New Music

Those who say new music is dead....I say

"THE BLACK KEYS"

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6533258

Courtside

I had the chance to sit courtside at the Bobcats/Rockets game last Friday. Say what you want about the NBA. I'll sit courtside ANYTIME. Yao Ming was 2 feet away. What a giant. Smooth shot also.

It is a totally different experience on the court vs. the stands. You feel like a part of the game. We lost by 30 but I didn't care. It didn't matter. It was awesome

I am back at it

For what it is worth...I am going to contribute again

David Wilhelm

This is of David Wilhelm in Mexico on a mission trip to help build a seminary in the Yucatan.

10 by Breakfast

This is great.

Another post about my cat

I was laying in bed on Saturday morning. It was probably around 7:15. I was awake but in one of those states where it was more comfortable laying there looking out the window rather than getting up or going back to sleep. I knew I was about to get up but found comfort in looking out the window near the bed.

Our back yard has an abundance of wildlife. Mice, moles, rabbits, birds of all kinds, deer, owls, opossums, raccoons and hawks have all presented themselves on our property at one time or another. So it is not unusual for us to find dead animals around the yard. Our cat is a very adept hunter. He is an orange tabby. He has his claws and is probably around 15 - 20 pounds. His physique would be akin to a finely sculpted linebacker ready to pummel another player. Hardly any fat, and burley. I pity the fool mouse who reckons with this cat.

While looking out the window, I saw our cat race from out of my line of sight toward a tree. He was a blur. He jumped 3 feet up the tree and quickly scurried up the tree using his front paws to grip, and his back claws to push. He climbed 15 feet in the air and turned midway up the tree to the other side of the tree. He wasn't visible anymore. I soon saw him climb down a little bit and jump to the ground with a large brown thing in his mouth. It was the most amazing display of skills I have ever seen from a domesticated cat. He was so fast I doubt the prey had any clue what was happening.

Later I found the dead brown thrasher on the patio.

Inside the Decline of Urgh

Three great rock documentation are the Decline of Western Civilization, Urgh, a Music War, and Athens, GA Inside/Out. Several years ago it was impossible to get copies of these movies but now you can get them on the net. If you are fan of punk or "alternative" music these movies will give you some insight into a time when the music was truly revolutionary.

The Decline of Western Civilization documents the LA punk rock scene in the late 70's/early 8o's. If you read anything about this film, invariably the writer references Darby Crash. The volatile lead singer of the Germs. In short, the Germs sucked. Big time. The only allure of Darby was to see whether or not the guy would vomit on stage or something. Imagine Sid Viscous but American, uglier and a lead singer. You get the picture. Not surprisingly Darby died of a heroin overdose at an early age.Probably the coolest part is seeing X and Fear live. Lee Ving the lead singer from Fear has been in a few movies. Pat Smear, now in the Foo Fighters, was also in Fear. I could never tell if he meant for his name to sound like Pap Smear.

Urgh, A Music War is equally good, but has more concert footage and a wider array of bands. The Police, Wall of Voodoo, Devo, Oingo Boingo, XTC, Pere Ubu, the Dead Kennedys, the Fleshtones, and X all were featured. The Police were originally a semi-punk ska type band. Wall of Voodoo was known for "Mexican Radio" and Devo for "Whip It". Oingo Boingo never did much but did craft the theme song to the movie Weird Science. XTC has been successful over 20 years. Probably their best album is Skylarking. They also had a side project called The Dukes of Stratosphear that was pretty good in the 80's. Pere Ubu always has sucked but Rolling Stone and Spin writers and critics think they are good. It doesn't sound like Yoko Ono but sucks just the same. The Dead Kennedys were cut from a pure obnoxious punk cloth. Holiday in Cambodia and California Uber Alles are essential American punk recordings. The Fleshtones have survived as a bar band but at one time had a series of albums. Peter Zaremba the lead singer actually was the host of 120 minutes on MTV for a period of time. The Fleshtones' Album: Speed Connection II, Live from Paris, is one of the greatest live albums ever made. X had a couple of good albums before John Doe decided to have a fairly successful acting career.

Athens,Ga Inside/Out was a movie with a totally different pedigree. It was filmed during an very active time in the "alternative" music scene. It was after the beginnings of REM and the B-52's and before the success of Widespread Panic. During this time in the mid-80's Athens had an incredibly vibrant music scene. The documentary set out to showcase a few of the key artists. These included: The B-52's, Pylon, Bar-B-Que Killers, Time Toy, Flat Duo Jets, Dreams So Real, Love Tractor, Kilkenny Cats, and the Squalls. Except for Dream So Real, who sucked bigtime, and the B-52's, I have seen all of these bands live at one time or another. The Flat Duo Jets flat out rocked. Love Tractor was ok at first and then just seemed too....wimpy. Tom Cheek and the Kilkenny Cats rocked as well. Unfortunately, it is close to impossible to find their music anywhere.

Odd

This is odd:

"A group of psychics led by colourful 'SilverJade', based in Johannesburg South Africa, have predicted that a series of earthquakes and other natural disasters will strike the western coast of the United States on or around the 23rd of February 2005. The prediction is based on the interpretation of a series of dreams by SilverJade, and the technical analysis of earthquake patterns occuring worldwide throughout the month of January 2005. As of 11th of February 2005, they have successfully predicted a significant event, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake in south eastern Alaska, as being a first step in a series of smaller events leading up to the big bang. The next step of the prediction is set to occur at some time on or around the 13th and 15th of the month."