Except for the Dave Clark Five, this year's crop of Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame nominees are lacking something: rock-n-roll credibility. I, myself, don't feel as strongly as the sentiments expressed in this article. I'm okay with John Mellencamp being on the ballot - just wouldn't vote for him before Kiss. And that Beastie Boys nomination is bugging the crap out of me.


Four Replies to Hall Of Fame Ballot Contains No Rockers Or Rollers

Amy Austin | October 2, 2007
Legitimate complaints, all...

Scott Hardie | October 2, 2007
Early Beastie Boys had a foot in rock music before they went all-rap. Running RB, I'm conscious that if I include them, it will seem like I'm comfortable including the white kids of rap but not other rap stars, when in fact it's the rock in their early work that counts. :-\

Whatever respect I had for the nominating process was lost by the Dave Clark Five incident last year. Let 'em include whoever they want. I'll still appreciate the museum in Cleveland.

Steve West | October 2, 2007
Beastie Boys!!! Noooooooo! Nooooooooo! No! No! Noooooooooooooo!!!! Ahem. You may now return to your regular programming.

Scott Hardie | October 3, 2007
I think I just found a card that Steve would swap for Dead Kennedys.


Web Junkie

Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »

Greasy Pole (Not Ron Jeremy)

Apparently, there is an annual contest in which men in drag attempt to walk the length of a greasy pole suspended over a body of water. It appears to be about 40 feet in length and about 20 feet over the water. The object being to reach the flag at the end of the pole. Go »

Great Moments In Sign Hacking

If only I had had my camera... The Washington Beltway is similar to other major national highways in that it has several LED signs displaying messages to commuters. Silver alerts, orange alerts, missing children BOLOs, etc. Go »

A Story Without Words

I can't imagine being disfigured as an adult. I've read articles and seen pictorials of veterans wounded in the war and losing a limb or being disfigured by fire. And then those soldiers coming home to their fiancées to be married. Go »

Hair's The Thing

I just got back from getting a haircut. I sat in the chair at a local salon and reminisced about my childhood and accompanying my father to his weekly hair trimmings. We went to a pretty old-fashioned Mayberry barbershop in suburban DC that was the Italian version of Floyd's. Go »

The Texas Chili Cook-Off

Recently, at a Bowie Baysox baseball game, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a Texas chili cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last minute, and I happened to be standing there at the judge’s table, asking for directions to the Coors Light truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans, probably) that the chili wouldn’t be all that spicy; and besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted and became Judge #3. Go »

Dumb Criminals And Other Court Type Stuff Part 3

Another small collection of weird legal matters. Yeah research, that's the ticket; Too manly for the ladies' room; Chi-tonw blues; Cat's got yer what?; and finally, I have no idea what it's like to be busted for DUI, taken for mugshots wearing a shirt displaying my love for midget sex, and then being forever haunted by that image surfacing on the internet, but I know who to ask. Go »