06.26.09 – Friday

Word: mollify [mol-uh-fahy] v. 1. to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease 2. to mitigate or reduce; soften: to mollify one’s demands

Birthday: Abner Doubleday (1819), Lord Kelvin (1824), Pearl S. Buck (1892), Colonel Tom Parker (1909), Dave Grusin (1934), Gilberto Gil (1942), Mick Jones (1955), Chris Isaak (1956), Patty Smyth (1957), Mark McKinney (1959), Greg LeMond (1961), Sean Hayes (1970), Chris O’Donnell (1970), Nick Offerman (1970), Jason Schwartzman (1980), Michael Vick (1980)

Quotation: What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising?  Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public. – Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Tune: I love it when I go to a show, expecting one thing and get something totally different. My ex-wife and I loved to listen to singer-songwriter Steve Poltz but when she got me tickets to go see him at Tin Angel in Philadelphia, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. I figured it would be like every other show I’d seen there – imagine someone with a guitar on a stage, in front of them a crowd who reveres music much the way I imagine religious people revere God. Anyway, Poltz turned out to be one of the most entertaining storytellers ever. He told a story about puking on David Cassidy’s shoes in Las Vegas. I think that’s what it was about. I was pretty smashed. (The assembled audiophiles didn’t approve but Poltz didn’t seem to mind when I talked to him after the show.) Check out this live performance of  “Chinese Vacation.”

Gallimaufry: When I read articles like “Jive-talking twin Transformers raise race issues,” I’m convinced people are seriously losing their fucking minds. It’s a movie. Yesterday, I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Sure, Skids and Mudflap were unquestionably bothersome. But offensive? Only to those out there who purposely search everything for offensive undertones. Get a grip. ∞ In case you were in a cave listening to your iPod yesterday, you already know that Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, the apparent victim of cardiac arrest. OK, I get it. The man (maybe) was a top-notch performed and he was loved all over the world. But he was also a pedophile, even though that was never adequately proven. Everyone knew it. But, as we’ve seen more and more lately, if you entertain people in any way, shape or form, (and you’re name is not O.J.), you’ve basically received a license to do whatever the hell you want. Last night, I watched a news report that said people up in Harlem held an impromptu parade to celebrate the life of Jackson. Kind of ridiculous. The guy molested children. But he did invent the moonwalk. Apparently, we think that dance is pretty awesome. ∞ Sadly, Jacko’s death overshadowed the death of Farrah Fawcett, who also passed away yesterday from her long bout with cancer. It was almost a triple-play when bloggers started reporting the death of Jeff Goldblum, stating he fell off a cliff in Hawaii while playing golf. But, he didn’t die. He wasn’t even in Hawaii. He was in Los Angeles. Stupid misinformed bloggers.