funny guys die, too...carney slams...pressly ages

--Pat McCormick was one of those celebrities that you probably would recognize even if you didn't know his name. Best known as "Big Enos" Burdette from the Smokey and the Bandit films, McCormick was also a veteran in the field of comedy, both as a performer and a writer. He died last Friday after a lengthy hospital stay from a stroke he suffered in 1998.

I think the best example of his comedy was recalled by comic actor Jack Riley, who told of a night he went walking with his friend. They came upon the Braille Institute, and McCormick looked up to see several dark windows on the second floor. "Ah, " he said, "I see they're working late."


--Jason Carney appears on HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry (in its fifth season) this Friday night. I always liked Carney best of all the poets I heard locally years back, but I have to admit he is an imposing specimen of masculinity. I fear my women will run to him and leave me here behind the desk staring at my dogs playing poker. His power is that great.

Controlled Burning wishes JC all the best on the road to fulfillment and poetic greatness.


--Jaime Pressly turned 28 this past Saturday. This is notable because it's freakin' Jaime Pressly!



seeking a rest stop on the poetry superhighway