Greetings from New Orleans! The Crescent City is rather damp today (ok, REALLY damp) but no less busy than usual. Driving into town this morning was rather shocking. Many of the houses around here are still in ruins. It's really sad, to see these homes with no roofs and piles of debris on the front yard. I wish I knew what to do about it.

The past week or so has been quite busy. University of Miami was an easier gig than expected, then the Ryman in Nashville. The Grand Ol' Opry. Always an interesting show. On to Houston tomorrow, then Stubb's BBQ in Austin and Dallas, then home for a week. Can't wait.

I really want to make some kind of comment on pop culture right now, but between OJ and Britney I'm just overloaded. So I'm just gonna go back to my show now, and we'll continue this discussion later.

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."

Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin (1973) "Personal Conduct"

On the road again...

Well, here we are in Orlando, F-L-A. We're staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is the hotel for people who can't get enough crappy rock and roll memorabilia from the Hard Rock Cafe. I mean, do I really need a hotel room with pictures of the Temptations, Elvis, and TWO pictures of the Beatles on the wall? I don't think so. But hey, where else can you get a do not disturb sign that says "I hear ya knockin', but ya can't come in?" Wow.

In other news, the stress from the Madison Square Garden show has given me a nice head cold, which makes me miserable. I spent my entire day off in Orlando, literally walking distance from Universal Studios, in bed. Awesome. As far as the MSG show, well, I did everything I could. But I guess there's just some things you can't prevent. Read all about it here. Some good pics here. Oh well. I'm over it. Life goes on, and the rest of the tour should be fun, right? Sure.

This made me laugh yesterday when Ally showed it to me. I can't believe this guy is serious. And if he is, he should really think about removing himself from the gene pool. Thanks. Oh, yeah, language warning!













"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."
- Andy Warhol

So, I can't believe it's September (bet you didn't know about that one.) already. Where does the time go? I just watched a really messed up movie that's been sitting on my shelf for a while. It's called In The Bedroom. You probably heard about it a few years ago, Sissy Spacek and about half the cast were nominated for Oscars, as was the movie. So it's about this couple, who's teenage son (played by John Connor himself, Nick Stahl) is dating a single mother of two, played by Marisa Tomei (who somehow manages to sound like she's from Brooklyn even when she speaks with a New England accent). Trouble comes around in the body of Tomei's ex-husband, who doesn't like the fact that she's seeing other men. Well, as Netflix puts it, the relationship ends in tragedy, and the next hour and 15 minutes of the film is spent on how the parents deal with this tragedy. It's got that kind of ending that you see coming from a mile away, but still can't believe is going to happen. That's all I'll say.

I was driving home from the Hammerstein Ballroom this morning, reflecting on what an interesting week it's been (and realizing that I need to turn the music up louder when I drive, as I keep coming up with some really WEIRD stuff while I drive.) So in the space of a week, I've gone from gross out frat boy humor at the Garden State Arts Center (Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus) to legends of country music (or the NJ redneck festival, depending on your point of view) with Willie Nelson and Mearle Haggard, to the we-listen-to-reggae-as-an-excuse-to-smoke-pot (or because we smoke pot?) that was the Hot97 Reggae Tip at the Hammerstein Ballroom last night. Talk about extremes, with one unifying theme: marijuana. Scary.

I'm not entirely sure what Hot97 considers reggae, but what I heard was mostly Jamaican hip hop. The only act I would call reggae is Stephen Marley and the Marley Family. That's about it. Best part of the whole show: when the Elephant man fell off the stage trying to hang off of the truss ladder. Little tip to the "most energetic man in reggae": smoke. less. crack, you homo hatin, big eared, ugly ass mutha. That is all.

"Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it."

Jane Wagner