Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday Funnies & Arts

As always, click to enlarge...





















Ain't I got all the fools in town on my side? And ain't that a majority in any town?...

No One Could Make This Up Dept: These two stooges -- apparently the Laurel and Hardy of journalism -- argue that President Obama can better handle the BP/Halliburton catastrophe by applying the corporate values that led to the gusher in the first place. Gentlemen: Corporate behavior is the problem, not the solution...

Big Government Sherriff of Nottingham separates liberatarian Robin Hood from family. Wife didn't know that her husband robbed banks:
In retrospect, I wish I had asked him some questions I never thought to ask.

I spent my early childhood in a trailer in Texas, so I thought I knew something about barriers to health-care access, and maybe even something about poverty. Then I became an emergency physician in Oakland...

If Senate Democrats can't stand by the administration and fight to kill to the Bush tax cut for the wealthy, they ought go ahead and elect Ben Nelson ("D"-NE) majority leader. Kent Conrad (ND) is a good man and I have no doubt that his reservations are genuine. But tax fairness has never yet hurt an economy; eliminating this odious handout for people who already have more than their share will be a step in the right direction. The implacable Republican opposition only serves to illustrate falsity of their crocodile tears about the deficit...



PUT A NICKEL IN THE JUKEBOX


Boz Scaggs had established a steady base of musically aware fans who appreciated his brand of rocking blue-eyed soul/R&B (including me). Scaggs broadened the base with the immensely successful Silk Degrees, which added disco to the mix and took advantage that genre's use of electronic drums and synthesizers. As a commercial decision, Scaggs hit a home run, and indeed Silk Degrees is an excellent album featuring some of his best material.

But the steely meticulousness of Silk Degrees sacrificed the warmth and looseness of the early albums, and his original fans missed the easy charm of Moments, And Band, My Time, and Slow Dancer. I've been listening to those old albums this week with delight at how well they hold up. The material can be a bit uneven, but at its best is irresistibly uplifting and romantic. The band cooks and it's always fun to hear an artist searching for a sound by tacking against the prevailing winds. Great stuff...

NOLA's gender-bending rap (thanks, Foxessa!)...

Blathering Fans Dept: Eight days down and 257 to go...

Peter Tibbles on Paul Kelly, one of Australia's best singer-songwriters...


PHOTO & ART GALLERY

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall...

Parking lot, fried chicken restaurant, St Claude Ave...

Holding pattern: Oil flow halted...

From February to July: Construction progress...

Asters in bloom...

Idaho grapes...

Crustacean 2000. Scroll down to see this; it's a beaut...

Tillie Gort's in 1977: "Best restaurant job ever"...

Stompin' at the Savoy in nineteen-ought-five...

Sharon Tate and Catherine Deneuve...

Who took this picture? Bob Dylan in 1966...

Jennie Wade, who died making biscuits at Gettysburg...

An epic guitar duel plus Van the Man looking like he's fresh from Irish pub. Performing a Pink Floyd classic with Levon Helm enjoying every second. It doesn't get much better than this:

9 comments:

injaynesworld said...

Hey, thanks for the shout-out my friend. And I love Boz Scaggs. I worked at the San Francisco recording studio where he recorded a lot of his stuff in the early 70s.

Here's an interesting link to a short video with a Congressional debate about the state tax I thought might interest you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzseT49ev1g&feature=player_embedded

K. said...

The Republicans have shamelessness down to a fine art. Jim Demint's heirs will never have to pay the estate tax, but he has no compunction about toadying to those who will. Bernie Sanders is great.

Re Boz, there were a few guys in my dorm who would have regarded you with awe!

nursemyra said...

Ah Paul Kelly... what a genius. My favourite song is this one.....

nursemyra said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwl7tthqzkA

Roy said...

Yeah, Paul Kelly is a legend in Oz, not only as a performer but also as a producer, developing talent and bringing it to public attention.

An interesting offering of comics, as usual. And I always love it when Ruben does one of his God Man comics!

K. said...

Great PK song! That one will make it to my Facebook wall. One more than one occasion, I've wandered ghost-like around Temple Bar myself. That verse alone guarantees "City" a permanent welcome in Dublin. I can easily envision a pub full of Dubliners joining in ecstatically on that verse year in and year out!

A few years back, there was a flurry of under-the-radar U.S. releases of the music of Australian talent. I hoped for an Aussie Invasion tour, but it never materialized. Long live Rose Tattoo!

Peter Tibbles said...

I really like that first album of Boz Scaggs that had a couple of fine (but now late, great) artists playing along – Eddie Hinton and Duane Allman.
I saw Boz in a small club in Berkeley in 1970 not long after he left the Steve Miller Band. That's what prompted me to buy that album. Still a favorite.

Peter Tibbles said...

Hey K, you'll have to come over for a visit, especially around Melbourne Festival time when Paul does his complete repertoire of songs in alphabetical order over a week or so. At least he has for the last few years, I assume he's going to continue doing this.

K. said...

Wow! Talk about a Boz bragging rights!

The PK gig sounds great. I like the concept.