'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
By Baron Dave Romm
Marscon 2006 in Bloomington, MN had featured a major Dementia Music track. I knew many of the musicians from previous Marscons, and made some new friends.
The Hot Waffles are two brothers, conveniently name Chris and Tim Waffle (on bass and banjo/guitar, respectively), who have been performing humorous music for many years now. I'd never met them; indeed, I'd never heard their music except for their cut on Laughter Is A Powerful Weapon Vol. 2. This situation has now been rectified.
Ready To Laugh? We Don't Care is their most recent CD, from 2005. The CD's most common theme is the inability to get laid, so I commiserate. Bass is a solo lament about the lack of respect bass players get (except Gene Simmons). The End is a plea for groupies during these troubled times. Of course, they're kind of choosey, telling a girl she's Too Skinny and working on The Breakup speech. GTA: Vice City Blues is an interesting song from the POV of the first-person shooter in the video game Grand Theft Auto. Christmas When You're Goth is a sad, dark song with sleigh-bells. Ooh, those young whippersnappers: George Lucas Raped Our Childhood is about how the Special Editions of the first trilogy pisses off the kids who grew up on the originals.
Will Rock For Food, from 2004, also ends with The End, so it must have worked. This is a live version. When Metal Owned The Strip is a hard-rocking nostalgia tour of heavy metal power ballads that brought girls to their knees. Drunken Shaolin reveals the origin of the Drunken Style of ancient fighting. El Niño gives weather its due. The Nerds Who Rule The World is about the kids who couldn't who couldn't get dates who became dot com millionaires. This is their contribution to Technobabble, which I'll get to in a moment.
I don't think Hot Waffles has hit its stride yet. Ready To Laugh is better than their earlier material, much of which is worthy, and isn't as good as they can be, if I may be allowed to predict these things. Someday... someday!... they will create a metal/goth fusion using a banjo, come to terms with George Lucas and other nerds, and get laid. When they do, watch out. Recommended, to keep an eye on them.
Technobabble is a compilation CD that just came out from Sudden Death. It's "a compilation CD of funny songs that celebrate technology in all its forms". Most of the ones and zeros are chuckling. The great Luke Ski contributed his doo-wop paean I Love You TiVo while Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club rap about the Robot Cat ("It slices, it dices, it catches the mices"). Everyone who uses a computer at work will appreciate The Gates, by Da Vinci's Notebook; an a cappella update of the traditional tune The Fox. Grizzled nerds from the mainframe era and Gen-Y Gamers with only one piercing can sit down and listen to songs about MySpace or the Atari 2600 or Konami Code III, or simply share your pain while Reinstalling Windows. Technobabble is recommended for nerds and proto-nerds alike. The only thing it needs to be better is some Shockwave Radio Theater material...
Shockwave Radio Theater is represented on Laughter Is A Powerful Weapon Vol. 2, the charity CD for Katrina relief. At Marscon, I finally picked up the original Laughter Is A Powerful Weapon: Funny Musicians For A Serious Cause, the September 11 Charity CD from 2001. Like Vol. 2, the subject matter and quality ranges up and down and reaction to any one song will vary by taste. Still, you'll find something to laugh at. Jamie Anderson hits the right feline note with When Cats Take Over The World. Grant Livingston takes Albert Einstein on the road with Gypsy Rose in the Country & Western Gasoline Angels. Hot Waffles describes his obsession with building The House Made Out Of Underpants. Kornflake describes her obsession with Toenails and other things you have. Her live recording features Dan Hart on guitar, a former psychologist who contributes Understanding Blues, sort of the flip side to Christine Lavin's Sensitive New Age Guy. From the introduction by Dr. Demento to the songs not found in other collections, it's worthwhile over and above the donation to the victims of 9/11.
A word about The Gothsicles. I'm not really a fan of mosh pit music so didn't pick up their CD. But I've got to give props to the video that accompanies their live performance. Computer-generated video, lovingly crafted by geeks with too much time on their hands. Watching the images as they flash by helps those of us who can't really catch the lyrics as they get screamed. If you like this kind of music, go for The Gothsicles. If not, see if you can catch one of their concerts. You might acquire the taste.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. To receive the show as podcasts go to Shockwave Radio Theater Podcast or paste the following string in your podcast software: http://www.romm.org/podcast . All podcasts also on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air. --////
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Chris Durang: Bush Gets New Speechwriter (huffingtonpost.com)
"My fellow Americans. I am not an idiot. I am not incompetent. I am not stupid. I don't believe in polls, but if I did, apparently 48% of you on this Pew poll think I'm incompetent, an idiot or stupid. Harriet Miers calls the Pew poll the P-U poll, and I agree with her."
Will Durst: Don't Impeach; Impale
Impeachment just isn't proper punishment for the evil, cowardly, imperialistic slime buckets of the Bush administration.
Interview by Rebecca Phillip: The Spell-Breaker (beliefnet.com)
Daniel Dennett on why faith should be investigated scientifically, and why he's coming out of the closet as a nonbeliever.
Interview by Laura Sheahen: The Problem with God: Interview with Richard Dawkins (beliefnet.com)
The renowned biologist talks about intelligent design, dishonest Christians, and why God is no better than an imaginary friend.
Scot McKnight: The Bible Verses Jesus Loved (beliefnet.com)
Praying with Jesus means using the psalms: his entire life was bathed with psalms.
Emily Morse: Sex With Emily: Carol Queen Opens Up (AlterNet.org)
Dr. Carol Queen discusses 'pomosexuality,' sex toys and trends, and why everyone should know how to float their own boat.
Haven Herrin: Why I chose to be arrested (Advocate.com)
The codirector of the Equality Ride writes about her decision to be handcuffed and booked at the ride's second stop: "I chose to walk onto campus to tell gay and lesbian students at Regent University that the God of their faith does indeed claim them, even if their church does not."
Sharon Hadrian: Playing Straight: The Final Frontier for Lesbian Actresses (afterellen.com)
When Anne Heche went public with her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in 1997, she almost lost the leading-lady role she had just landed opposite Harrison Ford in the romantic comedy Six Days, Seven Nights. "To be honest, we did talk about [Anne's relationship with Ellen]", Six Days producer Roger Birnbaum admitted to The Advocate in 1998. "But we talked about it for a second and then said, `Who cares?'"
Michael Jensen: Thumbs Down: Roger Ebert Takes on the Brokeback Mountain Controversy (afterelton.com)
Pulitzer-prize wining columnist Roger Ebert has long been one of America's preeminent film critics. He was also one of the few who predicted Crash would beat Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Because of this, and because of Ebert's subsequent column entitled "The Fury of the Crash Lash" (in which he criticized those angered by the upset), Ebert soon found himself at the center of a firestorm.
Contribute, if you can, to Joe Liebermann's primary opponent, Ned Lamont
JD Reviews
'V for Vendetta'
V for Vendetta (2005) [view trailer]
Directed by James McTeigue
Hubert's Poetry Corner
COW CHIPS IN W'S PUNCH BOWL
DON'T DRINK W'S KOOL-AID - OR HIS PUNCH!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny with a nice breeze.
No new flags.
Faux Sunday Night
Renewals
Fox has ordered two more seasons of "The Simpsons," its 18th and 19th, and one more of "King of the Hill," the show's 11th.
The two-year renewal for "The Simpsons," the longest-running entertainment primetime series on the air, guarantees it will be on the air at least through the 2007-08 season, during which the show will hit its 400th episode.
The show's principal voice cast, which includes Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria, who threatened to go strike a few years ago until they got better deals, are all said to be locked in for the duration of the new pact.
After a two-month hiatus, production on "King of the Hill" recently resumed, after new deals were sealed with principal behind-the-scenes talent, including showrunners/executive producers John Altschuler and David Krinsky and co-creator/executive producer/voice actor Mike Judge.
Renewals
Caracas Installation
Spencer Tunick
More than 1,500 people gathered around a statue of 19th century liberation hero Simon Bolivar on Sunday and posed nude for a U.S. artist famous for his photos of naked crowds in public spaces.
Spencer Tunick organized the Caracas photo shoot along downtown Avenida Bolivar, a frequent spot for political rallies by supporters of President Hugo Chavez.
Surrounded by dozens of reporters and onlookers, the participants cracked jokes, shouted cheers for Tunick and struck poses for the press.
Spencer Tunick
Impeachment Efforts
Vermont
Known for picturesque autumn foliage, colonial inns, maple sugar and laid-back villages, Vermont seldom makes much of an impact in national political debate.
But in one week, resolutions approved by five towns to impeach resident George W. Bush are giving several sleepy Vermont communities a new, renegade image.
"We've been let down by our politicians, by the media, so we really have to take things into our own hands," said Dan DeWalt, a 49-year-old woodworker and part-time teacher who drafted the impeachment call.
Vermont
German Court Rules It's Work
Office Parties
Employees at office parties are considered to be at work until the boss leaves, a German court ruled in the case of an employee seeking damages for a head injury sustained at a company Christmas celebration.
The case came before the social affairs court in Frankfurt after an insurance company refused to pay disability to a man who suffered severe skull damage after slipping on the steps of a restaurant at his office Christmas party.
The court ruled the company's accident insurance would have to pay disability to the man because he was technically still at work, the court said in a statement on Thursday.
Office Parties
Getting Hometown Statue
Shakira
Shakira, the queen of Latin American pop music, is to be immortalized with a 5-meter (16-foot) iron statue in her home city on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
The statue was designed by German sculptor Dieter Patt, who decided to make the likeness of Shakira after meeting the singer during her world tour.
The sculpture, which took more than a year to complete, weighs about 5 tons - roughly 95 times as much as the diminutive singer. It will arrive Sunday in Barranquilla, 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of Colombia's capital.
Shakira
Charges Guests By The Kilo
German Hotel
In the German town of Norden, close to the Dutch border, guests now have to step onto the scales before moving into their rooms and fork out half a euro (35 pence) per kilogram (2.2 lbs).
"I had many guests who were really huge and I told them to slim down," said Juergen Heckrodt, owner of the three-star establishment. "When they came back the year after and had lost a lot of weight they asked me what are you gonna do for me now?"
Larger customers may be reassured that the hotel turns no one away who refuses to step on the scales and charges no guest more than 39 euros, the normal single room price.
German Hotel
Up for Sale on eBay, Again
Bridgeville
The first town ever auctioned on eBay soon will be back up for sale on the online auction site.
Nearly two years after he bought the tiny town of Bridgeville, Orange County financial adviser Bruce Krall said Friday he plans to re-auction the Humboldt County hamlet on eBay next month.
Krall said the auction will open April 4 with a minimum bid of $1.75 million - more than twice what he paid for the 83-acre property about 40 miles southwest of Eureka.
Bridgeville
Ban Extended on Sex Video Release
Kid Rock
Lawyers for Kid Rock and a California company have reached a tentative agreement to extend a judge's order blocking the release of an explicit sex video featuring the rap-rocker, former Creed singer Scott Stapp and four women.
Under the agreement, the temporary injunction would remain in effect without the necessity of another court hearing, according to William Horton, a lawyer for Rock who spoke to The Detroit News.
Paperwork to permanently block the release of the tape is expected to be filed early next week, the newspaper said.
Kid Rock
Better Homes & Gardening
Pot Paintings
Having marijuana in your house is illegal, but having marijuana images on your house is not, according to town officials.
Five months after Christopher Seekins was arrested and charged with cultivating marijuana in his home, neighbors have complained about the giant marijuana leaves he has spray-painted on the outside of his home on High Street.
Town officials said the marijuana paintings apparently do not conflict with local laws.
Pot Paintings
Red Square Dog Sled
Nicolas Vanier
French adventurer Nicolas Vanier drove his team of dogs on to Moscow's Red Square on Sunday at the end of an 8,000-km (5,000-mile) odyssey through the world's biggest country.
He said the hardest part was not the freezing Siberian wilderness, but early spring weather in the last few days, which melted the snow and forced him to fit wheels to his sled to reach Moscow.
The goal of the four-month journey was to highlight the fragility of the environment, Vanier said. He was accompanied on the trip by a support team and camera crew on snowmobiles.
Nicolas Vanier
Leads Austrian Cops on Chase
Kangaroo
A kangaroo led police in southern Austria on a snow chase Thursday after it jumped the fence of its cage and decided to explore its wintry surroundings.
The marsupial - discovered on a country road about 3 miles outside the town of St. Veit in the province of Carinthia - kept hopping away from perplexed police trying to rein it in, local police officer Joerg Fortin said.
In the end, a local veterinarian helped capture the animal using a stun gun.
Kangaroo
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