Elvis Turns 75, Posthumously

MoonHowler

The late Elvis Presley turned 75. He was born on January 8, 1935 and died very prematurely August 16, 1977 at age 42. Elvis probably has done more for ushering in rock n roll than any other person. He brought gospel music, country and blues into a genre called rockabilly and from there into actual rock n roll. He was controversial and frowned upon by the ‘parent’ generation. When he first appeared on Ed Sullivan, his hips were not allowed to be filmed. Shock and awe.

Elvis was drafted, married a teenager named Pricilla, and returned to not only make recordings but also films and perform at concerts. His home, Gracelands, is now a museum to the King. Even though divorced before his death, Pricilla Presley keeps the memory of Elvis alive. Millions of fans tour Graceland each year.

According to Wikipedia:

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth-century popular culture. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music, with sales of approximately 1 billion units worldwide.[2][3][4] Among many honors, he was nominated for 14 competitive Grammys (winning 3 times) and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into four music halls of fame.

It is very hard to believe that Elvis would be 75 had he lived and that he has been gone for 32 years. Prescriptions drug abuse and poor health habits caused Presley’s untimely death. How much American talent has ended prematurely because of sustance abuse and alcohol? Janice Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger, Jimi Hendrix, John Belushi, Jim Morrison, Chris Farley, Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Garcia, Judy Garland…the list seems endless. Our supposed war on drugs has not been particularly successful.

Jiffy Lube Live?

MoonHowler


Mr. Howler just came out with the news that there is going to be no more Nissan Pavillion.  The concert venue out in Gainesville that backs up traffic for miles and miles will soon have a new name.  The stock holders voted to rename the pavillion after its new naming rights sponsor, Jiffy Lube. 

We have Fed Ex Field, the Verizon Center,  the Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, Wolftrap, the Merriweather Post Pavillion, and ….the Jiffy Lube Pavillion near Manassas.  Arrggggghhhh.  If only we weren’t already known for the Bobbitt incident, perhaps the Jiffy Lube Pavillion wouldn’t be quite as bad.  but what does one say, I am going out to the Jiffy Lube for a concert?  Maybe it can just be known as the JLP. 

I doubt if many locals will be bragging about this new name.  It just sort of adds insult to injury.

Sesquicentennial Plans Withdrawn

MoonHowler
Part 2
Part 2

UPDATE:

Multiple sources have reported that the Virginia Civil War Events, Inc has withdrawn its request to partner with Prince William County as an events planner for the Sesquicentennial in 2011. ‘Withdrawn’ can be a temporary situation. It can simply mean ‘for now.’

The BOCS had decided to revisit the plans for the proposed Memorandum of Understanding with this group in January.

 

 

No explanation was provided via our sources. It could very well be that the harsh reality of the extremely austere budget cuts Virginia is facing signalled that there simply is no money.  Or…The organization’s chair could be revising his plans.  Stay tuned.

Previous links:

BOCS Meeting 12/8/09

Sesquicentennial Plans Presented to BOCS

Manassas Council to spend $100K on Civil War Anniversary

Bill O’Reilly Slams Laura Ingraham over Michelle Obama

MoonHowler

Hard to believe, isn’t it?  Bill O’Reilly attended the White House Christmas party and had some rather nice things to say about the first lady, Michelle Obama.  Ingraham accused O’Reilly of gushing over her.  O’Reilly has that Irish temper and we got to see a bit of it.  In short, he calls Ingraham out and tells her she is an idealogue and is hooked up to an IV kool aid drip.  The moral of this story is not to piss off O’Reilly. 

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Obama’s Socialist Christmas Ornament Program

MoonHowler

It’s Friday and time for another round of Jon Stewart. It was a toss up between this one and the last Tea Party of the Year. The ornament program won.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Obama’s Socialist Christmas Ornament Program
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

 

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O’Reilly takes on Law and Order over Immigration Episode

MoonHowler

The video speaks for itself.

Isn’t art supposed to imitate life? I watched that episode of Law and Order. The rhetoric sounded to me an ordinary day on at least one local blog. On the other hand, as you saw in the video, O’Reilly was named as one of the haters who stir up people on the right about illegal immigration. I am not so sure O’Reilly is all that vitriolic on this subject. He is actually rather tempered from what I have witnessed. However, his outrage and tantrum over Dick Wolf weakened his case.

The plot can be seen at this site. And to set the record straight, Law and Order SVU has only been on the air for 11 years. The show often incorporates current issues into the plot as the detectives try to solve crimes committed against special victims.

The Geminids are Coming!

MoonHowler

 

 It’s time for another Sky Event. (Dec. 13)

Tonight, if the skies are clear, those who are hearty enough to brave cold weather might have a real treat in store. Tonight is an annual meteor shower that is only increasing in intensity.

Before the Civil War, the meteor shower was sort of a dud. For starters, who wants to go out in the cold to watch the night skies?  Over time, however, this meteor shower has only increased in intensity. According to nasa.gov:

 

The Geminids are not typical meteors, also known as shooting stars. Most meteors are created when tiny particles from comets slam into the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate. Meteors fly through the sky every night, and when there are a lot, they are called meteor showers.

The Geminids are among the few meteors created from an asteroid, Cooke said. Several hundred or perhaps a few thousand years ago — scientists aren’t sure when — something caused what is now known as the 3200 Phaethon asteroid to start spewing debris. Perhaps something hit it. No one knows.

“The Geminids are kind of mysterious in that regard,” Cooke said.

What isn’t a mystery is the arrival of the Geminids each December. They are in different places in the sky, depending on the time and location. From about 9 p.m. until after midnight Sunday, look to the northeast.

The Geminids radiate near the constellation Gemini. At around 10 pm, locate the constellation Orion. Then look above Orion and to the left. Hopefully you will see at least 2-3 ‘shooting stars’ per minute. We could be getting a real light show tonight, or, if skies remain cloudy like they are Sunday morning, we could see nothing. It is all a crap shoot at this point.

Jon Stewart Tries to Rescue Gretchen Carlson’s IQ from an Offshore Account

MoonHowler

You should know it will be here, at least once a week.  Elena and I are big Jon Stewart fans so he will appear.  This week he tries to rescue Gretchen Carlson’s IQ from an Offshore Account.   Stewart accuses Carlson of playing the troubled mom and says she has dumbed herself down.  She sure doesn’t come across as a valedictorian, a Stanford graduate nor someone who has studied at Oxford.  So why is she always playing like she doesn’t know which side is up?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Gretchen Carlson Dumbs Down
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Reckless Affairs of the Rich and Powerful

MoonHowler

 

 PepsiCo has dropped the Tiger Gatorade drink. One can only assume it has to do with the 11 women who have come forward as paramours of Tiger ‘Cheetah’ Woods. Today Fox News’s Neil Cavuto explored why so many people have reckless affairs. Cavuto usually reports financial news. Today he digressed.

Cavuto’s  guest, Dr. Victoria Someone, suggestsed that the reason rich and powerful men have reckless affairs is because of narcissism and need for instant gratification. The rich and powerful have every need attended to and it becomes habit. She said that men who are extremely successful have a high testosterone count.

                            

                                 Soon to be no more

That leads to the next question. Why do women play along with this behavior? What did those 11 women who were ‘mistresses’ of Tiger Woods get from their relationship? I refuse to believe all rich and famous men are fabulous lovers. So what is it?

The people on Anti surely will know the answer. What makes so many rich and powerful men fall into these brazen affairs when the price is so costly if they get caught? Often they lose both the power and lots and lots of money. The sensation seeking and risk taking seem to go hand in hand. Start with a list of louses. What do they all have in common?

HO HO HO It’s a Manassas Christmas Parade

MoonHowler

xmas parade

HO     HO       HO

 

It’s that special time of year again, for the Manassas Christmas  Parade.

 In fact, the parade will be 64 years old tomorrow. Santa arrived via VRE and the Manassas Christmas tree has been lit. Time to roll!

 

It begins at 10 o’clock am and travels the regular route, along Center Street, going the opposite way of normal traffic.

There are dignitaries, cars, clowns, motorcycles, Shriners, floats, horses, bands, twirlers, ROTC groups, angels, carolers, dancers, and just about anything a person would like to see in a parade. (no elephants)

Manassas folks love their parade! Doing the math, it appears that the first Manassas Christmas Parade began in 1945, right after WWII ended. Was the first Christmas parade to celebrate the end of the war? How did the parade evolve into an annual event? Where are the historians?

Huckabee Calls Knee-Jerk GOP Attacks On Obama ‘Deplorable’ And ‘Shameful’

MoonHowler

Mike Huckabee has always seemed like a decent sort.  His politics are too conservative for someone like me but I have always respected his sincerity and his decency.  He also plays a mean guitar. 

While promoting his book, ‘A Simple Christmas,’ he took the time to speak out against his fellow Republicans taking a swipe at simply everything President Obama has done.  He said he hated it when it was done to Bush and he hates it being done to Obama:

Appearing before the Hudson Union Society to discuss his forthcoming book, “A Simple Christmas”, Huckabee took umbrage with the criticism levied by some conservatives over Obama’s visit to Dover Air Force base to see the coffins of returning soldiers.

When he [Barack Obama] was at Dover the other day, and went there to pay respect for soldiers, I heard a lot of people on the Right say “Aw, that’s just a cheap photo-op.” No, I think it was the Commander-in-Chief of our military paying respect to a dead soldier, and I’m grateful that he did that, and I was proud of him for doing that. And I think we all — as Americans — should give him credit for doing that.

 

He continued:

When he and Michele hosted the tricker-treaters on Halloween, quit finding something wrong with that. Say “Good, I’m glad that he and the First Lady are treating children to an experience at the White House.” And I just find it deplorable that some people on my end of the aisle want to find everything wrong and nothing right about the man as a man.
The underlying point, Huckabee concluded, was that knee-jerk criticism to the president was counter-productive to civil debate. “I hated it when people did that to George Bush,” he said. “They couldn’t even laugh at the man’s jokes they found something wrong with everything and if we do that to Barack Obama, then shame on us, shame on us. No wonder our country is so divided when that happens.”

Mike Huckabee is also an ordained minister. Perhaps that is what gives him a sense of decency. Maybe he is just a southern gentleman. At any rate, he serves as a model for the rest of us. He raises the political bar to where it should be. He is not an ad hominem attack kind of guy.

We may see a lot more of Mike Huckabee in the upcoming years. By the time the next presidential election rolls around, people might just be ready for ‘nice.’

Huckabee is an accomplished bass player:

Quotations are from Huffington Post.

Sarah Goes Rogue

MoonHowler

Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, has received more publicity than most authors could ever hope or wish for. It should hit the shelves running, so to speak, Tuesday morning. Much has been leaked about of the book, either intentionally or unintentionally. In the book Sarah Palin talks about the McCain campaign, her difficulties with his campaign staff, her family, Alaska, her resignation as governor of Alaska, her near miss son-in-law, Levi Johnson, and an assortment of other things Americans seem to find fascinating. 

Sarah Palin appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday. I sat up extra late to see the rerun. Sarah Palin was gracious and scripted. Oprah didn’t have a prayer of catching her off-guard. Sarah Palin is likable. She is practiced. She appeared to want to leave no trail of words that might need explaining later. For example, she didn’t badmouth that pos Levi Johnson. That must have been tough considering Levi has gone everywhere trashing the entire family. She said he was the father of her grandchild and that would never change. Pretty smart of the lady, both politically and as the matriarch of the family.

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The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court

MoonHowler

The Supreme Court reconvenes on Monday after summer recess. To mark this occassion, C-Span will air its documentary The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court giving us an inside look at internal workings of the US Supreme Court.

According to the Washington Post:

Supreme fanatics will learn something new here about justices’ chambers and the busts, interior artwork and exterior features of the 1935 court building.

Most interesting, this marks the first time that all the current and retired justices (including Sandra Day O’Connor, David Souter and newcomer Sonia Sotomayor) have given individual interviews on camera for the same film. If nothing else, it’s rare to see some of them move and speak up close. (Longer individual interviews will be aired later in the week, and full transcripts, natch, will go up on C-SPAN’s Web site.)

That the justices say almost nothing revealing and stick squarely to their respect and reverence for the job is fine with me, as is the fact that you’d have to go to a funeral home to find a more hushed edifice. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg most giddily shows off the hallowed halls. There is discussion of pecking order and chamber offices that face street protesters and offices that don’t. There is the never-before-filmed robing room, where one treats one’s colleagues with utmost kindness and respect, even when “you may be temporarily miffed because you received a spicy dissenting opinion,” she says.

The show airs at 9 pm Sunday night for 90 minutes on CSPAN. Sunday night is getting some better TV for those willing to leave the standard networks.