Francoise Hardy Celebrates a Birthday

Tunes

Francoise Hardy, who turns 66 today, gave us many of the gems of French pop music.

Among her best… Comment te Dire Adieu.  Released in 1968, my bride says it sounds like an old commercial.  And perhaps it does, inspiring a later genre of  jingles circa 1970.
The song’s apparent simplicity veils classic French complexity, particularly with [...]

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A Stench of Disgust Drifts Across Cairo

Egypt

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak can gaze in virtually any direction and see the growing signs of disenchantment.
The belief that something is terribly wrong with the way Egypt is being governed has become so widespread that corruption, ineptitude and repression are considered commonplace.

Even Egyptian veterinarians are disgusted with the Hosni Mubarak regime.
In early January, vets took [...]

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Remembering Teddy Pendergrass

Tunes

When Teddy Pendergrass recently died from colon cancer we lost the kind of performer who presented more than meets the eye.
Typecast as a ladies’ man, a sensual, sexual exponent of a new, polished brand of soul music, Teddy Pendergrass transcended his role.

It was his drumming, not his singing, that landed him a gig with Harold [...]

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Egypt and Her Swastikas

Egypt

If you are a cunning old scoundrel like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, you can indeed have it both ways.   You can collect a billion and a half dollars in U.S. Foreign Aid and convince the Obama administration that you are integral to brokering a Middle East peace agreement at the same time your state-controlled press [...]

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The Sublime Radio Station

Tunes

A gray autumn afternoon in Paris, damp and cold.    Inside Le Troisieme Bureau, a cafe a few blocks off Place Republique, it was warm, unpretentious, and insulated from the tourist swarm.

The food was good but the music was better.    When John Lee Hooker segues into Mozart’s Requiem you pay attention.   It was [...]

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Ace Hardware CEO Ray Griffith Needs To Go Shopping

Americana

Ace Hardware marketing has successfully convinced me that they deliver better service than their big box competitors.
For years Ace has paid jovial John Madden to remind us that “helpful” is the position Ace chooses to occupy in the minds of consumers like me.
But the wheels came off this afternoon at Foothills Ace Hardware in Phoenix.
As [...]

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Stayin’ Alive Into 2010

Americana

a list to remind us of who’s stayin’ alive in 2010.

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Righteous Rehab for Tiger Woods

Americana

Man, I got the devil in me. I’m draggin’ the audience to hell with me. I’m a sinner. I know it. Soon I’m gonna have to reckon with the chillin’ hands of death.
Jerry Lee Lewis
There are suggestions that to anchor whatever rehabilitation process he embarks on, Tiger Woods should latch onto [...]

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Late At Night Near Honda Canyon

Americana

When a recent conversation with my daughter arrived at the point where we questioned her plans, she reminded us that she was twenty-four years old.  Knowing that time spent trying to explain the absence of any connection between one’s age and one’s decision-making skills would be squandered, it seemed more productive to reflect on my [...]

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The Rotting of Mossad Abu Fagr

Egypt

Mossad Abu Fagr isn’t really sure why he is locked away in an Egyptian jail.
The Northern Sinai novelist did some blogging about Bedouin issues the Mubarak regime didn’t take kindly to, and the upshot wasn’t pretty.

As long as Mossad is in prison, Article 47 of Egypt’s constitution reeks of shame. The guarantee of freedom [...]

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