Danica Patrick Guaranteed for the Daytona 500?
CHARLOTTE, N.N. — If Tony Stewart has anything to say about it Danica Patrick will have a guaranteed starting spot for the Daytona 500. Few rookies get that opportunity.
If the deal comes together Patrick’s #10 GoDaddy machine could be on the track for much of the 2012 Sprint Cup season.
Stewart Haas Racing is negotiating with with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) that would transfer the owner points accumulated by Dave Blaney last season to the #10 car owned by Stewart. The top 35 owner points get automatic slots into the first 5 races. TBR’s 33 points would give Patrick her guaranteed spot on the Daytona grid. Her starting position would be determined by qualifying speeds.
Patrick is contracted for 10 Sprint Cup races. She is scheduled to run full-time in the Nationwide series for car-owner Dale Earnhardt. TBR driver David Reutimann would drive the GoDaddy #10 in as many of the other 26 races as finances allow. When Patrick is at the wheel, Reutimann will drive one of the TBR cars.
As part of the arrangement TBR will benefit from technical and pit crew support from SHR.
Patrick expressed genuine concern about making the Daytona 500 field back in mid-January. “There’s not that many spots (open). You’ve got cars that they’ll put everything into just running this race. I’ve heard they tend to be pretty quick.
“You don’t want to take chances. It’s not the right time to do that. Everyone wants to get into the race, and I’m sure GoDaddy would like to be sure of that happening. Eliminating as many questions is probably a safe route.”
Happy Birthday Marty Balin
It’s not often a rock icon turns 70.
Marty Balin is one of the founding members of the San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane, the driving force behind one of rock’s great bands. In their heyday they were one of the biggest draws on the planet, second only to the Beatles.
Balin penned the Jefferson Starship hit Miracles. He also wrote The House at Pooneil Corners off the Crown of Creation album.
To call Balin a musical genius would sell the man short when you think about the impact the little San Francisco band had on the landscape of modern music. The Airplane laid the foundation for so many bands to follow. Their Sunday morning performance at Woodstock is legendary.
Balin left the Airplane in 1971 and reconnected with the Starship in 1975. While there he contributed on several hit songs (including “Miracles” (#12), “With Your Love” (#3), “Count on Me” (#8), and “Runaway” (#12). In 1978, Balin left the Starship.
Through the years Balin continued to make music and released a dozen solo albums, his most successful being Balin on the EMI label. His most recent release was 2011′s The Witcher. On occasion he would reconnect with old friends and band-mates for reunion performances.
In 2010 Balin suffered tragic loss with the accidental death of his long-time wife Karen. He has two daughters – Jennifer and Delaney Mariah Skye.
Marty Balin was born on January 30, 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His impact on music is immeasurable. Marty Balin and Jefferson Airplane were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1996.
Happy Brithday, Marty. Keep making music.
This is an interview with Marty Balin about the genesis of Jefferson Airplane.
Source: wiki and martybalin.com
Read MorePerspective and Agenda
I have simple beliefs. I believe context matters and the omission of truth to sway a certain perspective is as much a lie as an untruth.
I believe a journalist’s job is to report the news not craft it. When I say crafting I’m talking about reporting the news and presenting a perspective that only shows bits and pieces of the story to support or defend the slant of whatever news outlet is doing the reporting .
Two of the biggest offenders on either side of the political spectrum are Fox News to the right and Huffington Post to the left. You could make the argument that HP is is a blog therefore not a news outlet and to a degree you would be right. Huffington has become so mainstream and the voice of so many it’s hard to ignore.
Here is a story put out by the Associated Press today. The AP Feed is found here which shows the full context of the AP story as it went out on the wire service.
The headline of the AP story read:
300 arrested in daylong Occupy Oakland protests
So, this story goes out on the wire and the news outlets get it and work their magic on it. They write new headlines and massage the story to fit their publication and put it out to their consumers.
Here’s the Fox News headline:
Police arrest about 300 Occupy Oakland protesters
The change is subtle but it shifts the focus from the protest to the protesters. It also makes sure you understand it was the police who was doing the arresting as if the assumption presented in the AP title was not good enough
Here’s the Huffington Post headline:
Occupy Oakland: Police Teargas Protestors, Use Flash Grenades
Nothing very subtle about the shift here. In this title the Police is presented as the bad guy. There is no way to tell how many protesters were involved. It could have been thousands. The fact that the police used grenades against the protesters seems to punctuate that the police were the aggressors.
In all three cases there was nothing to tell us anything about the protesters. For that information we would have to go to the news story. The opening paragraph of any news item tends to tell us a lot about the content. Let’s look at each of the three.
Dozens of police maintained a late-night guard around City Hall following daylong protests that resulted in 300 arrests. Occupy Oakland demonstrators broke into the historic building and burned a U.S. flag, as officers earlier fired tear gas to disperse people throwing rocks and tearing down fencing at a convention center.
Oakland police said they arrested about 300 people Saturday as protesters spent a portion of the day trying to get into a vacant convention center, and later broke into City Hall and tried to occupy a YMCA.
Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences.
If we consider the AP report is factual or at least a pretty accurate account of what happened, how are the other two stories being framed in their opening paragraph? The AP story is not presenting the Occupy Oakland protesters in the best light when reporting the demonstrators were “throwing rocks and tearing down fences.”
Fox News seems to give the protesters a little slack here by leaving out the rock throwing and fence tearing. Huffington on the other hand presented that fact. They also cut the crowd from 300 to 100. Why would they do that? Maybe it’s to present the police as the heavy handed player. It sounds worse when you say the police used tear gas on 100 people than on 300 people. They also presented “Throwing rocks and tearing down fences” as being rowdy.
I suppose throwing rocks at police and tearing down fences could be described as rough and disorderly.
Then there’s the things that are left out.
Quan [Oakland Mayor] said that at one point, many protesters forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.
She blamed the destruction on a small “very radical, violent” splinter group within Occupy Oakland.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan during a news briefing late Saturday said protesters had forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke into an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.
The nighttime arrests came after 19 people were taken into custody in Occupy Oakland protests hours earlier.
There was nothing about breaking into electrical boxes, flag burning, or damaging art in the Huffington piece.
What was there – “In a statement Friday, Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana said the city would not be “bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity.” Interim police Chief Howard Jordan also warned that officers would arrest those carrying out illegal actions.
These statements were not in the AP piece.
So you can see how perspective and agenda can drive the way news is being reported. Foxes “Fair and Balanced” is a perspective skewed by the right-leaning politics of the network. Huffington Post, MSNBC, The NY Times and many others is massaged with the liberal slant.
Right, wrong, or indifferent I’ve never seen it this bad in a time when we need the cold hard truth. I’d rather hear bad truth than a good lie any day.
So to wrap things up with my perspective of viewpoint and agenda, let’s close with a look at which AP images the outlets selected to headline their respective stories.
That’s a very telling contrast and testament to exactly what I was talking about– Perspective and Agenda. Context matters and viewpoint defines content. That’s not really the role of journalist but that’s where we are.
Oh yeah, I almost missed. What was the image used on the AP feed?
I’ve learned this and accept it as fact. There are three sides to every story. One side, the other side, and the truth. Is the AP image the truth? It’s the truth for those people at that moment but in context it neither defines or represents the movement. It’s one persons perspective of the moment. The message is much bigger than that.
R&R Saturday – CSNY
There’s bands, there’s groups, there’s supergroups, and then there’s legends. Somewhere near the top you’ll find an unlikely foursome, a quartet of musicians and songwriters who came together at the intersection of harmony and society to become the voice of a generation.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young — First it’s very appropriate that the “and Young” is separated from the trio, like an afterthought, an add-on. Neil Young is without a doubt a superstar in his own right, but as a solid corner of the quartet he never seemed to fully embrace.
Before hooking up to become one of the generation’s greatest voices each member had been part of musical success with other well known groups of the time. David Crosby from The Byrds, Stephen Stills and Neil Young from Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash from The Hollies.
After Crosby was forced from The Byrds in late ’67 and Springfield disintegrated in early 1968, Crosby and Stills were unemployed and spending time together making music in Florida. They were cruising the Keys with Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner and together they wrote what would become one of their great songs, Wooden Ships.
At the same time Graham Nash was suffering creative frustration with The Hollies and left the band to join forces with Crosby and Stills, forming the first version of the supergroup—Crosby, Stills and Nash. With David Geffen signed on as part of the management team a deal was struck with Atlantic Records and off to the studio they went. The result was their 1969 self-titled album, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Two tracks went on to top-40 success. Marrakesh Express and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes reaching 28 and 21 respectively.
With the success of the album, Atlantic was pushing the trio to tour. To round out the sound prior to touring the trio became a tenuous quartet with the addition of Neil Young. Young’s contract allowed him to parallel the group with his own Crazy Horse band and from the beginning he maintained his independence from the others. On stage he was a solid piece of the music but away from the microphone Neil Young did what Neil Young did. He carved his own path.
Their first gig as CSNY was on Aug. 17, 1969 at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago with Joni Mitchell as their opening act. They mentioned they were going to some place called Woodstock the next day, but they had no idea where that was. They began their second set that night with the same line they uttered at Woodstock, “This is only the second time we’ve performed in front of people. We’re scared shitless.” They opened with Suite: Judy Blue Eyes before launching into a harmony-drenched version of The Beatles‘ “Blackbird“.
Their second show was a baptism by fire at the Woodstock Festival. CSNY’s recording of the Joni Mitchell song memorializing Woodstock would later become a hit and the recording most associated with the festival.
By contrast, little mention is made of the group’s following appearance at the violence-plagued Altamont Free Concert, with CSNY having escaped mostly unscathed from the fallout of the show. The group’s Altamont performance was not included in the subsequent film Gimme Shelter, at the band’s request.
Riding high waves of success, their first album with Young, Déjà Vu, arrived in stores in March 1970, topping the charts and generating three hit singles. Déjà Vu was also the first release on the Atlantic Records SD-7200 “superstar” line, created by the label for its highest-profile artists; the subsequent solo albums by Crosby, Stills, and Nash would also be the next releases in this series.
Young and Crosby were staying at a house near San Francisco when reports of the Kent State shootings arrived, inspiring Young to write his protest classic Ohio, recorded and rush-released weeks later and providing another Top 20 hit for the group.
However, the deliberately tenuous nature of the partnership was strained by its success, and the foursome imploded after their tour in the summer of 1970. Concert recordings from that tour would end up on another chart-topper, the 1971 double-vinyl Four Way Street, but the group could never recapture the magic of past years.
After the quick flash of success in the early 70s, each member would produce their own solo effort of varying success. Still’s self-titled album rose to 3rd in the top-100 charts. Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name had moderate success peaking at#12, and Nash’s Songs for Beginners reached #15.
Neil Young went on to a successful launch of his own solo effort, After the Gold Rush, with an augmented Crazy Horse. The album capped out at #8 with two singles, ”Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and When_You_Dance_I_Can_Really_Love, reaching 33 and 93.
The next few years saw the harmony of Woodstock collapse into egos adrift, rampant drug use, and waning success. Young distanced himself more and more from the other three and in 1976 veered completely away from the collaboration. Young sent an infamous telegram to Stephen Stills that read: Dear Stephen, funny how things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil.
The CSN trio went back in the studio in 1977 and released CSN to high demand and chart success, climbing to #2. It was their first release as a trio since Young’s departure. The album had the unfortunate timing of releasing concurrent to Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours or it would surely have easily hit the #1 slot.
Over the next few years between Crosby’s drug use and the trio’s political activism, music seemed to take a sideline. Still, they would all produce individual releases and together put out five more albums:
- Daylight Again (1982) —Crosby, Stills, Nash
- American Dream (1988) —Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young
- Live It Up (1990) —Crosby, Stills, Nash
- After the Storm (1994) —Crosby, Stills, Nash
- Looking Forward (1999) —Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young
Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center the quartet set their differences aside and starting discussing a reunion tour.
So in 2002 the foursome hit the road for their first tour together since the early 70s. The CSNY Tour of America kicked off on February 2nd at The Palace of Auburn Hills. It might have been a healing experience for fans but the reunion was a cash cow for the producers. Everyone wanted to see the foursome and hear the music that defined a generation.
CSN was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; CSNY is the only band to have all its members inducted into the Hall twice. Crosby has also been inducted as a member of the Byrds (1991), and Stills as a member of Buffalo Springfield (1997). In 2010, Nash was inducted as a member of the Hollies. Young has been inducted for his solo work (1995) and for Buffalo Springfield (1997), but has not been inducted with CSN.
Together on stage or separately in the studio these four artists represents a unique style of music and collaboration during some troubling times. Through their individual successes and failures they have come to this point in life as nothing short of living legends. Our musical foundation is stronger for the experience.
Just a song before I go, a lesson to be learned.
Read More
I’m a Bit of a Movie Buff
Yesterday I mentioned one of my loves. Today I’ll share another — movies.
I love movies. I would say I love all kinds of movies but that would be a bit untrue. I’m not a fan of romantic comedy or chick flicks like, The Notebook or Steel Magnolias. To the other extreme I’m not real crazy about slasher or horror films either. I used to but I guess I just lost my taste for gore.
What I do like is movies with a good story and characters. I love good writing. You can always trust the Coen Brothers to give us good writing.
I like good action films and spy dramas. I can’t believe they are considering another Bourne movie without Matt Damon. But then Sean Connery turned over the Bond role to George Lazenby who gave it back to Connery for Diamonds Are Forever. Future 007s include Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and now Daniel Craig.
I like good Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I’m a big fan of the Lord of The Rings trilogy and am anxiously awaiting Peter Jackson’s movie, The Hobbit. (I just finished reading The Hobbit again.)
I like westerns, good gritty tough cowboy westerns. Clint Eastwood did for westerns what Ray Croc did for burgers. Some of my favorites are Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
As much as I love John Wayne and his westerns, what the Coen Brothers did for last year’s True Grit was amazing. The girl who played Mattie Ross should one day be a super-star.
I also like the classics, the old films by actors and actresses long gone — John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Betty Davis and Katharine Hepburn.
From The African Queen to Casablanca, Citizen Kane to Vertigo. Give me The Maltese Falcon and a bag of popcorn and I’ll show you a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
This year I want to do a regular feature called Friday Films where I took a look at movies, past, present and future. What I like, what I didn’t like, and invite you to join in and share your opinions and insights.
— Betty Davis as Margo Channing in All About Eve
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