I'm Feelin' Ya Memorabilia

Inspired by Carrie Brownstein's latest post at Monitor Mix...

Kim Gordon's Snoopy-stickered Gibson bass
Ricky Wilson's blue Mosrite on the back cover of The B-52's
Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker 4001
The handwritten lyrics to Nas' "It Ain't Hard to Tell"

And there could be several hundred more, but with Thanksgiving in my belly, this quartet of touchstone items will have to do.

Give No Quarter

America has voted on the best and worst state quarter designs, and the results are a mix of the dead-on, the way-off and the where the hell?

First, the worst:

1. Idaho--A bird, the state, and a motto. Not one potato anywhere. Instant lose. Although to say it's the worst is kinda harsh, at least it was rendered well, unlike Michigan.

4. New Hampshire--I'm pretty incredulous at the presence of this one. A rock formation with the greatest motto of all 50 states makes for a quality quarter. Lot of these voters musta been crazy ageist.

5. New Mexico--NM has the second-best state flag behind Maryland, so it was smart to include the sun symbol on the coin as well. Not sure what isn't to like here.

7. Maryland--I can't tell you how much I anticipated my home state's coin. Seriously, I couldn't wait to count the crabs. So the day comes, they're unleashed to the populace, and we got...the dome of the state capital in Annapolis. What a "Be Sure To Drink Your Ovaltine" moment that was.

Chesapeake Bay! Crabs! The Oriole! Black-eyed susans! What the flib!

Notable omission: the clusterfuck of poorly-rendered foliage on Mississippi. I don't know what flower that's supposed to be and I don't care.

8. Wyoming--Picking on Wyoming is mean. It's like pushing around a kid in a wheelchair. They tried!

Now, the bestest:

1. Alaska--Hard to argue with this masterpiece. This coin almost makes up for Sarah Palin.

Then a whole bunch of well-drawn ones.

7. Virginia--Depicting ships. Zuh?

See, America's choices for the finest of the quarters kinda befuddles. Outside of Virginia, nothing is there that shouldn't be, but some notable omissions were made.

Georgia--I can understand why it wouldn't have more popular sentiment, what with that motto containing ideas that are simply un-American these days. But peaches win as a rule. By themselves, in oatmeal, in cereal, on coins.

Wisconsin--My choice for second-best, can it be coincidence that both my favorites feature animals? When this one came out, I was gobsmacked. This state, unlike Maryland, got it. The Dairy State gives us an incomplete cheese wheel, unshucked corn, and a disembodied cow head. Brilliant. It should be their new flag design.

Camp of Approval

So a few days ago I make a post wherein I jibed at the hardcore Obama supporters who seemed to think the man had supernatural powers to effect changes in society. I jokingly asked what the hell they expected from him--to singlehandedly save the housing market? To make marijuana legal?

Yesterday I found this "letter to Obama" by Pam Anderson on her website. First of all, I commend her; her spelling is much better than Courtney Love's, and she doesn't attack Kim Gordon anywhere. Yes, kudos.

It actually starts "Dear Mr. Obama", which reminds me of that godawful "Dear Mr. Jesus" song that radio plays at Christmas. You know that tune? Sad little kid talks to the son of God, asking for salvation from abusive parents? It's so damn saccharine my teeth start dissolving in my mouth when I hear it. Makes "The Christmas Shoes" sound like a Black Flag song.

Anyway, back to Pam. After asking for the release of Leonard Peltier and the instant castration of molesters both realized and "potential", she proposes the following:

"I think we should Legalize Marijuana, tax and monitor -farm Hemp etc-this would make our borders less corrupt and then I think eventually this will be more secure option and save children in the long run – we should be able to farm Hemp in America- it’s just silly— it would create jobs- and be good for environment."

I fucking knew it!

Barack Obama

If You Don't Know Gaki, You Don't Know Funny

The latest episode of Japan's long-running comedy show Gaki No Tsukai Ya Arahende!!. No subtitles, but you don't need them. Trust me. I love the fact that an old Randy Moss Vikings jersey represents Japanese hip hop style. Skol!

I'm eager for the batsu games from 2003 to 2007 to be subbed so I can do a big-ass overview on the blog, complete with screen caps.

The More Things Change

Personally I love the idea of Hillary Clinton as the new Secretary of State. Not only because I feel she's a qualified candidate with a world-renowned name, but because it seems to be chafing the sensitive regions of so many Obama supporters.

It's not hard to get the vibe that many folks thought Barack Obama was going to take over the presidency and stock his cabinet with Independents under the age of 45. Hearing the prez-elect cite Lincoln as an inspiration must have broken their hearts--You're supposed to wipe the slate clean, Barry! You're not supposed to look to the past to solve the problems of the future! That's not what you promised!

Understand, I voted for Obama. At no point was I under the delusion that the man possessed a magical elixir of skin color and brilliant oratory skills that, with one timely pour, could remedy all the ills of America and the world. I voted for him so that this country could have someone intelligent and open representing it after eight years of Good Ol' Boy.

I hope recent developments--reaching out to Clinton, reaching out to McCain--have slapped some of the most fervent Obamaniacs out of their reverie. This is real life, kids; this is what politics is. What exactly did they think he was going to do? Pull our troops out within one week of taking office? Pay off everyone's mortgages? Legalize weed? Come the hell on. Politics is a game. Obama knows how to play it. Why else were so many of us on his "team"?

Hillary Clinton Barack Obama

This Album Will Suck Suck

Detroit rapper Trick Trick is ready to unleash his new album, and golly gosh does he not like gay people! And I don't even mean he's a homophobe in the sense most anti-gay men are, in that they just hate the gay males, this dude is even hating lesbians. Which I think even most in the hip hop community would give the gas face to.

As per usual, the comments underneath the article are brilliant, and I highly recommend killing valuable minutes by reading them. Or I'll just save you the time and copy/paste the best one here.

MOST GAY RELATIONSHIPS ARE VIOLENT AND DYSFUNCTIONAL,WITH DRUG USE INVOLVED.--loch121

People, he's got a point. If several thousand episodes of Cops have taught us anything, it's that heterosexual relationships are bastions of gentility and sobriety. Also, meth makes you lose teeth. Lots of teeth.

Family Matters

A recent article about my late maternal grandpops, the last person born in Lincoln's cabin (the author is no relation, by the way.)

I remember being in fifth grade when I found out about Ivy Davenport's claim to fame. I've been enamored of it ever since, to the point where I'm still hunting down a video copy of the episode of "I've Got a Secret" on which he appeared.