Non Sequitur of the Day: #19

Christmas cookies.

"Shwetty balls."

Non Sequitur of the Day: #18

"Christmas at K-Mart"

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame: Still No Fun in The D

Madonna's in. That's cool. Gotta sell tickets, y'know.

Even though the MC5 should be in, I think they're too local to make it.

But no Iggy? The Pistols and Ramones are in, but he only invented punk.

Pathetic.

Share your thoughts.

On the Steroid Report, or Lack of Perspective is on the Juice

For everyone who is tut-tutting about how steriods have skewed the record book of baseball, or how the "steroid era" should have an asterisk beside it, I'm fine with that. The can put that asterisk in with all the other asterisks for the cheating era, the only white guys are good enough to pitch to Babe Ruth era, the uppers era, the cocaine era and the Astroturf era. Baseball is a reflection of society, and if you parse one era, you gotta parse all the other eras. Really, for baseball management to have been shocked, SHOCKED!!! by steroid use is disingenuous, while the long ball was helping restore baseball in the public's interest after their '94 lockout. Also, funny how neither McGwire or Sosa showed up on the list, isn't it? Finally, shouldn't owners during the time, who raked in the bucks generated by their players during the unprecedented home run binge, be brought to account? Go Rangers.

Non Sequitur of the Day: #17

"Fifty thou a year -- buys a lot of beer"

Non Sequitur of the Day: #16

"She's so funky,yeah..."

"Jeux sans frontiers..."

Discuss.

Detroit Hack City: Boy Howdy Should Be on the Side of a Milk Carton

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Detroit and its music history, especially Creem magazine. Once upon a time, I had an option to buy the IP rights from Arnold Levitt, who had bought them from the estate of founder Barry Kramer. I couldn't get financing and let the option lapse, which ultimately allowed fringe freelance photographer Robert Matheu to do a deal with Levitt to start a poor web-only representation of what was a legendary magazine and Detroit institution. Of course, Matheu's taken the Creem legacy nowhere (which is why I won't link there), and apparently screwed other people who care about it, most notably Barry Kramer's son, J.J. Now, Matheu's written his version of the Creem story, which some friends of mine who I respect -- and Creem notables -- like Dave Marsh and Sue Whitall and Connie Kramer have called bogus. Even if I didn't believe them -- which I do -- I personally know enough of Creem's history to agree with their positions.

So, do not buy Matheu's book. Seriously. Promise me.

Then wish and hope and pray that the real Creem principals will someday lay down their arms, tone down their egos, bury their mutual grudges and get together to write The Creem History the cries out to be written. Hell, Cameron Crowe will do the movie. See, if there's one cautionary tale to come out of this unfortunate train wreck of personalities, it's that Detroiters in the music scene regard it as a zero-sum game; I can't get over unless I take you down. As if there isn't enough for all of us. There's no rising tide lifting all boats mentality around The D, I tells ya.

Back when I was looking for money to re-start Creem (think the original Creem, plus Mojo meeting Spy), I got blowback from some Creem alums suggesting I was an interloping dilettante, and who was I to invite myself into the Creem fraternity? It's similar to the carping about Matheu's book. Hey, guys, if you have the true story to tell, and want to smack down Matheu, go write your story -- the true story. Pretty please? It's not like there aren't any qualified writers involved in this sad, unfortunate nightmare.

Bringing a Whole New Meaning to "Political Hot Air"

While I enjoy hearing some of his ideas (though not the slightly paranoid North American Union hoo-ha), and I am crushing on the Ron Paul backwards-Love logo (worked into his "Revolution" positioner, the blimp idea, IMHO, definitely falls into Wingnut-ville. Let's see Homeland Security sign off on that baby circling a few BCS games. Not.

R.I.P and Me

If you're Roger Smith, who had the bad fortune to die the same day as Evel Knievel, and you're reading your obits, it would have to suck to be you. . . perhaps even slightly worse than being dead. Because in addition to being called a "greek tragedy" and, basically, a failure, they dismiss your towering achievements like the Cimarron and other accounting-driven feats of badge engineering. And then, to be someone who I imagine was a good Oakland County Republican, to have Michael Moore -- who started his career literally on your back -- mentioned in the lead of your obits? Poor guy will be corkscrewing his way to Japan, perhaps bumping into a rusted-out '86 Nova (above) at the end of the trip.

The Baptist Minister Wasn't Conservative Christian Enough, So Republicans Had to Beg a Divorced, Tom-cattin' Hollywood Actor to Run?

People (or Republicans) who are surprised by Mike Huckabee's recent bounce in Iowa must be enormous narcissists. Huckabee's been in since the beginning of the GOP campaign, and he's always been an affable Southern Baptist preacher with a pretty good story of personal salvation (with his weight loss). Yet, the so-called Christian conservatives kept looking for a candidate, and got themselves Fred Thompson, the Tennesee Stud," divorced with a track record of being Senator PUA (aka Fred Mystery), with a trophy wife (or not) to boot. And all along they had Huckabee, from the same home town as Bubba, who used to be fat, spoke their language while really believing it, but whose name sounds too much like "Hickabee." He just didn't look good enough to them. Hello, nacissism. For God's sake -- literally -- the guy's a Southern Baptist minister who doesn't believe in evolution -- how much more Christian or conservative could you get? It makes one wonder what Republicans want -- or if they even know what they want. One thing to remember, though: vanity is a sin.