Spinning the favorites!

...continuing a tradition that started with two young scholars at a fine Syracuse institution...

Pearl Jam - Brother (remix)



Three Dog Night - Shambala



311 - Daisy Cutter

See ya, Bernie

So 150 years is the sentence for this jackass. The dude is over 70 already so it seems a little like overkill, but I'm pretty sure they were trying to make a statement. I honestly don't even really know what to say about the case as the scope, duration, and money involved are way beyond my reckoning. My big financial concern is that Subway now charges $2 rather than $1 to add bacon to a footlong sub. I wouldn't mind seeing the person behind that being put behind bars for 150 years.

Killer robots from outer space and Megan Fox in little outfits

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen comes out this weekend and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty stoked about it. It's getting bad reviews left and right by the critics but they're all idiots anyways. They say, "two and a half hours of special effects, explosions, and bad acting", and I say dy-no-mite! These aren't art films, alright people? We're not looking for Pan's Labyrinth style imagery or award-winning acting. We want fucking big ass robot battles. The first one certainly delivered. The word on the movie is that Michael Bay enjoyed all the effects so much in the first movie that he decided to do nothing but effects in this one. More power to him!


I have to feel kind of bad for Shia LeBeouf, though. I don't really like the guy too much, but he is supposed to be the star of the film. Yet everywhere you look the marketing for this movie tends to be riding this...

and this...

and this...





... noticing a theme?

Yes, Megan Fox, is a nice looking gal, but I think she is getting a bit bigger than the movie. Last night she was on Letterman and she was kind of a d-bag. I have my theories as to why, but #1 on the list is that she has been with this guy.

So, I can't wait for the movie. Once GJ Joe comes out I will only need someone to turn Voltron in to a motion picture in order to die happy.

Into the flood again...

... just to make a quick non-political hysteria note, I dug out a forgotten volume of the "Chuck's Mix" collection titled: Alice in Chains Mix. Creative, I know. Anyway, I need to find out where I stashed Facelift and get that in my regular rotation quick. Everyone knows "Man in the Box", of course. The two that really get me stoked, though, are "We Die Young" and "I Know Something (Bout you)".

It's a fricken shame that AIC is just another band with a singer who killed himself because, in their prime, they were amazing. Word is that there is a reunion in the works which is good news, but it won't be the same. Jerry Cantrell is a solid guitarist and probably a better singer than Layne Staley, but it was Layne that gave them their signature sound. There was something about the roar of the guitars with Staley's nasal howl that made them what they were.

I'll reserve judgement on this reunion and the new singer until I get to give it a good listen, but until then I'll content myself with digging out Facelift and Dirt and relive when music was actually good.

The Trustworthy Encyclopedia

If you're ever in the need of a good laugh, I strongly urge you to head on over to a little-known gem on the internet called Conservapedia. Seriously, anyone would enjoy the shenanigans and hi-jinx contained therein. Right on the front page you will find this delightful picture:

The related heading is "Evolutionary Racism of Hitler and Darwin". The image helps the reader along the journey to reach the realization that not only are the ideas of Darwin and Hitler similar, they may in fact be twins separated at birth. Also, let's not rule out entirely that if you are a believer in evolution there is a good chance that you are a closet Nazi.

There are a number of highlights on this website. Let's say you want to find out more about our recently elected president, Barrack Obama. Well, go here and you may discover that he is "likely the first Muslim President", "has consistently shown himself to be an elitist who looks down on 'ordinary' Americans", and that "He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of affirmative action".

Or maybe you want to know about Liberal Hypocrisy. Follow the link and you will discover everything you need to know including examples of that grave offenses committed by liberals such as George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Marky Mark (jury is still out on the funky bunch) , and Katie Couric.

The best part of Conservapedia is the man in charge, Andy Schlafly. Mr Schlafly is the spawn of activist Phyllis Schlafly, who occupies herself by running around giving speeches on how women are unhappy due to feminism. Conservapedia, like Wikipedia, has talk/discussion pages where users can discuss any topic and decide what is best for the associated page. Choose any random controversial topic and look up the talk page and just witness idiocy in all its glory. I'd love to detail some of these but being overly detailed on a blog and making posts to said blog at work are hardly conducive to a healthy career.

So, with that being said I think I need to finish things up at the office. First however, a new post...

Are you ready for some soccer?!?!

It's World Cup time, baby!!! Catch the fever! The grand-daddy of all sporting events is almost upon us and you can expect dozens, if not hundreds, of Americans to get caught up in the excitement. Just the other day, if it wasn't for the whole work thing, I could have cheered on USA against my people, the Italians. The whole thing started off with a roller-coaster of a match between South Africa and Iraq, culminating in a 0-0 draw. Some people would say a match with a complete lack of scoring would be a bore, but nay, millions of rabid soccer fans everywhere would disagree. Expertly guided passes back to midfield, corner kicks, more passes back to the midfielders, men bravely creating a meat wall in front of a free kick, passes back to the defensemen, headers, and passes back to the keeper. That's what soccer, or football if you will, is all about.

So tune in Wednesday and cheer on the USA, having rolled their way in to the semi's, as they meet Spain in what is sure to be a match for the ages.

Is It Football Season Yet?

Crap

Well, it was a close one at least. I don't know how the Penguins snatched this one away but they did. I'm extremely disappointed in the Red Wings as it looks like they didn't really care until the last period, which was an amazing 20 minutes of hockey. What ultimately decided this game was that all of Detroit's stars were non-factors in both games 6 and 7. Of course, there was also the fact that Fleury willed his team to a victory in the closing seconds of the game. He made a handful of acrobatic saves at the very end when someone finally lit a fire under the defending champs' collective asses.

The Pen's played great, I have to give them that, but if Malkin and Crosby are the futures of the NHL then it's most definitely not going in a direction that I am happy about. I understand he's the captain but seeing Sid the Kid parading around holding Lord Stanley's Cup around the ice put a bitter taste in my mouth (scratch that, I was still at that time enjoying the chicken wing/ pizza spread put together by good buddy Penguins fan Matt while also enjoying a nice cold Blue Moon from Sabres fan other-Matt at the time). Pittsburgh did not win this on the shoulders of Crosby, as much as the NHL tried to make the audience feel like we were watching the second-coming every time he got on the ice. Other than a couple soft goals and the 0-5 beat down it was Fleury and a bunch of role players who won this. Malkin was amazing in the playoffs, but as I've already bitched and moaned about, I didn't necessarily like his conduct.

What it comes down to though is that a loaded roster like Detroit, which has 4 lines worth of quality players, should have definitely been able to close out the series. With the work that Osgood did I don't see any way around it. They were just plain lazy. Maybe they thought a game 7 in their home arena would be a cakewalk. They know differently now. So, that's the end of another NHL season. See you next year.

One For the Birds

Shin-Soo Choo got a lucky bounce last night to help his Indians against the Royals. I wonder how they scored that one...



I won't lie, seeing as how Choo is on my fantasy team, Logjammin', it was a good one for me too. I have to include this clip, just cause.

The Big Lebowski - Logjammin' from alekos on Vimeo.

Anyway, the shot by Choo in no way compares to this classic...

Making Lots of Suckers Out Of Girls And Boys

Yes!

Omaha Stylee

311 recently came out with a new album and I have to admit that I'm kind of surprised with the results. The last one they put out, Don't Tread On Me, was garbage. I think there was maybe one song I liked on the whole album. But the new one, Uplifter, is not too shabby. They are hyping it as their "hardest album since 311", which is half true. They do crank up the distortion on most of the tracks, even giving Tim Mahoney a metal-ish solo on "Never Ending Summer". However, there are definitely a few tracks that are either slow and soft ("My Heart Sings","Two Drops in the Ocean") or a bit on the pop side ("Too Much Too Fast", "It's Alright", "I Like the Way"). 311 has always had a reggae influence and it pops up alot more these days compared to their early work which had a lot more of SA Martinez rapping.

Even though I've always counted 311 as one my favorite bands as I emerged from the Def Leopard era I have had a hard time totally embracing what they do. They always seem a little too happy. I like my music dark and depressing and full of self-loathing. Ahhh, the early 90s. Those were some good times. So you have all those grunge dudes being one bad trip away from killing themselves and then you have 311 who just seem to be... I don't know... having fun? I guess that's cool. They hang out in the Bahamas, smoke weed, and sing about everybody getting along. It hasn't always been my style but I guess since I am 30 now I can lose the angst. Otherwise I'll have to go and listen to some of that emo garbage that the kids like so much.

So, I think I've gone completely off track. The point is that after about 5 or 6 years only putting out crap it was kind of nice to get a decent album from them. Give it a listen. If you don't mind a little cheese you might be surprised. And who doesn't like cheese?

Rants of a Mad Man...

I have the pleasure of listening to Rush again as my usual programming is being preempted by Syracuse Chiefs Baseball (!!!...!...?.....) and just witnessed him covering his sizable cyst-infested ass over his "I hope Obama fails" comments. The economic problems, as we all know, are the fault of Obama. Every problem that the country faces, as we all know, are the fault of Obama. You see, I just learned that Bush's outgoing policies were actually good for the country and the reason that the economy has not yet had a miraculous recovery are due only to Obama.

And this is because... wait for it... Obama wants to destroy the economy! That's right, folks, Rush has cracked the code. The economy is hurtin' because Barack Hussein Obama wants it to fail. Why you might ask? Well, um..., it's because... umm... liberals? Yeah, liberals! Oh yeah, that's right, Rush has no idea what he is talking about so actual rational motive is not needed, just the right phrasing to get his faithful listeners to get stirred up in to a frenzy.

So anyway, Obama wants to destroy the economy, yada yada yada yada. So then he goes on to say that Obama is succeeding with his economic policy. Now since Rush is on record as saying he wants Obama to fail it all makes perfect sense to people who don't mind having facts made up out of thin air.

Obama wants to destroy the economy (for no apparent reason).

Rush wants Obama to fail (because he's a great American).

The economy is weak (starting exactly the day Obama took office and not a moment before).

Rush wins!

edit: Rush's economic team just declared President Bush's administration as the best at handling the economy. If this doesn't tell you all you need to know then what does.

Game day!

The more I read the more I like. Regardless of how it turns out, it's been a great series.

Can't Wait For Tuesday

I was going to try and contain myself until the end of the series but the hockey playoffs have me all sorts of worked up. After riding high as Detroit jumped to a 2-0 lead in the series I had delusions of my boys coasting through the Stanley Cup without breaking a sweat. Games 3 & 4 came as a big time reality check as Crosby & Malkin skated circles around our defense and finally caught some breaks to even up the series. Now, after Detroit administered a 5-0 thumping to those young upstarts and enjoyed the return of Datsyuk, I'm getting stoked again. Knowing that the Penguins appear to be completely losing their composure it makes it even better. They are a young team, I get that, but some numbnuts targeting Datsyuk's ankle is bush. You have Crosby who is a reknowned crybaby and then there is Malkin shaping up to be some sort of cheap shot artist bitch. And because these guys are the "future of the NHL" the officiating is suspiciously loose whenever it comes to their actions. Malkin going after Zetterburg at the end of Game 2 still has me kind of pissy. However, I do love how Detroit always manages to get under the skin of the other guys to the point where stupid penalties happen. Hopefully we can close this out tomorrow night. A Red Wing championship always makes coping with the Redskins a little easier.

2 Percent

The political scene coming out of the most recent election has been interesting to say the least. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it has been watching the Republican party trying to find their identity. The thing that I just can not understand for the life of me is how Rush Limbaugh is developing to be their voice. Rush fucking Limbaugh.

I urge everyone to listen to this man when you can. His ratings are already fantastic and he is well compensated so I don't really feel like I am doing a disservice by suggesting that. You will never hear a more pompous, ego-centric, misled, hateful, ass in your lifetime. At times he can seem insightful as he outlines problems plaguing the United States and you start to think that, maybe, as he alleges, you have been misled by the "drive-by media". Then he will come to the conclusion of his rant as he always does; with a blanket statement assigning blame to, most often, liberals.

I, as well as tens of millions, refuse to take seriously an entertainer who can do no better in making a case than to use the weakest of debate arguments. Really? All the problems of the world are due to liberals? That's it? Black and white. Right and wrong. Good and bad. Conservatives and liberals. And he is serious. Well, actually, he's either serious or he is purposely misleading his audience. I haven't yet decided.

He is a fraud. There is no question about it. I know because he has told his audience and myself exactly what motivates me and my fellow Democrats when the things he says have never occurred to me once. He told me I only voted for Obama because I felt guilty about slavery. He told me that Obama and Democrats support Sotomayor because we would like an anti-Constitutionalist in the Supreme Court. He told me that I am a socialist. He told me that I want everyone to become poor so that the government can control my life. He's told me so many things about myself that only prove to me that the man is full of shit and doesn't have a clue what he is talking about.

But, he is good at what he does. He does an excellent job of "preaching to the choir", as it were. However, anytime he has stepped outside of his EIB bubble he has failed, but within that bubble he is god. There is an obvious reason for this, and the RNC would do well to pick up on this quickly, before they push away every sane person left in their party. Rush Limbaugh does not speak for your average man, Republican or Democrat. Everyone knows he is the most powerful man on the radio. How much power is that? The dudes' audience is roughly 2% percent of the population. 2 friggen percent. And I am being generous here because there are people like myself who tune in to listen to the ass-hat that he is. And don't forget the dreaded drive-bys.

2% and this is who the GOP leadership is catering too. You're talking people who cheer when Rush says he wants Obama to fail. The people who believe they are the only good guys in the country and everyone else hates America. The people who's only foreign policy idea is to invade every country that disagrees with us. The people who think they need to kick the moderates out of the party and become MORE conservative. This is the lunatic fringe of the party who is crying over every one of Obama's moves. It goes along with the joke about political pundits where whoever is the loudest must be right. The GOP is hurting right now, and unfortunately they are listening to the loudest voices, even though they are the most extreme of the party.

And that is a shame. I am a Democrat, as you must know by now. But a party that goes unchecked is a party that soon falls to deeper levels of corruption and bad policy. The Democrats need a strong Republican party to counter them. The Republicans recently were mulling over the idea of trying to get the Democrats to change their name to "The Democrat Socialist Party". Really, with everything they have going on that's what they are working on?

The sooner the RNC stops listening to the voice of Rush Limbaugh and starts listening to the people, the sooner they will recover and provide a counter to the Democrats. Lord knows the Green Party won't be able to assume that responsibility.