Radio Free Kirkopolis

Humm, I see Roman Polanski has a new film out, a nice little adaptation of “Oliver Twist.” He’s even said that he’s “Glad he has finally made a film his children can watch.”
Well isn’t that nice. Roman’s such a good guy that he’s making films for children- that is to say when he’s not busy raping them.

Fucking dirtbag.

I saw a really good interview with Kurt Vonnegut on “The Daily Show” the other day. I was really awed that even in his advanced and frail state, Kurt hasn’t lost a single bite to his edge.
Not only was I fascinated with his wit, but also with his resilience. Once again, I was surprised to find someone who I thought was dead- wasn’t. (see here)
Didn’t Kurt die about 6 years ago? Wouldn’t that have been the time that his residual checks from his Oscar caliber performance in “Back To School” stopped?
Maybe I got him confused with Joseph Heller….Either way, he’s got a new book out and I’m looking forward to reading

A while ago I had this to say in a post-

Hey Deep South, next time you go and plan a horrific natural disaster, make sure to announce beforehand that the recovery effort contracts will go to Halliburton. DUH!

Well I guess I’m either very witty or just taking credit for the obvious. I recently found these to support my genius theory- -

Given this recent news, the evil scientists from Scotland (when did Scotland become the hotbed of science?) have gone ahead and pushed the ‘God’ envelope just a little further.

Human embryos have been created in Britain without using sperm for the first time.
The "virgin conception" embryos, which mark a new way to grow a woman's cells and tissues for a vast range of treatments, were revealed by an Edinburgh team. The development is the second time in as many days that the nation's scientists have pushed back the boundaries of reproductive science.

So in summation, embryos can be created without a father. Therefore, science has proven what myself and the world has expected for some time- I… AM… COMPLETELY… USELESS.

The big Apple announcement was the introduction of the iPod Nano. About a thousand songs, a color screen for photos (about 25,000 of them), 14 hour battery life, and it’s only about twice as wide as the Shuffle and just as thin.
It is really small.
Also, Apple's always available “don’t need technical support to turn the damn thing on,” feature.
Most thought the big hub-bub was about the yet to be named iPhone, but unlike some companies, Apple likes to make sure their products work before introductions. I suppose there’s a few bugs to work out.
Either way, the Nano is only about $200 and I think I’ll be getting one for Christmas.

The Apple Conference is coming up, and like always there’s speculation into what cool, new product they will be introducing.
Actually, it’s never really a big secret (kind of hard to keep it under wraps) and the rumors are leaning toward a cell phone with iTunes, or perhaps an iPod with flash memory and video.
Either way, this anticipation is a lot more fun than the question that always seems to arise before the Microsoft conferences-
“Hey, which system do you think will crash upon demonstration this year?”

This is an actual quote-

"What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong," Bush said. "We still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm."

Really, you can’t make this stuff up.
I’m not really sure where to begin on this. Bush leading an investigation into the Katrina response (or, lack thereof) is like our buddy Sadam leading an investigation into why his regime was so corrupt.
Not so long ago I would walk into a voting booth and just pull the lever that said “Republican.” For the most part, I still would, but lately- Jesus H. Christ.
I'd say Katrina is the straw that broke my camel's back. The Bush Administration’s incompetence, stupidity and corruption boggles me beyond belief. I can remember hoping to myself after the Clinton administration that our new president would lead in a way that would make us forget all of Slick Willie’s sliminess. Well, be careful what you wish for. Compared to Bush, Clinton is freakin’ Plato.
Katrina is not like Sep. 11th, we knew it was coming, we knew (pretty much) how bad it would be, and we knew where it would be. So what’s the excuse?
Way too little, way too late. The lackluster response to what is one of the worst American natrual disasters in history is staggering. An entire city is under water, just to start. I think when it's all said and done we will find that the lives lost and amount of devistation will tower over the results of September 11th.
- and when it hit, our nation’s leader was not gearing up, he was on vacation.
Unfeeling incompetence, plain and simple.

Bob Denver, Gilligan, has died.
I can’t tell you how sad this makes me. One of the fondest memories of my childhood was the every day ritual of my brother and I racing home from school to catch “Gilligan’s Island” re-runs on channel 11 at 3:30pm. I have seen every episode at least 20 times, my favorite being the one with the radioactive seeds. To this day, if I catch it on TV I will stop whatever I’m doing to sit a spell and watch.
Bob was 70 years old!!! Wow, he looked really good for 70, not as good as Dawn Wells, but pretty good none the less.
As I type this, I have the show’s bump music going through my head, and am thinking of the little know trivia that the theme song was patterned after the middle portion of “Stairway to Heaven.” Listen close, imagine the tempo a little slower, and you got Jimmy Page.
I never thought of the obvious “Why so many clothes for a three hour tour?” or “How hard is it to fix a two foot in a boat?” questions, I just watched and enjoyed.
This may seem kinda strange, but I always wanted to be Gilligan. Maybe it was because he was always happy, maybe because Mary Ann had a crush on him (yeah, that’s probably it) or maybe because everyone just plain old liked him. I hate to turn his character into an over-analyzed literary character, but he was the one that taught me that it was ok to be a bumbling accident waiting to happen. This is a trait I will carry with me for the rest of my life- and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thanks Bob, I hope your tour was as fun as mine.

“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

Given its minimal press, I wonder how many people were aware that one of the most hallowed places in American music is seemingly closing it’s doors forever- CBGB.
From the New York Daily News-

As several hundred enthusiastic supporters rallied in Washington Square Park to keep CBGB's open, the landlord of the venerable punk club announced Wednesday that the lease on the 32-year-old landmark will not be renewed…
…The existing lease was to expire at midnight Wednesday. The statement from Rosenblatt called for CBGB's to "vacate the premises both voluntarily and expeditiously" — a scenario that appeared unlikely, given the promises of Little Steven Van Zandt and others to wage a battle to the end on behalf of the bar that launched punk rock.

The story is a cloudy one, full of bad blood, bad bookkeeping, lack of funds, cover-ups and general nastiness- come to think of it; I suppose it’s kind of symbolic.
CBGB is the very foundation of the American punk scene. There has not been a band in the last 30 years who’s music has not been somehow been a direct result of what came off it’s stage. In terms of influence and impact on modern American music, CBGB is second only to the mecca of Sun Studios, Memphis, Tenn.
You know, New York prides itself on being a uniquely cool town. They really ought to do the right thing and designate it into a city landmark or something. But then again, maybe the museum existence would go against the very culture and principles (or lack there of) the club helped to create in the first place.
If you’re like me and haven’t been, well kick yourself as it looks like you never will. Until then, do yourself a favor and read up on a little of the CBGB history. You owe it to your iPod.

O.K. Only my well informed Christian readers will get that title, oh well….
Our buddy Sadam will be going on trial soon, looks like the big day will be Oct. 19th. This should be interesting. I’m not totally sure how the inner workings of a tribunal go, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I hope he goes all wacko on us, like that subway shooter guy, which sure was good TV.
I found this interesting quote from government spokesman Laith Kubba, -

”"We urge anybody who has documents related to Saddam trial to present them to the tribunal," Kubba said.

So, in theory I could be a presence at the tribunal if I say, showed up with any newspaper from 1982-2004.

I see that Eric Clapton has a new c.d.out. It makes me wonder, in the vast history of the world has there been a time when Eric Clapton hasn’t sucked?

Given the recent lack of that normal ‘Radio Free Funtime Hour’ vibe, I thought I’d just change the tone a little.
For some reason, the past two weeks I’ve been craving fish fillets- and not the healthy kind either, but the breaded, fried kind that you get at Long John Silvers. Now, I’m not actually getting them from LJS’s (I’d like to wait ‘till at least 36 before my first heart attack) but rather the grocery store kind. I find Gordon’s to be my favorite.
I used to eat these all the time as a kid. Liked them even better than their bastard cousin, the fish stick. Usually I’d put a little cocktail (huh huh, I said cocktail) sauce on the side, but in my old age I now prefer a little tartar sauce and a whole lot of malt vinegar.
Even better, Jennifer made me a big ‘ol bowl of macaroni and cheese to re-heat with ‘em.

So, in summation- I’ve been eating breaded fish fillets and macaroni & cheese for lunch almost every day for the last two weeks. Life’s good.

In one of his comments to me, Gene brings up a good point-

… because of the "Defense of Marriage Act", that obnoxiously named piece of discrimination, here's what could happen:Gay couples whose lives were devasted by the hurricane are not eligible for assistance as couples due to DOMA. If they have kids, and the biological parent has been killed, the child will be TAKEN AWAY FROM THE OTHER PARENT and sent to foster care. The surviving partner is not eligible for any assistance or social security survivors benefits. The government doesn't recognize any relationship and thus the family is torn apart.

And the hits just keep oooon comin’.

Sidenote-- Do you have any idea how many gay people live in New Orleans? Really, it makes San Fransisco look like Montana. I'm starting the clock now on how long it will take some Christian, fundamentalist, knucklehead to blame the Katrina horror on ‘those sinful gays.’

I was both relived and surprised when I read this story-

Fats Domino was finally rescued last night in New Orleans, according to wire reports… Rescuers picked up the legendary 77-year-old musician from his home in a flooded section of New Orleans and delivered him to safety, his daughter Karen Domino White reported.

I was relived that he was found safe, yet surprised that he was alive in the first place. Seriously, didn’t Fat’s Domino die like 13 years ago?
Hum, really, could’a swore this guy was dead already.

A few tales from New Orleans to brighten your day-

...he then offered to show reporters the dead bodies of a man in a wheelchair, a young man who he said he dragged inside just hours earlier, and the limp forms of two infants, one just four months old, the other six months old.

A National Guardsman refused entry. "It doesn't need to be seen, it's a make-shift morgue in there," he told a Reuters photographer. "We're not letting anyone in there anymore. If you want to take pictures of dead bodies, go to Iraq."

Valenti and her husband, two of very few white people in the almost exclusively black refugee camp, said she and other whites were threatened with murder on Thursday.
"They hated us. Four young black men told us the buses were going to come last night and pick up the elderly so they were going to kill us," she said, sobbing. "They were plotting to murder us and then they sent the buses away because we would all be killed if the buses came -- that's what the people in charge told us this morning."

Sitting with her daughter and other relatives, Trolkyn Joseph, 37, said men had wandered the cavernous convention center in recent nights raping and murdering children.
She said she found a dead 14-year old girl at 5 a.m. on Friday morning, four hours after the young girl went missing from her parents inside the convention center.
"She was raped for four hours until she was dead," Joseph said through tears. "Another child, a seven-year old boy was found raped and murdered in the kitchen freezer last night."

"I really don't know what to say about President Bush," said Richard Dunbar, 60, a Vietnam veteran. "He showed no lack of haste when he wanted to go to Iraq, but for his own people right here in Louisiana, we get only lip service."

...meanwhile, back at the ranch- this is what the president was up to on Aug. 30th.

Hey Deep South, next time you go and plan a horrific natural disaster, make sure to announce beforehand that the recovery effort contracts will go to Halliburtun. DUH!

# posted by Kirk @ 9:10 AM 0 comments

This is what the Jesse Jackson quote looks like from Gizzogle-

Civil rights brotha Jesse Jackson hatin' in Baton Rouge, said tha government had bizzle "grossly insensizzles ta tha needs of New Orleans' poor. "We've S-to-tha-izzent our National Guard, our helicopta, our resources ta secure Baghdad n manufacture a democrizzles but leav'n New Orleans vulnerizzles he told poser.

That's just to much comedy for me to handle right now.

I know it’s been a while since my last post (I have like, ten things that have been floating in my head) but I just haven’t had the time.
This will happen a lot, so you better get used to it. With that, I don’t plan on doing the “gosh it’s been so long since my last post,” thing anymore, but thanks for tuning in to Radio Free Kirkopolis.

From MSNBC-

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson speaking in Baton Rouge, said the government had been "grossly insensitive" to the needs of New Orleans' poor.
"We've sent our National Guard, our helicopters, our resources to secure Baghdad and manufacture a democracy, but leaving New Orleans vulnerable," he told reporters.

You know, there's only one thing I hate more than Jesse Jackson- and that's Jesse Jackson when he's right.