Can't Stand Ya

College Football Week 12

2006-11-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, rough week last week. I was 6-6, my worst week of the season. 105-22 total so far.

Week 12 picks.

#1 Ohio State vs. #2 Michigan - winner: Ohio State.
Game of the season! Doesn't get any better than this. Although if I hear another "please don't riot" commercial on the radio, I may burn a trash dumpster.
#3 Florida vs. Western Carolina - winner: Florida
#4 USC vs. #17 California - winner: USC
#5 Arkansas vs. Mississippi State - winner: Arkansas
#6 Notre Dame vs. Army - winner: Notre Dame (ending the trilogy of patriotism)
#7 Rutgers vs. Cincinnati - winner: Rutgers
#8 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh - winner: West Virginia
#9 LSU vs. Mississippi - winner: LSU
#10 Louisville vs. South Florida - winner: Louisville

Bonus:
#19 Virginia Tech vs. #14 Wake Forest - winner: Virginia Tech
#15 Auburn vs. Alabama - winner: Auburn
#21 Maryland vs. #20 Boston College - winner: Maryland

College Football Week 11

2006-11-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

10-2 last week brings my season total to 99-20. Solid B average.

There are alot of 1 loss teams that need some movement this soon to make it to the title game!

Week 11 picks:

#1 Ohio State vs. Northwestern - winner: Ohio State
#2 Michigan vs. Indiana - winner: Michigan
#3 Louisville vs. #15 Rutgers - winner: Rutgers with the upset
#4 Texas vs. Kansas State - winner: Texas
#5 Auburn vs. Georgia - winner: Auburn (they need some help from Tenn)
#6 Florida vs. South Carolina - winner: Florida (OBC returns to Gainesville)
#7 USC vs. #21 Oregon - winner: Oregon
#8 California vs. Arizona - winner: California (that Tenn loss is killing them now)
#9 Notre Dame vs. Air Force - winner: Notre Dame
#10 West Virginia vs. Cincinnati - winner: West Virginia

Bonus:
#11 Arkansas vs. #13 Tennessee - winner: Tennessee
#18 Wake Forest vs. Florida State - winner: Florida State

Documentaries I Recommend

2006-11-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of documentary movies, and recently I have watched a few well made, great documentaries I highly recommend.

First off, you will never see a Michael Moore movie in my list. I like Documentaries, not "Mockumentaries," like Moore makes. Documentaries tell a story with facts. Michael Moore splice facts to present the outcome he wants. At the same time, you won't see anything like the ABC 9-11 special that was run a few months back, that they called a "DocuDrama." Real facts with fictional story lines added, so you can't tell what is true and what isn't.

Get Netflix people and add these documentaries to your queue.

Overnight - I first saw this film at the Denver Film Festival 3 years ago, where they showed the movie and then the director, Mark Brian Smith, answered questions from the audience. I just finished watching it a second time. What a great film. This film is about a guy who gets a deal from Miramax to produce a movie for his screenplay. At the same time he signs a record deal for his band. He hires a documentary film company to document his rise to fame. Instead they capture his alienation of everyone around him and his fall back to earth. Very well made. Watch Trailer

Murderball - This movie is about the U.S. Quadriplegic Rugby team and their competition in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. These guys will make you feel like the laziest lump of crap out there, when you see what they go through to compete. Watch Trailer

Paper Clips - This movie is about middle school students studying the holocaust. They want to understand more about 6 million jews being killed. To better understand the number, they start out to collect 6 million paperclips. The things they discover throughout their study is amazing. Great, uplifting story. Watch Trailer

Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster - I have seen this movie 3-4 times and I love it! It should be required viewing for any band or artist manager, in my opinion. Documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky had unprecedented access to Metallica while the rockers recorded their 2003 album, "St. Anger." And the filmmakers were in the right place at the right (or perhaps wrong) time when lead singer James Hetfield spent five months in rehab. They also recorded the fallout when bassist Jason Newstad was replaced with Robert Trujillo and were on hand during the group's no-holds-barred therapy sessions. Watch Trailer

Two documentaries I have yet to see, but will be watching shortly (and their Netflix descriptions):

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills - Produced by the same two producers as Metallica's "Some Kind Of Monster." Shedding light on the legal system -- and on the media machine that often demonizes the accused -- this gripping documentary follows the notorious West Memphis Three, a trio of boys arrested for the murders of three children found in a creek bed. Appearing on many critics' year-end Top 10 lists for 1996, this film from directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky also won the National Board of Review's prestigious prize for Best Documentary. Watch Trailer

Brother's Keeper - Produced by the same two producers as Metallica's "Some Kind Of Monster." This acclaimed documentary explores the odd world of the four elderly Ward brothers -- illiterate farmers who have lived their entire lives in a dilapidated two-room shack. When William Ward dies in the bed he shared with his brother Delbert, the police become suspicious. Citing motives ranging from sex crime to euthanasia, they arrest Delbert for murder, penetrating the isolated world that left "the boys" forgotten eccentrics for many years.Watch Trailer

Election In The Tank For The Democrats?

2006-11-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

Last night I turned on CNN and they were running (and have been running and re-running) a program called "Broken Government." Last night the segment was called "How The Right Went Wrong." Could you imagine the uproar if FoxNews ran a segment, 1 week before the election called "How the Left Would Make It Worse" or something like that? The uproar from Dems would be crazy. They like to say FoxNews is far-right wing, but anyone that watches it alot knows that isn't necessarily the case (although overall it probably leans right). O'Reilly frequently has on liberal guests like Rep. Charles Rangel. Hannity is right wing, but Alan Colmes is liberal. And their nightly roundtable "Special Report with Brit Hume" has Hume (who probably leans right), wraps up each program with a lively roundtable discussion featuring Mara Liasson of National Public Radio, Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard and Mort Kondracke of Roll Call, all of whom have divergent viewpoints. And FoxNews Sunday talking head Chris Wallace is a self-described liberal.

Also, the other night I turned on MSNBC to see Keith Olberman's show which can basically be called "What we are blaming on Bush tonight." He has outdone himself recently trying to blame everything on Bush. I think he thinks of himself as the anti-Bill O'Reilly. He basically gives long winded speeches using big words to try and impress himself.

The GOP has gotten themselves into their own mess, but it seems like the media, which is liberal in bias, seems to be piling on and pulling for the Democrats.

I am glad I'm not the only one who seems to ponder that question. Investors Business Daily has some stats that seem to confirm that the media is in the bag for the Dems.

The Center For Media & Public Affairs (a non-partisan group), analyzed media stories on the election on ABC, CBS, and NBC since Labor Day. Of the 167 news stories about the election (compared to 35 in 2002), 77% of the stories on Democrats were positive, and 88% of the stories on the GOP were negative.

When looking at the Kerry flap, which I discussed below, none of the following newspapers - The New York Times, The Washington Post, the USA Today, or The Wall Street Journal - ran the story on the front page. The NY Times framed the story as Bush attacking Kerry, and didn't even print Kerry's quote until the 15th paragraph of the story, which ran on page A-18.

Interesting.

This Is How Bad Elections Have Become

2006-11-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

I pay attention to elections and issues, and nowhere did I see on the Ohio ballot where if I supported issue 3, I would kill 109,000 people!!!

This is how bad elections have become. Everything is half truths and has to shock or scare the crap out of you. How do you evaluate a casino gambling initiative and say that if it passes, 109,000 will lose their lives? It is all based on assumptions that 109,000 will be addicted to gambling and ruin their lives. Won't those people gamble whether there are Ohio casinos or not?

And on the other side, the initiative is called "Learn & Earn". Supposedly the money made off casino gambling will be used to help fund higher education.

From the Learn & Earn website:
The money to fund Learn and Earn tuition grants will come from restricted gaming in the form of slot machines at Ohio's seven racetracks and at two downtown locations in Cleveland. Conservative estimates foresee nearly $1 billion a year from the proceeds of the slot machines going to the Learn and Earn program.

Every Ohio student, in every Ohio school (public and private) will be provided a personal scholarship account beginning in kindergarten. Students earn the tuition grants by accumulating points awarded for the successful completion of core curriculum established by the Ohio Board of Regents.

What it doesn't tell you is that the people behind Learn & Earn, the racetracks and gambling interests, will make zillions of dollars, and they will take 12 years to get the program running. There is also speculation that they will not finance the $1 billion per year that they are promising.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. I have no idea whether this will pass or not. I am always apprehensive at amending the Constituion.

Kerry's Gift To The Republicans

2006-11-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

By all accounts, the Republicans are going to get drubbed next week in the election. Fine with me, I think they deserve it. When you get to the point that you are more interested in your own power than in getting anything done, then you deserve to lose. The ironic part is that the Democrats are no better. They have spent the past 2 years dragging their feet, trying to disrupt congress as much as possible, so that they COULD get power. Maybe if they had dragged their feet more back when they all voted for the Iraq War, we would be in less of a mess.

Anywho, so the GOP is going to get stomped next week, presumably. But at the last minute, who comes in and shakes things up? Who comes in and put's his foot in his mouth? The highly coiffed, snotty Senator from Massachussetts thats who!

Good old Senator Kerry, came out Tuesday and said this to some college students:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

On it's face, this comment is a total insult to American troops. Basically saying only dumb people are in the military.

Kerry says it was a botched joke, that he meant to say:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get US stuck in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

His joke, if that were the case, implies that Bush is stupid and uneducated. A quick Google search on "Kerry Bush grades" shows that at Yale, Kerry graduated with a 76% average, Bush with a 77% average.

So now Democrats are privately pissed at Kerry, and publicly mad that the GOP is exploiting the comment. Why shouldn't the GOP exploit it? If you are trying to get an edge on your opponent, you will exploit their weaknesses. Next week we will find out if it worked or not. The Democrats could be accused of doing the same thing. Senator George Allen called one of his opponents' staff members a 'macaca' which evidently is a racist slur in some communities. He apologized and said he didn't know that, but it didn't stop the Dems from trying to exploit it.

This wouldn't even be a big story if it wasn't John Kerry. First off he could have apologized 2 days ago and made it a non-story, but he refused to, which made it an even bigger story.

Plus, Kerry has a history of making disparaging statements against the military:

About 1 year ago on Iraq, he said to Bob Schieffer on 'Face The Nation':
"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs."

And to a Senate Committee after Vietnam:
"Several months ago in Detroit we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia , not isolated incidents, but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. They re-lived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do. They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals , cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Kahn, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side... We are ashamed of and hated what we were called on to do in Southeast Asia."

He later would say he was taking other peoples' word for what they said they saw, not accusing anyone.

Kerry should be commended for being a soldier in Vietnam but he should quit trying to use his service to give him a free pass to say whatever he wants.

He has a history of accusations against military personnel, and if he didn't, this story would have died down the same day.

College Football Week 10

2006-11-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

89-18 so far. 83% correct for the season. I will try to up that % over the next 3-4 weeks!

#1 Ohio State vs. Illinois - winner: Ohio State
#2 Michigan vs. Ball State - winner: Michigan
#3 West Virginia vs. #5 Louisville - winner: Louisville
#4 Texas vs. Oklahoma State - winner: Texas
#6 Auburn vs. Arkansas State - winner: Auburn
#7 Florida vs. Vanderbilt - winner: Florida
#8 Tennessee vs. #13 LSU - winner: Tennessee
#9 USC vs. Stanford - winner: USC (nice rebound game)
#10 California vs. UCLA - winner: California

Bonus:
#23 Virginia Tech vs. Miami - winner: Virginia Tech
#12 Arkansas vs. South Carolina - winner: Arkansas
#18 Oklahoma vs. #21 Texas A&M - winner: Texas A&M

College Football Week 9

2006-10-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

80-15 to this point.

Week 9 pickeroos

#1 Ohio State v. Minnesota - winner: Ohio State
#2 Michigan v. Northwestern - winner: Michigan
#3 USC v. Oregon State - winner: USC (2 more easy games for the Trojans)
#4 West Virginia - BYE WEEK
#5 Texas v. Texas Tech - winner: Texas
#6 Louisville - BYE WEEK
#7 Auburn v. Mississippi - winner: Auburn
#8 Tennessee v. South Carolina - winner: Tennessee
#9 Florida v. Georgia - winner: Florida - cocktail party! Get wasted!
#10 Clemson v. Virginia Tech - winner: Virginia Tech - UPSET THURSDAY!

Bonus:
#11 Notre Dame v. Navy - winner: Navy - with the upset!
Penn State v. Purdue - winner: Purdue
Miami v. Georgia Tech - winner: Georgia Tech
Florida State v. Maryland - winner: Maryland

College Football Week 8

2006-10-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

I was 10-2 last weekend. Virginia Tech has officially started heading into the tank. Once they lose a game or 2 it is all over. Overall, I am 70-13. Here it goes for Week 8!

#1 Ohio State v. Indiana - winner: Ohio State
#2 Michigan v. Iowa - winner: Michigan
#3 USC - BYE WEEK. (Their 2nd bye week of the season = LAME)
#4 West Virginia v. Connecticut - winner: West Virginia
#5 Texas v. #17 Nebraska - winner: Nebraska
#6 Louisville v. Syracuse - winner: Louisville
#7 Tennessee v. Alabama - winner: Tennessee
#8 Auburn v. Tulane - winner: Auburn
#9 Florida - BYE WEEK.
#10 Notre Dame v. UCLA - winner: Notre Dame (UCLA QB injured or would be closer)

BONUS:
#16 Oregon v. Washington State - winner: Washington State with the upset.
#11 Cal v. Washington - winner: Cal
Virginia Tech v. Southern Miss - winner: Virginia Tech
#13 George Tech v. #12 Clemson - winner: Georgia Tech with the upset.

College Football Week 7

2006-10-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I didn't fare too well. I think it could have been my worst week yet. 9-3. But overall, still 60-11. Not horrible. Time to make it up this week!

#1 Ohio State v. Michigan State - winner: Ohio State
#2 Florida v. #11 Auburn - winner: Auburn
#3 USC v. Arizona State - winner: USC
#4 Michigan v. Penn State - winner: Michigan
#5 West Virginia v. Syracuse - winner: West Virginia
#6 Texas v. Baylor - winner: Texas
#7 Louisville v. Cincinnati - winner: Louisville
#8 Tennessee - Bye Week
#9 Notre Dame - Bye Week (#9 what a joke)
#10 California v. Washington State - winner: Cal

Bonus:
Oregon State v. Washington - winner: Washington
#22 Virginia Tech v. Boston College - winner: VA Tech
#25 Wisconsin v. Minnesota - winner: Wisconsin
Colorado State v. Air Force - winner: Air Force

Blast From The Past

2006-10-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

You know how occasionally something comes up when you least expect it to remind you of something from your past? Something that makes you remember some good memories of your past? That happened to be yesterday, extremely randomly.

I have a few different websites I check occasionally for free music downloads. Mostly music blogs, where people put a few songs from a new artist up and you can download them and check them out.

I went to one such site yesterday, and was perusing music when I came across a post on the site about Guns N' Roses. Usually one of these posts talks about how Guns N' Roses now consists of one original member, Axl Rose, who has been working on the Guns N' Roses CD "Chinese Democracy" for 10+ years. What the other members are up to now (Slash and Duff - Velvet Revolver), etc. Not this post, this post talked about how good old GNR was and had some live shows to download.

Totally random - It had a show to download that I attended!

Back in 1988, Guns N' Roses was just starting get huge. "Appetite For Destruction" came out in 1987 with the single 'Welcome To The Jungle' and the band was getting lots of airplay. I was 17, and Aerosmith announced they were coming to Ohio, and Guns N' Roses was opening. This was when "Dude Looks Like A Lady" was Aerosmith's single and they too were getting tons of airplay. I went to the show - my first show at Buckeye Lake - it was packed with people, and it was a great show.

Hearing the tape of the show brought back so many memories. Guns N' Roses was late and when Axl came out onstage, he said "Sorry for being late, I am not used to being up in the daytime" (with a few more expletives). Hearing that on tape reminded me of him saying that, and I could picture the stage, where I stood for the show, everything. It was a great show, GNR was great, and Aerosmith was great as well.

Ah memories! Good times!

Notice the ticket price back then.

Guns N' Roses
08-28-1988
Buckeye Lake Music Center
Hebron, OH

Set: You're Crazy, It's So Easy, Mr. Brownstone, Rocket Queen, My Michelle, Patience, Guitar Solo, Nightrain, Sweet Child O' Mine, Welcome To The Jungle

*opening for Aerosmith

NFL v. College Picks & The Spread

2006-10-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am 52-8 in my college picks (without taking the spread into account).

By way of comparison, in NFL games so far, guessing against the spread.....

I am 28-31-1.

Those geniuses who pick the spreads, know what they are doing.....

College Football Week 6

2006-10-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here come Week 6 picks. I am 52-8 so far. Short and sweet, I am on a roll! It was hard to find enough bonus games to get to 12 picks. Seems to be alot of lopsided games this weekend.

#1 Ohio State v. Bowling Green - winner: Ohio State
#2 Auburn v. Arkansas - winner: Auburn
#3 USC v. Washington - winner: USC
#4 West Virginia v. Mississippi State - winner: West Virginia
#5 Florida v. #9 LSU - winner: Florida (this was a hard pick, LSU could upset)
#6 Michigan v. Michigan State - winner: Michigan (thanks for coming John L.)
#7 Texas v. #14 Oklahoma - winner: Texas (Texas wins the shootout)
#8 Louisville v. Middle Tennessee State - winner: Louisville
#10 Georgia v. #13 Tennessee - winner: Tennessee

Bonus:
#11 Oregon v. #16 California - winner: California
#17 Florida State v. NC State - winner: Florida State
Indiana v. Illinois - winner: Illinois makes IU the bottom dweller of the Big 10.

College Football Week 5

2006-09-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

I was hot again last week! 11-1. Would have been 12-0 if Michigan State didn't go from a top 10 football team to a high school football team in the biggest 2nd half blunder I have ever watched live. So far 41-7 for the year.

Here are week 5 picks

#1 Ohio State v. Iowa - winner: Ohio State (this game makes me a little nervous for OSU but I am confident in a win.)
#2 Auburn v. South Carolina - winner: Auburn (Don't write off the OBC though)
#3 USC v. Washington State - winner: USC
#4 West Virginia - BYE WEEK
#5 Florida v. Alabama - winner: Florida
#6 Michigan v. Minnesota - winner: Michigan
#7 Texas v. Sam Houston State - winner: Texas (way to schedule tough opponents.)
#8 Louisville - BYE WEEK
#9 LSU v. Mississippi State - winner: LSU
#10 Georgia v. Mississippi - winner: Georgia

Bonus:
#11 Virginia Tech v. #24 Georgia Tech - winner: Virginia Tech
#12 Notre Dame v. Purdue - winner: Notre Dame (even this game isn't a given for ND)
#14 Oregon v. Arizona State - winner: Oregon (refs won't cheat this time)
Miami (OH) v. Cincinnati - winner: Cincinnati

Tom Waits, 08-13-06, Akron, OH

2006-09-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

As a music lover, and someone who used to work in the music industry, I have been to more than my share of concerts. Usually I always know what to expect when I attend a concert, for the most part – what songs will be played, will there be a crazy stage show, that sort of thing. There are very few times where I have been to a concert and had no idea what to expect. One time was my very first concert was Neil Young & Crazy Horse back in 1985, I was invited to go with a friend and his father, I had no idea who Neil Young was back then, and had no idea what to expect. Since then I have seen almost everyone under the sun and usually knew what to expect when seeing them live. About the only concerts I can think of where I had no idea what to expect going into the show are probably, the first time I saw Jane’s Addiction, The Roots, The Flaming Lips, and the Mars Volta. After last month, I can now add Tom Waits to that list.

I first heard Tom Waits back in 2000 when a friend recommended, and let me borrow, his new Tom Waits CD, “Mule Variations.” It was different than anything else I had heard. It was somewhat psychedelic at times, really jazzy and mellow at times, and all sung by the unique and gravelly voice of Tom. I could see how Tom’s voice wouldn’t be for everyone. When I say it is gravelly, it sounds like he has smoked four packs of cigarettes a day and washed it down with gallons of bourbon, for about 20 years. I have since then listened to a lot of Tom’s older CDs and a live show from 1974, and his voice didn’t used to be as gravelly sounding. Regardless, I like his voice and enjoy his CDs. He is one of the greatest songwriters ever in my opinion; he writes amazing lyrics along the lines of Bob Dylan, who was one of Tom’s idols.

Back in July, I heard that Tom would be going on tour for a quick 8 show tour for a box set he has coming out later this year called “Orphans - Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.,” and the final stop on the tour would be Akron, Ohio. Tom showed his humor in an interview when he was asked how he picked the tour dates, and he responded something like “We need to go to Tennessee to pick up some fireworks, and someone owes me money in Kentucky.” At the Nashville show he said it had been 30 years since he had played the city and stated “you don’t want to over saturate a market.”

A quick check of a few fan blogs found people were freaking out. Tom has die hard fans and they were freaking out because Tom very rarely tours. A quick check of his past tour history shows that he has never played Akron, and hasn’t even played Cleveland since 1987. Akron is about 35 miles south of Cleveland, and about 2 hours from my house, so at first I was hesitant about going, but I decided to try and get tickets and head to the show. It was on a Sunday, so I could drive up during the day, not all hurried after work.

Tickets were $75 and I was able to get tickets in the front row of the balcony, so I was excited. I was even more excited when I found out the show sold out in less than 5 minutes. A quick word about the tickets:

Tickets were willcall only, with a limit of 2 tickets per person, the name on the tickets was not transferable, and when you picked up your tickets you had to walk immediately into the venue, and there was no re-entry or in & out privileges. The steps were put in place by Tom’s management to prevent scalping, and were fairly effective from what I could tell, and read in newspapers reviews of other shows. My only complaint is that the day before the concert I got an email from Ticketmaster telling me I should get to the show early that the show started at 8:00PM and willcall opened at 6:00PM, and I should get there early to prevent long lines and missing part of the show. If you are going to put policies in place to prevent scalping, then you have some responsibility to figure out a system that won’t inconvenience fans trying to get into the show. It is unrealistic to expect patrons who paid $75 per ticket plus fees, to get to a venue with no re-entry 2 hours before the show. What are they supposed to do? Sit in their seats and twiddle their thumbs and drink overpriced beers?

The Akron Civic Theater was gorgeous and extremely ornate with moving stars and clouds projected on the ceiling of the theater. When I got to my seat at around 7:45, the theater was almost completely full and I quickly found out how psycho Tom Waits fans were. The guy next to me had driven 11 hours one way from New Hampshire for the show, and the Cleveland show to follow (a late night show after the Akron show at the Cleveland House of Blues was announced 2 days before the Akron show.) At this point I had listened to my two Tom Waits CDs, “Real Gone” and “Mule Variations” a bunch of times for a few weeks, but I still had no idea what to expect from the show. The stage was relatively sparse, with a percussion setup, a drum setup, a vibraphone/keys setup, and a large pile of old PA horns/amplifiers/gramophones of some sort that were in front of the percussion stand, to either amplify the sound, or just for decoration.

At around 8:15PM someone walked down the aisle on the main floor beneath my seats, dressed very nicely with a head of silver hair. The way people were talking and staring and shaking his hand I figured he must have been a celebrity. I later found out he was film maker Jim Jarmusch, an Akron native and friend of Tom.

At 8:30PM the lights went out and a huge spotlight shined from behind the stage on the white backdrop that hung behind the stage. One by one, huge shadows appeared on the backdrop and got smaller and smaller as the band members walked out of a slit in the curtain, and walked onto the stage and took their place. The band members were Larry Taylor on upright bass, Casey Waits on drums, Bent Clausen on Vibraphones, percussion, and keyboards, and Duke Robillard on guitar. After the band members were in place and started playing, a final shadow showed up on the backdrop of a person in a derby hat with his arms extended straight out from his sides. [You can see a good video with horrible sound here.] The man paused and then out onto the stage walked Tom Waits to a roaring applause and standing ovation. He took place in the front of the stage and immediately started singing his song “Make It Rain.” There was little talking as the band went into “Hoist That Rag.” It would be 4 songs before Tom would stop to speak. He told extremely funny stories. He told a story about visiting the Goodyear museum in Akron. “I went to the Goodyear museum. Why? Because every time something important in my life happens, a blimp passes by overhead...The first time I robbed a gas station..." He told many other stories, including a story about going to a diner where the waitresses were supposed to be mean to you. I think he was referring to Ed Dibevic's in Chicago. He went there once and was treated like crap but food was good, so he went back again.

Along with his stories, Tom did a great job is disarming fans that would feel the need to scream out at him, things like, “I love you Tom!” to which he responded “I love you too but let’s discuss it when we are alone. All these people here make it weird.” Someone else yelled out something and he said "hey you're the guy that owes me money. You might want to keep quiet."

Among the highlights for me at the show were the song “God’s Away On Business” and the trio of songs Tom played solo on a grand piano with just upright bass accompaniment.

Two hours and two encores later, I walked out of the venue in awe of what I had just seen. I saw an absolutely amazing show that I feel extremely lucky to have attended. A show by a unique singer songwriter with no radio hits who follows his own vision, lives his own life, and tours when he wants. If Tom tours anywhere near you, I highly recommend going, even if you have never heard him. I doubt you will be disappointed. If you want some CD recommendations, let me know.

Here is a free MP3 offered up by his record label.

Tom Waits
Civic Theatre
Akron, OH
August 13, 2006

Make It Rain
Hoist That Rag
Shore Leave
Dead And Lovely
God’s Away On Business
Falling Down
Tango Til They’re Sore (piano)
Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis (piano)
Tom Traubert’s Blues (piano)
Til the Money Runs Out/Howlin’ Wolf song
Eyeball Kid
Trampled Rose
Til the Money Runs Out
Murder in the Red Barn
What's He Building
Lost At The Bottom Of The World
Shake It

Encore:
Day After Tomorrow
Lie To Me Baby
Get Behind The Mule

Encore 2:
Clap Hands
Sins Of The Father / Wade in the Water

The Worthless United Nations

2006-09-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Can someone quickly email me and name one good thing the U.N. has done in the past 10 years? Just one thing. Please. Maybe that will stop my total disgust at that worthless organization.

This is the organization that has seen the horror of Darfur, and done almost nothing. This is the organization has done nothing to help stabilize the Middle East except criticize the Israelis while giving terrorists in Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran a free pass. In Lebanon, Hezbollah was getting missiles from Iran and Syria and the U.N. did not condemn them at all, but condemned the aggression of Israel. Forget the fact that Hezbollah started the conflict by kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

The United Nations is anti-Israel and anti-US, and they are pro-tyrant. They allow countries with abysmal human rights records sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

The UN Oil For Food scandal where Saddam was allowed to sell oil to receive food and medical supplies for his people. Instead he sold more oil than he was allowed, got kickbacks from people all the way up to U.N. leader Kofi Annan's brother. One leader allegedly took $150,000 in bribes and much of the food Iraq received for it's people was horrible. Saddam took most of the $$ and built himself palaces.

The U.N. Security Council has done nothing about Iran trying to acquire nuclear weapons but issue a worthless statement threatening to do something. Of course Saddam Hussein had 12 years and about just as many U.N. Resolutions asking him to allow in weapons inspectors, and he kept saying no, and the U.N. did nothing.

For a while the U.N Security Council had the Germans, British, Americans, and French united to stop Iran, but yesterday the worthless leader of France, Jacques Chirac changed his mind and said he wants more discussion. Amazing how he managed to change his mind in front of a bank of media.

Yesterday, Bush spoke to the U.N. body about the need to stop Iran's nuclear desires. Later in the day Iran's tyrant Ahminedijad spoke to the U.N. and just lied his ass off about how the US wants to take over the world and that Iran does not want nuclear weapons for bad reasons. Does anyone believe him? This is the guy that said the holocaust never happened, and he wants the elimination of Israel.

Today, Venezuela's nutjob tyrant Hugo Chavez spoke to the U.N. and called Bush a "devil."

This is what the U.N. has been reduced to: A worthless organization that gives tyrants the same footing as the United States and Britain. A worthless organization that can sit in NY and have debates and discussions and never has the balls to do anything.

It is time for the United State to quit paying so much to the U.N. or demand changes at the clearly anti-American organization. If some of the countries want more say, let them pony up more of the U.N. budget. The U.S. currently pays about 25% of the total U.N. budget.

College Football Week 4

2006-09-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

I was hot last week! Hot I tell ya. 11-2. So far 30-6 for the year.

This is snoozer Saturday. Probably not a lot of upsets....college football is much easier to pick than NFL. Although props to Blue for winning his NFL pool this past week (but losing fantasy football game).

#1 Ohio State v. #24 Penn State - winner: Ohio State
#2 Auburn v. Buffalo - winner: Auburn
#3 USC v. Arizona - winner: USC
#4 West Virginia v. East Carolina - winner: West Virginia
#5 Florida v. Kentucky - winner: Florida
#6 Michigan v. Wisconsin - winner: Michigan
#7 Texas v. Iowa State - winner: Texas
#8 Louisville v. Kansas State - winner: Louisville
#9 Georgia v. Colorado - winner: Georgia
#10 LSU v. Tulane - winner: LSU

Bonus:
#11 Virginia Tech v. Cincinnati - winner: Virginia Tech
#12 Notre Dame v. Michigan State - winner: Michigan State

My Heisman Top 5 At This Point

2006-09-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

At this point in the season, if I had to pick 5 players I think are in the running for the Heisman, I would select, in no particular order:

Troy Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes
Ted Ginn, Ohio State Buckeyes
Steve Slaton, West Virginia Mountaineers
Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma Sooners
Chris Leak, Florida Gators

I think Troy Smith is the front runner, and if Dwayne Jarrett keeps playing like he did against Nebraska, he could sneak in the Top 5.

Leak still has a lot to prove but he is looking good. He might not last long in the top 5 though.....

Ohio State v Cincinnati, 09-16-06, Ohio Stadium

2006-09-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

After a slow start, Ohio State picked up their game and put 34 unanswered points up against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, to win 37-7. Ohio State scored a booming 52 yard field goal with less than 2 minutes to go to give Ohio State a 30 point lead, and to drive many gamblers to drink, as the spread was 29.5 - 30 points. It was an enjoyable game, and we had beautiful weather (80 degress and sunny).

The coach of the UC Bearcats, Mark Dantonio used to be Tressel's Defensive Coordinator so everyone knew OSU wouldn't try to purposely run up the score. Ohio State played at least 52 players (most likely alot more than 52 but I can't find stats), rotating in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string offense and defense before it was all said and done. Both the 2nd and 4th string QBs lead a scoring drive. (SIDE NOTE: If anything should excite an OSU fan, it is our DEPTH. We have a lot of talent. In the Texas game, OSU drove down the field and scored a touchdown in the first half with the entire 2nd string Offensive line in the game. 80 different players played in the Texas game.)

As much fun as I had, I had the WORST type of fans sitting directly behind me. Every screams and yells at a game, but if you go to a game, don't be THAT guy that yells instructions to the coach. We were a good 60 yards away from the OSU coaches. I could have shot a gun off and they wouldn't have heard it. The guy behind me kept yelling for them to "air it out". "Quit being conservative coach." So annoying. And this is no lie, by the 3rd play of the game, the 3RD PLAY, when UC got a first down, they were screaming at the defense to wake up. After OSU's first series, they were screaming for them to "go long." For these idiots, every UC down would have to be a sack for Ohio State, and every OSU down would have to be a 70 yard TD pass, or the team sucked. They were obnoxious.

Notice my awesome seats. In the corner of the back of the endzone, under the overhang, 4 rows from the back wall. They don't just give these seats to anyone. Blue = VIP. Even the band came to visit me. If you are in Columbus, feel free to drop my name, it will get you nowhere.

Here are my pictures of the day. Click on the photo for a larger pic:

View from my VIP seats!

The OSU band serenades my section during the game!

Outside the stadium before the game.

The Ohio State Marching Band before the game!

Script Ohio before the game.

Here come the Buckeyes!

Troy Smith under center, with Antonio Pittman in the backfield.

Eddie George (and other OSU athletes) get inducted into the Ohio State athletic Hall of Fame

Ted Ginn back to receive a punt.

The Ohio State men's basketball team is introduced at the end of the 3rd Quarter.

The Buckeyes celebrate a touchdown in the corner of the end zone after Antonio Pittman's touchdown run!

The extra point is up, and it is good!

The teams shake hands after the game.

The scoreboard after the game.

The team sings "Carmen Ohio" with the fans and marching band, after the game.

The street outside Ohio Stadium! (Notice the sharpshooters on the roof of St. John Arena)

Thanks for coming Bearcats!

Woody Hayes gets lots of visitors on game days.

The Pope & Irony

2006-09-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

So the Pope gave a speech about how cultures need to do a better job of understanding and being tolerant of other cultures. But you don't hear that, instead, what you hear about is his comment about the prophet Mohammed.

The Pope was quoting from a 14th Century book that said the following:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Muslims were outraged, and hardline Muslims responded to this quote that all Mohammed brings is violence with......ironically, violence.

An italian nun was shot and killed in Somalia.

Churches were burned in the West Bank.

A Somali cleric says the Pope should be hunted down and killed.

So evidently the lesson here is, you can crack jokes about Catholocism, you can be critical of Judaism, you be dislike Christianity...but you can't do any of those things with Islam.

When a Danish newspaper ran a cartoon of Mohammed there was violence and criticism, and when South Park had an image of the Mohammed in one of it's cartoons, it was censored.

Sad.

Bush's Got To Get The Price Down For The Election

2006-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

;)

College Football Week 3

2006-09-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

After Week 2, I am 19-4. Let's see how things go for Week 3, which is what ESPN is referring to as "Separation Saturday" where we see which teams are real contenders.

#1 Ohio State v. Cincinnati - winner: Ohio State
#2 Notre Dame v. #11 Michigan - winner: Michigan
#3 Auburn v. #6 LSU - winner: Auburn
#4 USC v. #19 Nebraska - winner: USC
#5 West Virginia v. Maryland - winner: West Virginia
#7 Florida v. #13 Tennessee - winner: Florida
#8 Texas v. Rice - winner: Texas
#9 Florida State v. Clemson - winner: Clemson
#10 Georgia v. UAB - winner: Georgia

Bonus:
#17 Miami v. #12 Louisville - winner: Miami
#15 Oklahoma v. #18 Oregon - winner: Oregon
#16 Iowa v. Iowa State - winner: Iowa

and in the stretch of the week:
#25 Penn State v. Youngstown State - winner: Youngstown State. Div 2 YS upsets JoePa!

Good luck to your team!

24-7 !!!!

2006-09-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

I am really glad Ohio State and Texas played these two games against each other. I have alot of respect for the Texas Longhorns program, and their coach, Mack Brown.

Hopefully the two teams can play each other again at some point.

Photo above by BuckeyeMark at the Buckeye Commentary website.

Free speech ends Friday

2006-09-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

This Friday, September 8th, marks a milestone in free speech. Friday is 60 days out from the 2006 midterm elections.

In accordance with McCain-Feingold (aka the Incumbent Protection Act), 60 days out from the election begins the blackout period for "electioneering communications" by nonprofit interest groups.

Do you and an interest group you support have some criticism for your Congressman or Senator? Too bad for you, you can't run an advetisement letting other citizens know. Corporations, unions, and non-profit groups are prohibited from running TV or radio ads for 60 days prior to a general election.

Of course during this 60 days the media will still be able to write articles based on press releases from a politician's office. And your incumbent Senator or Congressman is still allowed to hold press conferences, be interviewed on TV or radio, and such.

This should make everyone realize what idiotic legislation McCain-Feingold is. It virtually helps assure that short of people total idiots, most incumbent politicians will continue to be reelected. There are problems with political ads, etc that need to be addressed but this is the wrong legislation.

Here is a great editorial from the NY Post that I urge everyone to read.

As one talking head put it that I heard today, "I'd suggest a constitutional amendment protecting those (free speech) rights, but I thought we already had one."

College Football Week 2

2006-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

After Week 1, I am 10-2 so far. Not too shabby. Notre Dame should have lost, and then I would have been 11-1. I will give them credit, they did fight back and ruled the 2nd half.

Here are my picks for Week 2:

#1 Ohio State v. #2 Texas - winner: Ohio State
#3 USC is off this week
#4 Auburn v. Mississippi State - winner: Auburn
#4 Notre Dame v. #19 Penn State - winner: Penn State
#6 West Virginia v. Eastern Washington - winner: West Virginia
#7 Florida v. Univ. of Central Florida - winner: Florida
#8 LSU v. Arizona - winner: LSU
#9 Florida State v. Troy - winner: Florida State
#10 Michigan v. Central Michigan - winner: Michigan

Bonus:

#16 Virginia Tech v. North Carolina - winner: Virginia Tech
Colorado v. Colorado State - winner: Colorado State
Miami (Ohio) v. Purdue - winner: Miami

So no real upsets except Penn State over Notre Dame. I think Penn State returns with a lot of talent on D and will disrupt Brady Quinn enough to get the victory. Plus I think they deserve to be ranked higher than 19.

Ohio State will have its hands full against Texas but I think they can bring home a victory!

College Football National Champions!

2006-09-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

After much thought, I have decided to make a prediction for the college football national championship game, taking place in Phoenix, AZ in 2007.

Ohio State vs. West Virginia

Why I Strongly Dislike Notre Dame

2006-09-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

There are two teams in college football that I basically strongly dislike, and can't stand. Michigan is one, and Notre Dame is the other. (There are others from time to time with Univ of Miami high up there.) Ohio State and Michigan have a rivalry that is 2nd to none. They have played each other 102 times, it is the greatest rivalry in college football (or sports period IMO) and that explains my dislike for Michigan.

Every season I hope Michigan wins every game, except loses the last game of the season to Ohio State, so we can ruin their season every year. Whereas for Notre Dame, I hope they lose every game of every season. They have only played Ohio State twice in my lifetime (before the Fiesta Bowl this year) and Ohio State beat them soundly both times, so my dislike of Notre Dame isn't Ohio State related. My opinion on Notre Dame has changed over the last year, let me try to explain why.

In 2004 and previous years, I didn't care one way or another about Notre Dame. They were always around, and for the most part were pretty good, but they had had two years with a 5-7 and 6-6 record. About the only thing I remember about Notre Dame around that time was that they had fired George O'Leary as their head coach five days after hiring him, for lying on his resume. (Technically he resigned but we all know how that goes.) Then they hired Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham as their new head coach. I liked Tyrone Willingham and thought he got a raw deal after Notre Dame fired him. He was only given three years as head coach and went 10-3 his first year, then after 2 bad years, he was fired. Bob Davie had similar results as coach and was given 5 years before he was fired. Three years is not enough to turn around a program or get settled in. Most programs will at least give a coach five years so they at least have some time with most of their own recruits to see how the program does. Ty Willingham got a raw deal from Notre Dame.

After Ty was fired, Notre Dame announced that they had hired Charlie Weis as their head coach. I thought that was pretty cool. He was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, a team I liked, and had won 4 Super Bowls as their OC. Tom Brady was a great QB who had done me well as my Fantasy Football QB (even though he was from Michigan), and the Patriots had OSU alum Mike Vrabel. I liked the Patriots, and thought Charlie Weis was a good pick for head coach, and was happy for him, and ND fans (seriously).

Around this time Notre Dame fans started talking more loudly and noticeably about how great they were going to be. The talk was relatively easy to ignore since they had yet to play a game. Then came the 2005 season. Notre Dame started off with a win against Pitt and then a win against Michigan in Ann Arbor. They hadn't beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor since 1993 so they were starting off well. The next game they lose to Michigan State in overtime, then beat Washington and Purdue, to head into USC week. At this point I was getting a little tired of all the Notre Dame hype and here's why:

After starting off 2005 at 4-1, Notre Dame fans were becoming obnoxious and arrogant and talking about how "they were back." The funny thing is that 3 years previous they finished 10-3 and they were all crowing about how they were back. Then two years later they go 5-7, 6-6, and their coach was fired. So here they are, October 2005, at 4-1, talking about how great they are, and if you would point out that maybe they should show a little more restraint, in case they have a repeat of Ty Willingham's 3 seasons, they would look at you like you were an idiot who just didn't believe. Ty was different than Charlie, Charlie knows what he is doing. At that point if you pointed out that maybe that was true but it was still too early to tell, maybe they should show some restraint, they would still brush you off. It was at this point that I started hoping for them to do poorly.

Then came the USC game in South Bend. USC was ranked #1 in the country, the game was televised at night, and Notre Dame was in the lead with less than a minute to go. I was watching the game and was totally cheering for the Irish, because I wanted someone to knock USC off their pedestal. The sports media (ESPN) had basically anointed USC the chosen one who would "Three-peat" and win their 3rd national championship. (The fact that LSU won in 2003, not USC, didn't seem to matter in their logic). As time ran off the clock USC scored on a goal line play to win the game by 3 points. I felt really bad for Notre Dame fans, to get so close. But this is where my opinion of Notre Dame started to turn. First off, they probably would have won the game, had their coach called timeout and asked for the spot of the ball to be reviewed, since USC wouldn't have been on the goal line.

Also, the sports media (who love Notre Dame) treated Notre Dame like they won the game. Did they do the same for OSU when they lost to Texas at the last minute? No. Notre Dame gets special treatment. Even when they lose to a big opponent, they are winners. Many people think it is because Notre Dame has a ton of fans (many Catholics with no interest in football still cheer for Notre Dame) and a ton of detractors, so focusing on them makes for good ratings.

Second, after the USC game, Charlie Weis went to the USC locker room to congratulate them on their win. Did he do that for Michigan State who beat him in overtime? No, it is called grandstanding for the national media to try and make yourself look good.

The rest of the season was pretty uneventful, since Notre Dame is very patriotic and chooses to compete against all of the military academies. Forget the fact that they have beat Navy 41 straight times since 1964. They played weak teams and when they closed out the season against an average team like Stanford, they almost got upset.

I should mention that 7 games into the season, Notre Dame was 5-2, and they decided to make Charlie Weis the highest paid coach in NCAA football by giving him a $30-$40 million contract extension. This of course upset the pro-Ty Willingham faction since they gave Charlie an extension that was never offered to Ty, in the same situation. Not necessarily a bad move for continuity sake, but totally unnecessary. Charlie Weis wasn't going anywhere, he was in his dream job.

In the Fiesta Bowl, the Ohio State Buckeyes were matched up to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish which lead to a lot of smack talking on my part and during this time my opinion of Notre Dame got worse. Everyone was in love with Notre Dame. Charlie Weis' boyfriend, ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd was crowing on and on, "Charlie Weis, the offensive genius, will have 6 weeks to prepare for Ohio State. Imagine what he can do with 6 weeks to prepare."

I tell you what he did with 6 weeks to prepare. He got his ass handed to him. 617 yards. Read that number again, 617 Yards. That is how many yards of offense Notre Dame gave up to Ohio State, as Ohio State trounced Notre Dame 34-20. The 3rd most yards in the history of the Fiesta Bowl. To put it in perspective, this past Saturday Ohio State easily beat Northern Illinois 35-12 and only got 488 yards of offense.

And after the game did he go to the Ohio State locker room to congratulate them like he did after the USC loss? That would be NO. He clearly had disdain for Ohio State and Jim Tressel, whereas he likes to think he is Pete Carroll's equal.

And before the game Charlie Weis was an arrogant disrespectful jerk. It is one thing to be confident in your abilities and that of your team. It is another thing to be an asshole who disrespects all of his peers the way Charlie did. He was asked how his team was prepared for the Ohio State defense and responded that they would be fine, did anyone see how good Tennessee's defense was? Ohio State ended the season 10-2 with the #1 rushing defense and the #5 overall defense in the nation. Tennessee ended the season 5-6 and didn't even go to a bowl game. That was the kind of disrespect he gave Ohio State.

When he was asked to compare his 4 Super Bowl rings (as an asst. coach) to Jim Tressel's 5 college national championship rings (as a head coach in Div 1A and 1-AA), his response was quoted to be (pointing to the Super Bowl ring on his finger) "This one is bigger than all five of his put together." Whether he was joking or not, I don't know, but if he wasn't, then he is a rude jerk who thinks he is better than his colleagues who have coached much longer than he has.

At least Brady Quinn had the class to say that he knew Ohio State's defense was going to be good and fast, but not THAT good and fast.

So Notre Dame ended the season 9-3 and only beat TWO teams with a winning record, and lost to Michigan State with a 5-6 record.

Pittsburgh - 5-6
Michigan - 7-5
Washington - 2-9
Purdue - 5-6
BYU - 6-6
Tennessee - 5-6
Navy - 8-4
Syracuse - 1-10
Stanford - 5-6

2006

So far this season they played Georgia Tech, who they were expected to blow out, and they barely won 14-10. Their Heisman front runner QB went through his 2nd game without throwing a touchdown. After every 4 yard route, their Wide Receiver (who has very feminine features) Jeff Simardzija would jump up after the tackle and spin the ball like he just ripped off a 70 yard reception because he doesn't understand the difference between a big play and what is expected from him, I guess.

After the game, the media said it was a "hard fought win for the Irish." If Texas or Ohio State or USC had beaten their opponent by 4 points would they have said, "that was a hard fought win for the Longhorns" ? No, they would have said that the teams struggled and were probably overrated. Also the genius Charlie Weis had 7 months to prepare for GA Tech.

Therefore, in closing, because:

They get a free pass from the media
Their coach is a jerk
They haven't proven anything yet

Notre Dame is on my list of disliked teams. I expect them to improve over the next few years and be a great team again, in the running for the national title every year, but I will be there cheering on their opponents.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, 08-30-06, Columbus, OH

2006-08-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

BHIC came to Columbus last night and performed to a pretty full PromoWest Pavilion.
It was a gross-looking cloudy day that threatened rain, but it held out except for a sprinkle here and there, for the most part.

Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley opened up, but I was late due to a meeting, and walked in just as his set ended.

The crowd was what you would expect, a buch of 20-25 year olds for the most part drinking large amounts of beer. Lots of chatty kathys on the lawn area.

I have seen Ben 5 times now and this show was much different than the rest. He stands up and plays acoustic guitar much more than he has in the past, when he used to just sit down and rock on the Weissenborn and other lap guitars. The show was soulful and bluesy, and he even sang the first song with no guitar at all. He is stepping out more as a frontman of his band. The Innocent Criminals sounded good as well.

The setlist focused alot on his newer double CD, "Both Sides Of The Gun." Overall, a good time.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
08-30-2006
Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
Columbus, OH

Set I:
Take My Hand, Faded, Both Sides Of The Gun, Get It Like You Like It, Steal My Kisses, Diamonds On The Inside, Waiting For You, Morning Yearning, Forgiven, Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating, Ground On Down, Black Rain, With My Own Two Hands

Encore I:
Another Lonely Day, I Shall Not Walk Alone, Walk Away, Where Could I Go

Encore II:
Heart Of Gold, Sexual Healing/Let's Get It On, Burn One Down, Suzie Blue, Better Way

College Football Week 1

2006-08-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Football season is upon us!

Every season you see "experts" make picks of who they think is going to win which games. Many of these experts talk out of their ass, and hey I am good at that, so in an experiment, I will be picking winners of games featuring the top 10 teams and see how it goes this season. I will also pick for my two favorites (Ohio State, Virginia Tech) each week as well. So if OSU ever falls out of the top 10 (I know I laughed too) then I will continue to pick their games.

Also occasionally I will pick a bonus game like this week's FSU v Miami game to test my skills. No hard and fast rules here.

So far I am 0-0. Here goes week 1:

#1 Ohio State v Northern Illinois - winner: Ohio State
#2 Notre Dame v Georgia Tech - winner: GA Tech will upset the Irish
#3 Texas v North Texas - winner: Texas
#4 Auburn v Washington State - winner: Auburn
#5 West Virginia v Marshall - winner: West Virginia
#6 USC v Arkansas - winner: USC
#7 Florida v Southern Miss - winner: Florida
#8 LSU v Louisiana Lafayette - winner: LSU
#9 California v #23 Tennessee - winner: Cal
#10 Oklahoma v UAB - winner: Oklahoma (no repeat of last year)

Bonus:
#11 Florida State v #12 Miami - winner: Florida State
#17 Virginia Tech v Northeastern - winner: Virginia Tech

There you have it. I have no upsets except GA Tech over ND.

College football is here!!!

The Mighty Metallica - Happy Anniversary!!

2006-08-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, my music tastes are extremely diverse, with bluegrass music being my favorite for the most part these days, along with folk/jamband stuff. However while my musical tastes have changed over the years, with certain genres getting more listening time than others, my favorite band for the past 17+ years is Metallica.

The first time I heard Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" tape was in 1988 and I purchased the tape the next day, and loved it! In high school, "pop" heavy metal music was my favorite, and I listened to, and went to see in concert, everyone from Motley Crue, Great White, Kiss, Poison, Whitesnake, David Lee Roth, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, etc. I still listen to heavy metal at times, but not as much as I used to.

So as my musical tastes have changed throughout the years, Metallica has stayed a constant. I have all of their CDs, a few DVDs, and have seen them in concert 5 times:

6/26/88
Monsters of Rock tour
(Kingdom Come, Metallica, Dokken, The Scorpions, and Van Halen)
Giants Stadium
Meadowlands, NJ

11/19/88
Damaged Justice Tour
(In support of "...And Justice For All" - Queensryche opened)
The Ohio Center
Columbus, OH

03/02/92
Wherever I May Roam Tour
(in support of "The Black Album" - no opening band)
Riverfront Coliseum
Cincinnati, OH

07/04/98
Poor Re-Touring Me Tour
(in support of "Garage Days Re-revisited")
Polaris Amphitheatre
Columbus, OH

03/31/04
Madly In Anger Tour
(in support of "St. Anger" - Godsmack opened)
Pepsi Center
Denver, CO

The point of this post is that 20 years ago this year, Metallica's album "Master of Puppets" was released! It is a great CD, and was one of the first albums that started their ascent to the biggest metal band in the world. This album was their last album with bassist Cliff Burton, who died in late '86 when their tourbus crashed in Sweden. Right after the album came out, the band went on tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne, and opening for Ozzy was a coveted opening slot back then.

So the purpose of this long winded post is to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Master of Puppets! A great CD, that is playing on my iPod right now! If you have the CD, throw it in the stereo and press PLAY!

Metallica, 1986

The Security of a Gov't Job

2006-08-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

It used to be that people took government jobs that were lower paying than comparable jobs in the private sector, because they wanted the job security, the benefits package, and the holidays off, etc.

Well it looks like those people were the smart ones.

Total compensation including pay and fringe benefits was reviewed by the Department of Commerce for 2005, and they found that the average federal employee earned $106,579 versus $53,289 for the average nonfederal worker, or most Americans.

Without benefits, the difference for 2005 is less. Federal employees earned an average salary of $71,114 while their private sector counterparts earned $43,917.

There has been some debate on this study. Some people think this shows that the gov't gives too many automatic raises and gives wage increases even when the economy isn't doing well. They are less likely to watch a budget and have to worry about competition or being "competitive." Basically saying the owners of private companies have to watch the budget, and if the economy is doing bad and the company is having hard times, they might postpone wage increases, or worse.

Others say that the federal gov't workforce contains more white collar jobs such as lawyers and accountants and scientists, which get paid more. That the federal gov't has reduced the number of lower paying jobs by outsourcing that work to private companies.

My guess is it is probably somewhere in the middle. The gov't workforce might be more white collar jobs, but they should still stop getting so many automatic increases and promotions to different pay levels. Some of that should be tied to performance.

Does he have a retirement plan/health insurance for me?

2006-08-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

I was out traveling for work and saw this sign, and for some reason found it humorous.

The minimum wage debate

2006-07-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, Senator Hillary Clinton came to Columbus to speak to the group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), who were having their convention in Columbus. The day before, former Senator and VP candidate John Edwards spoke to the group. It is clear to me that both Edwards and Clinton are trying to get support from ACORN, as it is obvious they are both running for President in 2008.

I have a hard time figuring Hillary Clinton out. To me, she has absolutely no personal view on anything, and will say and vote and do whatever it takes to become President. She is doing her damnedest to appear centrist while still trying to garner support from liberal organizations. For someone like me who follows politics, she comes across as a panderer, who it is hard to respect, but my guess is 1) most politicians are that way, and 2) she banks on the fact that hardly anyone pays much attention to politics until 6 months or so before the election, so she can garner support however she needs to, because no one is paying attention.

A few weeks ago, Senator Clinton announced plans to bring up a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 and link future increases automatically to congressional pay increases. Congress is chock full of 'gimmicks' like this these days, but this seems to be a pretty effective one. Anything that shines light on congressional pay is somewhat welcome. Since congressmen and women don't want to be seen as voting themselves a pay raise, especially at times when common people are hurting, they passed a law some years ago, that automatically gives them a pay raise, unless they act to stop it. Pretty shady. Does your job give you an automatic pay raise? Mine neither. And you thought bi-partisanship was dead.

So back to ACORN. They are starting a major push to get the federal minimum wage increased, and so Senator Clinton spent a good portion of her time talking to them about that.

Here is my view:
I do not support increasing the minimum wage. In fact I don't even think there should be a federal minimum wage, if state's want to set a minimum wage, let them. But there is no need for the federal gov't to intervene. But I don't think there should be a state minimum wage either. Minimum wage laws hurt those they are "supposed" to help.

I would be fine with a cost-of-living adjustment to keep the wage with inflation, although even that goes against my premise that there is no need for a minimum wage.

I am against increasing the minimum wage because I think the wage should be market driven. For ex, if you own a restaurant and pay $3/hr, and I own a restaurant across the street and pay $5/hr, where do you think people will choose to work? And if you can't keep employees, then you should consider matching what I pay. And over time the wage would be set by the local market.

Also, let's be realistic - no 16 year old kid working part-time in high school, needs to get paid $7/hr to ring in orders at a drive-thru window. Hardly anyone who makes the minimum wage is a full time worker, supporting a family. That is a ruse put up by people that want to increase the minimum wage. It is mostly part-time employees and high school students. One reason why so many Unions support increasing the minimum wage, is because many unions have their wages tied to being a % higher than the minimum wage. So they are looking out for their own interest, not that of a high schooler in his first job.

And frankly, if you are a full time worker supporting a family and you are making the minimum wage, my guess is you have a shitload of problems of one sort or the other. Even when I was in high school, I was able to find and get jobs that paid me above the minimum wage. Take your skills and get a higher paying job elsewhere.

Which brings me back to ACORN. So they are planning a push to try and mobilize people to pressure Congress to increase the minimum wage. This sounds like a noble cause correct?

Well evidently ACORN does not practice what they preach. In 1995 the state of California increased their minimum wage and ACORN sued the state of California, trying to get themselves exempt from California labor laws, arguing that if they had to pay their employees a higher wage, they would not be able to hire as many workers. THE SAME ARGUMENT MADE BY BUSINESS AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE. Quite unbelievable, really!

Phil Lesh & Friends, 07-14-06, Columbus, OH

2006-07-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Phil Lesh brought his friends to Columbus on an evening that was threatening a downpour. All day long, weather reports called for rain all evening, and it didn't rain until just as the last notes of the encore were finishing.

Last time I saw Phil & Friends was at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado last summer with Ryan Adams as one of his friends, along with Jimmy Herring on guitar, and I had a great time, so I had high expectations, and I didn't know what to expect with this formation of Friends.

Conscious Alliance was out on the tour doing food drives and it was nice to have a chance to catch up with Justin, a good friend who was running the food drives. You could tell the tour was wiping him out - he looked exhausted.

I thought the show was great. The song selection was enjoyable, and I particularly enjoyed China Doll and The Wheel > Chinacat Sunflower > I Know You Rider.

Greg Osby is the man on the sax and he added so much to the show. Joan Osborne sounded great and looked great in her red dress. Barry Sless' pedal steel was a bit too much in the background for me, but I still loved the subtleness of the pedal steel and what it added to the songs.

After the 2nd set Phil made his plea for people to become organ donors and it was a pretty powerful plea that has been fine-tuned over the years, and is logic that is hard to argue with. Then came the band member introductions, followed by the worst, most boring song of the evening. I still haven't been able to find out much about the song, "A Little Piece For You", but I would be fine not hearing it or anything about it in the future. After the rocking 2 sets, it was a letdown. I blame it for bringing the rain.

Overall good times, and it was nice to have 2 weekends in a row of good music in Columbus.

Phil Lesh & Friends
Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
Columbus, OH
July 14, 2006

Set 1: Althea> The Other One> Cold Roses> Cryptical Envelopment> Cold Roses, Candyman Blues> Candyman, Casey Jones

Set 2: Bird Song, All Along The Watchtower> Nobody Girl> China Doll> Nobody Girl>
Unbroken Chain> The Wheel> Chinacat Sunflower> I Know You Rider

E: Donor Rap/Band Intros, A Little Piece For You

Other photos removed due to space limits.

The String Cheese Incident, 07-09-06, Columbus, OH

2006-07-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

SCI came through Columbus on their Summer tour for what turned out to be one of only two shows that were An Evening With (with no other bands on the bill.) This was SCI's first trip to Columbus in four years as many of my friends kept reminding me, and oddly enough, my first time seeing SCI in Ohio.

I had a great time at the show, the weather was great, and the band played very well. The crowd was into the show, and it was a fun time.

The String Cheese Incident
Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
Columbus, OH
Sunday, July 9, 2006

Set 1: Magic Carpet Ride > Lost > White Freightliner Blues, Tamba, Valley Of The Jig, Ring Of Fire, Howard

Set 2: Drums > Search, Sometimes A River > Boogie On Reggae Woman, The Big Compromise > Shine, Dirk > Whiskey Before Breakfast > Restless Wind

Encore: Seventh Step, 'Round The Wheel

Paul Simon, 06-28-06, Columbus, OH

2006-07-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Paul Simon opened his Summer Tour in Columbus at the Schottenstein Center, on the campus of Ohio State University. When tickets first went on sale, I considered going but tickets were $65 a piece (before fees) so I passed.

About 1 month before the show, I received an email from the Schott offering me a link to buy tickets for $22.50 a piece (67% off). Intrigued by the seat locations available, I click the link and get a seat on the aisle, on the floor, about 20 rows back. Perfect sound, perfect site line, so I click and buy. Not bad, seeing Paul Simon for $35 (after absurd fees).

I should have waited because two days before the show, I received another email from the Schott with a link to free tickets, you just had to pay a small $.75 processing fee and a print-at-home ticket fee, and print your ticket and bring it with you. So a pair of tickets would have been ~$8 total. Oh well, at least I didn't pay $65 a seat or I would have been livid.

Even with the free tickets, the show was pretty sparsely attended. The floor was full, in the lower rim of seats around the floor the 2 sections on either side of the stage were full, and then the rest of the sections had a smattering of people. The entire 2nd level was empty. My guess? Maybe 4000-5000 seats out of ~16,000 sold. Someone lost some $$$$ on that one.

The show was pretty good, I was glad I went. The crowd was lame, and basically sat the entire show, except for a few of the hits. If people would stand up for fast tempo "non-hits" to dance, they would get the famed "down in front" screams from behind them.

Paul's band was good and the song selection was good. They changed the tempo of some of the the songs but not so much that it sounded totally different than the original. Good times overall.

Paul Simon
6-28-06
Schottenstein Center
Columbus, OH

I: Gumboots, Boy In The Bubble, Outrageous (new CD), Slip Sliding Away, You're The One, Me & Julio, How Can You Live In The Northeast (New CD), Only Living Boy in New York, Mrs. Robinson, Loves Me Like A Rock, Take Me To The Mardi Gras, Duncan, Graceland, Father & Daughter (New CD), Diamonds On The Soles of Her Shoes, Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia

1st Encore: The Boxer, You Can Call Me Al

2nd Encore: Wartime Prayers (New CD)

Here is my one vent from the night. On the venue floor the chairs are all strapped together so they can't move. Presumably, at some show long ago, people got so worked up by the music that the only way they could get relief was to pick up their folding chair and wing it at the stage. Hence, the chairs are now most likely chained together for our safety. But would it hurt the venue to put a spacer of some sort between the seats so they aren't right next to each other?!? Even 2-3 inches? I get it, by jamming them together you sell more seats and make more $$, but aren't you even the least bit interested in your fans enjoyment? The two women in front of me both probably weighed 115 lbs soaking wet and their shoulders were wider than the seat and they were sitting overlapping each other. Now imagine me and the 250 lb guy next to me. Not fun and not relaxing at all. If I had room to relax, the show would have been much better. It reminds me of Ohio Stadium where they give you ~6" of room on the bench for your seat, which is utterly unrealistic.

EDIT #1 - I forgot to mention that the Jerry Douglas Band opened the show. As you may know, Jerry is arguably the best dobro player in the world (inarguably in my opinion), and his band outside of Alison Krauss & Union Station, the Jerry Douglas Band, is pretty damn good. Unfortunately, due to work and traffic, I missed his set. I was hoping he would sit in with Paul Simon, but he didn't. However I have noticed in other setlists for shows after this one, that he has started to.

When I got to my seat I asked the guy next to me how the opener was and he shrugged his shoulders with indifference and said "just some country guy." I almost (and he would have deserved it) threw my beer on him for showing himself to be a musical idiot. We did not speak the rest of the show as I had no time for musical ignorance.