Hurricane Katrina has done extensive damage and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people in one of my favourite American cities: New Orleans. And since we belong to a society that always tries to find fault in others, who should we blame this incredibly sad catastrophe on?

HOMOSEXUALS?
An evangelical Christian group that regularly demonstrates at LGBT events is blaming gays for hurricane Katrina.
Repent America says that God "destroyed" New Orleans because of Southern Decadence, the gay festival that was to have taken place in the city over the Labor Day weekend.
"Southern Decadence" has a history of filling the French Quarters section of the city with drunken homosexuals engaging in sex acts in the public streets and bars" Repent America director Michael Marcavage said in a statement Wednesday.
"Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city." Marcavage said. "From ‘Girls Gone Wild’ to ‘Southern Decadence’, New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same."
"Let us pray for those ravaged by this disaster. However, we must not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long," Marcavage said.
"May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits, and bring us trembling before the throne of Almighty God," Marcavage concluded.

OR PRO-ABORTIONISTS?
A group calling itself Columbia Christians for Life says that a satellite image of Hurricane Katrina as it hit the Gulf Coast Monday looks just like a six-week-old fetus.
"The image of the hurricane ... with its eye already ashore at 12:32 p.m. Monday, August 29, looks like a fetus (unborn human baby) facing to the left (west) in the womb, in the early weeks of gestation (approx. 6 weeks)," the e-mail message says. "Even the orange color of the image is reminiscent of a commonly used pro-life picture of earlyprenatal development."
"Louisiana has 10 child-murder-by-abortion centers," the groups says, and "five are in New Orleans."

Both arguments are so compelling and make so much sense that, quite frankly, I don't know which one I should believe.

BAD ALBUM COVERS
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,5-2005380599,00.html

Some of you may have seen many of these already, but there are a few new ones in the slide show that I hadn't checked out before.
Some day Joyce may bear my children.
It must be 10:30. I can hear the fireworks from the CNE.

I was unable to attend the Gang of Four concert in Toronto in the spring, and the band unfortunately hasn't included my city in its fall tour itinerary. However, the group has re-recorded some of its old classics and will release them through V2 Records on an album called Return The Gift on Oct. 11. You can listen to the album at http://www.flashenhanced.com/gangoffour/. I've been listening this afternoon and have been impressed. So if you're an old fan, or want to discover where groups like The Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand and Interpol got a lot of their inspiration and influences from, visit the site and listen for yourself.
Thanks to Gregg Smithe for the tip.

Another weekend, another rained-out baseball game. But this time, instead of going to Harbourfront, I went to the Boulton Avenue (the street where I lived in a house with four other guys while we were going to Ryerson in 1989-90 and in a different house on weekends with my former girlfriend in 1990-91) home of Heather Morgan and Greg Bennett for a barbecue, party and jam session.
I had already eaten, but I did partake of a dozen beers, a glass of Sangria and shared custody of a number of aromatic combustibles. (Thanks, Michael) As well as seeing some friends, I got to renew acquaintances with a few people who I had met only a few times before, like Bruce Farley "Mole" Mowat and Peter Hudson, and meet totally new people like Nancy Dutra.
I've been a longtime fan of Chris "Baby Jesus" Houston as both a solo artist and from his days with the Forgotten Rebels, and I enjoyed talking to him for the first time and hearing some of his stories. Edgar Breau of Simply Saucer was also there, and it was a pleasure to meet another relatively obscure musical icon from Hamilton. There were just a lot of music lovers there. And that's the kind of environment that I love.
A good portion of the people in attendance were musicians, singers or both, and had brought instruments. Heather, Scott Bradshaw, one of the White Cowbell Oklahoma guys, Edgar and Andrea England were among those who I enjoyed. My personal highlight (and one of Heather's, too) was Chris doing an acoustic version of Surfing On Heroin with a few altered lyrics, and Hudson plugging into a cigarette pack amplifier behind him to add some fuzz guitar.
The wet weather might have kept a few people away, and the cops showing up may have toned things down a bit, but I had a great time. Thanks to Heather and Greg for their hospitality and ability to cultivate such an interesting guest list.

Thanks to Warren Campbell for forwarding this:

ELVIRA'S JONESING LEFT HER IN STITCHES: "The actress behind horror icon Elvira has revealed she needed stitches after losing her virginity to Welsh crooner Tom Jones - because he was so well-endowed." If you want or need to know the rest of this
penetrating story, here goes: Cassandra Peterson, who was also romantically linked to Elvis Presley during her teen years as a Vegas showgirl, remembers the deed thusly: "I ended up with a little tearing, a little bleeding and going to the hospital. I had to get stitches." (To which some physicians might say, "It's Not Unusual") Despite the uncomfortable details, Peterson, now 55, added that she enjoyed the experience, but regrets not losing her virginity to Presley. "Elvis was constantly surrounded by his entourage ["The Memphis Mafia"], and I was only 17, and I'm sure they knew it."

I have always been a big Tom Jones fan and have always called him The Welsh Superstar. I guess that Jon Langford, Ian Woosnam and John Cale would be the three losing semi-finalists for that title. I've only seen TJ (not Hooker, though I do like me some Shatner every now and then as well) perform live once, about five years ago, and he was great. I've heard, repeated and even embellished the legends about Tom's member and his sexual prowess, so I appreciated hearing this one (since Elvira enjoyed it despite the obvious pain.) "What's New Pussy Cat," indeed.
My favourite Tom Jones penis story, however, dates back to the '60s when TJ was the hot new singer and stud in Hollywood. He was appearing on a TV show and met Milton Berle backstage. Uncle Miltie said had apparently heard stories about TJ's big schlong and then said: "Just remember kid, I'm still the biggest in the business" before whipping down his pants to display a dick that was even bigger than Tom's.

The Future is my favourite Leonard Cohen album as a whole, while I love other songs from other albums as well. Leonard autographed my copy of The Future at the launch party for the album in the venerable Cabana Room of the old Spadina Hotel (which is now a youth hostel) in Toronto. I was flattered that he ignored Rosanna Arquette, who he was dating at the time, to talk to me and my friend about old-time country music.
A couple of years later, at the launch party for Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, we continued that discussion over a number of Red Needles (the drink that Leonard invented; see http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2773316 for the delicious recipe). He's a very gracious, intelligent and funny man. I hope that he gets his recently revealed money problems sorted out.

UNRAVELING THE STEWART REYNOLDS MYSTERY
After reading Stewart's somewhat baffling e-mail to Chart, that was forwarded on to me, I contacted him myself to figure out if I knew him. Below is the transcript of our online conversation:

----- Original Message -----
From: Steve McLean
To: stewart@brittlestar.ca
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 7:30 PM
Subject: Thank you

Hi Stewart.
I hope that you enjoyed my Big Mac scraps, and thank you for thinking that it was newsworthy.
Cheers,
Steve

His reply:

Hi Steve,
You are most welcome.
I believe that these sorts of historic moments should be noted and archived. Which I believe Aaron has already done, though I'm not sure if 'archived' was the word he used.
To help you remember back to the heady days of 1984. I was part of the Empty Shells. The 'cute one' as I was known...or was it the 'funny one'...I'm not sure.
Your displays of total irresponsibility from that time have stuck with me to this day. I have used them countless times as a cautionary tale for my own children.
I have recently been involved in a going musical concern called Brittlestar. You can rest easy in the knowledge that your influence has had no influence on that particular aspect of my life.
I truly hope you are well and that if you ever need a hug, you will call upon someone else.
;o)
stewart
www.brittlestar.com

How could I have forgottten the "cute one" from the Empty Shells? His web site address is actually www.brittlestar.ca. I checked it out, and his brand of pop music is pretty good. Stewart worked with Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy on his new album.

Chart publisher Ed Skira and managing editor Aaron Brophy both forwarded this e-mail to me after receiving it at the magazine:

Name: stewart reynolds
E-mail: stewart@brittlestar.ca
Comment: it's just come to my attention that steve mclean is a writer at chart.
i wish it to be known that i fought for, and won, steve's big mac scraps when he was social convenor at stratford central secondary school.
i believe this to be newsworthy.

I remember an Ian Reynolds from high-school, and have seen him occasionally in the intervening years, but I'm not sure about a Stewart Reynolds. I didn't eat that many Big Macs back then (though I did win a couple of ice cream-eating contests that I should tell you about sometime), and I didn't leave any scraps for people to fight over if I did.
But I'm glad that I could make such an impression on young Stewart that he thinks his 20-year-old accomplishment is now newsworthy.

Marlins suspend batboy for milk-drinking dare
------------------------------
From ESPN.com news services

Milk does a body good, but it didn't do good for one batboy.
On a dare, a Florida Marlins batboy tried to drink a gallon of milk in under an hour without throwing up.
But not only did the batboy not succeed in the challenge, his mere attempt cost him his job for six games, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday. The Marlins suspended the unidentified batboy for the team's upcoming six-game homestand against the Cardinals and Mets from Aug. 28 through Sept. 4 for accepting the dare Sunday from Dodgers pitcher (and former Marlin) Brad Penny. Penny offered the batboy $500 if he could drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour before Sunday's game without throwing up. Penny told the paper the boy drank the milk and didn't throw up, but didn't finish the gallon in the
allotted time frame to win the dare.
"It's kind of ridiculous that you get a 10-game suspension for steroids and a six-game suspension for milk," Penny told the Herald. ''It's ridiculous that they worry about stuff like that. It shows they [the Marlins organization] don't know anything about the game. That kind of stuff goes on everywhere. It didn't affect the way he worked, the way he did his job.''

Tommy Lee Presents Tommyland: The Ride is the name of the new solo album from the Motley Crue drummer. Being the chaste young man that I am, I'm probably one of the few people who hasn't seen the video where Tommy and Pamela Anderson get it on while on a boat. But I'm sure I'd find that ride more interesting than this one. It's not a bad record, but just doesn't have anything to grab my attention aside from The English Butler -- comprised entirely of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach (or a sound-alike) on Tommy's answering machine, which leads directly into Tired and its lyrical references to Tommy getting tired of Pammy, Puffy tiring of J.Lo, and Hugh Hefner tiring of Playboy bunnies. Tryin' To Be Me is the first single, while its follow-up will be Good Times. That song is also the theme to Tommy's new reality TV show, Tommy Lee Goes To College, which I haven't seen but have read is pretty innocuous. The same can be said of this album. While I've never been a Crue fan, this album -- which was released on Chad Kroeger's 604 label -- doesn't rock as hard as that band. It features contributions from Dave Navarro, Sum 41's Deryck Whibley, Guns 'N Roses' Matt Sorum, Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, Fuel's Carl Bell, Something Corporate's Andrew McMahon and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, but who cares. As both a drummer and a lover, Tommy is apparently pretty adept with long sticks. But that's not enough to make me listen to this record again.
The Crue played the Molson Amphitheatre on Tuesday night and I passed a couple of big-haired, tattooed, leather-clad dudes walking on Lakeshore who must have been on their way to the show. I didn't know that people still dressed that way. I'd like to think that it was a put-on, but, sadly, I doubt it.

The Rolling Stones seem to like Canadian acts. After inviting The Trews to open the band's "secret" show at The Phoenix a few weeks ago, the group has enlisted The Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Alanis Morissette and 54.40 to open selected shows on its current tour. 54.40 will play with the Stones in Calgary on Oct. 28, and hopefully it can bring more attention to the Vancouver band's new Yes To Everything album. The disc is very solid, one of my 20 favourite so far this year, and continues the band's tradition of making fine rock records. While the group isn't particularly electrifying on stage, its extensive repertoire from the past 20 years can fill 90 minutes with little let-up from great songs. I saw the band twice during NXNE in June and thoroughly enjoyed both shows. 54.40 will be playing a number of dates across Canada this fall and, if you haven't seen it for a while, do yourself a favour and get out to a show.

MAPLE LEAFS FORECAST
After years of trading away youth for expensive older talent to take runs – that inevitably ended up falling short – at the Stanley Cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in a bit of quandary at the dawn of the NHL’s salary cap era.
Gone are high-priced veterans Alexander Mogilny, Brian Leetch, Owen Nolan, Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk, who the team couldn’t fit in its new salary structure. Age and health concerns made all of them risks to re-sign to multi-year, multi-million-dollar deals, but their production will be missed.
The team has less than $3 million left under the $39-million cap and might want to hold on to a bit of that money for mid-season acquisitions. And with the cap expected to fall next year due to decreased revenues from the fallout of the lockout that wiped out last season, that will put an even tighter squeeze on the formerly free-spending squad.
But the Leafs haven’t been sitting idly by in this craziest of summers for NHL general managers, agents and players. They added former MVP Eric Lindros for $1.55 million and former 90-point scorer Jason Allison for around the same price in a contract that could escalate to $4 million if he lives up to past performances and meets all of his incentive clauses. While both players have a history of major injuries and can be considered risky signings, their relatively low price tags can be considered coups for the Leafs.
Combined with captain and perennial leading scorer Mats Sundin, Lindros and Allison will give the Leafs as much solid depth at centre as any team in the league. Nik Antropov will either centre the fourth line or move to the wing and allow promising youngster Matt Stajan some playing time up the middle. Look for Allison and Lindros to also play some wing on the power play.
While the Leafs look strong up the middle, they don’t have much in the way of speedy snipers to take advantage of the new no red line rule who can streak down the boards to put the puck in the net. New acquisition Jeff O’Neill was once that type of player, but struggled in his final season for the Carolina Hurricanes. If the 29-year-old can regain his past 40-goal touch, he should make a solid linemate for Sundin and, most likely, Darcy Tucker. Tucker, a rambunctious winger and agitator, has also shown a nose for the net.
After that, however, things take a dramatic drop. While Tie Domi is a fan favourite and was coveted by other teams this summer, the 35-year-old tough guy has never scored more than 15 goals or 29 points in a season. Wade Belak is another enforcer, but his offensive prowess makes Domi look like Martin St. Louis. Chad Kilger, Nathan Perrott and Clarke Wilm won’t strike fear into the hearts of any defenders, so the Leafs will have a long look at 2002 first-round draft pick Alexander Steen.
Thomas Kaberle, Brian McCabe and Ken Klee, who should give the team a decent balance of defensive toughness and offensive skills, will anchor the blue line. Free agent acquisition Alexander Khavanov and the returning Aki Berg will likely get the bulk of the remaining minutes, but it’s hoped that former first rounder Carlo Colaiacovo can stick with the big club this fall and add more offence to the back line. On a team short of real prospects, he may be the top one.
Ed Belfour is a future Hall of Fame goaltender, but the advancing years and recurring back problems could haunt him this season. If he plays as well as he did in 2003-04, when he racked up 10 shutouts, the Leafs should be in good shape. If he goes down, Mikael Tellqvist or former Pittsburgh Penguin Jean-Sebastien Aubin will have a heavy burden on their shoulders.
Both goalies played for St. John’s last season, but the Leafs’ AHL franchise has moved from Newfoundland to Toronto and been renamed the Marlies. Former Carolina coach Paul Maurice has been hired to oversee the team (and perhaps take over from Leafs coach Pat Quinn a year or two down the road), and the front office and scouting staffs should be able to keep a closer eye on things down the street at the Ricoh Centre then they could with players on the rock.
The Leafs have beefed up their scouting in an effort to look to the future, but such potential free agent stars as Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton and Vincent Lecavalier have all been locked up to long-term deals by their current clubs, so there may not be that much for the team to pick from next season to bolster the roster either.
The Leafs should contend for a playoff spot this season, but the Stanley Cup drought that has lasted since 1967 shows no sign of ending soon.

I was happy to read this:

press release from the California Nurses Association (www.calnurses.org)

‘No Sympathy’ for Schwarzenegger at Rolling Stones Concert in Boston - RNs Protest Sticky Fingers for Corporate Cash

For Immediate Release
August 22, 2005

(Oakland, CA) There was "No Sympathy" for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Sunday night as he sought to turn a Rolling Stones concert in Boston into a fundraiser only to be picketed by registered nurses from California, Illinois and Massachusetts outside the stadium and loudly booed by thousands of rock fans when introduced inside.
Exploiting the kickoff event of the Stones latest North American tour to raise cash for his own national fundraising efforts, Schwarzenegger resold $450 concert tickets to donors for $10,000 a piece, and offered fans the chance to sit with him in a luxury box for $100,000 a pop. But, Schwarzenegger quickly discovered, he was ‘Playing With Fire’, once again thanks to the California Nurses Association with the help of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Chicago nurses from the CNA-sponsored National Nurses Organizing Committee.
First, the ticket sales for the $100,000 seats were a bust. According to observers, only three people could be spotted in the luxury box, including the governor and his wife, Maria Shriver. Then much of the attention prior to the concert was on the protest.
Dozens of RNs picketed outside Fenway Park, site of the concert, Sunday afternoon. As the nurses handed out 3,000 signs to Stones fans in the form of a large ticket that read "Stop Arnold. Sticky Fingers for Corrupt Corporate Cash. No Sympathy for Schwarzenegger," an airplane circled overhead bearing the banner, “Arnold's Beast of Burden: Corporate Cash.”
Inside sitting nearly alone in his private box, Schwarzenegger must have been looking for Wild Horses to drag him away. Hundreds of fans held up the CNA signs. When Stones lead singer Mick Jagger welcomed the governor, he was lustily booed, and even Jagger mocked Schwarzenegger noting "As a matter of fact, he was seen out in front of Fenway Park tonight raising funds by scalping tickets and tee-shirts."
"What a colossal embarrassment for California, the sight of our governor jeered as he fundraises across the nation and scalping concert tickets for corporate cash to buy ads for a wasteful special election most Californians did not want," said CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro. "Californians should send this governor and his corporate sponsors a message as well -- You Can’t Always Get What You Want.…and vote No in November."

I liked Justin Fargas when he was the running back sharing the backfield with quarterback Carson Palmer when USC won the U.S. national title during the 2002-2003 season. But after being drafted by the Raiders in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft, he's been hampered by injuries and hasn't been able to play much or live up to his potential the last two years. Yesterday I found out that Justin is the son of Antonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear on Starsky and Hutch in the '70s. I think I may have found my new favourite NFL player.

Souls' Chapel, the first gospel album from Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, is an attractive listen no matter what your religious persuasion is. While the messages are there, they're not in your face. And they're presented in a rootsy fashion that includes elements of country and the blues. Stuart -- a respected veteran of the country scene's new traditionalist movement who has also delved into honky-tonk, rockabilly and bluegrass in the past -- wrote or co-wrote half of the album's 12 tracks. There are also a few gospel standards and two songs written by "Pops" Staples from The Staples Singers. One of them, Move Along Train, features vocals from Mavis Staples. I haven't attended church on a regular basis for 20 years, but songs like these could draw me in sporadically, at least.

np The Bled - Found In The Flood (Stay away unless you're into that "screamo" stuff.)