enjoying what I could whilst endeavoring to entreat the guests of the 3D with all that we offer. Today I will opine what it’s like to actually sit in the theater and get the royal treatment!

For those that know me, you’ll recognize my frequent companion to all things cool and spectacular in my life as none other than my ever-loving daughter Siobhan (shuh-von). For those that don’t, well, I’m one of those guys that gets his child every other weekend. So what we do is a major deal! On this particular weekend I wondered if she’d like to go and check out what it’s like to take in The Triple Door experience. As Siobhan is a burgeoning gourmand in her own right, and has an exceptionally broad taste in music for one so young, I felt sure that she’d be more than agreeable. With our friend Morgan in tow, we set off to inquire if seating was available for our trio. As being an employee has some major advantages, we got comped 3 tickets to see Noah Gundersen and The Courage followed by Ian McFeron.

None of us had any idea of what we were about to see. Just some cursory prefunk googling to see what these acts were all about. But that was kind of the point. Good friends, good food, great venue. Just have some fun.

We arrived about 7ish to allow us plenty of time to partake of the great menu the lovely establishment I work for presents. We started with our Potstickers, classic Asian dumplings. Ours is filled with a mixture of chicken and vegetables, served with a nice little dipping sauce of soy and chilies. We also enjoyed the Stuffed Shitake Mushrooms (a personal fave of mine) and the Peasant Chicken Satay. The 3D menu is for us sauce hounds. And the appetizers are abundantly sauced! Peanut sauce for the chicken, a sweet/tangy/spicy tomato based sauce for the mushrooms, and the aforementioned soy concoction for the potstickers. I’m all about the sauce. As my friend says, “The <insert food item here> is just a vessel to get the <insert sauce here> to my mouth!” The dumplings were plump, tender, and flavorful (we had to get more for Morgan!). The chicken satay flavorful and succulent. The mushrooms are a wonder of contrasts. Crisp on the outside from the tempura, tender yet firm on the inside, and the stuffing enhancing all the flavor profiles. I swear if Wild Ginger were to market that sauce for the mushrooms, I would never lack for it in my pantry!

For our second course we went with The Mongolian Triple Chops (another must have in my humble opinion), The Wok Fried Barbecue Prawns, and The Mandarin Chicken. The last two were concessions to Siobhan and Morgan, respectively. I longed for other fare, but I’m a gracious host. The lamb chops are Austral-US lamb, lollipop cut, marinated in a hoisin barbecue sauce that also features coconut. Just… uh may zing! Lamb chops are, essentially, mini little bone-in ribeye steaks, but with the added bonus of that great lamb flavor! And this breed of lamb has a rich and buttery flavor profile (not gamey!), add to that the wonderful hoisin barbecue sauce and you really have an emblematic approach to Asian cuisine! Rich and buttery contrasted with sweet and savory. I could eat about seven of these at any given time! The barbecue prawns were delicious as well. Heavily flavored with my favorite onion, the shallot! As well as generous amounts of garlic, chilies and peanuts. I had to spar with Siobhan in order to get my fair share of prawns! Our Mandarin Chicken is great! The Chinese classic of fried chicken with a sweet and spicy sauce coating every delicious morsel. I would have preferred something a little less omnipresent in our fair Pacific Rim city, but Morgan wanted it, he is a bro and it is a really good dish.

To finish we went with some new offerings from our pastry kitchen. Our pastry chef, Sacha, does such an excellent job. Her whole staff is so knowledgeable and helpful too! We got the Rhuby and the Drowned Truffle Sundae. The Rhuby is a puffed pastry rhubarb tart with a dollop of strawberry gelato, complimented by a little panna cotta. Oh Em Gee! So good! The Drowned Truffle Sundae is Sacha’s take on an affogato (literally “drowned” in Italian). The classic is to pour a shot of espresso over some vanilla ice cream or gelato. Sacha ups the ante by using sweet cream gelato and adding a fantastic textural aspect with these crunchy crumbled Amaretto cookie bits! You taste the coffee, the richness of the gelato, you get the crunch from the cookie crumbles and then you get this fantastic almond hint at the finish of every bite because of the Amaretto. Brava, Sacha, brava!!

I wish I had pictures to accompany everything, but we were too busy eating and enjoying ourselves that I forgot! Maybe I’ll take some at another time and supplant them into the post. Y’all wont care, right?

Now to the entertainment.

Noah Gundersen

First up was Noah Gundersen and The Courage. As I mentioned, we really did not know what to expect, so we had really open minds. As they came on they looked quite eclectic. Electric guitars, dreadlocked singer, and fiddle player? The opened with an atmospherical intro that really set the mood. Their sound was very dynamic. Touching on many influences, yet not contrived. Genuine. And heady at times. I really liked them. M. Gundersen is a pretty good showman. I could only imagine what he could do with more time. At one point the rest of the band exited so that he could perform a little solo number entitled “Jesus, Jesus” (you can hear it on their myspace page). The song was very interesting to me. It was, at times, quirky, rebellious, approachably composed, and very touching. I was very moved when, in his repartee with Jesus, he asked for His help in fixing this world because someday he’d like to have a family. I’m getting a lump in my throat now just thinking about it. But then… I’m a very sentimental fella. Very enjoyable performance all around. Thanks, Noah and The Courage!

Now we get to the part that I don’t really want to expound to much on, Ian McFeron. He’s very talented. Very prolific. It just wasn’t our cup of tea. It kind of bummed us out as the first act set the bar so high, and we really tried to enjoy M. McFeron’s art, we really did, but we ended up leaving a tad early. Sorry, Ian.

The best part of the night is when, during the first part of the first act, I queried my friend Morgan about our seats. No response. Another try. Nothing. Finally, a third attempt to prevail on him to relate to me what he thought of everything. “What? Sorry… Amazing… Just… Amazing. I’m in my own little world right now.” I could not have been happier. Thanks, Noah. Thanks 3D! Thanks to Ryan who is an awesome server. Thanks to Calvin for the tix! Thanks to Siobhan for pretending to be sleepy so we could beat a hasty retreat. No offense, Ian, best of luck!

p.

Triple Door musings… is a post from: savant garde

M'sieu Doughty

So I haven’t blogged too much lately… I have been wanting to, but life keeps presenting me with horrible distractions: car break-in, child support issues, cheap insurance company issues, short changes in time (daylight savings crapola), etc. Yata, yata, yata… wah, wah, wah…

I do want to chime in on the talented Mr. Doughty.

Mike Doughty, of Soul Coughing *alert Wikipedia link alert* fame joined us at The Triple Door on Friday, March 12th. His tour is called “The Question Jar Tour”. It is quite entertaining. M. Doughty will regale his audience with his songs and then sprinkle in responses to questions submitted to Ye Olde Question Jar. This provides a lot of humor and intimacy to the occasion. He answered such questions as, “If the constraints of logic and physics did not matter, what type of pet would you have?” To which M. Doughty replied, “A pony the size of this room. I will name him Jimmy!” and, “Can I call you Brian?”. The answer to the latter question was a simple, “Yes.”

The whole show provided a warm and fuzzy vibe. Luckily M. Doughty did not have to get all M. Doughty on folks at the 3D. It was, or seemed to me, a pretty big love-fest. The peeps were happy. The wine flowed. The food was it’s usual stellar goodness.

We had a pretty rockin’ week 3/08 – 3/12. I mean that literally. Matthew Good was loud. Lukas Nelson was loud. Efterklang (I may chime in about them in the future) and M. Doughty were the perfect finish to the week. Ethereal, atmospheric grooves and then some good, ol’ fashioned pickin’ and grinnin’ from Mike.

Good times.

I was not that familiar with Mike Doughty outside of Soul Coughing, so this was a real treat. Although some of his songs do resonate a familiarity of SC’s “Circles”, I really enjoyed his crafting. I’m a sucker for a well crafted guitar hook and Doughty has them in bunches. I also like his approach to lyricism. He’s not afraid to not take himself too seriously. So refreshing. I think that might be his maturity showing through as well. When one is younger, one tends to be soooo serious! There is a lot of cute, quirkiness to Mike’s writing. I find that fun myself. Also there is a lot of intelligence needed to pull that off. I would definitely put him in the category of a 1337 geek rocker. And I mean that with the utmost esteem. As a torturer of guitars and warbler myself, he gives hope to aspiring geeky acoustic composers like myself.

I really enjoyed this song: Down On The River

It’s much different live and acoustic, but I couldn’t find a live recording on the ‘nets I liked. Very much more haunting with the acoustic arrangement. But you get the idea from this video. Plus it’s a bit hilarious.

Support Mike in his effort to entertain the world! It’s worth it. You will smile.

p.

Triple Door musings… is a post from: savant garde

Alice In Wonderland (thanks for the pic Disney!)

I had the chance to take a lovely girl to Alice In Wonderland in 3D the other Saturday. The girl was my everloving daughter and we had a glorious day!

To the task at hand.

If you’ve seen the movie, or have been arguing about it on imdb, then you probably know that this is not your mother’s Alice. It’s some years into the future… Wonderland is not really Wonderland, it’s Underland and… yata yata yata.

I don’t care about all that, it’s a film. It’s meant to entertain. I thought it did so very well. This was very immersive filmmaking. And not just because it was in 3D. This was more about the characters and the story than I had expected. And Tim Burton did a fantastic job of weaving the story, not getting too carried away with the toy that is 3D (mebbe not enough?), and just being himself as a director. Flamboyant and quirky, but not too a fault.

Mia Wasikowska is wonderful as a grown up Alice. Great find in this young lady.

Helena Bonham Carter was probably my favorite character as the despicable Red Queen. She sunk her teeth into this role. Delivering her vileness with aplomb, yet communicating that she was really just an insecure little creature. Her depravity the result of mutated jealousy and envy.

Crispin Glover delivers his usual creepiness with aplomb. His CG elongated body did disturb me a touch. Not the best executed sfx in the movie.

Johnny Depp… hrmm… I think I will have to see it again to really weigh in on M. Depp’s performance. I can’t really comes to grip with his performance just yet. I guess I am a little disapointed. But… it’s not fair really. The bar is set so high for Johnny. That’s why I want to reserve judgment for now. Was this portrayal just more sublime? Do I need to do more research on the Mad Hatter? I always expect to be wowed by Depp… I guess I just wasn’t in this first viewing.

All in all, I got a lot out of this movie. Laughs, great lines, great fantasy. The animals are great. The settings are exceptional. The 3D fx was not overused, and could have been even utilized a little more, imho. My daughter and I both enjoyed it immensely, and will probably see it again.

I do recommend this movie. I do recommend that you see it without too much preconception on what you know about the characters of Lewis Carroll. You’ll only get yer panties in a bunch. Just be entertained. Or go yell at people on the boards at imdb. I do!

p.

Alice In Wonderland 3D (2010) is a post from: savant garde

Saint Patrick

As we approach another St. Patrick’s Day I wanted to get up on my soapbox a little. This is always a touch personal for me as Saint Patrick is, obviously, my namesake.

While this day has become a celebration of the Irish, of knowing someone who is Irish, wearing something green, or establishing a first name basis with the bartender at your favorite Irish pub, please don’t forget that this is about a man. An absolutely amazing man.

I’m very proud to be Irish.
I’m very proud to be Celtic.
I love that once a year the entire world focuses on Ireland, and what it is to be Irish.

I don’t really love that this day has become more a day to ingest copious amounts of green beer and Irish whiskey than to focus on the man.
I don’t really love, though I don’t begrudge, that this has become an economic stimulus package for bars, alcohol distributors, and the marketing firms behind them.

Does anybody know why St. Patrick is revered?

Ask a passerby on the street that and you may get the, “He chased the snakes from Ireland.”, story.
I remember hearing that as a boy.
The trouble is… it’s not true. No snakes in Ireland. At least, not since the last ice age.

Saint Patrick was a spiritual man of unfathomable love and dedicated to enlightenment.
That is why he is remembered, revered, and loved by a nation that brought him first to it’s shores in shackles.
Patrick was born in modern day England. Not Ireland. He was a Romanized Briton (Celtic people).
A noble. He was not Patrick, he was Patricius (puh-tree-see-oos).
The Irish at the time were quite barbaric and feared for their prowess in taking slaves in the middle of the night. They would make across the Irish Sea in flotillas of small boats and raid villages with the intent of stealing children to enslave.
That is how Patrick ended up in Ireland.
He toiled as a slave there for many, many years. Primarily as a shepherd. Perhaps a decade.
Finally, as he neared his late teens, perhaps 20 years old, he managed to escape.
They say it was on this journey of escape, back to his home, that the first miracles in Patrick’s life occur.
Miracles or not, Patrick made it back to his noble family in present day England.
As a noble he had the duty, right and responsibility of finishing his education.
After his escape, Patrick chose the cloth. He chose to be a man of God.
At this time in the Roman Empire, this is post-Constantine, most are Christian.
So Patrick completes his studies as, what we would probably now view, a Catholic Priest.

What does Patrick do with his education? And this is why this guy is cool.
He returns to Ireland.
He returns to the very people that enslaved him.
Why? Why do such a thing? What kind of person can do such a thing?
As an Irish-American, I like to think that Patrick saw something in the Irish that he could not help but love.
One can only imagine what it might be. The spirit of the people?
Art, music, dance? Something about those people made him love them.
Something made him love his enslavers!? It’s absolutely incredible if you think about it.
To me, this is “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” stuff. But on an exponentially greater level.
This is a Christian in a whole nation of Pagan’s. There may have been some other Christian presence there at the time, but it was not the pervasive mode of worship.

Patrick was undeterred.
He went to Ireland and started his ministry.
And then he built a monastery. Excuse me, monasteries. A lot of them.
All over Ireland. I mean all over. North, south, east, west.
And he conquered with love and illumination.
He was a peacemaker. Tribal chieftains sought him out for judicial settlements of disputes.

The significance of the monasteries is education. That is the illumination I’m writing about.
In the 5th Century, in Ireland, there were no schools. There was no importance on education.
The importance was on survival. Learn a skill and survive.
Patrick added education to that.
And he taught everyone. Powerful warlords and poor shepherdesses.
He did not discriminate his teachings by wealth, power, sex or class.
He converted a whole Pagan nation. One man.
And he did it with love, not the sword.
And he did it with knowledge, not oppression.

You may be a Christian or not. You may be bored to tears with this story about a Christian leader like Patrick. That’s not what is important about this story. That’s not what is important about this man.
The significance of Saint Patrick is love and enlightenment.
Love that allowed a man to walk all over an island, filled with barbaric tribes who could strike him dead at any moment, and teach them a few things.
Till their soil with them.
Solve their disputes.
Teach their children.

The legacy of Saint Patrick is just as important as the man.
While the Roman Empire in Europe disintegrated under the boot of barbarian horde after barbarian horde, Patrick’s monks in Ireland were transcribing and copying all the important books of Rome.
That’s pretty much a monk’s life in that epoch. Be pious and copy books.
While Europe entered the “Dark Ages” and the barbarian tribes were using the great libraries of the Roman Empire as tinder for their fires, the Irish were busy keeping the great literal works of antiquity alive. Our universities have them today thanks to St. Patrick.

So, before you drink your pint of Guiness, or cheers your mates with a pour of Tullamore Dew, remember that this day is important because one man so loved a people that he could forgive them his enslavement and teach their children, and therefore the world.

p.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day! (Get to know your favorite Saint!) is a post from: savant garde

Use your strength, American Woman!

So much turmoil, apathy, confusion, indecision and a cacophony of white noise in the U.S. political climate these days.

Obviously there needs to be some serious change. I think women are just the ones to make it happen. When women put their foot down, things happen. All this status quo bullshit has got to stop. Of course, y’all females need some solidarity, but I think there’s an issue out there to really provoke womankind in the states to get up in arms. I’m speaking about the appalling condition of natal and maternal health in these United States. If you were ever befuddled by all this health care debate… Whose right? Whose wrong? How are we going to pay for this? How will this work? Just know that the establishment health care in the U.S. is failing women, mothers to be precise, nationwide.

Failing is too nice. They are butchering our women. They are butchering our women and stealing from them!

“We have the best health care system in the world!” We all hear this time and again. Aped by all the pols, and the sheeple that follow them, in the pocket of Big Pharm, Big Med and the insurance industry. If we have such a great health care system, then why has the maternal death rate skyrocketed in the last 20 years?

“Maternal mortality ratios have increased from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2006.” Read the Amnesty International report

These are women dying during childbirth. Rivaling numbers of under developed nations. These are our sisters in rural areas and in the inner city. Our medical community has just gone and turned their backs on these women. They don’t have the big fancy insurance policies. They don’t have the financial means. They oftentimes, don’t have the assistance needed to fill out forms to even hope to qualify for some type of medical program in their area. But fuck the poor, right?

If that’s not enough, take a look at the astounding increase in Caesarians performed. A procedure that once was only considered in emergency cases is becoming routine. It’s being encouraged! Watch the movie The Business of Being Born (trailer here). It’s an amazing movie. I caught it on HBO (I think…). I wasn’t intending to watch it. I was just channel surfing… I couldn’t bring myself to change the channel. It was so absorbing. My daughter was brought into this world by midwives, so I was predisposed to being interested, but it was so illuminating. Midwifery, you know… the way 99.9 % of all the people that were ever born in earth’s history were brought into being? Midwifery is marginalized as being “alternative” and “New Age-y”. Ha! A birth performed by a midwife doesn’t even get covered by so many health care plans. No, no, no, no, no… What the hell could women know about childbirth? No, no, no… you need a medical doctor! Never mind that midwives are safer and… guess what? Cheaper too! Pinch them pennies, girl! Have a baby at home! Doctor’s are overcharging you! You’ll go through your grocery receipt 3 times to make sure you didn’t spend an extra penny anywhere, but you’ll pay thousands more for a doctor to sell you stuff you don’t need? Crazy.

I am a firm believer in midwifery. I’ve seen it. I’ve been there. My daughter’s mother attempted to have a home birth with midwives. After 20+ hours of labor, and “failing to progress” (cervical dilation problem), we went to the hospital. But we were fucking geniuses! We had a certified nurse midwife as our hospital backup! She was a Roman Catholic nun. It was awesome. She wasn’t in full habit, but she sure looked official. She rolled up her sleeves and directed that hospital staff like a four star general! There was even this young intern who wanted to assist. She put that boy to work! And it was difficult. Everyone was exhausted. Especially the mom. But they got the job done. 9 lbs. 14 ounces! Not a rip or tear! Perfect health!

Y’all need to get your shit together, ladies. Stop letting men dictate how and when you should birth your children. Stop letting men butcher your sisters. Stop letting men turn their backs on your sisters because they are poor.

You have the power. You really do. Every man that has a woman in his life wants to keep her happy. Truly. The motivation behind that may be suspect sometimes, but, trust me, men want their women happy. You get in line on this issue, and the men will get in line right behind you. Get some unity and lead. I’m particularly looking at you so called Christian women. Do the right thing. Start living up the the “WWJD” crap you claim to adhere to. Do you think that Jesus would turn His back on anyone in need? “I’d like to help you. I really would, but have you taken me as your Lord and Personal Saviour?” Lead by example… not from the pulpit. What’s more Christlike? To chastise and judge those that are different than you or to help people in need?

If you’re reading this, then you have a computer. On the left side of this post your going to see some links. Amongst them is a link to THOMAS. That’s the search engine for all things legislative in your country. Get to know it. Use it. You can find out just about anything there. Stomp around there a little bit and find your representatives. Find your Senators. Look up legislation. That’s your tax dollars at work. Use it to get shit done. Contact those in office and demand that those stupid pols stop kowtowing to Wall St., and the oligarchy they have created, and fix our health care! Enough is enough.

p.

Get active, grrls! is a post from: savant garde

Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real

Wednesday 3/10; We had Lukas Nelson, son of Willie. Very good blues guitar driven music. At times some very heartfelt renderings. At other times a whirlwind of energy and guitar performance tricks, like playing with his teeth, etc. He was very warmly received by the staff. Which is saying something as the blues gets played a lot at 3D. I liked it better when he wasn’t so flashy and was more tender and soulful. He definitely has his father’s timbre in his voice.

And he told a really funny joke: “Son, if you keep masturbating, you’re gonna go blind.” “Dad, I’m over here.”

All in all, he is very gifted and very young. This will be an act that will be able to be enjoyed for years to come.

All the best, Lukas!

Check their website here.

Personally, I had a horrible night. It was as if I had forgotten to pack my brains for the evening. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. We as a restaurant screwed up. I screwed up. I had a horrible time dealing with difficult guests. I’m just glad that I got through it all.

p.

Triple Door musings… is a post from: savant garde

I have the good fortune to be employed at The Triple Door in Seattle, WA.

3/8 and 3/9

We had a couple of great double bill shows with Canadian music luminary Matthew Good , who was capably supported by Automatic Loveletter.

Matthew Good

M. Good was completely unknown to me before Monday. Not too surprising. I don’t devour music as much as I used to. I did some research on him before the gig. He’s quite the interwebz savvy musician. He’s very political. I like him. He has a devoted following. The audience was peopled with many that made serious journeys to Seattle to enjoy his performance. Lots of new blood in the 3D. Very cool.

I liked his performance as well. A bit louder than most acts we have there. I think the venue kind of surprised him. If you haven’t been to The Triple Door (Umm… why not!? And ask for me!), it’s a really neat vintage/modern venue that makes for a really intimate entertainment experience (Plus you can have Wild Ginger food and wine!). He drew a few, “He’s the Dave Mathews of Canada”, offering from the highly critical staffers at the 3D. I don’t find that accurate. He gets quite a bit rockier than Seattle resident DM. He croons softly and soulfully at times. He peppers with music with really tight pop goodness. All in all very enjoyable. And he’s funny, irreverent, and very much an “everyman” type of rockstar. Ver kewl, ver kewl.

Automatic Loveletter is an up and coming act fronted by a powerfully throated ingenue Juliet Simms. They were acoustic for their offerings at the 3D, but powered very capably by her walloping voice. Again the jaded 3D staff (very hard to please, they see a lot of music) had some disparaging things to say. I found her delightful. You get so many breathy type of female leads these days. It’s cool to hear someone that can really kick some ass vocally. Was she perhaps trying too hard? Yeah, maybe. But she’s just a young’n. Sheesh! Give her time to develop. I think she’s got some star potential. And I think that she was very polite and easygoing with her interactions with 3D peeps. I have no idea where some of the staffers got off on describing her as a little Diva-esque. My main complaint with Automatic Loveletter was at the merchandising table. Their EP is available only through iTunes?! Blecccch! Fuck you, Steve Jobs! No thanks! I’m bummed that I couldn’t grab something to support them. I’ll hold out for something tactile from Easy Street, ah spose.

A big thanks to the 3D booking agent for bringing in some great talent that exposed the 3D to a lot of new peeps!

And a bigger thanks to all the overtipping Canadians in my section! w00t! C’mon back!

p.

Triple Door musings… is a post from: savant garde

Michael Moore (Like him or not, he has brass cajones!)

I was just contemplating writing an open letter to President Obama. One detailing that he, and Congress, need to stop playing for overtime (reelection). Time and again the Dems prove themselves to be pussies and/or just as culpable in their servitude to the Special Interests as the right.

I’ve always said that if I’m ever elected POTUS that I’d play it as a one and done type deal. 4 years. Do as much right as humanly possible. And then let the chips fall where they may. If I get a 2nd term? w00 h00! Let’s work on my legacy! Playing things cautiously in the hopes of appeasing everyone and getting yourself reelected is selfish, and not in the best interest of the citizens. A 2nd term president is the proverbial “lame duck” anyways. The real work is always accomplished in the first term. The tone is set. The objectives laid out. The leader is hungry. It is imperative that President Obama lead with a forceful purpose at this juncture in time. Get hungry, dood! Obama has played way too nice for way too long. Good try. Thanks for attempting to be the uniter. Now it’s time to corral. And start with your own party of spineless, greedy bastards.

So thanks, Michael Moore. Although I doubt that you’ll be given the position of White House Chief of Staff, your pulpit will reach a tremendous amount of people. A lot more than I could ever hope to reach. I’ve always enjoyed your work as well. I know you have a serious axe to grind, but thank God someone does on the left! I am so sick of the wishy washy leaders on the left. The Repugnants play hard ball and we should too. We let them change our own brands. “Liberal” is tantamount to an epithet in many parts of this country. And they are starting to do that to “Progressive” as well.

The mainstream media is no help whatsoever. I guess MSNBC is the left to Fox’s right, but every other news agency kowtows to their corporate sponsors way too much. And they are far to caught up in the bottom line to be worthy of the once venerated term, “Fourth Estate”. It’s heinous. Advertisements for CNN’s Haiti coverage just about made me puke.

I really wish we could have a national referendum on term limits. Is there such thing? I need to look that up. We have local and state referendums, why not national ones? If most of the country truly doesn’t want national healthcare “rammed down their throats”(©Fox News and it’s abundant assholes) then let us vote on it. And for the love of Mike, let us send the message to all branches of government that the time of padding their pockets at the expense of the people is over. Term limits should be enforced immediately, if not sooner.  3 or 4 terms in the House. 2 terms in the Senate. And 1 term in the oval office. We should also hold a national referendum on campaigning. No television ads unless the exact amount of money spent on tv ads is also spent on education and paying down the deficit! Billion dollar campaigns are bloody outrageous! The internet and door to door. Get out there and meet your constituency you jerks!
p.
Read Michael Moore’s letter to Obama

Thanks, Michael Moore! is a post from: savant garde

Grohl, Homme, and Jones from Them Crooked Vultures

Dave Grohl never ceases to amaze me.

Being at a tender enough age to be completely blown away by Nirvana in 1991, I, of course, have a great affection for Mr. Grohl and his amazingly powerful percussion.

He’s also been one of the more fun famous musicians. Once he got Foo Fighters fully underway his sense of humor has always been present throughout their videos and his press offerings. He’s always been one that, on the surface, has not appeared to let fame get to his head.

I have always enjoyed his many contributions in the music universe: Tenacious D, QOTSA, and even his homage to all things inspirational in metal, Probot.

This offering is just plain and simple a great little album. Fun to rock out to. It’s kind of like Zep blendered with Homme’s other side project, The Eagles of Death Metal, but driven, very signaturely, by M. Grohl.

Check it out. Definitely.

p.

Them Crooked Vultures site

Them Crooked Vultures is a post from: savant garde