The third decade

 And so we begin the next twenty years of never forgetting.  Although technically if you never forget you can never remember because you never stopped remembering.  But anyway.

Mick Brigden, tour manager for the Rolling Stones and other acts, has died in a bizarre gardening accident.  Stop laughing, this is not Spinal Tap.  Brigden was apparently digging a grave for his dog.  I have no other details.  Having lost their drummer and their tour manager, any lesser band would be reconsidering their fall tour.  The Stones have added a performance in Los Angeles.  These guys!

A resident of Prince George's County, Maryland, made the following call to police:  "I'm telling you I haven't been drinking and I haven't done any drugs.  There are zebras in my backyard."  Sure enough, five of them had escaped from a farm where a total of thirty-nine live.   Someone thought it would be funny to accuse Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) of liberating the animals.  Her office issued a good-humored denial.  As of today the zebras are still at large.

Joni Ernst (R-Idiot) thinks Biden's vaccine mandate is a "diversion" from the 9/11 commemoration, which in her -- mind? -- is somehow connected to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.  No, Senator Breadbags, that's why he created Hurricane Ida.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Arrr-TX) is threatening revolt (unspecified) if the Democratic tyrants won't "leave people the hell alone" to sicken one another and die of covid.  

Unable to resist free eats, Rudolph Giuliani showed up at Cipriani's restaurant last night to unveil his new comedy act, which features impersonating Queen Elizabeth II and lying about the honorary knighthood she laid on him twenty years ago.  Then there were attacks on Biden, General Milley and Prince Andrew ("I never went out with him.  Ever.  Never!  Never had a drink with him, never was with a woman or a young girl with him!").  Good move, reminding everybody of your role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.  Careful, Roodles, Anthony Blunt lost his knighthood over less.

Speaking of the queen, she has entered the "We do not give a fuck" portion of her reign.  Earlier this week a "senior aide" told Channel 4 that she supports Black Lives Matter.  As a matter of policy she will not say so; but she sent a special message of congratulation to Emma Raducanu after the unseeded teenager won the U.S. Open.  Taunting female athletes who don't always perform brilliantly has become the favorite pastime of doughy chair jockeys like Piers Morgan this season, even when he can't spell their names correctly.  After calling her "not 'brave,' just a shame," he was first in line to claim credit when she won.  I won't be surprised if Weary Piery is named "Lord Muck" in the New Year's Honors List.

On a personal note, I was outraged that the Metropolitan Opera chose to end its lockdown and commemorate the 9/11 attacks with a performance of Verdi's Requiem.  Don't they know how badly he treated his mistress Giuseppina Strepponi?  He wrecked her voice by making her sing Abigaille in Nabucco.  He refused to marry her because he hated the Catholic Church.  He forced her to put all their children up for adoption.  The man was a monster.  His music should be banned.

Of course I'm being sarcastic.  It would be a drab world if we could only enjoy the work of artists who led impeccable private lives.  I love Wagner's music even though he was a raging anti-Semite, and when I look at a Caravaggio painting or read a play by Ben Jonson my first thought is not "But he killed a man!"  Look, Chinatown is a brilliant movie, Sinatra was a hell of a singer, and when Rowan Farrow does something as good as Crimes and Misdemeanors wake me up.

Also Yannick Nezet-Seguin is a terrific conductor.  I hope he stays with the Met long enough for me to memorize his name.