The list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced. It includes the Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, and LL Cool J. You know who it doesn’t include? Barry White, ELO, Todd Rundgren, Chicago, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Mott the Hoople, Steppenwolf, the Steve Miller Band, Harry Nilsson, the Moody Blues, and, most unbelievably, Stevie Ray Vaughan. So, to recap, Beastie Boys, ‘yes,’ Stevie Ray Vaughan, ‘no.’ Seriously? Seriously. Not to be overly dramatic, but I think this pretty much epitomizes all that is wrong with the world.

The abandoned, 120-yr old Marsellus Casket Company factory (empty since 2003 or something; like so many other local businesses, it was family owned until 1997, when it was sold off to the faceless conglomerate ‘Service Corporation,’ which ran it into the ground and then sold off its assets and copyrights to some other company, which moved operations to Mississippi or some other shithole Red state – no offense to my friends from the Magnolia State; I love you guys – where they don’t burden businesses with trivial environmental regulations and other such nonsense) is on fire this morning – burning rather impressively (it seems they didn’t bother cleaning out all the solvents and varnishes they used, which have ignited rather spectacularly).

I’m sure you’ve never heard of Marsellus (I mean, why would you?), but they were considered the “Cadillac” of caskets – JFK, Harry Truman, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, Vince Lombardi, Ronnie Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Gerry Ford are all planted in Marsellus caskets.

So, it’s sad to see the old place burn down, but I reckon that’s a better fate for it than to watch it slowly rot and crumble.

Speaking of slowly rotting and crumbling, it appears my body is at it again, despite the rather tedious endeavor to begin living a squeaky-clean (and terribly boring – not that I was exactly Mr. Excitement before) lifestyle. This time, it’s my left ankle that’s at it. Or my left Achilles tendon, actually. I have no idea what I did to it, but it started to hurt a few days ago, and has now gotten to the point where it aches constantly, and feels like somebody’s sticking a knife into it when I try and walk.

Ah, nature’s pageantry. Aint it beauty-full?

So far, at least, the ankle isn’t as bad as my shoulder was. And, if I apply the ‘Obama Doctrine’ to it, it means that no matter how bad it gets, as long as it isn’t as bad as the shoulder, then it’s OK.

Speaking of Barack “Nabab” Obama, it appears that he’s now trying to out-Jesus the wingnuts, saying that he’s Kristian “by choice” and came to his “faith” later in life (though not, presumably, after hitting alcoholic rock bottom the way that other presidents apparently came to their Kristian beliefs).

Silly man, you’ll never win that game. The people who are all Jesusy and give a shit what religion you profess to follow have already decided you’re either Satan or a Mooslam (not the the two are mutually exclusive, of course), and will never believe you. And those of us who are quite content to have a President that isn’t as bad as Bush really don’t give a shit which group of delusional yo-yos you feel obliged to pander to.

Oh well, time to get going I guess.