Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Kool Robbie

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes around the moon
I see the passion in your eyes
Sometimes it's all a big surprise
'Cause there was a time when all I did was wish
You'd tell me this was love
It's not the way I hoped, or how I planned
But somehow it's enough
But now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place?
Just when I thought a chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

That’s right folks. I’ve saved the best for last... me. And my opinions, which are obviously, yes that’s right... the best (which I have saved for last). So, here goes nothin’ (literally and disfiguratively speakin')...

ALBUMS:



1. The M’s – Future Women [BUY]
2. Cansei De Ser Sexy – s/t [BUY]
3. The Lindsay - Dragged Out [BUY]
4. Necropolis - The Hackled Ruff & Shoulder Mane [BUY]
5. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped [BUY]
6. Heavy Mole – s/t [BUY]
7. The Proper Nouns – Birds & Butterflies [BUY]
8. Terribly Empty Pockets – Get Wet [BUY]
9. M. Ward – Post-War [BUY]
10. Swearing at Motorists – Last Night Becomes This Morning [BUY]
11. Home – Sexteen [BUY]
12. Brightblack Morning Light – s/t [BUY]
13. Joanna Newsom – Ys [BUY]

KILLER SOFT ROCK FIND OF THE YEAR:



Climax Blues Band - 25 Years 1968-1993 [BUY]

FILM:



1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. The Baxter
3. Beerfest
4. The Devil and Daniel Johnston
5. Borat
6. Scoop
7. Strangers with Candy
8. Snakes on a Plane

Movies I wanted to see this year and never got a chance to and that may or may not explain their absence from my best of list: The Departed, The Proposition, Stranger Than Fiction, Match Point, Old Joy, Running With Scissors, Sherrybaby, Marie Antoinette, The Queen, Prairie Home Companion, Bobby, Volver, Thank You For Smoking, The Prestige and Casino Royale.

TELEVISION:



1. The Office
2. Project Runway
3. The Daily Show / The Colbert Report
4. SportCenter
5. Friday Night Lights
6. 30 Rock
7. The Dog Whisperer
8. Big Love
9. Weeds
10. Meerkat Manor
11. South Park

WEBSITE:



Wikipedia.org

POP CULTURE STORY OF THE YEAR:



Let’s see, we had the seemingly never-ending trailer trash escapades of K-Fed and Britney which culminated in the world premier of her bald beeve and c-section scar (YES!! I mean, yes?), Boratmania, The OJ book/no book, the Mark Foley scandal, Tommy Hilfiger beating up Axl Rose, Michael Richards’ insane racist meltdown and even creepier Letterman apology segment, Sam Craighead getting addicted to weed, Tom Hanks’ Da Vinci haircut, Lance Bass’ gay old time, everyone hating on David Blaine, Mel Gibson and Danny DeVito drinking way too much (or so they said), all the various adoptions by Angelina and Madonna, that wacky Tom Cruise and his force-fed scientology love-slave captive Katie Holmes and their new baby Zorat, the five-year anniversary of 9/11, the Unholy Two, Rosie v. The Donald, Pluto being stripped of its planetary status and the deaths of James Brown, Robert Altman, Don Knotts, Ed Bradley, Jack Palance, Steve Irwin, Arthur Lee, Red Buttons, Syd Barrett, Slobodan Milosevic, Aaron Spelling, Chris Penn, Lou Rawls, Kirby Puckett and CBGB’s (among others).

But at the end of the day, Stephen Colbert's near heroic White House Press Correspondents' Dinner speech was not only poignant and hilarious, but for me it was clearly the highlight pop culture story of the year. Let’s face it, if this year’s elections would have gone any other way than they did, I’m pretty sure most of us would have crawled into a tight little corner and ate a pound of Xanax and cried for at least the next two years. But, once the ballots were counted it proved that even a good majority of Republicans were sick of Gee Dub’s asinine shit. We all wanted to be the one dogging him out, but having our good friend Stephen do it kept us off that pesky FBI watch list. Still we all lived vicariously through him that one glorious evening (or whenever it was that you watched it on YouTube) and thus it was each and every one of us dressed in that dapper tux, dropping those weapons of mass joke bombs. Each and every one of us was smart and stylish and virile and funny as fuck! You know what? Screw it! My favorite pop culture story of the year was when I roasted the president at the White House Press Correspondents' Dinner. I was so friggin’ awesome! Didn’t you think? Wow, thanks. I was pretty great. We’ll have to do this again next year! Yeah, I do smell pretty good –- thanks for noticing -- it’s Old Spice. Call me.

2007: CRANK IT UP, MAN! IT’S GONNA BE A DOOZER, I MEAN A BOOZER, I MEAN A DOOZY!!

I mean the NDA will dominate.

Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Jeff Fernengel

Fern took a few minutes out of his busy schedule -- teaching kids how to hit a bong -- to scratch out this list...

ALBUMS:



1. Monotonix "EP"
2. Necropolis "The Hackled Ruff And Shoulder Mane"
3. The Lindsay "Dragged Out"
4. The Stapler "Metaphysical Haircut"
5. Chris McCoy & the Gospel "Colder Chicago September Hymns"
6. Heavy Mole "EP"
7. Psychedelic Horseshit "Who Let The Dogs Out"
8. The Proper Nouns "Birds and Butterflies"
9. Mors Ontologica "Dead and/or Famous”
10. Terribly Empty Pockets "Get Wet"

SINGLES:



1. Mors Ontologica "DYI"
2. The Strokes "You Only Live Once"
3. The Lindsay "Iranian Eyes"
4. Church of the Red Museum "The Bay"
5. Weezer "This Is Such A Pity"

LIVE SHOWS:



1. 84 Nash @ Slum-B-Q 3, Little Brothers
2. Monotonix @ Cafe Bourbon Street
3. Rock Potluck 2006 @ Little Brothers
4. The Stapler @ The Delancey (NYC)
5. Mew/Queen Mae and the Bells @ Café Bourbon Street
6. Brainbow @ Carabar

BEST MOVIES THAT I ACTUALLY SAW IN 2006:



1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Thank You For Smoking
3. Borat!
4. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
5. Casino Royale
6. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
7. The Prestige
8. Snakes on a Plane

WORST MOVIES THAT I ACTUALLY SAW IN 2006:



1. Nacho Libre
2. Saw 3
3. Little Man

John Edwards Announces 2008 Presidential Candidacy

In his message to supporters, Edwards listed five priorities to change America. Among them: “Guaranteeing health care for every single American,” “Strengthening our middle class and ending the shame of poverty,” “Leading the fight against global warming,” and “Getting America and the world to break our addiction to oil.”

I have a feeling that Hilary will be considered too polarizing and Obama too green so Edwards will eventually get the Democratic nod. That's just my gut feelin' anyway.

FULL STORY

Three Link Circus

A hot comic brings her unique brand of bile with a smile to Comedy Central

Nerds rejoice with a 99 boner salute: Sarah Silverman is getting her own TV show and it debuts in February! FULL STORY

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez develop a throw-back horror double feature project

“Grindhouse” will offer up two feature length films, back-to-back, ‘50’s Saturday matinee-style. It’s scheduled for release on April 6th and it looks pretty friggin’ intense. Not to mention totally awesome. Watch the trailer and see for yourself. FULL STORY

The Razz: Musical Heaven for 2007

Lists! Lists! Lists! At least this one is looking forward as The Daily Record notes ten musical acts to keep your eye on next year and (surprise!) The Arcade Fire isn’t one of them. FULL STORY

Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Jerry Dannemiller

Our good friend from Moviola and occasional contributer to the NDA gives us his take on 2006...

ALBUMS:



1. Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang Derdang [BUY]
2. Bonnie Prince Billy – The Letting Go [BUY]
3. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House [BUY]
4. Califone – Roots & Crowns [BUY]
5. Necropolizz – Hackled Ruff & The Shoulder Mane [BUY]

LIVE SHOWS:



1. Debashish Bhattacharya @ Wexner Center (by far)
2. Silver Jews @ LBs
3. Souled American @ Surly Girl
4. Califone @ Wexner Center
5. Mark Turns @ Andyman’s Treehouse

FILM:



1. Old Joy
2. Climates
3. Clean
4. Borat
5. Mongolian Ping Pong

WEBSITE:



1. Mostly Meat (http://www.mostlymeat.com/diary.php)

POP CULTURE STORY:



1. Zidane Head-Butt

BONUS CATEGORY – USED KIDS EMPLOYEES MOST LIKELY TO SNAP IN ’07:



1. House
2. Shannon
3. Dow
4. Rep
5. DeCicca

This Week in Rock & Roll TV: December 25 - 31, 2006

Here's the line-up:

TUE 26: *Lupe Fiasco on Letterman
TUE 26: *Fiona Apple on Carson Daly
WED 27: *Britney Spears on Letterman
THU 28: *The Decemberists on Letterman
FRI 29: *Dinosaur Jr. on Henry Rollins [IFC]
FRI 29: *Beck on Kimmel
FRI 29: *Wilco on Conan
SAT 30: The Raconteurs & Cat Power on Austin City Limits
SAT 30: *Tenacious D & Matthew Fox on SNL
SUN 31: Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007 [ABC]

* = Episode previously aired

Check local listings for show times and channels in your
area.

Discuss >>>

War(m) On X-Mas

Blog Updates

If you're a big fan of blogs and a big fan of updates, boy do we have a deal for you... RECENTLY UPDATED BLOGS!

<--------- Gone Fishin' With Jeff

<--------- Craighead Presents: TMI Don't Ask

<--------- Blog 3030

<--------- For Real

<--------- Styx & Stones

<--------- Carter's Movie Nite

<--------- Chicken Dinner

Don't be shy, click it or rickets (among the most frequent childhood diseases in developing countries. The predominant cause is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium in the diet may also lead to rickets).

Times New Viking Sign To Matador Records

Many props to our friends Jared, Beth and Adam... may you get to tour Europe and smoke a lot of hash for free. Seriously though, we couldn't be happier for you guys! verticalPhil says: "Yay!"

Matador's final (official) new signing of 2006 are the veterans of 2005's most exciting debut album and what will hopefully be one (or two) of 2007's most anticipated 2007 releases. We're as pleased as a Carmelo Anthony sucker punch to announce the signing of Columbus, OH's TIMES NEW VIKING to a longish, global recording agreement.

The trio of drummer/vocalist Adam Elliot, keyboardist/vocalist Beth Murphy and guitar virtuoso Jared Phillips came to our deficient attentions last year when their first album, 'Dig Yourself', emerged as the first release in years from the pioneering imprint Siltbreeze (former home to crucial early works by Guided By Voices, the Dead C., Sebadoh, Strapping Fieldhands, Harry Pussy and other giants). Those skeptical to the how's and whys of a seminal American indie coming out of hibernation had their cynicism shattered with one listen to 'Dig Yourself', an instant classic that recalls multiple generations of that nebulous thing known as "lo-fi" while still being packed with a sensibility undeniably TNV's own.

Through their national travels --- both as a headliner, and in league with such characters as The Country Teasers, Mission Of Burma, Endless Boogie and Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking have achieved near mythic status in the US unideground, and we fully expect it is just a matter of time before they become the favorite band of exactly the sort of people you can't stand to hang around with.

Said efforts will be helped along in no small part by the release of their upcoming 2nd LP/CD, ''present the paisley reich' (Siltbreeze) in February '07. We expect the band to celebrate their lame duck status on Siltbreeze when they commence recording of their first Matador long player sometime next year.

Heard the new record is tentatively titled "Kill Yourself" and will be filled with dark, skuzzy pop songs for the people in your life who have recently broken up with their significant others. Also, should be out in the fall.

He's No Tyra Banks Himself

I'm not quite sure, but I think Donald Trump has some sort of problem with Rosie O'Donnell. Hmmm... you be the judge.

Three Link Circus

Court frees American Pie actress

American Pie actress Natasha Lyonne was freed by a court after handing herself in on charges. She allegedly walked into a neighbour's home saying: "I'm going to sexually molest your dog". And this is against the law... wha... how? FULL STORY

Compare maps with Flash Earth

Included here are maps from Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN, NASA, and OpenLayers. Also, with such detailed satellite and aerial imagery stalking that ex-girlfriend has never been so 21st century. FULL STORY

After a Run of Penguin Chic, It’s the Year of the Meerkat

Two well-financed documentary films about the foot-long, two-pound natives of South Africa’s Kalahari Desert have gone into production recently. One of the docs will feature the “Whiskers” meerkat family of Animal Planet’s “Meerkat Manor” –- one of my favorite shows on TV -- you have no idea how happy this makes me and no I don’t want to sexually molest your meerkat. FULL STORY

In Theatres This Weekend... Night at the Museum

Well, Rocky Balboa opened today and you know what that means!? Free cheesesteaks for everybody! Fuggitabouditt, I assume you’re like the rest of us and you’re holding out for Friday. Or maybe even Saturday or Sunday, so you can get two beautiful hours at the cineplex far away from the visiting in-laws, am I right!? AM I RIGHT!?!?! Family, you gotta love’em – Fuggitabouditt!

You probably have your eyes on the prize that is Jumanji 2: Night at the Mausoleum. It’s the story of this big building where Ben Stiller works as a bumbling security guard. It’s in the wee-ist of hours that the Mansion comes alive with flavor! And not just flavor, but it comes alive with Robin Williamses!! Also, Dick Van Dykes and Mickey Rooneys – man this flick has more dinosaurs in it than the Museum of Natural History! Fuggitabouditt!!

Night at the Museum also stars Owen Wilson and Ricky Gervais and was directed by Shawn Levy (Big Fat Liar, The Pink Panther).

Furthermore, this holiday weekend will see the release of these two fine looking docu-dramas: Dreamgirls (wide release on Christmas day) and The Good Shepherd.

Enjoy the egg nog!

Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Matt Wagner

Here's what Matt scraped together...

ALBUMS:



1. Golden Smog - Another Fine Day
2. Eugene Mirman - En Garde, Society!
3. Deerhoof - The Runners Four
4. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
5. The Lindsay - Dragged Out
6. Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA
7. Robert Pollard - From A Compound Eye
8. Whysall Lane - s/t
9. Pernice Brothers - Live A Little
10. Ray Davies - Other People's Lives

LIVE SHOWS:



1. Wrens/Swearing @ Motorists/BeardofStars, Little Brother's
2. Makebelieves/Bygones, Ravari Room
3. World Party, OC Pavilion
4. Necropolis Record Release, Bourbon St.
5. Here Comes Your Weekend/Parking Lot Blowout, Surly Girl

FILM:



1. Stranger Than Fiction
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. Borat
4. For Your Consideration
5. Jackass 2

WEBSITE:



YouTube

POP CULTURE STORY:



Way too many to name. If I had to choose one, I guess it would be Stephen Colbert's White House Press Correspondents' Speech. That was pretty cool.

BONER FAV CATEGORY:



a) My predictions for 2006 that came true:
1: SNL would finally start packaging entire seasons on DVD
2. Neil Young would finally start releasing material from his years-in-the-preparation archives
3. Dan Watson would coin the now-famous term "The ol' California flim-flam"
4. Our beloved celebs would start humiliating themselves on a near daily basis (Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Lindsay Lohan, Andy Dick, Danny DeVito, that's only a couple of months' worth)
5. The Who would put out a new record for the first time in 25 years, and no one would care
6. I would become aware that I'm related to the Rev. Ted Haggard only four days before he becomes national news by being a meth-using-gay-prostitute-fucking hypocrite. Awesome!

b) My predictions for 2007:
1. Democrats will sweep congress and senate again, in the form of janitors and custodians
2. OJ Simpson will finally get his book published, after renaming it "I actually did it, and here's how I did it, but remember I was acquitted of murder, so this is all technically hypothetical, but I assure you I did it, and here's how, but not, but really. You following this? Because I really did it, but not. So Sue me. Oh, that's right. You can't. Well, let's just say I did it."
3. My next-door neighbor will finally realize that I hear everything he says when he gets into a fight with his wife, and he'll realize that he's a total douchebag, and that it's really funny to me.
4. Our beloved celebs will start humiliating themselves intentionally on a daily basis on purpose, because it seems to help keep them famous.
5. Two words: Scalp Metal
6. The world will end.

There you go. Get used to it.

Happy 30th Joshy and Wags!

Technically, there may be more important days in history for birthing a double dose of enigmatic figures than December 18th, 1976. For example, January 12th, 1809, the day that both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born was pretty special. Or perhaps, May 19th, 1925, the day that both Malcolm X and Pol Pot were born? Shit, did you know that Michael Jordan and Larry the Cable Guy were both born on February 17th, 1963? Their mothers totally got ‘er done!

Anyway, while these other dates may be a little more fashionable, with their trendy “starfucker” appeal, none of them mean quite as much to me as December 18th, 1976. You see, that’s the day that two of my bestest friends in the whole wide world were created: One Mr. Joshua Fecher and a certain Mr. Matthew Wagner. I love you both like brothers and I hope you have a magical 30th!

Remember, "they" say 30 is the new 10, so fuck it, let’s trade baseball cards and drink juice boxes ‘til we puke and pass out!!

This Week in Rock & Roll TV: December 18 - 24, 2006

Here's the line-up:

MON 18: *Jay-Z on Kimmel
TUE 19: Classic Albums - Nirvana "Nevermind" [VH1C]
WED 20: The Decemberists on The Colbert Report
WED 20: OK Go on Kimmel
WED 20: Sean Lennon on Conan
THU 21: Cold War Kids on Letterman
THU 21: The Killers on Leno
THU 21: Gnarls Barkley on Kimmel
FRI 22: Hall & Oates on Kimmel
SAT 23: *Jack Black & Neil Young on SNL
SUN 24: 6th Annual BET Awards

* = Episode previously aired

Check local listings for show times and channels in your
area.

Discuss >>>

Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Sam Craighead

This is how Craighead saw 2006: The Year in Pictures...

Albums:



1. the relict - tomorrow is again
2. beaten awake - let's get simplified
3. the whitest boy alive - dreams
4. band of horses - everything all the time
5. joanna newsom - ys

Singles (substitute for live shows since I pretty much only went to shows I was playing):



1. camera obscura - lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken
2. tusks - mothers vs. sons
3. wild beasts - brave bulging bouyant clairvoyants
4. mission man - you've earned it
5. tiara/preston furman - split 7"

Film:



1. Bloodrayne
2. Borat: asfAFAFJEAOAFJASF LAJFLAS asfj ask
3. Strangers With Candy
4. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
5. Matchpoint

Best Website of 2006:



www.yahoo.com

Favorite Pop Culture Story of 2006:



That time that Jeff Fernengel accused me of being addicted to weed on the NDA message board.

Bonus category: Top 5 Ben Fuller Jokes (premises or punchlines or both)



1. "Here's a jimmy joke about your dad that after I tell it to you, you might not like us. I heard that he was hung like a ficus."
2. "Here's a jimmy joke about your mom, that... I don't even like."
3. "Can papi see? And if papi can see, let papi see."
4. "I'm bringing Legos back."
5. Playing the riff from Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight."

Three Link Circus

Hori busts out arcade-style joysticks for the PS3

While I won’t be rushing out anytime soon to purchase a PS3. If I did (rush out) I’d definitely consider one of these sweet classic arcade-style “joysticks” (if you know what I mean). FULL STORY

Borat 'victims' fail to block DVD

A move by two university students to halt the forthcoming DVD release of spoof movie Borat has been rejected by a Los Angeles judge. Something tells me these guys are used to being rejected (sorry, that was too easy). FULL STORY

World’s tallest man saves dolphins in China

This article is much more entertaining if you replace the word “arm” with “weiner”. Try it! FULL STORY

Happy 83rd Bob Barker!

Shit, I forgot to mention that yesterday was Bob Barker’s birthday. What do you get the man who has it all? And furthermore, is he the best gameshow host of all time?

In Theatres This Weekend... Dreamgirls

If you live in a big city this Friday like New York, L.A. and/or Pawtucket, you’ll be thrilled to find that you reside in one of the lucky few locales nationwide privy to the gala grand opening of Dreamgirlzzz starring Jaime Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles as a rag-tag team of street tough NYC attorneys moonlighting as lounge singers in 1960’s Detroit.

Quite literally it is the story of Salt & Pepa and you may recognize American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson who has been getting rave reviews for her turn as the free-spirited diva de facto, Left Eye Lopez.

Dreamgal also stars Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover and Anika Noni Rose and is/was directed by Bill Condon (Kinsey, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh).

If you don’t live in a big city, you'll have to wait until Crismis Day for Dreamgirls, but you’re probably the better for it. The art and culture in America’s small towns really can’t be beat. And don’t even get me started on the hip new restaurants and clubs and suburban “destination centers” springing up all over America’s heartland from Nooksack, Washington to Winooski, Vermont. It is in these urban “art zones” that you’ll be able to catch ALL the movies fit for a King and/or Queen this weekend: Charlotte’s Web, Eragon, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Good German and We Are Marshall.

Best Of 2006 Per Mr. Kevin Elliott

Over the coming weeks we’ll be rolling out various end of the year lists from NDA regulars you know and lust and we’ll even publish some of our (more intelligent) friend's opinions. Take note that these lists are best enjoyed with a piping hot bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal whilst being read in poor lighting and some dingy old undies. Kicking things off is the NDA’s resident music guru, Kevin Elliott:

Since it’s been a fairly mediocre year for music, these are in no particular order...

Albums:



1. Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
2. Brightblack Morninglight – Brightblack Morninglight
3. Annuals – Be He Me
4. Comets on Fire – Avatar
5. Danava – Danava
6. The Lindsay – Dragged Out
7. Guillemots – Through the Windowpane
8. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
10. Lansing-Drieden – The Dividing Island
11. Cat Power – The Greatest
12. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
13. Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
14. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
15. Necropolis – The Hackled Ruff and Shoulder Mane

It was a better year for singles, little perfect slabs from new and obscure artists, so I suppose this is my bonus category.

Singles:



Psychedelic Horseshit – Who Let the Dogs Out? 7”
Sapat – Tongue Tied and Staid 7”
Wooden Shjips – Dance California 7”
Lady Sovereign – “Love Me or Hate Me”
Captain – “Broke”
Polytechnic – “Running Out of Ideas”
Mew – “The Zookeeper’s Boy”
Ciara – “Promise”
Clipse – “Trill”

Live Shows:



Boredoms @ the Wexner Center
Danava @ Little Brothers
Roky Erickson @ SXSW
Indian Jewelry @ SXSW
Sonic Youth @ LC Pavilion

Likewise, it was a similar year for film, but then again I haven’t seen all the late season contenders (that are usually much better than the bulk of the rest of the year), so included in my list are some of 2005’s late arrivals that didn’t make it here until 2006.

Film:



The Departed
United 93
Borat
Little Miss Sunshine
Brick
Tsotsi (won the Oscar for best foreign picture, but never made it here until February)
Bubble
Match Point
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Best Website of 2006:



YouTube is a no-brainer…..you all spent countless hours here, don’t lie.

But I’m forever indebted to the BBC World Service (www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/)

Favorite Pop Culture Story of 2006:



Hmmm... Thought Britney’s beaver shot is the best piece of PR ever concocted.

Thought it was a shame that Outkast fell flat on their faces with an indulgent album and horrid movie.

Loved when Hugo Chavez called Bush the “devil” and a “drunk cowboy,” then proceeded to endorse Noam Chomsky’s “Hegemony or Survival.” It was enough of a reason for me to read it on my European vacation and I must say it’s essential and should be taught in American high schools. The mid-term election proved that the public is paying attention, somewhat.

Obamamania

With his rock star visit to New Hampshire Sunday afternoon, highflying Illinois senator, Barack Obama, continues to tantalize Democrats with intimations of a White House run in 2008 -- and a buzz many say has not been felt in American politics since JFK.

FULL STORY