Former Monkee Peter Tork Says He Has Cancer

Fortunately, Tork is doing well:

The 67-year-old Tork had surgery Wednesday in New York. His spokeswoman says he is doing well and will begin radiation treatment after a short recovery period.

He announced on his Web site Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma on the lower region of his tongue. He says it's an uncommon but slow-growing type of cancer, and it hasn't spread beyond the initial site.

I enjoy The Monkees and they gave me great pleasure in the past. I'd mentioned not long ago the walk through our vinyl collection and it turns out Clara has three or four of their albums. It'd be nice to transfer them to digital and have a listen.

I hope for Mr. Tork's good health.

OKC 3rd Manliest City in the US

Hey, I'm doing the best I can:

Oklahoma City is rated the third "manliest" city in the nation in a study by a snack food company.

Nashville, Tenn., ranks first in the survey for Mars Snackfood US and its Combos snack food brand. Charlotte, N.C., is second.

The study used criteria such as the number of professional major league sports teams, the popularity of tools and hardware and the frequency of monster truck rallies.

Cities lost points for "emasculating" characteristics like the abundance of home furnishing stores, high minivan sales and subscription rates to beauty magazines.



Hey hey hey, what's this crack about minivans?

The number 1 manliest city? New York. Of course.

Well, as long as we beat Texas.

Anoooooooop!

American Idol has chosen it's final 12 - excuse me, make that final 13 - and it included my man Anoop:

Thirteen turned out to be the lucky number for Anoop Desai on "American Idol." After announcing the three remaining finalists at the end of Thursday's wild card round, Simon Cowell announced that the much-loved 22-year-old college student from Chapel Hill, N.C., won a previously unannounced 13th spot in the next round of the popular Fox singing contest. In past seasons, 12 finalists were picked to move on.

Does Anoop have what it take to make it to the end? Oh, yes, my friends, he does. So sit back with me and let's enjoy his march to victory together.

Oklahoma Film and Music Office announces movie will film in state

There that wasn't so hard, was it?

"The Oklahoma Film and Music Office said March 4 a new movie project, starring Kate Hudson, Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba, will be filmed in the state.

“We could not be more excited to have a film of this caliber shooting in Oklahoma. The majority of filming was initially slated for New Mexico,” Jill Simpson, Director of the Oklahoma Film & Music Office, said in a statement. “However, after the production team heard about our incentives and came in for a scout, we were able to land all but one location here in Oklahoma. It’s a real coup for us.”

Oklahoma's a great state to make a movie: varied landscapes, aside from the occasional tornado we have mild weather, friendly people, cheap prices. All we lack is the ocean. And snow-peaked mountains. And even those are only 12 hours away.

A movie based on Jim Thompson's work is a sure thing. Should be a good one.

iTunes: The C's Begin

Working my alphabetical way through iTunes, I've finished with the B's and I've moved on to the C's.

Joni Mitchel and The Mamas and the Papas long for California, The Beach Boys just wish all girls could be from their golden state but The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some issues.

Well, we all have our opinions.

Horton Foote Dies

Horton Foote, the screenwriter of To Kill a Mockingbird, passed away. He was 92 and from the obituary he seemed to have had a good life so no mourning here. What caught my eye, though, was this:

“My first memory was of stories about the past — a past that, according to the storytellers, was superior in every way to the life then being lived,” Foote wrote in 1988. “It didn’t take me long, however, to understand that the present was all we had, for the past was gone and nothing could be done about it.”

Something to keep in mind next time I get nostalgic.

The Death of the Virgin Megastore

Virgin is closing their Megastores which is too bad because I've always enjoyed browsing through them in Dallas and at The Disney Marketplace.

Lileks takes a different view. (You'll have to scroll down to get to it.)

Time, and technology, moves on.

Tax Preparation Software Rankings: TurboTax #1

Per the Good Professor, TurboTax
is the number 1 tax preparation software out there.

My views on Turbo Tax vs. Tax Professionals are here and here. Guess which side I come down on.

We're Sorry

It's too early for this kind of thing but it's funny, nonetheless. Okay, maybe not funny to you but funny to me.

Background: In 2004, a movement was afoot on the Internet by well-meaning, sensitive liberals to apologize to the world for our electing Bush. The pictures were similar to those at the link and were savagely, and hilariously, ridiculed by the right. The link above is a nice parody. My favorite:

The 100 Greatest Singer-Songwriter Albums of All Time

Here.

Of course, the list isn't definitive, only an opinion, a jumping off place for discussion. Of the ones I'm familiar with, I agree. Of those I don't know about, well, this'll be a handy guide for browsing iTunes.