The Oil Drum

Someone told me that Joan Armatrading used to play on the T before she was discovered.

Reading the rumors below reminded me: I called to wish my Dad a Happy Easter and he started telling me that there was proof that Saddam had moved all the WMDs into Syria just before we invaded, but that China wouldn't let Bush say anything about it or they would stop buying our T-Bills, and we're so far in debt that they really have us over a barrel. William of Ockham must be rolling in his grave, but I found it interesting that some right wing source was using the debt crisis to prove the WMDs existed.

From the Baltimore Sun, one of today's most emailed stories:

Foreclosures on the rise in suburbs of Baltimore

The new wave of mortgage defaults hitting the region, part of a nationwide spike, is not primarily a city problem. Foreclosure filings rose four times faster last year in Baltimore's suburbs than in Baltimore - up 15 percent versus less than 4 percent in the city, court records show. To the south in Montgomery, one of the nation's wealthiest counties, filings were up more than 30 percent.

Suburban Baltimore foreclosure cases are increasing even more quickly this year, and local housing advocates fear a worsening as more "exotic" mortgages reset to higher payments. Already, real estate agents and auctioneers say, some homeowners are desperately trying to sell before they are overwhelmed.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.foreclose08apr08,0,645837...

I can't speak for the Boston saxophonist's talent, but it's not unusual for serious jazz players to quote the Flinstones theme in their improvisations. That's because the Flintstones theme was written over the chord changes of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," and all jazz players know "I Got Rhythm."