Solar Panels

This is an amazing story I read this morning, courtesy of the BBC.

Solar Panels In Spain

This is where we are going as a green world. Space on our planet is quickly disappearing. What we need, especially in our community are bright idea's, like the one above.

amazing

New Blog Archive

I have added an RSS feed to my blog from Politico 44.

For those who do not know, Politico.com made a name for itself over the course of the election by breaking several news stories. Now, after the triumphant win on November 4th, Politico is taking on the entire 44th presidancy. Each minute will be thrown on this site, and subsequently on my blog.

Check back often because Politico 44 updates often.

Victory!!!!

There are no words...

Past Albums-Revisited-Metallica's Load

I decided I am going to review some great albums from my youth and talk about them. Since my friend Mar is the only person who actually reads my blog (and given that her fiance talks a big game but never comments), I guess she will be the only one who enjoys these little blogs. Oh Well.

Artist: Metallica.

Album: Load.

Year: 1996.

This album was it for me, the introduction into the world of Metallica. Of course I had heard Enter Sandman and Sad But True from their previous album, but when I saw the video for "Until It Sleeps", I began what would be a magnificent quest to be an absolute Metallica fan.

Track List and description:

Ain't My Bitch-The song brings back the memories of riding in my El Camino down the mean streets of Gilman, Illinois-wondering who my bitch was.

2 X 4-no comment

The House Jack Built-a great song and the first non-single song of Metallica's I enjoyed.

Until It Sleeps- Lars Ulrich with Mascara and a bluesy opening. This was complete opposite of Enter Sandman and was what hooked me.

King Nothing-The video had Metallica in the woods. It always reminds me of winter.

Hero Of The Day-John Mayer called the solo in this song his favorite. Basic and powerful.

Bleeding Me-Listen to the guitar solo and then try and tell me that Kirk Hammett isn't amazing

Cure-no comment

Poor Twisted Me-no comment

Wasting My Hate-no comment however the live version is amazing.

Mama Said-James singing to his dead mother. When you see him do this song solo and alone on stage with an acoustic guitar, you can feel how much pain inside.

Thorn Within-no comment

Ronnie-no comment

The Outlaw Torn-no comment.

After hearing this album, I immediatley went and saw them in concert in Moline, Illinois. I will never miss a Metallica concert when it comes around. They are just too good.

Discovery

Today I have discovered a song that may or may not mark the end of my status as a fan of great music.

Now, you may be asking.. what song is it, Ryan?

This song was recorded in 1992.

This song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocals in 1993.

The song I am referring to is k.d. Lang's "Constant Craving".

That's right friends, I am in love with a love song sung by a lesbian.

This song might be the most amazing song ever put down on record. I am a grown man of 28, and after hearing this song I am surprised how moved I was. This was not the first time I heard this song. I can remember that my mother had this album and played this song like 900 times on a car trip between G-town and Champaign-Urbana. Of course, the repetitive nature of hearing a song over and over can ruin it for a person, especially for a twelve year old who had just discovered Nirvana. Nevertheless, as an adult and hearing this song, I am completely floored at how honest the lyrics are, and how thoughtful the production value lends itself to k.d. Lang's voice.

I may have destroyed any shred of integrity I have as it relates to blogging about music, but who cares. This song is a gem.

It's been awhile

So it has been awhile, and although I am trying to stay true to the blogosphere I am having a rough time finding the minutes to type anything here. This is mostly because of work, and school, and of course the Cubs Playoffs, but rest assured, when I have the time I will write my innermost thoughts here to the masses...aka Chris.

Better Place

I first read about Shai Agassi in a recent article in Wired Magazine. It seems Shai is about to change the entire world, and most of us did not even know it.

Driven

It seems as if every few years a story comes up about a new technology, or idea that will change the way we travel. Case in point, this story.

Reinventing The Wheel

Although the segway does serve some kind of relavancy today ( an example is Chicago Cops or tourist scooting through the park, it never caught on with the average joe. Better Place, although a complete 360 from the segway, is the future.

Our dependance on foreign energy(oil) is sickening. Our news cycle is inindatted with the problems with oil. Iran may start transacting oil in Euros, or Russia may transact it in Rubles. Hurricanes threaten our strategic oil reserves, or terrorist threaten to destroy strategic piplines. It is time for the world to wake up from this nightmare that is being perpetuated by the government, OPEC, and Detroit. Following Shai Agassi is an important step.

If you liked what you read about Better Place, my suggestion is to forward the link to the Wired Story to your local United States representative. Let them know that we need a change.

The Bears...a reaction

was anyone completley amazed by the Bears vs. Colt game on last night?

Who would have guessed that our loevable bruisers would take down the mountain of Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Of course one game in week one hardly makes a season, but there was something in this win, something salty that's been smoking around the veins these last two seasons. I am talking about 2006 and the Bears loss to the Colts in the Super Bowl. You see, Bears fans never forget the big losses and as much as we have sucked since, I think we needed to win this game.

To quote Jack Dundee from The Best Of Times.

We are going to blitz like Dick Butkus into the backfield of the future and throw a vicious forearm shiver on the demon ball carriers of the past.

That is what we did on Sunday. Whether we go to the playoffs or fizzle into the lower bowels of the league, Sunday night was our night. And so it goes.

Success and Forte

A few Sunday Evening Notes

I BEAT level 2 of Turtles today at 12:00-My Dream has been realized.

Michael Turner is God

Matt Forte is God.


BOOYA

Nintendo: My Dream Emerges

Yesterday a magnificent event occured.

I was walking up Clark Street, meandering towards the comic book shop ( to buy the latest Dark Tower comic), and low and behold I see a shop called PEOPLE PLAY GAMES.

Walking in, the sound of classic video games emerges from the sound system. I am talking about tunes from the original Legend Of Zelda and Nobuo Uematsu's beautifully composed music for Final Fantasy VIII. Then comes another familiar sound, the rallying call of Mike Tyson's Punchout. In the corner, a man is trying to beat Mike Tyson. Of course the great ones classic lightining quick punches are not enough for Little Mac, the character you take through the ardous circuit. I walk up behind the guy and apologize for looming. He explains that he has spent the last three day's trying to beat Tyson and was unsuccessful.

I begin looking at the shelves and see the thousands of classic Nintendo games they have. Apparently these guys refurbish old Nintendo systems for ultimate capability and sell the games at a reasonable price. At once my childhood ( another haiku?) came flooding back.

It did not take long for me to decide to buy a system. $89.00 later and now I am a proud owner of a classic NES system. The system came with Super Mario Bros/ Duck Hunt and I bought Super Mario Bros 3 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Super Mario 3 is an old favorite and I can remember scouring the malls of Bloomington/Normal looking for it. My mom and I eventually found it at K's Merchandise. The orginal Super Mario is always a great a game for a little fun, but it is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that is my Everest.

You see, the second level of TMNT is the underwater level. When I first borrowed this game from my childhood pal Jeff, it took countless hours to try and beat the level. The set-up is that you are swimming underneath the dam trying to disable all the bombs before the damn explodes. Of course there are dangeroud underwater foot soldiers and stinging algae. I was never able to beat that level.

I am about to turn thirty in a couple years. My only goal, besides being successful at my job, and starting a family, is to defeat this level.

I will update everyone once I have done so, and I will also update on any new classic games I will pick-up.

I am contemplating a huge Tecmo Super Bowl tournament for my friends.

We shall see.

Donnie Wahlberg: A Haiku

It is living in my childhood again.
everything is not lost.
Donnie Wahlberg is not a real bad boy.

Retroactive Continuity and Beverly Hills 90210

WTF

For those who do not know what retroactive continuity is please brush up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retcon

You know what grinds my gears.

For those who have been watching the new and improved 90210 know that something stinks in that part of TV Land.

To be honest, I was an avid watcher of the original Beverly Hills 90210 and it's spinoff Melrose Place. Should we forget that Rob Estes played Kyle McBride on Melrose Place and is now playing some random principal from Kansas who grew up in Beverly Hills. Are we destroying the world of Beverly Hills 90210 for better television.

This is retconning. Taking a world and screwing it up. Now we all know retconning happens. Professional Wrestling is the predisposed harbinger of destroying it's previously established historical data. George Lucas is also a big fan, changing the Star Wars universe and blowing it up. In the end most people go along with change, but not me.

Where is the authenticity within writing. Is it really so hard to keep a consistent stream of words over time.

One of the biggest disappointments was Stephen King's Dark Tower odyssey. For those who do not know The Dark Tower, it is a core seven books with several other books feeding into it. One of these feeder books, Insomnia, had a character named Patrick Danville. Patrick was a kid an he was an artist. The whole ending of Insomnia revolved around the fact that Patrick was going to die saving two men, one of whom must not die. This was a prophecy in the book clearly linking Patrick to the Dark Tower books and a teaser that in the end he would save the gunslinger before he ascended to the fabled Dark Tower. This, sadly, did not happen. He did make an appearance in the final Dark Tower book, however he did not save two men. His only purpose was to "erase" the Crimson King (the antagonist), and he never died.

Stephen King sort of retconned the situation with some early plot devices, but how hard would have it been to create a situation where Patrick Danville would have to save two men. The same with George Lucas, how hard would it have been to shoot a scene showing Yoda on Dagobah with Luke, or Obi wan having interaction with Uncle Owen. Why create something and then not give it your all.

Rob Estes is an easy thing to ignore on 90210, however is it really staying true to the 90210 world?

Nevertheless, the new 90210 is pretty cool.

The ER Incident.

So I am not sure what the hell happened, but last week I found myself in a little pickle. On the way back home from downstate, i started to notice that my neck was hurting. Through last weekend, the pain in my neck got worse and by the time the new week began, I was in considerable pain. I made it to today, and had to go to the doctor. Unfortunatley doctors will not take a rush appointment, so it was on to the ER for me.

The wife picks me up and we are off. The ER was a wonderful place and a great place to people watch.

There were several observations that I made. I made a list below.

People are miserable in the ER
People with neck injuries wait longer than people with substabce abuse problems.
People who have been hit by a car still need to drag their luggage around.
People who are passing kidney stones cry alot.

Just some observations.

BTW-the neck was just strained a little.

So it goes.

The Truth About Kiefer and Jack

I recently became re-introduced to "A Few Good Men', Aaron Sorkin's amazing portrayal of high-level conspiracy within the United States Marine Corp. This play, as well as the movie, is a compelling look at the inner workings of command within our armed forces. The movie is dated (i.e. September 11th would have changed how we viewed code red's in the military, and of course Tom Cruises charisma, however I think the movie is a realistic look at how discipline works within the military,

The one problem, and call this a random observation, is the character usage within the narrative.

Let me create the scene.

LTJG Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is questioning 1LT Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). The questioning turns to the matter of the code red and whether Jonathan Kendrick ordered said code red. Now Kiefer Sutherland( in an underrated part I might add) handles Tom Cruise brillantly, and parries and jabs without any problem.

Kiefer 1 Tom Cruise 0

Later, Tom Cruise is questioning Col Nathan R Jessep(Jack Nicholson)and giving him the same hard line joust. Tom Cruise manages, through clever dialogue and a heated scene, to break Jack Nicholson into submission.

Tom Cruise 1 Jack Nicholson 0.

Is this a real world scenario? I totally like Kiefer Sutherland and Jack Nicholson, however there is no way that Tom Cruise would be able to break Jack Nicholson in the real world. To be realistic, Jack Nicholson would have jumped out of his seat and would have detroyed Tom Cruise with a round house kick or a well hidden shank. Kiefer on the other hand would never have taken the verbal abuse from Tom Cruise. I imagine that Kiefer would be like his character from that phone booth movie. He would wait while Tom Cruise was out and about and would snipe him from the 30th story of some building. It would be amazing.

Completley Random.

WTF-Sara Palin and the ABC Afterschool Special

It was earlier this morning when this story showed up

http://ochairball.blogspot.com/2008/09/todd-palin-dwi-palins-go-national.html

Of course Mr. Palin having a DWI is hardly an issue-especially when you read this.

http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2008/06/background-on-c.html


Now, news comes from the great town of Wasilla, Alaska that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been keeping an additonal secret. Her daughter, Bristol is pregnant at the age of 17.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/01/palin.daughter/index.html

Wasn't this vetted in the selection process? Didn't Campaign Manager Rick Davis notice the baby bump? It is amazing to me that this would go unnoticed and that this woman can NOW even be considered to be a viable candidate for the vice presidancy. If you want to creat an image among women in this country about how Sarah Palin=Hillary Clinton, then ask yourself, how many babies did Chelsea have when she was in high school.

This should be expected. in 2006 Mccain voted against an amendment to the Senate's Fiscal Year Budget that would allocate $100 million for the prevention of unintended pregnancies. Now Mccain has a reminder of his failed voting record following him at every event.

Great job Republicans.

So it Goes

My Fantasy Football Draft

Let me just prefice this that I have serious doubts about the status of the league I joined. One of the players took Matt Hasselbeck in Round 1 and Koy Detmer in Round 3...he had Tom Brady, Steven Jackson, and Terrell Owens on the board.

SLOT PLAYER, TEAM POS ACTION OPP STATUS ET PRK PTS AVG LAST PROJ PVO %ST %OWN +/-
QB Brett Favre, NYJ QB @Mia Sun 1:00 7 237 14.8 -- 223 +0 55.9 100.0 +0
RB Frank Gore, SF RB Ari Sun 4:15 10 170 10.6 -- 225 +0 81.0 100.0 +0
RB Michael Turner, Atl RB Det Sun 1:00 75 33 2.1 -- 151 +0 3.1 100.0 +0
RB/WR Tim Hightower, Ari RB @SF Sun 4:15 -- -- -- -- 44 +0 0.0 14.7 +1.4
WR Calvin Johnson, Det WR @Atl Sun 1:00 34 103 6.4 -- 146 +0 41.8 100.0 +0
WR Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ WR @Mia Sun 1:00 25 120 7.5 -- 156 +0 24.5 100.0 +0
TE Kevin Boss, NYG TE Was Thu 7:00 40 22 1.4 -- 64 +0 1.1 50.6 -1.9
D/ST Vikings D/ST, Min D/ST @GB Mon 7:00 5 164 10.3 -- 100 +0 74.3 98.3 -0.2
K Stephen Gostkowski, NE K KC Sun 1:00 3 137 8.6 -- 96 +0 56.3 91.9 -0.7
Bench Empty -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
BENCH WEEK 1 2007 SEASON 2008 PRESEASON
SLOT PLAYER, TEAM POS ACTION OPP STATUS ET PRK PTS AVG LAST PROJ PVO %ST %OWN +/-
Bench Justin Gage, Ten WR Jac Sun 1:00 50 80 5.0 -- 96 +0 3.4 11.0 +1.7
Bench Dominic Rhodes, Ind RB Chi Sun 8:15 71 38 2.4 -- 38 +0 16.2 6.7 +0.6
Bench Leonard Pope, Ari TE @SF Sun 4:15 20 48 3.0 -- 40 +0 2.5 3.4 +0.6
Bench Kyle Orton, Chi QB @Ind Sun 8:15 52 28 1.8 -- 91 +0 1.4 4.0 +0.9
Bench Buccaneers D/ST, TB D/ST @NO Sun 1:00 8 143 8.9 -- 94 +0 48.4 42.8 +0.6
Bench Andre Davis, Hou WR @Pit Sun 1:00 43 89 5.6 -- 32 +0 4.0 1.5 +0.6
Bench Jason Hill, SF WR Ari Sun 4:15 167 0 0.0 -- 81 +0 0.0 0.9 +0


Cotchery and Favre are gonna put up some good numbers

The Best Album Of The 1980's

Believe me this IS the best album of the 1980's

Some people say it is LONDON CALLING-THE CLASH, or some day THE JOSHUA TREE-U2. If you are really a fan, you could probably argue PURPLE RAIN-PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION. Of course these are all great records and always have a spot in any shuffle that I am compiling. To me, though, the best album of the 1980's is none of these, and in fact, my album rarely shows up on any list anywhere. My BEST ALBUM OF THE 1980's is:

RADIO KAOS-Roger Waters

I will let Wikipedia describe the album. It is a concept album but it is describes to me exactly what the 1980's were about.

The concept is based around a 23-year-old disabled man from Wales named Billy.

Billy is confined to a wheelchair and is thought to be mentally a vegetable. However, Billy is highly intelligent but has no way of expressing himself. Billy has a twin brother Benny who is a coal miner. Billy lives with Benny, Molly his wife, and their children. Unfortunately, Benny has lost his job in the mines due to the "market forces". One night, Benny and Billy are out on a pub crawl when they pass a shop full of TV screens broadcasting Margaret Thatcher's "mocking condescension". Benny vents his anger on this shop and steals a cordless phone. Next, in theatrical fashion, Benny poses on a footbridge in protest to the closures; the same night, a taxi driver is killed by a concrete block dropped from a similar bridge. The police question Benny, who hides the phone in Billy's wheelchair. Benny is taken to prison, and Molly, unable to cope, sends Billy to live with his uncle David in L.A.. Billy is gifted and can hear radio waves in his head ("Radio Waves" track 1), so he begins to explore the cordless phone, recognising its similarity to a radio. He experiments with the phone and is able to access computers and speech synthesisers, he learns to speak through them. He calls a radio station in L.A. named Radio KAOS (hence the album title) and tells them of his life story about his brother being in jail ("Me or Him" track 3), about his sister-in-law not being able to cope and sending him to L.A. to live with his uncle Dave ("Sunset Strip" track 5), and about the closures of the mines ("Powers that Be" track 4). Billy eventually hacks in to a military satellite and fools the world in to thinking nuclear ICBMs are about to be detonated at major cities all over the world whilst deactivating the military power to retaliate ("Home" track 6 and "Four Minutes" track 7). The album concludes with a song about how everyone, in thinking they were about to die, realises that the fear and competitiveness peddled by the mass media is much less important than their love for family and the larger community. ("The Tide is Turning" track 8).

The album is dedicated "to all those who find themselves at the violent end of monetarism." This and other moments in the album--such as a segment juxtaposing a Ronald Reagan campaign slogan with clips from an old western TV show and an apparent recorded plea from American hostages not to engage in "heroics" to free them--make Waters' political point of view quite clear.


Thanks to Wikipedia I can copy and paste a good description. To listen to it is remarkable, and take away the ICBM's crushing towards the west coast, you could definitely picture this album today.

So It goes

Amazon Versus B&N Versus Borders Versus Independent Bookseller: The Battle Of Bioteams

Today I went on a journey.

This journey began on foot and soon ended in a train. My journey was the search for a book. This book Ken Thompsons BIOTEAMS was recommended to me by a friend, and was also a part of a featured story in the latest WIRED magazine. Bioteams details the subject of Biomimicry, or in lay terms, the adaptation of natures rules into a corporate business team. An example is the way bee's work and converting that idea into a real world scenario( project management).

I knew this book was going to be hard to find. It was published in January with little fanfare. I wanted to test and see if the reliability of the two major booksellers and one independent bookseller would be as reliable, efficient, and dependable as my favorite site, Amazon.com.

I first visited my local Borders. Borders is what Barnes and Noble would be if it was more user friendly. Walking into Borders there is a readily available computer console where I can search the stacks for my book. I had already done advance research and new that both major bookstores kept them in stock. In a pre-journey ranking I expected my best chance was to find this book at Borders.
Sadly the book was not available. I spoke with a floor attendant and she told me that they would easily be able to order this book for me. She said it would take 7-10 days. I did not accept and moved on.

Barnes and Noble, at least the ones I visit are a complicated experience. Whereas Borders offers easy search on certain computer consoles, and the independent bookseller has better customer service, Barnes and Noble is hardly either. Walking in, it took me a few minutes to find the business books. I was able to find a Star Wars section, a Fiction and Literature section, and a section completely devoted to Winnie Cooper( yes from Wonder Years). Apparently Winnie, being not only my first real crush, also is a mathematician who is helping young people succeed in Math. Amazing. ANYWAYS, Barnes and Noble was a complete bust, however they have an exorbitant amount of Donald Trump books. evidently in-stock research does not take in has-beens on there list.

My final jaunt was to an independent bookseller. It was with little hope that I would find the book i was looking for. Most of the times, the hard to find books will be here, but for me my little book wasn't available. I left with my head down and decided that with this little journey, I could officially say that what we know as the modern bookstore is DEAD.

Online booksellers are the way of the future. Not only will they have the book in stock, they will also offer you used books from people who may share the same taste. They will show you books that fit the same description, and they will continue to be on the cutting edge of technology. Easy search, less coffee smells, and customer service that is a click away. I ordered my book in two clicks. It is now somewhere between Omaha and Des Moines and will be in my hands on Wednesday.

So it goes.

Obamaist 1.0

It is true that I am a Republican. For years I have lived a guerrilla lifestyle within the confines of my wife's family. Her family is democratic tried and true. They are altruistic, and liberal, and left. My wife's family believes in everything a good democrat would believe in.

Then comes me.

I am from the rural stretches of Illinois. Down in my neck of the woods, Democrat is a dirty word said with anger more than pride. We believe in guns, and amendments and rights. We believe that George W. Bush is misinterpreted and that Dick Cheney is a national hero. We hated Clinton and Gore and Kerry and believe that if this nation is gonna be safe than George Bush will make us safe.

Then comes Barack Obama.

It is funny. As I am typing this blog, the spell-check does not recognize his name. Something tells me in the near future, all blogs, and Microsoft Word etc will have to adapt to the funny named president. That's right men and gals, I think Obama is going to win.

Obama really is a great story... but I am not writing this to talk about his mother, or his father from Kenya, or his Harvard days. I want to talk about his election for senator in the state of Illinois. On January 20th, on the day of the inauguration-after the champagne is gone and the work needs to begin..Barack Obama needs to stand on that stage in the January cold and thank one person above all for his ascendancy.

God
Michelle

Nope, neither. The person Barack Obama needs to thank is Jeri Ryan... That's correct, Jeri Ryan-the blond beauty who so famously played a half borg in Deep Space Nine, and went to other jaunts as a scandalous character on the OC and as a teacher on Boston Public. Jeri Ryan is the reason that Barack Obama is going to be president. John McCain should cancel his annual trip to the Star Trek convention because it was her that set us on a course for greatness.

You see, Jeri Ryan was once married to an Illinois politician named Jack Ryan. Now Jack Ryan was a charmer, a good lookin' SOB who was destined to be a big name and a big contender for a top tier position. I really believed in Jack Ryan and worked in his campaign as a low level envelope stuffer. I got my mother to be his Iroquois County chairperson, and was excited of the prospects. His only downfall was his name, which if anyone knows, the last name RYAN is like having a raging aces of Herpes. Besides this, Jack was on his way...then came the scandal.

Now I am not too privy on the exact details of the scandal, but Jack once wanted his wife to have sex with him in a public place..call it a dirty nightclub( aren't they all), or an outdoor Sybaris. Either way, the scandal seemed to leave a bad taste in people's mouth. Now, I may not be a love doctor, but is it really a big deal if a man wants to have sex with his wife. I know the public aspect may be awkward, but most sex doctors say to spice it up once in a while. Maybe Jack was indeed from Mars and Jeri was from a Borg Cube. nevertheless, this was enough. The republicans in there desparate scramble decided to draft Alan Keyes to be the candidate. Alan fucking Keyes. It was all but handing the charismatic Obama the election.

I ended up voting for Obama in that election, and then went on to vote for him in this years primary. Sadly my republican brethren, I believe that "YES WE CAN". My only hope is that if Barack does make it up to the dais on that cold day, he will give a shout out to Jeri ryan, or at the very least us his mind to tap the borg collective and give her the props she deserves.

Costa Rica

The wife and I are off.....See ya in 10 Days

Hillary Oh No

Looks like Hillary took the lion's share. I have no idea why anyone wants to go back to all of that, and not move forward. I am not saying that Obama is the answer to all our prayers, however he is something different, and that's what we need. Going back to the same old situation is weak, ignorant, and overall what will eventually hurt our country. White Woman( Ages 40-65), Latinos, and Asians need to wake up-HILLARY IS NO DIFFERENT THAN GEORGE W BUSH.

My peace....

Ryan

What is it all about

I go to work everyday, work my hours, and come home for dinner, I spend time with my wife and my cats, go to sleep, and do it all over again. I am almost finished with school, have a great job, and can pay the bills. We take great trips( Costa Rica in a week) and have carved a nice little piece in the world....But what is it all about?

I found out today at work ( I will not mention my place of business because the corporation forbids talking about it) that one of my fellow employee's was murdered in a robbery at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park. Although I did not know her ( her father worked works with us and I know him), I somehow am deeply moved by this. She worked a few floors below me( we had the same elevator bank) and it makes me wonder if I ever shared a nicety with her, or said good morning. I have no idea what she looks like( besides her picture in the Tribune), but I know that I could have been a general proximity to her.

She was shot in the head, along with five other women, as they shopped. She was 22, a paralegal with my company, and had just graduated college last year. It has moved me to ask..Is this what it's all about?

I've done my time( so to speak), struggling through the early twenties, struggling to pay bills, and get through school, and keep a relationship intact. It's a hard life for some, but I think I have made it harder by being so pessimistic all the time. This girl may have had a hard life( who knows) but what is certain is that she worked hard, got through college, got a job, and on a cloudy morning decided to go and buy some work suits for the winter months. A man entered, tied her up, and executed her for no reason other than she was there. Is that what we have to look forward to? Are we predestined to suffer( some of us)? Is this what God has in store for us?

This world is not safe, and the more I get older, the more I realize that we are all susceptible to crime, and poverty, and terrorism, and heartache. What I am asking is, can anyone really know when it is there time when this world has nothing for us but hatred, and murderers roaming the streets. I know some of my friends live downstate, but the lines of smalltown and big city are pretty vague when it comes to animals who murder without remorse. I just hope we all TRY and be nice to one another, and remember the good times, and think about what we have over whaat we don't. Sorry if this was preachy, but like I said I have been pretty moved by this ordeal.

For Sara

Super Bowl

I am a Bears fan..tried and true..but tonight's Giant's win made me feel really good. I am so glad someone finally stuck it to Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and of course Bill Bellichik( or as I like to call him Bill Bellabitch). He has got to be the biggest baby in sports history.

Did He Half Ass It?

So let's get right down to the bread and butter...

It is my opinion, in his headstrong pursuit to stop the Sith from taking over the galaxy, that Obi Wan Kenobi fucked up.

I came to this conclusion after watching Revenge of the Sith and realizing that the reason the galaxy fell into darkness was not because the Emperor succeeded with his grand design, but because Obi Wan Kenobi was a horrible closer.

Let me set the scene..

After a close call on some planet, Obi Wan escapes, only to find out that the Jedi are being wiped out. He and Yoda, in a vain attempt to keep the story going, decide to head back to the city planet and stop some automatic messaging service telling the Jedi to come back home. Once there they realize that all the Jedi deaths, and the Jedi foolery was instigated by none other then Anakin Skywalker, or by his nom de plume Darth Vader. In a moment of calirty, little green Yoda decides that he will duel the Emperor and Obi Wan should find Vader and kill him. End scene.

Of course we all know how it goes, Vader and Obi Wan fight on the lava planet, they exchange semi-homosexual banter, and in the end Obi Wan severs Vader's legs. This is the moment where Obi Wan fails.

Here is my point...

If I was in his shoes, I would have shashayed down the incline to where Vader was wounded and burning up (lava started seeping up) and put my lightsaber square in his head. This would have prevented yet another Sith from roaming the galaxy, and the whole Rule of Two would have been stopped. Perhaps the Emperor would be weakened, giving Ypda another opportunity to face him. Who knows. My opinion, Obi Wan Kenobi is the reason the galaxy went to shit, and in the annuls of time, he should be the one who is judged for his crimes.

The Unified Theory Of Everything or MY 10 Commandments About Wilco

1. Follow the chord of Wilco-listen to some Uncle Tupelo and dive face first into A.M.

2. Realize that Summerteeth is the best album from 1999.

3. Download Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett live at XRT Studios 7/25/1999

4. Listen to every Wilco song on the Woody Guthrie compilation Mermaid Avenue, and exlcude all the Billy Bragg songs.

5. Realize that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of the best albums of all time.

6. Listen to "Heavy Metal Drummer" and debate with friends whether Jay Bennett was an asshole for leaving the band over a 2 second drumbeat

7. Download the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos and acknowledge it as a separate but equal masterpiece.

8. Digest "A Ghost Is Born" as experimental but fall in love with "Sky Blue Sky"

9. Associate "Impossible Germany" with your own road-trip through Deutschland.

10. See Wilco in concert, preferably in Chicago's Millenium Park on a cool September evening with Cassiopeia rising slowly above the skyscrapers.

My First Album

I have been wondering what the first album was that I really fell in love with. The easy anser would be Nirvana's Nevermind, or Pearl Jam's Ten, but I am pretty sure that I did not dig these records until my later teens, well after Kurt Cobain put a shotgun in his mouth. So what was my first full-on album that I loved. My only guess after soul searching was 1985's MIKE + THE MECHANICS. Although I was only five when this record dropped, it has to be the first one that I thought was cool( next to anything by Disney).

Of course music was always playing when I was growing up, but my mind still comes back to this obscure solo album by the tall guy in Genesis. Anyways I am not a huge fan of Genesis, mostly because the post-Buster, cameo in Hook Phil Collins creeps me out. His soundtrack to the movie Tarzan must be what the government uses on Terrorist in Cuba. I have to say, my hatred of Phil Collins even trickles to other people, including Diana Ross. This is because sometime in the early nineties, creepy Phil recorded a cover of the Supremes "You Can't Hurry Love". The greatest taint on a career is possible having Phil Collins record one of your songs.

Like the spread of some disease, Phil Collins is Herpes Simplex 2.

Mike + The Mechanics on the other hand the first album I loved and hope that if you are ever in a record store, or illegally downloading music, you check it out.

Why White

Because my last blog was black, and I am all for the duality of things....More posts to come.