I'm One

As you may have noticed by now I usually put a quote in the dasher up above from one of The Who's songs. No reason, really. I guess just to be different. Anyway, I heard a live version of "I'm One" on the radio this morning and really liked it, so why not?

Happy Veteran's Day
Most importantly I would like to wish all those who have so bravely served our great country a Happy Veteran's Day! I sent an email to someone earlier thanking him and letting him know what he did for his country is most appreciated, especially in this corner. Have a good thought, say a prayer, just remember why we are free. So make it a point to thank a vet!

I can honestly say that the most touching and a most proud moment during my father's internment, was when members of the U.S. Army removed the Stars and Stripes from his coffin and presented the flag to my mother after the playing of "Taps." An incredible tribute!

Ironically, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing(1955) is on AMC tomorrow morning. This was a movie my father reviewed for the New York Daily Mirror during his very brief journalism career.

POLITICS
It's only been a couple of days but there are already calls for investigations and impeachment. It's gonna get ugly folks.

Now that the Democrats control the House and Senate, I wonder if there will still be conspiracy theories if we catch Usama Bin Laden in the final two years of the Bush Administration?

MUSIC
Many of you know I am a big fan of Rachel Fuller, a pretty good singer from the U.K. Well, she does a thing called In The Attic which I am hoping to get tickets to when it comes to Joe's Pub in NYC in late November. Anyway, I first heard her on the soundtrack for Shall We Dance? which belongs to a friend of mine, and yes that friend is a female. Ha Ha! But that's where I first heard Fuller's incredible voice, or so I thought? Turns out she was part of Pete Townshend's Lifehouse CD which he did a few years ago.

In 2000, I taped Townshend's performance of Lifehouse off the radio and have kept those two tapes near my Walkman ever since. So a few months ago I was listening and realized that Fuller was playing violin with the London Chamber Orchestra during the performance. She also did some backing vocals.

So then it turns out that Fuller and Townshend are an item and have been for years. She and PT wrote "It's Not Enough" which is on Endless Wire. This is what caused Howard Stern to compare Fuller to Yoko Ono, which is ridiculous for many reasons that I won't go into right now.

By the way, Lifehouse is the story behind the Who's Next album and is kind of about the Internet, but Pete calls it "the grid." He started writing this story around 1970 and finally finished it 30 years later. I guess better late than never.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so my point is that you never know how or where you will find some music you may have been unaware of. Also, at a recent In The Attic jam Minnie Driver performed with Fuller and Company. On Rachel's blog she describes Driver as being really great and encouraged her to stick with it. Most of us I'm sure remember Driver from Good Will Hunting.

So what is In The Attic anyway? Basically, it consists of Fuller, Pete Townshend and his brother Simon, and assorted guests who stop in to jam away.

Rachel Fuller's In The Attic website is in my links section, it includes her blog, and podcasts of some Who shows on their current tour. Recently, she closed a jam with the very moving "Blue" by Joni Mitchell which Fuller dedicated to Linda McCartney. A real nice touch!

I haven't been to a whole bunch of live shows but I've been to a decent amount. The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page/Robert Plant, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett, Shawn Colvin, The Cranberries (remember them!), are just some that I can recall at the moment. I know there are more, but these are the ones I can remember right this second.

It's pretty amazing how The Who and Bruce Springsteen step up their performance when you hear them live as opposed to in-studio. Anything I can get my hands on from The Who or The Boss that is live is like gold to me. I love them both on their studio Cd's but I can't overstate how much these guys take things to a new level!

This as opposed to Jay Z who actually goes down a few notches when he is live. I have all of his studio albums which are great, but live, he sounds pretty bad. I hate to say it, but there is no other way to put it. I can't figure it out! Seriously.

So much for retirement as Jay releases Kingdom Come on November 21.

Jay Z's girlfriend, Beyonce, will be co-starring with Desperate Housewives' star Eva Longoria in a 'lesbian' version of Brokeback Mountain. I didn't see the original and have no plans to see this new version, but I have no doubt that it will be a smashing success at the box office and that Howard Stern will have a field day with it.

Finally a music video channel that plays videos. The Tube plays everyone you could imagine and is one of the highlights of having the new digital cable box that Cablevision made everyone get a few months ago. Also, there are a bunch of music channels that are genre-specific. Although there are no videos they do show some assorted facts about the musicians that are playing. Kind of like VH1's Pop-Up Video without the annoying bubbles.

SPORTS
The Yankees traded Gary Sheffield and I know some will be happy to see the Bombers cutting payroll for a minute or two. The issue of the payroll is a hot button one. So let me just say that my thing with it is this: The Yankees are operating within the rules, no question about that. They also generate an enormous amount of money. But if I am George Steinbrenner I don't think I would entrust Brian Cashman with putting together a team that has come up so short. Especially, when it is my money!

If the New York Yankees are about winning the World Series, then Cashman has been an abysmal failure. I like the guy. But at this point maybe he should have taken the heat after the Yanks fell to Detroit.

Getting rid of bench bosses is window dressing in my opinion. The Boss has mellowed, but maybe too much. That's why I bring up the payroll, not because I believe the Yankees are cheating. The fact is, a player on Kansas City has no business complaing about how much the Bombers spend, because he voted in favor of the collective bargaining agreement that sets the rules for how all of MLB's teams operate. I gotta think that if the Yankees don't get it done this year, Cashman's a goner.

The New York Rangers are playing much better and are paying more attention to defense and backchecking. Their trip out west has seemed to have transformed the team.

The Dominick Moore for Adam Hall trade has been a bust to this point. Hall doesn't use his size nearly enough, and the Rangers definitely miss Moore, who was one of the best penalty killers in the game.

Jed Ortmeyer is working hard to return, probably in late December, after a pulmonary embolism was discovered this summer, which potentially can be fatal.

Although a lot of publicity has been given to New York Giants' running back Tiki Barber's retirement at season's end; General Manager Ernie Accorsi will also be riding off into the sunset at the conclusion of the season. A pretty good G.M. and by all accounts a heck of a guy!

I am currently reading Boxing's Brainiest Champ and His Upset of the Great Jack Dempsey by Jack Cavanaugh. So far a pretty good read.

THE WORLD OF THE DESPICABLE
Bill Maher is classless for not only saying that the Republicans are all homosexuals stuck in the closet, but also for his Halloween costume; The Crocodile Hunter complete with a stingray sticking out of his heart.

ELIMINATING THE ANNOYING
Hey are you tired of getting those annoying letters asking you to get such and such a credit card? Well now you can be put on a list so that you will no longer be solicited. Just call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT.

MORE POLITICS
In the spirit of pro wrestling, why don't we just add Mitt Romney/Jeb Bush vs. John McCain/Rudy Giuliani vs. Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama in an "Anything Goes Triple Threat Match" at ECW's December 3 pay-per-view, "December to Dismember." The winners will decide who the next Presidential Administration will be. I bet it will be less dirty than what we will see over the next two years.

Wow, I'm really sucking wind!