WTF Is It Now?!?

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20, 20, 24 Hours Ago

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its first members from the new wave and punk eras on Monday night, inducting The Ramones {woohoo!!} and Talking Heads along with classic rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, soul and R&B icon Isaac Hayes, versatile vocalist Brenda Lee and singer/songwriter Gene Pitney. Legendary guitar sideman Chet Atkins was also inducted, as was Jim Stewart, founder of and driving force behind revolutionary soul music label Stax Records.

It was a bittersweet night for The Ramones, the group from Queens who lost founding member and lead singer Joey Ramone to cancer last year at the age of 49. The group was saluted by the neo-punk trio Green Day, who ripped through rapid-fire versions of several Ramone songs. The rest of The Ramones and the last group to be inducted, Talking Heads, thanked club owner Hilly Kristal for opening the downtown Manhattan dive CBGB in 1973. Originally meant as a showcase for country, bluegrass and blues, the dingy night spot became ground zero for the exploding punk and new wave movements of 1970s.

Several of the inductees and others performed, with the Talking Heads reuniting for the first time in more than a decade. As is tradition, the night ended with an all-star jam, including Talking Head's "Take Me to the River," Pitney's "He's a Rebel," a tribute to the late George Harrison in the form of "Here Comes the Sun," and the Hayes-penned classic "Hold On, I'm Coming."
(Yahoo News)



Explorers Unearth Lost Inca Stronghold in Peru

In the first major Inca find in four decades, Peruvian and British explorers say they have discovered a hidden city, perched on an Andean hilltop, that may have sheltered stalwarts of South America's legendary empire as they made a last stand against Spanish conquerors. Located on a narrow ridge around 11,000 feet up in Peru's windswept, southern Andes, the Inca citadel of Corihuayrachina is a mysterious gathering of religious platforms, funeral towers, and food storehouses. Frost said the site was the biggest of its kind found since 1964 and could have been occupied by the Inca when they took to the hills after the Spanish conquest. It is about 22 miles southwest of the famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

"This was an area totally untouched by science," said Peruvian archeologist and expedition co-leader Alfredo Valencia, who along with local workers hacked away at the thick leaves and vines covering squat buildings and murky tombs.
(Yahoo News)



Today in History:

1678 Red snow fell in Genoa.
1886 Ten minutes of complete darkness settled upon the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at 3pm.
1918 Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time.
1931 Nevada legalized gambling.
1945 About 800 people were killed as Kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.
----- Feast Day of St Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary. The Protoevangilium, a second century gospel regarded as authentic by the early fathers, stated that Mary was a temple maiden or kadesha. Joseph was a traditional name for the priests, who were duty bound to father sons dedicated to God and referred to as virgin-born.
------ This is the date the swallows traditionally return to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.
(Yahoo News and Fortean Times)



Stolen Votes, Stolen Country

No matter how successful the Slackjawed Droolmonkey proves to be as president (not bloody likely! - the Mgmt.), a pall will forever hang over the 2000 election. In national scrutiny of the way Americans cast and count their ballots, many states were found wanting. The chief among them was Florida, where the outcome, with the help of the U.S. Supreme Court, gave Chimpy McPretzal his victory over Al Gore.

Reform efforts are under way, but at least one major flaw in the system should be repaired by Congress before another national election is held. A chilling two-page account in the current issue of Harper's magazine by Greg Palast, who investigated the 2000 election for the BBC, illustrates why.

Had thousands of voters not wrongly been turned away from the polls, the outcome in Florida probably would have been different and Gore, not the Clueless Cowpie, would be in the White House.

- - - -read more at The Concord Monitor



Karl 'n' Karen Order More Pretzals, Bitch-Slapping Gloves, Duct Tape

The badly-trained Wonderchimp today was asked for his reaction to Middle Eastern leaders who have urged the United States to focus more on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and less on Iraq. "I appreciate their advice, but we will not allow one of the world's most dangerous leaders to have the world's most dangerous weapons, and hold the United States and our friends and allies hostage," the Simpering Sockpuppet said, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "What I said about the axis of evil is what I mean. I can't be any more plain about it." ("Did you hear that? No wonder I think they're evil." - the Oaf of Office, Korea, 02/20/02)

A senior administration official knew of no prior plan by the Smirking Simian to repeat the "evil axis" phrase today. "He said it for the same reason he said it before," the official said. (Yeah - he's a dumbass!!)

- - -Washington comPost



Sightings

The miniature daffodils are starting to bloom, and so are the neighbors' forsythias.
One of the pet stray kittens showed up with a bloody nose.
Found one egg in the zebra finch cage.
Crows are on that deer carcass like Enron on repugnicans.
The baby killies are all still alive.

Heard on Conan: "Tom Ridge has announced a new color code system to keep Americans informed of danger in the country. Sounds like a good idea. The highest warning is red, which means that Dick Cheney is about to eat a mozzarella stick."

In Other News:
U.S. Planes Shower Freshmaking Mentos On Troubled Middle East
Cheerful OB/GYN Spreads Joy, Vaginas
INS Grants Student Visa to Khrushchev
Enron, Andersen Collapses Release Dangerous Levels of Assholes Into Environment
Nation's Dentists Finally Give Up on "Flossing" Lecture
Ashcroft Office Full of Jesus Stuff
-- -- The Daily Probe

*Opening pic: "The Statues of Ahu Akivi, Easter Island", SuperStock