JACK FM's "Jack's Third Show" Brings Together All Kinds of Awesome


Billy Idol stole the show on Saturday as "Jack's Third Show" took the stage in Irvine. The second-to-last perfomer had the aging crowd on its feet as he belted out old favorites: "Mony, Mony," "Rebel Yell," "White Wedding," and "Dancin' With Myself."




Many fans left before the headliner, Devo, took the stage.




Other acts in attendance included the Psychedelic Furs, who opened the evening promptly at 5 p.m. Second on stage was a spirited Twisted Sister, with frontman Dee Snider looking and sounding pretty much the same as he did when he burst on to the scene in 1982 (for better or worse.)




The token female act - Deborah Harry, of Blondie - wore a keyboard-inspired number that matched the pattern on the overhead video screen. Throughout her set, she only forgot the words once - which resulted in a repetitive, unintelligible ending to "Heart of Glass" (much to the confusion of the audience and her band alike).


Kevin Cronin and the gang sang with all the gusto of a show at the height of their career, as REO Speedwagon brought the crowd together with an emotional "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore," and other favorites.




But the real entertainment of the evening had to be the crowd. There's nothing like reprising familiar classics amongst old-school "rockers" with their mustaches, parachute pants and do-rags... And I can't quite explain what's it's like to see a 40-something woman take off and toss her bra on stage. You just have to experience it for yourself.




I think Dee Snider said it best when he proclaimed: "There are a lot of fine lookin' MILFs out there tonight..."




Truer words were never spoken.

McCain Saves the Day

I filed my taxes by the extension deadline of Sept. 15. With everything that’s going on with the investment banks, do you think they’ll just keep my economic stimulus payment and use it as a credit towards the new taxes I’ll owe as a result of the $700 billion bailout, er, “rescue package” for the financial industry?

My prediction is this: McCain’s recent announcement to suspend his campaign to work on the economic crisis is a set-up, a trap into which the American public is unwittingly walking into.

Sure, we’re skeptical on a surface level and feel he’s more or less chickening out on the debates, coincidentally on the day when his numbers started to decline. But I believe there’s much, much more.

It’s a sinister, twisted, complicated web and I, as a lowly writer, don’t claim to understand the inner workings of Wall Street, the Treasury, mortgage-backed securities (or the republican psyche, for that matter). But I read enough to understand the basics, which entitles me to form my latest conspiracy theory… (Thanks in advance for indulging me.)  
Economic Catastrophe: Scene One. Act One.

“Gloom and Doom. Heap on the fear.”

On September 24, Bush addressed the nation in a speech that sets up the dire situation our country is facing, and stressed the need to help out the financial institutions that are the backbone of our economy – without which our country, and the world as we know it, will collapse.

In his speech, he supports the $700 billion bailout and concedes that, yes, “It is difficult to pass a bill that commits so much of the taxpayers' hard-earned money…” He went on to say, “I also understand the frustration of responsible Americans who pay their mortgages on time, file their tax returns every April 15th, and are reluctant to pay the cost of excesses on Wall Street….But given the situation we are facing, not passing a bill now would cost these Americans much more later.”

• Forget the notion that this enormous sum is essentially a blank check that would be entrusted to a non-elected official, and the plan includes no monitoring or regulation, no relief for distressed homeowners or taxpayer protection.
• Forget that the American people will have no idea where the money actually goes – or who profits from it.
• Forget the theory (also a good one), that the Bush Administration and all of their Wall Street cronies are cleverly, confusingly and hurriedly creating this bill – months before the end of his presidency - as a way to bilk a few billion (possibly TRILLION) dollars out of the American taxpayers – to again, save and BENEFIT the Power Elite (of which Bush is included).

No, here’s my prediction – maybe it’s naïve. Miraculously, somehow in this situation, McCain is going to emerge victoriously. If anyone could pull it off, it's this administration. They've gotten away with so much already.    
The set-up:

McCain wanted to postpone the debates to appear as though he was “working on this issue” more so than Obama. Now, if a new solution comes about - a new plan: one that amends or counters altogether the $700 billion proposal; one that doesn’t involve taxpayers shelling out hard-earned wages to bail out the banks – it will be touted as McCain’s “big idea.”
   
What’s more, he will use the public outcry over the government bailout as an example of why "socialist-run" programs are wrong, how they don’t work - and how opposed all Americans (regardless of their political affiliation) really are to the idea of “big government.”

It's perfect timing: the MONTH before the election. People remember the things they see the most often and most recently. This will be top-of-mind come November 4. My guess is "McCain's solution" will be presented just before then.
  
Maybe my theory is oversimplified – maybe it’s defeatist. Again, I’m no Wall Street insider. But can’t you see it now? McCain will single-handedly be painted as the guy that saves America. The White Knight. The problem-solver, directing our country out of this terrible, Great Depression-like situation.

Talk about a coup. (And scene.)

OC Exits For Dummies

I didn’t write this, but I know the guy who did. He’s been making the long journey from Hermosa Beach to Costa Mesa everyday for the past five years. The hilarious/sad part is: he wrote this all from memory (and experience).


You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll probably suggest he get another job closer to home.


Excerpt from the email: "I've got O.C. dialed. I know every exit on the 405… "


Westminster-great stop. Motel 6, In-n-Out, 76 Station.


Bellflower-Chevron with a nice mart and easy accessed bathroom.


Brookhurst-a 1/4 mile detour earns you a plethora of choices from Exxon, Mobil and Chevron, to the holy grail: Starbucks. Plus, if you need some last-minute stirrups for your Wednesday night softball game, there is a Big 5 behind the strip mall on the left.


Best car dealers: tie -- Beach Blvd. or Lake Forest Blvd. Both have a nice selection but Beach has more white 2-wheel drive pick-ups.


Best IKEA
Harbor - way better than Carson. Known as super IKEA to insiders. Bigger, newer and has warmer cinnamon buns. Skol!


Best Airport
Three-way tie: LAX for numerous international and direct flights options, and SNA at MacCarthur for in-terminal amenities. Finally, LGB for its outside luggage carousel and trailer park-like terminals. (Sorry San Diego. You're not technically on the 405. No flights to Boston without stops in Phoenix and Cinci.)


Most useless exit:
Palos Verde - had no services or green cliffs, for that matter.


Best spot for tire change ON the freeway:
1/2 mile past Seal Beach Blvd. - there is a unusually wide shoulder, sheltered partially by a sound wall. If you get a wobble, make an effort to get here if you can't exit. It could save your life.


Finally, consider making a stop at the Magnolia Diner for late-night eats. There is a roller skating rink and go-karts across the street if you feel like taking a spin.

The Sarah and Hillary Show


The best thing on television...

Newsflash: L.A. Sucks


According to a recent poll by Travel + Leisure magazine, Los Angelenos came in dead LAST when compared to every other city in the U.S. for the friendliest people and most intelligent people categories.


What's this? No love for L.A.?


May I remind you, dear voters, that this is the same city in which Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan AND Britney Spears reside? It's like the intelligence/friendliness trifecta, right here in Southern California.


For those of you who don't know, these are the A list celebrities that entertain us, teach us how to dress, show us how to find new best friends by staging a reality TV show, and continually educate us on where to find the best restaurants /clubs / Pinkberrys in the area.


Is this abysmal ranking a sign that these things are not important or appreciated in our society today? I shudder to think.

Charleston, South Carolina took top honors for the friendliest city, and the smartest locals can apparently be found in Seattle, according to the survey. The online survey of 125,000 people ranked 25 U.S. cities in 45 categories ranging from most affordable to best-looking people.


L.A. lost those categories too.


(1) Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet: Act 4, Scene 5

Palin to America: Bring Back the Banana Clip

Tonight was a tough one for Sarah Palin.


In tonight's ABC Nightly News interview, she floundered. Had she been prepared (or had any experience with a national news outlet, sans cheering crowds before tonight), Charlie Gibson's questions may not have seemed quite so difficult.

Sarah tripped up so many times, you could almost hear the gears in her head grinding - as she tried desperately to figure out how she could get back to her key messages and "spunky" talking points. The whole exchange was borderline nonsensical as she spewed right-wing propaganda answers that didn't match the questions being asked of her.


After the interview, the Associated Press referred to Gibson as, "... an old professor unhappily recognizing that his student does not deserve a passing grade..."


As someone who's developed corporate messages and performed media training for executives - not to mention an Obama supporter - I found this process fascinating.


My favorite part of the interview was not when Charlie asked Sarah about the Bush Doctrine and she - literally - looked like a deer caught in headlights. (She couldn't respond so she started talking in broad terms about Bush's policies.)


And it wasn't when she formed a tiny fist and began punching the air for emphasis to underscore her "important" rhetoric and try to derail Charlie's line of questioning (to no avail).


It wasn't even when she repeated Charlie's name 47,000 times - an old interview technique, which affords the speaker an oft-needed "beat" to think about her next statement; and, if done effectively, allows the subject to establish a "connection" with the interviewer and his/her audience. (In this case, the technique only succeeded in an annoying, nasally repetitive delivery of "Charlie's" name and served to break the cadence of the discussion, more than anything).

No, my favorite moment was subtler, yet more direct. The excerpt is below:


GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Are we fighting a holy war?


PALIN: You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.


GIBSON: Exact words.

Then she tried to spin her "exact words" and her thoughts on "God's Will."

It was so very painful to watch.
Where's the Camera?


I'm really beginning to think this whole "Sarah Palin for VP" thing is a joke. If Punk'd were still on the air, I was half-expecting Ashton Kutcher to jump out from behind that chair (the one that Sarah looks so uncomfortable sitting in), and let her and everyone else know the jig is up. We all had a good laugh, now let's get on with the real election.


I'm really trying to be open-minded about this process, so I often go here to check out all the rumors that are flying around the Internet. One thing's for sure, we're getting down to the wire and things are only getting uglier.


I normally wouldn't quote a celebrity regarding a political candidate, but this one's great. (I see a "Team America II" coming on... Someone call the Film Actors Guild.) -----
"I think there's a really good chance Sarah Palin could become president, and I think that's a really scary thing... I think the pick was made for political purposes... Do the actuary tables and there's a one out of three chance, if not more, that McCain doesn't survive his first term and it'll be President Palin... It's like a really bad Disney movie. The hockey mom, you know, 'oh, I'm just a hockey mom'... and she's facing down President Putin... It's totally absurd... it's a really terrifying possibility... I need to know if she really thinks that dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. I want to know that, I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes." - Matt Damon, with perhaps the funniest quote on Palin I've heard yet (besides Peggy Noonan's, of course).


I've gotta' hand it to the Republicans: they accomplished something I didn't think could ever be done. They found someone who makes President Bush look smart.