or as the canadians, aussies and brits call it Rememberance Day.

i was totally impressed how it’s not really a “day” where you put the old flag up next to the mail box, or get the day off, but in Vancouver, and i suspect, most of Canada, the good people actually think about the horrors of war and give props to the veterans who died for them.

what you do, apparently, is buy a red poppy from a old vet for a buck or two and pin it to your jacket or shirt or cap and it’s like the ribbons that we sometimes wear except not as cheesy.

dare i say, it came across to me as classy.

americans talk alot about supporting the troops but i wonder if they ever feel like sometimes the best way to support the young men and women who volunteer for the service is to *not* send them to every single war that a few men in power usher them off to as living pawns.

for such an intelligent and diverse nation, im often shocked at how simpleminded so many can be, especially when it comes to something as serious and life-changing as war.

what i learned from the Canadians was that even though far fewer of them have perished on the battlefield, that they respect life so much that they really respect those who will give their lives in the name of their nation.

and therefore they respect war so much that they would hesitate from entering into it for foolish reasons.

on this veteran’s day i believe its right to say that i think we are wrong to be in iraq. i feel like the best thing we can do for our soldiers, who we support, is to get them the hell out of there, especially our national guardsmen who should be defending our borders.

i believe that you can support the troops and disagree with certain wars, this one being a foolish one.

and i believe that in a free country, especially in America, it is not only your right to stand up and disagree with the leadership when you have a valid point, but it is your duty as a patriot.

when i was younger i very much wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force. strangely enough it was Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA that inspired me to want to protect our country. obviously i had not read the words clearly, so i will print them out now so you can read along to one of the best war anthems around. its semi-anti-war, as its about the dark side of false wars based on fears of an enemy who is not doing us any harm.

but i know that if i had joined the air force and was sent off to a unjust war, i would have hoped that my fellow americans at home would have stood up for me if they had known that my selflessness had been abused by the State.

which is why today i ask virtually that the President withdraw our troops from iraq.

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just covering up

[chorus:]
Born in the U.S.A. (x5)

I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

[chorus]

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me…”
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said “Son don’t you understand…”

[chorus]

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

I’m a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I’m a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

in flanders field + edwin star – war + our president does not support the troops

about blogging. during my trip to new york city we ate green eggs and ham and i had a great idea about a book that would be a best seller and she agreed. it would focus on politcal bloggers.

lets just say i have a million ideas that i aint even rocked yet, and at the time that was a good idea but last night after reading welch’s page, and then dennis the peasant’s page, and then luke ford’s page, and then the lgf page, about how Luke Ford was kicked off the Pajama Media cadre, it made me sick to my stomach.

i know i can come across as a liberal sometimes. but the truth is i voted for the first George Bush, and Reagan. i believe in small government. i believe in capitalism and the right for americans to be as rich as they can. i also believe, somewhat in trickle-down economics – to the point that i think that when people get rich they will, on their own accord, naturally give to the poor and start new businesses and invest in their community.

but this administration isnt the Republican party of Reagan, this is dont-tax and spend, this is the immoral majority, this is the bastardization of the american GOP.

and thats why i rally against it. and i would think that other Republicans would do the same.

however thats not the case. the phenomenom during the W era is to back the party no matter what nonsense they do. be it torture, or going to war over lies, or outting a CIA agent as a form of childish payback, to taking the largest surplus ever and making the largest deficit ever, etc etc.

but because i believe that all parties have the right to their own opinoin i am a registered Independent and i dont knock the individual parties for their point of views, but i do knock the individiuals when they are either 1)corrupt, 2)fucking liars, or 3)not actually representing their party and/or constituants.

for those of you who dont know, Pajamas Media is a collection of mostly right-wing bloggers and writers who, it seems, want to form an answer to the suprisingly successful Huffington Post, which is a collection of mostly left-wing non-bloggers.

each week Charles from Little Green Footballs and the Instapundit announce who has joined the Pajama Media and if you read the comments on LGF they usually say, “oh yeah, hes great” but something weird happened when they announced Luke Ford… one of the commentors recognized him as the Matt Drudge of Porn.

yes its true Luke used to have a very successful web site where he covered the Adult video industry inside and out, so to speak. Ultimately quitting when he became disgusted by the people who run the biz.

Little did I know that he was now back to covering porn on his site lukeisback.com, and apparently Pajama Media didnt know either, but as soon as they found out they took back their decoder ring and kicked him to the curb.

now just like most people, Luke isnt one-dimensional. in fact hes a complicated man. after his exit from the xxx world he found God and converted to Judiasm. however he had a hard time finding a temple who would accept him because of his past. keep in mind, Luke never made any films or starred in any, he simply reported on the industry, and yes, he dated a few of the lovelies… as if you wouldnt.

although in the handful of times that i got to chat with Luke i never really got into the bible with him, i did find him knowledgeable about the Good Book, and sincere in his faith.

but apparently, just like the judgemental Temples, Pajama Media was not interested in a journalist who covered that part of American consumerism in their little clubhouse. even though it’s an industry that’s legal, vibrant, and ever-growing.

proving to all of us who are paying attention, that Pajama Media will accept you if you defend American Terrorism, torture, perjury, outting of CIA agents, deficit spending, lies, traitors, and foul play… but titties on dvds is over the line.

the book that i was going to write was going to be completely objective. allowing several heavy hitters from the left right and center to explain their process of blogging. but at this point, just like abraham who insisted that there were a few decent souls in Sodom, im not sure i could find one just voice on the Right.

so why pay attention to them? why give them ink? why allow them to continue to shrink their circle tighter and tighter, while falling into the stereotype that the GOP is indeed the party of exclusion.

yes i know PM has a handful of libertarians, including Luke’s bff Cathy Seipp, but if i were her i’d step down in protest… or at least blog about her displeasure in their actions – something that she has yet to do. (Is Pajama Media, an echo-chamber of Yesmen and women?)

but what hurts me the most is that it appears Charles Johnson, a man who ive respected for years, is allowing this to happen. yes he wont return my emails, yes many of his commenters are reactionary predictable flagwavers, but ive met the man and just like Luke, Charles is more complicated and real than people give him credit for being.

and as all of us are, outside the two-dimensional world of our blogs, we are far more dynamic and human than these zeroes and ones could ever depict. which is one reason i love going to Blogger and Buzznet meet-ups – because when you allow humans to really just be humans, most of the time you will be pleasantly suprised.

we are not our skin color, we are not the car we drive, we are not the zip code we hang our hat in, we are not the political party we typically vote for.

we are multi dimensional children of God.

or, if you prefer: beautiful accidents from the dust of the big bang.

this entire post makes me sad because grade school ended for most of us a (very) long time ago.

but you wouldnt know it watching them play in the sandbox called the blogosphere.

blogebrity + just a girl + dave navarro + pink is the new blog + lukeford.net

hell, i never go out.

only reason i took the job with Buzznet was because i knew itd get me out of the damn house and id quit being a lazy bastard.

i also never advertise many things in this, the fat part of the busblog.

but this weekend i will drive the three miles down santa monica blvd and venture down the street from the famed Hollywood Memorial Cemetery to finally meet, and then see, the comedy stylings of Mr. DC Pierson and his troupe from NYC: The Wicked, Wicked, Hammerkatz.

i dont know anything about these people, i dont want to know anything about these people, all i know is i have enjoyed DC’s blog, ham fisted theatrics for what, three years now, and he’s a friend of Alecia’s and i even think madpony kristin had a little crush on him back in the day, which is close to the goodhousekeeping seal of approval or some shit.

and afterwards i plan on going to the del taco where all the transvestite hookers hang out, as popularized by the famous weezer tune hashpipe.

if you too would like to see what all the hubbub is about the show is at 10pm on Friday and Saturday, it’s either $8 or $10, i forget.

heres a map to the Lillian Theatre.

the address is: 1076 Lillian Way, in Hollywood

the Hammerkatz web page is here

this weekend’s shows are part of The LA Fest of Sketch Comedy which runs every night through the 13th.

and if it sucks i have a bag of rotting tomatoes and im going to be aiming at the lanky dude with the hair in his eyes. and then i will have a fish taco with the heshes. and fries.

heres what people who have actually seen the troupe think of DC’s posse

“Hammerzatz is a heavily armed troupe that continously knocks audiences on their asses with original material.”-Matt Zaller, National Lampoon Networks

“Best Sketch Comedy Troupe”-Emerging Comics of New York Awards 2005
“Best Director” (AJ Morales)-Emerging Comics of New York Awards 2005
THE CHOSEN ONE-1st Place Heeb Magazine’s Comedy Competition 2005
“Critic’s Pick”-Time Out New York
“Winner”-Dirtest Sketch in NYC Contest 2004

so there you have it – 1st Place in Heeb

so thats what im going to do on my first real weekend in years. im gonna go out of the house. and if that bastard doesnt make it worth my while you’ll read about it here. thats for sure.

i know that you want to get out of there and be clean laundry but the mexicans in this hi rise loft are working against me and i knew i shoulda came into work early to beat them at their own game, but alas im slow. i wish i knew what slow was in mexican but i dont.

how are you laundry? did you have fun in canada? some of you got to go to the great white north with me, so holla to you, but for the others who didnt what can i say, you missed out.

some clothes are my favorites but they get worn early in the clean clothes cycle and didnt get to make the trip with me because they were already dirty, so sorry. i’ll make it up to you when i go to chicago in two weeks.

two weeks. my does time fly.

do you like being my clothes?

i would imagine you would. i mean youre pretty ugly and cheap and wrinkly and horrible. most of you i got free and i imagine on a regular man you’d be nothing more than workout tshirts or rags to wash their mercedes, but on me youre like my daily shit. you get to go to cool concerts and on hot dates, and if youre lucky you get to see me dance around all tom cruise like after said events as i sing along to bob segar and the silver bullet band.

oh clothes. do you like it that i never iron you or does that get you depressed?

its funny i havent been depressed in a long time. knock wood i havent been sick in years. i dont see how thats possible. as you know, now that i have had a car for a few months i eat almost exclusively from drivethrus and dollar chinese joins.

last night i got some chinese at a donut + chinese place and it smelled so bad that i ate it super quick before i got grossed out. i didnt even spill any on you, clothes, thats how fast i ate that shit.

and now i smell the mcdonalds breakfast from this morning even though its 2pm. i smell it cuz i never eat my whole serving of hashbrowns cuz the grease just eats away at my large intestines.

clothes are you happy or sad that i dont work out and get you sweaty? are you happy or sad that girls who sleep over steal you away from me? are you happy or sad that i dont fold you or put you in drawers, but instead stack you in sloppy piles in the closet or keep you in the laundry baskets that i folded you up and put you in after washing and drying your asses.

do clothes have asses?

do clothes wish they were something else, like upholstry?

do clothes have dreams of being turned into something cool and wonderful like AIDS blankets or axl rose scarves or patches in designer jeans?

do clothes ever want a little jelly spilled on them, or a little blood so they can keep it real?

is bleach your enemy?

do you secretly hate the hot water option?

oh clothes do you deep down wish that i would donate you to good will so you could make a nice poor person warm or an nice hipster super hip and ironic?

clothes, thanks for costing less than $5 normally.

formally,

tonyally

anna’s enrique to develop extra small condoms + vodka pundit + rockit + snarkette

how the Instapundit would spin the overwhelming Democratic victory last night in the USA, and particularily the complete shut out of California Gov. Schwarzenegger’s four proposed propositions here in the golden state.

people ask me why i pay so much attention to rightwing radio and tv and blogs and its because as a recovering salesman, i appreciate when someone can smoothly turn shit into shinola.

last night the rightwing was handed a steaming helping of shit, so i couldnt wait to see how my favorite blogger was going to turn it into grade-a shinola.

im sad to report, as poor of a showing that the Republicans delivered yesterday, professor reynolds fell on his face today.

witness:

“…I may have been right in suggesting that the GOP had lost its mojo with the Terri Schiavo affair. Things seem to have started to go south then, not only because of the issue itself, but because of the divisive venom that so many Schiavo partisans aimed at people who disagreed with them. I think it was very damaging to the GOP coalition, and they’ve continued to pay a price.”

Terri Schiavo is when the Repubs lost their mojo?

it was the venom that the “partisans” aimed at people who disagreed with them that sank the grand old party?

oh, professor, you can do better than that.

can’t you?

first of all, if you wanna blame the Schaivo fiasco dont blame it on the anti-choice righties who wanted to continue to expand the government so the woman’s husband wouldnt be able to do what he thought was right.

dont blame the pundits and the media and the faux-Christians, how about blaming the republican Senate for having the nerve to pass the Palm Sunday Resolution with only three senators present. how about blaming the republican House for passing it at 12:41am when everyone was sleeping.

how about blaming the President of the United States who cut his vacation short so he could take Air Force One and fly from Texas to DC and sign the bill at 1:11am, partially because of the Darling memo that had convinced the right that this case would be great political leverage against Sen Bill Nelson of Florida.

so how about blaming, not the so-called pro-life supporters who talked shit about those who supported a husband obeying the last wish of his wife, but blame Bush, Dr. Frist, Delay, Martinez, Darling, and Jeb Bush for using a feeding tube and a woman in a fucking coma as an unwitting political pawn.

yes, professor, i know its hard for you to lay blame on those who are actually responsible for failing the party and the people who they represent: americans. and i know that its tough for you to actually believe that the GOP began its slide more than eight months ago.

but it did.

even though it didnt swing the election, the beginging of the end of the Republican party, your party, professor, the one even youre too ashamed to admit to belonging to, for good reason, officially started their descent October 7, 2004 when special consultant to the CIA, Charles Duelfer and the multi-national Iraq Survey Group hired by the White House presented the 1,500 page Duelfer Report that explained that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction when we invaded them in 2003, infact the report said that Saddam was much further away from nukes in 2003 than he was between 1991-93.

so why did Bush win re-election four weeks later?

because it took America five weeks to read that report.

that, and they didnt want gays to *gasp* get married.

and they didnt want to believe that the President of the United States of America would lie to them in order to go to war over oil.

they didnt want to believe that a Presidential administration would use something as dramatic as 9/11 as a springboard for their own agenda that had nothing to do with 9/11.

but now they believe that BushCo is really that corrupt, and that you professor are a willing and eager apologist for them and their dirty deeds.

they now understand this white collar gang would attempt to smear a respected former US Ambassador by outting his CIA agent wife, and then lie about it to a grand jury, all because he dared to contradict them in a editorial in a newspaper.

the american people now sing along with kayne west that this administration could have done something to help those stranded on their rooftops in flooded New Orleans the way they went out of their way to try to “save Terri”, but they sat on their hands, ate cake in arizona, played guitar in california, and emailed about fine dining in baton rouge.

they now get it that even the future of the Republican party, the most famous immigrant, the belle of the GOP ball last fall at their convention, Arnold it turns out is a liar just like his nazi police chief daddy, far more interested in his ever-buldging bank account than in the children, the nurses, the students, the teachers, the taxpayers, and the firefighters of california, a state he cant even pronounce let alone govern.

and yes they get it that bloggers like you are simply a tool, another brick in the wall, for these greedy selfish crooks and liars bent on getting richer and more powerful on the backs of average people’s hopes and american dreams, which wont ever come true with BushCo in power because average people dont sit on the board of Haliburton, Exxon, or Gilead

and they understand that this administration will pay off reporters, provide propaganda, and even allow a gay male hooker into the white house press corps for a year on a day pass so he can ask his softball questions in a flacid attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the average american. a hoax and a betrayal of trust that you repeatedly enable dozens and dozens of times a day.

so yes we the people at this point understand that this administration will even ask for exceptions to allow torture in their secret prisons around the world

while echo chambers like you will turn the other way and instead of shining the light at the most corrupt group of rats in the kitchen will aim their god-given talents at the grieving mother of a fallen soldier who simply asks for peace.

what is it about you people using innocent women as scapegoats for your failures: schiavo, sheehan, miers.

but america’s had it. maybe it was this freak show circus parade of scandal, maybe it was the soaring gasoline prices, maybe the bile in our collective gullets couldnt be held back one more day.

which is why yesterday we went to the polls and began our first real steps at taking back our country from the real terrorists who have lied and stolen and torn freedom away from the greatest nation in the world while spending its surplus on tyranny, torture, and horror.

the only bright spot for the your party tonight my friend is that theres not one democrat on the hill with the courage to do the right thing and call for an impeachment of this president

who knew about 9/11 the month previous

who knew that his advisors and vp were outting a cia agent as payback

and who knew there were no wmds in iraq and no ties there to al quaeda.

last night the terminator got a taste of judgement day

repent now because as page n plant so perfectly said,

your time is gonna come.

ironmouth + jmo + jim gilliam + brian flemming

and she barely looks a day over 23.

noones gonna believe anything that i write in this post because its gonna sound all kissassy and whatever, but you know what, its true and i dont care what you think.

jenny is a killer person, as cool as she is beautiful. she can drive with will alone, she can cook as good as any iron chef, and she adores her babies (benji, pete, casey, and matt) with as much love as you can imagine.

and shes a great hostess.

as you can tell from her pictures, she has amazing fashion taste, and shes such a fashionista that she apologized for her sunday morning outfit that included a pink izod plaid vest, designer jeans, and pink asics. i was all, are you aplogizing to the doggies, cuz i dont care.

shes a big fan of music (currently rocking to the arcade fire, the libertines, and the ladies and gentlemen) and is pleasantly knowledgeable about the national hockey league, and is now working on curling.

in fact when people asked her in front of matt what the rockstar was going to get her for her birthday she said she was hoping that he would hook her up with some sweet cannucks tickets. tell me thats not an ideal woman.

indeed, when she recently was planning a trip to visit one of her best friends in colorado she intentionally scheduled it so that she could see the cannucks play the avalanche in denver. because the world loves jenny she ended up with seats on the glass right next to the bench.

if the ladies werent already jealous enough of her for being happilly married to canadas coolest rocker, jennifer pretty much eats anything she wants. including deserts. and i never saw her work out. i never even heard her talk about working out. maybe its her good karma. or maybe she secretly snuck in a few miles on their treadmill when matt and i were oot and aboot.

animal lover, activist, and vegitarian, mrs good defended her husband when their american visitor accused him of being gay for buying salon-purchased hair and hygene product by saying that matt doesnt buy things that are tested on animals. and then she told the visitor about some natural products that he should start using.

although shes an aspiring fashion designer, i think jenny should go into either animal training or working with peta because although she has an excellent eye for hot clothes, her heart is with the animals, so much so that when we saw the scariest spider in the world she still didnt wish ill on it – bad drivers, however, are another story.

finally, how beautiful is jenny? well, beauty comes from the heart. and jen’s heart is so beautiful that when i first met the goods they were staying at the mondrian on the sunset strip and she was at the pool and one of the first things i ever told matt was that he had the hottest girl at the hottest pool in the world.

he said, thank you, i know.

so happy birthday jennifer, rollerblader, park patron, animal crusader, starbucks acheiver, and no-hands driver. i cant imagine a better woman to run your household of boys.

i hope the cannucks shutout calgary for you tonight and theres a bench-clearing brawl in your honor.

jennifer dot net + peta + matt good

voila

and his lovely wife jenny, and their dogs, and this city, and the ladies here, and the weather while i have been here and all that, but one of the best things about matt is in offerring me this chance to document much of this weekend he wasnt afaid to sorta dispell the rockstar myth.

example a is this photo on the left. his dressing room.

typically youd expect a rockstar who has two sold out nights at his hometown theatre to have at least one or two groupies to snort coke from their bosoms in the dressing room as the wife fumes. but alas after our dinner, we walked across the street and watched hockey as matt drank tea and most of us sipped on water.

i know, not the exciting crazy frenzied drama-filled world that, id like to see, perhaps, but its the reality. the biggest drama of the pre-show was that the cannucks couldnt get a decent shot off in the entire third period.

so i went down into the crowd and hung out with the fans and once again i was recognized and was asked to pose for pics and i was bought beers and during the show a kind gentleman even introduced me to the two girls he had arrived with. interesting lasses, these, as they kissed him and then kissed each other. because he was a fan of mine he offered one of the young canadians to me and i didnt expect the super cute one to walk my way but she did and he said this is the famous tony pierce.

and she said no youre not.

and i said i know, the real tony pierce doesnt leave his house.

and she got up so close to me, america, and it was loud cuz matt was rocking, and she rubbed her velvelty smooth cheek next to mine and said, so how are you doing tonight.

sometimes things are too good to believe but lil tone believed it and tried to pick her pocket and at that point i realized i could either go back to her house or have an f contest with my buddy and who knows perhaps we could have even been creative and played reindeer games up here in the great white north out in the pines but instead i remembered that i had been sent my buzznet and i was a guest of the goods and my purpose this weekend wasnt to ruin canadian girls forever but to take pictures so i passed and it was a tough pass but i passed never the less and it pains me now to say so but i have a feeling this particular youngin will never have a hard time finding lovin

the show? oh yeah that. the show was amazing. i know im not the most knowledgeable matthew good fan and in a perfect world a bigger fan or even a canadian who grew up on his music would have gotten this golden ticket behind the velvet ropes but i have seen hundreds of concerts and this was definately an A. not only was matt intense but he was dare i say joyful.

unlike the night before i ventured side stage and back stage and places i hadnt been before and to watch the crowd sing along and the different looks that the band gave each other of absolute pleasure cuz this band is tight was really cool.

the drummer nearly destroyed his kit, the guitar player nearly ruined his guitar. even the guitar tech was stomping around side stage because matt good and company were not going to leave anything behind.

after the show i tried to give matt some time to shower off and chill out so i hung out with the fans who were dancing to the PA music (stones, arcade fire, acdc, etc) but when i got up to their dressing room it was just matt me and jen and matt was visibily and audibly drained. but so happy. the show before i asked jen if matt had fun up there but last night you could tell how much fun he had.

because he was so wasted though he didnt meet and greet instead he had his manager call for a cab and we made our way to the back door and jen slipped on the metal stair that was slippery from rain and the security guy caught her or shed had been toast. unfortunately there was a car accident near the commodore and the cops had blocked off the streets around the commodore and no cabs could get in. we didnt know that though and had to stand out back waiting and waiting and this drunk fan approached matt and said oh my god its my hero matthew good, matt whats the meaning of life? not really the question you want to be asked when you just gave a 2.5 hour show after a long tour but matt was polite to the drunkard and people asked for autographs and finally we just walked a block and hailed a cab and drove home, ate pizza and passed out.

but beforehand matt demanded that i stay in vancouver an extra night so i could see the city properly and this morning jen gave me the grand tour and we went to stanley park and did the whole deal as in the whole deal. and i took lots of pics and today was really sunny and dry so the sights were spectacular.

i wont say it was warm. it was crisp. the mountains were gorgous. the water everywhere was great. the leaves were super colorful and bright. people were playing frisbee with no jackets on. people in canada love their parks on nice days like today.

oh i forgot, before the show yesterday we ate sushi. i have never really eaten sushi. partially because that would be considered gay in the town where i grew up. and not that i worry about such things but what you learn as a boy sometimes stays with you. so i figured im in a different country filled with strange and beautiful things like lotsa asian girls in skirts mamamia and fish. so i had sushi and tempura and it was quite nice.

the whole trip has been rad and i must thank mr mc brown for letting me stay and extra day and have a day off.

pat + near fantastica + voix de michele + stephen + i took tons of new pics here

click here to see them

i will have more later, and of course lots of concert pics