'Tis The Season

To listen to some Xmas music.

C'mon, it's not cheesy or corny. You only listen to it one month out of twelve (preferably December, unless you're odd).

My faves?

Chicago 25



Brian Wilson - "What I Really Want For Christmas"



I just got this one, but it's already one of my fave Xmas discs.

A Very Special Christmas



Plus, Starbucks always comes up with some great, eclectic Xmas mix CDs every year. Too numerous to list here, but definitely up on my list.

Fun Links

A couple of fun links added to the sidebar.

I already mentioned one of them -- Stuff On My Cat. People send in pictures of their kitties covered in stuff. Hysterical.

The other one is good for curing up a bad day. Just loads and loads of really cute pictures. Even the hardest of hearts should soften with some of these pictures. Cute Overload

Music Ho's Thanksgiving Day Turkey!

Ah... Black Friday.

You're dog tired from OD'ing on Tryptophan. You've spent the day cooking. You were up all night with friends and family. So, as you crawl to bed at 2 AM, what better way to recover than to wake up at 5 AM and GO SHOPPING!!

Why? Because, as the Music Ho discovers every year, CDs that you'd normally shell out $12.99 for are now $3.99 for a few magical hours.

So, the Music Ho woke up early. (Well. Not 5 AM. 8 AM.) And here's what was purchased:

The Essential Bob Dylan



I'm not a major Bob Dylan fanatic. I don't need all his CDs. This is a perfect two-disc collection of his greatest hits. Covers all the stuff a basic-level Dylan fan needs.

The Band - Greatest Hits



Again, a good basic collection of another classic band from the 60s and 70s. However, if you do want one of their albums, seek out "Music From Big Pink" -- one of the defining albums of the 1960s. While the Beatles were shifting the music scene into arty, psychedelic sounds of whimsy, The Band created a sound that was rural, country, very, very rustic.

Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain



I don't do too many blind purchases, but I did with this one. I have a few other Miles Davis albums that I like a lot and this one is listed amongst his greatest, so it was a safe blind purchase.

Curtis Mayfield - The Very Best Of...



One of the great Soul/R & B artists of the 70s. Always took R & B to a higher, very educated level.

I'm Down With XCP

(Hey, You Know Me)

There's been a pile and a half of stories about Sony's new "Deluxe Computer Hacker Editions" of their CDs where that new Santana (for example) CD gives you not only the latest latin sounds from Santana and guests, but also gives you one helluva computer hack. Even better, the fix opens even bigger holes in your computer!

So, since there's already been lots of commentary about this (plus an ever-growing list of class-action lawsuits), I have only two ironic comments to make:

1. You're telling me that the fine brains at Sony thought this was a good way to stop all the money they're losing from piracy? From articles I've been reading, places like public libraries are now refusing to purchase any more Sony product until they remove their XCP Rootkit software... which leads to a lot of money lost on potential sales. I'd love to see how much money Sony loses from this versus how much they may have potentially lost on pirated copies of those CDs...


2. Isn't it ironic that the people being punished with this stuff are the people WHO BOUGHT THE CD??? Sony got their $15.99 from these people. Shouldn't Sony be figuring out to target those who DIDN'T pay for the CD?

How Nerdy Are You?

C'mon, you have to have SOME level of nerdity in you to even consider reading blogs (or knowing what a blog is).

Couple of Links

Two links worth checking out:

Stuff On My Cat

Hysterical site where fine cat lovers around the country send in pictures of their cats covered in "stuff".

You have to see it be believe it.

House Blinger

A loving tribute to those fine folks in the United Kingdom who really, really, REALLY get into the Xmas decorating spirit. There's an area of Los Angeles called Candy Cane Lane where the entire neighborhood decorates to the hilt.

Medium

This is a great show. But that's not what I'm writing about.

This show also has one of the best theme songs in a long time. Like something escaped from a Hitchcock film.

Album Art

I was idly tooling around an Album cover site looking at various album covers -- many are works of art unto themselves and I just started wondering about something now that we live in a world of Compact Discs.

For CDs of albums that were issued way back in the vinyl days, the front cover of the album is mostly always faithfully reproduced. How 'come the albums backside is never reproduced? In some cases, there's just as much art on the back as there is on the front? It's not just some blank canvas with track information.

It would be cool to see both sides of the album reproduced, even if it's just on the booklet. The only company that ever did that was the now-defunct DCC Compact Classics with their Gold CD re-issues and now re-born as Audio Fidelity.

(And if you're curious, the site I was looking at was http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/D/D.html)

Who-da Thunk - 1,000 Pairs Of Shoes Edition

Show of hands -- how many saw this one coming?

David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads, and Fatboy Slim are putting together a musical about Imelda Marcos!

Read the article here

What's next? "Weird" Al Yankovick and Donald Trump present "Evita"?

Good Things About The Disneyland Resort

Went to the Disneyland Resort this past weekend and wanted to talk about one good thing about each park. Two things that make both parks worth the current price of admission.

Disneyland - "Buzz Lightyear"

This is just a damn fun ride. You and your companion site in a small buggy each armed with a light-emitting pulse gun. You move through the ride, zapping little targets of various shapes (diamonds, squares, circles, etc.) each with a Z in the middle (Z for Zurg). If you hit a target, it and your gun light up and you get points. The harder the target to hit, the more points you get if you hit it. This is "almost" the same ride that's at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

But there are a few differences. Much, much better differences.

In Florida, the guns are mounted to the cart. You can move them around on the pivot and aim, but that's about it. The guns at Disneyland are detachable. They're only connected by a tether. That way you can aim your gun any-which-way to shoot targets all over the place. The other difference is you get your picture taken while on the ride (imagine picture after picture of people staring intensely at something while aiming their guns in every James Bond-esque pose imaginable). Instead of having to shell out $16 for the picture, you get to email your picture to your home email account. Kudos to Disney for that generous offer.

California Adventure - "Tower of Terror"

Again, another ride duplicated from the one in Florida. Again, BETTER than the one in Florida. The California version offers some extra nifty special effects while working your way towards the drops. But the biggest difference is the drops themselves. Whereas Florida gives you a chance to prepare yourself before each drop, the California version keeps taunting you - going up a little, dropping a little, going back up a little, before dropping you way down, the repeating the taunts a little more -- you're never given a chance to prepare.

Awesome. Period.

Music Ho - Vegas Edition

Went to Las Vegas this past weekend. Tons of fun. No, didn't hit it big. No, didn't break the bank. Did go to the local Tower Records and get some new music.

Thus...

Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine"



In one word: quirky. Another word (well, two): Very original. I have not had a chance to hear the original, rejected tapes, but this album is unique. The musical style veers from rock, to ballads, to near Tin Pan Alley. Recommended if you like some eclecticism with your music.

Wolf Parade - "Apologies to the Queen Mary"



Their current claim to fame is having been discovered by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. They sound a lot like Modest Mouse and the lead singer (whom I'm too lazy to look up the name of) sounds a LOT like Modest Mouse. If you like Modest Mouse, you'll like this one.

Super Furry Animals - "Love Kraft"



If Pink Floyd and The Alan Parson Project got together and birthed an album, this is what it would sound like. Smooth, slightly psychedelic, slightly spacey tunes from a very talented Welsh band. If you like your music with a touch of prog, a touch of space, and a lot of smooth, you'll like this one. I do. It's now currently in my Top 5.

B.B. King - "80"



A star-studded duets album by B.B. on his 80th birthday. No ground broken here. Just comfortable, familiar B.B. King with some talented collaborators. Kinda like a comfort food version of B.B. King. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Santana - "All That I Am"



Same 'ol, same 'ol from Santana in the same vein as "Supernatural" and "Shaman". Some good stuff, though it's time for Santana to shake the formula up a little before things start to get stale.

Edgar Winter - "They Only Come Out At Night" Mobile Fidelity reissue



SACD hybrid reissue of Winter's classic album by Mobile Fidelity. The sonics are dramatically improved. This is just a great album under any format. "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" are undisputed (do you hear me? UNdisputed) classics of 70s rock n' roll.

Okeeeee. That's it!

Who-da Thunk - Van Halen Edition

This was in today's Rolling Stone email post:

DAVID LEE ROTH appeared on HOWARD STERN's radio show this morning to announce that he will replace the shock jock on January 3rd. The former VAN HALEN frontman, now working as a paramedic in New York City, will take over in a number of Stern's twenty-seven markets -- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dallas and West Palm Beach, Florida -- while "Loveline" co-host Adam Carolla will take the West coast. "You've done an extraordinary job, and I hope I can honor it," Roth told Stern. "I'll be performing for more people in one morning than the Rolling Stones will in an entire summer." Stern launches his new show for Sirius Satellite Radio in January.

Note the red text. Diamond Dave is a paramedic. From over-the-top frontman of one of rock's greatest bands to a paramedic. That's an admirable job... but I just can't imagine David Lee Roth showing up at the emergency scene -- long, wild hair; multi-colored hot pants; you get the idea...

Toys of the 70s and 80s

This site is hysterical. If you grew up in the 1970s and/or early 1980s then you KNOW you had some of these toys.

It's a British site, so some of the toys were strictly from the U.K., but a lot of them were worldwide.

I totally forgot that I had some of these toys.

Enjoy -- TV Cream's Top 100 Toys

Next Blog >>

Have you noticed that most blogs on Blogger.com have a chrome at the top that includes a "Next Blog >>" link that takes you to a random blog on Blogger.

You oughta click it sometime. It's fun to see what blogs people have come up with around the world (yes... the world. I've seen blogs from the U.S. of A. to Australia to Malaysia).

It's a great way to get a real look at people around the world and see we're all not that different -- same loves, same likes, same concerns about life in general.

Give it a try.

Music Ho Strikes Again

More music!

Madness - "The Rise And Fall" & "Mad Not Mad"





I'm a huge fan of Madness. I've always been surprised why they never caught on in the U.S. (except for "Our House" ... which is on "The Rise and Fall" CD). These two aren't quite as ska-ish as their earlier albums, but both boast some really good songs.

The Magic Numbers



Very folky, soft rock-ish. Two sets of siblings. That's kinda cool. I don't know if it fully lives up to the critical hype that's been heaped upon it, but it comes close. They definitely know how to write a song and have a good, overall sound. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Sheryl Crow - "Wildflower"



After the big, commerical-friendly bounce of "C'mon, C'mon", this is a much quieter, more mature album. If you're looking for the bouncy fun, you'll find it on a few tracks. However, the mature songwriting fits. It seems several artists are scoring big time with much quieter, more grown-up albums (see Paul McCartney). This album takes a little bit of patience to soak in, but once it does, you'll be rewarded with some her most consistently good songs.

Tab

How many of you born a while ago remember the diet soda Tab?

I remember being forced to drink it when I was a kid. This is not the kind of soda you gave to a kid. Kids were raised to drink Coke and Pepsi - carbonated water filled to the brim with sugary goodness. If you put fizz into maple syrup, kids would drink it.

However, I was blessed with a parent who was into dieting. And with dieting came the diet beverage. Sure, Diet-Rite was first, but Tab was king in our house.

And what vile, evil king it was.

Diet soda technology has come a long, long, LOOONG way since the early 70's. Now-a-days, I can tolerate diet sodas. In fact, I find real sodas way too sugary (not to mention calorie bombs in a can). But back then, there was no Splenda. There was no Aspartame. There was Saccarine and there was bland, tastlessness.

Suddenly, my soda had an aftertaste. And it wasn't good.

BUT, apparently I'm in the minority of Tab haters. People have apparently built shrines about the sode.

Hence: ILoveTab.com. Fine. Fine. Off you go.

I Think A Lot Of Us Can Relate...

This came from my Onion calendar. I know these words made me giggle back when I was under 10 years of age...

Top Words Causing Giggles Among Pre-Teens

2%		Parts
1%		Slot
15%		Ball-peen hammer
8%		Mastication
7%		Receptacle
16%		Titular archbishopric
13%		Pu-pu platter
5%		Abreast
11%		Lake Titicaca
12%		Penal system
6%		Opening
4%		Moist

Stop Making Sense

Got the Talking Heads Brick, a set of their entire catalog remastered onto DualDiscs.



The good stuff

The sound quality is awesome. This catalog has been long in need of some serious remastering and it finally got it. I have not delved much into the DVD side of the discs, so I can't really mention anything about the videos that are included. Each disc has a few bonus tracks. Most are alternate versions of existing tracks. Some others are unfinished, unreleased, unrealized songs. In my opinion, the best of the unreleased tracks is on "Remain In Light" -- the band had the Afro-Cuban rhythm down to an art.

The bad stuff

The packaging. The outer, white, plastic cube covered in song titles is kinda cool. However, this is a package that is more an art item than a functional item. The jewel boxes are pure white and that's it. No track listings. No name of the album on the spine. Just clean, pristine white. Which means you have to get the booklet out to see what songs are on the disc.

But... in the grand scheme of this package, that's a minor quibble. Having the Heads in solid, remastered sound is worth everything else.

The Wars In Iraq and Afghanistan

So... God is behind all this mayhem, eh?

BBC Documentary: God told Bush to go to war

I think a certain little President needs to take a nice, long timeout.

Quick Post #2

Got the new Franz Ferdinand - "You Could Have It So Much Better".



If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Pretty much more of the same. I liked the first one. I like this one.

"Do You Want To" is one of the best singles of 2005. (And, no, I don't need to use IMHO, because it's my blog so my opinion doesn't need to be humble!!!)

Quick Post #1

Guys threatens bank tellers saying he has a bomb in his mouth. Guy ends up having his mouth examined by a bomb-sniffing robot.

Link (via BoingBoing)

Could robotic dentistry be far behind?

Lost At The Emmys

Lost won best drama.

It's good to be a Television.

'Nuff said.

New Music? You Betcha

What's the latest for the Music Ho?

Paul McCartney - "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"



Sir Paul continues his late-inning winning streak with his fourth excellent album in a row. Much quieter and lower-key than his previous three (Run Devil Run, Flaming Pie, and Driving Rain), but the melodies are more beautiful on this one and, overall, more consistently good.

White Stripes - "Get Behind Me Satan"



This is my first exposure to the White Stripes other than a live performance on Saturday Night Live. Very low-fi. Very good. The writing is incredible and suprising how full the sound is given that the band IS two people. I've read reviews that say this album is much different from their previous ones. However, different or not, if the other discs are as good as this one, I'll have to check 'em out.

Elton John - "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (Deluxe Edition)"



Excellent album. Not a bad song in the bunch. 'Nuff said. Second disc is a full runthrough of the album done live back in the 70s. Elton John was definitely one of those artists who couldn't do wrong for a while (his 1970s output is a near flawless catalog of music)

Bob Dylan - "No Direction Home"



Soundtrack to the Martin Scorcese documentary that I'll never get around to watching. If you like Dylan, this is a great set to check out. The second disc features some moer upbeat, electic versions of songs that are better know as slower, more acoustic versions. All but two songs are unreleased (well, until now).

A Rare Sight

Went to Disneyland yesterday.

Around the late afternoon, the clouds started rolling in. Once the sun reached a certain point, it hit the clouds.

We ended up with a triple rainbow. One of the three was a perfectly formed rainbow from end to end and incredibly bright -- every color could be seen.

This was a very rare sight in Southern California.

Once I get my hands on them, I'll put up a few pictures. (There's nothing like a sight of lots of people all pointing their camera phones at the sky all at once...)

Blackout!!

We had a blackout a few days ago.

All because some power worker cut one too many wires trying to install an alert device. Hey, it made the workday short. And, fortunately, I work on the second floor so I was able to avoid the crush of people getting on the elevator.

I feel bad for the person who cut the wires. I can totally understand that sinking feeling you get when you've just done a major boo-boo and you KNOW you can't take it back. I can imaging them holding the wirecutters, staring at the snipped wires. Just staring. Staring. For a good five minutes as the blood rushed out of their head.

Fortunately, the power was back in a few hours and all was good again.

Hey, we all make mistakes. It's just that some are doozies!

From Amoeba Music - MySpace.com - Bulletin Entry

This is from a bulletin entry on MySpace.com made by the fine folks at Amoeba Music -- at this time it's reprinted without permission, but it NEEDS to be reprinted:

---

the Bush family nightmare: helping poor black people

America must recall the president. That's what this
country needs: a good old-fashioned California-
style recall election complete with petitions, finger-
pointing and a ridiculous cast of replacement
candidates.

Just like Gray Davis had to do here in California,
George W. Bush must now defend his job
against... Russell Crowe! Because at this point, I
want a leader who will throw a phone at somebody.
Naomi Campbell can be vice president - only
phone throwers, people!

Come on, Mr. President, this can't be fun for you
anymore. You can't spend more of our money,
because you used it all up. And you can't start
another war, because you've used up the troops.
And when it comes to reacting to hurricanes, you
made your old man look like St. Francis of Assisi.

Your job has turned into the Bush family
nightmare: helping poor black people.

The cupboards bare, the credit cards maxed out
and no ones speaking to you - mission
accomplished!

Now it's time to do what you do best: lose interest
and walk away, like you did with your military
service and the oil company and the baseball team.

Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How
about cowboy or spaceman?

Oh, I know what you're saying: "Hey, I've got three
more years, and there's so many other things I
want to touch." Please don't.

I know, I know, there's so much left to do: war with
Venezuela, eliminating the sales tax on yachts
and diamonds, turning the space program over to
the church, handing healthcare over to Halliburton
and Social Security to Fannie Mae, giving embryos
the vote.

But none of that's going to happen now. Why?
Because you're the first American president to
lose a whole city. Jimmy Carter never lost a city.
Herbert Hoover was a lousy president, but he didn't
concede an entire metropolis to rising water and
snakes.

You've performed so poorly you should give
yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks
like a man. On your watch we've lost almost all of
our allies, the budget surplus, four airliners, two
trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the city
if New Orleans. Maybe you're just not lucky.

I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just
wondering how much worse it could be if you were
on the other side. Yes, God does speak to you.
And he's saying: "Take a hint."

MySpace.com - A Shrine To Bad HTML

Okay. MySpace.com is very cool. Never has the world come together in a such a huge on-line community as quickly as MySpace has made it possible.

So. MySpace.com is good. Yes.

MySpace.com is also a free-for-all of every example of bad HTML imaginable. Some pages harken back to the old, old Internet days of "Hi! This is my home page".

The worst offenders (in my opinion, of course):

• Bad colors schemes - hot pink can be cute. On top of a black ground on a computer monitor, however... hot pink can be painful. Choose complimentary colors.
• Pictures. We got pictures. Lots n' lots n' lots of pictures. Some pages are so choke full of photos, all haphazardly arranged that 1) the page takes a day-and-a-half to load and 2) it's virtually impossible to navigate once the pictures are loaded. Consider using a table and smaller thumbnails.
• Speaking of tables. If you're gonna use a table, make sure you rows and cells fit within the table. I've seen one too many sites where, because of bad table usage, half of your page is off the screen. It's enough that I have to scroll down, I don't also wanna have to scroll left and right.
• Fonts. Big, ugly, painful fonts. Please choose fonts that fit on the screen. We know you're a happy and joyful person, but your choice of fonts shouldn't really help convey that message. The content of your page will convey it well enough as well as that picture you smiling for the camera.
• Javascript. Whooooa boy. There's one HUGE violation of Javascript I've seen many times. The dreaded font hover. The font may look normal, but when you hover over it Look out!. Javascript effects should be subtle. Just enough to give it your page a kick. Not kick the viewer in the face.

Okay? Good? Good!

Franz Ferdinand - "Do You Want To"

Just watched the new video for Franz Ferdinand's first single from their upcoming album.

If the rest of the album is as good as this song, it's gonna be awesome! The single is damn catchy, full of hooks and lots of fun.

Go here and watch it for yourself.

Lost DVD Signing

Very cool. Very cool.

Got the LOST Season 1 DVD and was able to get it signed by four of the writers and two of the producers!

Unlike some signings where the artist seems to be obliging at best, these six guys were incredibly friendly and actually took the time to chat and ask how we liked the show and answer most of our question (except for the waaaaaay too obvious, "So, what's in the hatch?")

I can't wait for Season 2 to start up...

More Music

Got the new one from The Rolling Stones - "A Bigger Bang"



Silly title. Awesome album. The best thing the band has done in a long, long time. As many reviews have rightly mentioned (for once), on this disc the band has stopped trying to compete with the younger bands and just does what this band does best - greasy, sleazy, blues-laden rock n' roll.

Not bad for a band that's been around for 94 years. Pretty much the only thing keeping Keef alive are those baubles in his hair...

"The City of Louisiana"

A link to a link to a blistering Keith Olberman op/ed about the Gov't's lackluster reponse to Katrina and New Orleans. Excellent reading. Link

Sometimes Mistakes Are Cool

A local Costco made a boo-boo and we took advantage of it.

As many of you fellow CD/DVD junkies know, new content is released on Tuesdays. Well, one of the things slated for this Tuesday is Charmed - Season Two on DVD.

Except we were at this particular Costco on Saturday and what was out on the shelf? Charmed - Season Two on DVD. At first, the staff realized their mistake and thought they might not be able to sell us the set. But after checking, they let us buy it (after realizing they had already sold five copies). So, we've been enjoying it several days before it's actually for sale.

Happened once before -- I was able to get a copy of "Se7en" a few days before it's street date.

These are the mistakes it's okay to take advantage of. No harm done to anyone.

Music Ho Continued

More CDs!

The New Pornographers - "Electric Version" / "Twin Cinema"





This is an awesome band. I'm a little late in discovering this band for myself, though. What got me interested was buying, and loving, the solo release from Carl "A.C." Newman - "The Slow Wonder". Just pure, hooky, intellegent pop. No pretentions. No attempts to be a superstar band. This is a band that knows how to write songs and enjoys playing them. Highly recommended.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!



This very indie album was given a very glowing review by Pitchfork. Apparently, that was enough to sell out the original pressing of this CD making it very hard to find. Finally, the band was able to press more discs and I got my hands on one. Pitchfork's review is dead on. The band is very unique (something, in my opinion, hard to pull off these days) and has it own distinct sound and character. The songs are good. I still need to listen to it some more to truly wrap my opinion around it.

Eric Clapton - "Back Home"



This is definitely a Clapton album that's pissing critics off left-and-right and actually exposes how dumb and one-track-minded most critics are. This is Clapton's follow up album to "Me and Mr. Johnson", an excellent blues tribute to Robert Johnson, in which Clapton indulged in what he does best (and why he was "God" for a while) -- blues. And lots of 'em. However, Clapton's heart lies in two directions -- yes, he loves good, pure blues, but he's also got a soft spot for basic, uncluttered, pop songs. This is his pop song album. Critics, of course, expecting to pigeonhole Clapton into the "If it's not a blues album, it sucks" box, are foaming at the mouths because he didn't deliver what they wanted. Whatever. Get a real job. Anyway, let's judge the album on its own merit. Yes, it's lightweight. It's more sugar than protein. But the songs are good, enjoyable and easy on the aural palette.

Herbie Hancock - "Possibilites"



I've always liked "duets" albums. It's fun to see two musicians, especially disparate ones, work with each other. If done right, the musicans will bring out hidden talents out of each other to create something greater that its parts. Herbie's new CD comes close to achieving this. It's a good, more pop than jazz, CD. Not that adventurous, but it doesn't need to be and really doesn't seem to set out to be. If you like simple jazz with a twist of pop, you'll enjoy this album.

Leftovers... discs I got but haven't formed an opinion on...

Power Ballads - Gold - This is for the wife who LOVES all those power ballads that domainated 1980s radio.

Fruit Bats - "Spelled in Bones"

Nirvana - "With the Lights Out" - the boxset with tons of unreleased tracks. It always takes more time to digest a boxset than a single CD...

The Goodness of Humanity

We humans are an amazing lot. On our day-to-day journeys we sometimes can barely muster up enough energy to acknowledge those around us or even think of their suffering in their daily lives as we go through our own challenges.

Yet, when something on a massive scale occurs, such as Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, we come together as a race of very compassionate creatures.

I was doing laundry yesterday at a local laundromat and the TVs were tuned to CNN, which was going 24/7 with the hurricane aftermath (William Rehnquist's death was barely mentioned). While most of the coverage talked about family members looking for missing family members (with the help of Dr. Phil, who was broadcasting live from Louisiana **), there was one small segment about how several websites had cropped up to help place displaced people into new, temporary homes with families more than happy to give a clean room, hot meals, and fresh showers to people whose homes were, basically, destroyed forever.

We humans are capable of overcoming our daily issues and displaying a level of compassion unparalleled amongst the species living on this planet. Really, the only humans who seem to have lost any form of compassion or sense of humanity are the government officials who we elected to take care of us in such dire needs. Hence, the foot dragging and delays getting help to New Orleans. I wouldn't even dare think of how many lives could have been saved had the response been quicker.

Of course, like every other disaster, this will slowly fade into memory. New Orleans will be rebort. These people will get new homes and start to rebuild their lives.

Let's try and live our lives like every day we were responding to a major disaster. Let's never loose that compassion we can easily pull out of our lives when something major happens and apply it to those around us who are living their everyday normal lives.

** Dr. Phil was broadcasting for CNN talking to those who had lost their homes. At first I thought how shallow -- dumping a celebrity therapist to cheer up the masses (and later, we'll have Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson with a special "Hurricane Katrina Bayou Special!!"). But after watching Phil, I thought, if you're going to send a TV face down there, he's the best person for the job. Never once did he milk it with his regular brand of therapy. You could tell he was there as a therapist, not a celebrity. Someone who truly cared about those who were going through so much and wanted to do his part to help these people get their lives back on track.

More Music Ho-down

Okay, I went off on critics who get their collective panties in a knot over an artists lyrics instead of focusing on the music.

Well, the critics have been writing the praises for one band who most of them will never have a chance in who-know-where of understanding their lyrics unless their natives of Sweden.

The band is Dungen. The album: Ta Det Lugnt.



It's a cool, trippy, 60s-ish psychedelic romp. A unique, but recognizable, amalgam of late 60s and early 70s pych bands like Pink Floyd. All sung in Swedish! If you like that type of music, you'd probably enjoy this album a lot.

Who's Hungry?

A short list of some of my favorite places to grub in L.A.:

1. L & L Hawaiian BBQ - Link. Best place to get a Plate Lunch. Started way back when in Hawaii and have been springing up around L.A. like 7-11s. What's a Plate Lunch? *GASP* - it's carb heaven. Usually some kind of fried meat accompanied by the traditional two scoops of rice and a scoop of mayo-enriched Potato-Macaroni salad.

2. Tito's Tacos - Link. A small shack-like restaurant right next to the 405 Fwy on Sepulveda and Washington. It's easy to find -- look for the Mexican restaurant with a huge crowd. The tacos are insaaaaane. The shells are ultra greasy and crunchy, the meat is perfectly seasoned. Add cheese, tomatos, and lettuce and it's taco nirvana. One of the few fast food joints where you don't mind waiting in a long line.

3. Kua Aina - I had to mention this one even though it recently closed. One of the best burgers ever. Fortunatley, there's still two in Hawaii (Honolulu and Haleiwa) so check them out if you ever travel to the islands. You will NOT be disappointed.

4. Sharkeys - Best nachos. Period.

Damn. I'm hungry now...

Charmed-A-Holic

I'm not that big a TV viewer. My family can have the TV going and I'll barely pay it any attention -- either I'm working on the computer or reading or doing something else.

There's only a few shows that I've actually set aside time to watch: X-Files (boy, oh, boy, Sunday nights were empty when this show went off the air...), Lost, and the Amazing Race.

Now, thanks to my wife, I can count one more show: Charmed.

I was in that camp that thought only teenage girls watched the show. I had intermittently read good writeups about it, but never felt compelled to actually check it out. But then my wife started getting into it. So, one day, I finally decided to check it out. Wow! The show is actually very good. Very, very good. It doesn't take itself all that seriously, yet never slips into parody. It manages to walk a very fine line between humor and drama and rarely, if ever, falters.

The acting is good, the effects are simple, but effective, the bad guys (demons!!) are creatively rendered. The stories a fun and well written -- a little repetitive at times (the first three seasons were pretty much "demon-of-the-week"). The later seasons started getting into more season-long plotlines.

It's been fun discovering a show after it's been on the air for seven seasons. It's a treasure trove of episodes I've never seen. Watched the cliffhanger from Season 3? You don't have to wait the whole summer to find out what happened. They'll air Season 4's premier the next day!

I'm glad the show's got at least one more year on the air, that way I can experience that "opening Xmas presents" feel of watching a new (or as The WB likes to call it, "Fresh") episode every week!

My only wish is that the show's producers would make nice-nice with Shannen Doherty so that she would come back for at least the series finale. That would make the fan-boys and fan-girls go loopy and would make for a very fitting end.

Hollywood's Slump

There's all this talk of late on how Hollywood's box office and DVD sales are starting to slump and how on earth are they going to improve it.

That's easy: Either stop making crappy movies or lower the ticket prices. There's no way in hell I'm gonna pay $9.50 to see two hours of insults to my intelligence and creativity. DVD's slumping? That's because I'm not going to pay $14.99 to OWN the two hours of insults to my intelligence and creativity.

Good, brief article in Yahoo about this: Link

In Defense Of Musicians

Got the new Jason Mraz cd - Mr. A - Z.



This disc has been getting a critical drubbing from all corners ...

Frankly, I think it's a good CD. The critics seem to be getting their panties in a ball because of the lyrics. Fine. I agree. Jason seems to be trying a little TOO hard to make his lyrics overly clever and at times it's a bit too much.

However, how many of us get a CD for the lyrics (Bob Dylan aside)? I don't. I've rarely listened to lyrics (yes, I know that puts me in a minority). I've always viewed the human voice as another musical instrument. It's not like without the words, the songs suck. If that was the case, Classical music would have blown up on the launch pad. The music is what it's all about. THAT's what's truly touches you. Occasionally, there are good lyrics that really cover something going on in your life. But, nine times out of ten, you have a song playing in your head, is it just some monotonous recitation of the lyrics or are you singing them, caught up in the melody?

In Mr. Mraz's case, overly clever lyrics aside, his music is fun, bouncy, and addicting. Taken on that level, his new album does not deserve the trashing it's getting.

Music Critics Be Damned

Fergit all them "official" music critics. Full of bombastic prose, pretentious lessons in rock history, and a sense of "know-it-all"-ness, which never really answers the one, burning question: Did you like the CD or not?

You want a good criticism of new CDs that you can trust? Why not read what your peers are thinking. Why not add your own voice into the fray to help the next curious music buyer.

Check out Rate Your Music where you can review pretty much every album in existence. You don't necessarily need to WRITE a review. You can simply indicate how many stars (the traditional one to five) you think the CD deserves. All the reviews are compiled into rankings per year, so you can see what your fellow music lovers' combined Top 10 list is.

A far more valuable tool for finding out if a CD is good or bad (without all the unnecessary padding and bombast).

Music Ho Reloaded

Okay, I wasn't finished listing all the new music I got, so here's the rest:

The Vines - "Highly Evolved"



Much better than their second album (thought their second album isn't that bad). It's just this one has better overall songs. The second seems a little more bankrupt creatively.

Weezer (Blue Album)



Yes, I know I'm a late-comer with this one. I've heard "Undone" and "Buddy Holly". Good, straight-forward geek rock. Got the expanded version with lots of extra goodies. (I'm a sucker for expanded versions with lots of extra goodies. Extra goodies are good.)

The Dead 60s



Another in the current, growing list of British bands generating a new-wave/punk revival. Sound very much like the Clash. They may wear their influences a little openly on their sleeves (a lot of the new bands are guilty of these), but it's a disc full of good songs. If you like the Clash, you'd probably enjoy this one.

Missy Elliott - "Under Construction" / "The Cookbook"




My wife wanted these, but I'm always open to all kinds of music. Damn, that girl can rap and write some wicked-ass lyrics. Nasty to the core, but very creative.

Montrose



A blueprint for the 70s hard rock sound. Some of it is wildly outdated. A lot of it is formless (not really any major hooks or melodies). Just a lot of crunchy, straightforward rock n' roll with top notch vocal from Sammy Hagar and solid guitar work from Ronnie Montrose.

That's enough for now. I'm tired of typing.

Good Reading

No, I'm not talking about the latest Harry Potter (though more on that in a second)...

Couple of good columns to seek out if you care about such stuff:

The latest Stephen King column in the latest Entertainment Weekly (the one with - who else - Harry Potter on the cover) gives a rave review to embracing pop culture. I saw "HUZZAH!". It's time for all of us to openly embrace pop culture. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Those of us who are "art snobs", turning out noses away from anything deemed less-than-cultural need to lighten the hell up. There's room for a Big Mac on that plate of healthy greens and low-sodium treats. Humans are built to derive great joy out of solid, visceral experiences and a pop culture gives 'em to you in great, big, mindless, greasy doses. It's time to expand your horizons in BOTH directions (more refined and extra greasy). To turn away from experiences and art that you deem below you is to gyp yourself of all the experiences life has to offer you.

The second article is in the latest copy of L.A. Weekly (the one with Inglewood on the cover). It's a great response column to what needs to be fixed in Hollywood. I'm not going to summarize here, but everything was absolutely dead-on. The spirit of this town has shifted WAY too far over to profit and money and away from artistry and creativity. Show of hands for those of us over 35 -- when you were a kid, did you care how much money each movie made on opening day? I sure didn't. That was boring, icky stuff for the studio accountants to worry about. Now-a-days, the first thing we talk about a movie is it's opening box office -- not "did you like the film?". No. It's "wow. 'Schmuck-a-rama II' raked in $20 Million". Stop being so freeeeekin' greedy Hollywood. Your drive to make money has corrupted a lot of talent and the effects are starting to show (notice the weekly articles how this year's Box Office is in a major slump).

Both are great articles. Worth checking out.

The Music Ho Strikes Again

Okay, went a little overboard these past few weeks gettin' some new music:

Arcade Fire - EP



I need to listen to this one some more before passing judgement.

Spoon - "Girls Can Tell" and "Kill The Moonlight"





If you haven't checked this band out, do so. Their latest, Gimme Fiction, hit the stores earlier this year. One of the best, lesser-known, bands out there.

Sufjan Stevens - "Michigan" and "Illinois"





Best described as "charming". These are very fun, sweet, imaginative odes to two of the 50 states in our nation. Apparently, he's planning to record an album for EVERY state (good luck!) -- I can't wait for "California" or "Hawaii".

There's more to come, but that's enough for now.

A Classic Mugshot

From BoingBoing.net...

Check out the T-Shirt this poor sap is wearing after being booked for drunk driving.

Well... I guess if you're gonna drive drunk, you'd be into that stuff...

Link

New Music!! (Well, Mostly New)

More CD acquisitions from the Music Addict -- some new, some old, but all new to me.

Spoon - "Gimme Fiction"



Damn! This is an awesome album. I'd rank this with Beck's "Guero" as one of the two best albums of 2005.

John Mayer - "Room For Squares"



Got the Dual Disc version. I know there's a whole mess of debatin' going on over this new format, but I like it. It's cool to get a Surround version and some extra DVD content. I guess I'm pretty lucky -- all my CD players, including the dreaded front-loading truck CD player, can handle the discs. Oh, and the CD is pretty good, too.

The Offspring - "Greatest Hits"



Great stuff in one package. "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" is still one of the best singles ever made.

Television - "Marquis Moon"



This is one of those albums you read about on numerous top 100 lists and it's considered one of the pinnacle albums during the late 70s New York Punk/Art Punk movement... and yet you've never actually head it. One of my co-workers let me borrow his copy and it's really good. So, went and got the remastered version. If you can get past Tom Verlaine's oddball singing, you can see how this band was definitely an influence on newer bands.

Buffalo Springfield - "Again"



A little dated in spots, but still contains some of the best rock tracks ever written.

War of the Worlds. Day-um.

Saw "War of the Worlds" today. Awesome!! Awesome!! I knew Spielberg still had it in him after releasing a few "quieter" films. "The Terminal" and "Catch Me If You Can" were good movies, but not Spielberg popcorn movies.

"War of the Worlds" is pure Spielberg and pure popcorn.

The pace is relentless, the effects outstanding (they don't dominate the film like many "end of the Earth" films), and the story is good. What makes this better than your average Armageddon-style film is that fact that it stays entirely with one family. It keeps this wild space invaders movie grounded in human frame of mind and that makes it all the scarier and discomforting.

Tom Cruise, currently much in need of a image makeover, is very good. I sometimes find his acting a little TOO intense. But here he manages to keep the tone down and give a very real performance of a deadbeat dad learning how to take care of people other than himself in less than optimal circumstances.

Highly recommended.

A Few Rules About Driving In L.A.

Please follow these rules when driving in L.A. It will make YOUR life easier. The lives of the people driving around you easier and reduce the chance that you'll piss off that one driver who's packing heat...

1. A speed limit is a speed LIMIT for everyone. Cars travelling at safe speeds are not doing that to give you something to slalom around as you get to your destination at 80 - 90 MPH. I don't gave a flyin' rat's ass if there's a pot of gold at the end of your destination. Risking your life and the lives of everyone else just for an adrenaline rush is not right. You think you're "Too Fast, Too Furious"? You're actually "Too Dumb, Too Stupid".
   
   
2. On the converse, do drive with SOME speed. If you're on the freeway, where the speed limit is usually 65 MPH, don't you think puttering along at 25 MPH is a little TOO slow? WHY are you driving so freakin' slow? If you're terrified of freeway traffic, then DON'T get on the freeway!! Last time I checked, there's really not that much interesting stuff on either side of the freeway to warrant you slowing down to take a look. And if it's that interesting, get off the freeway and take a really good look! Hawaii has it right -- they actually post a Minimum Speed Limit. Go slower than that and you can get a ticket.
   
   
3. The right turn lane is a TURN LANE, not a PASSING LANE. Yes, we all hate traffic jams on surface streets. It takes a lot of patience to not only sit in slow traffic but also have to wait out all the traffic signals that make getting to your destination a long, arduous journey. But you do NOT have some extra priviledge that allows you to bypass chunks of traffic by moving into the right turn lane, then blasting forward into the traffic when the light turns green. Again, that just makes you stupid. When I see someone attempting that, I'll always stick my vehicle out a little into the lane so the other person can't pass. You're gonna wait your turn along with everyone else. (But what about people who are actually turning right?? -- Trust me, you get good at filtering out the legitimate turners from the dorks).
   
   
4. If you're driving, take your cell phone and shove it up your ass. Do not. Do not. DO NOT talk on a cellphone while you're driving. If it's urgent, pull off into a parking lot and finish your conversiation. My life is worth more than you finding out what you're having for dinner tonight. I've been near one too many drivers who are weaving and driving like they could blow a sobriety test because they're more focused on their phone call than on the road.

So, unless you don't mind that fact that one day the driver you piss off will have no problems blowing your head off with they gun they're packing (this is L.A. -- the chance of this happening is much greater than dying in an Earthquake), I suggest you drive safely and know that you'll get to your destination... eventually!

Only In L.A.

So I'm driving to another city during lunch time last Thursday when I hit a noontime traffic jam on the freeway.

Usually, when you hit a non-rush hour traffic jam, there's been an accident.

Well, usually.

Why did we have a traffic jam THIS time? Because everybody had to slow down to look at the big rig on the side of the road with the two Batmobiles parked on it. These looked like the Batmobiles from the Tim Burton version of Batman.

Either way, I dare folks in the Midwest to have a traffic jam due to Batmobiles!

Bridezillas

Watched a show tonight called "Bridezillas" about women who pretty much have major meltdowns planning their weddings.

Good freakin' lord, I'm so happy I'm not married to a person like that!! My wife organized the wedding and was 100% calm through the whole thing.

Makes you wonder if these women actually want to be married or if they just want to go through the event of a wedding?

New Music!

This week's new CD: The Foo Fighters!



Two CDs of wholesome, crunchy goodness.

The most surprising track is the duet between Dave Grohl and Norah Jones. On paper, it sounds outlandish -- how could it work?? -- yet it does. It definitely sounds like something that fits more on Jones' album, but it's very good.

Overall, I prefer the rockin' disc. The acoustic disc, while good in spots, has too many songs that sound similar.

Whole Lotta Shakin'

Wow. We've felt two quakes in the past week.

One of them hit while I was in a meeting with all my co-workers. You can instantly tell who was born in L.A. or has been living here awhile. When the room started to shake, nobody moved, nobody batted an eye, nobody freaked out.

Instead, they followed the basic workflow for experiencing an earthquake in L.A.:

1. The rumbing starts.
2. Wait to see if it gets stronger.
3. If it gets stronger, stand under a doorway.
4. If it doesn't get stronger, gab about it for a few minutes, then get back to your life.

It's that simple!

Chivalry Is 95% Dead

Chivalry is ALMOST dead.

We guys rarely open doors for women. We rarely pull their seats out for them at the restaurant. We rarely do anything that would be called "chivalrous" anymore.

Except for one thing...

Have you ever noticed that MOST of the time when a lot of people are waiting for an elevator, when it finally arrives, the women ALWAYS get to go on first? And when you're on the elevator and it arrives at your floor, you always let the women off first?

What is it about the elevator that has managed to trigger that last remnant of chivalrous urges in the human male where it fails to ignite everywhere else?

Real People

There's a couple of shows on TV that my wife enjoys watching (and I tend to peer in on from time to time) that shows real people in real situations.

The first is "Cheaters" where one mate suspects that their current boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband is cheating on them. The "Cheaters" crew, with the sleuthing skills of the FBI, follow the cheater as they quickly build a case against themselves. Once they have enough evidence, the "Cheaters" team shows the jilted made the evidence and ambushes the cheater so that they and their jilted mate can have it out (usually in authentic "Jerry Springer" style).

The best part of this show is watching the cheating mate get ambushed. They're responses range anywhere from tap-dancing around the truth, coming up with wild excuses, blaming the jilted mate for their cheating, and getting violent (one time the host [the HOST!] was stabbed).

The other show is "Clean Sweep" in which a hapless couple whose home looks like a dumping ground for items gets to sort through their crap and reduce it down to a manageable size, while the "Clean Sweep" team remodels two of their rooms.

The thing about this show that's fascinating is HOW many people live in such junk-filled homes. I sometimes wonder if, while - yes - their houses are cluttered, the producers of the show take all their junk, fill the two target rooms with everything and make them look like crazy, junk hoarding shut-ins. Regardless, it's very cool to see them willing (mostly) to part with all their excess junk and, on the whole, the remodeling jobs have been decent.

New Music!

(aka, I'm just a CD junkie in denial)

Coldplay - X & Y.



Same old. Same old. Doesn't break any new ground. The result? If you like Coldplay, you'll like the album. If you don't like Coldplay, then you'll probably not care for the album. I like Coldplay. I like the album.

Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business



Enjoyable, mindless party music. As long as you don't look for something deep and meaningful, you'll get a kick out of it. The only song I didn't like was "My Humps", which is just downright embarrasing.