Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Open letter from Michael Moore to Caroline Kennedy...
Interesting open letter from Michael Moore to Caroline Kennedy asking her to be Obama's running mate in the upcoming U.S. elections. I actually think that Moore may be on to something. The supposed short list of 3 candidates are either all old school U.S. politcians or nobodies. Good luck on getting her to agree though....
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Future...
No one today can make better use of the English language than Mr. Leonard Cohen. I am just taken away when I hear his songs. Especially The Future....
The Future
Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.
Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder
Things are going to slide ...
There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder
Things are going to slide ...
When they said REPENT REPENT ...
The Future
Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.
Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder
Things are going to slide ...
There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder
Things are going to slide ...
When they said REPENT REPENT ...
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sharkwater...
Sharkwater is an absolute must see movie. The majestic beauty of these misunderstood animals is awe inspiring. The way and numbers in which we kill them for their fins is sickening. In the time it took to watch the movie more than 15,000 sharks were slaughtered worldwide. Makes me ashamed to be human to see what we have done to decimate sharks and countless other species of marine and wildlife in the name of profit.
We are definitely "primates out of control"....
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
27 days, 14 hours...
My main computer is my nearly 4 year old Apple 12" G4 PowerBook laptop. It has been an absolute workhorse for me and still runs all the current software I require (OS X 10.5.4, Adobe CS3 Design Suite Premium, Office 2008, etc.). Apple pushed out a system software/security update for it last week that required a reboot after install. Prior to rebooting the machine had been up and running problem free for 27 days, 14 hours...
Pretty impressive in a geek kind of way...
Pretty impressive in a geek kind of way...
UPDATE: Nov. 24, 2008, I must have jinxed myself with this post. In the first week of November my beloved 12" PowerBook's on board video card died; needing an entire system board replacement. Apple charges more than the computer is worth for a new system board so I opted for one of the new all aluminum 13" MacBooks. And so far I'm completely impressed in every way with the new computer. I really like being able to use Parallels - I have XP & Ubuntu virtual machines up and running. Hopefully this is the beginning of another long run with this laptop. As of this writing the new MacBook has been running for 5 days, 1 hour and 13 minutes....
Rural living...
One of the things about living in the country is wildlife. And I don't mean the people. I forgot to close my garage door last night so around 11:00pm I went around locking up the house and went into the garage through the house. Staring at me as I walked into the garage was a skunk chowing down on the remains in a pizza box the kids threw out. I backed away slowly and flicked the lights on and off a few times. The skunk gave me a dirty look and slowly waddled away. I closed the door and was thankful not to be sporting a new cologne....
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Hurry up and wait update...
Well, after making an appointment to see the Doctor about the lymph nodes flaring up again they subsided on their own. By the time I saw the the Doc everything was normal again. His take on it is that whatever it is that causing these flares up is not serious. If it was serious it wouldn't go away on it's own like it did. He gave me another prescription incase they flare up again. Since the last time though everything has been good. Even my blood pressure is back to normal.... Strange....
Nine Inch Nails in Toronto...
Two days ago.... Here I was back in Toronto with less than 3 hours sleep as our buses from Chicago & Detroit were somewhat late and crowded but never mind all that - NIN was playing at the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night and I was taking my youngest son for his 12th birthday. No camera with me this time as I wanted to just watch, listen and totally enjoy the show.
The show was much that same set list as at Lollapalooza but with the addition of the song God Given, which just rocked the place. My son was completely blown away but the sounds, lights and just sheer magnitude of the performance. He repeatedly told me that it was "sick". We were on the floor about 50-60 feet from the stage. I watched him sing and clap along and throw his fist in the air. I love being able to share these kind of moments with my kids.... Not to mention helping foster what I consider to be excellent taste in music....
Personally, I'd go see NIN on every stop of thier tour if I could. Since the early 90's I just haven't been able to get enough of the band. This show was my 4th time seeing them live. Their music just touches something deep inside me and allows me to believe that everything will be alright....
Highlights of the night for me were Letting You, Piggies, Gave Up, the Ghosts material and In This Twilight. Songs from every NIN cd were played and the band was really into the show.
Thanks NIN!!!
The show was much that same set list as at Lollapalooza but with the addition of the song God Given, which just rocked the place. My son was completely blown away but the sounds, lights and just sheer magnitude of the performance. He repeatedly told me that it was "sick". We were on the floor about 50-60 feet from the stage. I watched him sing and clap along and throw his fist in the air. I love being able to share these kind of moments with my kids.... Not to mention helping foster what I consider to be excellent taste in music....
Personally, I'd go see NIN on every stop of thier tour if I could. Since the early 90's I just haven't been able to get enough of the band. This show was my 4th time seeing them live. Their music just touches something deep inside me and allows me to believe that everything will be alright....
Highlights of the night for me were Letting You, Piggies, Gave Up, the Ghosts material and In This Twilight. Songs from every NIN cd were played and the band was really into the show.
Thanks NIN!!!
Lollapalooza day 3...
This was a slow day for us as we really only wanted to see Saul Williams and Nine Inch Nails in the evening. First up was Saul Williams in the afternoon.
Saul Williams.
Saul Williams.
Saul is a spoken word/poet/metal guy whose latest album was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. While watching Saul play a smoking set I noticed that 20 feet away from me to my right, behind a fence, was Trent himself. I waved and smiled and he smiled and nodded back to me. I snapped a few pix. My daughter and I were both pleased at that little encounter....
Trent Reznor.
Trent Reznor.
Nine Inch Nails, my favourite group since about 1992, put on a spectacular show. Musically and visually is was nothing short of stunning. Just before the show started I somewhat reluctantly agreed to let my daughter disappear in the throngs on NIN fans as she really wanted to get up close. After the show we met at the pre-arranged meeting spot and man, she looked like a drowned rat. She was beaming happy though as she made it to front row.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Over all it was one fantastic trip. Several times my daughter told me it was the best weekend of her life. As a parent I guess you can't get much better than that. And then after a good night's sleep at the hotel we headed out to the bus terminal for our trip back to Toronto. And I was already getting psyched up for seeing NIN at the next show on their tour in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre with my just turned 12 year old son. It's his first time to see NIN and his birthday present. The Toronto show will be my 4th time catching NIN live and each time it gets better. More on the Toronto show in another post....
After both my daughter and I having such a great time it left us wondering who's going to be on the stages for next year's Lollapalooza....
Photos taken by me in Chicago.
Saul Williams.
Saul Williams.
Saul is a spoken word/poet/metal guy whose latest album was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. While watching Saul play a smoking set I noticed that 20 feet away from me to my right, behind a fence, was Trent himself. I waved and smiled and he smiled and nodded back to me. I snapped a few pix. My daughter and I were both pleased at that little encounter....
Trent Reznor.
Trent Reznor.
Nine Inch Nails, my favourite group since about 1992, put on a spectacular show. Musically and visually is was nothing short of stunning. Just before the show started I somewhat reluctantly agreed to let my daughter disappear in the throngs on NIN fans as she really wanted to get up close. After the show we met at the pre-arranged meeting spot and man, she looked like a drowned rat. She was beaming happy though as she made it to front row.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails.
Over all it was one fantastic trip. Several times my daughter told me it was the best weekend of her life. As a parent I guess you can't get much better than that. And then after a good night's sleep at the hotel we headed out to the bus terminal for our trip back to Toronto. And I was already getting psyched up for seeing NIN at the next show on their tour in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre with my just turned 12 year old son. It's his first time to see NIN and his birthday present. The Toronto show will be my 4th time catching NIN live and each time it gets better. More on the Toronto show in another post....
After both my daughter and I having such a great time it left us wondering who's going to be on the stages for next year's Lollapalooza....
Photos taken by me in Chicago.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Lollapalooza day 2...
This is the day we were waiting for. Rage Against The Machine tonight!! Long time favourite band of mine and my daughter's. The band only plays one or two festivals a year now so getting an opportunity to see them is pretty rare. And they were the main reason we traveled to Chicago. The fact that Nine Inch Nails was playing there as well was just the icing on the cake....
Before heading to the park though we stopped by another Chicago park - Millennium Park, to the see The Bean - also know by it's official name Cloud Gate.
Cloud Gate - "The Bean"
We spent most of the afternoon checking out different bands. My daughter went to see an emo band she likes - Brand New while I went to see an incredible Canadian talent Serena Ryder. I managed to be front row against the stage and got lots of photos and videos of her playing. She played a 45 minute set and she rocked!!
Serena Ryder.
Another band I saw but didn't take any pix of was a New Jersey based group called Steel Train. They were really, really good. Sounded like an updated Bruce Sprinsteen on steroids. Great set.
Waiting for Rage Against The Machine.
Rage Against The Machine was without a doubt the most intense, crowed, wild show I have ever attended. Lollapalooza boasted a complete sell out this year - first time in its' history. 75,000 per day. Well, on Saturday night more than 50,000 of those people went to see Rage. It was pretty scary at one point as all movement was at the mercy of the crowd. The band even stopped the show midway through the 3rd song, People Of The Sun, imploring people to move back 10 steps as people were passing out and getting injured up front. There were 2 or 3 more stoppages during the set as the crowd was fucking nuts for these guys. Even the head of security for the whole event came on stage to talk to the band and audience. He said if we didn't move back and stop pushing they would have no choice but to end the show.
Below is a crowd shot of Rage courtesy of the Lollapalooza web site. I added a small red x to the left of the sound tent to show where my daughter and I were in the crowd.
Official Lollapalooza Photo by Dave Mead.
Rage Against The Machine.
Rage Against The Machine.
In the end it was all good and my daughter and I were both just over the moon that we finally got to see Rage in concert. After the show the crowd spilled out on the streets of Chicago taking over completely. It was amazing. And in the most crowed subway car I've ever been in the entire car spontaneously broke out singing a bunch of old R&B songs. It was a total blast....
RATM fans taking over the streets of Chicago.
Photos taken by me in Chicago unless otherwise noted.
Before heading to the park though we stopped by another Chicago park - Millennium Park, to the see The Bean - also know by it's official name Cloud Gate.
Cloud Gate - "The Bean"
We spent most of the afternoon checking out different bands. My daughter went to see an emo band she likes - Brand New while I went to see an incredible Canadian talent Serena Ryder. I managed to be front row against the stage and got lots of photos and videos of her playing. She played a 45 minute set and she rocked!!
Serena Ryder.
Another band I saw but didn't take any pix of was a New Jersey based group called Steel Train. They were really, really good. Sounded like an updated Bruce Sprinsteen on steroids. Great set.
Waiting for Rage Against The Machine.
Rage Against The Machine was without a doubt the most intense, crowed, wild show I have ever attended. Lollapalooza boasted a complete sell out this year - first time in its' history. 75,000 per day. Well, on Saturday night more than 50,000 of those people went to see Rage. It was pretty scary at one point as all movement was at the mercy of the crowd. The band even stopped the show midway through the 3rd song, People Of The Sun, imploring people to move back 10 steps as people were passing out and getting injured up front. There were 2 or 3 more stoppages during the set as the crowd was fucking nuts for these guys. Even the head of security for the whole event came on stage to talk to the band and audience. He said if we didn't move back and stop pushing they would have no choice but to end the show.
Below is a crowd shot of Rage courtesy of the Lollapalooza web site. I added a small red x to the left of the sound tent to show where my daughter and I were in the crowd.
Official Lollapalooza Photo by Dave Mead.
Rage Against The Machine.
Rage Against The Machine.
In the end it was all good and my daughter and I were both just over the moon that we finally got to see Rage in concert. After the show the crowd spilled out on the streets of Chicago taking over completely. It was amazing. And in the most crowed subway car I've ever been in the entire car spontaneously broke out singing a bunch of old R&B songs. It was a total blast....
RATM fans taking over the streets of Chicago.
Photos taken by me in Chicago unless otherwise noted.
Chicago, Lollapalooza day 1...
Got to Chicago way early, 4:00am, as the bus changed routes last minute and didn't stop at a couple Cities. Hung around the bus terminal until places were open and then went out and explored downtown Chicago. Had a great breakfast at Lou Mitchell's - advertising the world's best coffee - I don't know about that but it was damn good. Then wandered around some more and went up the Sears Tower to the 103rd floor observation deck. Took lots of photos and just enjoyed exploring somewhere new to us. Man, Chicago is one big ass city....
Sculpture inside the Sears Tower honouring Engineers who designed the building.
After checking into our hotel and catching a shower and a nap we headed back into town and to Lollapalooza. Grant Park is great place. Huge park nearly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from end to end. In the afternoon we caught a bit of the Racontours but quite honestly, we found them to be boring. We walked around the park just checking the place out and people watching. Radiohead was playing in the evening so we chilled out on the grass and listened & watched the show. Great light show they put on. Fairly mellow almost ambient music.
The Racontours.
Met some funny drunk guys from Quebec and instantly got into a Leafs versus Canadiens hockey discussion - much to the chagrin of the two American girls with the guys. It was all good though. We were all laughing and found that we were all there mainly to see Rage Against The Machine on the next night. Must be a Canadian thing as we met another couple from Toronto in the Rage crowd who came just for Rage as well. Good musical taste north of the border I guess....
Radiohead.
Photos taken by me in Chicago.
Sculpture inside the Sears Tower honouring Engineers who designed the building.
After checking into our hotel and catching a shower and a nap we headed back into town and to Lollapalooza. Grant Park is great place. Huge park nearly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from end to end. In the afternoon we caught a bit of the Racontours but quite honestly, we found them to be boring. We walked around the park just checking the place out and people watching. Radiohead was playing in the evening so we chilled out on the grass and listened & watched the show. Great light show they put on. Fairly mellow almost ambient music.
The Racontours.
Met some funny drunk guys from Quebec and instantly got into a Leafs versus Canadiens hockey discussion - much to the chagrin of the two American girls with the guys. It was all good though. We were all laughing and found that we were all there mainly to see Rage Against The Machine on the next night. Must be a Canadian thing as we met another couple from Toronto in the Rage crowd who came just for Rage as well. Good musical taste north of the border I guess....
Radiohead.
Photos taken by me in Chicago.
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