The saddest thing about Eliot Spitzer is that he had a genuine chance to be a force for positive change. Very early in his career, he began to target corruption, and he had a knack for it. He took on the Gambino family. He busted the hell out of white-collar criminals and did everything in his power to keep corporate America in check. He was a puritan and a zealot when it came to the law. His methods were questionable, but he got results.

It's too bad that he couldn't have been more judicious (ironically) in both his pursuit of justice and his personal life. I don't even really care about the moral aspect; it's just stupid to be caught like that. Although he might have been set up by one or more of his numerous enemies, it doesn't really matter. If he had played his cards right and gone the decent and upstanding route, he could have done a lot of good and brought a lot of respect to his office.

But as Snoop Dogg so eloquently put it, "It’s too late for advice now. If he’d seen me before, it would have been real discreet and would not have exposed his game. He would still be able to be client number nine."

(On an unrelated note: Why do people have such a hard time with the words "discreet" and "discrete"? They mean such different things. Also, a "sneak peak" is not a preview. It's a ninja mountain.)

(On a related note: What is Snoop doing on The View? Singing instead of rapping? There's some kind of powerful and hilarious forces at work here. I think he does it for the audience, which is at least 90% twentysomething girls and soccer moms.)

From the "So that's why I like it so much" department:

Love is Hell is by far my favorite Ryan Adams record in terms of songwriting and atmosphere. So imagine my surprise when I found out today that it was produced by the one and only John Porter. The same guy who did all those magical early Smiths tunes.

So that's (maybe) why I like it so much.

Dear New TV Shows:

Stop trying to imitate The Office by including "candid" interview segments with the main characters. It will never work for you. (It almost works in that Life show...but it will never work for you.)

I don't have much time to write because I am sizzling, smoking, burning at both ends and I want to do something creative/productive before the same old blah sets back in. You gotta take what you can get.

I thought I was going to start blogging exclusively on my band's myspace, but it turns out that this space still has a use. Especially after reading Ryan Adams's new blog. It's inspiring. Maybe I'll start making little videos, although I don't know who would want to watch them. (Besides my mom - hi Mom, I know you're reading! Isn't the internet great?) Not that it matters who watches them, really.

I am listening to lots of new stuff, or at least receptive to hearing new things. For a while I wasn't having any of it. I went back to The Replacements and found some great things. Same with, uh, Wham!

...yeah.

It's a little pointless to write a blog in such a guarded manner. But what can I say, that's what I do. I'm not going to divulge any deep, dark secrets just to turn a few heads. Even if that kind of stuff is a heck of a good read.

I leave you with some excellent first-wave ska. Skank your hearts out.

The Skatalites - Beardsman Ska

I HATE BUGS

...all of them. The creepy ones, the crawly ones. The ones that make you spew liquid out of every conceivable orifice until you just wish it would end.

I would probably like the techno-organic virus, though. The kind that Cable has. Keep that one, and get rid of all the others.