jonworld

Is This Thing Still On?

2009-04-07T09:18:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been a while, huh. I see I was caught up in moving on to MySpace on my last post in 2007. And well, that's sooo 2007. I've moved on to Facebook and am now Twittering as @jonp70. Come on and find me if you can.

Been Away So Long I Hardly Knew the Place...

2007-05-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

So I did pick up and move over to MySpace a few months back.

It has been kind of fun. I have reconnected with several old friends from Malvern...college friends from the University of Arkansas and former coworkers.

If you ever have a hankerin' for my particular brand of wit and wisdom, head on over to http://blog.myspace.com/theworldaccordingtojon and see what the Jon has got cookin'. I was thinking the other day of "simulcasting" my blog here whenever I post something new on MySpace. Maybe I can reach those of you, like my cousin Chris, who abhor the MySpace thang.

Tootles...

My Old House

2007-01-23T11:34:00.000-06:00

Circa 1970-1972

Check my MySpace blog.

Here goes nothing

2006-12-22T17:42:00.000-06:00

My friend Mike says that he always thought MySpace was for "pervs and weirdos." So he promptly went over to the Dark Side and put down roots.

I guess I'll have to see this for myself. Come visit.

http://www.myspace.com/theworldaccordingtojon

Seriously...Is It Me?

2006-12-18T05:57:00.000-06:00

Thought I was going to have a great run of seeing some big time ball games in person.

Then I travel to Dallas for a special experience with tickets on the 20-yard-line, only to see the Cowboys get spanked by the Saints 42-17.

So on Saturday, as an early Christmas present, I took the family to Alltel Arena in North Little Rock to see the Arkansas basketball Razorbacks take on legendary (or infamous) Coach Bobby Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was a large and responsive crowd. The seats, in the upper deck, had a good view. It was closer than it seems from my camera phone picture (at left). Alli, wearing her Razorbacks cheerleader outfit, and Lucas both called the Hogs. Then the game started.

After jumping out 3-0... the Hogs stopped. And the Red Raiders went on an 18-0 run. And it was never closer than an 8-point deficit down the stretch. The Hogs ended up losing by 15. It was a rotten game, Hog-wise. No consistent offense, nobody stepping up and putting the team on their back (Charles Thomas looked good inside, but they really needed more than some good post play).

The story on this team was that after depending on Ronnie Brewer so much the last 2 years, this team had a bunch of good players. The lack a playmaker, though, and still have no consistent outside shooter that can knock down a couple of 3s when playing catch up. The defense was shaky and they kept turning the ball over. Lucas, as you can see from the picture, was bummed like the rest of us. Can't blame the crowd. They were loud - when there was something to get loud about - and in the game until nearly the bitter end.

Then I started thinking...when was the last win I saw...took me a bit. Saw the Hogs lose to Tech; saw the Cowboys lose to the Saints; saw the football Hogs lose to LSU; saw the Malvern Leopards lose to Bauxite...ahhh...I guess it was this summer, when we saw the Cardinals beat the Indians in St. Louis. THAT was an exciting game, with a 9th inning rally.

Wait...did I use up all my big game mojo then??? I hope not. We still have the Hogs bowl game. At least - for the Hogs sake - I'll only be watching on TV. And I'm not wearing the Hogs T-shirt I bought to wear to the LSU game (loss) then wore to the watch party for the SEC Championship (loss)...then wore to the basketball game on Saturday (loss). Not that I'm superstitious. :)

Cowboys: What Have You Done for Me Lately?

2006-12-15T05:54:00.000-06:00

I've been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since I really discovered football, back at age 7 or 8. My earliest Cowboys memory is watching Super Bowl XII, when they beat the Broncos. I was already a fan by that point, but that's the earliest I remember.

I came by it honestly. In central Arkansas back in those pre-cable days, the Cowboys were shown most every Sunday since they were probably the closest pro team. I grew up a fan of QB Roger Staubach (who now has his own blog) and RB Tony Dorsett...and that Doomsday Defense. I remember my heart breaking as I watched "The Catch." I slogged through that 1-15 season along with rookie QB Troy Aikman.

Anyway, flash forward, I finally got to see the Cowboys in person...after all these years...back in 1999. In the final game of the season, they beat the NY Giants in what ended up being Chan Gailey's last regular season game as coach. Since that time, I've seen 3 more games, including last Sunday's supposedly big time matchup against the hot New Orleans Saints (see camera phone image above).

In 2000, I saw the Boys lose to the Jags in OT. Last season, I was there on Monday night - with temps in the upper 90s and me bathed in sweat - as the Cowboys blew a 4th quarter lead and lost to the hated Redskins.

And now this...after an 80-yard TD run by Julius Jones early in the Saints game, the blow out is on. The Saints roll to a 42-17 win as I watch from the best seats I've ever had, there on the 20 yd line. Oh, it was awful. I guess it was an exciting game. There was lots of scoring. And Reggie Bush is pretty awesome. But sheesh!

C'mon Cowboys. What have I got to do? I've put in the time as a fan. And this is the reward I get. 3 straight loses?!?! Sheesh.

Pearl Harbor 2006

2006-12-07T05:52:00.000-06:00

Today's the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the U.S. into World War II. It means more to me this year after getting the chance to travel to Hawaii and Pearl Harbor back in August.

After getting up that morning about 4, getting to Pearl Harbor by bus at around 6:30 a.m. to find a HUGE line of people already there to the 7 a.m. opening...then waiting almost 2 hours through the huge line to get into the Pearl Harbor memorial, I stood on the USS Arizona Memorial and looked across the water and tried to imagine what it would've been like that fateful morning.

I looked down and saw the drops of oil that still leak up from the wreckage of he battleship ("the ship's tears") that also is the final resting place for hundreds of sailors. I could see parts of the ship just below the surface.

They ask you to be quiet while on the memorial to honor the site. So the noise you heard was tourist cameras clicking or whiring, the wind whipping and the whispers of folks around you as they looked over the memorial. You can look over the distant mountains and think about seeing the hundreds of warplanes appearing on the horizon on that Sunday morning in 1941.

In the course of the tour, you read and hear about all of the coincidences and instances where the attack might've been discovered before it happened. I wondered how differently it all might've been had operators of that early radar system not mistaken the attack force for a group of U.S. bombers due on the island that day.

I also kept thinking about how history and the war played out after that devastating attack.

The U.S. rose up and led the Allies to victory and assumed its role as a world superpower. The atomic bomb. The U.S. as a check to the rise of communism. Did the attack have to happen as it did...did all those sailors have to die on the Arizona and around Pearl Harbor in order for American history to play out exactly as it did?

It's a sobering thought and being there was a reminder of the sacrifices made by those in uniform. And how fortunate we Americans were that the war turned out as it did.

UPDATE: Poignant story here from the AP about the last meeting today of Pearl Harbor survivors.

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

"We're like the dodo bird. We're almost extinct," said Mal Middlesworth, now an 83-year-old retiree from Upland, Calif., but then — on Dec. 7, 1941 — an 18-year-old Marine on the USS San Francisco.

Pearl Harbor Survivors Meet for the Last Time [AP via Yahoo]

Hey, I'm on TV

2006-12-06T19:23:00.000-06:00

I was just minding my own business yesterday, trying to work, and end up on TV. Not the first time. I remember being in the background of shots every once in a while while a newspaper reporter.

Anyway, I was on assignment, writing a Web story for UAMS about middleweight champion Jermain Taylor's visit to the UAMS-UALR Stuttering Research and Treatment Center. The TV folks were there as Taylor talked with some of the center's students about his own problem with stuttering.

It was a nice gesture on his part. He talked to the students, ranging from adult to as young as 4, for a while, answering questions. Then he posed for some pictures before doing some TV interviews.

He struggled with stuttering as a child. Made fun of. Scared of being called on to read in class. But as he said, he didn't let that problem hold him back. The kids in the audience were in awe.

But anyway, check out this video and you can see me and my navy and plaid shirt in the background of the first shot, taking notes and looking on as Taylor talks.

Jermain Taylor Inspires Kids at Speech Clinic [Fox16]
Jermain Taylor Speaks at UAMS-UALR Stuttering Clinic [KATV]
Boxing Champ Encourages Kids Who Stutter [KTHV]

Friends?!?

2006-12-06T05:54:00.000-06:00

Mentioned yesterday how some friends were encouraging me to jump into MySpace. Buddy Lance, on his day job blog (or dayblog), The Ladder, says that I could buy me some hot MySpace friends now, if I want.

Bloggers Blog shows you how to buy friends for your MySpace page. 99 cents gets you the hottie of your choice.

Like I said yesterday, MySpace reminds me too much of junior high.

Back for the Attack

2006-12-05T05:54:00.000-06:00

Hullo. It seems I've been horribly busy and inattentive to Jonworld.

Plus, I decided I probably should've blog at work, lest the good folks in IT decide that wasn't what I should do with my spare time there. So whenever I think of something or see something I want to blog, there's usually a delay until I get home or get the kids to bed. By that time I've either: a) Forgotten it in the first place, b) See that it's been done already, or c) All of the above. The answer, usually, is "c."

And so here we are. I'll make another run at this. Perhaps its blog envy that goaded me back in. I love reading my buddy Mike's blog - and now MySpace page. They say I should go the MySpace route. Heather says I should...apparently I read that "everyone is doing it." ...but I just can't get excited about trying to get people to "add" me or vice versa. A little too junior high for me (and I did NOT really care for junior high). No offense, though, guys. That's just the way it seems from the outside looking in (once again, too much like junior high for me).

Maybe my buddy Scott could get inspired and write a sonnet about the irregular blogger. He's got some great ones in his "Sonnet Project."

So goodbye for now. Gotta go make some kid lunches and get started on another day. I assure you I'll try to get back again soon.

JP

It's Not That I Don't Love You...

2006-10-10T19:51:00.000-05:00

...I'm Just Not That Into You. :) Really, I promise. I'll call you more often.

Well, it's been a while. I've been thinking about blogging. I've had ideas and thoughts and feelings and stuff to blog about. But a funny thing happens on the way to the computer. Usually it's work, or taking the kids to soccer practice or going to the kids' soccer games or picking up the kids from gymnastics or work or keeping up with my Fantasy Football teams (Go Damage Inc.!) or doing the laundry or hanging with Susan or watching Lost or Battlestar Galactica or The Office or Earl or Nip/Tuck or playing some Battlefront 2 or rooting for the Hogs to upset #2 Auburn or jumping up and screaming a lot when they do or mowing the lawn or dealing with the runny nose and itchy eyes that follow mowing said lawn or sleep.

OK, enough excuses. I'll do better.

So here's what I'm looking forward to...it scratches my Beatles itch and my met-ul itch. :)

Restless Records to Release 'Butchering the Beatles'

Queensryche, George Lynch, Jack Blades...even Lemmy. Wow.

Haven't had this much fun since I stumbled across Beatallica (check out "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be" ...and "I Wanna Choke Your Band/We Can Hit the Lightz").

Hey kids, rock on.

What Has Jon Been Listening to For 3 Months?

2006-09-20T06:10:00.000-05:00

Been a while since I did a music list based on my iPod playcount. The summer got busy. I was fortunate enough to get in on two vacations: a family trip to St. Louis and the anniversary trip to Hawaii. My iPod went along both times to provide the soundtrack.

Here's an expanded look at what I've listened to the most from June 19 through Sept. 19:

1. Walk Away - Franz Ferdinand - Haunting melodies and a jangly, Doors-sounding tune.
2. Through Fire and Flames - DragonForce - Sounds like Dream Theater on meth. Super fast guitar. Love the video with the guitarist drinking a beer while the other solos, only to put his beer down and come back with a blistering guitar response.
3. Fury - Prince - Old School Joint by the New Funk Soldier...or something like that. Liked this rocking tune since seeing Prince do it on SNL with even more guitar.
4. When You Were Young - The Killers
5. Call Me When You're Sober - Evanesence
6. Tell Me Baby - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Ever since I got Stadium Arcadium, I thought the chorus on this one was one of the catchiest I'd heard in a while.
7. American Witch - Rob Zombie
8. Stuck With You - Green Day - Been in a GD mood lately and always loved this one off "Insomniac."
9. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. Land of Confusion - Disturbed - Surprisingly straight forward, yet heavier take on the Genesis song from the 80s.
11. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand
12. Too Fast for Love - Motley Crue
13. The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
14. Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger - A cheese rock classic in my book. I recently put together a playlist of songs I'd cover were I famous enough to do a tribue album (like Def Leps recent). That's where the Green Day, Crue and this one come from.
15. Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers

What He Said: Path to 9/11

2006-09-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Busy lately with school getting started for the kids, work, making sure I blogged all the details of the Hawaii trip, etc. ;) So busy that I missed the Katrina anniversary and the fifth anniversary of 9/11. But they were in mind even if I didn't blog.

Scott has a fine take on the ABC miniseries, "Path to 9/11", (and subsequent ratings flop) on its right wing lineage. I'm reminded how inevitable it was that all sides would seek to politicize the tragedy for partisan gains.

Even al-Qaeda didn't miss the propoganda opportunity.

An Alternative 9/11 History [Scott Standridge.com]
ABC's 9/11 Docudrama's Right-Wing Roots [Yahoo]

Hawaii, Pt. V: 'Lost' and Homeward Bound

2006-09-07T21:44:00.000-05:00

Ana Lucia leads the Tailees on the Lost Island. Jon Lucia leads no one at Lana'i Lookout.

Sorry for the delay. Been a hectic few weeks since returning from vacation and my blogging time has been limited. I know this has disappointed the literally two of you out there waiting to hear more about Hawaii. ;)

Upon returning from the volcanoes on the Big Island, we were exhausted. We also returned to find the news of the British terror plot being uncovered. That was an uncomfortable feeling considering how far we were from home and the long flight two days away.

So in the remaining couple days of vacation, we rested some, visited the nice Waikiki Aquarium (I remain most impressed with the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, which we visited back in ’98.) On Friday of our week vacation, we rented a car and drove around Oahu.

First up was Hanauma Bay, a snorkler’s paradise. Having never snorkeled and unsure how much we would like it, we put this off until the end of the week and had limited time. BIG MISTAKE. Snorkeling took some practice, but I learned pretty quick. And it was an amazing, breathtaking experience, swimming with the fishes…the big colorful tropical fishes within arm's reach, just going about their business. I almost freaked when I saw a Gill from Finding Nemo. We hated to leave.

The last highlight of our trip was riding up the east coast of Oahu then around to the North Shore. The views were so awesome that you got numb to it after a while. But we made a couple of stops.

Jack on the beach. Susan on the beach.

Being fans of the TV show Lost, which is filmed all over Oahu, we found this site, which gave directions to filming locations on Oahu. Two notables we found were the Lana'i Lookout, where the Anna Lucia led the Tailees on their way to meet the other crash survivors. Then on the North Shore, not far from where we saw sea turtles frolicking in the surf, we found Mokule'ia Beach, the main beach for filming. It was isolated and windy, but wonderful to see in person. I kept expecting to see Jack or Kate.

On Saturday, we began our trek home, leaving Honolulu at 1 p.m., local time…after arriving extra extra early for new security checks and moving all liquids to our checked luggage. Got to LAX around 9 p.m., local. Left after midnight on a very uncomfortable flight to Dallas (so much for sleeping). Got to Dallas around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday and left around 7:25 to arrive back in Little Rock at 8:30. Then it was home to get ready for the 1:30p open house at Alli’s school where she was set to start preK on Monday. Sheesh. No rest for the weary.

I cannot believe I’ve now been to Hawaii. But I have the pictures, and a jillion memories to prove it.

Nothing But a Good Time?

2006-08-31T06:06:00.000-05:00

OK, this camera phone shot doesn't do justice to Poison

Thanks to my good buddy Tim who won free tickets, I went to see Poison and Cinderella on Sunday at Riverfest Amphitheatre. Entertaining show but not without these bands, who were celebrating their 20th anniversary, showing their age.

The night had Cinderella's Tom Keifer apologizing for a shredded voice that was a far cry from the million-volt AC/DCish screech of the early days. The band soldiered on through the hits after opening with a favorite album track of mine, "Bad Seamstress Blues (Falling Apart at the Seams)." The musicianship was on with Keifer and guitarist Jeff LeBar playing tight harmony solos.

The set lacked the energy I remember from seeing the band twice "back in the day" (still two of the loudest concerts I've ever seen). But there were moments, as when Keifer broke out the sax on "Shelter Me" when the band's blues/rock/metal mix clicked. But on songs like "Gypsy Road" and ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone)," the music was strong, but Keifer's voice just seemed a low growl in the mix.

Poison brought the energy that Cinderella lacked. And, like Cinderella, stuck to by-the-number versions of their hits. Sounded good, the stage show was well done...didn't blow me away, but was worth every penny of my free ticket. Of the some 33 concerts I've now seen, this show marked the 4th time seeing Poison, the most of any band. Oh, I was a huge fan in high school...loving the flash and fun and the glam gimmick. Though still called a glam metal band, Poison has really distanced itself from the makeup and looks of its debut, opting now for a more All-American biker/Southern rocking/arena rock look. The music hasn't aged as well as other 80s pop metal that I love. "I Want Action" still sounds stuck in my high school days.

But the band kept moving, although singer Bret Michaels apologized for being a little under the weather and being hobbled by a hurt knee. Only later did I find out that hurt knee was apparently from a bass flung in his direction during a confrontation with Bobby. Bret looks like he's put on a little weight since I saw the band three or four years back. But they group still roamed the stage and played off the receptive crowd.

Despite being regularly maligned by critics, I still contend that hits like "Nothing But a Good Time," "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and, of course, the one that started it all, "Talk Dirty To Me" are escapist, fun musical bubble gum (great taste, no substance). And on Sunday night, the band delivered the goods with blasting solos by CC and the underrated drum work by Rikki.

FAIR AND BALANCED: Oh, and my friend Scott, who accompanied me to the show, offers his own take on the night here.

Hawaii, Part IV: The Adventures of Jon Boy and Lava Girl

2006-08-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

Here's the continuing recap of our Hawaiian adventure from earlier this month.

When we last saw our travelers they were up early on Wednesday (8/9) for an island hop to the Big Island, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines. We took the first flight out and got to the island of Hawaii, aka The Big Island, by 8. Picked up our rental Jeep and headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, about 21 miles from Hilo. But not before a quick stop at Walmart for snacks.

We checked out the Thurston Lava Tube first. Really cool, thinking that 500 years ago, lava had surged through this cave that was now in the middle of a rain forest. We then made our way down Chain of Craters Road. Our first views of lava rock had us giddy. You see pictures of this stuff all your life, but to see real lava (albeit older lava rock). We drove past several old floes on our way to the end of the road...where in the 1990s, lava had crossed the road, closing it.

We then hiked out part of the way to where new lava is going into the ocean, instantly boiling the water into steam. It was incredible to see...it was making new land. But climbing over the old lava was tough. It was rock, but the shapes and edges were tricky to navigate...and looked liked like an alien landscape. The dried lava alternately looked to me like brownies or crumbled Oreos or some kind of gooey, dried chocolate syrup. Maybe I was just hungry.

After that, we made our way back to the Kilauea Caldera and the Halema'uma'u Crater - a huge crater within the enormous super crater. Makes you feel pretty small. The smell of sulphur was everywhere as were holes in the ground where steam poured out. It was impressive.

We finished our trip around the caldera and headed back to Hilo. It was quite a day. Funny thing about the Hilo airport...part of it, where the gates are, is open air. It has a roof over it but is open on the sides. When flew out of Hilo about 7:30p, headed back "home."

In our next installment, exhaustion sets in but we finally see the "Lost" beach.

Hawaii, Part III: Jon, Susan and the 99 Steps of Death

2006-08-25T06:09:00.000-05:00

The moon rises over Waikiki Beach, with Diamond Head Crater visible at right.

And now, back to the gripping review of my anniversary trip to Hawaii with Susan.

Tuesday, we got up and headed to the beach. Spent about an hour-and-a-half out on crowded Waikiki Beach. It was almost too crowded. But the water was nice and clear. It was sunny and beautiful weather. The water was shallow compared to Orange Beach, Ala. (where we went last year on vacation). There was some surfing going on, but the waves weren't huge.

After a short nap, it was another bus trip east of Waikiki (or "Diamond Head") to the so-named volcanic crater. We hike up the side, through the tunnel, up the 99-Steps-of-Death (the stairs seemed to go almost straight up...might as well have been a ladder), through another tunnel, then up the spiral stairs to the top for some spectacular views. The crater got its name after early British explorers mistook the volcanic crystals they found there for diamonds. Part of the craters inside is still used as a military facility (the crater rim was a home to a fire control station for early island defenses). The bunkers in the crater were used as a filming location for Jonworld TV favorite "Lost." This trip offered us several chances to visit filming locations for the show.

That evening, we went out to eat along the beach. Having a burger and drinks on the deck at Duke's Canoe Club, then heading down to Mai Tai Bar in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. We had a mai tais there...perhaps the strongest drink I have ever tasted. We also got to enjoy the luau entertainment going on next door. Nothing like hula dancing and juggling fire.

Then it was to bed early for the next day's island hop to the Big Island for a visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

No Business Like Show Business...

2006-08-21T06:04:00.000-05:00

Saw this story in the NY Times about changing times in the movie business and it reminded me of a book I just finished. In The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood, Edward Jay Epstein writes about the trend in movies toward developing franchises with scads of licensed products that make a lot of money for everyone through toys, video games, clothes, DVDs, etc.

The NY Times points to former Universal executive Stacey Snider, who presided over the studio during the Peter Jackson King Kong remake. The movie, as the article says, was considered a disappointment despite making $547 million worldwide. Snider left her job not too long ago and is now at DreamWorks, working on far fewer movies.

Says Snider:

“It’s not like I view this as a private, artistic enterprise. I certainly felt the pressure. I felt the uncertainty. It galvanized the angst. We went from making movies to making product and content. I didn’t want to make franchises. I wanted to make movies.”

Epstein's book goes on to note that the trend in movies is to appeal to pre-teen and teen-age boys, the most reliable moviegoers. Thus the slate of comic book movies and action flicks with little dialogue, which also easily translate overseas.

His hypothesis makes sense and on one hand, the young at heart in me loves to see all the comic book flicks. But hopefully there will always be a place for more serious and more challenging movies.

Caught on Film: A Growing Unease in Hollywood [NY Times]

Hawaii: Part Deux, Getting Ewa and Diamondhead

2006-08-20T11:52:00.000-05:00

Manoa Falls

So when we last joined our intrepid Hawaiian travelers, Jon and Susan, they had succumbed to the evil jet lag - falling asleep at 5p on Day 1 of a week vacation. The converse of that is that you're wide awake at 3a.

Day 1 took us to Aloha Stadium, once we figured out which bus would take us ewa (or "west" in Hawaiian) to the stadium, site of the NFL's annual Pro Bowl. Three days a week, merchants set up in the parking lot to sell cheap Hawaiian souvenirs (8 T-shirts for $20; 5 refrigerator magnets for $8) at the Aloha Swap Meet. There's also a layer of garage sale stuff, which we stayed away from. After spending money there, we rested before heading on a hike on the northside of Honolulu. In a rainforested valley at the end of a residential neighborhood is the beautiful Manoa Falls.

And we found they call it a rainforest because it rains, regularly. We got soaked. But the hike was fairly easy for us and just amazing in the scenery we found along the way. The falls we an early trip highlight. We hiked with a guy from SC who was in the Naval Academy and in Hawaii for some Navy stuff.

Leaving the Arizona Memorial.

Day 2 started early so we could get in line at Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial. Huge line. Waited about an hour and 20 minutes to get our ticket; then had another hour to wait before our tour. At least that part could be spent in the museum, where the crowd was elbow to elbow. Then a movie, then the short boat trip to the iconic memorial of the surprise attack that brought the US into World War II. It was powerful to be there in person. To see the oil still leaking up to the water's surface from the ship. Some of the stories about the Arizona were particularly poignant - the ship band that lost a Battle of the Bands just hours before they were all killed when the battleship sunk.

We took the bus back east (or "Diamond Head" as the locals call it for the direction of the so-named crater) and stopped in Chinatown. Susan said it's not near as crowded or interesting as NYC's Chinatown. It was kind of a sleepy afternoon. We stopped at Legend Sea Food for our first experience with dim sum. Fortunately, we were seated next to the only other American in the place...a guy from Idaho and his mother. He was a former island resident and knew all about dim sum and helped us navigate the different dishes (although he was wrong about the chicken feet...those were just not good).

After eating, we walked around the little shops for an hour or so and bought some trinkets before catching the bus back to Waikiki.

Returning to Waikiki, we stopped at a McDonald's for a quick snack, hoping to save some money. Got a 10-chicken nugget meal and shared a large Diet Coke...$12, which is considerably more you'd pay in central Arkansas. But every meal did come with a bowl of fresh pineapple, which is something you don't get in central Arkansas.

NOTE: Earlier I had written about doing Diamond Head after Pearl Harbor. I had my days mixed up. We hiked Diamond Head the next day.

In the next installment, we tackle Diamond Head and travel to the Big Island and Volcanoes National Park.

Hello. Hawaii Doin'?

2006-08-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Waikiki Beach as seen from Diamond Head Crater

This thing still on? So I'm back from our one week, 10th wedding anniversary trip to the 50th state plus one week (took that long to get reacclimated back to Arkansas, I guess). Had a great time in Hawaii, though the trip was exhausting, even before we left. Taking a cue from Scott and his recent travelblog, I'll recount some of the highlights and lowlights from the trip.

Then we'll get back to our regular schedule...a new fall TV season, school starts, football kicks off (thank goodness) and life gets back to its hectic routine.

Trip Part I

Scheduled to fly out of Little Rock about 7:40a on Aug. 5. Clock set for 4ish. Get a call at 3a. Flight is cancelled (!!!!??!) and we are automatically rebooked on a new flight the next day. Susan calls airline and manages to get us on an earlier flight - now we gotta get going. We make it and fly out about 6:25a to Chicago...then a 9 hour plane ride to Honolulu, watching old episodes of Fraiser, some pretty decent soccer movie and other such stuff. We arrive about 12:30p (thanks to time zone changes). Get there earlier than we originally had scheduled. :)

Got to the hotel and got checked in. Then walked around a bit, checking the beach and getting a long overdue meal. Then, about 5p local time, we discover what jet lag feels like and crash.

In Part II, we see a swap meet, a gorgeous waterfall and Pearl Harbor.

Aloha

2006-08-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

Off on a dream trip to Hawaii. Be back in a week.

Happy Late Birthday MTV...I miss you...

2006-08-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

MTV ("Music" Television)...and I am depressed to see what you have "grown" into...but then again, maybe it is I who has grown? (I want my VH1 Classic?!?!)

So cruel, my former love...says a MTV spokesman on why the channel isn't dwelling on its history:

"MTV has a 25-year heritage of looking forward, rather than back," spokeswoman Marnie Black wrote in an e-mail. "We made the decision when MTV was founded to always stay young and evolve with our audience. To do that, it has been important to serve our audience at that moment, not our audience of yesterday."

Ouch.

Slate writer Troy Patterson reflects on MTV's first day, on Aug. 1, 25 years ago - an anniversary the channel is barely acknowledging. That's long before Headbangers Ball or TRL or the Real World or Beavis or Butthead or whatever they show now that is seldom music.

MTV was already a year old when it came to Malvern around 1982ish. A fifth grader just gingerly dipping my toe into popular music, I didn't recognize much. I think my earliest memory of recognizing a song I liked on MTV was seeing trenchcoated Hall and Oates singing "Private Eyes."

Then came Duran Duran, then hair metal, Metallica... and my magical mystery tour was well underway.

Present at the Creation [Slate]
The Ever Changing Youth of MTV: Now 25, Going on 11 [NY Times]
Yo! MTV's 25, But Don't Make a Fuss About It [Cox News via Middletown Journal]
Do You Still Want Your MTV? [Beacon Journal]

Welcome Back, TMQ

2006-08-02T08:09:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, one of the sure signs football season will soon be upon us: the return of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback column by the tastefully named Gregg Easterbrook. I've been following this column for several years, through several homes. It's back on ESPN.com and if you like pro football...heck, if you just like football of any kind, I highly recommend this weekly roundup of pro football, cheerbabes and insightful commentary on everything from decrying the "pass wackiness" of the current NFL to finding plot holes in science fiction movies.

Easterbrook is not your typical football guy. He's an author and a contributing editor to The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Monthly, not to mention a visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Offseason Highs and Lows [ESPN.com]

For Those About to Rock: Where Are You???

2006-08-01T22:29:00.000-05:00

Good essay by All Music Guide writer Thom Jurek. Of course, I agree with it. Jurek bemoans the downer that mainstream rock has become these days.

"Rock & roll, that great music that celebrated freedom and exhilaration, has become repressively dour. The bright and wild colors of rock & roll have faded to a shade of dark gray."

He traces the lineage - and some rock snobs may scoff - from Elvis and Chuck Berry to the 80s goodtime hair metal of Poison and Cinderella as well as urban R&B from Prince.

But he points to a turn in the late 80s with Guns 'n' Roses and Metallica (probably my favorite band along side The Beatles) taking things darker and more personal. Then came grunge. Alice in Chains' opus "Dirt" was "making bleak, angry pessimism and nihilism accessible and salable to young people."

Writes Jurek:

"One has to wonder if everything in rock does indeed cycle repeatedly, or if this time out the music merely collapses from the sheer exhaustion of expressing pain and other negative emotions ad nauseam. Let's hope so. In the meantime, pull out those Cinderella CDs and listen to Whitesnake's recent Gold double disc. Or better yet, pull out the Beastie Boys and Warrant, then go back to Chuck, Little Richard, Carl, Elvis, and Eddie, dig in, take off your shoes, and raise a toast to living for its own sake and listen to those two generations talk to each other with laughter."

Now I've been arguing musical tastes with my friends for years, who loved to diss me for liking Duran Duran in junior high and Poison in high school. But I love Metallica, GnR and AIC as well. Sometimes I wanna rock, sometimes my head feels like a hole.

But I do miss the good time rock that I think is missing these days. There is no Van Halen. The only hedonism I really hear in music belongs to hip-hop.

Let the good times roll...

Is Rock and Roll Really Dying? A Case Against Dourist Rockism [All Music Guide]

Earlier...
For Those About to Rock, I Look Down On You [Jonworld]
For Those About to Rock... [Jonworld]

Bad News Razorbacks

2006-08-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

Still trying to make sense of the whole Darren McFadden thing when we get news that a car accident claimed the life of "The Voice of the Razorbacks" Paul Eells. So many of my favorite Razorbacks sports memories are narrated by Eells...whether it was "Touchdown Arkansas!" or his trademark "Oh my!"... very sad news. Growing up in Malvern, in the days before the cable TV explosion...when the Hogs were lucky to have one or two televised football games a year, Eells was the man.

During my years in Arkansas media and working in communications around these parts, I got to meet Eells a couple of times. The reputation as the "nicest guy" was true.

Now maybe McFadden will learn from his own mistakes and give us some new Razorbacks memories in the seasons to come. But those memories will have a different "voice" when I hear them on the radio.

Arkansas' Nutt: We'll Move On After McFadden's Injury [AP via Sporting News]
Voice of the Razorbacks Dies in Car Accident [KATV]
The Nicest Guy I Ever Knew In Sports Reporting Has Died [Arkansas Times]

Playing Catch Up: Rockstar and Anakin

2006-07-28T06:07:00.000-05:00

I always vow to get back to regular updates, then I only pull it off in bursts of activity.

Among the things catching my eyes as I roam through the series of tubes.

A Ferrari ain't no pod racer - Hayden Christensen spends 8 hours with tow truck driver when car breaks down. Born again tow truck driver doesn't recognize the actor.
Thanks to my cousin Chris for emailing me this story about Sen. Ted Stevens willing to go to on The Daily Show and explain his Theory of the Tubes.
Sure, I've been watching Rockstar: Supernova. I think the talent across the whole group isn't as strong as last year, but I still have some favorites: Storm, Toby, Dilana and Lukas (of course, my friend Heather ruined Lukas for me by pointing out the similarities between him and Azrael Abyss). But oh my...Storm. And why is the tone deaf chick who just doesn't seem to get it, Zayra, still on the show?!!?!
And Arkansas Business lets its hair down as Ladder blogger and Jonworld buddy Lance noted this week that Metallica has finally gone the iTunes route. One might not normally think of the AB readership as having many 'tallica fans (of course I'm one) but don't you think Warren Stephens probably has Kill 'Em All tucked away somewhere?

I promise more soon.

Barkley Switches Teams

2006-07-28T05:56:00.000-05:00

No, not like that...not that there's anything wrong with it.

Former NBA star and Alabama native Charles Barkley says he's a Democrat now that the Republican Party "has lost their minds." Barkley, who once said he'd run for governor in Alabama as a Republican, criticized the Iraq war and other topics in a speech, where he said he realized there was more to life than "playing basketball and stockpiling money."

Then he had to go and give a shout out to my state:

"If it wasn't for Arkansas and Mississippi, we'd be dead last in everything. I think we can do better."

N*Sync's Lance Bass Reveals That He's Gay [MSNBC]
Barkley Eyes Alabama Governor's Race as a Democrat [USA Today]

Sympathy for the Richards

2006-07-21T06:01:00.000-05:00

Blog buddy Alan over at Some Final Thoughts brings up this week's news about a pardon for Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards for a 31-year-old traffic violation in Arkansas. Bass player, governor and potential presidential candidate Mike Huckabee apparently had some sympathy for the reckless driver. (sorry) Ark Dem-Gaz editorial cartoonist John Deering puts it all in perspective [see above].

Alan notes that the Stones haven't had a permanent bass player for a while and the governor will soon be term limited out of his job...

But I'm sure Richards is resting easier now. And the governor saw the story get picked up by media far and wide, providing him some cool points. Too bad we can't get him on Arsenio.

Governor Huckabee Pardons Keith Richards [KTHV]

YouTube, MyTube...Really, It's a Series of Tubes

2006-07-17T19:44:00.000-05:00

I'm as much a follower as the next guy. I've been enjoying the YouTube site with its massive amounts of video clips. I get nostalgic looking at old Duran Duran videos...laugh at the classic (and informative) Animanics "Countries of the World"...enjoy all the viral videos of the moment.

You know. I laughed. But maybe Ted Stevens was right when he said:

"The Internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes."

Or maybe he's just a crazy old man who doesn't really know jack sh!t about computers or the Internet.

What's that Sen. Stevens:

"I just the other day got - an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially."

YouTube Serves Up 100 Million Videos a Day Online [Reuters]
Internet 'Tubes' Speech Turns Spotlight, Ridicule Onto Sen. Stevens [San Jose Mercury News]

'Look Sir... Droids'

2006-07-12T06:16:00.000-05:00

NASA is looking to Star Wars for ideas. One scientist wants to see small, relatively inexpensive "smart" satellites that can "fly in formation" and conduct scientific experiments and exploration. Some test droids are up on the space shuttle now.

Said the scientist, a lead researcher at MIT:

"I rented the first 'Star Wars' movie and showed (a) class the scene where Luke is practicing the use of the Force with a floating droid," Miller told the Christian Science Monitor. "I said: 'I want three of those. How do we start doing this?'"

The results came in the form of 9-pound spheres the size of bowling balls, each crammed with computers, sensors and thrusters that allow the satellites to maneuver individually and en masse with precision.

NASA to Use Space Age 'Droid' Satellites [UPI]

Watching, Waiting

2006-07-11T08:27:00.000-05:00

And this morning, there's news of the failing health of Arkansas' lieutenant governor. The Arkansas Times blog says Lt. Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, who pulled out of the governor's race last year after his cancer diagnosis, is in "grave" condition at UAMS. He reportedly returned home after a second failed bone marrow transplant to treat a blood disorder that can lead to leukemia.

UPDATE: Rockefeller died Sunday.

'Many of the truths we cling to...

2006-07-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

...depend greatly on our own point of view."

Well, said, Obi-Wan.

Or to offer an example, ripped, as they say, from the headlines:

"We're moving along in a positive direction in many, many areas," said the U.S military's top spokesman in Baghdad. Or, as Iraq's national security adviser put it to Al-Jazeera, "We are at the gates of civil war."

Today's Papers [Slate]
Prime Minister Urges Unity, 'Love' [LA Times]
Iraqi Violence Escalates While Government Calls for Unity [Online Newshour]

crickets chirping

2006-07-11T06:05:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been pretty quiet around here. But in my defense, there are many other blogs with many more cobwebs (Dr. Mike anyone?!?!)

Haven't had as much time to devote to it lately...then I see blogworthy things but others beat me to the punch.

Saw Superman Returns...it was OK. Nicely done but not outstanding. Gimme more Batman or Spider-man. I'm even jazzed about that Transformers movie. Really looking forward to Clerks 2.

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2...I liked it. It was pretty good. Though a little longish.

So Boom!

2006-07-05T05:57:00.000-05:00

The whole Jonworld Family enjoyed Sherwood Family Festival last night, spreading out a blanket at crowded Sherwood Forest to await the fireworks.

Just as the fireworks show got underway, 4-year-old Alli says, "I need to go to the bathroom real bad. I don't want to watch the fireworks." Well, she did return after a trip to the Port-o-Potty and sat through the rest of the show. She later admitted she was glad she stayed.

On the walk to the car, 6-year-old Lucas asks this nugget (without any apparent set up): "Did you like it better when I was in mommy's tummy or do you like it better now when you have two extra people in your family?"

Caught a couple of camera phone shots of the fireworks - like the one above. Guess I'm glad I didn't photograph any kids and post em. After reading this, I think it's well-intentioned but kind of a misguided and silly position to take.

City Tells Photographer It Doesn't Want Pictures of Kids' Sports on Web (subscription required) [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Paul and Yoko Come Together???

2006-07-02T22:19:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't have believed it but apparently the debut of that new Beatles-Cirque du Soleil mash up in Vegas "Love" brought out the surviving Beatles - Paul and Ringo - along with Yoko Ono and others in the "family."

Says Fox News:

"For the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s stunning new Beatles show, “Love,” at the Mirage Hotel, a group of people came who have not been in the same room since — well, I don’t know — came together for one night only. Who would have thunk it?

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison — Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison — united for a moment in time to honor the group's historic accomplishments."

And not just were Paul...and The One Who Broke Up The Beatles in the same room...

"As on the stage when “Love” concluded to resounding thunderous applause, standing ovations and tears, McCartney actually kissed Ono. Time stopped. Hell froze over. Ono, who wore a bright white suit and a matching big white floppy hat which she wore all night, kissed him back."

In addition, John's first wife, Cynthia was there too. Awkward.

Would "love" to see the show, for sure.

"“Love” is just an exhilarating, phenomenal show; one that will not only revive the Beatles catalog but bring their music to a whole new generation."

Beatles 'Reunion' [Fox News.com]

Earlier on Jonworld:

Five for Friday: Beatlemania Edition [Jonworld]
For John [Jonworld]
Beep Beep...Beep Beep Yeah! [Jonworld]
Five for Friday: Desert Island Jams Edition [Jonworld]

Been Away So Long I Hardly Knew the Place...

2006-07-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

Back in town now after a weeklong family vacation to St. Louis. It was no mere vacation. It was a quest. It was a quest for fun.

And fun we found. There was the arch, Six Flags (loved that Batman ride), Grant's Farm, the riverboat, the Cardinals (who decided to snap an 8-game losing streak with a thrilling bottom of the 9th rally in our honor), and the zoo (loved the weeks' old giraffe and the frigid penguin habitat) There also was the lovely hotel, across the street from said arch. It featured a rooftop swimming pool. And we had fun, fun, fun, til it was finally time to load up the family truckster and head for central Arkansas. It was certainly good to sleep in my own bed after 5 nights on a sleeper sofa.

Got some catching up to do, but gotta get some more sleep now.

Depends on Your Definition of 'Throes'

2006-06-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

So sayeth the Cheney...

THEN: On the insurgency against US troops and the fledgling Iraqi government: "...I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." - CNN, Interview by Larry King, June 20, 2005.

NOW: "..."I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we've encountered." - Statement to National Press Club, June 20, 2006.

As the Wash Post media writer says about Cheney's statement yesterday to the National Press Club:

"But the difficulty here is that Cheney is subtly qualifying his remarks. He still believes in the last throes, but contends that nobody anticipated this level of violence, which is Beltway-speak for we didn't anticipate this level of violence."

Of course, in my book, Cheney's "I don't think anybody anticipated..." defense flies in the face of another Cheney nugget of wisdom, this one pre-war: "...my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." - "Meet the Press," March 16, 2003.

So when will his credibility to make these kinds of statements finally and truly be questioned????

Five For Friday: Cheneyvision Edition [Jonworld]
Cheney Stands by His 'Last Throes' Remark [Washington Post]
Media Notes: Fact-Checking the Veep [Wash Post]

Seven for Sunday, 6/18

2006-06-19T06:05:00.000-05:00

There's a new number 1 as I finally download and dig into the most recent Franz Ferdinand.

1. Walk Away - Franz Ferdinand - Sounds like a mix of Doors and early Beatles.
2. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Does sound similar to that Tom Petty song.
3. 20th Century Boy - Def Leppard
4. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand
5. Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand
6. Evil and a Heathen - Franz Ferdinand - "There's not a lot I wouldn't do"
7. Whatsername - Green Day

Moving on Up...

2006-06-13T20:25:00.000-05:00

I'm long overdue in noting changes to the blogging locales of some buddies. But they likely make up most of Jonworld's regular customers, so I've got to point out their new blogging directions. There's also a little irony involved. Or is it just a coincidence? I sometimes get them mixed up, so go ask Alanis.

Anyway, my buddy LT has let Dashboard slide in recent weeks, but he's had good reason. His real job is cutting into his recreational blogging. You can check him out now, blogging at his daytime job with Arkansas Business. AB recently redesigned its Web site (nice work, too) and Lance has his own blog devoted young professionals trying to climb the proverbial "Ladder." (I'm feeling doubly - you know, it's what Spinal Tap records in...doubly - embarassed because LT linked to one of my posts the other day).

Then there's AlanG, who started visiting Jonworld not long after its launch. He's always quick with the wit and is a Seinfeld fan to boot, so there you go. He recently decided to pack up his Electric Key Orchestra Journal and plug in a new site, full of wit and fun: Retirement is a B!tch (...then you die). Or fall off the ladder.

Check em out.

Love Malvern Style?

2006-06-13T19:09:00.000-05:00

Nice to see my high school alma mater, Malvern High School, making headlines. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of headlines you want: two teachers arrested on charges of sexual assault of a student.

In May, a substitute teacher was arrested after a student claimed he had sex with her. Said one student, "she was like the coolest sub here." Indeed.

Now this week, another teacher has been arrested. Heather Carter, 30, is charged after a 17-year-old female student said the two had a sexual relationship.

Guess that probably overshadows the Malvern Quiz Bowl team placing third in the small school division of the high school national championship tournament held earlier this month. Go Leopards!

Teacher Surrenders After Student Claims of Sexual Encounter [Today's THV]
Teacher Arrested for Sexual Assault [Today's THV]

...And in Sports

2006-06-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

For a politics and culture Web mag, Slate has had a spate (a Slate spate, if you will) of insightful and interesting sports articles, most recently analyzing the World Cup soccer tournament now underway and the underwhelming Stanley Cup hockey finals.

So is it cultural arrogance that keeps Americans from liking soccer? Is it really a commie sport because they don’t use their hands? Dave Eggers, in excerpt from his book, examines those issues as well as tracking the ups and downs of the sport in the U.S.

And the poor NHL. Back in 1999, I started getting in to hockey when Little Rock became home to one (the GlacierCats) and then another (the RiverBlades) team. I grew to really enjoy the sport (along with the NHL’s Dallas Stars who brought home the Cup in ’99 and gave me one of my all time favorite sports moments that I witnessed in person). It was a power game like football, it moved fast like basketball and had more strategy than might appear at first glance like baseball. And I had never felt such energy as in playoff hockey…particularly overtime playoff hockey when it could all be over in a flash.

Then minor leagues overgrew. Both of the LR teams ultimately folded. Then a strike wipes out the NHL’s 2004-2005 season…and no one seemed to miss it. And it came back this year and no one seemed to care.

Slate’s Christ Shott argues the NHL should go back to move forward. But don't take away my Dallas Stars!

And a few weeks back, Slate took on the NBA and wondered if timeouts were killing the league. I’ve never much cared for pro basketball. Too much one-on-one, showboat stuff. Not enough teamwork. But I’ve got friends who are crazy over it…and I’d be happy if the Mavs go on and win it all this year (since Dallas is my adopted pro town between the Cowboys and the Stars).

The True Story of American Soccer [Slate]
Ice Guys Finish Last [Slate]
A Timeout to Kill [Slate]

Seven for Sunday, 6/11

2006-06-12T06:06:00.000-05:00

Changes are afoot on the music list, some obvious, some percolating just out of the top 7. Finally downloaded the Franz Ferdinand album "You Could Have It So Much Better." Had been holding off, despite liking every single off the first two albums so far. Just had a gnawing concern I wouldn't like much past the singles.

Fear not, the album, is pretty solid, I thought. It's loud and jangly and fun and funny. It is bound to get a good listening to in the coming weeks, along with the latest Rob Zombie. Although I've had Educated Horses a couple of weeks, it really started to catch on last week.

So what have I been listening to? Here's a list, based on my iPod playcount:

1. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers - But the RHCP stay strong.
2. 20th Century Boy - Def Leppard - A loud and delightful throwback.
3. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand
4. Walk Away - Franz Ferdinand
5. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie
6. Whatsername - Green Day - Nice bit of nostalgia surely we all feel at some point. "I remember the face but I can't recall the name/Now I wonder how whatsername has been"
7. No Way Back - Foo Fighters

Have This, I Must

2006-06-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

Gizmodo points me to the latest must have...a Yoda backpack. Made to look like the Jedi training scene in Empire Strikes Back.

As Gizmodo puts it:

"Star Wars nerds can add one more scene of the original trilogy to their re-enactment list. Inside this Yoda backpack you can place your lightsaber, your MacBook, and a cellphone to call mom to pick you up when you’re all done. If they’d only make a slave Leia full-sized plushie."

Ohhhh...slave Leia...

Yoda Plush Backpack [ThinkGeek]

Hogs = Groundskeeper Willie

2006-06-08T06:13:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it takes a while for the good stuff to trickle through the Internets. Buddy Murray emailed this link to my yesterday and it provided many a chuckle.

Sometime back - but more recently updated - Hey Jenny Slater linked SEC and several other college football teams to Simpsons characters. Now I do like me some Simpsons and this was well researched and well done.

The Georgia Bulldogs were compared to Homer. My Arkansas Razorbacks were tagged as the Scottish, kilt-wearing and derranged Groundskeeper Willie. I can think of worse...least they aren't sidekicks Lenny and Karl. Says Hey Jenny about the Hogs:

"A loner, an outsider, a funny-talkin' sort who comes off as just plain weird to most other people. Yet there's just something indescribably dangerous about them that can be counted on to rear its ugly head every once in a while."

Now Hey Jenny gives props for the idea to other sites which alternately compared ACC programs to Smurfs or football teams to rap acts. There, the Hogs are referred to as old school act Kool Keith:

"At this point, hardly ever mentioned when the mainstream talks about old school powers, but if you check the facts, they're up there. However, they may as well exist on another planet as far as the general public is concerned. Notoriously mercurial, and in the 2000's, they've been capable of just about anything, good and bad."

Letting No Good Idea Go Unstolen [Hey Jenny Slater]
Smurftacular Look Back at the ACC Season [Golden Tornado]
http://sexy-results.blogspot.com/2005/07/school-spiritms.html [Sexy Results]

Seven for Sunday, 6/4

2006-06-05T06:10:00.000-05:00

As expected, the monthlong Metal Month on VH1 Classic finally got to me - about a week late, I guess. But I indulged in some longtime favorites, though the top of the chart remained the same. So here's where my iPod took the past week.

Here's the top 7, based on my iPod playcount (last week):
1. Danni California - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1)
2. 20th Century Boy - Def Leppard (-)
3. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (7)
4. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (6)
5. Photograph - Def Leppard (-)
6. Foolin' - Def Leppard (-)
7. We Will Rock You - Queen (-)

Aren't You That Girl?

2006-06-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

Remember that girl from the sad but really sweet movie "My Girl"...you know the one with the luminous eyes who gave the engaging performance as a tom boy whose best friend (Macaulay Culkin) dies in an accident? Wonder where she's been since? Well, I did...and finally I have an answer...as well as an answer to how she deals with all those folks who approach her and say "Aren't you that girl from 'My Girl'?" and "Where have you been?"

Here's her nicely done essay on the topic, "Peaking at 10," which I was put on to from Pop Candy.

She writes about her conclusion on dealing with success at a young age:

Success at a young age not only gives you a taste of grandeur and attention that you forever strive to duplicate, but it also gives you that precious sense that you can achieve absolutely anything. The trick is to learn how to let the past drive you to your next, bigger, and better peak.

The essay apparently is part of a collection, "Before the Mortgage: Real Stories of Brazen Love, Broken Leases and the Perplexing Pursuit of Adulthood."

Peaking at 10 [Sirens Magazine]

Props for the Peppers

2006-06-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

Slate's Jody Rosen (who previously had an interesting piece on "Poptimism/Does hating rock make you a music critic?") goes Under the Bridge downtown and praises the new double album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've been loving the 28-song marathon. I've read good reviews and not so good reviews.

With the new album debuting at #1 in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere, Rosen notes "The Chili Peppers are one of the world's top-grossing live bands and have attained, in the third decade of their career, the near-universal esteem of critics, who recognize them as the skilled standard-bearers of commercial rock."

She also points to the oft mentioned the good and the bad: singer Anthony Kiedis' "limited—almost nonexistent—vocal range" but also outstanding the musicianship of guitarist John Fruscante and bass master Flea.

So where's she going with this? To a point that I certainly agree with:

"In a landscape cluttered with dour rockers—post-grunge mopers, emo mewlers, and ineffectual indie depressives—there's charm in the Chili Peppers' old fashioned belief that the point of rock is to make merry."

The Improbable Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers [Slate]
Seven For Seven, 5/21 + Chili Peppers [Jonworld]
Stadium Arcadium Review [Rolling Stone]
Stadium Arcadium Review [The Onion A.V. Club]

At the Movies: X3 and Over the Hedge

2006-05-30T06:08:00.000-05:00

Got the chance to get to the movies twice over the holiday weekend (hooray!).

Was very apprehensive about "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" and had lowered expectations based on the lack of Bryan Singer and early negative reports. It was action packed and the visuals were generally well done. But I thought it was for the most part missing the heart and substance of the first two, Singer-directed X-Men movies. There were plot holes a plenty (SPOILER ALERT: I thought Jean and Storm were best buds, but she doesn't seem too sad about Jean's return as The Phoenix.) And there was not near enough Mystique (at left). :)

Part 3 was entertaining and had all the trappings of a last chapter (major characters dying right and left). It was OK, just suffered in comparison to the first two - which I re-watched this week to get in gear, so they were fresh in mind.

Now we took the kids to see "Over the Hedge," a fast-paced and enjoyable diversion. A fairly simple story of a wily racoon talking some fellow woodland creatures into snatching food from the suburbs. Did I detect an subtle anti-consumerist message and was big time Republican Bruce Willis voicing his character in a line dissing massive SUVs only containing one human?!?! Nice cast with Steve Carell's squirrel stealing the show. As far as Dreamworks computer animated work, I thought it better than Madagascar but not quite up to Shrek.

Seven for Sunday plus 2 days

2006-05-30T05:54:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day threw me off my list schedule - among other things. But here's what I listened to the last week. Now as for what I watched, I've spent a lot of the month and more than a little of this past holiday weekend watching met-ul videos and shows on VH1 Classic. The channel dubbed May the Metal Month and I have been banging my head for weeks. Long live 'eavy met-ul.

I imagine my playlist for next week will better reflect some met-ul. But the past week, it was still mostly the new Chili Peppers album that kept my attention.

1. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers (last week: 7)
2. Tell Me Baby - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1)
3. Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers (-)
4. Warlocks - Red Hot Chili Peppers (-)
5. Made You Feel Better - Red Hot Chili Peppers (4)
6. No Way Out - Foo Fighters (-)
7. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (-)

2006-05-25T06:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a favorite daily read, the Media Notes column by Washington Post writer Howard Kurtz, for pointing me to an interesting post by conservative blogger John Hinderaker of Powerline concerning the Republican strategy for the November election.

“The administration's strategy, as outlined by the Post, is to run mostly on three issues: tax cuts, immigration and national security. The administration is urging Republicans not to run away from Iraq, but rather to emphasize the conflict as a key national security issue…

“The public's negative view of Iraq is driven mostly by biased press coverage, not the realities on the ground.”

As Nazi (and don't even think it - I'm not suggesting anyone is a Nazi...just using a relevant quote by one) propoganda guy Joseph Goebbels once said:

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

What are the realities on the ground? Sure, Iraq has somewhat of a government but there – and I gleen this from as many media outlets and sources as I can – there is not a lot of security in many parts of the country and there is simmering sectarian conflict bubbling just below the surface. I don’t buy that there is some vast left wing media conspiracy to lie about how things are going in Iraq, fueled by blind fury against Bush. That’s ridiculous. But hey, when you don't like the message, keep claiming the messenger is biased (and eventually some will come to believe it).

Heck, Condi Rice said “thousands of tactical errors" were made in Iraq. Bremer said we weren’t prepared for the post-war insurgency. Cheney said we’d be greeted as liberators. And where is all that Iraqi oil that we were told would be flowing in a post-Saddam Iraq???

Seven for Sunday, 5/21 + Chili Peppers review

2006-05-22T05:53:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to and mulling over the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new double album, Stadium Arcadium, since its release a couple weeks ago. It has exceeded my expectations and I think it's every bit on par with my favorite Chili Peppers album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Double albums are tricky beasts to begin with. In my experience as a listener, they are either a landmark statement of talent and skill. They are designed - whether there's an explicit concept or not - to be listened to in their entireity from start to finish.

Or they are bloated "too much of a good thing" indulgences by bands who needed an editor to cut it down to manageble size (Foos: You hear that? I love ya. You're still one of my favorites but In Your Honor just had "too many notes".)

On one hand, I enjoy the challenge of a band trying to make a statement. On the other hand, as a double album, there are so many songs, it's easy for many to be overlooked.

This album is so consistently strong but lacking a unifying musical statement. It's just a collection of 28 solid songs, each existing on their own. Mix em and match em and set up your own playlist. There isn't a bad song I've heard yet on a handful of full listens.

There are several standouts. From the first single, "Dani California" to the dance/pop/funk/rap/pseudo disco "Tell Me Baby" its a fun affair. The musicianship is strong from bass master Flea's dive bomb runs during the break of "Desecration Smile" to the driving riff of "Torture Me." Guitarist John Frusciante never ceases to amaze me alternately riffing ("Readymade"), then throwing out the most delicate melody ("Harder to Concentrate" and "Snow (Hey Oh)"). I love the 90s alt-rock sound of "Make You Feel Better," which seems like it should've been on the "Reality Bites" soundtrack.

Much has been made over the years about Anthony Keidis' voice. C'mon, he started as a rapper/shouter of a funk party band that has morphed into one of the greatest funk rock bands of all time. He's come a long way. He works hard and while his voice may not be perfect, it's perfect for the Peppers.

In this second week of release, I've been concentrating more on the second disc as evidenced by my top 7 (based on my iPod playcount):

1. Tell Me Baby - Red Hot Chili Peppers - After Dani California, the most infectious melody on the album.
2. Hard To Concentrate - Red Hot Chili Peppers - A plainive state of love.
3. 21st Century - Red Hot Chili Peppers - But we still do the funk rock. Driven by a liquid-like bass line.
4. Made You Feel Better - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suddenly I was back in the early to mid 90s - and it was good. Would've been right at home on a Social Distortion album.
5. Desecration Smile - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Readymade - Red Hot Chili Peppers
7. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Clean Slate

2006-05-16T06:44:00.000-05:00

My aforementioned Net and work problems prevented me from posting these articles in a more timely manner. But one of my favorite online destinations, Slate, had a good run of articles last week on music criticism, a favorite topic of mine.

Check em out in your spare time and we'll discuss.

The Perils of Poptism: Does Hating Rock Make You A Music Critic [Slate]
If You Don't Like Rap, Are You a Racist? [Slate]

Seven for Sunday (5/14) plus two days

2006-05-16T06:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry Internet connection problems - I'm told I need a new modem - and work have conspired to keep us apart. But never fear, here's what I've been listening to the past week...and there's a definite theme: I got the new Chili Peppers album. I like it but I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around 28 new songs.

So here are the songs I've listened to most the past week, based on my iPod playcount:

1. Danni California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Desecration Smile - Red Hot Chili Peppers - I guess it probably shouldn't surprise that the top 4 songs are the first two on each disc of the new double album.
4. Tell Me Baby - Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand
6. Worldwide Suicide - Pearl Jam
7. Torture Me - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Flea is just amazing on this new album.

Operation: Mindcrime Strikes Back

2006-05-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

This shouldn't surprise you but I'm overdue with my take on the new album by Queensryche, a longtime favorite band of mine. They went and did a sequel to their landmark 1988 concept album about politics, corruption and a doomed love, Operation: Mindcrime.

Now the first album is an all-time favorite of mine. I was concerned that a sequel wasn't only not necessary but would harm the legacy of the original (kind of like the Star Wars prequels). For my review, I turn in part to a recent email exchange with buddy Scott - who was the singer for the band I was in while in college, Mad Hatter. We both agreed on the classic status of the original.

The thing about Operation: Mindcrime, was that not only was the concept story interesting and timely social commentary, the music was compelling and not too prog. But even more importantly the songs were very strong, many of them ("Eyes of a Stranger," "I Don't Believe in Love," for example) could stand alone, even without the storyline.

Overall, I really wanted to like Operation: Mindcrime II. I hoped it would live up to its name. After continued listens, I must conclude it does not. The music and songs aren't that strong. The storyline is muddled.

Says Scott, more harshly:

"...Here we have nothing but overwrought, off-tempo synchopation that serves no purpose other than to make the song unhummable; we have frankly embarassing lyrics, and not a memorable chorus among the bunch. ... The story, what there is of it, could be told in 3 songs (I get out, I kill him, I'm CRAY-ZEE!), and is instead stretched out over 17 tracks. The soaring harmonized solos are gone, replaced by that incessant pah-pah-pah of off-tempo synchopation that the drummer and bassist are having a great time with, but that just gives the listener a headache. Geoff is displaying none of his chops here, unless you count the over-reliance on keyboards."

My emailed response:

"For the most part, I agree with you. There's not really anything memorable. I like the first couple of songs enough, but as the album drags on, there's a certain sameness to each track.

"There's not even much social commentary beyond "I'm American" which I think is a pretty decent song and probably the standout of the album. Where's "Speak" and "Spreading the Disease" and "Revolution Calling"?!?!

"They don't even really refer to the music of the first album - that I could discern. That might've been cool, if they had played with some of the original riffs...echoing them, then having them evolve.

"I feel like some of the shortcomings were budget limitations. Maybe they didn't have the budget for anything as dramatic as "Suite Sister Mary." Also, Geoff's voice seemed fried. I think that's why you don't hear him display his chops...because the upper register is gone after all these years.

"I don't think on it's own, it's horrible. But because it's trying to follow up a classic, it definitely pales by comparison."

Since it's my blog, I get a longer take. :) So the bottom line, sadly, is that the best thing you can do with the Mindcrime sequel is use it as an excuse to listen to the original a few times.

Catching Up: Katrina Fatigue and Rockstar

2006-05-09T20:44:00.000-05:00

So I'll try to catch up on some stuff I had meant to blog over the last few days. Been trying to get back in the blogging swing but between work and work at home, blogging time is really tight. I'm sure you can relate, right?

Liked Wash Post media writer Howard Kurtz's take over the weekend about "Katrina fatigue" by the media and the public. So much of the city is still a wreck eight months after the hurricane, but we all tend to get distracted by other stuff.

"Like many Americans, I've followed the Katrina story closely, but then tuned out for days when other news or the daily strains of life intervened. After eight months you assume they must be making some progress. ... But then you come here and see the devastation up close, and discover that things are far worse than you imagined."

Now I was skeptical about Rockstar INXS, but it turned out to be a fun summer diversion. Now I'm sketical again, because I have been a huge Jason Newsted fan from back when he was kicking out the low end of the jams with Metallica. Now he'll be playing bass for a new "supergroup" being formed for this season's take on Rockstar...and he will join Tommy Lee and Gilby Clarke to find a new singer. I'll tune in to see.

And I know it's been floating around the Internets but a friend just sent me this clip via YouTube...and it's pretty amazing.

Nicely done viral marketing for Lost. And here too.

Seven for Sunday, 5/7

2006-05-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Didn't get much of a chance to blog this week, but I did listen to music. Took a weekend trip to Dallas, and the iPod provided the soundtrack.

Here is what I listened to most the past week, based on the iPod playcount (last week):

1. Danni California - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Looking forward to getting the full album this week. (1)
2. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (2)
3. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (4)
4. I'm American - Queensryche (5)
5. The Beast and the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold (-)
6. Mr. Brightside - The Killers - Had been a while since I had listened to The Killers, but this one, from a year or so ago, certainly hit the spot. (-)
7. Worldwide Suicide - Pearl Jam (3)

Han Shoots First on DVD!!

2006-05-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

Oh happy day. Lucasfilm will get more of my money in September. The original theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars films will be released on DVD.

This September: The Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD [StarWars.com]

Seven for Sunday, 4/30

2006-05-01T06:12:00.000-05:00

Chili Peppers still strong as the chart stays mostly the same this week.

The top 7, based on iPod playcount (last week's chart position):

1. Danni California - Red Hot Chili Peppers (1)
2. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (3)
3. World Wide Suicide - Pearl Jam (4)
4. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (2)
5. I'm American - Queensryche (5)
6. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie (6)
7. Lonely Day - System of a Down (7)

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite?

2006-04-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to del.icio.us for pointing me to the World Rock Paper Scissors Society ("Serving the Needs of Decision Makers Since 1918") and its handy guide to the myth that is the use of "dynamite" in the classic game of Rock Paper Scissors.

I must admit that I have been a dynamite user, having learned the art of RPS on the playgrounds of Pratt Elementary School in Malvern, Ark. But now I have seen the light and resolve to preach the anti-dynamite gospel.

Though the society has not officially ruled on the "most devisive issue in theoretical RPS," the Society says the introduction of dynamite disrupts the elegant mathematical harmony of the game. And what does paper do to dynamite? (Fuse burns paper, we always said.)

They quote a former World RPS executive vice chair of theoretical throws:

"The misconception of Dynamite still hangs above RPS games like a great Death's Head, forcing otherwise reasonable RPS players into a whirling vortex of circular arguments. Let it be known that The World RPS Society does not now, nor has it ever condoned the use of Dynamite in professional matches."

Glad that's cleared up.

The Myth of Dynamite Exposed [World RPS Society]

FEMA: That's All You Had To Say

2006-04-27T08:07:00.000-05:00

A Congressional committee thinks FEMA should be scrapped and rebuild better, stronger and faster. Sounds reasonable in the wake of Katrina.

Of course, for me, this roundup of the FEMA news in the LA Times cuts to the chase:

"FEMA was independent — and highly regarded — until March 2003, after the Department of Homeland Security was created because of the Sept. 11 attacks. Designed to put all domestic security programs under a single umbrella, the new department combined 22 agencies employing more than 170,000 people."

To paraphrase the bumper sticker that's a popular item in the Clinton Library Gift Shop ("I Miss Bill"): I Miss James Lee Witt

Panel Says to Scrap FEMA [LA Times]
Bush Tore Down the FEMA That Clinton Built Up [The Hill]

A Katrina refresher:
TGIF [Jonworld]
Reports of Death Greatly Exagerrated? [Jonworld]
A Can't Do Government [Jonworld]
'Hot and Stinking Superdome' [Jonworld]
When The Levee Breaks [Jonworld]

On Pro Sports Age Restrictions

2006-04-26T09:43:00.000-05:00

So Dan Wetzel, writing for Yahoo Sports about the evolving story that ties USC RB Reggie Bush to a sports agent after a potentially smelly real estate deal, almost convinces me that there should be no age limit for pro sports. Currently the NFL and NBA have age restrictions. He says the NCAA's "outdated amateur rules" hurt student athletes. He almost convinces me.

He argues that because Bush was forced to come back for his sophomore year at USC. The school, the coach and folks selling USC trinkets made millions, Wetzel writes, while Bush was forced to live like a "pauper." He goes on to compare age restrictions in football and basketball to other sports (gymnastics or figure skating) and careers.

"By the time Britney Spears would have graduated from Kentwood (La.) High School, she sold 19 million albums for Jive Records. No one suggested she should have been singing in the school choir, let alone forced to attend Louisiana State for three years before she was 'ready' to embark on a career."

Back when Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett was challenging the age restriction by seeking to enter the NFL draft after his freshman year, JP favorite Gregg Easterbrook, who writes the Tuesday Morning Quarterback column (who has moved back to ESPN from NFL.com, I see) defended age restrictions as a matter of the leagues protecting the quality of play - and thus a money issue. Back in 2004, he used Wetzel's trick when he wrote on his blog for his day job with The New Republic:

"Why shouldn't a 19-year-old be allowed to be an airline pilot--how dare the airlines keep 19-year-olds out of the cockpit? Numerous professions require minimum age, possession of degrees or minimum years of training experience for entry."

Easterbrook goes on to argue that the NBA experienced a decade long plummet in ratings and popularity when it started drafting high schoolers who were not ready for prime time. The quality of play suffered, he argues, because those players lacked training in fundamentals.

"They launch crazy off-balance shots, refuse to do anything but go one-on-one, and endlessly try to mega-dunk like in the shoe commercials--but they miss ten shots for every one mega-dunk that succeeds."

I think I still agree with Easterbrook more. The NFL and professional sports leagues are businesses and they can (and should) set their own minimum qualifications.

But then again, I also think that college athletes should be allowed a stipend (yes, even on top of their athletic scholarship) so that they can live and not be taken in by some of these con artists posing as agents who are out to make a quick buck.

Let 'em Play [Yahoo Sports]
Easterblog [The New Republic]

Chernobyl +20

2006-04-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

Lots of coverage this week on the 20th anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia (then the Soviet Union), the world's worst nuclear accident.

Many heartbreaking stories and photos of the lasting effect of radiation from the plant explosion.

I am a supporter of nuclear energy as an alternative to oil. But no one can dispute the dangers inherent and the need for absolute safety.

Writes the AP: "The April 26, 1986, pre-dawn explosion and fire became the world's worst nuclear accident, spewing radiation across vast stretches of Europe. It cast a radioactive shadow over the health of millions of people; many believe it contributed to the Soviet Union's eventual collapse."

As for the human toll:
"Death tolls connected to the blast remain hotly debated, as do the long-term health effects.

"Thousands have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, one of the only internationally accepted illnesses linked to Chernobyl, and the U.N. health agency said about 9,300 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation.

"Some groups, however, including Greenpeace, have warned that death tolls could be 10 times higher and accused the U.N. of whitewashing the long-term effects of the accident in order to restore trust in the safety of atomic power.

"About 350,000 people were evacuated from their homes following the explosion, never to return. A whole city, Pripyat, and dozens of villages were left to decay, and experts say some may not be habitable again for centuries, perhaps even longer."

Chernobyl Disaster Anniversary [Yahoo Full Coverage]

Seven for Sunday 4/23

2006-04-24T05:57:00.000-05:00

As expected, there's a new number one song for the week.

Here are the top 7 most listened-to songs on my iPod, based on playcount.

1. Danni California - Red Hot Chili Peppers (2)
2. No Way Back - Foo Fighters - I realized when I reorganized my current playlist that this one had migrated down, so it took the week off. But now its back. Seems to be everywhere around the house since its played over the intro on the Madden football GameBoy game my son just got.
3. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (1)
4. World Wide Suicide - Pearl Jam (4)
5. I'm American - Queensryche (3)
6. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie (6)
7. Lonely Day - System of a Down (-)

Star Trek XI??

2006-04-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Reuters points to a Daily Variety report that says sci-fi saga Star Trek is headed for another big screen revival, this time thanks to Lost producer and Mission Impossible director J.J. Abrams (Jeez, this guy is everywhere these days.) (Hey, I didn't know he wrote the screenplay for Regarding Henry...my third favorite Harrison Ford movie.)

Now, Star Wars is my true love when it comes to space sagas, but I am a Trek fan (having been acquainted with it longer, since I remember watching the original series on weekday afternoons back in the pre-SW days). I think they oversaturated the market and quality took a hit in recent years. I thought niether of the last two movies, Nemesis nor Inssurection, where that good.

Maybe a reboot of the whole thing is in order and Abrams seems to know a thing or two about entertaining drama. And maybe they can pull off the kind of kick a$$ reincarnation that Battlestar Galactica has achieved (coincidentally orchestrated by a former Trek writer...who did the screenplays for the last good Trek movie, First Contact.)

Star Trek Set for 2008 Revival: Report [Reuters via Yahoo]
Five for Friday, Vol. 22: Favorite (non SW, non Indy) Harrison Ford Movies [Jonworld]

Because I Said So!

2006-04-19T08:22:00.000-05:00

The president resorted yesterday to a version of every parent's favorite refrain when your judgement is doubted and you've no better defense.

The scene was media questioning of criticisms by several former generals of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield's job performance re: Iraq.

"I hear the voices and I read the front page and I know the speculation but I'm the decider and I decide what is best and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Secretary of defense."

My buddy Scott has this comparison:

"Doesn't he sound like the fascist dad in every bad teen-rebellion comedy of the 80s? "As long as you're under MY roof, in MY country, you'll live by MY rules!

"Which would be funny, if I didn't believe that was actually the way he thinks."

Bush: 'I'm the Decider and I Decide What is Best' [Crooks and Liars]

You Mean No One Suggested 'Welcome to the Rock'?!?

2006-04-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

So the city of Little Rock is seeking a new nickname and enlisted the public to help in its search.

After a local radio DJ suggested the city shop for a new nickname, something memorable like The Big Easy or The Windy City, public comment was sought by the city. City officials received about 200 responses, they said. Now a committee will review the suggestions and either pick one, pick something different or pick nothing at all.

"Among the favorites identified by the city are: River City, Diamond of the South, Southern Comfort, America's Gem Stone, Bridge City and several suggestions that play on the word "rock," said assistant city manager Bryan Day."

What, no one suggested "Welcome to the Rock"?!?! C'mon, imagine the ad campaign with Sean Connery intoning said line as he does while playing John Mason in the movie. And using a hackneyed line from an action flick is no worse than "A River Runs Through It," which was suggested.

Ehhh, what do I care, I live in Sherwood, "Rated recently by the Wall Street Journal as one of the ten best cities in the United States in which to live." Doesn't roll off the tongue like my hometown Malvern as "The Brick Capital of the World."

Little Rock Searching for New Nickname [AP via Baxter Bulletin]
Suggested Nicknames From Public for Little Rock [The AP via the Baxter Bulletin]

Seven for Sunday, 4/16

2006-04-17T05:47:00.000-05:00

Two long time favorite bands are back with new music and hit the countdown of my most-listened to songs of the week.

Here is the list, based on my iPod playcount (last week's):

1. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand - Hanging on to #1 for dear life with some new challengers. But I still enjoy this tight piece of Brit pop rock. (1)
2. Danni California - Red Hot Chilip Peppers - Another slab of funk-infused rock that kind of picks up the storyline of "By the Way" and paints some more of that "Californication" landscape. Keidis lays down some interesting rhymes but I think the part that grabbed me first was the solo at the end. Fruscante tears it up as he plays over Flea's meandering bass line. It's delivered so effortlessly you know these guys are at the top of their game. Looking forward to hearing the whole album now. (-)
3. I'm American - Queensryche - OK, expect a full review on "Operation:Mindcrime II" this week as I gave myself a week to listen to and consider what I thought of a sequel to one of my favorite albums of all time. This song is strong enough with the wonderfully relevant chorus: "Cuz I'm free, I deserve everything I can get/I'm American, I'm American." (-)
4. Worldwide Suicide - Pearl Jam - Been a fan of PJ for a while but didn't get the last 2 albums for one reason or another. This seems to be a straight forward rock tune with Eddie Veder capturing the feel of the moment with the US at its war on terror. This one has really started catching on me in the last week or so. (3)
5. One Foot in Hell - Queensryche - It's been 18 years since the original "Mindcrime." One wonders if a sequel is necessary but this is another strong song. (-)
6. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie - Usually, I get a kick outta hearing the kids singing along to the music while we're in the car. When I heard Lucas singing the chorus of this one, I thought, "Uh-oh...what have I done?" (4)
7. Perfect Situation - Weezer - This long time number 1 may be on the verge of falling out. Still a great tune. (5)

Best Jobs

2006-04-14T10:29:00.000-05:00

So Dallas buddy Dr. Mike points me to the annual list of "The Best Jobs in America" as a "fun read." Poor Mike, an actuary, bemoans the state of the pension business (slowly becoming extinct). But hey look at this, public relations specialist is #20 on the list...even ahead of actuaries at #24. Now if only I was getting paid the average salary. :)

You know, as a recovering journalist, I spent a long time resisting the accusation that I worked in public relations. It was always the Dark Side of The Force to any journalist. I work in "communications" I would counter. PR people work for PR firms, serving a variety of clients, I would argue. I work to promote and communicate information for one entity - and I usually don't work with the public, mainly employees or members of the media. Oh well, never underestimate the power of the Dark Side.

Lost Boy

2006-04-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

OK, I admit it. I am a "Lost" fan. Probably my favorite show on TV these days now that "West Wing" is going away soon (though some argue it jumped the shark already). It just edges out "West Wing," "Battlestar Galactica," "The Daily Show," "My Name is Earl," "The Office," "House" and "Nip/Tuck" (and sometimes "Grey's Anatomy" but don't tell anyone) as my must-see prime time TV (thank goodness for DVR). Yeah, sure I miss "Seinfeld" (though I can catch it on DVD whenever) but these are good days for TV. So many great shows.

Anyway, I have been with "Lost" since the first episode aired and still think it has held up well as an entertaining, dark and mysterious show. Tonight was no different. So apparently the island can heal cancer, paralysis and impotence...hmmm...

Well, I do like to follow up each new episode by checking to see what the folks on the Net are seeing and thinking. Always can get some screen captures...such as "The Map."

Here's where I do most of my Lost board watching.

I personally don't think the show can last past 3 or 4 seasons. How long before most folks will stop caring whether or not those survivors are rescued from that weird island?? We'll see. Hopefully it'll be a fun ride.

Fool Me Once...Won't Get Fooled Again (Oh Yes, We Will!)

2006-04-12T08:24:00.000-05:00

President Bush once famously mangled the old saying "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me." He said in 2002:

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

I was reminded of that this week in TIME magazine in an essay by retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, who served as director of operations at the Pentagon's military joint staff. He is now speaking out against the war in Iraq and criticizes the administration for not focusing on Afghanistan and al-Qaeda following 9/11. He invokes the famous anti-Vietnam War song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who in saying we have been fooled again, this time on Iraq.

"I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat--al-Qaeda. I retired from the military four months before the invasion, in part because of my opposition to those who had used 9/11's tragedy to hijack our security policy."

This all was slammed home for me again this morning when I read in the Washington Post that a secret report has come to light that again undermines the stated initial reason for invading Iraq: that the rogue country had weapons of mass destruction and was poised to use them.

Fifty days after the fall of Baghdad, the president declared: "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." This was in the form of two small trailers that were said to be mobile labs for making biological weapons.

Reports the Post:

"A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement."

You see, we can get fooled again.

"There was no connection to anything biological," said one expert who studied the trailers. Another recalled an epithet that came to be associated with the trailers: "the biggest sand toilets in the world."

No, I'm starting to feel like we're the biggest sand toilets in the world.

Why Iraq Was a Mistake [TIME magazine]
Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried the Case for War [Washington Post]

Alice Back In Chains

2006-04-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

Not sure if I'm happy about this or not. I really like the band Alice In Chains but four years after lead singer Layne Staley died, I'm not sure how I feel about a reunion with a new singer.

But apparently that will come to pass, according to Pollstar. The band will soon begin a 25-date tour of Europe with vocalist William DuVall of LA band Comes the Fall. No word on if he will take on the vocal duties permanently.

Now AIC's "Dirt" is one of my all time favorite albums and I've certainly enjoyed guitarist Jerry Cantrell's solo work (check "Anger Rising," "Angel Eyes" and "Locked On" off Degradation Trip). I'm apprehensive of an AIC reforming.

JP's 7 Favorite AIC songs (thanks to Allmusic for reviews that nail much of the reason I like each tune):
1. Would - The band I was in while in college, Mad Hatter, used to cover this. Ominous bass line.
2. Them Bones
3. Hate To Feel - "Used to be curious/no the sh!t's sustenance"
4. Man In a Box - They had me at first riff.
5. Put You Down - I'm sure it was a drug pean, but it reminded me of someone I once dated: "I can see what the cost will be/honey, I don't need you, I just can't put you down"
6. I Stay Away
7. Dam That River

Oh how I miss that truly unique mixture of the voices of Staley and Cantrell.

Thanks to Pop Candy for the tip.
A New Chapter for Alice [Pollstar]

Short Takes: Movies and Corpses

2006-04-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

Catching up on some thoughts I meant to blog the last couple days. Got to do some movie watching over the weekend.

Saw "House of Flying Daggers" on cable. Awesome color, sound and movement in what was a very operatic style story. The "echo game" scene was memorable as was the fight in the bamboo forest, but this was no mere chop sockey flick, rising to include elements of dance and ballet, as Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott both noted when the movie was released. Writes Scott,

"Two [scenes] in particular - the "echo game" set piece that takes place in a brothel and a later battle in a grove of whispering bamboo - are likely to become classic reference points, cherished like favorite numbers from "Singin' in the Rain" or "An
American in Paris."

Personally, I liked "Hero" better as to me the story had more heft and didn't putter out at the end as Daggers seemed to.

Also finally got to see "Fahrenheit 9/11." Provocative and gripping for sure - especially if you have some doubts about how this administration has reacted to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While certainly slanted to Moore's opinions, he does deal with actual footage of the president and others and reports facts that have been reported elsewhere (such as how some Saudi Arabian citizens, including members of the bin Laden family were allowed flights out of the U.S. even while all other flights were grounded after the attacks). This certainly has to be viewed separately as a piece of political expression and a movie. It is pretty engaging as a movie, though a bit slow and ridiculous at times (when Moore takes to an ice cream truck loudspeaker to read the Patriot Act). Writes the NY Times' Scott (a favorite reviewer of mine),

"After you leave the theater, some questions are likely to linger about Mr. Moore's views on the war in Afghanistan, about whether he thinks the homeland security program has been too intrusive or not intrusive enough, and about how he thinks the government should have responded to the murderous jihadists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11."

And finally, I must add a recent blog post from friend and former bandmate Scott. Entitled "Phillip and the Corpse" this nicely done fiction fragment reminds me that I recently loaned him my (UPDATE: OK, so I was busted, it was Susan "Official Wife of JP"'s copy) copy of "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers," a fun and fascinating book. Now Scott, "Phillip" is a movie I cannot wait to see. :)

It Depends on Your Definition of "Leak"

2006-04-11T08:58:00.000-05:00

Howard Kurtz, Wash Post media writer, makes a point today about the recent revelation that it was the president who apparently authorized the "leak" of the identity of an undercover CIA operative - allegedly in response to critics of the administration's case for going to war in Iraq.

Kurtz writes, within the context of a recent "leak" alleging the administration is mulling a nuke strike against Iran if it doesn't give up its nuke program, "Interesting juxtaposition, by the way, that Bush acknowledged today that he okayed Libby's 2003 leak on Iraq because he wanted the 'truth' out--especially when some of the administration's own experts were disputing that 'truth' about whether Saddam was trying to buy yellowcake uranium from Africa.

"Oh, and by the way, if the president wanted the truth out, and he was declassifying the thing anyway, why not make a speech about it, rather than having it secretly slipped to Judith Miller [the NY Times reporter jailed for contempt after refusing to give up her source for the leaking of the CIA agent's identity] (who didn't write a story anyway)?"

Going Nuclear Over Leaks [Washington Post]

Seven for Sunday (two days late)

2006-04-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Running a little behind this week, but life is mostly back to normal after my two-week Nine Inch Nails phase. So let's check out what I listened to the last week.

The top 7, based on my iPod playcount
1. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand - "So they say you're a troubled boy/just because you like to destroy, all the things that bring the idiots joy/well, what's wrong with a little destruction?"
2. No Way Back - Foo Fighters - "Lately, I've been living in my head/the rest of me is dead, I'm fighting for truth."
3. World Wide Suicide - Pearl Jam - "Medals on a wooden mantle/next to a handsome face, that the president took for granted/writing checks that others pay."
4. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie - "She who looks back, she looks away/she internalizes the motion wave, she is the butcher/she wants the air, she hides the scar under her hair."
5. Perfect Situation - Weezer - "There's the pitch, slow and straight/all I have to do is swing and I'm a hero, but I'm a zero."
6. Gave Up - Nine Inch Nails - "Of the trust I will betray/give it to me, I throw it away. After everything I've done, I hate what I've become."
7. Headlong - Queen - "You're getting in a fight then it ain't so groovy when you're screaming in the night, let me out of this cheap B movie."

And the Word of the Day is...

2006-04-10T09:25:00.000-05:00

So now I've learned something new, the origin of the term scumbag. And it ain't too pretty. Thanks to the NY Times crossword, and Slate. But don't tell Wikipedia.

The Dirty Word in 43 Down [Slate]

Like Something From a Movie: Gunfight at Mena

2006-04-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

This article in the morning paper caught my eye with the headline "2 Dead in Gunfight at Marijuana Site." It reads like something out of a movie. Especially out of the ordinary for small town Arkansas - though Mena has had its share of noteriety through its infamous Contra-supplying airport.

Anyway, it seems some guys tried to rob a fairly big time pot grower outside Mena, Ark., and a gunfight erupted. Two of the would-be robbers were killed and another injured. The pot grower was injured, too.

Officers only found out about the gunfight when another would-be robber showed up at a neighbor's house, saying they were out of gas. Apparently this pot operation, with about 500 plants being grow indoors was "as elaborate an indoor growing operation as I've seen," said the sheriff.

The officers found one body in the driveway. The other in the metal building where the pot was being grown. He had fallen through a plateglass window. Both were shot with a 9mm "assault type" weapon, according to the sheriff.

The capper for me was that the pot grower was 40 and, according to the story, his wife, who was taken into custody, was 19. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it is quite the age difference. Especially when you read they have a 7-month old child, who was placed in the custody of the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Two Dead in Gunfight at Marijuana Site [Ark Democrat-Gazette]

To Blog or Not To Blog

2006-04-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

So, I guess I've reached the point in the life of Jonworld where I start second-guessing everytime I start to blog something. Then there is the time element - or rather the lack of time.

I see something that piques my interest and in the early months of Jonworld, I was logged in and posting it within minutes. Now, having done that for a while...and having seen several blogs and Web sites and so forth that hit roughly the same area - pop culture, music, movies, TV, politics - you start thinking before you post: "Well that's been done before." or "Ehhh...that's not that interesting." or "I really don't have time to do what I want to do for this."

And so the blog grows cobwebs. Or is it cogwebs? I guess it's cobwebs.

So, I'm ready to make another go of it. I promise. I've missed not blogging. But I want to do something that entertains me or possibly entertains the friends or strangers who happen across this site.

Stay tuned.

And while you're at it, check this stuff out:
Senior Republican to Bush: 'Say Exactly What Happened...' [Reuters via Yahoo] - Will the president ever be held accountable for the leak, or the cherry-picked intelligence in the Iraq war run-up, or the Katrina bungling, or the mounting budget deficit, or the inability to nab Osama, or the unwillingness to tackle rising gas prices and no energy policy other than drilling for more oil, or the coziness between lobbyists and Republican leaders (at least Delay might be held accountable), or the mess that No Child Left Behind is making (even college students can see it), or the underfunded rebuilding of Iraq (a 'dismal failure' says some)...

Seven for Sunday, 4/2

2006-04-03T05:58:00.000-05:00

Still haven't gotten the Nine Inch Nails out of my system.

Here's what I've been listening to, based on my iPod playcount. (Last week)
1. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (1)
2. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (2)
3. Wish - Nine Inch Nails (4)
4. Last - Nine Inch Nails (-)
5. Gave Up - Nine Inch Nails (-)
6. Perfect Situation - Weezer (-)
7. Happiness In Slavery - Nine Inch Nails (-)

Cheer Babes or NASA budgets

2006-03-29T14:59:00.000-06:00

Gregg Easterbrook is truly a renaissance man.

When he's not writing the incredibly detailed and insightful pro football column on the NFL's Web site - which I dearly love as it parses the stats and such about pro football and provides a weekly dose of cheerbabes - or doing whatever senior editors at The New Republic do, or being a visiting fellow at thinktank The Brookings Institution, he's writing stuff like this analysis of the NASA budget for Slate.

He argues that the government should be focused more on science projects related to this planet or projects that have relevance to us - rather than throwing money at the space shuttle or a moon base.

"The new budget request suggests that no one in the agency's hidebound, turf-obsessed upper management wants to think about what NASA can do to actually benefit the public."

While I may be one of those with a "silly Sci Fi channel fantasy" about humans seeking out new life and new civilizations and boldly going where no one has gone before...Easterbrook makes a lot of sense.

His proposed NASA priorities focus on research about the Earth (esp. climate and rainfall changes) and sun, automated probes to study the solar system and our neighboring systems, axing the shuttle in favor of research on new propulsion systems and "a serious program for searching nearby space for asteroids and comets that might strike Earth and figuring out how to deflect any big rock headed this way."

Methinks someone has seen Armageddon on TNT a few too many times. :)

It's the Earth, Stupid [Slate]

The Downward Iraqi Spiral? aka What About the Good News?

2006-03-27T12:47:00.000-06:00

So often we hear the refrain - most recently from the VP on "Face the Nation" - that the media is focusing too much on the bad things happening in Iraq but not the good. Howard Kurtz at the Wash Post asks is the media has declared war on the war in Iraq.

Since we live not far from a military base, Little Rock Air Force Base, I hear some similar refrain from acquiantances who are in or were in the military. "But what about all the schools being built? And what about the democratic elections? And what about..." This are good friends who I have a lot of respect for...and for the work they do but I respectfully disagree with the theory that there's some vast media conspiracy against Bush, the Republicans and/or the war in Iraq.

CBS News' Lara Logan offers the response I've been expecting, coincidentally to Kurtz on CNN's "Reliable Source":

"...Our own editors back in New York are asking us the same things. They read the same comments. You know, are there positive stories? Can't you find them?

"You don't think that I haven't been to the U.S. military and the State Department and the embassy and asked them over and over again, let's see the good stories, show us some of the good things that are going on? Oh, sorry, we can't take to you that school project, because if you put that on TV, they're going to be attacked about, the teachers are going to be killed, the children might be victims of attack.

"Oh, sorry, we can't show this reconstruction project because then that's going to expose it to sabotage. And the last time we had journalists down here, the plant was attacked. I mean, security dominates every single thing that happens in this country….So how it is that security issues should not then dominate the media coverage coming out of here?"

She goes on to assail those who accuse media in Iraq of simply "reporting from their hotel balcony." Thanks to Scott for the heads up on this.

A Turning Point in Iraq [Washington Post]
Lara Logan Smacks Down 'Negative' War Charges [Crooks and Liars]

Something I'll Think About Next Time I Get Gas

2006-03-27T08:14:00.000-06:00

Gas Prices Jump Nearly 15 Cents Per Gallon [AP via Yahoo]

"The weighted average price for all three grades increased to $2.52 a gallon by Friday, according to Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations in the country.

Gas prices are 40 cents higher than they were a year ago." [I paid $2.48 on Saturday to fill up in North Little Rock at the "cheap" place.

Vague Law and Hard Lobbying Add Up to Billions for Big Oil [NY Times]

..."For more than a decade, lawmakers and administration officials, both Republicans and Democrats, have promised there would be no cost to taxpayers for a program allowing companies to avoid paying the government royalties on oil and gas produced in publicly owned waters in the Gulf.

"But last month, the Bush administration confirmed that it expected the government to waive about $7 billion in royalties over the next five years, even though the industry incentive was expressly conceived of for times when energy prices were low. And that number could quadruple to more than $28 billion if a lawsuit filed last week challenging one of the program's remaining restrictions proves successful.

"It is an account of legislators who passed a law riddled with ambiguities; of crucial errors by midlevel bureaucrats under President Bill Clinton; of $2 billion in inducements from the Bush administration, which was intent on promoting energy production; and of Republican lawmakers who wanted to do even more. At each turn, through shrewd lobbying and litigation, oil and gas companies ended up with bigger incentives than before."

Yeah, no cost to taxpayers...but big benefits for the oil companies getting the profits from their oil plus the incentives for drilling for it.

NCAA: Put Up Your Dukes

2006-03-27T06:11:00.000-06:00

So, when filling out my bracket for the men's basketball tournament, I first went crazy and filled Florida in as the national championship. Then, on the morning of the first day of the tournament, I chickened out and went safe - predicting the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils to win it all, over other favorite, UConn.

And so it goes. I loved seeing LSU beat Duke, even though it wrecked my bracket. Not that it was already screwed when Bradley upset another Final Four pick, Kansas, the supposed hottest team in the country.

So, I ended up getting one Final Four pick: Florida. And I won't win my group contest with 11 friends, coworkers and a cousin. But Official Wife of JP probably will win. And I didn't even give her any advice and she beat my butt. Going into the Elite Eight, she was the only one in our group to have not lost a Final Four pick. That ended over the weekend, but she's still the only one in the group who hasn't lost her pick to win it all - UCLA. Looks like she'll be cheering for the Bruins, while I cheer for Big Baby and the LSU Tigers.

How about that supposedly weak SEC, BTW. Two teams in the Final Four. No ACC...No Big East...No Big Ten...No Big 12. :P

Seven for Sunday, 3/26

2006-03-27T05:52:00.000-06:00

This week's list was marked by the fact I saw Nine Inch Nails in concert last Tuesday. So I listened to a lot ofNIN all week in advance and in the aftermath. Good, heavy melodramatic stuff.

1. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand - With its snark and roll, FF still elbowed its way past NIN and the Foos into the top spot. (2)
2. No Way Back - Foo Fighters - The straight forward rock of FF stayed strong. FF and FF, huh? (1)
3. Getting Smaller - Nine Inch Nails - A intense track not played in concert that I really like. (-)
4. Wish - Nine Inch Nails - Another rage-filled tune. This stuff keeps you calm when dealing with morning traffic...gives you something else to focus your aggression on. :) (-)
5. Terrible Lie - Nine Inch Nails - A throbbing, burning track off NIN's first album. (-)
6. Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails - The anti-war track off the most recent NIN album.
7. World Wide Suicide - Pearl Jam - Well, look what ducked its head in under the wire and just ahead of NIN's "March of the Pigs." (7)

Overhyped Bands: Brought to You by the Word 'The'

2006-03-24T08:59:00.000-06:00

Seems some self-described "bitter computer geeks" at boston.com have put together a list of bands they feel have been over-hyped by the critics. They seem to have something against, as LT calls em, "definite article" bands...

You know: The Artic Monkeys, The Strokes, The Killers (hey, I like The Killers), The Libertines, The Vines, The Streets and The Steven Seagal. Err wait, no, "the" on the last one.

I think I'd agree on a lot of these. I mean heck, The Artic Monkeys' debut album ranked ahead of The Beatles and The Clash on a best album of all time list??!?! But what do I know, my tastes are pretty low brow when compared to your typical music snob...I mean critic.

Thanks to Pop Candy for pointing Jonworld in that direction.

Still a Pretty Hate Machine After All These Years

2006-03-22T07:48:00.000-06:00

For 17 years Trent Reznor has been expressing alienation, isolation, anger from social injustice and conformity in song and sound. Last night, his Nine Inch Nails showed that after all those years, platinum albums and Grammys, he still knows how to find that place of hurt and madness and take an audience there for a couple hours.

NIN fired salvo after salvo of high-grade industrial metal to a large and appreciative crowd at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock. The band alternated the frenetic pace and noise with quiet moments and ballads of soul-crushing pain. And Reznor was a man of few words, just an occasional "thank you."

From an opening of songs from Reznor's most recent release "With Teeth," ("Love Is Not Enough" and "You Know What You Are?") he dipped into the catalog for the hypnotic and crashing "Terrible Lie" from 1989's "Pretty Hate Machine." Throughout the night, the guitarists and keyboardist created a literal Wall of Noise puntuated by the drummer, who was playing his ass off (I thought his hands would fly off). Reznor, looking bigger but buff with his black hair buzzed tight, still managed to muster the intensity after all these years - jumping around, strumming the guitar and letting out his Viking yawp.

During the more intense songs, the light rigging above the band lowered to a point seemingly just over the band's heads...making for a more confined space to rage against.

The band went from the thrash "March of the Pigs" to a personal favorite, the ballad "Something I Can Never Have." Reznor's voice seeming to bleed over lines like "gray would be the color/if I had a heart."

A middle section of the show saw the curtain come back down and the band perform three songs while weird and sometimes disturbing images were projected onto the cloth. Ballad "Right Where It Belongs" was set against scenes of anonymous and conforming subdivisions and happy families mixed with images of gruesome death, war and destruction. "What if all the world you think you know is an elaborate dream...and if you look at your reflection/is that all you want to be?/what if you could look right through the cracks/would you find yourself afraid to see?"

The dynamics of the set list were again evident as the mournful "Hurt" (famously covered a couple years back by Johnny Cash) started with Reznor alone on stage with a keyboard. It was a little strange to hear a song of such lonliness and despair become an arena rock singalong, but the delivery by the band remained effective.

From there the band hit another inudstrial thrash nugget, "Wish" before launching finishing with "Only," "Every Day is Exactly the Same," the seemingly anti-Iraq war "The Hand That Feeds" ("What if this whole crusade's a charade...") and closing right where they belonged, with the song that put NIN on the map, "Head Like a Hole."

For a NIN fan, it was a satisfying show (though I would've loved to see the never-done-live "Perfect Drug"). For the uninitiated, the crowd seemed to groove and gyrate like it was 1994 - the probable peak of NIN's mainstream popularity with the release "The Downward Spiral." Perhaps it was out of tune with today's hip-hop pop world, but I don't think Trent's letting it bring him down.

Seven for Sunday, 3/19

2006-03-20T05:50:00.000-06:00

Here you go. What I've been listening to on my iPod this week - based on play count.

1. No Way Out - Foo Fighters (1)
2. The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand (-) - Could not get this one out of my head last week.
3. Perfect Situation - Weezer (2)
4. Beast and the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold (3)
5. Good Two Shoes - Adam Ant (-) - Caught a video of his on VH1 Classic last week and reminded me how much I liked this one back in the day. "Don't drink/Don't smoke...what do you do."
6. Lights and Sounds - Yellowcard (5)
7. World Wide Suicide - Pear Jam (-) - I enjoy PJ, but haven't purchased an album since "Yield" (which I liked more than this reviewer). This one rocks but I'm still sinking my teeth into it.

'The Pony in Slavery'?!?!

2006-03-15T08:43:00.000-06:00

Wonkette seizes on a potential new catchphrase in the making - used to justify slavery in America. Yeah, it was God's way of bringing black people to America.

Courtesy of opinion writer Adele Fergusen in the Kitsap (WA) Peninsula Business Journal:

"Remember Ronald Reagan’s story about the kid who had to shovel a huge pile of manure? He went about it with such joy he was asked why and said, "With all that manure, there’s got to be a pony in there somewhere."
The pony hidden in slavery is the fact that it was the ticket to America for black people. I have long urged blacks to consider their presence here as the work of God, who wanted to bring them to this raw, new country and used slavery to achieve it."

Says Wonkette: "The pony in slavery," people. Like the toy in a box of Cap’n Crunch. If Cap’n Crunch were, say, made of poison. And it took several generations and thousands of lives to get to the toy. And then when you got the toy, you weren’t allowed to play with it for another hundred years."

Folks, Meet Your New Catchphrase [Wonkette]
Why Do Blacks Continue to Support Democrats? [Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal]

49 Feet and 25 Years Later: U.S. Reed and the Hogs

2006-03-14T16:30:00.000-06:00

As the Arkansas Razorbacks gear up for their first trip to the NCAA men's basketball tournament (aka "March Madness") since 2001, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette takes us back to a classic Razorbacks basketball memory today. It's been 25 years (!!!) since U.S. Reed launched his 49-foot prayer shot that was answered as time expired to beat the defending champion Louisville Cardinals 74-73 in the second round of the 1981 tournament.

The D-G story catches up the Reed, now 46 and a pastor in Pine Bluff. Reed said he is often asked about the shot and told by fans where they were when it happened.

JONWORLD CONFESSION: I missed seeing one of the biggest moments in Razorbacks basketball history on TV. :(

I was 10 and along with my parents for a visit to the grandparents in Magnolia. I remember watching part of the game on TV but went outside to play with a friend down the street. I remember returning later as my excited parents told me about the winning shot - and I later saw the replay on TV.

Reliving U.S. History [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Cool Star Wars Lego Stuff

2006-03-13T08:49:00.000-06:00

You can always count on the Internets to find something cool to waste time looking at...and now, thanks to Pop Candy, I behold a photo of Han Solo in carbonite, made out of Legos. Pop sends us to a cool list of 10 strange and interesting Lego creations - and there at #9 (shoulda been higher) - is Han, built by Nathan Sawaya out of 10,000 mostly dark gray Lego bricks.

Nathan has some other Star Wars creations, including a Liberty Jedi and a Death Star II, in addition to many non-SW works, such as a John Lennon tribute.

Seven for Sunday, 3/12

2006-03-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

A new number 1.

My list, based on iPod playlist (last week)

1. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (2)
2. Perfect Situation - Weezer (1)
3. Beast and the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold (4)
4. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie (7)
5. Lights and Sounds - Yellowcard (3)
6. Wings of a Butterfly - HIM (5)
7. I.R.S. - Guns N' Roses (6)

The 'Cronkite Moment' in Iraq?

2006-03-10T20:06:00.000-06:00

During the Vietnam War, CBS Evening News achor Walter Cronkite went to Vietnam and following a series of stories on American involvement to supress the Viet Cong, declared in an "editorial opinion" that it seemed more likely that "that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate."

President Johnson famously remarked after the broadcast that "That's it. If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Flash forward to 2006 and conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan becomes the latest high profile conservative to back away from supporting the war in Iraq. You remember, the war started over Iraq's weapons of mass destructi...to topple Sadda...to bring democracy to the Middle East.

Sullivan cites three "huge errors" in support for the war:
1. "to overestimate the competence of government, especially in very tricky areas like WMD intelligence. ...The result was the WMD intelligence debacle, something that did far more damage to the war's legitimacy and fate than many have yet absorbed."

2. "narcissism. America's power blinded many of us to the resentments that hegemony always provokes. Those resentments are often as deep among our global friends as among our enemies--and make alliances as hard as they are important."

3. "not taking culture seriously enough. There is a large discrepancy between neoconservatism's skepticism of government's ability to change culture at home and its naiveté when it comes to complex, tribal, sectarian cultures abroad."

Seems reasonable to me.

Though Sullivan salvages some optimism:
"...we know that no perfect war has ever been fought, and no victory ever won, without the risk of defeat. ...War is always, in the end, a matter of flexibility and will. And sometimes the darkest days are inevitable--even necessary--before the sky ultimately clears."

We'll see.

What I Got Wrong About the War [Time.com]

Latest Sign That the Apocalypse is Upon Us

2006-03-10T19:59:00.000-06:00

I freely admit that heavy met-ul and particularly cheesy 80s "hair metal" is a guilty pleasure of mine.

I admit that I often enjoy musicals, both classic and contemporary.

This makes me cringe.

Hoth Bids for Winter Olympics; Bring on the Tauntaun Races

2006-03-09T12:48:00.000-06:00

E! Online points us to a story of one guy who says what the Winter Olympics needs to boost its popularity is being hosted on the fictional Star Wars ice world of Hoth. He's even started a Web site, www.Hoth2014.com, to promote this bid. I can see the tauntaun races now across the barren ice fields. But watch out for the Wampas.

So maybe then we can look at having the summer Olympics on Naboo.

Hey, while we're talking Star Wars, here's an envious shout-out to LT buddy Darrell, who had his SW collection recently featured on SW collecting site rebelscum.com. The Force is strong with him. He has a lifesize Yoda in his corner...no, really, right there in the corner of one room.

Seven for Sunday, 3/5

2006-03-06T06:07:00.000-06:00

Another week, another music list. Not many changes as Weezer's "Perfect Situation" spends another week at the top.

The top 7 most-played songs on my iPod this week, based on playcount (last week):
1. Perfect Situation - Weezer (1)
2. No Way Back - Foo Fighters (2)
3. Lights and Sounds - Yellowcard (4)
4. The Beast and the Harlot - Avenged Sevenfold (-)
5. Wings of a Butterfly - H.I.M. (5)
6. I.R.S. - Guns N' Roses (6)
7. Foxy, Foxy - Rob Zombie (3)

Five for Friday, Vol. 24: Cheney Vision Edition

2006-03-04T14:41:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Work again becomes hectic.

So, lest we forget, here are my favorite quotes from the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. In most cases, I think history has already judge most of this as BS.

1. "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." - Speech to the VFW 103rd National Convention, Aug. 2002.
2. Pre-Iraq war: "...my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." - "Meet the Press," March 16, 2003.
3. On the insurgency against US troops and the fledgling Iraqi government: "...I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." - CNN, Interview by Larry King, June 20, 2005.
4. "...and I thought that made good sense because you can get as accurate a story as possible from somebody who knew and understood hunting. ...And I thought that was the right call." Interview with Fox News' Brit Hume about the accidental shooting of a hunting companion. (now granted, his buddy who went to the paper said there was no drinking, not a bit. But ends up the VP told police he had a beer with lunch before the hunt.
5. Expressing the traditional Senate decorum: "Go f__ yourself." Reportedly said to Democratic Senator Pa Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

'...And With Any Luck, It'll Happen in Time for the November Elections'

2006-03-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

"I'm confident he will be brought to justice," Bush said of the 9/11 mastermind in a suprise visit to Afghanistan.

I read this not long after reading this...and then I think: Hmmmmm....

Bush Confident bin Laden Will Be Captured [AP via Yahoo!]
Bush Thinks bin Laden Tape Helped Re-Election Bid [CNN]

Real World 17!?! NES is 20!?!

2006-03-01T08:07:00.000-06:00

As if there was any question that I'm older, two pop culture icons are marking anniversarys.

MTV's seminal reality TV show "The Real World" is set to begin its 17 (!!!) season today when we find out what happens in Real World: Key West. Yikes, as Slate writer Troy Patterson notes, "The youngest of these seven people having their 'lives' taped have known of the show for perhaps longer than they've known how to spell television."

I got past my Real World phase back around season 6 or 7. But there for a while, I wouldn't miss an episode - which wasn't hard since MTV airred them each about 1,000 times. Who can forget RW1 when the Alabama white girl asks the black rapper girl if she was a drug dealer after her pager goes off. Or the shower semi-orgy in Miami. Or the Seattle slap. Or Puck. Some things are better left to the young. I marked another milestone the other day when I took MTV off my "favorites" list of channels on my cable box.

Meanwhile, the other day LT pointed me to another sign of age: it's now been 20 years since the first Nintendo Entertainment System debuted and began the video game craze in earnest. Of course, I was around for the first one, remembering Pong and going crazy when I finally got an Atari 2600.

House Arrest - Another Trip to MTV's The Real World [Slate]
Top 10 Real World Moments (from the show's first 9 years) [MTV]
NES: 20-year-old Legend [Joystiq]

Britney v2.0

2006-02-28T12:10:00.000-06:00

The Britney Spears Image Rehabilitation has begun. She's now ministering to the poor Katrina victims with shopping trips.

"Pop star Britney Spears spent part of Mardi Gras with a group of Metairie students whose lives were upended when Hurricane Katrina devastated the area six months ago. Standing in the French Quarter surrounded by St. Catherine of Siena School dancers wearing "Gatorettes" uniforms, Spears talked Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America" of her recent "surprise" meeting with four older students from the suburban New Orleans school."

No word on hubby Kevin Federline or the baby-riding-in-the-lap-while-mommy-drives.

Spears Takes Katrina Victims Shopping [AP via Yahoo!]

Life is Fra-gee-lay!

2006-02-27T13:40:00.000-06:00

I think the poster on Defamer said it best in reference to the recent deaths of Darren McGavin, known for his role as little Ralphie's dad in the holiday classic "A Christmas Story," and Don Knotts, who famously played Barney Fife in the old Andy Griffith Show.

Defamer points us to a teamup by the two in some old Disney comedies. This post led me to the comment below playing on Ralphie's dad who remarked that his "major award" was from France because the box was marked, "Fragile"...or as he pronounced, "Fra-gee-lay." A little known - at least to me - Arkansas-related fact about "A Christmas Story"...Melinda Dillon, who played Ralphie's mom, was born in Hope, Ark. Saa-lute!

Adds Defamer: "Barney Fife is arguably Knott’s best role, for us, it’s the swinging and sniffing leisure-suited landlord Mr. Furley with which he will forever be associated. With John Ritter (who I hear almost every morning at my house as the voice of Clifford, the Big Red Dog), Norman Fell, and now Knotts gone, we can only imagine Richard Kline, aka Larry, is feeling the uneasy combination of relief, melancholy and isolation that comes with being Three’s Company’s last surviving male."

Mr. Furley and Ralphie's Old Man Re-Team In Heaven [Defamer]

Monday Download

2006-02-27T08:45:00.000-06:00

Slate has a good piece on VH1's latest incarnation as obsessed with pop culture and pop culture nostalgia and Flavor Flav. Slate writes that the VH1 leadership see the network's "voice" as "affectionate and highly ironic." Guess I did fit their demographic back in the late 90s, early 00s, when I dug Pop-Up Video, Behind the Music and the first round of "I Love the 80s." But it's all too tiresome for me now.

Why watch a bunch of comedians sit around and riff on pop culture? I can do that myself. As for music on TV...I watch VH1 Classic and MTV Hits these days. It's like MTV - but with music videos.

If I'm down on VH-1, then my buddy Murray is down on ESPN. I've been meaning to link to this post of his before but never got around to it. He does me a favor by not posting anything new since then. He offers up 10 reasons why he hates ESPN - dissing shows like Cold Pizza and Around the Horn. He makes some good points, noting the hypocrisy in coverage of the World Series of Poker, "We don't talk about point spreads because gambling is bad. Poker is good. What exactly is poker? I know it's cheap to film and I can't blame them for it but making Doyle Brunson a household name is wrong on so many levels. Bring back Aussie Football or CFL."

jonworld

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Operation: Mindcrime Strikes Back

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crickets chirping