Dizzy In the Head

Thank Eru Ilúvatar It's Friday!

"Trump??? Are you shitting me? Might as well vote for Sauron!"

Debate Aftermath

Completely aside from my standard objection that spectacles like the one in South Carolina last night aren't actually "debates" in any meaningful sense, last night's spectacle was disappointing mostly because the focus (thanks to both the candidates and the moderators) was on subjects that are of precisely zero importance.

"You don't like 'New York values'? FUCK YOU!!"

Who gives a fuck if Donald Trump is offended by Ted Cruz's "New York Values" comment? Everyone with a functioning brain understood that remark to be a disparagement of New York's liberalism (their most recent mayor, for instance, is a radical leftist elected with 73% of the vote), not of its geography.




Of course, Trump doesn't have a functioning brain, so he puffed up with outrage, which in turn inspired New Yorkers to rise up online in defense of their city, which was never attacked in the first place. Tiresome.

And today, of course, we're being deluged with analysis of why this candidate or that one "won" the debate, regardless of what actually transpired. None of these protestations are especially convincing. I have yet to see one written by someone who wasn't already a supporter of the candidate they claim "won."

Meanwhile, Carly Fiorina did another splendid job in the non-prime time debate. I remain hopeful that once actual voting begins in Iowa and New Hampshire there will be more support for her candidacy than the current (rigged) polls indicate, but to some extent polls (and news coverage) tend to unduly influence voting behavior,
so we'll see...

"You shouldn't pay so much attention to politics. Not good for your health."

You're probably right...

Speaking of Knuckle-Dragging Halfwits...

One of the more interesting things I've noticed about this political season is the response I get whenever I criticize one of the candidates. When I criticize the black-eyed skank known as Hillary Clinton, for instance, I get accused of being a sexist. When I bag on avowed socialist Bernie Sanders, I'm told I'm a tool of Wall Street and the shadowy "One Percent-ers" who secretly run everything (because, according to Sanders fanatics, only One Percent-ers oppose his idiotic views).

On the Republican side, criticizing pretty much ANY of the candidates gets one accused of being a member of the dreaded "Republican Establishment." As far as such folks are concerned, every candidate BUT the one they support is a RINO, only their candidate is the REAL conservative in the race, etc.

The exception to this rule is Trump supporters. Criticize The Donald, and you are subjected to the most vile, profane racist/nativist tirades imaginable. Try it yourself if you don't believe me. That a huge chunk of Trump's support consists of unapologetic white supremacists is the great under-reported story of the campaign...

The One Time When ALL Students Are Religious

From the delightful comic strip Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

On January 15, 1965 legendary rock band The Who released their first single in the UK under that name. It turned out to be one of the most enduringly popular songs of the band's career (which is ongoing).

Original 1965 UK 45 rpm single

"I Can't Explain" was a Top 10 hit in England, but barely made a splash in the United States (No. 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart). This was largely due to the fact that the "mod" movement to which The Who and their music were inextricably connected hadn't really taken hold in America yet.





Legendary guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame actually played rhythm guitar during the recording session for the song, but there is some controversy about whether his contribution made it onto the single when it was released. I'm one of the folks who prefers to believe that he made the final edit of the track.

When I saw the band live for the third (and last) time on December 1, 1975 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, my late first wife couldn't understand why I jumped up and started hollering "Yes!" when the first few notes rang out. It was because they opened the show with "I Can't Explain," which they hadn't played the two times I had seen them earlier. As a longtime fan I was glad I finally got to see them do it live.

There really wasn't any such thing as a "music video" as we understand them today back in 1965, mostly because TV itself was still in its formative stages, there were few channels, and there was little interest in that kind of programming. Today's send-off is a "music video" from the group's own VEVO channel which combines the original '65 hit with archival footage from that time period of both the band and it's "mod" fans. Enjoy...