Hilly Kristal, R.I.P. (From An Uplifting Gourmandizer)

Thanks for making my life, starting back in high school, a whole lot better by having all of those bands back, whether or not the great unwashed public was ready for them. Heckuva legacy, Hilly.



NY TIMES ARTBEAT

But What About The Dress For The Wedding Night?

“Any bride who’s famous has two.” Guess that leaves quite a number of grooms and not-so-famous brides with having to manage with only one wedding dress (yes, the shame and the horror of it all) for the big day. Read about the famous HERE, though I wouldn't have found that gem if it hadn't been for good ol' FARK.

Man U 1 Spurs 0: Same Ol' Same Ol'

Being "unlucky" this often at Old Trafford can't be a coincidence, can it? Not to deny the brilliance of Nani's first goal for the Red Devils, which came in the 68th minute, but the lack of a call on an apparent handball by Wes Brown, which thwarted yet another Spurs shot on goal, was the type of advantage the "big four clubs" seem to get in matches (yes, I know about Chelsea at Liverpool from a couple of weeks ago...).




A lot of action in this one, but way too many errant passes by both sides hampered the flow of the offenses for large chunks of time. There was a nice run by new defenseman Gareth Bale up the left side that created a chance early on, and Dimitar Berbatov was his usual self up front in trying to capitalize on those, but it took a great effort by Rio Ferdinand to clear one of those shots off the line after Berbatov had beaten Man U goalie Edwin van der Sar. Jermaine Jenas also cleared a shot off of the line after Spurs goalie Paul Robinson had been beaten late in the second half, the only mistake Robinson had made all day, he really had no chance to stop Nani's rocket, even though he did manage to get some fingers on the ball. Ricardo Rocha also did well on the defensive effort for Spurs, especially in the latter parts of the first half, when Man U seemed to have risen from their slumber.




Spurs definitely deserved a point from this one, which is the worst feeling of them all. Of course, there will be other matches, but this one stings just a little bit more. Grrr.



BBC REPORT

1,200 Mile Commute: Helluva Way To Keep Your Seniority

Sacrifices and compromises are a way of life for people. At some point, the devotion one individual spends usually subsides as other matters begin to take priority in terms of time and money. How nice to see that, for the last four years, a couple of New York Mets fans from Queens transplanted to Kansas City, Missouri for her work have a situation where he is able to continue his job working as a vendor at Shea Stadium (it's not like he needs the money, being a retired NYC firefighter). Nice job Bobby Lee, not everybody will be able to able to do what you've done.



STORY

State Of Spurs: All Mixed Up

Can't imagine what life must be like at White Hart Lane these past couple of weeks, with the ever-loving British press casting yet another critical eye at every facet of the operation of Spurs, both in the board room and in the dressing room.


I've lost track of all of the stories about the threads of discontent in the fabric of the Spurs organization these days: manager Martin Jol is on the hot seat after a disastrous opening two games with a large chunk of players on the injured list; no wait, he's not in trouble. Jol has the backing of the board; whoops, maybe not after all, who say he will be fired if they don't secure a Champions League spot this season.




Jol also insists there's no way in hell he'd sell Dimitar Berbatov to anybody, yet those stoopid rumours about Man United won't go away. Jol loves Berbs; no wait, he's become disenchanted with the Bulgarian, who will now have to accept his place in the striker rotation. Because of that, Berbs is pissed off at Jol and his coaching style; not so, says his agent. In addition, all of the Jol bashing from the front office has led the players on the squad to stand fully behind their coach, including recently comments from Paul Robinson and Darren Bent.



On another front, Sevilla coach Juande Ramos will be the new head coach after having had it offered to him in a secret meeting with top Spurs officials in Spain; now Ramos says that he was never offered the job in the first place.




Then there's the ongoing drama with Jermaine Defoe, and if he is really happy being a third (and now sometimes fourth) choice striker. Ledley King is still hurt, as is Aaron Lennon, and someone reported that King may never take the pitch again.



Some fans are wondering why a team needed four expensive strikers when the team had other issues to address; the big guns won't fire if the ammunition doesn't get there.



The lingering situations of both Mido and Hossam Ghaly amid their departure from White Hart Lane has had many shaking their heads in disbelief.



I'm sure there are a couple of other items that needed addressing, but my head is starting to hurt recalling a lot of the wishful thinking that apparently passes for journalism these days.....



But the good news, such as it is, is that this Sunday Spurs travel to Old Trafford to take on a team that is in worse shape than they are, for currently Man United have drawn two and lost once in their opening three games for their worst start in a long, long time. The absence of Wayne Rooney (injury) and Cristiano Ronaldo (red card) will give the Lilywhites some semblance of hope, but the rest of the Red Devils will be mad as hornets because Sir Alex isn't one to idly sit and let dire situations remain as they are. Should be an excellent match this Sunday morning.............my prediction is a 2-2 draw. COYS!!!

Padres 9 Mets 8: Night Of The Blown Saves, Pt. 2

Same story as what happened in Shea on Tuesday night, just going into extra innings now. I missed the first part of the game, when the Mets battled back from a 6-1 deficit to take a 7-6 lead going into the ninth, but Billy Wagner gave up three straight hits and two runs to open the Padres half, leaving the Mets with yet another hole climb out of.



Oh yay............fan "favorite" Aaron Heilman just gave up a one-out tenth inning home run.




....and the Mets place runners on first and second with two out, but Luis Castillo grounds out to the second baseman to cap another cruel Mets loss. Certainly not Castillo's fault in this game, but first baseman Carlos Delgado has been MIA this entire series, and third baseman David Wright had a shaky night in the field, with two errors and letting the lead off Padre hit in the ninth rocket past him, which wound up as a double.


Oh well, at least the Phillies lost to the Dodgers, and the Reds just beat the Braves in Cincinnati, with a two run home run by Adam Dunn in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Mets 7 Padres 6: Night Of The Blown Saves

In a possible N.L. playoff preview, the Mets twice rallied in the late innings to defeat the San Diego Padres, a win made all the sweeter by the fact that the Mets rallied after letting an early 4-1 lead change to a 5-4 deficit by the time the eighth inning rolled around.


Met fans tend to hold their breath when their closer Billy Wagner takes the mound, especially against the better teams, and tonight he wasn't especially sharp, entering the game in the top of the ninth with the score tied at 5. Wagner allowed a hit, a walk (on four pitches, no less), and a hit batter to load the bases with one out. Next came a deep sacrifice fly to right field that brought the lead run into score. Wagner escaped further damage by getting the third out on a strike out.


The Mets rallied with the bottom third of the line-up in the ninth, Lastings Milledge got things rolling with a single off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, Mike DeFelice moved him to second with a bunt, to be followed by pinch hitter Marlon Anderson's single that scored Milledge to knot the score again. Jose Reyes then singled, sending Anderson to second, and then Luis Castillo, who has done little wrong since his acquisition from the Minnesota Twins, drilled the first pitch he saw from Hoffman back up the middle for the winning run.


Can't forget the fact that Carlos Beltran single handedly kept the Mets in the game until the ninth with 5 RBIs, or the fact that he did it against the league leader in ERA, Chris Young.


It wasn't a perfect game, some shaky fielding choices (though probably shaped by the drizzly weather, to be fair), and once again, it's not often that two of the top closers in the majors look so bad, but all things considered, a comeback win against a playoff caliber team is not to be sniffed at. I was just hoping that the Mets weren't going to hurt themselves by mobbing Castillo after the hit ( or the second baseman for that matter).





METS RECAP

We Used To Write Stuff Like That On Bathroom Walls....

...but now I guess it's okay to blab it to the press in interviews. The singer for some band called Maroon 5 is now talking about how bad Maria Sharapova is in bed. Ummm, okay. Probably just a reaction to your music, sport.






AUGUST 21ST EDIT: The inevitable denial of quoted remarks.

Nothing But Flowers............... (When The Humans Are Gone)

(Nothing but) Flowers is one of my favourite Talking Heads songs, David Byrne's wry lyric about people living in a post-civilized world set to some upbeat music. Lately I've been noticing some reviews for a book entitled The World Without Us , by Alan Weisman, a book in which he both details and speculates about the effects of human beings and their creations will have on the future of the planet, should all humans disappear off the face of the earth, a step beyond from what Byrne had envisioned.



It wouldn't take long before the earthly forces made their marks to reclaim the earth, Weisman gives an example of the work needed to insure that the subways in New York City aren't flooded with water, and how in a matter of a few days, water would invade it and start gnawing away at the foundation of the city. On a closer to home note, I only need to look into my backyard, next to a grass-filled lot owned by the city and filled with weeds, mowed once a year, to know the work needed to keep those things at bay.



The notices and reviews have placed this book at the top of my "to read" list, and all of the reviews I've noticed have praised the book for being a thoughtful analysis of the facts currently at hand mixed with educated speculation of the future. At any reat, while humans may not disappear off the face of the earth, many of the things we've created have already and will continue to have a lasting impact on this pale blue sphere for a long, long time.




OFFICIAL SITE



SALON REVIEW




Oh heck, I couldn't resist the chance to post the superb Talking Heads video now, could I?

Edwyn Collins-Back From The Dead

Lovely to see that Scottish musician Edwyn Collins, of Orange Juice and A Girl Like You fame, continues to recover from his 2005 stroke that left him near death's door, recovered enough to have a new record album coming out next month.



A thoughtful article in Friday's Guardian shows the current state of Collins, and some of the things that he has encountered in his two-years plus of rehabilitation in trying to learn how to communicate again (the mother of a friend of mine also had similar circumstances in her stroke).






"I WAS DEAD"

Pirates 10 Mets 7: Death By Papercuts

My God, was that painful to watch. Once again, the Mets allow a 5-0 lead to slip away, as this time the Pirates successfully cashed in opportunities afforded to them by a generous Mets team. Tonight's game was courtesy of the defense and the pitching. Hell, might as well throw timely hitting in their as well, as one can't count on two RBI's from the pitchers spot every night, can they? (Tonight, they did, thanks to Brian Lawrence).



One could point to the two out, eighth inning throw by David Wright on a seemingly routine ground ball to third base. With the game tied for the home half, the throw winds up well past substitute first baseman Shawn Green, and the Pirate player winds up at second base. At which point pitcher Aaron Heilman breaks down into " pitching for batting practice" mode, the same manner in which Aaron Sele did the night before, and gives up three straight singles. Combine those hits with the dropped ball on a play at the plate that substitute catcher Mike DiFelice made (in all honesty, that's the worst play I've seen him make since both Paul LoDuca and Ramon Castro went down with injuries four games ago.......but then again, he is the third string catcher). It all adds up to heartache again, made worse by the Phillies winning to pull within two and a half games of the division lead.




There are factors that add to the aggravation in this series with the Pirates: the 5-4 win by the Mets on Tuesday was made possible by the fact that the Pirates could not continue to make the clutch hit despite grabbing the early lead, and yesterday's game was another doozy: the Mets score 5 in the first, and let the Pirates get four runs up until the ninth inning. Then, the Mets score 5 in the ninth to seemingly ice the win with a 10-4 lead. Billy Wagner had been warming up to pitch in the ninth, but with such a large lead, it wasn't deemed necessary, so then Sele gets in their and allows four runs before Wagner is forced in to douse the fire.


On to Washington, where the Nationals are one of the surprise teams of the year, not too far behind the sea of mediocrity that is the National League these days. Hell, the St. Louis Cardinals are back in the race with a sub .500 record, so who knows what to expect in the next six weeks.


ESPN RECAP

Tony Wilson, R.I.P.

Honestly don't know where my musical tastes might've gone if, back in 1979, a friend of mine hadn't played me a new import single he'd bought entitled "Transmission" by a group called Joy Division. To say I was similarly stunned and enthralled is a fair description. At any rate, one of the men responsible for that record, and quite a collection of other top tunes, passed away today from a heart attack, at the age of 57.


Most music fans know his (and the Factory) story....television presenter, Factory Records, Russel Club, suicide, New Order, Hacienda, Happy Mondays, drugs, guns, bankruptcy, 24 Hour Party People, etc. so I won't bother with all of that, but this is sad news to take after hearing how his battle with his kidney cancer had been going (not well).



Not everything his record companies released was wonderful, in fact there was a fair amount of dross mixed in with the gems, but the best of the catalog is an excellent testimony to a certain place and time that won't be repeated. Thank you for the music Tony, R.I.P.






M.E.N. STORY

I Hate Coldplay Too.....

THOUGH NOT ENOUGH TO INITIATE A PHYSICAL REACTION ONE MIGHT EXPECT FROM LISTENING TO G.G. ALLIN.

Don't Do That: Mets 4 Braves 3

The good news (great news, actually) is that the Mets rallied from a late inning 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead going into the ninth inning at Shea on Wednesday night. The bad news is that Billy Wagner's high-wire save act nearly ended disastrously, with Wagner allowing the bases to be loaded on two singles and a walk....with no one out.



Luckily Wagner recovered enough to get a force out at home on the next batter, and then a game ending double play to seal the victory over the Braves and return the Mets lead in the N.L. East to 4 1/2 games. I know most Mets fans were holding both their breath and their heads in their hands as the drama unfolded, but somehow fate managed to smile upon the Mets faithful once again (so far, Wagner has blown only one save opportunity this year, but it sure does seem like it's been four or five).


Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez pitched well for most of his stint, barring the sixth inning when the Braves struck for their three runs with two outs to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. With Carlos Beltran still out, and David Wright struggling mightily against Braves pitching, it was looking increasingly likely that the rest of the team was gonna have to step up against John Smoltz, who was pitching very well up to that point, the sole run the Mets got in the first was an unearned one.


Fortunately, Luis Castillo drove in his first runs as a Met with a two-run broken bat single to tie the score in the seventh, and then Moises Alou hit his first home run in Shea this year to give the Mets the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth, which led to the ninth inning dramatics (and unnecessary heartburn for Mets fans.)


Oh, and though I haven't ever talked about Barry Bonds here up to this point, because I just don't care for the most part, I was still laughing when I noticed the fan who caught the ball was wearing a Mets jersey. Seeing the scrum for the ball Tuesday night, and with the SFPD officers rushing in to make sure no was dismembered, I sort of feared for the person at the bottom of the pile, but it was certainly nice to see Matt Murphy "from Queens, New York" bloodied but unbowed. Lovely, just lovely Matt, about the most perfect ending for this home-run scenario that could have been scripted.



METS RECAP

MATT MURPHY STORY IN SFGATE

Good News, Bad News For DeMarcus Beasley

Trying to get more people interested in football, err, soccer can be a bit tough; most people have already made up their mind about it, and nothing is gonna change it.



The fact that it's hugely popular in the rest of the world really does carry no weight with many people I know; they point out things like the Italian match fixing scandal, the riots, tragedies such as Hillsborough, etc. They are also quick to allow scandals and issues with U.S. sports such as steroids, strikes, point shaving, crooked referees, etc. to pass after a short period of time. This return to fandom comes after a point where people had said "I will never allow myself to be duped by (fill in the blank sport or team) again." Such inconsistencies are one of life's luxuries, I guess.


The one area that's a cause for concern is the issue of racism by some European football fans toward players, an area from which we've barely recovered after the Hank Aaron chase for Babe Ruth's home run record back in the early 70's; the latest incident occurred in Montenegro on Tuesday, when American DeMarcus Beasley was the subject of racial taunts during Rangers 1-0 victory over FK Zeta, though the victory was made sweeter by the fact that Beasley scored the only goal in 81st minute in a Champions League qualifying match.


I know the football authorities have made it a major point in the last few years to crack down on such stupidity, and they've done quite well in doing so, it's just still very sad to see such things happening in this day and age.



MATCH REPORT


STUPIDITY IN ACTION

Lee Hazlewood, R.I.P.

"Sooner or later, we all make the little flowers grow" went a lyric from the man. Today it's Lee's turn, thankfully his passing was peaceful and at home. Odd that I was listening to that tribute album to Lee that was released on Astralwerks in 2002 over the weekend. Still, thank you for the music Lee, you will be missed and always remembered.



LEE





RICHARD HAWLEY ON LEE

And There Was Much Rejoicing: Tom Glavine Wins #300.

After the aggravating manner in which the Mets bullpen blew Tom Glavine's first shot at the 300th victory last Tuesday in Milwaukee, tonight's win in Chicago was just that much sweeter.


Though Glavine left the Brewer game with a slim 2-1 lead, the Mets offense really got after it tonight in the 8-3 victory over the Cubs, and Glavine left the game with a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning, though in true to form fashion for the up and down Mets bullpen, the Cubbies rallied to 5-3 in that inning before the pitching and the defense shut the door for good.


The lead-off combo of Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo did a great job getting on base, combining to hit 7 for 11, and Carlos Delgado cleaned up, driving in four runs in a 16 hit barrage (side note: the Mets left an astounding 23 runners on base, so it could have been much, much worse).



Chicks may dig the long ball, but Mets fans really appreciate the way that Glavine uses the bat, the pinch hitting role he found himself in against Washington a couple of weeks ago notwithstanding, and tonight he drove in the first run of the game as well as getting a couple of more sacrifices to move runners along.



Nice to see the Wrigley crowd give Glavine a rousing ovation after coming off the field in the seventh inning tonight, though predictably the ESPN cameras kept checking in on Glavine and various members of his rooting party as the inevitable conclusion to the game drew near.



The best news of all is that the Mets won 4 of 6 on the road against the two top teams in the National League Central, hopefully a positive sign for postseason play, but there is still nearly two months to play, and Tuesday, those pesky Braves are rolling into Shea to try and get closer to the Mets. Things are indeed a bit better now, and if Pedro get back soon and add some more stability to the starting rotation, we will all feel a lot better after the Mets June swoon.


GLAVINE ROUND UP ON THE METS SITE



GAME RECAP





Of course, we couldn't forget one of the better commercials we've ever seen....

'Hell From The Skies' ; White Light, Black Rain

Looking forward to the HBO premiere of the Steven Okazaki documentary White Light, Black Rain on Monday the 6th. The focus of the program is of the atomic bombs dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 plus years ago this week, with stories of both survivors, many of whom had never told their story before, and of Americans involved with the bombings.



A review of the documentary in the JAPAN TIMES piqued my thoughts when I read it. Plus, the show will give all of us another chance to reassess the effects of using nuclear weapons in any manner, this reminder especially timely given the nature of some world leaders and their ideologies.



HBO PAGE

Clay Allison (Opal)

After hearing Kendra Smith's vocals on the songToo Little Too Late from the debut Dream Syndicate album, I became a fan of her Nico-ish delivery style when combined with her lovely vocal tone.


Yes, I was a bit disappointed when she left the Syndicate soon after that record was released in 1982, the earliest opportunity I had to see them came in May 1983 when they scuppered a couple of club dates to open for U2 at the Paramount.


The release, in 1984, of the Clay Allison EP Fell From The Sun, with David Roback from the Rain Parade and Keith Mitchell from Green On Red, was the perfect renewal to her musical ideas, a bit more on the somber/psychedelic side than what the Dream Syndicate offered (or indeed what they were about to become.)


Clay Allison soon became known as Opal, with Roback and Smith the main musical forces behind the band. This collaboration resulted in more music, specifically the classic 1987 album on SST Happy Nightmare Baby as well as an album of songs from the period between the two recording outfits.


Once again though, Smith departed a band soon after the record had been released, and Opal became Mazzy Star, and while Hope Sandoval has her moments, I don't rate her as much as I did Smith.



A couple of more reasons I became a fan of Smith's was when the Rainy Day album was released, a cover album of favourite songs of members from the Dream Syndicate, Green On Red, Rain Parade, Bangles, etc (not gonna use the term P****** U**********). The album is a bit uneven in terms of quality, but Smith sounds wonderful on Neil Young's Flying On The Ground Is Wrong and Big Star's Holocaust.


Following the dissolution of Opal, I lost track once again of Smith, for I have never been able to find a copy of her next musical project, a 10" record entitled GUILD OF TEMPORAL ADVENTURERS, which came out in 1992. Luckily, the good people at 4AD were smart enough to release Smith's first official solo album in 1995, Five Ways of Disappearing . Unfortunately it's the last record that she's put out, having grown tired of both the music business and living in an urban setting. There was an article in Option magazine when the album was released about Smith living in the woods in Northern California by herself, where she apparently remains to this day, happy to be divorced from the rat-race that consumes the energy and attention of the rest of us. Good for her.



Anyway, the Clay Allison track Fell From The Sun was playing in my head today, so I was glad that a kind soul had very recently added a video on YouTube for the track Hear The Wind Blow , though sadly the video is no longer available. Still a classic album though.