$400 Million lottery? Who cares!

What?!

You say the Powerball is up to $400 million?

Big deal.

I've got silver in the stars and gold in the morning sun, to quote Don Williams.

Plus, look at this poster I won from Graceland. Yep, that's announcing the 2013 inductees to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

I've got everything I need, y'all.

That being said, if I do win the big payoff, next week's dateline will be  from Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, USA.

Hey, a guy can't dream, can't he?

Kanye karate-chopped by The King!

Guess what, Kanye? You ain't The King.

At best, you're an inflamed boil on the buttocks of society. And that's being charitable.

Elvis fans and people of goodwill everywhere breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Lisa Marie Presley, E's daughter and executor of his estate, dispelled a rumor that Graceland is for sale in a USA Today article.

Earlier this summer, a British tabloid rag reported that West, best known for making an ass of himself at every opportunity, was interested in purchasing the Memphis mansion for (an expression I hate) his "baby mama" Kim Kardashian (another name I wish I had never heard).

Forget it. These gates are closed to you, Kanye.

"Sometimes there are rumors about it (Graceland) being sold," Presley told USA Today, "and that is NEVER going to happen. There's always a rumor. It is NOT getting sold. Graceland was given to me and will always be mine and then passed to my children," she says. "It will never be sold."

Thank God and thankyouverymuch!

I take great comfort in knowing that my nieces and godsons will still be listening to The King when Kanye is reduced to the ash heap of cultural irrelevance.

Graceland has also been named the Best Iconic American Attraction in the 10Best Readers' Choice contest, topping the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and The White House.

Long live The King!

The 35th

I can't really tell you why Elvis Presley is my favorite singer.

The artist, the music, the listener -- a connection exists. You can't explain it.

The fun part is you don't have to explain.

It makes me sad so many folks don't really know Elvis. Look past the stereotype, the bad jokes, the even-worse impersonators (several of them are worth the price of admission), the so-so films and all that kitsch.

Go back to the music. Go back to the man. Take a good listen. Take a good look.

I had put Elvis away, folded him neatly and placed him in a box marked "memories" for most of the last decade. Well, I had ODed on him during my childhood and needed some distance.

And here's the great part. A year or two or three ago, Elvis came back into my life, as if he'd put on the black leather and stepped back into the national consciousness on NBC-TV in December '68. And you know what? He's even better this time around.

I bought a Sirius/XM player in large part so I could listen to Elvis Radio. Jenn would tell you I probably listen too much, but like Jose Feliciano just said from Memphis, "I'd rather be addicted to Elvis Radio than to drugs."

Elvis left us 35 years ago today. The world is a much duller place without him.

It's funny. I feel like he's an old friend. You may think that's nuts. I don't care. Elvis is there when I need him. All these years later, he's still entertaining.

If you don't like him or don't get it, that's OK. I guarantee you have an Elvis in your life. And that's cool. It's what puts the fan in fanatic.

I like the later, mature stuff, more "Suspicious Minds" and less "All Shook Up." But I'll say this. Some of the gems the disc jockeys on Elvis Radio dig up have given me a new appreciation for the "Young Man with a Big Beat" years.

One of these days, I'll make it back to Memphis, to Graceland, to pay my respects. I want to see whether it's changed in 15 years. I want to say thanks.

Forgive me if I am just a little bit maudlin today. I am going to pause. To smile. To listen to the music, that sweet, sweet music. To remember.

God bless ya, Elvis. You'll always be The King to me.