Month: June 2010

Saturday Matinee – Laurie, Suzanne & Joanne

The always odd Laurie Anderson can’t pronounce the Espaniel worth a Me Air Duh, but she’s entertaining in her own way.

I was gonna segue into Suzanne Vega, but I forgot how depressing her songs were. So then I looked for Suzy Bogguss, and remembered that I’d already covered her on an earlier Saturday Matinee Post.

So I’m thinking of Suzanne songs and decided to  go with Michael Nesmith’s “Joanne”  because it rhymes. But there are no decent vids on the Utoobage that do justice for the ex-Monkee’s greatest hit, except for this:

Meanwhile, here’s Joanne’s greatest hit. Have a great weekend folks.

The .Gif Friday Post No.131 – Mocking, Rocking and Rolling

Mars Orbiter. Might have to click on the image to view the coolness.

[Found here, here and here.]

Yep. You guessed it.

The new Batman Trailer is out.

[Found in here.]

It’s Always Something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V6hrd8fbqQ&feature=player_embedded

So there you are minding your own business at the bottom of the ocean, when some pufferhead stumbles by and completely blows your cover. It’s enough to piss you off.

Well, what can you do? You’re just a kickass bitchin’ mussel-eatin’ limb-regeneratin’ starfish, with no eyes, no ears and no brain, and you crap through your feet. Yeah, run away while I’m talking to you, woosfish. Face it, you can’t even gripe about it because you don’t even have a Facebook account.

Loser.

[Video found here. Crossposted here.]

Kudos to Stephan Pastis.

“Pearls Before Swine” is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephen Pastis. It first caught my attention in the Orange County Register Sunday Funnies, with a hilarious logo showing the main characters, Pig, Rat, Zebra and Goat as the Ramones. I’ve been following it ever since.

IMO, it’s not laugh out loud stuff (sorry Stephan) but some of it is very clever. When the strip began foundering, Pastis introduced a new group of characters to the mix: crocodiles.

The bumbling crocs speak in broken English, and spend all their time trying to dupe the smarter Zebra into letting them eat him. Pastis was way too subtle for me, until I spotted a not-so-subtle commentary in Pastis’ new storyline:

I don’t think I need to point out the symbolism here. On Monday 7 June 2010, Pastis continues:

Pastis deserves commendations for his subterfuge. Now, Stephen, about that elephant…

Vote Like You’ve Never Voted Before.

Tuesday, 8 June 2010, is California’s Primary election. For those of you on the west coast, the ballot initiatives are probably the most important of the mess.

As for me, I’m voting NO on every initiative except for Prop 13. It’s a good measure, and has no opposition. Owners of existing buildings should not be penalized by property tax reassessment for seismic retrofitting.

As for the candidates, Meg Whitman gets my vote for Republican nominee for governator, and conservative Chuck Devore deserves to  go to the U.S. Senate. The other candidates for other seats don’t matter much.

Now, Steve Rocco is another story. I’m tempted to vote for him just for the hell of it because he pissed so many people off. Here’s a guy who was elected to the board of the Orange Unified School District without even campaigning. He beat out the other contenders with a pair of nothing, and once elected, it took weeks for the OUSD to find out who and where he was. He’s a bizarre dark stocking cap with black sunglasses who’s full of conspiracy theories, and was arrested for supposedly stealing a half-empty bottle of catsup from an OUSD cafeteria. Now he’s running for Public Administrator.

Sounds like a great candidate. Write in Bunk Strutts instead.

Show Us Your War Face

afa-maori-warrior-cover
[Image and quote from here.]

That’s Maori Priest Irrarangi Tiakiawa, keeper of secret Maori martial arts techniques, including death strokes:

“I think this (death point striking) art should die. It is too evil for today’s society. I once witnessed my grandfather having an argument with another man and the other man was in the wrong, so my grandfather just got up and struck him with one finger to one point and the man died… “

The interview is interesting, and includes what to do if confronted by a Maori showing his war face:

1. Stand still. If you run you’re gonna get hurt.
2. The warrior will likely throw something down in front of you. If you don’t pick it up and hand it back to him you’re gonna get hurt.
3. Don’t fight. If you do you’re gonna get killed.

Fortunately, you’re unlikely to encounter a Maori warrior unless you’re in New Zealand, but now you know how to react without bleeding– much.

[Crossposted here a while back.]

D-Day – 6 June 1944

Pure balls, guts and subterfuge displaced the Nazis, saved Europe and brought down the Reichstadt.  Here’s to those who fought to the death for freedom.

[Related posts here and here.]

Saturday Matinee – American Dialects, W.C. Clark & the Fabulous Thunderbirds

American regional dialects are curious, and when I hear one I haven’t heard in a while I try to identify where the speaker grew up. If you listen closely, you can hear the ancestral accents and phrasing as well: English to the north, Scottish and Irish to the south. As for me, I have no accent, but Mrs. Strutts says I do… I sound a lot like central Ohio mixed with some faint Texan stuff. (Here’s a simple online test if you’re curious what accent mix you have.)

W.C. Clark backed by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and featuring Angela Strehli is an awesome mix of Texas blues. Never heard of W.C. Clark? Try this:

Yep, that’s Stevie Ray Vaughan with W.C. Clark. Next question?

The .Gif Friday Post No. 130 – Golfball, Catlap, Blamegame

[Found here, here and here.]