8.31.2005

OUR FEARLESS LEADER...

Um, I dunno about you, but the flooding down South is really really really depressing. People are going to homeless for at LEAST months on out. Hundreds, probably THOUSANDS are feared dead. But you know what really depresses me?! Our President, GEORGE WALKER BUSH had to cancel his vacation two days EARLY!!! Sniff. Sniff. He only had four weeks and five days of vacation...poor bastard.

But, folks please, I've been told numerous times that just because the President is on vacation doesn't mean he's not working!!! And that's totally true, cause yesterday, as the levee broke and 80% of New Orleans was underwater, here's what our Commander in Chief was doing...



That's right, he's busting out some FREEEEEEEEBIRD! Cause fuck you, I'm on vacation!!!

But not now...poor lil' man.

(link for photo:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050830/480/capm10208301856)

8.30.2005

I AM A MUSIC BUYING MACHINE...

...and I need to be turned off before I force my family to eat soup for the rest of the week. I need help, HELP I tell you!!!

So far I've bought:

Here's a confession, I am a Bob Dylan junkie. I've sold plasma and some babies on the black market to buy his records and see him in concert. The man is a genuis and the music he writes, the LYRICS that flow out of this man will be around for centuries to come. MASTERS OF WAR...what a powerful song. HARD RAIN'S A GONNA FALL...simply mindblowing. This is another CD in the series of Bootleg releases and has tons of live and alternative takes on much of his more popular songs.


Haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, and even though it's been getting mixed reviews, I wanted to check it out. Although I must say, it's due time for another POSTAL SERVICE record mother fuckers!!!

I've also bought songs off iTunes from Ben Folds, and new singles from upcoming releases by Neil Young and Ryan Adams.

SPECIAL EDITION MY ASS...

ATTENTION DVD MAKERS...Special Editions must include commentaries. And ONE DISC?! Jesus Christ...I've waited like a decade for a decent DVD Release of OFFICE SPACE and this is what you offer?! Blah.

...at least the cover is kinda cool...


On November 1, 2005, Twentieth Century fox Home Video will release Office Space Special Edition on DVD. The single-disc collection will be priced at $19.98 and feature the following bonus materials:

*Widescreen feature presentation

*Out of the Office: An Office Space Retrospective featuring Mike Judge

*Deleted Scenes, including "Peter Lies to Lumbergh," "Happy Hour and Chotchkies," "Peter Goes Off on Nina," and "Tom's Mixed Heritage Called Into Question"

*Theatrical trailer

*DVD-Rom audio

*Visual downloads

8.25.2005

IS YOUR CHILD GAY?!

I wish this was a joke, but it's not. It's a real list from FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, the nutballs who love to toss religion and politics into a bathtub and let them both go down the drain...

Here's a few from the list...

A tendency to cry easily, be less athletic, and dislike the roughhousing that other boys enjoy.

A strong preference to spend time in the company of girls and participate in their games and other pastimes.

A susceptibility to be bullied by other boys, who may tease them unmercifully and call them “queer,” “fag” and “gay.”


Holy shit...this is ME!!!

8.23.2005

MIGHT AS WELL SMILE...

You know, for all the crap hitting me over the head lately, I really feel pretty darn happy. I've been listening to a bunch of great mix CD's, Molly bought me a strawberry shortcake, and Bush is going down like a hooker in Times Square!!!

Check this shit out:
************
"George W. Bush’s overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove."
*************

Even throughout Watergate, Nixon never got below 39%. OUCH!!!

Then, there's this:

Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap over his ear while President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Good times, indeed...

8.19.2005

FUCKING CANCER.

God is really testing my fucking patience lately. I mean, giving BOTH my Mother and Father brain tumors was kinda bad. Taking my Mother away from me when I was 15 was tough. Letting my Father get on with his life a year and a half since he was diagnosed...well, that's starting to look better. Then last night at like 11 O'Clock I get an email from one of my best friend's here in Kansas City. Hector Casanova, seriously one of the most talented fucking artist I've ever seen let alone become close friends with, has cancer.

Fuck you God.

I'm so tired of this fucking piece of shit disease. It's one thing when it's Lung Cancer and the person in is their 60's and you're like, "Oh, well tough luck." But Hector isn't even in his 30's yet!!! And he's fucking NICE! BTK just got sentenced to life in prison yesterday...give THAT asshole cancer!!!

I'm so angry and sad and tired...Honestly I'm not sure why I'm even writing this on my stupid blog. I guess just getting it out there helps me deal with it. Like I have some sort of power over it if I cuss a lot and blame God. When in reality I'm just so scared because I can't do anything about it. I can't even begin to imagine what Hector's going through.

He has to go to the Mayo Clinic up in MN ASAP. That's how serious it is. Now I get to stay up night wondering if I'll ever even see him again. At least he was able to keep his sense of humor about it...

"I always knew I was "special". Now I know exactly how special. When I first went to the doctor to get checked out, I mentioned I feared it might be cancer. He told me that my chances, being my age, of getting gastrointestinal cancer were 1 in 6500. 
That's how special I am. 
Renee asks me why I didn't win the lottery instead."

I responded by saying, "If this was Daniel I'd be like, 'Oh no big loss." But you?! You're actually talented!!!"

I hide behind my humor because I'm so terrified. I'm sure he's doing the same thing.

I'M GOING TO BUY THIS ALBUM...

...and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Rick Rubin should revive EVERYONE'S career! Somebody wake up James Brown!!!

From billboard.com

Diamond Names New Album
By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Neil Diamond's next studio album will be a self-titled affair, the first for the performer in his 40-year career. As previously reported, "Neil Diamond" will be released Nov. 8 via Columbia and is being produced by Rick Rubin. The set has been pushed back twice to give the label more time for set up.

"It's a very stripped-down, beautiful, emotional album," Rubin told Billboard.com last night (Aug. 18) before the first of three Diamond shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. He added that several tracks feature string arrangements that were being completed in the studio this week.

BEST BLOG POST I'VE READ TODAY...

Courtesy of Jamie.

Here's how it starts:

"As I've written before, I haven't been that political a person in life. It speaks of our times that I've felt compelled to be more active, and really, I am just the sort of person the powers that be should fear, the ones they previously could count on to stay at home and quietly accept. Imagine if we all got mobilized!"

"Needless to say, I've never attended any real protest or demonstration. Unless you count in 8th grade when we had a walk-out to protest the rule that we couldn't wear shorts to Francis Parkman Junior High. But that was more about not having to be in class for me then it was an urge to fight the power, and though we won, the true reward as far as I was concerned was the girl I had a crush on, Becky Posternak, was interviewed for the 10 o'clock news, giving me a precious 10 seconds of video footage of my beloved. You kids don’t know how easy you have it, what with these MySpace profiles full of downloadable pictures. In the old days, when you were sweet on someone, it was much harder to obtain fetishes for one's shrine."

...how true! Uh, I mean...so I've heard...

THE THE THE HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL IS STILL BEATIN!!!

As many of you know (and a few who did but might have forgot) I work at my family's Harley Davidson dealership. It has it's moments, mostly the "not really having to work and being able to update my blog" parts...but it also has that whole "working for your FAMILY" thing too.

Anyway, we have this big Harley Davidson jukebox and get to fill it with whatever we feel like. I say "we" but in reality, it's mostly my father and stepmom. And so, HUEY LEWIS IT IS!!! Oh, you know you're jealous...

Anyway, here's what I've been up to lately. On my lunchbreak today I headed over to Oak Park Mall. I always head over to the mall on Fridays. It keeps me young, and in touch with my fellow "hipsters." Actually, I don't know why I do it...I know none of you probably have ever been to Johnson County, Kansas, but it's the richest county around. I think it's in the top 30 richest counties in America...so you can imagine the clientele that's in there.

Walking around, I bought Lex The Muppet Show Season One...I say Lex, but it's really for Molly and I. That's the greatest thing about having a kid, you can blame it on him! Molly walks in on me watching cartoons, "LEX wanted to watch them!!!"

But the greatest thing I saw was this 50 year old woman in a baby doll shirt that read, "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?!" I thought to myself, "Wow, that single-handedly sums up everything!" This mall, this county, this COUNTRY...it's perfect! That should be America's moto...

I'm about halfway through this amazing book as well.

I'll write more about it as soon as I finish it...but so far it's intense and mind blowing. I can't believe the types of shit that's going on in Iraq right now.

8.15.2005

FINALLY!!!

Best part of the article, TWO songs will hit iTunes tonight at midnight! Hot Damn!!

www.billboard.com

Fiona Fashions A Different 'Machine'
By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Fiona Apple fans are already familiar with the material that makes up the artist's third Epic album, "Extraordinary Machine," having spread leaked early versions of the tracks across the Internet while waging a campaign to force the label to release them. But on Oct. 4, Apple will instead issue an entirely new version of the album, on which she has been quietly working while the controversy raged.

Two cuts -- the title track and "Waltz" -- are holdovers from the Jon Brion-helmed sessions that leaked earlier in the year. Another, "Parting Gift," is a new solo piano-and-vocal tune captured on the first take. The rest of "Extraordinary Machine" was produced by Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew and is made up of the other nine songs that made the rounds online.

Earlier this year, fans seized upon the notion that Epic had rejected the original "Extraordinary Machine" and organized a Web site (FreeFiona.com) and a protest outside the company's New York office in the hopes of bringing the album to the marketplace. But in truth, Apple was not happy enough with the Brion-produced versions to release them. In April 2004, she sought out Elizondo, who played bass on two songs from her 1999 album "When the Pawn...," to help her re-imagine the material.

"That's essentially what we did up until a few months ago, when she felt like everything was ready to move forward," Elizondo tells Billboard.com. "I have a studio at my house, so we added all of her piano, her vocals and live drums to the things I'd already created from scratch using programmed beats. Rather than experimenting in the studio, we tried to get blueprints for each of the songs and then once everything was ready to move forward, we went in and did the finishing touches."

Although he listened to the original versions once or twice "just to get the scope of the arrangement and the melody," Elizondo says he has not "gone back and compared each song. But, there's definitely some things that are far-out experiments and things that turned out really exciting."

"All in all, it's a Fiona Apple record," he continues. "She has a very distinct style of writing and her melodies are amazing. Her chord progressions are incredible. It's not a drastic departure, but within that, there are some elements you might not have heard on a previous Fiona Apple recording."

The confusion about what exactly was going on with "Extraordinary Machine" was complicated by the fact that neither Apple nor Epic made any public statements about the situation. Elizondo acknowledges it was an unusual environment in which to be working.

"My own personal feeling was, on one side, it was a little disheartening knowing there were these versions of the songs out there while we were working on the record," he says. "But on the other side, I looked at it as, it was very admirable she has this amazing core of fans. The way they interpreted it was, the label isn't putting out her record, so we're going to do it for her. That's very admirable. But as time goes on, these fans will understand this is the album she wants to put out."

The first "official" taste of the new album will be available later today (Aug. 15) on Apple's Web site, which will be streaming "Parting Gift" and "O, Sailor." The tracks will be available for purchase tomorrow via Apple's iTunes Music Store.

And while no details have yet been nailed down, Apple looks ready to return to live performance for the first time in years.

"She's expressed a great deal of excitement with the finished product," Elizondo offers. "I've offered to put a band together as well as be a part of that band myself on bass. I've already put out some feelers to local musicians in L.A. that would probably comprise the band I'm thinking of. But there are no performances set in stone. A lot of this material is very much rhythm section-oriented. The parts will really lend themselves to being played live. It will be a lot of fun."

BEST BLOG POST I'LL READ ALL DAY...

Courtesy of Kos.

8.12.2005

OH SAM MENDES...

Why must you tempt me with such good movies?!

BANSKY!!!

If you've never heard of the graffiti artist BANSKY, you're missing out. He's not interesting in "tagging" or any of that shit. His pieces are truly works of art and he's the MASTER of using stencils to get his point across.

Check out his newest cause.

One of his pieces he snuck into an art museum is also the cover of this month's ADBUSTERS.

8.09.2005

GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!

Besides wanting to talk about the Newsweek article that descibes how we fucking HAD Bin Laden in our grasps and let him go, I figured I'd post some shit I really really can't wait and get my hands on.

Cause politics is boring, but spending money...that's AWESOME!!!

First up, BROKEN FLOWERS.

I really can't wait to see this. I love Bill Murray and Jim Jarmusch!

Next up is We (heart) Katarmari!

If you've never played the Katarmari Damacy game for PS2...you have not LIVED! It's soooo fun and has an amazing soundtrack to boot!

I've listened to "The One I Love" about twenty times now and am ready for David Gray's latest album to finally be released...


Al Franken's last book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" was one of the funniest books I've ever read. His next one should be just as good...


And finally, I saw these out at San Diego and can't wait until they hit stores...
SIMPSONS BUST UPS!

8.05.2005

HAVING IT THEIR WAY...

Dear Burger King,

They're called Chicken Fingers, Chicken Tenders, or Chicken Strips. You're not allowed to call them "Chicken Fries" and think you've created something NEW and HIP! What's next, "Burger Tots?!"

Knock it off,
~America.

8.04.2005

A FIVE WEEK VACATION?!

Who the fuck gets a FIVE WEEK VACATION in America?! That's some pussy European shit right there. What's next, Health Care For Everyone?! Fuckin' Socialist...

So anyway, Dubya is taking another 5 week vacation. I say another, but this is actually the longest one he's ever taken. But it's always this time of year...even in 2001, he was on vacation when the FBI and CIA got the memo titled, "BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES." But hey, the White House assures us that just cause he's down in Crawford, Texas doesn't mean he's not WORKING! HA!

Here's some numbers...

49 - the number of vacations that Bush has taken since he was inaugurated in 2001

5 - the number of weeks that Bush will spend on vacation, starting yesterday. It is the longest presidential vacation in at least 36 years.

319 - August 3, 2005 was the 319th day Bush has spent on vacation since his 2001 inauguration.

20% - the fraction of Bush's presidency that he has spent on vacation

POOR BOB NOVAK...

I guess the "Douchebag of Liberty" must be under some stress lately. I guess having the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT on your ass for outing a CIA Agent will do that to you...

Since The Daily Show probably already taped their episode before this occured, here's what happened...

CNN'S INSIDE EDITION had on James Carvile and Bob Novak. James digs at Bob a lil' bit and all the sudden he's cussing and tossing off his mic?!

Carvile: You've gotta show these right-wingers some kind of backbone, you know, the wall street journal editorial page is watching you show them you're tough.

Novak: I think that's bullshit and I hate that...Just let it go

Media Matters has video!

8.02.2005

WHEN CAN WE EVOLVE?!

...away from this 1910 bullshit? Seriously, it's 2005 and we're STILL wanting to teach "other" forms of evolution?!

Bush Says 'Intelligent Design' Should Be Taught

WASHINGTON (Aug. 2) - President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss ''intelligent design'' alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both theories, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

''I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,'' Bush said. ''You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.''

The theory of intelligent design says life on earth is too complex to have developed through evolution, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in creation.

Christian conservatives - a substantial part of Bush's voting base - have been pushing for the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. Scientists have rejected the theory as an attempt to force religion into science education.

On other topics during the group interview, the president:

-Refused to discuss the investigation into whether political aide Karl Rove or any other White House official leaked a CIA officer's identity, but he stood behind Rove. ''Karl's got my complete confidence. He's a valuable member of my team,'' Bush said.

-Said he did not ask Supreme Court nominee John Roberts about his views on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion.

-Said he hopes to work with Congress to pass an immigration reform bill this fall, including provisions for guest workers and enhanced security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bush spoke with reporters from the San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Austin American-Statesman.

TUESDAYS AIN'T MUCH BETTER...

Wow, did I think yesterday sucked? Today is giving it a run for it's money...

First off, why must I eat cucumbers in my sandwhich? I love them to death, but all day long I burp them up. Yeah, you know you wanted to know that, don't act...

Second off, why isn't this out yet? I need to fucking laugh...NOW!


At least I'm off work tomorrow...

8.01.2005

MONDAYS SUCK...

I mean seriously...nothing good ever happens on a Monday. Well, iTunes updates tonight, but technically that happens after Midnight, so that doesn't count.

iTunes has been on an upward swing lately though, which is nice. Lately it had NOTHING but shit released. Another exclusive remix of "Hollaback Girl?!" Stab me in the eye, please!

But the last couple of weeks had some nice EP's from Beck and Mike Doughty (including a nice cover of Kenny Roger's "The Gambler") and even a single off of David Gray's upcoming album. I picked up the newest issue of ICE Magazine the other day and there's not anything worth buying during the month of August. Which is probably nice cause I ain't exactly got money to burn anyway.

I will be buying these DVD's though...



...and Sin City, but I can't find anything about the different covers, so I won't bother posting that yet...

SIX FEET UNDER

Without giving anything away, it ended nice on Sunday night. True, there's still three episodes left, but a chapter was closed last night and didn't come off as "forced."

Is anyone excited about ROME? I dunno what it is about these new HBO shows...but nothing has wowed me yet. Besides Ali G. Make that a Sunday night show and I'll be there!