Back In The Land Of The Living

Hey Kids
Yes, I’m back! Excited to see what a fiasco the election is going to be on Tuesday! Have you seen the new Ozzfest reality show premier yet? If not, you don’t know what you are missing. It’s back on again on Monday. If you saw it or see it post a comment. That is going to be hilarious. Saw episode #2 of the new King Of Queens season (this show IS me and Ronee…watch it at least once!) on Wednesday. It was awesome. You may be asking yourself, “didn’t Bill say he was hardly watching any television?” Yes, I did. And that’s mostly true. I only watch now when I have something to watch or when I’m sick (which I was). And when Ronee’s home we watch a lot more movies and TV. It doesn’t seem right to sit there and read. I also picked up a lot of great new music lately. Here’s a rundown…

Soundtrack
Hot Snakes “Audit In Progress” (their 3rd…and possibly their best. more drive like jehu than the others…ie. faster)
The Donnas“Gold Medal” (stupid title for a great record. the donnas have shown that they are more than ACDC sound alike songs about drinking, getting high and dissing guys. there is still a thread of that in there but with a lot more depth. and there’s more singing. and they really stretched themselves musically. my pre-order copy from interpunk.com came with an extra autographed booklet. awesome)
Hot Water Music“The New What’s Next” (all heads down may still be my favorite song. not in love with the rest of the disc but there are some good ones on there. ironic that all heads down is my favorite since it’s basically an anthem for atheists – ha – “all heads bow down to nothing because nothing will save you…it’s you and yourself alone, because in the end you’re on your own.” sorry, i have to disagree. song = 10, philosophy = 0)
Rise Against“Siren Song Of The Counter Culture” (first CD i ever purchased from this band. solid punk/hardcore. definitely dig this. rise against asks “is there a God up in the sky? if you like strike anywhere and good riddance you should check these guys out)
Ted Leo + Pharmacists “Shake The Sheets” (i love this CD. like a cross between elvis costello, the jam, the clash and billy bragg. that’s what comes to mind for me. but it’s still got a great original flavor to it. and the lyrics are great. best production he’s had so far as well which makes it even better to listen to.)
Social Distortion “Sex, Love & Rock N Roll” (social d is back with a batch of what is essentially punk love songs…with a few exceptions. mike ness says “reach for the sky because tomorrow may never come.” and “i believe in love now with all it’s joys and pains.” not my favorite by this band but pretty good all in all.)

Apple Kicks Technology Ass Once Again
You should go to Apple.com and watch the latest address by Steve Jobs. He announced the new iPod Photo which comes with a color LCD and is available in a 60gb model! It allows you to store all your digital photos and you can make slide shows with music that can even be displayed on your TV with a cable that comes with it. It also will display CD album art next to the title artist, etc. when you are listening to music! They also have a new U2 branded iPod that is black metal with a red click wheel and has the band members signatures engraved on the back. It comes with a special poster and a $50 gift certificate toward the U2 “digital box set” (the first of it’s kind) that has their entire discography including the new “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb”…400+ tracks!!! including demos and unreleased songs (about 25 of them!). That’s $99 with the gift certificate. They also just released a new version of iTunes (4.7). And the new iMac is awesome as well (the whole computer is in a flat panel monitor). Just check it out! Edge and Bono come out and speak and perform part of a song from the new CD on there.

Grand Theft Flu Season

Not much to report. Still sick. Blech. Dishes are done. Laundry is done. Bed is made. Apartment is clean. Groceries are in the fridge. I guess I can’t say I’m not productive when ill. I have also gotten further than ever before in Grand Theft Auto Vice City. So, I’m trying to distract myself with that. Looking forward to watching “Serpent & The Rainbow” and “Army Of Darkness” with Ronee when she gets home tomorrow. I picked them up for $9.99 each. Cough cough. Sniff Sniff. OK…back to video games. I slept for 12 hours and it doesn’t seem to be helping. Oh well.

Time Off Ain't What It Used To Be

I have been sitting around playing Grand Theft Auto : Vice City. I suck at video games. But it’s fun to play sometimes anyway. I’m still totally sick, which is lame. I keep sucking on cough drops and blowing my nose while the game is paused. Ha. Went and picked up an extra blanket for the bed earlier and some knit caps that were on sale (I lost mine last weekend up in North Jersey somewhere). It’s starting to get cold and we gotta bundle up. I have to do some laundry now. See, isn’t my life exciting? Well, I have today off so I have to get some stuff done. Dishes too. Ughhhhh…

Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide

Check out the Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide

Site Description: Anyone can be a peacemaker. The Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide was created to inspire and empower you to work for peace, and to arm you with living proof of the power of nonviolence to effect change and resolve conflicts. Some of the peacemakers featured on this website are famous, others obscure, but all have dedicated their lives to building a more peaceful and just world through nonviolent means. For each you will find a short biography, an original portrait, and links to further reading.

Blech

My throat is really sore. Damn, I hate being sick. On the bright side, none of my poor remaining fish died last night. Yipee! Time for me to go to sleep.

Walter (Quicksand, Rival Schools) Has A New Band

If you are/were a fan of Quicksand and/or Rival Schools then you should check out Walter’s new band Walking Concert. Their debut CD came out recently and is called “Run To Be Born”. And if the MP3 on the site is any indication it must be great.

Bachelor Weekend

Soundtrack

Social Distortion “Sex, Love & Rock N Roll”

Jimmy Eat World “Futures”

Hot Water Music “The New What’s Next”

Bill The Fish Killer

I really don’t get it. When I woke up two of the three giant danios were dead. The water is crystal clear. I just cleaned the tank and cleaned up all the algae. The water chemical make-up is ok. Why do my fish keep dying? The Gourami’s seemed to have survived all along except then the powder blue one just died. Sigh…

Bachelor Weekend

Ronee is up north again doing some catering jobs. She just took another one for Monday so it looks like I’m a loner for the next 3 days. She claims that she will now have a lot of money to buy me a nice birthday present. If given the choice I’d take having her home and no present. But a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Here Comes Seasonal Sickness

I have that lump in the throat I get this time of year. I knew it was going to happen last night when I was out on my rounds and it was particularly cold and I got chilled. I tried to sleep it off today, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Hopefully it will not break out into a full blown cold or flu. Thankfully I’m by myself on my shift tonight so I’ll be inside watching cameras for most of the night. Time to take some echinacea!