Over, Under, Sideways, Down

WANDA JOHNSON - "Rise in the morning"

I have seen Miss Wanda and her fabulous band many times, and she is always an experience. Enjoy!

Too late for Tuesday Tunes

I woke up and thought, I'm wide awake, I'm not sleeping... and then I thought, wait, what song is that?

BAD - U2



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... which of course, made me think of ...

I'm only sleeping - Beatles



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And finally, when you sleep, you get...

Dreams - Allman Brothers Band



... which I might have posted here before?

That last song is so intense for me as I age, I can barely listen to it.

After so many years, it remains a masterpiece. Duane was amazing.

Monday Music - Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash

Music history lesson: You will notice that the traditional "Little Sadie" shares some of the same lines from Johnny Cash's "Cocaine Blues"... the first song is ominous and haunting; the second song more whimsical and defiant.

Both versions are great.

Warnings for woman-killing, drugs, etc.

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Little Sadie - Grateful Dead (acoustic, live in Austin, TX 2/23/70)



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Cocaine Blues - Johnny Cash

Tuesday links with Crazy Horse

At left: Mac Arnold and Plate Full O Blues at Fall for Greenville... he totally burned the place down! AWESOMENESS! I got more photos on my Flickr page, so be sure to check out my photos of Mac and his famous gas-can guitar.

INCENDIARY BLOOZ!

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:: My favorite reading of the week is Thomas Frank's TED TALKS ARE LYING TO YOU, which is just so right-on. An excerpt:

Those who urge us to “think different,” in other words, almost never do so themselves. Year after year, new installments in this unchanging genre are produced and consumed. Creativity, they all tell us, is too important to be left to the creative. Our prosperity depends on it. And by dint of careful study and the hardest science — by, say, sliding a jazz pianist’s head into an MRI machine — we can crack the code of creativity and unleash its moneymaking power.

That was the ultimate lesson. That’s where the music, the theology, the physics and the ethereal water lilies were meant to direct us. Our correspondent could think of no books that tried to work the equation the other way around — holding up the invention of air conditioning or Velcro as a model for a jazz trumpeter trying to work out his solo.

And why was this worth noticing? Well, for one thing, because we’re talking about the literature of creativity, for Pete’s sake. If there is a non-fiction genre from which you have a right to expect clever prose and uncanny insight, it should be this one. So why is it so utterly consumed by formula and repetition?

Read it all! The next time you hear the word "creativity" spoken from a calm NPR-sounding voice (and my radio consigliere, Gregg Jocoy, can do a bang-up NPR-announcer impersonation!) --you should keep this essay in mind.

In fact, I may never watch a TED talk again! (Jimi Hendrix reference: "You'll never hear surf music again")

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:: A nasty Georgia Tech frat-boy email has recently gone viral, since it's title--"Luring Your Rapebait"--was guaranteed to get attention. It's offensive, and appears to be one of those GAME things (more about which in due course) that plague the internet like winter head-colds.

Danny, who is no feminist, politely takes it on in his ever-graceful fashion. His post is titled Open Letter to a Frat Brother on the view of masculinity:

I can understand that sex is a desirable thing but I worry that you, just like many others, place too much priority on having sex with women as being a necessary part of masculinity.

Have you considered what affects this pressure can have on guys, namely guys who are in a position where they need to gain the approval of others? Don't you think that pressure can lead to them doing things that range from immoral to illegal in order to gain favor and approval?

Yes, you can say that "They choose to do that stuff." That would be true. But why do you exert such pressure in the first place? Why expect those pledges to be on such a vigilant lookout for sex partners? Why not just let nature take care itself and just throw a party and if people want to get together they get together on their own rather because they might get tossed out of the party and shamed for not looking for women?

Why, indeed?

Maybe because "looking for women" is the very DEFINITION of manhood, for these sorts of guys. The idea of NOT looking for women?!? Well, what ELSE would they do?

These men are conditioned from an early age, that this is "what men do." They don't know how to have a good time and just BE. The female equivalent are the Sex and The City gals who spend most of their evenings fussing over their appearance, and won't dance or get rowdy because they might sweat or mess up their hair.

Quite possibly, they deserve each other. I just wish they wouldn't clutter up the parties and fun spaces for everyone else.

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:: If you need something to explain the government shutdown to you, have a look on my Tumblr, where I quoted from a great article on No More Mister Nice Blog, titled The Punishers Want To Run The Country or We Are All Tipped Waitstaff Now.

Check it out, it's a gem. It explains so much. (And if you are now/ever were a restaurant server, required reading.)

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:: There has been LOTS of arguing in cyberspace over the "Pick Up Artist" (PUA) movement, men who claim to know all the evo-psych rules of just exactly what makes those stubborn, mysterious sexy ladies put out. It's called GAME, and they endlessly talk about it on their many forums and blogs (warning: those link are gross, but fairly typical). Like most evo-psych fans, they make everything that happens fit into their concept of GAME, which is damned annoying. (It's exactly the same way very religious people will inevitably see everything that happens as being an answer to a prayer.) This is why you can't argue with them using facts; they will simply claim that your facts prove --GAME is CORRECT!--right after they tweak them a few times, or twenty.

It gets old, so I stopped bothering some time ago... or even reading. If I see a male blogger refer to GAME, I reach for my mouse, clickety-click, gone, GONE WITH THE WIND.

But Echidne recently found an intrinsic contradiction in the statement of Roosh, one of the BIGGEST of the BIG GAME THEORISTS. Roosh went to Denmark (he writes books about how to apply GAME in every country; getting-laid travel guides for men), where apparently, he says GAME doesn't work:

Roosh calls [his book about Denmark] the “most angry book” he’s ever written. “This book is a warning of how bad things can get for a single man looking for beautiful, feminine, sexy women.”

What’s blocking the pussy flow in Denmark? The country’s excellent social welfare services. Really.

...

Danish women “won’t defer to your masculinity,” he writes. “They can fuck you, but no more. What they do have are pussies and opinions you don’t really care about hearing. That’s it.” Advocates of Nordic social democracy should be thrilled to discover a perk of gender-equalizing work-family reconciliation policies: they combat skeeviness.

Roosh comes to the conclusion that women who aren’t as dependent on men for financial support are not susceptible to the narcissistic salesmanship that constitutes phase one: “attraction.” That’s why Roosh fails to advance to the second level—”trust”—without being creepy. Thus “seduction” is almost always out of the question.

Wow, during this awful government shutdown, we see STILL ANOTHER great reason for the welfare state! Then again, haven't anti-feminist conservatives like George Gilder always argued that welfare services for women and children would inexorably lead to women becoming far more picky about who they, um, spend their time with?

The reality of WELFARE means women won't experience the material desperation men have always depended on, to make their case.

Echidne is all over it:

But that refutes his evo-psycho theories about what women want! If women were hard-wired to go for the dominant growling alpha monkey, then women would do that even in Denmark. That they do not suggests that dating rules and what appeals to people is also culture-dependent and affected by economic realities.

Whatever happened to Neil Young's "Welfare Mothers make better lovers?"

I guess the official PUA verdict is in: No they don't.

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Speaking of which, I used to wonder if that was a sexist song or not. During the time *I* was a welfare mother, I remember feeling like persona non grata, not like I was considered a better lover or any kind of bargain. In fact, it seemed to me that this one fact about me would easily scare people away in droves, potential lovers and friends alike. (Maybe they were afraid I would ask them for money?)

I used to listen to the song ruefully and wonder JUST WHO he was talking about, hoping that maybe I was getting some good press in the bargain. But I was pretty sure I wasn't... hard to believe that love is free, now.

But whatever else, it sure does ROCK.

Welfare Mothers - Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Work Song

I have never posted this before, and just realized it! My deepest apologies! Its one of my very favorite pieces of music, originally written by jazz trumpeter Nat Adderley. My parents' band also played it. Everybody played it in the 60s, at some point.

As regular readers know, I loved the late, great Mr Mike Bloomfield, and his Chicago blues-guitar sounded just phenomenal here.

Work Song - Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Cadillacs

Black Cadillac - Lightnin Hopkins



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Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen



Cadillac Ranch - Bruce Springsteen



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Freeway of Love (the Pink Cadillac Mix) - Aretha Franklin



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Brand New Cadillac - The Clash



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My great-uncle Kenneth, may his soul rest in peace, had a purple Cadillac.

Really.

SpringSkunk Music Fest

It was a fabulous weekend! Our proud and plucky little radio show, Occupy the Microphone, set up shop at the SpringSkunk Music Fest, which is the springtime incarnation of the Albino Skunk Music Festival; great people, great music, good times!

Gregg and Double A sold Gregg's home-baked cheesecake (from his mom's secret recipe) and I spent most of my time reading the Tarot, so I didn't get as many photos of bands as I did at last autumn's Skunkfest.




Below: Hurray for the Riff Raff (I got their CD "Look Out Mama" in exchange for reading tarot for a band member--alright!), Brushfire Stankgrass, Lake Street Dive, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. (you can click to enlarge)




Fire jugglers:




Assorted scenes from the festival, including cool old hippie bus, abandoned houseboat in the woods, and (of course) cute doggies.



And a splendid time was had by all!

Thursday music for your listening pleasure

Buddy Guy with David Myers (on bass) from the movie Chicago Blues (1970) --which I can not seem to locate, after much effort. Great 70s Chicago visuals!

Buddy Guy - First Time I Met The Blues



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I know I've shared this one before. Time for a reprise!

Cream - Born Under A Bad Sign



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Grateful Dead - Cassidy (Unplugged- Live) - 09/24/94 - Berkeley Benefit



One YouTube comment says this was actually a "Phil Lesh and friends" performance that included Bob, Jerry and Vince Welnick.

Weekend update

Today's radio show podcast is up!

Some of what we covered this morning--

[] The South Carolina primary is Tuesday, June 12th... and we currently have a HUGE political mess with about 200 candidates thrown off the ballot. There appears to be no end to what Governor Haley has called a "sham"--a sham that (it should be noted) occurred totally on her watch.

More about this issue:

Palmetto State Ballot Mess: Who Got Decertified? (FitsNews)

SC Senate could see major changes with primary (The State)

Court’s latest ruling complicates ballot issue even further (Palmetto Public Record)

[] I also covered the "Stand Up for Religious Freedom" rally, held yesterday at County Square, on taxpayer-supported property.

[] We discussed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"--as well as the New York Times story reporting that more soldiers are currently dying of suicide than of actual warfare. On the average, one death every day this year.

And I got off onto a rant about Opus Dei, which was somewhat unplanned, and then I played David Bowie. It is the 40th anniversary of the legendary Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which I used to listen to every day before I went to high school. (I'd say that explains plenty.)

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On my way home, I tuned into the indispensable Piedmont Blues radio show on WOLT FM, and heard John Lee Hooker's Frisco Blues.

It just doesn't get any better than that, folks.



Hope your weekend is good!

One of these days

For the superstitious among you...

Spinning Coin - John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers



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This song perfectly replicates the sound big trucks make when they pass you on the freeway, going really fast. Amazing song, that is equally as hypnotic as interstate-driving at night.

Moby Octopad - Yo La Tengo



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One of these Days - Pink Floyd



Full lyrics are "One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces"...

I Looked Away

Derek and the Dominoes - I Looked Away

Friday noise

Eons ago, I used to write record reviews for FOCUS ROCK ENTERTAINMENT (screen capture of old publication here! Only image I could find online!). They paid me in t-shirts, movie and concert tickets, tote bags and other crap nobody else wanted, and records. RECORDS. Lots and lots of vinyl, some of which I still own because I can't bear to part with it.

One of the records I reviewed was VOLUNTEER JAM, which contained this major kick-ass song from the Charlie Daniels Band, jamming beautifully with members of the Allman Brothers Band and the Marshall Tucker Band. (The song ultimately emerges as more Allman than Daniels, but with Charlie's signature holler.) The rest of the album is also very good, but as I wrote then, this song shoots the record right into the stratosphere. (And I'm STILL right.) Yes, you heard that smoooooth Dickey Betts gee-tar before you even saw him.

Look how young everybody looks! Ain't it good to be alive and be in Tennessee?!?

Birmingham Blues - Charlie Daniels Band/Volunteer Jam (live)



If you have never heard of Mike Bloomfield, you should have. He passed away in 1981, and I sobbed my little heart out. A member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band as well as Electric Flag, he also provided great music for one of my favorite movies, Medium Cool.

I don't know who is singing, but it's that amazing, stinging guitar noise I want you to hear! This song is credited to Robert Johnson himself.

The video has some good visuals of Chicago (beloved home of Bloomfield and Butterfield), and contains shots of some of the more famous venues they played in.

Sweet Home Chicago - Mike Bloomfield (live)

Odds and Sods: Post-Thanksgiving edition

At left: I didn't mean to look so bloody GRIM! From Occupy Greenville yesterday, photo by wonderful Uma.



And we are still at it. For how long? I don't know, but I don't mind. I figure any lasting changes in our society will take a long time--and I figured that out a long time ago, as well. As it is, we are dealing with a society that often has no clue. People come out of the CVS and Starbucks and ask us what we are doing; they've never even HEARD of Occupy. Some Occupiers bravely went to the malls on the day after Thanksgiving, with signs instructing shoppers to "Buy Local!"--and various customers replied, "But we ARE buying local!"

Do they know that Walmart is in Arkansas? On some level, they seem to realize this. On another, they don't get it.

I think they are probably typical of the majority.

And we plow ever onward.

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Back from Hotlanta, where I spent the holidays ingesting fabulous coconut cream pie and shopping in those amazing big-city thrift stores.

Some interesting stories for your perusal:

:: Occupy Atlanta occupied Lenox Square Mall, placing provocative "BUY NOTHING!" price tags over selected merchandise.

:: Highly recommended: Leonard Pitts column titled Seek holistic solutions.

:: Atlanta Journal-Constitution is all over Newt Gingrich's recent statements about immigration during the last Republican debate:

Gingrich has risen to the top of the polls recently on the strength of his debate performances and the shortcomings of other candidates, becoming the latest in a carousel of top challengers to front-runner Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

Rival campaigns pounced on the immigration issue as a chance to take Gingrich down a peg.

“I think there’s a major and legitimate difference of opinion on immigration between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney,” said Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom. “Newt Gingrich supported the 1986 amnesty and even though he concedes it was a mistake, he’s willing to repeat that mistake by granting amnesty to today’s illegal immigrants.”

:: Amish Haircutting Attacks! The leader of the hair-cutters is named Mullet. Now, I ask you, is that funny or what?

Seven members of a renegade Amish sect face hate crime charges - and possibly life in prison - for a beard-cutting spree that terrorized fellow Amish in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.

The sect's leader, Samuel Mullet Sr., and six of his followers, including three sons, were arrested in an FBI raid of their Ohio compound, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

They also are accused of heavy-heavy handed tactics to keep sect members in line - including beatings, forcing members to sleep in a chicken coop, and having sex with married followers in “cleansing” rituals, the Associated Press reports.

Mullet and his followers attacked those in the wider Amish community who disagreed with his sect’s interpretation of the faith, according to law enforcement officials.

The hair-cutting attacks, carried out with scissors and battery-powered clippers, were a particularly horrific affront in the Amish community, whose religious beliefs call for men to stop shaving their beards once they marry.

"You've got Amish all over the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania and Indiana that are concerned. We've received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear," Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. "They are buying Mace, some are sitting with shotguns, getting locks on their doors because of Sam Mullet."

Mullet justified the shearings to the Associated Press as retaliation for what he percieved as violation of Amish orthodoxy.

So much for those peaceful Amish we always heard about.

At left: a still from WSPA-TV, I am on the far left (as always) holding yellow sign, as in the above photo.


:: Interesting tax loophole has allowed New Yorkers to save money on roll-your-own tobacco, even though they technically aren't rolling their own, machines are:

NEW YORK – There is no place in the U.S. more expensive to smoke than New York City, where the taxes alone will set you back $5.85 per pack. Yet, addicts who visit Island Smokes, a "roll-your-own" cigarette shop in Chinatown, can walk out with an entire 10-pack carton for under $40, thanks to a yawning tax loophole that officials in several states are now trying to close.The store is one of a growing number around the country that have come under fire over their use of high-speed cigarette rolling machines that function as miniature factories, and can package loose tobacco and rolling papers into neatly formed cigarettes, sometimes in just a few minutes.

The secret to Island's low prices is simple: Even though patrons leave carrying cartons that look very much like the Marlboros or Newports, the store charges taxes at the rate set for loose tobacco, which is just a fraction of what is charged for a commercially made pack.

Customers select a blend of tobacco leaves, intended to mirror the flavor of their regular brand. Then they feed the tobacco and some paper tubes into the machines, and return to the counter with the finished product to ring up the purchase.

The savings come at every level. Many stores sell customers loose pipe tobacco, which is taxed by the federal government at $2.80 per pound (450 grams), compared with $25 per pound for tobacco made for cigarettes. The shops don't pay into the cigarette manufacturer trust fund, intended to reimburse government health programs for the cost of treating smoking-related illness. And the packs produced by "roll-your-own" shops are generally also being sold without local tax stamps, which in New York include a $1.50 city tax and a $4.35 state tax.

New York City's legal department filed a lawsuit against Island Smokes on Nov. 14, arguing that the company's Manhattan store and another on Staten Island are engaging in blatant tax evasion.

Busted!

Doncha know, the government will ALWAYS take their share? Nice try though!

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I listen to my "Truckin with Albert Collins" CD when I travel! Now I have his infectious, curlicue 60s blues riffs lodged in my head.

Sharing the dreaded Thanksgiving earworm!

Shiver and Shake - Albert Collins



Kool Aide - Albert Collins

Monday Music: And the cat just finished off the bread

LIVE FROM NEW YORK, 40 years ago... this contains excellent, rare old photos of the band, as well as some blistering guitar solos to wake you up this Monday.

One Way Out - Allman Brothers Band (Live 1971)



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Playing this to commemorate 9/11. Of course, it's significantly dated now, since we have no longer have any Berlin wall. Do the kids understand? (Could they ever?)

"Please don't be waiting for me."

Holidays in the Sun - Sex Pistols (1977)



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"When I see you comin, I just have to run"... he was so funny! Debating if I should use a BDSM tag or not. (Nah.)

Vicious - Lou Reed (1972)



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Who else thinks, "I am a passenger, I stay under glass" is the greatest line ever?

(PS: And now, you will also be earwormed to death with LA LA LA LA LALALA LAAAAAH! for the rest of your day.)

The Passenger - Iggy Pop (1977)



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And this is the song that gives us today's blog post title.

Pinball - Brian Protheroe (1974)

Tuesday Tunes: Delta Moon and more

Yes, I have great music for the masses, as always.

You are hereby commanded to listen to THIS! Does this jam or what?!

Delta Moon - Ain't No Train



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Time for Steely Dan! (You know you can't go very long on DEAD AIR without encountering Steely Dan.)

Some wit on YouTube suggested that whoever doesn't like this song, should drink their big black cow and get out of here. I concur.

Steely Dan - Black Cow



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My late mama, whom I miss terribly, used to say (when profoundly disgusted with people she knew), "From now on, all my friends are gonna be strangers"... and that expression came from this song. She said it her whole life.

Pardoned by no less than Ronald Reagan (jingoism can be helpful, if you're talented), Merle Haggard, ex-convict, is legally allowed to check the N box on the "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" question on future job applications.

He has such a classically beautiful country-and-western voice.

Merle Haggard - (All my friends are gonna be) Strangers



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I know, we all love Bob Dylan, but after hearing this version, there simply is no other. (And I very much prefer JW's zinging electric blues-guitar to kazoos. Christ, what WAS he thinking?)

Yes, I think it can be EASily done... just take everything down to --

Johnny Winter - Highway 61



Enjoy!

Born Under a Bad Sign

Written by the late bluesman Albert King, this was the first version I ever heard. I've always loved it.

I think Eric Clapton qualifies as someone with bad enough luck to play this. ;)

Stone

This has been a week for the record books. Been down so long, looks like up to me. Born under a bad sign. Hellhound on my trail. Etc. When blues songs define your life, well, that pretty much says it all.

I saw some movies yesterday, and that helped. Yay, escapism!

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Even if it is rather slow and ponderous, I highly recommend STONE, if you want a deeply spiritual character study, highlighting the immediate problems with Christianity. If you already know what the problems are, you'll get it. If you don't, this will put it in stark relief for you, but in a non-confrontational manner. I identified heavily with the protagonist, a convict played by Edward Norton.

Norton is a marvel, possibly the greatest actor of our era. He is psychoanalyzed, sorta kinda, by Robert DeNiro, the greatest actor of HIS era. Watching these two play off each other is the great strength of the movie. It becomes real, right before your eyes, and you totally forget you are watching two well-known movie stars.

I loved it, but certainly, the film is not for everybody. A rather tepid ending, when the dramatic tension between the two leads causes you to expect fireworks. Then you realize, there WERE fireworks, but they were all interior.

Check it out, for something different.

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I also saw BLACK SWAN at last. Natalie Portman says she was inspired by Repulsion, and you can tell. Great inspiration, and the scene in which the nail-clippers jab her is right out of the original.

I was astounded by her thinness (realistic for ballerinas; I'm not criticizing) and hope she's gained some weight for her pregnancy.

Mr Daisy was disappointed by the ending. He wanted her to turn into a giant black swan and fly out into the audience and eat people.

You shouldn't let fan-boys watch this stuff.

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If you pray, pray for me. Whatever you do, please do it. It is not pleasant to lose a parent and a job in one week. The first loss, however, has eclipsed the second one easily. I am pretty numb; I simply didn't know how to write about it until now.

But it's soooo quiet here. I can smell the honeysuckle outside, as the southern spring air drifts in from the woods. And I like not having to dash out the door for a change. (Translation: I think this might be one of those blessings in disguise, but right now, sure doesn't feel that way.)

I love you, my blogger buddies. If you have never commented here (or rarely comment anywhere), how about you leave one and let me know you're out there? It really would help.

More to come. Always.

Random complaining

I don't like:

...people who live in apartments and insist upon owning gigantic dogs that can't be exercised on a damn patio, so they bark all day long from boredom.

...southerners who claim various pot-luck offerings are vegetarian, but when pressed, admit said vegetable was fried in bacon grease.

...people who say the radiation in Japan is waaaay over there, so don't you worry yourself over it. The earth doesn't turn and the air never blows and water all stays in one place, so there's no way radiation can spread... oh, wait.

...de-clawing kitties. DON'T DO THAT. And I have the torn-up couches to prove that I don't believe in it. But I can also attest that torn-up couches are a small price to pay for well-mannered, happy felines.

...the way Farmville is always trying to separate you from your credit card, to purchase much-ballyhooed "Farm Cash"--with which you can buy cartoon lakes and donkeys and other dopey shit you don't need... hey, it's just like REAL LIFE!

...And finally...(((drum roll))

Male "enhancement" ads, like the endless infomercial I am listening to right now, wherein a dynamite sex-supplement promises to make you BIGGER and BETTER. It's probably just L-Arginine, an amino acid that can be taken by itself in large doses; up to 3 grams safely. (Works on women too! :D ) And it's lots cheaper than these TV-boosted supplements, which likely include Yohimbe, something that can adversely affect men with hypertension. (The difference between simple L-Arginine and these hotshot supplements can be as much as 100 bucks, so buyer beware.) I also hate the Viagra commercials for using the legendary and fabulous song "Spoonful" in the ads. The not-so-subtle racism of using a well-known black blues song directed at suburban white men with nice cars (not to mention the comprehensive medical insurance that covers these pricey Rx drugs; some insurers don't) seems a little obvious: If you take Viagra/Cialis/etc, you will be as sexy as black men, seems to be the significance of the blues-man message. And then there is the additional subtlety of the title and concept: you only need a spoonful of Viagra.

But even without music, all the winky-winky stuff in the ads (any moment can turn into a Cialis moment!) is offensive and junior high school. Yes, we all know how we get horny just by hammering nails (think about the Freudian implications of that for a second) and hanging out with the mister, as he does his manly household tasks. And then, a knowing look is exchanged, pecks on the mouth, and they leave the room together, arm in arm. We all know that our sexual experiences are EXACTLY like that, now don't we? (((rolls eyes)))

I do appreciate that the women in the ads are the same age as the men. In fact, these ads might be the only place on TV that this is true! Mostly, hot new actresses are paired with older, non-hotties. (Think about LAW AND ORDER and the age disparities.. gray hair and such are standard, but the women are all young.) This is true in movies as well. What can we surmise from this?: That BigPharma is aware they should try to be realistic in these ads--no Lolitas anywhere. And besides, maybe that is intimidating to older men? Or do they (as I suspect) just find the idea silly? (All they want is some familiar intimacy with the wife, not the babysitter.)

The CARS in the ads, and the fact that Viagra now sponsors NASCAR, well, that shouldn't be surprising. PERFORMANCE is a big word in all advertising related to men: Stereos, cell phones, cars, musical instruments, razor blades, athletic shoes, all promise various wonderful levels of PERFORMANCE, a word you rarely hear in commercials for women's products.

Now, I wonder why that is.

North Mississippi Allstars

After many years of missed opportunities, I finally witnessed the sheer awesomeness that is the fabled North Mississippi Allstars... a packed house for a free show today at the Bohemian, standing room only. I bought their newest CD, Keys to the Kingdom.

Not the best photos; I'm relatively short and as you can see, people everywhere.

Delicious bluesy wonderfulness. :)

Edit/correction: Allstars is one word, not two. Sorry about that!

~*~