Thursday Jukebox Loves Crystal Kay

A natural follow up to Insooni, is another talented singer of Black and Korean heritage, Crystal Kay from Japan.

First up, Shadows of Desire, released when she was 14.

Crystal Kay Shadows of Desire
Uploaded by ch982

Then 2001's Ex-Boyfriend, which kicked her career into higher gear.

Crystal Kay - Ex-Boyfriend feat. Verbal (m-flo)
Uploaded by Clothildeavecunh

The extremely addictive (although the video seems a little bit incoherent to me...what are all those women in green supposed to represent?) Can't Be Stopped.



Crystal Kay - Can't be Stopped
Uploaded by Linnouch

The Jam & Louis produced Kirakuni, which has an interesting and slight anti-commercialist bent to the lyrics. (Crystal is apparently a huge Janet Jackson fan.)



Crystal Kay - Kirakuni
Uploaded by Kitsuney

Her most recent m-flo collaboration Love Don't Cry.

M-flo loves Crystal Kay - Love Don't Cry
Uploaded by dcbape

Crystal's latest, Shining.

[PV] Crystal Kay - Shining
Uploaded by Norifumi94

I have also stumbled across a very interesting and informative blog called Where The Hell Am I? by Expat Jane who is at Ewha University in Seoul. Check it out.

Tuesday Jukebox Loves Insooni

Meet Insooni.

Experience Insooni.








(A rarity for me: a decent ballad...primarily because she knocks it out of the park and is not at all trying to be cute)



(And the obligatory cover of Proud Mary, but she's damn good at it.)

Insooni - proud mary
Uploaded by Sarzuuk

And she's 50!

Too Hungry to Kill?

New York on the way to having the lowest number of homicides this year since the 1960s.

One in Six New Yorkers can't afford to eat.

One of these facts won't be mentioned on the Today.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2007 Post-Mortem

This ought to be a fun show.

The stagehands are on strike.

The writers are on strike.

Please let there be some agitprop!

Anyway, "Camp Broadway" has their annual saccharine tribute to god knows what, but look! It's kids with ribbons!

And Matt & Meredith are in the middle of the sugary sweetness all of a sudden. They toss to Al.

Al gives the standard send-off for the march. Surprisingly, the banter is not stilted. (Scabs?)

And it's let's have an ode to commercialism.

Deep-voiced announcer gives down the rundown of celebrities and shows and I sense that this might be the first evidence of the strike's effect: only 3 shows and half the celebrities, most of whom are NBC plugs for struggling shows. (Although let's be honest, only Howie Mandel and John Madden are the only people on NBC shows which aren't struggling.)

After commercial we have desperate network plug #1: Jane Krakowski begs us to watch 30 Rock.

Meanwhile, Matt & Meredith plug the first of only 3 musicals this year: Legally Blonde.

It's a minor improvement on Camp Broadway. Minor being the operative word, since they are doing the same amount of flinging about over inane lyrics.

Deep voiced announcer hypes Bob Saget, who will be doing the exact same thing as Martin Short last year, which is flying over the parade providing quips. I doubt they'll be full of swears, but we can hope.

As we come back from commercial: the aerial shot shows somebody dangling their child off the balcony!

NBC plug #2: Patti Labelle tries to interest us in the inanity that is Battle of the Choirs and her Christmas CD. Al Roker apparently did several lines because he's really animated in the plug.

Matt & Meredith drowsily attempt to interest us in Young Frankenstein.

Roger Bart is no Gene Wilder, and is quite honestly dialing it in. Sutton Foster, however, is apparently game enough to lift for both herself, him, and the man playing Igor.

This show is no Producers, people, and they ought to be glad that they aren't affected by the strike.

Matt & Meredith send a message of support to everyone affected by the [stagehands'] strike. They say nothing about the writers, which is very telling about who wrote their banter. (I hope that somebody sabotages their teleprompter.)

Bob Saget makes a good theatre strike joke preflight. He proceeds kick Martin Short's ass in terms of comedy during the parade route tour.

M&M hype Xanadu, which in all honesty, is the only decent show of this lot. As much as I hate Douglas Carter Beane, he did turn in an excellent satirical script.

Anyway: roller skates, Cheyenne Jackson, falsettos, and Andre Ward. Not too bad when combined. Fun fact: Jane Krakowski turned down the female lead in Xanadu in order to do 30 Rock. Oops.

My new favourite ad: US Cellular has an ad where a flower delivery man complains to a woman about his asthma.

NBC Desperation Plug #3: Al Roker talks to 2 of cast members from Heroes who must be on some sort of pharmaceutical (or just fear of cancellation) to be that perky. Al cuts them off to screech "It's Nikki Blonsky!" Burn!

After commercial, we have Christopher Meloni & daughter with NBC Desperation Plug #4. He does not look like he's drunk or high like that interview he had on Morning Blend. He is also drowned out by a marching band. Meloni is the only one so far to get out of these plugs with some shred of dignity, and he was assaulted by a band, clowns, and Al Roker.

Meredith makes a SVU/SUV reference to Al's flub. Matt rolls his eyes. They intro Mary Poppins.

I am beginning to think that Disney-on-Broadway execs have a bet going on to see what is the worst show they can keep running. Clearly MP is up there, but then again, I would've greenlit an Aristocats musical a long time before this.

Commercial for Battle of the Choirs, and yes, it looks like a big ol' Port Of Spain (POS).

M&M intro The Rockettes.

The Rockettes kick and march about Herald Square and I really don't get the connection between the number and "New York at Christmas," but I'm not a choreographer.

Perhaps it's me, but does it seem like there are twice the amount of ads so far this year?

And the parade makes it to Herald Square and M&M are plotzing.

(I am so happy not to be there this morning.)

Something called "The Great American Marching Band" performs "Swing Swing Swing" and the placement of stars is hilarious as blatant synergy.

Dolly Parton sings on a Showboat float, although she looks extremely nervous. It's rather funny that everybody on the float is desperately trying to cover up the fact that they are lip-syncing.

M&M give the standard "Pilgrims good, Native Americans who?" version of Thanksgiving in reference to the Turkey float.

Abby Cadabby balloon: Eh. M&M are looking for another gram to get through the next 2 hours.

Sesame Street float: The annual chance to see how many of those cast members are still alive. (My god, Bob is still on that show? Good god, man, retire!)

M&M have found their lines and I find myself missing Katie Couric and the fact that she was considerably more aware of the camp factor and didn't let Lauer overshadow.

Jonas Brothers/Build-A-Bear-Dammit float: Who are these people? Click 5 for 2007? They look like they need a flea bath. Mediocre song, but they cover up their lip-syncing better than Dolly Parton...sadly.

After commercial: Clowns and Barbie (buy my DVD!)

Perhaps it's me, but I'm a bit perplexed: after Barbie has encouraged millions of girls to go out be businesswomen, pilots, and political leaders, she is now encouraging girls to be bitchy overbearing princesses with extreme self-entitlement.

Utah marching band: As much soul as an Osmond Family TV special in Iceland.

Another reason to miss Katie Couric: she might've been able to make Hello Kitty seem interesting. Of course, the good writers are on strike, so I don't entirely blame M&M for making do with a poor script.

(By the way, La Couric is not fronting CBS's coverage, Hannah Storm & Dave Price are. Yikes.)

After commercial: Up With People sing some song that doesn't know if it wants to be dance or world, either way it's crap.

Animal Planet: Bindi Irwin & "The Crocmen" sing something about jumping and my jaw just drops. It's just so...mind-boggling and inane, like a blatant attempt to ride upon the Wiggles bandwagon combined with the "oh she's soldiering on without her dad" sentiment that the weak-minded would fall for. Dignity, what's that?

Some band of clowns does something, but I'm still recovering from The Irwins' slaughter on Herald Square.

Two random Broadway actors sing "Give My Regards to Broadway" on the M&M float. It's really not all that interesting except they are not lip syncing and it features a completely unnecessary electric guitar score.

NYC Parks Mounted Patrol ride into Herald Square and I wonder if those horses could sue for animal abuse.

The Virginia Tech band: M&M act all solemn because of THAT incident. The band does nothing of note except march back and forth again and again and again. But you know, we can't cut away early because of THAT incident.

Rant of the day: When did it become illegal for shit to happen? Let's be honest, anyone can find reasons for others to "feel their pain."

USPS float: Crap MOR band Lifehouse looks bored or just sultry. They also make no attempt to cover up their miming.

After commercial: An insurance company provides a Malt Shop inspired float. (Draw your own cynical conclusions.) Anyway, Nikki Blonsky (apparently she was in Hairspray) sings live and decently.

Al has now joined M&M which means there might very well be some life in the commentators' booth from here on in--if only because Al carries the good pure stuff and M&M have been running low.

Evidence: Matt actually sounds interested in a bunch of cheerleaders thrusting pom poms in the air to 1950s songs. As for me, not even a cigarette could give me seem remotely interested.

Some twink called Ne-Yo lip-syncs on the cheerleaders' float. He has a career why?

After commercial: A bunch of kids from New York clog dance. That's right, a bunch of kids from New York clog dance. MAM are as dumbfounded as I am. The kids are good, but again, a bunch of kids from New York clog dance.

New York Daily News float: Menudo (nuevo) give the first decent performance on the smallest performance space seen so far. All other acts should hold their heads in shame. MAM are impressed.

This is followed up by a band from Indiana murdering "Gee, Officer Krupke."

Fireman float and then Hess float with Good Charlotte proceeding to blow any cred they might have, even with a decent song like "Dancefloor Anthem"--since they are followed by the Energizer Bunny.

MAM start on the next baggie.

After commercial: Pirate float (complete with Al Roker doing a piss-poor pirate imitation). Sarah Brightman sings some trance-like song called "Journey Home" and I am tempted to say that the performances from Good Charlotte onwards are going to be better. Let's be honest though, all you have to do is lip-sync believably.

Some random band from Kentucky performs songs from the Nutcracker. The flag team are waving some flag that looks like a hybrid of the Maryland & Estonian flags. They're good, but I see no Nutcracker connection.

One possible reason why MAM are becoming more alert: They have to push those NBC Universal products! Represented at this particular instance by the Shrek balloon.

Cartoon Network float: I have never particularly cared for that song, but I never want to hear "You Make Me Live" sung like that again.

Jeff Koons's Rabbit: Damn impressive. MAM are impressed as well.

Some Alabama band performs "Oh Susannah." Maybe it's me, but I think it's a little bit in poor taste.

Rhino Mountain float: What the hell is that supposed to be for? Some High School Musical castoff lip-syncs "Last Christmas" relatively well, although she misses the point of the lyrics.

Commercial: Why not use your Citicard to get a haircut instead of a cheap suit? And NBC is so starved for ratings that they are reviving American Gladitors?

Horn of Plenty float: The Cherokee National Choir sings "Jingle Bells" in Cherokee. While this is quite a momentous occasion (think about it), but am I the only one who thinks this is also a bit wrong like using a $20 bill to an AIM supporter (and I'm not referring to an instant messenger).

OU band: Bigger is rarely better.

Pillsbury float: Jordin Sparks tries to justify her win by poorly lip-syncing her own song. I guess it was a bad year on American Idol.

After commercial: An acrobat hits his brother in the crotch. Yep, it's the good stuff now.

Space float: Another High School Musical castoff whines his way through his song with lyrics last heard on California Dreams's Christmas special.

After commercial: Willard Scott gestures wildly outside an antique car freaking out the Centarian Queen of the parade.

History Channel float: Michael Feinstein and Anika Noni Rose sing (live!) between showing off their teeth. Decent performance, but what I find interesting is that there is a sly plug for Terrance McNally's The Ritz.

NYPD Marching Band butchers Silver Bells. (Insert police brutality joke.)

American Greetings float: The Care Bears are back? And who is this Kay Hanley girl? She has no talent and sounds like a poor man's Lindsay Lohan. At least Vanilla Ninja have some talent and sing about heroin.

After commercial: Dancing trees. The drugs have kicked in for MAM, but since all I have is a Max menthol, I just see weirdness.

Weirdness that is enhanced by a marching band that is seeming composed of SWAT team members and women in pigtails. I am not kidding.

Gibson guitar float: Wynonna Judd (looking like Sandy Patty meets Greta Garbo) barely lip syncs "I'll Be Home for Christmas." If she thinks that waving an American flag will save her, she's so wrong. That has to be the most laziest rendition of that song I have ever heard.

After Commercial: A bunch of Rockette wannabes thrust cardboard cutouts of presents and candy canes up in the air, thus emphasising the low-rent cheapness that is this year's parade.

And we have Santa Claus and MAM actually manage to sound excited.

While I can sense that the march of time has done a number on me, but this year's effort has been subpar at best. If this is an indicator for the strikes to be settled, then I suggest GE & the League get their asses in gear.

When Menudo is the best thing on it, you have to wonder.

Coming Up: Slaughter on Broadway

Yes, it's the return of one of my most favourite and vicious non-Eurovision events of the year: The annual critical deconstruction or just destruction of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Here is last year's review, which apparently pissed off someone because I just *dared* to poke fun at maudlin ballads with vague religious overtones.

The Horrors of mid-morning television in Milwaukee

Having to sit through interviews like this, on a show which--for some bizarre reason--bifurcates the Today Show into normal and developmentally impaired parts.

Tuesday Jukebox Says It's A Beautiful Disaster

Two entertainment strikes? Brill.



Especially when one has Bloomie acting nervous.

Ratings Shutout!

NBC scripted programming (including fiction and "reality") effectively shutout of the top 20 programmes, according to Nielsen.

The only exception: football.

Start importing, Mr. Peacock.

Today's Daily News TV Section: What the Hell

Steve Bartelstein is back?

The most absurd patronising celebrity apology to date. (Bury me at Mount Vernon?)

And Ellen can't think off the cuff.

Do You Get The News You Need or that You Want?

I've found myself back in Milwaukee due to a health situation with a family member, and it's very interesting looking at the world from the very isolated confines of Southeastern Wisconsin. It really is like being in another country, as I've mentioned on this corner of the internet from time to time.

Milwaukee has a horrendous crime rate and yet the majority of the time the news prefers to lead with stories related to the Packers or weather. It is truly local news as opposed to news provided locally. Not but a few days ago, a UWM student was shot (ostensibly in a drug deal, and not fatally--so far), but the lead story on one of the stations was how the wind knocked over a streetlamp.

The local NBC affiliate, which used to be the ratings juggernaut has mostly fallen to 2nd place in all areas, and for some reason believes that the key to restoring its glory will be in hiring twink reporters and presenting the remaining veterans as demi-gods protecting local interests. (Then there's the disingenuous nature of trying to come across as folksy while working on a set designed to be urban chic--a metaphor for the region itself.)

The local ABC station played ultra-coy during the 5 pm news with their teaser about a man arrested for indecent exposure, stating that they couldn't say what the nature of the crime was due to the hour, which personally suggests to me that they either have no thesaurus handy or hypersensitive viewers.

I am inclined to believe the former since this same station broadcasted the Dahmer trial live and uncensored in the middle of the day.

There's a problem in Milwaukee and one that I suspect is going on in many markets throughout the country: The public is being perceived as being too sensitive for the world, only because a vocal minority (frequently the ones whose disapproval masks their own culpability) wants to see a rose-coloured world.

How to change this? I don't know. You could argue that you can go and find alternative news sources, but to me that sounds like the flip side of the rose-coloured complainers. Personally, I believe that people are much more savvy and stronger than the ultra-sensitive types would have us assume. I hope that any possible employee for a news organisation (from intern all the way to owner) who reads this would remember that, and just as importantly that anyone who reads this realise that they are oftentimes smarter than the reports they are given. (Al Roker is on Court TV...think about it.)

Since I've been so serious in this post--and the keep up the quarterly "drool" factor--here is a link (with video) to a report CNN did with Hikaruland lust object Ken Hirai earlier this year.

From The "Wither Stockard Channing" Department

Now, I would be very surprised if the actress in the video really is Stockard Channing, but it is quite an entertaining thought to imagine her doing the "Dame" dance (and the possibly rude/lewd gesture it begins with) along with Tackey & Tsubasa (how appropriate are those names?)

[PV] Tackey & Tsubasa - X Dame
Uploaded by creamy_amande

By the way, for more information on the strike, check in with Deadline Hollywood Daily.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee...

WTMJ-TV airs a report on how the internet is allowing people to meet their sugar daddies...and they are just S.H.O.C.K.E.D. at how blatant it is.

I am shocked too, because the local "sugar babies" seem to think they are that appealing, when in all honesty being a 10 in Milwaukee is at best a 5 in Chicago.*

* Those who are wise and ambitious--like these sugar babies claim to be--were smart enough to leave right after high school. Prime example: Kato Kaelin.

Writers' Strike: Day 1

Striking writers hit Manhattan...and Millie from Memphis clearly had no idea that negotiations went on for 11 HOURS and god-knows-how-many weeks prior to strike action being taken.

And if she did know, then she can go sunbathe at Indian Point.

Congrats to Winship (WGAe president) for the slogan: "When you get paid, we get paid."

You Had A Chance...

...and now the writers have no choice.

Until the producers learn: Strike.

The Annual Halloween "BAH HUMBUG" Post

First off, some greatest hits from the archive.

Some incompetence from Ozaukee County.

And finally, MELL, she of the terribly incomprehensible lyrics, but damn good voice:

MELL _ kicks ! _ pv
Uploaded by sek0001

Black Lagoon - Red fraction [MELL]
Uploaded by Megami_Yoruichi

MELL _ no vain _ pv
Uploaded by sek0001

What? Me rip off Madonna? Surely, you jest?

And once again, Halloween: BAH HUMBUG.

From the "Only in Washington County, Kids" Department

Courtesy of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A burglar dropped his pants while trying to flee the home of an "old, fat bartender." If that wasn't peculiar enough, the burglar also forgot the old rule that many of us were taught in school: "never go outside without clean underwear."

According to police, an officer found "a large quantity of fecal matter on the interior of the pants," according to the police report. On the threshold of the door, too. And on the porch.

And if any of you out there are aspiring porn directors, here's a scenario for you:

The burglar then rushed up the stairs and attempted to get past the 250-pound Rieger [the bartender]. The homeowner grabbed the intruder and pinned him against a wall, Rieger said. Rieger's wife, Lori, had been asleep upstairs and heard the struggle. She saw the two men near the front door and called 911.

Rieger got the intruder in a bear hug, a hold he has used as a bartender at the Knights of Columbus Hall in West Bend to stop patrons from fighting, he said. The two fell to the floor.
"I'm an old, fat bartender," the 5-foot, 8-inch Rieger said in explaining how he pinned the younger man to the floor. "I laid on top of him." Hoppe [The burglar] is described in reports as 6 foot 1, weighing 160 pounds.

Rieger is 55. Hoppe is 18.

Barely Legal Burglars will be hitting the shelves next month.

Do It Better

As you might wisely assume, the Democrat candidate reviews are being pushed back to next month--which in my view--is more appropriate. One candidate who is being dropped from being reviewed on this corner of the internet (as you also might wisely assume) is Barack Obama. Perhaps he's too green, perhaps he's being ill-advised, but he's robbing Peter (namely gays and especially black gays) to pay the Paul (bigots).

My Korean is far from fluent, but to quote Kim Hyun-Jung: Do It Better

Kim Hyun Jung - Do It Better (Live)
Uploaded by hikarufree

Politics make for strange bedfellows

Jimmy's going down! (Article courtesy of FARB)

Why do I reckon so?

When you've irked the Republicans in Ozaukee County enough to the point that one of them is labelling you "corrupt," then you are truly SOL. When you've irked them to the point that they are running a tag-team front with a Democrat to get rid of you?

You are beyond SOL.

This is the Ozaukee County political equivalent of being sent to the gulag.

Cue Busby Berkeley dance sequence.

Monday Jukebox Welcomes October

Coming up this month: Reviews of the Democratic Candidates

Now, to get this very auspicious and interesting month off, here is the Akiko Wada (make sure to read her quotes) singing Golden Time.

WORK IT!

Wada Akiko - Golden Time
Uploaded by Gligligligligli

It's BAAAACK Again (slap!)

The little series that could is back again for another volume, and this part of the internet is frankly happy, because well...I like camp, and it certainly looks like it's getting progressively campier based on the volume 2 previews (kidnapping by rejects from Deliverance?)

Even more hilarious, I just received a (presumably mass) email from the creators suggesting that fans of The Closet petition several networks to air the show (again) : Amongst the suggestions: HBO, Showtime, FX, Bravo, or A&E. The rationale? The relative absence of masculine black gay male characters on television (uh huh).

Listen to that dialogue and decide for yourself.

I say be real gutsy and put it on TV One.

Dammit Janet...and Jill too

Ok, Janet, understand that you've been surprising lucky in that despite never changing your name, no one has ever associated you with the wackiness that is your family.

Understand that many people thought the Justin Timberlake sold you out post "nipplegate."

Understand that a good chunk of your gay fanbase could even forgive you doing duets with such beacons of tolerance like Busta Rhymes and Beenie Man.

But now...NOW

You go and do a Tyler Perry movie?

A Tyler-opportunistic-closet-case-Perry movie? The man who sees nothing wrong with T.D. Jakes?

And even more than that, you and Jill Scott (who also should know better) allow this eejit to take TOP BILLING.

You're Janet Jackson for the love of god! Fuck the ensemble nature, you know you should have top billing.

Then again, you shouldn't have done the project in the first place.

Hello/Bienvenue Schadenfreunde

$1 Cdn. = $1 US.

Election 2008: Metaphors for Prez

For the sake of brevity, I'm going to assume that anyone reading this is familar with NBC, if not, read this from NBC Television's Wikipedia entry, followed by this 1985 promo and this 2007 promo, and turn on TNT since they seem to have Law & Order on all the time until The Closer burns off more episodes.

"Fall" in New York is an interesting time, because apart from Los Angeles and Chicago, few other cities are awash in networks promoting their new lineups all over the place. (Penn Station itself is practically floor-to-ceiling full of CBS, the East side of Times Square is such for ABC, and Rockefeller Center goes without saying.) The funny thing about NBC's lineup is that it seems well...ignorant.

Now ignorant is a strong word, but here's why I chose it: NBC is at once the network of self-absorption and self-ignorance, which might explain why it did so well in the 1980s and 1990s, when as a country we first became entranced by our surroundings and subsquently ourselves. That would be fine now, if we still were equally interested in these things, but the fact of the matter is that the mean ol' nasty outside world went and decided that we needed to pay attention to it.

Many networks noticed this change and decided to try to incorporate programming that at least acknowledged that there was an outside world wherein the prototypical televisual American (a WASP aged 25-35) came to realisation that he/she was not ruler of the domain, and in fact was wearing nothing at all. Basically, we learned not just that we're alone, but "we" don't all look like how we thought we did, in fact, we're kind of shallow...seriously.

NBC didn't quite get this memo. It thought that it could encapsulate the zeitgeist by asking Dick Wolf to pick up a copy of The Daily News and email the top stories to a group of writers in LA (Yes, that is the sad truth about Law & Order), while still plugging along with its roster of shows that do nothing but tell us how despite appearances to the contrary, everything is still a-ok in the USA as long as you watch NBC, because on NBC, all the bad guys will get caught (presumably by Chris Hansen) within the hour and you can sleep well into the night knowing that America's First Family (TM) will be there to tell you that despite some minor nastiness, you are still free to resume obsessing over your weight, lack of sex life, and whether Brangelina are having marital problems.

Yet, despite all this Reagan-esque bravado, the fact of the matter is that the peacock's feel-good mantra isn't manifesting itself ratings-wise, when you look at the big picture. The self-absorbed network's facade is crumbling and the answer in their view is to retreat further inwards into where criticism and the blatantly obvious won't hurt. I'll be somewhat blunt here, NBC is Grey Gardens as a network, viewing its audience as Soylent Green.

If the preceding sounded appealing, not to mention logical, then: 1) Why are you reading the blog of an avowed and proud Socialist?, 2) You've most likely already donated to the Thompson and/or McCain campaigns.

And now in order to end things on an upbeat note (how very NBC), here is the legendary Momoe Yamaguchi performing Rock 'N' Roll Widow with a bunch of men doing very absurd choreography.

Election 2008: I'm the Catcher!

Note from Fearless Leader: At the request of the Romney campaign, which is eager to show its youth appeal, today's post is by a "J. Smith,"* a college Freshman. Due to technical difficulties, the following is a combination of text messages, transcribed phone conversations, and emails from J.

* ahem.

The Romnster: Who is he?

idk who could not lk totally not vote for romney. he totally pwned the mass congress or sumthin. that's not easy, i mean lk mass was lk this effed up state and romney lk ruled...seriously.

(Ed.: Like the Bushes, the not entirely repugnant father didn't pass on those aspects to the offspring.)

Healthcare

dude, i lk totally dont think the govt knows what'll make u feel better and they totally will give you crap b/c it's like cheap. romney knows this. he roolz.

(Ed.: The Romney Healthcare plan = thinning the herd for more babies, ostensibly so family bands can have a rhythm section.)

Jihadists

idk who these ppl are but lk if they fuck with us, they get fucked under romney.

(Ed.: 1) I don't want to think about Romney doing anything sexual, 2) Jihadists are Muslim extremists who seek to turn the world to one totally governed by Sharia, or Islamic law. Kind of like Salt Lake City, when you think about it. 3) Romney gets a broken clock exception for wanting to support mainstream Muslims over Jihadists, even though it's mere common sense.)

China

they've got lk buckets of money these days and i'm jonesing for a position on wall street. romney is gonna lk keep it all cool b/w us and the chinese. i mean lk i'm not just taking mandarin 101 for nthing, man. we'll still be #1 no matter what!

(Ed.: Mattel. Lead Paint. No strategy from Mitt?)

Gay Marriage

dude, he's cool about that. i mean he ruled mass, man. rom's gots no probs with the gays.

(Ed.: Oh really? Then who was acting all bent out of shape because he couldn't overturn the MA Supreme Court ruling legalising marriage. He has no issue with "the gays" when it comes to votes, but as long as we accept our role as second class citizens. Even more morally bankrupt, he used Massachusetts's old bigoted law preventing out of state interracial marriages and applied to out-of-state gay couples. If he doesn't have a problem, he certainly has a noticeable issue.)

Immigration

secure the border, man. if you can't play by the rules, hasta la vista.

(Ed.: To expand on that point, Catcher wants to use technology to prove one's legal status via a system of biometric data. You don't have to be a Luddite to see the potential pitfalls there.)

Energy

dude, we've got oil! rom knows it and wants to use it.

(Ed.: And the wunderkind that "saved" the 2002 Winter Olympics can't find a way to solve our energy crisis without resorting to bleeding Alaska dry?)

Family Values

lk sarah's bf's roommate's bff/lab partner was lk totally ignored growing up and now she's lk a skank, but she wouldnt be a skank if lk she had decent parents. rom is gonna make it lk illegal to fuck up yr kidz.

(Ed.: Free lobotomies under a Catcher presidency. Okay, two things: 1) On a very shallow note: he's a Mormon!, 2) This is code for no abortions, no stem cells, no gay marriages (again!), and no differences...and I'm still waiting for a pro-lifer to say what he or she plans to do about the adoption system.)

Summary

romney rocks!

(Ed.: Romney is a duplicitous opportunist who through sheer dumb luck and circumstance won the governorship in a state that now nearly universally reviles him. He's the Protestant Giuliani.)

Election 2008: Coming Up Next

A man who believes that at some point in the 19th century some random man was picked by god to decipher some text that he wouldn't let anyone else see.

Which is why you totally should elect him for president.

Election 2008: Bozo for Prez

(A nod to Al Sharpton--and many others' quote about Rudy on September 11th.)

A man that is married multiple times claims to be the bearer of family values.

A man whose own children don't support his campaign claims to be the bearer of family values.

A man who chose a con man as his police comissioner claims to have integrity.

A man who was taken in (post-divorce) by a gay couple, doesn't support gay marriage.

He is universally hated in New York, and no matter what the national media made it out to appear like, he was hated on both September 10th and September 12th, 2001.

Rudy did clean up New York, but you have to think about what cost:

• The malling of 6th Avenue.
• The Disneyfication of Times Square
• The eradication of affordable middle class housing
• The obsessive policing of "quality of life" crimes.

It's very interesting how few people wax romantically about how great New York was in the late Nineties.

Election 2008: The Miserly Pothead's Choice

One would think that the fact that strippers supporting Ron Paul would be a good thing, except you have to stop and think as to the reason why:

The adult entertainment industry is a multibillion dollar business (just look at your junk email folder), and the two things it needs most is a business climate for it to operate without restriction or regulation as well as (and this is the most important portion) the ability to hold onto those profits come hell or high water, because not that much separates the Heffners from the Murdochs when you get down to it.

The answer: Texas's Ron Paul.

Ron's big thing is a "free America," and he talks a very good game.

On NAFTA and other "Free Trade" agreements: "NAFTA’s superhighway is just one part of a plan to erase the borders between the U.S. and Mexico, called the North American Union. This spawn of powerful special interests, would create a single nation out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under this scheme."

Tinhatty, but he has a point, however in that same section of his website (entitled "American Independence and Sovereignty") he opines: "So called free trade deals and world governmental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites.
The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a doctor’s prescription to take herbs and vitamins. Alternative treatments could be banned.
The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws, yet we still face trade wars. Today, France is threatening to have U.S. goods taxed throughout Europe. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs."

I've got a problem with that. Y'see, Ronny thinks that independence means believing a la Tupac Shakur that "only God can judge me." (By the way, Reichen Lehmkuhl is now sporting that tattoo, so draw your own conclusions on that one.) Unfortunately, this belief tends to get you into even deeper trouble down the line, because if anything the US has acted and stated time and time again that troublemaking countries (Iraq, Grenada, Panama, North Korea, Cuba, and many more) get a beat down if they don't toe the line. A Paul presidency would likely lead to a dose of our own medicine and quite frankly, I don't want to live in that parallel universe.

Paul also doesn't buy his own rhetoric, since when he talks about war and foreign policy he says the following: "...we must not isolate ourselves. The generosity of the American people has been felt around the globe. Many have thanked God for it, in many languages. Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations."

Oh really?

Ronny's big thing, however, is "privacy and personal liberty," or what I term the greedy pothead issue, greedy because any talk about liberty coming from a member of the GOP is based in one thing: laissez-faire economics, and pothead because they are only ones who seem to be blind to that aspect...plus there's a fair amount of pot-induced paranoia in seeing government conspiracies everywhere.

Now give Ronny some credit in that he said no against the Patriot Act (Ronny's Broken Clock exception), but his reasons why stem from some 1984-like fear, not the fact that it was unnecessary, but just because Ronny is afraid of big government.

I'm not.

I'm in favour of big government if it functions correctly. I'm not a fan of centralisation, but big government--one of which works with and for the people and not against them in some sort of hot-potato/pass-the-blame exercise--is fine with me. I pay my taxes and seeing positive results from them makes it worthwhile.

Paul (either consciously or subconsciously) wants us have a Jennifer Government-esque scenario, despite being anti-FTA, because that is where Libertarian-Republican style government leads towards. They all see taxes as these evil things, and the private sector as the saviour, but let's think about it: In the end, all they are saying is pay Peter.com instead of Paul.gov (pun intended) for the same services.

ROT. IN. HELL. JIMMY.

My idiot representative isn't just an ignorant bigot...he's a rich ignorant bigot.

And I can't believe the DC Lottery paid him $250K!

The DC Lottery, people!

Election 2008: Meet Insanity for Prez!

Two years ago, the manga series Nana was turned into a live action movie to great success. It yielded two major hits for singer/actresses Mika Nakashima and Yuna Ito.

Logically, the producers decided to do a sequel last year with both Mika & Yuna reprising their roles and again providing two songs for the movie as well.

While not exactly a bomb, NANA 2 definitely underperformed compared to the first movie.

I mention this because the same sort of partly misguided logic that went into NANA 2 is the same thing that Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is trying to foist upon the American public in his bid for president.

Y'see, since one of the most well-liked presidents in recent years was a former governor of Arkansas, then surely another one would be good...right? Right?

Wrong.

(And not just because the phrase "President Huckabee" sounds stupid.)

Mike wants you to know that:

• He really wants to protect your 2nd Amendment (the right to carry killing machines in order to cover up one's sense of inadequacy) rights.
• He has a strong vested interest in keeping government subsidies for farmers (apparently Mike is under the delusion that it's still Mammy & Pappy Yokum running most farms in the US.)
• He'll be calm in a crisis, remove FEMA from Homeland Security and make them report directly to him. (His broken clock exception, in my view.)
• He'll support music and the arts in schools (Broken Clock #2), but you can school your kids at home without fear.
• He'll make us energy independent (but doesn't say exactly how).
• He takes the middle ground when it comes to faith and politics (which is to say, the status quo and quite a pointless statement when you get down to it, if Romney wasn't in the race).
• He loves Israel. (So?)
• The health care system is broken, but we don't need no stinkin' universal health care.
• He's as scurred of funny dark people crossing into the country as you are.
• No gays getting married on his watch. Only covenant marriages for heterosexuals, whatever they may be.
• No abortions either.

Mike, we know Bill Clinton, and you are no Bill Clinton.

Then there's Sam Brownback, who--I'm sorry--sounds like a specialised sexual act, and since he defines himself as "Principled. Conservative. Republican." it is likely that he may like this act practised upon him...often.

Brownback is really concerned about the dark people running across the border. It's his top priority. Now why are all these politicians from non-border states (Brownback is a senator from Kansas) all hopping mad about people crossing the border? Never mind the fact that illegal immigrants--especially in non-border states--are doing work for less money than legal citizens would be offered. Never mind that as senator he could've nipped this in the bud and told companies to start paying people a decent wage (even if that means curtailing their conglomerate dreams). Sam nonetheless is very concerned about keeping that border airtight.

Mr. Fetish ultimately says nothing new, but he's also all ripped up and hellfire about "culture and values." I have a problem with that. I absolutely think that young kids shouldn't be exposed to films, television shows, and computer games that they can't comprehend. That's why long before the V-chip and parental advisory guidelines on albums, my parents actually took time to watch and listen to things with me. Radical thought, spend time with your children and then you wouldn't need to have government regulation over the arts.

Another radical thought, spend time with your children and maybe there wouldn't be such a violent society for the entertainment industry to point out and/or exploit! (Fetish is on Myspace, by the way, so he can't have that much of a problem with those evil internet social networks.)

Fetish doesn't quite grasp either of those concepts, since his answer is regulation, regulation, and regulation...and keep having those babies whether they're wanted or not because he wants to protect life, but mentions nothing about improving the adoption and foster care systems.

I'd say stick a fork in him, but he probably would like that...kinky one that he is.

Next time: The biggies, starting out with the cover boy for pot-smoking, I-got-Mine, Republicans everywhere: Ron Paul.

Until then, let's leave with a "happy" thought: Mika Nakashima's All Hands Together, her (really belated, as it was released in June 2006) Hurricane Katrina tribute single...although it comes across as a tad bit unintentionally patronising in my view (there's a lot of things in those cotton fields, love isn't one of them).

Election 2008: Teasing the Elephants

Coming up within the next two days: Sam "I'm not in any way, shape, or form a reference to a sexual activity" Brownback (Oh yes, I went there...especially after his recent encounter), and Mike "I'm Governor of Arkansas and you elected one in the past so...voila" Huckabee.

Election 2008: Not Your Father's Cuddly Californian Republican

Today on my way to Union Square to do some grocery shopping, I saw a huge police prescence on 6th Avenue ostensibly to catch someone--seemingly out of view--who was dangling from one of the skyscrapers, since these things never end interestingly (at least in my view), I continued on with my merry stroll.

I mention this because Duncan Hunter reminds me of that unseen person dangling from a building causing all this fuss without actually making any impact save for splattering his guts on the ground.

Californian Republicans are a strange lot. The state has yielded Nixon (who I actually quite like, believe it or not, because he did make life better for everyone else...Watergate was his own cockiness getting him back), as well as (debatably) Reagan and Schwartznegger. Since Nixon is the only one of this lot who was a Californian native, one would assume that a native Californian Republican would be in the Nixon mold.

Nope.

Meet Duncan Hunter, product of Riverside, California.

Mr. Hunter believes (abridged, because brevity is not this man's strong point) :

• Life begins at the moment of conception and therefore all fertilised eggs, zygotes, or whatever they are called are considered "unborn children." (Quite honestly, how anyone would willingly procreate with Mr. Hunter is beyond my level of comprehension, but I suspect that wasn't the case anyway. Irrespective, he is graphically obsessed with conception.)
• CLONING is a serious problem and must be nipped in the bud NOW.
• The Federal Government shouldn't give money to any organisation which would had out condoms to kids...because if they have them, they might just *GASP* have safe sex!?
• Government should cut back on spending on everything save for defense. (I'll let this slide, because he's saving his own bum.)
• Religious icons on government memorials do NOT violate the separation of church and state because the founding fathers were all Christian. (Ummm...no.)
• Gays make poor parents, ergo they shouldn't be allowed to marry. (Mr. & Mrs. Manson were just darling parents, I bet.)
• If you have a gun in your house, then you should feel secure. (Despite the fact that most people get injured by their own gun.)
• Hate crime legislation creates an inequality and should be striken because all crime is equal (?)
• NEA = Pornographers

And finally after all this long-windedness, Mr. Hunter says " [his] basic philosophy is to teach and train and inspire rather than simply give government 'hand outs.'"

I know, Dick, and I'm turning along with you.

Election 2008: Meet Some Fool from Colorado

So there's about 17 people running for president and the election is more than a year away.



Unfortunately, Labour Day (and summer) is now over so I guess I have to now pay attention to them since all these states are now getting in pissing contests over who can have the earliest primaries.*



* By the way, how stupid is it that primaries are spread over several months when the winners are effectively crowned by February? We're a regionalist country, have the Northeast go one week, the Southeast the next, the Midwest afterwards, etc. Primaries would be finished in no time at all. And in addition, doesn't it also bite that there is no longer any intrigue at the party conventions over who will get the nod?



Ok, rant over, because now I have to talk about Tom Tancredo, who is some fool from Colorado with the half-cocked notion that he can be president, and the even more delirious notion that he can do so as a Republican.



Tancredo's main (public) beliefs appear to be the following:

• Dark people who don't speak English are scary.


• Assault rifles and semi-automatics are A-OK!
  
• I can tell a woman what to do with her body.
• The government shouldn't be involved in education (Tancredo served as the Department of Education's regional rep in Denver, so really he's kind of saying that he dropped the ball.)

And the most ludicrous one of them all (printed verbatim here):

"Federalism concerns make a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage an avenue of last resort, Unfortunately, intellectually dishonest activist judges have left us no choice. Activist courts have ignored the principal legal argument that the state's interest in marriage is procreation. Population is power. Society needs a young generation to defend the country in battle, to support its programs with taxes and to carry on its culture and traditions. The mere fact that two people are in a loving relationship does not matter to the state. Society supports traditional marriage because it is the only union which, in the ordinary course, leads to children, without the intervention of a third party. "

That's right, gay marriage should be banned because we need young people as cannon fodder and benefactors. The same man also says that the government spends too much and that we're letting too many new people in.

No need to point out the historical parallels there, I reckon.

Verdict: Further evidence that the US is going to split up into various regions by the end of the century.

Free Siberia!

Not only because this part of the internet believes that Siberia would be much better off as an independent entity, but also because would you really want to be associated with a nation that considers him a gay sex symbol?

I can see (if not agree with) why Putin could be considered handsome WITH CLOTHES ON!

Bare-chested, however?

Some people need to get their end over more often.

Fire up the Time Machine

...because I don't want this lot leading us into the future.

Beloit College--in its annual effort to make itself relevant (but pfft! it's in Beloit)--published yet another list of what this year's Freshmen class grew up with.

Personally, I find these snapshots of a generation disturbing enough:

"'I actually visited the Berlin Wall with my parents when I was in fifth grade,' said Jacob Williams, 18, of Louisville Ky., who is going through freshmen orientation at Beloit this week. 'I didn’t know a lot about the history, but I think it was a great piece of architecture.'"

"'You feel that you can joke about it now,' said freshman Jenny Posh, 18, of Menomonee Falls, Wis., who said her only knowledge of the Cold War came from studying it during high school."

"These students witnessed an age of triumphant capitalism when stadiums were named for companies, product placement became ubiquitous in movies and Wal-Mart has always been a bigger retailer than Sears."

"And then there’s technology: They use the online encyclopedia Wikipedia for research, grew up telling the world about themselves on MySpace and Facebook and are constantly talking (or texting) on their cell phones."

Honestly, it's enough to make you want to get a knitting needle, or at least tell Al Gore to fly kite instead of inventing the internet.*

*Not that I think this lot would get that joke, or even know who Al Gore is beyond that 'old guy talks about the environment."

Coming Soon: The 2008 Presidental Race on Hikaruland

(sigh)

Because quite frankly it is important to cover it, but let me just get the following off my chest:

1. Is it me, or are they rushing this thing too early, like Christmas sales in October? I do know the importance, and I am quite aware of why this is a special race, but good god, PATIENCE!
2. No Gore, No Clark, no candidate I care about at the moment.
3. SP-USA hasn't even had its convention yet, so could we at least let us all get to October? (I'm leaning towards Dwight Welch, and not just because he has good aesthetic taste in his blog template.)
4. Wouldn't it be fun if US elections were like those in parliamentary countries wherein the whole shebang is over in a few months? (Although between you and me, I find the lack of term limits a little bit unnerving.)

Tommy Wakes Up in the Real World

...and realises that nobody wants him--even in Iowa.

Vodaphone Presents the United Kingdom by HSBC

During the sabbatical from this corner of the internet, I went on vacation, of which I stopped off in the UK for the first time in 3 years.

Like most places, things have changed in the intervening years. The most peculiar change being that the rampant commercialism which seemed to just be held back in 2004, is now flowing freely. Nearly everything is up for grabs, as the "New" Labour "greed-is-good" disciples continue their reign.

(Lest you think I'm approaching this from the stance that the US is better...believe me, we aren't, we really... really aren't, I mean when was the last time you heard something referred to as just the "X Bowl at Y City Field" without 500 different companies cramming their names in between.)

It just makes you wonder if things a running towards a Jennifer Government situation.

Of course, there is a nice darkly comical aspect to having your name plastered all over the place: when you balls it up, everybody does know your name.

Monday Jukebox Wonders What Was Norway Like in 1975?

Judging by the entries from that year's MGP (held in February), it must've been a fun place.

First off Hastverk (Hurry), first performed by that Ja(h)n Teigen:



And secondly by his one-time other half Anita Skorgan (her performance compared to Teigen's makes you wonder if they were kind of a Norwegian precursor to Whitney & Bobby)



And then there's Voodoo, first "performed" by (the loud and not-necessarily on key--at least to my ears) Gudny Aspaas* & Il Teigen:

*Listen to Gudny's version of Mata Hari, the eventual winning song, as performed by Anne Karine Strøm, who must've passed on the drugs to her costumer.



Later in the show Il Teigen dropped his band (who were playing backup for the first round performances) and performed the song with uber-innocent Inger-Lise Rypdal, exchanging psychedelic rock for campy progressive symphonic rock.




By the way, wouldn't be fun if NRK brought back this format of small band versus full orchestra versions of each entry? (I know we live in a backing track world, but we also live in a remix silly one.)

Many thanks to Euroencyclopedia on Youtube.

Is it because of the beer?

Not to be flip about terrorism, but apparently there may have been several terrorist dry runs at US airports...including (brace yourselves) Milwaukee.

San Diego, I understand. (Navy)

Houston, I understand. (Oil)

Baltimore, I understand. (Close to Washington)

Milwaukee, quite frankly, ain't got jack except for TV nostalgia...and it's not that close to Chicago the way Baltimore is to Washington.

Monday Jukebox Does One for The Road

What better send off than with Big Mama?

(Somebody give these women the international career they deserve!)

First off Sister:




And because we must always end upbeat: Nevermind



See you later this month!

From The "Modern Politics Are Absurd" Department

("Broken Clock" division.)

Most people believe Cheney needs to go...that's the good news.

Several of the Right-winger reasons why are seemingly straight from Lewis Carroll.

That's the bad (as in "head-smacking, what dimension am I living in?") news.

Ah for the days of "Fuddle Duddle!"

A Half-Hour in New-Age Pseudo-Christian Happiness

A half-hour because that is all I could take.

Upon entering a hall full of Benetton ads come to life sitting in the chairs, 4 people in business casual sang some rousing song that I'm surprised The Polyphonic Spree hasn't done yet.

The Benettons clap along wide-eyed, and few of them claim to get the spirit. My fellow undercover agent said that the sincerity of everyone clapping must be taken with a grain of salt, as this is a popular place of worship for actors (in Chelsea? Chorus Boys! Both young and old.)

A woman then gets onstage and relates some long-winded spiel about membership and commitment (somehow involving her leaving her marriage), which is the sign for all new members to embrass themselves publicly, and for everyone else to turn to everyone nearby and say "welcome."

I did not stand up, nor did my undercover agent. It's better not to get close to people who so eagerly fake sincerity.

The Polyphonic 4 get onstage again and sing some daft ditty that gets more people stirred, or at least wanting to appear that they are stirred. It's The PTL in the middle of Chelsea.

The Polyphonic 4 then lead the congregation in a "Meditation" as the lights go down.

It got all too Saint Germain (the kooky mystical religion that took over my father after he went crazy in the early 1990s) for me, so the two of us promptly left to go get drunk and have a cigarette.

Lucky Saturday Jukebox Pays Twice

Combining the two obsessions of this corner of the internet: here is LaGaylia Frazier's It's In The Stars, which competed in Melodifestivalen 2004 (aka the year when Miss Ph kicked everybody else's ass) :




The song was subsquently "covered" by squeaking-their-way through puberty w-inds.

W-inds - It's in the stars

LaGaylia has a slight edge on the tweens in my opinion, but they have more flash (and no 3 minute limit).

Lucky Saturday Jukebox Says Puberty Is Mean

...especially when you're in a Japanese boyband.

Case point: w-inds

Here they are in 2001:

W-inds - Feel the Fate

(Racial harmony via happy-go-lucky Japanese Tween Pop?)

And here they are this year (with the Japanese image song from Shrek 3)

W-inds - Love is the Greatest Thing [PV]

Better beats, (arguably) better choreography, but wouldn't you hate to try to hit those notes all career-long?

Coming Attractions: Hikaru Goes To Church

This Sunday, Fearless Leader Goes to Church.

Seriously, I am attending church.

Now, granted this is one of those funky new-age churches which is very accepting of gays (it's even got a gay preacher), but nonetheless my happily secular-reared self is attending church!

How weird is that?

Perhaps the hilarity stems more from the fact that all these feel-good places are interested more in your wallet than your spiritual growth. I'm an avowed Taoist if anything, so the notion that people have to be reminded by some high and mighty that it's alright to be one's self is already absurdly funny to me. The fact that they need a pack mentality rife full of consumerism in addition to that is even funnier.

Yet, I am going to go with a shred of an open mind...and 4 Smirnoff Ices in my stomach.

If you build it they will come...

Really, they will...We're certain of that...Well, who are they exactly?*

* I haven't lost my mind, but like a broken clock, the Sun can occasionally be right.

Why I Still Love Elliot (Spitzer)

He doesn't just call them like he sees them, he calls them out.

Recess until January? That's just wrong.

Pride 2007

This is what it means to be out.

And this is why it matters to march.

Take That Revival at Hikaruland: Sure & Could It Be Magic

Little known "fact": The video for Sure was a saving-face measure after C4 said no to the pilot for a Take That sitcom. It would've given AbFab a run for its money, what with Robbie playing an M & S & S & M queen (Is Mark his Master?), Mark trying to keep the lads from going to court over child endangerment, Gary coming up with cute little melodies, and Jason & Howard doing...something.

Again with the video having nothing to do with the lyrics in the song. In fact the theme here is how often can we see Mark Owen's bare torso and Robbie Williams look alternatively petrified and deliriously happy. At least we're spared Gary Barlow dancing...for the most part.

Take That Revival at Hikaruland: I Found Heaven & Everything Changes

Continuing the Take That revival theme.

1. Interesting how they look pissed off for half of the video, and beaming for the other half.
2. What's with the liberal bare-chested shots of Gary, Howard, Mark? (I understand Howard & Mark, but why Gary? And hell, why not Jason & Robbie for that matter?)
3. The video does look like it should be the theme song to Lie Down With Dogs.
4. The hair! The hair! Gary Barlow is not Dolph Lundgren.

Several things:

1. What the hell does the video have to do with the song? Exactly whom are they saying doesn't change?
2. Why is a group of young British men from 1995 invading a Lower East Side cafe circa 1920? Why aren't the regulars pissed off? I'd be if my pleasant afternoon was shattered by a bunch of people prancing around telling me that I haven't changed.
3. Gary Barlow isn't dancing!
4. Robbie must've thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have to sing this live, that's one brutal falsetto.
5. Shot on the same day with the same extras? Kylie Minogue's video for Give Me Just A Little More Time.

Take That Revival here at Hikaruland

Quite unexpectedly, I'm in the midst of a Take That nostalgia kick, spurred on by seeing the documentary that was released last year.

Very interesting stuff, I must say.

Some observations:

• Gary Barlow hit the wall...hard, none of the others did.
• I don't care what sort of justification Robbie Williams came up with, he damn well should've gone to the reunion.
• Mark Owen still looks 12.
• They really did market Howard as the sex symbol of the group, though he never really did it for me.

And the most interesting one:

• For the love of god, when the hell is Jason Orange going to come out? It looked like he was on the verge of saying it through the whole show: the gender-nonspecific pronouns, the aimless journey in search of himself, the fact that he appeared to have no love life whatsoever, and using Lulu as a beard!

It says something when Mr. Out & In [the closet] Robbie Williams comes across as more accepting of his sexuality than poor Jason.

By the way, what the hell went on between him & Robbie? That tiff between them sounded like something way more personal than just bandmates having friction. You don't get that sort of enmity without some serious deep feelings being tread upon.

The Idiot Mayor Gets A Clue

...and changes his political affilation.

Shame he didn't do it in 2004, when it would've really mattered to everyone living in 4 mile radius of Madison Square Garden!

2007 Tony "Post-Mortem": The Quest for Relevance

Not really a genuine post-mortem since the show is still going on as I type this, however, the winners this year seem to be very predictable and for the most part deserving (although Coast of Utopia: Molitva at this year's Eurovision in my view), so I'm wrapping it up with 20 minutes to go.

Supposedly, this is the last year that CBS is broadcasting the show, and I almost think this is a good thing, as the Tonys struggle to find some type of relevance in a world that has largely passed them by.

I'll get back to that cerebral thought in a moment, but first...

My god, I cannot believe that there hasn't been a duff winner yet.

• Spring Awakening seems to be deservedly sweeping every category its nominated in.
• Julie White won against all odds, however, if you saw her in Little Dog, this is no surprise. She was that good. As much as I despise Douglas Carter Beane as a writer (particularly in terms of plot), he can write amazing monologues and female characters...he just bombs badly in every other aspect.
• Mary Louise Wilson gave the best acceptance speech so far: "This was not a surprise."
• Bill T. Jones came very close to Wilson for best acceptance speech (certainly won it for best winner's walk to the podium).
• A special award should go to Eddie Izzard as presenter for Special Theatrical Event (aka the most boring category imaginable). I don't know if he was scripted or ad-libbing, but it was probably inherently better than the two nominees in that category. (Kiki & Herb were robbed, even though they probably didn't stand a chance, but they would've won that knife fight.)

Now to the negativity.

I don't get the accolades for Coast of Utopia but I reckon it has more to do with people wanting to appear smart rather than for the play itself.

We all understand that the Tonys are televised more out of tradition rather than for ratings, but the way that everything is synergised for maximum cross-referencing is just dire. Try as hard as they might, Viva Laughlin will likely not become more than a mere footnote for the 2007-08 season, and a camp/cult rerun 5 years after, no matter how much they hype up Hugh Jackman & Melanie Griffith.

Yet, that's not the worst part. That dubious honour goes to this year's tagline: "There's A Little Bit of Broadway in Everyone."

Christ on a stick, that is stupid as hell.

The last thing I want to see or hear is some random bleach blonde bimbette claiming how she loved going to see Cats when she was young...all of 2 minutes ago.

"Broadway" is near death, praise god. Let the new theatrical phoenix arise.

Update: Tonight's only shocker was the newly out David Hyde Pierce winning Best Actor. What the hell was that? And the newly divorced Taye Diggs & Idina Menzel co-presenting...that was most definitely odd.

Hey Kettles, You're Black Too!

Bob Gedlof and Bono say that Canada is slumping on aid to Africa.

While that may very well be true under Prime Idiot Harper, let us not forget that here are two very wealthy men (one of whom tax dodges, at least according to the Daily Record, which while no Independent nor Guardian, is at least not The Sun) telling a nation to fork over more money.

Gold card/Khaki Socialism is one thing, but this is just ludicrous.

Normal Service Will Be Resumed Soon

Moving is such fun!