tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176875942024-03-07T14:18:04.219-05:00misanthropeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger472125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-80168117745053121142009-12-23T12:50:00.002-05:002009-12-23T12:51:46.454-05:00Proof of Beagle SupremacyAs any beagle owner knows, beagles are the world's greatest escape artists.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.break.com/index/amazing-dog-escapes-from-kennel.html">This is just really, really impressive</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-9809292585119925682009-09-06T12:39:00.003-04:002009-09-06T12:40:54.569-04:00Mitch Daniels Talks Common Sense<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574390603114939642.html">Excellent Op-Ed</a> by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels about the coming disaster for high tax and spend states like New York, New Jersey and everybody's favorite basket case California.<div><br /></div><div>Daniels has said he is not interested in a Presidential run, but Democrats would be wise to keep an eye on him and stop spending so much time going after Palin and Gingrich. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-90138346287653955672009-08-29T17:54:00.002-04:002009-08-29T17:55:44.960-04:00Question of the DayDoes anybody really think Doonesbury is funny or clever?<div><br /></div><div>Gary Trudeau gave a very funny, memorable speech at Class Day the year I graduated, but I can honestly say I haven't the faintest idea why Doonesbury is popular or famous.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-4913162105957703622009-08-26T14:34:00.003-04:002009-08-26T14:36:36.399-04:00JeebusTrying to organize music for the wedding reception. I am blown away by the rates some of these wedding bands are asking for 4 hours of work.<div><br /></div><div>I'm tempted to go the DJ route, but there is certainly something about live music that is more energetic and fun.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-14136675789065524162009-08-23T15:32:00.003-04:002009-08-24T11:53:06.038-04:00Priceless MomentsScottish Lass and her mum are out at the beach with me and the beagles. She's in New York for a week to help with wedding planning, but they are taking a break to relax out here for a couple of days.<div><br /></div><div>So we began talking about the service and the music we will have at the church. Now, two types of music that completely rock me to my core are hymns and bagpipes. There are a few hymns (e.g., "Eternal Father") that I simply cannot get through without tears welling up. That's because some of my most powerful musical memories are sitting in the enormous sanctuary of <a href="http://www.saintthomaschurch.org/">St. Thomas Church</a> (where the ceremony will be) and listening to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE1dGHScaFA">earth-shattering organ</a> and the high-floating voices of the Choir. I am certain that my love of harmony and counterpoint comes from those experiences. When the great organ moves the harmony under the melody, I am rocked to my core. When the choir sings the descant, I am frozen with joy.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I was playing my favorite hymn, "<a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/y/w/ywatcher.htm">Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones,</a>" an old tune beautifully harmonized by Ralph Vaughn Williams, for Scottish Lass and she agreed that it was beautiful. I couldn't respond, because I already had tears in my eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>A few minutes later, SL's mum and I were looking at You Tube to go through potential tunes for our piper (a university friend of SL's dad) to pipe us out of the church. Even though it wasn't appropriate for our situation, she asked to look up "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oieFS785QPk&feature=related">Highland Cathedral</a>." Oddly, this is a tune that was written for bagpipes by two German musicians, but it has quickly become beloved in Scotland and has been proposed as a possible Scottish national anthem. That would be even more bizarre if it happened because it would mean that both the English and Scottish national anthems would have been composed by Germans. Then again, the Windsors are all Germans anyway, so maybe it makes sense.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, within about thirty seconds all three of us were looking at each other, unable to speak, with tears in our eyes. I can understand why mum was so choked up. Although they moved to Australia over twenty years ago, they are still deeply Scottish and the words to the tune must be heartbreaking:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There is a land far from this distant shore<br />Where heather grows and Highland eagles soar<br />There is a land that will live ever more<br />Deep in my Heart, my Bonnie Scotland</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I don't think I will ever forget the moment.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-80573929632284054782009-08-19T11:25:00.002-04:002009-08-19T11:44:12.426-04:00Late Summer HumorThe Obama Administration is now blaming the GOP for the fact that their health care "plan" (if you can describe five separate and contradictory bills as a plan) is going down in flames. That's rich.<div><br /></div><div>If you have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, a massive majority in the House and a President who, we are told, is massively popular, the idea that the minority party is blocking your bill is pretty hilarious.</div><div><br /></div><div>The reason this has been a debacle is the same problem I have been pointing out here since Obama was elected (and before). He's never run anything. He has no plan and no strategy. He has outsourced bill writing and policy detail to Congress and, as a result, he doesn't even know what he is out on the trail selling. He has mistaken his personal popularity (which is pretty much gone now - he has the worst approval rating at this stage of any modern president) for political power. His single tactic, claiming he won and everybody should shut up, is not only ineffective, it makes him look small. </div><div><br /></div><div>Despite the caricature of Reagan as some kind of idiotic oaf, Obama would do well to have a look at the way he organized his first year in office. You can disagree with his policies, but Reagan and his team showed up with a well-defined legislative plan and, more imptortanly, clear and concise points to make in the public debates. The White House was in control of both the message and the political process, presumably because Reagan had some actual executive experience as governor of California. Obama controls neither now.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is depressing is that there are a number of steps that could be taken to improve our coverage and care that do not include creating an giant, expensive government health care program. Just try finding health insurance with high deductibles and limited or no coverage for regular office visits. For the young and healthy, this would be the most logical plan, but you can't get it due to our Byzantine insurance regulations. I know because I've tried to find it for me and my employees. The lack of such an option is a big reason why so many of the uninsured are uninsured by choice. I have several friends who would rather roll the dice than pay an absurd premium just to have $15 office visits when they don't need to see a doctor at all in most years.</div><div><br /></div><div>If Obama were smart, he would go for the low-hanging fruit, claim (rightly) credit for reform and build to bigger things. But somehow he has conceived that everything he does must be massive, complete and executed in his first year. It's a strategy that is killing him and a primary reason why he is about to sink below 50% approval after having been in office for less than 8 months.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-76602831248554294722009-08-13T13:03:00.002-04:002009-08-13T13:06:08.855-04:00Thanks, Les<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/13/obit.les.paul/index.html">Les Paul has died</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Here's a big thank you from the Misanthrope.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-1104588166755155702009-08-06T12:17:00.004-04:002009-08-06T12:21:44.306-04:00Wedding PlanningSL has been a dynamo on the wedding planning. We are lucky to have a friend of SL's father who will be our piper.<div><br /></div><div>All of which reminds me that bagpipes are pretty much the coolest instrument ever invented.</div><div><br /></div><div>On a side note, planning the music for the ceremony reminds me to implement what I think should be a Constitutional amendment banning Pachelbel's Canon and Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" from all weddings. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-45803403297229175252009-07-23T16:53:00.001-04:002009-07-23T16:54:28.487-04:00The Rumors Are TrueThe Misanthrope is marrying the Scottish Lass this November in NYC.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-80182712096179167032009-07-06T12:52:00.003-04:002009-07-06T12:53:05.742-04:00Silence of the Lambs - The MusicalThe Lego musical of <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPnQ77a1UVk">Silence of the Lambs</a></i>.<div><br /></div><div>Genius.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-88235934508667718132009-07-06T08:45:00.003-04:002009-07-06T09:03:29.854-04:00Getting It RightSo, last Wednesday the Misanthrope took his ES-175 and his Pod X3 Live and went off to Smoke & Mirrors to play on a track by House of Blondes.<div><br /></div><div>I've really come to enjoy working as session guy on recordings for other people. A few weeks before, I was over with George Vitray working on the Via Skyway recording and it was one of those great nights where you just click into a groove with the work quickly and get a ton of ideas down. That night, we ended up laying down some cool guitar parts on 4 tracks in just over 5 hours as the stars aligned and George and I found agreement very fast. It was immensely satisfying.</div><div><br /></div><div>The House of Blondes session was also very satisfying, but it was different kind of work altogether. Whereas with Via Skyway, George had left big blanks for a guitar-based sound to the tunes, the HoB was, in a certain sense, almost complete when I got there. The basics of the song, acoustic guitar, bass, voice, were all there already. There was no need for complicated guitar arrangements and certainly no place for soloing. The song was a delicate, longing, tragic song and John Blonde was already delivering it with the vocals.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I got to the studio, I told John that the only thing I was hearing was some kind of atmospheric sound in the background, not any obvious guitar playing. He agreed and we thus launched into a four hour odyssey looking, first, for the right sound and, second, for the right way to fit that sound into the song.</div><div><br /></div><div>Coincidentally, the last time I played on a House of Blondes tune, "Glow Brighter," I ended up suggesting a similar background atmospheric sound that I had stumbled upon because I had been paying a slide solo. (The sound is created by putting the slide on the 12th fret and then picking behind the slide, on the side of the fretboard. This creates a shimmering, floating harmonic that can be "wiggled" by gently moving the slide in a vibrato.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Finding the sound was fairly easy. I used a mixture of Fuzz Pi, Phaser and Analog Delay with feedback turned all the way up to get a floating, grinding sound. The challenge was (a) getting that grinding sound to grind in rhythm with the track and (b) play the sound so that the chords just appeared, as opposed to bursting out and sounding like a guitar.</div><div><br /></div><div>George was the key man on (a) as we used the tap function on the delay to get me into synch. That moved us forward quite a bit. I stumbled on the answer to (b) by accident during a take. I had been playing on the downbeat and the chord would ring out on the two. When I waited and played on the two, and the chord popped up on the three, the whole thing fell into place. It is funny to think how playing a part that is incredibly simple can turn into such a challenge because you need to learn to control a crazy new sound you have created with effects.</div><div><br /></div><div>At any rate, we got there and I thought it was pretty cool. Chrispy, John and George all have excellent ears. More importantly, all of us were in agreement that the best way to try an idea is just to try it. I think we've all been in situation where an idea is suggested and then minutes are wasted debating it. With the four of us that night, we just tried everything that was suggested and it helped us get to the goal line.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a very cool night. I can't wait to hear the final result.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-66944820568286118322009-07-01T10:32:00.002-04:002009-07-01T10:34:03.448-04:00Yes!A new hedge fund has <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQYwUOKUthxw">named itself after "5:15,"</a> the song from <i>Quadrophenia</i>.<div><br /></div><div>(Insert joke here about "Won't Get Fooled Again.")</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-35919663617689233342009-06-28T21:16:00.003-04:002009-06-28T21:20:01.634-04:00Well, That Didn't Take LongWhite House is <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0609/Axelrod_waffles_on_Obama_nomiddleclasstaxhike_vow.html?showall">now backing away from Obama's campaign pledge not to raise taxes</a> on anybody making less than $250,000 a year. (BTW, just like I said they would.)<div><br /></div><div>What makes it so fantastic is that Axelrod is talking about taxing health benefits, which is something that, you guessed it, Obama was berating McCain for suggesting during the campaign. He even produced commercials slamming McCain for this idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>Really, it beggars belief that anybody believes a word that Obama says.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-89725379255948191212009-06-25T10:39:00.002-04:002009-06-25T10:42:57.193-04:00Losing the GermansGermany. Scene of Obama's "citizens of the world" speech last summer. Land of Obama popularity.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,632494,00.html">Not so much anymore</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was quite surprised by this article. Although I agree with the points it makes about Obama's fiscal insanity, I was shocked that the mood had turned so fast on him in Germany.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-728511490778822872009-06-10T13:39:00.001-04:002009-06-10T13:40:50.355-04:00Heckuva Job, Barry - Part IVDo I sound like a broken record? Yes.<div><br /></div><div>Is that because other countries keep acting rationally and diversifying away from Treasuries and dollar-denominated debt?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a_znw8oxnBzs">Yes</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-77067326728308011202009-06-09T07:16:00.004-04:002009-06-09T19:18:48.775-04:00Wow.Update: <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues/trust_on_issues">Here's</a> the link that didn't publish. Rasmussen poll showing that Republicans are now more trusted on the economy than Democrats. Considering the disgusting spendfest that the Republicans engaged in until 2006, I'm shocked that they have been rehabilitated so fast. Like I said, "Wow."<div><br /></div><div>I was even more stunned when I saw that Republicans have pulled even with Democrats on the generic Congressional ballot poll. Considering the hole the Republicans dug themselves, this is a remarkable development. It also seems clear that Republicans are going to take back the statehouse in New Jersey and Virginia this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cycles turn very fast.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-18575716057124477762009-06-08T12:26:00.002-04:002009-06-08T12:37:17.829-04:00Hecukva Job, Barry - Part IIIOnce again, the Chinese are showing that they are not fools when it comes <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5473491/Top-Chinese-banker-Guo-Shuqing-calls-for-wider-use-of-yuan.html">to buying U.S. debt</a>. As I have been saying over and over and over, if our creditors stop allowing us to use our currency to borrow for the massive Obama deficits, we are in for a world of hurt. The fact that this shot across our bow comes only a week after Geithner was laughed at in Beijing for suggesting that China's dollar-denominated assets were safe should give us all pause.<div><br /></div><div>In related news, Obama is out talking about how he is going to ramp up the stimulus spending to create 600,000 jobs. Let's leave aside the fact that those will necessarily be short-term jobs. What I cannot understand is why this is only happening <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">now</span> when we were told in February that Congress needed to pass the stimulus package without reading it because action was needed <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">then</span>. But Obama had to make some kind of announcement because unemployment is already rocketing past the worst case assumptions for his budget plan (and, incidentally, the bank stress tests), all of which makes even more massive deficits than projected more likely. Remember that this is the Obama who was calling for a "net spending cut" in the campaign. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this doesn't even include the trillion or so dollars we will need for the new healthcare plan. How will that be financed? Most likely through a VAT, which is nothing more than a stealth tax increase on the middle class. And the concept of taxing health care benefits is now popping up, something that Obama categorically dismissed in the campaign. But hey, why criticize the guy for doing the exact opposite of almost everything he said in the campaign?</div><div><br /></div><div>It's going to be an interesting summer.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-11133035371210729492009-05-27T21:52:00.003-04:002009-05-27T22:02:30.815-04:00Heckuva Job, Barry: Part IICongratulations! $1.2T in "quantitative easing" from the Fed has bought us an <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aw90LMfkBOeU&refer=home">exciting two months of cheap mortgages rates</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Sadly, that all ended today <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDoudpT9wy_I&refer=home">as the bond market woke up and smacked </a>old "It's Not My Fault, Bush Made Me Do It, Did I Mention I Don't Look Like Other Presidents?" Obama in the face.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot emphasize the recklessness of Obama's policies enough. The Chinese are already stockpiling commodities because they don't want to keep buying U.S. Treasuries when Obama is borrowing $0.50 of every dollar he spends. That's why Tiny Tim Geithner is on his way to China to smooth the waters.</div><div><br /></div><div>People, this is madness and it is becoming clearer and clearer <a href="http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIeLg1djbBps&refer=home">how it's going to end</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-47710753505999673202009-05-13T12:15:00.003-04:002009-05-14T10:53:01.930-04:00Heckuva Job, BarryWell, it looks like our friends in the international finance community are starting to wake up to the fact that Obama and Tiny Tim Geithner <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8046599.stm">are planning to inflate their way out of the fiscal insanity they are planning</a>. Let me suggest that Obama is going to have a wee problem funding his insane budget deficits (which are already built on crazy assumptions for Q3 and Q4 growth) if we don't have access to the printing press.<div><br /><div>Obviously I have never been a fan of Obama, but the budgets he is proposing, the incredible amount of borrowing they will require and the very real chance the the U.S. will lose its AAA credit rating are beyond even my worst nightmares for him. And that's just the normal Federal budget. The endless string of guarantees he is issuing to all sectors of the economy are a recipe for disaster.</div><div><br /></div><div>His nonsense about "inheriting" this mess can only go so far. The financial crisis pre-dates him, but the decision to have the Federal government backstop everything in sight while spending like Eliot Spitzer at a whorehouse on Easter Sunday is all his and it is mind-boggling.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heckuva job, Barry.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-6147240882801165792009-05-04T11:00:00.003-04:002009-05-04T15:36:41.773-04:00By Golly......it's almost as if the <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i4estRSYeFBIII9kezxnP4jgoGZQ">Chinese have figured out</a> that he only way out of Obama's insane deficit spending is to completely devalue the dollar and crush the holders of Treasuries.<div><br /></div><div>I still continue to be entertained by the Obama supporters who somehow see no problem with racking up record deficits and piling on a load of debt that will burden us for generations (or at least until we inflate ourselves out of it, which is what will likely be Obama's plan). This country needs some fiscal sanity and Obama and the Congress have moved us so far from fiscal sanity that we should all be deeply concerned. And, no, you cannot argue against this by pointing at Bush. His spending plans angered many conservatives (including me), but they are nothing compared to what Obama is proposing.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's truly scary.</div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE: Good <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/opinion/04meltzer.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1">Op-Ed on our inflationary future</a> from yesterday's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-25644227880585837362009-04-30T14:14:00.003-04:002009-05-04T16:29:32.645-04:00Following Up<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOfUcEyWqk&feature=related">Master of Muppets</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Best comment: "Yea, this video is an insult to Animal...he's a million times better than Lars Ulrich.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-88429171774193750262009-04-28T23:46:00.006-04:002009-04-28T23:55:36.948-04:00Wow.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">From the Wall Street Journal article on <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124093288256863979.html">Obama's big investigation</a> into Monday's boneheaded photo shoot over New York harbor:</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Despite the cost of an Air Force One flight, both White House and Air Force officials said the flyover also served as a routine training mission, allowing the 747's pilots to log sufficient flight hours.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "></span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; ">"The crew on these aircraft have to maintain their proficiency," said Gary Strasburg, an Air Force spokesman.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Wow. I mean, just, wow. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">That has to be the most ridiculous justification I can imagine for this stupid stunt. I cannot even begin to think what proficiency requirements call for dicking around in a 747 at 1,500 feet over New York harbor. There are certainly none that I have seen.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">I fly through that airspace all the time (with a clearance from Newark Tower) and you just never see big jets at that altitude in that area. This is the kind of thing that PR hacks throw out because they know that very few people know enough to challenge them. I am flabbergasted.</span></span></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-24056508186661197862009-04-28T10:16:00.003-04:002009-04-28T23:52:03.625-04:00Passed Down Through The YearsA few weeks ago, I saw a documentary called "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117293/">Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills.</a>" It was a pretty frightening documentary about the prosecution of three teenagers for the grisly murders of three small children in West Memphis, Arkansas. It was made for HBO in 1996, but if you haven't seen it, I recommend it.<div><br /></div><div>One of the central issues in the film and the trial is the fact that the three boys love <a href="http://www.metallica.com/">Metallica</a> and were generally somewhat alienated teenage boys. They wore a lot of black t-shirts and jeans and one of them sported a black trench coat, although the events in the film pre-date the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre">Columbine Massacre</a> so there was no baggage attached to that item of clothing yet. The soundtrack to the film features two Metallica songs, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Home_(Sanitarium)">Welcome Home (Sanitarium)</a>" and "Orion."</div><div><br /></div><div>I confess I have never listened to Metallica. I remember my cousin Mike wearing a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Master of Puppets</span> t-shirt at Thanksgiving in 1987, which caused some consternation among the adults. After college, I remember <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zePch4zHLMs">the video on MTV</a> for "One," but I was not a big fan of thrash and I remember being pretty annoyed by "Nothing Else Matters" and "Enter Sandman" playing every ten seconds a few years later.</div><div><br /></div><div>At any rate, I decided to check out Master of Puppets after seeing the film and I've got to say it's a great record, particularly "Battery" and "Disposable Heroes." So, I've been listening to it quite a bit on my runs. (This year's planned event is a marathon, Philly or New York, something I've been meaning to scratch of the "To Do" list for years now.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Kirk Hammett's guitar playing has some very impressive moments on the record, although I confess that I find most metal solos pretty boring. Still, he manages to put some fresh ideas into his playing and there was a moment in "Welcome Home (Sanatarium)" that brought huge smile to my face. It's impossible to know, but I am virtually certain that Hammett is quoting the end of Steve Hackett's guitar solo from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knife_(song)">The Knife</a>" on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_Live">Genesis Live</a>. The quote happens at 2:25 of the Metallica song.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recognize the phrase because (a) I always thought it was a very cool lick and (b) I quoted it myself on the Moneyshot song "Bliss" in 2000. If I'm right, I think it's hilarious that this thing pops up in the most unusual places. I'd love to ask Kirk Hammett if that's where he got the lick.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-86603574240053962282009-04-27T18:06:00.004-04:002009-04-27T18:10:02.643-04:00Swine Flu - What You Can Do To Stay SafeFrom reader Grubzilla:<div><br /></div><div>1) Wash your hands frequently</div><div>2) If you feel sick, work from home and talk to a doctor</div><div>3) Don't let your kids do this until the outbreak is over:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCj5Int2KGIDan9ETO5fzcgLJY2PKj-g86y_dxND82-3st6TEQTdB1i6WFUOgUbUdFVik40e_zUSylDYMZGc8aebDqgotWz_Jnf58wIa4pOdXVECkTBv5aSqul82bLxqTVNssPEg/s1600-h/SchweinFlu.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 387px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCj5Int2KGIDan9ETO5fzcgLJY2PKj-g86y_dxND82-3st6TEQTdB1i6WFUOgUbUdFVik40e_zUSylDYMZGc8aebDqgotWz_Jnf58wIa4pOdXVECkTBv5aSqul82bLxqTVNssPEg/s400/SchweinFlu.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329496229738319266" /></a><br />Play safe and stay safe.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17687594.post-2481891222969766002009-04-22T13:14:00.003-04:002009-04-27T18:24:11.754-04:00Back in the Saddle AgainFell off the radar for a while there in a flurry of activity and some travel. I had been hoping to post on some of the things I'd been doing, but it's started to pile up so much that I don't know if I'm going to be able to do a post for everything. So, here's the summary of Misanthropic activity<div><br /></div><div>1) Trip to Chicago - Went there for a friend's 40th birthday and I was just blown away. Chicago is an amazing city with an incredible architectural heritage. I spent a blissful (if cold) Sunday afternoon walking around and enjoying the magnificent early skyscrapers. A truly remarkable place and, being a native New Yorker, I am a world-class snob when it comes to cities. Not too many memories of the evenings there, however, as the weekend was incredibly gin-soaked.</div><div><br /></div><div>2) Trip to New Orleans - More a of mixed feeling towards NOLA. The French Quarter is just a horrific frat-boy cesspit and if I never have to spend any time there again I will not be sad. That being said, the warehouse district had some insanely good restaurants and our Saturday afternoon in a beer garden in the Garden District with a table covered with newspaper and freshly cooked crawdads was probably the highlight of 2009 so far. Also, casinos are consistently the most depressing places I have ever been.</div><div><br /></div><div>3) Jazz - Lost a little steam on the jazz guitar front as work got very busy, but suddenly regained the desire in the last few weeks and had a simultaneous breakthrough. I had been frustrated that it was all sounding a bit "Ramada Inn Lounge," but my teacher gave me some great harmonic tools and things have started to get better. Also, I've come to realize that my tastes in jazz fall more on the Bill Evans side of the line (if there is one). Jazz is kind of like a mash-up between the swing and soul of the blues and the complexity and harmonic breadth of modern classical music. The blues never really moved me, but the gorgeous, harmonically rich playing of guys like Evans really reaches me. Also, I've discovered how much I love Thelonious Monk. The poor Scottish Lass is getting tired of hearing me whistle his tunes all day. If any bassists, drummers or piano players are interested in getting together to explore some standards, give me a shout.</div><div><br /></div><div>4) Trip to North Carolina - I went to visit my older, nicer brother (ONB) and my awesome nephews. I flew myself down and back, which was an adventure. On the trip down, I climbed into the clouds about 30 seconds after takeoff and didn't see anything but grey for four hours until I descended into the Salisbury airport. ONB and I took the two oldest nephews to Raleigh to see their first NHL hockey game and, much more importantly, their first New York Rangers game. It was pretty weird watching professional hockey in North Carolina. The fans were incredibly quiet throughout. I tried to get things going by screaming "Potvin Sucks!" a few times, but the only people who got riled up were fellow New Yorkers. I refrained from "Buy a Porsche Hextall" out of respect for the little ones. On the drive to and from the arena, we listened to Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin on my oldest nephew's iPod. The torch is passed and the cycle begins anew. Also, the fingers on my left hand almost went numb from playing Rock Band for hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the way back, I had a somewhat frightening but also educational experience. It was the day after a huge storm had moved through the mid-Atlantic states. I was flying northeast, towards Richmond, at 7,000 feet. I started to notice that I was pitching the plane up and losing airspeed to maintain altitude. Soon, I was adding power and was pitching up nearly 10 degrees just to hold altitude. I was considering declaring an emergency and finding a nearby airport at which to land because I was convinced that I was on the cusp of engine failure. It was then that I heard pilots around the region reporting to ATC that they were experiencing significant downdrafts and having the same problems maintaining altitude. The was an enormous low over New Jersey and it was sucking all the air around it into the center, like a drain. At Richmond, I was at the edge of it. This continued for a while, but it eventually stopped around Delaware. On the flip side, I would sometimes experience huge updrafts that had me 4 degrees nose down with the power reduced and still doing 170 knots of groundspeed (incredible for a Cessna 182). It was a hairy trip. Around Cape May, ATC forced me to descend (I was on an IFR flight plan) and I flew the last hour of the trip at 5,000 - right in the middle of a craptacular layer of clouds. I love flying, but I was getting tossed around in there and I couldn't wait to get on the ground. When I got home, I poured myself a generous martini...at 11:45 in the morning.</div><div><br /></div><div>4) Obama/Geithner/Etc. - Don't even get me started. Just have a look at <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/03/21/GR2009032100104.html">this</a> (from noted right-wing nutjob front The Washington Post) and tell me that you think this a "New Era of Responsibility." I'm sure our kids will thank us for the unbelievable level of debt Obama intends to saddle them with. Hopey Changemas! Also, is it just me or can you almost hear Chavez, Castro and Ahmadinejad chortling silently as they listen to Obama play nice and expect them to give him something for it. Welcome Back, Carter. [BONUS: Can you really believe that the Swine Flu has returned for the Second Coming of Carter? It's just too wonderful a coincidence to go unremarked.]</div><div><br /></div><div>5) MagDog - The chemo was not working, so it was looking like the time had come for the last ditch approach - radiation. We went to the vet and they did a scan to see what they could do. The problem with radiation is, of course, the damage to surrounding tissue. Things are more precise these days, but the larger the tumor, the greater the potential for damage. So, it was looking bleak and I was getting prepared for the worst. The vet suggested a surgery to debulk the tumor would increase the chances at efficient tumor kill from radiation and also reduce the exposure of healthy tissue to side effect. After consultation, the surgeon told me that they could do a minimally invasive procedure to remove some of the tumor, although there appeared to be parts of the tumor that were not treatable with surgery. We went forward. In an amazing turn of events, the surgeon reported that when she got into the chest cavity, the tumor was only attached to the pericardium by a tiny, 1 cm stalk. As a result, we was able to simply cut it off at the base and remove 95% of the mass. This isn't a cure, by any stretch, but it does greatly improve the odds for successful radiation treatment. Keep your fingers crossed that we can drive that final bit into remission. Thankfully, MagDog is otherwise totally healthy with perfectly normal heart and lung function.</div><div><br /></div><div>6) Summer - I'm planning to decamp to the beach for the summer starting just before Memorial Day. </div><div><br /></div><div>7) Netflix recommendations:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>a) Summer Heights High - Dark humor like the UK version of The Office. Helps to have a woman who lived in Australia for 10 years at your side when watching for some translation<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>b) The Staircase - Documentary on a North Carolina murder trial. It will shake you.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>c) Murder on a Sunday Morning - Documentary on a Florida murder trial. Also riveting.</div><div><br /></div><div>8) My Bizarre Obsession with Ghost Hunters - On the fateful weekend when Scottish Lass broke her ankle, she and I were sitting in the hotel room and we stumbled upon a very creepy show about a group of "paranormal" investigators at an abandoned mining camp in the West. We thought this was "Ghost Hunters" and it scared the bejesus out of us, so we put some Ghost Hunters DVDs in our Netflix queue. It turns out that the show we saw was something different (it was actually "Ghost Adventures") because it was nothing like the Sci-Fi Network show, but that didn't stop me from developing a slightly deranged love of Ghost Hunters. Now, I should be clear that (a) I think the show is just entertainment although (b) I did have an apartment in New York years back that seemed to have a ghost. What I love about the show, however, is the incredible earnestness with which the TAPS team says things like, "One of the theories is that an entity, when it wants to manifest, has to draw energy from the surrounding atmosphere." Ah yes. I believe that theory came out of the pioneering work of Max Planck? Or was it Rutherford at Cambridge? So much science.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's the appeal of the show. The team, to their credit, does tend to find perfectly natural explanations for all manner of phenomena. But their skepticism founders when they start talking about "science." They use some of the equipment and terminology of science, but they have no idea what most of it means or what it is used for. It reminds me of the opening allegory in "After Virtue," by Alisdair MacIntyre, where he posits a post-science world where men are trying to re-create science without fully understanding the original meaning and intent of the terms. And yet, I cannot stop watching the show. Scottish Lass is getting concerned because I spend so much time laughing at the "reasoning" in Ghost Hunters, but the show is both so good-natured and hilariously earnest that I have come to feel real affection for the guys on the team. (Not Brian, though, he's just a jerk.)</div><div><br /></div><div>So, that's the update.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4