Navigate / search

Slightly informative news brief

newcastle

* President Obama squashed all the Gates-Crowley beef on Thursday in one of the coolest Presidential moves in our nation’s history– They got a load on!

According to the Associated Press, “with mugs of beer and calming words” Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cambridge, Mass. police Sgt. James Crowley, and President Obama hashed out their little incident and moved on with their lives. Hopefully the country will, too. But what I want to know is: What kind of beer were they drinking?

* July’s employment report is projected to show a decrease in job losses for the month, with a total of 340,000 jobs lost. Seems like a lot, but it’s actually 127,000 jobs less than in June.

Think positive!

The whamp killed the Vibes [by Neil Benjamin]

nitrous-oxide-tuning_460x0w

Another year, another Vibes.

For the sixth consecutive year, I (sort of) enjoyed the fun people, (kind of) great music and (mildly) silly antics at the festival that celebrates the life of the great Jerry Garcia.

Except this year was different. Maybe it should be renamed “Gathering of the Shady and Sketchy Vibes.”

I mean, what am I supposed to say? Early Saturday morning, a DEAD BODY was found in the camping area. Seriously? I spoke with a few people who had vast knowledge of the fatal situation. The news is reporting that the 29-year-old male probably died due to a medical condition. I don’t buy it. One source who saw the body said it looked swollen and bruised. I have no doubt I know what happened to this person, and who did it for that matter. However, I am not going to share my speculation.

Hmmm…

The Dead Weather gives Boston a lesson in rock [by Angela]

bunt bbq, deadweather show 050 WS

The Dead Weather are 100 percent rock n’ roll.

This was made evident after a performance at Boston’s House of Blues on Saturday, when alt rock’s newest supergroup ripped through their debut album, Horehound, in an hour, leaving the diverse crowd with ringing ears and sweaty backs.

The band, comprised of Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence, Dean Fertita and Jack White, were formed in Nashville, Tennessee, and pull influence from The Kills, Discount, The Raconteurs, Queens of the Stone Age, The Greenhornes and The White Stripes.

Full-blood sisters review the Half-Blood Prince [by Annie and Lauren]

hpmain copy

ANNIE: First I would like to say that I am a huge Harry Potter fan (I mean, I did take a college credit English class called “The Literary Traditions of Harry Potter”). Secondly, I’ve never written a movie review before so I might be
way off track, but Lauren told me not to be stifled so I won’t be.

LAUREN: Annie and I attended the midnight showing of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” at Regal Cinema late Tuesday night. We arrived around 10:15 p.m. and the theater was already packed.

ANNIE: The evening was enjoyable, and Lauren with her cape and wand was quite the entertainment-– “you’re a wizard Harry!” I was wearing my Hufflepuff colors (yellow and black) because honestly, I would so be in Hufflepuff.

The MLB All-Star game: A brief history [by Stevo]

allstargame

Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities are back!

Every year on the second Tuesday in July the league’s best, as voted on by the fans, gather in a pre-determined city (St. Louis in this case) and play one blockbuster game that features the best 33-man roster that each league can produce.

An alluring concept to say the least, having both the American League and the National League stars pitted against each other on a perfectly cool night for baseball to mark the midway point in the season.

Celebrating the 4th with the Dead [by Neil]

neilguitar copy

What could possibly be better than hanging out with thousands of like-minded music fanatics on the 4th day of July at the Rothbury Music Festival?

Celebrating our nation’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, at least for this Deadhead, was an experience that couldn’t be topped.

With such a great lineup, Rothbury had something for everyone. I was sucked in by the lure of seeing Bobby, Phil, Mickey and Bill churn out some old classics.

Meanwhile, in Michigan …

I just woke up coughing like a longtime coal-miner with a bad glue-huffing habit, and found my cell phone full of new texts and pictures from the Buntology festival crew.

Pretty cool that Ange and co. saw Nas and Damian Marley “front and center,” but, I mean … I was up all night with this killer cold, wondering if I was gonna die. So who’s the one having the awesome, life-changing experience?

You know ’em, too

… Unless, of course, you’re one of ’em.

Ange, keeping it casual at Rothbury with Lauren's bro Brian.

According to Cracked.com, there are 7 obnoxious assholes who show up at every concert. In the spirit of Rothbury 09, here’s the link. Since there are about 50 shows and 30 gajillion people at Rothbury, I assume Angie, Xtina, Lauren and Neil have encountered most of these people already.

Actually, I think Angela might be one of those assholes .. probably the whirling dervish? But she smells nicer. Neil is definitely the aggressive vomiting drunk. Or is that Lauren? JUST KIDDING!

Gay sex and vampires

… Must be Friday!!

In India, the courts have overturned a nearly 150-year old law that makes homosexual relationships a criminal act. Newspapers in the country, flashing bold headlines like “India’s Gay Day” and “It’s okay to be gay,” hailed the move as a

Lestat and Louis -- the original flamboyant undead.

progressive and historic act.

Still a long way to go, obviously, but .. baby steps, India.

On a somewhat related note, USA Today has dropped some tips for surviving and thriving in the vampire world. How homoerotic!