Christmas Ho Ho Ho

Well another Christmas is over and done with.  When you work in retail you look at Christmas a little differently.  My Mom, sister and niece were all down and over my brothers for the day, which was good.  What wasn't so good was that I've been sick the last few days and only managed to spend about half the day with everyone before I had to head for home.  Still it was nice to see everyone together again, it isn't that often that we all manage to make it in the same house at the same time.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Remembering John Lennon

It was on this day back in 1980 that John Lennon was murdered.  I've written about this many times over the years, so thought I'd just add some links to the words I've already spoken about this man I admire so much.  

Last year I wrote about my personal heroes here.

Writing about the first music I listened to, which of course, was the Beatles here.

No Cost of Living Raise

My Mom lives on Social Security.  Since my Dad died this is her only source of income.  She doesn't make much, I really don't see how she makes enough to survive, but she somehow does.  For the last two years the government has failed to give seniors a cost of living increase for social security.  How can they claim that the cost of living hasn't went up?  Just check gas prices.

They were going to at least give them a one time $250.00 payment to make up for no yearly increase.  Well go read here and you can see how that turned out.   I really think the men and women that run our government are so far removed from the lives of the rest of us it's dangerous.

DirectTV Problems

When I decided to go with DirectTV it was a simple process.  I managed to do it all online and never even had to talk to a person.  A few clicks and it was all arranged, the day and time of set up included.  But try to drop something and it's another matter entirely.  They offered so many months of "free" Showtime when I signed up.  But it's really not free, they get you when you forget about it when the "free" part ends and you end up paying for it.  Which is what happened and what I wanted to change.  I wanted to drop Showtime now that it was no longer free and I had to pay for it.  But can you go online and drop it with a click?  Of course not.  You have to call the 800 number and go through the recorded questions and press the correct buttons and than you're still not finished.  Than it connects you to a live person who you have to confirm you want to cancel.  Unless their system is down of the night and they can't do anything.

Call back tomorrow.

If it was this hard to subscribe I bet they wouldn't get as many people.

The Best Show on TV

I had to work tonight, but I DVR'd Terriers which I plan to go watch shortly.  If you haven't watched this show, if it is re run you should definitely watch it.  I really think it is the best show on TV right now.  Unfortunately tonight's episode is the last one for the season, hopefully they'll be a second season.

Thanksgiving

I work in retail so this holiday has always had, shall we say, bittersweet memories for me.  When my Mom and Dad still lived here I would make sure I always went to their house for Dinner.  To them it was a big day.  To me it was the day before all Hell broke loose.  Today now that my Mom is six hours away it means less to me as a Holiday.  Sometimes I'll get together with my brother, but mostly the last few years I spend it at home by myself. And I don't mind.  It's one of the few days that I have off that I know I'm not going to spend the day running around doing errands.  I can actually spend it at home, trying to get some things done or maybe just spend the day reading and relaxing.  Because tomorrow is the start of the Christmas Season.

Or at least that was the way it used to be.  Christmas gets a start almost at Labor Day nowdays.  I've been hearing Christmas music in stores for weeks.  Christmas merchandise has been on the shelves since before Halloween.  Once retail used Thanksgiving as the kick off for Christmas.  Now they're so afraid of losing a leg up on the season.

And what's worse.  I can't even start to list the stores that are opening today.   I remember when I first got into retail (I know, I know, I'm the old man of retail) stores didn't even open at four or five on Black Friday.  I don't even remember calling it Black Friday.  But now everyone wants to be open earlier than the other guy.  So early now that they're not even closing on Thanksgiving.  Luckily the store I work for is closed.  At least this year.   But I have my doubts as to next year.  As everyone else opens they're going to figure they have choice but to open.

When I worked for Service Merchandise we started opening on Thanksgiving towards the end.  I remember one Thanksgiving and a customer was in shopping and she remarked to me that it was "such a shame that you have to be open on Thanksgiving."  Now I bit my tongue or I would have told her that we wouldn't be open if people like her wouldn't be out shopping on Thanksgiving.

I said at the start of this post that this holiday isn't all that special to me like it once was.  But I still don't want to work on it.  We have so few days that we are actually closed that I hate to lose the couple we have.  It's a good day of rest before the start of the Christmas season.

But I fear this may be my last one off.

TV to Watch

The new season is well underway so I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some of my favorites so far.  When I switched from the cable company to Direct TV they offered a free DVR with my order and I'm glad that they did.  It's so much better than trying to use a VCR trying to record a new show.  I just program what shows I want to watch and it records it, no matter what time it comes on.  I've found I end up rarely watching a lot of shows when they first come on, I wait until I have some free time and than I'll sit down and watch.  The cool thing about this is I might not watch a show for two or three weeks, so when I finally sit down to watch it I'l have multiple shows to watch at one time.

So in no particular oder are some of my favorites:

The Big Bang Theory:  This is one of my favorite comedies and most of the time actually makes the characters believable for more than just the next joke.  My biggest worry is that because Sheldon has proven the "funniest" character it seems he has been dominating the show lately.  I like Leonard and Penny and the other characters and while Sheldon is very funny, I want to watch more than just him.  I'm hopeful, the last show I watched looks like it might lead back to the Leonard/Penny relationship, which I loved.

Cougar Town:  Finally Courtney Cox has found a show worthy of her since Friends.  This show is so crazy but in the end it is still filled with so much heart that it makes it a worthy watch.

Modern Family:  Another good show, I don't know if I'm as in love with it as most critics, but I still like it and find it funny.

Castle:  Nathan Fillion.  No more need be said.

Sons of Anarchy:  I started watching this last year and somehow found myself mesmerized.  It's one of those shows I would not have thought I would enjoy, but find myself really looking forward to it.  It's about a motorcycle gang and it doesn't try to pretend that the members are just misunderstood or anything, but while you're watching it you find yourself rooting for them and even caring about them.

Smallville:  I didn't catch all the episodes from last season but the ones I did I wasn't that thrilled with.  It seemed that the series was getting tired.  And Clark's whining was really starting to get on my nerves.  But this year, it's Final Season has been great.  I've still got a couple episodes on the dvr I haven't watched yet, but the ones I have so far have been really good.  We can see Clark making that final step to being Superman.  It would be great if this show just turned into Metropolis and we saw the early years of Superman.

NICS:  One of my favorite shows of all time.  This show just keeps getting better and better.  I love all the characters, but Abby is awesome.   Something I realized I liked about this show the other day.  Gibbs, when he dates, goes out with women his own age or close to it.  You don't see GIbbs dating younger women, the few times one has come on to him, he steers it away from himself.  You don't see Gibbs having a relationship or dating the two female leads.  He is a father figure to them.  I like that.  Most shows Gibbs would have already had a fling with Ziva and probably be eying Abby up.  Just one of the small things you don't really think about, but that makes this show so good.

Terriers:  My favorite show of the year.  Next week is the season finale, so if you haven't started watching yet it might be too late.  But if you can catch it in reruns do so.  This show is, as far as I'm concerned, the best show on TV right now.  Earlier this year they tried to bring back Rockford Files with new actors, but it was so bad that it didn't even get past an unaired pilot.  To me this is Rockford Files updated and not just a retread, but keeping what made that show so good.  Watch this show.  I love the characters.

That's all I can think of at the moment.  I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll remember some show that I will wonder how I could have forgotten it.  But you can't go wrong watching these shows.

How Much Do You Know?

Take this poll here and see how much you know about the world today.  This is a survey that the PEW Research Center did and the majority of Americans answering failed.  I did 9 out of 12 which put me above 86% of the people taking the survey.  Two of the three answers I missed I had doubts of my answer and if I had went with my other thought would have gotten right.   The third I just didn't know.  Take it and see how you do.

Veterans Day

I Want To Hold Your Hand

I meant to post this awhle back, but never got around to it, but it's too good not to give notice to.  Last year I was a huge Glee fan.  I still am enjoying the show this year, but I'm not sure what it is, I'm just not enjoying it quite as much.  But this moment in the new season made me feel like last season, when the songs would just make me sit up and feel.  As regular readers know I am a huge Beatles fan and they took this song and re-made it like no other version I have ever heard.  Listen to it and not be moved, it's impossible.

Where Do I Give Books To?

Ok, in a recent post I mentioned how I've finally made the decision to give some of my books away.  It's either that or build a wing on to my home to hold the books.  But I don't want to throw them away.  I want someone else to enjoy them.  I've been looking online for some place to donate them to, but the ones I can find want you to jump through hoops just to give them the books.  Does anyone know any place where I can donate some books, maybe more than a few.  Sending them to our soldiers overseas would be great, but I can't find anywhere to send them to.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.

You Read That Already, Didn't You?

One of the most oft asked questions when someone walks into my house is "Have you read all those books?"  I have a few books, here and there.  Well, I won't lie and say I've read all of them, I have a bad habit of buying books quicker than I can read them, but I have read a lot of them and am working on reading the ones I haven't.  Another question that gets asked a lot is "Why do you keep them all?"  Now that's a tougher one.  My Dad used to be after me all the time to get rid of some books, if nothing to make room for the new ones I continue to buy.  But it's hard, real hard, for me to let a book go.   The answer I always give when someone asks me the second question is that I like to go back and re-read a good book.   Now for those people that don't even know the enjoyment of even reading a book once never understands this answer.  Why would you want to read something you've already read they ask.  And no matter what I say they'll never understand.  But there are some books that I've read at least a half dozen or more times.  Every few years I go back and read all the John McDonald Travis McGee novels.  I've read pretty much all of Harlan Ellison's stuff more times than I can think of.  Sometimes I'll just be looking over my books, nothing in mind and see a title that reaches out and grabs me, yells at me to pick it up and visit again.  The Great Gatsby is one I get caught in picking up every so many years.  The World According to Garp is a repeat offender.    It doesn't matter that I've read it before, once I open that first page and start reading it again I'm lost.   I can feel the excitement as I read the words and it doesn't matter I know what's going to happen in the coming pages.  It still gives me a thrill.  How do you explain that to someone that doesn't know that a single book can be more exciting, more inventive, more awe inspiring than the biggest most expensive movie?  It's like explaining sight to a man that's never seen.

I'm getting a little bit better as far as this is concerned.  Awhile back I packed up about a hundred paperbacks and sent them overseas to some of our proud fighting men and women, hoping that they may get a little enjoyment out of them.  Because I have to admit there are some books I own that I will never go back and re-read, or that I have no desire to even look at again.  I would rather someone that might enjoy them to have the chance to read them if all I'm going to do is let them sit on a shelf and collect dust.  So I think I'll probably go through the shelves again and collect a pile of them and see if I can find that address or another one to send some more overseas.  Or to some other place that can use them.  Books should be read.

This post actually was going to be about a recent series that I'm in the process of re-reading right now and how much I'm enjoying them  but it's kind of grown out from under me, so I think I'll leave that to another post.

New Harry Dresden

This one is for my pal, Travis, in case he hasn't seen it yet.  I didn't realize until I saw it at the bookstore, but Jim Butcher has a new book out staring Harry Dresden.  It's actually not the next in the series, but a collection of stories that Butcher has written about Dresden over the years.  And it includes a novella that takes place right after the events of the last Dresden novel, which if you read that will know the anticipation his fans are feeling waiting for the new book.   

A Stan Lee Interview

This is an amazing interview with a man that has probably influenced me more than just about any other living writer.  When at the end of this interview the man tells Stan how much his writing has meant to him I found myself agreeing 100%.  I grew up with comics.  I grew up with Stan Lee.  So much of who I am today I owe to the words that Stan gave to Daredevil, Captain America, Spiderman and so many others.  I learned that being good meant more than just doing good when it was easy.  No matter how hard it got, how bad it got, the good guy did not give up on his ideals, what made him a good guy.  It's something I've never forgotten and have tried to live up to, sometimes perhaps imperfectly, but still always with that goal in mind.

There are other writers and other people that have helped make me the person I am, but Stan Lee was one of the top influences.  

Blog Blast For Peace 2010

For more peace globes check out Mimi's site.

Solomon Burke Dies

On October 10 the great soul singer Solomon Burke died.  He started singing in the sixties, but enjoyed a revival in 2002 with the release of his new album Don't Give Up On Me.   Burke was an undertaker and was trained early in life as a mortician.  Burke was a great singer that brought power and emotion to his singing.   This is one of my favorite songs of all time, the title track from his 2002 album.

I Want My Country Back

Go read this.

New Sofa and Recliner

Next week I'll be the proud owner of a new sofa and recliner.  My old sofa was just that old and I didn't have a recliner.  I'm ditching the love seat and getting the recliner, which I think I'll enjoy more.   Both are very comfortable from my trying them out at the store, so I'm happy.  I'd like to tear up the carpet and put down a wooden floor and some other changes, but right now I have to see how the money situation will be.  More problems on the homefront, with outside repairs continually  cropping up.

Heather's Wedding

One of my best friends was married this past weekend.  Now I know why I hate pictures of myself.....

The Darkness on the Edge of Town

Trailer

A Mess

I have a problem with a corner of my roof and part of the side of my home.  Which just happens to be where my computer and office is set up.  So to get in here lately I've had to climb over all the junk that had to come out of the closets so they could work on the walls.  The good news is that it's almost done.

Harlan Ellison's Last Convention

According to this Harlan Ellison has said MadCon will be his last convention and that he is dying.  To many of you reading this you will ask who Harlan Ellison is.  And that's a shame.  Mr. Ellison is one of the greatest living writers of the last quarter century.  For now I'll leave this short and sweet and just tell people to go out and find anything they can by Harlan and read it.  You can thank me later.

The Senator and the Madame

For more information about this whole episode check out this page and the book about the DC Madame.  I really don't have a problem with David Vitter visiting prostitutes, but if he's going to run on a family value ticket and be holier than thou about others than I have a problem with that.  And the worst part about this whole thing is that he'll probably be re-elected.

Tangled

I wanna see this when it comes out.

Songbird

I don't shop Sams Club that often, but every now and than I'll go check it out. I was in there the other day and I found this:

I was actually looking at this set online just the night before, so it was kind of weird.  But everywhere I've seen this set it's cost more than I wanted to spend.  Sams had it for $19.99.  At the price I couldn't afford to pass it up.  Four cds of great music, plus a DVD.  I was a happy person.

9/11

It's A Book!

Hot, Hot, Hot

My A/C in my home went out today.  All I can say is that it's hot.

More on Glen Beck

For a different perspective on the Glen Beck rally from this past weekend go here and read.

Katrina: Five Years Later

Five years ago today the world changed for a lot of people.  I've written a lot about it and you can find some of it if you're interested by clicking on Katrina on my side bar.  For a nice wrap up of stuff about Katrina than and now go here and read.

A Rant

The sign says "Twenty Items Or Less".  I guess you just can't read.

I don't mind if someone goes through the line with a few more than twenty.  But when someone goes up to the line with a basket full of groceries and gets checked out.  Than I'm mad.  I don't blame the cashier, because they've been told if someone comes up to their line they have to take them and not get the customer upset.  But it's worth it to get six more customers standing behind this lady in line upset.  They should be able to politely tell the customer that this is a checkout line for less than 20 and she needs to go to another line.

This the the type of person that knows she can just get what she wants if she pushes enough and is loud enough. Why do stores worry about people like this?  And I say this, being in retail, knowing we aren't any better where I work.  If someone yells loud enough and long enough, they normally get what they want.  God forbid, we upset one customer.  Especially someone that deserves to be upset.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the good customers, the ones that are quiet and shop and deal with things like this are the ones that get the shaft.  And those are the ones that stores should be looking after.

Restoring Honor

Sometimes I'm really surprised by what Americans want to believe.  It seems we as a nation want to promote stupidity and hate.  I don't think everyone should agree with me, but at least listen to what these people say.  And ask yourselves how you can follow them.  Glen Beck had his "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial today.  One of his speakers was a preacher that had this to say about Hurricane Katrina right after the storm struck:

"the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans" because the city hosted a gay pride parade" 

How can anyone hate that much?   For more about the rally go here.

Happy Birthday Jack Kirby

And why was today chosen as Read A Comic In Public Day?  Because it's Jack Kirby's birthday!  And if you don't know who Jack Kirby is, than you're not much a comic book reader.  Jack Kirby is responsible for some of the greatest comic books created.  With Joe Simon, Stan Lee or by himself Mr. Kirby's creations are the building blocks for a lot of what's out there now.  Captain America, Fantastic Four, Challengers of the Unknown, Hulk, Thor, the New Gods....the list goes on and on.  Without Jack Kirby comics would be a lot poorer.

Happy Birthday Jack Kirby!

Read Comics In Public Day

Today is Read Comics In Public Day.  For the genesis of this day go here and read.  This is for all those people who read comics but are secretly ashamed of it.  Don't be ashamed!  I've never been afraid to show that I read comics.  When I used to take public transportation I would read whatever new comics I might have purchased that day.  The thing when to do when taking a public bus is to always be reading, a novel, a comic, whatever.  It just makes the trip quicker.  So if you have a comic read it in public today.

Unanswered Questions From Lost

I found this video over here, but it asks a lot of questions that were never answered on Lost.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

LOST Season Six on DVD

The final season of Lost came out on DVD this week.  I haven't purchased it yet, but I will.  I have the previous five seasons, so it's just a matter of time before I buy this one.  I think I'll wait and see if it goes down it price some and until I'm ready to watch the entire six seasons.  When I do buy this season I plan to go back to season one and start at the beginning and watch it all in one long continuous session.

I never wrote my wrap up post about the ending of Lost, so after I watch the series hopefully I'll sit down and write my thoughts on it.  To sum it up quickly: I think how much you enjoyed the ending of Lost was where you came down on the Faith vs. Reason argument that was the basis for the ending.  If you favored Faith you liked the ending, if you were on the side of Reason you probably didn't enjoy the ending as much.  I was with Reason, so to me the ending wasn't what I was hoping for.  I knew it wasn't going to tie up all the loose ends, but it really tied up very few.  They left way too many holes, I think mainly because they had written themselves into a corner and had no idea how to explain some of the stuff.  I have nothing against happy endings, but to me it felt like it was forced, so everyone on the island got a happy ending.  And Sayid's true love was Shannon.  I'm sorry I just can't believe that.

Allright, I'll stop here before I continue to rant, but I really want to write up my thoughts soon on the ending.  I still think Lost was one of the best shows ever on TV and I was afraid a bad ending would spoil the entire show I still think the series holds up, despite the ending.

Katrina: Five Years Later

Another article about Katrina Five Years Later can be read here.

5 on Friday

Ok, I've missed the last couple of 5 on Fridays but I'm back.  Today I'm featuring Ryan Adams.  Mr. Adams is long overdue an album of new material.  He hasn't put anything out in awhile.  And this from a man that once put out three albums in one year and one of them was  a double album.  One of the biggest criticism of Ryan was that he put out too much material, but I found it a weak criticism.  His material was good and I loved the fact that he wasn't taking four or five years to put music out.  If you look back at some of the greatest the Beatles were coming out with an album just about every year, CCR put out their three best albums within a span of only a few years.  Today artists and labels are afraid to "flood" the market or put out too much material too quickly.  I'm not saying put out stuff you don't think is good, but if you think it's good get it out and let us hear it.  The last I heard Ryan was supposed to be putting out a five album set, but so far nothing....

(Oh, and I included one song from his days with Whiskeytown.)

And as always go to Trav's site and check out more 5 on Fridays.

Katrina: Five Years Later

Katrina: Five Years Later

You hear about how bad it was in the city, and I"m not saying that a lot of bad things didn't go on, but it was easier for the press to talk about how bad people were reacting to the storm.  Here's something that shows how good people were during the storm.

Five Years Later....

We're coming up on the anniversary of Katrina.  Five years since the storm wrecked its way through the Gulf Coast.  Honestly I wasn't thinking about it until I came back from visiting my Mom and turned the TV on.  Lots of talk about the storm.  Life here is divided into two parts since the storm:  Before Katrina and After Katrina.  You don't realize how often that comes up in conversations.  So over the next few days I'll be posting stuff about Katrina.  If you're tired of hearing about it or think that we should get over it and move on since it's been five years, just skip these posts.  But moving on is hard, I know people that are still working on their homes.  You can drive down I-10, and while it doesn't look like it once did, you can still see the effects of the storm.  My brother is still doing work on his house from the storm.  Here's a link to go read.

Losing My Mind

Today at work my boss asked me what was happening tomorrow, tomorrow being Sunday.  I told him nothing, I was just off.  He replied that I had requested Sunday off, that was why he had given it to me.  Now I have no idea why I requested it off...I'm sure something was happening if I asked for it off.  But what?

A mind is a terrible thing to see vanish....

5 on Friday

Ok, it's another Friday and another chance to play 5 on Friday.  Go over to Trav's site and see what it's all about.

For today I pick an old favorite of mine.  As youngsters he and his brother formed the group the Blasters.  They came of age during the punk revolution and while their music was far from punk they gained a following in such circles.  The Clash were such fans they had them open on tour for them.  While his brother, Phil, has pretty much opted out of the rock and roll lifestyle for that of a professor of math, Dave Alvin has continued to make some great music.  My Five on Friday today is from Dave Alvin.

Hot

When I got off work today at 4 it was 106 degrees.

Five on Friday: Neko Case

Another favorite of mine, Neko Case, is my 5 on Friday.  Ms. Case also sings with the group The New Porngraphers.  She has been compared to the country legend Patsy Cline many times in reviews of her work.  Regardless she has a voice that is unique in today's marketplace. The second song on the set "Christmas Card From A Hooker..." just sends chills down my spine everytime I listen to it.

As always go over to Trav's site to see more selections.

More on Rizzoli and Isles

Started to watch the second episode that I had taped the other day and got about five minutes into it and turned it off.  I still haven't decided if I'm going to turn it back on again or not.  I know a tv show or movie is vary (almost never) as good as the book.  If you get lucky it captures the book's spirit and can move you in different ways than the printed word did.  But this show....

Dr. Maura Isles is the scientist, she's the Medical Examiner. It's established that she's smart in the books.  In the books she's somewhat cold, aloof, hard to get to know.  Her and Jane (the Rizzoli of the title and a police detective) are friends, but it's a strained, not hang out at the bar type of friendship.  I can forgive the show for making them closer, it works better on the screen I would imagine, having them be better friends so they can spend more time together.  For large parts of the books, their paths don't cross until the murder scenes.

But what I'm finding harder to forgive and harder to want to watch is their quick cliched characterization of Dr. Isles.  Since she's smart she has to be weird.  In the second episode she's wearing some sort of wet suit type covering that is supposed to keep her cool in the heat.  She's watching a ball game and ends up at bat, with the hood pulled up and looking like she belongs on the set of "The Big Bang Theory" not a police show.  Why does being smart have to mean being strange?  Nowhere in the books is this part of her character.

As far as the books go, I'm down to only three left to read.  And this series just gets better as it goes along.  It really is very good.  I'm enjoying it a lot.  Unfortunately I can't say the same for the tv show.

The ABCs of Music

As everyone knows I've been having problems with my Ipod and getting the music to it.  Well, I've hopefully solved that problem, or as much of it as I'm going to.  Anyways I had it hooked up in my car and have been driving around.  Now when I listen to my Ipod in the car I almost always listen to it on shuffle, so I can hear a wide range of different artists.  And it was doing that.  It started with AC/DC by Joan Jett.  I wasn't paying too much attentiion.  Later I hear Albeline by Dave Alvin.  It was only after I heard Absolutely Sweet Marie by Dylan and than by Jason and the Scorchers that I realized that it was playing all the songs in alphabetical order.  I've left it, it's interesting.  I'll hear different versions of the same song, sometimes by the same singer, sometimes by different artists.  So far Acuff-Rose by Jeff Tweedy has had the most versions.  I didn't realize how many live versions of it I had by him, and than a couple by Uncle Tupelo and I think even at least one by Wilco.  But I'm still in the A's.  Lots of songs with After as the first word in the title.

Five on Friday: Alejandro Escovedo

This weeks' 5 on Friday is in honor to my Ipod losing all the music for Alejandro Escovedo.  I had all his albums on my Ipod and with all the problems I've been having between the new computer and the Ipod they've vanished.  Luckily I still have all the physical albums so I can go back and put them on.  

One of my favorite concerts I've seen was by Mr. Escovedo.  It was at the Parish over the House of Blues and it was just Escovedo and one other guitar player.  They sat on stools and played his music while he talked to us and gave the audience a history of the songs.  An amazing night.

Remember go check out Trav's site for more 5 on Friday.

And So It Begins Again....

Here comes Bonnie.

Rizzoli and Isles

The new TNT series Rizzoli and Isles is bases on a series of novels by Tess Gerritsen.  I watched the first episode mainly because I like Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander and was interested in seeing them in something new.  Unfortunately the show isn't that original.  In many ways it's just another buddy cop show, this one starring two female leads.  There's a few bright spots, mainly the two characters and their relationship.  Hopefully they'll continue to improve the show and it will get better.

The show did make me pick up one of the books and let me tell you how much I enjoyed the book.  Enough that I went out and bought five more volumes in the series.  I think I"m only missing two of the books right now.  I've already read three of them.  These are really good.  Where the tv show lacks in originality the books more than make up for them.  The two characters are so strong in the book, I really hope the tv shows ends up showing more of that.

I'll keep reading the books and I'll watch the show for awhile longer, hoping it gets bettter.

My Ipod is Back!

At least it seems to be.  It's been the worst time trying to get my music from my Ipod to my computer and back to my Ipod after I bought a new computer.  I cannot understand why Apple makes this so difficult.  Don't they think people will buy a new computer now and then?  I ended up buying and downloading Media Widget to transfer the music back and forth, but at first that didn't seem to work either.  (I tired the one you suggested Holly, but realized it was Mac only, I have a PC, but thanks for the suggestion.)

It took forever once it started working, but I seem to have my music back on the computer and the Ipod.  Except I have noticed at least one artist missing.  I had about ten albums of Aljerando Ecscovedo and for some reason they aren't on there.  I'm going to have to investigate more, but it said it downloaded 21,000 and change songs, so I know that was the majority of them.  Still it's a pain that I'm going to have to go back and download some things again.

But overall I'm happy.  This has been a major headache for the last week or two.

Where's the comics?

While on the subject of the Comic Con.   Last week's issue of Entertainment Weekly was their Comic Con Special.   So you would have thought they might have actually mentioned comic books.  Maybe talked a little about comic books.   Nope, all their talk was about tv shows and movies.  Yes, they were shows or movies based on comic books, but still.....if you're going to do a Comic Con Special, at least talk a little about comic books.

Comic Con

The San Diego Comic Con International started today.  This is the big one.  Over 100,000 people will be there. It's been seven years since I've went and in that time it's grown by leaps and bounds.  There is serious talk about moving to L.A. or even Las Vegas, the con has taken over the entire convention center and needs more room to grow.  The sell out of tickets to the four day even almost a year ahead of time now.

Fiction Wise Who I Write Like

I decided to try the Who I write like again.  The first time I used some writing from a blog post.  This time I figured I would use something from some fiction I've done.  I used a few paragraphs from "Last Fair Deal" and this time I got someone that I am more than just familiar with, but someone that I am a big fan of.  I could only wish I write like him.

I write like
Neil Gaiman

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Amanda Shaw at Louisiana Music Factory

This was from back around Jazz Fest time.  I didn't make it to Jazz Fest this year, but Louisiana Music Factory had a show that consisted of Amanda Shaw, Shannon McNally, Lil Band of Gold and Theresa Andersson and I did manage to make it there.  This is from Amanda's set and she starts off with what I think is one of her best songs "Good Southern Girl."  And the guy in the black and white ball cap with the blue shirt in the front is me.

Who Do You Write Like?

To see who you write like go here.  Now this is who it says I write like.  I guess I should go buy something by Cory Doctorow and actually read what he writes.  I know the name, he's a science fiction writer, but I haven't read too much in that genre in years.

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

5 on Friday

I really feel bad about not joining this before.  My friend Travis over at Trav's Thoughts started this longer ago than I want to think about.  I've always meant to play, but somehow never managed to get around to it.  So I plan to make up for it now.  Hopefully this will become a Friday staple around here now.

For my first 5 on Friday I have picked five songs from one of my favorite singers that not enough people have heard about.  His name is Will Hoge and he's from Nashville.  If you had to classify his sound I guess it would fall into the genre of Americana, good luck figuring out what that actually is.  To me Will just makes great music and has put on some of the best shows I have ever seen.  If you've ever visited my site Voices to hear you know how big a fan of Will I am and I consider his show at Bonnaroo one of the best shows I have ever had the privilege to experience.

Trav's rules are pretty simple if you want to play:

1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here.
2. Go to Playlist.com to make your play list of five songs. You may choose a particular theme to share with us, or post random tunes if that's your vibe for the day. You can simply post the play list, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing.
2a. Don't feel restricted by the tracks listed on Playlist.com. And don't be discouraged if the Embed code won't work. You're welcome to use any type of media to share your Sets.
3. Be sure to sign Mr Linky so everyone can visit your Set.
4. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday.

Bettye LaVette

This woman has an amazing voice.  I saw her at Jazz Fest a few years ago and she puts on a great show.  This is from her new album Interpretations; The British Rock Songbook.

Evo and Iphone

Whatever you say about Apple, one thing you can't deny is that they know how to promote their products.  I'm not an Apple hater, I have an Ipad and Ipod.  If the Iphone wasn't on AT&T  I would probably own an IPhone. But I have an Evo, an Android phone from Google on Sprint.  Some people don't like Google either.  I don't have an issue with them either.  I really like my Evo.  (I know, I know, I said the same about my Pre.)

But look at the two commercials.  The Evo was actually first out with the front facing camera.  But who will be known for it now?  The Evo commercial isn't bad, but the Iphone one reaches out and grabs you.  A year from now the Evo will be a memory of a phone out of many while the Iphone will be still going strong.

I'm Hating Apple Right Now

Why does Apple have to make it so hard to transfer your music from your Ipod to a new computer?  I bought a new computer and now am trying to get the music from my Ipod to the new computer so it will go back on the Ipod when I hook it up with the new computer.  This all makes my head hurt.   I have a lot of it transfered but for some reason it refuses to put all the music on the computer, so for every artists I'm missing songs.  And when you start off with over 20,000 songs on the Ipod that adds up to a lot of missing music.

Why can't Apple make it easy?  They have to know that people change computers.

Happy 4th

A Great TV Series

I ordered this from Amazon.com last week and it just came it today.  One of the all time classic TV series.  Normally it sells for close to two hundred dollars for he entire series, but last week I caught it just before it ended its sale for less than $75.00 for the entire series.  I've been wanting this series for awhile, just haven't wanted to pay that price, so at the sale price I couldn't pass it up.

Voodoo Music Experience

I just received an application for a press pass for the Voodoo Music Experience that's held in New Orleans over the Halloween weekend. It doesn't get as much notice as the Jazz Fest, but it three days of big name music and a lot of local acts. Over the last few years the Voodoo Fest has made a big effort to bring in a lot of local musicians to play as well as the national ones. The French Quarter Fest actually gave me a press pass this year. Yea, it's a free event so they weren't out any money but it was still kind of cool wearing a badge for press around the show. I'd like to cover the Voodoo Show for Voices to hear so I'm hoping that they'll give me a press pass. Not really expecting them to, since my site is very small and they get a lot of big time media to cover it, but I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Iphone vs. HTC Evo

This is sooo funny. But be warned, if you don't like swear words or at work, you may not want to listen.

The Tudors

In my time away from you all I've been watching the first two seasons of The Tudors from Showtime. Best Buy had them on sale for $15.00 a season. It was worth it to give the shows a try, at the normal thirty dollars a season there was no way I would have ever picked them up. I'm glad I did. At the time I started watching the first season I picked up a book that I've had sitting in my bookcase for years and never got around to reading. It was "The Six Wives of Henry VIII."

It was strange reading and watching the show at the same time. Somehow I kept my reading along what was going on in the show. I couldn't remember what happened to his first wife Katherine of Argon and I wasn't sure if I was going to read about it or see it on the show. I actually started to get ahead in the book and discovered her fate reading it and later watched it on the show.

Now you can complain that The Tudors is just historical soap opera, but life in Henry VIII's court was nothing sort of a grand soap opera at the time. Reading the book I was surprised by how historical accurate the show was. Some of the lines from the show are straight from history. It made the times when they deviated from the truth hit harder for me. The whole subplot of Henry marrying his sister to the King of Portugal was completely wrong. It was his younger sister and she married the King of France, but she does end up marrying Henry's friend after her husband dies and she returns to England.

It just made me wonder why when they did such a good job of sticking to the truth most of the time, that they had to change things in some occasions. I'm sure they thought they had to keep the number of characters down or whatever reason, but to me it was no excuse. Stick to what happened.

Still I have enjoyed the first two seasons and plan to eventually purchase the final two seasons. I finished the book and went right into reading the sequel by the author, "The Children of Henry VIII." A very fascinating time. The problem is that the second book ends with Elizabeth becoming Queen, so now I have to find a book about her.

Computer problems

My modem is driving me crazy, it won't stay connected to the internet for more than a few minutes at a time.

Changes

As you can see there's been a few changes to the site.  Consider it a late spring cleaning.  I've got rid of a lot of the stuff on the sidebar, so hopefully it'll help load faster.  I'm still trimming, so I might lose a few more things before it's all said and done.  It's a brighter and cleaner look, hope you all like it.

I'm also considering some major changes in my life at the moment.  Hopefully for the better.  I'll know more in the next week or two and let everyone know.

And finally my computer has been acting up so much lately, that's it hard for me to be online very long.  I think it's  my modem but haven't had a chance to really check it out yet.  Hopefully I'll get that fixed and be online a little bit more than my vanishing self lately.

My Hero

We all have our heroes.  My list would look incomprehensible to someone else.  Some of my heroes are Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Harlan Ellison, Johnny Cash, Mark Twain and Isaac Asimov.   My Dad.   I chose my heroes carefully and they mean a lot to me.  They inspire me, they move me, in the end they make me want to be a better person.

I'd like to talk about one of my heroes today.   One that I've know personally.  His name is Jason Hill Estopinal. On February 15th of this year he was killed in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED.  I remember him as a baby, holding him and hoping I didn't break him, he was so small and looked so fragile.  Why would someone trust me to hold onto something this small and breakable?  But Jason and Claire did, they did more than trust me, they insisted.   Babysitting was not something high on my list of fun things to do, but how could I say no?  And you know what, it actually was fun.  JJ as he'll always be known to me, was a ball of energy.  He never sat still for more than a few seconds at a time.  I made the mistake of running around the yard with him and wrestling with him, so that was what we had to do.   At that time they had a house behind a golf course, so it wasn't unusual  to find golf balls in their yard.  We'd find them and throw them back to the golf course.  For someone that was so small he sure could tire me out quickly.

After they moved to Georgia I remember the basketball goal Big Jason had put in their driveway.  I'd stand out there throwing balls with JJ until I could barely lift my arms to throw another basket, but JJ would be raring to go for another thirty minutes.

I hadn't been to visit them for the last few years and for that I'll always blame myself.  So I didn't see JJ grow into a young man.  But I know he was a man of compassion and honesty and truth.

He decided to go into the Marines.  How a young man or woman can make that decision, knowing that there is more than a good chance that they'll be put in harms' way, is something I find hard to understand.  There has to be a belief there that they can do good, that they can help someone.  We can argue the merits of our being in such a war as we are now in and if we should be there, but we can have that argument because of men and women like JJ.  I may not support the war, but I will always support the men and women that fight it.     They give us the ability to enjoy our liberties that we take so much for granted.

Until a young man, barely more than a boy, but a man in more ways than I can comprehend, is the point man on a squad patrolling a rural area of a country far from home steps on an explosive.  Than we remember.

So today, Memorial Day, while I pay my respects and memorance to the thousands of men and women who sign up to continue to give us the freedoms to argue and fight and talk and live as free men and women every day of our lives while so many in the rest of the world don't have that opportunity I salute and remember a special memory, my personal hero Jason Hill Estopinal.

A Little Upset

You know what I hate?  I hate to be lied to.  Just tell me the truth, even if I don't like it, I'd rather to hear the truth than to be lied to.  I've just discovered that for the past few months, probably actually longer, I've been lied to by a lot of people at the company I work for.   To them they probably don't think of it as anything major, but to me it was.

A Little Something About the Oil Spill

A very informative article about the oil spill here.  It's strange how all the politicians that were crying for offshore drilling are being extra silent right about now.  We've only begun to see the effects of this oil spill.  Environmentally it's going to be one of the worst disasters we've ever seen, but economically it's going to be just as bad.  The ripple effects from this is going to devastate the gulf coast and Louisiana.

The Empire Strikes Back

Thirty years ago today The Empire Strikes Back was released.  I know I was in line on that first day of release, waiting with so many others, to see the next chapter in the Star Wars universe.  Even today I can still remember the thrill of watching the movie.  

Back

Sorry to disappear all of a sudden.  My second hotel in Chattanooga didn't have internet access and I haven't had a chance to get to a computer since.  But I'm back and over the next day or so I'll be back posting.

Road Signs

Driving in today I saw a road sign that really don't inspire a lot of confidence when you see them. One was driving by the side of a mountain, the road cut through the side and the road sign reads "Falling Rocks". Now that's all I want to watch out for, I thought. Rocks falling.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Chattanooga, Tennessee

LOST

I missed it Tuesday, but managed to watch the most recent episode on my IPad (another plus for it). I'm not going to say anything in case there's anyone our there that hasn't seen it yet. Let the comments be full of spoilers. But I will say one thing....WOW! Things are really getting exciting.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

A Few Remarks On The Flooding

It's easy to focus on all the bad that comes with something like the recent floods in Nashville. But watching the news I was struck by all the people that came out to help those that needed it. They interviewed a woman who said she didn't know any of the people in her house, but they had come out from all over to help. Just people that wanted to help. One guy said he didn't know anyone there, he just drove up to help.

The memories of Katrina are always the darkest, but the same outpouring of help was there too. People from all over the world arrived to help. They took time off from work and sacrificed pay and comfort to help those that needed it.

It's so easy to look at all the bad that comes from these events, and we shouldn't forget the bad, but we shouldn't forget or ignore how people step up to the challenge of helping those that need it. In times of our deepest remorse we can see the brightest and best of us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Here I Come

Today is my final day in Franklin. To say the least, it was a very unusual week. Outside of world effects work actually went well. Everyone welcomed me and things went smoothly. Tomorrow I get up and head for a week in Chattanooga.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Country Stars Come Out For Nashville

I know everyone has been waiting to see what the country music world was going to do for Nashville sine the flood. The national networks aren't showing them, but the local stations in the Nashville market are having telethons. Thursday night was one such event. Vince Gill, Allison Krauss, Amy Grant and Keith Urban all donated their time and money to victims of the floods. Another local station started a three day telethon with some of the same names attached as well as former American Idol hopeful Melinda Doolittle. Other names I've read that are helping out have been Holly Williams (grand daughter of legend Hank Williams), Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire and more.

It's nice to see artists that are so associated with the capital of country music are stepping up to the task. Why there isn't anything showing up on a major, national network I don't understand.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, tennessee

More on the Flood

Today I realized something. A lot of the people here in Nashville who were flooded do not have flood insurance. And before anyone makes any snide comments about it, they didn't think they needed it. Their insurance companies didn't think they needed it. It hasn't flooded like this in more than just years, maybe centuries. Nashville is not a city known for flooding. Back home in New Orleans everyone buys flood insurance, it's a given. Here in Nashville not so much. I hope FEMA doesn't let them down and steps up to the plate here. There's going to be a lot of people here you are going to need a lot of help.

I haven't figured out how to get pictures in here yet on the Ipad, I really want to put some of the pictures from the flooding up. It'll tear your heart out.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin,Tennessee

iPad

Oh, and as you might have noticed, the more recent posts have been made on an Ipad. I broke down and bought one just before I had to leave on my trip. I thought it would be nice not to have to cart a bunch of books around with me, I could just download them on the Ipad. I have downloaded a few, some Harlan Ellison that I in print but that I can always enjoy reading over again and this way I figure I'll have with me. I've also downloaded some comic books on here and I have to admit that they look really good. But I find it also is good for surfing the web and posting to my blog. I brought my laptop, but I have to admit I hate typing on it. My fingers never seem to be comfortable typing on it. I have to two finger type on here but find I can do it pretty easily and fairly fast. I prop it up in my lap and go to town on the keyboard. Oh, and I'm still hauling around a bunch of books...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Franklin, Tennessee

Hamburger Wars

I've heard a lot about a hamburger chain called Five Guys and how good it's supposed to be. While I was working someone mentioned they had one up here, so I figured I'd go check it out. For some reason my GPS came up empty every time I input the name of the hamburger chain. I tried the GPS on my phone and it came up. It was located in Brentwood, which if you're like me and had no clue, is a very rich neighborhood. When I say rich, I mean rich with a capital R. I passed houses that were big enough to be apartment complexes. From what I've since been told a lot of big country stars live here. But back to more important matters, how was the hamburger?

It was good. I don't know if I'd say it was the best, but it was very good. The next day I actually ate a burger at what I think may have the best burgers....Backyard Burgers. Not to take anything away from Five Guys, but I love these burgers. Still burgers from two of the best isn't bad. And yeah, I know what it says about my culinary habits that I'm praising hamburger chains.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Nashville

It's heart breaking watching the news and seeing the scenes from Nashville. I'm sitting in a hotel room, maybe twenty minutes from these scenes and it's so weird. These are scenes I'm used to seeing back home. To drive up here and have this happen is almost surreal.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Little Rain

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Tuscumbia Alabama after having spent the day trying to make what should have been a little over three hour trip from my Moms in Saulsbury to Franklin Tennessee. Over eight hours on the road, going up one road only to end up having to turn around after running into a water covered road, and trying another path. It's pretty bad out there. The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow but there's so much standing water I don't know if i'll make it up there than.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Drill Baby Drill

How's that working now?

Long Day

I used to make these type of posts a lot more, just about what was going on in my day, nothing earth shattering, but lately it seems that every post has to be about something.  I kind of like making these type of posts.  Today has been a long day, first I had to get three weeks of posts up for Voices to hear so they can drop every day that I'm traveling.  And than just get other things ready for the trip, tomorrow night I work late so I won't have time to get much ready.   Than tonight I went downtown New Orleans to see some great music, Amanda Shaw, Shannon McNally, Little Band of Gold and Theresa Andersson.  More of that on Voices to hear.  And now I"m back home typing still.  Need to go to bed sleep soon.

Traveling

Getting ready to hit the road this weekend.  I have to travel to two other stores, one near Nashville and the other in Chattanooga in the coming weeks and at the end I'm hoping to take the last week as a vacation and go see my Mom near Memphis.  It's strange that all my traveling is being done in Tennessee during these three weeks.  Honestly I got more than my share of traveling when I worked for Service Merchandise and spent a year and some change traveling to different stores and spending very little time in my own bed.  Some people like to travel, and it's not that I don't like to travel, but when I do so for work, it's not much more than work and a hotel room, so to me it's really not that much traveling.  But the whole point of this overly long preamble was to tell everyone that if I'm not on here for the next three weeks it's not because I've been kidnapped by aliens or anything else drastic, it's just that I'm on the road and can't find a place to connect the laptop to.  And a side note to all this:  for those who have been reading this blog for any length of time knows May has not been a good month for me in the last few years.  I seem to end up in the hospital for one reason or another.  I'm thinking that it has something to do with the building I work in, it doesn't want me there for May, so this year instead of sending me to the hospital it's sending me traveling.  At least that's what I'm telling myself, because I don't want to end up in the hospital while traveling.

So check on me now and than, I'm going to try to post when I can....

Changes by Jim Butcher

I just finished reading the latest Harry Dresden novel.  All I'll say is that it lives up to its title.  I don't want to give anything away, but it was a very good read.  If I had any complaint and it's really not one is that because of the nature of the book a lot of the humor that is part of a Harry Dresden novel was missing.  A very small nit to pick.  I liked it a lot.  I'm waiting to see what Travis thought of it, let me know Trav.

Coming Soon To A Blog Near You

(Better Late Than Never)

Welcome to the 7th launch of BlogBlast For Peace aka Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere. It's inception began in 2006 with one single post and a cry for peace in our world.
A small group of bloggers answered that challenge and it began to spread across the internet in ways that humble me still. It reaches across political lines and religious creeds, abides in corners of unrest and places of hope, gives voice to individual beliefs and promotes tolerance for diversity. It celebrates the genius in each one of us, found in sparkling conversations of passionate pleas for change in the earth. It is that hope for change that motivates us.

It was the Internet's first ever online movement of its kind to invite bloggers to post the same message on the same day. From blog to blog it has moved and continues to grow. We have been amazed to see the power and passion shown each year displayed on pages across the world. We visit each other with our prayers and scribbles, prose and poetry, art and angst, heart and hilarity - and we are moved by it. From one post to thousands of others in fifty countries and almost every state in the United States, something rare and wonderful happens on BlogBlast For Peace day.
I am privileged to witness it.
I invite you to experience it.
It's time.
Join us!

November 4, 2010
Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace. 
We will speak with one voice.
One subject.
One day. 

How To Get Your Peace Globe 2010 Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps!

1. Choose one of the Peace Globe designs shown on this page. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.

2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for thousands of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to me via email ~ blogblastforpeace at yahoo.com and sign the Mr. Linky below. Leave a comment and your blog's name and url in the Mr. Linky so that we can visit each other.
Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery with a link back to your post and a permanent spot on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website.
4. On November 4,2010 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST on your blog, FACEBOOK WALL and TWEET IT!
Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Latin for Grant Us Peace. This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe. Come back here and sign your name again once you've posted your own globe.

Need ideas and inspiration? Go toBlogBlast For Peace.com to see the gallery of thousands of peace globes and posts from 50 countries already submitted and numbered. If you'd like to read about the history of this movement, go here.

You can also find us on.... 

Join the Peace TWIBE Bloggers Unite group IPEACE Group

What should you do while you're planning what to write and create?

1. Post this badge on your site and Facebook pages to promote. Or feel free to use it as your globe on November 4th. Just grab the code below.

November 4, 2010 

2. Become a Peace Globe Worker Bee.
This organization of busy helpers and dedicated peace bloggers began in 2009. The concept was created by this man and taken up by a growing number of bloggers with a passion for peace and this movement. Read "You See There Were These Bees...." to find out how the bzzzzzzz started bzzzzzzzing. Any one of the bloggers mentioned in that post or who commented on that post are ready and willing to assist you.
What does a PGWB do? Many of you already do the following actions that define a Peace Globe Worker Bee: Spreading the word, posting the date, flying the Blog Blast banner, offering assistance to anyone who needs help making a Globe, or directing bloggers to one of the sites where they can find out more about the movement. Please take the bee badge with you too! We want to see the peace bzzzzz everywhere! We appreciate all you are doing already to spread the word.

3. SHARE and TWEET this post every chance you get until November 4th, 2010.

This is what has gone before.
I can't wait to see what you do with this movement in 2010.

Papa's Marbles ~ How It All BeganThe Silence Of PeaceBlogBlast For Peace #1BlogBlast For Peace #2 June 2007BlogBlast For Peace #3 November 2007BlogBlast For Peace #4 June 2008 BlogBlast For Peace #5 November 6, 2008BlogBlast For Peace #6 November 5, 2009 

If words are powerful....then this matters.
Join us!