Another Day, Another Dollar

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T.S. Eliot

What’s up?
Did you miss me yesterday? Apparently not. Either you were out enjoying the sunshine or you’ve finally had it with me because traffic slowed to a crawl over the past two days. That’s ok. I’m not going to take it personally. You have better things to do and I’m glad you do! I went to Atlantic City with Ronee and some of her family. We were supposed to buy tickets to go to the live show of The Price Is Right. But they were sold out when we got there. The smoke in the casinos is just nauseating and I hate gambling (I work hard for my money!). So, I went outside and walked around and then Ronee and I went to have some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I had a garden burger with swiss cheese and mushrooms on it that was really, really good. The yard sale the day prior went pretty good too. I made almost $80! I guess that’s about it. It’s back to work for me. Thankfully, though, I have Wednesday and Thursday off!

Soundtrack
Shift “The Get Rich Quick Scheme” EP (I actually just threw it in the garbage.)
Alloy “Self Titled” (Threw this CD out too. Do I really need a CD that contains the line “God raped the virgin mary”? No, I don’t think I do.)
Rage Against The Machine “Evil Empire”
Small Brown Bike “Dead Reckoning”
Mock Orange “Nines & Sixes”
Various “In-Flight Program : Revelation Records Collection ’97″ Compilation (Featuring Sense Field, Texas Is The Reason, Quicksand, Youth Of Today, Into Another and many other great hardcore and punk bands)

From The Rage Against The Machine Liner Notes…
“All sounds made by guitar, bass, drums and vocals.” Word.

Tony Campolo!
OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ronee and I went to see Tony Campolo speak at the Ocean City Tabernacle on Sunday. The service and Church were creepy and horrible (long story), but Tony really delivered the goods. I have wanted to go hear him speak for a really long time. He was a great preacher. I would love to see him speak again. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he is a professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University in St. David’s, Pennsylvania. He is the founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) and the author of many books including his latest “Speaking My Mind” which I picked up at a table after the service. Ronee picked up his books “Carpe Diem” and “Which Jesus?”. Anyway, he travels around a lot. So you should go see him speak if you get the chance. More info on him and the ministry he is involved in as well as his speaking schedule can be had at TonyCampolo.org.

Golen Cipel Drops Lawsuit
NEW JERSEY — The former aide to the soon-to-be-ex governor of New Jersey is dropping his lawsuit because “(he) believes there is no need to sue the governor after his announcement that he will resign because it (the lawsuit) was about him taking responsibility.” McGreevey claims he had an affair with Cipel. Cipel claims he is not gay. But he is now dropping the lawsuit. Aides to McGreevey have maintained that Cipel had no case and that the affair was “consensual”. Cipel’s lawyer claims that his client “suffered from intense intestinal pain, migraine headaches, sleeplessness, anxiety and heart palpitations as a result of the governor’s sexual advances.” Come on. Get real. He had these things because he was being paid (as an Israeli national) over $100,000 a year to be a security advisor for the state of New Jersey when he was completely unqualified and his position was called into question. Couple that with the threat of fooling around with the governor would be plenty to make somebody have those problems. Anyway, suit dropped. Enough said! I can see the USA made-for-TV movie any day now.

UN Darfur Deadline Over
REUTERS — The deadline for Sudan to prove it can protect the people of strife-torn Darfu ran out Monday, but international officials said the violence was far from over. Nigerian President and African Union Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo said African Union monitors had confirmed allegations by Darfur rebels that the government “launched fresh attacks on CIVILIANS last week.” Rebels have already stages a 24-hour boycott of the peace talks in protest at the latest attacks which they claim killed 75 civilians in six villages. Up to 50,000 PEOPLE have died since the conflict began in February of 2003 and more than A MILLION have fled their homes for fear of attack. Darfur rebels and rights groups say the Arab militia have been mobilized by Khartoum to help crush rebels and have waged a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” of African villages. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the recent attacks are said to have included the rape of women and girls by members of the militia there. There are first had credible reports that this remains a major problem. I said it before. I’ll say it again. Where is our governments outrage now? Where is America “the great liberator of people” now? Our “leader” is throwing a big party in New York to pat himself on the back for the great job he is doing fighting the “war on terror.” We only have selective righteous indignation, I guess. It makes me sick. (I was happy to see in this story that Senator Jon Corzine from the great state of New Jersey was in Khartoum Monday for talks with Sudanese leaders and U.N. staff. He claims the U.S. will “take a strong stand at the United Nations”. Yeah, whatever. Lip service.)

Rich Boy For President?
WASHINGTON, DC — John Kerry’s five-story, $7.1 million Boston town house has a two-story kitchen. Commander-in-chief George Bush owns a 1,600 acre, $1.2 million Texas ranch. Kerry’s personal plane costs $26,000 AN HOUR to fly and has an onboard bar. Bush’s crew, of course, jet around in the multistory Air Force One – valued at $325 million and is equipped with a movie theater. Kerry ordered 400 custom-made ties from designer Vineyard Vines for $26,000. Bush owns 25 pairs of designer Rocky Carroll’s cowboy boots, which cost up to $40,000 A PAIR. Yeehaw! (Source: Eric Andersson for US Weekly) It probably goes without saying (maybe it doesn’t) but I WILL NOT be voting for either one of these corporate puppets. The fact that they are so far on the opposite side of the economic scale from me is reason enough. Viable third party! Campaign finance reform! Term limits! No career politicians!

“They rally round tha family with a pocket full of shells. Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes…bulls on parade.” – RATM

Michael Moore At The RNC
NEW YORK, NY — I saw a little bit of the Republican B.S. Fest 2004 last night. We would flip back and forth between that and the new “Last Comic Standing”. Every time I flipped back they were talking about Iraq and war and our superior military and the heroes of 9/11, etc. What I want to know is WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IN OUR COUNTRY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW? Because so far I am not impressed with your domestic policy. And here’s another thing. How about stop going to war every time somebody from your party is in office? Try that on for size. I should stop now. Let’s just say that from the snippets I heard I only came away having less respect than ever for the Republican party. Start focusing on the issues. Anyway, Michael Moore was there (he is doing a column following the convention starting today today in USA Today) and Senator John McCain (former candidate) said something about (paraphrasing) “a disingenous filmmaker who would have you believe that Iraq was an oasis when Saddam was in power.” That’s funny, I don’t recall anything even REMOTELY like that being in the Fahrenheit 9/11 film. I didn’t even think it was that great of a documentary. But it never remotely said anything like that. Anyway. They started booing him like crazy and then started chanting “4 MORE YEARS” over and over and over again in his direction. Lovely.

Piece Of Crap AT&T Cell Phone & Service
On Sunday my phone sent 43 BLANK TEXT MESSAGES to the first person in my phone book. A person I have not called in over 6 months and whom I have NEVER sent a text message, ever. When I called AT&T they could not explain to me why it happened and said I would have to wait until my bill came to get it credited. My phone has been known to sometimes dial out when I don’t want it to (when it’s in my pocket) even though I always use the “key lock” feature. It comes unlocked. What good is that? So I was fiddling around trying to find an additional security code I could enter or something. I found this thing about setting a “pin number” so I tried to do that. But then it blocked the sim card and now I can’t use the phone at all. I can’t even get to the menu. I guess it was for when a new user gets the phone or something? I have no idea. Now calls go straight to voice mail and I have no way of making it go back. Looks like I have to call them again. What a pain in the ass. I feel like throwing the phone out the window.

I’d like to focus my attention on something bigger than my thoughts.” – Small Brown Bike

Listen To Me, I Know How To Make You Famous

“I’ve said some things I wish you’d never heard.” – Cursive

What’s Happening?
Early this morning the fog rolled in. I like fog. It makes your life seem like a murder mystery or cheap horror movie when it comes ashore. According to the weather forecast, starting next Thursday, the average daily temperature is going to come down from the 80′s to the 70′s…the night low will go down to the low 60′s and the overall relative humidity is coming down. Last year the fall (September, October, November) was by far my favorite time of year here. The weather was still nice, the water was still warm and almost all of the tourists had gone home. Each weekend there is some kind of event in September (Bikers, Irish, etc.) but other than that it was really quiet. Perfect weather for perfect beach days. Just great! So I am really looking forward to the coming months. Best of all, this time Ronee will be here to enjoy it with me. Fantastic! I hope you’re having a splendid weekend. You deserve a break. You’ve been working much too hard.

Soundtrack
Damien Jurado & Gathered In Song “I Break Chairs”
Van Halen “Van Halen” (Ha ha)
Out Of Eden “No Turning Back”
The The “Dusk”
X “Los Angeles”
Cursive “Domestica”
Devo “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo”
No Doubt “Tragic Kingdom”

Holy Gourami Batman! I Got New Fish!
Yep, it was time to add some new playmates for my Zebra Danios and Charlie The Catfish. I picked up three White Pearl Danios and one Dwarf Gourami. The Danios are now all cheerfully schooling together and chasing each other all over the place. The Gourami is a really cool fish. It’s orange and purple. It does this crazy thing where it sucks in a bunch of water and spits it out like a fountain or geyser. So we decided to name him “Gary”…as in “Gary The Geyser Gourami”. Ha ha. I only have a 10 gallon tank so I really shouldn’t add more than 4 more fish. The rule is about an inch of fish per gallon. I’d like to get a female companion Gourami for Gary. And I’m thinking about picking up 3 or 4 Black Neon or Neon Tetras. They are smaller so they will not take up much room or create much waste. Plus they are really nice to look at. The tank it mostly cycled now and the water is clear. It was definitely a good call to get an aquarium. I really enjoy taking care of them and watching them swim around. I’ll try to take some pictures of the tank to post this weekend.

Guess Who’s Having A Yard Sale?
Yep, MSO’s Aunt and I are selling some stuff. If you’re in the area I’ll be selling a ton of CD’s for $1 each. Now’s your chance to stock up. Ha. The house is on the corner of Park Boulevard and Morning Glory in Wildwood. I’m not posting my address. But if you’ve managed to come that far you’ll find it. It’s a small island.

Republican National Conglomeration Of Distraction
It seems to me that the Republicans, if they really wanted to be received positively, should have had their convention in the heartland of America in the Bible Belt instead of New York City where the population majority is Democrat. As predicted they have been met with what is being called “a wave of protests” even as they are just arriving in the city. The convention starts on Monday. Meanwhile Dubya is finishing up a tour of “key battleground states”. In Ohio he told a crowd that he “economic policies are working”. Current polls (if they even mean anything) are showing Kerry and Bush running pretty well neck and neck. Dubya makes his big speech on Thursday night. Supposedly his speech is going to include “new domestic policy.” That should be entertaining. The city is bracing for what they anticipate to be possibly over 250,000 anti-Bush demonstrators. Two things are for sure. No matter what side of the political fence you are standing on…1. This election is going to be really crazy to watch. 2. Even if Bush is re-elected it will not be by a popular margin. He barely squeaked by the last time and he’s more unpopular now than he was then, in my opinion. (Source: Reuters & JSOM)

“What the world needs now is another folk singer like I need a hole in my head.” – Cracker

Damien Jurado & Bob Mould : Separated At Birth?
I was just noticing the parallel universe that these two share. 1. Both started in a punk band. 2. Began making solo/acoustic records. 3. Made a few more plugged records. 4. Went back to making solo/acoustic records I don’t know why I mention this. Just a point of curiosity. Bob was a talented and influential guy. And I think the same of Damien. Just weird that their “careers” have followed very same kinds of paths. There have been others who have done this as well. But these two seem to be the most alike. Maybe he will make theme songs for TV shows like Bob (TLC’s “In A Fix” theme was written by Mr. Mould). Now if I could just get Damien to e-mail me back. I’m starting to feel like David Letterman trying to get on Oprah.

A Culture Of Violence
We live in a culture of violence in America. Why is that? I read a headline today about a 10 year old kid who shot his 40 something year old father to death as he was dropping the boy off from a custody visit. The boy shot him with his “mother’s gun” from the back seat. Then he got out of the car and continued to fire. According to authorities they had been called to the home on prior occasions due to an “ongoing family dispute.” Damn, 10 years old. Life is hard, especially for children in divorced families. But why do so many people resort to violence or killing to solve their problems. Is this really all we have left? Diplomacy has not only failed us in the world, it’s failed us at home too. It’s time we seriously look at the messages we are giving the kids in this country through our actions and our government policies. Until we do, these type of horrible crimes are just going to continue to happen and probably get worse. (Source: CNN)

“Everybody knows what’s going wrong with the world. But I don’t even know what’s going on in myself.” – The The

You Can Never Go Home

“Oh no! Here comes the girl with the ice cream cone who says she didn’t get a scoop as big as mine!” – Pretty Girls Make Graves

Soundtrack
All “Live Plus One”
Descendents “Live Plus One”
Cave In “Antenna”
No Use For A Name “Live In A Dive”
Pretty Girls Make Graves “Good Health”

Happy Saturday!

1. The Descendents are definitely one of my favorite punk bands if not my favorite of all time. And that goes for All as well. I hope the Descendents tour again. I would love to see them.
2. My computer is freaking out again. I don’t know what else to do. I erased the whole drive and re-installed everything. Nothing a little plastic explosive or dynamite won’t fix.
3. Republican shmublican. Democrat shmemocrat. Give us some real choices. I’m not a round or square peg, are you?
4. $6 something an hour is not a livable minimum wage. Maybe if you are in high school and live at home it is. But not for working people who have their own place and bills to pay. It’s a fact.
5. I’m completely dissatisfied with popular culture.
6. How is it possible that there are so many “artists” with absolutely nothing to say?
7. Is it really almost September?
8. Channels is playing in Philly next month. Yeah, baby.
9. I want to see the world. Get me out of here.
10. I love you Ronee.

From Today’s Headlines: GOP Wants Bush To Draw Attention Off Iraq
Oh really? But I thought he was the great liberator of the Iraqi people? Why would they want him to do that? Evidently because they think the war there is “unpopular.” Of course it is you dummies. Especially now that the 9/11 commission reports are coming out, we still haven’t caught Osama and it’s looking more and more like we are going to be stuck in Iraq indefinitely. And at a cost of BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of tax payer dollars, not to mention the lives of poor American soldiers who are just following orders. It’s time to bring them home, Dubya. You got your revenge and captured Hussein. Your Haliburton buddies got their big contracts. Just let it be. And what was the GOP thinking with that questioning of Kerry’s military record? Come on. The guy is married to the ketchup lady. Isn’t that enough? Ha ha. Just kidding, settle down. But honestly, how badly are they grabbing at straws? They should have started focusing on the US and the needs of the American people a long time ago. It’s too little too late. They are telling him to focus on his “performance after 9/11 when his approval ratings were the highest.” And that just shows how utterly brainwashed you are, America. Dubya had the information at arms length that could have prevented this tragedy and he did NOTHING. For that alone he deserves to be fired. Give somebody else a chance. Even if he is just another rich puppet in a suit. President Ketchup. Yippee… P.S. Bush admitted in an interview Thursday that he “miscalculated the postwar scenario in Iraq.” Sorry the U.S. troop death toll is now over 1,000. I miscalculated.

it had started to rain but we didn’t care
every word that was spoken held onto the air like a ghost
and floated towards the sky
i pulled my jacket tight
and the city lit up the night with the green glow of the camlin hotel

Your Daily Antidote

“Whether you think you can or you think you canít, youíre probably right.” – Roy Reiman

Soundtrack
Hot Water Music “Caution”
Youth Brigade “Sink With Kalifornia”
Let’s Go Bowling “Music To Bowl By”
The Start “EP”
Hot Snakes “Suicide Invoice”

Good Morning Everybody!
Hard to believe it’s Friday already. Just working tonight and tomorrow and itís time for another day off. Yeah! I just found out yesterday that Tony Campolo is speaking at a Church in Ocean City, NJ on Sunday. I definitely want to go. I heard a sermon of his from when he spoke at Biola University and it was really good. Looks like Charlie (my catfish) has Ich. It’s a common thing for fish in a new tank to get. They get stressed out and their defenses go down. It’s basically a parasite that is pretty easy to treat I guess. My Zebra Danios seem to be doing just fine. I can’t wait until the tank is done cycling so I can get some more fish! I only have about another week or so to go. I can’t think of much else noteworthy that is going on. I, of course, am looking forward to seeing Further Seems Forever again at the end of next month.

Ska
Listening to Let’s Go Bowling today got me thinking about Ska music. I like ska. I have quite a few of the classic mod and ska bands in my CD collection. It’s one of those weird things where I enjoy it when I listen to it, but I donít think to do it. With the repetitiveness of the trademark upbeat rhythm it can get a little monotonous. Some of my favorites would have to be The Specials, Selecter, Madness (not sure they count), Let’s Go Bowling, The English Beat (not sure they count as ska either) and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Back in the day I just bounced between all the different genres of punk, mod, ska, new wave, etc. And it’s the same today. I’m not sure what the point of this is. Ha.

Big Mu$ic Bu$ine$$ Buck$
Back in June the Red Hot Chili Peppers played three sold out shows in Hyde Park, London. With 258,000 attendance the gross take on the show was $17,187,324. That’s right. They played 3 shows and grossed over SEVENTEEN MILLION DOLLARS. Of course with a venue and shows that large there is going to be major deductions. But still! Also this summer between four venues and twelve sellout shows Madonna grossed over $23 million. Dang, that’s a lot of dough generated for 12 nights of work don’t you think? And then there’s merch king Ozzy Osbourne. He has hit a new record for a “solo heavy metal” perfomer…get ready…50 MILLION in merchandise sales. About $35 from touring and $15 from retail. That guy knows how to sell some t-shirts! The top grossing tour for the first half of this year? Another surprise…David Bowie! $45.4 million gross from 82 shows that drew over 722,000 fans. Other top tours included Bette Midler ($40 mil), Simon & Garfunkel ($36 mil), Shania Twain ($34 mil), Prince ($26 mil), Rod Stewart ($25 mil) and Metallica ($25 mil). Reading most of these names I was beginning to think these numbers were from another era. Looks like there is some real career longevity in the touring business. Despite these crazy high numbers and attendance (in my opinion), Arthur Fogel (President of Clear Channel Touring Division – Boo) claims that we are in the midst of a true downturn. The reason?  “A lot of these acts have been out too much. They’re on tour every summer. It’s hard to generate really big excitement when you won’t go away.” Huh? Amusement Business magazine makes a better case, “Ticket prices have more than doubled since the mid-1990′s, far outpacing inflation.” There you have it. (Source: Amusement Business)

I Got The Day Wrong For My Doctors Appointment, Silly Me

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” - Johan Wolfgang Van Goethe

Soundtrack
Dashboard Confessional “A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar” (It’s shocking, I know.)
Good Riddance “Bound By Ties Of Blood And Affection”
Further Seems Forever “Hide Nothing” (I’m addicted to this record.)
Downset “Self Titled”
Starmarket “Four Hours Light”
U2 “All That You Canít Leave Behind”

Welcome Weary Travelers!
There really is such a thing as too much information, isn’t there? I don’t know about you but I find the amount of information on the world wide web to be astounding. There is almost nothing that can’t be found there. I’d like to take a moment to welcome Mr. Joe Territo back to his new home on the information superhighway. Seems doing his blog was stressing him out. But thankfully we talked him into getting back to it. Don’t stress, Joe. Just post when you feel like it. Ronee and I watched the movie “Heist” last night. It was a pretty good movie. Nothing spectacular.

Geico Insurance Coming Back To New Jersey After 28 Years!
Before I moved to New Jersey Geico was my car insurance company. I had great rates and service from them. When I moved here I had to leave Geico. Luckily they had an affiliate company, Palisades, who moved my policy over and I managed (by some miracle) to have the lowest rates I have ever had in a state known for horrible rates. Anyway, good news for the rest of you. The move back to the New Jersey was due to the removal of a state requirement for insurers to cover all drivers. This same legislation also speeds up the approval of rate increases and eased requirements that insurers return part of their profits to customers. (Source: Bloomberg)

Bygones
It sucks to hold on to things that eat you up inside and rob you of the joy that can be yours. There is no reason to be bitter about crap that happened so long ago. It’s so much easier to forgive and forget. I’m not going to call. I’m not going to send an e-mail. I realize that nobody’s perfect, least of all…me. It’s just a fading memory. I’ve taken the dead weight off my shoulders. If you want to carry it from here, that’s your business. “I guess that all you’ve got is all you’re going to get. So much for so much more.”

No Wonder People Think Martha Graham Is A Snack Cracker
There’s not enough art in our schools. Ask for more. Go to: AmericansForTheArts.org. (Source: Ad Council Advertisement)

Pizza Nation
Americans chow down on roughly 100 acres of pizza every day, which works out to about 350 slices a second. For the year, Americans will eat an average of 46 slices. (Source: PizzaWare.com)

On Screen Abstinance
In 2003, major U.S. movies with no sex in them earned an average of 120 % more than films featuring graphic sex. (Source: Harpers)

Re: The Olympics
Who cares? Not me. Actually, my girlfriend does. Sorry honey.

Let’s Hear It For Crap Dumping Dave Matthews!
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A bus driver working for the ecologically minded Dave Matthews Band could face prosecution on charges of dumping the vehicle’s load of human waste off a Chicago bridge onto a tour boat, police said on Wednesday. Click here to read full story.

U.S. Military Deployment Around The World
Europe Total: 116,507
Germany: 75,603
Italy: 13,354
U.K.: 11,801
Bosnia: 2,931
Spain: 1,968
Turkey: 1,863
Portugal: 1,077
Belgium: 1,534
Afloat: 2,534
Other: 3,842
Asia Total: 97,724
Japan: 40,045
South Korea: 37,000
Afloat: 16,601
Other: 4,708
(Source: New York Post)

“On the bridge you see for a mile, where the river runs out, lies the ocean — open wide and so dark in the night. Summerís gone. Now what can you do? Everythingís closing in. Something bad afoot in the wind. Taking everyone. Tonight there lies a veil over this town… I just wish I could be by your side and leave this place forever.” – Starmarket

By Teaching, By Life, By Action

“There can scarcely be conceived a more abominable and fiendish maxim than ‘our country right or wrong’.” – Charles Finney

“At a certain point there is not only the right, but the duty, to disobey the state.” – Francis Shaeffer

Soundtrack
Further Seems Forever “Hide Nothing” (Did you get it yet?!?)
Sixpence None The Richer “Divine Discontent”
Nada Surf “Let Go”
Metric “Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?”

Joe Piscopo For Jersey Governor?
Who is asking this former SNL cast member to run for governer in our state? I really want to know. Just when you thought NJ politics news couldn’t get any weirder! Joe Piscopo Wanted In NJ Race (MSN)

Frozen Soldiers
They’ve found three dead Austrian soldiers frozen in an Alpine Italian glacier that historians believe may have died in a battle back in 1918. Crazy! World War 1 Soliders Bodies Found Perfectly Preserved (Reuters).

Life And Debt
Ronee and I finished this documentary from 2001 today. It was really well done. It almost seemed like a movie at times more than a documentary. And it really gave you a glimpse into Jamaican culture. In any case, it’s mostly about the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and how they basically enslaved the country to poverty. They make these loans to stimulate the economy, but they come with restrictions. These include trade restrictions which make it so that local farming, agriculture, etc. is outpriced by global competitors. And you can imagine the effect that has. Then, of course, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, etc. all moved in. I’m giving a pretty simplistic explanation. You should check it out. Another film that shows the negative effects of WTO, IMF and globalization. And it also gives you more insight into the Jubilee and Drop The Debt campaign that is going on to give relief to those in the third world. Very well done film. LifeAndDebt.org

From The Sixpence CD I Was Just Listening To (How Timely!)
“Every day the poorest people in Africa spend $40 million repaying old debts to the richest countries. And every day over 5,000 Africans die of HIV/AIDS. As a result, by the end of this decade there wil be over 25 million Aids orphans in Africa. Unless we come together to stop the crises of Debt, AIDS and trade which keeps Africans poor. You can join a growing campaign to end this madness. Visit DataData.org and Jubliee USA.”

Musical Chairs
I moved a bunch of stuff around in the living room today. Mainly the couch, chair and TV. It’s a bit more open which is nice. Except for K. Wilson and the Man Alive guys nobody else has ever been there so you have no idea what I’m talking about. Ha. Anyway, I did it on a whim. And my poor girlfriend, who is sick, was just looking at me like I was crazy to start moving things around only a couple hours before work. She’s probably right.

Another Hijacking?
MOSCOW, RUSSIA Two passenger jetliners crashed over Russia in nearly simultaneous incidents. Both planes took off from the same airport within minutes of each other late Tuesday bound for southwestern Russian cities. One of the planes activated a hijacking alarm. Witnesses reported seeing the first plane explode before it crashed. As many as 94 people are feared killed. No Survivors (CNN).

Cheney Does Not Back Federal Gay Marriage Ban
It seems like a weird time for Dubya’s right hand man to be distancing himself from his boss, but he did. On Tuesday Dick Cheney stated “My general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want.” Cheney’s daughter Mary is a lesbian and works for the Bush-Cheney campaign. (Even more surprising.) Dick went on to say that he feels this kind of issue should be decided at the state level. And I have to agree. My personal opinion is that moral laws such as drinking ages, abortion, gay marriage, etc. should all be decided locally on a community by community basis. That way you don’t have the broad stroke partisan division we have now that distracts us from the really big issues of government that are important, like foreign policy. I generally feel that the more decisions are made at state level the better. Full story from Washington Post.

New “The Munsters” Movie Coming
I was excited to hear that a new “Munsters” movie was coming. I always enjoyed the TV show (originally aired from 1964-66). The only downside is that the horrible Wayans brothers are doing the screenplay and co-producing. As long as they are not actually in the movie, it might be ok. I guess it was a very big money deal as well. They are planning to stay true to the original characters of the TV show but put them in contemporary settings of the 21st century. Could be cool. Could also be a big fat disaster. We’ll see. Wayan’s Brothers Scare Up ‘Munsters’ Revival (Reuters/Hollywood Reporter).

The Exorcist Curse?
The new Exorcist movie is in theaters now. What might not know is that the original director died, the next director was fired and its final director was struck by a car during filming. It changed casts and the budget more than doubled. People are making jokes about “the curse”. But the director who was hit by the car takes it all seriously. With crushed bones and 14 metal pins holding them together he stated, “It’s not very funny, if you think about it. I believe in it. I wouldn’t say I’m very superstitious. But I believe in good and evil, and you have to be careful with those things.” The original Exorcist is considered a classic by many and became a blockbuster that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including best picture. The film was finished and the studio was not happy with the result. So they re-did the entire picture. Rumor has it that both versions will appear on the DVD release. Official Movie Website.

“The ring around the moon looks like light and love, neither of which I get enough of.” - Nada Surf

This Is Only A Dream

Happy Tuesday Everybody!
Can you believe that summer is nearly over? I sure can’t. Some people are already back to school. Wow. Time really blows right by. Still singing FSF songs in my head from the show last night. I am looking forward to when the tour makes it way back to New Jersey at the end of September. I will definitely try to make it to that one. I really have been listening to a ton of music. And I’m happy to finally be reading again. I already feel myself getting smarter. Ha. Not too much else to report so far this week. My fish seem healthy and happy. The water is quite cloudy. But I guess that is a normal part of the new fish tank eco transition. I can’t wait to get some more Zebra Danios. Those are some really fun fish. I think we are having a yard sale this weekend. Good chance for me to get rid of some crap!

Soundtrack
Secret Affair “Glory Boys”
Sense Field “Living Outside”
Skiploader “From Can Through String”
Further Seems Forever “How To Start A Fire”
Zwan “Mary Star Of The Sea”

The Bourne Supremacy
We finally made it to the theater to see “The Bourne Supremacy”. I’m still not sure that I liked it as much as the first one. But keeping in mind that it is the middle film of a trilogy that changes things. I especially liked the beginning of the first movie better. It was better at creating a mood. But overall it was enjoyable. Despite the fact that, once again, there was some rude person talking at different key points in the movie.

New Overtime Rules Take Effect
In a rally outside the Department Of Labor union workers and two senate lawmakers are vowing to overturn these new rules that they say remove overtime pay for some nurses, computer programmers, lowe-level supervisors and other white-collar positions. Supposedly it mainly affects people who make over $100,000 a year while strengthening protections for 6.7 million workers. Kerry says “Six million workers across the country could get a pay cut from this administration.” One thing is for sure this will be another touchy issue in the election. According to opponents “if employers can deny overtime pay, they won’t have to hire new workers.” My opinion is, if you are an hourly employee (not salary) then I think you should be paid overtime for hours worked over 40, no matter what your income bracket.

The Guitar
I was playing around on the acoustic guitar today. I played for Ronee a couple of my old songs that I had written that never saw the light of day. Sometimes I really miss just playing. But I am my own worst critic when it comes to my songs. The words or music always remind me of something else I have heard. And I want to try to say something un-cliche or whatever. I guess what matters is that it’s heartfelt. I don’t know. Anyway, it was cool just to sit around and sing and play guitar for a little while. I should do it more often.

An Open Letter To My High School Biology Teacher
Dear Mr. Camara:
I’m 35 years old now and I never used any of that crap you said was so important in your biology class. Thanks for nothing.
Sincerely,
Bill Power

The TV Trance Has Been Broken
I’m realizing that with each passing day that I don’t watch television the more I do not want to watch it. What a waste of time. There is SOME good content on cable. Especially the History channel or Discovery channel. But all in all it really is just a big box of propaganda and brainwashing commercials. And it’s really freed up my time for more important things. I wish I had woken up to this a long time ago.

“A republic once equally poised must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.” – John Witherspoon