Wednesday, July 12, 2006
A Happy Day
Today was a happy day. I received a piece of mail that was 10 years in coming. My very last student loan payment book arrived. Ten fuckin years I've been paying those Sallie Mae pricks my money for a degree I haven't even come close to using. I want a refund.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
The Best [hic] Salsa [hic] Ever [hic]
Tonight for dinner I had a smoothie and chips and salsa. Not just any salsa, but the best salsa I've ever had.
Desert Pepper Trading Company Salsa Diablo Hot
You can find it at kroger, usually on an endcap in the ethnic aisle. Its a bit expensive $4.59 for 16oz, but I've never had another like it. And it passes my hotness test. From years of experience I know how hot stuff is by my bodies reaction.
If I hiccup, its hot; if I don't, its not. Rather simple, but effective. Also a neat icebreaker.
They also make a very good bean salsa, a black and a white, with the latter being the better of the two. Now that I've been to the website, I am going to look for the Roasted Habanero Salsa - XXXTra Hot that they make.
Desert Pepper
Desert Pepper Trading Company Salsa Diablo Hot
You can find it at kroger, usually on an endcap in the ethnic aisle. Its a bit expensive $4.59 for 16oz, but I've never had another like it. And it passes my hotness test. From years of experience I know how hot stuff is by my bodies reaction.
If I hiccup, its hot; if I don't, its not. Rather simple, but effective. Also a neat icebreaker.
They also make a very good bean salsa, a black and a white, with the latter being the better of the two. Now that I've been to the website, I am going to look for the Roasted Habanero Salsa - XXXTra Hot that they make.
Desert Pepper
Friday, June 30, 2006
No, I Was Not High
So last night I had a fucked up dream and it would either make a good Harry Turtledove novel, or a bad Jerry Bruckheimer film. Or vice versa.
I'm in Washington DC and its like 1920, but there is a war going on between the north and the south. I'm in the north and we are winning, its near the end of the war and we have the south on the ropes, but then we are attacked by the English. We have to scurry to bomb shelters to hide from their bombers, but the bomb shelters resemble the new North Hills mall and we are hiding between Chick-Fila and 5 Brothers Burgers. Not the best place to be hiding from bombers, but its okay because the planes only have one bomb and its the size of a football. The planes aren't much bigger than my old Geo, but are very maneuverable, like a genie or air elemental. The only damage the planes do is when one of them turns on end, with its propeller straight down and buzzsaws into the crowd of people, liquifying them instantly.
This sickens the population and the north and south put their differences aside and decide to attack England, France and Germany. My family opens a store that sells old style record players, the kind that are the player and speaker all in one. You can also put a cover on it and carry it around with you and it was the size of my G4 tower. We also sell records, but most of them have been damaged by mold. I did find three Rolling Stones records in the bins, Black & Blue, Emotional Rescue and Some Girls.
Then, Nicole Kidman (posing as our mother), my sister and I sneak into England. Nicole is caught in the train station by security, but me and my sister continue on to complete our mission. We enter the house of the Minister of War and tie up the first secretary we see (played by John Cleese), then enter the next room and rip the phone out of the hands of the next secretary (also played by John Cleese) and tie him up with the cord. Finally we enter the residence of the Minister of War and immobilize the entire family and kidnap his newborn baby. Apparently that was our mission. I stuff the baby in a hiking backpack and wait to see if it cries. When it doesn't we turn to leave.
The End.
I'm in Washington DC and its like 1920, but there is a war going on between the north and the south. I'm in the north and we are winning, its near the end of the war and we have the south on the ropes, but then we are attacked by the English. We have to scurry to bomb shelters to hide from their bombers, but the bomb shelters resemble the new North Hills mall and we are hiding between Chick-Fila and 5 Brothers Burgers. Not the best place to be hiding from bombers, but its okay because the planes only have one bomb and its the size of a football. The planes aren't much bigger than my old Geo, but are very maneuverable, like a genie or air elemental. The only damage the planes do is when one of them turns on end, with its propeller straight down and buzzsaws into the crowd of people, liquifying them instantly.
This sickens the population and the north and south put their differences aside and decide to attack England, France and Germany. My family opens a store that sells old style record players, the kind that are the player and speaker all in one. You can also put a cover on it and carry it around with you and it was the size of my G4 tower. We also sell records, but most of them have been damaged by mold. I did find three Rolling Stones records in the bins, Black & Blue, Emotional Rescue and Some Girls.
Then, Nicole Kidman (posing as our mother), my sister and I sneak into England. Nicole is caught in the train station by security, but me and my sister continue on to complete our mission. We enter the house of the Minister of War and tie up the first secretary we see (played by John Cleese), then enter the next room and rip the phone out of the hands of the next secretary (also played by John Cleese) and tie him up with the cord. Finally we enter the residence of the Minister of War and immobilize the entire family and kidnap his newborn baby. Apparently that was our mission. I stuff the baby in a hiking backpack and wait to see if it cries. When it doesn't we turn to leave.
The End.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
15 Months To Go
I have made a decision this week. Sometime next summer I plan to be in Europe, hopefully it will be for my birthday.
I know what you're thinking. *How the fuck is he going to survive Europe when he hates going to downtown Raleigh.* Well, I have a guide, one of my best friends has been to Europe on multiple occasions for months at a time and has promised to go.
Next step, money and lots of it. Europass about $1000 for the month, plane tickets $800+, then there's the money i would need to eat and shower and shop.
So if anyone needs some kneecaps broken, let me know. We'll talk.
Since I will have only 3 1/2 weeks I need to narrow down what I want to see. It is a WHOLE continent. Sort of.
Stonehenge, Paris, Greece, Neuschwanstein, Rome, Amsterdam, more castles, bars 300 years older than our country, London, Spain, churches 1000 years older than our country.
Gonna have to work on that list.
I know what you're thinking. *How the fuck is he going to survive Europe when he hates going to downtown Raleigh.* Well, I have a guide, one of my best friends has been to Europe on multiple occasions for months at a time and has promised to go.
Next step, money and lots of it. Europass about $1000 for the month, plane tickets $800+, then there's the money i would need to eat and shower and shop.
So if anyone needs some kneecaps broken, let me know. We'll talk.
Since I will have only 3 1/2 weeks I need to narrow down what I want to see. It is a WHOLE continent. Sort of.
Stonehenge, Paris, Greece, Neuschwanstein, Rome, Amsterdam, more castles, bars 300 years older than our country, London, Spain, churches 1000 years older than our country.
Gonna have to work on that list.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Imagine There's No Heaven
It's hard to imagine a time before the internet. What did people like this do before they could express themselves through iMovie and a couple MBs of hard drive space?
Ask A Ninja
Ask A Ninja
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Utterly Addicted
I started playing this game, back when I knew it as Moria in 1988 when some guys at the computer lab at the University of Hartford clued me into it. Way back when my first major was computer science, so I got a job that gave me access to the computer room. I would sit at the desk in the front of the room and make sure no one caught the computers on fire. It was rather boring, but I got paid. The only excitment I had all semester was when we got a virus. It caused a ball to bounce around the screen and knocked letters out of word documents. Then I got kicked out of the dorms, quit the job and decided that computer science sucked as a major.
But back to the game. Moria was utterly addicting, I never made it past 11th level at Hartford, although my playtime was limited. You couldnt play the game if there were more than 20 people on the network of computers across the 7 or 8 computing rooms on campus, and that was all the time, except early in the morning, or during the overnights.
About 8 years ago, I was able to download it for my mac. Moria, it was glorious in all its black & white & crappy graphics glory. I played until my hand cramped up. The same game I remembered from Hartford. But it was on OS 9 and I hate loading 9 over OSX, so I stopped playing it.
Three days ago, I found it again, this time for OSX and already I can't feel the fingers in my right hand. Now called Angband, its in color (sort of) and better than I remember. My first real character died at level 25, which pissed me off because he had an awesome weapon.
Heres the link to download it for whatever system you have, even if all you have is your old Amiga. If you think it looks stupid, just try it. Start with something simple like a half-troll warrior, keep rerolling your stats until your strength is like 18/50+ and your con is over 18 as well, then head on down and start wacking shit. Angband
But back to the game. Moria was utterly addicting, I never made it past 11th level at Hartford, although my playtime was limited. You couldnt play the game if there were more than 20 people on the network of computers across the 7 or 8 computing rooms on campus, and that was all the time, except early in the morning, or during the overnights.
About 8 years ago, I was able to download it for my mac. Moria, it was glorious in all its black & white & crappy graphics glory. I played until my hand cramped up. The same game I remembered from Hartford. But it was on OS 9 and I hate loading 9 over OSX, so I stopped playing it.
Three days ago, I found it again, this time for OSX and already I can't feel the fingers in my right hand. Now called Angband, its in color (sort of) and better than I remember. My first real character died at level 25, which pissed me off because he had an awesome weapon.
Heres the link to download it for whatever system you have, even if all you have is your old Amiga. If you think it looks stupid, just try it. Start with something simple like a half-troll warrior, keep rerolling your stats until your strength is like 18/50+ and your con is over 18 as well, then head on down and start wacking shit. Angband
Friday, May 19, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Freaks & Geeks
If you haven't seen this show, you should. Shows like 'Freaks & Geeks' are what tv should be, well written, entertaining and honest. Just 18 episodes long (fuck NBC), it joins elite company in the tv show pantheon of really good shows that were killed before their time, like Firefly (1 season) & Sports Night (2 seasons).
Most shows like this get ruined when the tv execs get involved and fuck things up, like showing episodes out of order, changing the night and times it was shown, etc. In a world before TiVo, not knowing where or when your show was on was a nightmare, and usually a sign that the show was on the way out only to be replaced by some crap show with former cast member of 90210.
I enjoyed the show for many reasons:
One, the music kicked ass and was the reason it took so long to be released on DVD. They had to secure rights to everything. From Black Flag and Joe Jackson to Buddy Rich and Rush.
Two, it depicted high school as I remember it, and how most of us remember high school. Stretches of akwardness laced with laughter and pain.
Three, it was well written and parts of it were unexpected. I've seen lots of tv and can usually guess what's going to happen in a show before the first commercial break. Much of tv is sterile and appears stamped out by a large cookie cutter machine. The ending of the series actually shocked me. Not shocked like hand from the grave at the end of Carrie shocked, but pleasently shocked. Plus this ending was better than what I was expecting.
Four, I have this 'thing' for high school cheerleaders and became infatuated with Cindy, the girl who would become Sam's girlfriend for like 3 episodes. I thought she was the hottest thing in the show until the final episode in which Linda Cardellini dances around her room to 'Box of Rain'. Hippie dancing is way hot.
God bless NetFlix for allowing me to see this, after watching all five seasons of Babylon 5, Freaks & Geeks was a nice change and a better show. (Only because of the 5th season of B5 was tacked on at the end and it felt that way.)
So rent Freaks & Geeks, better yet, buy it, you won't be disappointed and if you are then i will buy your used copy from you.
Most shows like this get ruined when the tv execs get involved and fuck things up, like showing episodes out of order, changing the night and times it was shown, etc. In a world before TiVo, not knowing where or when your show was on was a nightmare, and usually a sign that the show was on the way out only to be replaced by some crap show with former cast member of 90210.
I enjoyed the show for many reasons:
One, the music kicked ass and was the reason it took so long to be released on DVD. They had to secure rights to everything. From Black Flag and Joe Jackson to Buddy Rich and Rush.
Two, it depicted high school as I remember it, and how most of us remember high school. Stretches of akwardness laced with laughter and pain.
Three, it was well written and parts of it were unexpected. I've seen lots of tv and can usually guess what's going to happen in a show before the first commercial break. Much of tv is sterile and appears stamped out by a large cookie cutter machine. The ending of the series actually shocked me. Not shocked like hand from the grave at the end of Carrie shocked, but pleasently shocked. Plus this ending was better than what I was expecting.
Four, I have this 'thing' for high school cheerleaders and became infatuated with Cindy, the girl who would become Sam's girlfriend for like 3 episodes. I thought she was the hottest thing in the show until the final episode in which Linda Cardellini dances around her room to 'Box of Rain'. Hippie dancing is way hot.
God bless NetFlix for allowing me to see this, after watching all five seasons of Babylon 5, Freaks & Geeks was a nice change and a better show. (Only because of the 5th season of B5 was tacked on at the end and it felt that way.)
So rent Freaks & Geeks, better yet, buy it, you won't be disappointed and if you are then i will buy your used copy from you.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Collision Of Issues
Just yesterday my love of lists and my music collection ran into each other again. Every two years or so, I order my Top 50 cds. The first list was back in Dec 91 and had only 25 on the list. As my collection has expanded, so has the list. Now its 50 albums long. The top 10 for those who care, or dont care:
10 - Exile On Main Street - The Rolling Stones
9 - Revolver - The Beatles
8 - Joshua Judges Ruth - Lyle Lovett
7 - Slanted & Enchanted - Pavement
6 - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan
5 - Come On Pilgrim/Surfer Rosa - The Pixies*
4 - London Calling - The Clash
3 - Whats Going On - Marvin Gaye
2 - Pauls Boutique - The Beastie Boys
1 - Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
[* technically these are seperate albums, but I always listen to them together and the first CD i had of them had both on the same CD]
Post your top 10 if you feel so inclined.
10 - Exile On Main Street - The Rolling Stones
9 - Revolver - The Beatles
8 - Joshua Judges Ruth - Lyle Lovett
7 - Slanted & Enchanted - Pavement
6 - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan
5 - Come On Pilgrim/Surfer Rosa - The Pixies*
4 - London Calling - The Clash
3 - Whats Going On - Marvin Gaye
2 - Pauls Boutique - The Beastie Boys
1 - Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
[* technically these are seperate albums, but I always listen to them together and the first CD i had of them had both on the same CD]
Post your top 10 if you feel so inclined.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Do Ducks Have Au Pairs?
I sure hope so, because I saw a duck surrounded by 10 baby ducklings this afternoon at the lake. Now, I know my knowledge of ducks is limited to they quack and they are hard to cook properly, but 10 seems like an awful lot of babies for one duck to have. This means she laid a minimum of 10 eggs, again, this seems like a large number for one duck to lay.
Now these might have been small eggs, and the thought of hearing her loudly quack "You did this to me!" at least 10 times is kind of funny. But 10, that quantifies as a fuck load.
This is for Lane. I found a site that my friend put up long ago about the 'band' I 'played' in before I moved to NC. I guess I am on the web.
Bloat
Now these might have been small eggs, and the thought of hearing her loudly quack "You did this to me!" at least 10 times is kind of funny. But 10, that quantifies as a fuck load.
This is for Lane. I found a site that my friend put up long ago about the 'band' I 'played' in before I moved to NC. I guess I am on the web.
Bloat
Friday, April 14, 2006
The End Of An Era
Unless someone sees me tomorrow morning, the next time anyone will see me will be with my new car. After 9.03 long years the Metro will be sold and I will be the owner of a 2005 Ford Focus ZX3S 2D Hatchback. Technically the bank will own the car until I pay it off, but thats just semantics.
Nine long years, almost 60,000 miles. It will be sad to see Polly go, she was a good car. After 13 years she still got 36+ miles per gallon, which is good considering she is missing parts. Apparently Metro parts are very hard to come by and instead of replacing them, my mechanic has removed them. Telling me that I didn't need them, a sensor here, a computer chip there, etc.
I've abused her (a dozen trips to NY), ignored her (just 9 tanks of gas in 2001), but most of all, loved her. Nine years is longer than I had my first two cars combined. The Honda Accord (Daphne) got wrapped around a telephone pole, and the Dodge Colt (Liz) needed to be put to sleep after just 12 months. I can only hope that the new car will last as long as the old one.
Like any relationship there are things I will miss and things I could do without:
PRO:
-still 36+ mph
-who's gonna steal a Metro?
-turning radius of a helium atom
-easy to wrap
-impossible to get a speeding ticket (Metro's top speed is approx 88mph, tough to tell as the speedometer stops at 85)
-haven't had to be designated driver for the past 4 years ("That's your car? You can drive mine.")
CON:
-no CD player
-being hit on the head by the hatch falling suddenly
-8 gallon gas tank
-heat barely functional, A/C worse
-everyone's going to want to ride in it (maybe)
-the lingering smell of oil & gas for 3 days after I filled the tank
-men on Segways pass the Metro on inclines
I will miss not having hubcaps, I will miss not having to wash my car, I will miss all the squirrel/chipmunk jokes about the 3-cylinder engine, I will miss the 8-year old crack in the windshield. I will miss you Polly.
Listening To: iTunes folder 'Older Missing Mid Length 4+ Stars'
Nine long years, almost 60,000 miles. It will be sad to see Polly go, she was a good car. After 13 years she still got 36+ miles per gallon, which is good considering she is missing parts. Apparently Metro parts are very hard to come by and instead of replacing them, my mechanic has removed them. Telling me that I didn't need them, a sensor here, a computer chip there, etc.
I've abused her (a dozen trips to NY), ignored her (just 9 tanks of gas in 2001), but most of all, loved her. Nine years is longer than I had my first two cars combined. The Honda Accord (Daphne) got wrapped around a telephone pole, and the Dodge Colt (Liz) needed to be put to sleep after just 12 months. I can only hope that the new car will last as long as the old one.
Like any relationship there are things I will miss and things I could do without:
PRO:
-still 36+ mph
-who's gonna steal a Metro?
-turning radius of a helium atom
-easy to wrap
-impossible to get a speeding ticket (Metro's top speed is approx 88mph, tough to tell as the speedometer stops at 85)
-haven't had to be designated driver for the past 4 years ("That's your car? You can drive mine.")
CON:
-no CD player
-being hit on the head by the hatch falling suddenly
-8 gallon gas tank
-heat barely functional, A/C worse
-everyone's going to want to ride in it (maybe)
-the lingering smell of oil & gas for 3 days after I filled the tank
-men on Segways pass the Metro on inclines
I will miss not having hubcaps, I will miss not having to wash my car, I will miss all the squirrel/chipmunk jokes about the 3-cylinder engine, I will miss the 8-year old crack in the windshield. I will miss you Polly.
Listening To: iTunes folder 'Older Missing Mid Length 4+ Stars'
Monday, April 10, 2006
Tired
I'm fuckin tired. Inventory is over, its 3am, reguardless of what the time at the bottom of the post says. Bed is calling, my feet are screaming, i dont know what the hell i am posting.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
I Still Want The Robot Stealth Monkeys
The motherfuckers that were stealing dvds were caught! We nailed those sons of bitches, although the real credit must go to the people at Edward McCay who called us when they got there to sell the stolen DVDs. It was a great fuckin day to be at work. More than one person said they had never seen me smile this much. Its been a long time since a day at work was so much fun.
After being reamed by shoplifters for hundreds of years, its nice to see some of them get caught. Its even nicer to see them sitting in the back of a police car in front of the store. Fuck yeah! Rot in jail you fucks!
It could have been better though; if, when they were speeding through the parking lot to escape they had run over the guy with the jungle helmet. That would have been the greatest day in the history of the world. Bar none. Although today was one of the best days ever at work.
The sad part is it was only 1 pair of shoplifters and until we get our robot stealth monkeys and trap door in the vestibule, it will happen again. And again. Now I'm sad.
But wait, we caught somefucks! Got back $660 bucks! Fuck yeah! Happy again! Have fun in jail fucks! Don't drop the soap! Ha ha ha ha! Fuck yeah!
After being reamed by shoplifters for hundreds of years, its nice to see some of them get caught. Its even nicer to see them sitting in the back of a police car in front of the store. Fuck yeah! Rot in jail you fucks!
It could have been better though; if, when they were speeding through the parking lot to escape they had run over the guy with the jungle helmet. That would have been the greatest day in the history of the world. Bar none. Although today was one of the best days ever at work.
The sad part is it was only 1 pair of shoplifters and until we get our robot stealth monkeys and trap door in the vestibule, it will happen again. And again. Now I'm sad.
But wait, we caught somefucks! Got back $660 bucks! Fuck yeah! Happy again! Have fun in jail fucks! Don't drop the soap! Ha ha ha ha! Fuck yeah!
Open Letter To The Writers Of Lost
If you don't start answering some questions I will drive to North Dakota, break into a missile silo, dispatch the armed guards, figure out how to launch a missile and then nuke the cast, crew and set of Lost out of existance.
Multi seasonal story arcs are great, a little mystery is good, things coming out of left field are fine; but if all I have is questions after the end of season 2, someone will die a most horrid death. Maybe even Hurley, that way it won't be all in his mind and you'll have to come up with another explination for your entire show.
Listening to: Dr John - Gris-Gris
Multi seasonal story arcs are great, a little mystery is good, things coming out of left field are fine; but if all I have is questions after the end of season 2, someone will die a most horrid death. Maybe even Hurley, that way it won't be all in his mind and you'll have to come up with another explination for your entire show.
Listening to: Dr John - Gris-Gris
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Demented And Sad
Being a self-professed rock snob sucks. I am compelled to fill in my library with so-called 'classic' albums usually for no other reason than to say "I got that" when I look through music magazines/books that contain a list of great albums of some kind. I am also compelled to get albums on these lists that I don't have.
For example, the lastest issue of Uncut lists the top 50 Greatest Cosmic American Albums. I had 11. I ordered 4 more. Why? I still don't know. Could I live without Shuggie Otis' "Inspiration Information" or Doctor John's "Gris-Gris"? Probably. Would my library be complete without these? Yes... maybe... not sure. But I can't stop. Acquiring music is my compulsion, not listening to it, but acquiring it. I don't have enough time to thoroughly listen and enjoy all the music I get. Much of the new stuff I get I'll listen to once or twice, rate it in iTunes and then hope it shows up again when I hit random.
In my neverending quest to complete my library I've searched high and low for some kind of uberlist of 'classic' albums. Needless to say there isn't one, nor will there ever be one that isn't at least 10,000+ albums long. But I must continue to search and feed the monster that is my library, filling it in with Bowie catalog albums, genre boxsets (like Nuggets or Motown) and greatest hits by the Buzzcocks and The Fall, for no other reason than its what I do and who I am.
My library defines who I am, and sadly I've had this reoccuring fantasy that I will find my soul mate when I find the person who 'completes' my library the most with the 'classic' albums that I still don't have. Currently this means my soul mate is someone with a penchant for female singer-songwriters (Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Bjork), old country-western (the Carter Family, Hank Williams Sr), electronica, blues, reggae and world music.
Whoever she is, she will walk into the store wearing her Aphex Twins t-shirt, humming something off of "Court and Spark" and want to know which Elvis Costello album to get after "My Aim Is True" and "This Years Model", which cd to begin her Richard Thompson collection with and if "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison is really worth it. Over several cups of tea we will discuss the top 5 Dylan albums, the wonder of Ella Fitzgerald and if The Flaming Lips are currently the 'Worlds Best Rock and Roll Band'. Then when she says that "The Weight" is her favorite song in the world, I will ask her to marry me.
This post got completely off track. All I wanted was to show a link to this website.
Listening to - Prince - 3121, My Morning Jacket - Z & The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
For example, the lastest issue of Uncut lists the top 50 Greatest Cosmic American Albums. I had 11. I ordered 4 more. Why? I still don't know. Could I live without Shuggie Otis' "Inspiration Information" or Doctor John's "Gris-Gris"? Probably. Would my library be complete without these? Yes... maybe... not sure. But I can't stop. Acquiring music is my compulsion, not listening to it, but acquiring it. I don't have enough time to thoroughly listen and enjoy all the music I get. Much of the new stuff I get I'll listen to once or twice, rate it in iTunes and then hope it shows up again when I hit random.
In my neverending quest to complete my library I've searched high and low for some kind of uberlist of 'classic' albums. Needless to say there isn't one, nor will there ever be one that isn't at least 10,000+ albums long. But I must continue to search and feed the monster that is my library, filling it in with Bowie catalog albums, genre boxsets (like Nuggets or Motown) and greatest hits by the Buzzcocks and The Fall, for no other reason than its what I do and who I am.
My library defines who I am, and sadly I've had this reoccuring fantasy that I will find my soul mate when I find the person who 'completes' my library the most with the 'classic' albums that I still don't have. Currently this means my soul mate is someone with a penchant for female singer-songwriters (Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Bjork), old country-western (the Carter Family, Hank Williams Sr), electronica, blues, reggae and world music.
Whoever she is, she will walk into the store wearing her Aphex Twins t-shirt, humming something off of "Court and Spark" and want to know which Elvis Costello album to get after "My Aim Is True" and "This Years Model", which cd to begin her Richard Thompson collection with and if "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison is really worth it. Over several cups of tea we will discuss the top 5 Dylan albums, the wonder of Ella Fitzgerald and if The Flaming Lips are currently the 'Worlds Best Rock and Roll Band'. Then when she says that "The Weight" is her favorite song in the world, I will ask her to marry me.
This post got completely off track. All I wanted was to show a link to this website.
Listening to - Prince - 3121, My Morning Jacket - Z & The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Saturday, March 25, 2006
J Michael Straczynski Sucks Ass
Not as a writer or a person as a whole, but as a commentator on his show Babylon 5.
I enjoy watching the commentaries on DVDs. I've learned some interesting things. For instance in Seven Samurai by Kurosawa when actors are shot with arrows, they are truly shot with arrows. An expect archer is standing right off camera and shooting an arrow into the guys chest. Of course the guy being shot has a board strapped to his chest under his robe. Or the sound of laser fire in Star Wars is actually someone hitting a high tension wire with a hammer.
These things are fun to find out and fun to know, but what I shouldnt learn in the commentaries is that Sheridan will become President of the Earth Alliance or that his wife is still alive and works for the shadows a full 3 seasons before it happens!
Thanks Mike. Thanks for ruining the fucking surprise. Next time put a disclaimer in the commentaries, something like "Don't watch this commentary because I tell you exactly what is going to happen and ruin your viewing experience over the next 3 seasons." That warning would have been nice.
Here's some others:
Crying Game - its a guy
Sixth Sense - bruce willis is already dead
Star Wars - vader is lukes father and leia is lukes sister
I enjoy watching the commentaries on DVDs. I've learned some interesting things. For instance in Seven Samurai by Kurosawa when actors are shot with arrows, they are truly shot with arrows. An expect archer is standing right off camera and shooting an arrow into the guys chest. Of course the guy being shot has a board strapped to his chest under his robe. Or the sound of laser fire in Star Wars is actually someone hitting a high tension wire with a hammer.
These things are fun to find out and fun to know, but what I shouldnt learn in the commentaries is that Sheridan will become President of the Earth Alliance or that his wife is still alive and works for the shadows a full 3 seasons before it happens!
Thanks Mike. Thanks for ruining the fucking surprise. Next time put a disclaimer in the commentaries, something like "Don't watch this commentary because I tell you exactly what is going to happen and ruin your viewing experience over the next 3 seasons." That warning would have been nice.
Here's some others:
Crying Game - its a guy
Sixth Sense - bruce willis is already dead
Star Wars - vader is lukes father and leia is lukes sister
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Worst. Game. Ever.
Its disappointing to watch your team go out with a whimper. No fire, no hustle, nada. Getting beat to a missed rebound in the last minute is sad, getting beat to TWO in the last minute is unforgivable. They didn't want to win tonight.
Other than that, thank you JJ, for a great year and a great career. Now just 7 months until next year, which, unfortunately will see the team with the powder blue as national champ contenders, not Duke. Unless there is a fiery bus crash or a crazed sniper somewhere on the UNC campus
Other than that, thank you JJ, for a great year and a great career. Now just 7 months until next year, which, unfortunately will see the team with the powder blue as national champ contenders, not Duke. Unless there is a fiery bus crash or a crazed sniper somewhere on the UNC campus
Thursday, March 16, 2006
A Couple Of Things
I cannot put into words my disdain for the people who refuse to use their turn signal.
GET OFF THE FUCKIN PHONE AND TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE GOING TO DO WITH THAT GOD DAMN ESCALADE IN FRONT OF ME!!!
Am I overreacting? This is common courtesy people. What kind of lazy fucks have we become?
-------------------------------
The Greatest-80s-Song-That-Never-Became-A-Huge-#1-Single
"Bringin' On The Heartache" - Def Leppard
This song is 80s to its core. The great opening riff, a great chorus, not one, but three heavy metal solos. And not the crappy speed solos of the 80s, more 70s british bluesy solos. This was Def Leppard at the top of their game. They still had the long hair and everyone had two arms. They fuckin rocked. The second greatest Def Leppard song of all time ("Photograph", duh) and it fell flat on the charts and almost crushed my 11 year old spirit. I mean, look at the the top 10 singles of 1981, the year the song was released:
# 1. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
# 2. Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
# 3. Lady - Kenny Rogers
# 4. (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
# 5. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
# 6. Celebration - Kool & The Gang
# 7. Kiss On My List - Daryl Hall & John Oates
# 8. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
# 9. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
# 10. Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
"Bringing on the Heartache" is better than 8 of the songs on that list.
------------------------------------
My 7th Annual NCAA Vacation began today. It is a good time. I am happy now. I will watch more games this year than last. I will cook every day. I will clean. I will see the ducks. I will get at least 10 games right tomorrow. I will work on the campaign. I will shop at Target.
------------------------------------
Sad news, Games Galore moved from the corner of Glenwood and Duraleigh. They moved to Cary, which sucks, because the last time I drove to Cary, my car died for about 20 minutes. And I was in the mood to buy a board game. Maybe Hobby Master, but I dont think so.
Listening to - Pete Townshand 'Gold'
GET OFF THE FUCKIN PHONE AND TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE GOING TO DO WITH THAT GOD DAMN ESCALADE IN FRONT OF ME!!!
Am I overreacting? This is common courtesy people. What kind of lazy fucks have we become?
-------------------------------
The Greatest-80s-Song-That-Never-Became-A-Huge-#1-Single
"Bringin' On The Heartache" - Def Leppard
This song is 80s to its core. The great opening riff, a great chorus, not one, but three heavy metal solos. And not the crappy speed solos of the 80s, more 70s british bluesy solos. This was Def Leppard at the top of their game. They still had the long hair and everyone had two arms. They fuckin rocked. The second greatest Def Leppard song of all time ("Photograph", duh) and it fell flat on the charts and almost crushed my 11 year old spirit. I mean, look at the the top 10 singles of 1981, the year the song was released:
# 1. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
# 2. Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
# 3. Lady - Kenny Rogers
# 4. (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
# 5. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
# 6. Celebration - Kool & The Gang
# 7. Kiss On My List - Daryl Hall & John Oates
# 8. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
# 9. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
# 10. Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
"Bringing on the Heartache" is better than 8 of the songs on that list.
------------------------------------
My 7th Annual NCAA Vacation began today. It is a good time. I am happy now. I will watch more games this year than last. I will cook every day. I will clean. I will see the ducks. I will get at least 10 games right tomorrow. I will work on the campaign. I will shop at Target.
------------------------------------
Sad news, Games Galore moved from the corner of Glenwood and Duraleigh. They moved to Cary, which sucks, because the last time I drove to Cary, my car died for about 20 minutes. And I was in the mood to buy a board game. Maybe Hobby Master, but I dont think so.
Listening to - Pete Townshand 'Gold'
Friday, March 03, 2006
What Is Too Much?
Currently I am wondering what size my next external harddrive should be. The current one is 80GB and is almost full, mainly from music.
iTunes tells me that I have just shy of 50GB of music, 12359 songs, 37 days + 7 1/2 hours worth of music on the harddrive. This might seem excessive, especially since there are almost 2000 songs (almost 6 days worth) I have yet to listen to. At one point I was down to a day and half of unplayed music, but this has changed and I add albums faster than I can listen to them.
But how can you turn down the chance to burn 5 Miles Davis Box sets (an entire days worth of music!) in the span of a month? How can you not get excited skimming through the promo box at work thinking 'Sweet! I don't have to buy this. Sharon, I will be returning this cd tomorrow' or 'I think I've heard of this band, what the hell, let me burn it.'
Obsessed? Clearly. But iTunes is so much fun. And for people who are obsessive/compulsive about listing things (like me), its pure heaven. It tells me the first song added to my iTunes 'Eat It' by Weird Al (added 1/28/03 at 12:09 pm), most played 'Shake your Rump' & 'High Plains Drifter' (both by Beastie Boys, at 33 times), that its been 30 months since I listened to 'Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus' by Medeski, Martin & Wood (last played on 8/12/03) and that if you played every song longer than 10 minutes on my harddrive (360 of them) it would take 3 days, 14 hours 40 minutes and 29 seconds.
This might be too much. But, its never been easier to make mix CDs. I can type in almost any word and pull up at least a full cds worth of music, and since it finds the sequence of letters, not the word, you get all sorts of things. The word 'turd' pulls up a suprising number of songs, like those with the word Saturday. Or if I want to make a CD of 5 star rock songs from 1970-1975 between 4 & 5 minutes long I can with no problem because there are 43 of them on the harddrive.
So, again, is it too much? Probably. Do I care? Hell no. I love music and you never know when you might need 6 different versions of 'What A Wonderful World'.
iTunes tells me that I have just shy of 50GB of music, 12359 songs, 37 days + 7 1/2 hours worth of music on the harddrive. This might seem excessive, especially since there are almost 2000 songs (almost 6 days worth) I have yet to listen to. At one point I was down to a day and half of unplayed music, but this has changed and I add albums faster than I can listen to them.
But how can you turn down the chance to burn 5 Miles Davis Box sets (an entire days worth of music!) in the span of a month? How can you not get excited skimming through the promo box at work thinking 'Sweet! I don't have to buy this. Sharon, I will be returning this cd tomorrow' or 'I think I've heard of this band, what the hell, let me burn it.'
Obsessed? Clearly. But iTunes is so much fun. And for people who are obsessive/compulsive about listing things (like me), its pure heaven. It tells me the first song added to my iTunes 'Eat It' by Weird Al (added 1/28/03 at 12:09 pm), most played 'Shake your Rump' & 'High Plains Drifter' (both by Beastie Boys, at 33 times), that its been 30 months since I listened to 'Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus' by Medeski, Martin & Wood (last played on 8/12/03) and that if you played every song longer than 10 minutes on my harddrive (360 of them) it would take 3 days, 14 hours 40 minutes and 29 seconds.
This might be too much. But, its never been easier to make mix CDs. I can type in almost any word and pull up at least a full cds worth of music, and since it finds the sequence of letters, not the word, you get all sorts of things. The word 'turd' pulls up a suprising number of songs, like those with the word Saturday. Or if I want to make a CD of 5 star rock songs from 1970-1975 between 4 & 5 minutes long I can with no problem because there are 43 of them on the harddrive.
So, again, is it too much? Probably. Do I care? Hell no. I love music and you never know when you might need 6 different versions of 'What A Wonderful World'.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Last Month
About a month ago I broke up with my girlfriend. After 6 years we decided to call it quits.
When people find out they want to know three things, A) what happenned; B) if I am ok; and C) whose fault it was?
When I get to the part about it was no ones fault, it gets kind of hard to explain and I've had trouble trying to describe the new status of our relationship. Last week I talked to Xris and she gave me the perfect description.
So, she gets mad props, not only for describing the impossible, but for the last 6 years of my life.
Although we are broken up, we are 'eligible for rehire'.
Listening To: John Coltrane - One Down, One Up (Live At The Half Note)
When people find out they want to know three things, A) what happenned; B) if I am ok; and C) whose fault it was?
When I get to the part about it was no ones fault, it gets kind of hard to explain and I've had trouble trying to describe the new status of our relationship. Last week I talked to Xris and she gave me the perfect description.
So, she gets mad props, not only for describing the impossible, but for the last 6 years of my life.
Although we are broken up, we are 'eligible for rehire'.
Listening To: John Coltrane - One Down, One Up (Live At The Half Note)
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