Bits And Pieces

This afternoon, I’ve been working on some Motown songs for a show I’m going to play over in Branson next week. It is a two hour show so, a lot of material to learn for one gig. I love Motown stuff anyway, so it should be fun. It’s mostly Temptations and Four Tops material and, rest easy, I won’t be singing it, just playing guitar. More on this as things develop.

The Reverend Jerry Falwell died yesterday. He was a polarizing figure. My first thought when I heard this was that I had seen Falwell on news debate shows a few times in recent years and the reason I watched was that I was hoping he would say something controversial. You know like, Muhammad was a terrorist, or the Antichrist was a living male Jew or a cartoon was gay. But, the last few times I saw he came off as very calm and not confrontational. He didn’t back off of his views by any means he just seemed like a different guy then the one who said all of that stuff. In that vein, here is a quote from Falwell’s archenemy, Larry Flynt.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

So, you can disagree and dislike what the guy stands for but, coming from Larry Flynt, I think that says a lot about the man.

Time Warner is selling the Atlanta Braves baseball team to the Liberty Media group. In this article, it says that Hank Aaron, who is the senior vice president of the team, will be taking on a greater role. I wonder what that means. If he is senior vice president now; is he going to be president?

Earlier this year, Aaron said he would not be around when Barry Bonds breaks his home run record. If I remember right, he said he was going to be in France of all places.

So, we have the biggest record in baseball, which is a game where statistics really matter, about to be broken. If Aaron is active in running the front office of a major league team and his record, the biggest record, is broken; How can he not be present? This whole thing is embarrassing. Hank is tight with baseball commissioner Bud Selig and both of them seem to want to ignore the record. By trying to sweep this under the rug, it will only further legitimize the notion of the “steroid era”.

If you can’t retroactively prove that Bonds cheated then the record is legit and Bud and Hank should get behind it. It doesn’t matter whether you like the guy or not. There is no shortage of cheaters and bastards in Cooperstown.

Ike Turner got pulled over for speeding and, oops, he just happened to have an outstanding felony drug warrant. Upon hearing the news Kathy Hilton was quoted as saying…