Do as I say, not as I do.

This is a couple years old, but I don't remember seeing it before.

Tale of Two Houses

House #1

A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400 per month. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home.. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.

---

House #2

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green"feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

The water (usually 67 degrees F) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

~~~~~

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee ;

it is the abode of the "environmentalist" Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas ;

it is the residence of former President of the United States, George W. Bush.

An "inconvenient truth."

You can verify it at : http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

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THIS WEEK'S BEST GENESIS PRESS RELEASE

Genesis Live 1973-2007

Rhino Continues To Upgrade The Group's Catalog With A Fourth Boxed Set Containing Live Albums Expanded With Bonus Audio And Unreleased Tracks

10-Disc Boxed Set Will Be Available September 29 From Rhino

LOS ANGELES -- Following the reissue of the 14 Genesis studio albums in the stunning boxed sets Genesis 1976 - 1982 and Genesis 1983 - 1998 in 2007, Genesis 1970 - 1975 in 2008, on September 29, Rhino will release Genesis Live 1973 - 2007, a boxed set gathering the four live albums recorded by the legendary British group from 1973 to 1992. Featuring brand new stereo mixes, the boxed set also includes the long-awaited release in stereo and 5.1 of Live At The Rainbow 1973 only available with this collection.

Genesis Live 1973 - 2007 is a sumptuously presented boxed set that includes:

Genesis Live, the band's first Top 10 album in the UK, recorded in Leicester and Manchester and issued in 1973, and featuring the classic line-up of Tony Banks (keyboards), Phil Collins (drums, vocals), Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute), Steve Hackett (guitars) and Mike Rutherford (bass, guitars). Genesis Live, for this box-set release, has been extended to feature five bonus tracks recorded at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles on January 24, 1975 and the full album is also presented in 5.1 for the first time.

The double set Seconds Out, a Top 5 entry in 1977 that documented the group's Paris dates as a quartet with Collins on lead vocals following Gabriel's departure in 1975. The concerts featured touring drummers Bill Bruford and Chester Thompson. Exclusive to this boxed set, Seconds Out is presented in stereo and 5.1 versions.

Three Sides Live, a #2 album in the U.K. in 1982, mostly showcasing the Banks-Collins-Rutherford incarnation augmented by Thompson and guitarist Daryl Stuermer.

The Way We Walk, finally sees these two live albums re-sequenced as per the original show's set list. Originally released separately and entitled Vol I: The Shorts, which made the Top 3 in Britain in 1992, and Vol 2: The Longs, this was the band's sixth #1 album, and their only concert recording to top the charts in 1993.

First formed in 1967, Genesis have sold 150 million albums worldwide and have influenced the likes of Elbow, Flaming Lips, and Jeff Buckley. In the early '70s, their ambition in the studio was matched by groundbreaking live shows as they presented such classic albums as Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway to audiences across Europe and the U.S. Following Gabriel's exit in the mid-'70s, Collins stepped up to the microphone and the group scored Top 5 albums with A Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering. Hackett left in 1977 but the "remaining three" had their first Top 10 single with "Follow You Follow Me" and their first U.S. Top 20 album with ...And Then There Were Three... the next year. A simpler, more direct approach to songwriting worked so well that Banks-Collins-Rutherford scored consecutive #1 albums with Duke, Abacab, Genesis, and Invisible Touch in the '80s, and with We Can't Dance in 1991, and became a stadium act without losing any of their sophistication and attention to detail. This was evidenced again when they returned to the stage after a ten-year hiatus. When In Rome 2007, the DVD of the free concert they gave at the Circo Massimo in Rome in front of 500,000 spectators topped the DVD charts in the U.K. last year.

Recorded at Leicester De Montfort Hall and Manchester Free Trade Hall in February 1973, Genesis Live was not originally intended for release but rather mixed to be broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour show on US radio. It comprises versions of the melodramatic set opener "Watcher Of The Skies" and "Get 'Em Out By Friday" from Foxtrot, the band's fourth studio album--which had reached #12 in October 1972--"The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" and "The Musical Box" from 1971's Nursery Cryme, the first album featuring Collins and Hackett, and the tour de force quiet-loud dynamics of "The Knife," from Trespass, the group's 1970 debut for the Charisma label. Given the band's growing reputation for its theatrical shows, it is no surprise that Genesis Live spent ten weeks in the charts in 1973, paving the way for the release of Selling England By The Pound later that year. The album's iconic cover features Gabriel wearing one of his many costumes, in this case the "Magog" mask and black cape he donned during "Supper's Ready."

Bonus material includes five tracks from the celebrated concept album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, a Top 10 release at the end of 1974, recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in January 1975.

Recorded at the Palais des Sports in Paris with the Manor Mobile studio in 1976 and 1977, Seconds Out stayed on the British charts for four months. The double set was much more in keeping with the times, the increasing availability of bootleg recordings and the phenomenal success of Frampton Comes Alive! Former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford had joined Genesis for the 1976 dates and features on "The Cinema Show," one of two tracks from Selling England By The Pound. The other, "Firth Of Fifth," and the rest of the album, features Chester Thompson, a drummer best known for his work with Frank Zappa and Weather Report at the time. Collins tackles Gabriel-era material like "The Musical Box," "Supper's Ready," "The Carpet Crawlers," the title track from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," the group's first hit, with aplomb. "Squonk," "Robbery," "Assault & Battery," "Dance On A Volcano" and "Los Endos" came from A Trick Of The Tail while "Afterglow" originally featured on Wind And Wuthering. Hackett left while Seconds Out was being mixed. The album's distinctive cover and the other pictures used were shot by Armando Gallo, the band's biographer.

Recorded in Germany in 1981, Three Sides Live was originally released in 1982 as a double vinyl set with a fourth side of studio recordings -- basically the 3X3 EP and two B-sides--in the US while the European version contained three more extended live tracks. The studio versions of "Turn It On Again," "Behind The Lines," "Duchess" and "Misunderstanding" featured on 1980's Duke while "Dodo," "Me And Sarah Jane" and "Abacab" first appeared on Abacab in 1981. "Follow You Follow Me" came from ...And Then There Were Three... and "Afterglow" and "One For The Vine" were originally recorded on Wind And Wuthering. "The Fountain Of Salmacis" harked back to Nursery Cryme and the "In The Cage"/"Cinema Show"/"The Colony Of Slippermen" medley slotted a track from Selling England By The Pound between two slices from The Lamb... while "It"/"Watcher Of The Skies"--recorded in 1976 with Hackett and Bruford--spanned The Lamb... and Foxtrot.

Recorded in 1992 in arenas including London's Earls Court, the two installments of The Way We Walk were first issued in quick succession at the tail end of 1992 and the beginning of 1993, with The Shorts concentrating on the band's run of hit singles, and The Longs delving into the medleys and the more extended pieces from their repertoire. Genesis Live 1973-2007 takes the opportunity to reconcile the two albums and recreate the We Can't Dance tour experience in sequence. Hits from the group's MTV-friendly era include "Mama," "That's All," "Invisible Touch"--which charted again in its live version in 1992--"In Too Deep," "Land Of Confusion," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Throwing It All Away," "No Son Of Mine," "I Can't Dance," "Hold On My Heart" and "Jesus He Knows Me." "Driving The Last Spike" and "Fading Lights" came from We Can't Dance, "Domino" originally appeared on Invisible Touch and "Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea" on Genesis. The "Old Medley" rounded up nine tunes from the band's early days and Collins and Thompson's "The Drum Thing" did just that. "Turn It On Again" is exclusive to this release.

Recorded in London by the Banks-Collins-Gabriel-Hackett-Rutherford lineup, Live At The Rainbow 1973 expands on the live material first issued on the Archive 1967-1975 boxed set in 1998 and will delight die-hard fans of that period in their lengthy career. The concert from October 1973 features most of Selling England By The Pound at the time of its release, along with the conceptual piece "Supper's Ready" and "Watcher Of The Skies" from their breakthrough album Foxtrot, and "The Musical Box" from Nursery Cryme, the last two titles on 5.1 version only. It captures the band at a crucial point in their history, before they left the Lewis Carroll-like universe of their early albums behind, before the departure of Gabriel and Hackett, before their time as ubiquitous hitmakers of the '80s.

Genesis Live 1973 - 2007 has been designed to incorporate space for the most recent live Genesis release -- the 2-CD set Live Over Europe 2007. All albums feature brand new stereo mixes created by Tony Banks, Nick Davis, and Mike Rutherford, while Genesis Live, Seconds Out and Live At The Rainbow 1973 all feature 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound versions.

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Am I on candid camera?

So I was just leaving Walmart, and got stopped in a pseudo traffic back-up in the foyer by the exit. I looked, and some woman had stopped just outside the doorway, grabbed her bags out of the carriage, and walked away just leaving the cart right where it was in front of the door.
It never ceases to boggle my mind over how fucking self-serving and inconsiderate of others some people are.
I assumed that she had a sense of entitlement because, "Obama president nah!" (some people reading this will understand that last bit...linger longer!).

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Justices Rule for White Firefighters in Bias Case

via nytimes.com

What? You mean a decision was made based on actual merits and results? Race was not a factor? It's really most qualified man for the job?
This is America in the 21st century, right?
But what of the special interest groups and the bleeding heart liberals? How will they spin this?

Hey Reverend Al....go fuck yourself!

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Yet another musical genre

I've linked to Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree articles and reviews on Pop sites, Rock sites, Prog sites, Metal sites, and now Jazz sites.
How does anyone not at least check out an artist like this?

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33252#close=1

Farrah Fawcett, sex symbol and actress, dies

She defined the term "sex symbol" for any guy who was a young teen in the 70's.

Click here for story

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I Will Never Wash My Ears Again (Sorry, Mom)

I Will Never Wash My Ears Again (Sorry, Mom) Listening to tunes in NYC is furlough fun Published on 6/23/2009

Rick Koster Arts reporter/columnist E-Mail: Rick Koster Phone No.: (860) 701 - 4325 Interactive Profile Rick Koster has covered music, books and dining for The Day, and is a regular columnist. He also host’s the paper’s online Behind the Scenes feature. A native Southerner, Koster is the author of two books, Louisiana Music and Texas Music. He thinks, for the most part, dogs are better than people. Rick’s Playlist - June 23, 2009 1. Hands -- Strangelet 2. Harry Nilsson -- Sings Randy Newman 3. Riverside -- Voices in My Head 4. Isis -- Wavering Radiant 5. Peter Chilvers -- Stormwatcher   Rick's Full Profile w/Recent Articles Rick's Interactive Archive Subscribe to my RSS feed: Print This E-mail Link Send Letter Send Correction RECENT BLOGS  I Will Never Wash My Ears Again (Sorry, Mom) 6/23/2009

These furlough things are sorta fun.

I’ve had two of them, now, and while I can’t really afford any more — at least until the ol’ blood-alcohol level recedes sufficiently that I can sell a few more pints of plasma and recompense a bit of the income loss.

One very cool thing that happened, though, is that the Bride Unit and I were invited down to Avatar Studios in Manhattan for a listening party to premiere The Incident, the newest Porcupine Tree CD, which will be officially available in September.

You may or may not be weary of my frequent pontificating on the Greatness of The Porkers — archival records here at the Mighty Day indicate I haven’t mentioned them in weeks — but forget that for a minute. Pretend you were sitting in a world class recording studio with a chance to hear, well, any new recording. In an acoustically perfect room with equipment of this calibre, the pure sound quality alone is worth the trip and the experience.

In this case, it so happened that the album is by one of our favorite bands — plus you can throw into the equation the fact that Porcupine Tree’s last CD, the still-immortal Fear of a Blank Planet, was nominated for a Grammy for sound quality. Whether you like their music or not, the Porkers make records that sound breathtakingly beautiful.

This wasn’t ZZ Top, in other words.

Perhaps the only trouble with such an event is that, as noted above, the CD won’t hit the streets for several weeks. And given that The Incident is a 55-minute song cycle with a variety of connected snippets interjected within longer works, it was just a huge batch of musical creativity to wrap one’s head around in only one listen. Segments hang inside my brain like cave-bats, but a lot more is only a blur in memory. It'd be nice to be able to hear it all again and start to digest it. Soon ...

Head Pork Man Steven Wilson was on hand at the soiree although, perhaps undestandably, he stayed in a separate reception room nursing, it appeared, a glass of red wine. I can imagine it would be fairly odd for him to sit in the same room with a group of strangers staring at him, particularly since he’s heard the damned thing already about 63,000 times.

In any case, it was a pleasure to meet him, at which time I offered typical and bumblingly moronic adulatory comments that he fielded graciously by not falling into a full-bore sleep. I was so lame that I almost wish he’d commented on my thunderous lack of anything new or clever to say, but he’s too nice for such things.

So I offered him a free horse in gratitude for all his work.

Not really.

If you could attend a listening party to an as-yet-unrleased album by an artist, who would it be?

via archive.theday.com

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Porcupine Tree Reveals New Album Tracklisting

via metalunderground.com

Porcupine Tree has issued the following announcement about the recording of their new album:

"Roadrunner have posted some clips of Porcupine Tree working in the studio on their forthcoming album The Incident here.

"Also the cover image and subtitles to the various parts of the long song cycle that takes up the whole of the first CD were revealed at a playback in New York earlier this week. The cover was photographed by Lasse Hoile and designed by Carl Glover."

The track listing for "The Incident" will be as follows:

1. occam’s razor (1.55)
2. the blind house (5.47)
3. great expectations (1.26)
4. kneel and disconnect (2.03)
5. drawing the line (4.43)
6. the incident (5.20)
7. your unpleasant family (1.48)
8. the yellow windows of the evening train (2.00)
9. time flies (11.40)
10. degree zero of liberty (1.45)
11. octane twisted (5.03)
12. the séance (2.39)
13. circle of manias (2.18)
14. i drive the hearse (6.41)

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Journalistic Integrity in 2009

via crunchgear.com

Click on the link above to check out how today's "news" reports the "facts."

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'Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed' inventor dies at 92

'Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed' inventor dies at 92
The Associated Press
MIAMI -- The inventor of the "Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed," a coin-operated fixture in American motel rooms in the 1960s and 70s, has died in Florida. John Joseph Houghtaling (HUFF-tay-ling) was 92. His son Paul says the inventor died Wednesday at his home in Fort Pierce. Tinkering in the basement of his New Jersey home, Houghtaling invented the "Magic Fingers" machine in 1958. It caused beds to vibrate when a quarter was dropped in the device. He moved the company to Miami in 1968 and remained its president until he retired in the 1980s. The kitschy devices made their way into pop culture - celebrated in song by Jimmy Buffett and Frank Zappa and the cause of a beer explosion in the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."

via youtube.com

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(P)Review of 'The Incident'

Grabbed this from the Progressive Music Society Yahoo group.
Thanks to Geoff Kieffer for the "First Look."


Got to hear the new Porcupine Tree at an industry listening session this past Tuesday night... The new release consists of one long "song cycle" The Incident, which is made up of 14 songs, interludes, transitions... I suppose you could liken it to Marillions - Brave, or Yes -Close to the Edge, or Floyds the Wall or... any number of concept pieces, despite it not really being a specific concept piece.

Quite honestly it was a lot to absorb and I am not really certain what I made of it in one listen.. It was a bit overwhelming, however, the overall impression I got was that Steve's solo album, Insurgentes, had a pretty direct influence on his writing for this album and that the older albums like Signify, Stupid Dream, and Lighbulb Sun were more recognizable in the "pot" so to speak..

One song, Time Flies, is a wonderful homage to all things Floydian in that it liberally takes (but doesn't exactly plaugerize) from Dogs, Time, Sheep, and Run Like Hell during it's 11:40 run... Very memorable track !!!! There is a very diverse almost schizophrenic feel to the album and I have a feeling it is one that, while NOT immediate, will really grow on me and other PT fans... There is also a second disc, and ep if you will, that will be released in conjunction with the main album and it contains 4 tracks written as a band (vs. SW composition like the bulk of The Incident is) and we were treated to one song called Flicker that was actually very cool and very retro sounding...


Just thought I would share gang. The new PT will be out (in the US that is)on 9/21/09, through Road Runner Records.GK

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PORCUPINE TREE Reveal More Details For Upcoming Album

PORCUPINE TREE Reveal More Details For Upcoming Album, The Incident; Behind-The-Scenes Video Footage Available

Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 13:23:37 EST

Grammy-nominated UK recording artist PORCUPINE TREE recently confirmed the title of their tenth studio album: The Incident. The new record is set to be released on Roadrunner Records on September 22nd, as a double CD.

The Incident is a stunning 55-minute musical statement, described by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Steven Wilson as “a slightly surreal song cycle about beginnings and endings and the sense that ‘after this, things will never be the same again.’” The seeds of the idea that led to The Incident came to Wilson as he became caught up in a highway traffic jam while driving past an accident.

“There was a sign saying ‘POLICE - INCIDENT’ and everyone was slowing down to rubber neck to see what had happened,” he recalls. “Afterwards, it struck me that ‘incident’ is a very detached word for something so destructive and traumatic for the people involved. And then I had the sensation that the spirit of someone that had died in the accident entered into my car and was sitting next to me.

“The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other ‘incidents’ reported in the media and news,” continues Wilson. “I wrote about the evacuation of teenage girls from a religious cult in Texas, a family terrorizing its neighbors, a body found floating in a river by some people on a fishing trip, and more. Each song is written in the first person and tries to humanize the detached media reportage.”

Additionally, Wilson delved back into incidents in his own life that had profoundly affected him, including a lost childhood friendship, a séance, his first love and the day that he decided to give up secure employment to follow his dream of making music.

The self-produced album is completed by four standalone compositions that developed out of band writing sessions last December - 'Flicker', 'Bonnie The Cat', 'Black Dahlia' and 'Remember Me Lover' - housed on a separate CD to stress their independence from the title track.

Porcupine Tree - completed by Gavin Harrison (drums), Colin Edwin (bass), and Richard Barbieri (keyboards) - took a video camera into the recording studio, capturing a few moments to share with fans. Explore the behind-the-scenes footage below.

Coming to the recording sessions following his first ever solo album, November 2008’s Insurgentes, Wilson admits that the experience of having worked alone affected the direction of The Incident. “Possibly because of having done that, this record is darker, expansive, and more experimental,” he theorizes. “But when I write for Porcupine Tree, I know the sound I’m after.”

Porcupine Tree’s latest masterpiece The Incident will be released September 22nd.

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Porcupine Tree - New Album News

via porcupinetree.com

The Incident

Porcupine Tree are happy to announce the forthcoming release of their tenth studio album "The Incident". The record is set to be released via Roadrunner Records worldwide on 21st September, as a double CD.

The centre-piece is the title track, which takes up the whole of the first disc. The 55-minute work is described as “a slightly surreal song cycle about beginnings and endings and the sense that ‘after this, things will never be the same again’.”

The self-produced album is completed by four standalone compositions that developed out of band writing sessions last December - Flicker, Bonnie The Cat, Black Dahlia, and Remember Me Lover feature on a separate EP length disc to stress their independence from the song cycle.

Video footage of the band in the studio working on The Incident, as well as audio previews, will be available online soon. The band will tour extensively to promote the album from mid September onwards.

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The little joys in life

Considering that I have to park in supermarket parking lots every day, I am no longer concerned about dings and scratches. So it gives me great joy to inconvenience assholes like this on a rainy day.
Yes, my car is the one on the right, perfectly parked between the white lines.
I only wish they weren't crooked so I could have parked closer to their door.

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Another piece of Zappa history

via freakoutincucamonga.com

Yet another piece of Zappa's "Conceptual Continuity."
Of course, I don't expect this video to ever see the light of day as long as Gail Zappa walks the earth.
Not to mention that the web page design is dated almost 2 1/2 years ago.

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Why not, right?

via whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com

Thanks to O&A for pointing this web site out (click the picture).

To paraphrase Keanu Reeves in Parenthhood, "Any butt-reaming asshole can be a parent."

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Son of Me! Me! Me!

Contrary to popular opinion, 12 of the same item does NOT count as one item in the express lane!

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The Pinnacle

via youtube.com

American Prog at it's finest.
Dust in the Wind? Could not be further from representative of their output.

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Oh, Uncle Paul!

via youtube.com

A classic from the dawn of MTV...back when we were allowed to have a fucking sense of humor!

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Thank You

via youtube.com

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After Dark

Rockin' out with After Dark at Arthur's in Sparta NJ!

Mark
=====
Sent from my Blackjack II

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As if Pennsylvania didn't have enough pests!

via ento.psu.edu

I decided to do a Google search of these "stink bugs" that have become rampant here in western NJ, and occasionally find their way into my home.
Turns out it's a "true bug" that are coming from eastern Pennsylvania!
It's bad enough I have to deal with their drivers, now I have Penn to thank for these annoying bugs as well!

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Roadrunner Records signs Porcupine Tree

via thegauntlet.com

Looks like I'll only have two days to absorb the new album before seeing them this year.

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Is it just me?

I was at my mom's house earlier tonight, and she was watching Celebrity Apprentice. Not having seen them in quite some time, I was shocked to see what Joan and Melissa Rivers have morphed into.




Why can't women just age gracefully? Plastic surgery does NOT make you look better! It makes you look PLASTIC!

Women should consider plastic surgery to be like a man's toupee. If it's going to be obvious and NOT an improvement, then why bother? You only draw more attention and ridicule to yourself.

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Visual aid?

Would have helped to post the picture with my last post!

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So much for complimentary!

What used to be put on the table for free is now a $2.99 appetizer.

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Me, me, me!

Another installment of the "entitlement" series (note the sign).

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Me, me, me!

Are people taught entitlement, or are they born with it?

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It Takes a Village Idiot: The Jerks of Online Forums

via pcworld.com

Okay, this is rich! :-)

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How great would this be?

Found this bit amusing. I would gladly agree to all of this if I could retire in 5 years!

=====
 The Business Section of the St Petersburg Times asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix
the Economy?"  I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President:

Please find below my suggestion for fixing Americas economy.

Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the
money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following
stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!

If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents
pay their taxes...

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Oh no!

Okay, so the condo downstairs from me seems to have been sold. It would have been nice if it were sold 6 months ago because I took a beating on my heating bill this winter having a cold dwelling below me.
Anyway, the woman (of course it was) driving this vehicle may or may not be the new owner/resident. If it is, she better do a better job of parking when she parks in her assigned spot which is next to mine!
Why is it that more often than not, the people driving these tanks don't know how to judge them?

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CNN Breaking News

Okay, I feel bad for the animals, but how does anyone over 40 read about this story and not think of the Honeymooners? ;-)
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: CNN Breaking News
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 12:48 PM
To: textbreakingnews@ema3lsv06.turner.com
Subject: CNN Breaking News
 
-- Pharmacy that supplied medicine for polo ponies that later died says the medicine was incorrectly prepared.

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Botanists Shocked by Porcupine Tree Discovery

A little mild humor for today. :-)
Click on the picture for the story.

via puertoricolifestyle.com

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Park much?

Mark
=====
Sent from my Blackjack II

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Breaking News?

What has our society become when THIS is breaking news?!
-----Original Message-----
From: CNN Breaking News
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 2:18 AM
Subject: CNN Breaking News
 
-- Ashton Kutcher is first to reach 1 million followers in Twitter contest with CNN.

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Controlling Your Camera’s Flash

Controlling Your Camera's Flash

Interesting little commentary from David Pogue. I especially like this part, which I've known for years, and am amazed at how many people don't:

"Your camera's flash probably has a range of about 10 feet. Beyond that distance, it does nothing at all—except waste battery power and annoy people."

"You know when thousands of flashes go off at a rock concert, football game, or school play? Don't be one of those clueless people. They're all firing their flashes for nothing. Do they really think they're going to illuminate a singer, football player, or actor from 200 yards away?"

"The second time to avoid using the flash is, well, whenever possible. A no-flash picture is almost always better-looking and more realistic than a flash picture."

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It SO figures!

Here's the deal...

I used to have DirecTV which I loved, and still would recommend to anyone. Problem is that when I bought a Hi-Def flat screen, I found that I would not be able to receive any HD channels because of trees right outside my condo (which I can do nothing about). So, bye-bye DirecTV, hello Comcast (ugh!). The one very small upside...Comcast, like DirecTV, carries the NFL Network. Cablevision (the cable carrier that my friends and family have) does not carry NFLN.
Fast-forward to the present, and it turns out that as of May 1, Comcast will no longer carry NFL Network. Turns out that NFLN won't let any provider carry them unless it's on the "basic" tier. Comcast only offered it as part of an optional sports tier.
Anyway, on to my point. Now I no longer have access to the NFL Network be it at home or at a friend's, or even my local family.
So the NFL released the 2009 schedule on Tuesday, and as anyone with my luck would expect, the Dolphins have a prime time game scheduled in November on....you guessed it...the NFL Network.
What kills me is that they also have a Monday night game against the Jets. A game that had it been on NFL Network, would also be televised on a local channel, because if you live in the tri-state area, you will see the Jets and Giants on TV no matter what.

It SO figures!

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A personal milestone

Four years "smober."
58,441 cigarettes not smoked, saving $15,340.93

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This appears to be intentional

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For my fellow O&A fans

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Frank Zappa: A 'Lumpy' Legacy : NPR Music

via npr.org

Lest anyone think that I am unfairly harsh towards Gail Zappa and the ZFT, see what people with first hand knowledge have to say.
Oh, and be sure to note the box titled "Hear The Songs" directly under Frank's picture on the article page.

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Ray White quits Zappa Plays Zappa

1 April 2009

Hello Friends,

Here's a funny story... sort of.... So we're getting ready to leave for Japan and Australia and we've been rehearsing away like a good little teenage rocking combo. Diligently re-distributing parts and practicing our new musical responsibilities in the wake of Aaron Arntz's departure. We decide to stop for a moment and we say to ourselves where is Ray White?

He was supposed to be here today wasn't he? Yep today's the day for Ray. Let's call him. He doesn't answer any of his phones and they all say they are disconnected. Is he suddenly in the witness protection program? What has happened? We decide to look at our e-mails. I had one in my in box from Ray.

Ready for the hilarious punchline? Ray quit via e-mail with no advance "romance" notice whatsoever.

This sort of thing happened to Frank often. It never stopped him. While it is not enjoyable to deal with, it is predictable. History repeats itself.

As a band we have become even more galvanized by this odd turn of events. We have plenty of material to perform both vocally and instrumentally. We got a bit short changed on preparation time but we're professionals, we can handle this type of thing.

There has always been a plan to perform solely as the core band and now is as good a time as any. Quite frankly I'm looking forward to this experience. I have a lot of confidence in the core band. They are all exceptionally talented.

While we have enjoyed playing with our favorite alumni over the years it is time for a change. Yes folks, it's the end of a chapter for ZPZ.

The new chapter for ZPZ begins thusly...

'Twas the night before rehearsal and all through the studio every creature was stirring, clicking their mouses and searching the internet for new lead singers...

To be continued... ( We may have actually found one from a city far far away.)

In closing, here is the official word on the status of the upcoming tours and what to expect.

Zappa Plays Zappa will be performing as 6 piece band - until we find a few musical compatriots that will complement our line up . We will do what we always do - deliver our very best efforts to present the music of Frank Zappa with the utmost respect and have an excellent time in the process.

Please feel free to join us for the festivities.

See you on the road.

Regards, DZ

POSTED BY DWEEZIL ZAPPA AT 2009-04-01 17:30:04

via zappaplayszappa.com

No, this sort of thing did NOT happen to Frank "often."
Let's see...Napolean Murphy Brock is axed for wanting to participate in a performance that was...are you ready?....a tribute to Frank. Steve Vai and Terry Bozzio do a one and done, Ike Willis is not welcome, and now Ray White quits.

Hey Dweez? Why maybe it's YOU (and you don't even know it!) and your c*nt of a mother!
Seems all the FZ alum have nothing but fond memories of Frank, yet they don't seem to share the same sentiments towards you and the rest of the Zappa clan. Hmmm....

This blog post seems to imply that Dweezil expects to be the new incarnation of the Mothers, and that a new legion of followers will abound.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're NOT Frank!
Do your own thing with the talent you've surrounded yourself with. People would respect you more. You can only ride coattails for so long; then it just gets old.

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Most wonderful time finally over?

They finally took the Xmas season banners down. I wonder if they saw my post from last week? ;-)

=====
Sent from my Blackjack II

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New Gmail Feature: Autopilot

via mail.google.com

Leave it to Google to always be on the cutting edge.
Although, I don't think this feature is quite as "resourceful" as the one they rolled out about a year ago. ;-)

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THE ALBUM IS ALIVE

http://tinyurl.com/cntzws


EDITORIAL: THE ALBUM IS ALIVE
April 04, 2009

Technology Doesn't Mean The End For Extended Work—Or Artistic Packaging
STEVEN WILSON

Reports that CD sales continue to decline—they fell 14% in 2008 compared with 2007—have once again inspired a pundit-led roll call of the music industry's dead and dying institutions: major labels, record stores, terrestrial radio and the CD itself, to name but a few. Recently added to the obituary page is the album itself, thanks to industry "experts." However, I'm happy to say that the reports of the album's death are greatly exaggerated.

The true album—with the capital "A"—is alive and well. I'm not talking about an album that offers a compilation of songs strung together without meaning or purpose (other than to sell a hit single). I'm talking about the Album. The true Album. A narrative series of songs that an artist has purposefully created to work together as a whole, from the sequencing to the artwork and packaging. It resonates. It takes you on a journey. You put it on, and it's evocative and satisfying. It becomes an essential part of you.

If you think I'm being nostalgic, imagine your favorite album right now, the one you would take to that deserted island if you could only choose one. You know where I'm coming from. And that's why the album is still relevant.

We're told that the main threat to the album is digital technology—the widespread availability of music via downloading; the increased popularity of iPods and other portable music players; and the diminished sound quality of MP3 and AAC files.

One of the ironies of the CD format is that albums have gotten longer, while attention spans have gotten shorter. We live in an age when information in available instantly from computers, cell phones and satellite TV. Music can be sourced from all over the Internet, from online radio stations to artist Web sites. When the computer becomes a listener's main source of listening to music, it's hard to focus for 40 minutes, let alone 70.

But the argument that technology killed the album is a diversion—the mere availability of downloadable music is irrelevant to the question of the format's viability. It's just as easy to download eight songs from the same record as it is to download eight tracks from different artists. An iPod can play songs in order as easily as it can mix them up. Indeed, the widespread availability of digital music from virtually unlimited sources only increases the access to albums and gives artists an entirely new forum in which to distribute them.

One of the great pleasures of the album is its artwork: the lyrics, liner notes, photos and packaging. Artwork can complement the music within, on some sets more elaborately than others—the spinning wheel on "Led Zeppelin III" comes to mind, as does the triple-gatefold "Yessongs." The immediacy and tactility of that experience vanishes when it's reduced to 5 inches square, encased in plastic and coupled with an eight-page booklet that's hard to read. No wonder artwork came to be considered disposable. And yet it can now be downloaded in high quality, in various sizes. The ability to present images and lyrics is no longer limited by physical packaging or label budgets, only an artist's imagination.

Technology isn't the enemy of the album. If anything, the opposite is true. Widespread broadband, cheaper hard drives and better compression formats allow listeners to access files that sound as good as CDs. The top two online stores—iTunes and Amazon—have found success selling high-quality files, proving that sound quality matters.

As CD sales continue to plunge and the jewel case CD itself prepares to join the cassette, the 8-track tape and the MiniDisc in the dustbin of history, artists and labels need to devise new ways to sell physical products. They've had considerable success selling good old LPs, which fans keep buying as CDs fade. Another bright spot is deluxe or limited-edition albums that include additional features like bonus tracks, video footage, surround-sound mixes and more elaborate packaging. This month many U2 fans bought a $96 limited edition of the album "No Line on the Horizon." Just this week Sony released a $200 reissue of Pearl Jam's "Ten" that caters to the album's diehard fans.

Such releases would have been inconceivable 10 years ago. And technology should facilitate, not hinder, their release. Give album lovers something aesthetically pleasing to buy—and trust me, they'll buy it. ••••

Steven Wilson is the founder and lead singer/songwriter of Porcupine Tree and a member of several other bands. He recently sold out a 4,000-copy run of the deluxe edition of his first solo album, "Insurgentes," which contains a coffee-table book of photography related to the album.

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Yesterday in music history

via youtube.com

Meant to post this yesterday...

21 years ago (March 25, 1988), Frank Zappa and his touring band performed their last U.S. concert at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.
I'm glad I had the privilege of witnessing it (even if it was under the influence of a fantastic amount of trendy chemical amusement aid).

If you can spare 5 minutes of your life, play the video and witness one of Frank's many "air sculptures."

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Vegetarian Pets?

I was wondering today...regarding people who are vegetarians for animal cruelty/slaughter reasons, do they feed their pets (cats & dogs) regular canned pet food (which contains meat)?
I'd be willing to bet that there are some that do. Do you suppose they see the hypocrisy?
Just something to ponder.

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Still the most wonderful time of the year?

What the hell...they're just going to have to go up again in 8 months!

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"One likes to believe in the freedom of music..."

Check it out at huffingtonpost.com

Interesting essay by John Mellencamp about the state of the music industry.
My favorite statement that seems to really sum it all up is the end of the second-to-last paragraph where he says that it's not that people don't still love music, it's just the way it's presented ignores their humanity.

How sadly true that is.

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YouTube - The Obama Deception

via youtube.com

Despite the title of this, it is not right-wing propaganda. It is not extreme left or right, but rather one man's expose on the corruption of government.
It only has Obama's name because he's the current puppet.
It is very unsettling, but something most free-thinking people have suspected for years.
Is it a bit overblown? Probably. But anyone who thinks there can be no truth to this at all is in denial. I can't imagine anyone with any average (or above) level of intelligence would deem this as complete bull.

And please, if you haven't or won't watch this film in it's entirety, don't waste my time engaging me with comments. Trust me, you cannot make any educated statements based on the title or 5-10 minutes of viewing.

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For the true fan

via images.netshops.com

My mom came across this and sent it to me. Obviously a photoshop, but still kinda cool. :-)

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He hates your guts

Tonight was a fun night.
Due to several factors (finances, age, motivation, among others), I don't really get out too much when it's not the concert season (that being the summer generally), so it's nice when I do get out and it turns out to be a lot of fun.

Val and I had tickets to go see Jim Norton at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick.
Our tickets were for the early show; one of 5 shows of the weekend (at least 4 of them sold out).
We got there at about 5:50 PM to wait for the 6:00 PM opening of the doors. There were maybe 30 people or so ahead of us. Not a problem, because we easily got our new favorite table which is such a location so as to accommodate my "generous" build.

Since there's still almost 2 hours until show time, we ordered some food. It should be noted that the Stress Factory is a comedy club, not a restaurant, so the food is...well...edible. We played it safe and ordered the Improv Sampler, which consisted of 2 mozzarella sticks, 2 chicken fingers, 2 jalapeño poppers, and a handful of curly fries. Val doesn't care much for the poppers, so in return I let her have the one really good curly fry (you know, the one that looks like a potato slinky).
After the sampler and one or two Yeunglings, we decided to each order the one thing that is genuinely tasty at the Stress Factory, and that is the hot pretzel. At $3.75 each, they ought to be good. :-)
After the obligatory "funniest home videos" on the screens, followed by 5 minutes of panning and scanning the room with the in house camera and zooming in on random patrons complimented by text "remarks" on the screen (for example, when we went to see Bill Burr a few months back, the camera zoomed in on me and the text came up saying, "Needs Viagra"), the show started promptly at 8:00PM.
As always, club-owner Vinnie Brand started things off as MC. After his opening monologue, on came the opener, a very funny gentleman named Melvin George. We had never heard of him before, but he was very funny and entertaining. If I had to guess, I'd say the only thing keeping him from being more of a rising star is that he wasn't topical. His act was obviously entirely rehearsed, and he pretty much didn't say anything about the election (or anything really related to current events). Sure, it was only 4 days ago, but that's the point. A truly good comic would have come up with something pretty quickly.
Again, he was very funny and everyone obviously liked him. I'm only speculating as to why I haven't really heard of this guy.

He did about 40 minutes, and Jim Norton came on shortly before 9:00PM. Jimmy, as always, killed with his unique brand of politically incorrect humor. For any of you who may not have heard Jimmy's act (be it on stage, screen, or the airwaves with Opie & Anthony), just imagine the bastard child of Richard Pryor and George Carlin.
Jimmy did about a 90 minute set. After the show, Jimmy was selling and signing his new book, "I Hate Your Guts". I didn't stick around because I already have and read the book, and I didn't feel like waiting in line. How about that...I even lack motivation as a fan-boy. ;-)

Val and I then went to Marita's Cantina (two blocks away) for a nightcap of nachos and beer.
There was a live local band playing tonight, so there was a $5 cover charge to get in. We made that up when we got inside because Val had a friend behind the bar that gave us the first round "on the house." We ended up getting an order of nachos, two beers, and a shot for $20, which included a 35% tip.
We didn't stay long, because it became apparent very quickly that we could easily have been the subject of a "what's with the old people?" comment from just about anyone else in there.
After hearing the band play a Beatles cover, a Santana cover, and (what they referred to as) a Metallica cover, that being Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" (and yes, I know Metallica popularized that song, but these guys called it a Metallica cover. It's not. It's a Bob Seger cover. If you're a bar band and you play "I Shot The Sheriff," you would not be doing an Eric Clapton cover. 'Nuff said.), Valerie made the observation that her and I were the only ones in the whole place that were older than the music. Although, we were suspicious of one of the guitar players which may have been the others band members' dad. ;-)

So anyway, it was a fun night, and I would recommend that you go catch Jim Norton if you can, and buy his book.


Mark - Smober for 3 Years, 6 Months, 24 Days, 20 Hours and 46 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 181 Days and 5 Hours, by not smoking 52195 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $14,202.78.

Not a spam blog!

This content-less blog post is for no other reason than to say that this is the first post in I don't know how long that I didn't have to input a "captcha" to post it because it was flagged as a "spam blog".
It's been at least a year or two.

Now watch me jinx myself with this post. :-/

Sticks and stones....

By now you've likely heard about the controversial cover on The New Yorker magazine this week. If not, check out the Huffington Post for a quick summary.
Apparently this satirical cartoon drawing has some left-wing pundits and dignitaries all up in arms, including the subject himself. The consensus among them seems to be that the cover is "tasteless and offensive" (the exact apprisal from the Obama campaign, btw).
Here's the thing...it is satire, which by the way, was published on the cover of a left-wing publication! It was implicitly designed to point out the absurdity coming from the right about Obama! How anyone could not see this is beyond me.
A friend recently said to me, "For anyone who is well educated, [voting for] Obama is a no-brainer."
Okay, for someone with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and who tries to keep up with current events and is reasonably well-read, this is not necessarily true. I happen to still play the middle and am still weighing the pros and cons of both camps (always my preference over blindly following one side).
But let's just say for argument's sake that the statement is valid. Intelligent voters may support Obama, but that does not mean it works the other way. That is to say that not all Obama supporters are intelligent. This is evident by the uproar caused by this cartoon. Of course, as is the case any time a black person is targeted in any way whatsoever, Al Sharpton had something to say about it. What else is new? And as is the case almost any time he gets involved in something, it's an occasion where I can point out something often overlooked in this increasingly politically correct nation; it is not a right of an American citizen to not get your feelings hurt! You do not have the right to not be offended!
In fact, quite contrary, it was the artist's freedom of expression, and The New Yorker's freedom of the press that was at play here, and kudos (respectively) to the both of them for standing behind the drawing and the subsequent publication of said drawing.
Funny, it's usually the liberals that have the sense of humor, but they are also the biggest whiners when they don't get the joke.

Speaking of Obama supporters, I'm not sure if ever in my lifetime I've seen a candidate with so much "blind" support. If you're not sure what I mean by this, go find 10 random people that are supporting Obama, and get back to me if more than 1 (2 at the most), can give you a thought-out, legitimate reason for supporting him. Dollars to donuts that you'll mostly get "I like the way he speaks for change" or other similarly vacant stances.

Which segues nicely into Obama's "change". Here's an interesting quote from the aforementioned Huffington article, which is actually citing another article (of which I've only read 2 of 15 pages so far):

The companion article by Ryan Lizza, who has written extensively about the campaign, traces Obama's early career and rise through Chicago politics. It's very long (18 pages!) and probably won't thrill a lot of Democratic party faithful, either, since it advances the image of Obama as a skilled and calculating politician who rose by becoming a master of the game:

"[P]erhaps the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them....he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist. He runs as an outsider, but he has succeeded by mastering the inside game."

Now, maybe I'm reading the above paragraph wrong, but the way I read it, it seems that if this is true, then Obama (if and when elected) will bring about anything but change. It sounds like he's best at playing the game as is. Just another cog in the wheel.



Three years, three months, one day, 18 hours smober.
47551 cigarettes not smoked, saving $12,482.14.