(Untitled Original IBL Art)

Pen and crayon on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 5/6/12.

"Demon Preparing to Eat"

Original IBL photograph, 5/3/12, Seattle.

Belated Birthdays - Willie Nelson and Pete Ham

There were a couple of birthdays last week that I wanted to briefly bring to your attention.  First, Willie Nelson turned 79 on April 30th.  Not much I need to say about Willie, his career speaks for itself.  I would, however, urge you to see him in concert if you get the chance.  Danielle and I have seen him three times I think, and he and his band were outstanding on each occasion.  He's constantly touring all over the country, so there's a pretty good chance he'll be coming to a venue near you.  And, you know, he's 79.

Second, Pete Ham, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for Badfinger would have turned 65 on April 27th; Ham committed suicide on April 24th, 1975 (his bandmate, bassist Tom Evans, followed that same path in 1983).  I have spoken about Badfinger in this space before, on 8/4/11, and on 9/7/11 I drew your attention to Baby Blue, which is my favorite 70s pop song.  Ham wrote several hits you are likely familiar with, including Without You (co-written with Evans) which was a smash for Harry Nilsson in the early 70s.  Here's another look at the band in their prime.

Day After Day, live from 1972...

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Matt Kemp, CF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Of course it's true that IBL has TWO baseball allegiances, the Detroit Tigers in the American League and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National. And if I can spend paragraph after paragraph writing about the Tigers' release of Brandon Inge, a .100 hitter at the time, I can CERTAINLY spare a few words for the Dodgers' current center fielder, Matt Kemp, and the month he just completed, namely April 2012 -

• a .416 batting average, which leads the league.
• a .490 on base percentage, which is second in the league (by like four points).
• 12 home runs which leads the league.
• 25 runs batted in which leads the league (though Ethier of Los Angeles is right behind him with 24).
• an .893 slugging percentage which leads the league.

Holy crap is all I can say.

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Brandon Inge (3B) Makes Debut w/ Oakland A's Yesterday, 4/30/12...

... and goes 1-3 with a walk.

As was recently recounted in a 4/27/12 post, IBL are HUGE Brandon Inge fans from his many years with the Detroit Tigers, and we wish him all the best with his new team...

IBL:mm

Two From Danielle McArthur - "Storm Over Green Lake" and "He is risen. He is delicious."

The first, appropriated birthday cake frosting on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 4/29/12.

The second, appropriated birthday cake frosting and ink on coaster, 3.5 x 3.5 inches, 4/29/12.


Apparently these crosses are contagious.

John Edwards Was My Top Choice in the 2008 Democratic Primary...

 ... though, as I recall, by the time it was California's turn to vote, he was already out of the race.  Why did I like him? Well, I thought he was charming, articulate, and actually gave a shit about the poor (to be fair, all these things could STILL be true, I guess).  He seemed like he had a nice family, loved his wife and children, blah blah blah.  He's been in the news again of late as his criminal trial progresses and I just wanted to revisit a couple of the particulars, if I could, from this New York Times article dated June 3rd, 2011 -

Earlier in the day, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges that he violated federal campaign finance laws by “secretly obtaining and using” contributions from wealthy benefactors to conceal his mistress and their baby while he was running for president in 2008.

For the record, these contributions totaled about $1,000,000, and came from two donors.  The legal total on these contributions would have been something like $4,600, though I'm pretty clear that, one way or the other, concealing "mistress and their baby" wasn't listed in any of the campaign literature.  (Edwards is denying any wrongdoing.)
 
Plus, "mistress and their baby".

Also -

The grand jury, which has been investigating the case for two years, indicted Mr. Edwards on six counts — one involving conspiracy, four involving illegal payments and one involving false statements. If he is found guilty, Mr. Edwards, 57, faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

Then, because why not, toss in one more from the "hell of a guy" column - cheating on dying wife -  and sprinkle liberally with sex tape.

Yes, we have a civility policy here at The Popular IBL Studios (tm), but I'm not feeling very civil toward Mr. Edwards right now, I have to say, regardless of whether or not he is found guilty of these charges.

Disgraceful.

IBL:mm