Burma

Things have, of course, turned bloody in Mynanmar. Here's a photo from Rangoon, where soldiers have begun shooting directly into crowds of peaceful protestors.

Here's another.

I hope this story continues to get some coverage in the US media. Even a bit MORE coverage would be nice. But that will only happen if Britney Spears doesn't go anywhere or do anything for about a week.
Thousands of unarmed people facing imprisonment or death in the name of freedom and human rights just doesn't make good copy.

Joe Maneri

Joe Maneri was my teacher for the 4 years I lived in Boston. He's had a greater impact on me -- musically, personally, spiritually -- than anyone else I've ever met. He's one of the true great geniuses of the last 50 years. Really.

He was very supportive of me, and helped me out a lot. He introduced me to a lot of cats, and he was always telling people "Greg Pagel -- he's one of the best piano players in the fucking world!" He always said my wife had a face like an angel. The last time I saw him was the day before we moved bak to Wisconsin in 1997. We were at his house, and his wife made spinach pasta for us. It was amazing.

In this video, he's the guy holding the saxophone and singing briefly.

KICK ASS MONKS

Have you been following the news from Burma/Myanmar this week? Long story short: 35,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and followers have been marching in protest against the oppressive Burmese military government. On Saturday, they marched up to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the pro-democracy movement in Burma, who's been under house arrest for about 18 years. After she waved to the procession, she was moved to the notorious Insein prison.

Today, armed soldiers and police mobilized. The last time this happened, in 1988, they fired into peaceful crowds, killing 3000 unarmed civilians.

Here's the cool part: China -- freaking China -- is "quietly" urging the Burmese government to excercise restraint in dealing with protesters. World leaders everywhere are urging Burma to release Kyi. Even George W. "World's biggest prick" Bush is talking about it.

Here's the lesson I hope GW is learning: The world community likes it when you deal with assholes by not being an asshole. If freedom fighters in Burma had blown stuff up, would it had made the news? Probably not. Ehh, more stuff blowing up. Big whoop.

But when thousands of monks and nuns risk their lives by peacefully protesting, people actually notice. And slowly things change.

Here's a picture of monks kicking ass.

Update: There've been 200 arrests and 4 people murdered by police...

And We're Back.

Here we go again, kids. My blog has regenerated. Think of this as Peter Davison as my last blog was Tom Baker. I'll miss the scarf!

If you got that bad joke, get a life. Seriously.