E. Michael Harrington

The BOSTON RED SOX WON tonight, 5-4. The Dominican Duo - Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz - came though with BA clutch hitting. God and Good triumphed tonight. The Yankees also won.

And speaking of the Yankees - John Cage used to tell a story about Sri Ramakrishna who was once asked, "If God is good, why is there EVIL in the WORLD?" He answered, "To thicken the plot." I love that story and have repeated it since high school when I first "received" John Cage, one of my biggest influences.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is some help for those of you contacted me and asked about Nigel's playing.

1. guitar with right and left hands
2. mandolin with right and left hands
3. electric guitar with shoe
4. electric guitar with violin
5. electric guitar with violin but immediately after the violin has had one string fine tune adjusted
6. double necked electric bass guitar with right and left hands
7. piano with right and left hands
8. olive with pimento with one hand
9. olive without pimento with one hand

THIS SPINAL TAP QUESTIONING WILL NOT STOP. To paraphrase Nigel again - Don't even ask. You've said enough. Time to change the subject.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Martha Stewart sold her stock and the price dropped. She told people that she knew nothing about it.
Senator Bill Frist sold his stock and the price dropped. He told people that he knew nothing about it.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I forgot to mention that after leaving the French restaurant, we ended up in the subway (B D line) at 34th and saw another rat. BUT LAST NIGHT WAS THE BIGGEST AND BADDEST NIGHT FOR RATS. I was walking south on 9th Avenue near 36th when ONE ENORMOUS FAT SLOW MOVING RAT with an enormous tail almost ran over my foot. Within two seconds, another similar-sized rat came even closer. These two rats were too big to move fast and being that size probably have few enemies who can do them much harm. It was 7:50 PM on the very busy 9th Avenue, not late at night frightened and moving fast around the sunken subway tracks. These rats must have figured that this was their turf - they had no fear.

This will probably be the last time I mention rats in a blog.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

THAT ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN - BOB, the "baby" with the very ugly moving mouth and voice of an adult pimp who pimps Quizno's subs in these QUIZNO'S SUB COMMERCIALS - IS VERY DISTURBING. The newest one in which Bob the baby with the voice of a pimp is getting way too excited to be "strapped in" next to the breasts of the professional female beach volleyball player is as unsettling and salacious a commercial as I've ever seen. Quizno's needs to kill off this nasty peep show campaign.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

I have a reserved seat in Business on the 8:25 AM Amtrak to Boston's Back Bay tomorrow. Very very nice. There will be excellent music tomorrow in the city and especially at the Middle East in Cambridge's Central Square.

Posted by EMH at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Franca - I'll never forget you. My gratitude to Brett for the very late night, the sisters, for bringing my cell phone in the cab to my place and more. Should I stop by the workplace tonight? Send my contact info to ________. Surely some of last night happened last night. With enough effort, imagination and reality can intersect and they did this morning. More later.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

SPINAL TAP, question #133:

Name all of the instruments Nigel plays, and with what appendages does he play them?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Does one need more or fewer numbers to answer these questions? For example,

1. guitar with right and left hands
2. mandolin with right and left hands

etc.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Tom Delay, the meanest of mean, has been indicted. That's such a good thing. I won't begin to comment in detail as I am sure that everyone everywhere is having their day with that. I learned about it yesterday via text message (my vibrating phone) at noon at Columbus Circle as I was walking to Lincoln Center. Wow - can things get this much fun in Washington? Will the Republicans stick with him or abandon him? Some will certainly jump ship. Many are going to feel that Delay is a great example of "where there's smoke, there's fire." Even in his indictment he's nasty and I am sure that some people still fear the viper. He was a great example of how to manage by intimidation.

Today he gets fingerprinted.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The baseball season is not over. The only safe predictions I have made already and they are:

The New York Yankees will not win the World Series.
The New York Yankees will probably not make it to the World Series.
If you are going to field a baseball team, and there are no salary caps, it is better to have $206 million than $112 million.
A team with $206 million should beat every other team especially if the richest of the other teams has only (ONLY?) $112 million.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

More on marriage:

"Marriage is a triumph of habit over hate." Oscar Levant, 1965

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Conscience:

"Consicence is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking." H. L. Mencken, 1949

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted by EMH at 03:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the film, THIS IS SPINAL TAP, the character, Nigel Tufnel, is played by ____________________

I have gotten a lot of compliments about the deluge of Spinal Tap questions. So, the deluge will continue and maybe at the top of the blog, in case one doesn't want to read futher.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

If one wants great French food at really good prices, and wants to be near the coolest, most attentive and attractive women (especially from Poland), one should go to Meli Melo at 110 Madison Avenue between 30th and 29th. The owner, chef, charmer and employer of amazing Eastern European women (his bias is so notable), Bernard Ross, is one of the reasons I felt at home and will come back here often. The food is perfect - the attention even better. THE WEBSITE WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE HEDONISM and great esperience that await.

http://www.melimelorestaurant.com/

This restaurant has been seen in television shows and movies. The Gipsy Kings eat here whenever they are in New York.

The 27th is always the best day of the month, or so I have often found. And yesterday, because of Evelyn and Bernard at Meli Melo, and my two REAL WOMEN friends who turned me on to Meli Melo, it was.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I had sympathy for MIKE BROWN OF FEMA until his Congressional questioning yesterday. Mike Brown should be an extremely apologetic character who should be the last person to toss an insult or criticism at anybody. According to Brown, his only mistakes were that he should have had more press conferences and regretted that he couldn't get the mayor and governor to work better together. I feel sorry for Brown's children as he might be a good dad and he does not look like the obnoxious, surly and incompetent bastard he now appears.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The new Neil Young CD and DVD, "Prairie Wind," was released yesterday. The DVD is from actual recording studio footage - it is of finished and/or very good performances. The CD/DVD project is beautiful. Last month I wrote about his two private Ryman Auditorium comcerts and music that were filmed in Nashville. I had the great fortune of being able to go to the second night and be present for Jonathan Demme's filming of the concert, and that after a day in which I spent an hour in a helicopter around Chattanooga.

And with the new "No Direction Home" Scorsese two-DVD PBS film, this has been a great month.

And the Band just released a five CD/one DVD package yesterday as well. I will probably buy it at the best retail CD store in the country, Newbury Comics, in Boston this weekend.

I will be speaking at the 2005 NEMO Music Festival in Boston this week. NEMO is a great music festival. If you're near Boston, you chould check it out.

http://nemoboston.com/

________________________________________________________________________________________________

And the ballet dancer of my dreams years ago, and my girlfriend for the summer of 1981 when I lived and composed music at Indiana University in the magical town of Bloomington, got in touch with me yesterday. Of course this would be the day as it was the 27th of the month. She is very cool, happily married for 18 years, and the mother of three. I love happy endings!

Posted by EMH at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

George Bush has called for conservation? This is shocking! This is a moderate and extremely old school Republican (Teddy Roosevelt Republican, and now clearly Democratic Party) thing to do! I am shocked. I am truly shocked. Now if he would only be moderate in his no tax and spend like hell approach. If his call for conservation is for real, I think one should investigate the possibility that some virus has entered his body. He might be ill.

http://nytimes.com/2005/09/26/business/26cnd-gas.html?hp&ex=1127793600&en=53f023b3f0228c1e&ei=5094&partner=homepage

I read this article in yesterday afternoon's online NY Times (September 26, 2005). Could the LIBERALS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES HAVE MADE THIS UP?

This is the first time in the GW Bush presidency, and probably his entire life, when he proposed that we can not have it all whenever and however we want. Conservation at such a time is responsible. I have followed the Prescott-Walker-Bush clan for many years and have never seen GW Bush act this way. Something has happened. Hopefully he's not become an……. ULTRA MODERATE!

This "conservation" term is frightening to many of his followers as it is a word that radicals like RALPH NADER and AL GORE have used but NOT GEORGE W. BUSH. Surely times can't be so desperate that NEO CONS turn into NEO NADER RADICALS. Nowhere in the bible, for example, does the word, "CONSERVATION" appear. And if it's not in the bible, or the Constitution, then it is not one of those words George Bush should use or a concept he should adapt. If it's not a good, then why is George Bush using the word, "CONSERVATION," or "CONSERVE?" George W. Bush might be a "conservative," but conservative surely cannot be related to that word of scarcity and American failure, "conserve!"

If a scholar on Republican issue is reading this, please tell me, and cite the specific example (don’t be like Bill O'Reilly - be educated and specific when citing your primary sources) - has George W. Bush ever used the word, "conservation," or "conserve" before? The words, "conserve," and "conservation," do not jibe with the American way of life. They should not be used by Republicans. A few Democrats use them and that's why they are marginalized and not in power. Real Republicans would never talk that way.

A George W. Bush prayer at such a bad time - Dear God Help Us! You gave us this earth and its resources. You never told us to conserve, so why should we?

Posted by EMH at 07:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS victory yesterday was especially rewarding as it was in Pittsburgh, not Foxboro, and the Patriots lost two of their most important players - Rodney Harrison and Matt Light - in the first half of the game. Without Light, the Steelers sacked Brady, who is rarely sacked, 3 times and forced him to hurry his passing and game.

The Patriots seized on a big mistake the Steelers made at the end of the game. The Steelers tied the Patriots and scored their final touchdown in a hurry leaving the Patriots with a long 1:21. All the Patriots had to do in that long time was to score a field goal. The Patriots did and ran the clock down to 1 second, showing much better time management than the Steelers and leaving them without much hope. Had the Steelers not rushed their final touchdown, they might have won or at least forced overtime.

The Pats-Steelers rivalry is getting to be one of the best in sports. It can be difficult for me as I love the city of Pittsburgh and the Pirates and Steelers but when it comes down to choosing, I'll always be a Bostonian first.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Red Sox won again. Manny Ramirez hit his fifth home run in his last five games. Now the Red Sox play their final seven games at home, the last three against the Evil Empire. Hopefully the universe will work right and good will triumph over evil.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

NEW YORK IS SAD TODAY. It looks like rain, it's cloudy and their two most important teams-to-watch, the Jets and the Giants, both lost. I was in two different sports bars yestereday - in both, there was almost no attention paid to the Yankees and none to the Mets. Instead football ruled and those teams went down. It was fun to see the Giants get slaughtered by the San Diego Chargers as the Giants' quarterback, Eli Manning, refused to play for the Chargers who drafted him #1. This was his first time in his dissed city and the San Diego fans were rightfully nasty to him for the entire game. And the Chargers played well and the Giants had their tails between their legs.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

ON THIS DAY IN 2002 (from a Reuters news story):

Frustrated by the continuing presence of free music on the Internet, the recording industry asked for Congress' blessing on Thursday to gum up the online networks they blame for slowing their sales.

"I can't foresee any scenario where it would be in our interest to go into anybody's computer and delete a file," said Hilary Rosen, chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America.....

"What are the implications for the Internet's functionality when the inevitable arms race develops?" asked Virginia Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher......

Boucher noted that overzealous copyright enforcers have already mistaken a photo entitled "Portrait of Mrs. harrison williams 1943" for a song by former Beatle George Harrison, and demanded that Internet provider UUNet terminate the account of a customer who posted a book report on Harry Potter......

The RIAA have also gone after dead Iowan octogenrians who never owned computers. They are still the RIAA so they will still continue to threaten, sue, harrass and fear the future. One certainty is that they will not make a strong effort to give consumers what they want and face the future that is upon us.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Great quote about OPERA:

"I do not mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is a language I don't understand." Sir Edward Appleton, 1955

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The ongoing SPINAL TAP quiz (the easiest question thus far):

Nigel's Marshall amplifier goes up this (numerical) volume: _________________

Posted by EMH at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I HAD A PERFECT AFTERNOON IN THE BRONX with great people - new friends (I hope) who happen to be Yankee fans. I was soft spoken (yes, really) and did not even wear Red Sox/Boston?Cambridge stuff. But I did assure my friends that I was the Red Sox secret weapon and that my presence would foil the Yankees and end their winning ways. Of course it helped that Jaret Wright was pitching. And typical of Jaret Wright, he was struck on the mound by a batted ball. (This was the third time this year he has been struck while pitching - twice with balls, once with a bat.) I do almost feel sorry for his bad luck with mound injuries. But, I am happy to say that the Yankees lost right from the outset. Oh what a happy day!

Yankee fans - what can I say? On the 4 train uptown, I felt as foreign and out of place as I ever have in any neighborhood, city or country anywhere at anytime. There were so many ugly Yankee shirts - couples dressed in them, little kids in training to have bad taste in sports, etc. I felt as if I would be discovered and pummeled - after all, I knew I would contribute to their loss and my heart, soul and all of my energy was completely at odds with these people. Could they read my mind? Was I smirking like George Bush and they knew why? The only thing I had going for me was that my Buena Vista Social Club t-shirt and my Bohemian owl baseball cap did nothing to offend. And I was seated next to a very nice old lady who got off the 4 at 125th. (These being new days where etiquette does not matter, I did not give my seat to any of the 18-24 yr. old women near me. I figured that these are impolite times and they are younger than I and do not have the bad back I have. Still, I need to go back to being a proper Bostonian. My dad would have wanted me to be better than I was.)

I did learn throughout the day that YANKEE FANS RESEMBLE OTHER HUMANS I know - they can be very kind to their friends, lovers, children and spouses and seem to be authentic about their kindness. They are, however, the most brutal fans when it comes to their favorite players screwing up, on a par with Philadelphia fans. And the fans had a lot to be mad about - Wright is a disaster (thank you, Jaret), and balls hit to Cano and Matsui can be, and were, adventures!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

A great quote about marriage - "When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal and exhausting condition continuously untiil death do them part." George Bernard Shaw, 1908

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Question of the day: New York subway trains are usually (always?) ____ cars long.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

It looks like continental United States will have at least one week without hurricanes, although the official hurrrcane season ends on December 1. Perhaps this will be the time for George Bush to rally support to defeat our nation's next enemies. Remember that there are still two more Axis of Evil countries - Iran and North Korea - and no Democrat ever came close to spending this much money. Bush has the money (our money) and the will to keep spending. Republicans and conservatives from before Ronald Reagan always said that government needs to be shrunk. According to those standards, Bush is not a conservative.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

More baseball thoughts -

The Cleveland Indians have won 17 of their last 19 games. They are peaking at the right time.
The AL wild card team likely will not come from the American League East.
The Yankees just ended their peaking at the right time. Thank God for my use of superstition.
The Yankees will not win a World Series anytime soon.
Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, The New York Yankees' "Steroid Twins," should get fined and suspended but probably won't.

Barry Bonds wants people to help Hurricane Katrina victims and stop investigating his steroid use. He's also been bragging about how much money he has given to those in need. Multimillionaires should never brag. Bonds is not honest. He's arrogant and should be ashamed of his cheating.

Posted by EMH at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY - THE RIAA WERE BEING EXTREMIST AS ALWAYS. The American Conservative Union, the country's oldest and largest conservative group, began running newspaper and magazine ads opposing the newest dream legislation from the RIAA and MPAA - the INDUCE Act.

ACU deputy director Stacie Rumenap speaking about this mastodon trunked bill said, "This is the Hollywood liberals trying to crush innovation... What's sad is that they've got Republicans on their side."

There are some in Congress who can't resist a silly acronym for an upcoming piece of legislation. The INDUCE Act, in its earliest incantation, stood for "Inducement Devolves into Unlawful Child Exploitation Act." But even the RIAA and its supporting legislators who relentlessly praise the sure-to-get-votes buzzwords, "family" and "family values," could not live in that fantasy land for long. Trying to assert that using peer-to-peer networks (P2P) will result in the unlawful exploitation of children is a gigantic stretch, even for them. "INDUCE" would soon no longer be about child exploitation but would now read, "Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act of 2004."

Using terms like "unlawful child exploitation" to try to pass a North Korean style oppressive anti-technology piece of legislation is so damn shameful of these well paid thug-lobbyists. Their tactics should not come as a surprise, however, as the RIAA in October 2001 acted promptly to try to insert into the first PATRIOT Act language that would allow copyright owners to hack into any personal computers suspected of housing copyrighted material. If they would use the national nightmare of 9/11 as an excuse to secret-police their way into personal computers, then why wouldn't they use the facade of saving children from pornographers to really get more oppressive legislation passed. Rather than adapt to the changing world of business, they choose to try to halt progress by buying Congressional influence. There really are some unsavory organized crime like figures in the RIAA and MPAA.

The original version of the Induce Act said that anyone who induces any violation of copyright law could be legally responsible. Of course with the music and entertainment lobbyists pulling our Congress' leash, the language became wildly sweeping and resulted in a bill that could easily have made the iPod an illegal device (and one of many) as it surely could "induce" one to infringe copyrights.

The music and film lobbyists are still at it though and require the vigilance of all citizens who are concerned about their freedoms and the freedom to innovate and progress.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Happy hour at House of Brews on 51st near 8th - martinis, cosmos and margaritas for $4. $1 off beer prices. The burgers looked great. I was given a second martini by mistake resulting in 2 martinis for $4. My friend, a REAL woman, took the second one from me and I had her margarita. I'm not man enough or mature enough for two Absolut vodka martinis. My maturity also does not extend to blue cheese.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

If I was in Nashville tonight, I would attend this artists' reception at the Plowhaus. I rarely miss them:

http://plowhaus.com/currentshow.html

But today I will be in Yankee Stadium cheering as hard as I can against them.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Today's SPINAL TAP question -

"Don't touch it. Don't point. You can't even look at it." This refers to ________________________

Posted by EMH at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I AM A DEVOUT TRADER JOE'S CULT MEMBER. If you don't know Trader Joe's, I wish you the good fortune of knowing this excellent and unique grocery store. While in Boston last week, I visited my local Trader Joe's and bought some Organic HEMP Plus Granola. The word, "HEMP," was the big draw. It's an excellent source of of whole grain and contains 600mg Omega-3's per serving. On the back of the box, is an article entitled, "Hemp Seed In Food - Is It Safe?" It goes on to say that "hemp is not marijuana." and that what separates them is their levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Marijuana can contain up to 20% THC while the food variety contains less than 1%. So, I figure that a 20 bowl serving of this cereal miight make me crazy. I guess it would cause and cure the munchies simultaneuously.

In HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CLASS, my friend and I proudly figured out and wrote the diagram for THC. One morning we wrote it on the board before the teacher came into class. He looked at it, figured it out, and muttered something about "knuckleheads." It was fun to do that kind of graffiti and I started to pay more attention in class as a result.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 1779, American citizen/commander John Paul Jones with his ship, "Bonhomme Richard," kicked the hell out of the British war ships, "Serapis" and "Countess of Scarborough" off the coast of England. We had already declared Independence from that awful country, a country that fell for and under ROYALTY. We knew better and have never had a king or queen or royal family. Although they are very good for amusement purposes. Fortunately we do not have any welfare recipients who cost our government this much money (let's not count corporate welfare). Democracy good - monarchy bad.

This was the day that Jones uttered those famous words, "I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT." In college, we used to paraphrase this - "we have not yet begun to eat."

_________________________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 2002, the KaZaA music-swapping service announced plans to announce a partnership with Tiscali, one of Europe's major Internet access providers in a deal that would underscore their mutual benefit from a method of exchanging songs. Under the deal, KaZaA's owner, Sharman Networks Ltd., would advertise high-speed Internet access provided by Tiscali, the Italian ISP, to its tens of millions of European users. In return Tiscali, which has seven million customers in 15 countries, would pay Sharman a "bounty" for each KaZaA user who signs up for its high-speed access service.

Posted by EMH at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I guess I should not blog twice a day BUT...... (I won't have time tomorrow and it's been quite a strange day.)

I did one of my favorite things this afternoon - go to W. 72nd, enter Central Park, walk through Strawberry Fields down to the lake and take in all that Central Park has to offer - the lake, ducks, geese (but not the Swan... more on him next month), helicopters, planes and dirigibles overhead, fun people, tourists, birds, people who feed birds, the Ramble with its many twists, turns, rocks, trees and fauna, all culminating in a trip to the Boat House to take it all in, consume, meet people or not, and have a great time.

I brought a thick and dense IP book to re-read. I wanted to sit by a tree by the lake and read. I tried out a large one at the southwestern edge of the 22-acre lake. My butt, back and the tree did not quite fit right. I tried other parts of the tree, but still the anatomy was not right, and then decided that a piece of shade about 40 ft. from the tree, with nice soft grass, would work quite well. I started reading, watching the Goodyear dirigible with its Times Square type of scrolling messages (the messages were about how to help victims of Hurricane Katrina), listening to helicopters and planes when all of a sudden I heard a very loud sequence of sounds. I soon realized that these sounds were like those of lumberjacks cutting down large trees. Although there were no lumberjacks in Central Park, a gigantic part of a very large BA (Big Ass) tree, had cracked and started to fall on the spot where my butt and I had been. I watched in disbelief as the huge limbs fell and made a very big bang. It was quite surreal and I thought that maybe my lack of sleep and reading too much about cyberspace law had done me in, and that I was not really seeing what I was seeing.

THE SUDDENLY SOMEONE YELLED, "THERE'S SOMEONE UNDER THE TREE!" I was alarmed, looked, walked towards the fallen tree and saw a woman with a cell phone walking away from the fallen branches. She had been on the phone in the area of the the tree where my butt had just visited, and was OK. She told us she was fine and kept walking and talking. The BA tree's branches had just missed her. Everyone nearby was amazed at her calmness. I was too. I also was grateful that she had escaped and that my butt, which had not fit into any tree cusp, had forced me to abandon the solace of the stoic deciduous BA tree. WOW! I've led a most fortunate life and again was spared!

I called a friend and told him what happened and that I thought that there was a law that trees in wealthy areas are not supposed to fall on people, especially outside of the Dakota.

My time at the Boat House and Brazil Grill afterwards was even more special.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

From Yahoo - "Specter said Bush should ask retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to stay on through the court's coming October-June term. He said he spoke to her and she agreed to stay if asked.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan made clear Bush would not accept the proposal. He said O'Connor had expressed her desire to retire and Bush would pick her replacement soon."

AND BUSH WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT NO WOMAN CAN CHOOSE WHAT TO DO IF SHE BECOMES PREGNANT. I wish he and his people who feel that way would come out and say that. But McClellan, like most "spokesman," has to spin and LIE (my father who was honest and would answer questions honestly would have said that that not telling the truth is called lying).

Sandra Day O-Connor was fantastic. Too bad the weakest Prescott-Walker-Bush son has taken the Republican Party so far out of the mainstream. I could so go for an Eisenhower Republican. Why is it that I never hear Republicans praise Eisenhower? Is it because he was an "ULTRA MODERATE?"

Posted by EMH at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes, the title of today's entry - My descent into the Belly of the Beast to Fight Evil - is an accurate description. I will be traveling into a dark evil land where bad people wear black and white and a swastika-like logo on their heads. They are enamored with money and are mostly without values. They firmly believe that money can buy success and that success brings happiness, or at least smugness. They are the New York Yankees and their Evil Land is on 161st Street in the Bronx. I will be going to a baseball game there on Saturday afternoon. And being a fervent proponent of All That is Good, and, a devout Boston Red Sox fan, I wonder, WHAT SHOULD I WEAR? I brought 10 pro-Boston/Cambridge shirts with me to New York. I wear them to send a reminder that there are forces of good even in Midtown Manhattan. But my friends tell me that I should be as neutral as possible in The Land Of Evil Pinstripes in the Brox due to the tensions that exist between Good and Evil. I'll keep on pondering what to wear. Saturday is a long way off.

Although I've now met another very nice and intelligent Yankees fan. That makes three - two here in NY and one in Los Angeles. There might be two others - a student and a professor in New Jersey. But that does little to remedy the millions of others.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Another day, another lack of fast Indian food and cream puffs on my street corner.

________________________________________________________________________________________

TRIVIA Question from the film, "This Is Spinal Tap":

The saddest of all keys is _____________________.

Extra credit: What is Bach's longest composition that is in this same saddest of all keys? __________

Soon, I need to write about hemp and Paul McCartney's new album. I would now but this has gone on long enough.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted by EMH at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

It is great to be back in NY. Hoepfully my presence can jinx the New York Yankees. It surely did last year. Thank God for the gift of superstition and illogic.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Don't move back to New Orleans just yet. A lot of rain is coming. Also, it's just past mid-September and we're on Rita (that didn't come out right - nor did that), and the hurricane season ends at the end of Novemmber. Global warming maybe? The George Bush approach to the environment - let's commission a study and have another tax cut.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I have a troubling question - where is the fast food Indian cart, and the cream puff cart that were on my corner, W. 51 & 7th Ave.? I craved vegetarian Indian this aftermoon and he was gone. Damn it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

More twisted, sarcastic, pointed and sometimes insightful haiku about IP from Godzilla Jones. Godzilla's 125th dream:

Children should learn that
Life begins with the knowledge
Of Federal Law

The United States
Code is where the law is found
Children should read it

And children surely
Are familiar with a
Word like "authorship"

And "original
works of authorship," "bundle
of exclusive rights"

"Derivative works"
"Statutory Enactments"
"Vessel Hull Design"

"Notice of intent"
"Involuntary transfers"
"Nondramatic works""

V-H-D-P-A
New semiconductor chips
And S-C-P-A

National authors
Domiciliaries of
The United States

The Berne Convention
"Habitual residents"
United States Code

"official duties"
bear the owner's signature
"Literary works"

"Legal entities"
"Entities with headquarters"
"Copyright Treaty"

"publication or
similar publication...
or any item"

"Any poster, map
globe, chart, technical drawing
diagram, model""

applied art motion
picture book magazine and
periodical

newspaper data
base information service
or any portion

(Yes the Copyright
Act takes database and makes
it into two words)

...which it is described
explained, illustrated, or
embodied in such

owner's exclusive
rights and of all matrices
plates, molds, master tapes

(next time look for more
law converted to haiku
for children to read)

(children will learn to
understand and love the law
by reading the code)

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted by EMH at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday was a tough day in Massachusetts sports with the Red Sox little league style loss and the Patriots defeat to Carolina. The good news - Derek Jeter struck out as the Yankees lost. Jeter often grounds into double plays to end the game - this was a called third strike complete with Derek's expected whining about the pitch.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

If New York could be improved, it would become MASSACHUSETTS. The only way to improve New York City would be to make it into BOSTON. I just spent an excellent weekend here especially hiking in the woods of Callahan State Park in Framingham, Massachusetts, a park that is not one of manicured trails but much more primitive, freer and diverse. It's always great to run into large and small four-legged animals in their neighborhood.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

It is good to see Bill Clinton finally speak from outside of his ex-President get along with both sides mode and criticize the Bush Administration. In these past five years, reckless tax cuts with drunken sailor style spending have done everything to hurt the poor and middle class. A typical $$300 or $600 middle class family's tax rebate is not so meaningful when college tuition increases at 8% or 9% per year. Rob Peter to pay Paul and shift the funding. And liberate more countries after NOLA is rebuilt. And pay for it all with another series of tax cuts. From this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/19/national/nationalspecial/19clinton.html

Mr. Clinton argued that lower-income Americans had done better under the economic policies of his administration than they are doing now, saying the storm highlighted class divisions in the country that often played out along racial lines.

"It's like when they issued the evacuation order," he said. "That affects poor people differently. A lot of them in New Orleans didn't have cars. A lot of them who had cars had kinfolk they had to take care of. They didn't have cars, so they couldn't take them out."

"This is a matter of public policy," he said. And whether it's race-based or not, if you give your tax cuts to the rich and hope everything works out all right, and poverty goes up and it disproportionately affects black and brown people, that's a consequence of the action made. That's what they did in the 80's: that's what they've done in this decade. In the middle, we had a different policy."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR ACADEMIC CREDIT at an online university (surely this is Phoenix University, Capella-In-Your-Head University, or some other online university material), please asnnwer the following quuestion from the film, "This Is Spinal Tap."

In SPINAL TAP, Fred Willard plays the role of __________________

Posted by EMH at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On this day in 1998, I WAS QUOTED in an Associated Press story about Bo Diddley. I mentioned that I loved his rhythmic approach to playing the guitar and that he treated it as a drum. I know that during the interview I got into more with the writer, such as the fact that the Bo Diddley beat is really the Cuban clave which in fact has it origins in West Africa. And on and on, but the writer wisely chose to use just a few things of mine.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

ON THIS DAY IN 2000, Apple Computer became the first company to license Amazon.com's "one-click" patent. "One-click" technology allows one to store one's shopping information on a company's computer so that one does not have to fill out forms and can simply one-click once the items are ready for purchase and shipment. Of course it's an idea of convenience but it should not be a patent as it is obvious, not novel, and will cause far more trouble for far more consumers and companies. THIS HAS TO BE HIGH ON THE LIST OF ABSURD PATENTS.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Also on this day in 2000, some of ORRIN HATCH'S VIEWS ON NAPSTER (the great 20th century file sharing technology, search engine, central directory and software that would revolutionize the music and entertainment industries) became known. Hatch was not in sync with the Clinton Administration's pursuit of Napster and other online file sharing services.

"Given the importance of the issues to be decided, I thought it important that the court be under no misapprehension that the (DOJ) brief necessarily expresses the view of Congress in this matter," Hatch wrote, "Indeed, Congress has recently held hearings into the matter and is engaged in ongoing deliberations about its merits as the events unfold in the emerging online music and entertainment market."

Hatch would later say: "" do not think it is any benefit for artists or fans to have all the new, wide distribution channels controlled by those who have controlled the old, narrower ones." - Sen. Orrin Hatch, keynote speech to Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit, Washington, DC (January 10, 2001)

Oh Orrin – there were a few bright shiny moments when you had it right.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 2002, MICHAEL BOLTON WAS NAMED AS A DEFENDANT IN A COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT filed by the Isley Brothers, as they claimed that Bolton's, "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" had infringed their "Love Is A Wonderful Thing." As much as I can so easily believe anything bad about Michael Bolton, Kenny G, Yanni, or John Tesh (collectively known as Yanni G Tesh), this time Bolton really was completely innocent. The songs have no significant or copy protectible elements in common. I would be quite thrilled to claim that Bolton had infringed if he had but he had not. And Bolton lost his appeals even with Alan Dershowitz as his attorney, culminating in the refusal by the Supreme Court to hear the case.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

TODAY IS ALSO JAMES GANDOLFINI'S BIRTHDAY. The fat, bald cool sex symbol was born in 1961 and has made organized crime and life in northern New Jersey look far more attractive. And millions of people have become more familiar with whacking and family values as Tony's code is ubiquitous and clearly defined.

Posted by EMH at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On this day in 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by 38 of 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The U. S. Copyright Office, which once proudly quoted its charge, from Article 1 Section 8 of this all-important document, has now reversed itself and gone to great lengths to disavow the U. S. Constitution.

Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress shall have the power... to promote the Progress of Science and useful arts by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

The UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE has decided that the United States public should not know why there is copyright or a copyright office. The USCO has fallen into bed with the music and film industry and they can't get out.

Visit this website: http://web.archive.org/web/20020810214905/http://www.copyright.gov/index.html

and then visit today's U. S. Copyright Office website and notice the missing quote from the U. S. Constitution:

http://www.copyright.gov/

Look at what's missing - the Constitutional basis for copyright. Perhaps the original document - the U. S. Constitution - was forged and the new scholars and rabid lawyers at the U. S. Copyright Office have only now uncovered that copyright is not about promoting the progress of science and the useful arts but rather keeping Hollywood, with its many weathy beautiful starlets, happy.

If federal employees, and fanatic lawyers, can't be that good looking, they can at least suck up to those who are.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Posted by EMH at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am in the Boston area tonight a bit tired and sick from a lot of travel, carousing, professing, conferencing, and lack of sleep. So this will be brief.

My friend, Godzilla Jones, has written a lot of haiku, almost all of it about intellectual property (IP). I too write haiku - a lot in older days and not as much now. But I stumbled on some tonight I wrote awhile ago. Here are a few:

________________________________________________________________________________________________

George Bush is a war
Criminal according to
Some in Canada

There has been talk that
He could be arrested on
His visit this week

All he did was to
Kill thousands before they could
Kill Americans

Those Iraqis were
Dangerous – they flew aircraft
Over their country

Well, only over
The middle section of their
Small desert country

But it was clear to
Many that they wanted to
Kill Americans

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I look forward to returning to the best and most deserving targets - the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the U. S. Copyright Office (USCO) but not FEMA (everyone else is doing a good enough job on nailing Bush and his political and unqualified appointments there).

Other targets? Spammers. Those who profess to love children but pay teachers little and value them less. General Motors - they've built very bad cars for a long time. Chain restaurants that are not cheap (Friday's, Applebee's (spelling?)). Arrogant and/or unintelligent lawyers. The New York Yankeess. George Steinbrenner. Just saying these names makes me realize my life has a purpose and that one must fight the good fight, true?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Today's Spinal Tap question:

"(Working On A) Sex Farm" is played at this location:______________________________________

Posted by EMH at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I FLEW DELTA AIRLINES this morning (the 14th - this has been a long day) - the Delta Shuttle from Washington DC to New York. The shuttle has been a great way to fly and I think Delta is the best of the airlines, in terms of food, efficiency and perks - free NY Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. The Northeast corridor shuttle has been around since the 1960's when it was run by Northeast Airlines before it was acquired by Delta. The shuttle will still run but Delta announced a few hours later that it, along with Northwest Airlines, had filed for bankruptcy. These are the 3rd and 4th largest U. S. airlines and now are among the 4 big airlines that are in bankruptcy. (The others are United and US Airways.)

I remember flying on the first day when the "amateur" air traffic controllers started to replace the PATCO employees, back in August 1981. This is worse.

The airlines, along with Amtrak, really need the government's help. Surely even the Bush Administration must see that mass transit is more important than ever and that government is often the solution (Katrina, 9/11, Andrew, etc.) and not the problem.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

TOO MUCH BAD MOUTHING of government by many conservatives and too much cutting and neglect of government functions can, not surprisingly, lead to ruin at times of emergencies, and all of Bush's trips to NOLA and all the hugging of black children in NOLA will not resuscitate the dead or change reality.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 1974, Eric Clapton's recording of the song, "I Shot The Sheriff," became the Number 1 single. It's not in the same league as Bob Marley's, despite Clapton's respectful rendition, but it was very important in getting Marley known to the American public.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lyric below. AUTHOR?

She has roves and she has monkeys
Lazy diamonds, studded flunkies
She has wisdom and knows what to do
She has me and she has you

Posted by EMH at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I think there was a night or a month way back then when I dated someone who sounded like Rita Cosby. I bet she doesn't remember specifically either.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

We went to a place (on 14th & something else) that had bullet-prrof glass and a turnstile lazy susan type of thing that would hold the food we had ordered. The chef was also the waiter/guy who took your money through the spinning turnstile. His rod was not in sight. The barbecue was amazing. Between us, we had pork and pig and cow and yams and macaroni and cheese and collard greens and cole slaw and very white bleached bread and laughs. We ordered and waited and dodged no bullets. Others have not been so fortunate.

AND T. O. LOST to the Atlanta Falcons.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION policy summit worked so well. Fantastic alliances were made, in my case between like minded people and even unlikeminded others.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poetry anyone? G. Jones on that Eye Pea subject again. He told me that thousands more were a-comin'.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Children should learn that
Copyright education
Is all important

(The Founding Fathers
Placed copyright in the U.
S. Constitution)

They need to use care
As Silly Putty can be
Used to infringe work

A child could just as
Easily infringe artwork
Comic strips, lyrics

Horoscopes, letters
To editors, poetry
And sport stars' photos

It's not silly when
Kids steal Britney photographs
With Silly Putty

The photographer
Has copyright protection
In his photographs

Steal images of
Jessica Simpson, Britney
Spears, Paris Hilton

Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears, Paris Hilton
And Silly Putty

The above haiku
Potentially horrify
Copyright lovers

Again that Silly
Putty is being used for
Criminal intent

Those who write comic
Strips have copyright in what
They have created

But children across
This nation may be stealing
With Silly Putty

But do children read
Newspapers? Do they know what
Silly Putty is?

Aren't all newspapers
Online? Are there hard copies
Still of newspapers?

It’s easier to
Download what you want to read
Listen to and watch

These days they might be
Ripping off by downloading
And clicking a mouse

Is getting I-P
For free the same as stealing
Are free samples bad?

Couldn't it feel free
But somehow pay copyright
Owners royalties?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

No Spinal Tap today. If it is bad that I skip a day, please write and me know.

Posted by EMH at 01:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm in Washington DC attending the 2005 Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit. It has been its usual inspiring and amazing self. Good triumphs over evil here as good thinking happens (to paraphrase a bumper sticker slogan).

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

To give an example of how the rich and powerful can look so damn foolish - Mitch Bainwol, the head of the RIAA, is here and complained today about others being litigious. WHAT?!?!???!! The RIAA complaining about others being litigious is like someone in a tropical monsoon complaining that the rain is wet, or Bill Gates complaining that the competition is being heavy handed, or that Department of Motor Vehicles employees are slow and impolite. The RIAA - they're only right once or twice. The examples in which they are right are.... 1. they had "horses" on both sides in the Bridgeport v. DImension case (in which both plaintiffs and defendants were well-to-do RIAA parties and the RIAA chose the side of making life easy for creators. (More on this later - if you don't know what I am discussing, call me so we can talk, or I can write about it more later). 2. They are right to defend those who write and sing/speak lyrics that are offensive. If one does not like offensive lyrics, one should turn off the sound source. This is the U. S., the country that has freedom of speech. The offensive stuff is what needs protecting. Everyone loves shiny happy people speech. That does not need protecting. The offensive, tastelss and challenging stuff does need help.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

GODZILLA JONES, who knows I am away from my NY home, wrote and sent me some poetry/haiku to post. Thank you GJ man for your gift. Here is what he sent.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Using and stealing
Are they synonymous or
Are they different?

If they are or not
Equivalent why should one
Have such a bad name?

Why is "borrow" O-
K," "use" a little better
And "steal" very bad?

Is "new" the same as
"Original" and if so
Is "new" important?

If it is new it
Has not happened before and
Is protectible

As any child knows
We are free to copy if
Unoriginal

Unoriginal
Material cannot be
Copy protected

That last haiku needs
To be emphasized and said
Repeatedly, so...

Unoriginal
Material cannot be
Copy protected

Unoriginal
Material cannot be
Copy protected

Unoriginal
Material cannot be
Copy protected

(Doing things over
and over again always
makes me feel better)

My trouble comes from
Copying original
Works of authorship

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you are around or within 50 miles of DC, call me at 615-293-7455, or better yet, visit me at the George Washington University Inn. You know who you are.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPINAL TAP question:

"Barbershop raga" was performed by Spinal Tap at ____________________________

Posted by EMH at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On a plane from NY to DC, one should see pollticians or those involved in the process. Cal Thomas, the co-founder, along with Jerry Falwell, of the Moral Majority, was on my plane. That was that. The next person to board the plane that I recognized was Julian Epstein, a brilliant Democratic Party consultant, and like Thomas, a well known talking head on cable news networks. The plane could now tilt equally to the right or left. No, make that left. I was on the plane.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DC is excellent - museum after musesum and unlike New York there seems to be free admission at all of them. The best was a surprise for me and this was my first visit - the National Building Museum. Maybe I'll write more later but I can whole heartedly advise taking a tour of it.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The Pho time in Alexandria was great especailly if you fall in with the the right people. We did - more on that later.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Spinal Tap?

Who told David that he "was eating too much sugar" and that his "larynx was fat?"

_________________________________________________

Posted by EMH at 01:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

On this day in 2003, the RIAA filed lawsuits against 261 individuals. They also initiated a silly amnesty program in which individuals were urged to turn themselves in and sign a notarized pledge to never sin again.

My favorite reaction to this came here:

"Are you headed to junior high schools to round up the usual suspects?" - Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to RIAA President Cary Sherman, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in reference to a lawsuit the RIAA filed on September 8, 2003 against 12 year old honor student, Brianna LaHara.

OTHER RESPONSES taken from various newspaper stories from September 9, 2003, include the following (yes, I shamelessly quote one place where I was quoted):

The EFF responded: "More lawsuits is not the answer. Does anyone think that suing 60 million American file-sharers is going to motivate them to buy more CD's?" Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer said in a statement ""ile-sharing networks represent the greatest library of music in history, and music fans would be happy to pay for access to it, if only the recording industry would let them." "It's a 'sham-nesty,' not amnesty," chirruped fellow EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz.

________________________________________________________________________________

E. Michael Harrington, a professor of music business and intellectual property at Belmont University in Nashville, predicted that few people would opt for what he called a "North Korean-style database."

"I think it would be crazy. I'm sure lawyers would tell their clients 'Don't.' What's that about?" he said.

Harrington, who said he has spoken to students around the country about illegal downloading, said he thinks the RIAA's actions are just fostering contempt and will not stop most from the activity, until new business models are introduced by the recording industry.

"For now, I've just seen a lot of people being defiant, very few people have said they are afrai," he said.
________________________________________________________________________________

"It could backfire," said Jane C. Ginsburg, a law professor at Columbia University. "If you have really widespread copyright infringement, there is a great temptation to say if it's that widespread it can't be infringing anymore. The risk of suing individuals is that there will be more pressure in that direction."

________________________________________________________________________________

MORE IMPORTANTLY, September 9 is my parents' wedding anniversary.

Posted by EMH at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm in a busier than usual mode and might not be blogging much or substantially in the next two weeks. (Never mind the term, "substantially." This blog is one of my playgrounds, along with the Boat House, Hell's Kitchen and a couple of other spots. Substantial in any of its variants has no place here!)

____________________________________________________________________________________

But I will be in Washington DC tomorrow until Wednesday morning attending the Future of Music Coalition Annual Policy Summit. It is easily the finest of these music industry events. I get back to NY on Wednesday and then leave for Boston on Friday and then come back to NY the following week.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I used to attend Congressional hearings by the bushel when I'd visit DC in the past but this time I won't. Perhaps I'll visit the U. S. Copyright Office and ask them if there is a reason they exist. Is there a justification for copyright and what these very privileged federal employees do? As Jim Morrison sang, "I wonder what they do in there?" But it might be a more light hearted jaunt to go visit another cutting edge bunch - FEMA. Or better yet, the Office of the Vice President as the Mystery Man surely has come through on the Gulf States and Katrina. Without his help, I am certain that many more people would have died.

____________________________________________________________________________________

The Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays again tonight. That's always good when the $206 million team loses to the worst team in baseball. The NY Yankees have won 5 games and lost 11 games to Tampa Bay this year. $206 million.... The left side of the Yankees infield - Jeter and A-Rod - are paid more than the combined payrolls of 6 major league baseball teams (each team has 25 players).

Money can't always buy one happiness.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Spinal Tap:

Which member of Spinal Tap wanted to open "a string of hat shops?"

Posted by EMH at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

The Barramundi Farmers Association has failed in its attempt to copyright the name of the famous fish, the barramundi. In June they had applied to have the name reserved for fish produced in Australia. But the government has concluded that it believed the submission breached World Trade Organization rules. I am very relieved to read this as now I can use the word, "barramundi," freely in any songs, cantatas, oratorios and even if I write a new opera. My last and only opera, "Watergate," was written during the summer of Nixon's resignation and Ford's ascenscion to the Presidency. Yes, it's that not well known Watergate opera with the not well known, "Tango for Those In Heat," and John Dean's moving aria/plea to Richard Nixon, "A Cancer On The Nixxoncy." I wanted to write an opera called, "Lewinsky," or "Monica Moves," but fell short on that one. But now, with the breaking news that "barramundi," is not copyrightable, it might be time to turn to the sea for my next large vocal composition. (I just fought the temptation to use the word, "hook" or "hooks," or other fish lingo.)

And then....

____________________________________________________________________________________

CNN just reported that the coming Apple iPod Motorola phone will only hold 50 songs. How silly.... Come back later with something practical.

And Apple - they make the best computer, one that techno dopes, those who like looks (the intelligent fashion/intelligent design people), the fans of simplicity and reliability, and those in a hurry, love. I went to Dell (Dell rhymes with Hell), i.e., the Dark Side, in 1997 for nine painful months. My Dell rhymes with Hell went back to Texas three times and the Dell rhymes with Hell technical phone people were usually condescending (as hell) to me and my very intelligent technically proficient friends who spoke with them.

But back to Apple - they should be ashamed of themselves and their "DRM Lite," (digital rights management) as they've made it unnecessarily difficult to take one's music, and most importantly, set lists, from one's old Mac to one's new Mac. Yes, Apple is much better than some other companies with not as restrictive DRM but it is still not consumer friendly enough.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Spinal Tap time (perhaps I should go back to quoting lyrics?):

The title that Sammy Davis' book should have had (according to the limo driver) __________________

Posted by EMH at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been surprised by some of my friends who were surprised that I love Al Sharpton. Writing anything good about Sharpton might anger (no, will anger) Republicans, as Al is one of those people Republicans love to use in fund raisers - you know, the REAL ENEMIES of America like Ted Kennedy, Hilary Clinton, and John Kerry. Of course Clinton and Kerry could be considered conservative as they voted to let George Bush start a war - Ted Kennedy, who does not worry about higher office, certainly voted his conscience and said no to an unprovoked war. And the new Republcan enemies are such a stretch - no matter how hard you try, Tom Dascle from South Dakota, is not really hate-able, nor is Harry Reid from Nevada. They might be disagreeable and might disagree with Republicans a lot, but they're really not hate-able. Republicans need to get some better new enemies other than the obvious targets - women with guts and brains who speak their minds -- Nancy Pelosi. If Barbara Mikulski was taller, she'd be on some of their lists.

__________________________________________________________________________________

But back to liking and loving Sharpton. I also love Ted Kennedy, loved Republican Barry Goldwater after he matured (matured? perhaps I'm being obnoxious again) and left office, Dwight D. Eisenhower (the Interstate system, and his warnings about the industrial military complex alone make him great), Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln (both liberal Democrats who went by the name, "Republican,"), Chuck Haegel (not a chicken hawk like Bush/Cheney and a guy with much higher than average integrity), and John McCain (not a chicken hawk like Bush/Cheney and a guy with much higher than average integrity). [Notice all but Ted are Republican.] I see where Bill Clinton is right - one can and should like people from different sides (I'm no Fox News watcher nor do I want to seem touchy feely but I can find merits in many ways of thinking and I resent labels that are purely negative, or that put people in a box.)

But many of these same Republicans love dead Democrats - John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, even Harry Truman. Republicans also will occasionally invoke Abe Lincoln, a Republican but extreme liberal if there ever was one. And I'm like these Republicans in the sense that I too will quote a Republican when it serves me well.

____________________________________________________________________________________

HOW COME George Bush didn't repeat his very smart and heartfelt statement, "I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you," cry this past week in New Orleans? I assumed he was sincere when he uttered that at Ground Zero in NY. Too bad Katrina was not serious enough for Bush or his federal government.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Spinal Tap quiz - Part 30

The book (title and author) on which the limousine driver comments as they are reading in the limousine _________________

Posted by EMH at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Celebrity Watch - 3

Al Sharpton was eating across from us at Balthazar's this afternoon. I would love to have told him how much I respect him for his intelligence, political views and leadership. His only mistake was believing Tawana Brawley. I'm mistake ridden but usually happy as certain stupid people without thought can be.

Today is West Indies Day in Brooklyn. My ears are not strong enough for it this year. My ears only go to eleven and this is much louder.

The Staten Island Ferry is still one of the best free things to do in New York.

I saw my first subway rat this afternoon (28th St., 6 line). Last year it took me 6 weeks - this year, only two.

Imagine how conservative Bush's next Supreme Court nominee will be? I smell a minority woman as Bush will be able to kill two birds with one stone. Will it be Janice Rogers, or will her Circuit appointment be enough?

"Truman Capote has made lying an art. A minor art." (Gore Vidal, 1977)

Spinal Tap question? Here's an easy one:

Fran Drescher plays the role of _______________________ in Spinal Tap.

Posted by EMH at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

The U. S. Copyright Office still does not want you to know the truth about copyright. Their website has been altered by certain small and unknown but well compensated federal employees. In some ways they remind me of Scientologists as they too are a squirrely bunch of not forthright people as both Scientologists and certain Copyright Office employees do the deceitful.

The Scientologists are in the Port Authority on 42nd Street hawking their "stress tests." Take a stress test, find out that you need fixing that you can only get through their cult's teachings which will cost you every penny you have but will get you to different levels, you'll spend more and go to higher levels and eventually you too might believe in the nonsense enough to entrap other innocent people and lead them into the cult of scientology. Spend, reach a higher level, spend, leave your mind and past behind - some day you too might be rich, dishonest about your sexual orientation and able to leap onto high couches like Tom Cruise. I usually bother the Scientologists in Times Square by telling their stress test takers that they are working with brainwahsed cult worker bees but we were in a hurry to get out of Times Square, as it usually is a place to stay away from. Because of subway repairs on the 1 line at 66th, 59th and 50th, a lot of innocent people got dumped into Times Square (42nd Street). But there is a lot of fun in that subway station especially if you are cult proof. And then outside today, there were wild Brazilians with their pride and three colors (yellow, green and, blue), tourists, hustlers, illegal goods and the small but well orchestrated protests of Revolutionary Communists (RC4) who are opposed to President Bush. They had lots of banners and handouts and rallying cries.

A fun day in NYC - St. Patrick's Cathedral, Brazil Day, Houston's, communists, Central Park with jugglers and weddings, and the Boat Basin with the Hudson River panorama and mix of nationalities, tourists, boats, roller bladers, dogs and golfers.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Spinal Tap - Question 3

Paul Schaffer, the leader of David Letterman’s band, plays the role of __________, a ____________ in Spinal Tap.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Of ten bald men, nine are deceitful and the tenth is stupid." Ancient Chinese proverb

Posted by EMH at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I hope my students and others read this as tomorrow is the 21st Annual Brazilian Day Festival. The festivities, I am certain, will be as great as they were last year. 46th Street, officially known as "Little Brazil," will be closed from 5th to 7th Avenue, and 6th Avenue will be closed from 42nd to 56th Street.

Here's a great website that lists all of NY's street festival this year.

http://www.nyctourist.com/st_fairs_calendar.htm

__________________________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 2004 in New York, I rode the 1 train to West 50th with Joe Klein, the author of "Primary Colors," and then got to talk with him more after our ride. The Republican National Convention was raging in NY - he was covering it, and I was protesting and having a lot of fun. All of Manhattan was great fun during that week as the protests were extremely creative and comic. And the Red Sox were doing well and I was being offensive via clothing.

Today in NY - my wardrobe - beautiful dark blue t-shirt with elegant bright green words, "RED SOX," and a green shamrock. The whole day had gone well with only a few dirty looks. But then came the run-in with the NYPD. The transcript of the run-in:

Cop 1 to Cop 2: "Uh-oh. Red Sox. Hey, look. Red Sox."
Cop 2 to me: "We've been looking for you. We'll have to bring you in."
Me to Cop 1 & Cop 2: I'm trouble, huh?""

Lots of laughing and then they drove off. I was not brought it in so NY's streets are moderately safe and I live another night to wear an even more offensive Boston shirt. New York cops are a really intelligent and decent bunch. Other than Boston cops, NY are the best.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

SPINAL TAP Quiz continued:

Who said, "I'm just as God made me, Sir!" __________________ in ___________________ in (city & state) _____________________

ANSWER to yesterday's ST Quiz: Boston is not a college town.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

More IP haiku from Godzilla Jones:

And it gets worse - I
Copied an Op-Ed piece from
Today's New York Times

I took the writer's
Best part and transferred it to
My Silly Putty

This Silly Putty
Is worth more financially
As I took good stuff

My idea was
To combine Putty and print
And make something new

There were thousands of
Print sources for me to use
I had to choose well

Or I could phrase it
This way - there were thousands of
Sources I could steal

Not "use" but "steal." But
Isn't all expression at
Some level not new?

Posted by EMH at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Celebrity Watch is now 2. Molly Shannon of Saturday Night Live was eating across from us last night. She laughs as much at a restaurant as she does on SNL.

Celebrity watch could be 3 if that was Naomi Judd at one of the Hiltons in my hood.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Time for poetry. I used to write haiku. They offended some haiku purists as they felt that haiku are supposed to be about nature. I love nature and get lots of it - cross country bicycle trips and almost daily jaunts in Central Park. But I am not going to write haiku about nature. I'm glad others will fill the void created by my unnatural haiku.

Here's one that no one has ever read:

Sperm count when they're bored
They are very unskilled at
communication

__________________________________________________________________________________________

And now it's also time for a guest poet. There will be many haiku coming in the weeks ahead from this guest "haiku-ist." His name is Godzilla Jones. Here goes - do your thing G Man:

Copyright haiku
Musings manipulations
And sometimes held thoughts

If you can publish
Them they might bring you good luck
Forward them to friends

(Maybe I'm confused
Maybe it's email that needs
To be forwarded)

In any event
Here is the first installment
Of I. P. haiku

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I just bought a bomb
It came from Best Buy and I
Think it is legal

The bomb has a name -
Jay-Z's "A Cappella Black
Album." Still, a bomb

I think of it as
Silly Putty - a means for
Creativity

But this Putty is
Also copyrighted stuff
So, fun with limits

Press Silly Putty
Onto newspapers and watch
The print get copied

I now have a new
Cool thing - an embodiment
And derivative

My Silly Putty
Has infringed the copyright
Of a newspaper

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Today's plan includes lunch at Rockefeller Center today, followed by trips to the Empire State Building, Hell's Kitchen, Central Park and more.

TRIVIA:

Spinal Tap's manager felt that Boston was not a __________________________. Answer tomorrow.

Posted by EMH at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Click Here

Posted by EMH at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation and one of the most intelligent and coolest people in North America, has an excellent blog:

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut

She, like all of us, has been watching devastation in the three Gulf states and has been saddened and shocked by this once in a lifetime tragedy.

Notice that her name is "Katrina." If you are older than 12, you remember when some little ass teased you and demeaned you about something or other. Some kids and small minded adults do that in order to raise themselves.

Katrina vanden Heuvel, is, in my opinion, way too intelligent, and too beautiful, for many boneheaded males such as the two members of the Small Member Club she describes here - Rush "when I abuse drugs, there's a good reason" Limbaugh and Jonah "my Mom and Linda Tripp betrayed Monica Lewinsky, and there's a reason I look pudgy and effeminate" Goldberg. Here are Katrina's words, from her website:

"...But when Fox started calling the storm Killer Katrina, I prayed some right-wing idiot wouldn't stoop so low as to link me to this human suffering. But wouldn't you know, the biggest dittohead on the block, Rush Limbaugh, is calling the storm Hurricane Katrina vanden Heuvel. National Review's Jonah Goldberg, who has never seen a bad-joke bandwagon he could resist jumping on with both feet, blogged, "It would be pretty cool if Fox played to caricature and repeatedly referred to the hurricane as Katrina vanden Heuvel." He went on to imagine the lines, "The destruction from Katrina vanden Heuvel is expected to be massive. The poor and disabled are particularly likely to suffer from the effects of Katrina vanden Heuvel..."

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

May the Supreme Being help us! Dear Jesus, spare me from many of your followers! This reminds of the time when Jerry Falwell was a talking head on a cable news show, along with Ellen DeGeneres, and referred to her as, "Ellen DE-GENERATE." Falwell, obviously, had good times in the playground as a child and felt the need to return to those days of severe immaturity, meanness and emotional insecurity. And being a Small Member, this type of petty rant is acceptable to Falwell and his pals.

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

A friend of mine who had to flea New Orleans wrote and described his predicament. From his email:

"It's a nightmare here. It's beyond anyone's belief what has happened. The tension here in Baton Rouge with several thousand refugees is amazing. People are driving on the wrong side of the road, traffic is horrible, there are so many police and military all carrying guns - and this is just Baton Rouge!"

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

I'm in a Bob Dylan quoting mode. I am angry as hell that we are in Iraq and the response to the Hurricane Katrina is so slow and inadequate. Sometimes real life does interfere with vacations and they might need to be cut short, President Bush.

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

Posted by EMH at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)