For my personal Song Hall of Fame... "Mother's Little Helper" by the Rolling Stones What a drag it is getting old. A manic song for a manic world... but the little yellow pills help her on her way, get her thru her busy day.

Excerpts from the AP: Resolution honoring Jackson faces GOP opposition WASHINGTON (AP) — Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee may have trouble keeping the promise she made at Michael Jackson's public memorial for a House resolution that "forever" honors the late pop star. (snip) Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who called Jackson a "pervert, child molester, pedophile" in a video he posted...

Linda and I watched the Michael Jackson memorial Service on TV yesterday evening.  Incredibly touching stuff.  Linda, especially was moved at the end when Paris, Michael Jackson's daughter, spoke:   "I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much."  - PARIS JACKSON, 11, DAUGHTER   A few more quotes...

Time again for another addition to my Recording Artist Hall of Fame... and it's the Jackson 5. Today, quite coincidentally, there is a memorial concert taking place for the late Michael Jackson in LA. And it's roughly 40 years ago now that the Jackson 5 hit the big time, with an unprecedented run of their first four singles going to number one... The bubblegum soul of "I Want You Back", "ABC"...

Here's some of what's been going on lately:  - Today is our 11th Engagement Anniversary, so we're having a special dinner at home tonight.  - Meggie the wonder horse has gotten laminitis again, but it's been caught early and she is being kept in the stable.  - School has just ended for Linda and Jenny, so they have the summer off now.  Jenny and Andy will be going on a four-week holiday to Canada...

Just for fun, I've made a list of all the recording Artists in my own little Darrin's Recording Artist Hall of Fame (DRAHoF), and I've divided them up semi-chronologically into groups with similar styles... which is sort of difficult because many of them have a whole range of styles... but here's what I came up with: Pre-war onwards      Folk and Blues    Woody Guthrie   Robert Johnson ...

  For induction into Darrin's Recording Artist Hall of Fame (DRAHoF) ....   Al Jolson I only really became an Al Jolson fan in the past few years...  I always thought the blackface thing was a little off, but I understand it was a different age back then.  It's really as a tribute to Linda's father, who was a fan, as well as Linda...  that he gets on the list at this point in time.  I respect...

For the Song Hall of Fame... "Closing Time" by Leonard Cohen Love the feel of this country-esque ode to closing time at an old-person's honky tonk.

The strangest thing I saw today, when I got off the train from work, was someone wheeling their bike off the train... and the bike had a little poster on the back of it.  The poster had a map of the UK and the words End to End in 13 Days...  The guy, apparently, was doing a John O'Groats to Land's End bike ride (ie the north to south extremes of Britain).  But he was on the train...  That's cheating...