Back Soon; Tidbits For Now
[UPDATE: The MJ link was taken down. Thanks to Alive! for providing a new one.]
Sorry for the silence. Been a busy end of month. Wedding; moving. (I should here say that any list like that — one of just two terms, that is — always reminds me of that beautiful moment in *Lolita* when Humbert Humbert mentions his dead mom and adds, parenthetically, “picnic, lightning.”)
A few quick things to tide you over, dear readers.
1) Here is a website that lists the 15 creepiest vintage ads ever. They were not kidding around.
2) RIP Michael. I hope wherever you are, you are more comfortable than you were here. I was touched and rather surprised by the public outpouring; it was about the music, your fame, and, above all else, your majestic performances. (Seriously, click on that link. It’s Michael doing “Billie Jean” at the Motown 25 in ’83. It’s absolutely amazing.) I think that’s the way it should be, although I must say I am puzzled at the quick turn-around, given how much our culture enjoyed mocking “Wacko Jacko.” I think he could have used some of this public love in, say, the last decade or so.
3) I’m loving all of these NBA trades. As a Nets fan, may I just say a quick “don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” to Vince Carter? Thanks. He’s fun to watch — fun, that is, if you like oodles of lazy fade-away 17 foot jumpers punctuated by the occasional electrifying Sports Center highlight. This guy’s ceiling was so, so, SO high. And he just didn’t have it. (Perhaps it’s a good thing. People like MJ and Kobe are only sort of human, given their drive and competitiveness. It ain’t healthy. It helps win championships, but it should doesn’t make one a good human being.) I’m going to enjoy the 3-4 months of renewed effort Vince puts in at Orlando. Then he’ll go back to settling for iffy outside jumpers. Oh, and if the Lakers manage to sign Ron Artest the rest of the league is in big, big, BIG trouble. That dude’s a tank. And a team that was sometimes shaky on D suddenly has one of the best defenders in the league. I certainly don’t want to see Kobe smirk after winning another championship, but if they get Artest…. Conversely, I’d love to see Shaq and BronBron get it done. That’s be fun to watch. This will be an exciting NBA season. (And it will be even better when the Nets land BronBron in 2010. Ya right…)
4) Here’s Lester Bangs — the famous music critic; or, uh, the guy that Philip Seymour Hoffman played in *Almost Famous* — writing about my favorite album, Van Morrison’s *Astral Weeks.* Check it out.
