I know it’s officially Beatles Day across this great rock and roll landscape, but I can’t resist posting a couple of video’s from a great band from the 1970’s, 999, on this day -- 09-09-09. Named after the UK’s emergency telephone number, they were formed in London at the onset of the punk scene in 1977. 999 charted five Top 75 singles between 1978 and 1981, though only one made it to the Top 40; that track is the classic "Homicide" / "Soldier," released in October of 1978 on United Artist Records. Other great mad romps include "Nasty Nasty," "Found Out Too Late" and "Emergency." One early review complained they were “histrionic, the music embarrassingly simple, the instruments turned up to full volume and the production almost absent;” yeah, that sounds just about perfect in my book.

All those conspiracy theories about how we never actually went to the moon, how NASA along with the Defense Intelligence Agency staged everything on a huge soundstage in the Nevada desert and how the three astronauts were actually just in Las Vegas boozing it up and living large while undergoing ‘guilt therapy’ lessons to lie better and feel good about lying better and how this entire madcap moon adventure was a 30 billion dollar swindle to defraud the world and convince everyone, especially the Russians, that we kick ass, just may have gotten a bit of a boost.

 

A moon rock collected from the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969 and given to former Dutch Prime Minister Willem Drees as a private gift from then-U.S. ambassador J. William Middendorf, who accompanied the Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, Jr. on a visit to The Netherlands has been analyzed and appears to be nothing more than petrified wood.

 

This treasured piece went on display at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum Museum after Drees died in 1988; at one point the rock was insured for around $500,000. A new estimate suggests its value to closer to about $70.

 

Recent tests have proved that the moon rock is a fake; Geologists from Amsterdam's Free University said they could tell at a glance the rock was not from the moon. Needless to say NASA and U.S. officials have no explanation for the Dutch discovery.

 

Rijksmuseum Museum spokesperson Xandra van Gelder, said the museum will keep the artifact as a curiosity. “It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered,” she said. “We can laugh about it.”

 

Former U.S. ambassador Middendorf in an interview last week said he didn't recall presenting the rock to Drees, but does remember the astronauts visiting the Netherlands as part of their "Giant Leap" goodwill tour. Another odd unanswered question is why Drees would have been given the rock in the first place. In 1969 he would have been 83 years old and had been out of office for over a decade, though he was a national hero who helped rebuild the Netherlands after the Second World War.

 

My favorite lunar spin so far is that the plaque doesn’t actually claim the rock is from the moon, it just says it’s a gift from the astronauts who went to the moon ...

It’s been awhile since I last wrote about George Vlosich III, one of the most unique artists working today. The medium he works in, more often than not is the Etch A Sketch. And yes, it's the same plastic, red-framed Etch A Sketch kids everywhere play with for a while before cracking it open to see how the hell it works.

 

Since ten years of age, Vlosich has been Etching. At eighteen he was commissioned by the Topps Trading Card Company to produce a series of Etch-A-Sketch drawings for their 1998 baseball card collection. Since then he has been commissioned to Etch many an athlete, musician and celebrity. 

 

I still can’t get my head around the technique or the amount of patience someone has to have to complete one drawing. And all of it is worked out to such perfection; unfathomable to an Etch A Sketch hack like myself. Most of Vlosich’s original work takes between 70-80 hours to create. Some, like George’s newest masterpiece, Michael Jackson, took 150 hours! That’s a full time job for a month! The details are insane. The images are spot on. And remember, an Etch A Sketch drawing must be done in one long line ... one continual unflinching, unforgiving friggin’ line! Legendary artist Paul Klee once described his own work as simply taking a line for a walk; yeah, but it ain’t nothing like George Vlosich’s trek. Once finished, the piece is then preserved to stand the test of time -- I hope! -- every drawing is unique and cannot be duplicated.  

 

George is hoping to use this Michael Jackson piece for charity, possibly blowing it up to extra large size and then having the performers at the September 26th Michael Jackson Tribute Concert in Vienna autograph it. The concert, which was announced a few days ago, will feature some of the world's top entertainers performing MJ's greatest hits on a crown-shaped stage being constructed outside the 17th-century Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna. The tribute will be broadcast live and is expected to draw an audience of one billion.

 

Check out George and his brother Greg’s website.

Now that August is basically over, here is my last chance to mention that it’s been National Catfish Month across this great, chowing-down, eater’s paradise of ours. Back in the late 1980s, the month of August was officially designated by mysterious entities as National Catfish Month. Today, seafood consumption in the United States exceeds 4.9 billion pounds annually and more catfish is now produced on a yearly basis in the United States than all other farmed fish combined. Personally, I’ll eat Catfish any way you serve it: blackened, broiled, grilled, poached or pan fried. At one time catfish was regarded as only a Southern staple. Times have changed. Diners nationwide have doubled their waistlines and their per capita consumption of Catfish since 1986, becoming the fourth most popular fish served in the United States.

 

Another thing, ninety-four percent of all Farm-Raised Catfish harvested in this country is from family-owned farms; many of these growers are second or third generation farmers. Today, the farm-raised Catfish industry employs more than 13,000 people and contributes more than $4 billion to the economy of states like Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana.

 

Catfish is also a lean fish and is an excellent source of protein, low in saturated fat and is a moderate source of polyunsaturated (the good) fat and omega-3 fatty acids. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, moderate fish consumption -- one to two meals a week -- may cut the risk of sudden cardiac death in half.

 

Anyway, why am I writing about catfish? Sometimes between art and movies and music you have to eat, and it might as well be something that isn’t absolute crap. Here is a great recipe from The Catfish Institute. So, throw on some good music (personally I’d go more old-school, maybe some Clifton Chenier), open up the right bottle of beer, maybe an Abita Amber, and enjoy some Catfish with a spicy fireworks rub. Bon Appetit!

 

Serves 4, this recipe makes enough spice rub to keep in your pantry and use many more times throughout the grilling season. (Sidenote: You can store the fireworks rub in a dark cupboard, away from heat; it will keep for two to three months.)

 

¼ cup (50 mL) chili powder

¼ cup (50 mL) ground cumin

¼ cup (50 mL) ground coriander

2 tbsp (30 mL) packed brown sugar

1 tbsp (15 mL) salt

1 tbsp (15 mL) red pepper flakes

2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly ground black pepper

4 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets, 6 to 8 oz (180 to 250 g) each

 

Preheat grill or broiler to high.

 

To make fireworks rub, mix spices in a bowl and spoon into a glass jar with tight-fitting lid.

 

Spray both sides of each catfish fillet lightly with vegetable oil.

 

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of fireworks rub (or adjust to your taste) on each lightly oiled catfish fillet. Grill or broil over high heat for 3 ½ to 4 minutes per side or until the fish begins to flake when tested with a fork in the thickest part.

 

By the way, here’s some Skip James, “Catfish Blues,” and the great Clifton Chenier.

The Brothers Gallagher are at it again; but perhaps this time their long turbulent relationship may be finally over.

 

Reports from London state that guitarist Noel Gallagher has left Britpop pioneers Oasis for once and for all, saying he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer," and adding he is leaving the group "with some sadness and great relief."

 

Oasis was due to perform at the Rock-en-Seine Festival near Paris on Friday, August 28th, but a message flashed to the crowd shortly before the band was to take the stage saying as a result of an altercation within the band, the Oasis gig has been canceled. Many in the audience initially thought that the announcement was a joke. First reports from the backstage scene, of course by way of Twitter, said that "Liam smashed Noel’s guitar."

 

Gallagher's statement also sent "apologies to all the people who bought tickets" for the remaining shows on their European tour in France, Italy, and Germany saying group "does not exist anymore."

 

Speculation has been growing about the band’s future. Liam revealed just a couple of weeks ago that he and Noel were no longer on speaking terms and while on tour traveled separately, only seeing each other on stage.

Oasis had sold more than 50 million records worldwide. They have had eight #1 singles in the UK and have amassed fifteen NME Awards, five BRIT Awards, nine Q Awards and four MTV Europe Music Awards.