Mr. Heartbreak

It's total blasphemy in my book. Then again, if Animals is your favorite Floyd, it's kind of a whole different universe. I envy anyone who is just getting into any of the early (1967-1972) Floyd albums. I probably listened to them more than anyone else in high school, with the possible exception of Zappa. Good times.

I saw Purling Hiss open for Wilco last year, and they were pretty good. Wouldn't mind seeing them again myself....

Meanwhile, in the latest "income inequality" news: http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/10/09/world-likely-to-have-11-trillionaires-within-two-generations-credit-suisse/ But hey, they worked hard for it, so therefore they deserve it.

About 10 years ago, my answer to this would have been simple: Uncle Tupelo. I got heavily into them and collected a bunch of live stuff, radio shows, etc. etc., after working my way back through all of the Wilco catalogue. Now - nobody fits that description, because I listen to such a wide variety of things, most of them new to me (if not actually "new").

Wow. I figure Jeff is a home-run hitter when it comes to songwriting. If you're a slugger, you'll hit a lot of home runs, but when you're swinging for the fences you also whiff now and again. I'll take that. I still think he's batting about .650 or .750.

Looks like the Republican "brand" is taking the bigger hit for the shutdown, and rightly so: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/09/republican-party-rating_n_4072716.html?ref=topbar Here's hoping some of the Tea Party extremists are swept out of office in 2014, and the Ds and Rs can start working together to make deals again in the future.

I was tempted to check this out until I saw the ticket prices: they're playing Ruth Eckerd Hall, and when I went online, decent seats were something like $150. I love a lot of the classic Beach Boys material - and had just seen the "real" Beach Boys tour with Brian Wilson - but that's too much for me. Also not a fan of Beck's at all, so I passed. He's one of those guitar players I respect, but everything he does leaves me cold for some reason. Hope it's a great show for people who dig him...and if you dig the Beach Boys material, I guess it could be a very special night.

This made me laugh out loud.

When doctors are all driving around in Yugos and VW bugs, then I'll be happy to hear about their financial woes.

Again, I have worked with doctors, including dentists, for over twelve years. I have no doubt that most of them are more than adequately compensated. When I hear them complain about "Obamacare" (fair to assume that they are not in favor of the Affordable Care Act if they refer to it in the "derogatory Republican talking point" manner), I don't feel sorry for them. I just don't. If they have to fight the insurance companies to get a fair shake, well, welcome to the fucking club. The insurance companies are screwing everybody, not just doctors. If anyone can afford to get screwed by an insurance

Finally got a chance to sit down and watch Sunshine Daydream. I drove around with the CDs in my car last week, but I had never actually watched the entire film until last night. A few random thoughts: Some of the editing choices were a little questionable. Right around the time the announcer is mentioning that the water is not going to be sprayed because it's the same water used for "the shitters," the camera cuts to a toddler with chocolate ice cream all over his face. WTF? An unfortunate choice that probably could have been fixed! One of those camera men was really, really fascinated w

We all know it's not just that doctors make an extremely large amount of money compared to the average person. It's also the pharmaceutical companies, as I said. Unfortunately, many of the people who would like to maintain the status quo are in denial about these things. Take a look at the history of the stock prices for companies like Merck, Pfizer, etc. They were pretty flat through much of the 80s, when Reagan was president, and into the 90s. Then they spiked quite a bit. This is history, not just my opinion. Check it out, the pattern is obvious. Like most large corporations, they consider

And Americans pay a disproportionately high price for medications too.

The history of the GOP in three buttons.

You're absolutely right. Rich people should keep getting richer, and anyone who wants to charge as much as they want, for anything and everything, should do so. All those happy people in Norway and Finland and Sweden are just delusional socialists. And I should just be thankful for the screwing we are getting. Okay, my work is done here. Thanks for the economics lesson.

Correct. And the costs have been passed on to the "consumer," that is, the patient. It's not just the doctors who are complicit in our disastrous health care system. The pharmaceutical companies are disgustingly greedy. The insurance companies seriously rape you, even if you never use them (think how much they're already getting for car insurance, homeowners, life, etc. etc.) And of course, employers have become increasingly greedy too. Paying half of your insurance and acting like you should say thank you for even having a plan at all. If I could stand the cold, I'd move to Europe and get

You are so hilarious, Bob! Great job with the sarcasm. Read your history, and you will learn that up until the early 1960s - not exactly a million years ago - that is how doctors were. It is only in the modern era that it has become a magnet for those who wish to be, shall we say, handsomely remunerated. Also, perhaps you missed my earlier post: When I was a kid (in 1971 - again, not a million years ago), I fractured my skull in an accident (hold the jokes, I've heard them all). I missed 14 days of school, so I'm guessing I was in the hospital about 2 weeks. My parents had insurance, which

You were correct in your response, and yes, that has been a general argument presented over the last few years, presented by those on the far right. The "social contract" in America has been almost completely broken by the acolytes of Ayn Rand, who believe the exact philosophy of "I got mine, screw everybody else." These are the same people who call our President "lazy." That's a dog whistle if I have ever heard one. I will go a step further: if the ACA makes some doctors drop out of the health care "industry," then I say GOOD. Maybe we can get back to having more doctors who get into prac

I spent 5 and a half years obtaining my Bachelor's and Master's degrees and I have 12 years of experience in my field, which is a demanding one...but I will be lucky if I can ever afford to have more than one child. So yeah, I don't sit around feeling sorry for ANY doctors or dentists and their financial situations. Maybe if the guy's wife got a job, they would have fewer "concerns."

Cool to get a Brent-era show. If I remember correctly, someone on dead.net guessed this pick in the comments section for Dave's Pick Vol. 7, but of course, those comments are all gone now. I wonder what they said? I am not familiar with this show, but look forward to receiving it.

A guy who can afford to have four kids in the first place and also live in a nice house with nice cars has no business complaining about his financial situation. What kind of work does his wife do, I wonder? I have worked in the health care industry for the past twelve years, and met and had dinners with many ophthalmologists, pain management specialists, dentists, physical therapists and so on. They are hardly struggling. One guy, who is a dentist in the Sarasota area, spends $2 million dollars per year on marketing alone. I have also seen many of their trophy wives, all plastic surgeried out

I would recommend Dead Set and Reckoning too, so you get a taste of the "Brent" era.

I find it interesting that Republicans keep saying Democrats are/were not willing to compromise. Yeah, actually they did. The ACA is a compromise - many of us on the left wanted single payer. Clearly, multiple parties are complicit in making health care pretty much unaffordable for the average person and totally out of reach for the poor. The pharmaceutical companies make a killing, many doctors are ridiculously wealthy, the insurance company execs make millions, and, as uncool2pillow noted, the for-profit hospital system is not exactly "merciful." Health care should not be a "for-profit" bu

Bloody Diarrhea

Scary. I think this is what comes of one side demonizing the other. At least there is one small silver lining this weekend in the shutdown: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/kkk-rally-canceled_n_4024192.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular