Life On Mars

There are some things people should remember about John McCain. Here are some of them (click to enlarge):

Speaking of conservatives, here in Canada the Conservative Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Bernier, recently resigned after a scandal involving his buxom girlfriend, pictured below, who might have had ties to the criminal world.

When asked for comment, Prime Minister Harper just couldn’t stop talking about (and miming) Bernier’s girlfriend’s boobs:

Boobs. Is there anything they can’t do?

In other weird “conservative” news, there’s a movement afoot by those on the Right of the political spectrum in the USA to make English America’s official language. (See, they currently don’t have an official language, hence it’s perfectly reasonable for the all the immigrating Mexicans to demand services in Spanish). Well, if the following image (courtesy of the Houston Chronicle) is any indication, maybe these English-speaking activists need to, you know, learn some English:

I love that she took the time to underline her idiocy.

Since we’re on an image roll, I thought I’d share with you the following story in images. It’s of a rock god, Mr David Bowie, a great inspiration to me over the years. One of my favourite Bowie songs is “Life on Mars”, which many people believe to have been Bowie’s response after having been muscled out of writing “My Way” for Frank Sinatra, by –of all people– Paul Anka. See, “My Way”, was based on an old French song called, “Comme D’habitude”. All three songs employ the same chord changes. Weird, huh?

Well, first we have the original performance of “Life on Mars” by a young Bowie in 1973, featured in this video by Mick Rock. Revel in the fashion and in the youth:

Next up is a mostly a capella version set to images of Bowie’s life:

After that is a live performance in the mid-80s, as part of the legendary “Serious Moonlight” tour. This was the first time I’d heard the song, and was impressed by Bowie’s significant lung volume and sheer vocal power. I think he’s 40-something in this one:

Last up is the modern Bowie, dapper at 62, but still a bit sad for those of us who still think of him as the youthful weirdo. Notice the deeper voice, slower tempo and overall agedness –which nonetheless make this a more profound and emotional performance:

I guess even rock gods get old…