"Cause Tony Franciosa Used to Date My Ma" (Going Out West)

The Life that Inspired the Lyric

Actor Anthony Franciosa Dies at Age 77



Oscar-nominated actor Anthony "Tony" Franciosa, part of a generation of intense Italian-American performers who took Hollywood by storm in the 1950s, has died at age 77 after suffering a stroke, a family spokesman said on Friday.

Franciosa, who won a Golden Globe award for his performance in "Career," a movie about an actor who gives up everything for success, died on Thursday at the University of California at Los Angeles medical center with his wife of 38 years, Rita, at his bedside, the spokesman said.

Franciosa received both Tony and Oscar nominations for his searing portrayals of the brother of a heroin addict in "A Hatful of Rain" and was the lead in several television series, including journalism drama "The Name of the Game.'

He was also active in the fight for civil rights and took part in marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King. These activities led to a long friendship with the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Franciosa, whose easy-going manner concealed an inner aggression, was a member of the 1950s wave of actors trained at New York City's Actors Studio who changed the Broadway stage and Hollywood with their energy and a new "method" style of acting that drew heavily on personal experiences.

Handsome in the manner of another New Yorker, Burt Lancaster, Franciosa received rave reviews for his first Broadway show, "End As a Man," and was nominated for a Tony for "A Hatful of Rain." He left Broadway for Hollywood in the mid-1950s, winning an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for the film version of "A Hatful of Rain."

Along with Ben Gazzara and Harry Guardino, Franciosa belonged to a generation of ardent, introspective Italian-American actors who hit Hollywood in the 1950s, paving the way for such stars at Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

DIRECTED BY KAZAN

He appeared in such films as Elia Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd" and Martin Ritt's "The Long Hot Summer," where he played Orson Welles's son-in-law. He also appeared opposite Anna Magnani in "Wild is the Wind," Ava Gardner in "The Naked Maja" and Jane Fonda in "Period of Adjustment."

He starred in several television series including "Valentine's Day" (ABC, 1964-1965), "The Name of the Game" (NBC, 1968-71), "Search" (NBC, 1972-73) and "Matt Helm" (ABC, 1975-1976).

He returned to series in Aaron Spelling's "Finder of Lost Loves" (ABC, 1984-85), which saw the actor playing a wealthy widower who helped people track down their former lovers.

Franciosa has also starred in numerous TV-movies and recently was cast as mobsters, albeit with a veneer of class, as in Harold Becker's "City Hall" with Al Pacino and John Cusack.

His spokesman said many of Franciosa's friends and family members were also at his bedside, including sons Christopher and Marco, daughter Nina and a granddaughter Ruby.

Franciosa was married to actress Shelley Winters from 1957 to 1960. She died in Beverly Hills last week at age 85.

Song: GOING OUT WEST
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan) -
Often performed by Govt Mule & Widespread Panic

Well I'm going out west
Where the wind blows tall
'Cause Tony Franciosa
Used to date my ma
They got some money out there
They're giving it away
I'm gonna do what I want
And I'm gonna get paid
Do what I want
And I'm gonna get paid

Little brown sausages
Lying in the sand
I ain't no extra baby
I'm a leading man
Well my parole officer
Will be proud of me
With my Olds 88
And the devil on a leash
My Olds 88
And the devil on a leash

Well I know karate, voodoo too
I'm gonna make myself available to you
I don't need no make up
I got real scars
I got hair on my chest
I look good without a shirt

Well I don't lose my composure
In a high speed chase
Well my friends think I'm ugly
I got a masculine face
I got some dragstrip courage
I can really drive a bed
I'm gonna change my name
To Hannibal or maybe
Just Rex
Change my name to Hannibal
Or maybe just Rex

I'm gonna drive all night
Take some speed
I'm gonna wait for the sun
To shine down on me
I cut a hole in my roof
In the shape of a heart

And I'm going out west
Where they'll appreciate me
Going out west
Going out west

Eminent Domain: Lost Liberty Inn Project

The Kelo Decision is something every knowledgeable citizen should read and be familiar with. If a person's home is not their castle, then how can their property rights (or your property rights) ever be secure. As you know, there is no appeal to a final decision of the Supreme Court because they decide the law of the land. Congress, or in this case, individual state legislatures can make laws to narrow the use of eminent domain condemnation. But as citizens, you need to let your elected officials know how you feel on this matter. Ask them to sponsor or support legislation that would inhibit or reduce the government's ability to take private property for economic development purposes.

This is one of the rare times that Justice O'Connor joined a dissent that I was personally in agreement with. The "liberal leaning majority" were off the mark by a mile. The story below describes an activist's attempt to draw attention to the error of the decision.

Activists Seek to Evict Souter From Home

By KATHY McCORMACK, Associated Press Writer
(as reported on Yahoo)

Angered by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sided with a Connecticut city that wanted to seize homes for economic development, a group of activists is trying to get one of the justices who voted for the decision evicted from his own home.

The group, led by a California man, wants Justice David Souter's home seized for the purpose of building an inn called "Lost Liberty Hotel."

They submitted enough petition signatures — only 25 were needed — to bring the matter before voters in March. This weekend, they're descending on Souter's hometown, the central New Hampshire town of Weare, population 8,500, to rally for support.

"This is in the tradition of the Boston Tea Party and the Pine Tree Riot," organizer Logan Darrow Clements said, referring to the riot that took place during the winter of 1771-1772, when colonists in Weare beat up officials appointed by King George III who fined them for logging white pines without approval.

"All we're trying to do is put an end to eminent domain abuse," Clements said, by having those who advocate or facilitate it "live under it, so they understand why it needs to end."

Bill Quigley, Weare deputy police chief, said if protesters show up, they're going to be told to stay across the street from a dirt road that leads to Souter's brown farmhouse, which is more than 200 years old. It isn't known if Souter will be home.

"They're obviously not going to be allowed on Justice Souter's property," he said. "There's no reason for anybody to go down that road unless they live on that road, and we know the residents that live there. The last time (Clements) showed up, they had a total of about three or four people who showed up to listen to him."

Clements, of Los Angeles, said he's never tried to contact Souter.

"The justice doesn't have any comment about it," Kathy Arberg, a Supreme Court spokeswoman, said about the protesters' cause.

The petition asks whether the town should take Souter's land for development as an inn; whether to set up a trust fund to accept donations for legal expenses; and whether to set up a second trust fund to accept donations to compensate Souter for taking his land.

The matter goes to voters on March 14.

Clements said participants planned to meet at Weare Town Hall on Saturday morning and divide into teams to go door-to-door to get more petition signatures. He also wants to distribute copies of the Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London, to residents.




The court said New London, Conn., could seize homeowners' property to develop a hotel, convention center, office space and condominiums next to Pfizer Inc.'s new research headquarters.

The city argued that tax revenues and new jobs from the development would benefit the public. The Pfizer complex was built, but seven homeowners challenged the rest of the development in court. The Supreme Court's ruling against them prompted many states, including New Hampshire, to examine their eminent domain laws.

State Rep. Neal Kurk, a Weare resident who is sponsoring two pieces of eminent domain legislation in New Hampshire, said he expects the group's proposal to be defeated overwhelmingly.

"Most people here see this as an act of revenge and an improper attack on the judicial system," Kurk said. "You don't go after a judge personally because you disagree with his judgments."

___

On the Net:

Committee for the Preservation of Natural Rights:
Natural-Rights.org

Are you my mother?

"No, I am not your mother," said the duck to the squirrel monkey.

Orphaned squirrel monkey Loki clings to his toy duck at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006. Loki, who lost his mother shortly after birth eight weeks ago, has been hand raised by zoo staff and will be introduced to the rest of the Squirrel Monkeys once he is weaned and learns to regulate his body temperature. (AP Photo/Paul Miller)



"Well, in that case, can you help me out? I don't wanna buy it, just wanna rent it for a minute or two."



"Aahh, that's better," sighed Loki, sucking his thumb while lying in repose. "You don't mind if I hang for a while."

Got Milk?

Baloo, a seven-day-old brown bear weighing around 400 grams (14 ounces), drinks milk at Attica Zoological Park in Spata, near Athens, on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006. Baloo and her brother, Winnie were abandoned by their mother who refused to feed them, zoo officials said. Fully grown brown bears weigh around 300 kilos (660 pounds) and live for an average 25 years. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Baloo




Winnie




Winnie, Baloo (did I just Winnie Baloo? Winnie Baloo - Winnie Baloo, c'mon sing-along now... you know the words.)

EPA Heads Critical of Bush's Role in Global Warming

In this handout photo released by the Environmental Protection Agency, current EPA chief, Stephen Johnson, with microphone, fourth from left, is joined by former administrators, from left, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Russell Train, Bill Ruckelshaus, Lee Thomas, Carol Browner and Bill Reilly on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006, in Washington. Six former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency accused the Bush administration Wednesday of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems. (Courtesy: AP Photo/EPA, Eric Vance, HO - as shown on Yahoo.com)



(as reported on yahoo.com, 1/18/06)

Six former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency — five Republicans and one Democrat — accused the Bush administration Wednesday of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems.

"I don't think there's a commitment in this administration," said Bill Ruckelshaus, who was EPA's first administrator when the agency opened its doors in 1970 under President Nixon and headed it again under President Reagan in the 1980s.

Russell Train, who succeeded Ruckelshaus in the Nixon and Ford administrations, said slowing the growth of "greenhouse" gases isn't enough.

"We need leadership, and I don't think we're getting it," he said at an EPA-sponsored symposium centered around the agency's 35th anniversary. "To sit back and just push it away and say we'll deal with it sometime down the road is dishonest to the people and self-destructive."

All of the former administrators raised their hands when EPA's current chief, Stephen Johnson, asked whether they believe global warming is a real problem, and again when he asked if humans bear significant blame.

Agency heads during five Republican administrations, including the current one, criticized the Bush White House for what they described as a failure of leadership.

Defending his boss, Johnson said the current administration has spent $20 billion on research and technology to combat climate change after President Bush rejected mandatory controls on carbon dioxide, the chief gas blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere like a greenhouse.

Bush also kept the United States out of the Kyoto international treaty to reduce greenhouse gases globally, saying it would harm the U.S. economy, after many of the accord's terms were negotiated by the Clinton administration.

"I know from the president on down, he is committed," Johnson said. "And certainly his charge to me was, and certainly our team has heard it: 'I want you to accelerate the pace of environmental protection. I want you to maintain our economic competitiveness.' And I think that's really what it's all about."

His predecessors disagreed. Lee Thomas, Ruckelshaus's successor in the Reagan administration, said that "if the United States doesn't deal with those kinds of issues in a leadership role, they're not going to get dealt with. So I'm very concerned about this country and this agency."

Bill Reilly, the EPA administrator under the first President Bush, echoed that assessment.

"The time will come when we will address seriously the problem of climate change, and this is the agency that's best equipped to anticipate it," he said.

Christie Whitman, the first of three EPA administrators in the current Bush administration, said people obviously are having "an enormous impact" on the earth's warming.

"You'd need to be in a hole somewhere to think that the amount of change that we have imposed on land, and the way we've handled deforestation, farming practices, development, and what we're putting into the air, isn't exacerbating what is probably a natural trend," she said. "But this is worse, and it's getting worse."

Carol Browner, who was President Clinton's EPA administrator, said the White House and the Congress should push legislation to establish a carbon trading program based on a 1990 pollution trading program that helped reduce acid rain.

"If we wait for every single scientist who has a thought on the issue of climate change to agree, we will never do anything," she said. "If this agency had waited to completely understand the impacts of DDT, the impacts of lead in our gasoline, there would probably still be DDT sprayed and lead in our gasoline."

Three former administrators did not attend Wednesday's ceremony: Mike Leavitt, now secretary of health and human services; Doug Costle, who was in the Carter administration, and Anne Burford, a Reagan appointee who died last year.

Concert Notes and Music Alert: Railroad Earth

Location: Bowery Ballroom in NYC
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2005


Tim Carbone jamming with Bill Nershi during the Honkytonk Homeslice opening act.



To learn more about Railroad Earth, a band that is ready to break out big in 2006, please click here.


There was close to three hours of music for the cost of a ticket and considering that it was a local show without much stress of travel on my part, I stand by my 5 star rating. There was a clown blowing up balloons and creating general mirth, a good vibe from the undulating mass of Hobos (old and young) that filled the Bowery. I had never seen such a big crowd at the Bowery. There was a good pre-show party at several local establishments. Given the sum total of the experience, music, fans, venue, sound, and pre-show festivities - another great Saturday night of music in the city. The recording sounds great - and the room sounded the best it has ever done.

I was one of the tapers at the show - hot versions of some classics for me, John Skehan's jam into Like a Buddha, Railroad Earth, Warhead Boogie, a Major League Mess and an Insane HEAD were some of the highlights. Ruben's Train was a classic jam. The double encore was fun and unexpected - the Whiskey River was a great way to end the show. Now some of the longer term hobos would call this a pedestrian show, maybe coasting at times. Others will say that its great, but not transcendant and not quite epic. I say that you have to hear for yourself.

Setlist:
Set I
Lordy Lordy
Saddle of the Sun
John's Jig > Like A Buddha
Cuckoo Bird
Warhead Boogie
Railroad Earth
Fiddlee

Set II
Bird in a House
Rueben's Train
I am a Mess
Dance Around Molly
Dandelion Wine
Sing for Me
Head

Encore:
Fire on the Mountain
Whiskey River

If you like bluegrass, then you'll like Railroad Earth for sure. If you like jams, then this band mixes it up and keeps things interesting. It's a good community of fans and while they are still drawing under a 1000 per night (read smaller, more intimate venues), you should check them out. They have a new record deal as described below in the music alert. Ask for Elko, their new album and come out to see them live in 2006. You can thank me later.

Music Alert:

Railroad Earth's first double live album entitled "ELKO," on their new label SCI Fidelity Records. "ELKO" will hit stores nationwide on January 24th, and the band will celebrate its release at the FILLMORE in San Francisco on JANUARY 21ST, with its fans, friends and new family at SCI Fidelity Records. The band is excited about the album and hopes that you'll come out and join them!



Two Special In-Store Performances!

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22ND @ 1PM
TOWER RECORDS - SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Columbus & Bay)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH @ 1PM - TWIST AND SHOUT UNDERGROUND - DENVER, CO (33 E. Alameda)
Don't miss the chance to see Railroad Earth play an acoustic set in these intimate environments.

Concert Notes: Govt Mule - an unexpected show in D.C.

Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Location: D.A.R. Constitution Hall

Twas Thanksgiving week and I was heading to Baltimore to spend a couple days with my mother who had been under the weather. Always nice to go home to Baltimore - slower pace than the tri-state area. Plus, cooking on Thanksgiving has been something of a tradition for me. The weekend before I left, Rabbi Yossi Pollack, yes, you read that correctly, Rabbi Yossi announced on the E-Mule listserv that he had an extra ticket for the show. And so it went.

Driven to the show courtesy of Andre M. and Mitch D., Pikesville locals and musical royalty in the Baltimore lineage of the Grateful Dead, it was a welcome experience to leave the driving to them and just be a passenger. Thank you Andre and Mitch. We met Stuart D. (Mitch's brother) and went for some pre-show sushi. Taping was not allowed on the floor so Yossi and I went upstairs to the balcony. A light snow had begun to fall outside in keeping with the season. Ran into the old school tapers - Dr. Mitch W., Tim, Ed the Head, and I may have even seen Wilson there.

Well this Government Mule show did not disappoint. Warren had alot of surprises in store for us and the performance was top notch. The CDs of the show sound great - one of Yossi's best recordings ever!

I enjoyed the song selection in the first set that was all acoustic. What a treat!!
The second set was a bit abbreviated in length, but featured the soulful horns of Ron Holloway, and special guest, E.T. from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Great show to catch unexpectedly while home for Thanksgiving. The performance of everything was great - of particular note, the ScoMule and Devil Likes It Slow in addition to Blind Man in the Dark and the encore: Dreams to Remember.


Set 1 (Acoustic):
Real Thing (Warren Solo Acoustic)
In My Life (Warren and Matt only, Matt on hand drums)
Patchwork Quilt
Fallen Down
Wild Horses
Slow Happy Boys
Going Down Slow
Wine & Blood
One
Into The Mystic
Soulshine

Set 2 (Electric):
Bad Little Doggie
Bad Man Walking
Slackjaw Jezebel
My Separate Reality
Banks Of The Deep End
Sco-Mule w/ Ron Holloway
Devil Likes It Slow w/ Ron Holloway and Efrem Towns
No Need To Suffer
Blind Man In The Dark w/ Ron Holloway

Encore:
Dreams To Remember w/ Ron Holloway and Efrem Towns


1st photo courtesy of Ben Marks via Motorola Camera Phone




2nd and 3rd photos courtesy of Mule.Net From The Road Live Downloads section

Concert Notes: Steve Kimock Band & Happy Birthday Michelle

Date: Saturday, November 26, 2005
Location: Bowery Ballroom on Delancey Street in NYC



Well, I had just returned to NY from visiting my mom in Baltimore. The drive back was uneventful and I still had a great deal of unpacking to do on my new apartment.

I had turned my friend, Michelle K. on to a Kimock bootleg weeks earlier and now was the big night to see him live. Tied to this night, it was Michelle's birthday so we not only had a lot to be thankful for, but we also had a celebration prior to the show. After a ta$ty group meal with Tom, Nancy, Susan, and Rachel at La E$quina on Kenmare Street, we invited Tom and Nancy to come to the show with us. Just prior to going in, we went to Pioneer Bar on Bowery Street. A good selection of brews and decent menu await those with the time to engage in a pre-show party at the Pioneer.

Now for those who have never seen Kimock, first word of advice: wear comfortable shoes. You will be up for the duration of each of the 70+ minute sets. Even though the music is so mellow, it is best experienced up close for the fullest of sound and most intricate of noodling during and between songs.

Steve is a guitar virtuoso and his lineup, drummer Rodney Holmes, bassist Reed Mathis, and keyboardist Robert Walter are some of the strongest musicians to play with and challenge Steve in a long time.

I used to tape Kimock live, but the availability of digital soundboards obviates the need to tote a tapedeck and battery pack to undertake the effort and expense of making two tapes and later tracking the IDs and burning CDs. Too much cost and effort in the live experience. As Michelle noted, it's the changing of the way that I approach my hobby.

This show was in my opinion, not quite as intense and heavy, as prior Kimock shows - my first experience with him was the legendary Wetlands show in October 1998 where they played from 10:30 to 4 am. Nevertheless, the music was as good as it gets for a Saturday in November. It was good to see Ron Keyser, taper extraordinaire from Baltimore, post-show.

The link below contains the setlist and I can vouch for the ethereal and excellent quality of the download (setlist and order page) from Digital Soundboard.net

Kimock is an acquired taste but if you are ready to take a musical journey, then hop on and ride the K-waves.

Owen and Mzee - the Hippo and the Tortoise

I love this story - it's heartwarming that the baby hippo has survived and thrived after floundering on a reef following the tsunami. And anyone who knows me can appreciate my love affair with everything turtle.

Here are some additional pictures of the happy pair.

Abortion - Narrow Sidestep by the U.S. Supreme Court

You can read the Opinion; courtesy of FindLaw.

It's a short opinion by court standards, and discusses the nature of a procedural remedy rather than the substantial issue with abortion. The unanimous Supreme Court got it right by vacating the First Circuit decision and sending the case back down on remand. Also nice to see that Justice O'Connor wrote the opinion.

Link Repair and New Entries in the Kimocktionary

Okay, so I noticed that many of my Yahoo News items had become broken links.



What a revolting development it was, but I made the necessary edits to repair the broken links today. That'll teach me to be lazy in my posts.

Nevertheless, check out the newest entries into the Kimocktionary. More than just a dictionary, it's a way of life (apologies to Frank Zappa for adapting the quote).

Mah nishma? State of the Ben

"Mah nishma?" is the Hebrew version of "What's new?" It's an innocuous, universal greeting which needn't mean much more than a passing hello.

Job: I stopped slacking in late October and I caught on with a midtown NYC law firm where I have been since Halloween. It's document review to assist with ongoing litigation. The job at least has coined a new active verb that will be suitable for a job description on my resume - CHRONOLOGIZE, which means the separation, sorting, and date-ordering of responsive documents in preparation for depositions. The slang participle is CHRONNING.

Not to be confused in anyway, shape, or form with "The Chronic-Les of Narnia"

So anyway, day in and day out, there are more and more boxes of material to CHRON.

Living Space: Well, as some of you know, the loft I was looking at in October fell through. Very disappointing at the time.

Just before I resigned myself to remaining in the share, I perused Craigs List and was able to get into a one-bedroom apartment of my own in Harrison, New York. Harrison is the town between Mamaroneck and Rye on the New Haven train line of Metro North.

Advantages of this newly renovated apartment include an individually controlled thermostat, my own kitchen and bath, and separate bedroom and living rooms. This means that my turtles are no longer in the same room as me at all times. It also has reduced my walking commute to the train from 20 minutes to 8 minutes. I no longer live across the street from a pizzaria which bodes better for my waistline and cholesterol. My rent is a little higher, but it's worth it for the peace of mind, privacy, and not having to live with slobs. Except for the smallish kitchen, disadvantages are minimal owing only to the odd proclivities of my landlord.

Family: My mother had a health scare just before Thanksgiving: Congestive Heart Failure. It sounds worse than it was, but to be blunt, CHF, in my mother's case, occurred mainly from her failure to follow doctor's orders. There is no disguising or making excuses for 10 pounds of retained fluid leading to shortness of breath except that the cause is eating the wrong foods - not one time but over a period of time. Very frustrating to me that with all the best doctors and medicines, my mother can't do that which she should do - simply eat right and exercise.

I went to visit her, cooked a heart-healthy Thanksgiving dinner, helped her to make better and more informed food choices in the grocery store, and researched the best Medicare D prescription drug plan available for her. As confusing as the process is, if you as an adult child of your parent can surf the government's medicare website, enter your parent's information, especially the medications they take, then you can win the prized opportunity to compare (at least in Maryland) 48 different plans. Amazing how one insurance plan charges $2 for the same drug that another company charges $60 for. We settled on Humana - it wasn't really settling as their out of pocket prices were so much lower than anyone else - including, big surprise, AARP.

It took me about an hour of discussion with my mother and another two hours of research on the web. A phonecall to the insurance company to clarify a query and the process was completed. If you think that it's a lot of work, you have to consider how many hours your parents put in on your upbringing. That'll straighten your thinking right out in a hurry.

My sister and her family are doing well. Her newly renovated kitchen is gorgeous and she continues to work wonders in managing her very important job and the lives of all whom she cares about.

However, sadly, my young cousin, passed away at 46 from lung cancer despite having never smoked a single cigarette in his entire life. He fought the good fight through multiple rounds of chemo over a two year period. It's sad on a number of levels because our large family splintered following my dad's death in 1988 and has never been the same since. Jeff leaves behind a wife and daughter, a sister, and his mom and dad.

This was enough of a wake-up call for me to stop flying without a net as I increased my dues to society and signed up for the company healthcare plan offered during open enrollment. I am even getting to the gym more frequently this month. The new location in White Plains, atop the City Center's parking garage, is well lit, spacious, clean and convenient.

Music: It's all about the music, isn't it?

Steve Kimock, Railroad Earth and Government Mule. Those are my last three concerts. More about all three later.

Over Thanksgiving, there was a nasty snafu with the Live Archive's handling or was it mishandling of the Grateful Dead soundboards and audience recordings. Bob Weir took the brunt of the criticism - his comments did not help except to prove that Bob should focus on the music because he is not very articulate in interview situations. Fortunately, bassist Phil Lesh later came to his defense in this excerpted posting on the Philzone.

"I had two conversations with Cameron Sears, our CEO at GDP, regarding Archive, starting when our material first showed up there. I told Cameron that I was fine having the audience tapes up there, but that he should talk to everyone, including Bob Hunter and John Barlow, regarding the soundboards. A year later when I had not heard anything about the boards, I mentioned to Cameron that I felt by not doing anything we were making a decision about the boards and that I was fine with that. Again I urged him to talk to everyone. I was caught by complete surprise when, right before Thanksgiving, the recordings were pulled. I feel that Bobby was not updated properly and unfairly took most of the heat. A lot of our business disagreements are the result of poor communication from advisors. Bobby is my brother and I love him unconditionally; he is a very generous man, and was unfairly judged regarding the Archive issue."

Meanwhile, as those in charge tightened the grips on the classic soundboards, Phil made more available from his recent tour. Look at all those torrents, especially the digital soundboards. THANKS PHIL!

Unfortunately, I have had to curtail my concert going while preparing for the Bar Exam, yet one more time.

Fortunately, March Madness occurs after the exam. Eat a peach!





















Cooking and Food: I am wild about Mahi Mahi. I rediscovered my local Trader Joes. Their Mahi Mahi, wild caught in the Pacific, comes in nicely packed fillets that are roughly 6 inches long and a little over an inch thick. My preparation is to simply marinate in the juice of a lemon for a day (a la ceviche), roll it around in lemon pepper or other seasoning (which adheres to the lemony fish), and then bake or pan saute in olive oil. Simple, three servings in a package, and affordable. Here is their Fearless Flyer.

Also made several trays of cavatelle and broccoli for the Knotts driven and arranged MULE YEARS EVE party thrown by MikeO and Anna in their lovely UWS digs. It's a real joy to cook for others; especially when the food goes over so well.

And that is the State of the Ben. Stay tuned for other updates, especially about my bar exam preparation in the near-term.

Majority Report

One of my favorite things to come out of Washington - a 6-3 decision, albeit, a decision on narrow grounds.