Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Lonely Bull
I have been thinking a lot about music and how in my travels there have always been times when I was in a bar when some person or some group were playing tunes on a Friday or Saturday night. Friday after school was usually when the teachers got together and having no one to go home too I usually turned it into a late night with many drinks and supper of awesomely greasy bar snacks.
I can't remember when I first started doing this but often the musicians would call out for requests and of course someone always said 'FREEBIRD' which always got a laugh because it's almost a cliche by this point.
Just to be different and in my own drunken brilliance I thought to call out the song I LEAST expected them to play - 'The Lonely Bull - By Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass'. My father ordered many of those 'Time Life' music collections and that song was on one of those so I knew it well.
One night in Yellowknife in this downstairs bar that made the best cheeseburgers with the waitress that convinced me what wine went best with onion rings, the musician asked for requests and I call out my traditional choice and you wouldn't believe what happened next. Out of her duffel bag she pulls out a trumpet. I thought it was a joke. Then to the note she nailed the song and I have never called out that song again - request fulfilled.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
30 Day Music Challenge - Day 17 - Song That You Hear Often On The Radio
'The Killers' are one of those groups who produce songs that are a perfect fit to sing along to in the car. I suspect it's because I can hit all the notes of the lead singer so the fantasy of singing their pop/rock hits in front of thousands of screaming fans is totally achievable in traffic.
Plus their stuff doesn't all sound the same and shows up frequently enough on radio for me to get to know the songs and then want to burn them onto CDs. I am far from my days when I knew every song in the top 40. Last time I checked I knew NONE - that's right - NONE. And I was a 'music' guy once.
I burned out several 'Walkmans' in my day and I still take my headphone purchased very seriously. I GOT JIGGY WITH IT, DAMMIT!!!!!
So my choice for this day of the challenge is "Somebody Told Me" by 'The Killers'.
Plus their stuff doesn't all sound the same and shows up frequently enough on radio for me to get to know the songs and then want to burn them onto CDs. I am far from my days when I knew every song in the top 40. Last time I checked I knew NONE - that's right - NONE. And I was a 'music' guy once.
I burned out several 'Walkmans' in my day and I still take my headphone purchased very seriously. I GOT JIGGY WITH IT, DAMMIT!!!!!
So my choice for this day of the challenge is "Somebody Told Me" by 'The Killers'.
Just A Classic
Ferdinand just had the right attitude about life and no one was going to change his mind.
http://samuraifrog.tumblr.com/
http://samuraifrog.tumblr.com/
I Don't Approve Of Their Tentacle Rape Policy...
But I do approve of their tempura octopus on a stick policy. Those wacky Japanese can always be counted on to help thin out the cephalopod herd.
"There’s something about batter that just makes things on a stick that much more delicious. Compare the image of seahorses on a stick to this delightfully Japanese treat of tempura octopus tentacles on a stick. It’s hard to deny this treat would only look half as tempting without the delightful tempura batter."
http://www.neatorama.com/
The Library Of The Cave Of Cool
This is pretty sweet. I like the symmetrical globes and the high ceiling.
Why '24' Deserves To Be Cancelled
I read today that Fox cancelled '24' (which may be picked up by NBC who desperately needs prime time programming to fill the gap created by the failed Jay Leno Show) and my initial reaction is that I don't really care.
For the past week, the 13th episode has sat in my download file because I had little or no interest in seeing it. At one time this show was the top of my 'watch' stack. What is the reason for that? I have several theories.
1. It's all been done before.
How many plots to blow up a city by Muslim terrorists can we see before it all blends together? The initial twist of having the show take place over the course of a day is no longer fresh. It just feels hurried and chaotic where before it was organic and elegant. I am sick of Jack's hyperbolic dialogue. It's not entertaining me anymore, it's just stressing me out. Also I wonder is there are any actors that can sound or look Muslim even around anymore.
2. The too smart and too invincible Jack is not realistic.
Sure this show always walked a fine line between what was realistic and credible but this season Jack seems to have a script on his lap the whole time and is able to ALMOST out think the terrorists. Too many last minute escapes and Jack's nearly invulnerability has stretch believability for me. Everything seems scripted and so much more less organic than in previous years. He gets stabbed and tortured several times in the earlier episodes but goes on like nothing ever happened. After all he has gone through in the past 8 seasons (gassed, shot, stabbed, tortured with electricity, held in a Chinese prison camp, poisoned with experimental viruses, blown up) he would be too damaged to ever come back that fast again. I am not buying it. They should have replaced him with another super agent years ago. May I blaspheme and suggest Ricky Shroeder who did a good job years ago when he worked with Jack. Keifer deserves a break.
3. Too many uninteresting or silly side stories
How Katie Sokoloff could get away with providing intel to her skeevy ex boyfriend so he could rob a police evidence facility is laughable. She is borderline psychotic and the fact that no one noticed what she was doing doesn't pass the sniff test. At her level of expertise and access she would have shut down this blackmail attempt right quick and approached her superiors regardless of the threat of losing her job. Also how her superiors never discovered she even HAD a false identity is not realistic. No one just POPS out of thin air without records of their former life without getting caught. You show us countless scenes where CTU can call up the most obscure piece of data on a person's life but THIS slipped past you. BAH!
4. CTU - most vulnerable and insecure complex EVER!
For a counter terrorist hub you would think that CTU would have learned from past years and upped their security and employee vetting methods. Spies who are working for the enemy seem to have limitless access to CTU systems. Just now I watched the entire operation shut down by an EMP (electro magnetic pulse) bomb that rendered all of their systems inert...ONCE AGAIN. Might as well just set up in a McDonalds and get some fries with your policing.
5. You can pretty much assume that anyone leading CTU will either die or go crazy.
That job is a worse killer than a Russian submarine. The stress of one bad day causes highly functioning individuals to lose their minds. They make critically bad command decisions right when the plot needs them to be ignorant the most JUST to advance the story. This year the CTU chief gives an agent unknown to him with a shaky history (one Jack Bauer) virtually control over a critically dangerous operation and pays for it as they all do. Jack may be good but he is a widow maker. It may take several seasons but once you meet Jack, my advice to anyone is to start the clock because your time is running out.
6. ONE GOOD THING - at least Elisha Cuthbert is not around to be kidnapped five more times this season. I am thankful for that. The second I saw her little daughter I feared the worse. However, this season is only half over so it is probably coming soon.
Me Me Meme
Hi, my name is: Kal
1. Never in my life have I been: In a real, official relationship.
2. The one person who can drive me nuts is: ignorance, propaganda
3. High school: I only have good memories, I miss many of those people
4. When I’m nervous: get quiet
5. The last song I listened to was: 'Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young' - Fire Inc.
6. If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honor: - I have no one.
7. My hair is: turing white
8. When I was 5: I thought I was Prince of the gypsies
9. Last Christmas: I hate Christmas
10. I should be..: a superhero
11. When I look down I see: my extra toe
12. The happiest recent event was: my eBay purchases arrived
13. If I were a character on 'Friend' I would be: a lone gunman
14. By this time next year: I hope to be loved by someone
15. My current gripe is: Republicans...always the stupid Republicans and it's not even my country. GAH!
16. I have a hard time understanding: spacial reasoning problems - stupid IQ tests
17. There’s this girl I know that: that I will never see again
18. If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: My mommie
19. Take my advice: The world is NOT enough, but it is such a perfect place to start, my love.
20. The thing I want to buy: a Vesper
21. If you visited the place I was born: You would be worried about flooding. Stupid Red River - it's the same every year. Why not build a huge wall around that entire body of water, or don't live in a flood plain.
22. I plan to visit: Australia again - 'GAH' the heat.
23. If you spent the night at my house: much tickling would occur
24. I’d stop my wedding if: We were under zombie or alien or robot attack
25. The world could do without: celebrity culture
26. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: make anyone cry
27. Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: superhero themed coffee table books
28. Most recent thing someone else bought me: Chinese food
29. My favorite blonde is: Taylor Swift
30. My favorite brunette is: Selena Gomez
31. My favorite red head is: Christina Hendricks
32. My middle name is: Maximilian - naw, its John, but Maximilian sounds so cool
33. In the morning I: feel like sleeping
34. The animals I would like to see flying besides birds are: kitties
35. Once, at a bar: I instigated a girl fight - best girl fight EVER!
36. Last night I was: blogging, reading, watching my shows
37. There’s this guy I know who: makes me laugh and think
38. If I was an animal I’d be: a jungle cat
39. A better name for me would be: Big Daddy
40. Tomorrow I am: working on my time machine, blogging, watching World Curling Championship and March Sumo Tournament
41. Tonight I am: living out the seconds
42. My birthday is: June 1st - same as Marylin Monroe and Andy Griffith
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young
.jpg)
"I've got a dream 'bout a boy on a star
Lookin' down upon the rim of the world
He's there all alone and dreamin' of someone like me
I'm not an angel but at least I'm a girl"
I love this freakin' song. If I can pick one 80s movie that just reminds me of everything cool about that decade it's 'Streets of Fire' (A Rock n Roll Fable). The actors are cool (Diane Lane, Michael Pare, Rick Moranis, William Dafoe), the soundtrack was cool and the whole '50s meets the 80s vibe' was done perfectly.
I especially like the two songs that open and close the movie. Diane Lane has never been sexier. Just watch how she moves and the way she holds that old fashioned microphone.
There is a moment in this song (which comes at the end of the movie and sums up it's whole message for the kids out there - tonight IS what it meant to be young) when the guitar player and Ms Lane are back to back ('It's gonna be OVER, before you know it's begun') that just trills me each of the thousand times I have watched this video (2:03). The edit of this song is brilliant and flawless.
Also, is there a better group name then 'Ellen Aim and the Attackers'? I think not.
The way Michael Pare's character lingers to watch his one true love do what she does best - before walking away from the world he can never be a part of - breaks my heart. I wish those two crazy kids could have made it work.
In my first year of college I was a Drama major and one of the assignments was to bring in a song that would inspire our classmates to move in different ways. Some songs kids brought in were tough ('Yesterday' by the Beatles???? - how many ways can I pretend I was a leaf being blown around by the fall winds?). I so totally remember the moment the light went on in my head about the only piece of music I could submit.
This was the song I chose. A++. People were doing solo stuff and group stuff and spinning and jumping. It was very cool. Everyone knew the movie so at the end we were all trying to do the same thing Ellen and the 4 black guys do near the end of this song. It was a 'moment'.
I had to include the other Ellen Aim song from the movie because "there's nothing wrong with going nowhere baby, but we should be going nowhere fast".
Golden Voyage Of Sinbad
On tonight on TCM they continue their tribute to RAY HARRYHAUSEN with 'Jason and the Argonauts', 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Golden Voyage of Sinbad'. That is some sweet triple feature action you don't want to be missing.
Some Bunny Is Having A Worse Day Than You
See what I did there? Instead of writing someBODY I wrote someBUNNY. It's a play on works and OOOO so creative. Right? Cause I switched them. And they sound alike. That is why it's funny. And there is a bunny so it's visually amusing also. Because of the bunny. Just showing y'all how the magic gets done here in the Cave of Cool - bunny friendly since 2008. (That means we like bunnies AND kitties)
http://samuraifrog.tumblr.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
%20Music%20Friday%20-%20Featuring%20Band%20of%20Skulls.png)
