Our time in Manila was short and sweet. Manila is such a crazy place, its hard to explain. It is dirty, polluted, destitute and poor yet Phillipinos are some of the warmest, kindest people you'll ever meet. And the traffic! The traffic is worse there than anywhere in the world I would venture to say, nobody obeys lanes, signs, turn signals, anything. Driving around is a free-for-all and can make you pretty nervous the first time you experience it.

The show went really well, the audience loved it. Romantic music is really big here, they new all of the old songs and went crazy over the new Bacharach stuff, hopefully we'll be coming back regularly.

The pool at our hotel.

The view from my room.

Traffic!

The band and concert promoters.

11 hrs. from LAX to Tokyo, 1.5 hrs. layover, 5.5 hrs. from Tokyo to Manila ... a day of travel like that can really test your patience. But I am here in Manila safe and sound. Last night after finally arriving at the hotel I ordered a sandwich, took a bath, had a glass of wine and a Vicodin and woke up this morning feeling like a million dollars. I'm hoping I'm all caught up with my jet-lag, I'll find out soon enough.

Manila is great (this is my second time here), the people are warm and friendly, most folks speak English. The hotel is quite nice and I had a fantastic breakfast here this morning.

Basketball is quite popular in The Phillipenes so luckily the Lakers are on right now. I'm going to get back to the game, soundcheck in a few hours.

Tomorrow morning I leave for a tour for the Phillipenes, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. I'm pretty excited about the trip, not so excited about the flights. I leave L.A. at 1:20 PM tomorrow and land in Manila at 9:55 PM on Thursday. Yikes! Thank goodness for the PSP.

It's a fairly quick tour as we'll be visiting all of these countries in the span of about 10 days. Luckily we are in Tokyo for four nights so there will be some time to relax and see the sights then.

... for a gallon of Unleaded Plus at the local gas station I like. This should be illegal. In fact, I think it is.

How's that war coming along?

I haven't really said anything about this yet because I wanted to wait until there was something up on their official site, I am officially a Dean artist. Dean is a guitar company that my buddy Josh works for, they sent me two basses back in February that I've been playing with Tyrell ever since. They are nice instruments with a great feel to them.

Here is the Dean homepage, my picture is about halfway down the page. Click on the photo to go to my Artist page.

So let's look at the other side of the coin, the following is a video on YouTube that has skyrocketed to the most viewed clip of the day.



I'm trying to look at this objectively. In my prior post there was an article written without any source citation at all, it was pointed out to me that this was okay because it was an editorial. The preceding video is also editorial yet you see McCain speaking in his own words in interviews and debates yet context could be argued for a couple of the clips. The claims seem to be backed up.

Which editorial piece is more credible?

Is it better to have a good, persuasive yet "flowery" (still not too sure what that means) speaker or one who seems to have been caught in double-talk?

As it becomes more and more apparent that Obama will be our Democratic nominee for the presidency we are starting to see the ignorance, fear and outright racism that I feel will follow him throughout the rest of his campaign. Here's a clip from the Daily Show from people in West Virginia explaining why they didn't vote for him:



Muslim? The OTHER race? *whew* Funny, most people think we've moved past all this yet there are still some that cling to these ignorant beliefs. But perhaps even worse than those interviews is the following email forward I received from a family member a few weeks ago:


**********
FW: What a Black Columnist has to say about Obama.

Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun



It's an amazing time to be alive in America. We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first front-running freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.

We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender. Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.

The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him. Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.

Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.

Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant. Mr Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America. But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial "beauty."

Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.

Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on "the rich." How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.

Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, "All praise and glory to God!" but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have "hijacked" - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois, he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state These are radical left, Hollywood, and San Francisco values, not Middle America values.

The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of "bringing America together" means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.

But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.

It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.

Subject: Kind of scary, wouldn't you think? Remember--God is good, and is in time, on time, every time. According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is: The anti-Christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything. Is it OBAMA?? I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to repost this as many times as you can! Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it! If you think I am crazy..I'm sorry but I refuse to take a chance on the "unknown" candidate.
**********



Words cannot begin to describe how awful this hate-fueled rhetoric is but I will give it a shot. First off, it proclaims that this article is written by a black person. I figure this is for one of two reasons; either the author of the email thinks black people are always correct in their political assessments or it is a racist attempt to establish credibility: "see! even the other blacks thinks he's evil!" There is no link to the original article, no date stated when or if it was ever published. Then it proceeds to make outlandish statements about Obama's foreign and domestic policy without one source citation, quote or link. It also attempts to induce fear (a typical right-wing tactic) by using oh-so scary catch phrases like "he wants to raise taxes!" and "he's hijacking Christianity!" My favorite part is where he talks about "Hollywood and San Fransisco values". As though the entire state of California is devoid of morality and is merely Satan's playground.

And the email builds to a smashing climax inferring that Obama is the Anti-Christ. Wow.

The most disturbing part of this email is that a lot of people will read it and believe it despite the fact that every word could be complete fabrication. You don't need facts, all you near is hate and the ability to install fear in people. I'd like to think that this is the last we'll see of such rhetoric but I fear that it is only the beginning and if Obama wins the nomination we will be subjected to this type of ignorance for months.

Out of 120 people, 90 were petitioned to a jury and I was not one of them so I got to leave the courthouse around 3:45. Earlier in the week serving on a jury was kind of attractive to me but warm, sunny Friday afternoons can change your attitude about stuff like that real quick like. I was happy to be sent home.

Did anyone catch the season finale of The Office last night? Was that great or what?

After calling the courthouse every day this week and being told I didn't need to show up for jury duty I thought I was going to get off Scott free. But when I called last night to check for today, the last day of my required availability, I of course was told to come to the courthouse.

So here I am. Let's see if I have to serve.

You know in L.A. there are a lot of restaurants that hang signed pictures of celebrities who have patronized their place. In typical L.A. fashion at the Van Nuys Courthouse there are faux movie posters with pictures of actors on the wall saying "JURY SERVICE starring Jamie Lee Curtis. She performed Jury Service, have you?"

UPDATE:
Lunch break. One case went to trial but I didn't get called to petition. One case has plead and another won't trial until next week so there is one case left on the docket, if it pleads we go home.

From slammin' Cootie Brown drummer turned puppeteer (jeez, that sentence is enough to let you know you're in for some funny stuff). Think the Muppets meet Cheech and Chong. And dig the background music.


Happy 420 Day from The Bong - Watch more free videos

I've been summoned for jury duty again. Actually when I first received the notice it told me to report on May 5th, but I of course changed that because the last place I wanted to spend my birthday was at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

The next couple of weeks are wide open as far as my schedule goes so I won't mind serving if I have to. I'm all about civic duty. I'm actually hoping I get a case (but a short one of course).

I saw Iron Man yesterday before my Cinco de Lyman birthday celebration. I must say we have a new contender for best super hero movie. It is just fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Bridges do a terrific job, super hero movies often devolve into a bit of camp but Downey and Bridges never resort to melodrama. And how hot is Gwyneth Paltrow? She hasn't been this hot since Great Expectations over 10 years ago. There is a lot of action and a good story that keeps you engaged. Downey is funny and the scenes with he and Gwyneth really pop. So go see it.

The Problem With Hero Movies
As I've often said before I'm not a tremendous fan of comic book super hero movies. This may seem odd to you especially if you know what a comic book nut I am. I've been collecting comic books for most of my life, you would think the recent glut of comic movies would excite me to no end. That's not the case.

Here's the problem, every comic book movie you see is simply about the hero's origin, if there is a sequel then all you see is the origin of the villains (often intertwined with further telling of the origin of the hero). The only fascinating story that movie makers can focus on is the origin of the characters. Why? They don't want to alienate movie-goers who know nothing about comics. And that is the rub. Comic books are a serial genre, a constant story of a hero's adventures and battles. Character origins are only one tiny part of their stories. So when we see adaptations of comic books we're only getting a small piece of the storytelling heroes are capable of.

Handling this is what makes movies like Iron Man and Spider Man so good. Spider Man in particular incorporated the origin story with incredible pacing so the narrative kept moving along but you were never bogged down with a lack of action. Iron Man works in the same way although his back story was changed quite a bit to accommodate the film.

Marvel, DC, and Super Hero philosphy
Have you noticed that most comic book movies made these days come from comic book publisher Marvel? Spidey, Iron Man, Hulk, Daredevil, X-Men, Ghost Rider, Punisher, etc. all come from the Marvel stable. The only movies we've seen from DC heroes are Superman and Batman. Why is that? Are there more Marvel heroes? Certainly not, DC has much more history on its side and decades with of characters. Are Marvel heroes stronger characters? Not necessarily, the iconography of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman alone refutes that. What's the difference?

Well the DC characters are all Classic super heroes, God-like and mythological driven to goodness by their innate desire to help people; Wonder Woman, queen of the Amazons, Aquaman, king of the seas, Superman, the invincible being from another planet, Martian Manhunter, all powerful Martian from a forgotten race.

On the other hand Marvel characters are Romantic super heroes, real people often with tortured pasts who have felt driven to help people by circumstance, Spidey becomes a hero after his uncle dies due to his own selfishness, the Hulk is tortured by a dual personality and can only become powerful when overcome with rage, Daredevil the blind lawyer whose father was a criminal, and on and on and on.

So naturally when you consider what I was saying before regarding movies focusing on origins its easy to see why Marvel super heroes are adapted more often. Their back stories are more human and emotive and there is more to work with thematically.

The Notable Exception

The major exception to the Classic DC hero v.s. the Romantic Marvel hero is, of course, Batman. And this is what makes Batman the greatest super hero character of all time. He is both Classic and Romantic at the same time; classically he is always cool and in control of the situation, he can convincingly fly through space with Super Man fighting super villains from different planets then bust a street criminal on the streets of Gotham City. There is nothing that happens in his city that he does not know, he is a god of the streets knowing the names of nearly every criminal in Gotham. But at the same time his soul is tortured by the death of his parents, he is aloof from his friends and can never keep a long-lasting romantic relationship.

It is no wonder that two of the best comic book movies have been Batman and Batman Begins.


These are the kind of things that goes through a comic book geek's head after watching something like Iron Man. Maybe you won't wax philosophical after seeing it but I'm sure you will find it as kickass as I did.

If ya' don't know May 5th marks my 32nd birthday.

Wow. That's old. Seriously. Please, spare me from the "you're still young, wait until you're my age!" talk. 32 moves you into an entirely different demographic. But I'm not trying to have a pity-party or anything, it's just a realistic observation. Dinner at 4 PM with sugar-free green jello for dessert while watching re-runs of Matlock and Murder She Wrote is all I have to look forward to.

I kid, I kid. Happy Birthday to me.

What did I ask my lovely wife for for my birthday? Nothing. You see I'm ashamed to admit what a bonehead I've been over the past few weeks but now its time to come clean. Firstly I left my Valentine's Day gift, a fantastic PSP, on a plane at the Atlanta airport. I was hopeful I'd get it back as I knew the flight # and seat where I had left it but that was nothing buy blind optimism. After a week I knew it wasn't coming back. Secondly I ran over my iPod with my car. I was loading my luggage into the back of my ride and forgot my briefcase. I put the car into reverse, gassed it, and heard a loud *CRACK*. I feared my laptop was crushed but luckily it was spared. But I certainly killed my iPod.

So after some savvy eBay-ing I have another PSP (with a bunch of cool games) and I bought myself another iPod earlier in the week (160 GB Video Classic, an upgrade over my first generation 30 GB Video ... sweet ...) so that is all the birthday presents I need. Nay, that is all the birthday I deserve.

So for the first time in a few years I am home for my birthday. We are having Cinco de Mayo happy hour at a nice Mexican place with some friends to celebrate.

31 had its peaks and valleys but was a gas overall. Let's hope 32 is even better.

Thursday I left for Fort Scott, Kansas a small town outside of Kansas City where we are treated like royalty. Businessman Jim Smith has renovated a theater in downtown Ft. Scott where we've played three times in the last couple of years. The gig Friday night was a lot of fun and it was great seeing all of our fans there again. Saturday we flew on Mr. Smith's private jet to our next gig. Let me say that private jets are THE way to travel, thanks Jim! The gig in Atlanta that night was a good one but I was pretty excited to leave there and get back to Indiana.

I surprised my mom for her 60th birthday on Sunday. She was shocked and quite happy to see me. We had a good time Sun. at my cousin Eric's and it was great seeing all of my relatives again (including Cousin Kathy). I hung out with mom for a few days before flying home last night.

I'm back in LA for the rest of the month.