Am I the Only Person

... so immature as to snicker upon hearing or reading any form of the word "taint" when used in relation to the latest allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests? Just wondering.

They're Infuriating Nutcases, Sure

...but at least they can sometimes be entertaining.

This first one comes from V. C. Rogers for the Durham-Raleigh Independent Weekly:



No commentary is required for this one, either, except perhaps to declare it the best bumper sticker I've seen in an awfully long time. These are available for $2 from Northern Sun:

You Lie!

So after taking a day to consider his options, Rep. Randy Neugebauer admitted on Monday that he was the jackass who shouted "baby killer" on the House floor Sunday night. The thing is, he claims that he actually said "it's a baby killer," referring to the abortion funding deal, not to Rep. Bart Stupak himself.

Uh, yeah. That's the best he could do? Randy, really, after 15 hours of hiding, you weren't able to come up with something more believable than that? You're pathetic.

No! They Really Printed That?!

Browsing through the record reviews in a recent edition (#54) of the punk zine Razorcake, I was surprised to find a review of a new Flipper album.

Aphid Peewit heaps praise on this new album, Love. But he does have one complaint:

My only gripe with Love is that their dadaistic [sic] sense of humor, exemplified in classics like "Ha Ha Ha," "Brainwash," and "The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" sadly seems to have been packed into the urn along with the remains of Will Shatter. And Flipper without their absurdist humor is like a thalidomide baby without a clown nose.

Holy crap! That has to rank somewhere in the top ten of the most tasteless lines I've ever read in print. And if I weren't laughing so hard, I'd perhaps gather the energy to be offended and/or outraged.

Alex Chilton

Found several good Alex Chilton articles, obits, and appreciation pieces online today. 99% of folks are referencing the same few songs, which is fine really -- "In the Street", "Thirteen", "September Gurls" are all pretty amazing -- but there are so many more gems out there, and the man should be known for more than just the songs that helped make other bands famous 20 and 30 years after he first wrote and recorded them.

From the first three Big Star albums:

• When My Baby's Beside Me
• Don't Lie to Me
• O My Soul
• Mod Lang
• She's a Mover
• Thank You Friends

Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens reformed Big Star back in the 90s and put out a new studio album in 2005 called In Space, and these next two tracks (30-second samples only, sorry to say) are from that album. I *highly* recommend getting this album. It's a shame that their 4th album rec'd about as much attention as their first three originally did. The first song, "Dony" is mighty good (can't find any samples of it to link to, unfortunately) while "Mine Exclusively" should shock and amaze you: I'd put it up against "In the Street" any day, it's so good (in other words, buy it, buy it, buy it, BUY IT!!!):

• February's Quiet
• Mine Exclusively

And here are some samples of his solo stuff:

• Stuff
• Lost My Job
• No Sex

And some more solo stuff, but from the very much dark, bizarre side of his solo career (not for the faint of heart!):

• Boogie Shoes / My Rival / Hey Little Child
• Take Me Home and Make Me Like It
• Can't Seem to Make You Mine
• Free Again