Monday, April 28, 2008

Following the leader

A meme thing from Mike


A - Attached or single: Attached
B - Best Friend: The Wife.
C - Cake or Pie: Cake all the way. Never was a big fan of pie.
D - Day of Choice: Sunday. Church in the morning, and complete relaxing in the afternoon.
E - Essential Item: Computer. 5ER rulebook.
F - Favorite Color: Red (followed by Black)
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: I don't eat candy with the texture of flavored snot.
H - Hometown: Nyssa Oregon
I - Indulgence(s): Video Games
J - January or July: January. I hate the heat, plus my birthday is in that month.
K - Kids: Not yet, but hoping.
L - Life is incomplete without: The wife.
M - Marriage Date: Feb 2nd, 1989.
N - Number of Siblings: Zip. I'm an only child
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges.
P - Phobias or Fears: Heights.
Q - Quote(s):
R - Reason to Smile: A happy wife. Getting things finished on my Fantasy Campaign.
S - Season: Winter.
T - Tag Eight: No thanks - Mike got most of the ones I would have.
U - Unknown Fact About Me: When I was very little, I left my bedroom in the middle of the night, and went out to the doghouse to sleep with the dog. I was 4 or so. Only time we ever had a dog actually.
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Opressor of Animals? I don't oppress them, I have thme killed and eat them.
W - Worst Habit: Pulling into an emotional shell.
Y - Your Favorite Food: A good steak, extra well done. Or a really well put together Pizza.
Z - Zodiac: Capricorn. But we are earthy types that don't cotton to mystic mumbo jumbo.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Music back three

Music Memoirs

Top 5 Albums from 5 Consecutive Years (forward or backwards, starting with the year you were born, the year you graduated from high school, or whatever)

Married in 1989:
89 - Eric Clapton : Journeyman
90 - They Might Be Giants: Flood
91 - Harry Connick Jr: Red Light Blue Light
92 - Mary Chapin Carpenter: Come On Come On
93 - Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet


What's the worst song you've heard in the past week?
Still haven't found what I am looking for - U2.
This song was so freaking overplayed, I wouldn't care if I never heard another U2 song as long as I live.

Have you ever bought an album thinking you'd love it, only to hate it? What was it?
Amon Amarth - from what I could tell the CD was a decent Europowermetal - But the vocals were annoying deathmetal Growl. Ick.

Are there any artists that you used to like but wish would just go away now?

I sorta liked a couple of Rolling Stone songs when I was younger, but as an adult I generally can't stand anything they do.

Top 5 break up songs
Don't You want me Baby - Human League
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
These two have a funny story. My first girlfriend dumped me (freshman in HS), and my Mom picked me up from school, and these two songs played back to back, while I was crying my eyes out.
Breaking up is hard to do - Neil Sedaka
Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks (well it's sort of a breakup song)
You're Breaking my Heart - Harry Nilson
Link to Youtube video that someone did - warning NSFW language

Thursday, April 17, 2008

That is it exactly

Found this on a messageboard, who found it on a blog (so I don't really have an attribution).

It does sum up my thoughts exactly.




I've been getting back into reading comics after a while off... and I used to have a fairly even split of comics. About 40% DC, 30% marvel 30% indy (or sub imprints).
Now in my reading list, I don't have a single Mainstream Marvel title.

Joe Q is to Editor in Chiefing as Rob Liefeld is to Art.

For reference this is my reading list:
All-Star Superman
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
JLA
JSA
Legion of Super-Heroes

Ultimate FF
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimates

Astro City
Fables
Godland
Invincible
PS#238
Squadron Supreme (if it ever starts coming out again)

And yeah, I only buy in Trade paperbacks these days, and with the rate the stuff I read comes out, that comes to about 1 a month, plus a few extras (for mini series or whatnot).

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

C is for Champions that's good enough for me.

Taking Mike's ABC Challenge:

A Armor
B Brick
C Champions
D Dr Destroyer
E Energy Blast
F FREd
G Growth
H Hunted
I Inches
J Jack of All Trades
K Killing Attack
L Long, Steve
M Martial Arts
N No Normal Defense
O Oculon
P Powers
Q Questonite
R Range Mod
S Shapeshift
T Talents
U Ultimate books
V Variable Power Pool
W Weapon Familiarity
X X-Ray Vision
Y Yengtao Temple
Z Zero Phase Action


I had to look up two. Both of which I probably could have come up with, but needed to get back to work.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Early Tuesday Tunes

Word Association on Music Memiors


Drum: Sandy Nelson
River: Wide River (Steve Miller)
Sea: Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon (Queen)
Sand: Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett
Travel: Living in the USA (Steve Miller) Because of the video.
Time: Fly Like an Eagle (Steve Miller)
Journey: well Duh. :)
Number: Cat Stevens (because of his concept album Numbers)
Theme: John Williams
Magic: Olivia Newton John

Steve Miller on the brain today.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Obama Quote

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. ... And they fell through the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate, and they have not," Obama said.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said.


Reported Here

If that is Obama's view on religion, he's lost any chance I'll vote for him.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

C'mon Hurry up and do it already

From the Music Memoirs

Top 5 artists you wish would record a new album. (Tell us a bit about why you want them to go back into the studio too)

Well... Obviously the main one is Queen, but with Freddie gone, that ain't gonna happen so the top two will be:

Brian May.
Queens guitarist, and has done two solo albums, that I really love. May is one of the main reasons I like Queen. A long time ago I made a "greatest hits" tape of my own, and I was writing down the song names and writing credits, and all but 2 of them were Brian May songs. His solo albums are amazing, and I like them as much (if not more) that all but the best couple from Queen themselves. I wish he would go back into the studio and do another one. It's been 10 years since his last one.

Roger Taylor
Now I may not like his solo stuff as much as Brian's but I do really like it.

Rocket Scientists

From '93 to '06 they only put out 4 CDs. And with Eric Norlander one of the main creative members of the band producing his wife's stuff, and having recently joining Asia (the second version) as a Keyboardist, it's less than likely we will get a new one soon. One hopes.

Shaw / Blades
2 CDs in how many years, and the second is a cover album? I love the stuff, but I want more more more. Another Proggish band (Styx) where I really loved the stuff the guitarist did. I love the Shaw solo but, these two guys harmonize like you wouldn't believe and have a really great songwriting vibe. I want more from them.

Star One
This is one of Arjen Lucassen's side projects (he's the force behind Ayreon and founded Stream of Passion). Now I love the Ayreon stuff (and we just had a new CD there very recently) but Star One has a more solid sound (it could be said to be a bit samey actually) but I really like the sound on that album - there is obvious Arjen sound to it, but it has a different flavor than Ayreon and is overall a heavier sound. Fun fun stuff.

Edit - After reading Mike's Blog it reminded me of another one - only this is more a "do a first album together" than another one. Mark Knopfler and John Fogerty. They do one song together on Fogerty's last album (Nobody's Here Anymore off of Deja Vu all Over Again) and their guitar styles melded so well, and I can just imagine what kind of songs we'd get if the wrote songs together, as well as vocals.

Monday, April 7, 2008

From the Music Memoirs:

What music related tv shows do you or have you watched?

I haven't watched television in years (no reception where I am at, and we don't pay for cable or sattalite). So I have to think back..

Name that Tune
Friday Night Videos
American Bandstand occasionally
MTV when they actually played music back in the '80s
Behind the Music on VH1 back when we had it.


Have you ever gone to see a movie just for the music?
Not really. The closest is Amadeus.

Edit - upon further thought I do remember one. Stop Making Sense. Only concert film I've ever seen in the theater. :)

What is you favorite music related movie?
That thing you do. A fun little pleasent movie. A favorite to put on and have in the background.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

a couple of music memes

Tuesday Word Association from Music Memiors


Camera: Centerfold by the J Geils Band
Married: Lana Lane and Eric Norlander
Lost: Jimmy Barnes (great song on the Lost Boys soundtrack)
Grin: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (don't ask me why)
Rest: Enya
Environment: Kill the Poor (Dead Kennedys - all about using the Nuetron Bomb, the Environmentally friendly nuclear weapon)
Hippie: Jefferson Airplane
Betrayal: John Lennon (and Yoko)
Emotion: High on Emotions (Chris DeBurgh)
Dream: Theater. :)

And I missed Last Fridays meme as well which is:
Top 5 songs that you've loved the longest.

The first one is easy - The Prohphet's Song by Queen. It has a middle piece with Freddie doing vocals that overlap (using Brians timed echo boxes) that is recorded in stereok, with the echoes moving around the speakers. It was the first rock song I ever truly fell in love with (back in '77 I was 10). And is still one of my favorites today. The first actual music album I bought (as opposed to things like disney micky mouse albums and such) was Queen's a Night at the Opera, because of this song.

Taxman
by the Beatles. My parents had Revolver, and I always loved this song. Revovler is still my favorite Beatles album.
So Long Frank Lloyd Wright - Simon and Garfunkle. Another one my parents had. I love the vocal quality on this song, and melody is beautiful.
Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf. First song I loved off the album way back when. Really great, and still a favorite.
G Major Toccatta - Mannheim Steamroller. A really energetic piece played on Pipe Organ. My Favorite Mannheim Steamroller song, and possibly my favorite "new age" piece of all time.