|link| Posted 7:11 AM by Brian Linse

An LA Times piece on Warren:

"I feel the opposite of regret. I was the hardest-living rock on my block for a while. I was a malfunctioning rummy for a while and running away for a while. Then for 18 years I was a sober dad of some amazing kids. Hey, I feel like I've lived a couple of lives--and now when people listen to the music they'll say, 'Hey maybe the guy wasn't being so morbid after all.' "

|link| Posted 10:38 AM by Brian Linse

Bad News

Warren Zevon has announced that he has untreatable lung cancer:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, best known for quirky hits like "Werewolves in London,'' has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

"I'm OK with it,'' Zevon, 55, said in a statement. "But it'll be a drag if I don't make it until the next James Bond movie comes out.''

Zevon's more than three-decades long career began with "Wanted Dead or Alive'' in 1969. His 1976 album, "Warren Zevon,'' produced by Jackson Browne, won critical praise, and his career soared with 1978's "Excitable Boy,'' featuring the single "Werewolves of London,'' which became his signature song.

He ended a five-year recording absence in 2000 with "Life'll Kill Ya.''

Spokeswoman Diana Baron said Zevon, who was told of the diagnosis by doctors last month, is spending time with his grown children, as well as writing and recording. He'll be in the recording studio next week, she said.

Rhino Records will release "Genius: The Best of Warren Zevon'' on Oct. 15.

Zevon's most recent album, "My Ride's Here,'' released this year, features contributions from Irish poet Paul Muldoon, journalist Hunter S. Thompson and author Carl Hiaasen, as well as a cameo from talk-show host David Letterman.

Out of respect for his privacy I will not be reporting any personal contact I have with Warren.

Don't expect much of anything else around here for awhile. I'm gonna go start breaking shit.

|link| Posted 1:12 AM by Brian Linse

ANBD will not publish today.

|link| Posted 11:12 AM by Brian Linse

Brian, how long did you stare at Adriana before you even realized there was a swirl there? You are an impossible boob man. I forget who Walter Uhldork is, but it doesn't look like he missed anything. They put up new pictures and it looks even less interesting than a high school theater club party after the third night of Waiting for Godot. There's no sign of the Bertliz woman in the new pics, so like I guessed, I think she sized up the situation and made a graceful exit.

How close is Nigeria to Iraq? Their emails are getting on my nerves. Can we drop some spare bombs on their spam centers either on the way to or back from blowing up Saddam?

|link| Posted 7:53 AM by Brian Linse

What's Going On?

Check out an interesting piece in FindLaw's Writ summarizing the Bush Administration's inconsistent policy on prosecuting suspected terrorists. The author suggests that the only discernable pattern is a troubling one:

The Administration's is a lawless approach. Indeed, it is worse than lawless: those who are least deserving of conviction, based on the evidence, are punished as if they have already been convicted, while those most deserving of conviction are at least afforded their day in court. Only the most plainly guilty receive the benefit of the presumption of innocence, and the chance to mount a counsel-assisted defense.

The whole piece is worth a read.

|link| Posted 2:38 PM by Brian Linse

Brian, you need to go back to England and show those Sammydork people how to party! Their latest excuse for a bash looks like it was just a photo shoot for a high school yearbook. Instantman must be having a slow weekend because he is all hot over Claire Berlitz but she looks like she was breezing through on her way to some place else. Someplace where there was some action, not where a bunch of dorks didn't even hire paid escorts this time to liven things up. That woman sleeping on the couch says it all.

[I don't know, Stephie. It looks to me like they had a pretty wild bash. If Adriana were passed out on my couch at 4:30 in the morning I would consider it a job well done. I am a bit suspicious about the blouse she was wearing, however, as it seems to bear the imprint of a rather hypnotic swirling pattern. My guess is that the Samizdatians were using Cronin's breasts to hypnotize and convert any non-libertarians who may have wandered in by mistake. I'll ask Perry about it when he sends me a report on the party. I haven't heard from him yet -- he's probably still drunk.You should also beware Walter Uhlman, who was not at the party but has resurfaced after a long absense. As I recall, he was pretty rough on you last time around. --Brian]