For my birthday Keith bought tickets to see the Reverend Horton Heat.
Pretty cool!
The show got off to a rocky start when we found out the opening act (Nashville Pussy) canceled. Don't know why. Anyway a local band took the stage for a little set, they were okay.
Then, after a short interval, The Reverend and his band came on. I was pretty unfamiliar with the songs as I don't own any of their albums (I do now, I got one at the show). But it was a pretty good show. A little thing at the beginning with the sound. I could barely hear that he was singing much less what the lyrics were. But by the third song I could hear fine and could even follow along with most of the words. Which is a pretty neat feat as I was hearing them for the first time.
They did a lot off their new album, which took a decidedly 'country' tack, but played a wide selection of older stuff, which was more the 'rockabilly' I expected. All of it was good.
They actually brought out one of the crew to do the singing on a cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades". Apparently a lot of appearances on this tour are with Motorhead... go figure.
A pleasant suprise for me was that after the show the band was available to sign stuff. I got all three signatures on my copy of the new album.
sweet.
----------------
Now playing: Reverend Horton Heart - Ain't No Saguaro in Texas
via FoxyTunes
Friday, September 11, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
1966
It is customary to take note of the anniversary of the date of ones birth.
Duly noted.
----------------
Now playing: Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops - Theme from Jaws
via FoxyTunes
Duly noted.
----------------
Now playing: Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops - Theme from Jaws
via FoxyTunes
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Neko, Neko
For those of you keeping score; this is post #100 (a milestone)
Tonight Keith and I went back to the NorVa. This time we saw Neko Case.
I had never heard this artist before, although I had heard of her. I listened to some tracks acquired from the interwebs and decided that it was worth going. I was not disappointed. The genre is a little hard to pin down, I think of it as a sort of modern country/bluegrass type feel but many of the songs don't really fit that vague description either. oh, well. The style reminds me a little of Lucinda Williams or Holly Golightly, but she definitely does not have a voice similar to either of them.
The point of all this is that if you trust my taste in music you could do worse than giving one of Neko's albums a listen. I bought two of them at the venue.
On the down side, and I want to mention this for any budding sound engineers out there, I don't usually enjoy live music as much as studio tracks. This is because although I can hear that the singer is singing, the instruments seem to be unnecessarily loud and I can't understand the actual lyrics of the song. I can follow along to songs with which I am already familiar, but new stuff I just have to ride the flow and hope I can become acquainted with the words later.
Maybe I'm just old.
-------------------------------------------------
As a tangent if you ever are traveling with my friend Keith do not rely on him for navigational advice. In his defense there is a lot of new construction in downtown Norfolk. But when he continuously insists that the place you are looking for is on Granby and Monticello and has you driving up and down Granby street futilely looking for the NorVa only to find out that the two streets mentioned do not in fact intersect but are parallel and that you have, for some unfathomable reason, been looking for the back of the theater for nearly half an hour, then you will know frustration.
Sorry Keith but it's true, your navigation sucks.
----------------
Now playing: Neko Case - Don't Forget Me
via FoxyTunes
Tonight Keith and I went back to the NorVa. This time we saw Neko Case.
I had never heard this artist before, although I had heard of her. I listened to some tracks acquired from the interwebs and decided that it was worth going. I was not disappointed. The genre is a little hard to pin down, I think of it as a sort of modern country/bluegrass type feel but many of the songs don't really fit that vague description either. oh, well. The style reminds me a little of Lucinda Williams or Holly Golightly, but she definitely does not have a voice similar to either of them.
The point of all this is that if you trust my taste in music you could do worse than giving one of Neko's albums a listen. I bought two of them at the venue.
On the down side, and I want to mention this for any budding sound engineers out there, I don't usually enjoy live music as much as studio tracks. This is because although I can hear that the singer is singing, the instruments seem to be unnecessarily loud and I can't understand the actual lyrics of the song. I can follow along to songs with which I am already familiar, but new stuff I just have to ride the flow and hope I can become acquainted with the words later.
Maybe I'm just old.
-------------------------------------------------
As a tangent if you ever are traveling with my friend Keith do not rely on him for navigational advice. In his defense there is a lot of new construction in downtown Norfolk. But when he continuously insists that the place you are looking for is on Granby and Monticello and has you driving up and down Granby street futilely looking for the NorVa only to find out that the two streets mentioned do not in fact intersect but are parallel and that you have, for some unfathomable reason, been looking for the back of the theater for nearly half an hour, then you will know frustration.
Sorry Keith but it's true, your navigation sucks.
----------------
Now playing: Neko Case - Don't Forget Me
via FoxyTunes
Monday, July 20, 2009
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
As you may have heard, forty years ago today human beings first landed on the moon. It was one of the greatest achievements of all time.
I think it's time we went back.
----------------
Now playing: John Barry - Moonraker, film score: Moonraker: Main Title
via FoxyTunes
I think it's time we went back.
----------------
Now playing: John Barry - Moonraker, film score: Moonraker: Main Title
via FoxyTunes
Friday, June 26, 2009
Already, there are jokes...
Farrah Fawcett is standing before Saint Peter.
"You have brought much enjoyment to the people, through your acting, that it has been decided that you should be granted a wish before we bring you into heaven. What is it that you wish?"
Farrah thought for a moment and replied "My only wish would be if you could do something to protect the children..."
"Done!" Saint Peter writes a little note in his book and slams it shut!
BAM!
...and Michael Jackson is standing next to Farrah.
----------------
Now playing: Holly Golightly - Without You Here
via FoxyTunes
"You have brought much enjoyment to the people, through your acting, that it has been decided that you should be granted a wish before we bring you into heaven. What is it that you wish?"
Farrah thought for a moment and replied "My only wish would be if you could do something to protect the children..."
"Done!" Saint Peter writes a little note in his book and slams it shut!
BAM!
...and Michael Jackson is standing next to Farrah.
----------------
Now playing: Holly Golightly - Without You Here
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Traffic Driver
In a blatant attempt to drive traffic to my blog I hereby list the top search terms on Google today:
Today's Hot Trends (USA)
1. super mario galaxy 2
2. brooks perlin
3. weather graphics
4. team ninja
5. metroid other m
6. wow patch 3.1.3 download
7. sichuan tengzhong
8. bruno eminem stunt
9. anencephaly
10. kate gosselin bikini pics
How's that for meaningful content?
I'm glad to see that the things on this list aren't all stupid fluff items. (there's some video game items in there!) ;)
(no editorial context is implied nor should be inferred by the inclusion or exclusion of particular search terms on this list; I got it from Google...)
----------------
Now playing: Aphex twins - Ghost in the Shell
via FoxyTunes
Today's Hot Trends (USA)
1. super mario galaxy 2
2. brooks perlin
3. weather graphics
4. team ninja
5. metroid other m
6. wow patch 3.1.3 download
7. sichuan tengzhong
8. bruno eminem stunt
9. anencephaly
10. kate gosselin bikini pics
How's that for meaningful content?
I'm glad to see that the things on this list aren't all stupid fluff items. (there's some video game items in there!) ;)
(no editorial context is implied nor should be inferred by the inclusion or exclusion of particular search terms on this list; I got it from Google...)
----------------
Now playing: Aphex twins - Ghost in the Shell
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Road Trip!
Last week my friend Keith and I visited our nations Capitol City. I had only been to D.C. twice before; once as a kid I visited the Air & Space Museum with my family, and once when we buried my mother at Arlington.
This trip was going to be the full-on tourist bit! I had a list of things to see and a full day to do them. It was just barely enough time.
We left in the wee small hours of the morning and got there a little after 11:00am. After a little hiccup finding parking (the place I had found online turned out not to be public parking) we walked past the Capitol Building. There was a yearly memorial taking place for fallen police officers on this day so we didn't approach the building because of the crowds.
But I got pictures.
Then we proceeded down the National Mall. We took a bit of a side trip north to see the U.S. Navy Memorial. One of the highlights for me. It is a very cool layout and the centerpiece is just an ordinary sailor, not some idealized God figure. I like the realistic memorials enshrining what things actually are rather than some impossible ideal. (not that there's anything wrong with big 'worship' type monuments, more on that later)
Petty Officer 2nd Class, with his hands in his pockets... :)
We visited a Sculpture Garden with some cool stuff in it and a nice big fountain in the center.
As you might expect there were some cool sculptures as well.
Next we visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
DINOSAURS! - Who knew the Jurassic was so blurry? (ha ha)
And Very Big Rocks!
We also visited the Smithsonian Museum of National History.
Lincolns top hat.
He wore this to the theater!
Next, more monuments/memorials...
The Washington Monument is really rather large!
Look, there's me! (wave)
And, to answer the burning question in everyone's mind "What would the Washington Monument look like if it were a Batman villain's lair?"...
Whatever...
The World War II monument is a very cool place. I just wish certain people would pay attention to the signs and realize that it isn't a wading pool! Keep your damn feet out of my monument!
The Vietnam Memorial is only but so interesting as I, thankfully, don't know anyone whose name is on it. I think the statue is very cool and appropriate.
Regular guys doing their job.
Then for another 'shrine': the Lincoln Memorial.
As I said before I really like the realistic memorials, as these commemorate 'ordinary' people who have done great things under horrible conditions. But, I also see the grandeur of these larger than life temples to the great individuals who have risen above the tide of history. I like both approaches and feel that the monuments in the Capitol each approach their subjects appropriately, the 'thinkers' who have wrestled with the ideals that make this a Great Nation and the 'doers' who make things work and do what is necessary to preserve those ideals. Each have their place and each receives their recognition.
And speaking of 'doers' here is the Korean War Memorial.
Finally we visited the Jefferson Memorial.
In the parlance of the Internet "Great man, or Greatest man?"
That wraps it up for the places we went and the things we saw.
As a personal aside; Sorry Keith, if I had known your feet were in that much pain we could have taken an easier pace... you should wear comfortable shoes when going on walking tours.
Also, my brain is really dumb. The whole day all I could think about was seeing these sights in the game 'Fallout 3' I mean really, a video game?
I would have liked to stay and see some of the monuments lit up after nightfall, but I was really exhausted when we reached home again and I don't think it would have been safe to drive that tired, so I'm glad we came home when we did. Maybe next time!
----------------
Now playing: The Ink Spots - I Don't Want To Set The World on Fire
via FoxyTunes
This trip was going to be the full-on tourist bit! I had a list of things to see and a full day to do them. It was just barely enough time.
We left in the wee small hours of the morning and got there a little after 11:00am. After a little hiccup finding parking (the place I had found online turned out not to be public parking) we walked past the Capitol Building. There was a yearly memorial taking place for fallen police officers on this day so we didn't approach the building because of the crowds.
But I got pictures.Then we proceeded down the National Mall. We took a bit of a side trip north to see the U.S. Navy Memorial. One of the highlights for me. It is a very cool layout and the centerpiece is just an ordinary sailor, not some idealized God figure. I like the realistic memorials enshrining what things actually are rather than some impossible ideal. (not that there's anything wrong with big 'worship' type monuments, more on that later)
Petty Officer 2nd Class, with his hands in his pockets... :)
We visited a Sculpture Garden with some cool stuff in it and a nice big fountain in the center.
As you might expect there were some cool sculptures as well.
Next we visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
DINOSAURS! - Who knew the Jurassic was so blurry? (ha ha)
And Very Big Rocks!
We also visited the Smithsonian Museum of National History.
Lincolns top hat.
He wore this to the theater!
Next, more monuments/memorials...
The Washington Monument is really rather large!
Look, there's me! (wave)And, to answer the burning question in everyone's mind "What would the Washington Monument look like if it were a Batman villain's lair?"...
Whatever...
The World War II monument is a very cool place. I just wish certain people would pay attention to the signs and realize that it isn't a wading pool! Keep your damn feet out of my monument!
The Vietnam Memorial is only but so interesting as I, thankfully, don't know anyone whose name is on it. I think the statue is very cool and appropriate.
Regular guys doing their job.
Then for another 'shrine': the Lincoln Memorial.
As I said before I really like the realistic memorials, as these commemorate 'ordinary' people who have done great things under horrible conditions. But, I also see the grandeur of these larger than life temples to the great individuals who have risen above the tide of history. I like both approaches and feel that the monuments in the Capitol each approach their subjects appropriately, the 'thinkers' who have wrestled with the ideals that make this a Great Nation and the 'doers' who make things work and do what is necessary to preserve those ideals. Each have their place and each receives their recognition.
And speaking of 'doers' here is the Korean War Memorial.
Finally we visited the Jefferson Memorial.
In the parlance of the Internet "Great man, or Greatest man?"
That wraps it up for the places we went and the things we saw.
As a personal aside; Sorry Keith, if I had known your feet were in that much pain we could have taken an easier pace... you should wear comfortable shoes when going on walking tours.
Also, my brain is really dumb. The whole day all I could think about was seeing these sights in the game 'Fallout 3' I mean really, a video game?
I would have liked to stay and see some of the monuments lit up after nightfall, but I was really exhausted when we reached home again and I don't think it would have been safe to drive that tired, so I'm glad we came home when we did. Maybe next time!
----------------
Now playing: The Ink Spots - I Don't Want To Set The World on Fire
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Open Mindedness
This is a really well thought out argument on the subject of open mindedness and critical thinking.
Open-Mindedness
Now I have some good responses to people who are prejudiced against the scientific method and learning in general.
(I wish I could come up with original content for my blog, I seem to be linking to other stuff a lot...)
----------------
Now playing: Gareth Williams - Escape from New York (Main Title) [Mix 1]
via FoxyTunes
Open-Mindedness
Now I have some good responses to people who are prejudiced against the scientific method and learning in general.
(I wish I could come up with original content for my blog, I seem to be linking to other stuff a lot...)
----------------
Now playing: Gareth Williams - Escape from New York (Main Title) [Mix 1]
via FoxyTunes
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
...how many of these things are there?
 | I received 85 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you? |
| Quiz by SheGoddess: Quick weight loss | |
----------------
Now playing: John Williams - Rescue of the Princess
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin? It's another Web Poll!
I'm a Lifer!
To you, a job is what pays the bills. You put in your hours, follow the rules, and then go home. Occasionally, you consider quitting, but then you think of how bad the job market is and you reconsider. Whatever happiness you get, you get from your life outside the workplace. Relationships, family, hobbies, and outside creative pursuits are what really matter to you. You're probably taking this test at work because you don't have anything better to do.
Talent: 28%
Lifer: 59%
Mandarin: 46%
Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.
----------------
Now playing: Jefferson Airplane - Somebody to Love
via FoxyTunes
Sportscar webpoll
I'm a Mazda RX-8!
You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
----------------
Now playing: Alice Cooper - Go To Hell
via FoxyTunes
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