Tuesday

Take me back Tuesday from the Music Memiors

Are there any bands that you like now that you didn't like when you first heard them?
R.E.M. is a big one. Yes - I sorta liked them, but really enjoy them now.
I'm still waiting for that to happen with Elvis Costello and U2. I only like 4 or 5 songs from either one, and keep trying to grok why people love those bands, maybe someday I'll understand (sorry bout that Music Mistress).

What bands that don't record anymore do you miss the most?
Queen, obviously.
Ebn-Ozn - I'd have loved to hear more from them.
Devo - Devo 2.0 is okay, but not like the original.
Damn Yankees - I love Shaw/Blades, but wouldn't mind hearing more stuff with Ted.
Brian May (it has been years since his last album).


Did you ever buy an album by an artist you didn't necessarily like but because everyone else had a copy, you had to as well. If so, what was it.
Thriller. Then I ended up really liking everything on it, and became something of a Mike Jackson fan.

TV shows I like

Inspired by a post on Average Joe Blogger (his about movies) I decided to write about the TV shows I watch (on DVD mostly) that are currently running.

The Shield
The most intense show I've ever seen. Watching Vic Mackie dig himself deeper into a huge hole, but doing so because he wants to protect innocents. Tragic hero, anti-hero or villain? The cases that everyone in the show have to deal with are very powerful (just watched one about a 12 year old who killed someone). And the cast is amazing, with season long runs from Glenn Close and Forrest Whitaker. Not for the faint of heart, but very very good.

Battlestar Galactica
Almost as intense as the Shield in first season, but second season dropped off a bit (haven't yet seen season three, but by buzz it is a small step down again). Not the original (which I love for it's own reasons) but a very tense and taut drama. I like most of the characters. Great Stories. Won a Peabody award.

Monk
I generally don't like episodic TV, preferring serial, but this show is just too good. I've always love the Sherlock Holmes kind of detective work, and this fills that need. And Tony Shalhoub is so funny with all the little problems. Both assistants have been great.

Heroes
The best treatment of Superpowers ever on TV, and better than most movies. Every character had their own story, and watching how all those individual stories came together as the season progressed was amazing. With little hints leading to deep conspiracies, the show just got better and better. And it hit a number of classic comic book bits, notably Days of Future Past, and The Watchmen. And the way Bennett was handled, moving from villain to sympathetic villain, to hero, as we better understood his motivations. It's first season is possible the single greatest season in television history.

24
What can be said about this that hasn't been said. Intense, and powerful, a 24 hour action movie on TV. It helps to watch it on DVD. :) Yeah the gimmick is sort of silly, but it works nonetheless. Jack is a true action hero, and a total badass. And a couple of Random Jack Bauer facts:
The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times. They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street. No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.
If Jack Bauer had been a Spartan the movie would have been called "1".
When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.

Dead Zone
I've never seen precog/retrocog/object reading handled so well in any medium. Very well done, and amazing show. The Overplot with Stilson has been great (and I understand that it is resolved in season 6), I love the characters, and stories are very good.

Stargate Atlantis
A spin off from SG-1, and is better than it's progenitor. Great characters, great stories, and a grand mythos to work from. It's had some cast shake ups but by the end of season 3, I've enjoyed every character that has come on, and like many of the recurring characters - you know it will be an intense and good episode when the Genaii show up. I can't wait for the new season so that we get to see more of Carter, whose reproductive organs are on the inside, not the outside.

I've got a job.. well actually I have two

Recently the wife and I were looking at things, and decided that we want to do something special for our 20th anniversary in little under two years. We also decided I needed to get out more - I've been working in the home for 2 years, and it is sedentary, and has no real social aspect.

So in the last few weeks I have been looking for a second job - one that I could do 16 or 20 hours a week, and earn some extra money*. So I sent off a number of applications early last week. One of them was an online Ap that I filled out on a Thursday. On Saturday I was in the store I had applied to, and saw the manager, and talked to her. I have 12 years retail experience, half in management. I would seem overqualified for what I was applying for so I wanted to let her know, to be aware. We chatted for about 10 minutes, and she said she'd keep her eye out.

So I get a call Monday from another place for an interview on Fri (Today). So I go into that one, and I feel I really nailed it, that the job was mine. Then I call the manager I chatted with, and talked to her, and she had forwarded my app on to another manager who needed good help more than she did (and I wanted this job much more than the other one I interviewed). The second manager called me, and I drove on down and we chatted. The first manager had already run my background check, and considered our chat in the aisle a first interview.

I was hired today.

So in less than two weeks - three apps out, two places interview, one new job.

I have really strong credentials for the kind of jobs I was applying at, and I figured I would be hired right away. It is very heartening to see that I was right. Very nice for the ego.

Another thing that was pretty cool - because this is an extra job for extra fun money, I had no pressure. If they couldn't do what I wanted, I could turn them down.

So now I have a part time job at Blockbusters. :) Pretty cool for a movie geek like myself.

* Plus I have way to many DVDs I want to buy. :)

Friday strikes again

First the Feast:

Appetizer
Describe a toy you remember from your childhood.
The Monster Machine, or Monster creator or something like that. You had little molds you poured this plastic goop into, then fired up the machine and baked them. Then you pulled out the really hot molds, let them cool, and viola you have a little toy monster. The smell of a brand new shower curtain smells like they did.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you?
6 or 7. I tend to notice things.

Salad
Where would you rather be at this very moment?
Right where I am, but doing stuff besides work at my computer. :)

Main Course
When was the last time you learned something new?
Yesterday. I tend to hit Wikipedia, and look for new stuff on a daily basis.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have ____________ but I haven’t ____________.
Lots of books/read them all.

Then the Music:

Top 5 Nighttime songs (songs about evening or things related to the evening)

I love the Night - Chris Deburgh - Loving the very nature of what night brings.
"I love the night / I Love the night/ I love the element of danger and the ecstasy of flight"


In the Air Tonight - Phil & Genesis. - Anticipating something bad at night.
"You can feel it coming in the air tonight, hold on"

I love a Rainy night - Eddie Rabbit - Joy of rain and night.
"I love a rainy night, I love to hear the thunder/ watch the lightning when it lights up the sky"

Just get me through this night - Styx - Having the night drag while waiting for something.
"This could be the longest night in recorded history / and as for sleep you can just cross it off the list of possibilities"

You shook me all night long - AC/DC - Well this one is pretty obvious, and pretty much related to night. :)
"She was a fast machine, she kept me warm and clean, she was the best damn woman I've ever seen"

Take Me Back

Da Music Memiors

Pick a person or a few people that you'd like to tell something in song.

Tell us who they are...and what song you've chosen for them, and why.

Whoo a toughie. Gotta get serious here.


Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce to the wife - because I would love to spend every day after eternity passes away just with her (and I plan to too).

Forgive Me - Evanescence to Dove. A relationship I had back in my college days that ended badly, and I've always wanted to apologize for it.

Some quiz results

Some quizs: Found them through Budding Blossoms

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Romeo + Juliet

"Has my heart loved 'till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw a true beauty 'till this night."

What Famous Movie Kiss Are You?

People Envy Your Inner Peace

You understand your place in the world and accept life as it is. For you, "it's all good." People envy how grounded and level headed you are. But you're too at peace to even notice.

What Do People Envy About You?

You Were Nice This Year!

You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list. You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year. Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good. Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

You Are Rain

You can be warm and sexy. Or cold and unwelcoming. Either way, you slowly bring out the beauty around you. You are best known for: your touch Your dominant state: changing

What Type of Weather Are You?

On religion and belief

"Their faith is not mine, but they are not wicked for that".

A quote in a book I am reading* that made me think about some things. And that is an attitude that a true Christian should have, but that few do. Now, among the tenets of my faith is that there are certain steps that must be taken to be able to get into heaven, and that to be able to administer those steps, someone must have the authority granted by God to do so; that authority is only here on earth, at this particular time, through my church- it is the caretaker of God's authority here. So do I believe that the only way to achieve the absolute highest place in heaven you can is to be a member of my church? Yes I do.

However, does that mean I think that anyone of another faith is wicked/godless/damned.

No.**

Different faith's (or even in some cases no faith) produce fine upstanding people. Good, and even great people. I respect other's beliefs, even if in my own heart, I with they would see the truth as I see it (because then they might achieve everything that I know is possible for them), but I would never try and force my belief's on someone else. I might try a conversation or two discussing my point of view, but not as a reason to change someone's mind, just a for learning's sake.

And too many churches/faiths/whathaveyou do not. Too many Christian faiths do not. They proclaim loudly that anyone who is not of their particular approach is going to hell, and refuse to acknowledge anything good about others. Some go as far as to try and silence other points of view. And if anything is wicked, that is.


* Legion of Videssos by Harry Turtledove.

** My view on heaven is a little different than that of other Christian faiths. Heaven is a "Bell curve" of goodness, and people end up where they are most comfortable. But the highest degree is to be with God at the very top end. So someone can not be of my faith, and end up in heaven, they just can't get to the very top. And if it seems that I am just making the afterlife "heaven" and the lowest part is what is seen as hell... a prophet had said of even the lowest portion of this "bell curve", paraphrased :It is so great, compared to this world, people would suicide to get there.

Friday Madness

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television?
2 or so. I enjoy the Olympics, Tennis occasionally, and the occasional football game. But If I spend more than 6 hours a year watching sports it would be overload for me.

Soup
If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick?
How about the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. My favorite fantasy books of all time.

Salad
What is your favorite breakfast food?
Cherry Pop tarts. :)

Main Course
Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00.
I can name something fun I can do for free: Roleplaying games. My wife and I both game, and once you have invested the money in the rulebook, you never have to spend money to game again. If buying the rulebook counts as the $10 it wouldn't qualify (but I was answering the question as if it were asked now, and we already have it) - then the Library - get books for free and enjoy the bookish atmosphere.

Dessert
How long does it usually take you to fall asleep?
That one is easy - I take medication for depression. This medicine puts me to sleep. I am asleep about half an hour after I take it. If I go strait to bed, I'll be asleep in 10 minutes.



Top 5 bands that make you wonder "where are they now"

With the internet it is pretty easy to find such things out, but bands lost from my youth that I am curios about (and not found easy answers to):

Rail - the guys that won the first basement tapes on MTV. Put out 3 albums and disappeared.
Axe - another early 80's band. Had one almost hit (Rock and Roll Party in the Streets).
Deanna Edwards - a female singer songwriter, never went national, and did albums of touchy feely music. She sang at the Convelescent Center/old folks home my mom worked at when I was a kid, and mom brought home 2 albums of hers. Great stuff.
Freddie Mercury - wouldn't knowing that one really give you clues to what is going on in the world that isn't ours. :)
Tony Carey/Planet P - I loved his stuff and the Planet P stuff, but never saw anything from him since the 80's.
Okay if the Freddie comment doesn't count here is a serious one.
Ebn-Ozn - new wave band in the early 80's had one hit, one album and disappeared.

Wednesday Morning musings

First off - go over to Rhetorical Imprints. Dilliwag is looking for predictions for the 7th Harry potter book - (and no spoilers if you have run into them on the web).

Cover album madness -

I recently got 6 different cover albums - one from Def Leppard, Poison, Tesla and Rod Stewart (not the American Songbooks which are on my list, but "Still the Same") and two from Barry Mainlow.
This is a growing trend in music, that established artists do an album of influences and favorites, with Styx, Toto, Rush and Shaw/Blades all having done so in the last few years.

Personally I love this stuff. I like hearing the take on such things by artists who I know and like, to see what they have to give to the song. The Shaw and Blades one has some of the best I've heard - and Barry's 50s disc is perfect - his voice just really matches the material.I was pleasantly surprised by the Rod Stewart. And the harder ones of the recent acquisitions, there are 2 Sweet covers. :)

Personally I hope this trend continues.

Teddy speaks

A couple of quick Teddy Roosevelt quotes:

A man who loves other countries as much as his own, stands on a level with a man who loves other women as much as his wife.

To educate a man in mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.

Blog rating.

Got this from the Misplaced Midwesterner

It's that Friday time again.

Appetizer
What is your favorite fruit?
Oranges.

Soup
Who is someone you consider as a great role model?
My Wife's father. I grew up in a very bad home, and the year or so the wife and I lived with her family taught me how a functioning healthy family works.

Salad
If you were to spend one night anywhere within an hour of your home, where would you choose?
Anywhere with air conditioning. We don't have any, and the recent heat wave has been beating me up.

Main Course
Name something you do too often.
I spend way too much time on message boards. Been cutting back.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I really like ___________ because ____________.
HERO system / it is the most versatile game system out there.


Top 5 Musical Collaborations (songs, albums) it can be a mixture of both.

2:00 AM Paradise Cafe - Barry Manilow. Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Gerry Mulligan, and others. Great great album.
Under Pressure - Queen and Bowie. Just a fun little song.
Bird and Diz - Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespe + Curly Russel, Max Roach and Thelonius Monk.
Traveling Wilburys - an amazing collection of rock legends - Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. Wow.
The Highwaymen - same thing only country. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristopherson, Waylon Jennings. Wow again.

100 !!!!

Well, my 100th blogpost.

And I've done some ranting recently (notably the Star Wars rant (which was actually way over the top, I was just annoyed about Mara and vented)), that is fairly negative, so I decided to be a bit more positive. So this post is a listing of some of my favorites in different things, movies, Music, TV, etc.

Movies:

My favorite movie of all time is Chariots of Fire. I have loved the contrast between the characters, the story, and the selflessness of certain characters. You see sportsmanship unlike anything you would expect today. The stance on faith and devotion is also very nice.

Star Wars - the original. Forget the two sequels, forget the prequel trilogy, this movie was amazing in it's own right, and is still a breath of fresh air today. Basic, simple, and joyous, it is something I can watch again and again and again.

Rapid Fire is my favorite martial arts movie. I love the action, the subtext, and Brandon Lee's performance. His death was a loss.

Superman. The original Chris Reeve/Richard Donner. It is still the superhero movie that I measure all superhero movies against, and I have yet to see any reach it. Real emotion, great acting, and the mood perfectly captured the character.

The Quiet Man. Now I generally do not like John Wayne. This is the only movie of his I really like, but oh do I like it. My wife introduced me to it, and it is oft rewatched, and enjoyed. It is actually the movie I have on in the background as I write this.

Music:

Queen - My favorite band of all time. Virtuosos in their instruments, great showmen, and great songwriters all. Every member of the band wrote a number one song. Incredible versatility - they have on one album a barbershop quartet, and then another a heavy metal song. The first adult music album I ever purchased with my own money (as opposed to Disney stuff or novelty collections) was Queen's A Night at the Opera, and it still my favorite album of all time.


Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are a band I found by accident. My mom took us to John Fogerty and they opened for him. I bought the two CDs they had for sale there based on one and half songs. Great southwest flavored strait ahead rock.

Rocket Scientists (and related solo stuff). This is a band I got based on their name. I had found a thriving progressive rock community online, so I went a progressive rock label and ordered two albums pretty much at random - I liked the names of the bands (The other was Illuvatar which introduced me to Neo-prog). I love their music, their songwriting and the lyrics.

Pat Benatar - My favorite rocker from the 80s, and I also love her more recent stuff. Highly underrated.


Mannheim Steamroller- the band that got me into “New Age” music, and as a side note, jazz and generally all form of instrumental music except soundtracks. They were my instrumental gateway drug.


Television

Babylon 5. Simply the greatest Science Fiction television show ever made. Beginning middle and end. Great characters, great story, great dialog. I just love everything about this show, and I love every character, including the bad guys - they were so much fun to hate. Especially Bester.

Night Court- my second favorite sitcom, and my favorite American one. It can get a little racy sometimes, but I have rarely laughed out loud as much as I did when I watched this show.


The Good Life (or Good Neighbors in the US). The best sitcom I have ever seen. Four primary characters, and the show made stars of them all. Self Sufficiency in Surbiton.

Yu Yu Hakusho - okay yeah I listed an anime here, but it was the show that got me into anime, based on my wife's recommendation. I still enjoy re-watching it. Kuwabara rocks!

Heroes. It's only done one season, but the season was the most amazing season of television I have ever seen. The show may go downhill later, but the first season may be the single greatest single season of television ever made.

Books

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. These books are where I got my internet handle (Mhoram/Lord Mhoram). I have never identified with any character in any books as much as I did with Covenant when I first read these in high school. My absolute favorite fantasy.

Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove. A Roman legion, and a Celt end up in a fantasy world. 4 books, and completely engrossing. Some of the funnest books I have ever read.

Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. These four books are to SF what Lord of the Rings were to Fantasy - deep, poetic, and intense. Some of the best SF I have ever read.

Doc Sidhe / Sidhe Devil - These books are light fun by Aaron Allston, but some of the best light fun I have ever read. Fantasy/Pulp/Martial Arts. Fun fun stuff.

The Drageara books by Steven Brust - The Vlad books, the Khaavren romances and Brokedown palace. I love the world, and I love the characters.

Star Wars is Dead to me.

Spolers follow, if you don't want them stop reading.

Edit: The following is an over the top rant, and is more in the nature of venting displeasure than in serious commentary.

In the current novel series, Jacen is going sith, and he (or he and his Sith master) kills Mara Jade. In the comic series set 100 years after Lukes only bloodline is a smuggler (tatooed no less -ick) and wants to have nothing to do with the force.

Star Wars is supposed to be about fun, where is the fun in that?

I gave up on the prequel comics and novels a while ago. For whatever problems the movies may have had, the comics and novels were much worse. Badly written, and badly executed. The whole Vong thing was ill concieved, especially killing off Chewebacca, but I forced myself through it. It sucked. And don't get me started on the Clone Wars animated - man the animation there looks like rejects from the old “Droid” stuff. Ick Ick Ick. That is one of the problems with modern animation (American more than japanese) -- it is so stylized - can't anyone animate people that actually look like people?

I mean, Star Wars is about fun, a rolliking good ride. The prequel movies were a formal tragedy that we already knew the ending to, but it was fun as well.

Chewbacca was killed because the people who were making it wanted the audience to feel like anyone could die at any moment. Well so what. Did you actually have that feeling for any of the main characters in any of the Star Wars movies- Heck No!

So I will take my 6 movies, and the Han Solo Trilogy by Brian Daley, and the Lando books by L Neil Smith, and the good stuff of the post RotJ pre-Vong books (Basically anything by Stackpole, Allston or Zahn) and I will enjoy them, and hope for the best in the upcoming TV series - it has Lucas behind it, and to be honest after the crap the books and comics are giving us, that is a good thing.

I mocked the prequel haters. If this is how they felt, I take it all back.

Martial Arts Mayhem

Been in a DVD buying frenzy the last few days. Most of what I bought were martial arts movies, filling in holes I had in my collection, and this led me to think about the martial arts movies I have, and which one I think are the best. First a short listing of the stuff I have in my collection (and I am including general action movies with a martial arts star).

Above the Law
Best of the Best 1 & 2
Bloodsport
Bulletproof monk (if you want to count it)
The Crow
Electra
Enter the Dragon
Fearless Hyena
Good Guys Wear Black
Hard Target
Karate Kid 1 & 2
Lone Wolf MacQuade
Missing in Action 1 & 2
Only the Strong
Ong Bak
The Protector
Return of the Dragon
Rapid Fire
Road House
Rush Hour 1 & 2
Shanghai Noon & Knights
Timecop
Under Siege 1 & 2

The single best Martial Arts movie, in my opinion, is Best of the Best. Most martial arts movies talk of the arts as non violent, but end up using violence to solve the issue - this movie is different. It is non-violence that solves the issue. And it's also a great sports movie, and has some of the best choreographed fights I've ever seen.

Rapid Fire is a fun one, and it shows the seduction of violence. When the main character kills someone out of self defense, he is horrified at the act. As he has to kill more and more in the movie to stay alive, he become less and less horrified of the act. I feel that if Brandon hadn't died in the mishap on the Crow we would have an Oscar contending actor here - he was a phenomenal actor, in addition to being good at martial arts.

Above the Law was a breath of fresh air when it came out, with Aikido and a different kind of character. But as more and more Seagal movies came out, you found out that he wasn't acting, but just playing himself. But that doesn't lessen the joy of watching the martial arts in this film.

Much like the above, Ong Bak was amazing, just for the different approach to martial arts, seeing kinds of things we haven't seen before. And it is so intense. Tony Jaa is a favorite.

Bloodsport The classic Tournament movie.

Enter the Dragon. Legendary, and Bruce's best movie.

Jackie Chan films are uneven. When they are off, they are decent, but when they are on, they are among the best stuff out there. And his comedy is a really nice change of pace.

I love the first two Karate Kid movies. No one was a martial arts person before the movie, but decent cinematography and good choreography makes up for it. And they have very good stories.

Only the Strong, while not as good as others, had the different martial arts thing going for it, and watching Capoiera is really cool.

I don't have a lot of of Hong Kong movie in here, because I generally don't like “Wire fu”.

And Road House. Great great film, taking so many classic martial arts tropes* and working them into a movie about a bouncer/cooler. And it is likely one of the most macho movies ever made. A strong favorite.

I love this stuff, for the beauty of the choreography, the mayhem, and the tropes. And according to my mom, when I was 2 or 3 and would see a Bruce lee movie on TV, I would try and mimic what I saw. So I've been fascinated by this stuff for longer than I can remember.

* Crippled Master, Master and single student, master and school, peaceful village threatened by an unscrupulous businessman, enemy master, the send students to enemy fighter before the master fights him bit, wandering samurai/ronnin helping village. And more.

Take Me Back to my youth

Did you have any bands that you were ashamed of liking in your younger days?
Not really. Even the goofiest one, I still like.

Do you look back on some of the things you listened to and groan? If so, what were they?
Some of the pop of the era, but not really.


Up through the 80's there were a lot of music related tv shows did you watch any? (That weren't on Mtv or Vh-1)
Nope

A good many singers/musicians made films that were pretty awful, but have a cult following, which ones do you like?
Jazz Singer - Neil Diamond (I don't think it is awful, but others...)
Berry Gordy's the Last Dragon.


Are any of your youthful guilty pleasures still favorites now? Or do you pretend like you never liked them?
I stand up and am proud to say I have every album from Shaun Cassidy, on vinyl. :)

Top 5 albums

Music Memiors

Top 5 albums that are at least 20 years old. (There's a stipulation however...all 5 albums cannot be by the same artist/band)

A Night at the Opera - Queen (1975)
My favorite album of all time. Shows off the wide range of the band. Mellow, hard rock, and everything in between, and a number of experimental peices.

Moving Pictures - Rush (1971)
The album that got me hooked on the band. And the best known song is the worst on the album.

Bird and Diz - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker (1950)
Also has , Max Roach, Curly Russel, Thelonius Monk. This album is made up of the single best players of their instruments in Jazz at the time.

2 AM paradise cafe - Barry Manilow (1984)
His best album, and it is a nice smokey jazzy piece. Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughn guest on the album.

Best of the Statler Brothers - Statler Brothers (1975) Okay so it's a hits album, it still fits the criteria. One of the best country albums of all time.




And a bonus 5 just because :)

Fresh Aire 3 - Mannheim Steamroller (1979)
Romantic Warrior -Return to Forever (1976)
Touch - Eurythmics (1983)
Defenders of the Faith - Judas Priest (1984)
Piece of Mind - Iron Maiden (1983)


And you know, all 10 of these will (or have) end up on the Lifetime music awards on my sidebar. :)

On Libby

You know what I have to say about the whole Libby thing.

I don't give a damn.

It's just politics as usual. Both parties do the same thing. I don't care anymore.
I really stopped caring the last time a President did something illegal, and nothing came of it. Or the time before that.

Clinton created the Escalante Grand Staricase National Park. Didn't follow the rules set down to do such things. Didn't do any studies. Did it by fiat, stealing land from the one state he came in third in the election, so he had nothing to lose, and gained him more environmental votes. Announced from another state, rather than the one where all the land came from.
There was even a lawsuit, and the final result - what was done was wrong, but as it took years for the case to come to a conclusion, it would cost the government too much money to change it back so the illegal act stood.

Nixon did all his crap.

Strong Evidence that Johnson has something to do with Kennedy's murder.

I couldn't care less about a commute of sentence. It's business as usual.

Laughing at the 360.

Interesting article here about Xbox 360 failures. They run in the 30 to 33 percent. Microsoft sidesteps the question, ignores it and claims it is at 3% to 5%. Typical.

And just thing with a 1/3 failure rate, they can inflate the "We have sold x number of game consoles" because so many are replacements with retailers that offer a warranty.

This gen of consoles is just not my thing. 360 failure rate, and game I don't play, Wii with controls I don't like, and the PS3 with it's prices, and the fact it is behind in the market losing some 3rd party software support.

Looks like I will stick with the PS2 and my computer for a while

Sleepy Tuesday

What type of music do you find to be the best to sleep to?
I actually sleep best to spoken (I use audio-books), but if I do use music, it is mellow new agey kind of stuff. George Winston is good. Although I prefer to listen to him awake.:) k d lang's Shadowland is another

Is there any kind of music that you absolutely can't fall asleep to?
No not really. I've taken naps listening to thrash metal before.

If anyone artist could sing you to sleep who would it be and what would they sing to you?
k d lang - shadowland as mentioned above.