The Garlic

Friday, February 26, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

26 February 2009... On The Garlic

Too Perfect! ... Jindal Jabberwocky II

Slow Go For Bookwriting Joe

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Rush Limbaugh Can Get Woman Not To Hate Him

This Weeks' Poll - Don't Forget To Vote ... Help Obama Spend Some Money!

28 February 2008... On The Garlic

Yes, Extra Pillows Will Be Needed ...

Top Ten Cloves: If Monica Goodling's Wedding Plays Out Like Her Last Job

The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll February 17 - February 25, 2008 ...With so much confusing talk about them, most people think Superdelegates are ...

26 February 2007... On The Garlic

Minced Garlic - Special Comment by Keith Olbermann: Condi goes too far

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At The Oscars Last Evening

26 February 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

Thursday, February 25, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

25 February 2009... On The Garlic

Bobby, Get Your Gun ...

Jindal Jabberwocky

25 February 2008... On The Garlic

"...And Your Mother Wears Combat Boots!"

25 February 2007... On The Garlic

Cue Fox Promo "If You Don't Laugh, That Must Mean You're Aiding The Terrorists" ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

25 February 2005... On The Garlic

Cardinals Stymied, Looking For A New Signal

Suede Magazine Shutting Down

MTV Launches In Africa

Top Ten Cloves: How Martha Stewart Plans To Be Nicer When Released From Prison

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

24 February 2009... On The Garlic

New Garlic Poll ... If the GOP Governors don't want the Stimulus Money, Obama should ...

Garlic Poll Results ... "But I Thought We Were Getting A Company Car!"

Fat Tuesday! ... Oh, But On The Third Day!

24 February 2008... On The Garlic

Well, It's A Destiny of Sitting at The Presidential Kids Table

There's Sucker's Born Every Minute ...

He's Back! - Nader To The Rescue - Again!

http://puregarlic.blogspot.com/2008/02/ralph-nader-on-garlic_24.html

Editor's Note: Furnace, Snow, and Burnt Out

24 February 2006... On The Garlic

New White House Bombshell As President Confirms It's "My Government"

Top Ten Cloves: Problems With Being A Woman Figure Skater In The Winter Olympics

24 February 2005... On The Garlic

Garlic Extra! - More White House Payola; Thomas the Tank Engine Stumped for Amtrak

O Solo Mio; Venice To Build Subway To Boost Tourism

Bravo Going To The Dogs For More Poker

Top Ten Cloves: How So. Californians Are Coping With The Rain

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Today, we have another tribute to our late Aunt, Celia Malmberg.

For our local, weekly newspaper - The Cambridge Chronicle - we penned "The Yarn Store Lady", offering a remembrance to the Aunt we were caretaker to, highlighting her buoyant spirit, as opposed to submitting a boilerplate obituary.

Generously, 'The Chronicle' (the oldest, continuously published weekly newspaper in the country) accepted it.

Check out;

Guest commentary: Remembering the Central Square 'Yarn Store Lady’

Barry Crimmins: A Tribute Before a Eulogy

Our Eulogy

This Date ... On The Garlic

23 February 2009... On The Garlic

The Oscars ... "Perfectly awful!"

Leaving Bush Behind

Retro Garlic: Bill Frist's Intern

Corrupt Judge Follow-Up ... Wait, There's More!

23 February 2006... On The Garlic

Special Sing-Along: Never Can Say Dubai

Top Ten Cloves: Things About Bob Dole Becoming Lobbyist for Dubai Ports World Company

23 February 2005... On The Garlic

Winn-Dixie Files For Bankruptcy; Blames Canine

Supreme Court Takes Oregon Death Case

IOC To Reject NYC; Cites Gates, Loss To Red Sox

Amendment Rider Spares C-SPAN From Indecency Fines

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard at the Red Sox Spring Training

Monday, February 22, 2010

Quote of the Day!

There has been a fair amount of things to riff on, regarding the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Leading off, by having the luger killed, wasn't the most auspicious start of the games.l

All the X-Game-type sports (too bad Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland aren't around - "Hey Gang, let's make up a Winter Olympic Game!).

And, of course,. Canada's zeal to "dominate the world" via scooping up all the medals, leading Dahlia Lithwick to write a most engaging "Might It Possibly Be OK If We Kick Some Ass?"

Another highlight was NBC, and their "Red Mittens Day", or Mary Carillo's "Where-In-The-World-Is-Canada" schtick, going through Royal Mountie training;

Hooray! Mary Carillo! She's back! With a package about the MOUNTIES. Yes yes yes yes yes. YES. Mary explains that to become a mountie is SERIOUS BUSINESS. Mary goes to the "West Point" of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for those of you not down with abbreviations) in Regina, Saskatchewan. Heh. She said "Ree-gina." Do you think the citizens of that town ever try to convince everyone to pronounce it differently? It's cold there. Mary is going to find out what it takes to go from cadet to constable. Mary can't march! Mary giggles when the drill sargeant yells at her! This is a fact: The Mounties were formed to deal with the drunks in the Northwest territories in the 19th century. Mary drives a car! Mary runs around with heavy things! Mary learns to handcuff someone! Mary shoots guns! And then they let her wear a Dudley Do-Right costume, which doesn't seem right. MOUNTIES & CARILLO! FTW! You might have had Ice Dancing, Hankinson, but I got the awesomeness. I WIN.

The NYT's Alessandra Stanley called out the jingoism, and more;

At a time when American athletes are amassing record numbers of medals, and NBC is drawing an impressive number of viewers, sports fans couldn’t ask for more fulsome, pro-American coverage — they could ask for a little less. NBC anchors, including those paid by the news division, glom onto the glamour and reflected glory of winsome champions, as per Matt Lauer’s no-boundaries embrace of the skier Lindsey Vonn on “Today” after she won the downhill race. He draped a chocolate gold medal around her neck, gave her flowers (“just because we adore you”) and hugged her tight (“we are so proud of you”) — as if he and Meredith Vieira had spent the last 15 years rising at dawn to drive her to training.

And, we loved Heather Havrilesky's take, on the Men's Figuring Skating;

Lysacek takes to the ice wearing the evil alien villain garb from "Superman." But they're saying that General Zod isn't in the right frame of mind, based on what they saw during his warm-up. And it's true, he does stumble slightly after one jump, but otherwise he nails them, and ends with a double fist pump. (Doesn't General Zod do a double fist pump when he almost reigns victorious in "Superman II"?)

But the "Money" shots, came last evening, with NBC's over-the-top homage to "The Miracle On Ice", the victory of the USA Hockey team, over the Russians, thirty-years ago.

As my brother questioned, if there's anything, anywhere about the "Miracle On Ice", you will surely find Mike Eruzione there, front-and-center, on-camera, prompting my brother to ask "Is this is career, now?"

All this, to, unnecessarily, hype the hockey match last evening of the USA vs.Canada, in the one Winter Olympic game this year, that the Canadians felt entitlement.

Too bad this article came out today, and not before the broadcast;

How Miraculous Was the Miracle?

Not as much as you think.

And, too bad, the Canadian team lost to the youngsters of the USA, sending the entire country to hit themselves over the head with Labatt bottles, before going into a national funk.

But the Quote of the Day, goes to the always entertaining Charles Pierce, of 'The Boston Globe', jotting down some notes, on the Olympic hockey play.

Just so you know, it wasn't just my brother and I, Pierce also was annoyed by the NBC-Miracle-On-Icepalooza;

And I hate to sound like less of an American than I am, but I'm a little Miracle-On-Ice'd out at this point, especially with Al Michaels, who seems to believe that he landed on Omaha Beach or something 30 years ago.

Amen.

Maybe their thinking, since the USA won hockey Gold in 1960 (the first miracle), than the big upset in 1980, their putting their fingers on the scale that, since this is 2010, a year ending in "Zero", NBC can trump up their own manufactured miracle despite, no clear favorite, just about anyone in the field (Canada, USA, The Russians, Sweden and Finland) can win the thing.

The next Winter Olympics ending in "Zero" will be 2030, and, should the lads of the USA take it, you can rest assured, Al Michaels, and Mike Eurizone, will be there, in 2030, hyping "The Miracle", once again.

Must See 140-Character TV

Sorry, Garlic Fans, for the lack-of-posting this weekend, as we were, a bit, under-the-weather.

We had this in our crosshairs, despite the disbelieving shaking of our heads.

In the long history of Hollywood (both movies, and television), an overwhelming amount of their product has been based on "material from another source", verses original content.

Theatre, books, magazine articles, foreign movies and television shows (see 'The Office', or, say, "Three Men and A Baby")

You know, something else made money, so we can exploit it, and squeeze something out of it, too.

And, now, we have a new frontier, the New Millennium, the Digital Age;

Twitter user 'Shit My Dad Says' gets CBS deal

Twitter sensation Shit My Dad Says is headed to television.

CBS has picked up a comedy project based on the Twitter account, which has enlisted more than 700,000 followers since launching in August and has made its creator, Justin Halpern, an Internet star.

"Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are on board to executive produce and supervise the writing for the multicamera family comedy, which Halpern will co-pen with Patrick Schumacker. Halpern and Schumacker will also co-exec produce the Warner Bros. TV-produced project, which has received a script commitment.

That's right, Twitter will now be foraged, for all sorts of programs, reality shows, and the like, especially if can offer cheap production values, and, of course, the standard exploiting, and humiliation of its' cast.

And, there was this little caveat;

The comedy's title will change if it gets on the air.

The kid should have held out for HBO, or Showtime, to keep the full ambiance in it.

But wait, there's more!

Captain Kirk, William Shatner, has signed on to play the shit-spouting dad.

Halperin's shitmydadsays Twitter account is hysterical, so it's going to be very interesting to see how they build the narrative around it, though, being on the mainstream CBS network, you can see that it will, in all likelihood, fall into the standard sit-com format, with Dad's language cleaned up, naturally.

With Shatner aboard, it could be funny-funny, or it could be dreadful, Mr. Tambourine Man-funny.

Well have to wait to see what Dad says about it.

This Date ... On The Garlic

22 February 2009... On The Garlic

Day Care Update!

Day Care? ... What Day Care?

22 February 2008... On The Garlic

What About On Day Two?

22 February 2007... On The Garlic

Blair and Cheney Sing A Duet: 'Blair, It's Not So Bad Out There'

22 February 2006... On The Garlic

Veto Signing Will Be Fundraiser for Libby; White House, Preparing For Port Showdown, To Run "Veto" Classes For Bush

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Martha Stewart and Donald Trump Can End Their Feud

22 February 2005... On The Garlic

In Memoriam - Hunter S. Thompson

Prez Europe Trip Quashes Holiday Celebrations

Royal Navy Courts Gays

Air Luxenbourg To Hit The Airwaves; Raid Competition's Talent

Top Ten Cloves: Other Problems With Microsoft's Xbox

Sunday, February 21, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

21 February 2009... On The Garlic

Maybe If They Exorcise The Money, First ....

Happy Birthday Nina Simone!

21 February 2008... On The Garlic

Power To The People! ... Howard Zinn's "Election Madness"

Hillary Clinton's Great Day!

21 February 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard In The Scooter Libby Jury Room

21 February 2006... On The Garlic

Bush, To Stymie Port Critics, May Send Cheney Out For Second Shooting Admission

Top Ten Cloves: Ways U.S. Winter Olympic Team Can Win More Gold Medals

21 February 2005... On The Garlic

Israel To Take New Steps In End To Destroying Palestinian Homes

NASA Dismisses Life On Mars Despite Strong Evidence

Mall of America To Expand, Take Twin Cities by Eminent Domain

ADA Survey Shows 4 Out of 5 Dentists Recommend Not Trusting 4 Out of 5 Dentists

Top Ten Cloves On How Bush Will Screw Up In Europe

Saturday, February 20, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

20 February 2009... On The Garlic

First Rule of Neocon Club ... You Do Not Talk About Neocon Club!

That Thievin' Bush Family

20 February 2008... On The Garlic

Retro Garlic: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall ... Who's The Prettiest Alphonso Jackson of Them All?

Hats Off To Josh Marshall, and The Entire TPM Crew ... First Blog To Win Polk Award!

20 February 2007... On The Garlic

"Unexplained Incident" Shuts Down Mount Vernon After Bush Speech; DHS, Geologists Stumped; Theories Include First President Spinning In Grave Cautiously Viewed

20 February 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things President Bush Is Daydreaming About On President's Day Holiday

Friday, February 19, 2010

Paging Michael Douglas

I feel, sort of, cheated.

No Whammy Burgers.

We refer to, of course, yesterday's action of one, seriously deranged, likely-mentally-ill Joseph Andrew Stack, flying his airplane into the Austin, Texas building, that housed the local area Internal Revenue Services offices.

Subsequently, as Cable News went into DefCon 5, wall-to-wall coverage, a ranting manifesto was unearthed, with Stack writing that he was wronged, by just about everyone, except, possibly, SpongeBob SquarePants.

Yeah! ... Power to the people! ... Down with The Man!

Trouble is, for Stack, a serious lack of imagination.

We've seen this movie before, specifically, back in 1993, with 'Falling Down', starring Michael Douglas.

Douglas's character was an engineer, just like Stack, felt like he was getting screwed, just like Stack, and then snaps, just like Stack, except, this was in the day before flying airplanes into buildings was in vogue, so Douglas's character goes on a romping, engaging rampage through the city (Los Angeles), including, visiting, and shooting up, the above-referenced Whammy Burgers.

What did Stack give us?

A charred IRS office (if, indeed, he did hit their office, since other businesses also occupied the building), in the center of Nowheresville, Austin, Texas.

Not sure Douglas is gonna want to sign up for this sequel.

So, today, we had the usual follow-up, with the Flying Monkeys of the Right Wing Freak Show, throwing feces at anybody dare say he was one of them, or a Teabagger (with his flaming manifesto, this guy could have had a "E" Ticket to any one of about a dozen tinfoil hat entities), while others, including the Obama Administration downplayed the "terrorism" angle, leading David Neiwert, over on Crooks and Liars, to ask "Huh? Since when is attempting to blow up a federal building NOT an act of domestic terrorism?"

Now, this might have boiled over, and ruptured, with the heat of Three Mile Island, except, Mister-Flying-Into-Buildings-Manifesto, again, didn't plan this out all the way.

Tiger Woods held court this morning, causing Cable News to go to DefCon 6, and bring in every talking head following it, to parse every single word Mister Can't-Keep-His-Golf-Club-In-His-Bag had to say (and, for our money, Woods came off like the President of the National Honor Society, apologizing for getting caught drinking at the Home Coming Dance).

Tough going in the Lone Wolf Revolution biz.

This Date ... On The Garlic

19 February 2009... On The Garlic

Santorum, Speaking in United Statesism, Explains Islam

Retro Garlic: J. Edgars Gay Dating Service?

Forget About Tuesday, Cash On The Barrelhead Today, Wimpy!

19 February 2008... On The Garlic

Forget About What Obama Said ... Check Out Wolfson's Defense of Hillary!

Good Thing Barry Crimmins Doesn't Work For MSNBC!

19 February 2007... On The Garlic

"But I Really Did Want To Testify ... Really!" ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Top Ten Cloves: Signs That Your Neighbor May Be Attending CPAC

News Item: The New Conservative Hierarchy

10. Learning Spanish, in case they get to meet Mark Rubio

9. Saw them furiously scribbling notes on the palm of their hands

8. Praying, that on their flight to CPAC, Kevin Smith isn't on same plane

7. They have a "No Teleprompter Zone" sign posted on their lawn

6. Breathlessly hoping, since she sold her company, that Michelle Malkin has time to stalk them

5. Admitted that they have volunteered to let Dick, or Liz, Cheney torture them

4. Making plans to touch Mitt Romney's hair

3. Witnessed them breaking in heavy work boots, so they can stomp on Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews

2. Since RNC meet with Teabaggers, plans on lobbying to have Lewis and Clark Tea Party hang Senator Patty Murray at CPAC

1. Watched them take batting practice, to tune up for whacking the Nancy Pelosi piñata

Bonus CPAC Riffs

Kate Zernike: CPAC Speaker Bashes Obama, in Racial Tones

Eve Conant - This Week in Conservative Media: 'Air America Has Shut Down and Gitmo Is Still Open'

Media Matters - Erickson: Media Matters employees are "the guys who can't get jobs anywhere else"

Media Matters - Armey: "The number 1 biggest problem in America is the physical size of this government"

This Date ... On The Garlic

18 February 2009... On The Garlic

The Garlic Poll Is Back! ... And, Putting You In The Driver's Seat

Garlic Poll Results - 'Sir, Will That Be A One-Way Ticket To The Hague?"

IDOTW Update ... New Michelle Bachmann Meltdown!

For The Feed Readers ...

18 February 2008... On The Garlic

Thank God, We Have So Many Media Options In This Country ... So People Can Be Informed!

Where, Oh Where, Can Those Missing White House Emails Be ... Oh, Where, Oh Where Can They Be ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

18 February 2007... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

18 February 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

18 February 2005... On The Garlic

Selig Drops Bombshell; Steroids Legal and Mandatory

Prosecution Plays Tape Showing Blake Confused, Confessing To Fictitious Murder

Starbucks Abandons Coffee; Goes For Happy Hour Market

Top Ten Obstacles for New Homeland Security Director John Negroponte

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Top Ten Cloves: Other Ways SouthWest Airlines Thought of Telling Kevin Smith He Was Fat

News Item: Kevin Smith: Too fat to fly? ...The director gets grounded by Southwest but proves the supersonic power of social media

10. Not sure of their inventory, ask Smith if he would be bothered sharing food cart with other passengers

9. Since flight was going to Burbank, ask Smith if he was contestant on "Biggest Loser"

8. Rather than board plane by sections, or rows, call boarding by height and weight

7. Keep calling him Dom DeLuise

6. Make pointed apology to Smith, that the In-Flight movie was 'La 'Grande Bouffe'

5. Advise Smith, In case they had a Captain Sullenberger moment, he would have to stand on other wing, alone, to balance weight of plane

4. Ask him if he was related to Chef Paul Prudhomme

3. Inquire if his real name was "Tuesday" and did he come from New Orleans

2. Jet tire ... Smith standing next to it ... Ask boarding passengers to vote which one was slimmer

1. Have him get on moving sidewalk in terminal lobby, and see if it still moved

Bonus Kevin Smith Riffs

Kate Harding: Kevin Smith Kicked off Southwest Flight for Being Fat

Menachem Kaiser: Twitter Wars: Kevin Smith vs. Southwest Airlines

Foster Kamer: Update: The Kevin Smith Southwest Airlines Fat-Flight Tweakout of Epic Proportion

Show your support, or follow Kevin Smith, on his Twitter Account

This Date ... On The Garlic

17 February 2009... On The Garlic

The Fat Lady Is Singing!

17 February 2008... On The Garlic

OMG! ... The Country Is Still Safe, and Standing!

The Rightwing Smear Machine, Running As Strong and Smooth as the Edsel!

17 February 2006... On The Garlic

White House Primed To Replace "Miranda" With New, "Cheney Decision"

Top Ten Cloves: White House Reactions To United Nations Call To Close Gitmo

17 February 2005... On The Garlic

Slumping Wrist Band Sales Force Armstrong Into 7th Tour

Pay-Per-View Scores Big; Signs Up Sugar vs. Splenda Bout

Ricky Williams Waived By Marlins - Sort Of

Top Ten Things ESPN Will Replace NHL Hockey With (and get better ratings)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

This Date ... On The Garlic

16 February 2009... On The Garlic

"Hey! ... Where You Goin' With That Browser!" ...

16 February 2008... On The Garlic

Good Post Alert: How Google Got Its Colorful Logo

Obama, The Heart-Breaker

16 February 2007... On The Garlic

Apple Settles With Cisco!; Rolling Dice With New iBeckham Phone; Jobs Promises Aging Soccer Star Can Store "Billions of Photos" of Himself; New "Posh" Command Added

Top Ten Cloves: Things Tim Hardaway Will Do This Weekend Instead of Going To NBA All-Star Game

16 February 2006... On The Garlic

Breaking News - Bush Going After Eulogizers!

16 Cheney Shooting Round-Up; Shooting Incident By VP Is Far From Being In It's "Final Throes"

Top Ten Cloves: Difficulties DC Comics' Batman May Have Fighting Osama bin Laden

16 February 2005... On The Garlic

Google Launches Search for Famed Woman Aviator

NBA, Reebok To Launch New Reality Show: Box & Shoot

Straight Eye for the Queer Guy To Roll Out This Spring

Stockholm Opera Conductor Dies at 86

Top Ten Candidates to Replace Carly Fiorina at Hewlett Packard

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Our Eulogy

Today, we had final services for my now late Aunt, Celia C. Malmberg, age 97, and this was the eulogy I delivered, thanks to the richness of my childhood, my life, inhabited, surrounded, nurtured and loved, by my Aunt, and all her siblings.

The quiet demeanor Cele often posed almost, completely, shielded what an incredible, remarkable woman she was.

Iconoclastic would be, perhaps, a bit too loud, but she was, truly, an independent spirit, following her own path, throughout her life.

This perhaps surfaced, when, back in the day, when it was not encouraged, marrying the love-of-her-life, though he had been married before, and had children.

Cele took in and loved those children as her own, as she would, with each and every, niece, nephew, and grandchild that came along.

And she had a trick.

She made each and everyone one of us feel uniquely special, that she was "our Aunt", just ours, without ever letting all the others lose the same feeling.

She was a prolific knitter, sewer, baker (ahhh, who wouldn't go for a batch of her home-made devil dogs right now, or one of her pistachio cakes?), shopper, and, yes, iconoclast, adopting early, long before they became popular, mainstream topics, such as healthy eating, and vitamins.

And, most of all, she was an incredible "giver" ... She was always there, always ready to help, not looking for anything in return, again, for everyone, with the specialness, always making you feel uniquely special.

She is reunited now, with her siblings, those that left before her, The Mokaba's ...

The Seven Wonders of the World rock, again ...

(Photo by Adrienne Pilarski, my niece, taken in May, 2009, at the dedication ceremony of "Mokaba Square", named after my grandparents, Yusef and Jamille, and the entire family)

We would be remiss, if we didn't acknowledge the gigantically generous words my good friend Barry Crimmins posted today, a posting that brought me to my knees, in a flood of both, sorrowful and joyful, tears;

A Tribute Before a Eulogy

One unique, special person gone, but another, here, that I can still love.

Peace
JTD

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

In Memoriam ...

Good Evening Garlic Fans

I had expected to put up an Editor's post this evening, to explain our absence yesterday (due to a severe flu bug thing going around), however, we received much sadder news.

The Aunt that we have been caretaker to, who we made numerous references to, in our trials-and-tribulations, has passed away, at the age of 97.

She is the end of an era, the last of her siblings to pass.

Born to Syrian immigrants, she lived a rich, full life, living independently, until age 90 (and, fighting off a purse-snatcher, at, around, 87 or 88).

She was a prolific baker, sewer, knitter, and giver, always there, always giving of herself.

It is sad, but we know now, she is in a better place.

With this, we can't say, for sure, when we will resume posting, certainly not over the next few days.

So, busy yourself by running down the left sidebar, and read the highlighted post, or explore some of the other great writers out there via our Links Section.

This Date ... On The Garlic

10 February 2009... On The Garlic

Rachel's Grand Experiment

Beware, This Press Conference Protected By Lapdogs!

This Didn't Make The 11PM News ...

10 February 2008... On The Garlic

Good Thing Frank Rich Doesn't Work For MSNBC!

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At CPAC

10 February 2006... On The Garlic

White House Burns Midnight Oil As President Loads Up On "Unvarnished Advice"

McCain - Obama Feud Update: Obama Grammy Sends McCain Heading Into Studio

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Bush Administration Is Dealing With Danish - Muslim Cartoon Controversy

10 February 2005... On The Garlic

Boston Mayor Calls for Rolling Rallys 24/7/365

Kilts, Gillette Board Vote For All Profits

Romney Calls For Closing of Big Dig; Old Expressway To Be Re-Built

Top Ten Bush Incentives To Open A Private Social Security Account

Monday, February 08, 2010

Bizzaro World

One could, I suppose, find some irony in here, if you take into account, the decades-long rumors of Old Blue Eyes being all mobbed up.

Which leaves us bereft of knowing if he ever had someone whacked, for singing one of his songs badly, or out-of-key.

Ah, but the Philippines, that's a different story;

Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord

The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”

The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation.

[snip]

Indeed, most of the “My Way” killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer.

“The trouble with ‘My Way,’ ” said Mr. Gregorio, “is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.”

Oh My!

Think about how many more layers of legend that could have added to Sinatra, if such was the practice, particularly, after 1965, or so, when his vocal talents began sinking, much like the 'Lady in Cement'.

The poor Yankee fans, who must feel like changing citizenship, to Filipino, after each home game, when the PA systems starts blaring the tune Sinatra hijacked, 'New York, New York'.

Warbling, indeed.

Bonus Riffs

In The "Admit It, It Crossed Your Mind" Department

For Me, It's John Denver ...

The Rendition The Yankees Should Be Playing

New York, New York (Theme song, 1977)

Bonus Bonus - The Other "New York New York"

Gene Kelly Frank Sinatra - "New York, New York"

This Date ... On The Garlic

8 February 2009... On The Garlic

So Long Blossom, It Was A Great Ride!

8 February 2008... On The Garlic

The Shakedown, Roasting and Burning-At-The-Stake of David Shuster

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Hillary Clinton Can Raise More Money

Good Read ... The Lemming Pledge

8 February 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Tim Russert Didn't Ask Scooter Libby About Joe Wilson and His Wife

8 February 2006... On The Garlic

White House: "Eulogies Are Not A Strategy"

Top Ten Cloves: Ways NHL Plans On Handling Gambling Scandal

Sunday, February 07, 2010

It's a "Who Dat" Kind of World Now!

We took it kind of easy today, being, after all, that it was Super Sunday.

Also, we had to give ourselves a "head-slap", for missing, earlier this past week, noting our 5th Anniversary of writing The Garlic, as well as hitting our 3,400th post.

Ahhh, but that be nothin'.

The big news today (aside from Wannabe Teabagger Den Mother, Sarah Palin, and her magical set of hands), is that the New Orleans Saints beat (whipped - outscoring the Colts 31-7 over the last three quarters) the Indianapolis Colts tonight, 31-17, ending a 42-year drought for the historically beleaguered franchise.

They can leave the "Aint's" behind, and shuffle up into Payton Manning's face, bellowing, joyously "Who Dat!".

As we posted earlier, to Facebook and Twitter, "A lot of Super Bowl workers getting big OT Pay tonight - Having to pack away all those "Peyton Manning Best Ever" crates ..."

Dave Weigal ReTweeted that "Haitians about to get a shipment of Colts Super Bowl Champion T-Shirts."

Manning, heh, heh, threw the game-killing interception, trailing, at the time, by only 7-points, and on a march downfield, as Tracy Porter returned the pic 75-yards for a touchdown, sealing the deal.

And, Saints QB Drew Brees was named MVP of the game.

The most clutch play ever, perhaps, in a Super Bowl, however, goes to Saints Coach Sean Payton, for making the call to go with an On-Side kick, for the Second Half kick-off, recovered by the Saints, and they just stole, from that point on, all the momentum away from the Colts.

A little partying, maybe, huh?

Barry Crimmins announced that "FEMA commences emergency airlift of crucial beer, wine and liquor supplies to French Quarter."

So with that, we will reprise something we used, just a few weeks ago, to celebrate the Saints ...

Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In