10 For 2010

I like music. I like lists. Here we go.
10. Surfer Blood--Astro Coast
A very hooky, easy to like surf album (sounds like a young Weezer.) The lyrics are ok if lacking substance, but the songs don't call for poetry. The melodies are familiarly memorable, and the sweet strat riffs though simple, are solid. From a band that existed for barely a year at the time of this release, Astro Coast screams confidence without a whisper of arrogance.
9. Caribou--Swim
Dan Snaith (Caribou) wanted to make music that sounded like water, so he did, and as it turns out, water sounds a little depressed. The record has a melancholy feel to it, like a James Murphy album, and the rhythm/production are extremely super great, like a James Murphy album. The vocals take a back seat to clever mixtures of house, disco, & techno grooves, and the influence of Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan is clear. For a dance record, this album seems like it would be kind of hard to dance to, but what do I know about the disco?
8. Of Montreal--False Priest
Of Montreal has been transsexual front man Georgie Fruit's band for years now, and it's feeling a bit dated on the dance floor. The production is great on this record, the sound is awesome, but a lot of the songs are about weird sex crap (still), and Kevin Barnes is still singing in that she-male falsetto he loves so much. Although the record starts off bright & quick and gay, it grows darker by the end (still gay), and the songs quickly improve. I hope Of Montreal's direction changes soon, but I'll be just fine if they don't.
7. Field Music--Measure
This record is too sweet. Progressive rock at its crisp, clean best. The album feels strange at first because the songs are a bit bare-boned (no musical hills or valleys, no bells or whistles,) but the rhythms and changes keep the listener entertained. I can't wait to see their live show.
6. Tame Impala--Innerspeaker
These stadium rock revivalists would certainly blend into the crowd, since every Australian band since AC/DC is jumping on the classic rock bandwagon (Jet Wolfmother Vines) these days. What most separates Tame Impala is their singer, who floats his John Lennon-like melodies over pounding drums, effected guitars, and running bass. The music is simple enough, but that sprinkle of psychedelia fits perfectly with his voice, and the package is a success. Not a lot of lyrical substance, but a solid album none the less.
5. Beach House--Teen Dream
One of my most listened-to albums of the year. Beach House has crafted their sound to perfection: Shimmering guitar lines, cymbal waves, and the smoky vocals of Victoria Legrand, floating effortlessly in a dreamy haze. This is their best work to date. Instant classics pop out, but the whole record is equally inviting and rewarding. No missteps here.
4. Deerhunter--Halcyon Digest
With so many projects at once, Deerhunter's front man Bradford Cox should be unconscious by now. A non-stop recording machine, Cox fiddles with song structures, instruments, and musical styles, under either his solo name Atlas Sound, or with Deerhunter (his day job). This time around he broke into the instrument closet, using banjo, auto-harp, electronic percussion, and harmonicas, to name a few. Unlike before, the vocals take center stage, and the result is a masterpiece.
3. Local Natives--Gorilla Manor
The first thing that drew me to this group was their ability to sing. They are the best possible version of a boy band, with all the harmonies and none of the dancing, and their vocals are outdone only by their songwriting. The lyrics and changes seem expertly considered, and there is a maturity to their music that impresses me a lot. The Talking Heads cover was unnecessary, but the record leaves me wanting more.
2. Sufjan Stevens--The Age of Adz
The 25-minute closer "Impossible Soul," from The Age of Adz is better than most of the albums of 2010, and it's not even the best song on a record about a paranoid schizophrenic (and self proclaimed profit) from Louisiana. Even with the era of the CD passed, Stevens sticks to the formula of telling a great story over the course of an entire album, requiring time and focus from the listener. Acoustic picking has been replaced with space noises and electro-drum beats, and Stevens' whispering vocals seem louder than ever, though he does revert back to his quieter sound a few times during the record. In a year full of big name disappointments (Band of Horses, Broken Bells, School of Seven Bells, etc.), Stevens exceeds even the highest of expectations.
1. LCD Soundsystem-- This Is Happening
It's fun to witness to the evolution of James Murphy. He is beginning to take the whole superstar thing seriously, though his music has always been great. As usual, the new record is a bleeding heart waiting to explode, and his regret is our delight. Who knew that someone could grow so wise eating E and dancing for 20 years? He teaches us life lessons while staying lovable with self deprecation, and don't forget about the monstrous beats and pristine production that Murphy has perfected over the years. On TIH Murphy proves himself as a top-level vocalist, a brilliant composer, and one hell of a philosopher. More please.

Blog Post

Here is something funny that happened to me today. I am at work by myself, and I haven't seen anyone in hours (we are extremely slow.) Pretty funny huh? No wait there's more, but first some background:
At work, I often play the Iphone game "Angry Birds"...While sitting on the toilet. I don't make trips to the bathroom for phone games, but I take any opportunity to maximize my time. I only do it when we are slow, and I'm never in there for more than 5 or 10 minutes.
OK so I'm in the bathroom playing my game, and I'm having trouble with a certain level. I can't beat it, and I am getting angry about it. I'm yelling, "Shit! Come on! Damn! How is that possible? What the hell?"-stuff like that. I finally walk out of the bathroom, and there's an old Asian man standing there, looking horrified.
The front door at my work has a bell on the handle, so I usually can hear when someone enters, but this guy was so old & small that he probably crept in too slowly to disturb the alarm. Not until after he was gone did I realize what he heard, and what he must've thought was going on in there.

Midterm Erection

What exactly did we lose (as individuals or as a country) since Obama took over as President? Now everyone wants to take our country back--from what? You still have the biggest military in the world. You still have outright religious freedom (unless you are a Muslim), and you still have all those high-powered, semi-automatic weapons that you keep hidden in different & weird spots of your house...so tell me. WHAT?
Election day was Tuesday, and the voters spoke: They are angry that Obama didn't turn a shit storm into gold bullion overnight. They blame his administration for the economic recession (that was being caused by GOP-legislated deregulation even before Obama became a Senator.)
They are misinformed and confused.
In the modern world of instant information, you don't have to be a political scientist to make your opinion known to the world, and obviously the public can't tell the difference between an idiot & a reliable source. Fear-based politics have become the norm, and the more outlandish the lies, the more the happily ignorant people eat it up. It's a fucking circus. Until Americans get over themselves and realize that politics isn't just some boring, complicated waste of time, we must prepare for a minority to decide what is best for the majority. A minority who is misinformed, and confused.

MLB Playoffs

Here are my predictions for the MLB postseason. I want the Giants to win it all, but I am guessing that it all goes down like this:

NLDS Reds vs. Phillies (Phillies in 4 games)
NLDS Giants vs. Braves (Braves in 5 games)
ALDS Rangers vs. Rays (Rangers in 4 games)
ALDS Yankees vs. Twins (Yankees in 5 games)

NLCS Braves vs. Phillies (Braves in 7 games)
ALCS Rangers vs. Yankees (Yankees in 5 games)

WORLD SERIES
Braves vs. Yankees YANKEES in 6 games


I hope I am way wrong.

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (Unstaged)

A Scheme Not a Dream

http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/terminal01/2010/8/29/15/enhanced-buzz-29940-1283109926-3.jpg

Do you believe in the evolution of homoerectus?

I am fagishly tired of the gay marriage debate. No one has the right to force their belief on others, so why is this an issue? How long ago did we forget that marriage is a changing, evolving thing? Way back in the day men would take multiple wives, who were pretty much slaves to their every whim. 300 years ago, marriage was a business deal between the fathers of the bride and groom to be. It was more of an economic arrangement than a glorious union of love. In the early 1900's, American society decided that marriage was what everyone had to do to survive. Wives were submissive, and never spoke their mind. In the '50's, only 9% of Americans believed that a single person could live a happy life. Then the woman's movement came along, and people started marrying purely for love, not necessity.
It's 2010. We are not as ignorant and stupid as we were in the past. Virtually all races know what it feels like to be judged, discriminated against, and treated like subhumans. By now we should have learned to accept people for who they are. If you don't like gay marriage, who gives a shit? Don't get gay married. If someone tried to tell you that you couldn't watch Fox News because it's garbage, you would cherish your right to choose. What you don't have, however, is a right to choose for someone else.

Broken Record

As Alex Rodriguez prepares to break the 600 home run mark, baseball fans everywhere are silent. Only Barry Bonds*, Sammy Sosa*, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, and all-time home run king Hank Aaron have reached the milestone, but no one is excited for the latest admitted cheat to join the club. Baseball hasn't figured out a way to separate clean numbers from the dirty, so immortal legends' records are being shattered by performance-enhanced monsters like A-Rod.
Pete Rose was thrown out of Baseball for betting on games, but he never did anything to give himself an unfair advantage DURING games! Why do we allow these dishonest players to keep playing? If they admit wrongdoing are we supposed to forgive and forget? The numbers won't let us forget! How should we compare the players of today with the greats of the game's past? Can't we just eliminate all of the stats from 1990-2009?
This season at the All-Star break, the league leader in HRs was Toronto's Miguel Bautista. He had 24: The lowest amount of bombs to lead the league at the break since 1993. The game is changing now that testing is more stringent, and the numbers are returning to normal. Small ball is back in style, and pitchers are dominating again. This is great news for baseball and its fans, but it is also proof that steroids are to blame for the inhuman level of output during those years. The greats have been cheated, literally. Asterisks aren't enough recompense.
We didn't know how to feel when Barry Bonds was clubbing his way to the top of the record books, but we won't get fooled again.

Everything That's Keeping Together is Falling Apart

Life is beautiful.
Everything works in harmony to create a perfect balance. There are worlds within worlds within the oceans of our bodies, and each piece fits to another, to create a bigger piece, until universes expand. One may feel impossibly overwhelmed by the scope of it all, but life has a solution: Every soul is shaped to fit perfectly with its mate. Destined hearts collide, and everything seems new again.
When you meet, love is the last thing on your mind, but right away you notice a special energy inside you. As time passes acquaintance becomes friend, and the energy between you grows. You start to wonder if this is ever going to pass...The sun seems brighter...Life seems like it can't get better, but it does. Everything about her, good and bad, amazes and completes the missing pieces inside you. Every imperfection is perfect.
As the two of you grow closer, you forget about every other part of life. You lose the urge to roam, and gain the desire to please. You can't believe how lucky you are, and you know that nothing will ever come between you and your queen, although you haven't shown her your hand yet, because the art of seduction takes perfect precision and patience.
Then you can wait no longer, and you finally open up and declare true love! You just know that you were meant to be together, and you swear that your only passion is making her happy forever. Life is beautiful.
You feel vulnerable (and a little bit scared), having spilled your long-held secret, but you know the person you love, and you mean what you say.
She is on board at first, but she thinks about it for a while and finally says, "Thank you, but no thanks." She certainly appreciates your company, she says, but she isn't on the same wave length, or page, or planet. Your brain hears this, but not your stubborn heart. It tells you how it feels every day. Every day.
What about the balance? The beauty? Destiny? You are alone among millions. Your heart refuses to let it go, and everyone you meet post-rejection seems drab and uninteresting. You are trapped alone among millions. The busy world goes on for everyone else, which only adds to your pain. You go through the motions as best you can, hoping that God will eventually show you a little mercy, but months and years slip by and the wound will not heal, and it's slowly destroying you from the inside...The sun seems annoying...Food is tasteless...Life is beautiful.

FUBP

Since the explosion that killed 11 people and opened up the (still worsening) worst oil disaster in U.S. history, British Petroleum has spent $50million on advertising campaigns in an attempt to gain back its popularity in the U.S.
This is sickening. Their leak hasn't even been fixed yet, and every failed try so far has made the situation worse. People are out of work, businesses are closing and the environment is getting raped, but instead of cleanup efforts or solutions, BP's money is working to convince us that they are an honest, caring corporation. Here's how caring they are:
The oil is BURNING ANIMALS ALIVE. Once an animal is covered, nothing will wash off the sticky goo. The oil absorbs heat like crazy, so whatever it covers is effectively cooked by the sun. Birds, dolphins, seals, fish, everything in its path is doomed. BP is not actively involved in any of the current cleanup efforts, because they want to wait until they plug it first. Also, they aren't paying the wages of the unemployed, or funding any private cleanups.
Here's how honest they are:
Since the leak began, BP has lied about the amount of oil spilling into the gulf. BP claims 50,000 barrels per day, when the true rate is closer to 70,000bpd. Their "containment solution" was siphoning 5,000bpd they said, when the true amount was only 2,200bpd.
They tried to deflect blame onto other companies, initially refusing to take any responsibility for their mishandled oil rig, and once they could deny no more, they began downplaying the event at every turn. One BP spokesman said "No one feels worse than I do about this disaster." What about the families of the deceased, you moron?
Now is a good time to think about this country's dependence on oil. There are safer, more environmentally sound ways to produce energy. What looks worse? A windmill in a field, or 100,000,000 gallons of oil in the gulf?

Whining about Wine

If Jesus had never turned water into wine, hundreds of thousands of deaths (and counting) may have never occurred. Actually, all of the wars in the history of mankind were fought in the name of God, so I guess you could credit Jesus (or his foreign equivalents) for hundreds of millions of deaths, but that's another scoop of ice cream all together. My point here is, if alcohol was completely absent from the Bible, our culture may not look at it as such a Godsend.
While American jails fill up with harmless marijuana offenders, alcohol kills; It ruins judgment, reputations, and lives...but there is no escape...Booze ads are everywhere...Bars line the streets...Alcohol related behavior is tolerated... Expected...Encouraged?
It is legal to drive with alcohol in your blood. Only it's a game. Individuals are responsible for monitoring their own B.A.L.'s, but no available way to do so exists. This creates a dangerous guessing game, and we leave the guessing up to the intoxicated individual, even when evidence overwhelmingly proves that alcohol dissolves a person's judgment. Why do we allow this deadly cycle to continue?
Because alcohol is in the bible, so it can't be that bad.
It is amazingly stupid how people interpret the Bible to suit their needs, but it's been going on since the beginning. At least Jesus never tried a line of Meth...

Pleasant Dreams

I'm always looking forward to something. The end of my shift, the end of my work week, my tv show at 8:00, whatever. Sometimes I look forward to an hour-long event for MONTHS. Why can't I just be satisfied in the moment? I think I'm satisfied, until I remember that there's a baseball game on later, then I wish for the time to go by quickly...but time is short.
I'm 29 and I'm single, but every day I go to work, go to school, go home, and do it again the next day. When am I supposed to make life's next big transitions? Why are the girls I'm interested in already taken? Am I destined to be alone, eating Chunky soups, playing internet fantasy baseball on my free time? That sounds absolutely horrible for the long term. Am I going to be one of those dudes who puts off a social life for years, until he becomes unable to maintain normal relationships? Oh shit, I hope not. I mean, I'm already one of those dudes who dumped his entire social circle in search of a better crowd. The problem is, I still haven't even looked for, let alone found a comfort zone to call my own, and I keep getting older.
(This is some of the great stuff that goes through my mind as I try to fall sleep)

Let Me Introduce You To Yourself

Do some people really know exactly what type of person they're attracted to? Weird. I keep seeing ads for christian dating sites. Doesn't that seem weird to only want to date someone who thinks the same as you? What's next, Blond dating? Are there really guys who don't like any girls who aren't christian, or blond? What a small little sheltered world that is. Attraction has nothing to do with religion, astrological sign, criminal background, or favorite color. It seems to me that these sites end up narrowing your search to the point where you end up with someone just like you, and who can stand themselves for more than half an hour? I think people need to get off the computer and go do something. Well, at least I do.

Broke

I read a story in the paper today, about a Bend restaurant that changed its name. It turned out that a restaurant in Eugene had a similar name, and when they threatened to sue, the Bend business had to back down, due to lack of funds. The names were similar, not identical. The Bend property was called "5 Spice Fusion & Sushi Bar", while the Eugene place was called "Five Spice Seafood & Wine Bar".
The point is, although they didn't have exactly the same name, and although the 2 businesses were hundreds of miles apart, the business with less money lost its name. Before a lawsuit was even filed, the Bend restaurant's attorneys estimated that the legal cost alone would exceed $100,000, whether or not they won the case. Since they didn't have that kind of money, they couldn't fight for their own creation (they claim to have never heard of the other place).
This sums up our legal system perfectly. The more money you have, the more rights you have. Everyone has the right to an attorney, but not everyone can afford one, so not everyone has the right to choose an attorney. It's bullshit. Cops don't even know ALL of the laws, so how is the average person supposed to defend themselves against accusations, or be confident about the parameters of the law? Not everyone can afford to go to law school, so only a select few "well off" individuals get access to our laws. What the fuck is that all about? And shouldn't cops have to go to law school, so they can be 100% law abiding?

Don't Be Fooled

"That government is best which governs least."
Last week, a motorcycle-jacket wearing Sarah Palin stole the quote from Thomas Jefferson, using it to rev-up a crowd of desperate, angry, mislead people. The GOP is fighting to gain political traction across the country, using all their old scare tactics, and adding some new ones to their resume as well. Even before the insurance-friendly, watered-down health care bill survived the House/Senate gauntlet, Republicans were already touring the "real" parts of America, crying for all of the big spending to stop. Never mind the Republican's deregulation-caused economic crash that left us drowning in debt. Never mind the 10-year wars we've been funding (I mean fighting) thanks to the GOP (by the way, did we ever get the guy who attacked us?.) Never mind that during the Bush administration, GOP lawmaker's yearly spending agenda trended upward, reaching record highs in Congress ($35.6 billion in the House and $32.7 billion in the Senate). What is worse, is that almost NONE of the GOP's spending increases went to services for citizens - they went to corporate welfare and defense. Meanwhile, the Obama administration's increases in spending, though imperative, have all been aimed at improving citizens lives (education, social services, etc.)
Don't be fooled. Republicans will spend. They will spend more than Dems, and they will not spend any money on YOU the citizen.
To stop the spending now would be national suicide, since Democrats spend money on people, instead of businesses. Republicans like to say that "more money for business means more money circulating, which means more money for everyone!" This is a lie. Trickle-down economics is a hoax, and while the rich get richer, the poor break their backs, fooled into thinking that if they just try harder, they will eventually win. Sad...

Society Has Left Me (No) Behind

I have a lot of free time at work these days: I took the Winter term off from school, and the hotel is so slow right now that I'm surprised that the old place is still up and running. Anyhow, during one of my many "silently-reflective" moments, I began to sort-out the big question of why I don't seem to have a place in this modern society, specifically regarding dating & relationships.
At first, I thought, "I'm just not out there enough!", but then I realized that by "out", I must mean the bar, which is immediately depressing. Maybe I don't go to the right bars, but they all seem to be sad places where alcohol helps people forget about their miserable lives. I discarded the nightclub-absence idea, and pressed on. Within seconds, I had another thought: "Maybe I'm just not attractive enough!" This is the question that sparked my epiphany:
I don't fit into the dog-eat-dog competition of the dating pool, not because I am lacking in tools, but because I have an entirely different agenda.
My outlook on women was created partly by watching my parents interact, and partly by watching people my age interact. What I saw from my parents was entirely different from what I saw happening in the "real world". My parents never fought, they were never suspicious or jealous, and they never seemed to be unfulfilled.
My peers (boys & girls alike) cycled through one rocky, drama-filled relationship after another, the whole time feeling either jealous, hurt, angry, or sad, with the occasional sliver of excitement stuck in there. (By relationship, I mean what we all mean these days: "Playing Married"-living together, sleeping together, combining finances, the whole nine yards.)
Unlike many people today, I have no interest in pursuing a relationship based solely on looks. No one really admits that they got together with someone because of looks, but have you noticed how many people HATE their exes? If someone does something completely unexpected and horrible, the fact that you are surprised means that you probably didn't know him/her well enough, because if you did, you would've expected as much. I mean, you can't really get to know someone within a month, but by today's standards, that is plenty of time. Someone like me, who truly waits to make any move until he has real feelings about the PERSON (not the body), is left in the dust, because girls are so used to being pursued immediately.
Also, another point: How is someone like me (my beauty is inside more than out, I assume) supposed to stand a chance, when we have no time to show off our attractive personalities? It sounds so stupid even writing it, because NO one operates that way anymore. Girls who get enough of me to like me always want to be friends, because they instantly throw me into the friend bin when I don't hit on them during our first meeting. I don't hit on them upon meeting them, because I don't know them yet, but I give the wrong impression because the rules apply to me too, whether or not I'm playing the same game.
POINT-
The fact that American society has evolved into the divorce capital of the world (50% of 1st marriages end in divorce) doesn't seem to be alarming anyone, and getting to know and love a potential mate (not a potential fuck) has become about as common as winning the lottery for me. I've never won the lottery, but I have been in love once, and it was awful to be treated the same as all of the other dudes, who weren't in love at all (although I can't blame her, because she was only playing the game as she knew it.) I give up. The planet is way overpopulated, so breeding is less of a personal goal, and I'm sick of feeling like I'm not good enough. I am, you just don't know me yet.

& Rave

With all of the political double-talk these days, sometimes significant national problems are overlooked.
For example, what is the deal with our Food & Drug Administration? They really must be outed for their consistent dropping of the proverbial ball. America's airwaves are FULL of ads for boner pills, fat burners, muscle-building powders, ugly-eliminators, energy drinks, birth control, ass-pluggers, etc. You name it, and they are ready to fill you to the brim TODAY.
Products like these are always changing, because companies are constantly inventing new chemicals and compounds, to "help" us with our problems. New chemicals mean new side effects, and as we all know, the side effects from products like these are often serious. Thank God for the F&D Administration, right?
Wrong!--While the advertisement's announcer is assuring you that this crap is the greatest invention under the sun, the small print always reads:
"These statements have not been evaluated/approved by the FDA."

WHAT!? WHY?!
What the fuck? What in the hell is going on over there? These products look like they are definitely either FOOD or DRUGS, so why aren't you evaluating them? Isn't that your entire job? What the fuck are you evaluating? Food? We've been around for tens of thousands of years, and I'm pretty sure that we have all the food knowledge we need: If it's edible, eat it. If not, don't.
How many Thalidomide nightmares need to happen before the FDA does some work?

Rant

When did everyone become an expert on everything? When was the last time you heard someone on TV say "I don't have the knowledge or credentials to speculate on this issue..."? Baseless, unintelligent arguments on TV have swallowed educated debate, to the point where we (as a country) have no idea who is or isn't full of complete shit. Actually, forget that. Everyone is full of complete shit. There are no political, environmental, or economical discussions worth watching, reading about, or attending anymore at all. Period.
"News" has become a scripted, rehearsed drama, and the idiots are buying every falsity and conspiracy theory thrown their way. Which wouldn't bother me, except for the fact that MY government, in the last decade, has ruthlessly widened the gap between upper and lower class citizens, while the public wastes their time & energy on lie-fueled outrage. Outrage is fine, and can be very productive, but politicians trap the masses by steering their outrage away from true injustices.
The capitalist ideal is a PYRAMID SCHEME, and it's so obvious to me that I can't believe it's still regarded so highly in this country. Business is an unforgiving machine, but people aren't. That's why it is so clear to me, that if several MILLION tax paying citizens can't afford healthcare (and don't tell me that they are choosing not get it, because I work full time), it is our job as a country to insure them.
FUCK MONEY AND FUCK BUSINESS, PEOPLE ARE DYING WITHOUT HEALTHCARE. Are the insurance companies going to be "hurt" by doing this? Well, they will be able to eat, and get medical care when they need it, so the answer is NO. Who cares if it costs a lot? Not the GOP. Don't give me any bullshit about less govt spending, because when the GOP is in office, they spend like Democrats and tax like Republicans, which leaves everyone but the richest 5% high & dry. The funniest part of this whole fiasco is hearring the GOP claim to "care about healthcare". NO YOU DON'T, YOU CARE ABOUT MONEY. Any ONE of those fuckers could insure HALF of the uninsured right now, out of their own deep pocket, but instead, they ignore America's pleas, and continue to profit, without remorse.

Review: Grails "Doomsdayer's Holiday"

The album's cover photo is fitting for this dark, gloomy, multi-spacial effort:
The demon-headed woman riding a ghostly pig-like creature predicts haunting gothic torment, while the beautiful female body under the mask admits some tender musical finesse. The tracks feel less like songs, and more like seperately dark atmospheres, each one a mysterious venture.
Grails does a good job setting the dismal scene on the first few tracks, where they churn out some hard-riffing doom metal jamming, but after a few tracks, the metal gives way to smarter, more thought out music. "Reincarnation Blues" is the album's most evolved track, with fragile middle-eastern twang drowning in nasty guitar grind that pounds enough to paralyze the victim, only to relent at the point of suffocation.
Overall, the record is worth listening to. At times, you want to watch whatever movie they seem to be soundtracking, but no such movie exists. The music is unique, interesting, and perfectly melancholy, although smoewhat boring at times.

Out of 10 Huzaah's, I give Grails' "Doomsdayer's Holiday"
6.5 Huzaah's!

Grails:Doomsdayer's Holiday

My first review will be for this Oregon instrumental band!
Creepy cover, but you can see how this one jumped out at me (boobs?). I didnt buy it at the store because I was afraid to, so I downloaded it iinstead. I've never heard of them before, so this one is fresh as can be. I will post the review on March 6th.

CD REVIEW BEGINS SATURDAY MARCH 6

who buys cds anyway?

here's my new big idea:

Im going to review an album each week on this blog. I will pick albums that I have never listened to, and have never heard of.

I plan to pick albums based ONLY on their cover art. If I like the looks of the cover, I'll buy and review the record. If money becomes an issue, I will simply find cool covers at the record store, and download the mp3 equivilent at home.

My good friend Thom taught me this unique way of finding new music, and he's found some real gold mines in his time! (like the Buena Vista Social Club).
I hope to post a review each SATURDAY, so keep your eyes open. This could potentially backfire, but I'm willing to take the chance.

January 26, 2010

My Dad died today. He wasn't getting any oxygen because his lungs were fucked. He died in his sleep around 7:00pm. He was an amazing man, and I miss him a lot. He wasn't in pain as he went, and his life will be forever remembered by his family and friends. I am pretty sure that this day will mark the end of my "Farmville" career, because I was getting really sick of playing it, and I may as well use this moment to cut myself off.

Death Panel?

So my Dad was hospitalized today. He has emphyzema and pneumonia, and his throat hurts so bad that he can't cough. Also, his entire body is in so much pain, that he collapsed at home, which lead him to the E.R.
His double diagnosis finally came from a walk-in clinic's Attending Physician, after his regular doctor, whom he has visited SEVERAL times in recent past, blew him off one last time (which makes me wonder what her job actually is). He first mentioned his shortness of breath to her about 8 months ago. Without any exam, she told him that he was "just old", and to live with it. In regard to his pain, she gave no advice, which lead my father to believe it must not be that bad. As his symptoms worsened over many weeks, he repeatedly tried to get her to help, but he was virtually ignored. After my Mom called her office every day for a week, she had her secretary advise us to "stop bothering our office because we are very busy."
So with his doctor too busy to help her patient, my Dad was forced to go wait at a walk-in clinic, where after 2 minutes, they told him about the emphysema and pneumonia. They advised him to go back to his regular doctor to have further testing done, but she wouldn't return any calls. The next day, he collapsed.
The E.R. doctors were shocked at his condition. They immediately asked why he doesn't have a nebulizer, a walker, or a handicapped parking sticker. They wondered why he hadn't been seeing anyone for his debilitating condition.
This is the healthcare system we are fighting so hard to protect? We don't want to reform healthcare because we will lose our "quality of care?" Where is the quality? Where is the care? It certainly isn't here.

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The food industry has gone completely out if its mind, and everybody seems to be embracing the insanity. I hope I'm not the only one who isn't buying this bullshit. The country continues to get fatter and sicker, due in large part to the latest change in food marketing, which is to convince the consumer that EVERYTHING is good for them. It's bad enough to advertise sugary cereal as "a good source of vitamins", but we are way past that at this point. SUGAR itself is being marketed as a wholesome, natural, ingredient. The soft drink companies, for one, are launching new "made with real sugar" sodas, as if it was something to be proud of! Nothing has been more proven to be associated with premature aging than sugar, not to mention the dental damage and diabetic risks involved with a high sugar diet. And what were they putting in the soda before they switched to sugar? Corn syrup, of course. High fructose. The most potent of all sweetners, and this whole country is hooked. Try reading the ingredients in ANYTHING these days, and you will be lucky not to see it. Imagine that sugar is the coffee of sweetner. Well if sugar is coffee, HFCS is the crystal meth. This is where our country is as far as diet goes. It's so bad, that we have to ADD sugar to it to make it HEALTHIER.
Of course, corn is subsidized, so the cheapest food is full of corn products, which causes lower class people to have especially high amounts in their diet, which causes health problems that tax payers pay for because of our fucked up health care system, but that's another rant all together.