Bulletin Board of Bad Behavior

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army contract to privatize maintenance at Walter Reed Medical Center was delayed more than three years amid bureaucratic bickering and legal squabbles that led to staff shortages and a hospital in disarray just as the number of severely wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan was rising rapidly.

Documents from the investigative and auditing arm of Congress map a trail of bid, rebid, protests and appeals between 2003, when Walter Reed was first selected for outsourcing, and 2006, when a five-year, $120 million contract was finally awarded.

March Madness- college basketball after all. The Wisconsin Badgers, one of my many alma matar's was earlier this year ranked #1 in the nation. Now they have been the highest seeded team upset in the tournament so far. Sometimes ya Fuck'em Bucky and sometimes Bucky gets Fucked.

But that couldn't dampen spirits too much at the famous Packer bar Kettle of Fish in the Village- except for owner Patrick- but the rest of us were there to celebrate Shelly Pack's B-day. All had a great time. There were many Pete Doherty's (meaning lots of blokes were wearing the hat Paul Simonon from the Clash made famous- more on the best looking punk ever later) but there were not as many Kate Moss's, unless you count beautiful girls drinking their weight in lager, which now that I have written this sentence, I must admit I have to.

From there Angela and I went to the Mercury Lounge- this is from a post I wrote on Tony Fletcher's web site. And it got me into the sold out show tomorrow. (Thanks Michael C, Tony, Fujiya & Miyagi.——–)

Last night I saw Fujiya & Miyagi at Mercury Lounge. It was excellent, like a fun lovin' pop version of Suicide or something, I don't know. But I was shakin' my ass to every song and a look around confirmed the whole crowd was feelin' the vibe the band brought. After the show I met Steve at the bar, and I bought the band drinks and we had a chat downstairs. We talked of Andy Johnson (sorry) and Mark E. Smith. Anyway it was a brilliant night out, some of the most spontaneous fun this sometimes-jaded New Yorker has had in a while. In the last week I saw The Good The Bad and The Ugly and The Pogues- and while you don't more iconic than old time punks Paul Simonon and Shane MacGowan- those shows were huge and lacked intimacy. At the Mercury Lounge I was reminded why I had wasted my life with this Rock and Roll addiction in the first place. And it was all made possible by the free MP3 on this site. Thanks Michael C. Thanks Tony. Thanks Fujiya & Miyagi.

I'm friends with some Italians who live in new York. Thursday they invited me to Michela Martello's “PAXâ€￾ art opening at Gloria's 145 6th Avenue (between Spring/Dominick) Loft 6D NY, NY 10013.

Since I started a web site in 1997 called Pax Acidus- a term many people had trouble getting there head around, I was right at home with the beautiful mixed media and watercolor paintings that were inspired by yoga, spirituality and of course, Peace.

Check it out if you get a chance. March 22-April 6: by appointment only. 917.847.1886.

My favorite novel is being turned into a goddamn movie
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played ill-fated lovers in the 1997 smash hit "Titanic," are reuniting for a drama about postwar disillusionment, the DreamWorks movie studio said Friday.

"Revolutionary Road" will be directed by Winslet's husband, British filmmaker Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for directing 1999's dysfunctional family drama "American Beauty."

The DreamWorks project, based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates, revolves around a suburban couple caught between their hopes for a life of art, culture and sophistication and the everyday drudgery of boring jobs and domesticity.

"Revolutionary Road" is considered a masterwork of modern American literature, and was named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Time magazine.

In "Titanic," DiCaprio's working-class character fell in love with a wealthy socialite played by Winslet aboard the doomed ocean liner that sank in the icy North Atlantic in 1912.

It became the highest-grossing movie of all time, raking in more than $1.8 billion in global ticket sales, and made DiCaprio and Winslet household names.

Both DiCaprio and Winslet were nominated for Oscars this year, for thriller "Blood Diamond" and drama "Little Children," respectively. DiCaprio has earned three Oscar nominations and Winslet five.

I'm off to London. 1st stop Spring Heel Jack and J. Spaceman at Spitz. But damn me to hell I'm gonna miss the Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline show.

I'm gonna personally ask Mr. Spaceman to bring that tour to New York City.