This is funnier than it should be:

Hetfield Held Up for ‘Taliban’ Beard
AOL
Posted: 2007-07-09 10:13:25
Filed Under: Music

(July 9) — Metallica’s Live Earth performance almost faded to black before it even happened, thanks to British airport officials who held their lead singer at a terminal because of his “Taliban-like beard.”

According to the British newspaper The Times, as reported by the New Zealand Herald, metal pioneer James Hetfield was held up and subjected to a line of questioning due to his facial hair following a tense week in the United Kingdom after foiled terror plots and an attack in Scotland.

The Times reports that airport security officials were embarrassed and let Hetfield go after he explained he was a member of the legendary rock band.

Tangentially, I know it’s deeply uncool to say it, but I’m still a Metallica fan — I’ve liked all the albums from the beginning, and think the crap they take for not being the same band they started as is pretty uncalled for. If you’re writing the same poetry (oops, I mean music) at 40 that you were at 20, you’re pretty much, um, AC/DC. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think change and experimentation are ok.

Rumors that Metallica’s next album will be named “Tales of the Great Satan” remain unconfirmed at press time.

Icchus has kind of stalled in his adjustment process — stays under the couch all day, then cries off and on and haunts you all night. I’m worried that it might be too much of a change for him — will give it another day or so and if it doesn’t shift much, I may have to return him.

sniffle.

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GotPoetry.com has a cool new feature that allows you to create a fully formatted chapbook from the finished poems you’ve posted on line at pretty much the push of a button.

I’ve been planning to play with it for a bit and create a new chapbook. Noticing that the theme of a lot of my poems lately have ot do with what it means to be “American.”

Anyone else have any interesting themes in the their work lately?

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Listening to Miles on a warm afternoon — specifically, “Seven Steps To Heaven” — is a glorious thing.

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I need a NYC fix soon. Would love to hunt down a feature for Duende, or myself solo as second choice; barring that, just get down and soak up some NYC summer.

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Business trips this week and next to McLean VA (this week, Thursday nite/Friday AM) and Harrisburg PA (next week, Thursday/Friday). The second one is a sudden request, which is good because I’m broker than broke right now — still dumbfounded as to how I’m going to afford Austin.

Speaking of which — I’ve been emailing Mike Henry in follow up to a couple of emails regarding NPS events he sent me a while back, and I’m getting no response. I know he’s crazy busy right now, but I am getting antsy about not having info. Any idea who to get in touch with that might be less crazed right now?

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I picked up two cheap CDs this PM when I was over at Circuit City getting a laptop stand (this thing gets warm). Both are of traditional Indian ragas, something I used to listen to a lot at one point. Am looking forward to this.

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I’m a hermit these days, but that’s OK. Waterfire in Providence tonight, I think — cheap and pretty.