This is a follow-up to this post, about the new bankruptcy law currently under debate (if you can call it that) in the Congress.
Just in case you hear some rich Republican a-hole (or poor Republican a-hole, we won't discriminate) saying how "people have to quit charging up their cards and take some personal responsibility," show them this article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. Here's a snippet:
"The study looked at 1,771 bankruptcies filed in 2001 in five states, including California. Almost half of those filers -- 46.2 percent -- cited illness and medical bills as a major cause of bankruptcy. More than three- quarters had insurance at the onset of illness."
Well, serves them right for getting sick, right George W.?
And if you're tempted to think that this only happens to the working poor, think again:
"Jeannie Brewer is a physician married to a surgical resident. She and her family have health insurance. She's not the kind of person you'd expect to be pushed to the verge of financial collapse by medical expenses.
Yet Brewer is considering filing for bankruptcy, and part of the reason is the $16,500 in health care costs her family incurs each year that are not paid for by insurance."
Ask yourself this question: Could you afford $16 grand extra a year? Then don't get sick y'all, 'cause under this administration, you're on your own.
2/17/2005
The Waist hath officially disappeared
I am finally showing. But I am at the frusterating stage of, "is Jenny eating too much lately" or "is she pregnant" phase.
I took a long time to show due to the fact that I was underweight and now I am trying to get back on track... more later and will try to attach photo for proof.
I took a long time to show due to the fact that I was underweight and now I am trying to get back on track... more later and will try to attach photo for proof.
2/15/2005
New Guitar Player article now online
Unfortunately, the Frets articles aren't available online yet, but you can check out an interview I did with metal band Shadows Fall on the GP site here.
Fun stuff....
Fun stuff....
2/14/2005
Arroz con pollo ¡Qué rico!
We had our friends Kristin and Jordan over for Sunday dinner (which in our family is at 2:00 p.m.) this weekend for Spanish chicken and rice, or arroz con pollo as you may know it. I've been eating this dish on Sundays since I can't even remember, as it was one of the traditions brought over from the old country. Thought you might enjoy the recipe (my great-grandmother's, with my lower-fat changes in brackets...believe it or not, it's just as good low fat):
Ingredients:
1 pack of [skinless, boneless] chicken [breasts]
1 jar of sliced pimentos (drained)
1 jar of green Spanish olives (stuffed with pimentos, drained)
2 pinches of Spanish saffron*
Uncle Ben's CONVERTED rice**
1/2 onion, coarsely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
salt/pepper to taste (I don't use a lot, and then add to the finished dish on the plate, but it's up to you)
Virgin or extra virgin Spanish olive oil (the Italian stuff will make you impotent) ;-)
Grab a large, [non-stick] frying pan, and pour in a dollop of oil about 3 inches round. Heat on medium-high until a haze forms above it.
Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion begins to brown slightly (Keep moving it around the pan! You don't want to burn it or the garlic!)
Add chicken, pimentos, salt and pepper (you want a decent amount of both salt and pepper on the chicken), and fry until chicken is starting to brown. Turn off heat and cover skillet.
Boil enough water for the serving size of rice you want (for four people, I make the six-serving amount as outlined on the Uncle Ben's box).
If your saffron is a powder, add two pinches (small ones) to the water. If your saffron is in whole strands, crush one pinch with a morter and pestle or between two spoons and then add to water. Water should turn bright yellow. Add rice (as per directions on Uncle Ben's box). Reduce heat, cover, simmer until water cooks off and rice is done.
In a cassarole dish, combine rice, chicken et al, and olives, and bake at 350 until you taste an olive and it's hot.
Serve with a salad of lettuce, chopped onion, and lots of salt with an olive oil/white vinegar dressing. Yum!
Recommended wine: Marqués de Cáceres Rioja
*(Note: Do not buy the cheap stuff in the Mexican food area at the grocery store labeled "Saffron." I don't know what it is, but it's not 100% saffron, and it tastes totally different. If the saffron costs less than $12/packet, don't buy it. Don't freak about how much it costs, as a little saffron will last you a long time.)
**(Don't laugh, my Spanish great-grandmother used Uncle Ben's. And it MUST be converted rice for ease-of-use issues....)
Ingredients:
1 pack of [skinless, boneless] chicken [breasts]
1 jar of sliced pimentos (drained)
1 jar of green Spanish olives (stuffed with pimentos, drained)
2 pinches of Spanish saffron*
Uncle Ben's CONVERTED rice**
1/2 onion, coarsely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
salt/pepper to taste (I don't use a lot, and then add to the finished dish on the plate, but it's up to you)
Virgin or extra virgin Spanish olive oil (the Italian stuff will make you impotent) ;-)
Grab a large, [non-stick] frying pan, and pour in a dollop of oil about 3 inches round. Heat on medium-high until a haze forms above it.
Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion begins to brown slightly (Keep moving it around the pan! You don't want to burn it or the garlic!)
Add chicken, pimentos, salt and pepper (you want a decent amount of both salt and pepper on the chicken), and fry until chicken is starting to brown. Turn off heat and cover skillet.
Boil enough water for the serving size of rice you want (for four people, I make the six-serving amount as outlined on the Uncle Ben's box).
If your saffron is a powder, add two pinches (small ones) to the water. If your saffron is in whole strands, crush one pinch with a morter and pestle or between two spoons and then add to water. Water should turn bright yellow. Add rice (as per directions on Uncle Ben's box). Reduce heat, cover, simmer until water cooks off and rice is done.
In a cassarole dish, combine rice, chicken et al, and olives, and bake at 350 until you taste an olive and it's hot.
Serve with a salad of lettuce, chopped onion, and lots of salt with an olive oil/white vinegar dressing. Yum!
Recommended wine: Marqués de Cáceres Rioja
*(Note: Do not buy the cheap stuff in the Mexican food area at the grocery store labeled "Saffron." I don't know what it is, but it's not 100% saffron, and it tastes totally different. If the saffron costs less than $12/packet, don't buy it. Don't freak about how much it costs, as a little saffron will last you a long time.)
**(Don't laugh, my Spanish great-grandmother used Uncle Ben's. And it MUST be converted rice for ease-of-use issues....)
2/11/2005
Proposed bankruptcy law is disgusting
Got a multibillion dollar company that's too far in the red to save? No problem. Declare bankruptcy, fire everyone, and move on to your next business.
Got a few thousand dollars in credit card debt? Unlucky enough to get laid off and sick at the same time? Just declare bankruptcy, right? Nope. Screw you, buddy, you've STILL got to pay back Citibank.
That's basically the jist of a proposed law that would exempt credit-card debt from personal bankruptcy filings (an earlier version of which, by the way, Bill Clinton let die on his desk rather than sign into law).
How evil is this bill? Let me count the ways. First, deregulation of the lending industry effectively eliminates states' usury laws, allowing credit card companies to charge any interest rate that they deem fit. Then the companies change their business practices to lure college kids and working families into massive debt, while allowing minuscule minimum payments that contribute to the massive compounding of interest debt. "Oops, you were late on your mortgage payment. There goes your unrelated credit card's interest up to 28%!" They then have the audacity to blame cash-strapped consumers who can't get out of the hole created by a never-ending stream of pre-approved credit-card applications, and use lackey politicians to change the law to eliminate the only way out for these poor consumers.
Big banks and their lobbyists are happy, of course, as are the Republican lawmakers ramming this through committee to the President's desk. And this evil sonofabitch is going to sign it into law before you can say "thanks for all those campaign contributions, MBNA."
Pay off your credit cards people. Do it. Now.
Got a few thousand dollars in credit card debt? Unlucky enough to get laid off and sick at the same time? Just declare bankruptcy, right? Nope. Screw you, buddy, you've STILL got to pay back Citibank.
That's basically the jist of a proposed law that would exempt credit-card debt from personal bankruptcy filings (an earlier version of which, by the way, Bill Clinton let die on his desk rather than sign into law).
How evil is this bill? Let me count the ways. First, deregulation of the lending industry effectively eliminates states' usury laws, allowing credit card companies to charge any interest rate that they deem fit. Then the companies change their business practices to lure college kids and working families into massive debt, while allowing minuscule minimum payments that contribute to the massive compounding of interest debt. "Oops, you were late on your mortgage payment. There goes your unrelated credit card's interest up to 28%!" They then have the audacity to blame cash-strapped consumers who can't get out of the hole created by a never-ending stream of pre-approved credit-card applications, and use lackey politicians to change the law to eliminate the only way out for these poor consumers.
Big banks and their lobbyists are happy, of course, as are the Republican lawmakers ramming this through committee to the President's desk. And this evil sonofabitch is going to sign it into law before you can say "thanks for all those campaign contributions, MBNA."
Pay off your credit cards people. Do it. Now.
God I'm old
There's nothing like an all-ages show to bring father time rudly crashing down upon your distorted sense of personal youth.
Last night I went to see a punk rock show at the Black Cat. The Loved Ones, The Unseen, and some other band were playing, but I just went on a lark, so I didn't know any of the bands beforehand. Turns out they were "old skool" punk rock bands, complete with mohawks, pinned Agnostic Front tee-shirts, and the like. The kids in the audience, who seemed to be about, oh, I don't know....TWELVE OR SO, all had on tee-shirts and patches from bands who were broken up before they were even born. I haven't seen the Ramones seal so many times since 1988. Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and the Misfits were other favorites of the kiddie set (I guess Jason's and my suspicions were correct, and new bands DO suck). Seeing all the retro outfits and little girls sporting mohawks made me crack up...literally. It was like a halloween party where everyone dressed up as what punk rockers are supposed to look like. Weird.
Anyway, the Unseen were the band most of the kids were there to see, and I've got to admit that while the music was bland, derivitive, and basically a bad Minor Threat ripoff, the energy of the kids all shouting along made it an enjoyable experience.
I really went to the show to see what amplifiers the guitar players were using. The verdict: Marshalls. In fact, of the five amp heads on stage, four were Marshalls (two JCM 800s, and two I couldn't make out the model numbers on), and one was a Mesa Dual Recto. The Mesa, by the way, blew all of the Marshalls out of the water for the distorted punk stuff the bands were playing.
Still, it was a wake-up call that if I really want to try to sell some amps, I had better quit monkeying around with this low-wattage stuff and focus on 50 and 100 watters to take advantage of all the bullshit market-driven brainwashing that the major manufacturers put out.
Last night I went to see a punk rock show at the Black Cat. The Loved Ones, The Unseen, and some other band were playing, but I just went on a lark, so I didn't know any of the bands beforehand. Turns out they were "old skool" punk rock bands, complete with mohawks, pinned Agnostic Front tee-shirts, and the like. The kids in the audience, who seemed to be about, oh, I don't know....TWELVE OR SO, all had on tee-shirts and patches from bands who were broken up before they were even born. I haven't seen the Ramones seal so many times since 1988. Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and the Misfits were other favorites of the kiddie set (I guess Jason's and my suspicions were correct, and new bands DO suck). Seeing all the retro outfits and little girls sporting mohawks made me crack up...literally. It was like a halloween party where everyone dressed up as what punk rockers are supposed to look like. Weird.
Anyway, the Unseen were the band most of the kids were there to see, and I've got to admit that while the music was bland, derivitive, and basically a bad Minor Threat ripoff, the energy of the kids all shouting along made it an enjoyable experience.
I really went to the show to see what amplifiers the guitar players were using. The verdict: Marshalls. In fact, of the five amp heads on stage, four were Marshalls (two JCM 800s, and two I couldn't make out the model numbers on), and one was a Mesa Dual Recto. The Mesa, by the way, blew all of the Marshalls out of the water for the distorted punk stuff the bands were playing.
Still, it was a wake-up call that if I really want to try to sell some amps, I had better quit monkeying around with this low-wattage stuff and focus on 50 and 100 watters to take advantage of all the bullshit market-driven brainwashing that the major manufacturers put out.
2/07/2005
Raise your Jäger to our jagare
We love Ikea. I'm sorry if that offends you or makes us seem like überyüppies who find the need to püt ümlaüts over every ü they come across, but we simply love it.
Jüst finished installing our newest Ikean addition, the schweet jagare spotlight system (see photo), in the back family room, and all I can say is that it's WAY cooler than the cräp, gold-accented chandelier that was fläccidly hanging there when we boüght the hoüse.
We feel so Scandinavian now.
Jüst finished installing our newest Ikean addition, the schweet jagare spotlight system (see photo), in the back family room, and all I can say is that it's WAY cooler than the cräp, gold-accented chandelier that was fläccidly hanging there when we boüght the hoüse.
We feel so Scandinavian now.
2/05/2005
The plumbing's done! Hurrah!
Well, my dad and I did a lot of work on the house in the last few days, but the most stressful and rewarding has been ripping out the old, pinhole-leak ridden length of copper pipe and replacing it with CPVC (which is different from PVC in that it can handle more pressure and higher temperatures).
We cut the old pipe, installed the new, waited for the glue to cure, and turned the H20 back on with fingers fully crossed. The verdict: NO LEAKS! Yay!
Having a fantastic dad with mad handyman skills has officially saved us hundreds of dollars. Thanks dad, we love you!
Other projects completed:
Replaced shorted out light at bottom of stairs.
Installed fan switch in upstairs bathroom.
Installed remaining storm windows in house.
Hooked up DSL connection.
The house is coming together finally! It's about time for a housewarming party!
We cut the old pipe, installed the new, waited for the glue to cure, and turned the H20 back on with fingers fully crossed. The verdict: NO LEAKS! Yay!
Having a fantastic dad with mad handyman skills has officially saved us hundreds of dollars. Thanks dad, we love you!
Other projects completed:
Replaced shorted out light at bottom of stairs.
Installed fan switch in upstairs bathroom.
Installed remaining storm windows in house.
Hooked up DSL connection.
The house is coming together finally! It's about time for a housewarming party!
2/01/2005
As our children slip blithely into fascism
"When told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high-school students said it goes 'too far' in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories."
Wow. What more can I say, really?
For the whole story, click here.
Wow. What more can I say, really?
For the whole story, click here.
1/30/2005
We're in!
We moved the last bit of our stuff from the Connecticut Ave. apartment this morning in a driving snow, and pulled up to our new home just in time for the last flakes to fall. It's hard to believe that less than a year ago we were in Oakland dreaming of buying a house and in less than nine months here we actually have one.
The move went pretty smoothly, and the weather turned out to be fantastic, thank goodness. The movers didn't even have that hard of a time getting our mondo couch down four flights of stairs (man I'd been dreading that....). Only a few scratches to furniture marred the move, but nothing serious.
Now it's down to the unpacking, which is something else, let me tell you. In fact, I've got a bunch of cool new photos waiting on my CoolPix right now...if I can just find the damn connection cord in one of these boxes....
The move went pretty smoothly, and the weather turned out to be fantastic, thank goodness. The movers didn't even have that hard of a time getting our mondo couch down four flights of stairs (man I'd been dreading that....). Only a few scratches to furniture marred the move, but nothing serious.
Now it's down to the unpacking, which is something else, let me tell you. In fact, I've got a bunch of cool new photos waiting on my CoolPix right now...if I can just find the damn connection cord in one of these boxes....
1/28/2005
Hasslemania
I took the day off today to do some last-minute painting and other work on the house before we move in on Saturday. The duct cleaners were supposed to come this morning, but cancelled with less than a day's notice. Typical, I guess. They want to reschedule for Tuesday. Of course, they don't work on weekends or after 5pm, so I'll need to take more time off.
Is it me or has life in the last few years been more full of hassle than previously? It seems that nothing I buy works exactly like it's supposed to out of the box, without six calls to "customer service" (which, these days, is a massive oxymoron if ever there were one). And it's rare to find a company that follows through on its committments. I put a lot of the blame for this on the rise of the corporate machine in America. Companies merge, merge, merge until they are so big that the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing anymore and the customer gets caught up in the comflicting policies and practices of different company divisions, which are many times remnants of the pre-merger firms that have been gobbled up.
Is it me or has life in the last few years been more full of hassle than previously? It seems that nothing I buy works exactly like it's supposed to out of the box, without six calls to "customer service" (which, these days, is a massive oxymoron if ever there were one). And it's rare to find a company that follows through on its committments. I put a lot of the blame for this on the rise of the corporate machine in America. Companies merge, merge, merge until they are so big that the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing anymore and the customer gets caught up in the comflicting policies and practices of different company divisions, which are many times remnants of the pre-merger firms that have been gobbled up.
1/26/2005
I'm "that" guy.
You know, the one who sings along to the iPod only he can hear. The one who doesn't even know all the words to the song he's singing along to, making him all that much more annoying. Yeah, that's me.
I can't help it, I'm sorry. I'm in my own little world when those cute, little earbuds plug up my auditory canals (I'm sure that the people next to me want to plug up another canal with my earbuds, but so be it) and I can't escape the music's hypnotic lure...sing along...you're a star...sing along....
Except I'm not a star. I'm just another out-of-tune, annoying bump in your commute, and for that I apologize.
I do make a conscious effort to not sing inside the subway car itself, although I'm not always successful. The walk to and from the station though? That's an every day "Star Search" moment.
Today's snippet of song for the woman walking next to me on the way to the Metro:
"They caught and drowned the front man...of the world's worst rock and roll band...he was out of luck...because nobody gave a fuck."
Sorry lady. The Archers of Loaf in my head just can't be stopped.
I can't help it, I'm sorry. I'm in my own little world when those cute, little earbuds plug up my auditory canals (I'm sure that the people next to me want to plug up another canal with my earbuds, but so be it) and I can't escape the music's hypnotic lure...sing along...you're a star...sing along....
Except I'm not a star. I'm just another out-of-tune, annoying bump in your commute, and for that I apologize.
I do make a conscious effort to not sing inside the subway car itself, although I'm not always successful. The walk to and from the station though? That's an every day "Star Search" moment.
Today's snippet of song for the woman walking next to me on the way to the Metro:
"They caught and drowned the front man...of the world's worst rock and roll band...he was out of luck...because nobody gave a fuck."
Sorry lady. The Archers of Loaf in my head just can't be stopped.
1/24/2005
Fun weekend!
This weekend started out with a great party at our friend Julia's apartment. We met her at a Kerry fundraiser last fall, and she lives directly across the street from the National Cathedral...the view, of course, is amazing! Met many friendly folks and I drank some super yum Marques de Cáceres Reserva (Jenny had ginger ale, per usual).
On Saturday we were pretty much in hibernation, hiding from the (lighter-than-expected) snow. We used that indoor time to begin the ever-hated process of packing up all of our stuff for Saturday's move.
Painted the baby's room on Sunday, so now that's done, leaving the study (aka bedroom #3) and the hallway o' death to be completed. Whew.
On Saturday we were pretty much in hibernation, hiding from the (lighter-than-expected) snow. We used that indoor time to begin the ever-hated process of packing up all of our stuff for Saturday's move.
Painted the baby's room on Sunday, so now that's done, leaving the study (aka bedroom #3) and the hallway o' death to be completed. Whew.
1/19/2005
Yum! Fasika's Ethopian food!
Painting, much like being President, is hard work
Jaysus...I am so dead today. The good news: I finished painting Jenny's and my bedroom last night. We chose a cool, modern-looking grey-blue for the walls and Swiss Coffee for the trim. The bad news: it took me until midnight to get the thing finished and right now I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Calgon, take me away!
Don't let anybody snow you: Painters earn their money. Getting a straight edge is next to impossible, although I think my job turned out pretty well for an amateur.
Just two more bedrooms and the hallway of death to go! Gulp.
Don't let anybody snow you: Painters earn their money. Getting a straight edge is next to impossible, although I think my job turned out pretty well for an amateur.
Just two more bedrooms and the hallway of death to go! Gulp.
1/17/2005
Busy weekend....
We're coming down to the wire on our move-in date, which means that I've really got to buckle down and get the house's collective shit together. This (long) weekend I got quite a bit accomplished:
1. Take out AC outlet and replace with normal, three-pronged outlet in living room: check.
2. Prime front bedroom: check.
3. Prime hallway (1st coat only): check. Note: Jeez-o-pete, this is a hellish job. To the people who sold us our house, I say a hearty "screw you and your idiotic purple, impossible-to-paint-over paint job."
4. Re-install kitchen cabinet handles after Mom's thorough cleaning: check.
5. Clean fridge and freezer: check. (Jenny did this.)
6. Clean and paper closets: check. (Jenny did this, too.)
7. Shop vac washer/dryer area: check.
8. Install pegboard in kitchen to hang pots and pans on (Julia Child style): check.
9. Painted the front bedroom's walls (trim and touch-ups TK): check.
There is so much to do yet, but we're slowly making progress. I don't have to work on Dickweed's inaguration day, so that's a whole extra day to paint, etc.
Now we need visitors! We're currently taking reservations. Jane and Sarah have already claimed one weekend in May, but other than that we're wide open....come visit us!
1. Take out AC outlet and replace with normal, three-pronged outlet in living room: check.
2. Prime front bedroom: check.
3. Prime hallway (1st coat only): check. Note: Jeez-o-pete, this is a hellish job. To the people who sold us our house, I say a hearty "screw you and your idiotic purple, impossible-to-paint-over paint job."
4. Re-install kitchen cabinet handles after Mom's thorough cleaning: check.
5. Clean fridge and freezer: check. (Jenny did this.)
6. Clean and paper closets: check. (Jenny did this, too.)
7. Shop vac washer/dryer area: check.
8. Install pegboard in kitchen to hang pots and pans on (Julia Child style): check.
9. Painted the front bedroom's walls (trim and touch-ups TK): check.
There is so much to do yet, but we're slowly making progress. I don't have to work on Dickweed's inaguration day, so that's a whole extra day to paint, etc.
Now we need visitors! We're currently taking reservations. Jane and Sarah have already claimed one weekend in May, but other than that we're wide open....come visit us!
1/14/2005
It's casual Friday; why am I wearing pants?
I've been sleeping pretty badly lately and waking up in a semi-coma about every day, which may explain why it's casual Friday at my office and I DON'T HAVE FRICKING BLUE JEANS ON. I live for casual Fridays, people. I LOVE wearing blue jeans to work. I thought it was Thursday this morning, and while that would normally be cause for celebration, the joy of having the weekend arrive one mental day earlier is severely tempered by the fact that MY LEGS ARE NOT SHROUDED IN 100% COTTON RIGHT NOW. Goddammit.
On another note, Jenny and I are meeting friends for dinner for the first time in a while, so that should be cool. I'll take the camera and post the results tomorrow.
On another note, Jenny and I are meeting friends for dinner for the first time in a while, so that should be cool. I'll take the camera and post the results tomorrow.
1/13/2005
Five Perfect Albums®
Inspired by Gabe's list of favorite TV shows, and not being a real TV junkie myself, I thought I'd offer up my list of five Perfect Albums®.
First, a definition. To be a Perfect Album®, a record must meet the following three criteria:
1. It must be able to be played completely through without ever having to hit the FFW button. It must not contain any "filler" songs that take up space between the good songs on the album.
2. It must be considered in its entirety, and it must be cohesive (i.e., all of the songs must fit together sonically, yet not sound exactly alike).
3. You must still be able to hear nuances you've never heard before even after the 1,000,000th listen. (For example, put on headphones, turn up the volume, and concentrate on the individual instruments, and I guarantee you that you'll hear something on "Back in Black" that you never did on the FM dial.)
Now without further ado, five Perfect Albums®:
1. Back in Black: AC/DC
Released in 1980, less than a year after their first lead singer, Bon Scott, got drunk, fell asleep in a car, and froze to death, "Back in Black" made AC/DC megastars. But while you may have heard "You Shook Me All Night Long" eight billion times on the radio, EVERY SINGLE SONG on this album is a classic. The riff from "Have a Drink on Me" is possibly the coolest guitar riff ever produced by human hands. If you haven't listened to this entire album, do yourself a favor and go buy it RIGHT NOW.
2. All the Nations Airports: Archers of Loaf
Nobody knows who the Archers of Loaf are except my friend Jason and me. They should. These guys came out of Chapel Hill, NC and created the most original, catchy, utterly cool music I've heard in the last 15 years. On "All the Nation's Airports," the band hit its zenith, coming together to form an album that drips with guitar lines so intertwined that when Jason and I saw them in concert in San Francisco on this tour, we couldn't tell which guitarist was playing what. And we were standing in the front row, WATCHING THEIR HANDS. Immensely cool album.
3. Sticky Fingers: The Rolling Stones
Mick Taylor. Does that name ring a bell for you? If it doesn't, you're not aware of the most talented lead guitarist the Stones ever had, and the guy who makes this brilliant guitarfest of an album possible. His lead work on "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" sets the bar for every "jam" that came afterwards.
4. New York: Lou Reed
Make no mistake, Lou Reed's catalog is sketchy. Like Neil Young, he follows his own creative muse, and he has done some incredibly bad albums--and some incredibly brilliant ones. This one is my favorite. It's a straight-up rock and roll album that's stripped down to the bare minimums and perfectly gets across the feels, smells, and image of New York City. Put it in and you won't turn it off until it's done.
5. Bossanova: The Pixies
Often overlooked, this album, IMHO, is the best one the band ever made. Although it's pretty much all Black Francis (Kim Deal was losing the power struggle for songwriting and vocals by this point), the album takes on a hard-edged, yet weirdly fantasy-like feel that all fits together perfectly. Joey Santiago's playing on this album is the best he's ever done with the band. "Rock Music." "Dig for Fire." "Havalina." Awesome.
This isn't a complete list, and I welcome your suggestions for YOUR perfect albums.
Keep rockin'.
First, a definition. To be a Perfect Album®, a record must meet the following three criteria:
1. It must be able to be played completely through without ever having to hit the FFW button. It must not contain any "filler" songs that take up space between the good songs on the album.
2. It must be considered in its entirety, and it must be cohesive (i.e., all of the songs must fit together sonically, yet not sound exactly alike).
3. You must still be able to hear nuances you've never heard before even after the 1,000,000th listen. (For example, put on headphones, turn up the volume, and concentrate on the individual instruments, and I guarantee you that you'll hear something on "Back in Black" that you never did on the FM dial.)
Now without further ado, five Perfect Albums®:
1. Back in Black: AC/DC
2. All the Nations Airports: Archers of Loaf
3. Sticky Fingers: The Rolling Stones
4. New York: Lou Reed
5. Bossanova: The Pixies
This isn't a complete list, and I welcome your suggestions for YOUR perfect albums.
Keep rockin'.
1/11/2005
Scary
This summer Jenny and I went out to Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland for a weekend, and on the way we passed Burkettsville, MD, which was the setting of The Blair Witch Project. That got us thinking about the movie, so Jenny put it on our Netflix list when we got home.
We have an inordinately long Netflix queue, so the movie just arrived yesterday, and we watched it again last night.
Anyone who tells you that this movie isn't scary is either lying or has never been alone in the woods at night.
I'm not talking about being in a crowded camping area or state park at night, I'm talking about 2 a.m. in the open woods, miles away from anyone (you hope) and anything (you REALLY hope).
It's easy to sit here in the light of day in a comfy office and pooh-pooh the idea of the woods being scary, but when you can only see about 50 feet into the pitch black darkness and it's so quiet that you can hear EVERY SINGLE twig snapping in a 100 yard radius around your what-now-seems-completely defenseless campsite (with only about 2mm of nylon rip-stop between you and the encroaching claws and fangs of god-knows-what), it's pretty effing scary.
I wish all scary movies could stir up that kind of primal fear....
We have an inordinately long Netflix queue, so the movie just arrived yesterday, and we watched it again last night.
Anyone who tells you that this movie isn't scary is either lying or has never been alone in the woods at night.
I'm not talking about being in a crowded camping area or state park at night, I'm talking about 2 a.m. in the open woods, miles away from anyone (you hope) and anything (you REALLY hope).
It's easy to sit here in the light of day in a comfy office and pooh-pooh the idea of the woods being scary, but when you can only see about 50 feet into the pitch black darkness and it's so quiet that you can hear EVERY SINGLE twig snapping in a 100 yard radius around your what-now-seems-completely defenseless campsite (with only about 2mm of nylon rip-stop between you and the encroaching claws and fangs of god-knows-what), it's pretty effing scary.
I wish all scary movies could stir up that kind of primal fear....
1/10/2005
Our parents are the best.
My Mom and Dad drove 6+ hours on Friday to clean, scrape out a (literally) crappy wax toilet ring and replace a toilet, and generally work super hard on someone else's house. In return, they wouldn't even let me buy them a half of a tank of gas for the ride home.
Jenny's parents are paying for the recarpeting our great room, and we know that they would be up here if they could.
I don't know what we did to deserve such great, supportive parents, but I do know that Jenny and I are the luckiest people alive to have such fantastic, generous, loving people as our own personal support group. Thanks Moms and Dads, we love you more than we can say!
Jenny's parents are paying for the recarpeting our great room, and we know that they would be up here if they could.
I don't know what we did to deserve such great, supportive parents, but I do know that Jenny and I are the luckiest people alive to have such fantastic, generous, loving people as our own personal support group. Thanks Moms and Dads, we love you more than we can say!
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