does he hate waking up?

really? how does he feel about it? how 'bout his dad?

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-gh!

The Pirate Bay is dead.

diff'rent strokes

would you get married to a woman with her longtime ex in attendance? especially if that ex built his career on squiring a line of women longer than US 20?

ohnono. do not taunt the SAS.

this made me laugh

yeah, around the early '60s, maybe.


there's about a hundred reasons that prove otherwise, so stop saying that.

let's say it again: EFF YOU, Fox News.

5 for playing: Michael Jackson

yes, we do have to make a tribute to the Peter Pan who mesmerized and confounded the world in the last 30 years. i'm sure this is like the eleventieth million blog to do so at this very moment.

let's start with my most-remembered Thriller moment. back in early '83, i was over at our landlord's listening to the seminal album, the coolest thing to have back then, that would go on to become the best-selling album of all time (and maybe will even gallop much further away after this). they had a stereo radio/cassette player (which i didn't). somebody said to rewind the song that just played. Jeremy, the landlord's youngest son, immediately pressed the Rewind button without stopping the song first (anybody who grew up with mp3 players will go "what's the big deal?"). that action ate the tape, and i told Jeremy not to do that and he should press the Stop button first. Jeremy, being a 6 year old prick at that time, snarkily blamed me for not teaching him that before he pressed the Rewind button. prick.

oh, and the 2nd-most remembered Thriller moment: 2nd year high school, group dancing field demonstration, dancing to Thriller, much, much earlier than those Cebu inmates.

here's a fact ... Prince songs outnumbers Jacko's on my iPod 3-to-1. and the reason is obvious. Prince went for long-term, sustained excellence, with highs and lows, for his career. which is why he's still making songs now, and even made a SuperBowl halftime appearance two years ago. Michael Jackson's star, brilliant as it was, peaked with Thriller. therein lies the irony: his best work burdened him and forced every succeeding album to be, unfairly or not, compared against this bar. considering his gifts, he could have been still making records at this time. who knows what might have been if despite his unhappy childhood, the early notoriety and fame, he managed to keep his head straight and just churned out music? i guess musical star celebrities need to go out in a spectacular tragic way (the list is long) - after craving and crawling and climbing their way up that mountain, there's nowhere else to go.

well, fans should just be thankful he wasn't found lifeless along with 10 other dead kids [insert other details here].

in this episode of 5 for Playing, we double the songs, because, well ... he is who he is. no need to embed YouTube vids here.

10. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), Thriller (1982)

9. Billie Jean, Thriller (1982)

8. Beat It, Thriller (1982)

7. Human Nature, Thriller (1982)

6. Rock With You, Off The Wall (1979)

5. One Day in Your Life, Forever, Michael (1975)

4. Thriller, Thriller (1982)

3. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Off The Wall (1979)

2. Smooth Criminal, Bad (1987)

1. Wanna Be Startin' Something, Thriller (1982)

hey, Fox News

here's a guide for you. hint: they're all Republicans.


[via Talking Points Memo]

goodbye, childhood

because Twitter depantsed them?

and the CNN tagline makes it look like Facebook is actually physically trying to beat the crap out of Iran to get it to tell the truth. yep, Facebook cares. and CNN wants to let you know it does. whooopeee.

another Republican bites the dust.

the boxer is done.

lit up for a prison sentence

hey, Dad, happy Father's Day!

sense has left the building.

give 'em some power ...

yeah, these bums even broke the (TSA-approved) lock on my luggage and never replaced it.

summertime is murdertime.

Tweeters will go nuts

huh. what if this was all a big show? you know, the opposition leaders cry foul, people take to the streets, supreme leader says shut up, and its all back to status quo. it was all for the benefit of the Western world.

finally, a movie about janitors!

Boston congratulates LA

at least somebody from this side remembers.

who are you fooling? yourselves?

"sent to the wrong list"? hahaha.

5 for playing: Eurythmics

here we are again, trying to filter 5 (plus 1) songs i can call my favorites, and the band of choice for this post is making it difficult. the Eurythmics do not sound like your regular rock band or pop minstrels, yet they have a body of work that made them the best selling British duo of all time. the distinctive Annie Lennox remains one of my favorite female vocalists, and she can outsing anybody. it is a testament to their creative vibe to stay in the game so long, despite her and partner Dave Stewart's early romantic mis-entanglements. in the interests of keeping it with the name of this post, i have to cut other classics like Sweet Dreams, the Aretha Franklin-jam Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves, and yes, Sex Crime. (sorry, embedding is disabled so clicking the screenshots brings you the YouTube page).

5. tie - Angel, We Too Are One (1989)


Missionary Man, Revenge (1986)


4. Here Comes the Rain Again, Touch (1984)


3. There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart), Be Yourself Tonight (1985)


2. I Need A Man, Savage (1987)


1. You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart, Savage (1987)

washing hands without soap

yes, we allow heads of state like this jackass to live and govern.


"what, me worry about you? pfsh! you are less than dust to me!"

die like weeds. apt.

geekspeak: how you start buying stuff online.

beam me up, Jobs!

total security asses

this will not fix anything if the boots on the ground are idiots.

so it's still a go, then?

$299 32 Gb? with a contract? umm, no.

expect to see this face often

Shaq can say he's rooting for Kobe to win his 4th championship, only because he has 4 himself and they'll be on equal footing. if Kobe has the chance to get a 5th, i don't think Shaq would be as supportive.

blog is dead.

oh holy god

if that's going to be the face of women's professional tennis for the foreseeable future ... we gotta clone Maria Sharapova. or travel back 9 years and bring back the 2000 version of Anna K, when she was still relevant.

never forget

Warren Ellis skewers technology. huzzaaahh!!!

5 for playing: Janet Jackson

the other successful Jackson out of Gary, Indiana (sister city of Fuxin, China - not kidding!), Janet stepped out of the family shadow in general, and in her brother Michael's, in particular, and carved out a pretty good musical career for herself. her musical peak in the mid to late '80s was rooted deep in her Minneapolis sound, masterminded by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (that decade's Neptunes, if you will). with a hit song list rivaling her now-white freak brother's, it was difficult narrowing down five (well, i always fudge it with six, hahahaha) i'd always have for my iPod. but here you go. notice that they're all pre-'90s and pre-wardrobe malfunction. just like most pop-slash-rockstars, they never know when to quit and leave with their dignity intact. or i'm just an old-school fart.

5. What Have You Done For Me Lately, Control (1986)


4. tie - Runaway, Design of A Decade (1995)


Love Will Never Do (Without You), Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)


3. Control, Control (1986)

kinda long: jump to the 3:20 mark.

2. When I Think of You, Control (1986)


1. Miss You Much, Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)

hey, he's alive!!!!

whodathunk?

the Spaniard is much more manly than the American uber-athlete.


as Russell Peters said, "be a man!"

planned obsolescence. huh.

trying to save his skin. sort of.