Category Archives: arts

Camping without tents or tarps


Cold ground was my bed last night, And rock was my pillow, too.

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We love you, Joe Pa


Here we are again, wondering where to draw the line between fans and fanatics, admirers and cultists, loyalty and blind obedience to the great leader. The issue came up after hundreds of students rioted to protest the firing of long-time … Continue reading

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Veterans Day Beefheart


I cry but I can’t buy Your Veteran’s Day poppy It don’t get me high It can only make me cry It can never grow another Son like the one who warmed me my days After rain and warmed my … Continue reading

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Great lit to great film? Well, there’s ‘The Dead’


How often have great literary works been made into great movies? Certainly more often than the Eagles have won the Super Bowl (never), but only slightly more often than the Phillies have won the National League championship (seven times). What’s … Continue reading

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The Marx Brothers, still in their prime


How cool that one of the greatest comedic movie scenes can be downloaded and watched with the click of a mouse. A few minutes of screwball perfection, more than 75 years old, as fresh as any skit you could name. … Continue reading

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Music to haunt you on Halloween


There are at least three varieties of scary songs — novelty numbers, done for laughs; songs that have dark lyrics but aren’t all that scary; and songs (“compositions” is a better word) that actually sound scary and give you the … Continue reading

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Back in the saddle. Bike thief still at large.


I forgot to mention weeks ago that I finally found an affordable used bicycle to replace my Iron Horse, the theft of which left me in a funk not unlike Jimmy Stewart’s in Vertigo after he failed to save his … Continue reading

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Ain’t nothin’ I wouldn’t do, sugar…


The perfect Saturday night song if you’re looking to sit at a bar and drown your lust for someone, or to start a fight if you can’t drink enough to drown it. I don’t sit at bars anymore, but I … Continue reading

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Don’t judge me by my shoes…


The Band was peaking as a creative force when “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” appeared on their second album. The song’s subject is a rural victim of the Great Depression who joins a labor union to avoid starvation. His plight … Continue reading

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As sure as the sun will shine…


This was ripped right from the movie, I think. It simmers. Great rhythm section. The whole band is the rhythm section. Check out the sinister bosses sizing up Cliff’s commercial potential.

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