soundboard de cheevo

... Ann Coulter defended herself, on Chris Matthews' "Hardball , "for making fun of Elizabeth and John Edward's child, killed in a car accident, she could not be reached for comment. Has Coulter been hired by the Democrats to make Republicans look bad? Guess what, it's working. How can anyone take seriously a political voice who cannot rise above calling women she opposes "chubby" and men "faggots." What demographic is this maniac actually serving? (Elizabeth Edwards' smackdown on Mattel's Nazi Barbie is here. )

Many years ago when Bush Daddy was president, I was in a band that will reunite in two weeks for a show in our old stopping grounds of Montevallo, Ala. See a recent Every Alice video taken at practice here on youtube. Recent practice photos taken by Brooks and Eric are here on Flickr.

"What should we get Dad for Father's Day?" my sister asked weeks ago. I rolled my eyes, as that is one of the holidays that I can never find any creativity for. We reluctantly agreed on an Amazon gift certificate, another Amazon gift certificate. That has become the modern day tie of Father's Day gifts in our family, so I put my thinking cap on and don't feel bad about congratulating myself a little on a smart idea. Mom and Dad live in Montana where no real barbecue exists (at least none we have been able to find). What Montanans refer to as 'barbecue' is actually just meat, like hotdogs or hamburgers, cooked on a grill. Real barbeque is pork, beef or chicken cooked slowly over real charcoal and/or wood and served with tangy sauce. We might have some incredibly stupid politicians in this state, but we have damn good food. I remember hearing years ago that Dreamland Barbeque , originally opened in Tuscaloosa, Ala. in 1958, delivered ribs anywhere in the co...

Low at Bottletree, June 18, 2007 Alan Sparhawk of Low Mimi Parker of Low Bottletree strikes again. A year into business and the venue continues to bring the most diverse acts of any club in Alabama. Low is at the end of the noise spectrum, in a small genre called slowcore, where the crowd was actually leaning in to listen. I'd say their closest musical contemporaries would be Mazzy Star . Harmonies, guitar and percussion parts so delicate they fade into one another beautifully. It was almost a shock after each song to hear the crowd clap and cheer because of the quietness of the Duluth, Minn.-based band. I first heard them on a CMJ compilation in 1995 along with another little-known band named Everclear. The song, "Shame," was haunting, quiet and beautiful and unlike anything I had or have ever heard. Since 1993, Low has released ten albums and the husband and wife founders, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, have two children and are touring with Wilco this summer. Bottle...

Yesterday Gus got a bath and enjoyed it. See evidence and recent adolescent cat portraits here.

This spoof song, a la "Weird" Al, was written by my friend and musician/songwriter and former band mate Eric McGinty in response to the international embarrassment also known as Alabama Sen. Charles Bishop (see previous post. It's sung to the tune of Waylon and Willie's "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys." You might want to dust off your "Urban Cowboy" soundtrack if you wanna sing along. On a political note, isn't it interesting that Fox 'we love us a good circus' News hasn't touched this one since it involved a Republican looking the ass, guess they have enough of those in Washington. Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be Senators Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be Senators They give themselves raises and charge to the town And then end the day with a senate smackdown - Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be Charles Bishop If you make him a comment he can't understand He'll...

...here's how we do it in Alabama! Whoo whee, Roll Tide!! Read more about the "State Senate smackdown" here. (An excellent real life headline written by friend and colleague Joe Crowe)

I realize I am the last person in America to see Ray . Yes, I am aware it came out three years ago and while I've heard nothing but good reviews, I'm obviously way behind the curve with my movie watching. Jamie Foxx 's transformation into Charles was miraculous and the editing and acting all the way through, even in the most minor of characters, was incredible. Foxx played all the piano parts himself and seemed to be possessed by the spirit of the genius godfather of R&B. One performance that stood out was that of Charles' mother, Aretha Robinson. The scenes with her struggling as a single mother are heartbreaking, but also inspiring in that she prepared young Ray for a life as the ruler of his own destiny, despite his handicap and impoverished childhood in north Florida. What a shock is was to find out the actor that played this character is from Opelika , Ala. -- the sister city of my hometown of Auburn. From the imbd.com boards, I gather that Sharon Warren wa...

Toe fought the couch and the couch won in the all-time worst stubbing I've ever experienced. I never even considered this digit until this morning when it woke be up like a bolt of lighting. I'm not into toes or feet whatsoever, especially my own, but couldn't resist posting the rainbow assortment of colors. I've got an aurora borealis happening on my left foot.

- - In that crazy, best of times, worst of times way that life has sometimes has a way of dealing us, I flew to Montana the day Andi died for the dedication of the new Journalism building at the University of Montana that took place on May 11th. Since my father accepted the job as dean at the University of Montana's School of Journalism in 1999, one of the oldest J schools in country, he has been working to raise private funds for the new building for his school. He has had victories and defeats, all detailed to me through e-mails and phone discussions. I was always excited to hear about the latest multi-thousand dollar donation, but to actually see the building inside and out, gives me a true realization of what my Dad's been up to for the last seven years (besides chewing on cigars and watching Jeopardy!). I am proud of both him and my Mom, his lightning rod, for more than this building dedication, but for what it stands for -- new lives, friends, careers and achievements and...

This photo was taken on one of last afternoons I spent outside with Andi in her beloved back yard about a month ago. As weak as she became, there were a few times she mustered enough strength to get up and out to take care of bathroom business and to lie in the grass, absorbing the smells and sounds of outside for as many hours as we would allow her. Gathering the strength to get back inside was not her interest after an afternoon out. Who could blame her? When I look at these last pictures, I see her as being regal and wise, like she knew the answers to the big life questions. Recently I've gone back into the digital archives to look at Andi since August 2003. She was very well-documented and it gives me a lot of peace looking back at those years, knowing how happy she was. As sad as I am for myself, I am at peace with the amazing life this dog had and I feel absolutely certain that she knows how loved she was. In her lifetime, Andi survived cancer; was the star of many house par...

Tuesday, May 8 marked the last day on this plane for one of the most beloved creatures ever to come into my life. Andi was just shy of her tenth birthday and had sadly succumbed to heart failure, common among the big breeds like the Great Dane. I met her when I met Karen in October of 1999, when she was still a very playful and goofy two-year-old and she has been a staple in my life ever since. Her decline was hard to witness and her death was a relief in that her body was just worn out, but now its my heart and Karen's that have to heal. No matter how much I tried to prepare for the reality that Andi wouldn't likely live past 10, it still doesn't seem real that she's not here anymore. She was such a steady, positive force in my life. I hope I meet up with Andi again someday. She is truly one of my greatest loves, a friend that always knew how to cheer me up with her goofy humor and the games and rituals we used to share. Anderson Louise, as I renamed her, was always ha...

First off, I know it's illegal to post this cartoon without permission. I hope if I provide a link to Mike Luckovich's Web site at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and mention that he is my favorite editorial cartoonist in the world, that I will get off the hook. As the media feast began last week in Blacksburg , Va. I immediately thought of our troops in Iraq. For thirty-three soldiers to die in one day over there gets reported, but not like these homegrown tragedies involving loose cannons and their random deadly attacks on the innocent and unassuming. - The Today show, desperate for a ratings boost, broadcast their show from Blacksburg last week. Matt Lauer said on the Laura Ingraham radio show, in so many words, that the students at Virginia Tech didn't realize the gravity of the situation until he showed up. - Wow, what a bunch of dumb asses must go to one of Virginia's most prestigious schools. Matt Lauer was probably excited that the waning "Today...

This was not choreographed. Recent kitter photos are here. Yes, I've been completely reeled it.

Pictured: Above: Gus endures the hard life while I catch up on "The Office." Below: I have grown up with cats and have never seen one stretch its hind legs out while lying down (not to mention while crossing its front paws.) It's time for bed on a week night and as I'm closing the apartment down, I gently lift each kitten with his/her bed and place them on my bed. I don't do anything to entice them to get revved up, but no matter what, between 1:00-2:00 a.m. becomes the crack hour for Gus and Maddy Lou. They chase each other around like wild rabid beasts and last night I actually saw Maddy run so fast that she was able to briefly walk vertically on the wall. I thought Tony Hawk would be impressed, but not so much my downstairs neighbor who I just saw for the first time this week and didn't make eye contact with him. I know, living in a poorly insulated building built in the teens, that I can hear everything my upstairs neighbor does from pulling a chair out t...

On the evening a March 19 a high school fantasy was realized when I saw Robyn Hitchcock the Venus 3 at the Nick, with my #1 concert companion Roy Burns, who moved back to Birmingham from Boston last month. I haven't full explained or even fully realized how fantastic the world looks when one of your closest friends goes from living 1200 miles to less than a mile from your locale. So many our institutions have been reinstated like Friday night movie night and Sunday dinner which was a tradition started and shared with our mutual friend, now Roy's wife, Liane. The most important institutions is going to shows together and now that Birmingham has exploded with worthwhile live music of late (thanks to the booking powers that Bottletree , WorkPlay , Alabama Theater and sometimes The Nick) we have started catching up on seven years worth of missed opportunities. When I saw Robyn Hitchcock's name in the Birmingham Weekly I thought it had to be a misprint. He has always been a fa...

Tuesday, March 20 marked birthday 35 for me. I guess I'm supposed to feel weird about being closer to 40 than 30, but I don't. Age isn't a number I can do anything about so I don't think about it a lot. I know people in their 60s who act like they're 25 and I know people in their 30s who act elderly. It's all the attitude and outlook I say. Other important 1972 dates January 5 -- NASA announces the development of the space shuttle February 16 -- Wilt Chamberlain scores 30,000th NBA point March 8 -- First flight of the Goodyear blimp March 16 -- John Lennon and Yoko Ono are served with deportation papers April 3 -- The first ever Mobile phone call is placed (it must have been the same size as a stereo receiver from the same era) November 14 -- The Dow Jones Industrial average closes above 1000 for the first time. And some more important yearly facts: * Eleven Israel Athletes were murdered by Arab Gunman at Munich Olympics (a fantastic documentary was relea...

Maddy Lou and Gus loved spending the weekend with their Aunt Clare in Norcross, Ga.; everything but the beagles who they are still a bit unsure about. During the day while the dogs were in the yard, the kittens ran up and down the carpeted stairs non-stop and loved exploring every nook and crany of the spacious house. They have learned to treat it like a second home as I have. Their favorite pasttime, as these photos illustrate, is staring out or sleeping in the second story window sill in the guest bedroom. They have been able to see birds at eye level and look down at beagles and neighbors speaking a foreign language -- two sources of non-stop entertainment. In interesting feline developments, Gus has gained almost a pound in the three weeks since I've had him and he has started cleaning Maddy (she has cleaned him since about day two.) They eat like ravenous bear cubs and love their toy mice covered in fake fur. Gus's are also changing from little kitten button eyes to real ...

Clare and I drove to Macon, Ga. Friday night, March 9, the legendary Loretta Lynn. She played at the Macon City Auditorium to an enthused crowd of about 500. I was impressed, but not surprised to see everyone from spiky -haired college kids to women well into their seventies into the crowd. Loretta is still feisty although limited physically by a shoulder injury that left her seated for much of the show. The highlights were her classics like "Fist City,""One's on the Way,""Don't Come Home a Drinkin ,""You're Looking at Country,""Honky Tonk Girl," and of course her signature "Coal Miner's Daughter." Lynn's granddaughter Taylor helped her " MeeMaw " out by an energetic rendition of "Mad Mrs. Leroy Brown" off the stellar 2004 album "Van Lear Rose." Lynn and her back-up singers performed a chill bump inspiring A Capella version of "How Great Thou Art" that beautifully...

Not having cable has it's advantages. I do miss Bravo and the Food Network as well as "The Daily Show" and "Best Week Ever," but those joyous nuggets are few and far between. The cable industry is an evil unregulated monopoly and since I can't afford it, it makes me feel better to just state that fact to help back myself up. To ease the pain of the four decent channels I get with the trusy rabbit ears, I have joined Netflix and couldn't be happier with finally catching up with movies I missed, from recent releases to not-so recent releases that have been on my 'to do' for quite a while. I will rate them best to worst and encourage my reading audience to watch some of these if they haven't already. (WARNING -- potential spoilers throughout!) 1.) The Squid and the Whale (2005) -- This is the best movie I have seen in a year's time, maybe more. It is the autobiographical story of director Noah Baumbach as a child in New York during his par...