You Gotta Fight… Beastie Boys Adam Yauch Passes Away at Age 47.

It’s always surprising when someone so young dies, especially when famous, but the death of Beastie Boys Adam Yauch today, May 4th after a 3 year-long battle with a rare form of cancer, salivary gland cancer, caught me by surprise.

Yauch, 47, also known by his rap moniker “MCA” co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz in 1979 in Brooklyn, N.Y.  The Beastie’s smashed onto the music scene in 1986 with the album ”Licensed to Ill” and from that the anthem ”Fight for your right to Party” which was a massive hit for the band putting them on the charts and bringing hip hop into the mainstream.

After transforming the hip hop industry – white guys don’t rap, let alone Jewish ones (Yauch was born to a Jewish mother and Catholic father but was a practising Buddhist) - Yauch turned his attention to Buddhism and Tibetan independence in which he helped set up the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, which helped raise money for Tibetan independence.  He felt that he needed to give a voice to the Tibetan cause and help them get free from Chinese rule.

Yauch also helped form the successful production company Oscilloscope Pictures, which many did not know about him, which released acclaimed films such as “Wendy and Lisa,” “Burma VJ” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”

Under the pseudonym “Nathanial Hörnblowér” (his middle name was Nathanial), Yauch directed many of the Beastie Boys’ music videos, making his televised debut as Hörnblowér at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards as he stormed the stage in costume to protest after R.E.M. won the award for Best Direction over the Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys video “Sabotage”, which was a great video and a really good song.

I suspected he was starting to lose his battle with this disease when the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, and Yauch was not there – the award was accepted by Diamond and Horowitz although they read a letter written by Yauch and them, nad the other bands dedicated their performances to Yauch.

Yauch leaves behind his wife and daughter who would be around 14-years-old.

Did you know this fact about the Beastie Boys; According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term mullet – the hairstyle which is short on the top and long on the back – was “apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by the Beastie Boys who used “mullet” and “mullet head” as epithets in their 1994 song “Mullet Head”.  The Beastie Boys’ fanzine Grand Royal Magazine was the first to use the term in print

Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch dies at age 47 (Photo credit: rusty-boxcars)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=evA-R9OS-Vo

Check out www.beastieboys.com for more!

Related articles

• BREAKING NEWS: Beastie Boys Adam (MCA) Yauch Dead At 47 (formatmag.com)
• Beastie Boys Member Adam Yauch Dead at 47 (abcnews.go.com)

The NHL Can Learn from the NFL and RIP Junior Seau

If the National hockey League (NHL) wants to stop all the concussions and curb the antics around players trying to hurt other players they need to look no further than the news on Wednesday afternoon that the National Football League (NFL) has suspended four players for their role in the New Orleans Saints‘ bounty scandal.

The NFL had been tipped off that the Saints were rewarding players for knocking other players out of games and hurting them and they already banned the coach for the entire year and today they handed a season-long ban to Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith suspended for 4 games. The league also hit former Saints players too, including; defensive lineman Anthony Hargove (now with the Green Bay Packers) who was suspended eight games and Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns) will miss three games to start the 2012 NFL season.

Sure sends a message to league – not that a 25 game suspension doesn’t but it took way too long and there are still hits to the head, including in last nights game… Suspensions like this tell the players and teams that the league is serious!

Also heard this afternoon about former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau who was found dead in his home today.

He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

I’m not the biggest football fan in the world, however I do root for the Charges, have from when I was an Urban Pain in the Ass, in the Dan Fouts days when they were good.

What is really sad is that Seau was just 43-years-old who had four children with his ex-wife.

A first-round pick of the Chargers in 1990, Seau played 20 years in the NFL, earning 12 Pro Bowl nominations and was a first-team All-pro six times. He played 13 seasons with San Diego before signing on with my second favourite NFL team, the Miami Dolphins. Seau retired in 2009.

Apparently he has had a much publicized battle with depression. My thoughts go out to his children.

Still on football… Anyone see the new CFL jerseys?  Pretty awesome, eh?  I heard Fashion Television’s Jeannie Beker this morning on TSN Radio 1050 and she knows her CFL football.  She liked them and so do I.  You can see them here; http://www.cfl.ca/page/reebok  Tell me if you do not also think that the TiCats jersey look the best with the stripes on the sleeves.  I still hope they lose every game, but they can look great doing so.

Below is the Argos jerseys, double blue and full of tradition.

Related articles

• Junior Seau Net Worth (celebritynetworth.com)
• Junior Seau’s Death Is Shocking (beltwayboysports.com)

America’s Oldest Teenager, Dick Clark, has died. Some things you may not have known…

Richard Wagstaff “Dick” Clark was 82 years old when he died today of a massive heart attack.  Depending on your age, you will have different memories of him.  If you are under 40-years-old you will know Dick from ABC’s Dick Clark New Years’ Rockin’ Eve party in New York City’s Times Square.  If you are older you will know Dick Clark as the host of American Bandstand, a dance show which brought Rock and Roll to mainstream America.  In the show, clean-cut teens danced to the latest and greatest tunes while Clark walked around and spoke to them and asked them about the music.

What you may not have known about Clark are some of these facts:

• The Museum of Broadcast Communications figures that Dick Clark Productions has turned out more than 7,500 hours of television programming, including more than 30 TV series, 250 TV specials, and more than 20 movies for theatre and TV.
• Clark has won: Emmys, Grammys, been induction in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• In March 2012, Clark and his 3rd wife whom he married in 1977 put one of their homes on the market, asking $3.5 million.  The house was an one-of-a-kind house on 22 acres in Malibu, modeled after Fred and Wilma’s house on “The Flintstones.”  It was recently featured as being one of real estate’s most unique houses
• Clark would sign off his shows by saying “For now, Dick Clark…so long,” which he delivered with a military salute.
• Clark suffered a significant stroke in 2004 which required Clark to teach himself how to walk and talk again, yet he returned to his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show in 2005.  Regis Philbin took over the show for him in 2004.
• American Bandstand was credited with introducing many artists to national audiences, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Chubby Checker.
• Shortly after taking over American Bandstand, Clark also ended the show’s all-white policy, and introduced numerous black artists, such as Chuck Berry
• Clark did not include the Beatles or the Rolling Stones on his show when they came to America, thinking they would not become significant groups
• Clark later became host of The $10,000 Pyramid, which premiered on CBS March 26, 1973 (the same day as The Young and the Restless). The show continued through 1988.
• From 1985 to 1988, Clark hosted both the CBS $25,000 version and a daily $100,000 Pyramid in syndication with the daytime version winning nine Emmy Awards for best game show.  It also won Clark three Emmy Awards for best game show host.
• In 1973, Clark created the American Music Awards show – which he produces annually.
• In 1984, Clark produced and co-hosted with Ed McMahon TV’s Bloopers and practical Jokes.
• Amazing statistic: For a period of several years in the 1980s, Clark simultaneously hosted regular programs on the 3 major American television networks: ABC (Bandstand), CBS (Pyramid) and NBC (Bloopers).
• In July 1985, Clark hosted the ABC prime time portion of the Live Aid concert.
• Clark did a brief stint as announcer on The Jon Stewart Show, in 1995
• From 2001 to 2003, Clark was a co-host of a daily mens talk show called The Other Half, meant to offer a male perspective to the wildly success show The View.
• Clark was featured in the 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine in which Michael Moore criticized him for hiring poor, unwed mothers to work long hours in his chain of restaurants for little pay. The significance is that the mother in particular works over 80 hours per week and is unable to make rent and gets evicted which results in her having her son stay at his uncle’s house. At his uncle’s house the boy finds a gun and brings it to school where he shoots another first grader. Clark refuses to answer any of Moore’s questions, shutting the car door and driving away.
• On November 13, 2002 Clark was appointed as a director of Krispy Kreme U.K. Ltd.
• In The Simpsons 1999  Y2K  episode “Treehouse of Horror X,” at midnight a computer glitch causes Dick Clark to melt and he is revealed to be a robot.

What is your fondest memory of Dick Clark?

What is on your radar?

Here are some items on my radar right now which may or may not make their way into a real blog post down the road;

1. I understand there was a shooting at the Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana). Some idiot shot one of the dancers then fired into the crowd while ignoring the police telling him to drop his gun so they shot him.

WOW.

I think he set back the carnival 10 years.

I’m not sure if the police killed him or not, but if they didn’t he should pay the organizers a lot of money for ruining what looked like a great event.

2. Rob Ford went to this event. He didn’t go to the Gay Pride parade but he came here. Oh boy… This is going to be a wonderful Ford-bashing week by the lefties.

3. Roberto Alomar was elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame last weekend and today in Toronto at the Blue Jays game the team held an on-field celebration to honour him.  I remember Alomar for the game-tying home run in the playoffs off of Oakland A’s ace relief pitcher and a player I detested growing up, Dennis Eckersly. I also remember Alomar for spitting in the face of an umpire. What I didn’t remember was that he was only a Blue Jay for 5 years. I thought it was much longer and when I searched his stats on the net I was surprised to know that he played for the Orioles for 4 years with Cal Ripken Jr, and then with the Indians, Mets, White Sox and finally retiring after signing with the D’Bax. I knew he came from the Padres to the Jays but the rest I could not recall. Odd.

4. Is it just me or do watermelons suck this year? I recall reading and blogging about a field of exploding watermelons from China – the result of too much water and genetically modified melons with thinner rinds – and I think about every melon we’ve had this year which has been over ripe and lacking of any real flavour. Maybe the melon farmers should go back to the real melon seeds and sell a tasty product and not mass produce garbage.

If I took back every crappy melon to the store I bought it, I would not have paid for any this year.

5.  Hey, look at that!  It’s August 1st today, and that means we’re in the stretch run for back to school… Already. Man do Toronto summers go fast, especially when the first month is all rain, and the previous month no rain and a ton of heat. 

With the fall coming that tells me it’s time for;

• vacation
• taking the kids apple picking
• taking the family to see beautiful fall colours
• back to school shopping
• the CNE!

6.  In what I feel is a mistake that could happen in Toronto if the “Downtown Elite” got their way, the President of the US agreed to raise the debt ceiling for the states.  What that means???  It means they are prepared to take on more debt without going bankrupt.  This ostrich like behaviour is going to come back and bite them in the ass big time and will for sure prolong the recession. 

Until both the republicans and the democrats agree that lavish spending and ridiculous compensation for CEO’s and professional athletes are brought back down to earth, the recession will not end.  Since a recession is essentially a view of public confidence in the economy the government has to appear to be doing something to equal the playing field before we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Case in point… HSBC.  Last week they cut 10,000 jobs, and this week 25,000 more.  I can’t see a company as well run as that shedding 35,000 jobs and then suffering, so that tells me they have 35,000 more positions than they needed.  WOW.  That’s a huge hit to the workforce no matter where the jobs are located.  And this is just one example.

7.   Ford recalled 1 million trucks due to faulty gas tanks and socialists everywhere are prepared to descend on Toronto City Hall looking to blame either Rob or Doug…

Amy Winehouse, dead at 27 years old

I heard this afternoon that singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her Londan, England apartment at the very young age of 27 years old and I have to say that while I was really disappointed, I was not at all surprised.

It was probably a year or 2 ago when I did a blog post about the up and coming female role models who were getting all the press and publicity.  Lindsay Lohan - thief, druggie, alcoholic and party in a package was one OD away from death or being in jail for life.  Nicknamed “fire crotch” for being caught without her panties on one too many times, even Lohan gave Brittney Spears a run for her money.  Spears – mother of 2 young kids, also loved being caught without her panties on.  Spears was one talented singer who melted down in front of the world after shaving her head in a very public way.  Unstable?!?  You could say that.  And then there was Amy Winehouse.  Deep, beautiful voice, but with those crazy tattoos and unable to stay clean from anything.  She looked emaciated, stoned and bombed all the time until forced into rehab way too many times.  The last time we heard from her, she was booed off stage during a comeback tour when she was unable to remember her lines.  Even her band and back-up singers were trying to help her along, to no avail.

So when Winehouse walked off the stage, many people knew it was probably for the last time ever.  She was clearly unable to get over this addiction and it ended up over-taking her and costing her her life.  Ironic that her hit song was called “Rehab” and it that song she sings that she is not going to rehab, “no no no” and it was that philosophy that see’s her dead way before her time.

So can we finally move on to better role models for our young daughters please?  That Taylor Swift looks pretty wholesome… Or Selena Gomez…

Public Service Announcement:  Kiddies… It make be cool to your friends to drink and do drugs, but once you start, sometimes you can’t stop.  Just stay away!

 So who do you think is going to star in the movie based on her life, and which of the “starlets” do you think is next to fall?

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Elizabeth Taylor, why will there be a May Federal election, new Toronto revenue streams and odd clothing on the subway

So how can you tell when Idon’t blog for a long time? Easily. When I throw together a post with a ton of topics all too small for their own post, or the post contains disjointed thoughts thrownup on the screen. So like this post.

Have I mentioned yet that am craving fish and chips and clam chowder?!? No idea why, but I am.

So here are 5 posts all in one.

Firstly, why was there a guy on the subway Friday morning in a pristine blue suit – looked brand new – yet he was wearing a dirty white baseball hat covering some long, greasy hair? I don’t understand this “look”.  To compliment this disaster, his dress pants were also too long – he was walking on the bottom of the pant much in the same way we walk in the back cuff of our blue jeans…Why?

Where was he going?

Was he trying to make a statement?

Look at me, I’m cool. I have a new blue, un-tailored suit – and I’m hanging out in it – going downtown – and to be cool, I have my lucky baseball cap on.

What do YOU think is the story here?

Next. Elizabeth Taylor died on Wednesday at the age of 79. I knew she was sick – I’ve seen picture upon picture of her for as long as I can remember in a wheel chair, walking with a cane, thin, fat, all with jet black spikey hair… I thought she was WAY older than 79. And to be honest, upon her death, I started ot read up on her because I really didn’t know she was an actress. I’m not really a movie guy, so I’m sure I would not have seen any movie she was in.

So why was she so popular?

I needed only to look at the first line of every obituary I read. She might have been most famous for being married 7 times and for fighting the stigmas that came with HIV/AIDS, as she was for hanging around with Michael Jackson. I wonder if we have any modern day Liz Taylors walking around Hollywood? Not like a Kardashian, or a Lohan, or a Hilton as they are not actresses – save Lohan – but they have not done any good for the greater public, only for themselves.

For those of you interested in Canadian politics, it looks like we are headed for a Federal election in May as the Liberals and NDP and the Bloc have all made overtures towards voting down the Federal budget.

I can’t help but feel that Liberal leader and Toronto Rock mascot Michael Ignatief (Iggy) and NDP leader Jack Layton are deadset on calling their 5th election in 7 years because their time is running out to be leaders of this country. I get the feeling that it is all about their egos and not about what is right for Canadians. $300 million dollars per election. I don’t think, with all the great work the Conservatives have put into this country during the recession, that we are going to see a change in government – maybe another minority government.

I think the key catch-phrase that will define this election came from Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty this morning on AM640, when he said, “It’s come to a time when they [Liberals, NDP and Bloc leaders] don’t even read the budget, they just vote against it.”

When you consider all the fluff surrounding Michael Ignatief, who brought his family into the election by writing about them being wealthy, and they telling people they were poor. The Liberal machine seems hellbent on portraying Stephen Harper as being “untrustworthy”. “Would you want this man running your country”, yet Ignatief has clearly either lied in his book HE wrote, or he lied to the general public.

Pot meet kettle.

The Conservatives need to save Canada from the AdScam Liberal machine and the Soundbite NDP.

And speaking about Canadiens… Thanks to those idiot Habs for losing to the Sabres last night and to those loser Senators for tanking it to the Hurricanes. Anything to keep the Leafs out of the playoffs, eh? And to think when these other Canadian teams made the post season I actually rooted for them. I wonder if these 2 teams are going to roll over and play dead for the Leafs in the last 2 Saturday match-ups of the regular season like they did last night? Doubt it, eh?

The Leafs, went 5-5 in October, 3-10 in November and 5-8 in December all but spelling the end of the Monster in Toronto, and then 6-7 in January, 8-6 in February and so far in March they are 6-5. Thank goodness for James Reimer! I thought they were playing better but competing for a playoff spot is fantastic 2 years into this rebuild.

And finally, if Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti gets his way, Toronto will have two new sources of revenue and tourism.

For one he will place a casino where Ontario Place is – a brilliant idea, in my honest opinion. I have always felt that the CNE grounds would be better used if there was a way to enclose the exhibition and keep it open more than 3 weeks a year to draw tourists. His other idea was to turn on of the Toronto Island’s, the one with the nude beach into a red light district.

While I’m not sure where I stand on a red light district, per se, I do think that taking all this “illegal” behaviour and putting it somewhere where the girls profit and not the pimps, where girls are tested and clean and the users are tested and clean, and where it’s away from the general public (hello Jarvis, or above the stores on Eglinton) is a step in the right direction.

So laugh at Giorgio, like you did at Rocco Rossi for wanting a tunnel to extend Allen Road. I think all ideas have merit and should be studied.

And with that comment, I empty my head of thoughts today…

Your thoughts on any or all of these items is greatly appreciated.

Is Santa Claus Canadian, or was he really born in Asia?

Last night while I was driving my kids to swimming, the three of us were looking out the car windows at all the beautiful Christmas lights when suddenly my son noticed a life-sized plastic Santa Claus on someone’s front lawn.

“Ohhhhh!  Daddy!!!” Screams Stewie from the back seat… “I just saw Santa Claus.”

“Oh yeah, there he is”, I replied.  “I wonder what he’s doing there?” I questioned.

“He lives there!” replied Stewie.

“No!” blurts out Linus from the back seat.  “Santa was born in Asia!!!”

“No he wasn’t” I countered with.  “Santa was born in the North Pole which I believe makes him Canadian… eh?”

“No” says Linus a little more forceful.  “Perls (the “smartest” kid in grade 1) told me.  Santa was born is Asia.  Perls is smarter then you”.

“No he’s not!  He’s 6.  I’m 39.  There is no way he’s smarter than me, or you.” I said.

“Yes he is.  He’s smarter than both of us.  He’s smarter than the teacher”.

“Well, you know, Linus… I watched Perls at your birthday party this past weekend and he didn’t look that smart…”

“Well he is”.

So there you go folks… Santa was born is Asia and Perls should be teaching the class.  I am getting old…

Update:

Upon receiving some comments on this blog, through Facebook and on Twitter I wanted to discuss some of the feedback I recieved.

The North Pole belongs either to Canada or to Denmark.   The current odds are 60-40 that it belongs to Denmark.

After hearing me discuss this post with a friend last night my boys chimed in with more details on this character called Santa Claus.

From Linus: “Santa Claus died.  The Santa’s that live in the malls are just people in Santa costumes.  The cannot deliver presents on a magic sleigh, these guys have to use airplanes.  On their airplanes, they bring regular reindeer and instead of a big sleigh like Santa uses, they deliver toys on a crazy carpet…”

Oh yes.

And when this friend’s daughter pointed out that Santa is not real, Linus countered with this;

“Oh, I know.  He’s dead.  The Santa’s in the mall are just men in costumes.”

I think he believes Santa was real.  How cute.  Santa AND the Tooth Fairy. 

Mr. Cunningham, Tom Bosley, has died!

Actor Tom Bosley best known for his role as the father of a “typical American family” on TV show “Happy Days,” has died at 83 years old today.

Bosley began his TV career on a number of popular 1960s TV shows such as “Route 66,” “Dr. Kildare,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and “Bonanza.” But it was his role at the father, on the long-running “Happy Days” where he had the most success as a hardware store owner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Happy Days” – a great show! – ran from 1974 to 1984 and was a hit series that made Henry Winkler (The Fonz) a major Hollywood star and sparked the adult success of Director Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham. The show also launced the career of Scott Baio. I personally liked the fact that “Potsie” Webber’s real name was Warren. I liked Arnold’s and wished we had one in my area growing up. And seriously, how many of us tried turning on a juke box by hitting it the way Fonzie did. Ayyyyyyyy.

When the show ended, Bosley returned to character work on TV with roles in numerous popular series such as “The Love Boat” and to even more prominence on “Murder, She Wrote.”

He continued working well into the 2000s with parts in series such as “That ’70s Show.” which I do not remember because I hated that show!

The Leopard Lodge is going to miss their Grand Poobah. RIP Tom.

Hot Under the Collar

I’m going to have the most hits ever for a post today! Guaranteed.

I was checking out the keywords people used to access my blog, and my sports blog and found some very bizarre / interesting items.

For example;

Miley Cyrus:
Miley Cyrus car upskirt. Remember the big issue a few days ago when some blogger posted a picture of 17 year old Miley Cyrus leaving a car, claiming that she had not panties on… He said the picture was photoshopped as did she – probably because they’d both be in deep shit knowing it to be true. Well the fallout from that was that he rightfully lost advertisers and she is going to wear undies and learn how to exit vehicles.

Anyways, I posted about like that Miley Cyrus song, Party in the USA, and as a result, Google is sending people here looking for that pic.

Sorry folks… Not here.

Captain Lou Albano:
Also still have a TON is hits on Captain Lou Albano. Not sure why people want to look him up unless they are thinking of having elastics attached to their faces and need to see what they’ll look like when they are 60.

McDonalds:
In I’m sure an effort to get publicity, some organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest has decided they want to sue McDonalds for contributing to obesity among children by putting toys in with Happy Meals. I could joke and say how happy would a Happy Meal be without a toy, but as a parent of 3 children under 6 who have only been to “Ol MacDonalds” once, I am offended that this “public health watchdog group” would use Mc D’s to promote their own interests.

I don’t buy Happy Meal’s because there are toys in it, because I don’t buy Mc D’s at all for my kids. I just don’t feel it’s healthy enough. If they want to eat it when they are older, every now and then, they are more than entitled to make that choice but the ultimate choice is being made by the parent.

To think that toys in food combos are making kids fat is as stupid as saying cookies in my cupboard are going to make my kids fat. By blaming McDonald’s, this organization is passing along the blame of childhood obesity from the parents to the a multi-national corporation. That is totally unfair.

If you don’t want your kids to get fat, then don’t let them eat McD’s 5 days a week, give them lots of exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle. And if you do want your kids to eat there, that’s fine too. They have some healthy food too – I remember seeing apples there.

It’s the parents… Not the toy!!!

Gary Coleman has died

According to http://www.tmz.com (although I saw it first on the Huffington Post website), Gary Coleman has died at the age of 42 after being taken off life support.

He was in a coma following a fall at his home.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/28/gary-coleman-dies-dead-diffrent-strokes/

Coleman, best known for being Arnold in the TV Sitcom Diff’rent Strokes used to say, “What’choo talkin’ ’bout?” to his big brother all the time. That catch phrase got to be so big that it was used at least once per show to large applause.

Gary was cast for the show because of a congenital kidney defect, more commonly known as Nephritis which stunted his growth and would never allow his body to grow more than 4’ 8”. Gary underwent kidney transplant surgery in 1974 and again in 1984, which resulted in daily dialysis for the remainder of his life.

Health issues aside, Gary made it back into the public eye due to a much publicized battle with his adopted parents and his former manager for misappropriation of his trust fund from his days on Diff’rent Strokes. He was finally awarded close to $1.3 million in February of 1993. In 1999, Coleman filed for personal bankruptcy, which he claimed was due to mismanagement of his finances. He married in 2009.

Gary Coleman dead at age 42… What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Urban Daddy?