Alexander

The look on Igor's face as he conducts...that is SOUL right there.

One of the Great American Voices.

Completely irrelevant since U.S. and BBC networks operate so differently. So you're telling me that, even while liking the Brit Office better that you wouldn't have wanted more episodes of that version if you could have them? Only if they could do something completely different with it. I wouldn't want to see more of Gareth as the new boss or Tim and Dawn having a happy relationship. There's no point in that. The show is supposed to be about despair. Can't have that with happy, fulfilled characters.

I've only seen the American "Office" on a couple of occasions. It's okay, but it's not a patch on the British series. I can't watch the American show without thinking about how the British show did it better. For example, Ricky Gervais plays the boss as a cringe-inducingly unfunny man. His desparate need to be liked makes him hard to watch (in a good way). Steve Carrell isn't bad, but he's just not Gervais. He comes off as sympathetic. Also, Dwight is just no substitute for Gareth! I also vastly prefer Tim and Dawn to Jim and Pam. The last episode of the British series (the Christmas show) was soaringly triumphant. There was no place to go after that. I'm glad they ended it when they did. It's kind of sad that American TV feels the need to flog a dead horse. Gervais did everything he needed to do on "The Office" in twelve episodes (and one double length special). How many years has the American show been on now?

Whoa...

“I stand up for my right to be let alone.” - John Clifford "No man is an island, entire of itself every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls it tolls for thee." - John Donne

Yeah, but it's spelled "Hen3ry". Actually, it's spelled "Luxury-Yacht".

I'm reminded of the "Simpsons" episode where Homer and Bart are watching Kent Brockmann talking about football on TV. Brockmann states that the only cure for "Football Fever" is to take two tickets to the big game. A hushed announcer voice quickly reads the disclaimer: "Tickets not to be taken internally." Homer (to Bart): See? Because of me, they have a warning.

I got a good one today. Dear friend, i was seraching for a reputable christian who can help me distribute the funds i want to use to help the less priviledged before i got your contact. As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me because I believe everyone will die someday. My name is Mr.jerry moore,A member of the the United Nations. I have been diagnosed with Esophageal cancer which was discovered very late, due to my laxity in carrying for my health. I have decided to give alms to charity organizations, as I want this to be one of the last good deeds I do on earth. So far, I have distributed money to some charity organizations and destitute homes. Now that my health has deteriorated so badly, I cannot do this myself any more. I once asked members of my family to close one of my accounts and distribute the money which I have there to charity organizations around the globe and they refused and kept the money to themselves. Hence, I do not trust them anymore, as they seem not to be contended with what I have left for them. The last of my money which no one knows of is the huge cash deposit in consignment which I deposited in form of my personal valuables with a security company in Europe. I will want you to help me collect this deposit and dispatch it to charity organizations. your reward will get to you as soon as you secure the funds.you should contact me only on jerry_moore@switched.com for all further correspondence.God bless you. Mr.jerry moore Mr.jerry moore seems to suffer from a form of Esophageal cancer which causes one to have difficulty with correct capitalization and word choice. Fortunately, he believes that everyone will die one day. I wasn't aware that it was a matter of belief. If that's the case, I DON'T believe that everyone will die someday. That should cover me!

My aim is true... Happy Birthday!

If you surf around a bit, you can see that the photo is credited Courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration. Here's another taken at the same event: Yep, all italian newspapers obits remark that Heston supported civil liberties back then and later turned into a strong rep supporter up to NRA presidency. Not uncommon, actually. A lot of Reagan supporters in the early 1980s were former New Deal Democrats. Frank Sinatra among them.

Are you referring to Panic at the Disco? Their new album, "Pretty. Odd." is pretty darn good. Didn't see them on SNL though. "Nine in the Afternoon" is a fun song.

Then they may well have to make it on 100% internet sales, since I can't imagine any retailers agreeing to this. This would undermine traditional stores, and they might well decide to boycott the new imprint so that other publishers don't try it. There have been a handful of publishers that do print on demand, i.e. they don't have any physical stock laying around, but that's a very niche thing. Not only that, but they will seriously undermine their ability to put books on the bestseller lists, since the sales counted are not those at the register, but the wholesale sales to book retailers. And the reason retailers buy so many copies is that they can return the (many, many) unsold copies once the book has run its course.

Ah! A spring birthday! Very nice! Have a happy one! :party:

How'd he feel about the dog?

Tom Waits and Iggy Pop share some coffee and cigarettes Love this movie...

I remember when the Miles "Bitches Brew" box set came out. I got it from my dad as a Christmas/Birthday gift (still sealed). Turns out that it had a defective disc. I looked in the booklet, and there is a number and a message from Sony telling you to call them in the event of a defective disc. So I called and they offered to replace the disc after I had sent the original copy in (as I recall, they offered to replace the disc, not the entire set, btw). I didn't like the idea of being without the disc for the six to eight weeks they said it would take, so I called Barnes and Noble (this is before I worked there). Even though I didn't have a receipt, they offered to trade the defective box for a new one. So... You will probably get better service through the retailer, however the manufacturer should at least OFFER to fix the problem. I mean, all Concord had to do in this case was send you a freakin' *booklet*. You weren't asking for a whole new disc.

So I'm in my classroom, eating lunch, and listening to "Swordfishtrombones" by Tom Waits. "Frank's Wild Years" just came on. Just wanted to celebrate this wonderful song. Here are the lyrics, in full. Frank settled down in the Valley, and he hung his wild years on a nail that he drove through his wife's forehead. He sold used office furniture out there on San Fernando Road and assumed a $30,000 loan at 15 1/4 % and put a down payment on a little two bedroom place. His wife was a spent piece of used jet trash Made good bloody-marys, kept her mouth shut most of the time, had a little Chihuahua named Carlos that had some kind of skin disease and was totally blind. They had a thoroughly modern kitchen; self-cleaning oven (the whole bit) Frank drove a little sedan. They were so happy. One night Frank was on his way home from work, stopped at the liquor store, picked up a couple of Mickey's Big Mouth’s. Drank 'em in the car on his way to the Shell station; he got a gallon of gas in a can. Drove home, doused everything in the house, torched it. Parked across the street laughing, watching it burn, all Halloween orange and chimney red. Frank put on a top forty station, got on the Hollywood Freeway headed North. Never could stand that dog.

Steely Dan was a dildo. A milk squirting dildo, to be exact!

Yep. Amazing. My favorite of his books by far.

Hey, "Appetite for Destruction" is a pretty great album. It was a breath of fresh air in the stale atmosphere of '80s hair metal. I never got either volume of "Use Your Illusion," though.

This is one I would like to see...

My prediction is that China will actually BECOME a democracy before Axel releases "Chinese Democracy."

Today is also the 97th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. 146 dead in thirty minutes. The largest loss of life in a New York City workplace up until 9/11/2001.

I know. The guy rubs me the wrong way, what can I say? I ignore his posts most of the time, but when he makes up a big part of a thread (like this one) I just can't look away. It's like a car wreck on the side of the road. His annoying hipster "look-at-me-I'm-so-cool-because-listen-to-XYZ" schtick pisses me off. Can't explain why.