- A melancholy happy trials to Ron Asheton, the guitarist for the legendary and influential punk rock band The Stooges. Asheton was found dead Tuesday morning in his Ann Arbor, Michigan, home. The Stooges were a seminal influence on the punk rock scene in Detroit in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, founded in 1967 in Ann Arbor by Iggy Pop, the godfather of punk. The fact that they were never a major mainstream success is totally irrelevant, mostly because any real music fan knows that the most popular acts in the mainstream are almost invariably the ones that totally blow and the true musical geniuses are always working on the fringe. In addition to Iggy and Ron Asheton, the Stooges included Ron’s brother Scott. They’ve been cited by great artists of today like Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Jack White of the White Stripes as a major influence. Their self-titled debut knocked the punk scene on its ass in 1969 and they followed up with a powerful sophomore album in 1970's "Fun House." I’d argue that their best song is “Search and Destroy,” but tunes like "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "1969" and "Raw Power" are also awesome. The Stooges actually reunited for a series of shows in 2003, and released a new record, "The Weirdness," in 2007, so until Tuesday it appeared that they still had some music left to make. Ironically, the band is nominated for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with inductees set to be announced later this month. Not that a legendary act like the Stooges and a guitarist like Ron Asheton needs to be inducted into a total joke of a museum like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for any sort of validation, but it is sad that Asheton won't be around to see his band be inducted. Police actually found Asheton’s body after a caller phoned police saying they hadn't heard from him in a few days, but thankfully foul play isn’t suspected. Honestly, after the hard-charging lifestyle Iggy and his crew lived for so many years, the fact that some of them would die young isn’t a huge surprise, although that doesn’t make it any less sad…..
- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is being called a lot of things by a lot of people, some extremely positive and others bitterly negative. He’s making headlines because his office announced Tuesday that he is launching an investigation into the Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws. As you probably know, the BCS is the fraudulent, pathetic, defective system allegedly used to decide the national champion of Division I college football. However, what it really is, at its core, is a huge payday for the schools who are a part of the system and little more. As such, the system is ripped by everyone with a shred of intelligence and integrity who watches college football. However, it hasn’t been until recently that people who may actually have some power to change or replace the system. President-elect Barack Obama has been making noise about getting a playoff system in place, as have members of Congress. But it’s Shurtleff who is looking to take it to the next level, mostly because an undefeated Utah team was left out of the national title game for the second time in five years this season. It’s Shurtleff’s contention that the BCS unfairly puts schools like Utah, which is a member of a conference without an automatic bid to a BCS bowl, at a competitive and financial disadvantage. "We've established that from the very first day, from the very fist kickoff in the college season, more than half of the schools are put on an unlevel playing field," Shurtleff said. "They will never be allowed to play for a national championship." Here’s the thing about what Shurtleff is saying: it’s all true, but the reason he’s getting ripped is that most people figure that a state attorney general should have more important things to do, things like taking on crime, fraud, murders, drugs, etc., than taking on a college football postseason system. Fact is, Utah is the only undefeated D-1 football team, a squad that defeated No. 4 Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl and beat four Top 25 teams during the season. They absolutely deserve a shot at the national title and an unfair system will prevent them and similar teams from receiving that opportunity. Personally, I’m rooting for Shurtleff and his office as they begin reviewing the Sherman Antitrust Act to see if a lawsuit can be filed. They need to prove a conspiracy exists that creates a monopoly in order to win, a claim I believe they can make. As most sane college football fans and analysts believe, Shurtleff says that the optimal solution would be for the BCS and university presidents to solve the problem by creating a playoff system, but by now we all know that those clowns aren’t going that route unless forced to legally. Shurtleff is a guy who clearly has a grasp on the problem, as evidenced by his summation of the BCS as it now stands. "It's not about bragging rights. It's a multimillion dollar, hundreds of millions business where the BCS schools get richer and non-BCS get poorer," said Shurtleff. Pretty much, and it’s about time someone punched these idiotic college presidents in their faces and made them accept change when it comes to college football’s postseason……
- Nothing like trying to get a 30-year-old sex offense case that ruined your life, made you a fugitive from justice and left you unable to return to the United States dismissed on a technicality. Film director Roman Polanski is the offender in question, having fled the United States in 1978 after admitting to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Dude has been living in exile in France since then, but that hasn’t stopped his attorneys from asking that a judge outside Los Angeles be assigned to decide a motion to dismiss the charges against him, claiming prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. In a motion filed Monday, Polanski’s attorneys argue
that the entire Los Angeles County Superior Court system should be disqualified from the case because of statements made by the court's chief spokesman in response to its filing last month. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t your client plead guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse? Nice try, arguing that the case deserves to “be reviewed by an impartial judge, who does not have a vested interest in the outcome.” You may think that the cdourt and prosecutors are guilty of misconduct, but that doesn’t change the fact that your boy R. Polanski confessed to his crime, failed to show up for sentencing and never returned to the United States.
Thus, when you file a motion for dismissal in December, citing extraordinary new evidence" of "repeated, unlawful and unethical misconduct" by the Los Angeles district attorney's office and the judge in Polanski's case, I’m not inclined to buy what you’re selling. Again, he CONFESSED TO THE CRIME. Unless misconduct can magically travel back in time to before the case began and force your client to commit statutory rape, not interested. But if you do want to pursue this joke of a case, you need to quit insisting that Polanski should not be required to return to the United States to appear in court for the issue to be considered. Nice try, R. Polanski and legal team, but the justice system doesn't work on your demands, so they're about to tell you to take your request and shove it.........
- There is always debate as to whether the Internet is the single best or the single worst thing ever to happen to our society. I’m here to tell you that it’s the former, and for evidence of that, see www.hottestcollegeinamerica.com. It’s a website that is exactly what you’d expect it to be based on its name. It alleges to be seeking the sexiest college in the United States, that standard being determined by people sending in pictures of hot girls in skanky outfits, Halloween costumes, etc., from their college or university. Seriosuly, what else is college for if not to pick up hot chicks or, for girls, to be a hot chick who tries to look as hot as possible? It’s the best chance you’ll ever have to be in top physical condition, so might as well make the most of it. Yes, you may want to work in a class or two every now and then, just enough studying to keep from getting booted out of school, but other than that, the pursuit of hotness should be the top goal, no? That’s not to say there aren’t biases and faults in this ranking system, most notably that warm-weather schools have a decided advantage in attracting hot chicks and giving them maximum time to show off their hotness without freezing to death during winter. With that in mind, here are the rankings for this week, courtesy of the site: 1. Arizona
2. USC
3. UCLA
4. UMass
5. Florida State. Two schools in southern California in the top 3, shocker. Actually, having seen the USC Song Girls at the Rose Bowl, no it’s not. But props to the Pac-10 conference for sweeping the top three spots, well done everyone…..
- Television stations in nations in turmoil are becoming an increasingly dangerous place to be. First, a Greek TV station was taken hostage by angry protestors who seized their broadcast and used the air waves to further make their point about being angry over the murder of a teenager by police in Athens. That hostile takeover seems peaceful by comparison when you look at the masked gunmen who opened fire and tossed a grenade at a Mexican television station as it aired its nightly newscast Tuesday. Shockingly (and fortunately), no injuries were reported in the assault on the Televisa network's studio in the northern city of Monterrey. However, the gunmen did leave behind a message warning the station about its coverage of drug gangs. According to Televisa Monterrey director Francisco Cobo, the gunmen arrived in two pickup trucks and opened fire during the station's evening newscast. Certainly a way to liven up the hum-drum, canned format of your average local news broadcast, so I can’t really complain there. Also, it’s always good drama when you have two news anchors asking for police help on the air. As for the message left behind by the assailants, a message left outside the station read: "Stop reporting only about us, also report about the narco-officials. This is a warning." Hmm, I’m going to read between the lines and say that this looks suspiciously like an attack by a drug cartel. It’s a risky assumption based on circumstantial evidence, I know, but I’m going to go with it. After all, these drug cartels are engaged in bloody, brutal battles over turf and smuggling routes, so attacking a TV station doesn’t seem that ridiculous a move. Now if we can only find a way to hire these masked gunmen to storm the studios when American Karaoke is filming, shut down that broadcast and lob a grenade at that tool Simon Cowell……
- Gotta love an international pissing match where both involved nations are acting like petulant 5-year-olds. And surprise, surprise, one of the involved parties is Venezuelan dictator/President Hugo Chavez. Seems that Chavez and his government ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave over the increasingly bloody ground war in Gaza, so Israel is weighing whether to expel Venezuela's top diplomat from the country in retaliation. The expulsion of Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to Caracas came on Tuesday and was accompanied by allegations that Israel is attempting to carry out "genocide" against the Palestinian people. "In this tragic and indignant hour, the people of Venezuela manifest their unconditional solidarity with the heroic Palestinian people, share in the sadness that overcomes thousands of families through the loss of their loved ones, and extends to them a hand by affirming that the government of Venezuela will not rest until it sees those responsible for these criminal atrocities severely punished," the Venezuelan foreign minister said in a written statement. But for a despotic dictator like Hugo Chavez, a written blast isn’t enough. Dude had to go on state-run Venezuelan television and blast the Israeli military personally. "They are cowards," he said. "It's as though a boxing professional were to come here and challenge you to box. Well, how courageous! How courageous is the Israeli army!" For some reason, the Israelis didn’t take too kindly to that characterization and their response was to name-call right back, saying that “the regime in Venezuela has been one of the few countries in the world that gives automatic support to the Iranian extremists.” Oh, and they are going to return serve and kick out the Venezuelan ambassador. What’s next, is one of you going to TP the other’s house, throw eggs at the other’s windows and give them a swirlie? Very respectable, professional diplomacy by both nations, well done each of you…..
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