It's probably too late to mention this, but if you live here in Omaha don't waste your time going to the Auto Show of the Midlands this weekend at the Qwest. It's a sad joke of what it used to be. $6 to park, $7 to get in (with the $1 off coupon, so $20 if it's date night) and what do you get? The EXACT SAME THING YOU CAN GET BY GOING TO THE DEALERSHIPS. No concepts this year, nothing noteworthy save for a Smart, promoting the new dealership opening up here in town, and a right-hand-drive Jeep Wrangler. I'm thinking about breaking out my poison pen and writing a scathing missive to the people that put on the show about how far quality has dropped off. Should I have to pay to sit in a Chevy Cobalt? Feh. They should pay me. Basically there was an outlay of cash to go look at a bunch of shitty base-model vehicles available everywhere. Thanks, Auto Show of the Midlands, for wasting my night, you suck!

The most interesting thing at the auto show. What the hell?

In other news, or, miscellaneous things of no import which I've been thinking about:
So I'm listnening to my XM Radio (whose service I love) on my laughable Delphi SkiFi3 (a total piece of shit**) and catch the last 2 bars of the new B-52's single! It was last July when they trotted the song out for the first time here in Omaha, priming the come-back pump. And this song was great live even though they were still working out the bugs. Here's a clip of 'em playing it live from a more recent show:

So their first studio album in 16 years, also titled "Funplex," comes out in a few weeks. All the available deets here. I am, in a word, thrilled.

(image stolen from some european site I won't be giving attribution to)

Sure, the gang is looking a little rough around the edges (even Keith is starting to age a bit), but hey, it's been a long time since 1979. And I can tell you first hand from seeing them last summer, in 1990 and concert footage from 1980, they haven't lost a thing. They still pound through Strobe Light and 52 Girls like they're rocking a smokey house party in rural Georgia.

Speaking of concerts, what the hell happened to Coachella this year? The line up is appalling. Early whispers of headliners like Radiohead and Outkast with supporting acts like the Breeders*, Beck and Broken Social Scene were smashed Monday when they released the actual roster. Jack Johnson? Roger Waters doing Dark Side of the Moon? LOVE AND ROCKETS?!? Two parts pot-fueled pop'n'album-rock to one part one-hit-wonder? What the fuh? Indio,California is a wonderful place to see a concert, particularly at night. It's warm, there's a light breeze, the stage set ups and art installations are impressive, etc. etc. Plus it's full of little surprises, like when we wandered into the "electronic dance dome" and caught the DJ set of Lady Miss Keir, as in "of Deee-Lite." She busted out a wicked set of year and genre spanning tunes while accompanied by her two tranny-dancers. It was blissful.

Lady Miss Kier busts out the funky beats at Coachella 2007

That's what makes this year that much more of a let down. Last year was a pleasant surprise after the parking hassles, the standing in line, the wafty pot clouds and the $4 bottles of water. So Why would they derail it this year with such a dull set. It's safe to say that I'll be looking for another venue to enjoy Chromeo sometime this year.

Oh, and in radio news, apparently I'm mean:

Notes:
John Gibson is a big piece of shit. But you already knew that.
The Prez is a delusional douche-nozzle. But you already knew that.
You can now buy pancake batter in a pressurized can, ready to make. Seriously. No joke. It's called the batter blaster, and I'm going to sue since that was my screen name once upon a time.

That's all for this week, kids.
Huzzah.

Oh, P.S. There have been updates all over docmarvy.com (megameme, BOTM, etc.) so feel free to look around.

**read the review from Broad Street Books that starts "Just an awful piece of junk..." It's hilarious.
(thanks to Hobronto for some of these fine links)

The last thing in the world I want is for this blog to turn into a rehash of what happened on the radio, but nonetheless this is worth mentioning.

So this morning I'm doing my "D.C. Blitz", a weekly recap of the stupidest things to happen in politics. One of the stories I did mentioned this study from liberal think tank the Center for Public Integrity, which sifts through the over 900 times the Bush administration lied about tying Iraq to 9/11 (something they all virulently claim they never did, natch).

It was one of my usual glib passing mentions of the banality of evil that is the Bush administration lie machine. (I'm not saying that other politicians don't lie as much. It's just most aren't this prolific and well-versed in the art of lies.)

Anyhoo... no big deal, right? Just a passing mention that was as inarticulate as it was mildly chuckleworthy.

Then I get this email from Pat:

Hey -

 You pissed someone off so much this morning that she called Mary Q, Chuck D (owners), and Rhonda (GM) directly. This lady was so furious that you said the President has said 'x' amount of lies over the years...I guess she blew a piston!
 Rhonda re-directed and shes not mad anymore and even went as far as to say that she thinks you are extremly funny!

 Pat

 
Hey. Don't blame the messenger. I'm glad you think I'm funny, but don't try to get me fired from the job I don't get paid for because you don't like my re-telling of a seemingly factual piece of data. At this point can anybody on earth seriously feign shock that GWB & Co. lie their asses off? Anyone? Seriously?

The president in a moment of quiet introspection (get it... he's a chimp! Ha ha ha ha ha!)

So once again in my storied radio career I dodge the bullet of an angry listener. They say Austin is like a whole other country. God I hope so.

Okay... so for the few of you who read this and also hear my amateurish political segment on Pat & JT, the D.C. Blitz, may be wondering what I said during the show this morning that made them hit the delay button. Here is the scenario:

Because I am inherently lazy and passed out early (11:30) last night I did not pre-script my Blitz. Normally I comb Wonkette, Politico, Raw Story, Google News [Politics], and the like for segment fodder. But last night I zonked out watching SVU, neglecting to write a thing. As I dozed off I had the misguided thought that I was clever enough to off-the-cuff today's segment by rattling off all the still-running presidential candidates and listing the reasons why they are not viable for the job of Commander in Chief.

This was an erroneous idea on my behalf. I thought of a couple zingers for a couple specific candidates, but for the most part I just kept saying something to the effect of "this one is a whack-job and that one is a koo koo muffin and this one over here is a real raisin cake." Not my best work to say the least.

A Little Technical Background:
When a radio show activates their delay, the industry slang term is "dump". Not the most pleasant wording, but that's what it is. The seven seconds that are digitally stored up in the box connecting everything in the studio to the transmitter are literally dumped out, sending the radio listener seven seconds into the past... which is actually the present.

I'll now paraphrase the conversation that was going on when my errant words caused Pat to hit the Delay Dump button:

Pat: I like Fred Thompson

Marv: You do? Why?

Pat: Because he gets things done. I mean, look at him. Just his look says he could go to Iraq and just get them straightened out with his imposing look.

Marv: Ah. I see. So being a jowly dick equates to "getting things done". I see.

Pat: Wait

JT: Wha---what. Wait.

Pat: Can we say that? Can he say that?

JT: No! He can't say that on the air.

[a tussle ensues, Pat hits the dump button, there is a rift in space/time as we plunge 7 seconds into the past]

What the listeners heard:

Marv: [Unfunny banter]

[audible hiccup]

Marv: They turned the delay on because of that?

Pat: [laughter] [unintelligible]

Marv: Kill me.

So there you go, a peek behind the curtain to see how the sausage of radio is made.

First and foremost my apologies to DC Blitz fans who I let down with my dicey unfunny blather this morning. Next week we're going back to the script. Also apologies to the listeners who were disappointed by my acquiescence to the Ron Paul caller who took umbrage at my referring to him as a whack-job. I did, however, misspeak. I meant to say that Paul's supporters are whack-jobs while he is just an frighteningly strident pseudo-Liberterian (but not in the good way) and alleged racist, and completely non-viable candidate. Had I taken the time to formulate my statement I would've been clearer that although he may be a "straight shooter" when it comes to cutting through the bureaucratic nonsense, turning America into an isolationist stronghold doesn't seem to me to be the path to freedom. But whatever. Regardless, I should never back down on a joke. Because you know what they say about listeners, give 'em an inch and they'll think they're a ruler.

I offer no apologies, however, to Fred Thompson, who is a jowly dick, both on TV and in real life. Actually he's even less appealing in real life.

A paragon of jowly dickishness, Frederick Frankenstein