You're after getting the honey, then...

The flowers are blooming and Spring is around the corner in New England.

Unfortunately, those of us who care about cultivating anything in our gardens, must worry about the continued loss of honeybees.

The latest reports from climes where Spring has sprung are not heartening.

And so, once again from the late, great scientist, Joe Strummer...

John Chapman, John Mellor, just because

I finally got around to watching The Future Is Unwritten.

You're after getting the honey, then you don't go killing all the bees.

Bragg visit to WWUH cancelled

Billy Bragg was named Classic Songwriter at the Q magazine music awards this week.

'Twas an opportunity to answer the classic "mixing pop with politics" question for The Guardian.

Bragg will be in America next week, where he will appear in New York on October 17 at a benefit for Huntington's disease which honors Woody and Marjorie Guthrie with appearances by Steve Earle, and Stone Gossard's band Brad.

The next day, he'll be at the Calvin Theater in Northampton Massachusetts. There are still some decent seats left, for the Calvin Theater show.


Other interesting Bragg news. He's been participating with a variety of interesting folk, rock and world music musicians in a project called the Imagined Village and will be touring with them. He's released a vinyl 45 rpm single called Johnny Clash which benefits his initiative called Jail Guitar Doors, which provides free guitars to prisoners. And he's doing a one-off co-engagement with the Pogues during their holiday tour of the British Isles. He'll be playing the Manchester Central on December 15th. And he's part of the already sold-out Joe Strummer Tribute, Acton Arms Aloft, in Acton, England on November 15.

Don't go killing all the bees

In a hotel room near Asheville, NC last night I watched two episodes of one of the weirdest TV series I've ever seen, John from Cincinnati, on HBO. It's disjointed and bizarre, I think, for the sake of being disjointed and bizarre. But not altogether unwatchable. The theme music is Joe Strummer's great Johnny Appleseed. Upon hearing it, I realized the lyrics were very apropos considering the disappearance of honeybees in this country:

If you're after getting honey, then
Don't go killing all the bees.

Life, unfortunately, imitating art.