Jerry Holbert - Boston Herald

"Locomotive Breath"

Back in the day, I saw Jethro Tull in Atlanta a couple of times. This is one of my all-time favorites. I'm not sure what it's all about, but it's pretty badass...

Locomotive Breath - Jethro Tull


Lyrics | Jethro Tull lyrics - Locomotive Breath lyrics

Crossing My Fingers

My monitor died early this week. It was my computer monitor, not a lizard, but it was still a traumatic experience. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, I had a couple of extra monitors lying around, but, of course, I got rid of them and didn't have one when I needed it. Typical.

After asking around at work and getting nowhere, someone suggested the local thrift store. The thrift store? I finally got a day off and checked it out and sure enough they had a few. They didn't look all that hot, but they were cheap. I grabbed the biggest one, which looked about the same size as my dead one, and headed for the door. Turns out it's a bit bigger than my old monitor. We'll see how long it lasts.

Quote of the Day

“It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me, as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the census, there are irresolvable conflicts for me.”

-- Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), withdrawing as the nominee for commerce secretary

"Violet Hill"

Here's a musical interlude from Coldplay. They rock out a little bit on this one...





Lyrics | Coldplay lyrics - Violet Hill lyrics

Quote of the Day

"(I)t has been a difficult process. We’ve been very critical of the process. It seems sloppy. It seems that the White House has been off their game...And then we see a poll like the Gallup Poll that came out yesterday that makes me think that perhaps we overanalyzed it, and we don’t know what we’re talking about...Sixty-seven percent of Americans approve of Barack Obama’s handling of the economy...This looks like Barack Obama's still on top of his game."

-- Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Morning Joe"

Obama's Presser

If you missed President Obama's prime-time news conference, here's the gist of it...

Quote of the Day

"Eric Holder’s Justice Department stood up in court today and said that it would continue the Bush policy of invoking state secrets to hide the reprehensible history of torture, rendition and the most grievous human rights violations committed by the American government. This is not change. This is definitely more of the same."

-- Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU

"Me and My Girl"

For no particular reason, this Theory of a Deadman song has been stuck on repeat on my mental iPod for a couple of days now...

Me and My Girl - Theory of a Deadman


Lyrics | Theory Of A Deadman lyrics - Me & My Girl lyrics

Quote of the Day

"I hope that when I die, people say about me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money.'"

-- Jack Handey

Quote of the Day

“Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we’re equal to the task before us. Let’s show them that we are. And let’s do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.”

-- President Barack Obama urges Congress to pass the economic stimulus

Quote of the Day

"Ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics and I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards -- one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes...I think I screwed up and I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure we fix it so it doesn't happen again."

-- President Barack Obama discusses the Tom Daschle appointment on CNN

The Rodent Forecast

On Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow but Georgia's official groundhog, Lilburn's Gen. Beauregard Lee, did not. In fact, the early part of the day here was wet and overcast. The general would not have been able to see a shadow until mid- or late-afternoon. What does that mean? Six more weeks of winter in Pennsylvania, but an early spring here, I hope.

Quote of the Day

"Was that a 60-minute game, or what? It came down to the last play, and we made it."

-- Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Farrior

February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died

Fifty years today, around 1 a.m. local time, a light plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper") crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa. All on board, including pilot Roger Peterson were killed.

In those days, rock concerts were bus tours with several acts sharing the bus and the stage. The Winter Dance Party covered 24 Midwestern cities in just three weeks. After many days on the road, Buddy Holly was sick of the bus. A plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza B35, was chartered for $36 per person to carry Holly's band to the next stop, Moorhead, Minnesota. Holly's original band, the Crickets, was gone back to Texas. Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson, who had the flu. Valens had never flown before and Tommy Allsup agreed to flip him for the seat. Dion DiMucci of Dion and the Belmonts was the fourth headliner on the tour and was invited on the plane, but thought that the $36 fee was too much.

The plane took off from the Mason County Municipal Airport at 1 a.m. Around 3:30 a.m., when the pilot had not contacted the Fargo airport, the plane was reported missing. The plane's owner, Jerry Dwyer, took off the next morning to look for them. The wreckage was found in a cornfield just five miles northwest of the airport. Investigators determined that the crash was due to the bad weather conditions and pilot error.

In his epic "American Pie," Don McLean dubbed February 3, 1959, "the day the music died."

American Pie - Don McLean

"Oh Boy"

Music from Charles Hardin Holley (Buddy Holly). Born September 7, 1936. Died February 3, 1959.

"La Bamba"

Music from Richard Steven Valenzuela (Ritchie Valens). Born May 13, 1941. Died February 3, 1959.

"Chantilly Lace"

Music from Jiles Perry Richardson Jr., aka "The Big Bopper." Born October 24, 1930. Died February 3, 1959.