Moonage Webdream

I’m going to be taking about a week off to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  If I take any decent pics, I might post some when I get back.

For the time being, here’s a webcam of where I’ll be:

You all behave while I’m gone!

Technorati Tags: Uncategorized

I might actually enjoy this year’s Indy 500.  It has a twist I never dreamed of to say the very least.  Here’s a graphic illustration:

This isn’t a cheerleader for one of the teams.  It’s actually Danica Patrick.  This what she’ll look like on Indy day:

Hopefully the guys won’t feel compelled to do pinup pics. 

Technorati Tags: Sports

Controversial sportscaster Sid Rosenberg has been bounced from Don Imus’ wakeup show — for good this time — after joking about breast cancer.

"She won’t look so pretty when she’s bald with one t–," Rosenberg said.

What the hell possessed him to say THAT?  Did he think it was funny?  Was it enlightening to anyone?  He’s an idiot.  He doesn’t need to be on radio.  Imus made the right call, just a little too late.

Sid needs to make a very public apology to anyone that has been affected by cancer.  That would include me.

Technorati Tags: Jerk of the Day

Early Sunday,
Tim Pruitt caught a 124-pound blue catfish.

To get a sense of just how big that is, the state record holder was a mere 85
pounds and the world record holder tipped the scales at 121 pounds, 8 ounces.

Now, I live next to a very large lake.  We have all kinds of catfish
here.  This thing is almost five feet long.  I’m here to tell you,
this is a MONSTER.  A 20 pound catch here is considered something to brag
about.  If people thought there were fish swimming around here that big, I
would guess a lot of people would never go in the water.  I might be one of
those chickening out.

Technorati Tags: Hmmmmm

The biggest musical crime of the last 20 years has been the total re-write and write-off of rock pre-1990.  Nothing epitomizes this than the current grunge movement.  It’s sad.  In the glorification of Neil Young, much better and much more enjoyable bands have been totally forgotten and pretty much ignored.  What’s even sadder, they were the true “Godfathers of Grunge”.

Thrasher’s Wheat does a great job documenting the exaltation of Neil Young by the latest generation of grunge artists.  They even reference the Wikipedia definition of “Grunge”.   To wit:

Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that was inspired by hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock. The genre became commercially successful in the late 1980s and early 1990s, peaking in mainstream popularity between 1991 and 1994. Bands from cities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest such as Seattle, Washington, Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, were responsible for creating grunge music and later made it popular with mainstream audiences. The genre is closely associated with Generation X, due to its popularization being in tandem with the popularizing of the generation’s name.^{[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge_music#endnote_ref1)} The popularity of grunge was one of the first phenomena that distinguished the popular music of the 1990s from that of the 1980s.

They then debate whether Young or Cobain merit the “Godfather” status.  However, Young wouldn’t have gotten dirty in 1989 if hundreds of other bands weren’t already doing it.  Young’s career has always been about riding the latest trend, not creating it.

The band that got it all going was The Ramones:  They got dirty when gettin dirty wasn’t cool.  When bands like ELO were skyrocketing on the charts with perfectly clean guitars being whammied by classical musicians, The Ramones stuck to usually no more than three chords and distorted them to the point you couldn’t hear them screw up.  And, they defined the the two minute song.  Their albums often had 20+ songs on them in less than 45 minutes.  The single note solo of “I Wanna Be Sedated” is still considered one of the all time classic hooks.  And, the rebellion and anti-social behaviors they sung about were every modern grunge artist’s wet dream.  “Beat the Brat”, “I Wanna Be Sedated”, “I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”, “The KKK Took My Baby Away”, “Sheena is a Punk Rocker”, sheez, the list of alternative behaviors is endless.

They got the ball rolling.  But, they weren’t extreme enough to compete the Sex Pistols.  They weren’t mainstream enough to compete with the AC/DC’s.  They were just The Ramones.  They didn’t fit neatly anywhere.  When they toured with other bands, it always seemed like an odd match.  That’s because they had created a sound and style that just didn’t fit any genre at the time.  Kids, that style was grunge. 

Although a LOT of bands were inspired by The Ramones, notably U2, very few stuck with the mindlessly simple concept The Ramones would never deviate one note from.   A rock generation passed, The Ramones continued to exist, and Eddie Vedder’s cult-worship of Neil Young totally obscured The Ramones.  The hard life the Ramones led eventually started taking its toll and three of them died.  There’s no one really to carry the torch.  It just really pains me that such an incredibly fun and creative band like The Ramones are being ignored while the droll and boring Neil Young is risen to cult like status.

Give credit where credit’s due.  Cobain didn’t create grunge, Seattle didn’t create grunge.  What Cobain did, listen to it, was emulate The Ramones.  What Pearl Jam did, listen to it, was emulate Cobain.  Now, if you REALLY want to listen to the true roots of grunge, listen to it, listen to The Ramones.

Here’s a few remakes I’ve done myself just for this post.  Being as their songs are usually about 2 minutes long and feature no more than 4 instruments at any given time, I was able to do them all in less the time I usually do one Bowie song.

And here’s some of their real stuff.  Just click on some of the albums for sound clips.  And if you’re reading this and still trying to believe Neil Young is the “Godfather of Grunge”, check out the CD “We’re A Happy Family”.  There’s a few bands on there that probably would agree with me. 

Technorati Tags: blitzkreig-bop, grunge, i-wanna-be-sedated, Music, punk, ramones, sheena-is-a-punk-rocker

I swear I can’t understand this penchant for remaking movies.  I really can’t.  And in this case, I have issues I doubt I can get over.  Here are some snippets from ABC:

A surprisingly faithful remake of the well-regarded 1974 prison pigskin movie, "The Longest Yard"….

OK, for starters, why not just rent the original?

First, however, you have to be willing to buy Sandler as a former pro football player — an MVP no less — and while he’s been convincing in the past as a waterboy and even a hockey player turned-golfer, this one’s a taller order.

That’s a hard one for me to swallow.  Reynolds was in his prime as an ex-football player turned actor when he did the original. 

He manages to get the smart-ass part down cold as Paul Crewe

Now, when Reynolds did it, it wasn’t punch-line material.  It really seemed to be coming from someone who was a nasty smart-ass.  Most of it wasn’t funny, it just built his character.  Somehow, I just can’t imagine Sandler being the type of person to walk into a bar and insult someone.  We’re not talking a good boy who made one mistake, Paul Crewe is a nasty personality that belonged in prison.  Then, toss in the supporting characters of Snoop Dogg and Chris Rock.  Watch the original and look at their supporting cast. They were BIG, and they were UGLY.  They looked like people who would cut your throat and were big enough to do it easily.  Snoop and Chris just don’t scare me that much.

This thing is loaded with stars.  It’s apparently a well-made and well-produced movie.  So was the original.  For that matter, so was the other remake.  The big question I can’t get past is why bother going to see it?  I already know how it ends.  Are they going to re-do One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest next?  Some movies are just classics that don’t need to remade just for the sake of generating sales.  I would have preferred to have seen the original in theaters again.  It’s a hell of a movie.

Technorati Tags: Movies

Last night at the Junior Woman’s Club, I was presented with one of the 2004-2005 Muscle Man Awards. They recognized me for supporting my wife in her volunteer endeavors.  That was very cool and I was honored.

However, putting me in any category that includes the word "muscle" is a stretch I never dreamed of. 
Look at my arms.  I am fully flexing just to hold that trophy.

I do consider it an honor.  And, it’s for good causes.  For those
readers here not familiar with the Junior Woman’s Clubs, follow that link up
there and check them out.

And yeah, I am finding out which "member" holds the record for the most
Muscle Man awards and how I can "rig" the voting to top him.

Technorati Tags: Tales

Technorati Tags: Movies

This is the MLB season from my "management ratings index".  So far, The Orioles are creaming everyone else.  The first column is my pre-season ranking.  The fourth column is the team payroll.  Fifth column is the current RPI.  And, the last column, used for my ranking purposes, is the current RPI times team payroll, or, management liability.

What this shows is that the Orioles management is doing about 32 times a better job than the Yankees.

Now, I do recognize the realities of doing this.  The Yankees are about 30 players deep while the Orioles for the most part are relying on about 15 players to get it done.  Something happens to just a couple of key Orioles and they’re out.  Something happens to a couple of key Yankees, they just re-load.  What The Braves and Yankees do every year is just simply win by attrition.  The Red Sox finally figured it out as well.  The only way you can do that is to spend one or two hundred million dollars.

Or, we could return to the days where players actually won by being the best in the league.  Only a salary cap that is enforced will accomplish that.

Technorati Tags: Sports

The Trump’s a nut.  I like that.  Add this to his recent shenanigans:

Billionaire developer Donald Trump has officially thrown his support behind a plant to rebuild the Twin Towers at Ground Zero in practically the same form they were in prior to the September 11 attacks with a few safety modifications.

Trump implored Governor George Pataki to discard the plans for the ‘Freedom Tower’ presently on the table, describing the design as ‘the worst pile of crap architecture I’ve ever seen in my life,‘ according to a report published in ‘Newsday.’ …..

Some were skeptical of Trump’s proposal at this point in the process. Tom Roger, vice president of the organization ‘Families of September 11′ described Trump’s announcement by saying, ‘It seems like a little bit of a publicity stunt and a little late in the process. We’re a little surprised he’d come at this late in the stage.’

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed Trump’s idea at a news conference Wednesday at a Bronx elementary school. ‘He’s a great guy who dreams big and talks big…But we are not going to rebuild the two World Trade Center towers.’

While it sounds as though Trump’s idea will not come to fruition, never underestimate Mr. Trump when he is determined to get something done.

I am underestimating The Trump.  He’s waited way too long and suggested an idea that would have taken about one day to put together.  I can’t see any other logical explanation for this stunt other than publicity.

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