Since so many people suggested it I am going to go ahead and post my ten favorite characters from John Hughes movies. A few notes before I start. 1) This list is not going to be in any order as that would require a little more planning on my part than I am ready to do at the moment. 2) An actor or actress may only be listed once. Otherwise the list would consist solely of Anthony Michael Hall. 3) I am going to only include movies that he either wrote or directed. I don’t count producing credits because hell I have three producing credits to my name. Here we go.
1) John Candy as the security guard in National Lampoon’s Vacation: Sure, he had more touching roles in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and even Uncle Buck. But there may be no better line ever written and performed than “Sorry folks, park is closed. Moose out front should have told you.”
2) Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation: As Rug said (and yes, I do have a friend named Rug. It is a long story) this is back in that brief snippet of time that Chevy Chase was actually funny. In fact, this was probably the last moment in time when he was even slightly humorous. But this is the best example of the bumbling, full of himself father just trying to survive a trip.
3) Michael Keaton as Mr. Mom in, well, Mr. Mom: For some reason I must have watched this movie about fifty times as a kid. The baby eating chili, the poker game with the housewives using coupons, a strikingly attractive Teri Garr; this is what HBO felt should be shown on a daily basis. Though it all Michael Keaton actually puts together one hell of a performance as a guy who is forced to be a house husband at a time when even the concept of that was out of the ordinary. Interesting in that the basis for the entire movie (working women, men staying home to look after the kids) really wouldn’t fly today.
4) Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles: I feel sorry for any Asian foreign exchange student in the late 80’s / early 90’s. We all wanted them to be like Long Duk Dong and if they weren’t we would take advantage of their lack of knowledge of the English language to try to turn them into him. No wonder were losing out to the Chinese now: they finally have figured out the jokes. But for a side character in a twenty five year old movie it is a pretty impressive lifespan.
5) Anthony Michael Hall as The Geek in Sixteen Candles: I’m agreeing with Rug on a lot of these I realize. But he missed the main reason for considering this as the crowning point in the career of Mr. Hall: he got his hands on Molly Ringwald’s unmentionables and won a dozen floppy disks in the process. That is a geek’s dream. Sure, making out with the chick in the sports car is nice but a dozen floppy disks kicks ass.
6) Molly Ringwald as Claire in The Breakfast Club: Ok, I know people will get on me for this one and say that she was better in Pretty in Pink. But I never liked that movie and I’m not even sure if I ever watched it the whole way through. But in my mind this is the quintessential Molly role. The total princess but completely accessible. She was the pretty girl that even the geeks thought they might have a chance with. Ok, we might have leaned more towards Ally Sheedy post makeover but Molly would certainly have our attention.
7) John Kapelos as Carl Reed in The Breakfast Club: Everyone focuses on the principal in this film but no one notices that the most important adult figure is the janitor. He is the one who knows everything that is going on and while the principal tries to force his authority on the students the janitor just is. Very zen but very powerful. He knows the truth. A very understated and underappreciated performance.
8) Bill Paxton (or possibly Bill Pullman) as Chet in Weird Science: One of the few saving graces in a film that neither Anthony Michael Hall nor a pre Celebrity Fit Club Kelly LeBrock could save. It isn’t a good teen movie unless there is just one tyrannical, possibly unstable older brother to just install fear in the characters. While I did not have this relationship with my brothers you do have to understand that while it might only be five years between a 14 year old and a 19 year old physically that is like 40. Chet epitomizes that pure disbelief that you have looking at someone who isn’t much older than you but seems to be in a different world.
9) Alan Ruck as Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: In reality, Ferris Bueller is like Gatsby: in neither work is the main character the focus of the piece. Gatsby is about Nick Carraway and this film is about Cameron. He is the one who changes. Ferris would have the same life, the same hot girlfriend whether he took the day off or not. Cameron, out of place even in his home town by wearing a Red Wings jersey, is the one who is forced to address what his life is about. He is the one staring at the Seurat, he is the one who has to confront his father, he is the one who has to change. And at the end you wonder if he really does.
10) Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: He made a late era Chevy Chase film bearable. That deserves some sort of medal. Plus, Quaid just takes the role and runs with it and pulls it off.
Best of 120 Minutes: Can there be any other choice?
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Kathleen Edwards “Asking for Flowers”
2) Eleni Mandell “Afternoon”
3) Robert Earl Keen “What I Really Mean”
4) Freedy Johnston “Never Home”
5) Wilco “A Ghost is Born”
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Don't you forget about me
So we lost John Hughes today. Talk about a dark day in the land of Generation X. I’m not sure if there was any other director who could be so tied to a generation as John Hughes. If you were a teenager in the 80’s you watched John Hughes movies. Hell, you wanted to live in a John Hughes movie. In honor of his work I will run through some highlights of his career output.
Sixteen Candles: Will be forever known as the movie that introduced us all to Molly Ringwald (or reintroduced for those of us who spent way too much time watching The Facts of Life.) Captures the high school experience perfectly with foreign exchange students, guys named Jake Ryan, prom and musical interludes. Girls wanted to be Molly, guys wanted to be Jake Ryan and somehow I ended up as Anthony Michael Hall.
The Breakfast Club: Speaking of Anthony Michael Hall has anyone ever discussed the cruel fate that his character suffers in this film. Five students are stuck in detention on a Saturday morning. Judd Nelson hooks up with Molly Ringwald. Emilio Estevez makes out with Ally Sheedy. What does that leave Anthony Michael Hall to do? Finish the damn report that they were ordered to write as a part of detention. Seriously, how sucky is that? Still this is a fascinating movie as you take the typical high school student archetypes and put them in a room and see what happens.
Weird Science: Did Hughes just hire Anthony Michael Hall for every movie he ever made? Wonderful if just for the plot of having high school students somehow create the perfect female by programming a Commodore 64. And people wonder why I consider that computer to be the greatest machine ever made. Most people could relate to the terrifying older brother of Chet. As well as having to confront rampaging mutant bikers in your kitchen. Hey, it was a tough life out in the suburbs of Chicago.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: This is the ultimate Chicago suburbs movie. Note that it is not the perfect Chicago movie. The Blues Brothers is the best example of what the city itself is like. This movie is about what it is like to be a kid from the suburbs getting to goof off in the city for a day. Wandering around the Art Institute holding hands with your girlfriend and schoolchildren while your Smiths loving friend stares into the Seurat. Catching a Cubs game, crashing a parade with the polka queen and just enjoying be a carefree teenager. And that is what the film is about: being young and knowing that you are at the only moment in your life where you truly do not have any worries and relishing in the moment. Even Cameron understood that at some point.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: I’ll finish up with this one (and these are the first five films he directed. My God what a run.) Sometimes in your career you have to be able to prove that you can do something different. That not every film you make has to involve a high school. It is the story of simply trying to get home even when you aren’t sure where home is. It is about realizing that the way that you are living life might not be the right way. And it is about John Candy being a hell of a lot funnier than anyone ever gave him credit for.
Sixteen Candles: Will be forever known as the movie that introduced us all to Molly Ringwald (or reintroduced for those of us who spent way too much time watching The Facts of Life.) Captures the high school experience perfectly with foreign exchange students, guys named Jake Ryan, prom and musical interludes. Girls wanted to be Molly, guys wanted to be Jake Ryan and somehow I ended up as Anthony Michael Hall.
The Breakfast Club: Speaking of Anthony Michael Hall has anyone ever discussed the cruel fate that his character suffers in this film. Five students are stuck in detention on a Saturday morning. Judd Nelson hooks up with Molly Ringwald. Emilio Estevez makes out with Ally Sheedy. What does that leave Anthony Michael Hall to do? Finish the damn report that they were ordered to write as a part of detention. Seriously, how sucky is that? Still this is a fascinating movie as you take the typical high school student archetypes and put them in a room and see what happens.
Weird Science: Did Hughes just hire Anthony Michael Hall for every movie he ever made? Wonderful if just for the plot of having high school students somehow create the perfect female by programming a Commodore 64. And people wonder why I consider that computer to be the greatest machine ever made. Most people could relate to the terrifying older brother of Chet. As well as having to confront rampaging mutant bikers in your kitchen. Hey, it was a tough life out in the suburbs of Chicago.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: This is the ultimate Chicago suburbs movie. Note that it is not the perfect Chicago movie. The Blues Brothers is the best example of what the city itself is like. This movie is about what it is like to be a kid from the suburbs getting to goof off in the city for a day. Wandering around the Art Institute holding hands with your girlfriend and schoolchildren while your Smiths loving friend stares into the Seurat. Catching a Cubs game, crashing a parade with the polka queen and just enjoying be a carefree teenager. And that is what the film is about: being young and knowing that you are at the only moment in your life where you truly do not have any worries and relishing in the moment. Even Cameron understood that at some point.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles: I’ll finish up with this one (and these are the first five films he directed. My God what a run.) Sometimes in your career you have to be able to prove that you can do something different. That not every film you make has to involve a high school. It is the story of simply trying to get home even when you aren’t sure where home is. It is about realizing that the way that you are living life might not be the right way. And it is about John Candy being a hell of a lot funnier than anyone ever gave him credit for.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Reviewing The Fatchelor
As most people know I am a huge fan of reality shows. However, I have for the most part avoided the dating shows because, well, a) I’m a guy and b) they tend to be so contrived that I can’t stand them. Still, I have watched more than my fair share of episodes and this brings me to Fox’s latest contribution to the genre. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you my review of More to Love or as I prefer to refer to it, The Fatchelor.
(Before anyone gets on me for that title please note that this show actually was originally titled “The Fatchelor.” Apparently the producers felt that “Chubby Chaser” gave the wrong image. Plus, given that Wii Fit officially pronounced me as “Tubby” I am in no shape to make fat jokes. Literally.)
The show is literally a direct take on The Bachelor, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the same guy made both shows. So the setup is familiar: twenty women compete for the unending love of one man through a series of dates and rather cruel elimination ceremonies. Typically drama arises from the infighting and cattiness between the contestants and humor abounds as the women seem to forget that they are on a game show and act as if he is really their boyfriend. The only difference is that this show features contestants who are deemed to be plus sized. Not unattractive to be sure, but just on the larger end of the scale and that is what makes this show a bit of a struggle to watch. But not for the reason that you would suspect.
See, part of the joy of watching a show like The Bachelor and to an even greater extent Rock of Love is that you get to sit at home and completely ridicule the contestants. I believe I once described Rock of Love as “skanks on parade” because let’s face it that is what you get when you have a bunch of strippers competing for the love of Bret Michaels. Most of the show is schadenfreude as you laugh at the women losing out on a love that you know they never believed in with a guy they just met. Plus, it’s not like they couldn’t just walk into a bar and pick up a guy. Maybe not the perfect guy but odds are most of those ladies won’t have to worry about spending Friday night alone.
But on More to Love the contestants are totally real. These are women who have had to deal with the stigma of being overweight and having society view them as unattractive. For one, her first date was on the show (if you can call something with six other women and a camera crew present a date.) For many this is the first time in a long time that they feel the possibility for romance exists. This would be sweet except for the fact that the show is still completely contrived. We have Luke trying to kiss as many of the girls as possible within the first 24 hours and smiling as woman after woman tells him how he feels that she is his soulmate. They’ve been in each other’s presence for a matter of hours and some of these women are already ordering china patterns. On The Bachelor this is funny. On More to Love it is kind of sad.
It also doesn’t help that Luke seems to be a total douche. I mean, the guy has absolutely no personality at all and doesn’t seem to be that much fun to be with. I want to tell the contestants that they can all get a better guy than him. They really shouldn’t feel the need to settle at 23.
That is another one of the problems that I have with the show is that it just plays on how low the women’s collective self esteem is. Most of the contestants are in their early twenties and they seem almost resigned that love is not for them which is amazing given that they haven’t even lived yet. I am certain that some people found the love of their life at 22 and immediately got married and raised a family but that isn’t the be all and end all of life. I certainly didn’t follow that path and am more than happy that I made my own way as tough as it was at times. Instead of laughing or cheering you want to go “There, there” or “You really shouldn’t try to justify your self worth through an appearance on a game show.”
Notice that they did not do this from the other gender perspective. In fact, the only show that I can think of that does it in reverse is The Pick Up Artist and that is not exactly the same. First of all, having Matador on the show changes the entire paradigm. But the entire purpose of The Pick Up Artist isn’t for a group of geeks to meet the woman of their dreams and get married. The purpose is to get them to the point that they can talk to a woman in a bar without throwing up. The rejection is more general. Mystery tells you that you are not worthy of a medallion as opposed to Luke telling you that he doesn’t want to marry you. It is a rather big difference.
Love is a strange and mysterious beast. Relationships may be even stranger. Just remember that if you are ever on a reality show that nothing around you is real. And that if you are interesting enough to have a casting director select you for the show you are talented enough to get a date on your own.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Let’s relax with the Jayhawks. And Mary Louise Parker.
(Before anyone gets on me for that title please note that this show actually was originally titled “The Fatchelor.” Apparently the producers felt that “Chubby Chaser” gave the wrong image. Plus, given that Wii Fit officially pronounced me as “Tubby” I am in no shape to make fat jokes. Literally.)
The show is literally a direct take on The Bachelor, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that the same guy made both shows. So the setup is familiar: twenty women compete for the unending love of one man through a series of dates and rather cruel elimination ceremonies. Typically drama arises from the infighting and cattiness between the contestants and humor abounds as the women seem to forget that they are on a game show and act as if he is really their boyfriend. The only difference is that this show features contestants who are deemed to be plus sized. Not unattractive to be sure, but just on the larger end of the scale and that is what makes this show a bit of a struggle to watch. But not for the reason that you would suspect.
See, part of the joy of watching a show like The Bachelor and to an even greater extent Rock of Love is that you get to sit at home and completely ridicule the contestants. I believe I once described Rock of Love as “skanks on parade” because let’s face it that is what you get when you have a bunch of strippers competing for the love of Bret Michaels. Most of the show is schadenfreude as you laugh at the women losing out on a love that you know they never believed in with a guy they just met. Plus, it’s not like they couldn’t just walk into a bar and pick up a guy. Maybe not the perfect guy but odds are most of those ladies won’t have to worry about spending Friday night alone.
But on More to Love the contestants are totally real. These are women who have had to deal with the stigma of being overweight and having society view them as unattractive. For one, her first date was on the show (if you can call something with six other women and a camera crew present a date.) For many this is the first time in a long time that they feel the possibility for romance exists. This would be sweet except for the fact that the show is still completely contrived. We have Luke trying to kiss as many of the girls as possible within the first 24 hours and smiling as woman after woman tells him how he feels that she is his soulmate. They’ve been in each other’s presence for a matter of hours and some of these women are already ordering china patterns. On The Bachelor this is funny. On More to Love it is kind of sad.
It also doesn’t help that Luke seems to be a total douche. I mean, the guy has absolutely no personality at all and doesn’t seem to be that much fun to be with. I want to tell the contestants that they can all get a better guy than him. They really shouldn’t feel the need to settle at 23.
That is another one of the problems that I have with the show is that it just plays on how low the women’s collective self esteem is. Most of the contestants are in their early twenties and they seem almost resigned that love is not for them which is amazing given that they haven’t even lived yet. I am certain that some people found the love of their life at 22 and immediately got married and raised a family but that isn’t the be all and end all of life. I certainly didn’t follow that path and am more than happy that I made my own way as tough as it was at times. Instead of laughing or cheering you want to go “There, there” or “You really shouldn’t try to justify your self worth through an appearance on a game show.”
Notice that they did not do this from the other gender perspective. In fact, the only show that I can think of that does it in reverse is The Pick Up Artist and that is not exactly the same. First of all, having Matador on the show changes the entire paradigm. But the entire purpose of The Pick Up Artist isn’t for a group of geeks to meet the woman of their dreams and get married. The purpose is to get them to the point that they can talk to a woman in a bar without throwing up. The rejection is more general. Mystery tells you that you are not worthy of a medallion as opposed to Luke telling you that he doesn’t want to marry you. It is a rather big difference.
Love is a strange and mysterious beast. Relationships may be even stranger. Just remember that if you are ever on a reality show that nothing around you is real. And that if you are interesting enough to have a casting director select you for the show you are talented enough to get a date on your own.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Let’s relax with the Jayhawks. And Mary Louise Parker.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Surviving the collapse of society
I finally got around to watching the first episode of The Colony on Discovery and I have to admit that I am rather fascinated by the show. (Yes, I know that tonight is the third episode of the series but I am slightly behind in my DVR queue at the moment. Plus, it is Discovery so it is not as though the episodes are not going to be repeated ad nauseum throughout the year. This is the same network that will show the same episode of Mythbusters every week for an entire year.) The concept of the show is rather interesting: take ten people and have them recreate surviving for a few weeks in a post apocalyptic environment. This isn’t a game show. No one is being voted out. Just ten weeks of survival in urban Los Angeles.
This makes it one of the few reality shows that I have ever seen where you are quickly confronted with moral and ethical questions. The first episode starts with six people finding the designated shelter and setting up camp and gaining food and water. On the second day four others arrive and you suddenly are caught up in the very real question of whether or not you would share your resources with strangers. Some people were for it, some were against it. To be honest, I think the fact that they shared was much more because of the fact that they know that this is a television show and not reality. The cameras must create a break from the conceit of a holocaust but still it does make you ask yourself what would you do? How far would you go to protect yourself at the end of the world?
You also have to wonder about how useful you would be when the world ends. The people chosen for the show seem to have been specifically selected to be useful. You have contractors and doctors and engineers who do actual design work. Heck, they even have an ex-con, which is useful in a situation like this because he is someone who has been in a place where the niceties of society are forgotten and has learned how to survive in it. There is a noticeable lack of accountants and hairdressers and people whose main skills would be useless in this environment. Meaning, there is no equivalent of me out there. True, I am an electrical engineer and you would think that the fact that I have spent most of my career working with electric utilities would be a benefit. And it would be if you needed to create an interstate transmission system. Hooking up batteries to create a makeshift power source? I might be able to pull that off but I would need some help. Beyond that I would be pretty worthless out there.
The final point I want to make is that this show is tapping into a rather interesting aspect of the whole post-apocalyptic concept and one that has been more prevalent in recent years. The focus now is not on how the world ends but how will life be for the few people who survive. In the late 90’s when we had the films about giant asteroids threatening Earth or killer volcanoes or even The Day After the focus was really on how the story will end. Starting with The Road we have turned our attention to how will those last few survivors react. Will we be able to retain our humanity when all of society has been wiped away? Could we function without our infrastructure? It is rather fascinating that we are now very concerned with the human question of even if the world ended would the human race survive. We don’t care about the mechanism of the end, that is just window dressing. We want to know if there is hope for the human race. Will we truly be saved by the better angels of our nature? It is a fascinating question.
Tomorrow, a more light hearted look at reality shows with my review of More to Love. Stay Tuned.
This makes it one of the few reality shows that I have ever seen where you are quickly confronted with moral and ethical questions. The first episode starts with six people finding the designated shelter and setting up camp and gaining food and water. On the second day four others arrive and you suddenly are caught up in the very real question of whether or not you would share your resources with strangers. Some people were for it, some were against it. To be honest, I think the fact that they shared was much more because of the fact that they know that this is a television show and not reality. The cameras must create a break from the conceit of a holocaust but still it does make you ask yourself what would you do? How far would you go to protect yourself at the end of the world?
You also have to wonder about how useful you would be when the world ends. The people chosen for the show seem to have been specifically selected to be useful. You have contractors and doctors and engineers who do actual design work. Heck, they even have an ex-con, which is useful in a situation like this because he is someone who has been in a place where the niceties of society are forgotten and has learned how to survive in it. There is a noticeable lack of accountants and hairdressers and people whose main skills would be useless in this environment. Meaning, there is no equivalent of me out there. True, I am an electrical engineer and you would think that the fact that I have spent most of my career working with electric utilities would be a benefit. And it would be if you needed to create an interstate transmission system. Hooking up batteries to create a makeshift power source? I might be able to pull that off but I would need some help. Beyond that I would be pretty worthless out there.
The final point I want to make is that this show is tapping into a rather interesting aspect of the whole post-apocalyptic concept and one that has been more prevalent in recent years. The focus now is not on how the world ends but how will life be for the few people who survive. In the late 90’s when we had the films about giant asteroids threatening Earth or killer volcanoes or even The Day After the focus was really on how the story will end. Starting with The Road we have turned our attention to how will those last few survivors react. Will we be able to retain our humanity when all of society has been wiped away? Could we function without our infrastructure? It is rather fascinating that we are now very concerned with the human question of even if the world ended would the human race survive. We don’t care about the mechanism of the end, that is just window dressing. We want to know if there is hope for the human race. Will we truly be saved by the better angels of our nature? It is a fascinating question.
Tomorrow, a more light hearted look at reality shows with my review of More to Love. Stay Tuned.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Always raining on my parade
I would like to wish a Happy Picnic Day to my readers in the Northern Territories of Australia. Or maybe it has already happened or will happen tomorrow; I can never figure out that whole International Date Line thing. Anyway, I have to appreciate anyone who designates a holiday just so everyone could go out and have a picnic. It is so quaint.
Here is one of those strange facts of life that just show that sometimes the universe is against me. It seems that every time I fly down to Florida to see Kim my flight is horribly delayed. Last Friday Philly was hit with a freaking monsoon that left me trapped at the airport for hours before I could finally make my way out of town. I’ve had planes late getting to town, planes diverted to other cities and in one rather bizarre instance the entire boarding process was delayed because one of the folding trays would not stay in its upright and locked position. It is as though leaving Philly on a Friday night is impossible.
However, when I fly back on Monday morning so I can go to the office in the afternoon the flight is always on time. Heck, I get in early because lord knows I would prefer a few more minutes in the office than with my girlfriend. There has yet to be a single delay or issue with the flight other than a lack of overhead bag space but that is what happens on every US Air flight (the checked bag fee is the worst thing that has ever happened to the entire flying experience.) It just seems totally unfair. It is tough enough leaving in the morning. The least the universe could do is make it possible for us to steal a few more minutes together.
(Not that I am really complaining though. I would go through a lot more to make my way to see her.)
Sorry but traveling has just left me plain spent and out of ideas. I’ve been staring at this screen for an hour now and this is all I have to show for it. Some days that is just the business of writing. It just shows how much admiration I have for people who make a living at it. I love writing and I’d like to think that I have a gift for it but there are times when you sit down and there is just nothing flowing. Anyone who can fight their way through that earns my applause. But for me, I’m just going to head off to bed.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Aimee Mann “Whatever”
2) Aimee Mann “Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse”
3) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins “Rabbit Fur Coat”
4) Various Artists “Return of the Grievous Angel”
5) The Last Town Chorus “Wire Waltz”
Here is one of those strange facts of life that just show that sometimes the universe is against me. It seems that every time I fly down to Florida to see Kim my flight is horribly delayed. Last Friday Philly was hit with a freaking monsoon that left me trapped at the airport for hours before I could finally make my way out of town. I’ve had planes late getting to town, planes diverted to other cities and in one rather bizarre instance the entire boarding process was delayed because one of the folding trays would not stay in its upright and locked position. It is as though leaving Philly on a Friday night is impossible.
However, when I fly back on Monday morning so I can go to the office in the afternoon the flight is always on time. Heck, I get in early because lord knows I would prefer a few more minutes in the office than with my girlfriend. There has yet to be a single delay or issue with the flight other than a lack of overhead bag space but that is what happens on every US Air flight (the checked bag fee is the worst thing that has ever happened to the entire flying experience.) It just seems totally unfair. It is tough enough leaving in the morning. The least the universe could do is make it possible for us to steal a few more minutes together.
(Not that I am really complaining though. I would go through a lot more to make my way to see her.)
Sorry but traveling has just left me plain spent and out of ideas. I’ve been staring at this screen for an hour now and this is all I have to show for it. Some days that is just the business of writing. It just shows how much admiration I have for people who make a living at it. I love writing and I’d like to think that I have a gift for it but there are times when you sit down and there is just nothing flowing. Anyone who can fight their way through that earns my applause. But for me, I’m just going to head off to bed.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Aimee Mann “Whatever”
2) Aimee Mann “Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse”
3) Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins “Rabbit Fur Coat”
4) Various Artists “Return of the Grievous Angel”
5) The Last Town Chorus “Wire Waltz”
Sunday, August 02, 2009
The melding of activity and entertainment
In the good old days I was always well ahead of the times. Meaning that from a pop culture perspective I have stayed well on the cutting edge. I know this doesn't make sense for the people who know that I wear t-shirts that are older than Facebook, but just think of it as the fact that I wear ironic, vintage t-shirts that were purchased when they were neither ironic nor vintage. Anyway, all this is just my way of saying that I am now part of Nintendo Wii nation.
Joining the Wii nation is not something I expected. While this might be a bit of a shock I have never owned a Nintendo anything in my life. I have primarily been a PC gamer with Playstation as my console system of choice. Nintendo always seemed to be too childish and too focused on Italian plumbers for my own liking. But all I have heard about the Wii is how much fun it is and that it can be used to help get you in shape. That is reason enough to buy a gaming system.
(By the way, while the Wii has launched its own vocabulary (Miis, the Wiimote, numchuck being used in a manner that does not involve ninjas) I still have to say that it is the absolute worst name ever for a system. You have no sense of what it means, it is spelled bizarrely and it makes you sound like a six year old at a county fair every time you mention the name. Can't we go back to having consoles have names like Jaguar and Lynx?)
Anyway, I now have a Wii and a Wii Fit and apparently the body of a fifty four year old. It is one thing to have an inamitate object tell me that I am overweight; my scale does that all the time. It is quite another to have a computer go, "Wow. Maybe you should just try to stand for five minutes at a time without tipping over to one side." Apparently my sense of balance is not one to be desired. But I am looking forward to trying out yoga (with the trainer who asks if you want to view her from behind, which is rather interesting) and working on my balance and overall fitness.
I will say though that I freaking kick ass at boxing. Now if there is one sport that I enjoy -that most people would not even think I ever watch - it is boxing. I grew up in a boxing family with a former world champion in my lineage so I actually have some natural skill at the pugilistic arts. My lack of muscle tone, overall fitness and no real desire to get punched in the face for a living has kept me from pursuing it as a career but I do fancy the idea of being a boxer. So Wii boxing is great fun as I went undefeated leaving a group of beaten boddies in my wake. The fact that a number of my punches seem to fall below the belt can be best explained by the fact that I grew up on the south side and that is just how we learned to fight.
However, when I woke up this morning I discovered something. My shoulders were absolutely killing me. Yes, a few bouts of boxing had turned my upper body into a quivering mess. I wasn't even wearing the boxing gloves while fighting (which would make for an even better workout due to the added weight.) Just throwing that many punches left me tired and achy. That is one of those signs that you are getting old. Even playing video games all day leaves you sore and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe I'll just have to hire a personal trainer to help me deal with my virtual trainer.
Also, if Wii Sports Resort is any indication I have the potential to be a pro wakeboarder. I was getting some serious hang time while pulling off some gnarly tricks. This in comparison to the jet ski where I believe that my Mii endangered the local wildlife, ran into several parked yachts and nearly drowned. I will keep this in mind when I plan my next trip to Cancuun.
Best of 120 Minutes: Time to return back to my college days. At least then I could play video games without risking serious injury.
Joining the Wii nation is not something I expected. While this might be a bit of a shock I have never owned a Nintendo anything in my life. I have primarily been a PC gamer with Playstation as my console system of choice. Nintendo always seemed to be too childish and too focused on Italian plumbers for my own liking. But all I have heard about the Wii is how much fun it is and that it can be used to help get you in shape. That is reason enough to buy a gaming system.
(By the way, while the Wii has launched its own vocabulary (Miis, the Wiimote, numchuck being used in a manner that does not involve ninjas) I still have to say that it is the absolute worst name ever for a system. You have no sense of what it means, it is spelled bizarrely and it makes you sound like a six year old at a county fair every time you mention the name. Can't we go back to having consoles have names like Jaguar and Lynx?)
Anyway, I now have a Wii and a Wii Fit and apparently the body of a fifty four year old. It is one thing to have an inamitate object tell me that I am overweight; my scale does that all the time. It is quite another to have a computer go, "Wow. Maybe you should just try to stand for five minutes at a time without tipping over to one side." Apparently my sense of balance is not one to be desired. But I am looking forward to trying out yoga (with the trainer who asks if you want to view her from behind, which is rather interesting) and working on my balance and overall fitness.
I will say though that I freaking kick ass at boxing. Now if there is one sport that I enjoy -that most people would not even think I ever watch - it is boxing. I grew up in a boxing family with a former world champion in my lineage so I actually have some natural skill at the pugilistic arts. My lack of muscle tone, overall fitness and no real desire to get punched in the face for a living has kept me from pursuing it as a career but I do fancy the idea of being a boxer. So Wii boxing is great fun as I went undefeated leaving a group of beaten boddies in my wake. The fact that a number of my punches seem to fall below the belt can be best explained by the fact that I grew up on the south side and that is just how we learned to fight.
However, when I woke up this morning I discovered something. My shoulders were absolutely killing me. Yes, a few bouts of boxing had turned my upper body into a quivering mess. I wasn't even wearing the boxing gloves while fighting (which would make for an even better workout due to the added weight.) Just throwing that many punches left me tired and achy. That is one of those signs that you are getting old. Even playing video games all day leaves you sore and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe I'll just have to hire a personal trainer to help me deal with my virtual trainer.
Also, if Wii Sports Resort is any indication I have the potential to be a pro wakeboarder. I was getting some serious hang time while pulling off some gnarly tricks. This in comparison to the jet ski where I believe that my Mii endangered the local wildlife, ran into several parked yachts and nearly drowned. I will keep this in mind when I plan my next trip to Cancuun.
Best of 120 Minutes: Time to return back to my college days. At least then I could play video games without risking serious injury.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Or a Hamms. It is the beer that refreshes
While driving around this evening I saw a sign on a building promoting, and I am not making this up, “Delaware Fight Club.” Apparently the first rule of Delaware Fight Club is advertise. I’m really curious about this entire enterprise. What would be the Delaware equivalent of Brad Pitt? Could you form a personality cult in a state that most people do not believe is actually a state? Are there people in Delaware that I could potentially beat up? I really need to know the answers to these questions.
(Did you know that if we didn’t learn how to make states after Delaware (the first state as it is known) we would have 1,500 states and no straight roads in the entire freaking country? Seriously, how tough is it to make a road that doesn’t curve every thirty feet?)
I was appalled by the story out of the White House today. Not that Obama met with Prof. Gates and the cop. No, I’m fine with that. My complaint is that Obama drank a Bud Light. If I knew that Obama would choose such a horrible beer for such an occasion I would have voted differently in November. How can he call himself a Chicagoan and a White Sox fan and drink Bud Light? He should be drinking Falstaff and since Falstaff is no longer being brewed he should either a) be hitting some secret presidential stash of Falstaff or b) ordering the reopening of the brewery even if it requires mobilizing the National Guard. Old Style or Pabst would also be acceptable. But Bud Light? Might as well drink water with a twist of lemon.
Also, I agree in that the most interesting man in the world should also have been invited to the beer summit with as much Dos Equis as he wished to enjoy. I mean, he punched a magician. You heard me, he punched a magician. He once doubted himself just to see what it feels like. When it rains it is because he is thinking about something sad. He is the only person who could solve our dilemmas even if it would most likely require all of us growing beards.
That is about it for the week. Heck, that is about it for July. Talk about a month that went by quickly. Given the insanely cool weather here I don’t know if anyone can say that they have had summer. It will never match the summer of my youth that is for sure. Those summers lasted for five years. Now I’m waiting for college football to start next week. Not that that would be a bad thing it is just that it is a bit of a shame that time speeds up as you get older. I’m finally enjoying my life; it should go slower now.
(Did you know that if we didn’t learn how to make states after Delaware (the first state as it is known) we would have 1,500 states and no straight roads in the entire freaking country? Seriously, how tough is it to make a road that doesn’t curve every thirty feet?)
I was appalled by the story out of the White House today. Not that Obama met with Prof. Gates and the cop. No, I’m fine with that. My complaint is that Obama drank a Bud Light. If I knew that Obama would choose such a horrible beer for such an occasion I would have voted differently in November. How can he call himself a Chicagoan and a White Sox fan and drink Bud Light? He should be drinking Falstaff and since Falstaff is no longer being brewed he should either a) be hitting some secret presidential stash of Falstaff or b) ordering the reopening of the brewery even if it requires mobilizing the National Guard. Old Style or Pabst would also be acceptable. But Bud Light? Might as well drink water with a twist of lemon.
Also, I agree in that the most interesting man in the world should also have been invited to the beer summit with as much Dos Equis as he wished to enjoy. I mean, he punched a magician. You heard me, he punched a magician. He once doubted himself just to see what it feels like. When it rains it is because he is thinking about something sad. He is the only person who could solve our dilemmas even if it would most likely require all of us growing beards.
That is about it for the week. Heck, that is about it for July. Talk about a month that went by quickly. Given the insanely cool weather here I don’t know if anyone can say that they have had summer. It will never match the summer of my youth that is for sure. Those summers lasted for five years. Now I’m waiting for college football to start next week. Not that that would be a bad thing it is just that it is a bit of a shame that time speeds up as you get older. I’m finally enjoying my life; it should go slower now.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The war on work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-udsIV4Hmc
I was sent a link to this a few days ago and I found it rather fascinating and not just for the in depth discussion of lamb castration. For those of you who don’t feel like watching the clip, which is rather long but definitely worth it, it is a speech from Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs discussing our view of work in this country and how we are at war with the very concept of work. It is such an interesting idea that I wanted to explore it further here.
It is interesting in this time where we talk a lot about “shovel ready projects” in order to speed up the economy and reduce unemployment that very few people are willing to pick up shovels. For most people the entire idea of being blue collar is almost appalling. I watched a show on house flipping over the weekend and of the two guys who bought the house to flip one said “I told you I wasn’t going to do any manual labor”, which makes you wonder exactly how he intended to fix the house in order to flip it.
The thing is there is nothing wrong with blue collar work. At its best it is a way to make a solid living and be pretty much assured of always having a job. The world will always need another plumber. They might not need someone selling them ringtones but they will need a plumber. Heck, my grandfather was a bricklayer and he made a decent living from it. From a cultural perspective though we completely downplay those professions and mock them. The only exception I can think of are sitcoms like The King of Queens where the blue collar worker has the inordinately hot wife but even in those he is portrayed as a buffoon. A lucky buffoon but a buffoon nonetheless. So I agree with Mike that the entire image of working hard for a good living needs to be enhanced.
There are two points he didn’t make that I wanted to touch on. The first is that I think one of the problems with our society in general is that we are so focused on excess that we ignore what could be a very good living. To take a job where you can make a decent living and have a relatively comfortable life is not sufficient when you compare your life to what you see in the mirror of pop culture. You feel ashamed if you do not have a fancy car or an amazing house and feel as though life is meaningless without those things. The danger with having such a consumer culture is that it makes people swing for the fences every time in trying to become rich even though in many cases that is really like trying to win the lottery. The goal is to get on base and make your way around as opposed to striking out in a very impressive fashion.
My other point is that there really seems to be a rebellion against work in this country that I have seen just in my work career. Now this is coming from someone who is lucky enough to make his living behind a computer screen where his daily activities involve looking at numbers and making sense of them. It is not physically taxing work but it is work all the same. But has anyone else noticed how people seem to work less now than they did before. How an office will empty before a holiday weekend or a crew of people mysteriously departing to Starbucks or just a sense of not wanting to do something because it is hard. Now I won’t say that I am perfect in this regard because I am most certainly not but things seem to have gotten much more lax from when I started working in the mid-90’s. If there is anything that makes me think that we are losing our edge in this country it is the fact that more and more people aren’t willing it to push themselves that little bit more. Sometimes to compete that is the only way to do it.
Let’s end this with some Men at Work. Seems fitting.
I was sent a link to this a few days ago and I found it rather fascinating and not just for the in depth discussion of lamb castration. For those of you who don’t feel like watching the clip, which is rather long but definitely worth it, it is a speech from Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs discussing our view of work in this country and how we are at war with the very concept of work. It is such an interesting idea that I wanted to explore it further here.
It is interesting in this time where we talk a lot about “shovel ready projects” in order to speed up the economy and reduce unemployment that very few people are willing to pick up shovels. For most people the entire idea of being blue collar is almost appalling. I watched a show on house flipping over the weekend and of the two guys who bought the house to flip one said “I told you I wasn’t going to do any manual labor”, which makes you wonder exactly how he intended to fix the house in order to flip it.
The thing is there is nothing wrong with blue collar work. At its best it is a way to make a solid living and be pretty much assured of always having a job. The world will always need another plumber. They might not need someone selling them ringtones but they will need a plumber. Heck, my grandfather was a bricklayer and he made a decent living from it. From a cultural perspective though we completely downplay those professions and mock them. The only exception I can think of are sitcoms like The King of Queens where the blue collar worker has the inordinately hot wife but even in those he is portrayed as a buffoon. A lucky buffoon but a buffoon nonetheless. So I agree with Mike that the entire image of working hard for a good living needs to be enhanced.
There are two points he didn’t make that I wanted to touch on. The first is that I think one of the problems with our society in general is that we are so focused on excess that we ignore what could be a very good living. To take a job where you can make a decent living and have a relatively comfortable life is not sufficient when you compare your life to what you see in the mirror of pop culture. You feel ashamed if you do not have a fancy car or an amazing house and feel as though life is meaningless without those things. The danger with having such a consumer culture is that it makes people swing for the fences every time in trying to become rich even though in many cases that is really like trying to win the lottery. The goal is to get on base and make your way around as opposed to striking out in a very impressive fashion.
My other point is that there really seems to be a rebellion against work in this country that I have seen just in my work career. Now this is coming from someone who is lucky enough to make his living behind a computer screen where his daily activities involve looking at numbers and making sense of them. It is not physically taxing work but it is work all the same. But has anyone else noticed how people seem to work less now than they did before. How an office will empty before a holiday weekend or a crew of people mysteriously departing to Starbucks or just a sense of not wanting to do something because it is hard. Now I won’t say that I am perfect in this regard because I am most certainly not but things seem to have gotten much more lax from when I started working in the mid-90’s. If there is anything that makes me think that we are losing our edge in this country it is the fact that more and more people aren’t willing it to push themselves that little bit more. Sometimes to compete that is the only way to do it.
Let’s end this with some Men at Work. Seems fitting.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What is on my mind
At what point do Dippin Dots progress from being “The Ice Cream of the Future” to being proclaimed “The Ice Cream of the Present?” I mean, they have been around for a decade at least.
Would my odds as a defendant improve if I walked into a courtroom wearing a t-shirt that read “Only God can judge me?”
Given the fact that everyone who shops at a Bed, Bath and Beyond is armed with one of those 20% off coupons that are constantly being mailed out doesn’t that imply that everything in the entire store is priced 20% higher than it should be?
If there isn’t a Sergeant Slaughter cameo in the GI Joe movie someone is going to get hurt. I’m just saying.
Can I sue the movie “All Dogs go to Heaven” for false advertising because they cannot prove that all dogs really do go to heaven? What about Cujo? Or Hitler’s dog? (For those wondering, Hitler had a miniature schnauzer named Mr. Piddles.)
Why is it that whenever anyone in an airport is confronted with a motorized walkway they stand on the thing like they are cows being led to the slaughterhouse? Was sitting on a plane for three hours so freaking tiring that you have completely lost the ability to walk?
In addition to being able to take sick days from work shouldn’t you also get an allowance of “hungover days”, “stayed up late watching the game days” and “screw this, I’m just going to sit on the couch and watch Star Wars days?”
How am I going to get through a Tuesday night now that the latest season of Deadliest Catch is ending? How will I ever cope without the gripping drama of whether or not they are going to catch crab this week?
(Seriously, that is an issue. It is one of my favorite shows on television. I’ll probably end up knocking on Sig’s door and asking “Can you tell me about the time you caught some crab?”)
Ever realize that you don’t see too many ninjas around anymore? There are a lot of pirates but very few ninjas. I suppose that the ninjas could be hiding in the shadows though and thus putting a crimp in my whole ninja / pirate census.
If I have to endure a tax increase for health care reform does that mean that I can gain as much weight as I want because, in the end, I'm paying for it anyway? Maybe I'll have that triple hot fudge sundae now that you mention it.
I think all political debates should be resolved via a round of miniature golf. I would love to have a filibuster be resolved by seeing who can get the ball in the clown’s mouth. (Sigh. I miss Haunted Trails. Best freaking place on the planet as a kid. Miniature golf, batting cages, and an arcade.)
Would my odds as a defendant improve if I walked into a courtroom wearing a t-shirt that read “Only God can judge me?”
Given the fact that everyone who shops at a Bed, Bath and Beyond is armed with one of those 20% off coupons that are constantly being mailed out doesn’t that imply that everything in the entire store is priced 20% higher than it should be?
If there isn’t a Sergeant Slaughter cameo in the GI Joe movie someone is going to get hurt. I’m just saying.
Can I sue the movie “All Dogs go to Heaven” for false advertising because they cannot prove that all dogs really do go to heaven? What about Cujo? Or Hitler’s dog? (For those wondering, Hitler had a miniature schnauzer named Mr. Piddles.)
Why is it that whenever anyone in an airport is confronted with a motorized walkway they stand on the thing like they are cows being led to the slaughterhouse? Was sitting on a plane for three hours so freaking tiring that you have completely lost the ability to walk?
In addition to being able to take sick days from work shouldn’t you also get an allowance of “hungover days”, “stayed up late watching the game days” and “screw this, I’m just going to sit on the couch and watch Star Wars days?”
How am I going to get through a Tuesday night now that the latest season of Deadliest Catch is ending? How will I ever cope without the gripping drama of whether or not they are going to catch crab this week?
(Seriously, that is an issue. It is one of my favorite shows on television. I’ll probably end up knocking on Sig’s door and asking “Can you tell me about the time you caught some crab?”)
Ever realize that you don’t see too many ninjas around anymore? There are a lot of pirates but very few ninjas. I suppose that the ninjas could be hiding in the shadows though and thus putting a crimp in my whole ninja / pirate census.
If I have to endure a tax increase for health care reform does that mean that I can gain as much weight as I want because, in the end, I'm paying for it anyway? Maybe I'll have that triple hot fudge sundae now that you mention it.
I think all political debates should be resolved via a round of miniature golf. I would love to have a filibuster be resolved by seeing who can get the ball in the clown’s mouth. (Sigh. I miss Haunted Trails. Best freaking place on the planet as a kid. Miniature golf, batting cages, and an arcade.)
Monday, July 27, 2009
We do rank first in corn related hazing incidents
When you have been online for as long as I have you end up with a large number of email addresses. Some are the official ones that you give to people when they meet and others are for some of the activities that you undertake online that you would rather not be directly linked to your name. Those are the accounts you check occasionally to see what interesting emails come your way.
That was the case yesterday when I checked my email to find that I had received an email from the speed dating people. You all remember my speed dating adventure at the beginning of the year (if not, check the January archive.) Well, seems like they were having another session last week and they were short of men and they wondered if I would be willingly to attend for free. To which I would pleasantly like to reply, “Screw you! I have a girlfriend now! I never want to have to experience that torture again!”
To be honest, I am trying to figure out how you would volunteer to go again. While the first time I paid for the privilege to be rejected by a dozen women in this case I would go through the entire rejection process out of the goodness of my own heart because otherwise there would be empty tables. It’s like “I’m such a nice guy I am going to appear here just so you have another guy to say “Nope, not my type” to.” Because really, that is the entire point of speed dating. I’d much rather stay with the best girlfriend on the planet, thank you very much.
In other news I would like to congratulate Penn State on being named the number one party school in the nation. Yes, they beat out Florida this year followed by Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio (not The Ohio State, just Ohio.) I feel at least a slight sense of pride in that the Big Ten was finally able to defeat the SEC in something. Especially given that we start with a huge disadvantage in terms of bikini weather. However, I have to hang my head a little in terms of the poor showing by my Illini. This is what happens when the pride and joy of your school is the engineering campus.
In fact, let us look at the two greatest developments in the history of the University of Illinois (not counting the Morrow Plots, the oldest experimental cornfield in existence.) They are 1) Hugh Hefner (who lived in my dorm) and 2) Mosaic/Netscape (developed by guys in my physics class.) Thus Illinois provided the world with not only Playboy and the subsequent proliferation of paper based pornography but we also created the platform for internet pornography. This is what happens when one whole portion of the campus is only ten percent female. You really do not want to know about the developments taking place in the hologram labs. Other than they are truly, truly, truly outrageous.
That was the case yesterday when I checked my email to find that I had received an email from the speed dating people. You all remember my speed dating adventure at the beginning of the year (if not, check the January archive.) Well, seems like they were having another session last week and they were short of men and they wondered if I would be willingly to attend for free. To which I would pleasantly like to reply, “Screw you! I have a girlfriend now! I never want to have to experience that torture again!”
To be honest, I am trying to figure out how you would volunteer to go again. While the first time I paid for the privilege to be rejected by a dozen women in this case I would go through the entire rejection process out of the goodness of my own heart because otherwise there would be empty tables. It’s like “I’m such a nice guy I am going to appear here just so you have another guy to say “Nope, not my type” to.” Because really, that is the entire point of speed dating. I’d much rather stay with the best girlfriend on the planet, thank you very much.
In other news I would like to congratulate Penn State on being named the number one party school in the nation. Yes, they beat out Florida this year followed by Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio (not The Ohio State, just Ohio.) I feel at least a slight sense of pride in that the Big Ten was finally able to defeat the SEC in something. Especially given that we start with a huge disadvantage in terms of bikini weather. However, I have to hang my head a little in terms of the poor showing by my Illini. This is what happens when the pride and joy of your school is the engineering campus.
In fact, let us look at the two greatest developments in the history of the University of Illinois (not counting the Morrow Plots, the oldest experimental cornfield in existence.) They are 1) Hugh Hefner (who lived in my dorm) and 2) Mosaic/Netscape (developed by guys in my physics class.) Thus Illinois provided the world with not only Playboy and the subsequent proliferation of paper based pornography but we also created the platform for internet pornography. This is what happens when one whole portion of the campus is only ten percent female. You really do not want to know about the developments taking place in the hologram labs. Other than they are truly, truly, truly outrageous.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Well, you do eat a lot of cake...
On ABC News tonight they mentioned a study that stated that, and I quote here, “Getting married makes you more likely to become obese.” They talked about some of the proposed reasoning behind it. You spend more time at home, you don’t feel as great of a need to take care of yourself, those sorts of things. They never bothered to mention the one fact that probably shoots down the entire study: Getting married means you are getting older. You’re married years fall after your single years when your body has a metabolism that does not stop. Marriage doesn’t cause obesity; life does. I just love how poorly developed studies like that can make the national news while I still cannot receive funding for my robot army. (The so-called “experts” are too concerned that the robots will become self aware and kill us all. If that is the cost of progress so be it.)
I am making some pretty good progress on the weight loss front myself. My treadmill workouts are going well and are about as interesting as treadmill workouts can be. As in they are painfully dull and excruciatingly boring. No matter what I do to liven up my time on the treadmill (and I am one of those people who never keeps the same speed or incline for more than a few minutes) it is always a slog. Not that I don’t enjoy the challenge and all but I would love to find a way to make it more interesting. True, I could run outside but that would mean I would have to go outside and who wants to do that?
The interesting thing is that I am about a month into my getting back into the workout routine and I am starting to really feel the effects. Last night I did the same workout that I did two weeks ago and instead of feeling like I was about to collapse halfway through like I did last time I enjoyed my run and went farther than I did before. My body seems to be finally understanding that I am getting into workout mode and is acting accordingly. I am hoping to get to the point that I did last year where I really looked forward to going to the gym in the evening and working out. It does mean that I can’t spend all of my waking hours in front of a computer screen but I guess that is not a bad thing overall.
Oh, and your sign of the apocalypse for the week: The number one movie in the country this weekend was G-Force. Yes, more people saw a film featuring talking guinea pigs than any other piece of art (or in case of that Katherine Heigel film, an hour and a half of romantic comedy clichés.) As I mentioned before, that film is a disgrace to the G-Force name and legacy. How did we move from super powered children dressed as birds to talking rodents? This country is going downhill faster than you could ever believe.
Best of 120 Minutes: Let’s start with the week with some Hothouse Flowers. They are one of those bands that never got the break they deserved.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Brunettes “Mars Loves Venus”
2) Whiskeytown “Strangers Almanac”
3) Billy Bragg and Wilco “Mermaid Avenue Volume 2”
4) Richard Buckner “Dents and Shells”
5) Rilo Kiley “Under the Blacklight”
I am making some pretty good progress on the weight loss front myself. My treadmill workouts are going well and are about as interesting as treadmill workouts can be. As in they are painfully dull and excruciatingly boring. No matter what I do to liven up my time on the treadmill (and I am one of those people who never keeps the same speed or incline for more than a few minutes) it is always a slog. Not that I don’t enjoy the challenge and all but I would love to find a way to make it more interesting. True, I could run outside but that would mean I would have to go outside and who wants to do that?
The interesting thing is that I am about a month into my getting back into the workout routine and I am starting to really feel the effects. Last night I did the same workout that I did two weeks ago and instead of feeling like I was about to collapse halfway through like I did last time I enjoyed my run and went farther than I did before. My body seems to be finally understanding that I am getting into workout mode and is acting accordingly. I am hoping to get to the point that I did last year where I really looked forward to going to the gym in the evening and working out. It does mean that I can’t spend all of my waking hours in front of a computer screen but I guess that is not a bad thing overall.
Oh, and your sign of the apocalypse for the week: The number one movie in the country this weekend was G-Force. Yes, more people saw a film featuring talking guinea pigs than any other piece of art (or in case of that Katherine Heigel film, an hour and a half of romantic comedy clichés.) As I mentioned before, that film is a disgrace to the G-Force name and legacy. How did we move from super powered children dressed as birds to talking rodents? This country is going downhill faster than you could ever believe.
Best of 120 Minutes: Let’s start with the week with some Hothouse Flowers. They are one of those bands that never got the break they deserved.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Brunettes “Mars Loves Venus”
2) Whiskeytown “Strangers Almanac”
3) Billy Bragg and Wilco “Mermaid Avenue Volume 2”
4) Richard Buckner “Dents and Shells”
5) Rilo Kiley “Under the Blacklight”
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Poor out some slime tonight
I would like to start off tonight by taking a moment to remember the passing of a true television icon: Les Lye. Everyone reading this knows who Les Lye is. He was the adult on You Can’t Do That on Television. He passed away on Tuesday and his contributions to television should not be forgotten. It is a shame that his death actually was by firing squad. Either that or he finally ate one of his own Barth Burgers.
Seriously, I lose a piece of my childhood every day. When Walter Cronkite passed away last week that held some pretty significant meaning for me. I grew up in a CBS news household. Every night I would sit in front of the TV and watch Walter Cronkite present the news. Maybe as a six year old I did not understand everything that he was discussing but he was as much a part of my daily existence as Big Bird. Every day we seem to lose someone who was part of my early years and I have to face the fact that I am now most certainly an adult.
(And yes, even as a six year old I watched the news every day. That was just the way my family worked. In the evening we had the news on and there was no debate. I still claim that I learned to count via the Iran hostage drama in which every night they would list how many days the hostages had been held (444 in total, which I remembered because I thought it was a cool number.) We also always had newspapers and National Geographics around for us to read. I will always state that my parents never pushed me to excel in academics; they simply provided me with all of the tools necessary to love information and learning.)
It is tough for me to come to grips with the fact that I am getting older. When simple realizations like a teenager today has no idea what a cassette tape is cross your mind you just feel like sitting down for a while. I still don’t feel old and I definitely don’t look it (distinguished gray hairs notwithstanding.) I can still get carded for alcohol and can confuse people about my age. And it is not as though my life has settled down in some boring, humdrum pattern. In fact, it is more exciting than it has ever been. But with all of that I am constantly reminded that I am aging.
I’m going to fight the good fight against growing old. This doesn’t mean that I am going to start dressing like a teenager. I didn’t dress like a teenager when I was one and by no means am I going to start now. But I will always try to stay on the cutting edge in terms of media and culture and technology. I will try my best to keep my body together as things start to slow down and weight begins to accumulate around my middle. Mainly I will just keep on enjoying life. Do that and age really doesn’t matter.
Seriously, I lose a piece of my childhood every day. When Walter Cronkite passed away last week that held some pretty significant meaning for me. I grew up in a CBS news household. Every night I would sit in front of the TV and watch Walter Cronkite present the news. Maybe as a six year old I did not understand everything that he was discussing but he was as much a part of my daily existence as Big Bird. Every day we seem to lose someone who was part of my early years and I have to face the fact that I am now most certainly an adult.
(And yes, even as a six year old I watched the news every day. That was just the way my family worked. In the evening we had the news on and there was no debate. I still claim that I learned to count via the Iran hostage drama in which every night they would list how many days the hostages had been held (444 in total, which I remembered because I thought it was a cool number.) We also always had newspapers and National Geographics around for us to read. I will always state that my parents never pushed me to excel in academics; they simply provided me with all of the tools necessary to love information and learning.)
It is tough for me to come to grips with the fact that I am getting older. When simple realizations like a teenager today has no idea what a cassette tape is cross your mind you just feel like sitting down for a while. I still don’t feel old and I definitely don’t look it (distinguished gray hairs notwithstanding.) I can still get carded for alcohol and can confuse people about my age. And it is not as though my life has settled down in some boring, humdrum pattern. In fact, it is more exciting than it has ever been. But with all of that I am constantly reminded that I am aging.
I’m going to fight the good fight against growing old. This doesn’t mean that I am going to start dressing like a teenager. I didn’t dress like a teenager when I was one and by no means am I going to start now. But I will always try to stay on the cutting edge in terms of media and culture and technology. I will try my best to keep my body together as things start to slow down and weight begins to accumulate around my middle. Mainly I will just keep on enjoying life. Do that and age really doesn’t matter.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
At least I still have my health
I was requested to write about Obama’s policy stance tonight and since my primetime schedule was once again put into disarray by a news conference I thought that it would be best to discuss my views on the subject. I’m not sure how my views fall amidst the political spectrum but here it goes. Time for all of the health care aficionados out there to get their fill of news.
I will start with the points that I feel everyone agrees on. Health care is too expensive, too many people are uninsured to the point that they create an overall tax on the system, and the fear of losing coverage or being denied for a preexisting condition is overwhelming. All of those are issues that need to be addressed. However, I’m not sure the Obama plan is the right way to go about it.
First off, while he backed off the August deadline for a bill I am still upset with the timeline to begin with. Right now I see the overall health of the economy as the major focus and reforming health care is a priority but not the top priority. If this passed next year it wouldn’t be a big deal given the lead time it will take for any changes to go into effect. Given the size of the deficits that we are currently facing (and the fact that we may need another stimulus bill in the near future) this seems to be a diversion we do not need. Though I will give Obama credit for his point that the only way to get anything done in Washington is to force a deadline.
My main issue is the focus on universal coverage. The point of this version of health care reform is to get everyone insured, via the government if need be, at a rather tremendous expense to the overall system. I’m against that view because once you start down that path of universal coverage you quickly slide down the slope to socialized medicine. Sure, I’m insured via my company but if the government would also insure me what would stop my company (or any company for that matter) to stop my insurance and force me to the government plan. Pretty soon, everyone is insured by the government and we have socialized medicine.
And please do not tell me about the wonders of socialized medicine. I have been in an emergency room in England in so much pain that I blacked out at one point. I have never been through such a hellish experience as I went through that night. Every single step of the process from the waiting room onward made me wonder if the whole thing was just a massive bureaucratic joke. And what was I given for a severely separated shoulder and significant muscle tears throughout my arm? A handful of ibuprofen and a sling suitable for a Revolutionary War reenactor. Add in the year long waits for surgery in Canada for something that would get done in a week in the US and there is no way I want to go to that model.
In a way I really view universal coverage to be un-American. What we truly want is universal access to insurance. No one likes the idea of being forced to do something in this country, which is one of the reasons why we can’t even have standardized identification cards. But we do want a level of fairness for everyone. So what I would like to see is a level of catastrophic care insurance provided by private insurers but government backed that everyone will have the right to purchase. If you choose not that is your own decision and it may work out or it may bankrupt you. But you would be guaranteed an option.
So what would I want to see? Let’s have the universal access to catastrophic care as well as better regulation on what defines a preexisting condition. Make it easier to transfer coverage from employer to employer knowing that one day we will have to scrap the whole employer model anyway and go to a market based approach. Go after the inefficiencies in the current system that were going to pay for the overall changes and just take that cost out of the system to begin with. Reform the malpractice laws to help reduce the costs as well. And take the time to get it right. All government plans go over cost and we are already at an unstable deficit level as it is. We can’t add more deficits into the system so whatever we do can’t add additional cost into the system.
I’d just like to wait until we had the Dow over 9,000 before we tried to undertake such a massive project. I’d be even happier if the Dow was over 10K at which point I would feel safe in saying that the economy was back in the right direction. But right now our main focus should be on the economy and double digit unemployment. Until that comes back under control we have some much more serious issues on the table.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Also, under my medical plan The Polyphonic Spree will be located in every hospital.
I will start with the points that I feel everyone agrees on. Health care is too expensive, too many people are uninsured to the point that they create an overall tax on the system, and the fear of losing coverage or being denied for a preexisting condition is overwhelming. All of those are issues that need to be addressed. However, I’m not sure the Obama plan is the right way to go about it.
First off, while he backed off the August deadline for a bill I am still upset with the timeline to begin with. Right now I see the overall health of the economy as the major focus and reforming health care is a priority but not the top priority. If this passed next year it wouldn’t be a big deal given the lead time it will take for any changes to go into effect. Given the size of the deficits that we are currently facing (and the fact that we may need another stimulus bill in the near future) this seems to be a diversion we do not need. Though I will give Obama credit for his point that the only way to get anything done in Washington is to force a deadline.
My main issue is the focus on universal coverage. The point of this version of health care reform is to get everyone insured, via the government if need be, at a rather tremendous expense to the overall system. I’m against that view because once you start down that path of universal coverage you quickly slide down the slope to socialized medicine. Sure, I’m insured via my company but if the government would also insure me what would stop my company (or any company for that matter) to stop my insurance and force me to the government plan. Pretty soon, everyone is insured by the government and we have socialized medicine.
And please do not tell me about the wonders of socialized medicine. I have been in an emergency room in England in so much pain that I blacked out at one point. I have never been through such a hellish experience as I went through that night. Every single step of the process from the waiting room onward made me wonder if the whole thing was just a massive bureaucratic joke. And what was I given for a severely separated shoulder and significant muscle tears throughout my arm? A handful of ibuprofen and a sling suitable for a Revolutionary War reenactor. Add in the year long waits for surgery in Canada for something that would get done in a week in the US and there is no way I want to go to that model.
In a way I really view universal coverage to be un-American. What we truly want is universal access to insurance. No one likes the idea of being forced to do something in this country, which is one of the reasons why we can’t even have standardized identification cards. But we do want a level of fairness for everyone. So what I would like to see is a level of catastrophic care insurance provided by private insurers but government backed that everyone will have the right to purchase. If you choose not that is your own decision and it may work out or it may bankrupt you. But you would be guaranteed an option.
So what would I want to see? Let’s have the universal access to catastrophic care as well as better regulation on what defines a preexisting condition. Make it easier to transfer coverage from employer to employer knowing that one day we will have to scrap the whole employer model anyway and go to a market based approach. Go after the inefficiencies in the current system that were going to pay for the overall changes and just take that cost out of the system to begin with. Reform the malpractice laws to help reduce the costs as well. And take the time to get it right. All government plans go over cost and we are already at an unstable deficit level as it is. We can’t add more deficits into the system so whatever we do can’t add additional cost into the system.
I’d just like to wait until we had the Dow over 9,000 before we tried to undertake such a massive project. I’d be even happier if the Dow was over 10K at which point I would feel safe in saying that the economy was back in the right direction. But right now our main focus should be on the economy and double digit unemployment. Until that comes back under control we have some much more serious issues on the table.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Also, under my medical plan The Polyphonic Spree will be located in every hospital.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The buglight of internet media
Not sure if people enjoyed my post last night but I sure had a blast writing it. Sometimes I write for my own enjoyment and that post, which probably required footnotes given all of the references that I made, is a prime example. Let’s face it no matter how hard I try I will always be a science fiction geek.
It is nice to know that I have found someone who will allow me to embrace the geekiness inside of me. Here is my latest example of how I have the best girlfriend in the world. Not only did we go out and buy a Nintendo Wii over the weekend but we also made sure to purchase the lightsaber attachments so that we can more accurately portray the battle between the Jedi. How awesome is that? Like I’ve said before, I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.
In more serious news, we get yet another presidential news conference on Wednesday night. Yes, this is about number forty this year in terms of prime time news conferences. I will at least give the president credit in that he has chosen a much better date this time than in previous news cycles. He avoids postponing the season premiere of Hells Kitchen tonight as well as the eviction episode of Big Brother on Thursday and will not interfere with my watching of Top Chef Masters. Forget about policy discussions, I will not have my reality tv watching disturbed.
Speaking of Big Brother (rather poor segue here but I will work on it) I need to discuss the whole Erin Andrews situation. Now most people know by now that someone secretly filmed Erin Andrews (ESPN’s favorite sideline journalist) undressing in her hotel room and uploaded the video to the internet. I found out about it through Deadspin on Friday afternoon and have since been following the fallout and reaction. And let me make it perfectly clear I have not watched the video because the entire idea of it makes me want to take a shower to wash off the dirt that just doesn’t want to come off. How anyone can be interested in watching footage taken by a guy who most likely drilled a hole into an adjoining hotel room and filmed through the hole is beyond me. It is horrible beyond words.
What is interesting in the blogosphere is that there is a great argument over how this should be viewed. Most people are appalled. A few truly wonder what the big deal is as she is just naked and not doing anything illegal or wrong. I’ve read more than a few comments to that effect. Obviously, I disagree completely. Even as someone who spends most of his free time analyzing the pop culture landscape there is a line drawn. We can make fun of Paris and Brittany and My Beloved Lindsay because they put themselves out there in these situations. If they want to get out of a car legs akimbo when they happened to forget to wear underwear that evening then commenting on the situation is allowable. (I feel better joking about it than being the guy with the telephoto lens who is apparently lying on the ground to get those shots.) But here is a situation where not only did she not know she was being filmed but the act of filming her was in itself a crime. This wasn’t an invasion of privacy it was a complete theft of it.
Should this story be covered online? Yes, because it is a news story. However, it isn’t a case of “Dude, check out this link I just found.” We’ve become such a voyeuristic society that an act of true voyeurism doesn’t even seem shocking anymore.
That is all for tonight. Enjoy Pi Approximation day.
It is nice to know that I have found someone who will allow me to embrace the geekiness inside of me. Here is my latest example of how I have the best girlfriend in the world. Not only did we go out and buy a Nintendo Wii over the weekend but we also made sure to purchase the lightsaber attachments so that we can more accurately portray the battle between the Jedi. How awesome is that? Like I’ve said before, I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.
In more serious news, we get yet another presidential news conference on Wednesday night. Yes, this is about number forty this year in terms of prime time news conferences. I will at least give the president credit in that he has chosen a much better date this time than in previous news cycles. He avoids postponing the season premiere of Hells Kitchen tonight as well as the eviction episode of Big Brother on Thursday and will not interfere with my watching of Top Chef Masters. Forget about policy discussions, I will not have my reality tv watching disturbed.
Speaking of Big Brother (rather poor segue here but I will work on it) I need to discuss the whole Erin Andrews situation. Now most people know by now that someone secretly filmed Erin Andrews (ESPN’s favorite sideline journalist) undressing in her hotel room and uploaded the video to the internet. I found out about it through Deadspin on Friday afternoon and have since been following the fallout and reaction. And let me make it perfectly clear I have not watched the video because the entire idea of it makes me want to take a shower to wash off the dirt that just doesn’t want to come off. How anyone can be interested in watching footage taken by a guy who most likely drilled a hole into an adjoining hotel room and filmed through the hole is beyond me. It is horrible beyond words.
What is interesting in the blogosphere is that there is a great argument over how this should be viewed. Most people are appalled. A few truly wonder what the big deal is as she is just naked and not doing anything illegal or wrong. I’ve read more than a few comments to that effect. Obviously, I disagree completely. Even as someone who spends most of his free time analyzing the pop culture landscape there is a line drawn. We can make fun of Paris and Brittany and My Beloved Lindsay because they put themselves out there in these situations. If they want to get out of a car legs akimbo when they happened to forget to wear underwear that evening then commenting on the situation is allowable. (I feel better joking about it than being the guy with the telephoto lens who is apparently lying on the ground to get those shots.) But here is a situation where not only did she not know she was being filmed but the act of filming her was in itself a crime. This wasn’t an invasion of privacy it was a complete theft of it.
Should this story be covered online? Yes, because it is a news story. However, it isn’t a case of “Dude, check out this link I just found.” We’ve become such a voyeuristic society that an act of true voyeurism doesn’t even seem shocking anymore.
That is all for tonight. Enjoy Pi Approximation day.
Monday, July 20, 2009
We're on the moon!
Given that tonight is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing I decided that it would be fitting if I went back, way back, into the Battling the Current archives and reprinted my live blog from that night. So join me friends as we harken back to that wonderful time.
8:58 P.M.: And we are coming to you live from Battling the Current science headquarters for full coverage of men walking on the moon. Holy shit! We’re on the freaking moon! I need to sit down for a moment. And I’m already sitting down.
9:00 P.M.: As usual I will set the ground rules for tonight. I will watch the coverage tonight, along with my partner Robby the Robot, and comment on what I see. The beverage of choice is of course Tang. Remember folks, it is perfectly proper to walk into any grocery store in this great nation of ours and loudly proclaim, “Hey, does anyone know where a guy could get some Tang in this place?”
9:06 P.M.: For those wondering at the moment we have Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (dude, all astronauts should be required to be named Buzz) on the moon in the lunar module while Michael Collins is orbiting the moon in the command module thus making Michael Collins the biggest footnote in history as the guy who didn’t walk on the moon. I assume that right now he is doing a crossword puzzle wondering how often his name will appear in the future.
9:10 P.M.: Why yes Robby, I also hope that the evil Dr. Smith has not hidden himself onboard the spacecraft in an attempt to sabotage the mission. And no, it doesn’t make sense to me why Dr. Smith would spend so much time with young Will Robinson as opposed to Penny or Judy. It troubles me greatly.
9:19 P.M.: We’re at a lull in the coverage here so I just want to mention that I am on the fence about going to Woodstock this year. I would love to see Sha Na Na (how awesome is Bowser. I mean, you could make an entire sitcom about the antics of a guy wearing a leather jacket and acting cool and having a catchphrase like “Hey…”) but not sure if the rest of the bill is worth it. I’ll probably just go to Altamont instead. Things will be a lot more peaceful out in sunny California.
9:21 P.M.: Dude, the summer of ’69 is going to be so epic. I hope someone writes a song about it. I just had a funny thought. Imagine of the song that memorializes this year the best is written by some loser Canadian guy.
9:25 P.M.: Ok, we just have word that they are about to step out of the capsule. Let’s switch this over to live moon coverage.
9:26 P.M.: Wait a minute. How can we have a live camera on the moon when they haven’t actually stepped foot on the moon yet? Did they climb out, set up the camera, climb back in again and then act like nothing happened?
9:28 P.M.: Here we go. The entire world is focused on a man walking down a ladder. And he’s done it! Neil Armstrong is walking on the moon. Remind me, walking on the moon would be a great title for a modified reggae song by a band whose lead singer would be named Bite or Prick or something.
9:31 P.M.: Correct me if I am wrong here but did Neil just blow his big line? “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” That statement doesn’t make any sense. In that context man and mankind are equivalent so he basically said “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for man.” He should have said, “That is one small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind.” Jeez, we can put a man on the moon but we can’t formulate a sentence correctly.
9:33 P.M.: Think about all of the people out there who have ever said, “I’ll do that when a man walks on the moon.” I have a feeling a few bets are being called in tonight.
9:35 P.M.: Here comes Buzz. Though I can’t see it through his helmet I assume that he is wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette throughout this entire process as all guys named Buzz naturally do. Also, mission control reports that Michael Collins requests assistance on 24 Down.
9:36 P.M.: Is it me or does the moon look surprisingly like Arizona? I swear I can see Phoenix in the background.
9:45 P.M.: I’m just stunned at what I am seeing right now. Just go outside and look at the sky. See the moon? There are two people walking around up there right now. Just think about that for a moment. We put a person from here to there. People think that it is amazing that we can scale Mt. Everest or fly across an ocean. This is just beyond words.
9:50 P.M.: I can’t wait to see where we are in forty years. Flying cars and hoverboards to be sure. Vacations on the moon. Trips to Mars. The possibilities are seemingly endless. It would be a shame if the only major advance in that time period was the creation of a computer network used primarily to look at porn and inform your friends what Peanuts character you most resemble.
9:55 P.M.: Thinking about all of this has given me a great idea for a movie script. How about you have a young farmboy who discover these two robots who lead him to this old hermit who is really this famous warrior. They go off on a journey to save a princess (who is really the farmboy’s sister but I’m not sure if we reveal that right away. Better to have some very strange sexual tension first) aided by a space pirate and his rather large dog. To save the princess they have to battle this evil Man-Bot who in reality is the farmboy’s father but you don’t know that either. In the end they have this huge space battle with amazing sound effects even though space is a vacuum so there wouldn’t be any noises. What do you think?
10:00 P.M.: Ok, I’m calling it a night here. Right now Neil and Buzz are hopping away on the surface and I assume that they will come home to wonderful careers as Bears head coach and surfing instructor respectively. Tomorrow we will discuss the chances for the Cubs to make the World Series this year as they are 24 games over 500 at the moment. I mean, what are the odds that they will collapse and take at least another forty years to go to a World Series? If we can put a man on the moon we could certainly put the Cubs in the Series, right?
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Insiders “Fate in Action”
2) The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
3) The New Pornographers “Twin Cinema”
4) They Might Be Giants “Flood”
5) Monte Warden “A Stranger to me Now”
8:58 P.M.: And we are coming to you live from Battling the Current science headquarters for full coverage of men walking on the moon. Holy shit! We’re on the freaking moon! I need to sit down for a moment. And I’m already sitting down.
9:00 P.M.: As usual I will set the ground rules for tonight. I will watch the coverage tonight, along with my partner Robby the Robot, and comment on what I see. The beverage of choice is of course Tang. Remember folks, it is perfectly proper to walk into any grocery store in this great nation of ours and loudly proclaim, “Hey, does anyone know where a guy could get some Tang in this place?”
9:06 P.M.: For those wondering at the moment we have Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (dude, all astronauts should be required to be named Buzz) on the moon in the lunar module while Michael Collins is orbiting the moon in the command module thus making Michael Collins the biggest footnote in history as the guy who didn’t walk on the moon. I assume that right now he is doing a crossword puzzle wondering how often his name will appear in the future.
9:10 P.M.: Why yes Robby, I also hope that the evil Dr. Smith has not hidden himself onboard the spacecraft in an attempt to sabotage the mission. And no, it doesn’t make sense to me why Dr. Smith would spend so much time with young Will Robinson as opposed to Penny or Judy. It troubles me greatly.
9:19 P.M.: We’re at a lull in the coverage here so I just want to mention that I am on the fence about going to Woodstock this year. I would love to see Sha Na Na (how awesome is Bowser. I mean, you could make an entire sitcom about the antics of a guy wearing a leather jacket and acting cool and having a catchphrase like “Hey…”) but not sure if the rest of the bill is worth it. I’ll probably just go to Altamont instead. Things will be a lot more peaceful out in sunny California.
9:21 P.M.: Dude, the summer of ’69 is going to be so epic. I hope someone writes a song about it. I just had a funny thought. Imagine of the song that memorializes this year the best is written by some loser Canadian guy.
9:25 P.M.: Ok, we just have word that they are about to step out of the capsule. Let’s switch this over to live moon coverage.
9:26 P.M.: Wait a minute. How can we have a live camera on the moon when they haven’t actually stepped foot on the moon yet? Did they climb out, set up the camera, climb back in again and then act like nothing happened?
9:28 P.M.: Here we go. The entire world is focused on a man walking down a ladder. And he’s done it! Neil Armstrong is walking on the moon. Remind me, walking on the moon would be a great title for a modified reggae song by a band whose lead singer would be named Bite or Prick or something.
9:31 P.M.: Correct me if I am wrong here but did Neil just blow his big line? “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” That statement doesn’t make any sense. In that context man and mankind are equivalent so he basically said “That is one small step for man, one giant leap for man.” He should have said, “That is one small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind.” Jeez, we can put a man on the moon but we can’t formulate a sentence correctly.
9:33 P.M.: Think about all of the people out there who have ever said, “I’ll do that when a man walks on the moon.” I have a feeling a few bets are being called in tonight.
9:35 P.M.: Here comes Buzz. Though I can’t see it through his helmet I assume that he is wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette throughout this entire process as all guys named Buzz naturally do. Also, mission control reports that Michael Collins requests assistance on 24 Down.
9:36 P.M.: Is it me or does the moon look surprisingly like Arizona? I swear I can see Phoenix in the background.
9:45 P.M.: I’m just stunned at what I am seeing right now. Just go outside and look at the sky. See the moon? There are two people walking around up there right now. Just think about that for a moment. We put a person from here to there. People think that it is amazing that we can scale Mt. Everest or fly across an ocean. This is just beyond words.
9:50 P.M.: I can’t wait to see where we are in forty years. Flying cars and hoverboards to be sure. Vacations on the moon. Trips to Mars. The possibilities are seemingly endless. It would be a shame if the only major advance in that time period was the creation of a computer network used primarily to look at porn and inform your friends what Peanuts character you most resemble.
9:55 P.M.: Thinking about all of this has given me a great idea for a movie script. How about you have a young farmboy who discover these two robots who lead him to this old hermit who is really this famous warrior. They go off on a journey to save a princess (who is really the farmboy’s sister but I’m not sure if we reveal that right away. Better to have some very strange sexual tension first) aided by a space pirate and his rather large dog. To save the princess they have to battle this evil Man-Bot who in reality is the farmboy’s father but you don’t know that either. In the end they have this huge space battle with amazing sound effects even though space is a vacuum so there wouldn’t be any noises. What do you think?
10:00 P.M.: Ok, I’m calling it a night here. Right now Neil and Buzz are hopping away on the surface and I assume that they will come home to wonderful careers as Bears head coach and surfing instructor respectively. Tomorrow we will discuss the chances for the Cubs to make the World Series this year as they are 24 games over 500 at the moment. I mean, what are the odds that they will collapse and take at least another forty years to go to a World Series? If we can put a man on the moon we could certainly put the Cubs in the Series, right?
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Insiders “Fate in Action”
2) The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
3) The New Pornographers “Twin Cinema”
4) They Might Be Giants “Flood”
5) Monte Warden “A Stranger to me Now”
Sunday, July 19, 2009
All just to get to you
I spend a lot of time in airports. That seems to be the nature of my life at the moment. What is strange is that I am not one of those road warrior corporate employees who are never in the same city for more than two days at a time. While I travel for work occassionaly it has never been the focus of my travel stories. Nope, it is just that the nature of my life has me flying a lot to get anywhere interesting. That is just what happens when you live in such exotic locales as Kansas City and Delaware.
I do have to say that as someone who has flown into and out of numerous airports I have never found one that is as mind boggilingly frustrating as the Philadelphia airport. It was apparently designed by Ben Franklin when he was under the impression that we would all travel by zeppelin. There isn't a single thing about that airport that makes a lick of sense. You know it is bad that when you step out of the garage and into the terminal that the carpet splashes due to some unseen leak but that is the least of my issues.
First off, the terminals lack that wonder of the world: the moving walkways. I know this doesn't sound like much and I appreciate the fact that I can get a workout in while getting to my gate but the typical American is not accustomed to walking. Add the fact that the concourses seem incredibly narrow with kiosks selling Rosetta Stone software and buttons from various countries attacking you at all moments and you have efficient traveler me constantly stuck behind people who are moving as slowly as possible. To the point that even I want to bean them with my backpack just to get them to move.
Once I get to the gate my problems still aren't solved. There never seems to be enough seats and I don't believe that they have ever figured out the concept of temperature control. Heating and cooling seem non-existent and when they do exist it is the opposite of the one you want. I also have encountered the gate next to the employee only elevator. Do you know how an elevator beeps when it comes to your floor. Well, instead of a beep this one had a ten second long ear piercing whail. Now have that happen roughly once every four minutes as you wait to board the plane. And boarding the plane always seems to have a whole eastern european flair to it as you tend to end up in numerous lines with people waving tickets in the air and bellowing in about five languages.
Eventually you get on a plane and you want to breathe a sigh of relief that you are now going to be on your way. You pull out of the gate and then you wait. And wait. And wait. A 40 minute wait to get airborne is typical and a two hour wait is not unheard of. All of this during that time period where cel phones and iPods are prohibited from use. They just book so many flights to take off into the northeast corridor that any inconvenience (a drop of rain, a slight gust of wind, a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina) will cause the airport to go into a complete standstill. It is just maddening.
Still, I know who is waiting for me on the other end of these nightmare flights. And when I finally arrive and see her it makes all the annoyances and petty grievances worthwhile. Because at the end of the day I will go through anything just to see her.
I do have to say that as someone who has flown into and out of numerous airports I have never found one that is as mind boggilingly frustrating as the Philadelphia airport. It was apparently designed by Ben Franklin when he was under the impression that we would all travel by zeppelin. There isn't a single thing about that airport that makes a lick of sense. You know it is bad that when you step out of the garage and into the terminal that the carpet splashes due to some unseen leak but that is the least of my issues.
First off, the terminals lack that wonder of the world: the moving walkways. I know this doesn't sound like much and I appreciate the fact that I can get a workout in while getting to my gate but the typical American is not accustomed to walking. Add the fact that the concourses seem incredibly narrow with kiosks selling Rosetta Stone software and buttons from various countries attacking you at all moments and you have efficient traveler me constantly stuck behind people who are moving as slowly as possible. To the point that even I want to bean them with my backpack just to get them to move.
Once I get to the gate my problems still aren't solved. There never seems to be enough seats and I don't believe that they have ever figured out the concept of temperature control. Heating and cooling seem non-existent and when they do exist it is the opposite of the one you want. I also have encountered the gate next to the employee only elevator. Do you know how an elevator beeps when it comes to your floor. Well, instead of a beep this one had a ten second long ear piercing whail. Now have that happen roughly once every four minutes as you wait to board the plane. And boarding the plane always seems to have a whole eastern european flair to it as you tend to end up in numerous lines with people waving tickets in the air and bellowing in about five languages.
Eventually you get on a plane and you want to breathe a sigh of relief that you are now going to be on your way. You pull out of the gate and then you wait. And wait. And wait. A 40 minute wait to get airborne is typical and a two hour wait is not unheard of. All of this during that time period where cel phones and iPods are prohibited from use. They just book so many flights to take off into the northeast corridor that any inconvenience (a drop of rain, a slight gust of wind, a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina) will cause the airport to go into a complete standstill. It is just maddening.
Still, I know who is waiting for me on the other end of these nightmare flights. And when I finally arrive and see her it makes all the annoyances and petty grievances worthwhile. Because at the end of the day I will go through anything just to see her.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Well, it is on Arnold Jackson Street
I have always stated that I am from Chicago but that is in reality not true. It is close to the truth but I have to admit that I have never had a Chicago address. Growing up I did have a 312 area code before getting shunted to the 708 area code and losing a lot of coolness in the process and then moving to 630 land, which is pretty much wagon train country. But even though I am really from Berwyn I always felt that I had the right to claim my heritage as a Chicago native because I could see the Sears Tower from my bedroom. I always felt like that was the rule: as long as you could still see the Sears Tower you are still in Chicago.
Even though I have moved and haven’t even lived in Illinois for almost eight years now the Sears Tower holds a special place in my heart. It shouldn’t surprise you that I was extremely upset that they had changed the name of the building this morning. Yes, now the tallest building in the world (screw what Guinness tells you, ornamental structures do not count as height) is to be referred to as the Willis Tower. As in the “Whatcha talkin bout” Tower. Or the Todd Bridges Memorial Building. Skidmore, Owings and / or Merrill must be rolling over in their graves.
Yes, I know that no one from Sears has worked in that building for more than fifteen years. The fact that Sears, a company that is barely still in business, has been able to keep its name on the tallest building in the nation’s architectural heartland is amazing in and of itself. But even so no one wants to see a name change. It doesn’t matter that the naming rights will raise money for the city. As Chicagoans we will continue to call things by their proper names. The United Center is still referred to by many as “The New Stadium”, US Cellular Field is “New Commiskey” and Willis Tower will remain the Sears Tower for a long time.
Here is my favorite Sears Tower memory. Back when I was a kid, maybe seven or eight, a guy climbed up the side of the building all the way to the top. Now if you look at the building you see that it is very boxy and broad shouldered and there is actually only one side of the building from which you can reach the top. (I still remember my dad telling me about that as a kid and every time I see it I look to find that side.) This guy, who happened to be named Dan, did the climb dressed in a Spider Man costume and as a result was referred to as Spider Dan. The Chicago fire department did their best to bring him down, including using fire hoses at one point which I felt was totally unfair, but he made it to the top and was promptly arrested.
Personally I always loved that story. I never understood why the cops tried to arrest him. Sure, I understand that you can’t have people randomly climbing up the sides of buildings at all times but the sheer challenge of going 103 stories with nothing to help you other than the equipment you made yourself makes you want to see if it can be done. Plus, he did it in a Spider Man costume. Maybe it was the first news story I ever saw where I could look at where it took place and not even comprehend how someone could do such a thing. I still look at that building and go how in the world did he pull that off. It might not be the prettiest building in the world but it creates that sense of awe that few buildings can attain.
Even though I have moved and haven’t even lived in Illinois for almost eight years now the Sears Tower holds a special place in my heart. It shouldn’t surprise you that I was extremely upset that they had changed the name of the building this morning. Yes, now the tallest building in the world (screw what Guinness tells you, ornamental structures do not count as height) is to be referred to as the Willis Tower. As in the “Whatcha talkin bout” Tower. Or the Todd Bridges Memorial Building. Skidmore, Owings and / or Merrill must be rolling over in their graves.
Yes, I know that no one from Sears has worked in that building for more than fifteen years. The fact that Sears, a company that is barely still in business, has been able to keep its name on the tallest building in the nation’s architectural heartland is amazing in and of itself. But even so no one wants to see a name change. It doesn’t matter that the naming rights will raise money for the city. As Chicagoans we will continue to call things by their proper names. The United Center is still referred to by many as “The New Stadium”, US Cellular Field is “New Commiskey” and Willis Tower will remain the Sears Tower for a long time.
Here is my favorite Sears Tower memory. Back when I was a kid, maybe seven or eight, a guy climbed up the side of the building all the way to the top. Now if you look at the building you see that it is very boxy and broad shouldered and there is actually only one side of the building from which you can reach the top. (I still remember my dad telling me about that as a kid and every time I see it I look to find that side.) This guy, who happened to be named Dan, did the climb dressed in a Spider Man costume and as a result was referred to as Spider Dan. The Chicago fire department did their best to bring him down, including using fire hoses at one point which I felt was totally unfair, but he made it to the top and was promptly arrested.
Personally I always loved that story. I never understood why the cops tried to arrest him. Sure, I understand that you can’t have people randomly climbing up the sides of buildings at all times but the sheer challenge of going 103 stories with nothing to help you other than the equipment you made yourself makes you want to see if it can be done. Plus, he did it in a Spider Man costume. Maybe it was the first news story I ever saw where I could look at where it took place and not even comprehend how someone could do such a thing. I still look at that building and go how in the world did he pull that off. It might not be the prettiest building in the world but it creates that sense of awe that few buildings can attain.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A window onto Delaware
Last bit on the music comments: I completely agree about the revamping of Borders. For several years they were one of the best places to find music. They had an eclectic selection and while it was expensive you could certainly find what you were looking for. Over the past year or so I saw the quality and the care of the section decrease massively (the special displays seemed to go from highlighting artists to housing whatever CDs they had extras of.) Now they have removed most of the section completely and replaced it with absolutely nothing. Which is strange because I don’t think they have a clue what to do with that square footage and that has to be really troubling for the company. Still, that was the last straw on big box stores where you could find good music.
I’ve got a little bit of an apartment rant to go on at the moment. As I’ve mentioned before I live in a high rise apartment with massive windows. Well, on these massive windows have collected an amazing group of spiders. I say amazing because I am really high up in the air. Seriously, I’ve had birds smack into my windows up here. Yet I still have these spiders building intricate webs and capturing numerous insects. And these aren’t small spiders. These guys have some pretty serious length to them.
The good news is that they are on the outside of windows that cannot open so I don’t have to worry about them invading my apartment. However it is still rather creepy to look up and see a spider going flying past your field of view as it picks off whatever just hit its web. Right now I can see five of them and I can’t do anything about them. It does give me a bit of the heebie jeebies. My only solution is to pull down the shades but that would ruin the view of downtown Wilmington, which I admit isn’t much but it is really the only thing I have going for me here in Wilmington.
And Wilmington does have a skyline even though it consists mainly of bank buildings. Which was fun during the financial meltdown as I would wonder how they could even afford to keep the lights on. (Seriously, Chase and ING keep every single light on at all times. If I didn’t get paid by electricity usage I would have an issue.) I still don’t have a sense of this town though. Maybe my years out in Kansas have spoiled me as I got used to the sprawl. Big empty spaces filled up with strip malls. Now I am in the land of winding roads and no straight lines and I am never quite sure how to get from one place to another. Maybe I will get used to it eventually.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Since I’ve mentioned Carbon Leaf a lot this week I thought I would put in a live clip of them. This is from a record store appearance and shows how they caught my eye.
I’ve got a little bit of an apartment rant to go on at the moment. As I’ve mentioned before I live in a high rise apartment with massive windows. Well, on these massive windows have collected an amazing group of spiders. I say amazing because I am really high up in the air. Seriously, I’ve had birds smack into my windows up here. Yet I still have these spiders building intricate webs and capturing numerous insects. And these aren’t small spiders. These guys have some pretty serious length to them.
The good news is that they are on the outside of windows that cannot open so I don’t have to worry about them invading my apartment. However it is still rather creepy to look up and see a spider going flying past your field of view as it picks off whatever just hit its web. Right now I can see five of them and I can’t do anything about them. It does give me a bit of the heebie jeebies. My only solution is to pull down the shades but that would ruin the view of downtown Wilmington, which I admit isn’t much but it is really the only thing I have going for me here in Wilmington.
And Wilmington does have a skyline even though it consists mainly of bank buildings. Which was fun during the financial meltdown as I would wonder how they could even afford to keep the lights on. (Seriously, Chase and ING keep every single light on at all times. If I didn’t get paid by electricity usage I would have an issue.) I still don’t have a sense of this town though. Maybe my years out in Kansas have spoiled me as I got used to the sprawl. Big empty spaces filled up with strip malls. Now I am in the land of winding roads and no straight lines and I am never quite sure how to get from one place to another. Maybe I will get used to it eventually.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Since I’ve mentioned Carbon Leaf a lot this week I thought I would put in a live clip of them. This is from a record store appearance and shows how they caught my eye.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The slow decline of my music fandom
Some interesting comments on my last post regarding my evolution as a music fan. First off, I would never list Belly as obscure and lame. I still have a crush on a red-haired Tanya Donnelly from the Feed the Tree video. And looking back at my 25 songs I would say that they fall mainly in the category of obscure but really good though I will have to admit that Freakwater has been described by music critics as sounding like cats being tortured and I completely see their point. But all in all I like the music on my Zune.
What is interesting though was the idea that my taste in music would grow more mainstream now that I am not in clubs any more. Well, I was never in dance clubs but I am out a lot less often and haven’t gone to a concert in a year and that has brought up an interesting point with me. I wouldn’t say that my taste in music has grown more mainstream in the past year. What in has become is very stagnant to the point that I am simply not buying much new music. For example, I still haven’t picked up the latest Wilco and Son Volt releases despite the fact that they are two of my favorite bands of all time and I do not go a week without listening to one of them.
Part of the reason that my music tastes have grown stagnant is entirely because I am not going to concerts and as a result am not exposed to opening acts. For every awful opening act that I have seen in my life (up to and including Tom Brosseau who I still wish I would have thrown a beer bottle at even though that sentiment has resulted in physical threats made against me the last time I mentioned it on the blog) I have encountered some amazing acts who I become huge fans of. From my 25 songs Carbon Leaf, The Frames, Anders Osborne and Richard Buckner were all opening acts on bills that I saw over the years and they all became some of my favorite artists. If it wasn’t for going to concerts I would never have heard of Carbon Leaf but they are now my best example of a young band with huge potential. Without stepping out into the live music scene you lose those discoveries.
(As to why I haven’t explored the music scene here it basically isn’t anywhere near as convenient as it was in KC. There half the shows I went to were within ten minutes of my apartment and the others were about an hour’s drive away in Lawrence, where it helped that I didn’t really care about the impression I gave when I came into work late the next morning after spending the previous night hanging out with college students. Now I do care and pretty much every band I like plays an hour (and a few states) away and it makes it a lot tougher. Plus, I am just getting too old to do forty concerts a year. My ears need a break.)
But concerts aren’t the only reason my musical tastes have stagnated. The traditional ways of finding out about new music have disappeared for me. We already knew that MTV and VH1 are useless in terms of discovering new music though I will give VH1 props for providing us with The Pick Up Artist and Daisy of Love. My biggest problem is that I am someone who also found bands by reading music magazines and they pretty much no longer exist. No Depression folded and Paste is barely surviving to the point that they had to ask their subscribers for donations. I own CDs from bands just because I liked their ad much less those that had a good writeup. It really was one of my entry points: read a review, maybe see the band or just take a flier on a disc.
That is another reason behind my music purchase slowdown: the death of the record store. Even Borders is doing away with the majority of its music section. There was nothing better than spending part of my day just roaming the aisles of a record store and looking to see if I found anything interesting. It was just how I spent my lazy afternoons. Now I don’t even know where an independent store is relative to where I live (compared to being able to walk to a few in KC) and that entire experience has disappeared.
Now I know that most people would just say “Well, why don’t you just buy your music online like everyone else?” But the strange thing is I really don’t like getting my music that way. Heck, I don’t even like reading the music mags online even though that is where they have all repositioned themselves. For me there just needs to be a physical component to the entire process. Music is something that you can hold in your hand; it is not something that is just bits sent across the ether. Plus, when you have access to a nearly infinite amount of music you have to wade through an awful lot of crap to find the good stuff. That is why I always talk about the curse of The Long Tail. We now have access to every single song ever recorded and as a result of infinite choice we buy nothing.
I doubt that my tastes will ever become mainstream. I just hope that I am able to recreate my niche as a discerning music consumer.
What is interesting though was the idea that my taste in music would grow more mainstream now that I am not in clubs any more. Well, I was never in dance clubs but I am out a lot less often and haven’t gone to a concert in a year and that has brought up an interesting point with me. I wouldn’t say that my taste in music has grown more mainstream in the past year. What in has become is very stagnant to the point that I am simply not buying much new music. For example, I still haven’t picked up the latest Wilco and Son Volt releases despite the fact that they are two of my favorite bands of all time and I do not go a week without listening to one of them.
Part of the reason that my music tastes have grown stagnant is entirely because I am not going to concerts and as a result am not exposed to opening acts. For every awful opening act that I have seen in my life (up to and including Tom Brosseau who I still wish I would have thrown a beer bottle at even though that sentiment has resulted in physical threats made against me the last time I mentioned it on the blog) I have encountered some amazing acts who I become huge fans of. From my 25 songs Carbon Leaf, The Frames, Anders Osborne and Richard Buckner were all opening acts on bills that I saw over the years and they all became some of my favorite artists. If it wasn’t for going to concerts I would never have heard of Carbon Leaf but they are now my best example of a young band with huge potential. Without stepping out into the live music scene you lose those discoveries.
(As to why I haven’t explored the music scene here it basically isn’t anywhere near as convenient as it was in KC. There half the shows I went to were within ten minutes of my apartment and the others were about an hour’s drive away in Lawrence, where it helped that I didn’t really care about the impression I gave when I came into work late the next morning after spending the previous night hanging out with college students. Now I do care and pretty much every band I like plays an hour (and a few states) away and it makes it a lot tougher. Plus, I am just getting too old to do forty concerts a year. My ears need a break.)
But concerts aren’t the only reason my musical tastes have stagnated. The traditional ways of finding out about new music have disappeared for me. We already knew that MTV and VH1 are useless in terms of discovering new music though I will give VH1 props for providing us with The Pick Up Artist and Daisy of Love. My biggest problem is that I am someone who also found bands by reading music magazines and they pretty much no longer exist. No Depression folded and Paste is barely surviving to the point that they had to ask their subscribers for donations. I own CDs from bands just because I liked their ad much less those that had a good writeup. It really was one of my entry points: read a review, maybe see the band or just take a flier on a disc.
That is another reason behind my music purchase slowdown: the death of the record store. Even Borders is doing away with the majority of its music section. There was nothing better than spending part of my day just roaming the aisles of a record store and looking to see if I found anything interesting. It was just how I spent my lazy afternoons. Now I don’t even know where an independent store is relative to where I live (compared to being able to walk to a few in KC) and that entire experience has disappeared.
Now I know that most people would just say “Well, why don’t you just buy your music online like everyone else?” But the strange thing is I really don’t like getting my music that way. Heck, I don’t even like reading the music mags online even though that is where they have all repositioned themselves. For me there just needs to be a physical component to the entire process. Music is something that you can hold in your hand; it is not something that is just bits sent across the ether. Plus, when you have access to a nearly infinite amount of music you have to wade through an awful lot of crap to find the good stuff. That is why I always talk about the curse of The Long Tail. We now have access to every single song ever recorded and as a result of infinite choice we buy nothing.
I doubt that my tastes will ever become mainstream. I just hope that I am able to recreate my niche as a discerning music consumer.
Monday, July 13, 2009
25 songs
A friend of mine on Facebook posted this idea and it was the first useful thing I have seen on Facebook in ages. For the last time: I don’t care about your Mafia Wars game! No one cares about your Mafia Wars game! Nor do I care about what fictional character you most resemble. But this one was a bit more interesting.
Simple idea. Put your iPod on shuffle and write down the first twenty five songs that come out. No cheating and not listing a song that you are embarrassed that you have. Just a list of the first 25 songs you hear. Now admittedly I do not have an iPod but I do have a Zune, which is the size of a small tackle box but does have a shuffle feature. It is twelve menus down but you can do it. So here is my 25.
1: Veruca Salt “Number One Blind” from “American Thighs”
2: Kasey Chambers “Hollywood” from “Wayward Angel”
3: Carbon Leaf “Mary Mac” from “5 Alive”
4: Lucinda Williams “Get Right with God” from “Essence”
5: Waco Brothers “Lake of the Vinegar” from “To the Last Dead Cowboy”
6: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth “Loving that Girl” from “Thus Always to Tyrants”
7: Mary Lou Lord “The Lucky One” from “Got No Shadow”
8: The Frames “God Bless Mom” from “Set List”
9: Emmylou Harris “Little Bird” from “Stumble Into Grace”
10: Iris Dement “Near the Cross” from “Lifeline”
11: U2 “Can’t Help Fallin’ in Love with You” from “The Eye of the Fly” (1992 concert bootleg)
12: Anders Osborne “Don’t Pray for Me” from “Live at Tipitinas”
13: Ryan Adams “Two” from “Easy Tiger”
14: The Sundays “Blood on my Hands” from “Blind”
15: Old 97s “Making Love with You” from “Down to the Promised Land”
16: U2 “I Fall Down” from “October”
17: The Sundays “Cry” from “Static and Silence”
18: Freakwater “Flat Hand” from “Springtime”
19: Black 47 “Walk All the Days” from “Live in New York City”
20: Richard Buckner “Stutterstep” from “Impasse”
21: Kelly Willis “Get Real” from “Kelly Willis”
22: Iris Dement “Calling for You” from “My Life”
23: Lucinda Williams “Steal Your Love” from “Essence”
24: Cowboy Junkies “Escape is so Simple” from “Open Road”
25: Arcade Fire “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” from “Funeral”
So what does this tell us? First off, it shows that the shuffle feature on my Zune is rather crappy as I got two songs from the same album and repeats of four different artists (I’m not going to sit around and calculate the odds of that happening but it was more than it should.) Pretty even mix of male versus female vocalists (12 male versus 13 female.) I have seen fourteen of the acts in concert and that is not including Scott Miller (who I saw when he headed up the V-Roys) and Iris Dement (who I drank with before her daughter in law (Pieta Brown)’s concert but never actually got to see her perform.)
Other than U2 you are really stretching in terms of popular acts. Arcade Fire definitely is known and Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris are common names to music fans. Veruca Salt, Black 47 and Cowboy Junkies all had a hit or two in their day and Glen from The Frames has an Oscar but I figure that most people would look at this list and not have any of the discs. It also shows my usual songs from collections that no one has ever heard of (I have more U2 bootlegs lying around than I would like to admit.) That is what most people will point to when they talk about my music snobbery. Even my U2 songs are relatively unknown.
Anyone else have some thoughts here? Am I a music snob who will never admit to liking anyone popular? What does it say that when I choose 25 songs at random from my Zune that I have had a beer with several of the acts? Is there any reasoning behind the surprising number of religious songs that appeared? Help me out.
Simple idea. Put your iPod on shuffle and write down the first twenty five songs that come out. No cheating and not listing a song that you are embarrassed that you have. Just a list of the first 25 songs you hear. Now admittedly I do not have an iPod but I do have a Zune, which is the size of a small tackle box but does have a shuffle feature. It is twelve menus down but you can do it. So here is my 25.
1: Veruca Salt “Number One Blind” from “American Thighs”
2: Kasey Chambers “Hollywood” from “Wayward Angel”
3: Carbon Leaf “Mary Mac” from “5 Alive”
4: Lucinda Williams “Get Right with God” from “Essence”
5: Waco Brothers “Lake of the Vinegar” from “To the Last Dead Cowboy”
6: Scott Miller and the Commonwealth “Loving that Girl” from “Thus Always to Tyrants”
7: Mary Lou Lord “The Lucky One” from “Got No Shadow”
8: The Frames “God Bless Mom” from “Set List”
9: Emmylou Harris “Little Bird” from “Stumble Into Grace”
10: Iris Dement “Near the Cross” from “Lifeline”
11: U2 “Can’t Help Fallin’ in Love with You” from “The Eye of the Fly” (1992 concert bootleg)
12: Anders Osborne “Don’t Pray for Me” from “Live at Tipitinas”
13: Ryan Adams “Two” from “Easy Tiger”
14: The Sundays “Blood on my Hands” from “Blind”
15: Old 97s “Making Love with You” from “Down to the Promised Land”
16: U2 “I Fall Down” from “October”
17: The Sundays “Cry” from “Static and Silence”
18: Freakwater “Flat Hand” from “Springtime”
19: Black 47 “Walk All the Days” from “Live in New York City”
20: Richard Buckner “Stutterstep” from “Impasse”
21: Kelly Willis “Get Real” from “Kelly Willis”
22: Iris Dement “Calling for You” from “My Life”
23: Lucinda Williams “Steal Your Love” from “Essence”
24: Cowboy Junkies “Escape is so Simple” from “Open Road”
25: Arcade Fire “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” from “Funeral”
So what does this tell us? First off, it shows that the shuffle feature on my Zune is rather crappy as I got two songs from the same album and repeats of four different artists (I’m not going to sit around and calculate the odds of that happening but it was more than it should.) Pretty even mix of male versus female vocalists (12 male versus 13 female.) I have seen fourteen of the acts in concert and that is not including Scott Miller (who I saw when he headed up the V-Roys) and Iris Dement (who I drank with before her daughter in law (Pieta Brown)’s concert but never actually got to see her perform.)
Other than U2 you are really stretching in terms of popular acts. Arcade Fire definitely is known and Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris are common names to music fans. Veruca Salt, Black 47 and Cowboy Junkies all had a hit or two in their day and Glen from The Frames has an Oscar but I figure that most people would look at this list and not have any of the discs. It also shows my usual songs from collections that no one has ever heard of (I have more U2 bootlegs lying around than I would like to admit.) That is what most people will point to when they talk about my music snobbery. Even my U2 songs are relatively unknown.
Anyone else have some thoughts here? Am I a music snob who will never admit to liking anyone popular? What does it say that when I choose 25 songs at random from my Zune that I have had a beer with several of the acts? Is there any reasoning behind the surprising number of religious songs that appeared? Help me out.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Age is a state of mind, right?
I was carded while buying beer this weekend. This is a rather astounding development and while I would like to thank my youthful good looks it is somewhat disconcerting. While I am happy to know that I still can carry off the look of a nineteen year old trying to sneak out a six pack you have to wonder a) why a nineteen year old would be buying good beer and b) how many nineteen year olds have hair that has tinges of gray in it? It is a dignified gray, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t scream college kid.
The thing is this now bothers me as I have now reached a certain age at which changes in my body are becoming very apparent. No, this does not mean that I am going through puberty though some people would question whether or not I have ever completed it. Though it does have the whole “hair in places there was no hair before” moments in common it doesn’t have the same thrill as it did as a teenager. I know that some people remember those times with fear but my reaction was always more like, “Sweet. That wasn’t there yesterday.” However, you just don’t do that with nose hair.
Yes, I now have nose hair situations. Actually, I have had those on and off for several years now and own a pair of electric nose hair trimmers as a result. (I know that for many of you this will fall under the category: Too Much Information. If so, just scan down until the Best of 120 Minutes section.) It is annoying but controllable and something that I knew that I would have to deal with. Hell, even Queer Eye for the Straight Guy mentioned it years ago so I expected to have to address it as part of my daily grooming habits. It is the next part that concerns me.
Much like a sixty year old man, I occasionally get ear hair. Now I don’t get the ear forests like you see on some people but there are times when I look at the mirror and go, “That is not good.” Because there is nothing that tells you that you are old and should start wearing sensible trousers than having ear hair. It is totally not fair given the fact that I still can’t grow a moustache or a goatee to save my life but I get hair in places I have no desire for it to be. Yes, I break out the trimmers so no one notices (well, other than the people who read the blog. Probably should have thought about that beforehand) but it is one of those signs that I have reached a certain point in my life. I already knew that my body doesn’t recover from workouts or late nights the same way that it used to. Now I just have a more visual example that my careless days of youth are behind me.
Best of 120 Minutes: Let’s all go back to the dorm and listen to the Pixies. Break out the black t-shirts!
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago”
2) Kathleen Edwards “Live from the Bowery Ballroom”
3) Rufus Wainwright “Want Two”
4) Matthew Sweet “Girlfriend”
5) Garrison Starr “Fans Greatest Hits Volume One”
The thing is this now bothers me as I have now reached a certain age at which changes in my body are becoming very apparent. No, this does not mean that I am going through puberty though some people would question whether or not I have ever completed it. Though it does have the whole “hair in places there was no hair before” moments in common it doesn’t have the same thrill as it did as a teenager. I know that some people remember those times with fear but my reaction was always more like, “Sweet. That wasn’t there yesterday.” However, you just don’t do that with nose hair.
Yes, I now have nose hair situations. Actually, I have had those on and off for several years now and own a pair of electric nose hair trimmers as a result. (I know that for many of you this will fall under the category: Too Much Information. If so, just scan down until the Best of 120 Minutes section.) It is annoying but controllable and something that I knew that I would have to deal with. Hell, even Queer Eye for the Straight Guy mentioned it years ago so I expected to have to address it as part of my daily grooming habits. It is the next part that concerns me.
Much like a sixty year old man, I occasionally get ear hair. Now I don’t get the ear forests like you see on some people but there are times when I look at the mirror and go, “That is not good.” Because there is nothing that tells you that you are old and should start wearing sensible trousers than having ear hair. It is totally not fair given the fact that I still can’t grow a moustache or a goatee to save my life but I get hair in places I have no desire for it to be. Yes, I break out the trimmers so no one notices (well, other than the people who read the blog. Probably should have thought about that beforehand) but it is one of those signs that I have reached a certain point in my life. I already knew that my body doesn’t recover from workouts or late nights the same way that it used to. Now I just have a more visual example that my careless days of youth are behind me.
Best of 120 Minutes: Let’s all go back to the dorm and listen to the Pixies. Break out the black t-shirts!
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago”
2) Kathleen Edwards “Live from the Bowery Ballroom”
3) Rufus Wainwright “Want Two”
4) Matthew Sweet “Girlfriend”
5) Garrison Starr “Fans Greatest Hits Volume One”
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Making friends with time
For those wondering how my weight loss program is going I have to say that it is well underway. Worked out again tonight which makes for three straight nights on the treadmill. I have finally found a treadmill workout that is quick, challenging and keeps me interested as I am on the road to nowhere. Basically it is five minutes at no incline followed by two minute intervals of 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 degree inclines followed by five more minutes at 5 degrees and then a five minute cooldown. 35 minutes in all and even though I am only going at 3.6 miles an hour (which is damn slow) it is still a good beginning workout. As the speed increases I will feel better.
I’ll start adding in some weight training this weekend and bring that into the routine. I just feel better when I get started to just focus on the treadmill because I know how that should feel and I know that I will end my workout a sweaty mess and I still believe that as long as I am sweating that I am doing something right. I know that I will never be an athlete but I would at least like to be in better shape than I am now.
I am happier that I seem to have found a way to fit working out into my schedule. I know that working out at night isn’t optimal (everything I read tells me that I should do it in the morning except a) I am not a morning person and b) I do have a job to go to) but it works for me. I’ve figured out how to fit working out, writing, having dinner, reading and the rest of my real life into my evening routine. Mainly this is by banning Facebook chat sessions. I am sorry but from now on to talk to me you are most likely going to, you know, actually talk to me. I really have been shying away from Facebook these past few months because it is such a time vacuum and I really don’t have the time to deal with it anymore.
It is interesting though that as we near the weekend I am trying to figure out just what to do these next few days. One of the things about being in a long distance relationship is that when you are together that is what you are and you spend basically every moment together. When you are apart for the weekend you are really on your own and I typically struggle to figure out what to do with myself. Errands make up part of it as I can always do laundry or clean the apartment for part of the time. It is the evenings that become a little more challenging.
See, I can’t remember the last time I went out by myself to a bar in Delaware. It has to be months now. My typical reasoning to go to bars is to a) drink and b) meet people, hopefully of the female persuasion. However, now that I am with the best girlfriend ever I look at these reasons and determine a) I would typically have to drive to a bar here and that takes much of the fun out of drinking and b) while meeting new people is cool I would rather talk on the phone than waste my night in a bar. (I know some people would say, “Why don’t you go out with friends?” to which I reply that in my year out here I still don’t really know anyone. Take that for what you will.) So I will still have to struggle to figure out what to do this weekend. I might just go out for the sake of going out. Or I’ll watch a few movies. I’ll figure something out.
I’ll start adding in some weight training this weekend and bring that into the routine. I just feel better when I get started to just focus on the treadmill because I know how that should feel and I know that I will end my workout a sweaty mess and I still believe that as long as I am sweating that I am doing something right. I know that I will never be an athlete but I would at least like to be in better shape than I am now.
I am happier that I seem to have found a way to fit working out into my schedule. I know that working out at night isn’t optimal (everything I read tells me that I should do it in the morning except a) I am not a morning person and b) I do have a job to go to) but it works for me. I’ve figured out how to fit working out, writing, having dinner, reading and the rest of my real life into my evening routine. Mainly this is by banning Facebook chat sessions. I am sorry but from now on to talk to me you are most likely going to, you know, actually talk to me. I really have been shying away from Facebook these past few months because it is such a time vacuum and I really don’t have the time to deal with it anymore.
It is interesting though that as we near the weekend I am trying to figure out just what to do these next few days. One of the things about being in a long distance relationship is that when you are together that is what you are and you spend basically every moment together. When you are apart for the weekend you are really on your own and I typically struggle to figure out what to do with myself. Errands make up part of it as I can always do laundry or clean the apartment for part of the time. It is the evenings that become a little more challenging.
See, I can’t remember the last time I went out by myself to a bar in Delaware. It has to be months now. My typical reasoning to go to bars is to a) drink and b) meet people, hopefully of the female persuasion. However, now that I am with the best girlfriend ever I look at these reasons and determine a) I would typically have to drive to a bar here and that takes much of the fun out of drinking and b) while meeting new people is cool I would rather talk on the phone than waste my night in a bar. (I know some people would say, “Why don’t you go out with friends?” to which I reply that in my year out here I still don’t really know anyone. Take that for what you will.) So I will still have to struggle to figure out what to do this weekend. I might just go out for the sake of going out. Or I’ll watch a few movies. I’ll figure something out.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Could have used a talking pie
The older I get the more life disappoints me. Over the weekend I saw a sign on a movie theater that promoted the film “G Force” and my first reaction was, logically, “Cool! They are making a live action version of Battle of the Planets!” Oh, how mistaken I was.
First I should explain how I got from G Force to Battle of the Planets. See, they both trace their existence to this anime series Gatchaman. Essentially this show was Voltron except that instead of lions they were birds. The series was brought over to the US on two separate occasions: once as Battle of the Planets and once as G-Force. This made things incredibly confusing as they were technically the same shows; just edited and presented differently. I prefer the Battle of the Planets version which had Tiny and the Princess. Actually, let me speak for a moment here on the Princess.
It is a rule of all science fiction / fantasy series to have one female character and that character is always royalty. In Voltron and Battle of the Planets the female member of our team of five was a princess. In the entire Star Wars series Padme and Leia are the only two female characters who are memorable and they both are royalty (and no, Mon Motha doesn’t count as significant.) It is never explained where all of the other women are as they are completely non-existent in these universes. Nor is it ever explained that in a society where bloodlines are the key to the ruling class that the heirs to the throne are allowed to put themselves in great danger at all times. This has always bothered me.
Anyway, G Force / Battle of the Planets was one of my favorite shows as a kid. It had your typical cast of characters that mirrored Voltron: Not only did you have your token female but all teams were required to have one fat guy and one little kid who always made you wonder why the safety of the planet was placed in the hands of a ten year old. You had monsters and spaceships and alien attacks and laser beams and all of the things that made life great. So you could see that I had high hopes in learning that there would be a G Force movie in a few weeks.
Until I found out that it is about gerbils. Jive talking, secret agent gerbils. Or possibly hamsters. I doubt that it really matters.
Even though I worked in marketing and made my living by doing the opposite I really feel there needs to be truth in advertising laws. At a time when every single childhood memory of mine is being prepackaged into fun size portions and presented at my local multiplex when I see the words G Force I was to see kids in bird costumes fighting aliens and not talking rodents! Is that too much to freaking ask? If they are making an Asteroids movie (seriously, based on the video game. I shit you not) can’t I get a G-Force movie without hip hamsters?
Screw this. I’m going back to watch my Voltron DVDs in peace.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Take it home Gorillaz…
First I should explain how I got from G Force to Battle of the Planets. See, they both trace their existence to this anime series Gatchaman. Essentially this show was Voltron except that instead of lions they were birds. The series was brought over to the US on two separate occasions: once as Battle of the Planets and once as G-Force. This made things incredibly confusing as they were technically the same shows; just edited and presented differently. I prefer the Battle of the Planets version which had Tiny and the Princess. Actually, let me speak for a moment here on the Princess.
It is a rule of all science fiction / fantasy series to have one female character and that character is always royalty. In Voltron and Battle of the Planets the female member of our team of five was a princess. In the entire Star Wars series Padme and Leia are the only two female characters who are memorable and they both are royalty (and no, Mon Motha doesn’t count as significant.) It is never explained where all of the other women are as they are completely non-existent in these universes. Nor is it ever explained that in a society where bloodlines are the key to the ruling class that the heirs to the throne are allowed to put themselves in great danger at all times. This has always bothered me.
Anyway, G Force / Battle of the Planets was one of my favorite shows as a kid. It had your typical cast of characters that mirrored Voltron: Not only did you have your token female but all teams were required to have one fat guy and one little kid who always made you wonder why the safety of the planet was placed in the hands of a ten year old. You had monsters and spaceships and alien attacks and laser beams and all of the things that made life great. So you could see that I had high hopes in learning that there would be a G Force movie in a few weeks.
Until I found out that it is about gerbils. Jive talking, secret agent gerbils. Or possibly hamsters. I doubt that it really matters.
Even though I worked in marketing and made my living by doing the opposite I really feel there needs to be truth in advertising laws. At a time when every single childhood memory of mine is being prepackaged into fun size portions and presented at my local multiplex when I see the words G Force I was to see kids in bird costumes fighting aliens and not talking rodents! Is that too much to freaking ask? If they are making an Asteroids movie (seriously, based on the video game. I shit you not) can’t I get a G-Force movie without hip hamsters?
Screw this. I’m going back to watch my Voltron DVDs in peace.
Wednesday Night Music Club: Take it home Gorillaz…
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
All pallbearers should wear spangled gloves
Today marks the 81st anniversary of the creation of sliced bread also known as “The Greatest Day Ever.” Very seldom has an inventor had the chance to look down upon his creation and go, “There has never been anything greater than this in all of existence.” Only thing I can think of is the first guy who marketed hotcakes who got to say “These sales are unprecedented.”
I did watch a bit of the Michael Jackson memorial service at work. I was tempted to live blog it but the thought of losing my job because I live blogged Michael Jackson’s funeral was something that I didn’t want to tempt. Somehow I could not figure out a way to spin that one in future job interviews. “Why were you let go from your previous position?” “Apparently my company and I did not see eye to eye on how to act during the most critical cultural event of my lifetime.”
I also lost money on my bet that at some point during the ceremony that the casket would open and Michael would step out wearing his Thriller jacket and makeup and perform with a cast of zombies. It would have made wonderful television for the entire thing to be shown to be a promotional ploy for his concerts in London. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me that people in the crowd were prepared for the appearance of a zombie Michael Jackson. I have said it before and I will say it again, no matter where you find yourself you should always be able to answer the question “What would I do if there was an uprising of the living dead?”
The other topic that I have been requested to discuss is the whole Sarah Palin situation. In a way I have to give her credit for doing something that I have never seen a politician do before; especially one who seems to feel that she has a future in politics. Essentially she destroyed any possibility of running for higher office in the future by this move. All anyone would have to do to counter her campaign is run an ad stating “She quit on the people of Alaska when things got tough. What makes you think she would not do the same again?” Instant campaign killer. And no matter how she tries to spin it she is quitting. She is resigning from office with years left on her tenure for a rather poorly explained reason.
So why did she quit? I don’t buy into the whole rumor mill that she is resigning ahead of a scandal because given all of the investigations into her already you would think that it would have come up by now. I also don’t think that it was to run for president in 2012 because as I said, I can’t see how in the world she would win a campaign with half a term of governor as her history. My theory is this. I don’t think she liked being governor of Alaska and preferred being famous in her own right. Politics is nasty, dirty work and it sucks when you are on the wrong end of the stick as she is. So instead of being stuck in Juneau she has decided to leave office. Maybe we can give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she truly wants to spend time with her young child and grandchild. I also think she sees the fact that she can have a book deal and television show in nothing flat and make a lot more money for a lot less heartache.
It is going to be a great what if of history as to what her career would have been like if John McCain hadn’t called. My guess is that she would have been a successful multi-term governor working in obscurity. No one in the mainstream would ever have known that she existed. Maybe that would be better, maybe it would be worse.
The five random CDs for the week (which I have been forgetting to post):
1) The Neville Brothers “Live on Planet Earth”
2) Josh Ritter “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter”
3) Freakwater “Springtime”
4) Sarah McLachlan “I Will Remember You”
5) Jump, Little Children “Vertigo”
I did watch a bit of the Michael Jackson memorial service at work. I was tempted to live blog it but the thought of losing my job because I live blogged Michael Jackson’s funeral was something that I didn’t want to tempt. Somehow I could not figure out a way to spin that one in future job interviews. “Why were you let go from your previous position?” “Apparently my company and I did not see eye to eye on how to act during the most critical cultural event of my lifetime.”
I also lost money on my bet that at some point during the ceremony that the casket would open and Michael would step out wearing his Thriller jacket and makeup and perform with a cast of zombies. It would have made wonderful television for the entire thing to be shown to be a promotional ploy for his concerts in London. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me that people in the crowd were prepared for the appearance of a zombie Michael Jackson. I have said it before and I will say it again, no matter where you find yourself you should always be able to answer the question “What would I do if there was an uprising of the living dead?”
The other topic that I have been requested to discuss is the whole Sarah Palin situation. In a way I have to give her credit for doing something that I have never seen a politician do before; especially one who seems to feel that she has a future in politics. Essentially she destroyed any possibility of running for higher office in the future by this move. All anyone would have to do to counter her campaign is run an ad stating “She quit on the people of Alaska when things got tough. What makes you think she would not do the same again?” Instant campaign killer. And no matter how she tries to spin it she is quitting. She is resigning from office with years left on her tenure for a rather poorly explained reason.
So why did she quit? I don’t buy into the whole rumor mill that she is resigning ahead of a scandal because given all of the investigations into her already you would think that it would have come up by now. I also don’t think that it was to run for president in 2012 because as I said, I can’t see how in the world she would win a campaign with half a term of governor as her history. My theory is this. I don’t think she liked being governor of Alaska and preferred being famous in her own right. Politics is nasty, dirty work and it sucks when you are on the wrong end of the stick as she is. So instead of being stuck in Juneau she has decided to leave office. Maybe we can give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she truly wants to spend time with her young child and grandchild. I also think she sees the fact that she can have a book deal and television show in nothing flat and make a lot more money for a lot less heartache.
It is going to be a great what if of history as to what her career would have been like if John McCain hadn’t called. My guess is that she would have been a successful multi-term governor working in obscurity. No one in the mainstream would ever have known that she existed. Maybe that would be better, maybe it would be worse.
The five random CDs for the week (which I have been forgetting to post):
1) The Neville Brothers “Live on Planet Earth”
2) Josh Ritter “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter”
3) Freakwater “Springtime”
4) Sarah McLachlan “I Will Remember You”
5) Jump, Little Children “Vertigo”
Monday, July 06, 2009
Video cliches volume one
I am going to start a new semi-regular feature tonight. As we all know I am a connoisseur of the art form that is the music video. Sadly, the days of the video are now long departed but I feel that we have a great need to remember some of the wonderful clichés of the early music videos. Tonight I present to you two of my favorites.
Plastic horn playing guy: Back in the early 80’s all videos with even a vague sense of a party vibe had their videos placed in a pool side setting regardless if the song had anything to do with pools, water or parties in general. The pool allowed for a cast of wild and eccentric characters that are at every pool party such as the out of date hippie and the preppie guys in plaid pants. My favorite was the inexplicable horn playing guy.
Every single video that involved a pool had one guy in the crowd playing a horn regardless of whether the band had a horn section or even if the song had one. Typically this was done via one guy seemingly playing a plastic saxophone as part of the song. He, and it was always a he, would be found wearing a white sport coat and a mullet. No one else was dressed formally, all had better hair and no one ever bothered to explain why he decided that he would certainly get the chicks with a plastic saxophone. Maybe Mystery could explain that one to me.
I’ll use this video of “Magic” by the Cars. It lacks mullet boy but does have a guy playing two trumpets for no rational reason.
The Student Strippers: Ah, those wonderful days back before the invention of internet porn. See kids, in my day we didn’t have access to everything one would ever imagine seeing (and a thousand things that you would wish to your higher power that you could unsee.) Instead, we had to make do with music videos.
If a song ever implied that it took place in a classroom the women in the video would then be portrayed as having come to class having completed the night shift at the Harry’s House O’Nudes. Typically it was the teacher (Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” being the prime example of this) but often it was the students. If there was a classroom, someone would be scantily clad. Hell, even in “Jeremy” the kid has his shirt off.
I’ll highlight the epitome of this with J. Geils Band’s classic “Centerfold.” I’ll quell the urban legend and repeat that no Martha Quinn is not one of the students. Does this song need a number of dancing women to portray its meaning? Probably no more than it needs the drum being filled with paint but it is a wonderful example of early 80’s video mastery.
Plastic horn playing guy: Back in the early 80’s all videos with even a vague sense of a party vibe had their videos placed in a pool side setting regardless if the song had anything to do with pools, water or parties in general. The pool allowed for a cast of wild and eccentric characters that are at every pool party such as the out of date hippie and the preppie guys in plaid pants. My favorite was the inexplicable horn playing guy.
Every single video that involved a pool had one guy in the crowd playing a horn regardless of whether the band had a horn section or even if the song had one. Typically this was done via one guy seemingly playing a plastic saxophone as part of the song. He, and it was always a he, would be found wearing a white sport coat and a mullet. No one else was dressed formally, all had better hair and no one ever bothered to explain why he decided that he would certainly get the chicks with a plastic saxophone. Maybe Mystery could explain that one to me.
I’ll use this video of “Magic” by the Cars. It lacks mullet boy but does have a guy playing two trumpets for no rational reason.
The Student Strippers: Ah, those wonderful days back before the invention of internet porn. See kids, in my day we didn’t have access to everything one would ever imagine seeing (and a thousand things that you would wish to your higher power that you could unsee.) Instead, we had to make do with music videos.
If a song ever implied that it took place in a classroom the women in the video would then be portrayed as having come to class having completed the night shift at the Harry’s House O’Nudes. Typically it was the teacher (Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” being the prime example of this) but often it was the students. If there was a classroom, someone would be scantily clad. Hell, even in “Jeremy” the kid has his shirt off.
I’ll highlight the epitome of this with J. Geils Band’s classic “Centerfold.” I’ll quell the urban legend and repeat that no Martha Quinn is not one of the students. Does this song need a number of dancing women to portray its meaning? Probably no more than it needs the drum being filled with paint but it is a wonderful example of early 80’s video mastery.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Things that make you go Boom
"Today is the fourth of July. Another June has gone by. And when they light up our town all I think is what a waste of gunpowder and sky." Aimee Mann
There are a couple of those things that little boys due or are fascinated with that I just never got into. Whether this says something about me as a person that I was more interested in reading a book that collecting frogs I am not sure. I usually just leave it that I am not your typical person. That doesn't mean that I am better or worse. I just don't think that I am average.
One of those things that I never got into was firecrackers. Sure, I enjoyed going to see the big professional shows and have some wonderful childhood memories of sitting with my family and watching the fireworks. What I am talking about are those people who go to the roadside stands and buy box after box of firecrackers of dubious origin. In KC I knew that we were nearing the fourth when this one stand would mysteriously appear overnight in a parking lot with poorly worded signs amongst the plywood walls. I never could grasp the legality of it all but every year it would be there for a week or so before disappearing into the night.
As you can probably fathom I was never one of the people who would go in there to purchase fireworks. To be honest I don't believe that I have ever lit a firecracker in my life. I may have held a sparkler at one point but that might have been it. I've just never seen the point of the whole enterprise. You pay money to light something and it goes boom. That is it. Sure it my fly into the air and go boom or let off some additional colors but that is it. All you are doing is paying for something to go boom and I could never quite grasp the importance of this. Yes, as a guy I understand the awesomeness of things going boom and a large majority of my mass entertainment budget is dedicated to such an event. But in my own backyard I never saw the need to risk my fingers to vaguely celebrate the nation's birthday.
But at least I got a long weekend out of the holiday even if I have to deal with the pomp and circumstance in the process. In response to those wondering about my tenth resolution I guess from my comment that I was a little vague as to whether or not I had fully accomplished the resolution. Let's just say that I am two thirds of the way through it. No, I'm not married or engaged. Just in a relationship that has resulted in a new persona that I am slowly growing accustomed to: Happy Chris. Every day I look in the mirror and smile thinking about how lucky I am. I don't want that ever to change.
Best of 120 Minutes: This world needs more Freedy Johnston
There are a couple of those things that little boys due or are fascinated with that I just never got into. Whether this says something about me as a person that I was more interested in reading a book that collecting frogs I am not sure. I usually just leave it that I am not your typical person. That doesn't mean that I am better or worse. I just don't think that I am average.
One of those things that I never got into was firecrackers. Sure, I enjoyed going to see the big professional shows and have some wonderful childhood memories of sitting with my family and watching the fireworks. What I am talking about are those people who go to the roadside stands and buy box after box of firecrackers of dubious origin. In KC I knew that we were nearing the fourth when this one stand would mysteriously appear overnight in a parking lot with poorly worded signs amongst the plywood walls. I never could grasp the legality of it all but every year it would be there for a week or so before disappearing into the night.
As you can probably fathom I was never one of the people who would go in there to purchase fireworks. To be honest I don't believe that I have ever lit a firecracker in my life. I may have held a sparkler at one point but that might have been it. I've just never seen the point of the whole enterprise. You pay money to light something and it goes boom. That is it. Sure it my fly into the air and go boom or let off some additional colors but that is it. All you are doing is paying for something to go boom and I could never quite grasp the importance of this. Yes, as a guy I understand the awesomeness of things going boom and a large majority of my mass entertainment budget is dedicated to such an event. But in my own backyard I never saw the need to risk my fingers to vaguely celebrate the nation's birthday.
But at least I got a long weekend out of the holiday even if I have to deal with the pomp and circumstance in the process. In response to those wondering about my tenth resolution I guess from my comment that I was a little vague as to whether or not I had fully accomplished the resolution. Let's just say that I am two thirds of the way through it. No, I'm not married or engaged. Just in a relationship that has resulted in a new persona that I am slowly growing accustomed to: Happy Chris. Every day I look in the mirror and smile thinking about how lucky I am. I don't want that ever to change.
Best of 120 Minutes: This world needs more Freedy Johnston
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Resolution review
Well, we are now officially halfway through the year. Time for me to dust off my New Year’s Resolutions and see how I am doing. This is the exact list that I posted on January 1st for those who are thinking that I am making this up as I go along.
Resolution # 1: Learn how to juggle: I can juggle one bean bag very well. Two bean bags are more of a struggle but I can make a passable effort. Three is a pain and a half. I swear one rainy weekend I am going to sit down (ok, more like stand up) and just force myself to practice and practice until I can juggle. Once I perfect this skill then I can move on to learning the unicycle.
Resolution # 2: Get my weight under 190 pounds: Sigh. At the start of the year I weighed 200 pounds. Two weeks ago I found that I was up to 213. When Kim went through my closets we decided to toss out much of my wardrobe: partly because it is hideously out of style but mainly because none of it fits anymore. While I am more than happy to look at my closets and see clothes that I actually want to wear I am making losing weight the number one priority for the rest of the year. Just over the past few weeks I have restarted the workout program and am eating healthier and as a result I’ve already lost a few pounds. I really need to get fit and get to a healthy weight and stay there.
Resolution # 3: Learn how to actually cook: Haven’t made as much progress on this as I would like but I am happy to say that the majority of my meals do not require a microwave. That is an improvement over past years. This is another one of those items that I should really dedicate an hour or two every weekend to addressing. Just try once or twice a week to make an actual meal from a recipe. If it comes out well, awesome. If not, I’ll put in a pizza. I can say that while I haven’t accomplished this goal my fear of the kitchen has been reduced to a more acceptable level.
Resolution # 4: Increase blog readership: Initially I didn’t think I would do this one but I’ve already hit my goal for the year. My hope was to have a 50 reader day and I had a 90 reader day and a few others in the sixties. My average for the year so far is 21 a day with the past few months being in the 19 a day range. I still need to work on it and would like to increase the focus a bit (and I would kill to break 100 on a day) but it is nice to know that I have cultivated a rather significant worldwide readership base. I’m huge in Europe.
Resolution # 5: Focus on the positive in my life: Hmmm…tough to say where I stand on this one. On one hand I am happier than I have ever been and am satisfied with pretty much every aspect of my life at the moment. On the other hand I am still a cynical bastard at times. I’m one of the few people who can love their job but come in grumbling every morning that they have to spend another eight hours looking at computer screens. I’ll just say that I am improving in this area (especially when compared to some of my darker days in Kansas City) but there is still a lot of runway ahead of me.
Resolution # 6: Get back into the concert going scene: Haven’t gone to a single concert this year. I’m not sure I am entirely happy about that but my social life has been filled in other ways. My biggest problem is that a) a lot of my favorite acts (meaning the incredibly unknown alt country acts) don’t play around here and b) when they do they are either an hour drive away or at one of the beach resorts and I just don’t feel like making the trip. Maybe it is a good thing to give my ears a bit of a break.
Resolution # 7: Complete the Best of the Blog: Wow, this one just hasn’t gotten off the ground this year. I still want to do a major writing project. Hell, I really want to write a novel and have for years and have a plot and characters waiting to go. The problem is simply a matter of time. I only have so many hours to work on everything I feel like working on and some things get tossed to the side for a moment and this is sadly one of them. While I might be far behind on being a novelist after 1,200+ blog posts at least I can call myself a writer.
Resolution # 8: Reader’s Choice: Thanks to my good friend DJ this became “take a yoga class.” I still haven’t taken a class but I have located a yoga studio near my home that offers beginners classes. Maybe I can tie this into my weight loss goal. If anything, my experience in a yoga studio would have enough embedded humor in it to make the entire experience worthwhile
Resolution # 9: Take a real vacation: I’ve already gone to New Orleans this year. I’m planning on heading to San Antonio for the Notre Dame game. But I have one real vacation that is still in the planning stages that when I go on it will put all other trips to shame. It is just so out of the ordinary, so unexpected, that I don’t want to ruin the surprise by discussing it before I go. But it will be legen…wait for it…dary.
Resolution # 10: Meet the woman of my dreams, fall in love, and get married: When I wrote this list I threw this item in at the end to make for a nice even ten resolutions. I didn’t think that it would actually happen. To my surprise and amazement and joy it has. The past few months with Kim have been better than I could have ever dreamed. My life has become a movie script and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Wednesday Night Music Club: If you want me to sum up the first half of this year in a song I am going to go with Josh Ritter’s “Me and Jiggs.” A bar with a jukebox and you on my arm. Heaven and earth seem pretty much the same.
Resolution # 1: Learn how to juggle: I can juggle one bean bag very well. Two bean bags are more of a struggle but I can make a passable effort. Three is a pain and a half. I swear one rainy weekend I am going to sit down (ok, more like stand up) and just force myself to practice and practice until I can juggle. Once I perfect this skill then I can move on to learning the unicycle.
Resolution # 2: Get my weight under 190 pounds: Sigh. At the start of the year I weighed 200 pounds. Two weeks ago I found that I was up to 213. When Kim went through my closets we decided to toss out much of my wardrobe: partly because it is hideously out of style but mainly because none of it fits anymore. While I am more than happy to look at my closets and see clothes that I actually want to wear I am making losing weight the number one priority for the rest of the year. Just over the past few weeks I have restarted the workout program and am eating healthier and as a result I’ve already lost a few pounds. I really need to get fit and get to a healthy weight and stay there.
Resolution # 3: Learn how to actually cook: Haven’t made as much progress on this as I would like but I am happy to say that the majority of my meals do not require a microwave. That is an improvement over past years. This is another one of those items that I should really dedicate an hour or two every weekend to addressing. Just try once or twice a week to make an actual meal from a recipe. If it comes out well, awesome. If not, I’ll put in a pizza. I can say that while I haven’t accomplished this goal my fear of the kitchen has been reduced to a more acceptable level.
Resolution # 4: Increase blog readership: Initially I didn’t think I would do this one but I’ve already hit my goal for the year. My hope was to have a 50 reader day and I had a 90 reader day and a few others in the sixties. My average for the year so far is 21 a day with the past few months being in the 19 a day range. I still need to work on it and would like to increase the focus a bit (and I would kill to break 100 on a day) but it is nice to know that I have cultivated a rather significant worldwide readership base. I’m huge in Europe.
Resolution # 5: Focus on the positive in my life: Hmmm…tough to say where I stand on this one. On one hand I am happier than I have ever been and am satisfied with pretty much every aspect of my life at the moment. On the other hand I am still a cynical bastard at times. I’m one of the few people who can love their job but come in grumbling every morning that they have to spend another eight hours looking at computer screens. I’ll just say that I am improving in this area (especially when compared to some of my darker days in Kansas City) but there is still a lot of runway ahead of me.
Resolution # 6: Get back into the concert going scene: Haven’t gone to a single concert this year. I’m not sure I am entirely happy about that but my social life has been filled in other ways. My biggest problem is that a) a lot of my favorite acts (meaning the incredibly unknown alt country acts) don’t play around here and b) when they do they are either an hour drive away or at one of the beach resorts and I just don’t feel like making the trip. Maybe it is a good thing to give my ears a bit of a break.
Resolution # 7: Complete the Best of the Blog: Wow, this one just hasn’t gotten off the ground this year. I still want to do a major writing project. Hell, I really want to write a novel and have for years and have a plot and characters waiting to go. The problem is simply a matter of time. I only have so many hours to work on everything I feel like working on and some things get tossed to the side for a moment and this is sadly one of them. While I might be far behind on being a novelist after 1,200+ blog posts at least I can call myself a writer.
Resolution # 8: Reader’s Choice: Thanks to my good friend DJ this became “take a yoga class.” I still haven’t taken a class but I have located a yoga studio near my home that offers beginners classes. Maybe I can tie this into my weight loss goal. If anything, my experience in a yoga studio would have enough embedded humor in it to make the entire experience worthwhile
Resolution # 9: Take a real vacation: I’ve already gone to New Orleans this year. I’m planning on heading to San Antonio for the Notre Dame game. But I have one real vacation that is still in the planning stages that when I go on it will put all other trips to shame. It is just so out of the ordinary, so unexpected, that I don’t want to ruin the surprise by discussing it before I go. But it will be legen…wait for it…dary.
Resolution # 10: Meet the woman of my dreams, fall in love, and get married:
Wednesday Night Music Club: If you want me to sum up the first half of this year in a song I am going to go with Josh Ritter’s “Me and Jiggs.” A bar with a jukebox and you on my arm. Heaven and earth seem pretty much the same.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)