Masters of Metal? oh, HELL YES!!!!

Just got home from one of the better shows I've seen in ages. It was the last show of the tour, so we got some on stage pranks (I'd love to know why Testament was gifted with a horse ridden by a blue-haired young lady - there's a story there) and all the bands seemed determined to go out with a bang.

We started with Testament, Bay Area Thrash Metal pioneers, who, after reforming a couple of years back, have a new album out (I bought it at the show.) Very tight set, and the presence of close to 100 members of the Henchmen MC was explained by one of the tracks off the new album called Henchmen Ride. Very nice, and if I can find a good video I'll post it to Heavy Metal Sunday.

Between sets, I was amazed by the rant behind me. A fellow was going off on what metal fans weren't supposed to be. I swear, I wish I had a recorder going, since this was rage poetry of an awesome level. We started talking, and it came up that we were all veterans, so I made a few friends in the stands.

After a really fast set change, Lemmy came on stage and announced "We're Motörhead. We play rock and roll." They proceeded to do so for a good 45 minutes. Honestly, most of Lemmy's stuff tends to blur after a while, but he had energy and kept giving us good licks, so no complaints. The expected Ace of Spades and Overkill ending was made more interesting by roadies draping inflatable sex toys (one plastic woman, three plastic sheep) over the Marshall stacks as three very nubile dancers came on stage. It was obvious that nobody in the band had a clue this was going to happen.

During Motörhead's set, I picked the perfect time to hit the restroom. Just as the drum solo began. Made it back just as the solo ended. Timing is everything.

Another very quick set change (these roadies had it down to an art) and Black Sabbath hit the stage. Yes, I know "Heaven & Hell". Feh. To me, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice are Black Sabbath. Started off with The Mob Rules, Children of the Sea, I, and Under the Southern Cross. Excellent set, crowned by one of the better performances of Heaven & Hell I've seen (with a lot of audience participation, we traded verses with Dio for the first half of the song) and Neon Knights as the encore.

Then came the Priest. They opened with a track off Nostradamus, and from there straight into Metal Gods. Old favorites and rarities were present, and even though the band sounded a little off, they put on the usual amazing show. Priest gave me one jaw dropping moment.. after Halford rode out onto the stage on his Harley, they began the all-too-familiar beats for Living After Midnight. Rob sat on the bike, wearing the old leather cap, and said (roughly) "If you think you know what this song is, you're wrong." And the band slides in The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown). I screamed. Like a squealing fan girl. They finished off with Painkiller and played You've Got Another Thing Coming as the encore.

Along with the new CD, I picked up a British Steel t-shirt. This one has "Keep The Faith" in lettering reminiscent of the Judas Priest logo on the back. Note sure if any of my photos turned out, I'll check in the morning.

Now, off to bed.

I revise my earlier statement. Is there anyone at McCain HQ who isn't sniffing glue?

Palin says 17-year-old daughter is pregnant

John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement campaign aides said was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.

Yes, nothing says Republican family values like a pregnancy in the Vice-Presidential pick's unmarried teenage daughter.

But about those rumors. Kos has an incredible article, with photos that show there might be a real fire under that smoke.

Concert photos are up.

As expected, not many were good.

Sarah Palin, the gift that keeps giving.

Q: Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

PALIN: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

sigh. The Pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. This would be 116 years after the United States was declared. The words "under God" were added in 1954 (178 years after the Founding Fathers did their thing.)

OK, this has passed from tragedy to comedy or vice-versa.

Governor Sarah Palin was a member of a group that openly advocated secession for Alaska.

Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., likes to herald the independence of its new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.

And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."

Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.

"We are a state's rights party," says Clark, a self-employed goldminer. The AIP has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."

She says it's not accurate to describe the party as secessionist -- they just want a vote, she says, adding that the members of the AIP hold different opinions on what Alaska should be.

"My own separate opinion as an individual is that we should be an independent nation," Clark says. Others in the AIP "believe that being a commonwealth would be a good avenue to follow." Some advocate statehood -- but a fuller statehood than exists now.

She doesn't know what Palin's position was.

"It never came up in conversation," Clark recalls. "But when she joined the party, our platform was right under her nose."

Clark says that Palin left the party and became a Republican in 1996, when she first ran for mayor of Wasilla.

OK, The Alaska Independence Party. A group that advocates secession from the Union; an idea that we sort of forcefully settle in 1861-1865.

So the Republican candidate for Vice-President was, until she needed to run for office, a member of a fringe group that wanted to leave the United States.

Oh, Jesus wept.. she was the director of Ted Stevens "Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors for two years, 2003-5, years that were right in the middle of the alleged corruption on Steven's part.

Seriously, I'm waiting to find out that she has a famous author held captive in a wood shed, or for photos of her at the Green Day mudfight at Woodstock '94 to come out.

We have a new word, and new tag.

Thanks to lemmozine, the word Palintology has been coined.

Definition: "The study of the John McCain presidential campaign"