Baron Dave Romm
Marscon CDs 1
By Baron Dave Romm
Friend
me on Facebook
Mention Bartcop-E in the Friend
Request
Pre-review essay on digital technology
The speed and ease of file sharing and downloading music has created an opportunity and a headache for musicians. On one hand, a great video can go viral and you can be instantly known to millions. Even if you're not at Susan Boyle's level, your fame and some of your music can be known to a very wide range of people all over the world. The downside is: You don't get paid for any of this. Musicians get paid for performing and selling music. If you're lucky, you get some bucks as a song writer, but that's even farther down the food chain. In many respects, the music scene today is similar to the Tin Pan Alley days:
A new breed of popular music publishers were established in New York in the 1890s. These publishers were, essentially, salesmen who didn't sit in their offices waiting for performers to come to them, but went out to the entertainment palaces and badgered not only the singers but also the orchestra leaders, dances, and comedians to use their numbers. This act developed into the profession of song-plugging. They hustled themselves, as well as their hired singers and whistlers into the finest theaters and lowest dives. After a few years on creation, Tin Pan Alley published its first song in 1892, "After The Ball" by Charles Harris, selling six million copies of sheet music!
This sale of millions of copies marked a significant development in the publishing industry and in the way music was being presently to the public. Music publishers were surprised to learn that popular tunes were being sold to individuals with the hopes of playing the songs at home. Up to that point, sheet music was almost exclusively sold to professional performers. Beginning around 1910, Tin Pan Alley found a great resource in sheet music, resulting in the sales of millions of copies. Not only was the Music Chart created (A tracking system of the country's most popular songs), but the sale of sheet music put enormous resources (cash) into Tin Pan Alley. Music publishing companies skyrocketed and, as Johnny Mercer once recalled, "those composers all whistle a happy tune on the way to the bank, because America was whistling their some tune!"
American Popular Music had arrived!
Sheet music could be copied and passed hand-to-hand. It usually wasn't, but it could be shared, and the artist had no control over how many different people played (or heard) their song from a single sale.
For around seventy-five years, depending on when you want make the cutoffs, this wasn't the economic model for musicians. Starting roughly at the rise of radio in the early 1920s through the rise of file sharing in the 1990s, if you weren't at a performance you were either listening on the radio or listening to an album. Various recording devices were available from the 40s on, reaching popularity with cassettes in the late 70s, but each duplication lost some sound quality. Eventually, starting with the LP in the 50s, the vinyl album (replacing the "album" that was a set of 78s in sleeves) meant that you could purchase a recording, and if you wanted one song you had to get the whole thing. The advantage for the listener was that the songs could be much longer than on 45s, and if you liked the musician (or at least a lot of the songs on the album) it was far cheaper (and easier to play) than buying a bunch of individual songs.
Digital files are like Tin Pan Alley today: You sell a CD or a download, and the artist has no control over who listens or what happens to that file. Like Tin Pan Alley, today's digital musicians depend on making their music cheaper to buy (in terms of time and effort) than to copy.
Anyone can be well-known. It's somewhat harder to be well-known without being hated, and it's even harder to translate some degree of fame into some degree of commercial success.
Both the CDs I'm going to review today have been affected by the digital revolution, but in different ways.
The FuMP is like the Tin Pan Alley publishers: A central clearing house where selected songs can be presented and sold. In order to keep interest up, new material must be generated on a weekly basis. While there is no limit to the number of people who want to share their music, there's no limit to the number of good musicians who's work actually deserves to be heard by a wider audience. The great Luke Ski and others have to continuously produce new music, just to keep their names in the public ear and to generate support for their live performances.
Two dynamics are working in tandem: On one hand, a successful musician must keep their fans happy with new music fairly regularly. On the other hand, they have to have something to sell.
The great
Luke Ski is a brilliant singer/songwriter who has the
disadvantage of being on the scene two decades after Weird Al and
MTV. He has to feed the insatiable hunger of his on-line fans, those
short-attention span consumers who want it NOW and will forget to buy
it later. He also has to earn a living, and the best way, short of a
Top-40 hit or filling Yankee Stadium, is to sell CDs and/or
downloads. Downloading a digital file is cheaper for the artist and
allows a great deal of control by the buy, but doesn't kowtow to us
audio snobs who want the highest sound resolution as well as the
album artwork. What that means for many of us is that when we get
his latest CD, it's likely to have songs we've heard. Further, he's
likely to have written even more songs in the ensuing
hours months and wants to promote the new
stuff.
In order to make the CD experience more like an immediate in-person experience, and to give people nearly 80 minutes of value, Luke includes extras, such as "live" reports from conventions.
I can live with that. Playing "a brand new song" on the radio has a certain cache, but I'm into it for the music. I was more than happy to play off the latest CD on Shockwave Radio, but I also played favorites from any time period. One of the reasons Marscon is such a good crowd for Dementia Music is because I would play cuts I liked, not just commercial promotions
Because of his convention and concert schedule, Luke's concert at Convergence is usually the last one before a CD gets released, and when I actually pick up the CD at Marscon, Luke is nine months into new material. Again, I can live with that, but it does create a bit of a time displacement. It's like watching a tv show with the Closed Captioning on, and the CC is very slow, so I'm reading what was said and listening to dialog from seconds ago. Well, okay, it's only like that sometimes. Note to self: Live in the moment.
Meanwhile, Cirque Du So What? is, at the moment, mainly a studio group. They perform when they get together, but mostly produce their material from vast distances from each other. They, like other comedy groups before them, have to bring in the audience not just with their comedy, but with bits of banter and get-to-know-them interstitials that are mainly of interest to fans. Which should be you, but might not be yet.
Too Much Stuff
The great
Luke Ski in concert at Marscon, March 6, 2010CE
Too Much Stuff, the latest CD from the great Luke Ski is another strong entry from the comedy musician. Here, he reaches out to his ever-growing Dementia Music compatriots for vocals and music. Partially because of his guests and partially because of his wide range of musical influences, Luke's albums are always a little different from each other yet always uniquely from the great Luke Ski. From the Wisconsin "Luke Ski" license plate on the cover to the artwork on the back, drawn by Luke, you enter his world of pop culture, science fiction references, historical reminders and rap about all his stuff piling up.
The title song is also the first cut. Unlike his parody work, this is an original hip-hop song. Yet as always, tgLS is conscious of his place as part of a long line of comics and funny musicians. From Too Much Stuff:
I've saved everything that I've ever owned, and in my homeParodies are still the heart of Dementia Music, but more and more original songs crop up, often using the lyrics to establish the pop culture references. My Favorite Part
I have to move big piles around just to answer the phone.
So because I never throw anything away,
my life has become a George Carlin cliché!
Chorus 1:
I got TOO MUCH STUFF! I fail at file.
I got TOO MUCH STUFF! And I have for a while.
I say I don't have the time, but now you're calling my bluff,
Cleaning up is a pain when you got TOO MUCH STUFF!
You set my life's tempo, like when on "Wayne's World"The great Luke Ski doesn't just sing songs, he lives them. The music is by Tom Smith, but the words are Luke Ski's. In the middle of singing My Favorite Part, he proposed to his girlfriend. (She said yes.)
Garth Algar rocks out on his tom-toms. [Wayne & Garth: Schwing!]
And on Sesame Street, if I was Cookie Monster,
I'd eat you up, all like 'om-nom-nom'! [Cookie Monster: Om-nom-nom-nom-nom!]
You pulled me out of a trench, when some taunter who's French,
At my life catapulted a cow. [French Taunter: Your mother was a hamster!]
But like John Astin said, guest starring on Night Court,
"...But I'm feeling much better now."
You're my own Rosebud sled, Please be my Bill & Ted,
I'll be your Napoleon Bonaparte. [Bill & Ted: Excellent!]
In the film franchise that is my life,
You're my favorite part.
The great Luke
Ski proposing to Sara Trice during "My Favorite Part"
Convergence,
July 4, 2009CE
Originals range from a local hit, We're Going To The Dells (The Wisconsin Dells), a rap song for cheeseheads; God Bless Stephen Colbert, about the tv parody-pundit who tells the truth; to Jello Shots, about Tom Lehrer's army days (really).
Parodies and reprises include a nice retrospective of horror movies in Gory Gory Hallelujah; Tom Smith and Luke Ski channel the Circle of Death in Cthulhu Fthagan; and he digs out an obscure Disney song, Vacuum Cleaner Hoses.
Too Much Stuff has about the right amount of stuff. Guest voices are recognizable to most of the Dementia Music crowd (or if you've been following the recommendations in my reviews). The lyrics are clever and the music is done very well. I can even listen to the rap songs. The interstitials less successful, but you might like them and you don't have to put them on your iPod. You can buy all of Too Much Stuff or individual cuts online or get the CD from the FuMP. Or get it from the Merch Table when he rolls into town.
I'll leave you with one the first Baron Dave Romm videos, from the great Luke Ski's concert at Marscon:
The Dada Slide, Marscon,
March 6, 2010CE
In case the embed doesn't work (and YouTube's been weird lately), here's the direct link to the above video: The Great Luke Ski - The Dada Slide.
Procrastinators of the Apocalypse
Cirque Du So What? comprises four veteran comedy musicians, who have long held sway on the Dr. Demento Show. And are a large part of my CD collection covering the last decade. Devo Spice, the great Luke Ski, =ShoEboX= of Worm Quartet and Chris Mezzolesta of Power Salad. These are names (and voices) which have permeated this column for years, and will continue to do so. Now, they do so together. Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Cirque Du So What?
l-r: Chris Mezzolesta, the
great Luke Ski, =ShoEbox=, Devo Spice
Marscon, March 7,
2010CE
Procrastinators of the Apocalypse is their first CD, which premiered at Marscon. No, I didn't get autographs. I can't open their promo video, but you might be able to.
Language warning: They say
bleep and bleep and occasionally
bleep. They're not as blue as Redd Foxx and
probably would get bleeped less often than The Daily Show. On the other
hand, when they use Language, it's usually to effect. I can pretty
much guarantee that A Fucking Room will never be played on the
radio... though it should be. In a true small-l-libertarian
paradise, you could play it on the radio... but I
digress.
Not everything on Procrastinators of the Apocalypse works. Still, it's more than an hour of material, and much of it is pretty funny. In addition to the sketch above, I especially enjoyed Mythbusters: The Cat Came Back, CSI: Dora and the sheer semi-randomness of Meanwhile....
They poke fun at everything from The Mob to The Bible to hardware stores. For their initial foray, they didn't use their Awesome Voiceover Talents much, but they do get into character. Unfortunately, they seem to have channeled too much of Monty Python's Gumby characters. Fortunately, they know how to do Gumbies well. And with tile.
When performers wanted to have bits between songs, they released a live album. Now, studio albums come with interstitials. Some of these are more fun than others, but generally work to bring the fan closer to the artist. Cirque seems to have made an art form of interstitials. Yet their humor is legion, and there are four (4) bonus tracks.
I found Procrastinators of the Apocalypse to be uneven, but I'm a tough audience for audio comedy. I found much chucklesome material, and am comfortable recommending the CD, especially if you like the music by the artists involved.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, 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. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. A nascent collection of videos are on Baron Dave's YouTube channel. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jonathan Chait: The Conservative Misinformation Feedback Loop, Cont'd (tnr.com)
[Jeffrey H.] Anderson used ellipses to remove the part of the quote that disproves his entire claim. He removed the part that says "other than physicians' services," and then wrote, "That's the physician pay cut." But it's not the physician pay cut.
Connie Schultz: A Presidential Order for Compassion (creators.com)
Only four days after Peter Taylor moved in with the man he loved, he was racing him to the closest emergency room. The following morning, his partner lay in a hospital bed and delivered the jarring news. "I'm HIV-positive," he told Peter. "This is an opportunity for you to leave." "Why would I do that?" Peter replied. "I'm here. I'm in love with you. And I'm staying." Thus began the nine months they had left.
Susan Estrich: A Quarterback's Bad Calls (creators.com)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a bad guy. He may not be a rapist, in the sense that it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had nonconsensual sex, but not being guilty of a crime doesn't mean you're innocent. In my book, this guy should pay.
Alison Flood: "Joe Hill: Sympathy for the devil" (guardian.co.uk)
The author of 'Horns,' about a man who thinks of the devil as the first superhero, has himself been harbouring a very dark secret: that he's Stephen King's son.
"Kissing the Mask: Beauty, Understatement and Femininity in Japanese Noh Theater: by William T. Vollmann: A review by Ellen Urbani
An interviewer once posed the following question to William T. Vollmann: "Continuing to adhere to a Tolstoyan vision of the novel -- its immensity, grandeur, complexity and size -- how have you been able to survive in the marketplace with an uncompromising vision completely outside of the mainstream?" Volmann's answer was uncharacteristically succinct: "When I write my books, I don't care about the marketplace."
FRED SIEGEL: The Anti-American Fallacy (commentarymagazine.com)
In 1928, D.H. Lawrence wrote a poem entitled "How Beastly the Bourgeois Is" in which he compared the middle class to a "fungus, living on the remains of a bygone life/sucking his life out of the dead leaves of greater life than his own."
Paul Constant: "Making art does become a war of attrition" (thestranger.com)
James Sturm on Teaching Cartooning, Cofounding 'The Stranger,' and How Comics Aren't Disposable Anymore.
RICHARD ROEPER: Fans will run, not walk, to buy Winfrey book (suntimes.com)
But volume of juicy tidbits are limited in Kelley's biography.
In praise of independent record stores (guardian.co.uk)
Independent Record Store Day ... celebrates these fast-disappearing bastions of alternative culture. Leading musicians say what their favourite record shops mean to them.
Carla Meyer: The Runaways? OK, but female rockers started with Fanny (McClatchy Newspapers)
The new film "The Runaways" touts that 1970s all-female band as rock 'n' roll forerunners. But Fanny had the Runaways beat by several years.
roger ebert's journal: Video games can never be art
Having once made the statement above, I have declined all opportunities to enlarge upon it or defend it.
Laura Barton: "The view from a broad: Sigourney Weaver speaks out against bosomism" (guardian.co.uk)
The 'Avatar' actor has claimed that James Cameron would have won the best director Oscar if he were a woman. Of course.
David Bruce, editor: Our Lives, Our Stories (lulu.com)
Download: FREE. New Book. Talented writers live in Athens, Ohio. This is a collection of some of their autobiographical essays.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Enemy of the State' Edition...
"The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen, the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them... officials say Mr. Awlaki is an operative of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the affiliate of the terror network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia...
It is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing, officials said..."
Confirmed: Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Do you approve or disapprove of such an action?
A.) Approve
B.) Disapprove
C.) This is nothing new, it's been going on for years...
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from RJ
The Ant With A Door For A Head
Now, this is odd!
Purple Gene Reviews
"Kick-Ass"
Purple Gene's review of "Kick Ass" (2010).
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
"Kick Ass" trailer
I had read a couple of glowing reviews of the new Super Heroes action movie "Kick-Ass" before I went to see it at the Grand Lake Theater on Sunday morning. Big Mistake …I think I read the wrong reviews….. I walked into a huge cliché….a geeky be speckled high school nerd (Aaron Johnson) who likes to read comics has a half hearted hope to become a caped super hero…..so he orders the green suit, mask (no boots) and gloves…tries it on for size and after trying a few super feats (like jumping tall buildings) and fails…he wanders into a parking lot where a guy is getting mugged by 3 thugs….Kick-Ass (as he now calls himself on his green chest) pulls out 2 sticks and valiantly tries to help the guy (a bunch of kids inside use their Iphones to record) meanwhile Kick-Ass is getting his ass kicked but manages to get the bad guys to go…bloodied and busted up he stumbles out into the street where he gets hit by a car……off to the emergency room.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Beautiful sunny day.
Good thing Baron Dave sends his column to multiple addys - 4 of them to be exact. It only showed up in one. Sigh.
Media Awards
GLAAD
"Glee" has another reason to be happy.
The Fox musical was among the winners at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards. The show's cast and creator Ryan Murphy accepted the trophy for outstanding comedy series at Saturday's ceremony. Other winners included "A Single Man" for outstanding film, actress Drew Barrymore for the Vanguard Award and comedian Wanda Sykes for the Stephen F. Kolzak Award.
The awards salute fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media. Other winners - chosen from 152 nominees in 32 categories - were awarded at a March ceremony in New York, while the remainder will be presented at a San Francisco ceremony in June.
GLAAD
Arrested At Demonstration
Danny Glover
US actor Danny Glover and 11 others were arrested Friday at a protest outside the US headquarters of French company Sodexo, which workers accuse of union-bashing and poor working conditions.
Glover was taken away in handcuffs along with the outgoing head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Andy Stern, former Sodexo canteen cashier Terry Shelley and several others, after crossing a police line outside the US offices of the food services firm.
The action brought together hourly-paid workers, students, and even union representatives from Britain and France who sought to show support for US workers like Shelley, who said she was fired after becoming active in a trade union.
The rally was the latest in a series of protests and civil disobedience actions across the United States against Sodexo, which workers and trade unions accuse of paying an unlivable wage and offering poor benefits.
Danny Glover
'Favourite Rock Song'
Led Zeppelin
It is supposedly banned in some guitar shops and has become the stuff of cliche, but Led Zeppelin track Stairway To Heaven has been named the UK's favourite rock song.
The song, first released in 1971, was one of three Led Zep tracks which made the top 10 in a poll by digital station Absolute Classic Rock.
The Who were named runners-up with Won't Get Fooled Again, with their track Baba O'Reilly also notching up sixth position.
Led Zep also made the Absolute Classic Rock listeners' top 10 with Whole Lotta Love at number four and Rock 'n' Roll at seven.
Led Zeppelin
NYC Exhibit
Helen Keller
"Cat, cat, cold, cold, doll, doll" were Helen Keller's first handwritten words, and they represent an important moment in the remarkable life of a woman who helped bring about meaningful change for the disabled by writing incessantly to state Legislatures, Congress and presidents.
Written on a single page in a neat handwriting, the words are the first document to greet visitors at a new exhibition, "Helen Keller: A Daring Adventure," opening May 7 at the midtown Manhattan headquarters of the American Foundation for the Blind.
Elsewhere in the exhibit, a photograph shows a blind salesman operating a newsstand with an accompanying letter from Keller to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that says, "Work is the only way for the blind to forget the dark, and the obstacles in their path."
The foundation is letting the public see some of its vast Helen Keller holdings as part of a fundraising effort to digitize the archival collection totaling 80,000 letters, photographs, books and artifacts bequeathed by Keller, who worked for the foundation for 44 years.
Helen Keller
New Japanese Friend
Thomas The Tank Engine
The popular pre-school TV show featuring a cast of talking steam trains headed by tank engine Thomas celebrates 65 years in the life of the character with a new engine from Japan and a new computer-generated look.
The new Thomas series launched on Britain's Channel 5 early this year will roll out globally to Canada, Tokyo and the United States later this year, its makers Hit Entertainment told AFP at the four-day MIPTV audiovisual industry trade fair taking place on the French Riviera.
In a novel move for Thomas, computer-generated imagery sees the old-time steam engines and road vehicles themselves recounting their adventures on the island of Sodor, rather than using a narrator, the most famous having been Beatle Ringo Starr.
New characters include Hiro, a wise, dignified, friendly engine from Japan that should appeal to the show's huge fan base in the Asia Pacific region.
Thomas The Tank Engine
Hospital News
Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels is recovering from his emergency appendectomy at a private care facility for diabetics.
A statement posted on the 47-year-old rocker's Web site says Monday's surgery went well. It says doctors are optimistic that Michaels, the former frontman for '80s hair band Poison, will make a full recovery.
The statement says "the fact that he was exhausted due to his rigorous schedule prior to the surgery and coupled with the fact that he has diabetes, the surgery has taken its toll."
Michaels had been scheduled to perform in San Antonio on Sunday night. He had been suffering severe stomach pains all day and was urged to seek medical treatment.
Bret Michaels
Wins Legal Costs
Natalie Maines
A federal judge says the stepfather of one of three Arkansas boys slain in 1993 must pay Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines' legal costs stemming from a defamation lawsuit he filed against the band.
District Judge Brian S. Miller ordered Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, to pay $17,590 to Natalie Pasdar, Maines' married name. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the ruling Saturday.
In December, Miller dismissed a suit Hobbs filed over Maines' remarks at a 2007 Little Rock rally implying he was involved in killing his stepson. The judge said Hobbs had voluntarily injected himself into a public controversy over whether three teenagers convicted of killing the three 8-year-old boys had been wrongfully condemned.
Natalie Maines
Stars in TV Commercial
Saudi Prince
The appearance of a young Saudi prince, a grandson of the king, in a television commercial may have raised eyebrows in his country, but it shows Saudi Arabia's royal family is slowly changing.
Prince Abdullah bin Meteb's lead role in an advert for Saudi Arabia's second-biggest mobile phone operator Etihad Etisalat
(Mobily), has sparked a debate among diplomats and Saudis alike on what it could mean for the absolute monarchy, which has always been secretive about its internal affairs.
The advert starring Prince Abdullah, a professional rider, and his sponsorship deal with Mobily, exposes discreet changes that have been affecting the Saudi royal family in recent years as it becomes ever larger and younger, said a Saudi analyst who is familiar with some royals.
Saudi Prince
Federal Indictments
Blackwater
The former president of Blackwater Worldwide was charged Friday with using straw purchases to stockpile automatic weapons at the security firm and filing false documents to cover up gifts given to the King of Jordan.
Gary Jackson, 52, who left the company last year in a management shakeup, was charged along with four other former workers, according to the federal indictment.
Blackwater has been trying to rehabilitate its image since a 2007 shooting in Baghdad left 17 people dead, outraged the Iraqi government and led to a federal charges against several Blackwater guards - accusations later thrown out of court after a judge found prosecutors mishandled evidence. Around the time that Jackson left the company, Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services.
The charges against Jackson include a conspiracy to violate firearms laws, false statements, possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm. Also indicted were former Blackwater general counsel Andrew Howell, 44; former executive vice president Bill Mathews, 44; former procurement vice president Ana Bundy, 45; and, 65-year-old Ronald Slezak, a former weapons manager.
Blackwater
Historic Auction
Jewels
An emerald brooch owned by Catherine the Great of Russia and a diamond ring that once belonged to former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos are headlining a jewelry sale Thursday that Christie's expects will attract strong Asian buyer interest.
Both pieces have not been seen in public for decades and are estimated to sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million at the auction of 300 pieces of jewelry. The total sale could reap more than $25 million, Christie's said.
The 39.5 carat Emperor Maximilian Diamond ring was bought by Marcos, wife of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in 1983 -- three years before her husband was ousted from power through a popular revolt.
The stone was originally bought by Archduke Maximilian in 1860 shortly before he was named the Emperor of Mexico. But when he was captured and court-martialed by opposition forces, "legend holds that Maximilian was wearing the (diamond) in a small satchel tied around his neck when he was executed," Christie's said.
Jewels
Household Hazards
Cats and Dogs
Dogs and cats are a lurking household danger, according to a new report showing the pets cause all kinds of injuries related to falls. The pet trips - estimated at more than 80,000 a year - occurred while people were chasing after them, stepping over them, breaking up a Fido fight, and other scenarios.
Dogs are the biggest hazard. Those injured noted various circumstances for their injuries, including: "tripped while crossing the street with their dog," "fainted while training her dog," and "walking dog and fell up steps," among other circumstances.
The results come from a nationally representative sample of emergency department visits to about 60 hospitals from Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2006, finding some 7,456 records were linked to pet-related falls.
Even though cats are known to follow at your heels, or right beneath your feet, dogs were involved in nearly 7.5 times as many injuries as cats.
Cats and Dogs
Top 10
U.S. Halls of Fame
While Halls of Fame that honor sports heroes and rock and roll idols generally receive the most attention, they're not the only facilities that laud those that are at the top of their field.
Travel website VirtualTourist.com has put together this list of 10 unusual Halls of Fame in the United States that cover a gamut of hobbies and professions.
1. Roller Derby Hall of Fame; Brooklyn, New York
2. Buckaroo Hall of Fame; Winnemucca, Nevada
3. Croquet Hall of Fame; West Palm Beach, Florida
For the rest: U.S. Halls of Fame
Weekend Box Office
"How to Train Your Dragon"
It's another photo finish at the weekend box office, with the No. 1 spot too close to call between the animated adventure "How to Train Your Dragon" and the superhero comedy "Kick-Ass."
Distributor Paramount reported Sunday that DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" took in $20 million, while "Kick-Ass" distributor Lionsgate reported its movie debuting at $19.75 million.
The No. 3 spot also was close, with "Date Night" at $17.3 million and Sony's comedy "Death at a Funeral" debuting just behind at $17 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "How to Train Your Dragon," $20 million.
2. "Kick-Ass," $19.75 million.
3. "Date Night," $17.3 million.
4. "Death at a Funeral," $17 million.
5. "Clash of the Titans," $15.8 million.
6. "The Last Song," $5.8 million.
7. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?", $4.2 million.
8. "Hot Tub Time Machine," $3.55 million.
9. "Alice in Wonderland," $3.54 million.
10. "The Bounty Hunter," $3.2 million.
"How to Train Your Dragon"
In Memory
Dede Allen
Dede Allen, the film editor whose pioneering work on movies like "The Hustler" and "Bonnie and Clyde" brought a new approach to shaping the look and sound of American movies, has died. She was 86.
Her son Tom Fleischman tells the Los Angeles Times Allen died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles days after suffering a stroke.
With "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967, Allen became the first film editor to receive sole credit on a movie. She was nominated for Oscars for that movie, as well as "Dog Day Afternoon," "Reds" and "Wonder Boys."
Allen was the first to embrace European methods of editing by beginning sequences with close-ups or jump cuts and using the sound from the next shot while the previous scene was still playing.
Dede Allen
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
