"Im Very Sorry About It."

John "DoubleTalk" McBush III actually said that to David Broder of the Washington Post Saturday, when asked how he felt about the negative tone of the presidential campaign. 

Oh, really?

From HuffPo:

John McCain was widely ridiculed several weeks ago for fielding reporter's questions in the cheese aisle of a grocery store. But the location of the impromptu press conference was hardly random. The McCain camp, in a strategy memo, has pinpointed grocery stores as an important venue for the Senator to push his economic agenda.

In a McCain campaign "Economic Communications Plan" that was obtained by the Huffington Post, an aide to the Senator lays out several themes, tactics and objectives to shore up the Arizona Republican's standing on the economy and paint Barack Obama as a "job killing machine."

"Our polling tells us that Americans are still not tuned into what the candidates might do to fix the economy," reads the memo. "We have an opportunity to fill in that gap."

The strategy, which was authored by Taylor Griffin -- a veteran of the Bush White House and Treasury Department who serves McCain as a senior adviser -- seems built around traditional themes. The McCain campaign will paint Obama as being "aligned with trial lawyers" and "unions (card check, trade, education reform)," and push the frame that he "raises taxes" and "will kill jobs."

"Where's My Harmonica, Albert?"

This quote is attributed to Bob Dylan, asking his then-manager Albert Grossman for help finding his harp at the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival...

From VintageGuitar.com:

     What happens when you join a 151-year-old musical instrument manufacturer with one of the world's most legendary musicians who happens to be the single most influential harmonica player in the annals of popular music?

     You make history, of course! 

     The Hohner company and Bob Dylan are proud to announce the Bob Dylan Collection of hand-signed harmonicas, celebrating the accomplishments and legacy of both Bob Dylan and Hohner.

     Hohner has manufactured and distributed musical instruments since 1857, making it one of the world's oldest musical instrument makers. Bob Dylan - venerated American singer-songwriter, author, poet and disc jockey - has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. During his career, Bob Dylan has won awards for his songwriting, performing, and recording, earning him eleven Grammys (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), Kennedy Center Honors and an Academy Award. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, Bob Dylan was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." 

     The first item in the collection consists of a complete set of seven Marine Band harmonicas in the natural keys of C, G, D, F, A, B, and E, which have been played and hand-signed by Bob Dylan. The harmonicas are displayed in an inlaid ebony box, handcrafted exclusively for Bob Dylan with his distinctive "Eye" logo on the lid and a renowned, framed picture of Bob Dylan on the inside cover. A letter from the President of Hohner, Inc., is included, confirming authenticity. Limited to twenty-five sets worldwide. 

     The second item in the collection is a single Marine Band harmonica in the key of C, hand-signed by Bob Dylan. This single harmonica is displayed in an inlaid ebony box, also handcrafted for Bob Dylan with a signed card from the President of Hohner, Inc., confirming authenticity. Limited to one hundred harmonicas worldwide.

     These limited edition pieces will be available for sale in the United States exclusively through Sam Ash Music, an 84-year-old music retailing legend that has been selling Hohner harmonicas since it opened its doors in 1924. A special "viewing preview" will take place at Sam Ash Music in Hollywood, California, from September 24 through October 8, 2008. A New York viewing will follow at Sam Ash Music's Manhattan location from October 15 through October 29, 2008. The actual sale of these limited edition pieces will take place online at www.samashmusic.com at midnight, October 29, 2008.

     

"I Don't Mean To Be A Diva, But Some Days You Wake Up & You're Barbra Streisand."

Or Brett Favre.

Or Cher...

Thanks to Courtney Love for the quote.

And thanks to Rick Reilly for his "diva" piece on ESPN.

*Postcript: Cher never won a Super Bowl.

*Courtney Love has been on the DL more times than Brett Favre.

The Land Of The Free & The Home Of The Gauge.

This Is Your Country. Really.

From Politico:

Paris Hilton makes fun of John McCain's age and unveils her own energy policy. Really.

UPDATE: Obama spokesman Bill Burton reacts: "Whatever."

UPDATE: McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds emails:  “It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis - including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan.”

The heat must be getting to Mr. Bounds.

The Dog Days Of Blogging.

     It's August and my muse keeps skipping off to the beach.

     I'm easily distracted by this year's bikini fashions, and the number of posts the past few days has slowly dwindled.

     I also have a severe case of election-year burn-out.

     That calls for a nice, cold "Phil Gramm 'Mental Recession' Whiner's Ale."

     It's pennant race time, the Olympics are almost here, and world-class athletes will soon be choking on Chinese air.

     John "Double-Talk" McBush III is handing out tire gauges at campaign appearances while offering to enter his dazed wife into topless "beauty" contests at biker rallies.

     Who knows? One of these days my Frisbee might get stuck on an oil-rig down at Rat Beach.

     Ah, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...

     

            

"There Is No Sin Except Stupidity."

Oscar Wilde said that...

Same Old Song & Dance.

"I Mean, It's Real Hard To Be Free When You're Bought And Sold In The Marketplace."

That line is by Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in Easy Rider.

Check out Jack back in 1978; old-school "green":

Who's Your Daddy?

"The Middle Of The Road Is No Private Cul-De-Sac..."

     "...I can't get from the cab to the curb without some little jerk on my back."

     Thanks to the Pretenders for the post title...

     "We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over."

     Ambrose Bierce said that.

     Kurt Vonnegut said:

     "I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center."

     Campaign '08: "Sleep on your own side of the bed."

Batty.

*A great move for the Dodgers.

*Rent-A-Ribby for 2 months for the post-season run.

*A Hall-of-Fame bat on a Torre-managed team (no cell phone reception in Chavez Ravine!) 

*Put him in a pennant race with men on base and wave 'em home.

*Manny in a contract year? Wave 'em home...    

*A key Red Sox bat out of the Red Sox line-up down the stretch.

Nobody's home.

Love it. 

Play ball!