The Notorious B.S.G.

"It's so terribly sad, how is it I feel like laughing?" - "North by Northwest", directed by Alfred Hitchcock Jack, it is only the facts that all seems to have turned out well, and the fact of our long-standing (if erstwhile) friendship that allows me to have fun at your expense. (And surely, I am also a bad bad man, but that's not important right now.) My remaining questions: Water? Really? Not something stronger? Times like these call for (or at least suggest) stronger beverages. Just say'n.

Great article, thanks for posting. It reminded me again what's so special about these particular rock stars; their humanity, their humor, their decency. Hard to talk about Neil without talking about the three of them. Neil was inspiring in so many ways, but right now I'm thinking of the example he set as the ultimate auto-didact. I'm enough of one to have learned what that word means, but can't even begin to emulate his quest for knowledge. (Generic words about mortality, facing the fact all our heroes will be gone someday, yadda yadda.) Yeah. Someone stop cutting those damn onions!

"It was a dark & stormy night........" Just joking, Jack. Cool story, bro.

Well, I "liked" the post, but I didn't like it. It broke my heart. (That's the Caveman, I believe?)

My guess is that he'd choose cremation, and a private service, which I'd also guess has already happened, despite reports to the contrary.

I'm going to put my tribute right here, as it looks like the earliest, and the most populated thread on Neil's passing. Thanks to Rush Didact, and so many others, who made such eloquent statements. There are a lot of contradictions and irony in any honest assessment of his art. I'd be lying if I said his passing didn't affect me much, yet at the same time, I didn't know the guy, and part of me says it's a case of his death diminishing me, merely "because I am involved in mankind". But it's more than that. His ability to articulate feelings, thoughts and situations was a gift to all of us, one that only increased over the years, as we all went through the stages of life, and the subject matters changed from serious sci-fi (2112) to silly sci-fi (By-tor, anyone?) to relationships, loss, perseverance, all the adult stuff, you know? Then, on Clockwork Angels, back to a sort of steampunk sci-fi. Well, there's that contradiction again, or is it irony? Someone ask Alannis Morissette. (I'm in a groove now, or is it a rut?) How many of his lyrics instantly pop into our heads, at this occasion? "Suddenly, you were gone." "I felt a shadow cross my heart." "Freeze this moment a little bit longer." "Time will do it's healing. You've got to let it go." "The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect." How many of his lyrics inspire us, at difficult moments? How many make us chuckle, at his gift for wordplay (and I don't mean the goofy "Anagram (For Mongo)".) How many make us think of things in a different way? You don't need me to quote them. This is a Rush fan site, for gosh sake, and it's getting late. Neil's life inspired us because of his lyrical gifts, which I see as his greatest talent. He also inspired with his dedication to unwavering, uncompromising musical excellence. He would never accept any lowered standards from himself, ever. This is why many of us knew he'd never return to playing drums for Rush, because, even not knowing of his illness, we knew he'd never be able to regain the level of performance he demanded of himself. He always struck one as being his own harshest critic. It can't have been easy to live with himself, but look at the results. Widely considered the finest drummer in rock history, moving quickly to "unanimously" or as unanimous as such a thing can be. He has even supplanted Mooney in my personal rankings. Maybe the biggest irony in my personal experience of his gifts is his affect on my feelings about "rock", and music itself. (No, not music, just rock.) I am loath to say I ever idolized any rock stars when I was a lad, but I certainly wanted to be Pete Townshend for a few years. His brains, his articulate philosophizing, the way he windmilled the shit out of a Les Paul before really showing it WHO's the boss, seemed pretty damn cool. And he was so G-Damned skinny! But one matures beyond such things, and Neil's profound ponderings over the years, made one realize there's nothing mythical about rock. These are just people, struggling with the same things all of us face. Amongst all the tributes, and sentimentalities, it's an odd thing to say that a "rock star" made me less enamored of rock, as an art form, and as a sort of cultural.... not using the "r" word. But it's true. Rest in peace, stranger, and thanks for all the fish.

Thanks, Mike for giving us this place, and keeping it going.

Shocked. We hardly knew ye, pal.

The deuce you say! Wassup Jim?! Hi Polly! Well, they can delete me if they want............ but they'll never take away MY FREEDOMMMMMMMMMM!!!! Hey BSG How are you? Awesome! Thanks for axeing me. (And NO, I am not going to add anything to the current discussion.)

The deuce you say! Wassup Jim?! Hi Polly! Well, they can delete me if they want............ but they'll never take away MY FREEDOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

FNL is a really well-done show. I like it quite a lot. The acting, scripting, and characters are all top-notch. I hope it lasts, though. Apparently it's not doing so well in the ratings.

I've been watching these previews for a while now. This movie looks so amazingly kick-ass, I can hardly wait. The previews alone make me want to go out and lay waste to entire nations, conquer the evil foes of righteousness, slay hideous beasts, subjugate women, write bad checks, and belch loudly in public (without apologizing). Is that a good thing?

Just a friendly FYI............ ______________________________ Email Warning! If you receive an email entitled "Bedtimes" delete it IMMEDIATELY. Do not open it. Apparently this one is pretty nasty. It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on disks within 20 feet of your computer.It demagnetizes the stripes on ALL of your credit cards. It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR, and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you attempt to play. It will program your phone auto dial to call only 0898 numbers. This virus will mix antifreeze into your fish tank. IT WILL CAUSE YOUR TOILET TO FLUSH WHILE YOU ARE SHOWERING. It will drink ALL your beer. FOR GOD'S SAKE, ARE YOU LISTENING?? It will leave dirty underwear on the coffee table when you are expecting company. It will replace your shampoo with Nair and your Nair with Rogaine.If the "Bedtimes" message opened in a Windows 95/98 environment, it will leave the toilet seat up and leave your hair dryer plugged in dangerously close to a full bathtub. It will not only remove the forbidden tags from your mattresses and pillows, it will also refill your skim milk with whole milk.*** WARN AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN ***And if you don't send this to 5000 people in 20 seconds, you'll fart so hard that your right leg will spasm and shoot straight out in front of your computer, sending sparks that will ignite the person nearest you. Send this warning to everyone!!! THERE'S A LOT OF SADNESS IN THE WORLD! Right now, as you read this, 17 Million people are having SEX!!! And look at you - you're on the computer!!!

I think the character of Tritter the cop is a great foil for House's character. I knew that when they cast David Morse, a well-known veteran actor, it wasn't just going to be another character for House to abuse, but a real nemesis. The House character badly needs to be brought down a few notches. BTW, I saw this Laurie dude as the deathly dull father of Stuart Little, in the movie of the same name, and as much as I loved the Stuart Little books as a young boy, the movie put me to sleep.

I saw it, and it's been a long time since I've laughed so hard. I won't give anything away by saying that there were several scenes unlike any ever seen in any movie anywhere, on this planet or others. One scene had me averting my eyes, shaking my head and muttering OMFG over and over and over again. Yes, it's offensive, but ya gotta get into the zeitgeist of this character. That's the freaking POINT!

Some friends were playing poker one evening. Steve accidentally dropped a card on the floor. When he bent over to pick it up, he noticed Bill's wife Sue wasn't wearing any underwear under her dress. Shocked by this, Steve upon trying to sit back up again, hit his head on the table and emerged red-faced. Later, Steve went to the kitchen to get some refreshments. Bill's wife followed him and asked, "Did you see anything that you liked under there??" Surprised by her boldness, Steve courageously admitted that, well indeed he had. She said "Well, you can have it, but it will cost you $500.00." After taking a minute or two to asses the financial and moral costs of this offer, Steve confirmed that he was interested. She told him that since her husband Bill works Friday afternoons and Steve doesn't, Steve should be at her house around 2:00 pm Friday afternoon. When Friday rolled around, Steve showed up at Bill's house at 2:00 pm sharp and after paying Sue the agreed sum of $500 they went to the bedroom and closed their transaction as agreed. Steve quickly dressed and left. As usual, Bill came home from work at 6 pm and upon entering the house, asked his wife abruptly, "Did Steve come by the house this afternoon ?"! With a lump in her throat Sue answered "Why yes, he did stop by for a few minutes this afternoon." Her heart nearly skipped a beat when her husband curtly asked "And did he give you $500 ?" In terror, she assumed that somehow he had found out, and after mustering her best poker face replied "Well, yes, in fact he did give me $500." Bill, with a satisfied look on his face surprised his wife by saying "Good, I was hoping he did. He came by the office this morning and borrowed $500 from me. He promised me he'd stop by our house this afternoon on his way home and pay me back." Now THAT my friends is a poker player.

When I was a big-and-bad teenager, and thought NOTHING could scare me, I did NOT sleep well after seeing "The Exorcist", and it was the "edited-for-TV" version!!! No WAY would I have made it through the theatrical release.

They didn't call her Adrienne Bar-boobs for nuttin'................. Hey! *I* didn't make up the nickname!

Well, isn't the obvious pun here........... Audio-Bond-age? Jest askin'.

I have 2 Labrador Retrievers & I was buying a large bag of Purina at Wal-Mart and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a guy who was behind her. Horrified, she asked if I'd ended up in the hospital in that condition because I had been poisoned. I told her no; it was because I'd been sitting in the street licking my balls and a car hit me.

DOG FOR SALE A guy is driving around Tennessee and he sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog For Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a Labrador retriever sitting there. "You talk?" He asks. "Yep," the Lab replies. "So, what's your story?" The Lab looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running." "But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals." "I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired." The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. "Ten dollars," the guy says. "Ten dollars? This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?" "Because he's a liar. He never did any of that shit."

Ok, it's an oldie, but I'm sure there are SOME here who've not seen it. So, umm.............. bite me and stuff, k? ____________________________________ Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. Your belly usually hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes. No wonder men are happier.

Wal-Mart, huh? I guess I DO need a few things from Wally World on the way home....... __________________________________________ > While she was "flying" down the road yesterday (10 miles over > the limit), a woman passed over a bridge only to find a cop with > a radar gun on the other side lying in wait. > > The cop pulled her over, walked up to the car, and with that > classic patronizing smirk we all know and love, asked, "What's > your hurry?" > > To which she replied, "I'm late for work." > > "Oh yeah," said the cop, "what do you do?" > "I'm a rectum stretcher," she responded. > > The cop stammered, "A what? A rectum stretcher? And just what > does a rectum stretcher do?" > > "Well," she said, "I start by inserting one finger, then (removed from original joke because even *I* can't bear to read the gory details. You get the idea.) ......until it's about 6 feet wide." > > "And just what the hell do you do with a 6 foot a$$hole?" he > asked. > > "You give him a radar gun and park him behind a bridge..." > > Traffic Ticket $150.00 > Court Costs. $45.00 > The Look on Cop's Face. PRICELESS

>Be aware of this ongoing act of violence that is striking innocent Home >Depot shoppers everywhere. >Attention: Home Depot Scam >Here's a heads-up for anyone who may be a regular Home Depot customer. >Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out >shopping. >Simply going out to get supplies for home fix-up projects can turn out >to be quite traumatic. >*Don't be naive and think it can't happen to you*. > >Here's how the scam works: > >Two seriously good-looking 18-year-old girls come over to your car >while you are packing your shopping in the trunk. They both start >wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts >almost falling out of their skimpy t-shirts. It is impossible not to >look. > >When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say 'no' and instead >ask you for a ride to another Home Depot. You agree and they get in >the back seat. On the way, they start having sex with each other. Then >one of them climbs over into the front seat and (well you probably >know the rest), while the other one steals your wallet. >I had my wallet stolen April 24th, 27th, 28th and 30th, May 1st and >twice on the 3rd, three times just yesterday, and very likely again >this upcoming weekend.

Dude! What happened to family-friendly?