Travel Bargains are NOW!

This has been a crazy year for travel, with the airline debacles and fuel so high people couldn't even do their drive vacations this summer. Well guess what. Summer's over, and all the hotel executives are looking at turning in their year-end numbers, and they are PRETTY BAD. Because of that, they're looking for ways to bump revenues between now and the end of 2008. Places like Orlando, Las Vegas, Hawaii and other tourism locales are far down from projections, and for people willing to travel without a lot of notice, there are truly bargains to be had. Depending on where you live, airfares may or may not be a great value yet, while the airlines are still trying to sort out how to become profitable. Good luck with that. But we can check "live" availability for you 7-days a week, so don't hesitate to look for a nice Fall getaway. Of course, you have to realize that over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year there is incredible demand for travel, which drives prices up. Still, there are values on the off-dates. Cruises have remained somewhat steadier, and yet the Fall (when schools are in session) always brings lower pricing, and flexibility is the key to getting the lowest rate.

Last night we finally got to see Debate #1 from the prez boys. I thought they both laid out their positions pretty well, and it may not have swayed too many people from however they were intending to vote in the first place. But at least there were no outright gaffes, like Obama saying "Canada? Where the heck is that?" or McCain saying "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" So kudos to them both, and let's hope America gets it right. For a change.

This week brought a profound sadness to me. It's a sadness that actually started last year. Once-upon-a-time there was a Great Idea. Its name was the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame. The concept was to reward generations of fans, just like with baseball or any major sport, with a chance to re-live the music, visuals and excesses that make up the genre. All under 1 roof. People under 30 have no Earthly idea how Jimi Hendrix altered literally everything you thought you knew about guitar. They probably know Eric Clapton, but never saw Cream. Or the person Eric Clapton calls the greatest and most influential guitarist of all time, Buddy Guy. They think Les Paul is a cool guitar, not knowing he was a cool guitarist. They know Tina Turner as an older lady who can still sing a bit. People under 30 think songs were always about 4 minutes long, when in fact they were always about 2 minutes long until a band from the South called the Allman Brothers thought maybe 17-18 minutes was just about right. On the funk side of rock, they didnt' get a chance to experience the young, limitless talent of Little Stevie Wonder, the choreography of the Temps and 4 Tops, the smoothness of Jackie Wilson or Otis Redding, or the light-up-the-night-bring-it style of Sly and the Family Stone. Trust me, these were special talents that came from humble beginnings, only to turn the world on its head.

Then 2007 happened. A year that will live in infamy. Sure, you had some great rock talent receiving their welcome papers: the colossus that is Van Halen, one of rock's great female voices Patti Smith, and while I'm not a fan I'll give props to R.E.M. for creating style, if not substance. The Ronettes finally got in, without the shadow of Phil Specter hanging in the balance. Nice. Then all of a sudden a chill went down the spines of EVERY TRUE ROCK AND ROLLER IN THE UNIVERSE, when the final inductee was named. Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. These are the people whose claim to fame was "Rapper's Delight", a 3 1/2 hour long meaningless drivel of a rap which drove more rock people out of clubs than into them. Folks, scratching vinyl and talking in rhyme over a repetitious backbeat bass line is not now, was not then, nor ever will be rock 'n roll. Period!! Then 2008 comes along and Madonna makes the Hall. Madonna. Now I've always kind of liked her music, but trust me it ain't rock. Her lifestyle of excess and sexuality probably meet the criteria to be in there with the best of them, but that's where it ends. Musically it simply doesn't apply. Apparently the voting committee was kidnapped without our knowledge, and has been replaced by a bunch of 20-somethings with no clue. Think Madonna was a surprise? On the list for 2009 are some classics as always.....Jeff Beck (former Yardbirds), Metallica (well-deserved) and a handful of other acts, but then I saw Run DMC listed as a candidate. Run DMC, who are 100% rap and whose only legitimate claim to any rock fame was a brief cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". If you want to hear Walk This Way, go pick up Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic CD. Great song compilation which includes "Sweet Emotion" among others. THAT's the original. THAT's the song. THAT's what goes to the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame. Not the lame copy that was 20% song and 80% video gimmickry. Good heavens. Listen (if you can stand it) to any Run DMC disc, and you'll hear a dozen songs that sound like 1 song run together. Pathetic to think Jimi and Buddy and Eric and Tina and Sly and the rest have to share their final musical resting place with Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC. By the way - can you name 1 member of the Furious Five? Ever hear from them again? Do you know what Grandmaster Flash looks like? Awful. Simply awful, and the good people of Cleveland Ohio need to go down there and protest the watering-down of a great idea. Meanwhile, some of rock's most influential bands and long-time producers of wonderful, MELODIC music are ignored. Bands like Journey. Toto. Canada's amazingly-influential power trio, Rush. Bon Jovi certainly deserves consideration. Here's the one I just don't get. Think 1980's. Think complete and over-the-top excess such as the world had never seen before. Think heavy metal, a stage show from outer space, breathing fire, spitting blood, and the longest tongue you had ever seen. Yep, I'm talking about Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss. The band in the black-and-white makeup, KISS. You probably assumed these guys were in the Rock Hall by default. Well guess what.....Grandmaster Flash, The Furious Five, Madonna and potentially Run DMC are taking up spots that should be reserved for the bands I just named, and Kiss in particular. Talk about changing an entire genre of music and being influential! The songs almost didn't matter - it was about the act and the experience of living Kiss. Coming to the concert after your girlfriend or Mom or buddy painted your face like the Star Child, The Cat, The Space Man or The Demon. Ladies and gents, THAT is rock 'n roll.

I can hardly wait for 2010. Probably be the year of Fifty-Cent......