10 cents a show

On the second day of his teachings in Seattle, the Karmapa (who turns 23 tomorrow) was introduced by some Nobel-Prize-winning scientist as “His Holiness Krampapa.” Pretty embarrassing for all involved, but rather funny. You should have seen all the shocked hippies. They looked like a fur-wearing arms salesman had stolen their collective incense and stomped on it with a leather cowboy boot…while eating a hamburger, with bacon on it. The woman next to me, who nearly flattened me in her rush to prostrate to HHK, whispered to me, “How could he!” She spent the rest of the teachings sitting gap-jawed and utterly motionless, apparently due the misnomer. I cannot substantiate the rumors that she has remained in that seat for the past month.

The whole experience got me thinking, though. “The Krampapa” is far too cool a name to be left only to under-informed Nobel Prize Winners. I did some research (i.e. I looked at first page of google results) and found only this weird Russian(?) thing, so I figure the title is up for grabs.So who should the Krampapa be? It sounds kind of like Big Papi, but more crochety and less exotic.

A couple of people that just scream “Krampapa” to me. Rod Stewart. Hank Steinbrenner. Rick Wakemen (of Yes). But, in my eyes, there is only one choice for the 1st Gyalwang Krampapa. Any other suggestions?

And because I have perfect taste in everything… New Record of the Week: Pumice – Quo, New Zealand’s finest one-man-band returns with another noise pop gem. New Comic of the Week: Madame Xanadu #1, reminding us all that fantasy comics don’t have to be the dorkiest thing ever