So there’s been a THIRD shooting in a week at a Denny’s in California. Not that they all happened in the same Denny’s, no, three seperate Denny’s.

What the article doesn’t tell you is that there are two Denny’s for every mile of road in California and these places act as restaurants, grocery stores, banks, housing, gun show convention halls, pretty much anything you could ever want can happen at a California Denny’s.*

(*Jason has no idea what he’s talking about. Besides, everyone knows that there are only 1.5 Denny’s per mile of road in California.)

3d chalk art. Amazing stuff from Julian Beever.

Ah, this brings back memories.

The Friday Five

1) If you were to star in a movie, who would you want to be cast as your love interest?
Nicole Kidman. Yowza.

2) What genre of movie would you most like to star in?
Comedy most likely. Either that or a sweet action flick. I don’t ask for much from my movies.

3) What song would you insist be on the soundtrack?
Not sure, but I’d want Quentin Tarantino to help pick it out.

4) What would you wear to the premiere of your movie?
Just a suit, probably something cheap and slick.

5) Who would you thank in your Oscar acceptance speech?
The Man upstairs, family, friends, the folks that made the movie, typical fare.

In late 2003 through early 2004 Ben Folds churned out three EPs under the radar. Speed Graphic, Sunny 16 and Super D each contain five songs, mainly originals with a few covers mixed in.

ben here. i just finished an EP. it’s called “speed graphic”. it has 5 songs on it. it is available now and i’m currently working on finishing another EP called “sunny 16″, to be released in september. a third EP will be recorded (no name yet) for release in november. a trilogy of EP’s. a full length cd will come out at the beginning of the year, for those who don’t like EP’s. i have 24 hour access to a studio now, so i’m using it.

quietly releasing my music as EP’s allow me to get it out there as i finish it. with a minimum of hype. it’s for people who buy my music anyway. it won’t be sold in the big ass chains, because that puts the price up and starts the big ass machinery - press, radio etc. then i have to pose naked at the piano, and really, i’m not a piece of meat, you know. the music will be available at gigs, and online, and on vinyl in some smaller stores.

The only song off of these EPs to make it to his next album, Songs For Silverman, was “Give Judy My Notice” off of Speed Graphic. So most of these songs you can’t get anywhere else.

I’m a pretty big Ben Folds fan but I missed these. I heard “Rent A Cop” off of Super D through Pandora and thought it must have been a b-side. Nope, entirely separate EP, which also contains a cover of The Darkness’s “Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman” and Ray Charles’s “Them That Got”. “Rent A Cop” is a great little diddy about a mall security guard and funny as hell.

All three of these give a good musical transition from his first solo effort in Rockin’ The Suburbs to his latest album Songs for Silverman. And if you’re not a Ben Folds fan, well, please, try and listen to something other than “Brick”. 90% of folks I talk to that don’t like Ben Folds specifically name that song as why and, well, I can’t blame them. Overkill at its finest.

Another Ben Folds find I’ve made as of late comes off of the Rockin’ The Suburbs EP. About six years back I caught Ben Folds Five live at an Earth Day festival down here in Richmond. Guster played as well as did a very crappy band that took up what I guess was the second stage and played really horrible songs. Pre-Irish-rip-off Carbon Leaf. Ugh.

Anyway, during their set, BFF played a song about a gentleman who wanted cream of wheat and then went on this late night urban adventure. Great song. But I had no idea what the name was and went years without finding the tune.

About a year ago I was poking around the web for music and such and came across a site of rare Ben Folds songs. They’d offer a few at a time, sweet stuff. One was a song called “The Secret Life of Morgan Davis”. Jackpot.

So I give to you “Rent A Cop” and “The Secret Life Of Morgan Davis”. These are hardly representative of the full joy that is Ben Folds but it’s a start.

Ben Folds - “Rent A Cop”
Ben Folds - “The Secret Life of Morgan Davis”
(These will only be available for a week or so and are only intended to be samples of the work to make you go buy stuff. So go buy stuff.)

Buy Ben Folds Albums Here

So I decided on a whim to visit the Huffington Post today and found this little tidbit:

Gov. Warner’s Supporters Angered By NY Times Mag Cover That “Bears Slight Resemblance To Mr. Ed”…

The New York Times Magazine cover is the Charlize Theron of magazine publishing: Famous people become ugly in the name of art.

Former Virginia governor and centrist (Har har! - J~) Democratic Presidential hopeful Mark Warner learned the dangers of posing for The Times Magazine this week when he landed on the cover, photographed by Alexei Hay.

Mr. Ed? Not really. Looks more like Nixon to me. Unless Warner supporters are saying Nixon looked like Mr. Ed.

War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells

Full text for free online. You have no excuse NOT to read it. Go, I say!

ZohoWriter looks pretty handy. Writely’s another one but it’s not allowing signups while it moves to Google servers.

I’m checking out Zoho, though, and I’ll keep the world posted if anyone cares.

Ah, interesting mix tonight and the show was okay, IMO, though if you heard it and think otherwise, please tell me so.

03.12.06 Under The Covers Playlist

#	Artist	Title	Original Artist
1	Halifax	Straight Up	Paula Abdul
2	Mudhoney	Pump It Up	Elvis Costello
3	Jose Gonzales	Heartbeats	The Knife
4	F**k	Oops (I Did It Again)	Britney Spears
5	J. Viewz	Smooth Criminal	Michael Jackson
6	Beck	Parasite	Nick Drake
7	Zoetrope	Nobody’s Fault	Beck
8	Pearl Jam	World Wide Suicide	ORIGINAL
9	Franz Ferdinand	The Fallen (Acoustic)	ORIGINAL
11	Ryan Adams	Lovesick Blues	Hank Williams
12	Sun Kil Moon	Ocean Breathes Salty	Modest Mouse
13	Luxxury	Something Goin’ On	Frida
14	Stereophonics	Nothing Compares To You	Prince
15	Man Man	I’d Rather Be Blind	Etta James

Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, who helped lead the Minnesota Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991, died Monday after suffering a stroke over the weekend, the team announced. He was 45.

Not Larry Sabato thinks it’s a wee bit suspicious that Jo Ann Davis will be kicking off her reelection campaign the same day, time and in the same city that James Webb begins his bid to win the Democratic nomination to lose to George Allen this November. “Jo Ann Davis: Doing George Allen’s dirty work?” Not Mr. Sabato asks in the subject to the post.

Well, let’s see…

On March 3rd the Free Lance Star in Fredericksburg mention’s Davis’s announcement:

First District Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Gloucester, will announce next week that she will be running for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The announcement will take place Tuesday in Richmond.

Also on March 3rd the Richmond Times Dispatch mentions Webb’s upcoming anouncment as well, though it’s a little vague:

Webb is expected to make a formal announcement of his candidacy and open a campaign office next week.

Ah, wait, here it is. A press release from the Webb campaign, dated March 5th:

Former Secretary of the Navy James H. “Jim” Webb will formally announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, March 7, 2006 in Richmond. He will also discuss his campaign organization and announce key staff.

Who’s stealing who’s thunder? Especially given that Davis IS facing a challenger this year (even if it isn’t that strong of one).

Update: Shaun Kenney (who got this ball rolling) notes a rescheduling by Davis to Monday, March 13th at 3pm. Gosh, this kinda stuff doesn’t happen by accident. (Insert “friendly jab in NLS’s direction” emoticon here.)

(Not Quite) Under The Covers Podcast!

Yes, tonight’s show consists of NO COVER SONGS! GASP! Yeah, I was shocked too. I mean, I just woke up and there was this show prepared and I was like, “hey, where are all the covers?” and the Man said, “SHUT UP OR YOU’LL GO BACK IN THE BOX!” I don’t like the box. It’s dark in there.

So there’s a show not only full of non-covers from indy and mainstream artists who RULE but there’s also a CONTEST!

Contest? Oh yes.

How would you like to win lunch for two to Jersey Mike’s at 927 West Broad Street or one of two $10 gift certificates to Alternatives at 3320 West Cary Street?

Gimmie a haiku. But not just any haiku, no, we have ourselves a theme.

Tessie Brunet of Deadboy And The Elephantmen is quite attractive. So sayeth the Jason. So sayeth you in a haiku! Yes, give me a wonderful poem in the 5/7/5 syllable format that some dead Japanese guy made famous many years ago (sometime in the ’60s I think). Or, if you would rather comment on our semi-attractive host, you can do that! Yes, the same kinda format for a haiku about the one and only Jason Sensation! Need proof of the attractiveness of our topics?

Tessie Burnet is the lady on the left, of course.
That other guy is Dax Riggs. He has nothing to do with our contest.

Jason is sexy.

FIRST PLACE: Lunch for TWO at Jersey Mike’s. Each lunch will consist of a sandwich, chips and a drink. Neat!
SECOND and THIRD PLACE: $10 gift certificate for Alternatives Fair Trade Gifts and More

All entries are due at wvcwutc@gmail.com by MIDNIGHT Tuesday, March 7th. (Or is it Wednesday, March 8th? Ah well, the midnight between the two.) Winners will be chosen by Jason and contacted by Thursday when pickup of prizes will be worked out. By entering you are giving me permission to post anything you send me to the WVCW Under The Covers blog. Yes, I get to share with the world. Any opinions stated by the host of UTC, the contestants of this uh… contest, and other people are not shared by WVCW, VCU or anyone else. They’re unique.

— PODCAST - MARCH 5, 2006 UNDER THE COVERS —
(1:14 - 68MB)

03.05.06 Under The Covers Playlist

1	Dan Bern	Tiger Woods
2	Page France	Chariot
3	Deadboy & The Elephantmen	Ancient Man
4	Death Cab For Cutie	Champangne From A Paper Cup
5	Bloc Party	Banquet
6	Forty Second Songs	So Kind Stacey
7	Great Lake Swimmers	Bodies And Minds
8	Ryan Adams	Cannonball Days
9	Tim Williams	Not That Hard
10	Songstowearpantsto	It Was The World
11	Tony Hightower	Earthquake Blues
12	Haley Bonar	Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy
13	Glenn Case And The Half Racks	Dark All Day
14	David Shultz	Blue Jay
15	Josh Woodward	Ruth
16	Dan Bern	Shakespeare’s Got A Gun

Penn & Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors

Years ago, I’d heard about a mythical unreleased videogame developed by Penn & Teller for the Sega CD and 3DO. The game was supposed to be an oddball adventure game, with some cruel magic tricks and minigames thrown in for good measure. This Absolute Entertainment press release from March 1995 sums it up nicely.

The most infamous part was “Desert Bus,” a “VeriSimulator” in which you drive a bus across the straight Nevada desert for eight hours in real-time. Then you drive it home. Also, I’d read the bus veers to the right, so you can’t just leave the joypad propped up. The rumor was that if you won the game, you got one point.

I must download this…