Entertainment is making me sad nowadays. Let's take these in reverse order. John Ritter will mostly be remembered of course for Three's Company, which (amazingly) was once a vanguard show in some ways, pushing the boundaries of the sitcom. But I'll remember a couple of other, supporting performances by Ritter much better--his eye-opening performance in Sling Blade, his guest appearance on "Buffy" as a robot dating Joyce (a fun episode), and most notably for a very strong performance as J.D.'s father on "Scrubs". In that role he reminded of largely of my own father, which is probably why I remember it fondly.

(In other news, BTW, Joyce DeWitt wants to know if you're finished eating that.)

Warren Zevon's death was not unexpected, as he had been making "farewell" TV appearances for nearly a year, but it's still vey saddening to me. My screen name was Mr. Bad Example for a while, after all. I was introduced to him in college by two people--a professor and a fellow student (Jim Malloy and Ben Jackson, respectively) about whom I had not thought og in a long time before this week. I'm sure they're not having the best week either.

Mostly, though, I am really bummed out about Johnny Cash. I was going to make my blog black for a while in his honor, but then I was afraid I couldn't remember how to switch it back. Cash was one of the great country singers of all time and an icon for several generations, but you knew that already. What really sticks out for me about Cash, however, is that he was one of the great protest singers of the last 50 years, even though you might not think of him that way.

I did wear all black today to my LSAT class (OK, I thought the shirt was black but it turned out to be navy). As good as Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, and others are, this will always be the quintessential Johnny Cash tune for me, and it's also one of the most poignant statements of personal ethics that I know of:

The Man In Black

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.