I will never forget the special place that Appetite for Destruction held in my 8 year old brain. I'll never forget the anticipation and hype leading up to GNR Lies. I will never forget the '90 VMA finale--Axl joining Tom Petty on stage for "Free Falling," (though I might have forgotten why that was a good thing). Hell, I won't even forget RUSHING home from school to catch the first peek at the video for "You Could be Mine," and all the T2 hype crushing America. I won't forget seeing you in '93 at the BJCC. Still:
It's too early to tell, but I might forget GNR's most recent release, Chinese Democracy.
I'll soon be drawing up a review of this album we've been waiting for 14 years for, and I plan to do it using ONLY lyrics from GNR's past albums. Check back soon.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Is it just me???
For some time now I've had an abiding interest in conspiracy theory of all shapes and sizes. While I'm not as nutty as some of my friends and acquaintances, I tend to buy more than the average bear, which leads me to this:
It all starts Thursday as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England decide to leave their benchmark interest rates unchanged. This sends the dollar shooting up in value against both the Euro and Pound, which in turn leads to oil prices plummeting. This all happens as Gulf Coast drilling operations begin to recover from Katrina, increasing oil supply. At the same time demand for oil is way down (almost 3% down from the same time last year...that's a lot of crude).
And now for something completely different:
Little known fact: the war in Iraq (love it, hate it, can't live without it, whatever) has been doing its job. The surge has worked. The region is stabilizing. Yes, there are still deadly attacks day in and out. Yes, there are still regions that are devastated, but things are improving. Casualties are much lower than this same time last year. The Iraqi government is ready for us to get out of there.
Things sure are looking good, right? Oil could be below $100 a barrel by November... our troops could be home by 2010 (the year we make contact, right?) and on top of it all, this is all happening against the backdrop of massive protests for human rights in China, where you've currently got more world leaders than your average UN resolution meeting.
And then:
Osettia. Dammit.
I liked the Cold War. I thought it was awesome. It had cool things for a seven year old to think about, like iron curtains, and communism, and a big wall that for some reason people equated with Pink Floyd.
All things considered, it beat the shit out of the Hot War we're currently engaged in.
But I digress. Some of Russia's first targets were oil production facilities and pipelines within Georgia. Check out Bloomberg.com:
"Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that connects the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia. The U.S. seeks to connect Central Asia natural gas supplies with European markets, skirting Russia in an attempt to weaken the grip of Russia's state-run OAO Gazprom energy company. One planned pipeline route runs from the Georgia-Turkey border."
Hmm. It gets better.
"``They bombed it but missed,'' Georgian Economy Minister Eka Sharashidze said by phone today. ``There were 27 bombs fired, 25 exploded and two did not, about 5 meters from the pipeline,'' she said."
Gotcha. Thanks, Eka.
Moving on, would anyone care to guess who just pulled the third largest contingent of troops out of Iraq to defend its own oil facilities against a country that has steadily been backsliding into a cold war-like stance? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Georgia's on MY mind.
Hey, did this all just happen when EVERY major world leader was pretty much on vacation in the last bastion of communist power? It did?
It reminds me of a few months ago when my nephew Aiden was fond of saying "get it?," after just about everything he said. It goes like this:
In one fell swoop oil supply as well as Iraqi stability can be disrupted. Get it?
The strategy is divide and conquer. Get everyone on one side or the other, let them duke it out, and rule over whoever survives. Simplicity in itself when you consider the EU. Standard currency. NAFTA. Super Interstates reaching from the belly of South America to the heart of Canada. The losses in the value of the dollar against the Peso and the Canadian Dollar. Neat.
In this corner, wearing the blue trunks, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the WEST!!! The inventors of Freedom, Liberty, and Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches!! Should they win, they pledge to donate their earnings to save the dwindling habitat of the Blue-Peckered Beaver Snake!
And in the other corner, wearing the red trunks, I give you the EAST!! The inventors of Fascism, Human Rights violations, and Religious extremism!! Should they win, they pledge to donate their earnings to eradicate free-market trading and Christianity!!
That's how it will be billed to us. We are the good guys. We're fighting for freedom and a better world. Guess what? The bad guys will think the same.fucking.thing.
That's all for now. More later, I guess.
It all starts Thursday as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England decide to leave their benchmark interest rates unchanged. This sends the dollar shooting up in value against both the Euro and Pound, which in turn leads to oil prices plummeting. This all happens as Gulf Coast drilling operations begin to recover from Katrina, increasing oil supply. At the same time demand for oil is way down (almost 3% down from the same time last year...that's a lot of crude).
And now for something completely different:
Little known fact: the war in Iraq (love it, hate it, can't live without it, whatever) has been doing its job. The surge has worked. The region is stabilizing. Yes, there are still deadly attacks day in and out. Yes, there are still regions that are devastated, but things are improving. Casualties are much lower than this same time last year. The Iraqi government is ready for us to get out of there.
Things sure are looking good, right? Oil could be below $100 a barrel by November... our troops could be home by 2010 (the year we make contact, right?) and on top of it all, this is all happening against the backdrop of massive protests for human rights in China, where you've currently got more world leaders than your average UN resolution meeting.
And then:
Osettia. Dammit.
I liked the Cold War. I thought it was awesome. It had cool things for a seven year old to think about, like iron curtains, and communism, and a big wall that for some reason people equated with Pink Floyd.
All things considered, it beat the shit out of the Hot War we're currently engaged in.
But I digress. Some of Russia's first targets were oil production facilities and pipelines within Georgia. Check out Bloomberg.com:
"Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that connects the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia. The U.S. seeks to connect Central Asia natural gas supplies with European markets, skirting Russia in an attempt to weaken the grip of Russia's state-run OAO Gazprom energy company. One planned pipeline route runs from the Georgia-Turkey border."
Hmm. It gets better.
"``They bombed it but missed,'' Georgian Economy Minister Eka Sharashidze said by phone today. ``There were 27 bombs fired, 25 exploded and two did not, about 5 meters from the pipeline,'' she said."
Gotcha. Thanks, Eka.
Moving on, would anyone care to guess who just pulled the third largest contingent of troops out of Iraq to defend its own oil facilities against a country that has steadily been backsliding into a cold war-like stance? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Georgia's on MY mind.
Hey, did this all just happen when EVERY major world leader was pretty much on vacation in the last bastion of communist power? It did?
It reminds me of a few months ago when my nephew Aiden was fond of saying "get it?," after just about everything he said. It goes like this:
In one fell swoop oil supply as well as Iraqi stability can be disrupted. Get it?
The strategy is divide and conquer. Get everyone on one side or the other, let them duke it out, and rule over whoever survives. Simplicity in itself when you consider the EU. Standard currency. NAFTA. Super Interstates reaching from the belly of South America to the heart of Canada. The losses in the value of the dollar against the Peso and the Canadian Dollar. Neat.
In this corner, wearing the blue trunks, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the WEST!!! The inventors of Freedom, Liberty, and Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches!! Should they win, they pledge to donate their earnings to save the dwindling habitat of the Blue-Peckered Beaver Snake!
And in the other corner, wearing the red trunks, I give you the EAST!! The inventors of Fascism, Human Rights violations, and Religious extremism!! Should they win, they pledge to donate their earnings to eradicate free-market trading and Christianity!!
That's how it will be billed to us. We are the good guys. We're fighting for freedom and a better world. Guess what? The bad guys will think the same.fucking.thing.
That's all for now. More later, I guess.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
How to win at darts.
This actually happened. I threw one, and then was possessed by Robin Hood, or something. Amazing. We stopped playing, even though nobody was close to closing out cricket. What a fluke.
Welcome Back??
Yeah, it's been a while. I've been busy. Had a lot on my mind. Forgot this blog was here. Hmm.
I'm feeling this crazy urge to rant and rave about the same things everybody else is ranting and raving about. Gas prices? Obama? McCain? Offshore Drilling? Will Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy ever come out? WHY GOD WHY CAN I ONLY TASTE 17 OF THE 23 FLAVORS IN DR. PEPPER? IS MY TONGUE DEAD? AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
Life's been good lately. Wedding in less than four months. Awesome. It's great to know that there is someone out there who loves me not just in spite of my flaws, but because of some of them. Laura is one of the most gracious and beautiful people in my life, and I am so lucky to have her.
This blog has been marked for adult content. That cracks me up. I learned all these offensive words when I was a kid, and the only people i didn't use them with were adults. Weird. It makes me feel like some kind of internet predator...I now come with a warning. If I was a bug I'd be brightly colored. You would know right away, "don't mess with that one, he's poison." What a joke. The worst thing I ever posted here I removed the next day. Thank God. I would've had two warnings.
Wal Mart: It makes NO sense that you won't sell explicit music, but will sell R-rated movies. Boobies and blood and language and drug use. Don't listen to 'em, Wal-Mart says. Watch 'em instead.
I think books should be rated. That way I'd know which ones I really wanted to read. "This book rated R for extensive violence, adult language, and descriptive depictions of gore." Yes. Sign me up. "This book rated R for several scenes involving male genitalia." No thank you.
I'm feeling this crazy urge to rant and rave about the same things everybody else is ranting and raving about. Gas prices? Obama? McCain? Offshore Drilling? Will Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy ever come out? WHY GOD WHY CAN I ONLY TASTE 17 OF THE 23 FLAVORS IN DR. PEPPER? IS MY TONGUE DEAD? AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
Life's been good lately. Wedding in less than four months. Awesome. It's great to know that there is someone out there who loves me not just in spite of my flaws, but because of some of them. Laura is one of the most gracious and beautiful people in my life, and I am so lucky to have her.
This blog has been marked for adult content. That cracks me up. I learned all these offensive words when I was a kid, and the only people i didn't use them with were adults. Weird. It makes me feel like some kind of internet predator...I now come with a warning. If I was a bug I'd be brightly colored. You would know right away, "don't mess with that one, he's poison." What a joke. The worst thing I ever posted here I removed the next day. Thank God. I would've had two warnings.
Wal Mart: It makes NO sense that you won't sell explicit music, but will sell R-rated movies. Boobies and blood and language and drug use. Don't listen to 'em, Wal-Mart says. Watch 'em instead.
I think books should be rated. That way I'd know which ones I really wanted to read. "This book rated R for extensive violence, adult language, and descriptive depictions of gore." Yes. Sign me up. "This book rated R for several scenes involving male genitalia." No thank you.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
ten years.
So i'll level with you. I used to sit in a car late at night with my neighbor, get stoned, and listen to lots of music. He worked at a local record shop, so we always had the freshest stuff to hear. It was great.
One night in '98 he plays me this album, a debut from some band nobody's ever heard of called Queens of the Stone Age. It nearly changed my life. It was FUCKING AWESOME. Liked it so much he gave it to me. So they go on to become a pretty big deal and put out 4 more albums that I don't like nearly as much as the first one. I've got a promo of their second album back before it was titled, and a slip signed by the band. But somewhere along the line I lost my copy of that first album.
I've searched high and low. I've searched Itunes. I've searched record stores far and wide. To no avail. And guess why?
They only pressed 8,000 copies. The original album, in crummy shape, is worth more than the signed "Queens of the Stone Age 2" which was later released as "Rated R."
$200 new. Plus shipping. I can't believe i'm considering saving up for it. If I do, I promise to make you all copies.
One night in '98 he plays me this album, a debut from some band nobody's ever heard of called Queens of the Stone Age. It nearly changed my life. It was FUCKING AWESOME. Liked it so much he gave it to me. So they go on to become a pretty big deal and put out 4 more albums that I don't like nearly as much as the first one. I've got a promo of their second album back before it was titled, and a slip signed by the band. But somewhere along the line I lost my copy of that first album.
I've searched high and low. I've searched Itunes. I've searched record stores far and wide. To no avail. And guess why?
They only pressed 8,000 copies. The original album, in crummy shape, is worth more than the signed "Queens of the Stone Age 2" which was later released as "Rated R."
$200 new. Plus shipping. I can't believe i'm considering saving up for it. If I do, I promise to make you all copies.
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