are you a mother lover?

And you thought D!ck In A Box was funny?

Just you wait....

social media officially joins the fourth estate.

Some more photo's from yesterday in tehran #iranelection
Originally uploaded by .faramarz.

These photos from Flickr are frightening and powerful. I see what's happening in Tehran and am reminded of Tiananmen Square in 1989...only this is larger.

But the world is watching (again). And the citizens are risking life and limb to get these stories out there for us.

rock-n-roll soap opera: van halen.

I love the Internet because it allows to me to peer into one of my favorite rock-n-roll soap operas: Van Halen.

You know the story by now, certainly. Dave was in. Dave is out and Sammy is in. Sammy's out and Dave's back in...no wait! He's out again, replaced by...Gary Cherone? Then Gary's out and Sammy's back for a tour. Eddie's drunk. Sammy's pissed, so Sammy leaves and is told to take Mikey with him. In comes 16-year old Wolfgang Van Halen to fill the void at bass...he brings Dave back too. The band tours, Sammy and Mike form Chickenfoot and they all live happily ever after. Right?

Ha!

VH fans, for all their passion, are a restless bunch. They also set up in a couple pretty staunch camps: Team Dave and Team Sammy. Certainly, the Team Dave camp is much louder and more vocal. But Team Sammy always counters with record sales and the fact that Sammy has never stopped making music (not always great music, mind you, but he's out there trying).

What's Van Halen been up to? Well...good question.

They released a pair of EVH Chuck Taylors and will be releasing a Guitar Hero game, featuring classic VH songs.

How about new music? Well...good question.

It's been 11 years since the last release of a full album of new Van Halen music. But they did release five new songs, included over a pair of greatest hits compilations. Otherwise, they had two big tours (one in '04 and another last year). But still, no new music.

And, according to Eddie Van Halen, he's writing, but don't expect a new release until next year.

Mmmm...kay. And he called Sammy Hagar lazy? Wow, project much, Ed?

Truth is, I'm a fan of both Sammy and Dave versions of VH. I even like one or two Gary Cherone songs. The fans get too riled up over which version is better. It doesn't matter to me. They're different. Too many Dave fans cry about Sammy ruining Van Halen, which is dumb, since it was clear Eddie was trying to stretch in a different way, musically speaking.

And the other reality is Eddie clearly has the biggest ego in the room and won't allow for a singer to take his spotlight.

As much as I like Van Halen, I'd like them more if they got off their dead asses and released some new music for a change.

At least Sammy and Mike are out there doing something!

just plain creepy.

This is absolutely disturbing. From CNN.com:

FBI joins hunt for killer who leaves taunting notes

(CNN) -- The 5-year-old girl found the note tucked inside a plastic bag and left in a basket used as a flower pot.

"Hi Honey I Been watching you," it said. "I am the same person that kidnapped an Rape an kill Aproil tinsely here is a present foR yo you are my next vitem."

A used condom was stuffed in the bag alongside the note. Read more.

killing in the name of...

Let me get this straight: you're ostensibly a pro-lifer who protests against doctors who perform abortions. I'm guessing you also profess to a religious point of view in all this.

So the best way you can think of to advance your cause obsession is to...wait for it...

...gun down a doctor on Sunday morning in front of his family at his church.

I would never say pro-life groups or Christian organizations are behind these acts anymore than I'd say the Muslim faith is to blame for radical terrorism. But it's time to start calling these obsessed killers what they are: terrorists.

The person who shot and killed George Tiller today is a terrorist, pure and simple. Just like Eric Rudolph.

At the very least, radicals like Randall Terry smartly condemned this act swiftly. A few years ago, too many pro-life supporters chose a different tack: blaming the victim.

The full story from CNN.

that ball is GONE...no it's not.

Premature homer announcer celebration of a walk-off homer, brought back by Detroit Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson.

not my job to watch the gop.

In case you didn't notice, there is a spirited (and rather rhetorical) debate being waged in the political corner of the Internet about the future of the Republican Party. Many knee-jerk liberals like to condescend to the notion that the past two elections spell the fate of the GOP.

I doubt that's the case, anymore than it was the case when the Democrats fumbled in 2002 and 2004. I also believe they fumbled in 2006 because that was more a protest against the incumbents than it was a rally for the Democratic Party. I digress.

Anyway, what do I think about the future chances of the Republican Party? I don't know. And I don't care.

It's not my day to watch them.

But it's clear that there's a major internal fight brewing between the moderates and staunch conservatives.

Who will win?

Again. Don't know. Don't care.

rock and roll all nite (and party every day).

This is corny as hell, but I absolutely love it.

In case you didn't know, I've been listening to and watching a lot of KISS videos on YouTube lately. They were one of my earliest favorite bands when I was growing up in the 70s. I got to see them twice in the 80s (without makeup). While those shows were fun, nothing compares to when I saw them in 1996 in the reunion tour. It was the concert I was dying to see since 1978.