More Than Strings And Wood And Flesh

August 5th would have been Lenny Breau's 66th birthday.

Words cannot describe the effect that his playing has had on myself, and countless other musicians seeking to master their instrument rather than chase fame's fleeting embrace.

I first heard The Velvet Touch Of Lenny Breau when I was 15, and struggling with my muse...His effortless command of myriad styles molded into a seamless and unique whole, wedded with a painful self-effacement that led him to walk many noirish paths struck me like the proverbial bolt from the blue.

I was fortunate indeed to be present at one of his last seminars, antecedently to his untimely murder...And I have learned much from his example.

Here he is, in a younger guise, before the darkness.



And later in life...Sadder, wiser, but still looking to the future:



For those interested in more information, I would recommend Ron Forbes-Roberts' One Long Tune without reservation as a penultimate biographical source, and (if you can find it) the video The Genius Of Lenny Breau, created and produced by Lenny's daughter, Emily Hughes.

Here's to you, Lenny. The music never dies.

I'm Your Puppet

The Violyin

Say It Ain't So

How unfortunate:

Weekly World News Shutting Down
By Ian Randal Strock - July 21, 2007
(...)
American Media has decided to suspend publication of Weekly World News, both the print publication and the web site.

No reason was given at press time, although reliable sources do tell us that management turned down at least one offer to buy the publication.

As a regular reader of that fine publication, I must register my dismay at such a sordid ending.

Perhaps they got too close...To the truth.

;>)

Look Who Came To America

Sangre De Kristol

Unrepenterant

Steeped In Blood

Think Progress:

Lieberman: Bush’s ‘Ratings Among Historians Will Be Greater Than His Ratings In The Polls Today’


Yesterday in an interview with right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) praised President Bush’s policies in Iraq and predicted that Bush will be remembered by historians as a great President:

HEWITT: (...) Last question, how do you think history’s going to evaluate George W. Bush?

LIEBERMAN: Well, I personally believe look, mistakes were made, and I know the polls are down, but I think on the largest issue of our time, which is the rise of Islamist extremism, that he will be judged as a president who saw the threat, and in the midst of an unpopular war, he stuck with it.

And so I think overall, over time, his ratings among the historians will be greater than his ratings in the polls today.

I wholeheartedly agree...If the defining metric used by said historians is based on mendacity and malfeasance.

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

Report On Business

Chicago — Conrad Black has been convicted on four criminal charges.
He was found not guilty on nine other charges. He now faces the prospect of as much as 35 years in jail.

...on count 13, the jury judged Conrad Black guilty of obstruction of justice in connection with the removal of 13 boxes of documents from his office at 10 Toronto Street in Toronto.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 (U.S.) fine.

Lord Black was also convicted on three counts of mail fraud.

Mayhap the American executive branch will see fit to deal with this foreign scofflaw in the decisive manner that they have shown in more...local matters.

;>)

A Toast To Lord Black In Hell

I've Got No Qualms To Hold Me Down

Oh, the Impertinence

Cue the theme

;>)

Sir Frederick Of Hollywood

...Bearing his colors, the loyal order of the Red Foundation.

Cheney, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

And what needs to be said...

The Shill Of It All

N.Y.Post:

IF everyone has a price, Fergie's is $4 million.

The 32-year-old Black Eyed Peas singer is the first global star to consent to product placement in her songs - agreeing to include the provocative clothing line ******'s in her lyrics.
...
While Fergie was on tour last week, her advisers said such product placement marked the future of music.

"With record sales in decline, you must find novel ways to make money out of the music. The trick is to make the brand part of the song, so that it slips down easily rather than chokes the fan," an executive at Interscope, Fergie's record company in Los Angeles, told the Sunday Times of London.

Satan never lacks for fellators and fellatrices, does he?

Did You Honestly Expect Anything Different?

CNN:

President Bush commuted Monday the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.
...
A commutation is a total right of the president and it cannot be challenged by any attorney or court(...)

Earlier Monday, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that Libby could not delay serving his sentence, which would have put Libby just weeks away from surrendering to a prison.

So, an active participant in a massive coverup who was found guilty of same, a coverup involving treasonous activity not least of which involved lying to the public, involving their country in a penultimate war of choice and spending untold blood and treasure, in addition to revealing the protected identity of a covert C.I.A. agent as revenge for having a modest amount of truth spoken to them can now escape any meaningful penalties...No doubt the possibility of his informing on his higher-ups played a part in the decision-making process.

Enjoy the sunset, America.