Ramblings'N'Musings

// a post way overdue

2010-10-03T12:57:00.004-04:00

The aspirations of this post will be to hopefully set the record straight and settle a long overdue matter. It's been over four years since I made a new entry on this blog. Looking back over it, one thing stands out predominantly to me about it that is yet completely unseen by any visitors to it.

This blog was written, word for word, entry by entry, for, to and about one single person...

As Tobey Maguire once said, "...let me assure you, this, like any story worth telling, is all about a girl. That girl. The girl next door."

Sadly, the girl that I wrote every single word that is time capsuled on this blog for, never knew it was written all for her. Every post I left here over the time span this blog covers was written for her: to impress her, to make her laugh, to make her smile, to make her think, to make her cry, to make her...something...anything...lots of things...I wrote them all for her...

If there had never been a her, there never would have been these words. If it seems a lot to write for a single person, let that stand as a tribute to what a person she is. All that I wrote, all that she made me think and feel, all the words that fill the spaces of these pages still falls woefully short to impart to any reader who stumbles or purposefully strides to these entries and reads them to explain the marvel that this girl was and is to me. The saddest part is, again, that I never told her that it was all for her. Which is why this post had to be written, is being written, to hopefully right that wrong.

While looking for a way to illustrate, to impart to any and all who'd read, the sheer marvel of the girl I wrote these for, I happened to be researching her favorite flower...

She adores the Daisy, you see, and it has a most peculiar quality. The flower is quite resilient. Once it's roots are planted and it's grown straight and strong, it can withstand lack of water and too much sun, the elements don't easily overcome it. This very delicate and beautiful flower can go without being watered and stand the sun's heat and still remain straight and strong without wilting.

A more perfect comparison could really not be made about the girl of whom I speak. While I failed to water this beautiful flower and bathe her in the sunlight she needed to grow the way she deserved, she nonetheless stayed, rooted in her convictions, straight and strong, refusing to wilt away.

To end where I began let me say again this matter needed straightening out. I hope that now she'll know, and knowing, will smile her sweet, beautiful smile understanding it all at last.

Finally, would you like to know who she was? This girl who meant so much? I'll share with you her name and a place where the memories still remain...

Thank you, Terry. You were the reason for it all.

// itunes 7

2006-09-14T10:59:00.000-04:00

Apple has completely updated and expanded what is, I think, their best program: iTunes.

They've also changed the iPod lineups extensively.

Go check 'em out.

// online ipod

2006-09-05T08:14:00.000-04:00

I came across this awhile back and, after trying several obscure bands and musicians with successful results, I concluded that it's pretty neat.

I wonder how long it'll stay active before a lawsuit shuts it down?

Oh well. Enjoy it while it lasts.

// football

2006-08-31T16:26:00.000-04:00

It's almost that time of year again.

As I like to say every year around this time, quoting the words of Jack Dundee:

"When the first leaf of autumn falls forlornly to the barren ground below."

Football season.

It's almost here.

Are you excited?

// world of warcraft

2006-08-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

Man, they don't call it World of War-crack for 'nuthin.

I'll be back.

Eventually.

I think.

// 2006 hof

2006-08-05T17:31:00.000-04:00

I try to remember to congratulate the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees every year.

This year's class is an exceptionally special one: it includes Harry Carson, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Rayfield Wright, John Madden and the late Reggie White.

Congratulations to them all and to the White family.

I'm sure the ceremony this year is going to be an especially tear-filled one.

// mel gibson

2006-08-03T18:17:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you've all heard about Mel Gibson's drunken tirade by now.

Being Jewish, I've been asked several times for my opinion on this. For what it's worth, here's my 2¢ on the matter:

Lots of questions were raised after Mel's movie The Passion of The Christ had more than a few in the Jewish community wondering if Mel wasn't anti-semitic.

Mel's father then went on a huge anti-Jewish tear to a reporter that fueled even more speculation about it.

When questioned about whether he shared his father's opinions (see the linked article above for all info) Mel said he was not anti-semitic.

Now, Mel gets drunk and there's that old saying about loose lips sinking ships.

Bottom line: Mr. Gibson and his family obviously have strong feelings about however it is they perceive Jews.

Being Jewish, I personally couldn't care less what those opinions are nor do they offend me - they're simply a non-issue so far as I'm concerned.

Everyone's entitled to their opinions.

That said, my opinion of Mel Gibson is that he is obviously a man with two big problems: alcoholism and racism.

I only wish him all the best in overcoming them both.

// "I'm Gay"

2006-08-01T18:53:00.000-04:00

No, not me. The other Lance.

I'm sure by now most of you have seen the cover of People magazine (and others) where the former NSync'er has decided to admit to his homosexuality.

While I wasn't at all shocked by his disclosure, I was shocked to find out that people had the incredulity to actually act surprised by the news.

"Lance Bass is gay???!!!"

Yea.

And in other shocking news stories it rained in Seattle and temperatures soared over a 100 in the Sahara.

But seriously, I appreciate Lance's honesty and openness about his lifestyle preference with us all.

Now if only his other band mates would come clean about it as well...

// absentism

2006-07-27T18:55:00.000-04:00

As of Monday (7.24.2006) I became one of the six million online adventurers in the World of Warcraft.

Needless to say, it's taken up what little free time I've had this week.

I'm also going to be out of town starting tomorrow for a wedding over the weekend, so don't expect anything new from me until at least around Monday or so.

I hope all of you have a safe and happy weekend, though.

Be good.

// the san diego comic con

2006-07-21T17:17:00.000-04:00

The San Diego Comic Convention kicks off this evening out in California.

I know that one of the guys I've been fortunate enough to meet up with over on the VALIANT comics website is going to be attending.

His website has been invaluable to me so far in re-building my collection - btw, Dan, the last check is in the mail 8 )

For those of you, like me, who're not making the trek to San Diego, though, G4TV is providing LIVE coverage of the events tonight.

I guess this is where I'm supposed to end by saying, "check your local listings for details."

// a disappointing fact

2006-07-20T14:20:00.000-04:00

This article on bloggers was disheartening to me.

According to the research and surveys conducted for this piece:

The survey showed that only a minority of bloggers is interested in topics other than themselves. Only 11 percent focus on politics and government, 7 percent on entertainment, 6 percent on sports, 5 percent on general news, current events and business; 4 percent on technology and 2 percent on religion, spirituality or faith.

That was disappointing to me. I thought we were a louder voice than that on big issues, especially on politics.

In light of this, if you're one of the bloggers who don't ever write about anything other than your own life, I'd really like to encourage you to try and write at least 1 out of every 10 posts or so on an issue besides yourself.

Now, since research has shown most people only blog, on average, about twice a week then that means that 10 posts will last you about a five weeks. Surely once in five weeks a post on news, current events, technology, religion, politics, etc. won't be too hard.

By doing so you can help make the blogging community a more effective voice because, as this article shows, people are watching: especially retailers, news analysts and politicians.

Try to remember, when you write, that more people are watching - and reading - than you think.

// yo, what's up with this s***

2006-07-18T00:43:00.000-04:00

Ah, leave it to our President to provide a moment of "humor" during what would simply be an otherwise somber crises.

No, not trying to tell the pig joke over and over to a room full of Israeli reporters.

That's old news. You have to keep up, our President is a joke a minute.

Seriously.

I'm referring to his visit with world leaders in Russia yesterday.

President Bush was caught by a microphone exclaiming, "Yo, Blair" to catch the attention of Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and cursing - yes, the same Mr. God-told-me-to-invade-Iraq Bush - cursing over the situation ongoing right now between Lebanon and Israel.

It kinda makes me wonder if he curses in his conversations with God, too.

"George, did you invade Iraq like I told you to?"

"S***, yea."

But I digress...

In a quote from the article above:

President Bush also suggested, in a moment of unscripted frank discussion caught on tape, that Annan simply call the president of Syria, another Hezbollah backer, to "make something happen."

Speaking with Blair privately before the G-8 leaders began their final lunch in St. Petersburg, Russia, Bush swore about Hezbollah's border raids and rockets.

"See, the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s--- and it's over," Bush said.

The Washington Post has a pretty interesting article about it, too. They make note of how the President talks while he eats, complains that some world leaders "talk too damn long" and on and on.

Apparently, seeing President Bush "live and uncensored" makes one realize that the whole "born again" image is only a veneer that the crass Texan puts on at staged exhibitions.

I'm shocked - shocked - to find this out.

*Yawn*

Of course there's video all over the net - if you have the stomach to watch such flamboyant arrogance.

As for what "irony" President Bush is referring to in these sound bytes, I have no idea. Perhaps we need to hear the rest of the conversation to understand. But, it wouldn't be a great leap in logic to simply conclude that he just doesn't know what the word "irony" means.

However, here's a word he sure knows all about.

// one.org

2006-07-15T15:41:00.000-04:00

Many of you may already be familar with the One campaign begun by U2 frontman, Bono.

It's a campaign concentrating on bringing an end to extreme world poverty.

I know "ending world poverty" sounds an impossible job, but the goal at first is to end extreme world poverty. The kind that will prevent a child contracting a simple and curable disease from living under a death wish.

Research on the One.org website indicates that for 10 billion dollars that could be done in one, fell swoop.

If 10 billion sounds like an astronomical sum of money then keep in mind, to date, the US government has invested almost 300 billion on the war in Iraq.

Obviously, priorities only need to change in order to make some massive differences in many billions of lives.

Which is what One is all about.

I strongly urge all of you to stop by the website and spend some time and sign the petition and get involved to whatever degree that you can.

On a recent trip to Africa Bono remarked, "These people's lives are as precious in the sight of God as yours or mine." That's certainly true, too.

I think perhaps some feel because they know certain things or go to a certain Church or belong to a certain religion that they are more important to God.

Ironically, the favorite verse of many is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world..." Not just the members of Main Street Baptist Church or Assembly of Wherever or the Catholics or the Jews or any such group of indivduals.

Every human being on earth is made in the image of God and therefore God cares deeply about them all.

As should we, I think.

If you're helping, you're making a difference.

Apathy isn't in. Check out One.org.

// lance's 80s playlist

2006-07-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

Awhile back I shared one of my iTunes playlists. In that post I also happened to mention something about an 80s playlist as well.

I was immediately deluged with requests to post it.

People seem to like pouring over other people's playlists. It's a way to see into the mind of others - or so I'm told.

If that is true, then I'd like to remind you of the words of the immortal Andy Gibb who said, "Girls are always running through my mind. They dare not walk."

Delving into the subconscious of others can be a scary thing, indeed.

That said, I don't usually like to kowtow to demands over what I should post and not post here (ah, who am I kidding? I'm an attention whore) but since I was urged by many to post it, post it I shall.

Here, then, is a selection of twenty-five songs from that glorious decade, The 80s, of which may be found at any certain time on my iPod:

Aha - Take on Me. "I'm amazed how popular this song still is. I know teenagers now who will list this as a favorite."

Toni Basil - Mickey. "Ah Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey. C'mon, you know the words."

Baltimora - Tarzan Boy. "Only in the 80s could you find an urban dance song built around the Tarzan yell. Awesome 80s stuff, right here."

The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star. "August 1, 1981. This song was the first video ever aired on MTV."

Debbie Gibson - Lost In Your Eyes. "This song came out in the final year of the 80s, but it's my favorite Debbie - pardon me, Deborah Gibson song. And let me tell you, I was a huge fan back in the day. Okay, I still am. I heart you Debbie. Deborah. Dang it."

Guns'N'Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine. "How great was this song the first time you ever heard it? Another great song that really is timeless."

Hall & Oates - You Make My Dreams. "The first ten seconds on this song are immediately recognizable to any person who grew up in the 80s. One of Hall & Oates' most catchiest tunes."

Janet Jackson - What Have You Done for Me Lately? "Before Michael's little sister shocked everyone with her 'wardrobe malfunction' she really surprised us back in the day with this hit. Pure 80s funk, this one."

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock'N'Roll. "One of the classic 80s rock songs."

Elton John - Sad Songs Say So Much. "Quick, who's the only artist with a #1 hit in the 70s, 80s, 90s and this decade? Yup, Sir Elton. This song is one of my favorites from a busy decade with a lot of #1s from Elton John."

Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time. "I still remember my Dad trying to figure out what was going on the first time he ever saw Cyndi Lauper. A mesmerizing voice inside a wild, unpredictable persona. Cyndi was awesome in the 80s. This song has aged wonderfully, too."

Madonna - Crazy for You. "Madonna recorded this song for a movie that was so bad I doubt anyone even remembers it. I do, but I'm a trivia-holic. The movie was called Vision Quest (sounds like a video game, doesn't it?) and it was so bad when the movie was released overseas they changed the name of it to Crazy for You - due to the enormeous popularity of this song, of course. It's a great song, too. Probably a lot of you remember this one from school dances.

Modern English - I Melt With You. "Another song from a movie probably noone remembers. This one was featured in Valley Girl, which happened to be Nicholas Cage's debut film. The movie and Nicholas Cage are both pretty much forgettable. This song, however, was definitely a keeper."

Nena - 99 Luft Ballons. "I remember girls who couldn't score a decent grade in Spanish class but could sing this song in perfect German. This song had one of the catchiest hooks of the entire decade."

The Police - Every Breath You Take. "Okay, I admit in retrospect it's a little stalkerish. Okay, a lot stalkerish. Even so it was a great song with a great beat and a great hook. Easily one of my favorites from the 80s."

Prince & The Revolution - Let's Go Crazy. "The guitar solo Prince hangs at the end of this one seemed to be Hendrix-inspired and I loved every second of it. Now, if only my Mom would've let me see Purple Rain"

Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me. "This is THE quintessential 80s song."

Soft Cell - Tainted Love. "This is one of those songs that'll get stuck in your head all day long. However, this is one you really won't mind having stuck there."

Spandau Ballet - True. "This song was played at every school dance I was ever at in my entire public schooling life, I think. The fact that I still like it and don't hate it after all the emotional scars seared into me from those same school dances while this was echoing through the gymnasium says something for how awesome an 80s song this is."

Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World. "Another quintessential 80s song. If you ever see an 80s list that doesn't have this song on it, then know that that list was formed by a blatant liar."

Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! "I hear No Doubt was inspired greatly by this band. Some of their music is similar. This band made some great 80s tunes; this is one of them."

Toto - Rosanna. "Another thing I hear: this song was written for and about the actress Rosanna Arquette. I think I saw that on a VH1 pop-up video. Easily Goog-able for those of you who want to see if that's true or not. Either way, this is a great song."

Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do with It. "Tina had some great 80s hair in this video. Wow. I bet that hairstyle alone contributed to a small portion of global warming due to the amount of hairspray released into the ozone layer. Environmental issues aside, this was a great song and great comeback by Tina Turner. This song, too, has aged just fine. It's as good right now as it was 20 years ago."

U2 - With Or Without You. "Undoubtedly I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For was U2's best song in the 80s. Since I listed that one last time, though, I'll go with this one instead. A great song.

Van Halen - Jump. "Another classic rock song from the 80s. What a great hook in this one, too. If you can't recognize this song in the first ten seconds then you obviously weren't around in the 80s."

// more markets for micro$oft

2006-07-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, predicted months ago that Micro$oft would get into the MP3 player market this year.

A logical guess, really.

Apple invented the personal computer market and Micro$oft copied them with a "me too" product called Windows and tried - successfully - to cash in on it.

Atari, Nintendo and Sony helped build the home console market for video games and Micro$oft tried - once again, successfully - to cash in on it also.

With the profits of Apple's iPod and iTunes Music Store skyrocketing more and more every year it was only a matter of time until Micro$oft released another "me too" product for yet another market created by someone besides themselves.

As you can tell by the picture, Micro$oft clearly "designed" (it's hard to call something "designed" knowing it's built on the premise of looking as closely like something else as it possibly can, yet still be different enough to avoid a lawsuit) this device to look like Apple's iPod.

And it does kinda looks like an iPod - if you squint really hard.

I'll be willing to go out on a limb and say Micro$oft will offer it for less than iPod sells for, too. That's always the Micro$oft Way™ - build it cheaper and sell it for less.

Apparently, the plan is to release this abomination just in time for Xmas this year. Joy.

I'd like to say the American consumer is smart enough to stay clear of the likes of this product and send a clear message to Micro$oft that they are tired of giving away their hard earned dollars for the crap-tacular products that company makes.

However, given their track record for marketing crappy merchandise to people looking to save a few nickels instead of buying a quality product is outstanding - therefore I'm quite certain this thing will be a HUGE success.

Welcome to the MP3 market, Micro$oft. Seriously.

On a final note:

If any of you actually buy this thing please do not have the audacity to IM, phone or email me with questions regarding how to install software, download drivers, arrange playlists, turn it on, turn it off, set it to sleep, wake it from sleep, charge it, reset it, purchase music for it, put songs on it, delete songs from it, copy songs from it, copy songs to it, plug it to your PC, get your PC to recognize it, or any other of a million questions YOU WILL HAVE because you've bought yet one more piece of junk from Micro$oft that will NEVER work the way it should.

If you do, my response will be neither kind nor helpful.

That is all.

Now, go have a good day.

// pirate gold

2006-07-10T20:04:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest set new records for highest opening day and opening weekend grosses.

Both records were previously held by Sony Pictures' Spider-Man from 2002.

Being one of the many who saw the film over the weekend, I was going to write a review for Dead Man's Chest over on my other blog, but I don't know if I will now. Probably everyone has seen it already!

I still may, though, we'll see.

Frankly, I'm surprised the movie has done that well.

I mean, I expected it would do well, but not that well. I certainly never expected it to do Spider-Man numbers.

Congratulations to Walt Disney on another huge hit.

I'd assume Pirates' record-setting weekend will be safe for awhile, too. Undoubtedly no other movie releasing until next summer's blockbusters come out will have a chance to top it.

It'll certainly give Spider-Man 3 something to shoot for when it releases next summer.

// the us vs john lennon

2006-07-08T00:35:00.000-04:00

For some time now I've noticed the stark similarities between the current political environment in America today and of the 1960s.

A new documentary that will be released this fall, The U.S. v.s. John Lennon, intends to examine that very thing.

It's really amazing to me that culturally we seem to have learned very little from the Sixties. It's amazingly unfortunate, too.

Check out the trailer for this film at the website linked above. It's sure to be a good one, I think.

// google becomes a verb

2006-07-07T20:03:00.000-04:00

"Google" has been added to the dictionary.

In the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, "google" as well as 100 other new words have been added to the dictionary.

A partial list includes words like "unibrow" and "mouse potato."

Interesting stuff.

Congrats to Google (who own Blogger for those of you who weren't aware) on being such a huge success that they have now entered the common vernacular.

// eggs online

2006-07-05T02:43:00.000-04:00

I've been talking about it for sometime and I've finally gotten around to posting the work I've done on an original idea of mine called Eggs Ackly.

Thats him "borrowing" my iMac in the picture.

The idea for him started off as a joke, really: Eggs Ackly is a six-foot space chicken who's a bounty-hunter-for-hire and has a partner named Lard Bacon who happens to also be a giant pig. They fly around in space and fight crime and save the universe one day at a time.

I had the idea for him years ago - you may have noticed the drawing above is dated over two years ago - and every now and then, for fun, I'd draw little comic strips of him for my neices and nephews.

I figured I could also, for fun, post some of the work online so all of you could read and see it and, maybe, enjoy the adventures of Eggs and Lard, too.

As of today, Eggs Ackly is officially online. I hope you'll have fun checking him out.

// thanks barry

2006-07-03T17:54:00.000-04:00

I had mentioned this awhile ago, so I wanted to follow up on it and thank Mr. Barry Windsor-Smith for his generosity.

Late last week I received back the package I sent off to Windsor-Smith Studio, asking Barry to autograph and return my personal copy of the book he drew, Unity # 0.

As you can tell from the scan (click to see a bigger version), Barry happily obliged:

It's a great keepsake from one of my favorite artists and a book that is from a very fond time in my life, too.

Thanks again, Barry, for taking the time to sign my book and thanks for all the great stories you've provided us with for so many years.

Keep making 'em; I'll keep reading 'em.

// spider-man 3

2006-06-28T17:47:00.000-04:00

No, that picture is not in black and white. Spider-Man's costume is, indeed, black.

I saw this trailer at the movie last night and it looks awesome. Check it out as soon as you can at the official Apple Trailers website.

For those of you who've followed Spider-Man's comic book adventures through the years: you recognize immediately why the costume is black.

// a quick update

2006-06-28T01:29:00.000-04:00

I just got in from seeing Superman Returns.

A lot more people than I thought decided to go after all, so there was a really good crowd of us at the theatre tonight. In fact, the place was pretty much sold out.

There were kids wearing superman costumes and, of course, lots and lots of Superman Tshirts.

After the movie was over, just about everyone stood up, applauded and cheered.

It was PHENOMENAL!

I don't have time to write a full review, but I'll try to get to it as soon as I can and hopefully before the official release of the film on Friday.

In the meantime, if you haven't seen the original 1978 Superman movie, please, do yourself a favor and try to see it before you go see this one.

In all actuality, this movie is practically a sequel to the 1978 film. Which is fantastic. For fans, I mean, gosh I don't know what to say, really - this movie is just astounding. It's spectacular. There are so many direct and indirect references to the '78 classic that it's a fan's dream come true.

Brandon Routh is phenomenal. He sounds almost just like Christopher Reeve sometimes. You can close your eyes and hear Reeve. The addition of Marlon Brando's image and voice from the 78 Superman film - my goodness - you just have to see it to believe it!

I'll write a full review, I promise.

For now, though, I need sleep.

G'nite.

// for the record

2006-06-27T17:57:00.000-04:00

I suppose everyone knows Mary J. Blige has released an incredibly popular cover of, what I call, The Best U2 Song Ever™ - One

You can preview or download it here on iTunes:

Now, since my family and friends know I'm a big U2 fan, and that One is my favorite U2 song, naturally I keep getting asked over and over which do I think is the better version.

I'm just going to go "on the record" with this once and for all so that from now on whenever I'm asked I can just direct people to the website.

The original U2 version is the better version.

While I agree that Mary J. Blige's vocals would probably land the more recent and collaborative effort (both MJ Blige and U2 perform the song) of One; I have a very personal reason for holding to the original as the better version.

You may or may not agree, but this is why I think the original is better. My reason is two-fold:

A) Being an Aquarius I am bound by nature and instinct to always hold the original of any creation to be the definitive and purest version.

and 2) Bono's high vocals toward the end of the original recording are not repeated in the new version. Some have said it's because Bono's voice is weakening. I don't know. I just know that the ending to the original recording of One is, for me, the high point of the song.

Do the high vocals make that big a difference? Absolutely. Especially if you're a U2 fan. If you don't believe me, then just listen to the original recording and decide for yourself how much the final 40 seconds or so make. For me, they make a phenomenal difference. It's Bono at one of his finest moments.

So there we have it: all neat and tidy for any future questions that may arise. Aren't blogs handy things?

// superman is returning

2006-06-27T01:08:00.000-04:00

Superman will return this weekend.

Here locally, there's an advance showing tomorrow night (Tuesday night) at 10pm for the movie. It's a one-time-only airing for folks who want to see the movie before it's official opening day, Friday.

I'm dying to go.

Ya know, in the past (yea, I know, "when you were my age, blah, blah, blah," just lock it up and listen to the story, ok?) we all would've raced to the theatre to get to see Superman - Superman! - days before anyone else.

And the fact that we'd get to stay up late to see it?

Why, I dunno the forces of good and evil are properly aligned well enough to handle the sudden influx of sheer joy that our little hearts would have suddenly unleashed upon the universe. In all probability such a sudden and vast outpouring of joy would have thrown the harmony of the alignment between good and evil into complete and utter cosmic disarray. Up would become down, left would become right, mountains would crumble, seas would vex (whatever that means), dogs would suddenly love cats, men would lose all fascination with breasts and normal life, such as we now know it, would have simply ceased to exist.

But now, instead of such joy, what do I hear?

"10 o'clock??! That movie is over two hours long! I gotta work Wednesday!"

What a bunch of goobers.

I, however, refuse to submit. I will rise and I will conquer. I will find someone brave enough to stay up past midnight on a weekday to see the return of Superman with me.

Oh yes.

This, dear readers, I vow.

P.S. - On the offchance that I fail miserably at this task, expect my review for Superman Returns next Tuesday at the usual Review Day time.

// abbey road

2006-06-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

Ever wanted to see Abbey Road?

Here's the next best thing to being there.

// soul survivor

2006-06-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

I meant to post about this a few weeks ago. Funny how things slip by so quickly. You can intend to do something one day and put it off and the next thing you know weeks have rolled by.

Anyway...

Rolling Stone scribe Rob Sheffield penned a funny, funny article about the American Idol finale and it's winner titled, "Soul Survivor".

It's not a really long read, so check it out. Just for a sample of some of the clever and humorous twists and turn of phrases he uses, I'll quote the beginning:

"If Taylor Hicks were hanged for being a singer, he would die an innocent man. But he would die proud, because he is the American Idol. This dude obviously saw the Doobie Brothers episode of "What's Happening!!" at a tender age and got scarred for life, even rocking the Michael McDonald haircut and belting ''Takin' It to the Streets.'' He goes on TV looking like forty miles of bad road, attacking his songs like Britney slapping Sean Preston into the car seat forehead first. He plays harmonica solos, he makes Paula Abdul boogie, he makes David Hasselhoff cry. I love this man. Soul Patrol!"

Hilarious, stuff.

It only gets funnier from there.

Check it out.

// senate shoots down minimum wage increase

2006-06-21T19:28:00.000-04:00

With inflation escalating and gas prices, energy prices and lots, lots more prices soaring, the Senate shot down a Democratic-led proposal to raise minimum wage.

Apparently, for Republicans, two-thirds of the minimum wage an hour for a gallon of gas is fair.

On the bright side, even though it was shot down, Democrats promise to get it done if they win the majority of the Senate this November.

This needs to get done.

Workers need a raise in income.

Minimum wage hasn't been raised in over ten years, since the Clinton adminstration.

Let's hope voters wise up and elect a Democratic congress this fall.

// bart sears: follow up

2006-06-18T22:49:00.000-04:00

Here's a scan of the signed book cover I mentioned in last week's post. Naturally, you can click on the image to see a much larger version:

// well, he's sixty-four

2006-06-18T13:00:00.000-04:00

Sir Paul McCartney turns 64 years old today; an age he made famous in his 20's when he wrote and recorded When I'm Sixty-Four with The Beatles.

Happy Birthday to Sir Paul. Thanks for all the music, memories and inspiration you've provided for the millions - maybe even billions - of us who've listened to your music and watched your career through the years.

It also happens to be Father's Day here in America: a day very near and dear to my heart for many reasons.

I hope all of you have a great Dad to spend Father's Day with.

// gate$ is getting out

2006-06-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

Let this serve as warning:

Bill Gate$ is getting out before the debacle-to-be, Windows Vista, arrives.

I will go on record right now as saying that it makes absolutely no sense to make this announcement now, before Windows Vista launches.

Think about it: you're about to release the first and biggest new product your company has had in over five years and to build excitement and hype for it you announce...your founder, creator and designer is leaving the company?

How does that make sense?

Especially since he's not even leaving until 2008!

So why is it important for us to know, now, in June of 2006 that Bill is on the way out?

Because Windows Vista is going to tank and people will be scrambling to get their distance from it and blame the disaster on someone else.

Here's Bill excuse: "I am no longer in charge of the day-to-day operations at Micro$oft. I began to scale back my duties in June of 2006. See my press release of 6.14.06 for further details."

If you think I'm just Micro$oft-bashing - which admittedly I do a lot of - you don't have to take my word for any of this. Just Google Windows Vista and you can read for yourself all the negative pre-reviews and horrific responses that have been written and said about it from all the people who have seen the OS (Operating System) first hand.

Besides, in the corporate world when your chief executive sneaks out mere months before a major release, it doesn't take Nostradamus to figure out why.

// bart sears

2006-06-14T00:56:00.000-04:00

A neat thing happened on the way home today...

Only last week I ordered a batch of comics - via that handy-dandy New Kadia website which happens to be linked over there on the right - and lo' and behold they were in the mail for me today.

Talk about quick shipping...

Being the fanboy that I am, I could hardly wait to get home and open them.

If you've been following along and playing the home game, then you already know that I've been rebuilding my collection of VALIANT (the official name was always capitalized) comic books.

As a result, all the books I received in the mail today (actually, yesterday since it's after midnight now) were all VALIANT books.

One of the books I paid for was a copy of X-O Manowar, volume one, issue number 14, which was drawn by comics-superstar Bart Sears: yes, that handsome fellow whose picture adorns this post.

Since VALIANT has been dead for nearly a decade now, and hardly anyone besides me can even remember them, I only paid .82 cents for that particular comic book.

.82 cents.

The cover price alone was $2.25.

When I got the package today, though, I got an additional surprise which wasn't mentioned on the website:

The book was autographed by Bart Sears!

I found a picture of the same, signed book on Mile High Comics' website (who I don't recommend at all if you're shopping for comics; their prices are outrageous) that I'll use for illustration purposes. My book is signed in roughly the same place, only the ink is gold instead of silver:

You can also see a scan of the cover (sans the signature) on Bart's website, which also features the follow-up issue (X-O Manowar #15) that he illustrated, along with many other covers as well.

I've already sealed the book inside a frame to hang in my office, so I can't post an exact scan of it.

However, on a similar note, last week I sent off an email to Barry Windsor-Smith about autographing a book for me.

I got a response from his studio just the other day saying he'd be glad to do so!

As soon as I get that book out in the mail to him, and he signs and returns it - which won't take any short amount of time, I'm sure - but as soon as I get the book back from him I'll try and get a scan of it before it's framed to post.

Hopefully that one will be a little more personalized with a, "To Lance," along with Barry's autograph. Which will be great.

Barry is far and away one of my favorite artists; besides Frank Miller, I suppose he is my favorite. Because of that, I had intended to try and get Barry to sign a book for me. I could get a signed book by paying for one, but it wouldn't be signed for me; which is kind of the point here.

But, I had never planned on getting a book signed by Bart Sears.

As one of my friends would say, "Bonus, dude."

I never say, "dude," but I will say it was a very nice surprise.

Very.

// more cowbell

2006-06-12T21:57:00.000-04:00

If you've seen the skit, then you're gonna love this tribute site.

If you haven't, then you just won't get it.

For those of you who have: enjoy.

// ebay snipers

2006-06-11T13:51:00.000-04:00

"Whatever 'it' is, you can get it on eBay."

How many of ya have seen that commercial?

It's true, too. Whatever you might be searching for or looking for - even items you haven't seen in maybe 50 years - you can most likely find it on eBay.

eBay was a really marvelous business venture when it was launched way, way back (by internet history standards) in 1995. A way for people to sell anything and everything to people who were looking to buy that exact same thing.

In my experience, I have found that the most avid eBay shoppers seem to be: a) ladies who realize how much cheaper they can find that purse, dress, jeans, etc. they've been wanting and 2) collectors.

Granted, that's my experience. I'm sure there are lots of other people buying and selling lots of things that aren't considered clothing or collectibles.

But for myself, and my friends who are on eBay, we all fall into one of those two categories.

The main complaint we all have with eBay, at one time or another, is sniping.

Regardless what you may have heard about eBay, I have completed hundreds of buy and sell auctions on eBay and have never had one, single problem that was not corrected; either by the seller/buyer themselves or by eBay.

Now, maybe that's just my good fortune. Maybe my very next auction will go terribly askew. Maybe I'm due. But to this point I can't tell you any horror stories about getting ripped off, sold bad goods, having information stolen, or any other rotten thing like that.

My experiences with eBay - for years now - have all been very pleasant. Which is, of course, why I'm such a fan of the site.

But I'm digressing; back to sniping.

eBay sniping is when someone waits until the last minute of an auction and then begins bidding to try and win the auction in the closing seconds. Usually for just a few cents more than what your high bid is.

For instance, let's say you want to get a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #129 (which happens to also be the very 1st appearance of The Punisher).

Let's get a picture up here; a picture is worth a thousand words:

Now, we know whatever 'it' is we can find it on eBay (because we believe everything we see on TV, right?), so we surf to eBay.com and type in "amazing spider-man #129" in the search bar and press "search".

Viola!

Behold the Spider-Mens...Spider-Mans...whichever...behold the 1st appearance of The Punisher...breathe it in, boys.

Now, we pick an auction to bid on, we place our high bid - which is the most amount we want to pay, naturally - and since all auctions end in a certain number of days: we wait.

Let's say we enter a maximum bid of $100.

If the highest bid anyone else has made is $50, then eBay will automatically place our bid as $51. If another person bids $52, eBay will automatically keep raising our bid until it hits our maximum limit of $100. At which point if anyone bids over that, they will win the auction and we'll lose.

What snipers do is wait until the last minute and open several browser windows and start entering bids to crank past what your maximum is at the last possible second to out-bid you by the smallest of margins - in this case, for instance, they'd try to win by getting the book for $101.00, beating you by only 1 dollar.

While you didn't want to pay more than a $100.00 for the book, you most certainly would have paid just 1 dollar more.

Plus there is the time factor involved: you waited several days only to lose by a dollar. I've lost auctions by even less.

It sucks; but it's perfectly "legal". There is nothing eBay can do to prevent last minute bidders.

There's even software made, bought and sold to perform such underhandedness! Apparently these folks need something to do their dirty work for them in case an auction ends while they're at work or asleep.

Well, I call it "dirty" but it's really not; it's perfectly legal. I just don't like it. No one likes waiting days to see if they won an item, only to lose by a few cents or a dollar. It's the nature of the beast, though. I'm sure everyone who has bought from eBay often enough has experienced the anguish of being sniped.

If you're looking to get in on the fun of buying and selling on eBay - an experience I couldn't recommend more highly - then do watch out for and expect the snipers.

They're inevitably going to get ya.

(By the way, did you notice how The Punisher is "sniping" Spidey on the cover of that comic? How's that for clever illustration? Am I quick or what? Normally one would have to pay extra for that sort of subtle allusion. But you, my friends, get it for free!)

// sony sent me a t-shirt...

2006-06-09T19:33:00.000-04:00

...after decades of my love and support, they sent me a t-shirt as a "thank you."

A lousy t-shirt.

The same company who makes hundreds and hundreds of the greatest tech gadgets, both large and small: computers, cameras, mp3 players, video games, consoles, laptops, etc., etc. ad nauseum.

But rather than being one of those, instead my "thank you" gift is a t-shirt.

*sigh*

It's not that i'm ungrateful, it's just that...

...

...okay, so I'm being ungrateful.

Big deal.

Would it have killed 'em to sent me a PSP instead?

// billy preston 9.9.46 - 6.6.06

2006-06-07T20:32:00.000-04:00

The feared (by some) day of 666 came and passed Tuesday without any major upheaval. That I heard of, anyway.

It was, however, the last day of life for one very beloved musician: Billy Preston.

Billy Preston passed away Tuesday, June 6, 2006.

Billy was the only muscian to ever appear credited with The Beatles. On The Beatles single, Get Back, from their Let It Be album. The credits, from the Get Back single, appear as "The Beatles with Billy Preston." Billy also performed on Don't Let Me Down with The Beatles on the same album and was with the band for the famous rooftop concert given atop the Apple Studios building in London for the Let It Be movie.

Billy would later say it was the greatest moment of his life as a musician.

He also had many hits of his own, of course, because he was a very gifted musician and singer. You can read in the many obituaries around the internet (including the one in the first link of this post) about all of his contributions to the musical landscape.

One of those was being at the very first benefit concert ever with George Harrison and Ravi Shankar. I posted about that in a review I wrote last October.

Most supposed the 6.6.06 date would come and go and, despite the hype surrounding the fact that those numbers only appear once in a 100 years, that nothing significant would happen.

I guess the date ended up being significant after all.

It was the day Billy Preston died.

// was the 2004 election stolen?

2006-06-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. asks that question in his latest article for Rolling Stone magazine.

You can read the article, in it's entirety, at the RS website.

Among the various assortment of crooked goings-on that RFK Jr. points out, this one really stands out the most, I thought:

The most transparently crooked incident took place in Warren County. In the leadup to the election, Blackwell (edit note: RFK Jr. is referring to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell who also oversaw President Bush's campaign in Ohio - how's that for a conflict of interest?) had illegally sought to keep reporters and election observers at least 100 feet away from the polls. The Sixth Circuit, ruling that the decree represented an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment, noted ominously that ''democracies die behind closed doors.'' But the decision didn't stop officials in Warren County from devising a way to count the vote in secret. Immediately after the polls closed on Election Day, GOP officials -- citing the FBI -- declared that the county was facing a terrorist threat that ranked ten on a scale of one to ten. The county administration building was hastily locked down, allowing election officials to tabulate the results without any reporters present.

In fact, there was no terrorist threat. The FBI declared that it had issued no such warning, and an investigation by The Cincinnati Enquirer unearthed e-mails showing that the Republican plan to declare a terrorist alert had been in the works for eight days prior to the election. Officials had even refined the plot down to the language they used on signs notifying the public of a lockdown. (When ROLLING STONE requested copies of the same e-mails from the county, officials responded that the documents have been destroyed.)

The late-night secrecy in Warren County recalls a classic trick: Results are held back until it's determined how many votes the favored candidate needs to win, and the totals are then adjusted accordingly. When Warren County finally announced its official results -- one of the last counties in the state to do so -- the results departed wildly from statewide patterns. John Kerry received 2,426 fewer votes for president than Ellen Connally, the poorly funded black judge, did for chief justice. (193) As the Conyers report concluded, ''It is impossible to rule out the possibility that some sort of manipulation of the tallies occurred on election night in the locked-down facility.''

Nor does the electoral tampering appear to have been isolated to these dozen counties. Ohio, like several other states, had an initiative on the ballot in 2004 to outlaw gay marriage. Statewide, the measure proved far more popular than Bush, besting the president by 470,000 votes. But in six of the twelve suspect counties -- as well as in six other small counties in central Ohio -- Bush outpolled the ban on same-sex unions by 16,132 votes. To trust the official tally, in other words, you must believe that thousands of rural Ohioans voted for both President Bush and gay marriage.

Was the election stolen? Most likely we will never be sure. But one thing we can definitely be sure of is that there definitely was some underhandedness going on.

I don't want to talk too much about the article. It speaks for itself; go read it.

Consider this, though, if you happen to be of the GOP persuasion: what does it say for a party that goes to such great lengths to prevent , restrain and harass the average man and woman among us out of exercising their right to vote?

Why are Republicans so afraid to play fair and not only let people vote, but encourage people to get out and vote?

You might say it's all sour grapes and Democrats are just sore losers. And maybe we are. But I've never heard of any incidents where the Democrats said, "don't go vote," or tried to prevent new voters from registering or circumvented large numbers of voters from turning out at the polls.

Could it be, maybe, one party truly believes in extending democracy to the people and the other is more concerned with extending their will over the people?

Maybe that's why they don't want you to vote? Maybe your vote only counts if it's for them?

Could control maybe be the issue, too?

Which party is tapping your phone and reading your mail?

Think about it.

// my work on wikipedia

2006-06-05T14:16:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been creating a series of articles on Wikipedia about a issue I know a great deal about:

Comics.

If there's one thing I know, it's comic books.

Stop laughing.

Actually, I've only been writing about one comic book publisher in particular: DEFIANT.

DEFIANT was a comic company that only existed about a year and a half in the middle 1990's and published only around 56 books or so before going out of business.

At that time, though, they were one of my favorite publishers because the company was started by Jim Shooter, a writer I've always been very fond of.

Since DEFIANT was his company and he wrote nearly every one of the books, too, naturally I was a big fan (no, that's not a self-depricating fat joke).

Anyway, one night while searching Wikipedia I found they had only two lone entries about DEFIANT. I thought that was rather sad. On top of that, the two articles they did have were barely worth calling "articles" at all.

One was wrongly named Defiant Comics - the proper name for the company is DEFIANT in all caps - and another incomplete article based on the flagship title of the company, Warriors of Plasm.

Both articles were completely lacking any real information, had no images at all - what good is a comic book article without some artwork, right? - and not much real substance of any sort. There were no footnotes to substantiate what little "facts" were given, there were no links to other Wikipedia articles, no information regarding the creators of the works and really, not much in general.

I have since expanded both of those articles and provided links - which are mostly all still in progress - to the other major titles published by DEFIANT.

If you wish to read the articles I've written, a good place to start would be with DEFIANT itself.

DEFIANT can be found here.

Warriors of Plasm here.

Dark Dominion here.

The other articles have information and images, but are far from complete. They are:

Dogs of War.

The Good Guys.

Prudence & Caution.

War Dancer.

The main article on DEFIANT links to all the others, so you can easily work your way around to all the entries from that one main page.

I've written other articles for Wikipedia, but most of those were simply edits or adding to existing work already there. I've been a little more fond of these because most of them, save those original two articles, have all been added, created and written solely by me. Although, those first two articles bear almost no resemblance to their original versions.

If you have time, stop by each of them and check them out and let me know what you think.

// 6.6.06

2006-06-03T12:11:00.000-04:00

Some are scared already.

// welcome to blogger, lily

2006-06-01T13:56:00.000-04:00

In the time that I have spent on Blogger I have been delighted to introduce others to it. It's always nice to be able to show someone what a great vehicle Blogger can be for posting their thoughts, voicing their opinions and in other ways interacting with the world wide web in a personal way.

Let's face it, there's a lot to do and see on the internet.

Everyone should have a point of origin, a place to begin, a spot where you can point other friends, family and associates to where they can learn more about you, your interests, your opinions, your ideas - even see pictures of your dog!

Which is what, after all, makes places like Blogger and MySpace so popular.

With that in mind, I'd like to welcome another friend to Blogger for the first time, Lily.

When you get the chance, stop by her blog and say hello. Be quick about it, too. The first 500 bloggers to comment will win a free oven mitt!

Ask Lily for the details when you post.

(Offer invalid to any comments made from citizens in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Virgin Islands, Europe, Asia, Africa, Mars, Venus, Dark Side of the Moon or any other place where an internet connection might be made)

Welcome to Blogger, Lily and happy posting. I hope you end up enjoying the site as much as I do.

// civil war

2006-05-30T05:33:00.000-04:00

This is a bit fanboy-ish, but I thought it was hilarious.

Over at Marvel Comics they are about to kick-off their big summer comics event called Civil War.

I'll spare you the basic premise, but the gist of the whole advertising campaign is which superhero or villian will you side with?

So there's all these promotional ideas that say, "I'm with Spider-Man." "I'm with Captain America." Etc. etc.

A fan made this avatar .gif image, poking fun of Marvel's "I'm with ... " campaign that I thought was hilarious.

If civil war does break out I'm definitely getting behind this cat!

// craig heyward 9.26.1966 - 5.27.06

2006-05-30T02:18:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago I posted about Craig Heyward's battle with brain cancer.

Three days ago the tumor took his life.

He was just 39 years old.

It's incredible that a man so young and once so powerful could be gone so soon. It's times like this when you're truly at a loss for words.

As I said in my previous post, Craig was one of my favorite players.

In the sports world you're accustomed to seeing players come and go, being traded from one team to the next. But when they're your favorite players, it's hard to see them go. To be honest, I never quite got over the sting of losing Craig in a trade to another team.

That was in 1996. Ten years ago. It seems like yesterday.

In sports we cheer so hard for our teams to win. You remember - I remember - the times guys were hurt or beat up or losing. When your team is losing. And you want so bad to see them get back up, come back in the game, and win. You never forget that, I suppose. All the times you saw your favorite guys get knocked down only to get back up and come right back.

It's what makes them our heroes.

But time is the enemy of heroes. It brings us all, big and small, great or no, it brings us all back down

It's just not supposed to happen to a man 39 years old.

That's why it's so hard to imagine. It's so hard to imagine.

I'll pray for his family and life will go on. Life always does. But he'll certainly be missed. By his family and friends and by me and by many, many fans all around the world.

I'll miss you, Craig, and I won't forget you.

Rest easy, big fella. The hard part's over.

// new addition

2006-05-29T20:11:00.000-04:00

I thought you guys might enjoy a picture of my new pet.

Well, it's actually my dog's new pet.

My Chihuahua, Sandy, for some reason absolutely loves cats. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because when I first got her I had a cat and she just got used to playing with her.

Whatever reason, since I haven't been able to find another Chi to add to the family, I thought I'd get her a new cat buddy to have around.

She spent her first night with us last night, and as you can tell by the photograph, had no trouble fitting right in. Sandy loved having someone to bunk with. She fussed over the kitten and looked after her and shared her food with her; I'm positive she believes that the cat is her pet.

Which is odd.

A dog having a pet cat.

Go figure.

Anyway, I'm still brainstorming over what to call the kitten.

Since my dog was named after a character from Grease, I suppose it might be good to keep that vibe going.

Frenchy?

Marty?

I have one vote in for Rizzo so far. We'll see. I'll have to let you know when the final verdict comes in.

// a quantum conundrum

2006-05-27T18:55:00.000-04:00

Ah, quantum theories.

Just bring up the term around a nerd like me and our eyes gloss over at the prospect of talking endlessly about space-time, relativity, Newton, Einstein and Hubble.

The brilliant and accessible work done by Stephen Hawking in our generation should be mentioned as well.

Recently I've been re-reading Mr. Hawking's masterpiece A Brief History of Time.

A modern best-seller for obvious reasons, it brilliantly explains the work of these scientific geniuses in ways a non-scientist can understand.

If you haven't read it, I cannot suggest more strongly that you do. It's remarkable, to say the least.

I have always believed that correct, accurate science will always confirm the existence of the universal truths we search for.

Mr. Hawking himself sums it up thus in his book:

"The eventual goal of science is to provide a single theory that describes the whole universe. However, the approach most scientists actually follow is to separate the problem into two parts. First, there are the laws that tell us how the universe changes with time. (If we know what the universe is like at any one time, these physical laws tell us how it will look at any later time.) Second, there is the question of the initial state of the universe. Some people feel that science should be concerned with only the first part; they regard the question of the initial situation is a matter for metaphysics or religion. They would say that God, being omnipotent, could have started the universe off any way he wanted. That may be so, but in that case he also could have made it develop in a completely arbitrary way. Yet it appears that he chose to make it evolve in a very regular way according to certain laws. It therefore seems equally reasonable to suppose that there are also laws governing the initial state."

Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, Chapter 1

Nothing could be truer. The universal laws we see in motion about us - such as gravity and relativity - are laws that govern us and how we live and function. The better we understand them the better we can live and work with them to accomplish our goals.

Likewise, the universal laws of love and peace that ought to govern our lives should be explored every bit as much so that we can live richer and more fullfilling lives in that regard also.

One might not believe in gravity; but trying to work around it or contrary to it will lead to nothing but frustration.

Just assuredly, trying to work around the ways of love and peace will lead to nothing but frustration also.

One day mankind may break the code that is quantum mechanics; just as Einstein finally found the secret to understanding relativity.

Will it do us any good, though, if we haven't learned more about love and peace between now and then?

Einstein's discovery led to the deaths of nearly 200,000 people - in two days.

What might the break through in quantum physics cost us if we haven't learned our lessons since then?

// have country music fans forgiven the dixie chicks?

2006-05-25T15:50:00.000-04:00

The Dixie Chicks are on the cover of the latest TIME magazine issue.

In the article - you can read a portion of it on TIME's website - writer Josh Tyrangiel explores the issue of whether or not country music fans in America have actually forgiven the Dixie Chicks for the now famous words spoken by lead singer Natalie Maines three years ago, "...we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."

It's an interesting article.

A better question, I think, is do the Dixie Chicks really care if they're forgiven or not?

I can't speak for them myself, but I can say in my estimation it appears that they do not.

And who can blame them? I certainly don't.

They're entitled to their opinion and they're entitled to express it, too. So why should they care whether or not anyone forgives or forgets?

Well, because of record sales, obviously. At least, that is the point the writer makes. If the Chicks are forgiven, they'll sell lots of records and if they're not then they won't.

I don't think it's quite that cut and dried, either. I think they have enough fans to sell lots of records, regardless. Besides - as the writer points out himself - anyone who chooses art over commerce is asking for market failure.

Apparently the group is more concerned with having their music be an expression of what they're feeling - a natural tendency for any artist to do - than they are with selling records. If they wanted to just worry about selling records they'd kiss and make up and beg fans to forgive them.

I won't get into a review of the album yet, I'll save that for my other blog as promised, but so far the early reviewers of the album, including Mr. Tyrangiel, have been nearly unanimous in saying this is probably the Chicks' best work.

However, at the same time reviewers have been completely unanimous in pointing out it's also their most personal work. Ergo (therefore) the group clearly chose to put their artistic foot forward and let the commercial success of the album fall where it may.

That's a chance not many "artists" are willing to take. Especially not in the money-hungry music industry.

The article also explores, albeit briefly, other artists to make public, vocal and musical statements against President Bush.

The list includes Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Eminem, Kanye West, Pearl Jam and Neil Young.

In that list the only other artist besides the Dixie Chicks to really be taken to task for their remarks by the public is Kanye West.

Incredibly, however, Mr. Tyrangiel does not approach the fact that, of that group, the ONLY ones to suffer backlash for their comments are a black man and three women - a point I thought completely jumped off the page!

Is it okay, in America, to stand up for what you believe as long as you're not a part of some minority group? Unfortunately, that is all too often the case.

Popular opinions are never taken to task. Likewise when an unpopular opinion is voiced by a leading group or persons, it's a little bit easier to swallow. Hey, everyone can't be wrong, right? If everyone else is going along with it then it must be okay.

It's only the unpopular opinions that get attacked - and woe unto you if you're a minority voicing an unpopular opinion.

Consequently it's not the unchallenged rights of the majority that we must be careful to defend. Those rights, for the most part, are pretty safe. Although, it does seem like lately that so many of our rights are being invaded upon that it's not wise to take your eyes off any of them, challenged or no. Regardless, it's the rights that are challenged that we should always be quick to defend first and foremost.

So back to the original question: Have country music fans forgiven the Dixie Chicks?

I doubt it. What's sad is that they were vilified by those people for speaking out to start with.

Do they care that those same people haven't forgiven them?

I doubt that, too.

Think about it. Would you wish to be forgiven by a group of people you had lost respect for?

Yea. Me neither.

It's hard to feel sorry or want forgiveness for something that you know in your heart you weren't wrong for doing or saying.

As Natalie says in the article, "It was awesome to feel those feelings again that I felt in high school: to be angry, to be sure that you're right and that the things you do matter. You don't realize you're not feeling those feelings until you do. And then you realize how much more interesting life is."

Or, as she sings it on Not Ready to Make Nice:

I know / you said / "can’t you just get over it?" / It turned / my whole world around / And I kind of like it

// lessons i've learned from a dog's life

2006-05-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

Since I've become a Chihuahua owner - shown here on the left in one of her most humiliating moments of life: bath time - I've been inundated with questions from family, friends and strangers alike about getting one of their own.

Let me say, for anyone who may be considering doing so; I'd highly recommend you give it a lot of thought before you do.

Chis are a strange, peculiar breed that do not necessarily adapt to certain environments very well.

Like to water, for instance.

They're great for single people, elderly couples or perhaps married couples without children, because Chis tend to bond with very few people - usually only 1 or 2. If your family is larger than a couple of people, I'd highly suggest not getting one.

My Chihuahua, for instance, has been around lots of people ever since she was a pup - including children. Regardless, nothing I can do seems to make her any more approachable by strangers or even people she hasn't seen for awhile.

Chihuahuas also have no awareness of their own size because they'll go after other dogs much larger than themselves. They also are very clannish and will disdain any other breed of dog besides another Chi. So if you've already got one dog, and that dog isn't a Chi, then I suggest you refrain from purchasing a Chi.

I know a lot of girls - excuse me, ladies - are attracted to the Chi because of it's small size. They are cute dogs, I know.

But in spite of that, they are a very, very tempermental breed who will only take to one or two people in their entire lifetime. So they are not the dog you wanna get if you live at home with mom and dad and have lots of people around all the time. They're also liable to take a snap at your friends when they come over and want to pet your cute little dog and any other strangers who might want to walk up to you and pet them.

There's a dual reason why you see Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff, Britney Spears and Mickey Rourke walking around with Chis: yea, they look cute when photographed, but they also keep those annoying photographers - and other strangers - at a distance.

But, I think because of the popularity of the Chi in the media there seems to be a myth surrounding these little animals that they are cute, sweet and approachable.

Far from it.

They're cute, sweet and approachable, but only by their owners and perhaps one or two others.

It's been said Chis are a Jekyll & Hyde breed. You will always see the best from your dog: the love, the attention, the devotion - but your friends will only see the bad: the barking, the snarling and the snapping. Your friends will never believe how sweet your dog really is.

I realize that there have been people who have owned Chis who were the most approachable, loveable dog they ever owned. However, that is the rare and special case. By their nature, the breed is not that way. So you're better off to be aware of the nature of the Chi and what to expect before you get one. Then, with that knowledge, you might be able to work with your dog while he or she is little and then maybe when it's grown it will be different.

Good luck.

I knew it going in and it didn't much help me. I tried passing my Chi around, letting kids play with it, letting other people around her as much as I could. She still turned out to be incredibly protective of her owner.

Imagine that. I'm six foot five and she weighs about 3 pounds. And she's defending me. From people I know, mind you.

Which leads to another myth about the breed: they're not very smart. Well that's not necessarily true. As the American Kennel Club says about the breed, they have a lot of terrier-like qualities. I've taught mine to fetch a ball and do other little tricks. They can be trained.

But, since they have no real understanding of their size and will quickly - almost ridiculously - jump into fights with other dogs and people ten times their size to defend their owners, domains and, well, just if you look at them the wrong way, I can see where people think they're not very smart.

They're smart. They're just crazy, I guess.

Now, knowing all that if you still want to get a Chi, let me tell you the main reasons why you should:

They're the most adoring and loyal dog you could ever own. The Chihuahua was the first domesticated dog in the Americas, given to members of the royal families in South America, and when you have one you quickly see why. These little dogs bond with their owners and really treat you like a King or Queen. They will not leave your side, follow you everywhere you go and show immense amounts of affection and attention. I'm a dog kind of person, I love dogs. I've owned and been around a lot of dogs in my life. I have never seen a dog give the kind of attention to their owners that Chis do.

However, keep in mind, they need a lot of attention in return, too. So if you're not ready to get into that kind of a relationship - yes, I worded it that way on purpose - then get a pet or dog that requires lower maintenance.

Speaking of maintenance, make sure if you do get a Chi that you keep a blanket for them where they sleep.

The Chi is a very mole-like breed.

Cast your eyes, if you will, upon the Witness in exhibit A:

Note the mole-like features.

As such, they love to burrow under blankets and sleep, regardless of the temperature of the room.

I submit for you now the Witness in exhibit B:

As well as exhibit C:

Moleishness in action if there ever was such a thing.

Seriously, though, since they're so small, it's unwise to walk them with a regular leash because you could hurt their neck easily. Instead, make sure to get a body harnass leash for walking your dog.

Also, to dispel one more myth about the breed: the shaking.

Chis don't shake because of any certain nervous disorders. Some have theorized that, because of the small size, the metabolism of the Chi is very fast. The dogs do exhibit incredible bursts of energy, but only in short bursts. Some think, because of this, that Chis shake to generate extra energy to compensate for their little body and fast metabolism.

Similar to how we shake when we're cold - it generates heat (energy). However, a Chi shakes to produce energy, not necessarily because it's cold.

For instance, whenever the dog will get angry and bark it'll shake - most likely as a way of producing extra energy to generate the barking.

Whatever the reason, they don't shake because of nervous disorders.

They're prone -as all living things are - to certain diseases and problems, most of which relate to the small size of the dog. However, all things considered, the Chihuahua has the longest life span of any dog - anywhere from 12 to as many as 18 years. 15 or 16 seems to be the most commonly quoted figure I have found.

All that said, if you're really willing and want to spend the time to build the relationship and the companionship with a Chihuahua, you won't be disappointed. Along with all the general characteristics I described above, the breed is famous for each dog having it's own, individual personality and they will give you a love and devotion unlike any other pet you could ever own.

Calling a Chihuahua a "dog" is almost misleading, really.

Chihuahuas are companions. Incredibly personal companions, too. Because, again, they really only take to one or two people.

If you're the kind of person who would like that kind of a relationship with a pet, then definitely get a Chihuahua. You will not be disappointed you did. I promise.

// lance's non-celebrity playlist

2006-05-17T19:57:00.000-04:00

By now I'm sure most of you have seen the Celebrity Playlists featured on Apple's iTunes Music Store.

Well, I'm not a celebrity (yet) but I can still make playlists. So can you, if you use iTunes. Which I know you do, right?

Right.

Those things are generally about 20 songs in limit and so, without further adieu, I present my Non-Celebrity Playlist.

Call it "20 Songs I Couldn't Live Without."

Too dramatic?

Okay, then call it "20 Songs I Wouldn't Want To Have To Live Without." How's that?

And yes, I know you can't purchase all of these songs on iTunes. Even so, if I were to be stranded on a desert island, here are the 20 songs I'd hate to be without:

(There was a lot of adieu there after all, wasn't there?)

Hey Jude - The Beatles. "Picking one Beatles' song is like choosing between your children. It's nearly impossible to do. However, if you have to pick one, pick this one. It's long and you can sing it over and over."

Revolution - The Beatles. "It's something of an adopted theme song for me."

Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney & Wings. "This is what it feels like to be truly in love with a truly amazing woman. I can't say how much I love the lyrics and the power of this song."

Your Song - Elton John. "This might be the best song ever written. Except for..."

Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time) - Elton John. "...this song."

Imagine - John Lennon. "John at his best. I don't like how this song has become an anthem for people who don't even really know what this song is about. Oh well. It doesn't tarnish what a remarkable song this is."

Power to the People - John Lennon. "Listen to this one after a stressful day. I guarantee you you'll always feel better afterwards."

One - U2. "The best U2 song ever."

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2. "I could have a separate playlist for 80's songs alone. As it is, this one can represent the entire decade. And quite nicely at that."

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison. "I'd prefer to have George's Here Comes the Sun but that would be another Beatles song, so I'll go with this one instead. George deserves to have the recognition."

Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel) - Roy Orbison. "When you wanna hear Roy Orbison, you just wanna hear Roy Orbison. Nothing else will suffice. For that reason, ya gotta have some Roy Orbison on hand at all times."

A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke. "Sam may have had the best voice of any singer ever in all of history. This song is probably his best."

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan. "Is any playlist complete without some Dylan on it? This is my personal favorite Bob Dylan song."

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys. "Once upon a time, The Beach Boys were challenging The Beatles for the title of World's Greatest Band. This song proves how close they came to winning."

Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin. "Janis had a voice like no one else ever has and it constantly brings you back to listen to her again and again."

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones. "My favorite Stones song. At least, at the moment."

Superstition - Stevie Wonder. "This is Stevie bringing the funk at his funkiest."

Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers. "One of the greatest songs of all-time sang by one of the best and most unique voices of all-time."

Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel. "So many great Simon & Garfunkel songs and so many great Paul Simon songs, how do you pick just one? Well, you pick the one that had the most in it plus those great Paul Simon 'doot-doot-doot' lyrics."

Thank U - Alanis Morissette. "A song I love by an artist I love."

// new mad

2006-05-16T17:49:00.000-04:00

This cover of the new Mad is hilarious.

I only just got my copy, so I haven't a read a word of it yet, but the cover alone is hysterical.

I had to post an image of it to share.

// funnies from last night

2006-05-14T17:44:00.000-04:00

If you missed it, former Vice President Al Gore did the opening sketch on last night's Saturday Night Live.

The set up was that in an alternate plane of existence Mr. Gore had actually ascended to the Presidency in the year 2000.

He did actually win the election, but I won't get started on that. Needless to say, he only never ascended to the office of the President.

In this "alternate reality" Mr. Gore talks about Global Warming, gas prices, the deficit and other issues in 2006 from the perspective of what might have been if he were our President.

Check out the entire four minute skit on YouTube.

It was so funny I laughed until I cried.

And then, I just kept on crying...

// holes in the story

2006-05-10T19:31:00.000-04:00

After almost five years since the tragedy of September 11th, there continue to remain some pretty big holes in the "Official Story."

The government's own 9/11 Commission supplied more fuel to the conspiracy fires by making several mis-steps that included omissions, evasions and completely ignored questions the public has had about the disaster - as well as the events preceding and immediately following - for years now.

Not least of the glaring omissions in the Report is the fact that Attorney General John Ashcroft was advised by the FBI to not fly any commercial airlines months before the attacks due to an FBI-deemed "threat assessment."

Read it for yourself.

Note the date on that CBS News article: July 26, 2001. Nearly a full two months before the tragedies of September 11th.

What was the threat assessment and how did it pertain to commercial airlines?

The 9/11 Commission Report's findings?

No mention of it.

Not a single word.

Others were tipped off not to fly commercial airlines, too.

One of them being San Francisco mayor, Willie Brown. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that:Officials at San Francisco International Airport said they weren't aware of the State Department warning - but someone in the airport security section knew of it and passed word of the warning onto Mayor Willie Brown when he called to check on the status of flight he was planning to take to New York.

"I didn't give it much thought at the time," Brown said. "It wasn't until after the attacks that I even remembered the call."
The 9/11 Commission's investigation into the matter?

Nothing. Not one word about it or concerning it is in the report.

And that's only the beginning.

With questions swirling around about how American Airliner Flight 77 - the commercial airliner that was flown into the Pentagon - could be hijacked by terrorists who had planned for months and were intelligent enough to pull off every detail of their strategy and could keep their plot hidden from the FBI, CIA and others; yet were, at the same time, apparently clueless to such simple common knowledge that the area they were flying into was part of the Pentagon that was undergoing heavy re-construction and therefore would cause the least amount of damage and virtually no loss of life.

With questions surrounding this - and the fact that apparently Flight 77 exploded into confetti because there wasn't any significant pictures or evidence of the plane, wings, tail or fuselage removed from the Pentagon - the government finally, almost a year and a half later, released images taken by a security camera that were supposed to silence the conspiracy theories.

The photos not only didn't solve anything, they ended up only adding more fuel to the fire.

The photos are a mere five frames taken from a security camera that the government claims show a plane and the ensuing explosion.

Look at them for yourself on CNN.com.

They've become the Zapruder film for those building 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Are the photos doctored? Are they cropped? Do they even show a plane at all, let alone a plane as big as a 757 Boeing airliner?

I sure don't see a plane in that picture, but maybe your eyes are better than mine.

Oh, and don't forget that the FBI confiscated video tape from a nearby gas station across the road and from a Sheraton Hotel roof near the Pentagon and have never released the footage.

Hmm. That sure doesn't help quell any rumours or suspicions now does it?

The list goes on and on, too.

Some of the questions that continue to be asked are:

1. Why did both World Trade Center buildings burn to the ground when no building with a steel infrastructure before or since has ever burnt to the ground?

I know a lot of people believe the reports that the jet fuel caused the steel in the building to melt. However, Prof. Thomas Eagar explained in 2001 that the World Trade Center fires would NOT melt steel:

In this report he is quoted as saying:

"The fire is the most misunderstood part of the WTC collapse. Even today, the media report (and many scientists believe) that the steel melted. It is argued that the jet fuel burns very hot, especially with so much fuel present. This is not true.... The temperature of the fire at the WTC was not unusual, and it was most definitely not capable of melting steel.
In combustion science, there are three basic types of flames, namely, a jet burner, a pre-mixed flame, and a diffuse flame.... In a diffuse flame, the fuel and the oxidant are not mixed before ignition, but flow together in an uncontrolled manner and combust when the fuel/oxidant ratios reach values within the flammable range. A fireplace is a diffuse flame burning in air, as was the WTC fire. Diffuse flames generate the lowest heat intensities of the three flame types... The maximum flame temperature increase for burning hydrocarbons (jet fuel) in air is, thus, about 1000 °C -- hardly sufficient to melt steel at 1500 °C."

Many other engineers and experts agree.

2. Furthermore, regarding the towers coming down because of a direct hit from jets: before his death in February, 1986, Minoru Yamasaki, architect and designer of the World Trade Center, stated, "We designed the towers to take multiple 707 jet strikes." Yet both towers came down in under two hours from a single jet strike each. How?

3. 7 World Trade Center never even had a plane hit it and yet it came down in less than seven seconds! How?

4. Where are the missing 3 and a half minutes of the black box recording retrieved from United 93?

5. What about the multiple eye witness accounts that debris was flying from the sky before United 93 ever crashed? How?

6. What about the multiple eye witness accounts that a "white jet" was seen over Pennsylvania where United 93 came down? Why?

7. What about the radar reports that multiple fighter jets were in fact far closer to United 93 than previously admitted? How was this overlooked and why?

8. What about Donald Rumsfeld's statement that "the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania" - did Rumsfeld "mispeak" or was United 93, in fact, shot down?

And it doesn't end there, either. The questions go on and on.

Why hasn't the public had complete and utter disclosure from the government over the events and investigations into what happened on September 11, 2001?

Now I, probably like most of you, will say that no conspiracy nor cover-up took place.

Like most Americans, I watched the horror and destruction of that day play out before my eyes. I'll never, so long as my memories remain, ever forget September 11th of 2001.

But there are obvious holes in the "Official Story."

The current administration is the most secret administration - if not in all of American politics - at least in our lifetimes.

They hide things just because they can.

Why weren't we told until almost 48 hours after the fact that the Vice President shot a man?

Because they didn't have to tell us.

And that, my friends, is the problem.

Is there a conspiracy surrounding 9/11?

I doubt it. I certainly hope not and I certainly highly, highly doubt it.

The real problem is that the current administration just lies and hides because it can. Now that's a theory there's definitely not any holes in.

// playstation 3

2006-05-08T22:17:00.000-04:00

Sony just announced - at a 5pm PST press conference this afternoon in Los Angeles - that the Playstation 3 will be released in Japan on November 11th and the US on November 17th of this year.

The price tag?

$499 for the 20 gig hard drive version and $599 for the 60 gig hard drive.

Now, I know the initial sticker shock says, "I'm not paying that for a videogame system" but remember November 17th is right in the heart of the Xmas shopping season.

Anyone care to guess what this year's must have Xmas item will be?

The good news about this, for all you parents groaning out there, is that at least you have another 4 months or so to save up.

Personally, I've learned it's never wise to be the first to adopt any brand new technology. There's always bugs, things don't work right, kinks aren't worked out, etc. etc. etc.

Plus there's not any one single game I'm really dying to play on Playstation 3.

I'll just sit back, wait, and let the early adopters find all the lemons and bugs and let the Xmas season roll by before I look into getting one.

I love the Playstation and I love Sony's products, so I'll definitely be getting one.

But not one of the first ones, that's for sure.

I'm sure not going to stand in any long lines in November to pay half a grand for a system that may or may not even be working properly six months down the road.

I'll take the "wait and see" approach first.

// apple loses to apple

2006-05-08T14:01:00.000-04:00

To follow up on a story I mentioned awhile back, The Beatles have lost the court battle with Apple Computer over the use of the name "Apple."

You can read the article above for details on the lawsuit, verdict and appeal.

On a related musical note:

Check out the cover to the latest Rolling Stone magazine if you get a chance.

It'll make you dizzy.

// 2-2

2006-05-02T18:52:00.000-04:00

Tonight, the Chicago Bulls play the Miami Heat in what will be, I think, a most pivotal game in the series.

Usually, in a seven-game series, the team that wins game 5 will win the series.

Considering the Bulls have already won 2 straight games to tie the series up, that would mean that they'd have to, in effect, win four straight games to win the series.

Can they do it?

Why, certainly.

Is it likely they'll do it?

Not really, no.

But, with a young team you just never know.

As Howard Cosell used to say, "That is why they play the game."

They'll play the game and we'll find out.

Go Bulls!

// so dark the con of man

2006-04-28T16:28:00.000-04:00

Recently, one of the Vatican's top official's asked Catholics to boycott the upcoming film, The Da Vinci Code, which is based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel.

I'll assume that most of you knew the film was due out mid-May.

I've figured the Catholic Church - and by extension many Protestant denominations - would start calling for boycotts of the film as soon as they realized it was coming out.

No surprise there.

The issue with The Da Vinci Code is that it weaves a fictional story through actual history and real events.

Not unlike the film Titanic which told a fictional tale woven through the events of an actual historical occurrence.

Of course, The Da Vinci Code strikes a more personal note because it details events and history surrounding the Catholic Church and the Bible.

Two very touchy subjects for a great many people.

The greater problem, though, is the fact that most of these people who will condemn The Da Vinci Code will not bother to do any research.

While the book does contain a great many factual "errors" - I will say I am uncertain whether or not said "errors" are indeed mistakes or just Mr. Brown taking purposeful license within his fictional work (let's remember The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction) to further his story along - the book does contain a great many truths as well.

Many people are ignorant of the facts that a simple internet search can yield them.

For instance, on pages 232 and 233 Dan Brown tells, in a conversation between main character Robert Langdon, Sophie Neveu, and Leigh Teabing that:

"'Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.'

'Transmogrification,' Langdon said. 'The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual—the miter, the altar, the doxology, and the communion, the act of 'God-eating'—were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.'

Teabing groaned. 'Don't get a symbologist started on Christian icons. nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras—called the Son of God and the Light of the World—was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. By the way, December 25 is also the birthday of Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans.'

'What do you mean?'

'Originally,' Landon said, 'Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun.' He paused, grinning. 'To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute—Sunday.'"

Is any of that true?

A simple internet search will tell you that it is.

Try Wikipedia, for instance.

On their entry under "sabbath" you will find at the very top of the article:

In Christianity, the Sabbath is a weekly religious day of rest as ordained by the fourth of the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew word ("šabbāth", שַׁבָּת) means "the [day] of rest (or ceasing)," as it entails a ceasing or resting from labor. The institution of the Sabbath was in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed the Creation in six days, (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 23:12, Exodus 31:16-17, Isaiah 56:6-8).
Originally denoting Saturday, the seventh day of the week, or, more precisely, the time period from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, the term 'sabbath' can now mean one of several things, depending on the context and the speaker:

Saturday, as originally, in reference to Jewish or historical observance;

Saturday, as above, as a day of observance for some Christian groups;

Sunday, as the day of observance for Roman Catholics and other Christian groups;

Saturday and Sunday as a day of relaxing;

So if Sabbath was originally, Biblically the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, who changed it? When did they change it? Why did they change it?

Read on in the article linked above.

Why, the Catholic Church changed it just as Mr. Brown wrote and for the reasons he wrote.

Ah, now we begin to see why some see this book - and film - as being "dangerous."

My friends, the truth is easily found and a matter of public record. It's certainly easily attainable by you from the computer and internet connection you're using to read this.

Don't let anyone fool you as to what the real truth is.

Look it up, study for yourself.

Don't take my - or anyone else's - word for it.

Believe the truth and the truth alone.

// how much is gas where you are? (again)

2006-04-27T18:28:00.000-04:00

It seems like not-so-long-ago when I was just asking this.

Of course, last summer we were facing the crises of a hurricane and this year we're facing, uhm, I don't know.

Apparently there's a hurricane somewhere because gas prices are back up to $3.00 per gallon in most places around the States.

I must've missed this hurricane in the news, though. It must've been one of those "quiet" hurricanes that sneaks into town, detroys an oil refinery, and then slips quietly back out.

At any rate, gas is $2.95 where I am.

How about you? How much are you paying per gallon at the pump?

Well have heart!

President Bush has vowed and promised to "look into" the matter for us!

After looking into it he has affirmed, indeed, gas prices are ridiculous.

Now, don't you feel better already? 8 )

What?

You're worried about an energy and/or fuel crises in America if we have a refinery, tanker, etc. loss due to another hurricane this summer?

Well fret not!

President Bush has assured us that he and FEMA are completely ready for hurricane season.

Granted, of course, that there are no hurricanes this season.

Rest easy!

President Bush is on the job, 24/7.

That's right.

He's on the job 24 hours a week, 7 months out of the year.

// the numa numa guy

2006-04-24T18:56:00.000-04:00

Probably everyone in the world has already seen this kid do his hilarious dance to the "Numa, Numa" song.

It was one of the most watched viral videos of last year (according to TIME magazine, it was the second most popular).

If you haven't seen it, I caution you before watching: once you hear it you will NEVER get that song out of your head again.

// is our president the worst ever?

2006-04-20T18:22:00.000-04:00

That's the question posed on the cover and the subject of an article in the most recent Rolling Stone magazine.

Whether he's the worst president in American history, I cannot say.

However, he's without a doubt the worst president I've ever experienced in my lifetime.

Far and away, too.

Even the notorious, "I am not a crook," President Richard Nixon (who was president during the year I was born) didn't do the damage to American politics and the American people that President Bush has done.

As writer Sean Wilentz says:

The president came to office calling himself "a uniter, not a divider" and promising to soften the acrimonious tone in Washington. He has had two enormous opportunities to fulfill those pledges: first, in the noisy aftermath of his controversial election in 2000, and, even more, after the attacks of September 11th, when the nation pulled behind him as it has supported no other president in living memory. Yet under both sets of historically unprecedented circumstances, Bush has chosen to act in ways that have left the country less united and more divided, less conciliatory and more acrimonious...

Most amazing to me is the fact that our current President shows such arrogance and such absolute contempt for any that would suggest he has made any mistakes at all.

Certainly arrogance is not a wise attitude - for any man, President or pauper - to have.

Mr. Wilentz sums this attitude up succintly as well:

Having waved away the lessons of history in the making of his decisions, the present-minded Bush doesn't seem to be concerned about his place in history. "History. We won't know," he told the journalist Bob Woodward in 2003. "We'll all be dead."

Another president once explained that the judgments of history cannot be defied or dismissed, even by a president. "Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history," said Abraham Lincoln. "We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation."

Perhaps, Mr. President, you should consider more heavily whether or not you truly wish your lasting legacy to be one of dishonor and shame.

// not ready to make nice

2006-04-17T19:25:00.000-04:00

The Dixie Chicks' new album is still on it's way; but in the meantime you can check out their new video here.

With the whole world, it seems, falling down around our ears lately, it's nice to see someone still making music about something that matters.

I will never - so long as my mental faculties remain - ever forget the incredible example these gals set for standing up for what you believe and exercising your right to free speech.

I'm glad they're back and I'm glad they've still got lots left to say. A lot.

Consider these lyrics:

It’s a sad, sad story / when a mother will teach her daughter / that she ought to hate a perfect stranger / and how in the world / can the words that I said / send somebody so over the edge / that they’d write me a letter / sayin’ that I better / shut up and sing or my life will be over.

Yea.

Welcome back, girls.

Go get 'em.

// back-to-back

2006-04-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the Chicago Bulls who today clinched a playoff spot by handing the Miami Heat a 117 to 93 whipping.

This marks the consecutive straight season the Bulls have made a playoff appearance.

Yes, that's a big deal.

Especially considering that from 1998 to 2004 the Chicago Bulls won just over a hundred games. That's with a season schedule of 82 games per year.

That's just over 20 games a season for six straight years.

In case you're wondering: Yes, that's pretty bad.

Keep in mind this year started off bad, too. The Bulls lost their starting center from a year ago, Eddie Curry.

The point, though, is that while they're a young team, they're definitely getting better. Which is why back-to-back playoff appearances is such a big deal.

A young team needs experience.

For example, Luol Deng - who scored 26 points in today's game - also just turned 21 today. Double congrats to Luol.

Now, if only they can make it out of the first round of the playoffs this year...

// pascha week

2006-04-12T17:59:00.000-04:00

With the onset of Passover week starting, I'm going to be very busy over the next seven days and I doubt many posts - if any - will find their way up until it's over.

I was planning on doing a new podcast sometime over the weekend, (I'm not exactly sure when) but I've nearly lost my voice due to a severe bout with the flu.

I have a few speaking engagements due to the Holy Day as well, so I'm trying to save my voice as much as possible for those.

If it improves, though, I definitely intend to still record and post a new podcast sometime this weekend.

We'll see how things go, I guess.

At any rate, I hope all of you who will be observing the Holy Days this year will have a meaningful and uplifting time.

// 8 weeks to go

2006-04-06T00:25:00.000-04:00

Everywhere I go it seems all people are talking about is American Idol.

By last count, some 35 million votes got cast during the last episode. That's nearly enough to account for every man, woman and child in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Twice.

If you're like me, you might be feeling like one of the only people in America who isn't following the show religiously.

Get your "Vote for Kellie Pickler" T-Shirts here!

People babble on incessantly about how "Kevin" made it farther than they expected or speculate on how far "Bucky" is going.

For folks like myself, who aren't wrapped up in this whole American Idol obsession, it just sounds like gibberish to us.

Download Kellie Pickler ringtones here!

Maybe there should be some sort of handbook or something to help people like me understand what it is that's actually being said in these conversations?

Is it really necessary that I know who "Mandisa" is in order to be part of the conversations at lunch and around the water cooler?

I can't help but feel a bit of an outcast for not being into the whole American Idol thing this year.

Get videos of Kellie Pickler's American Idol performances here!

Usually, I'm a pretty hip cat. At least I like to think that. I think most of the time I've got my finger on the pulse of whatever it is that's going on in America.

I try to stay informed.

But this time this whole American Idol business just has me lost. I have no clue what's going on.

Get fashion tips on Kellie Pickler's look and dress just like an Idol here!

I guess I just don't get it.

But whatever, I'm not going to worry about it.

In eight more weeks it'll all be over and the world will go back to normal.

Eight more weeks.

*Sigh*

Author's note: Kellie Pickler was abandoned at the age of 3. If you do not vote for her on American Idol it is quite possible the bad karma that you will earn for that single, heartless act will follow you from this life into whatever next life awaits you.

// how much worse will it get?

2006-04-05T18:41:00.000-04:00

Just how corrupt is Washington, anyway?

After months and months of the absolute stomach-turning news of the behavior of government officials in the capital, now comes this:

Deputy press secretary for the United States Department of Homeland Security Brian Doyle is arrested for soliciting a 14 year old girl online.

Thankfully it wasn't an actual child. Instead, it was an undercover officer acting as part of a sting operation.

Most of you remember the Homeland Security department was created and staffed a few years ago, after the events of 9/11, by President Bush to counter terrorism here on American soil.

Now, as it turns out, Americans need protecting from the Department of Homeland Defense.

Pathetic.

Disgusting.

I can't think of an adjective bad enough to describe my feelings of absolute disgust right now. Not only with this particular situation but the state of politics on Capital Hill in general.

I'm absolutely sick of reading about the wanton greed and rampant criminal activity going on in Washington by people who are supposed to be acting on behalf of the American people.

"By the people, for the people."

To say I'm outraged is putting it mildly, in the least.

// the greatest artist ever

2006-04-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

It's spring time.

Finally.

My Dad said something yesterday that really got me to thinking in a way that I had never looked at before in exactly the way he mentioned it.

He said, "God is the greatest artist of all-time."

Not to be too preachy, but I'm sure most of you (regardless of your particular beliefs) can appreciate the thought, too.

When one typically thinks or considers great artists in history one will most often think of the works of the classic Renaissance era. The great masters like Michelangelo, Da Vinci or Raphael.

Or perhaps the great Impressionist artist Claude Monet or the works of the remarkable Rembrandt.

In the book of Isaiah God reminds us that:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways...

When you consider the work of our hands and all the greatest works of art we have ever been able to produce; they truly pale in comparison to the beauty of nature and the world around us.

While we have produced beautiful and splendid works, the creations of God are unfathomably higher in beauty and splendor than anything humanly possible.

Spring time is certainly one of the best examples of this.

It has been pointed out many times that when you closely examine the works of man under a magnifying lens of scrutiny their imperfections become apparent. There are cracks in the plaster or missed or mistaken brush strokes.

However, take the time to examine a budding flower this Spring, or the wings of a butterfly and you'll see that - even under the closest scrutiny - not only is their perfection still evident, but greater and greater complex patterns of creativity can be seen. Layer upon layer of created beauty becomes more and more apparent the closer, deeper and farther your examination goes.

It's nothing new, saying that God is the greatest creator, of course. It's nothing new calling Him the greatest artist, either.

But I just had never really thought of it in the way my Dad mentioned it.

It's definitely something to think about while I'm enjoying the beautiful weather and blossoming beauty of Spring time.

I hope all of you are having and enjoying the beautiful weather of Spring, too.

// apple cake

2006-04-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

It looks like Apple won't be doing anything special for their 30th anniversary after all.

Never fear, though.

The guys over at Joy of Tech have baked their own cake in the shape of the very first Apple computer!

They even share the recipe and step-by-step, illustrated instructions for you to make your own.

I say "you" because I can't boil water, let alone bake a cake.

I'll just blow out a candle atop a Reese's Cup or something.

// happy 30th

2006-03-31T23:52:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of Apple Computer.

Founded on April Fool's Day, the company has gone on to revolutionize not only the computer industry but the entire world.

Everyone's wondering what Apple will do tomorrow for this special anniversary, and so far nothing has surfaced. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

At any rate, happy anniversary Apple.

// where do you get your news?

2006-03-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

Have you ever considered where you get your news from?

How reliable is it?

How trustworthy is it?

Practically every town in America has a local newspaper and/or TV station that touts itself with the tagline, "News that you can trust."

But what about you and I, though?

Can we - should we - really trust any one, single source for all our news?

I don't know about you, but I prefer to get my news from several sources in order to get all the angles on a story.

I mostly get my news from the internet, too. I prefer not to hear or see commentary during the news.

If I want someone's opinion, I'll seek it out. I prefer to get the news without opinion. Then, once I have it, I can seek out opinions to see what others think about the same story.

I'm not suggesting my method is full-proof, but I much prefer it to just listening to the same radio station on the way to work or watching the same news channel every night or reading the same paper or website.

I guess the crux of the matter is in doing your best to get unbiased, unprejudiced information. Amazingly, that's not as easy as it sounds. In fact, it gets harder, I think, all the time.

Here is a paradox that's interesting enough to consider: in the 21st century, during the height of the "Information Age" where so much information is available to us and so easily; it's become just as easy - if not easier - to get the wrong information as it is to get the right.

// an alarming statistic

2006-03-29T18:42:00.000-05:00

The new Rolling Stone is the most recent of many news sources to report on the Zogby poll of U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq.

If you haven't heard, then you might want to sit down before you read this.

Ready?

According to the poll, "almost 90% think (the) war is retaliation for Sadaam (Hussein's) role in 9/11."

?????????????????????????????????

I'm speechless.

And folks, that does not happen often.

// the horse

2006-03-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

Who loves horses?

I know I do.

Ya know, besides a human, I believe the horse is the most beautiful living creation on Earth.

I've long been fascinated with them. I wish we lived in a society today which still utilized the horse as a means of travel. It'd sure beat giving all our money to the gasoline companies, huh?

Anyway, read Wikipedia's excellent entry on the horse. It's history, it's importance, etc.

Imagine where we'd be today without the enormeous contribution the horse has made to the progress of civilization and for mankind.

Throughout our history, as man has struggled to build cities and homes, lower forests and raise steel, mine and trade and on and on - it has been these beautiful, noble beasts that worked alongside us to allow us to reach the goals and destinations we sought after.

We owe them a lot.

And I, for one, certainly love horses.

// ads by google

2006-03-26T15:47:00.000-05:00

I find the Google ads helpful, so I've decided to include them on my blogs.

If you think they get in the way, or are more intrusive than helpful, just let me know. I can always 86 them later on.

I've found that I use them a lot on other sites. Since I write so often about things you can check out for yourself, it'll save me a step posting that information for people who might want to go searching for whatever book, movie, cd, etc. I happen to be talking about in any particular post.

There is an approval process, however. Because of that, I don't think the ads will be showing up for at least a few more days.

For now there's just a generic type advertisment.

We'll see how it works out.

// buck owens - 8.12.1929 to 3.25.2006

2006-03-26T11:46:00.000-05:00

You probably have already heard that Buck Owens passed away yesterday at the age of 76.

A famed country music singer with many #1 hits, Buck was popular for several reasons. Not least of which was his preference to record outside of Nashville, TN. He was deemed somewhat of a "rebel" for his refusal to record in Nashville (practically a slap in the face to the tradition of country music) and his heavy use of electric guitars.

Buck "bucked" a lot of trends, that's for sure.

A lot of people remember Buck solely from hosting Hee-Haw, but I think of those years more of his capitalizing on his success than anything else. Buck was a hit with fans because of his music, not because of Hee-Haw. Hee-Haw came as a result of his success, it was not the source of it.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Buck has been long retired. He left a large legacy, though, and a lasting impression on those familar with his music.

He will definitely be missed by many.

// brokeback was not so broke

2006-03-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

Actor Randy Quaid is suing the producers of Brokeback Mountain for 10 million dollars.

Randy claims the director, Ang Lee, told him the movie was a small, independent art film without much money in order to get him to sign on and agree to a small wage.

As it turns out, of course, the film had major studio backing and a giant publicity push once it was released.

If it's true, I can't say I blame Randy for being so upset about being misled.

I, too, would be upset for being made into the ironic punch line of a joke because of this film's producers.

There was a lot of talk about gay cowboys because of this film. All of which were only pretending, of course.

As it turns out, the only person who actually got screwed on this film was Randy Quaid.

// chiweenie

2006-03-24T19:55:00.000-05:00

Have y'all seen this breed of dog, yet?

It's called a Chiweenie.

Part Chihuahua, part Daschund (the "weiner" dogs).

Weird, huh?

Supposedly the elongated body of the Daschund is prone to back problems and this breed solves that problem.

The floppy ears of a Daschund on a Chihuahua look strange, though.

Cute, but strange.

That dog looks awfully tiny, too. I was wondering if my dog was ever that small and then I found this picture:

Apparently so.

I also found this picture, taken more recently, if you've ever wondered what a Chihuahua looks like up close.

Up really close:

BTW, the fat gut protruding so prominently in that photo is not mine. I use a stunt double for all photography.

// windows delayed. again

2006-03-24T16:08:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard, Micro$oft officially announced they are delaying their new operating system, Windows Vista, until 2007.

Reports streaming now out of Micro$oft HQ in Redmond, Seattle are claiming that 60% of the code - sixty percent! - will need to be re-written before Vista is actually a finished product.

I wouldn't bet any money that it'll come out in 2007, either.

Enjoy Windows XP, folks. You're gonna be stuck with it for awhile.

// wvu

2006-03-24T00:14:00.000-05:00

Man, what a tough loss tonight for WVU in the NCAA tournament.

Most of you will know that I went to school in West Virginia (although not to WVU) and it's quite an achievement for a little state like WV to make it all the way to the "sweet 16" round of the big NCAA tournament.

But what a tough loss.

They fought all the way back from being down 14 points to tie the game.

Then, with only 14 seconds left they were down by three points. Kevin Pittsnogle hit a big three point shot to tie the game with five seconds.

Overtime, right?

Wrong.

Texas goes the length of the floor in five seconds, hoists a three, splash.

Texas 74, West Virginia 71.

Great win for Texas.

Heartbreaker for West Virginia.

That's the way the NCAA tournament goes, though. One day you're on cloud 9, the next you're in misery.

Gotta love it.

My money's still on UConn to win it all.

// american idol

2006-03-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

Are y'all watching the new season of American Idol?

Ya know, I'm ready to be flamed, but pardon me if I have to object to the entire premise of a show like American Idol.

Here's a show who says, "Pick one. Doesn't matter which one. Just pick one. 'Cuz whichever one you pick, we're going to cram down your throat thru the radio waves, music videos, CDs etc. etc. until you love them. They're going to be the next American idol because you chose 'em and we say so....now choose!"

Yea, well, screw you. I ain't pickin' no one. Most of those losers I wouldn't pick if they were my own nose.

I don't hate American Idol, so please no comments calling me "a hater."

I just object to the absolute profound silliness of a TV show based on me picking the next person I wish to be force-fed a daily dose of until I'm ready to scream.

American Idol.

How lame.

P.S. I hope Kellie Pickler wins.

// miyazaki month

2006-03-19T05:43:00.000-05:00

I most recently wrote a review for Howl's Moving Castle over on my companion blog. You can click over to it from any of the links on this page.

In that review I talked about the wonderful creator Hayao Miyazaki.

It recently was brought to my attention, however, that Cartoon Network is actually doing a special on Hayao Miyazaki. They will be airing one of his movies every Saturday night for the next four weeks.

This weekend they aired the Academy Award winning, Spirited Away.

If you're unfamilar with Miyazaki-san's work, this is a really great way to familarize yourself with it. It's unfortunate that most outside of Japan are unaware of what a brilliant creator he is.

Spirited Away, for instance, Miyazaki-san's 2001 feature film made over $200 million dollars in Japan. It was the biggest-grossing film ever for them. It's the only film to have ever made so much money before even being released here in America.

He is most often compared to Walt Disney. But all fans know - and Miyazaki-san himself eschews the comparison - that while Walt Disney was a studio mogul building an empire, Miyazaki-san is a creator, an animator, an artist first and foremost.

Again, if you're unfamilar with the magic of his movies, you really owe it to your imagination to tune in on the next few Saturday nights and see them for yourself.

A couple of thoughts, though, for those who would be seeing Miyazaki-san's work for the first time:

Keep in mind this isn't Disney. Miyazaki-san's work, while animation, sometimes approaches levels and themes that "cartoons" do not. Especially not Disney cartoons.

Disney often times talks down to it's audience, even when that audience is six years old.

Miyazaki-san does not talk down to his audience. It's something to keep in mind, if you're watching with very young children, that they are not accustomed to seeing animated creations cry, hurt, die, etc. Therefore if you plan to watch with children, be aware that the themes sometimes are grown up and may require some explaining on your part.

I'm talking about "grown up" in an emotional sense. Imagine the beginning of Finding Nemo, if you will, where it's hard to explain to a small child why Marlin's wife just got eaten by a bigger fish.

Don't misinterpret "grown up" to mean adult, provocative or scintillating. Most of Miyazaki-san's movies are G rated and only a few carry PG ratings.

However, the most evident example of Miyazaki-san's most "grown up" film happens to be this week's movie, Princess Mononoke. I felt a word of caution would be wise.

It's an emotionally stirring film of the sort that really young children probably can't understand. A word of caution to parents and babysitters out there if you plan to tune in with small children.

That said, Princess Mononoke is by far and away my favorite Miyazaki-san movie. Well, maybe not far and away. I like Howl's Moving Castle a lot, too.

Princess Mononoke leads me to my second and last point here before turning you loose to enjoy these films:

We, in America and in the West in general, have a tendency to always view things very black and white. Good and evil. Good and bad. Etc.

Most of our movies, from the dawn of the "talkies" back in the 1920's right up to today feature mostly good guys and bad guys.

The lines of good and evil are clearly drawn.

Why was the Wicked Witch of the West evil? It doesn't matter, she just was. Her motivation for being wicked was never, ever explained. You never needed to know. All you needed to know was that she was evil.

However, the Japanese - and Miyazaki-san in particular - do not approach such themes in such ways.

Miyazaki-san explores an issue - environmentalism, conservatism, war, peace, etc. - from various angles with sundry characters and rarely appoints "good guys" and "bad guys" on either side.

Often this approach to story telling will lead the misunderstood to be confused on who to side with in the picture. Which side to pull for.

A Hollywood film would simply take a movie about war - for instance - and appoint one man a glowing patriot of peace and another a gluttonous war-monger and we'd all know who to root for and who to hate.

Again, this sort of talking down to the audience is foreign to Miyazaki-san's movies.

Very often, in Miyazaki-san's films, one will find themselves "seeing the side" of the antagonist. Understanding the point of view of the fox as well as the hound, so to speak. This understanding of the antagonist's side of the story, as well as understanding the hero's side, is something that often leads others to leave the experience more confused than enlightened.

Which also reminds me of the point that the parents who object to these films have. They prefer to tell their children what issues are "good" and which are "bad." They do not want them to see a film that teaches them sympathy for those who are on the "bad" side of the equation. If you teach your kids that "tree huggers are what's wrong with this country" then you certainly don't want them seeing a film that generates sympathy for "tree huggers."

Of course, if we choose to not show our kids anything that might possibly teach them something we don't agree with then we're left with only one option - to show them things that don't teach them anything.

Then we wonder why the worldwide perception of Americans is that we're stupid.

However, I digress.

It's just an excellent idea to keep in mind then, as you enjoy these films for the first time, to abandon any predisposition you have been taught by American film that all movies have a "good guy" and a "bad guy" and simply realize that everyone has motivation for acting how they do.

Which is why, in the realm of religion, it is recognized that redemption - forgiveness - is always an option for those who turn from "bad" actions to "good" actions.

We're not "good" and "bad" per se; we all just have to make choices that sometimes are good and sometimes bad.

I will not be the first to point out that while Miyazaki-san works in animation, his characters are far, far greater representations of real humans - with real human emotions and motivations - than most of the films starring real people produced by Hollywood studios.

They may be animated characters, but they are no caricatures.

Things are rarely - rarely - as black and white as Hollywood makes them out to be.

Keep that in mind and enjoy - above all else, enjoy - the opportunity to see and hear imaginings from a rare artist. A brilliant creator. A master story teller.

I hope all of you who watch will love and enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's work as much as I do.

// the break-up

2006-03-18T10:42:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen this already, then you want to. You really, really want to.

Vince Vaughn looks like he's representin' some prime time gaming in this one, too.

Madden, Grand Theft Auto.

Oh yea.

I'm looking forward to it.

// very much alive, thank you

2006-03-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

If you happened to hear the rumor; it's not true.

Will Ferrell (that's Ferrell, not Farrell) is not dead.

// 1000 Songs

2006-03-17T02:21:00.000-05:00

Cool new ad.

// iron head

2006-03-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

When he was with the Atlanta Falcons, Craig "Iron Head" Heyward was notorious for running over people rather than around them.

His nickname was a play on his rather oversized head. He reportedly required one of the largest helmets in NFL history. Lifting Heyward's helmet was like picking up a metal bucket. Hence the nickname, "Iron Head."

Heyward was often mentioned as being a true "gentle giant" with an excellent sense of humor. Some of you may recall his funny commercials for Zest body wash back in the 90's.

In 1998 Craig complained of blurred vision and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

As is often the case, life has a way of reminding us of the mortality of our heroes - Craig's "Iron" head was just as frail as the rest of ours.

After undergoing what was then a successful surgery to remove the tumor, it seems now that Heyward's brain tumor has returned.

Being one of my favorite NFL players, naturally my heart and prayers go out to him and his family. Craig's only 39 years old and has three sons.

I can only hope and pray for the best for Craig.

Hang in there, buddy. We're all still cheering for you.

// happy birthday, chuck

2006-03-10T17:24:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of a true American legend: Chuck Norris.

Or - as some are referring to it - "Chuckmas."

Please, no commenting questions on how to observe Chuckmas. I have no idea. I guess you roundhouse a friend or loved one in the face or something. I dunno.

But I digress.

By now most of you are familar with the internet popularity of Mr. Norris as of late.

Now, today is a special day and so I don't want to make any silly jokes or comments. I just want to wish Chuck a "Happy Birthday" and say I really appreciate someone who can take all of this silliness in stride.

This is a quote taken from Chuck's website about the whole "Chuck Norris Phenomenon" on the internet:

"I'm aware of the made up declarations about me that have recently begun to appear on the Internet and in emails as "Chuck Norris facts." I've seen some of them. Some are funny. Some are pretty far out. Being more a student of the Wild West than the wild world of the Internet, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It's quite surprising. I do know that boys will be boys, and I neither take offense nor take these things too seriously."

And so, amongst many, many other things, we find Chuck Norris is also a great sport when it comes to joking around.

Happy birthday, Chuck!

Try not to kill anyone today.

(Okay, I couldn't help it. Just one)

// talk about a waste of time

2006-03-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton is again trying to reform videogames as she and Joe Lieberman (who first started attacking gaming nearly 20 years ago) are proposing the CDC investigate games.

This is really starting to get old with me.

If this is the best Hillary Clinton can do to impress voters then she's in bad, bad shape.

There's already a rating system - and has been one for a decade now! - on videogames. They're rated just like movies are.

It's already illegal to sell mature rated games to children.

It's already easy for a parent to pick up a videogame and know what content it has in it. The rating is on the box just like it is on a DVD. Or a movie poster. It's just as simple and easy for a parent to know what a game is rated and what content it contains as it is for them to know what a movie is rated before letting their child watch it.

So what do Clinton and Liberman hope to accomplish besides wasting tax dollars?

Absolutely nothing.

It's just a ploy to make voters think they're interested in America's youth. Wholesome values. All that stuff Republicans say Democrats don't care about.

They're just isolating videogaming and attacking it as unwholesome because they can't go after motion pictures or music.

Which is pretty sad and desperate when you get right down to it. Again, if this is the only trick up Hillary Clinton's sleeve to run for higher office she is in desperate straits, indeed.

I suggest she and Liberman give this up already and back off gaming.

How about the Democratic party finding something worthwhile to work on? I mean, do they not have enough to do with the War in Iraq, Iran building nuclear weapons, sky rocketing utility prices, sky rocketing gasoline prices, the polar ice caps melting and rebuilding the city of New Orleans? Is it really more important to worry to worry about who's playing Grand Theft Auto?

Give me a freaken break.

// oscar night

2006-03-05T23:27:00.000-05:00

If you watched the Oscars tonight then you know all of the winners.

If not, you can hit the website to check out the lists of who won and who didn't.

My comment on the show is that this was one of the better shows I've seen in years.

Surprisingly so, too. I really wasn't expecting much. Let's face it, 2005 wasn't exactly a stellar year for movies. The box office totals for last year - being one of the lowest ever - certainly goes a long to way to attest to that fact. There wasn't any real grand slam hits out there.

But, all that went to make this year's Oscar field a really competitive race. As such, the show was really interesting to watch all the way through because you never knew who was going to win.

I wanna mention, too, that Jon Stewart did an awesome job as host. I really thought he was outstanding. Maybe he should host more often.

I'll only mention one of my favorites, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

A couple of the more interesting moments - live TV always has a few - was the misspelling of Will Ferrell's name before he came onstage to present (note to the guy in the graphics booth: it's Ferrell not Farrell) and Jennifer Garner who almost face planted by tripping on her dress on the way to the lectern.

Yikes.

I guess all that stunt training for Daredevil and Electra paid off.

All-in-all, it was a great show. I hope everyone who tuned in enjoyed it. I know I did.

// 300

2006-03-01T18:44:00.000-05:00

I just learned last night that Warner Bros. is adapting Frank Miller's 300 into a major motion picture.

Here's a link to the website.

Frank's story was a re-telling of the classic battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartan soldiers withstood a Persian army that numbered over a quarter of a million men. In spite of being out-numbered by nearly ten thousand to one, the Spartan force withstood the Persians for three consecutive days!

The event turned the tides of human history, allowing the Greeks time to flee further north, regroup, and eventually win the war that paved the way for the world's first democracy.

It's a most incredible story.

If you're unfamilar with the event, you can read about it here at Wikipedia.

If it's being given the loving attention to detail that it deserves, it should be one heckuva movie.

PS - Scroll all the way down to see a new banner I just added to the blog.

// website of the week

2006-02-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

Ricky Bobby.com

You know you can't wait to see this one.

// brrr-ringing in march

2006-02-27T01:07:00.000-05:00

I'm sick of winter!

Let's have some sunshine already, some heat, I'm sick of freezing and being cold all the time!

Why does it have to wait till February to get so cold?

It's almost March, let's get with it, flip the switch on some sun, sun, shine! 8 )

On a lighter note, from this month's Mad magazine is a list of celebrity combo names that are yet to come. Ya know the deal, Bennifer, Tomcat, here's a few to look out for in the fewtch:

Kevin Smith & Lara Flynn Boyle = "Kevlar"

Carmen Electra & Mel Gibson = "Carmel"

Penn Jillette & Gwen Stefani = "Penngwen"

Salma Hayek & Nelly = "Salmanelly"

And my personal favorite:

Ashlee Simpson & Trey Parker = "Ashtrey"

// re 4

2006-02-24T14:49:00.000-05:00

I been slowly working my way through the latest Resident Evil game.

Is there some unwritten rule somewhere that says that every villain in every story or movie must have impeccable manners while the hero gets to have the worst possible combined with a mouth he should be ashamed to kiss his mother with?

"I see you made it nicely through that last trap, Mr. Kennedy. Your skills are impressive indeed. I am truly amazed by your ability and intelligence."

"Hey! *#$% you, you @#*%'ing @#$! I hope you #&$*ing die, you piece of $*&#!"

"Well, I do hope you find my next obstacle as challenging as the last. Now, if you'll please excuse me, Mr. Kennedy, I have other pressing matters to attend to. Until next time, farewell."

"#$^@ you, you sick @#$%! The next time I'll kill you and your whole #$%^ing family!"

What is up with that, yo?

// simply misunderstood

2006-02-23T03:50:00.000-05:00

Ya know, for the longest time now people have had the wrong impression of me.

A lot of folks think I'm an underachiever. That I have little or no goals. That I'm not ambitious enough.

But honestly, none of those things are true of me.

If there's one thing I can really tell all the kids in school out there it's this: be sure you know whatever it is you want to be when you grow up is truly attainable.

And by that I don't mean don't set your goals high or dream big. If you really wanna be a movie star when you grow up, then there's nothing wrong with setting that goal.

What I mean is make sure whatever it is you wanna be when you grow up is really a job. Really an occupation.

This is where I went wrong and messed up: I wanted to be Spider-Man when I grew up.

Now, I dunno how many of you have looked in your local paper or contacted your local job agency to find if there are any openings for Spider-Man; but I assure you there are none.

And sure people laugh and say, "You can't be Spider-Man." But is that my fault? Or rather is it the fault of society that no one is hiring for Spider-Man? Maybe if someone was hiring Spider-Man there'd be more jobs for people like me to truly excel at?

Now, I'm just spit-ballin' here; but I think if you really consider what I'm saying you'll see what I'm getting at.

Of course, there is actually one job opening for Spider-Man.

But Tobey Maguire already got the job.

That lucky stiff...

// hola

2006-02-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dog.

Isn't it great?

Doesn't it just reach out and say, "Hola. I am so very, very...how you say?...the sexy." 8 )

// die pop-up, die

2006-02-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on getting that pop-up ad eliminated.

The thing works most mysteriously. Sometimes it shows up, sometimes it doesn't. Plus, as most of you know, my secondary blog has the exact same layout as this one and the ad doesn't appear there. Only here. It's quite confuzzling.

Anyway, thanks to some help from Blogger's Help Group, I hope I've managed to nail down the source of where it was coming from.

Apparently one of the links I had here was activating it.

Which one?

I'm not sure.

To be safe, I deleted most of the ones I suspected. You can look around the page and notice a few things are gone.

Also, I appreciate those of you who left comments. It's good that you have pop-up blockers (I do as well).

The rest of the internet should be as savvy. Unfortunately, a lot of people do surf without pop-up blockers. If you use Internet Explorer (and 96% of people online do) and you don't manually install a pop-up blocker, then you're surfing into those things all the time. I certainly don't want anyone to find their way here and think, "oh there's pop-ups here, I'm not coming back."

Whatever the problem, I'll get to the bottom of it eventually - if I haven't already.

// demanding freedom from pop-up ads

2006-02-19T15:48:00.000-05:00

Somehow a nasty pop-up ad attatched itself to my blog. Some of you may have noticed when you came to the site that a pop-up ad appeared.

I have no idea how it happened.

I notified Google of the problem and, even though they haven't gotten back to me, I have noticed that the ad seems to be gone.

Pop-up ads have to be one of the most annoying things ever invented on the internet.

One thing I absolutely demand of Blogger is that they keep the pop-up ads away. If the problem would or should persist I'll just have to take my blogging elsewhere.

As would a great many people, I'm sure.

I don't know anyone who actually likes pop-up ads.

However, we weathered the storm of the goofy spam commenting until Blogger fixed that with the word verification system.

Hopefully this is just another bump along the road.

// what a crazy idea

2006-02-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

This writer has obviously lost his mind.

Getting guys to quit speaking in movie quotes?

Dream on.

I've reminisced about this in the past, so I won't bother to repeat it all again here.

Needless to say, guys and movie quotes just go together. It's what we do.

I can't say for sure, I haven't gotten any emails about it or anything, but I'm quite certain this little article has gotten Mr. Ryan Schneider (the writer of the article) kicked right out of The Guy Club.

Guys quote movies, Ryan.

"Ryan."

Maybe that explains all right there?

// welcome to blogger, kally

2006-02-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

A quick post to mention a friend who's started a new blog.

When you get the chance, jump over and say "Hi!" to Kally.

I've known her since she was about - oh - yay big. As you can tell from just her first couple of posts, she's a very creative person.

She used to have her own webpage (dunno if she still does) that had a lot of great stuff on it. She's got a real knack for web design and will probably be customizing that blog to reflect her personality more and more as time goes by.

So stop by and tell her hello and be sure to add her to the list of blogs you already read. She's a Canuck! I don't think we have a Canuck in our little Blogger community, do we?

Well, now we do.

Welcome to Blogger, Kally.

***Update***

Kally pointed out to me that her webpage is still very much alive and active and she posted the link to it on her blog already. Last night, even. Oops. My apologies, Kally.

// snowed in

2006-02-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

S'funny how some places can operate just fine in winter weather conditions and others can't.

I live in one of those places that obviously can't.

I believe the city/county only owns one snow scraper and whenever it snows someone has forgotten to get gas for it, make sure it'd start - or something.

I can't complain too much though. It's nice to have a Monday off. Of course, it'd be nicer to have a Monday off with clear roads so I could actually go somewhere.

Oh well.

Maybe it'll quit snowing at least so later today I can get out.

// your birthday

2006-02-12T01:51:00.000-05:00

Athen posted this on his blog. It's pretty neat. Try your birthday and see what you find.

***Image deleted by Me***

// thanks

2006-02-11T15:55:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to thank everyone for wishing me a happy birthday.

Thank you all for taking a moment to think of me, it really added to my day.

Although, I don't recall mentioning that it was my birthday lol - not sure how that got out. I usually don't make a big deal outta it, I mean, I'm just another year older. No big deal.

It is considerably better than the alternative, though =)

But seriously, thank you all for leaving the well wishes.

// music's biggest night

2006-02-08T20:38:00.000-05:00

Enjoy the Grammys.

// out today

2006-02-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

I wrote a review for this movie back in November and I just wanted to mention that it's out today on DVD.

If you get the chance to see it, take it; it's a great movie.

Man, it seems like these things come out quicker and quicker anymore on DVD doesn't it?

Like, one week they're in theatres, and the next they're on store shelves.

It's enough to makes one wonder if perhaps at some point in the future Hollywood doesn't ignore theatrical releases altogether and just go straight to the DVD shelves.

I wonder; but I doubt it.

If nothing else, it's at least a way to generate revenue for a film twice. If you cut out the first one, the box-office, then in effect you're damaging your own sales.

I guess as long as the box-office provides money it'll stay around.

Which is good.

Don't get me wrong, I love DVD and I love my widescreen TV with surround sound and the ability to enjoy a movie at home rather than at the theatre.

But I also like the theatre.

At least until Sony releases a TV that big that I can get into my living room.

// the presidential sweets

2006-02-06T23:59:00.000-05:00

This month's MAD® magazine has a list of President Bush's Valentine candy hearts:

"Be my Valentine or the terrorists win."

"You're either with me or against me."

"Your love: Bring it on."

"You've breached the levees of my heart."

"Be my crony."

"I'm George W. Bush and I approve this Valentine message."

And my personal favorite:

"Don't misunderestimate my love."

// super bowl? more like super blew

2006-02-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

What a crummy Super Bowl.

If you didn't watch it or don't know who won - for starters, what planet do you live on? And secondly, I'm not going to complain about who won or who lost or even mention it.

It doesn't matter.

It was a sorry game. All the way around.

Both quarterbacks played like crap. Between them they mustered three interceptions and only one...one touchdown.

Neither running back for either team managed 100 yards and only one of them had a touchdown.

The game only had two plays. That was it, basically. The entire game was decided by two plays. Two good plays, that is. If you want to count all the mistakes, well then heck, there was a bunch of them.

It was, by far, the worst game I've ever seen in the Super Bowl.

For that matter, it was one of the worst games I ever seen, period. I've watched preseason games with more excitement and fewer mistakes.

Super Bowl "Extra Large" turned out to be Super Bowl "Extra Lame."

// movies of the year

2006-02-05T01:24:00.000-05:00

If the Oscar nominations eluded you when they were released, then this page has all you need to know.

One of my personal favorites from 2005, Walk the Line, (see the page above for more info) didn't get a Best Picture nod, but both lead actors did.

Should be an interesting evening this year.

I can't wait to hear from "conservative America" if Brokeback Mountain wins Best Picture.