Flipped on the tube last night. MTV. Music TeleVision. Wanted to see if there were any new musical trends that I ought to be marketing to. Last time I tuned in a few years back, it was 100% gangsta-rap hip-hop. Not 97%. 100%. This time, after three hours I turned it off. There was no music on MTV. Zero, zilch, nada. All reality shows. Watching a bunch of spoilt rich kids showing off their houses. Watched a couple of rich girls do the only thing that they apparently were skilled in, shopping. Watched another show where some dude is trying to make the moves on a virgin by taking her to a strip club and getting her drunk. Tacky. You know he's going to end up doing her because the show is too well scripted for him to fail. I also doubt that she's really a virgin. She's way too aggressive and she already knows the script. Hold on, I hear music. Oh wait, it's only a candy commercial. It's no wonder I don't have much business. There doesn't seem to be much music on TV anymore. I think it was the queer boys' nature show that finally put me over the top. So I turn to the radio. There has to be music on the radio, doesn't there? Led Zeppelin, AC/DC. You'd think that after thirty years there would be something besides Free Bird on the radio. But wait, we've got Prince (or the artist who used to be called something or other). That's only like 23 years old. I give up in disgust.

On the bright side (perhaps) Time-Warner (remember them?) sold off their music division to a couple of musicians, instead of merging yet further with the two or three remaining big labels. This can only be a good move. (Perhaps.)

If Christmas didn't exist, merchants would have created it. It's the ultimate tax shelter. The way it works is that your taxable income is based on how much inventory you've got left on January 1. If you have less, you've got less taxes to pay. If you've got more, you've got more taxes to pay. So you want to run out of stuff the week before you do the inventory. Hopefully I'll be able to play that game this year. Last year Christmas was pretty sucky. I only bought half as many cheap electric guitars this year. Took me all year to sell the ones I bought for last Xmas.

I'm told Liz Taylor once called Michael Jackson 'the most normal person I know'. I'm serious. Kinda' makes you wonder who all she knows...