Spillings from Sean's Mind

Who are you people?

2010-06-17T17:24:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted here in over a year and yet I've had a bunch of hits.

Who are you?

Why are you here?

Did you actually stay to read or did you curse your search engine and leave immediately?

Getting back to it - Nation of Ulysses

2009-02-19T09:45:00.006-05:00

Listen while you read:

youre my miss washington,d.c. - the nation of ulysses

Look Out! Soul Is Back - Nation of Ulysses
I've been ignoring this place for other concerns. Anyway, let's continue on the magical mystery tour of my musical life. Even though I'm probably the only one who cares.

I was introduced to this band my college friend Rob. Rob was from VA and was weened on DC Hardcore and the bands on Dischord Records. Being from an area of the Midwest that was kind of shuttered from the indie label seen I hadn't heard of many of these bands. I liked them right away.

Being of little expendable means in college, I settled for borrowing friend's CD's and snippets of N.o.U on mix tapes(Remember mix tapes?) Until I came across "13 Point Progam to Destroy America" on a trip to Greenville, SC in 1997 to visit my future bride. Like a fiend I tore the cellophane wrapper off the disc and popped it into the CD player of her car upon leaving the store.

Nation of Ulysses still makes into in the queue for my car from time to time. I always recall Rob, Erick and that trip.

Monte Brewster was right!

2008-09-22T21:46:00.001-04:00

I had a dream last night

2008-09-21T00:20:00.003-04:00

that I told someone that I apparently work with/for, at least in my dream, that I didn't give a shit if I listened to the CEO give a speech. There was no way that I was going to walk to where he was speaking and listen to him. I told her that I would rather be fired. I was really mad.

Then my dream devolved into her following me around and hounding me while I was looking for a bathroom.

I woke up and had to pee.

I really need to tell the people I work for to go screw. I just need to find ANYTHING else first.

----------------
Now playing: The Smithereens - Blue Period
via FoxyTunes

Election: I sent this to my friends I thought I'd share

2008-09-10T18:46:00.002-04:00

Yeah I'm cynical alright.

But my choices are someone that is so left of center he can't see the middle and someone that lost his way and bowed toward the right thus showing those of us in the center his @ss.

Energy - the reliance on "drill baby, drill" is utter non-sense but no less preposterous than not even mentioning nuclear energy in your energy plan. Not to mention that building a couple of nuclear power plants would actually create thousands of jobs. Though, Mr. McCain, I hope I don't have anything heavy in my hand near my TV the next time you mention a gas tax holiday.

Taxes - more for the rich or taxing corporations to high hell. Great choices. Although, I am for tax breaks for corporations that create jobs in the U.S. whether the companies are foreign or domestic.

Abortion - Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!

Social Security - Everyone is going to "fix" it. Here's a thought, how about we stop allowing the government to borrow from it? It's not a slush fund. Raise the cut off to pay in by $50,000/yr and be done. Old people: It's not supposed to be a retirement plan. Young people: That money is not for you, it's for your parents. Just like it has always been.

Education: Is a local issue. Only the barest minimum of federal standards should be enforced. Parents: Tell your f'n kids to study and make sure they do it. If Johnny can't read it's not JUST the schools fault.

Religion: I have mine. It may not be yours. I'll keep mine out of the public schools and you do the same. I have no problems with moments of silence in schools or at sports gatherings(even if they masquerade as prayer). Silence is respectful you don't have to be a deist to believe that.

Somewhere in there I decided that I'm running for President.

I've smoked dope.

I had pre-marital s*x.

I have piercings in "weird" places

I think "The National Anthem" should be replaced with "America the Beautiful." Because while The Anthem is about strength in our darkest hour it's nice if you can read the words and know exactly which country the song is about.

Any other silly questions about my personal life?

I've got cabinet posts in mind for all of you. Though I'm going to leave a few blank as they aren't necessary or could be combined. (No Pxxxx, you can't have Sec. Def. I'm giving that to Bxxxxx's Axxxxx. You get Homeland Security.)

Who's with me?

--------
Now if I were one year older.

The Good and the Bad Weekend

2008-09-07T22:10:00.003-04:00

Good: My wife and I rode in a 30 mile "for fun" bike ride called The Tour de Donut
Bad: I ate 5 doughnuts during the ride to decrease my time per the rules of the ride. Okay I liked the doughnuts but so much for any calories burned by the ride.

Good: ND won
Bad: The score was only 21-13 vs. a very craptastic opponent who had the lead until late in the game. Get to work Irish.

Good: The Brewers lost to San Diego on Sunday thus lowering the Cubs magic number.
Bad: With my wife and I in attendance in Cincinnati, the Cubs pissed away multiple opportunities and a 2 run 9th inning lead to lose.

Looking back, the ride was definitely the best part of the weekend. It's just to bad that it was the first thing that I did.

I won't be able to discuss her speech

2008-09-03T23:55:00.001-04:00

I didn't watch. I can't.

I hate them all.

It is pretty disgusting to me that a co-opted Senator, an as yet empty suit, a man who has tried to run for President more than Jerry Brown and "the governor no one saw coming" are all up for selection to run this country come 1/20/2009. I get one guy who likes to pretend he isn't sold out to "Big Oil" all while touting their agenda as part of his energy plan and another who refuses to see Nuclear Power as an option. The economy? More tax breaks for corporations versus tax the bejesus out them. Borderline economic protectionism versus "We don't need your stinking tariffs." Wonderful.

For those "excited" about Palin, right now she is the latest hot boy band that is "Ohmygodtheyaresoawesome!" Get back to me in a month when you tire of the "hit" single and let me know if you actually see any substance there. (And no, I'm not talking about her legs or her rack.)

Isn't there anyone out there who could actually get me excited about going to vote for President again?

Honestly, I was pumped to vote for Bill in '92. I thought he was doing a good job, so I did so again in 96. Gore and Bush were awful in 2000, so I voted for Nader to make a point. In 2004, I voted for Kerry out of pure loathing for the incumbent. But Kerry was a dud. Now I get this poop.

It's not like "my guy" didn't win in the primary(I voted for Hillary btw.) There really wasn't one.

I suppose in the age of people picking your personal life apart with a laser, blogs and "journalists" more interested in "gotcha"(Inadvertent, movie reference there.) than actually just reporting news it will be a long while before someone I consider worthy of the most important job in the country throws his or her hat in the ring. Maybe someday we'll be less concerned about whether or not someone pulled a couple of hits off a bong in college, how they look on TV("He/She looks very Presidential, Bob.") or decided it was okay to tell their loud mouth neighbor to STFU once 20 years ago and more about the substance of the person. What have they done? What do they want to do? And are they willing to entertain new ideas?

I'll be waiting.

And maybe this year, my fifth Presidential election, I will just decide not to vote for anyone who is running for President. Maybe.

Smashing Pumpkins - Peony Park Ballroom Omaha, NE 1994

2008-08-28T18:56:00.001-04:00

My Sophomore year of college. It ruled. None of the nervousness of Freshman year. I had a f'n cool roommate and a few close but cool friends.

The Smashing Pumpkins were coming to town and I had tickets. I drove to the show with some guy who lived on my floor and met up with my buddy Rob at the show. Rob has to be one of the craziest, smartest and hardest partying people I ever met. Had he decided to he could have 4 pointed Creighton. Sadly, that wasn't his choice but at last report he is happy with his life so it's not all bad.

Anyway, Peony Park Ballroom was literally that a ballroom in the middle of an old style amusement park. Both of which are now closed. It seemed odd to me when I walked in and saw a hardwood dance floor and a chandelier as the roadies were tuning the instruments for the opening band, Shudder to Think.

We took our posts in front of the stage for Shudder's set. I'd never heard them live and they were pretty good. Craig Wedron has an odd voice for a punk rock singer, almost falsetto. We held our ground as the crowd packed in for the Pumpkins. Eventually, the house lights went backed down and they took the stage. I was maybe 15 feet or less from the stage when they launched into "Geek USA". I started jumping up and down and jostling, not really moshing, along with everyone else. By the time the song ended I had somehow ended up about 30 feet back of where I started and, no, I didn't crowd surf.

I fought my way back to the front and enjoyed the rest of the show. It was in a word unreal. That was probably one of the last shows Smashing Pumpkins played in a venue of that size as "Siamese Dream" launched them into stardom and 2,000 person ballrooms just couldn't hold them anymore.

Here' the song that set the night on fire along with a cool track from Shudder to Think.
Geek U.S.A. - The Smashing Pumpkins
Shake Your Halo Down - Shudder to Think

No fuggin' kidding

2008-08-21T22:38:00.001-04:00

Clowns are creepy.

I don't want to go to sleep

2008-08-21T00:14:00.001-04:00

sleep goes by so quickly
making it seem like I will have
to go back
to the job I loathe
and don't understand
all that sooner

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Now playing: Agnostic Front - Crucified
via FoxyTunes

"There's lots of opportunities here."

2008-08-19T18:11:00.003-04:00

This was uttered to me by someone in my "new" group whom I hadn't met yet.

In my head I said, "I don't f*cking care! This stuff sucks!" Good Lord, I can't find something else fast enough. I'm doing the work but I really don't care. Every time they tell me I will need to learn something else or need access to some system to do more work I want to tell them to go fist themselves.

This sums it up:

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Now playing: AC/DC - Hells bells
via FoxyTunes

Either

2008-07-30T10:57:00.001-04:00

my new boss thinks I'm a whole lot brighter than I actually am or I'm just never going to get this stuff.

Either way I'm f*cked. It's been a month and NONE of this stuff is clicking. Everytime he asks me to look at the data from the guy who left I can't make any sense out of it. I feel like I used to feel when I was take Quantum Mechanics in P-Chem, utterly lost and desperate.

I give it 3 months before they can my ass for being grossly incompetent.

Luckily, my ace in the hole for explaining my firing will be that I was forced into a job I knew nothing about and had little interest in. All because someone was too worried about payroll.

Holy Cr@p!

2008-07-18T08:33:00.002-04:00

If I had ever been able to see this live I think I would have wet my britches!

Bad Brains "Big Takeover"

Three youngin's have a day out(Lollapalooza '92)

2008-07-11T22:36:00.006-04:00

While reuniting with a bunch of old friends a few weeks ago one of them produced a picture of three fresh faced, newly minted high school graduates holding tickets. I instantly remembered the day: D, Ringo and I were headed to Lollapalooza '92 at Pine Knob(near Detroit).

What a day that was! We jammed on the way down music some, of course, from the bands we were about to be listening to FOR AN ENTIRE DAY! We had been to concerts before but nothing that started at noon and didn't look to end much before 10 that night. I remember Ringo cheating his way into winning a back stage pass then ditching D and I for a couple of hours while he tried to rub elbows with Pearl Jam. No worries, D and I sat on our blanket on the hill and soaked it in. Girls, awesome music(Except for Lush, they will suck for eternity.) and people moshing anywhere they could. I ran into my cousin at one point and talked him to buying me a beer. A beer in public at a concert? I was THE MAN!

While The Red Hot Chili Peppers ended the day with the flaming skull caps and a kick ass set, the high light of the day came in between Ice Cube and Ministry. Ever see about 30,000 people involved in a food, dirt and sod fight? I have. There was shit flying everywhere. A stunt that caused Lollapalooza to not return to Pine Knob for the next year.

Happy graduation present to us.
Jesus Built My Hotrod - Ministry
Outshined - Soundgarden

"We all think he's really weird..."

2008-07-11T08:01:00.003-04:00

There is this band that I keep coming back to. I "discovered" them at some point during my 7th grade year of school, a little over 20 years ago. They were probably the first band that made me sit up and want to take ownership of some form of music. They were the band that made me look at punk rock and say, "That's for me! That's mine!"

Sure it could be the whole disaffected white youth thing. But I have often found punk rock to smart as well as funny. Finding this band led me on a musical journey to discover bands like Minor Threat ---> Fugazi, NOFX, Bad Brains and Black Flag. Even still when a song by this band gets played, rarely, on the radio I can't help but turn it up. Without them, I'd probably still think Van Halen "1984" was the best thing I had ever heard.

Without further ado, The Dead Kennedys.
Insight - Dead Kennedys

The musical tour of my life continues [Green Day]

2008-07-10T08:13:00.003-04:00

Summer 1994. The Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, MI. Green Day supported by Pansy Divison and local ska heroes Mustard Plug. Green Day was touring in support of their first major release "Dookie" and everything was cool.

My friend D and I, securing nights off from our service industry jobs, headed to the show and ended up running into the same people we always ran into at concerts and clubs in the area. You know? The cool people. Everyone danced their butts off, jumped around and cheered a lot.

The crowd showed up early to see Mustard Plug and quickly became bored with Pansy Division. The latter were okay musicians but their music was like listening to Two Live Crew except it was punk rock and the band, if you hadn't guessed by the name, was comprised of 3 gay men. Funny at first then...yawn.

Green Day rocked the house right. And everyone went home happy. They played the song below toward the end of the set.
My Generation - Green Day

Ten Foot Pole (the best little concert ever!)

2008-07-08T08:08:00.002-04:00

Sometime during the haze of my junior year of college NOFX, Face to Face and Ten Foot Pole came to Omaha. We loaded up on 40 ouncers and headed off to the show. The price of admission? $8 at the door. Plus! Fat Mike of NOFX had just started Fat Wreck Chords and was giving away sampler CD's, link.

We danced our asses off for about 3 hours. Moshed. Wall of death. And even got to push around some skinheads. Good times.

I still have that sampler and listen to it as often as anything else in my music collection.

Enjoy.
My Wall - Ten Foot Pole

"Frankly, I'm getting a little ticked off..."

2008-07-07T07:48:00.001-04:00

...Go to Hell!"

I present Dink. The greatest band that I ever saw twice who consequently went nowhere after one awesome album. I actually got to meet these Ohio natives at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis shortly before I moved out of town. Man, that was 12 years ago. Who would have thought I wouldn't return to Minny other than passing through the airport since.

Anyway, enjoy some dancy-industrial music.
Green Mind - Dink

I got forced to change departments

2008-07-02T12:56:00.001-04:00

Right now this new job is absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened to me professionally. I would prefer that I had been fired rather than them saving face(They are trying to make it look like they aren't eliminating positions in our division.) and moving me to another department. I can not see anyway how I will not fail.

I feel like I am constantly being kicked in the stomach. The more time I spend in my "training" which is really more like a 4 day long cram session in which I am supposed to learn all of this groups chemistry and be ready to get started within the next week or so the worse I feel.

I really just want to pack my shit and walk out the door. I wouldn't even give them the courtesy of the a middle finger.

I have never felt this worthless and stupid in my whole life. The day I was told I would not be allowed to continue toward a PhD at Notre Dame was better than this. At least, that was somewhat of my own doing. I had a say in the work up to that point which led to ND's decision. I had no say in this. I would have never asked for this job.

Well, I'm off to another cram session so I can feel even stupider than I do now.

Jellyfish - Ghost at Number One

2008-06-20T08:47:00.001-04:00

90's power pop. Before power pop was cool.

The Ghost at Number One - Jellyfish

Sneaky Snake

2008-03-27T21:21:00.000-04:00

RIP Boddington

2008-03-18T14:29:00.001-04:00

B-Show
Originally uploaded by seanlisa99

We had to have the little B-show put to sleep last Friday.

Sadness reigns for The Wif, Sammie(Boddington's sister) and I.

It's fun to take a trip

2008-03-12T22:56:00.001-04:00

"Send in Vanilla Ice."

2008-02-21T08:14:00.000-05:00

NSFW - not even close

RIP Bill.

I wonder how many more times I can make them hit my blog?

2008-02-14T21:16:00.001-05:00

Domain Name meijer.com ? (Commercial)
IP Address 204.74.160.# (Meijer Network Technologies)
ISP Meijer Network Technologies
Location
Continent : North America
Country : United States (Facts)
State : Michigan
City : Grand Rapids
Lat/Long : 42.9384, -85.6436 (Map)

You guys in Meijer's IT dept. really must not have anything better to do.

"Twinkle Twinkle Blah Blah Blah"

2008-02-14T21:04:00.002-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, The Minutemen

This is one of those bands that I have known about for sometime(They stopped recording in 1985 after the singer D. Boon died in a car accident.). I've listen to their music but just recently got around to purchasing "Double Nickels on the Dime" and "Post Mersh Vol. 2". The bassist Mike Watt was in fIREHOSE(Not FIREHOUSE!) and has toured on his own. Bands like Primus and Pearl Jam could write treatise on how they were influenced by The Minutemen and Mike Watt.

I saw Mike Watt open up for Primus in 1995, fuck I'm old, while working in Minneapolis. I will never forget some meatheads in the crowd booing him during his set. Just before he left the stage he uttered these words, "If you don't like it, start your own band." F'n a Mike.

Anyway, enjoy the track.

Save The Best For Last

2008-02-08T08:20:00.001-05:00

Gutterboy Inc. on imeem.com

2008-02-07T21:14:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I sure wish we had something like this

2008-01-29T23:37:00.001-05:00

Click the image to view:

Hey, Meijer! Did you like my rant?

2008-01-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

Domain Name meijer.com ? (Commercial)
IP Address 204.74.160.# (Meijer Network Technologies)
ISP Meijer Network Technologies

Not that you'll actually pay any attention to the substance of my rant. You'll probably focus instead on my gratuitous shot at the heritage of your founder.

NAIAS 2008

2008-01-27T23:58:00.001-05:00

awwww
Originally uploaded by seanlisa99

Some friends and I hit Detroit over the weekend for the auto show. Good times. This is two of my friends making many around us laugh. There are a lot more pictures on my flickr site.

Dear Meijer (file under angry rant)

2008-01-21T14:43:00.001-05:00

Suck it.

You are closing the Meijer nearest my house to build one in a city 15 miles South. Nevermind that this Meijer, though in need of updating, is busy. Plenty of cars in the parking lot, not to mention that it is very near a bus line and close to several apartment complexes so that people without cars can easily access the grocery store.

Those that do find their way to this Meijer on foot or by bus will definitely not be shopping at the new Meijer. Further, there is only one supermarket, Kroger, that is on the bus line "nearby" and that is surely not a store that is foot traffic friendly.

I'm sure that when you leave your gigantic store empty with weeds growing in the parking lot it will help bring a real sense of pride to the Westside of Columbus. Especially for some of your employees who probably take the bus to work and will now have to find new jobs because they won't have a way to get to the new store.

You have proven what you really are: A bunch of cheap f*ckin' Hollanders who don't give two sh*ts about the communities you place your stores in.

God bless the almighty dollar.

I Could Take Out 26 Five Year Olds

2007-12-17T23:47:00.001-05:00

Looking for payday loan?

Mrs. Hughes

2007-12-12T16:44:00.001-05:00

Funny and SFW

From Crackle: Mrs hughes skewed views

7 Seconds covers 99 Red Balloons(NSFW)

2007-12-10T18:36:00.001-05:00

Post surgery update

2007-11-21T13:58:00.000-05:00

I took my soft cast off today. Normally one would have this done at the doctor's office but since he isn't working this week and I already have a brace to put on the wrist he said it would be okay to take it off and clean it up today.

I haven't really had much pain. It is sore but none of the screaming pain I had the last time. The wrist is very stiff from being locked into one position for a week. Hooray! Physical Therapy ahead!

Anyway, here is a picture of the hardware that was removed. Oh, who wants to see a picture of the incision and stitches?

Going Back Under the Knife

2007-11-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

For those that have been reading my blog for a while, all zero of you, you might remember that I broke my arm two years ago and had to have surgery. Well, the time has come to have the pin and plate removed from my wrist. They served their purpose to stabilize the bone while it healed but now they may start working against me.

As the bone heals, a bone callous can from over the hardware which can later can tendenitis besides the fact that having metal in your hand sucks when it gets really cold out. So, I am voluntarily sumbitting to surgery and probably some of this.

I go in tomorrow. Wish me well.

Dear Best Buy Service

2007-11-01T18:30:00.001-04:00

Protect Yourself From Zombies

2007-10-24T21:17:00.001-04:00

By the way (update)

2007-10-03T20:47:00.001-04:00

Playoff BASEBALL!

Go Cubs!

update: Poop! Diamondbacks 3 Cubs 1

Weird musical blast from the past

2007-10-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

The Wife and I were sitting here watching "Pushing Daisies"(no comment on the show yet) and The Wife said, "Push the little daisies and make 'em come up!" So I Googled this and sang along.

Enjoy!

Sunday Morning on Random

2007-09-23T10:15:00.001-04:00

Busting around on random in the CD player this sunny Sunday morning:

Bessie Smith - 1925 - 1933
Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends
Johnny Cash - Redemption Songs disc from the Unearthed box set
REV105 - Radio Archive Vol. 1 - this is a various artists compilation of in studio recordings at a now defunct Minneapolis radio station.
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Enjoy your day. I'm off to the shower.

In my head today: Nation of Ulysses

2007-09-13T09:52:00.000-04:00

"Cool Senior High School(Fight Song)"

This song can be found on "13 Point Program to Destroy America". Nation of Ulysses was cool band on Dischord Records in the late 80's and early 90's. Their music was a blend of hardcore punk, noise punk with the occasional horn sounds thrown in. The drummer, James Canty, is the younger brother of Brendan Canty, the drummer for indi-rock stalwarts Fugazi.

Enjoy the live clip and check both bands out.

Suffice to say

2007-08-30T01:33:00.001-04:00

that in the coming weeks and months, men using public restrooms will be vary cafeful about how wide their stance is and will be mindful of any urge to tap their toes.

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Now playing: Outkast - I'll Call Before I Come
via FoxyTunes

Thank you Magnolia Thunderp*ssy Records!

2007-08-25T10:56:00.001-04:00

Lisa and went out to dinner last night at a new place for us, The Surly Girl Saloon. The place was playing hard rock/heavy metal from the 80's,90's etc. I heard Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Ratt, Quiet Riot and Clutch while we were eating. I enjoyed a Czech style pilsner followed by a PBR with my roasted vegetable sandwich - delicious. Lisa downed lager and a Rogue Brewery product with her chicken wrap. The ambience is almost like a bordello. This place is definitely a must frequent and take friends to when they come to town.

But that's not the point of the story. Across the street from the saloon is Magnolia Thunderpussy Records a new/used music store. During dinner Lisa said, "We should go in there after dinner." Glee! I do love this store but I wasn't sure I was going to get to play. So, we bee-lined there after paying the bill and proceeded to tear ass through the used bins. Between the two of us we came up with the following:

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Ska-core The Devil and More" - I like this little EP but have never wanted to pay $10 for an EP
Agnostic Front "Liberty & Justice For..." - I like hardcore punk. What can I say?
Chemical Brothers " Brothers Gonna Work It Out" - a decent get.
The Postal Service "Give Up" - I know nothing of this band. Lisa heard them somewhere and liked it.
The Beatles "White Album" - Not much need be said here other than, "WTF was this doing in a used bin?" Your stupidity is my gain.
Placebo "Once More With Feeling" - Another Lisa purchase. She does think enough of them that she has a Pandora station( here) for this band.

Good food and music. Yeah me!

I Wanna Rock!

2007-08-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

You know, I never really liked these guys until Tipper Gore didn't. Up yours, Tipper.

Die Toten Hosen covers "Whole Wide World"

2007-07-31T19:37:00.000-04:00

This would make a great "scream the song back at the band with a beer in your hand at the bar" song.

Chuck Norris kills Ninjas

2007-07-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

Hosted by Daily Free Games

WWHRD?

2007-06-26T14:13:00.001-04:00

In an absolutely delicious twist of fate

2007-05-16T20:10:00.000-04:00

Fred Phelps and his merry band of ignorant morons are going to protest...wait for it...

Jerry Falwell's funeral.

Just this once, have at it Fred.

http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/may2007/20070515_jerry-falwell-funeral.pdf

Maybe the Earth will open up at the funeral and Satan will finally come for all of his minions.

On Jerry Falwell's passing

2007-05-15T18:57:00.000-04:00

I'd make some snide comments about where he is going but I won't give the prick the satisfaction.

Politics is the Art...

2007-05-05T18:49:00.000-04:00

...of Controlling Your Environment

That is one of the key things I learned in these years, and I learned it the hard way. Anybody who thinks that "it doesn't matter who's President" has never been Drafted and sent off to fight and die in a vicious, stupid War on the other side of the World-or been beaten and gassed by Police for trespassing on public property-or been hounded by the IRS for purely political reasons-or locked up in the Cook County Jail with a broken nose and no phone access and twelve perverts wanting to stomp you ass in the shower. That is when it matters who is President or Governor or Police Chief. That is when you will wish you had voted.

- Hunter S. Thompson

Random Thought of the Day

2007-04-13T10:17:00.000-04:00

"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder should be required listening for anyone that
claims to like music.

This one is for you Mr. Vonnegut.

2007-04-12T00:15:00.000-04:00

R.I.P Kurt

Per the New York Times Kurt Vonnegut died tonight at the age of 84.

The number for today is

2007-04-11T07:57:00.001-04:00

The numer for today is
Originally uploaded by seanlisa99.

Clutch "Electric Worry"

2007-04-05T16:49:00.000-04:00

New album From Beale Street to Oblivion" out now.

Kermit "Hurt" himself today

2007-04-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

The Epitome of Laziness

2007-03-08T17:42:00.000-05:00

but yes it is fucking brilliant!

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

I hadn't thought of her in years.

2007-03-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

While attending Mass last Sunday I began saying the prayer for the souls of the faithfully departed: Grant them eternal rest O'Lord and may your perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faitfull departed rest in peace.

Usually, while saying this prayer I call to mine people like my two Grandfathers who passed away and my Grandmother. But Sunday for some reason the name Christina Klinger popped into my head.

I went to school with her from about second grade until my Freshmen year of high school when Christina died in a car accident with two other kids from my school. Nothing affects you so much as losing a friend so suddenly at such a young age, 14. Sure, I was sad when my Grandparents passed away but it is different to have someone die of sickness and old age then to have them suddenly gone at age 14. You are somehow prepared for it.

I remember the rage I felt. I remember sobbing like a little child in the arms of my Mother while visiting the funeral home. And again sitting with tears in my eyes during the funeral.

When I picture her I see this sweet face with glasses and braces that will never get any older. While each year mine does and I think of her less. To the point, where I am suprised when I do.

Black t-shirts, fry cooks and a creepy old guy

2007-03-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

I went to see Clutch last night at the Newport Music Hall. My observations are as follows:

If there are two opening bands the first one sucks

95% of soundmen are idiots who think the drum mikes need to be up above the vocals

You must feel really cool when you get in a fight and the band stops the show waiting for you to stop

Clutch played balls to the wall for at least 90 minutes. When they say, "Thank you and goodnight!" head for the exits. There will be no encore.

There was this 40-50 something old guy that was there with a wild ass 20 something female. She was all over the place and he leered at everything with two legs and a set of mammary glands. All he was missing was a trench coat.

Not to knock anyone's job but if you work as a fry cook you smell like hamburgers. Try a shower before heading out.

This one from The Wife: Clutch's female fanbase is not very attractive on the whole. She feels sorry for the boys in the band.

Enjoy Sea of Destruction

Ahh Lent

2007-02-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

As a Catholic this is the time of year where I get reacquainted with egg salad, peanut butter and tuna salad sandwiches on Friday's. No, not all on the same sandwich!

I suppose I should be doing some more prayer and intraspection in preparation for Easter too.

How will these get slipped into a G-string?

2007-02-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

U.S. Mint to circulate new $1 coins By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
Wed Feb 14, 9:25 PM ET

WASHINGTON - George Washington's birthday celebration will have a golden tinge this year. Millions of new gold-colored dollar coins bearing the first president's likeness are being introduced in time for the festivities.

The question is whether people will reject them as they did the two previous $1 coins.

U.S. Mint officials are hoping they have overcome the problems that doomed the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea dollars. Coin experts are skeptical.

The new $1 coins, the first in a series featuring four presidents a year, were to go into circulation on Thursday, just before next week's President's Day celebrations.

Learning from past mistakes, the Mint is making sure the coins will be widely available so people will not be disappointed when they show up at banks looking for the coins.link

This is a waste of time and tax payer dollars. People don't like to carry change. We collect it in jars for years and then take it to the bank or one of those machines in the grocery store. They have tried this twice before and failed. They say due to lack of availability. I say because people don't want them. Other than coin collectors.

I went to Canada a couple of years ago and it was maddening to me to have 5 or 6 $1 coins in my pocket along with the other change.

Man bites Verizon back for messing with his bill

2007-02-02T15:40:00.001-05:00

Man bites Verizon back for messing with his bill
Originally uploaded by seanlisa99.

Apparently these bands are teh ghey

2007-01-30T07:57:00.000-05:00

Visit Love Gods Way to see if your favorite band is teh ghey.

The guy who runs the site is apparently a reformed homos*xual. (BTW, reformed?)

I'll give you a couple of quick hits from the list: Cole Porter, The Strokes, Phish (um, hippies are lame but...), Erasure (Well, okay.), Jay Z, Ghostface Killah and Ted Nugent(So says this guy because Ted wore a loin cloth.)

Enjoy.

MLB TV deal gets fuzzy reception

2007-01-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
January 23, 2007

So here comes Major League Baseball in a quick, shortsighted money grab (again), selling out its core fans (again) and telling everyone (again) how the sport ought to be consumed.

Here comes MLB, as arrogant and detached as ever, ready to limit its popular "MLB Extra Innings" package by giving it exclusively to DirecTV rather than a large consortium of cable and satellite providers. And for what, an average of a million bucks per year, per team?

That's the price of fan loyalty these days? That's how much baseball owners value their best costumers? A bad middle reliever?

According to the New York Times, MLB is close to handing DirecTV the exclusive rights to Extra Innings – which allows fans to watch many out-of-market games – for $100 million per year over seven years. InDemand, which distributes the package currently, has upped its offer, but, according to the Washington Times, its deal will pay about $30 million less per year.

The difference averages out to $1 million per franchise, per year – or, in these days of overheated player spending, chicken scratch. Even if it was five times that, it wouldn't seem worth it to keep the product from so many fans.Full Text

I subscribed to MLB Extra Innings last year and loved it. Even when my chosen team, The Chicago Cubs, fell out of the race early(Yeah, I know. Shut it.) I still loved it. It was great to be able to turn on the TV and watch games from all over the country. I could keep tabs on a hitting streak or teams involved in a pennant chase without out waiting for ESPN to bring me an update during yet another Yankees/Mets/Red Sox game. All of this from the comfort of my couch.

Now to get the same level of service it appears I would have either switch to DirecTV, not going to happen, or subscribe to MLB.TV. I have watched archived video from MLB.TV. Let me tell you the prospect of sitting at a desk watching on a 17 inch monitor and listening to garbled/out of synch audio just does not interest me. But it doesn't appear that MLB is interested in fans like me anyway.

Maybe I'll save the $100 it cost me last year and buy a couple of tickets to another Indy Car race this Summer.

Prima Tech Paper

2007-01-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Prima Tech Paper is looking for you.
http://www.primatechpaper.com/index.shtml

Click on Jobs and enter MT36

Soul'd Out

2007-01-20T10:52:00.001-05:00

So horrible it is funny.

Portland, OR and snow

2007-01-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

Hilarious!

Five Minutes to Midnight

2007-01-17T12:10:00.000-05:00

Nuclear Scientists Adjust `Doomsday Clock' Amid Growing Threat

By Alex Morales
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists today moved the minute- hand on the symbolic ``Doomsday Clock'' closer to midnight, to indicate growing concerns about the global nuclear threat.

The clock was set up in 1947 with a time of seven minutes to midnight, and movement of the minute-hand symbolizes growing or declining threat, with midnight representing destruction by nuclear war. For almost five years, the hand has stood where it began, at seven minutes to midnight. It has only been moved 17 times before, fluctuating between 2 and 17 minutes to midnight.

The hand was moved forward two minutes today, reflecting concerns that the world is heading toward ``a second nuclear age,'' and also that climate change poses a threat to stability, said Kennette Benedict, executive director of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the magazine which set up the clock in 1947. Full Text

Btw, I know I sound a bit loony in the post below but this guy makes me look completely sane. Not because I am correct but because he is so nutty my random musings are made to look just that by comparison.

Random scary and conspiratorial thoughts of the day

2007-01-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

We will be at war with Iran by April. No big "48 hour" warning this time. A couple of small incursions across the borders from Afghanistan and Iraq followed by bombing and missiles from the new battle group that is headed toward the Persian Gulf.

You might think I am nuts but I predicted war with Iraq right after September 11, 2001. And we actually had some "friendly" history with the guy formerly in charge of that country.

My "Dear God! I think about all of this crap way too much" theory: Bush won't leave office at the end of his term. This is based on nothing other than my complete distrust for this man and anyone that reports directly to him. Colin Powell was the last one I trusted. He saw that he was out numbered and out gunned so he bailed.

Prove me wrong. Let me be wrong. Please.

Football comedy routine

2007-01-11T11:52:00.000-05:00

This bit is about 20 years old now but still hilarious.

Get video codes at Bolt.

Link in case the video doesn't load: Bob Nelson

Excitement is in the air

2007-01-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Wife and I are expecting the first out of town visitors to our home that we do not share multiple genetic markers with.

Don't get me wrong, I love our families but having friends come to visit is something completely different.

Not much happened over Christmas and New Years. Santa was good to me and brought me some toys to play with and other useful things. I took a big plunge on a present for The Wife. It bombed. Luckily it was returnable. I've done alright in nine years of buying her presents. I guess I'm allowed one stinker.

I sat yesterday and bemoaned the death of New Years Day as college football Christmas. In my youth, New Years Day was awesome. We would gather at relatives house around noon and it was wall to wall football games, food and horsing around with my cousins until my parents shoved us in the car to our loud protests as we knew that we had to go back to school the next day. Now, there is a grand total of 6 games on New Years Day. Blech! Thank you, BCS.

So who really wins this race?

2006-12-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

Moderately work safe.

It's the First Day of Winter

2006-12-22T08:16:00.000-05:00

It is 54F, raining and I am well North of the Ohio River.

A wet and green Christmas. How festive!

This is some mad skillz!

2006-12-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

Go Irish!

What's worse than Paul McCartney singing his Xmas song?

2006-12-13T11:35:00.000-05:00

Having to listen to it three to four times a day via Muzak.

I now completely loathe McCartney.

Simply have this song crammed up your crack.

Mom, may I have this, please!

2006-12-05T10:53:00.000-05:00

But I want it! *stomps foot*

Horribly Depressing

2006-11-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

I will not post links to the plethora of stories because they are almost too horrible to share. I was perusing Yahoo News this morning and between the U.S. news and the Most Popular stories I am convinced the world is going to hell.

Again no links but here are some examples:

Mother on trial for microwaving her baby

Mother sentenced to life in prison for killing her son with a hammer

5 dead people in Texas truck stops in a week

A 12 year old girl lit her Mom's bed on fire, with her mother in it, and then faked a kidnapping because her Mom gave her too many chores

Does anyone have any good news? Please.

As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly

2006-11-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go Irish! Beat Trojans!

2006-11-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Here's some stuff to get your blood pumping.

First "The Run"

Second 1988 #1 ND vs. #2 USC (This will open in your Windows Media Player.)

For more great stuff visit the Blue Gray Sky Video Archive

Beat SC! Beat SC!

To the people complaining about being duped by Borat

2006-11-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

If you weren't a f*cking moron he wouldn't have been able to make you look dumb! Also, the "guy on the street" interviewee always comes off as a moron! Haven't you been paying attention?

Next time when the big shiny bright lights go on, decline the interview. Idiot.

Now go away!

United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama

2006-11-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

Alright, I confess

2006-11-08T08:28:00.000-05:00

I did a small fist pump at some point last night when it was clear that the Republicans were going to be hoisted from power in Congress. Stats from CNN.com

However, The Ohio 15th, at this writing, did not goes as I had hoped. It looks like Republican mouthpiece Deborah Pryce is going to defeat Mary Jo Kilroy by about 12,000 votes, a 4 % margin. This campaign was particularly nasty. Both candidates ran their own ads along with the National Parties buying huge amounts of ad time. At one point, I saw Kilroy's face on screen with Bin Laden. You get the idea.

Now the onus is on the Democrats to actually do something. Or at least try. If they pass good legislation and the President vetoes it who knows. Although if Bush vetoes a spending bill the Democrats will really have accomplished something!

I still firmly believe that American's needs more voices in government than these two groups of jokers. It is not possible that a country of 2 billion(?) people is adequately represented by two parties. If you use the NFL as an example, there are 32 teams and all have a fair share of fans. And that is just football! Granted some people in this country think that football is way more important than politics. They are probably right. Football is more important that politics. I am talking about how our country is governed not about payola and back scratching.

So, we get to put the genie back in the bottle for about 18 months until the whole furor starts again. In the meantime, mend fences with any family and friends you had disagreements with this election season. And try to keep an eye on Congress. Let's keep reminding them that they need to do what is best for all of us. Not just the people who voted for them.

ND 45 UNC 26

2006-11-06T18:19:00.000-05:00

Gameday photos: Here!

Post game crappy videos shot by me:

Our long national nightmare

2006-11-03T10:14:00.000-05:00

is almost over. Election day is only 5 days away, 11/7/06.

We can all go vote and the ads that have polluting my mailbox and TV for the last 3 months can go away.

Huzzah!

Can we put him on the other side of it?

2006-10-26T08:15:00.000-04:00

Bush to sign Mexico border fence bill
The measure Bush is putting into law Thursday before heading for campaign stops in Iowa and Michigan offers no money for the fence project covering one-third of the 2,100-mile border.

Its cost is not known, although a homeland security spending measure the president signed earlier this month makes a $1.2 billion down payment on the project. The money also can be used for access roads, vehicle barriers, lighting, high-tech equipment and other tools to secure the border.Full text

Seriously, what in the hell is this going to accomplish?

Other than making us look like a bunch of bigoted idiots this fence will do very little after the first two days it is up. Bigoted? You say. Yes, if we weren't bigoted their might be some discussion about a fence along the Canadian border. Not that I want a fence anywhere.

Much like terrorism, this administration is worried about treating the symptoms and not the cause. Why do people want to come here? Because their country sucks. Ok, that is a bit dramatic but you see my point. If things were good in North or South of the US border they wouldn't need to come here to find work.

Wasn't NAFTA supposed to fix these problems?

Thing get fixed faster with my Dad around

2006-10-24T08:17:00.000-04:00

I'm fairly handy. I can change the oil on a car. Replace brakes. I can install a faucet. I can even build you a wall and have it remain standing. For some of these things I have my Dad to thank.

He, like a lot of Dads, was okay with me standing right next to him while he was working on the cars etc when I was a kid. My job then, of course, was to hand him tools. But, hey, we all start somewhere. As I grew older, I got to hold the wrench or screwdriver while he told me what to turn. (Is there anything cooler when you are 10 or 12 years old?)

Over the years, I have learned how to fix other things either by trial and error or by watching someone else. But the courage, laugh if you will but it takes courage to start tearing a sink drain apart, to try these things comes from my Dad. That and the advice to go slow and pay attention to what you are doing. And the most important, "Don't force it! Get a bigger hammer!"

Anyway, last night I was replacing a dryer outlet and it was going badly. Dropped screws, a few snags and more than a few F-bombs. It took way too long. At some point I thought, "I would be done if my Dad were here."

Yes, many hands make light work but I have worked on things with other people and it has taken just as long as if I were to do it myself. With my Dad we don't always have to talk while we're working on stuff. After twentysome years of working in garages and under sinks together you develop a communication that reaches the level of, "Would you hand me the..." and whatever you need ends up in your hand without actually saying the word. Also, you start to sense the other's level of frustration. Usually, just in time to either anticipate the wrench coming flying out from underneath the car(This is a little game I call skip the wrench.) or to offer to take over for a few minutes.

He and I can't work on everything together. Distance separates us. But it would be a lot easier if we did.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

2006-10-22T10:21:00.000-04:00

ND 20 - UCLA 17

Jeff Samardzija scores the winning TD with 27 seconds left!

"Somehow the same...criminals are in charge of this country"

2006-10-21T09:22:00.000-04:00

Some of you may remember Pat Tillman. Pat played for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. He joined, along with his brother Kevin, the US Army and was assigned to the Rangers in reaction to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.(Notice what I didn't refer to that as?) In 2004, Pat was killed in Afghanistan in what we were initially told was combat. When in truth, after much digging the US military along with the White House was forced to admit that Pat was actually killed by friendly fire.

Today on truthdig.com, Kevin has written a piece that is more than a little critical of the war in Iraq and the people over seeing it. And it is a little bit critical of us.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.Full text

Be patient when trying to load the site. The story has been picked up by major news outlets and the website is being inundated with hits.

Butt Toucher!

2006-10-20T14:04:00.001-04:00

This is the funniest commercial on TV!

Michigan Governor's Race

2006-10-18T19:20:00.000-04:00

Hop on over to The Political Middle and be on the look out for a major announcement with regard to the race for Governor in the State of Michigan.

Say What? (Bush talks out of his rear again.)

2006-10-11T12:19:00.000-04:00

"The Democrats' approach to cutting the deficit is taking more of your money to pay for their spending," he said. "The Republican approach is to restrain spending."Article

Because he has done such a good job at being fiscally responsible.

National Debt Clock - complete with articles about raising the debt ceiling etc.
National Debt Graph - watch the debt grow under the last two Republican administrations.
How big is your share?

It's time to put some gridlock back into Washington! Democrat control of Congress plus Republican President = fiscal responsiblility. Actually, history shows the best combination is a Democrat President and a Republian Congress but we have to wait a couple years to try that again.

Julian Casablancas is a musical genius...

2006-10-06T07:55:00.000-04:00

...and the band before The Strokes sucked.

The wife and I took in the The Strokes last night. It was my first time hearing them live after mooning over their music and their latest album, First Impressions of Earth, in particular. I/We were not disappointed. Their sound was fantastic and they played with a lot of energy.

I kind of suck as a concert reviewer because, well, I don't bring a note pad. But I'm not getting paid for this either. Let's just say that if The Strokes come to a town near you fork over the dough and enjoy yourself. Though I must say that Julian, the lead singer, must have had a tummy ache because he held his stomach most of the night. And this observation from Lisa, 'For someone in a band who writes great music, he has no rhythm.' This after watching him "dance" during some of the songs breaks.

Having said that, unless the opening act on the tour changes you may want to show up a bit late. South played about a 45 minute set and eesh were they bad. They want to be about 6 other bands - Keen, Coldplay, The Strokes etc. - and don't pull any of them off. The capper was for their last song(I cheered when they announced this.) is that they decided it would be neat if they gave their own take on New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle." Stop! You're ruining it!

If anyone tells you to go see South they are either not your friend or in need of musical counseling.

Lastly, to the two trollops who were "dancing" in the faux box seats on the mezzanine in front of us and their "we're doing the white man overbite" dates, if you "paid a lot of money for these tickets" then you don't "kind of know the band!" This was the excuse given when myself and some people near us told them to sit down. I do not think it was because they were obstructing our view. It was because they were doing it badly. But I digress. My point is this, if you know the guys in the band you don't pay to get into concerts. Trust me. I know.

You can all just kiss off into the air!

2006-10-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

The Violent Femmes self titled album was released 23 years ago and still is fantastic. Disprove it!

Where is this girl now? Probably adding it up

Come get some!

2006-10-03T12:12:00.000-04:00

Evil Dead: The Musical to open in NYC November 1. Official site

Why Americans are fat and pedophiles aren't gay

2006-10-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning the wife(pronounced WHIFF) and I went out to breakfast at the start of our weekly trip to Lowe's/Home Depot/Target, you get the idea. Almost completely based on proximity to our destination we went to Bob Evans.

I had a hankerin' for some pancakes and what passes for maple syrup "Down on the farm" so I ordered the Multi-Grain Hotcakes. The menu said, "3 hotcakes $4.19." Bring it. What arrived at the table were 3 pancakes the size of platters. The wife and I just kind of looked at each other and blinked. These things were easily 10 inches in diameter and close to a half an inch thick. I ate approximately one and a half before I felt as though my stomach was going to distend 3 inches over my belt and called, "No mas!"

Looking around the restaraunt though there was many a person who would have been happy to finish mine after they cleaned their own plate. Why are the portions so big? Has anyone that is not a sixteen year old boy or close to 100 pounds overweight ever finished these?
*******

Finally, I get to "former" Congressman Mark Foley (R - Florida). In case you were living under a rock this weekend, the Congressman has resigned his office after it came to light that he has had several explicit or inappropriate email or IM exchanges with male Congressional Pages(who typically are teenagers). Story What makes this even more fun is that Mr. Foley was the Chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. Yeah!

Anyway, I am not here to pass judgement on Mr. Foley. Ok, maybe a little. I am here to object to something. Surprise! The article I was reading about Mr. Foley yesterday had this line at the end of the article: At a news conference in May 2003, Foley refused to comment on rumors that he is gay.

This was obviously not written by one of the "liberal" media certain pundits are always warning us about. Because a liberal might know that being gay has nothing to do with liking teenage boys - unless the gay person is a teenage boy himself. Pedophiles are not necessarily gay! They are mentally/chemically ill. It is about control, power and gratification or about a million other social or emotional issues.

To try to pin what this man is alleged to have done on being gay smacks of the logic of those that think that children will become gay if they have homosexual adoptive parents or same-sex marriage will lead to the degradation of society. You know bad logic.

The House Rock Built

2006-09-27T16:36:00.000-04:00

Massive Meltdown by Sports Talk host in Michigan "Replace him with HR Puffinstuff and Teddy Ruxpin!

Um, WOW!

2006-09-24T00:27:00.000-04:00

ND 40 - MSU 37

I actually sent a bunch of friends who are MSU grads an email in the 3rd quarter congratulating them on the W. In honor of this post. I won't even send an email looking for a retraction.

I have been on the losing end of games like that, usually to MSU. They burn. Worse than a blow out loss. To any of my friends that come across this, "I empathize with you."

My Pandora

2006-09-23T16:28:00.000-04:00

Want to know what I listen to? Check out my Pandora Station(Link on the right!)

It is for FREE! You can create your own station based on you music likes and dislikes as well.

The God of Video Game Athletes

2006-09-22T13:13:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have heard of the legend of Tecmo Bo. The video game version of Bo Jackson was the most unreal thing. He was unstoppable. Here is proof.

As futher witness to Bo's greatness I offer a story of college Bo. There was a Sega Genesis game called "Bill Walsh College Football" which featured some great teams of the past 10 years or so - at the time in 1993/94. One of which was Auburn 1983.

During a game with my college roommate, I was losing to Nebraska '83 with 2 seconds left and had just received a kick-off after my roommate had made the "winning score". Hail Mary time, right? Wrong. I looked at my roommate and said, "Bo Jackon. Triple option right. Try and stop it." 85 yards. Umpteen broken tackles and one screaming mad roommate later, Bo was in the endzone.

Bo knew football.