Guns Guns Guns

Noting today's historic Supreme Court ruling, the first ruling on the right to gun ownership since the 1700s:

Scalia noted that the handgun is Americans' preferred weapon of self-defense in part because "it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guns

In a parallel finding, the middle finger is Alex's preferred weapon of Scalia-disdain in part because "it can be waved at a dipshit with one hand while the other hand fingers his wife"

Kanye West has interesting priorities

So recently at Bonnaroo, Kanye was to go on around 8:30. He complained that it wouldn't be dark enough for his glow in the dark-focused performance to achieve it's full artistic expression. So they moved his slot to after main act Pearl Jam. He was slated to go on around 2:30 AM, a pretty ambitious plan, but hey, it's Bonnaroo. Someone'll still be up.

Of course, by the time the offloaded Pearl Jam's set and got Kanye's Magical Glowing Spaceship of Fun and Profit(TM) set up and ready to go, it was well after 4 AM. By then, the few fans remaining had begun chanting "Kanye sucks" and throwing beer at the stage.

Full story is here (blogger being a bitch about hyperlinks right now): http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/61460900

Kanye's retort: "This Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life," West wrote. "This is the most offended I've ever been ... this is the maddest I ever will be."

Really, Kanye? This makes you more mad than the federal response to Hurricane Katrina? This makes you more mad than the Rodney King verdict? This makes you more mad than communities plagued by senseless violence, the war in Iraq, and the 2000 election? Wow. That's some serious egotism. I've got an idea: go fuck yourself.

You delay a performance until after 4 AM, and you're damn straight I'm gonna boo your ass. While I am tempted to read into the racial dynamic (Bonnaroo=well to do white kids on drugs), no, I'm sorry. Going on at 4:30 is unnacceptable on every level, and I would boo Jesus if he made me stay up that late for the fucking Sermon on the Mount, much less your ridiculous fucking glow in the dark, Space Oddity wannabe bullshit.

Rave: Metaform

Just picked up Metaform's new album, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.

It's really, really good.

This album has launched itself to top of the list for my summer partying purposes. At least the chilled out bbq-style parties.

HUGE bonus points for the Coming to America sample in I Feel Good.

Opposite day

I woke up in a bad mood today.
I'd spent the evening slogging through an impossibly humid Phillies game that saw Brett Myers tease me by taking a no-no into the seventh, only to have them lose 2-0. They spoiled a great pitching outing by being totally unable to comprehend the movement on Edison Volquez's pitches (seriously - dude's stuff is sick).

ANYWAY, I just read a story that turned my mood around. In a city that gets urban planning wrong 99.997% of the time, it's rare to read something like this. Now, Shop Rite sucks ass (new slogan: "Hey, at least we're not Pathmark!"), and Lowe's is just another soulless big box blah blah blah mom and pop store blah blah walmart blahrg. Bottom line is this community needed a grocery store, needed affordable home repair supplies, needed JOBS. And that's what this will give them. You ever notice that the only people who really complain about the death of mom and pop stores in favor of walmarts and Lowe's et al are well to do, college educated people? Meanwhile, low-income people are forced to rely on the wildly unhealthy food options dished up by mom and pop. That's right. Mom and pop are stuff white people like.

Lowe's and Shop Rite are stuff everyone in this community needs.

Fuck you, mom and pop.