Senator Franken...Fantastic

Looks like Coleman is picking up the tab...

This deserves a re-post

I just saw a commercial for this, and I really have a tough time believing that 1) it got through product development in the first place and 2) that this can be advertised and marketed with a straight face. Perhaps IRTJ should hold a contest for the "best" slogans for Liquid-Plumr's Foaming Pipe Snake. Here are two:

"Make sure your plumber has a foaming pipe snake"

"Housewives no longer need to call the plumber when their husbands come home with foaming pipe snake"

Long live the King

Nothing snide, no analysis from the suburban white male perspective, just homage. To say nothing else, every song on Thriller was a potential #1 hit.

RIP Jeff Hanson.

Folks here at IRTJ wish his family condolences. He was a nice man, that we met or shared the stage with on several occasions over the years. M.I.J. was a fun band, and his latest work was haunting.

St. Paul songwriter Jeff Hanson, 31, found dead

The St. Paul tunesmith, who recorded for Kill Rock Stars, may have been injured in a fall.

By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune

His voice was sweet enough to often be mistaken for a woman's, and his songwriting was strong enough to earn him a deal with one of the country's most influential indie-rock record labels.

Jeff Hanson's rising career came to a sudden end Friday, when he was found dead at his apartment in St. Paul.

Hanson, 31, likely died from a fall or other accident at the concrete-floored apartment, which he had just moved into days earlier, said his sister, Sara Hanson. He was found by his parents.

"He was very excited to show off his new place to my parents and show how well he was doing," Sara Hanson said.

Hanson rose to underground fame in 2003 when he was signed to Kill Rock Stars, the Olympia, Wash.-based label that launched Sleater-Kinney and Elliott Smith. His soft, effeminate voice caught the attention of the label's staff, which then flew him out for a test gig, he said in 2005.

"I think they wanted to see if I sang like that for real," Hanson quipped.

He released three records for the label, including last year's "Madam Owl" and an eponymous 2005 album that earned a 7.8 rating out of 10 from trendsetting music blog PitchforkMedia.com.

Around the Twin Cities, Hanson frequently headlined the Triple Rock, Turf Club or 7th Street Entry. He toured the West Coast and Scandinavia this spring with fellow songwriter Chris Koza.

"He went a lot farther than a lot of local musicians ever get, whether it was recording for Kill Rock Stars or playing to 400 people in Japan," said Minneapolis booking agent Paul Gillis.

Hanson, who grew up in Waukesha, Wis., divorced last year and did not have any children -- "besides his two dogs," said Sara Hanson, who emphasized that her brother never had any trouble with substance abuse. Funeral arrangements have not been made pending the medical examiner's investigation.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

Shocking: Stryper member marries born again ex-hooker.

Here's hoping that this publicity will lead to a reunion tour. My life needs the yellow and black attack. Also, a reality show about this "porn-again Christian" trying to minister to prostitutes would be an interesting sidebar on "Rock of Love"

Read it for yourself.