Sin Tax Era

 Congratulations to Dukes Mike Krzyzewski who stands alone as the winningest basketball coach in Division 1 history. As my friends know, I'm a huge Duke fan, have been for years, and won't apoligize despite the programs many comparisons to the New York Yankees. Coach K is a class act who fortunately took the best of Bobby Knight, his mentor, without bringing the hysterics. Nice guys do win, just not that often.

Looking for a perfect Christmas gift for that blues fan in your family? Look no further as Robert Johnson, the OG of the Delta, is getting the reissue treatment with 10-inch 45rpm replicas of his original Vocalion recordings. The generous box set coincides with his 100th birthday and includes a newly unearthed photo, elaborate liner notes, and is housed in a hard bound case that replicates an old 78rpm record folder. Check out the details and video here.

Speaking of the blues, former Blues Brother Dan Ackroyd has launched a line of vodka called Crystal Head. The bottle is a glass skull and the vodka is made from the "deep glacial waters of Newfoundland." This would be the perfect opportunity to launch John Belushis 48 Hour Energy which would just be shitloads of cocaine in a Ziplock baggie.

How do you negotiate a break up in this age of social media? Here's a template from Frank Lesser who writes in McSweeney's that a court ordered de-friending may be necessary.

Stellar reviews so far for The Descendants, a new Alexander Payne movie starring George Clooney which opens next week.(actually today in select theaters but Maine has no select theaters) Payne, who directed Election, About Schmidt and Sideways, has crafted a masterpiece according to A.O Scott of the New York Times.

In music news Heavy D is still dead, the bed that Michael Jacksons died in is no longer for sale, and the great Olivia Tremor Control has re-issued Dusk At Cubist Castle. The band was an original member of the Elephant 6 Collective from Athens, Georgia which consistently cranked out minor masterpieces during the then fledgling indie rock movement. Here's Green Typewriters X, a cool track that sounds like Meddle era Pink Floyd fronted by George Harrison.