Relapse

The pope is back in the hospital.

Like Flies

They're dropping like flies!!
Did anyone have Hunter S. Thompson?
I doubt very much that John Raitt or Sandra Dee were at the top of anyone's list.
Are we gonna hear from you today Rob?
With so much death, maybe a little update would be helpful to keep things in perspective.
Oh and by the way...
Does anyone want to go see Debra Amos speak at Macalester on Thursday March 10th at 7 pm? Tickets are free at Whole Foods... I'll pick some up this week. She's speaking about the Middle East. I don't know the particulars, but I've really enjoyed her pieces on NPR, so I'm going for sure.

Rock drummers

Another rock drummer has died. This time from the Doobies. It's not been a good year for classic rock drummers. He lost a valiant battle with pneumonia.

The pope, on the other hand, in his frail condition, won the same battle. Now I ask you, would you devote your life to 'rock and roll' or the deity of regimented monotheism?

On an unrelated note, now we have an answer to the oft-asked question: "Whatever happened to Corey Feldman?" Now if we could just find the other Corey.

Art Miller

Arthur Miller has passed. This sucks, mostly because I was this close to choosing him. Well, at least he's with Marilyn again.

Progressives

Rumor: Progressives are dead. Seemed like the appropriate place to post this. And I'm not talking about Democrats.

Best known for portrayal of JFK

Probably the only black actor to portray JFK, Ossie Davis, recipient of 2004 Kennedy Center Honors (whatever that is) was found dead in a hotel this morning. What he was doing there, we may never know. No one had him, so why do we care?

Max Schmeling Knocked-Out

Max Schmeling has passed away, and Pseudo feels like the fool. I guess I do as well, on some level. [note: I changed the link from the earlier CNN story; the ESPN write-up is much better]

P.S.: Isn't it grand to live in a nation where when our Sec. of Defense is asked if we plan to launch yet another pre-emptive strike on a non-aggressive nation that she can't simply answer, "No," but must speak in non-commital code, replying instead, "It's not on the agenda"?

Seriously: what the fuck is wrong with us?

Ugh

I don't even know what to say about this.

He wasn't on my list...

Political assassinations, though unsuccessful in the Ukraine, seem to be back in a big way in the former USSR...

First the Catholics, now the Jews

Rabbi gives herpes to newborns. More at 11...

Insurgents Take U.S. Hostage

Insurgents in Iraq have taken a U.S. toy soldier hostage. More at 11...

PAPAL UPDATE

Pope Rushed to the Hospital With Flu
The 84-year-old pope has been suffering from the flu since Sunday and apparently suffered a "breathing crisis."

On a side note I've also been suffering a breathing crisis the last few days with all this smog caused by particulate matter in the moist air.

But anyway, back to the pope:

In the meantime, cars with Vatican license plates were speeding toward to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital where the pope had been taken, according to an AP correspondent at the scene.

I hope this doesn't turn into another Arafat kind of scene. He's dead. He's not dead. He has liver cancer. He has AIDS. I wonder if the Vatican will finally hold democratic elections to decide the pope's successor or if they'll just let god choose again.

You'd have to be an idiot not to have chosen the pope this year.

Pandemic

Apparently, millions of Italians have the flu. The Pope happens to be a Polish man, caught in the great Italian flu epidemic of 2005. But there is no reason for concern, cause millions of Italians have the flu, and the Pope just happens to be one of them.

"The pope joined the millions of Italians who have caught the flu," chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.