Music related

Several things going on with the music side of life that I thought I'd share...


Three albums (I can call 'em that now, since CDs are becoming passé) that have rocked my socks off recently: Pride Tiger "Lucky Ones," Raconteurs "Consolers of the Lonely," and R.E.M.'s "Accelerate." Waitaminute, R.E.M.? Didn't I fall out of love with them a while back?

Yes, I had stopped loving R.E.M. back during "New Adventures in Hi-Fi," after Bill Berry left, because they started sounding like they were auditioning for the opening spot on a Laurie Anderson/Phillip Glass tour. I didn't even buy their last CD, thinking I'd end my collection with "Up," which sounded to me like the Nougats on a Pepto-Bismol and Milk of Magnesia binge. Had I gotten old? Had my tastes not evolved to appreciate latter day R.E.M.? Or had they begun to (gulp) suck?

Well, they turned the suck button off on this one, gang. It frakkin' rocks. I will buy it. Yep, they're back and so am I.



In other musical news, a local orchestra is hurtin' and I believe that it's part and parcel with the upcoming recession. Count your change, kids. I'm thinking that it's gonna be a tough next couple of years.



And finally, here's a muxtape that is not only demonstrates the wonderfulness of organic music, but also has the best song titles EVAH. Word 2 ya mutha.

Letters

Things you probably already know about me, but I'll cover them again, just in case you're new (Hi, Linda!):

1. I am a bit of a science fiction geek. Among my favorite authors is John Varley, who was introduced to me thru his wonderful Gaean trilogy "Titan," "Wizard," and "Demon."

2. I am a bit of an Anglophile. "Eeee, we likee the Brits, eh?"

3. I do love Monty Python and all his glory, including the lovely lads who were in all his movies.

4. Especially John Cleese, whom I suspected was sending me coded messages during my misspent youth to let me know that it's quite all right to be a silly person when you get older.


So put John Cleese and John Varley together and you have a recipe for fun, no matter how you spell it. Enjoy!

Mixtape 4 U

Howdy all!

Aside from making silly LOL POLz, I've been playing with Muxtape, reliving those Maxell XL90 cassette days where I'd labor over the perfect mix for driving to band practice or going cross-town to do laundry at the laundromat-bar (whoever came up with serving beer at a laundromat was a frakkin' genius), or just something to show my girl that I really dug her.

So here's a little mix of where my head's at tonight. Enjoy! And if you make a Muxtape, share with me in the comments.

Keep it groovy, y'all!

LOL POLs

Had an idea and yeah, it was silly... so I had to share.

Bring on the LOL POLz!













This one was already done, I can't take credit for it...





UPDATE: Damn, someone else figured this out, and wouldn't you know it'd be the Cheezburger folks!

The Future of 2001

I had just one commercial break to take my evening shower before the movie started again. And I made it, just in time to have my mind blown (yet again) by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke during the network television premiere of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

I wasn't even in high school yet, but I was an avid reader. Ever since I discovered Robert Heinlein's juvenile books in the fourth grade (thanks to whoever was the wonderful librarian at Forest Lake Elementary), I was hooked on reading about space and science fiction. Because of science fiction, I wound up reading (and comprehending) several grades above the reading level that I should've had at that age. It's a skill that has served me well for a long time.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke was among the writers that fired my youthful imagination, he of the famous novels "2001" (which began life as a short story, "The Sentinel), "Renedevous with Rama," and "Childhood's End." He also is credited with developing geosynchronous orbits for satellites (which makes your GPS work) and the idea for the space elevator, which might just replace the shuttle in my lifetime. Not only was he an engaging story teller, he was a scientist and very deep thinker.

I shall miss you, Sir Arthur.

Can't wait for this week to start

Sorry it's been so long for posting, friends. It's been a long week for me for many, many reasons, none the least of which was:

best seat in the house to watch two great friends renew their vows on a perfect almost-spring day in the Ozarks...

a terribly sad funeral for the only son of close friends...

some nasty bug that took both my Sweetie and me down for a few days...

a friend sent me an email that actually made me LOL...

Mom's in the hospital (again)...

Dad's starting to scare me WITHOUT driving...

asking one of my bestest friends in the world check up on my Dad (long distance parenting?)...

FUD on the job...

meeting a new friend who made me smile just by being there, and then there was this wunnerful conversation that I just didn't want to end!...

disappointing friends by missing a mystery party (and I was supposed to be a wizard, with magic dust and everything!)...

waking up really freaking early on a Monday morning (serves me right for getting a dirty chai at 21:30)...

My alarm finally went off. (Over the last few years, I have relied on my cellfon to wake my sleepy ass up every morning, in addition to two cats and another battery-backup alarm clock, and most of the time it works.) Time to turn on Morning Edition, jump in the shower and get things going for this morning.

Hope your week goes well - and I really hope this week is somewhat less exciting than last week. But only somewhat... ;-)