PUNK ISSUE
Two new stories from your humble servant in today’s issue of LA CityBeat. The first is a erudite bit on the roots of punk (this being a special punk issue)...
http://lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2704&IssueNum=122

And the second is a scurrilous attack on the New Times "alternative" newspaper chain...
http://lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2698&IssueNum=122

And already my comments seem to be causing a minor flurry...
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2005/10/waiting_for_new_times.html#more
and...
http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=10408

From Chris Morris
Mick's screed about the NT/Voice merger is RIGHT FUCKING ON. Beautifully framed. And it's nice to see that it's got the NT people steamed. The truth always hurts. (BTW, spread the word: I'm gonna be hosting "Watusi Rodeo" on Indie 103.1 – LA area – at 11 a.m. this Sunday.)

If anyone has anything to add, I am, as ever, at byron4d@msn.com

LETS HEAR IT FOR JOHN DENSMORE
It’s refreshing to learn (from HCB in this case) that, here in Paris Hilton’s world, there’s someone who won’t do it all for money, and that one Door still stands by his former man. (Although if I was offered a million or so bucks for one of my cheesy old songs I might think long and hard.)
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-doors5oct05,0,7733555.story?track=tottext

HALF PRICE DRINKS
And if you want to hear one of the cheesy old songs and know why it’s highly unlikely that I’ll placed the dilemma of being bought out, even for a beer commercial, there’s a free MP3 download at...
http://vslam.blogspot.com/

IN OTHER NEWS
Terminal alcoholics who get nervous with an empty glass in front of the them can now rest easy thanks to a beer coaster that can tell when a glass is empty. The coaster, fitted with sensors, measures the weight of the beer and sends a signal behind the bar when it's time for a refill.

Stately Wayne Manor burned down. The old Pasadena mansion built by the Busch beer family and used in the 1960s Batman series (POW!) burned down last night. Nothing to do with the wild fires, seemingly a remodeling accident.

AND SOME WEIRD PICS...
If you wonder why we’re all fucking crazy in LA, what do you expect when shit like this appears in the evening sky (after a missile lauch from Vandenberg Naval Base, perhaps part of the Star Wars defense idiocy.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/vandenberg/

CRYPTIQUE – Now witness the firepower of this fully operational battle station.

The secret word is Diverse