Just another day

I'm not sure there's much to contribute today from an information perspective. I've haven't heard too many intriguing stories today as all the news shows I listen to were going into breaking news overload about the admission of the identity of the infamous "Deep Throat" Watergate informant. It's not that it's not important for historical purposes. I'm just not sure it needs to dominate every afternoon news break since the relevant stories came out over 30 years ago, but then again it was a slow news day.

Copycats and Cancer sticks

Why do people pick the idiotic occurrences to copy? Just days after a Florida murder suspect climbed up and made himself comfortable on a crane in Atlanta prior to the intervention of the S.W.A.T. team, Another originality challenged idiot decided to scale another crane. As far as I am aware there didn't appear to be a criminal element to this idiocy; however, the ending was rather classic. Trent Robinson apparently just needed six hours by himself to think, smoke and pull himself together; however his motivation to stay on the crane was short-lived when the cancer stick supply dried up. No idiots or concerned citizens were harmed in this exercise in stupidity and addiction.

Watchable baseball involving a team here in Houston

No I'm not actually referring to the Astros despite their recent wins in 3 of 4 games. No, June is the one month where I care to listen to the ping of the aluminum bats as its now college baseball tournament time. First up for Rice, the Northwestern State Demons. (Yes I know too many college mascots off the top of my head) The rest of the regional field involves the Marist Red Foxes (yes I looked that one up) and the LSU tigers. with a presumable battle with the overall top seed Tulane Green Wave next weekend for the winner.

Well, the forecast doesn't look go for me so I better get what sleep I can.

Song Lyric of the Day
"You turned around down the wrong damn road
But you went on just to see where you'd go
The dancing lessons are getting complicated
You tried to win but you tried too hard
Tried to run but you went too far
Gotten further if you'd sat and waited"
-- Zac Maloy

The effects of karma (music review week 3)

Though there will probably be more music reviews later in the week because there was plenty to review, I chose to start off with the new effort from Seether, Karma and Effect.

Just in general for those of you who liked Disclaimer which out of my readership would be approximately two of you, you will enjoy this one. It's still Seether so there's pretty much no uplifting lyrics. However, in this case, the musical aspects seem much more cohesive. Surprisingly, the faster, louder, songs like "Remedy" and the mildly disturbing "I'm the One" are overshadowed by less radio-friendly tracks like "Truth" and "The Gift" although it would not surprise me if "The Gift" was the second single. Much like their initial effort, this is probably not good music to entertain your religious friends with. The opening track "Because of Me" drives that home with the lyric "nobody died for you but someone prayed for me." Like Disclaimer, Karma and Effect ends officially on the tracklist with a fully acoustic number called "Plastic Man". Apparently, Shaun's been working on his vocals because there is discernible improvement from the initial record of "Broken", which is still an excellent song. I'll refrain from my usual list of other highlights because I like all the listed tracks although the hidden track could remain hidden for all I care. By the way that is not a misprint on your music site screen. Karma and Effect is powerful even without an advisory label which was hard to picture for me having listened to Disclaimer far too much.

Overall: 9/10

Next review: Out of Exile, Mezmerize, and Room Noises for a change of pace.

Useless but entertaining stories

I'm still in New Orleans at the SPD conference. As a result, I just have a couple of quick stories that I found amusing. Apparently email communication can hamper a pro-baseball career. Just ask Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.

And apparently, Star Wars related idiocy is not confined to this side of the Atlantic. Fluorescent bulbs, gasoline and fire are not good ingredients for a homemade lightsaber. Don't believe me, read here.

I am aware I have been passed the musical baton and therefore must respond. Well, here goes.

Total volume of music files on my computer:

Somewhere in the vicinity of 3GB

Last CD I bought:

This answer is fluctuating this week due to the quality releases today. If you are reading this early tomorrow the answer is Better than Ezra -- "Greatest Hits". If my ankle holds up and I feel like the walk to Tower, then tomorrow night it'll be either "Karma and Effect" by Seether or "Out of Exile" by Audioslave depending on which they scan last.

Song playing right now:

"Love at Your Momentum" by No Address

Five songs I play alot or are important to me.
Blue October -- "Independently Happy" : This is a reasonably personal story not worth blooging about.
Stone Temple Pilots -- "Interstate Love Song": Still one of my favorite tunes
Caroline's Spine/Jimmy Newquist -- "Wallflower": Outstanding song by a band from near my hometown. (2 versions of the same song so I have only included it once.)
The Exies --"Ugly": Therapeutic song for me and pretty much no one else
Upside --"This Addiction" : Local band (alledgedly not) from back in Tulsa

Honorable Mention:
SouthFM -- "Habit"
Endochine -- "Enough About You"
Breaking Benjamin -- "Firefly"

Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:
You've again made the incorrect assumption that I know 5 musically inclined people with blogs. I'll just leave it open to anyone who has the misfortune of reading this and has not yet answered it.

Song Lyric of the day:
"It's the shape
Of concern for second chances
But this is life
It's the class that no one aces."
--SouthFM

Unexpected events

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to construct well thought out music reviews as promised. Unexpected events occurred which made this impossible. Yes Mike, I am now in the category of Star Wars fan who has seen Episode III twice as well. Yes, it was worth it both times. The reasons are slightly different in each case. I have leave for New Orleans this afternoon so my updates may be sparse over the next week. The AGU conference committee made a mistake in holding a conference where they did. I have to present on Tuesday morning, but after the conference at 6pm, there may be an extended trip to the Tower Records walking distance from the hotel. (Just a guess given the list of music that comes available that day.)
On a couple of sports notes. Ezequiel Astacio should be in Round Rock immediately. However, all my fantasy players involved in the Rangers 18-3 shelling of the Astros had great days so why do I care? Oh no, look at what I've become... the fantasy sports dork I swore I'd never be.

Song Lyric of the Day
"Can't read this page
It was written down
Before you had eyes to see
Can't find my way
Somewhere between
Baton Rouge and New Orleans"
-- The Nixons "Baton Rouge"

Endochine and SouthFM concert review

First of all, this show was at the wrong venue. Helios, while a nice place to hear a band with your close friends is not a good venues when your friends number in the hundreds. Endochine had a great performance. There were tracks from the sophomore album "Day Two" which were not played due to the adjustment of the band to a trio. However, those that were played ( I'll save the opener and closer to the end if you want to guess Mike) had those of us in the crowd that had heard the band very entertain. Due to the nature of the venue, I contend that many of the patrons had little clue about the band. Endochine played a number of new tracks along with their "Day Two" set; however, the question of recording the new material didn't come up. "Without Love" and "Always Tomorrow" were standout tracks in the performance. "Enough About You", "A New Beginning" made appearances on the setlist.

The opener and closer songs were both strong choices but I missed predictions on them. The opener was "Breadline" and the closer was "Stalker."

SouthFM took the stage and play an acoustic set for about an hour and 20 minutes. Playing 90% of everything they have recorded. They sounded amazing, the parts of the show I caught where I wasn't on the porch looking for fresh air, open space, and/or Endochine merch. To my and probably half the audience's surprise, they didn't close with "Dear Claudia." I admit I did not make it through their entire set due to time constraints and vertebral issues. To the best of my knowledge, SFM played everything except "Habit" that I heard anyway. They may have played it early when I wasn't near the door.

Overall great show at the wrong place. These two bands at Fitzgerald's or the Meridian would have been fantastic.

Overall I look forward to seeing them both again, but I'm admittedly biased.

Endochine 06/25 at Rudyard's
SouthFM 06/12 at Scout Bar

CD reviews this afternoon/evening.

Song Lyric of the Day
"There was a day when
I believed in something
But those days are gone
and I'm left with nothing"

Endochine -- "Suffering" (from the self-released debut "i" (2001))

Geek Week, Baseball, and all rants in between

Just after midnight on a typical Thursday morning. Who am I kidding? Just under 21 hours until I join the legions of geeks, convention goers, and the occasional sane sci-fi fan for the joy that is Star Wars Episode III. While I'm sure a number of my friend in various locales are presently in the theater enjoying the height of obsessive fandom that is the 12:01 AM release day show, I am content to sit back and at least wait to an evening show where the ridiculous quantity of caffeine will guarantee my coherence for the film.

More adventures in baseball were in store for me last night, and once again I am left to ponder just why the baseball gods have chosen to hate me. I've now seen four of Andy Pettitte's starts since his defection from the Eastern empire 18 months ago. Each time I've seen him his performances remind me more of Tim Redding than the Andy Pettitte we all saw pitch in the Bronx. As it turned out today would be no different. As I spent the first 5 innings high above the "Juice Box" clutching every piece of loose change in my pocket to avoid to potential assault conviction for dropping anything from that height, I saw Arizona slap the Astros silly en route to a 7-1 lead. At this point, my baseball fandom starts to fade and my need for overpriced dinner takes over. While in the concession line the Astros made it 7-4 thanks in large part to Todd Self's first MLB hit, a two-run pinch homer. The superstitious idiot that I am I stayed down in the concourses for the next inning and a half. With the game now 7-5, I determined that I had apparently been the cause of the bad luck and left to get as far away from my ticketed seating location as possible. Midway back to the train, Biggio homers to make it 7-6. Two walks and an error load the bases while I'm on the platform. Unfortunately, Adam Everett, my fantasy team shortstop, stepped to the plate with a chance to win. This apparently resurrected the bad baseball karma that I must have as Troy Glaus made a leaping catch to deny the Astros the win and my fantasy team needed points.

Certain individuals who read this often cautioned me that if I joined a fantasy baseball league I would never look at the game the same. As much as it pains me to say it, they were right.

No use looking back, just keep looking forward.
Star Wars tonight, SFM and Endochine tomorrow

Yes Mike, when you make it back there will be Endochine related merchandise to transfer. Assuming I survive New Orleans.

For those of you with good internet connection, Audioslave's new album "Out of Exile" is streaming on Myspace . Two other happy musical notes have come to my attention. The as yet untitled Blue October album is confirmed for late July with new OLP now confirmed for August. If there were ever a reason to accelerate time...

Song Lyric of the Day
"Tonight, tonight, he's gonna get it right
Even losers can get lucky sometimes
All the freaks go on a winning streak
In a perfect world, all the geeks get the girls"
-- American Hi-Fi

Cosmic Rant Music Reviews (week 1)

Just to be different and to give myself an outlet to rant on musical topics, I've decided that my weekend posts will consist of CD and/or concert reviews. Today, I have included reviews of 2 relatively recent releases (February 2005 and later).

3 Doors Down -- Seventeen Days
I must admit, at first listen, this album merely struck me as quality album lacking standout songs but having a number a solid efforts. However, after some time, a number of the tracks have grown on me. The first single "Let Me Go" is a good initial single which captures the general flow of the album, however, it is in my opinion overshadowed by a number of much less radio-friendly tunes. The ballad "Landing in London" is an outstanding song on its own but the addition of guest vocals by Bob Seger bolster the song further. The twisted tale told in "Father's Son" is filled with the vivid imagery that would make a good video, but the subject matter may limit its appeal as a single. These two tracks are clear standouts in my opinion. The are supported nicely by the tracks "Be Somebody", about a son leaving home to follow a dream, and the more uplifting, faster, and louder "Live for Today" and "My World".

On the downside, this would be a better disc if the opening and closing songs were stronger. Though "Right Where I Belong" has a great deal of energy, the tone it tries to set seems to clash with the majority of the album. It's a good song but it may be out of place as the leadoff track to this album. "Here by me", the closing track, represents an attempt to go to the ballad card one too many times. Coming off two of the more up tempo tracks, it seems very out of place to close the album.

My Rating: 7.5/10

No Address -- Time Doesn't Notice

For the two of you who read this not named Mike, No Address in a relatively new band on the national scene from Tallahassee, Florida who put on a very entertaining live show. As this is the first national release I had few expectations prior to seeing the live show, but had fallen victim to the catchiness of the first single "When I'm Gone (Sadie)" Upon hearing the entire album, this is a mediocre song for them, but it's harder to get rid of than Royals-Rockies interleague baseball tickets. "Time Doesn't Notice" gets off to an impressive start with the tracks "Perfect", "Love at Your Momentum" and "Lasting Words" (my favorite track) surrounding "When I'm Gone". This is not to suggest that these four songs are the only good tracks. Later in the disc, the tracks "How could I?", "Pretty Girl" and "Time" offer sufficient quality support for the initial tunes. It is clear that the band has a number of classic rock influences as a number of the tracks not destined for radio are closer to that type of sound than one would expect. The band describes their music on their myspace.com page as "Tom Petty meets Nirvana". I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but there are similarities to both.

Overall a very solid debut. 7/10

Next week: A little local flavor with Endochine's "Day Two". possibly a review of "Mezmerize" by System of a Down plus a concert review of Endochine and SouthFM live for 1 of my 3 readers.

What's in a name anyway?

Having known families that have begun the debate over their kids' names years before conception, I found this story both a little odd and quite entertain. A Tucson, Arizona family has an 18 month old daughter which they still have yet to name. That of course means the child has no birth certificate, passport or any other suitable form of ID, but more than anything, it means we have the early signs of another young person who will need serious therapy. Just exactly how many or which personality are you waiting for. I can picture it now:

Therapist: So, tell me where you think your life started to go wrong.
Patient: Well, I've been scarred since childhood when my parents' decided not to name me until I was 18 moths old. It's all pretty much downhill from there.

At very least remember, the medical staff will need a name for the patient files.

In other name-related news, Jesus Christ cannot get a driver's license in West Virginia. No comments here. the story speaks for itself.

Song Lyric of the Day
You grew up way too fast,
And now there's Nothing to believe.
And reruns all become our history.
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio.
And I won't tell no one your name.

Goo Goo Dolls -- "Name"

Civility for city government, that would certainly be different

Welcome to the backwards world of Eastern Oklahoma politics. Because it takes too long to write, I'll save the backstory. Congratulations to Bill Martinson for winning the district 5 city council race in Tulsa. I hope you can succeed in your promise to restore civility to that town, but unless you have more of a spine and fewer back room deals that some of your new colleagues, I don't find this very likely. In fact the likelihood of civility in the Tulsa city council in its present form is a little less than the possibility of a snowball fight in Houston in mid-July. Just as an aside, I hope fewer than 12 empty lots voted this time as that would be an improvement.

I'd have been happier about the chaos that is my home region if the Houston Chronicle hadn't reminded me of Texas' own political oddities. It appears that the story I read a couple of months back was not the publicity stunt I thought. Richard "Kinky" Friedman is indeed running for governor of Texas. I'm sorry I have to chuckle at the idea of a gubenatorial candidate whose claim to fame to date is being the frontman for the country music/comedy group Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys. Hey but if this sort of thing works for Minnesota and California, then Texas would be a next logical step.

Song lyric of the Day
"The thrill of it all
Is we've got nothing to lose
We drank all our poison
Paid all our dues
And twisted fate until we ripped it in two
So call us the unlucky ones
I know you're dying to be free"

--Admiral Twin

Zero tolerance = zero thinking and the cost of storytelling (~$100k)

Like my last few posts, this may seem a bit disconnected. If it seems like too much of a stretch blame the lack of caffeine.

First, I'd like to visit another story about the joys of zero tolerance. On this rare occasion, I must be somewhat thankful for the national media attention of this story of a Georgia high school student. I speak of the ridiculous of Kevin Francois and the cell phone call from Iraq. Mr. Francois was initially suspended for 10 days after taking a cell phone call during his lunch break from his mother stationed in Iraq. Spencer High School felt it necessary to implement a zero-tolerance cell phone ban, although the school officials still contend that Francois was suspended for cursing and not for the phone call. In either case, the suspension was ridiculous and I am pleased that the national media coverage caused a reduction of the suspension to the 2 days already served. I understand that there have to be rules in the scholastic environment, but the mitigating circumstances shouuld be taken into account. In this particular case, we're talking about a phone call from a parent who is otherwise involved in a war. Last I checked, wars did not adjust to a schedule of when your child is at school. Also even if the suspension is for cursing, give the kid a break, he was in an awkward situation and he may have overreacted, but no harm was done. Note to high schools everywhere, there's a time and place for strict rules, this is not one of them.
I'll insert the song lyric of the day here because it's more related to the initial rant than the remaining filler.

"I just got my first letter since I've been here,
And I read it a hundred times since yesterday.
It was warm relief from this chilly cage of fear,
And it promised me that more were on the way."
Caroline's Spine -- "Soldier Song"

In a lighter, somewhat comical story from the sports world, the NBA's investigation of Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy's comments regarding NBA officials has reached a rather humorous conclusion this afternoon with the league stating that in a conversation with league officials Van Gundy all but admitted he made the entire story up. Van Gundy later released a statement claiming that the initial conversation did occur and he stands by his original comments. Which is it coach? Either you told the league you made it up to protect your future and your source or you were misinterpreted by the league office. Either way, I hope it was worth the 100 grand. It certainly didn't work for team motivation in game 7.

Insult to Injury: Decaffeination Day 3

I was prepared today to write a joyful rant this afternoon, but one thing got in the way. The Astros-Braves game was on. Did I expect to be able to return to caffeine consumption this afternoon? Of course not. I knew Mike Hampton against Ezequiel Astacio was a mismatch. I did, however, expect the team to be somewhat competitive. Between the tremendous power output of Ryan Langerhans and Eddie Perez and Hampton's pitching I saw the score escalate to 13-0. Demoralized but unable to turn away from the train wreck that was the Astros' performance, I witnessed the final nail in the eighth inning as Mike Hampton homered to add insult to injury.

The game is now mercifully over with a final score of 16-0. and my caffeination now relies on the Astros to when a game at Florida. I will hold out hope, but its not looking good.

On a positive note the Bowling for Soup, American Hi-Fi, Riddlin Kids, and MC Lars show last night was highly entertaining. I'll post a more complete review when the depression over baseball wears off.

Finally, on the NBA playoffs, Go Wizards! I make no secret of the fact that I don't like Miami specifically because of Shaq, but seeing as Michael Ruffin, who I went to college with at Tulsa, is on the roster for the Wizards, there's even more justification.

Song Lyric of the Day
"Waking up late
Grey Sunday morning
Got up on the wrong side
To go back to bed"
American Hi-Fi -- "The Everlasting Fall"

Somebody get a prism. This may be a bit incoherent.

It's a bit of a slow news day. So I will add a few music and sports notes before go on with the standard rant:
Avery Johnson may be my new favorite postgame quote in the NBA after his thinly-veiled shot at the Rockets' Jeff Van Gundy following a game 6 loss in Houston. " Maybe I need to go crazy. If I go crazy, you guys (the media types) will forget all about who won game 6."

This just in to the sports desk the Astros cannot play on the road. It's a risky proposition for me but I will offically give up caffeine until the Astros win another road game.

Musically, there are now two reasons to venture to Austin for music events. I still need to go to SXSW in March but first and foremost The Austin City Limits festival calls in September.

As far as the normal rant, well things are normal. Classes are almost over but inevitably the work keeps getting piling up. The continued waiting for "Healthy in Paranoid Times" and "My Heart and All the Good That Remains" is beginning to get on my nerves and quite frankly the silence is a bit disturbing. Oh well I'll go back to waiting for musical news and hope to God the Astros win a road game so I can caffeinate again.

Song Lyric of the Day
"This addiction contradicts
The picture in my head
But in the end
It's everything I have"
Upside -- "This Addiction"

The joy of state government

Ok, I moved to Texas from the great state of Oklahoma, and I guess I was mistakenly under the impression that I left all the stupid state legislation on the other side of the river.

Fast-forward to today's afternoon newscast where in an interview Rep. Al Edwards of Houston was celebrating the passage of a build to put state-imposed decency standards on cheerleading routines. It not that I am opposed to decency, it's just there are so many more critical issues than the content of the cheer routines. Congratulations to Rep. Edwards for stepping forward on what he thought was a critical issue but his bill may qualify as an honorable mention on the list most random and useless legislation ever.

Wait, I'm from Oklahoma, where it was once proposed that we could reinstitute cockfighting under the condition that we put boxing gloves on the chickens. The cheerleading bill wouldn't make the most useless of this week. On a serious note can the elected officials of any state please take a look around their state and focus on issues that matter rather than legislating vague quasi-moral standards which will be unenforceable anyway. I know since they been elected they may think they're the perfect, chosen, few but they just the ones that didn't want any free time.

Song lyric of the day
"Your mind is perfect.
You tell me everyday.
Come down.
Take a look around.
Could you spare a moment of your time?"
Jibe -"Hypocrite"