A former employee of Redflex, a company that manufactures red light cameras, says they paid hefty bribes to score deals in several cities in the US, including cities in New Mexico.
Twenty one years ago today, my oldest son was born and I had to stop smoking in the house. My wife Susan and I were actually expecting a baby girl, thanks to several eerie, wienerless ultrasound images taken a couple months earlier. But as it turned out, Oskar had been tucking. I witnessed his birth. He was almost born during an episode of The Fugitive, starring David Janssen (one of my all-time favorite TV shows), but when 4pm rolled around and our little groundhog hadn’t peeked out of his hole yet, I quickly changed the channel to Star Trek so Oskar could be born during episode 18, “The Squire of Gothos.” I felt a little faint at my first glimpse of him—instead of a human face with eyes and a nose and a mouth, there was only smooth skin. But that turned out to be the top of his head; he actually did have a face and also, much to our surprise, a wiener. And then a bunch of other stuff happened, and then he turned into a 21-year-old man. He’s taller, better looking and funnier than I am. We’re going to see the Kurt Vile show together on Friday, if anybody wants to buy him a drink. Happy birthday, Oskar!
This week’s Flyer on the Wall depicts the cultural electricity that community-powered radio can generate. It also announces a benefit show-slash-birthday party for Gallup’s KNIZ 90.1 FM. Small Engine is also belatedly celebrating its two-year anniversary at the gig. Check out music from high desert surf band Phantom Lake and Houck, Ariz. rockabilly act ShitOuttaLuck below. Small Engine Gallery • KNIZ 90.1 FM benefit • The Blue Byrds • Phantom Lake • ShitOuttaLuck • Sat Nov 17 • 9 pm • $5 • ALL-AGES! • smallenginegallery.com
This week’s Flyer on the Wall allegorizes the power of community-powered radio and announces a joint birthday party for KNIZ 90.1 FM and Small Engine Gallery.
Today is the 43rd birthday of zinester, third wave feminist, riot grrrl and noisemaker Kathleen Hanna. Check out Bikini Kill, Le Tigre and Julie Ruin music videos below. Share your fave Kathleen Hanna tunes in the comments. ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Kathleen Hanna!
While mindlessly web surfing, I came upon some ad that suggested I click on it to wish Barack Obama a happy birthday. Due to my general mistrust of web ads, I instead decided to post this as a tribute to the POTUS' 51st.
By the way, seeing as Lindsay Lohan seems to be convinced that she's the second coming of Marilyn Monroe, it's surprising she hasn't performed this yet. Then again, Marilyn had class, whereas LiLo has about the amount of class as Ke$ha at a trailer park kegger.
Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, happy birthday, Mr. President!
So, um, today (March 1) is apparently the birthday of Ron Weasley, the ginger-headed sidekick from the Harry Potter books. Normal people probably don’t care, but I’m sure hardcore wizarding nerds are wetting themselves with glee and planning elaborate cupcake parties with their cats. Warner Brothers, maker of the Harry Potter movies, is celebrating by offering 20 percent off all Harry Potter merchandise at the company’s online store. Drop a dime or two on a “Weasley Electric Shock Shake” T-shirt or a replica Hogwarts Express ticket. And happy Birthday, Ron—you imaginary person, you.
