I’ve got a fever

Where have all the Cowbells Gone?

Hmm. I’ve been listening to my playlist a bit now, but haven’t heard another cowbell. I find my lack of cowbell a bit disturbing. Here are a few songs that I’ve heard that could be spruced up with a little cowbell:

• Shiny Happy People
• It the Summertime
• The Night Chicago Died
• Seven Nation Army
• Son’s Gonna Rise
• Ball of Confusion
• Dashboard
• She’s Not There
• Eye of the Tiger

OK Cows! Let’s get on it!

Carbon Leaf and BNL

Barry from Carbon Leaf

I’m sorry Barenaked Ladies, but Carbon Leaf is my favorite band now. Oh no, it didn’t happen with the recent resignation of BNL’s longtime voice Steve Page.

No, the realization moment was when I thought I was about to miss the first 30 minutes of a BNL show during Ships & Dip III last year because  I was at the last 30 minutes of a Carbon Leaf show. I wouldn’t leave. I’ve rarely felt as much joy as I did on the Lido deck listening to Carbon Leaf, who I’ve been a fan of now for about six years.

It turned out I was wrong about the timing. The concerts were scheduled properly and I saw the whole of both shows. But I knew then who I couldn’t bear to miss. I knew Carbon Leaf was my favorite band now.

The BNL "When I Fall" encore

I went on to the BNL show. The end of that show – a true demanded encore of “When I Fall” complete with full audience participation (pictured right) – was arguably one of the most incredible musical moments in the history of the band. And it would turn out to be the last time I would ever see BNL with the core group I’ve come to know.

Carter from Carbon Leaf

Carbon Leaf is performing tonight and tomorrow in Annapolis. We’ll be at the show tomorrow afternoon. The band has shed two of its members since I first found them, but three of the core members are going strong plus new musicians. They are a fun group of guys, and very talented.  I hope you check out Carbon Leaf. And I hope they realize how much their music means to people.

Rent: Oh the Drama!

Really can we all please just take a pill now? He said this; she said that. I fell like we’re back in high school… er, wait…

Martin says Asrani and the school board then opted to cancel the play. Asrani says the decision was Martin’s.

When students were told the production had been canceled, their outreach quickly led to mass media attention. Gay activists and alumni of the high school charged that the play’s cancellation was a form of intolerance and homophobia.

Martin in turn requested a rush copy of a toned-down version of the script, which he submitted to Asrani for approval.

via Canceled High School Production of Rent Back On  | News | Advocate.com.

Remember. When I was in high school we had a gay-straight alliance. It was called drama club.

More Cowbell: If you start me up, I’ll never stop

I’ve got a playlist going that I made a long time ago. I forget what’s on it. But today whenever I hear a cowbell, I’m going to post.

The first song in today’s playlist featuring a cowbell is “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones.

Super Heroes officially Jump the Shark

The superhero resurgence will be coming to an end soon. Here is evidence that it has jumped the shark:

A musical based on the Marvel comic book hero Spider-Man will open on Broadway in 2010.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will include the story of the superhero’s origins and will feature music and lyrics by U2 members Bono and The Edge.

via BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Spider-Man musical set for 2010.

Steele on Emancipation: ‘Are you crazy?’

“Why would we backslide on a core, founding value of this country?”

In response to a question from radio host Mike Gallagher today, RNC chairman Michael Steele used took a hard, dismissive line against slave emancipation.

“Do you favor slave emancipation?” Gallagher asked:

STEELE: No, no no. What would we do that for? What are you crazy? No. Why would we backslide on a core, founding value of this country? I mean this isn’t something that you just kind of like, “Oh well, today I feel, you know, loosey-goosey on slaves.” I mean, this is a foundational principle of this country. It is a foundational principle of organized society. It isn’t something that, you know, in America we decided, “Let’s have slavery; oh well now, let’s change our mind and make them whole persons and allow them the vote.” No.

Ben Smith’s Blog: Steele on civil unions: ‘Are you crazy?’ – POLITICO.com.

Steven Page Leaves BNL

I was wondering when this day would come. I was hoping BNL would have been one of the few band that stuck together forever, but Steven page is leaving the group. I can’t say I’m not surprised. Steve seems to have been wandering for the last few years. Between splitting with his wife and family, and getting caught with a stash of coke in his new girlfriend’s place while the band was selling a kids album, I’m sorry but Steve has just wreaked of drama.

Sure there’s a part of me that’s pissed. But really Steve, Ed, Tyler, Jim and Kevin don’t owe me anything. Who am I to judge his life and relationships? I’m a fan – a good fan. But I know that the music comes from life. Life has to be lived or the music cannot exist.

So while I’m sad and pissed, I do wish him the best. Life goes on.

By mutual agreement, Steven Page will be parting company with the remaining members of Barenaked Ladies. Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart will continue recording and touring together as Barenaked Ladies. Steven Page will pursue solo projects including theatrical opportunities while the band enters the studio in April 2009, and hits the road in the fall.

via BNL :: Barenaked Ladies Official Website.

Ed sings, “Thanks, That was fun. Don’t forget. No regrets.”

Yeah, ok I’m crying now.

Sean Penn Oscar Acceptance Speech for “Milk”

Sean Penn Oscar Acceptance Speech for Best Actor in “Milk”

Are we really surprised at this when we have prisons for profit?

Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, two judges in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, pled guilty to receiving cash kickbacks for sending minor juvenile offenders to youth detention centers and camps that are run for profit by Mid Atlantic Youth Services Corp. One of the “youth offenders” was Hillary Transue, a 15-year-old girl who mocked her principal on the Internet. She was sent away to wilderness camp.

Let me repeat this: A 15-year old girl was taken from her parents and sent to a wilderness detention camp for writing something on MySpace.

Are we really surprised by this? Our for-profit criminal justice system trains more criminals each year than it rehabilitates. We invent crimes – including drug prohibition – to lock people up.  When every inmate is a dollar sign, children, like all citizens, become raw materials to be destroyed in the name of profit.

About 50 percent of the children who waived counsel before Ciavarella were sent to some kind of placement, the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center reports. In comparison, the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission in Pennsylvania found that 8.4 percent of juveniles across the state wind up in placement.

via Pennsylvania rocked by ‘jailing kids for cash’ scandal – CNN.com.

We need change.

Top 10 Republican Hip-Hop Songs

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party’s principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

via Washington Times – Steele: GOP needs ‘hip-hop’ makeover.

Presenting the top 10 all-time Republican hip-hop songs:

“Liberals Ain’t Shit” – Snoop Dogg DeLay
“De-Regulate” – Warren B
“Lobbyists Paradise” – Koolio
“Be the Power” – Public Enema
“Straigh outta the O.C.” – R.N.C.
“Strom” – Reaganem
“GOPP” – Corrupt by Nature
“Homos Just Don’t Understand” – Tearoom Jizzy Craig & the Foley Prince
“Nuthin’ But a “G.O.P.” Thang” – Snoop Dogg DeLay
“Republican’s Delight” – The Capitol Hill Gang

Read this Blog: Diary of a Gay Soldier’s Husband

A Gay Man in the Military: First Post

It’s hard for people to understand why a gay man would join the military. In Clay’s case, he had been a civilian for many years and then rejoined in his thirties. We were out working in the yard one afternoon and he told me he wanted to enlist again. I thought he was crazy. We had been together for 10 years then.

via Diary of a Gay Soldier’s Husband: A Gay Man in the Military: First Post.

Who do you believe in the “Rent” controversy? Why?

A high-school production of Rent has been shut down over concerns with the show’s “adult content.”

Corona Del Mar High School students found out last week from their drama teacher that after a meeting with the school’s principal Fal Asrani and a union representative, the play was canceled due to objections about the ‘gay characters.’

via High School Production of Rent Cancelled for Gay Content?  | News | Advocate.com.

Agreed facts: The script was requested for review. The decision to cancel the play was made by the teacher (however, they disagree about why).

Rent Script

The principal says (paraphrasing): “I wanted to review the script, something that is my responsibility. When I asked for it, the teacher canceled the play.”

The teacher says (again paraphrasing): “I was asked to provide a script because of gay characters. But I haven’t ordered scripts yet and they wont be here for two weeks. The principal told me we won’t have time to revise the scripts before the show starts April 23, and that she won’t like gay characters, so I’m canceling the play and doing something safe instead.”

I dunno, I don’t think it is a smart idea to start crying “homophobia” here. “Rent” has an implied group sex scene, lots of shown adult sexuality, and plenty of cursing. It seems perfectly responsible that a principal would request to see the revised script as offered by the licensing company. I”m not convinced bigotry is at play here.

This is one person’s word against another’s. And I’ve learned in the world of blogging to never make a homophobia judgment based on a stranger’s word. (I’ll call it the “Die fags” theory, based on the douchebag homos who vandalized their own place with “Die Fags” graffiti, blamed homophobia, and reported a hate crime.) The principal’s story seems lacking detail, but the teacher’s story seems hysterical.

The writers at Queerty, who automatically assumes homophobia, point to the students for help but the students only repeat what the teacher told them. That’s just hearsay.

So who do you believe? The teacher, or the principal? Why? Are you sure your opinion is objective? Or are you just instinctively crying homophobia?

In 1964, it was dangerous to even know a homo, especially with one in charge of the FBI

WASHINGTON – When Beltway insider Jack Valenti died two years ago at age 85, he was playing the role of intermediary between Washington and Hollywood as the theatrical, snowy-haired president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

But back in 1964, Valenti was a Houston ad executive newly installed at the White House as a top aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson. And J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI found itself quietly consumed with the vexing question of whether Valenti was gay.

Previously confidential FBI files show that Hoover’s deputies set out to determine whether Valenti, who had married two years earlier, maintained a relationship with a male commercial photographer.

via FBI probed sexuality of LBJ aide Valenti – Washington Post- msnbc.com.

Dierks Bentley – Feel That Fire video

Dierks is dreamy…

Rush Limbaugh Wants America to Fail

Limbaugh is, without ambiguity, rooting for failure. In the midst of an economic crisis, Limbaugh quite openly admitted that if Obama’s economic policies are successful, it would undermine the talk-show host’s worldview. As such, Limbaugh wants desperately to see more Americans suffer, more workers unemployed, more businesses close up shop. The key here is philosophy — if government spending can stimulate the economy, as it always does, then the right is wrong. Limbaugh would much prefer a suffering nation than a reevaluation of conservative ideas.

via The Washington Monthly.

Ron Henderson of Pulp

I received in my email today a note from photographer and Bear Frank Muzzy about the passing of Ron Henderson, the owner of Pulp.

via Ron Henderson of Pulp has died @ DC Bear Scene.

Nats get hot redhead who also happens to be talented ballplayer

Artist rendition of Adam Dunn in a Nats hat.

Former (Cincinnati) Red and forever redhead Adam Dunn is joining the Washington Nationals. Between Dunn and Zimmerman, the Nats lineup is looking hot. We’ll see how they play. The 6′6″ power-hitter will be introduced at 3:00 in Nats colors.

WASHINGTON — The Nationals will make it official Thursday afternoon when they introduce first baseman/outfielder Adam Dunn at a 3 p.m. ET news conference at Nationals Park. Dunn agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract on Wednesday. Dunn, 29, and general manager Jim Bowden have a history together with the Reds organization. Bowden drafted Dunn in the second round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft. Three years later, Dunn was in the big leagues and eventually would become Cincinnati’s best power hitter. Dunn, who will join Ryan Zimmerman in the middle of the lineup, has hit at least 40 home runs for five straight years. Although he has a .247 career batting average, he has a .381 on-base percentage and can play both left field and first base. via Dunn to be introduced this afternoon | MLB.com: News.

“Bears Can Dance” Review @ DC Bear Scene

Bears Can Dance – 495 Bears new monthly “T-Dance” upstairs at the Green Lantern – is a sexually-charged, growling furfest with familiar and new faces, colorful alcohol opportunities, hot bellies on hot bears dancing to well-mixed familiar tunes in a visually stimulating environment. 495 Bears organizers installed the disco lights from their own homes onto the ceiling of the too-familiar second floor, bringing a needed new atmosphere and genuine Bear Dance Floor to Sunday afternoons. If you miss Titan Bar, or are longing for a true Bear Happy Hour in Washington, D.C. you owe it to yourself to check this out.

via “Bears Can Dance” Review @ DC Bear Scene.

SF Weekly Music columnist tries to identify with her gay roommate

In San Fran, it’s not just the gay folks who “Gay it Forward.” Cute article on the SF Scene:

I took the opportunity to open the discussion of music, because he plays the same five songs over and over every day, and they are the worst shit I have ever heard. They sound like the no-name band’s song with girlie teenage vocals that gets played at the end of made-for-TV Hilary Duff movies. He plays the newest Britney CD when he is in the shower. He also told me the new Pussycat Dolls record was available online, and that he was totally psyched. (Breathe … breathe…)

So, I asked, what is with a 22-year old man listening to that crap? His answer was actually really good: “I’m gay.” It sort of stopped me in my tracks, as I had forgotten this element. I tried to make an example of gay people who have great taste in music, of which there are many, but all I saw were pictures of gay faves like Abba, Madonna, and Erasure dancing through my head. This is the shitty music of a different generation, though, alas. Now the torch is being passed.

“You have to see The Women,” he said to me. “It was soooo good!” He had it on DVD. But it wasn’t my all-time favorite movie from 1939, which I already own; it was the recent, completely retarded remake. I pointed out to him that the original was an iconic gay film. “Huh,” he said.

So here’s when I realized that I was being really annoying, and that no one needs to hear how lame he is all the time. No matter how idiotic his taste is, ’tis far, far worse for me to keep pointing that out…

via San Francisco Music – Underwear Night at 440 Castro

I’m going through the author Katy St. Clair’s previous articles. Love her.