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| Subject: | Mad pimpin' |
| Time: | 8:06 am. |
| Music: | King Crimson - The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum. |
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Some of you know that I love the Finnish band Poets of the Fall. I have a couple music videos to pass along today from them.
The first is a newly remastered HD version of their award-winning video for "Carnival of Rust". This is one of my favorite songs by them and the video is just breathtaking. If your monitor's got the capability and your processor has the horsepower, click the little "HD" button to see it in high-def.
The second is a video version of their recent "live studio" recording of Chris Cornel's "You Know My Name" (originally from the Casino Royale soundtrack). Another great rendition.
Poets are a truly underappreciated and underrated band and I'm always happy to get the word out. Go pick up some of their albums, you'll be delighted you did.
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[[The Oracle would like to know the last book you read that knocked you for a loop.]]
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | COULDN'T!!!!!! |
| Time: | 7:39 am. |
| Music: | Ayreon - Amazing Flight: a) Amazing Flight in Space - b) Stardance - c) Flying Colours. |
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The phrase is "I couldn't care less." Not, and this is important, not, not, NOT "I could care less." If you COULD care less, it means you do actually give a damn about the subject of your conversation. STOP FUCKING SAYING IT. STOP FUCKING WRITING IT.
This has been your grammar rant for today.
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[[The Oracle would like to know which Elder God you fear the most. IA! IA! CTHULHU FTAGN! ]]
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Comments: Read 16 or Add Your Own.
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Heavy thoughts for a Monday morning:
Tell me, what do you really think of me?
Comments are screened and anonymous commenting is enabled.
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[[The Oracle would like to know about the tastiest thing you've had to eat in the last week.]]
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
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because this made me laugh like hell.
I am sorry for Mays's family, but dammit, you just have to laugh sometimes.
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[[The Oracle would like to know what you're doing for the 4th of July.]]
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Comments: Read 8 or Add Your Own.
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I was going to spend today listening to Michael Jackson tunes in honor of his death but discovered to my surprise that I only own "Thriller". Well, I'll listen to that, then. MJ became a trainwreck in the last several years, but he was always a great damn musician, and (like ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) arkhamrefugee has said) that's all I care to remember.
Anyone want to make bets on who the third celeb to take the dirt nap will be?
[[edit: oops, forgot that Ed McMahon died Tuesday. I guess Jackson was the third.]]
Hooray it's FRIDAY!
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you have ever been really terrified while in a car.]]
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
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A followup to the link I posted a few days ago, the story of the idiot girl who had 56 stars tattooed on her face: she's admitted to lying about the incident. I do not find this in the least surprising. Stupid girl.
I'm also amused that the artist promptly withdrew his offer to pay for half the laser surgery removal fees after she admitted to lying. Maybe that'll teach her to tell the freakin' truth from now on.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if anything has impressed you lately.]]
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Getting fed up with the backup program I use to image my PC to an external backup drive (it's some piece of crap that was included with the Iomege external drive). I've gotten so fed up with it, in fact, that I usually just do a drag-and-drop from my C: and D: drives to the external drive.
I know there are better solutions out there. I know Norton Ghost is not one of them (if I ever buy a Norton product again, hell will freeze over), but there are others out there that ARE worth picking up.
Currently leaning towards Acronis True Image, as it's gotten good reviews.
Computer freaks -- what do YOU use for your backups? Need something that will allow me to image multiple drives to a single external drive (I have two separate internal hard drives, one of them used solely for music / file storage and retrieval and the other used for all manner of things). The ability to do incremental backups would be handy but isn't necessary.
Suggestions?
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[[The Oracle would like to know if you would rather live in another country besides the one in which you currently live.]]
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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Goddammit, can we please STOP with the "violent videogames cause murderers" CRAP?
Gamespot reports that Daniel Petric, the 17-year old murderer who shot both his parents (his mother died of her injuries) in 2007, has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. The quotes from his attorney make me sick. "The playing of the video games and the reality of shooting somebody in his case was blinded; it was merged." "His addiction was so strong, was running rampant in a tired, exhausted young man, that anybody or anything that stood between him playing the video game and not having his way was in peril." His lawyer went for the insanity defense, claiming that the kid had played so much that he was in a state where he didn't think death was permanent. Apparently he thought his parents would "respawn" when he shot them.
Yeah. Right.
Repeat after me:
Violent videogames, by themselves, do not cause people to become murderers. Shitty parenting, poor discipline, and other factors are at fault when some kid goes off their fucking nut and pulls out a gun.
Even IF the violence was a contributing factor in this one (and I still don't buy that it was), in this case the parents are definitely at fault even for that. Petric would "forgo food and sleep to play the game for up to 18 hours a day". Maybe you should have, oh, I don't know, actually taken control of your kid's life and limited his access to the game long before it ever got to that level of obsession with him? Maybe you should have, oh, I don't know, maybe spent a little time with him explaining the difference between reality and a freaking GAME? Maybe you should have, oh, I don't know, put a little more effort into keeping your gun actually SAFE and SECURE from your kid who was supposedly teetering on the edge of reality and having trouble distinguishing life from an image on a computer screen?
Am I sorry for Susan Petric, who died of her injuries, and Mark Petric, who now has to watch his son grow up in jail? Of course. Do I think the real tragedy is that this could have been easily prevented with a little more attention being paid to your kid's life? Yes, I do.
Parenting FAIL.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you prefer hot or cold weather.]]
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Tattooing: UR DOIN IT RONG
(or, how NOT to choose a tattoo artist, or, how NOT to get a tattoo (after falling asleep)).
I must be a horrible person, because I am laughing my head off at this stupid girl who got 56 stars tattooed on her face and is now trying to sue the tattoo artist who did it.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you've ever been in a "Mrs. Robinson" situation.]]
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
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Here are five albums that have been getting heavy spin in my rotation lately:
1. Mastodon -- Crack the Skye. I actually got turned on to this one by Mookie Terraciano of Dominic Deegan fame. Progressive technical and extremely HEAVY metal. Vocals are an interesting mix of growling thunder and Therion-like choral processed stuff. I like this a great deal.
2. BT -- Emotional Technology. I was looking for more good electronica a while back and some friends recommended BT's stuff. I'd liked what I'd heard of his stuff on the Fast and the Furious soundtrack, so I checked a couple albums out. This is a good one for background music -- which is not an insult, but most people have trouble paying specific attention to electro or dance stuff, yeah?
3. Yoko Shimimura -- Kingdom Hearts soundtrack. One of my favorite PS2 games, this one has some great music as well. Memorable themes and some very nice memories attached to them (datalopez gave me this game) means this one will continue to get lots of play.
4. Evergrey -- In Search of Truth. I've always liked Evergrey's dark, turbulent music. This album is more dark and turbulent than most of them, a concept disc dealing with alien abduction and memory loss -- the search for truth that was the keystone behind much of the TV series The X-Files. This isn't music you'd hear on the show, though; Tom Englund's spine-chilling howl sets Evergrey apart, as does their tight musicianship and good lyrics.
5. Jean Michel Jarre -- Oxygene. The original synth classic (Jarre did do an Oxygene sequel years later). Something about this album just lends itself to endless replaying. I really like the tunes and the sound of those analog keyboards, what can I say?
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know what you have regretted lately.]]
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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Finally found a copy of Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind in a used bookstore the other day. I'd been looking for it for a while (tons of people have recommended this one to me) but I buy so damn many books that my budget doesn't typically support NEW books. Has to be something really worthwhile to pick it up new (hi, reannon!).
Anyway, I got about 200 pages into it yesterday and I have to say this is definitely one I would have picked up new. This is one of those rare books where all the hype about it is deserved. Although it is just a tad annoying that the main character is so good at EVERYthing he does, in the context of the story it fits. Sometimes there are just rare individuals who are better at things than you are. You can be jealous of them, or you can just admire them for their talents. I choose to admire Kvothe because he tells a goddamned good story.
Rothfuss has created a fantastic world, with some very cool underpinnings and foundations for magic. Philosophy, politics, and scientific principles (unheard of for a fantasy novel) abound. This is good stuff and I recommend it. I'm already looking forward to book two (whenever he completes it) and I haven't even finished reading this one yet.
How is your week going so far?
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if there's anything you particularly enjoy in bed.]]
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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I think it's going to be time for a PC upgrade pretty soon. This one has never been quite the same since I managed to hose it by changing BIOS settings a couple months back.
This, of course, means tons of research and poking around as I haven't kept up with the latest in PC technology like I used to. (When you don't play PC games as much as you useta, you don't HAVE to keep up with technology as much). It also means (choke) having to learn to put up with Windows Vista, since they don't sell XP anymore.
Hm. I wonder if they still offer the Vista package with the "downgrade to XP" option? Or is Vista more or less tolerable nowadays? I know my dad has said he's been able to pick it up fairly easily since he acquired his new laptop several weeks ago.
It's Friday. What are your plans for the weekend? Possible Yanni concert tonight for me and datalopez, or maybe taking slipdragon up on the Friday night grill-n'-chill offer. Not sure yet.
When did I become old and boring? All I want to do lately is stay home.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know what your first car was.]]
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Comments: Read 14 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, June 11th, 2009
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List five albums you think are perfect from start to finish, albums that you wouldn't change a note.
Five picks from me:
1. Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray. Introspective, thoughtful, intricate, emotional, multilayered....perfect progressive metal masterpiece.
2. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime. Crunchingly cerebral with outstanding vocals and twin-guitar harmonies. Plus a great concept.
3. Metallica - ...And Justice For All. I call this progressive thrash. You don't expect time changes and intricate song structures from this band, but they're here and they rule.
4. Rush - Hold Your Fire. Many Rush fans dislike this album for some reason. I can't figure it. This album always makes me want to just close my eyes and let the music wash over me.
5. Poe - Haunted. This album is aptly titled; Poe's voice is hauntingly beautiful and the music is darkly emotional. Layers below the surface.
Gimme your picks.
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[[The Oracle would like to know your favorite sea creature.]]
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Comments: Read 22 or Add Your Own.
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Since I was away from Internet access on Saturday the 6th, this announcement comes a day or two late. Saturday the 6th was the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the historic Day of Days.
Time Magazine has recently republished their 60th anniversary D-Day special, with more than 200 pages of articles, stories, reminiscences, and photos about D-Day. I recommend it highly; the cover says it'll still be available in stores until mid-August. Their website doesn't seem to have an online version of the special, but they've gone in a different direction there, providing a list of the top 10 D-Day resources online. Here are links to the best archive photos, footage, firsthand accounts, and timelines available online. I recommend it highly as well.
Today, I salute those who fought, and died, to help make this a Day of Days: in the hell of Omaha Beach, dropping into the hedgerows of Normandy, foundering in the Channel, or wherever their missions took them on that day.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know if you know any WWII veterans.]]
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Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.
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David Eddings died yesterday, and we lost David Carradine today. What David are we going to lose tomorrow?
(Please, not Peter David, David Mack or David Lloyd. Would be really upset to lose any of those. They're all too damn talented and too damn young.)
The last time I met Carradine was at Dragon*Con a few years ago, in the elevator at the Hyatt. He was so drunk he could barely stand up, but weirdly was able to carry on a perfectly lucid conversation (although a bit slurred). Seems a bit of a shame to have that be my final meeting with the guy (I'd talked to him several times at the Con in previous years). Nice guy, very soft-spoken, although I always got a bit of an impression of barely contained violence about him which was rather unsettling.
(More weird synchronicity: the tune I happened to be listening to when I read about this.)
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know who your pick for the next celebrity David death is.]]
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Comments: Read 12 or Add Your Own.
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For my prog music / guitar music friends who have been wondering what Jason Becker is up to, I found this news story on Youtube which was released back in November 2008 (the first update I've seen or heard since about five years ago).
Jason, for the unitiated, was the wunderkind guitarist who released (at the age of 16) two albums with Marty Friedman as Cacophony and joined David Lee Roth's band for the album "A Little Ain't Enough" at the age of 20. During that tour, he started feeling progressive weakness in his hands, arms and legs. He was soon diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and given three years to live. Over the next several years Jason lost his ability to play guitar, walk, speak and even breathe properly. When he couldn't play guitar anymore, he composed on a keyboard. When he couldn't do that, he used a computer with eye-guided mouse pointer which he could "click" with his chin. He released the album "Perspective" in 1995 with help from musician friends, but updates since then have been sporadic without much detail.
The news story tells us what Jason is up to. Still alive and still healthy (relatively speaking) after 18 years of living with a disease that kills most people in under five years, Jason is STILL composing and creating. Asked if he still hears music in his head, he responded "So much it drives me crazy". He remains relentlessly cheerful and upbeat, still smiling and still keeping everyone around him going.
A new compilation album called "Collection" was released in November 2008. It features several of his musician friends including Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai and Steve Hunter, and has three new songs plus some older recordings.
Now THAT's an inspiration story.
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[[The Oracle would like to know who inspires you.]]
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Today has an island feel to it for some reason, so I'm filling it with Jimmy Buffett for the time being and will follow up with some reggae after that.
Which brings to mind the fact that I don't own nearly enough reggae music. Recommend some good reggae to me, folks.
I currently enjoy the German reggae/dancehall group Seeed, plus stalwarts like Bob Marley, Lucky Dube, Burning Spear, and reggae/pop/dance artists like Shaggy and Sean Paul. Looking for more of the traditional stuff right now, though.
C'mon. What've you got?
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[[The Oracle would like to know if you've made the transition to Blu-Ray yet or if you're perfectly content with standard DVDs.]]
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Comments: Read 20 or Add Your Own.
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An informal poll for the ladies in the audience:
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
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[[The Oracle would like to take a moment to remember those who died in the service of our country.]]
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Comments: Read 30 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
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Okay, that's pretty annoying. The full lineup for October's Austin City Limits Music Festival has recently been announced and I rolled over there to check it out.
Out of the 130 bands/acts playing, there are maybe five that I'd actually be interested in seeing. And of course all of them are spread over the days -- the Beastie Boys and Mos Def on Friday, Ghostland Observatory and Eek-A-Mouse on Saturday, and the B-52s on Sunday. And none of them worth spending $85 on a single-day ticket -- at least, not to me.
Eh. So I miss it. I've still got tons of other shows coming up that I'm keen to see.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know who your favorite porn performer is.]]
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Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.
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After hearing how cool it was from people I trust, I finally gave in and created a Facebook account. It has been....interesting over the past few days, seeing people from my past appear from nowhere. A couple of them have been people I really wanted to locate over the years but due to name changes through marriage or for professional reasons I couldn't find them online. Facebook has neatly provided a solution to that and it's really cool seeing what these folks are up to nowadays. It'll also provide a handy way to keep up with all the friends I left behind when I departed Georgia for Texas last year.
(Should you want to find me on FB, hunt for Phil Carter. That's me).
On the other hand, I'm surprised at the number of people who barely spoke two words to me in high school or college who are now sending me requests to be my friend. I am puzzled by this. I guess they just add anyone new that pops up in the networks we share. It's strange.
This weekend was a decent one. Down to Brownsville to see my love datalopez's younger brother Peter graduate from college. He's got his education degree and teaching certificate from UTexas at Brownsville so we headed down to visit with him and the rest of the huuuuuuuuuuuge family. The graduation itself was poorly run and too damned hot (started at 8:00 and by 9:00 I was already starting to feel sunburn....thank the gods for SPF 30), but the party later that afternoon was a lot of fun. Much tasty food was consumed (damn these people can cook a good brisket; not that there's any way to do a BAD brisket), and much fun was had, despite the rain that showed up to spoil the outdoors gathering we'd had going. We just moved everything inside and kept on going.
So send some congratulations to datalopez for her little brother. Not that he'll know who any of you are, but the sentiment's the same anyway.
-- END OF LINE --
[[The Oracle would like to know who your biggest unrequited crush was in high school.]]
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Comments: Read 12 or Add Your Own.
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