The Day the Music Died

Today, Feb 3, marks 50 years since that a sudden plane crash took the lives of 3 Rock n Roll up-and-comers, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper. Don McClean's "American Pie" goes on that this was the day the 'music died' and how it influenced an entire generation.

Well, there's a great article here about how the music didn't die, but instead Holly's influence lives on.

----

In other news, those of you paying attention know that Skank, SHEAm, and I routinely ride the 42/43 bus line for our morning/evening commute. Well, apparently we're in somewhat famous company. MSNBC reported yesterday (yes, from that plump pumpkin of a commentator, Keith Olberman. I know, I don't usually like him either...) that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld attempted to board a crowded 42 last week, just north of Dupont Circle. Instead of boarding he was booed by passengers and told that the bus was too crowded to accommodate him. He reportedly walked instead.

I have personally seen Rummy on 3 occasions in the past few months, sometimes in the Dupont area and sometimes in the Golden Triange south of Dupont. Have you seen Rummy recently??
We are going to start a Rum-Sighting series here on Connetiquette. Email or post anytime you see Rummy!!

----

In Cabinet news, the Senate voted and we now have an Attorney General (whoo hooo!) who doesn't promise to not prosecute the war criminals from the last administrations. Thank God.

Similarly, Republican Judd Gregg was announced today for Commerce Secretary. Though this came at the price of Democratic New Hampshire Governor John Lynch promising to appoint a Republican in Gregg's place, so as to not change the balance of power in the Senate. If the Dems get one more seat they'll have a 60-person supermajority that will be able to withstand a filibuster. As it stands now, on most issues there are one or two moderate senators who can be picked off and convinced to join the majority. But it's still an interesting little dance they're doing.

Finally, HHS nominee Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader, has withdrawn his name from consideratino. He's gotten a lot of flak over the past few days on some tax issues (seriously- this is the 3rd Cabinet nomination to have this prolem. Was nobody looking into this?!). While I personally think Tom Daschle is a great man and would do wonders for this country in the realm of healthcare (especially leading a task force on universal care), I have to agree that these issues are a best a distraction from everything. I just hope that he's still around for a non-cabinet appointment to work on healthcare reform. It would be a waste to not put his experience and relationships with Congress to good use...

---

Finally, just a small note on this weekend. What a game! I'm still surprised it went from snooze-fest to a really exciting, edge-of-your-seat game. I've already commented on my pride in the Steelers and the Steel City, but there were also some great ads. In lieu of posting my own recap of each ad, I'm actually going to defer to fellow blogger-extrordinaire Cocktail and his commentary. I fully agree (be sure to check out his upcoming post on the Emerald City). Some of the best were the movie previews. I'm absolutely obsessed with the fact that this summer so many great movies are coming. We have Transformers 2, GI JOE (so pumped), STAR TREK (even more pumped), and the newest Harry Potter flik (which has been uber delayed). I can't wait. There will be posts on all of this very soon.

That's all for now folks

Update: Obama Supports the Steelers and So Should You

More breaking news as Steelers-watch 2009 continues:

In another move aimed solely at winning over my unending support, President Obama has shocked the nation by declaring not only that he believes the Steelers will win the Superbowl this weekend (not shocking considering the competition), but that he is rooting for them. Read it for yourself:

THE PRESIDENT: I have to say, you know, I wish the Cardinals the best. Kurt Warner is a great story and he's closer to my age than anybody else on the field, but I am a long-time Steelers fan. Mr. Rooney, the owner, was just an extraordinary supporter during the course of the campaign. Franco Harris was campaigning for me in Pittsburgh. So --

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Coach signed up with you, too.

THE PRESIDENT: Right, Coach Tomlin was a supporter. So I -- you know, I wish the best to the Cardinals. They've been long-suffering; it's a great Cinderella story. But other than the Bears, the Steelers are probably the team that's closest to my heart.

There are some other important elements to this discussion. The President is no fair-weather fan (though cynics may point out PA has many more electoral votes than AZ). In fact, before becoming a Bears fan, he was an ardent Steeler booster. It is also worth noting that Pennsylvania-native, Vice President Joe Biden is also rooting for the Steel Curtain to crush the opposition, too.

For those of you still skeptical that the Steelers are a better pick, even if you're not from the Steel City, consider this argument that the Steelers are the more righteous and progressive option.

Here we go, Steelers...

Anyone who knows me is familiar with the following: I'm not generally much of a sports-enthusiast, I'm absolutely an irreconcilable Pittsburgh-enthusiast, and I can be bullheaded and rarely keep my opinions to myself. With that in mind, here is the Superbowl post that my friends have been dreading:

Pittsburgh is a town that is accustomed to being the punchline of many a joke ('shittsburgh', 'armpit of America', etc), regardless of the civic renaissance that has occurred over the past few decades. With that being said, there is an intense pride in the Steelers that rivals any team in the NFL. The Terrible Towel is a hallmark of the SteelersNation, and a unifying symbol that other teams have unsuccessfully attempted to recreate. Recently I've put my sports reluctance aside in favor of my natural hometown pride. Go Steelers!

If (when) the Steelers prevail, this will be their record-breaking 6th Superbowl victory. They are currently tied for 5 with the Cowboys and 49ers. The Arizona Cardinals have... never even been to the Superbowl (despite being the oldest continuously run American football club in existence).

As a proud Pittsburgher, I realize the absolute bias I present in assuming/looking forward to a stunning Steeler victory on Sunday. However, nearly every major prognosticator/commentater has gone on the record that this is essentially the Steelers' game to lose. The most compelling to my non-scientific mind? Legendary prognosticator Ernie Epps (who has accurately predicted the last 10 Super Bowl, World Series, and NBA champions, as well as the last five Presidents and the past fifteen Oscar-winning films) has predicted a Steeler victory.

Giving due deference, I also point you to our friend Cocktail's latest blog entry on the matter, in which he sizes up the Cardinals' great offense against the Steelers' legendary defense.

On a final note, there are some very entertaining things coming out of this whole lead-up to Sunday. Particularly, I point your attention to a great version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" adapted for the occasion:




In any case, I'll have my Iron City Beer and Terrible Towel in hand and look forward to an excellent Superbowl. Happy Superbowl everyone!

Steelers vs Titans

I'm going to do something today I haven't done in forever: go watch a Steelers game with friends. Besides the great (read: vastly unhealthy) food, I'm excited to see the Steelers cream the Titans. The black and gold are the AFC North Champs and are 11-3. The Titans are 12-2 but we've come from behind the past few games, so I look forward to another victory! Happy Sunday!

Greetings from Pittsburgh!!

I'm sorry it's been a couple of days since my last post (and I'm sure all 10 of our readers sorely missed me...). I notice Tim has been kind of enough to blog every 3.7 minutes, so I doubt anyone has been lacking something to read.

I'm joining you from the great American city of Pittsburgh, PA! I'm here for the next week or so visiting family, taking care of business, and all that joyous stuff. I've got some fun posts planned and I hope I can get to them all while I'm here.

Since I've mentioned the Steel City, how about some fun facts about America's heartland:

First, some lingo- if you're ever in Pittsburgh you should know:
We don't say rubberband, we say gumband.
We use jimmies not sprinkles on our ice cream.
It's pop, not soda
It's a sucker, not a lollipop


For a Pittsburghese pronunciation guide, go here.

As you and all my friends and acquaintances now know, I'm very proud of my Pittsburgh roots.

Also, this year the Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to the Super Bowl!! Or so I believe. But they are the AFC North Champs!

There's much more to come, look for my other posts later this afternoon! I'm going to incorporate a Pittsburgh theme into as many as I can. :-)