Aaron Ketterer: Master Bassist

Goodbye, Dio

2010-05-16T22:28:00.003-07:00

Today the world lost the greatest voice to ever grace heavy metal: Ronnie James Dio. If this loss was not sad enough, he was claimed by stomach cancer. At 67 years of age, this rock icon remained active with his solo project, and also with Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath renamed). In fact, Heaven and Hell were to do a summer tour this year. I won't go into his life's history or anything like that; that is why we have Wikipedia. However, I did want to pay some tribute to his contributions to rock and metal by presenting three videos.

The first is a song that really made him famous. He was the first front man for the band Rainbow. The songs that get the most airplay (even to this day) are "Since You Been Gone" and this song, "Man on the Silver Mountain". This video is from the mid 70s, so the sound isn't super great, but you get the idea. Oh, and fast forward to the 56 second mark. There is a terribly boring guitar solo leading up to the song (I know, it is weird to hear me say that):

Next is a song from his days with Black Sabbath (Now Heaven and Hell). This is the title track to the first (Dio) Sabbath album, and where they got their new name. This is called "Heaven and Hell". This video was shot in 1980:

Finally, this song is from his solo project, Dio, and I selected this one as opposed to "Rainbow in the Dark" or "Holy Diver" because I thought it would be more appropriate for this occasion. Almost every song he penned (including the last one you heard) was about the struggle of good versus evil. In the end, good always prevailed. In this video, you will also be treated to the handiwork guitar virtuoso Vivian Campbell (now with Def Leppard). This song is called, "Hungry for Heaven":

Rest in peace, RJD. You will be missed.

Resolved

2010-03-25T18:19:00.005-07:00

Wow. Has it really been almost three months since my last post? I used to write here a lot. I have been very busy, so I suppose posting on a blog three people read has not been very high on my list. Just like Mike (Bahr, linked at right), I think it gets progressively harder to write blog posts that no one reads - and if they do that no one comments on. I have had time to consider the purpose of even bothering. I have discovered this purpose. I strongly believe in keeping a written record, a journal if you will, of one's life and one's thoughts. Since my handwriting sucks (and I hate writing by hand), this seems just as good a place as anywhere to "jot down" the events of my life. Anyone interested is welcome to read and comment, but I will be just as content writing to myself.

The major news nowadays is that I have finally entered the accounting world. Well, technically, that start on March 29th, but I have arrived. It is not the job I was referring to in my last post, but it is a higher paying gig and will give me experience in accounting. The job is only sweetened by the equal amount of operations-related work, so I will keep my chops up there as well. My resume will look very good in a year. While this is not the highest paying job I will have had (there was a time when sales more than did it for me), it is definitely what I would define as my "breakthrough" job and a bona fide career move. So far, 2010 is working out nicely for me.

My daughter will be born any day now. The timing isn't great due to my new position, but my soon-to-be manager is being very cool about it. Objectively speaking, there is nothing either of us can do if Kristin goes into labor around that time.

In a completely unrelated direction, we move to one of my favorite subjects of conversation: Egyptology. There have been a lot of great discoveries, validations, and theories presented of late. There have also been a lot of concerning issues such as the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) making life harder for foreign archaeologists to do what they need to do. A lot of it stems from national pride, and I support that 100%, however not the way it has been employed (not entirely anyway). That is a subject for a different post. Perhaps I will never post it because I am trying to stay away from political issues since they cause arguments no one wins.

Going back to new discoveries, it was recently confirmed that Tutankhamen was not murdered. For at least a decade, death by other means has been the generally accepted theory, but the murder theory still had a large following. Recently, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the "head' of the SCA made an announcement that malaria was the confirmed killer. Remnants of the malaria breakouts are still visible on the mummy. While malaria has long been held as a strong candidate for the premature death (the king only lived to be about 19 years old), the Egyptian government never allowed the required testing. It turns out that it came down to Dr. Hawass preferring an team of Egyptians to do the tests and he was merely waiting for some to be trained to do this. I have mixed feelings about this and they would be best shared on the aforementioned national pride post if it ever happens.

So with this discovery (more a validation of theory) and others, there are still people trying to prove theories that have already been proven. Did you know there are still people who believe the pyramids were built by slaves? I didn't either. This guy believes the slave theory is alive and well apparently. He has exhausted considerable efforts to disprove something that has already been disproven. In hos defense, he has posted a very articulate essay. Additionally, it is very accurate. For people who want to know more about who or how the pyramids were built (there are a couple accepted theories as to the "how"), his essay is a no-nonsense, easy to read document that I recommend to anyone interested. So far, he has only posted part one of three. Again, it is a good read and my only problem is he is debunking an already debunked theory.

It has been a while since I posted a triumphant music video. And if it is one thing Bill and Ted taught us, it is that you can't have a triumphant music video without Eddie Van Halen (and vice versa). This song is called "Poundcake" and one of my favoritest Van Halen songs ever.

Resolutions

2010-01-02T21:49:00.003-07:00

Normally, I think New Year's Resolutions are a crock. In fact, I think the celebration of the New Year is about as ridiculous as celebrating Cinco de Mayo (unless you are a Mexican living in Mexico in which case the latter is relevant). However, 2010 is scheduled with enough milestones that it merits a retrospective of 2009 as well as an anticipative reflection of things to come.

Retrospective:

2009 was not a good year for me financially speaking. My financial situation near suffocated me. In fact, I had to stop my martial arts training and other non-necessary activities for a third of the year. Fortunately, I was able to come up with a plan that worked for the dojo that allowed me to come back and train. Because I promised not to, I won't discuss the details here lest I get a slow, painful beating when I train on Tuesday.

My career did not progress like I thought/hoped it might. I have spoken with HR reps and networked to the controllers' office to no avail. I was finally given some advice that may end up paying off, so we shall see. Since I am 32, I have really focused on career progression within the very broad confines of my employer. I applied for jobs all over the country. Not a single call back. It turns out that my employer is happy to move a guy into a different or more advanced field if all he has is education, but the problem was that since I am still in school they wanted to know what classes I have taken. fair enough - the changes are made. There is now an outstanding application for a higher position, so we will see if I get a call from a recruiter. I should considering the recruiter for this position is the same guy that told me to make the changes I made to the resume.

On the plus side, I am still gainfully employed and I am very thankful for that. Additionally, I have another year of operations under my belt which will come in handy should I use my forthcoming accounting degree to continue working in the equally quantitative world of corporate operations.

In 2009, I rekindled my inner muse and joined a band. It was a short-lived affair due to the drummer flaking out on us. I wasn't really too surprised though. Flakiness comes standard with the purchase of every drummer. However, this unpleasant event brought on a welcome change for me. As lame as this may make me sound, I developed some drumming credibility with Mike (Bahr) by way of the Rock Band video game series. From what I have heard, I was the only on that did the drums justice and pretty much the only one who used his electronic kit. To that end, the end of Flapperwax ushered in a new era for me. I am now playing drums in a new music project with Mike and a mutual friend, Jay. This started right at the end of 2009, so it merits mention in the retrospective section. Mike went out and bought a set of drums and he is playing bass using my equipment. It has been since high school that I have had regular access to some skins, but I haven't lost much of my meter thanks to Rock Band. In fact, I am almost performance ready on a couple tunes which is reassuring I am sure for all involved.

Other pleasant events of 2009 included a trip to Utah to get in some much needed outdoorsman activities, the much anticipated baptism of my oldest child, two visits by my friend Mike (Seppy), and a fantastic family trip to Disneyland. Oh, and I should mention that my quest for mid-section weight loss is working out nicely. I am constantly needing to adjust my belt and the tightest setting is not tight enough. Yay me!

Of course, I expect 2010 will be the same as 2010 in that I will continue to surround myself with a loving family and supportive friends. I want to publicly thank all of you who have helped me turn lemons to lemonade. Even if you don't realize it, sometime your very presence is enough. By simply taking my mind of of what ails me for a couple hours has been therapy I could never put a price on. Ok, so I am in a sappy mood today. Sue me.

Anticipative Reflection

I have three major events coming up this year. In no particular chronological order:

Moving into the last phase of my kyu ranks in To-Shin Do. Kyu ranks are the sub-black belt levels. I really need to step up my intensity and confidence. I am getting to the place now that I was when I injured myself back in early 1998. My goal this year is to overcome certain reservations I have with performing/receiving techniques. I sometimes hold back when performing techniques because I am afraid I will go too fast or too strongly and hurt someone. I have, afterall, broken a woman's ribs on the mats as recently as 23 months ago. However, my entire class is at a level where they can receive what I bring without being hurt. My holding back is essentially telling them that I do not trust my fellow students to take the hit/throw/lock well enough to avoid injury. I respect and trust every person in the class, and I will not insult them anymore (whether or not they look into this quite this deeply is another story). Additionally, I plan to work on my fears of receiving techniques with particular emphasis on the one that put me out for nine years. I think this is the real reason why I pull my punches as it were with other students. I need to get my "A" game together because once I enter the brown belt levels, graduations become tests and one never knows when one will move on to the next level.
My fourth child will be born this year. While I do not disclose my children's names publicly, I will say it will be a girl. This has obviously made no small impact on my resolve to further every aspect of my life - especially the career side. Maybe this child will actually look like Kristin. Possibly have my darker features with her expressions. That would be beautiful.
I will finally get my degree. Yes folks, miracles can happen. Assuming all goes according to plan, I will be done with school by August or early October - depending on whether Grand Canyon University continues to move my classes around. We will see how much my degree means once I get it. Hopefully, I am either already working in accounting or I have moved up in the world of operations. Perhaps I will find a home in project management. It is really hard to say. As I have mentioned, an accounting degree is a quantitative one and doesn't limit a person to the accounting field alone. Obviously, whatever I end up doing after I get my degree will dictate the nature of my masters degree later.

Now I have events to plan my year around. I will continue to do the good things I have been doing and will make adjustments as necessary to make 2010 a fruitful an happy year. I also hope to see all of those important people around me (you all know who you are) do the same for themselves. If for no other reason than my selfish desire to see them prosper.

They think we're stoopid

2009-10-11T17:04:00.013-07:00

Who are "they"? They are the people who think they can feed us anything and we'll buy it. The following are three groups or individuals that are the most recent offenders:

1. Columbia pictures and the staff of the forthcoming movie, 2012

Today while I was watching football, a trailer for the upcoming film 2012 was aired. The movie looks like it is chock full of good special effects, and that will be its draw. The preview had lots of printed phrases and that irritating "heartbeat" sound that brings those phrases in to drive home that those words are important. You know the kind of crap I'm talking about. Anyway, one of the phrases said, *thunpthump* "The Mayans told us" *thumpthump* "But we didn't listen".

Just in case you were wondering, *thumpthump* was that heartbeat sound I was talking about.

The next scene is the earth falling to pieces. Here is where they think you are stupid. They want you to think, "Crikey! The signs were there! We should have listened to the Mayans! We are soooo stupid! We had better prepare!"

I hate to poke holes in your logic, Columbia Pictures, but what difference would heeding a warning make if the earth is going to more or less collapse on itself? I am no guru of plate tectonics but near as I can tell, if the earth collapses, we're screwed and there is no amount of preparation that can save us. Then again, there are those that will watch this movie and scream at the characters for not making the kind of decisions that will mitigate the amount of natural disasters befalling the planet.

2. The people who decide who receives the Nobel Peace Prize

I want to start by stating this isn't a slight against our president. He was given an award and he accepted it gracefully. To his credit, he did not keep the unearned prize money and gave it away. It is clear that even he could see this was a pre-mature and undeserved award.

The award was pre-mature simply because other than helping make our bad recession worse, the man simply hasn't done anything yet. All he has done was say that he wants a peaceful end to our wars. So did Bush. Obama is also thinking about stepping up the boots on the ground n Afghanistan while scaling back in Iraq. So was Bush. Stepping up an offensive hardly seems like the "peaceful" thing to do.* For all you idiots that think there is real difference between this administration and the last, the award's for you. Enjoy it in all its irrelevance.

3. Then, there is this jack hole:

Michael Moore is the worst offender of this triad of human underestimation. His latest flick, "Capitalism: a Love Story" is all about how capitalism is the greatest threat to America and Humanity in general. The week of this movie's release, Moore and Keith Olberman were chatting on the latter's editorial on MSNBC going on and on about the evil that is American Capitalism. Michael Moore was also heard to say that capitalism has done nothing for him.

Holy irony, Batman! I know I am not tho only person who caught onto these small tidbits:

Michael Moore is a millionaire. Why? Because of marketing and merchandising by entities (such as Disney) that are in business to turn a profit. How do they do this? CAPITALISM. A small group of idiots buy into his crap using money they get paid from corporations. That money goes to the corporations sponsoring his farce of a movie. These corporations in turn break him off for his efforts. Capitalism never did anything for you? The fact that you can support your Twinkie habit is a result of capitalism.
Keith Olberman's interview was conducted in a posh NBC studio. That company makes money from selling advertisements from other companies. Those companies continue to purchase advertising time if their products sell. That advertising revenue goes into the nice facilities used and also into the pocket of Keith Olberman. Not to mention the fact that the interview probably generated more business for the latest movie by our nation's "village idiot".

Unfortunately, there actually are morons out there that believe anything this douche canoe says. The fortunate thing about those people is that they are few in number and are probably viewed as their village's idiot.

So for all you stupid people susceptible enough to believe (or believe in) any of the aforementioned, I present to you our anthem of the next while until I post again: Alice Cooper's "Hey Stoopid".

Rock, Rock, Never Stop

2009-08-30T11:23:00.002-07:00

Yesterday began and ended as a day of rock for the A-train. First thing in the morning, I headed off to the storage unit for band practice. The band has finally hit a solid chemical groove. We have readied our initial set and have five other songs in the works. Additionally, I have been blessed with a group of guys who are willing to allow my creativity to run as free as I desirre (the same respect is offered to the other guys as well). To that end, I have changed up the basslines of the pre-Aaron material (only slightly) and have added a progressive element to the playing of the new stuff. Additionally, they have not only accepted, but embrace my desire to lay some keyboards on some of the songs. So far, they love the concepts I have been integrating with this instrument, and it is now a matter of solidifying those parts.

Yesterday at practice, I expressed my gratitude to them for indulging me. They resopnded something to the effect of insisting that since we have a keyboard and a couple people who know how to use it, that it should be a part of the band. Their favorite bands (Dio, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Cinderella, etc) all used the keyboard element often. Indeed, my two favorite bands (Rush and Dream Theater) use the keyboards all the time, and their sound is largely defined by the use of this instrument. So there you have it. My musical life took a drastic turn for the better three weeks ago when I first plugged the keyboard into the PA system. Based on the direction the music is heading in, this may be the project I have long sought, but was never able to find. There is one element missing in my mind, but I lost that battle a couple months ago. All other parties involved disagree with me, and I will leave it at that.

Later in the day, my family met with my uncle Paul, aunt Kristi, and her friend Sandy (or is it Sandi???) at the Cheesecake factory for our pre-concert dinner. The dinner ran a little long, so we ended up missing the first act of the night, Cheap Trick. On one hand, I really wanted to see them, but on the other, I was not very disappointed not to have been able to do so. I am not very sure why that is. Perhaps it is because they are 60 and unlikely to perform the way they once did. I was more curious about whether Robin Zander could still hit the high notes he once did (ala "The Flame"). I guess I won't know that. No biggie.

We ended up arriving just before 8 PM (Which means Cheap Trick had a 30 or so minute set anyway). We were just in time for Poison. Truth be told, I wasn't sure what to think about going to see that particular group. I will admit that they have some songs I like such as "Fallen Angel" and "Nothing But a Good Time" and a few others. Really the only one I don't like is "Unskinny Bop" because it is totally gay. It wasn't gay for them to write since I am sure they were aware of the tail a song like that would get them, but it is gay for a dude to listen to it voluntarily. At any rate, Poison put on a first-rate performance. Even though Brett Michaels has become a bit of a circus act with his "Rock of Love" series, when he is onstage, he becomes the rockstar he was born to be. He is almost as good a frontman as Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). He was entertaining, ingenuous, and it was hard not to get into it with him. Add to that the flamboyance of C.C. DeVille (who, by the way, is an amazing guitar player) and the stick twirling between every snare hit by Rikki Rocket (who I have always believed to be one of the better drummers of his era), and you knew for sure you were at an 80's metal concert. There was easily more energy there than what one gets from the cutter bands. It was real, raw energy. There was nothing about Poison's performance that I didn't like. I dare say, I would see them again voluntarily if they were headlining or just playing on their own. I was actually surprised that they didn't play "Talk Dirty to Me" and "I Want Action".

The only member of poison who wasn't there was bassist Bobby Dall. He was "sick" that night. In his stead was Eric Brittingham of Cinderella. If this wasn't pointed out, no one would have known the difference. With the exception of Brittingham's sleeve tattoo, he looks similar to Dall fromo a distance (even the mere 70 feet away from the stage where I was). Usually, when a band has a replacement who already knows the parts he is responsible for, that means the person he is subbing in for is flat-out replaced. On the other hand, this guy may be a pinch hitter for Poison, though the chance is remote. I think only Metallica did that when James Hetfield's arm got burnt, and even then, they had to cancel some shows. Poison had to do no such thing. So we shall see.

Def Leppard put on the performance I had hoped they would. They played every single "hit" you would expect. Of course, they didn't play too much from the very early albums because Joe Elliot simply cannot hit those notes. By the time they got to "Photograph", the fatigue of the evening had already set in. I can only imagine what it would sound like if they played songs like "Wasted". Hysteria monopolized much of the set. Six of the songs came from that album. I'll let you guess which ones.

I can't say anything bad about either performance. The musicianship and showmanship left nothing to be desired. It was a blast from the past. A past that only the music of the era brought me any solace. The '80s were a terrible decade for me. My mother was dying for a couple years, then died, an I subsequently dealt with issues I will not discuss here as a result of said death. The only thing I had to hold onto was the music of the era. The music was relatively positive as well. I mean, Just last night, one band had several songs about having fun, and the other sang at least three about the music itself.

Anyway, Def Leppard said it best:

LONG LIVE ROCK AND ROLL

Tellin' it like it is

2009-07-19T19:07:00.003-07:00

Lately, the frequency dreams of me visiting Egypt have been a not too uncommon occurrence. About a week ago, I have yet another dream where I get there, but don't have time to see anything because I am trying to fight my way through the traffic of Cairo. For those of you not in the know, Cairene traffic is probably among the world's worst, if not the worst. Realistically speaking, I know that the traffic in Cairo will never keep me from getting where I need to go since the hotels I would be staying in are literally across the street from the sites I would want to visit. Moreover, I would never be behind the wheel.

At any rate, I have recently had more pleasant dreams where I have been able to access sites. I think it has a lot to do with this travel journal I have read over the past few days between claims at work. I am always looking at who to use to plan my trip to Egypt (when I can afford it), and I always come back to Museum Tours (linked at right). An Egyptologist contact of mine reccommended them to me a couple years back, but it seemed a little pricey. However, I have decided on this company as the arrangers for my trip in large part to the aforementioned journal I read. While this will be a guided tour, there is a lot of freedom in choosing what one does and does not want to do - or more specifically, how one chooses or does not choose to do something. For example, on the day the Valley of the Kings is visited, guests have an option: either 1. wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning, visit the workmen's village, and hike the ancient trail up the escarpment and into the VOK, or 2. wake up at a reasonable time and take the van into the VOK to meet with the group. The obvious answer is number one, but for the folks who are too old for a hike, the second option works out. In either case, the price of the trip remains constant. As far as I can tell, Museum Tours is the only American tour company to give options like that. For those of you not in the know, opportunities like the one I just presented (and this company offers more like it) are important to those of us who follow the subject on a scholarly level.

Anyway, this journal was inspiring. This guy took maticulous notes while on his trip and presented few spelling and factual mistakes. He did dive into the minutia of the trip (including getting ready for it and his one night stay in NYC before his flight to Cairo took off) giving me the impression that he wrote this almost exclusively for his own retrospective. When he sent the journal to Bill and Nancy Petty (the owners) for whatever reason he sent it to them, they put it up on their website. I imagine they have no better trophies than this 88 page epic full of nothing but praise for the company and the people of Egypt. I have actually known a few Egyptians during sall those years living in our nation's capital, and like I said in a previous post, I have never met an Egyptian I didn't like. Before anyone says anything, the Muslim Brotherhood and Ayman Al-Zawahiri doesn't count because I never met them (and I don't need to because I don't like them and believe they should die in fire...another post for another time). At any rate, I am positive my trip will be everything it can be if I go with these folks.

I am sure the question(s) on everyone's minds is "You're going to Egypt? When?"

I have no idea. It is expensive, and I need to plan it well. I am not going to be a casual visitor to Egypt with little or no background on the subject. That said, I do want to maximize the amount of sites and the amount of time in each one. I also don't want to be fielding questions, but rather engaging in deep discussions on the subject I have endeavored for over 20 years to understand. My endeavors are not over by a long shot since there seems to be a new tidbit of information on an almost daily basis (see the Egyptology blog linked at right). Since I don't want to be fielding questions all day every day, I will likely go this one alone. Read the first couple pages of the travel journal I have linked earlier in this post. This gentleman's reasons for not taking his wife (and especially kid) are the same as my own. The same reasons I have considered for the better part of five years. While my wife is amazing fun to take a vacation with, this one would be too important to me to spend my time not enjoying it the way I want. Of course I wouldn't take my kids. Not so much because I would worry about them - Egypt is statistically safer than downtown Phoenix - but because children are a known ruiner of vacations. Those of you with kids know what I mean.

Anyway, I need to save several thousand dollard for this trip, so it will be no time soon. I suppose the only reason I am posting this information is for the same reason Paul Jacobi wrote his travelogue - for retrospect. I would love to come back to this post and review these thoughts after I take my trip.

Mike Seppy went home today. His 10 day business trip has come to a close, and on Thursday, he is going back to Myrtle Beach for seven weeks on yet another business trip. If I were single, I would be envious of the jobs he has taken. His last job sent him all over the country and this current job - just this summer alone - has sent him to Puerto Rico, Myrtle Beach, Phoenix, and Myrtle Beach again. His is the perfect bachelor job. Once that boy has a family, he won't be so quick to bounce out of town for several months (basically) at a time. It sucked to drop him off at the airport today, but he plans to come back to check out the west coast group of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He has already seen the east coasters, and he is itching to see the version we get. He has also requested that Flapperwax play a show during his visit. I think that can be arranged.

In keeping with the title of this post, the song I am posting today leaves no room for error as to what type of song it is. I give you Testament's "The Ballad"

Redemption

2009-06-26T20:43:00.004-07:00

Dream Theater released their new album, "Black Clouds and Silver Linings" this past Tuesday. Of course, I purchased it as soon as Best Buy opened their doors. At 10:01 am, I was a proud owner. I have listened to the songs a few times (all but one of them, actually...read on for details). The base album consisted of six songs. Five were good. The second disc on the special edition (I always buy the SE) had some new covers. One of them was Iron Maiden's "To Tame a Land". As Dan (Flapperwax drummer) said, you can't get a cut any deeper than that. The original is the last song on "Piece of Mind". Dream Theater executed brilliantly, but Iron Maiden's version is the better of the two. Just like no one can make Dream Theater songs sound better, no one can make Iron Maiden songs better. All they can simply do is pay respectable homage and maybe introduce their own flavor. In the case of Dream Theater, I couldn't have asked for more.

There was a third disc. The third disc is the instrumentals of every song on disc one. In other words, no lyrics.

As with Systematic Chaos (DT's last album), I will break down my review of disc one in order of song:

1. "A Nightmare to Remember" - This song is pretty good. It is similar - as Mike (linked right) noticed - to so many other first songs on DT albums. It gives its fans what they want, but it isn't fabulous. I will listen to it a couple more times, but I have the feeling that it will be a song I won't commit much more of my time to.

2. "A Rite of Passage" - The song is fantastic. I guess it is the track sent to the radio stations, and I can see that. Everything about this song is put together well, and it is definitely a tune the general public can embrace.

3. "Whither" - I have mixed feelings here. While it is the best vocal performance of the album, I can't help but feel a little let down that it is about writer's block. I dodn't catch that until Mike pointed it out. It is arranged beautifully on an instrumental side as well. I just have a hard time believing writer's block is all that gut wrenching. The way James LaBrie sings it, you would think his dog dies or something. If I choose to ignore the theme of the song, I can appreciate it for the beautiiful song it is. Maybe I'll do that.

4. "The Shattered Fortress" - This may be my favorite song on the album. This or the next track. Mike (sorry to bring you up so much, but I sincerely hope people read both takes) has noted that it reprises the other four songs from the alchohol saga that have appeared over the last four albums. My opinion on the matter is that they did exactly what they should have done. This song brings closure to the epic. The first of the epic was "My Glass Prison" off of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. How appropriate is this title of the final song of the series. To drive the point home, this song actually ends with the beginning riff from "My Glass Prison". While there is more new additions than there are reprisals, the latter made the song whole, and the series complete. I cannot say enough good things about this song.

5. "The Best of Times" - This is snother song about a band member's dead father. What I love about Dream Theater is that they pay their respects to their loved ones in a way I could only dream of doing. Additionally, this is one of their best songs in a long time. Right now, this song struggles with the last one for #1. The Guitar solo is even more emotive than Whither's...and this song is about a subject that I can emotionally embrace.

6. "The Count of Tuscany" - this is the meh of all mehs. Dream Theater has to stop writing long songs for the sake of having long songs. The length of this tune is all Mike Portnoy, and I hold him largely responsible. For those of you who have heard it, imagine the first 5 1/2 minutes of Octavarium*. Now multiply the length of it by three. That is "The Count of Tuscany" for you. There is nothing memorable about the song. Dream Theater will never top "A Change of Seasons" in this category, so they should stop trying. Of course, I refer to the category of epic songs that are not broken down into separate tracks. SFAM and Six Degrees don't count.

All in all, the album is very good. Still, nothing they have done holds a candle to Images and Words. However, I am glad they don't. If they kept releasing songs like they did back in the day, there would be no progression, and nothing special about I&W. That said, this album was a huge step in the right direction from their last one.

Change of subject...

I haven't posted this yet, but Mike Seppy will be in town on businees in a couple weeks. I am excited about that. He gets a per diem food allowance (and keeps the remainder). He has graciously offered to feed me while he is here. I won't get to see him every day he is in town, but it has been over a year and it is high time we see eachother. His plans for moving here are on a slight defferment. Who knows, maybe the defferment will be permanant once he feels Phoenix in July.

Speaking of Mike, I came a cross some of his old artwork from the late 90's while I was at work the other day. Mike used to draw Manga style quite a bit for a while there. I have no idea whether he still does it, but he is pretty good. One was of me back in my Bujinkan (and long hair) days. I thought I would share it. I am wielding a Shoge if you were wondering:

Looking forward to seeing him again.

Finally, let's get some music up here. I have decided against Dream Theater. Instead, I would like to play a video of one of the songs my band is planning to cover. It is "Wild Child" by W.A.S.P.

Yum

2009-06-19T08:25:00.002-07:00

I have made some decisions recently that should interest my four readers. First, I am putting my financial services idea on ice for a little while. When it comes down to it, I just don't have the time. Sure, I could pick up a client or two, but a full-fledged business just won't work. I have decided to continue with my degree and even possibly wait until I have my Masters in 2011 to start it. By then I will have enough classroom time to get my CPA and CMA.

As for my blog, I will start posting more items of significance. Mostly, they will be topics that interest me. I will occasionally post political topics of course, but I will also be writing about financial health, debit and credit card safety (this is what I do for a living afterall), Egyptology, and whatever else puts me in the mood to write.

Still, I will be posting music videos and whatnot because I am a rocker to the core, and there is noo use hiding it.

Speaking of rocking, Flapperwax is progressing apace. I am starting to catch up with the other guys whose catalogue is extensive. An announcement on a new member of the band will be made once it has been made official on the band's myspace page (linked right). Oh yeah, I added the band's page to my list of links. The recordings were done on protools by the guitarist. He laid down every track (though the drums are dome through a sampler). For a rough recording, they sound great. I am excited to see what it sounds like once we all lay down our tracks - particularly with the live drummer element.

My wife, Kristin, has entered the blogosphere. She has a blog (linked at right) dedicated to the cakes she has made. I am not sure whether it is to promote her cake decorating business, but if anyone here likes what they see, Kristin's services are always for sale. For cakes, I mean :-)

Back to rocking...

It has been a while since I have posted a music video. This time, it is not an '80s video this time. In fact, it was done in circa 1990. This is just about as heavy as it gets. Here is Judas Preist and "Painkiller"

Return of the muse

2009-06-05T19:42:00.003-07:00

Some of you know I had to stop my martial arts training for a while. The ETA of my return is unknown. Basically, it depends on finances. If I get a higher paying job, then I go back. Luckily, I have been given time to look. My friends at the dojo were kind enough to let me freeze my account with them for three months so that I can return with the same terms as my original agreement. My hope is that this will be worked out before then.

Having no release from the day to day grind, I looked into less expensive means of therapy. So, on a whim I pulled up my dear old friend, phoenixbackpage.com. As usual, there were no shortages of musical projects looking for bass players. And as usual, most of the bands were in Phoenix or the west valley. One ad caught my attention. There was a band practicing out of a storage shed in Mesa who are in their thirties. I responded to them and went to jam with them on Monday. The chemistry was instant, and their music is challenging. I have practiced with them again since and have plans to practice tomorrow morning as well. At the rate I am learning the material, we may be performance ready in six weeks.

Another thing that this group has that none of the other bands I have worked with had was the willingness to agree on covers. Already we have an Iron Maiden cover close to ready and we have some other treats planned. I have had to pull teeth to get any band to agree on a cover to do (if we did them at all), so it is refreshing knowing that I do not to have to deal petty arguments. Additionally (bear in mind, the originals these guys have can sustain at least an entire setlist if not more), we are planning to have a catalogue of covers that we can cycle through to change the set up from performance to performance. Very exciting.

Thw most important element to me is the musical relationship with the drummer. He and I are spot on together. This is always my biggest worry. Oh, and don't suppose I wasn't ecstatic when I found out this group actually has a drummer. They are a rare breed around these parts.

Anyway, expect more news as it develops. Our goal is to go out, play, and have a good time. Priorities are family, work, then band (although I insert school between work and band). These guys are like-minded, share the same musical interests, are ego-free, and sober.

The band's name is Flapperwax.

Speaking of music, I heard a song the other day that was truly inspired. Seether did a cover of Wham's "Careless Whisper". This is yet another song that I have actually petitioned other projects I have been a part of to cover. They all said "no, it would be ghey". Well, they said the same thing when I would try to get them to do "Land of Confusion" and Disturbed made an amazing version. Good thing Flapperwax is of the mind to entertain remakes. I have some ideas that if we can arrange them, will stun our audience.

I digress.

I would like to point out that I am not a Seether fan. In fact, I don't like anything of theirs I have heard. However, this song is brilliant. Yet another testament to the fact that the 80's was the best decade for music. Here is a youtube video I pulled up for the song. Sorry, Seether is in this photo montage, but it beats Twilight:

A good idea

2009-05-08T19:47:00.003-07:00

My good friend Mike just did something I have been contemplating for the past month or so. He has recently deleted the lion's share of his blog posts for various reasons - all of which were valid.

Ever since I began considering my financial services business, the idea came to me more than once that some of my posts might not help me get business should my clients run across my blog. Some might not appreciate my fiscal conservativism (which would not make sense for any business owner to disagree with me). Some might disagree with my social liberalism (sans governmental enforcement, of course). Some might have a problem with the obvious innuendo implied in the blog title. Some might simply have a problem with the music videos I post from time to time. Who knows?

One thing that is certain is that this blog as it stands may not be the best PR vehicle for me if I want to be taken seriously. As it is, I have a hard time getting people to take me seriously. I speak mostly of those I am close with. My friends see my exuberant side most of the time. I can't say as I blame them, really. My job sucks the life out of me. It is not easy, and unfortunately there is no room for having a good time. Most of my day is spent putting out fires with customers.

It is a fact that I have an unmatched skill at de-escalating volatile situations. I am the best in my office. It takes an amazing amount of people skill to do it. It also takes an amazing amount of mental, emotional, and sometimes physical energy to do it. I have been given awards because of it, and a lot of compliments either forwarded to managers, or by managers that hear me do it, or by branch bankers that were having their butts handed to them until I saved the day. My empoyer and co-workers take me very seriously. So much so that I have been all but given a blessing to move on into our accounting department(s). Only problem there is that there are no accounting positions open.

Is it any wonder why I would want to unwind and get silly when I am around those I choose and prefer to be with?

The seriousness of my job does indeed cause the stand up comedian in me to come out around my family and friends. Of this group, only about a handful and a half take me seriously. Those friends have been made aware long ago of my intentions to get my business off the ground. At this point, it is the only thing I think about. It is the only thing I can think about.

So here it is. This is what I am going to be doing. First off, the name of my business will simply be "Ketterer Financial Services". There are two good things about the name. First, it is short and simple. Second, it allows me to grow into the name without overgrowing it. As I have already mentioned, I will be starting with basic accounting services (budgeting, bookkeeping, etc). However, the name will still be valid when tax services can be rendered and even when I have my CPA and CMA. I could get certified in investments (series 6, 63, etc) - which I probably won't - and the name would still be relevant.

There is a lot in a name, and I think I have made my point about it.

I have identified my target markets for this current phase of the business:

1. Small businesses - this includes all struggling businesses as well as businesses who are doing well that might like to do even better. Whether I am doing monthly (or quarterly budget analyses) or regular bookkeeping, this market would be my bread and butter. I will actually be posting about the importance of budgeting once I decide what I am going to do about this blog.

2. Families - this includes singles, of course. My goal is - as with the businesses - to help folks get out of debt quicker so as to mitigate the damages. Family budgets are hard to live by. My services would be tailored to the individual family's needs, and I will make adherence as easy as possible. Anyone reading this would benefit. Anyone in general would benefit.

Moving on, I actually have sophisticated (enough) software. I have the full version of Microsoft Accounting 2008 which is like Quickbooks, except better, and it also offers a functionality that will allow me to do family budgets.

My credentials are solid enough. I am a senior at Grand Canyon University pursuing a BS in accounting. My accounting classes do have a lot of theory in the reading, but my exercises are purely practicum. I have plenty of experience that has yielded good grades. Most importantly, I know what I am doing and what I am talking about. I have no intention of overextending.

If any of you reading this know of someone or some business I can help, please pass along my information, or pass theirs to me (especially if you do not know me). I leave my comments area unlocked to everyone, so long as they are a real person. I will have a website up as soon as I can.

"Girl beats off muggers with marching band baton"

2009-04-30T23:09:00.005-07:00

How kinky.

I can't write headlines like this.

It is well documented that the Associated Press is never on the mark. Even still, one would think these "professional writers" might at least proofread their headlines. The unnamed author had to know what this sounds like.

As a martial artist, this is a great story and definitely worth sharing. Though the protagonist is unnamed, I tip my hat to her. Way to go!

Click the title of this post for the full story.

Oil markets fall - blame the swine flu

2009-04-27T23:05:00.004-07:00

Ok, so here is a headline I came across on Yahoo news this evening:

"Oil falls 2 percent towards $49 on flu, bank jitters"

Does the press really think the public is so stupid that we will accept a new-found strand of the flu responsible - or even partially so - for the gas prices (or any other prices) taking a dive? Do they really think we are stupid enough to believe that a "pandemic" that has affected 0.00000016% (roughly 50 cases divided by 300,000,000 US citizens) of the domestic population would cause consumers to purchase less oil?

I don't know about you, but I am not too worried about contracting this disease. Even if I fail to avoid the 1.6 ten-millionth chance of getting sick this way, I am positive I will survive. Most people who have had it lived to tell the story.

This is yet another smokescreen to divert the attention from the debacle that is the United States government to something completely ridiculous. Last week it was "torture". However, the American people have been bored with the subject for years now. The week before was about pirates. America is not bored with that, but that involves having to deal with a real issue, so the media feels (not a jib at you Mike...this is their diction) it is doing us a favor by not making us face facts. That is the problem. Society has been trained to feel, not think. I can't wait to see what they have planned for us next.

Finally! The Lions are going to the superbowl!

2009-04-21T22:35:00.007-07:00

How can they not with an intimidating logo like this?

Take that, NFL fans. Bet you wish you didn't give the Lions such a hard time over the last 50 years, don't you?

Just when I thought movies couldn't get any dumber...

2009-04-17T20:35:00.001-07:00

This looks worse than Ultra Violet..

Darkness imprisoning me, all that I see...

2009-03-29T19:45:00.002-07:00

This morning was the official bachelor party for my good friend and martial arts instructors (one of them anyway), Nate Smith. In all, there were about 15 of us at this party. Twas a nice morning. In the mid to upper 60's then reaching a peak around 80 or so. We didn't do the predictable bar and stripper combination the uncreative enjoy; no, we went paintballing. It has been about twelve years or so since I last paintballed (in fact, it was with Seppy and Martin), so needless to say, I was eaten alive by some of the more experienced folk. Anyway, it was great fun. I even came home with a few welts for souvenirs and a giant purple-pink-red-brown-and blue bruise on my stomach. I was shot by a gentleman with a pistol from near point blank range. For what it's worth, I shot him at the same time with a more powerful gun at - you guessed it - near point bank range. Even if I didn't react when I did, Nate avenged me himself. This dude ate to rounds from some high powered markers set at the highest acceptable power. He was cool about it. We had a rather peasant conversation on that long walk the dead men take back to the waiting area. By the end of the day, I became a full-fledged member of Nate's paintball team, "Station 8". I have the vinyl sticker to prove it. Good times.

Nothing ellse seriously eventful has taken place over the last several weeks since my last post. I bought a new grill and used it for dinner tonight. It was the best grilling experience of my life once I got the charcoal going. Nothing tastes better than food from a charcoal grill.

Music time. This choice was easy. Since I spent the whole day playing various war games, it only makes sense to go with Dragonforce's "Operation Ground and Pound".

High kicks, low quality acting, and fireballs? YOU BET!

2009-03-02T10:14:00.004-07:00

On Saturday, Mike, Justin, and I went to see the new Street Fighter movie. It delivered all the cheese I was hoping for. At the same time, there were elements of it that can be taken seriously. This combination made it an enjoyable experience.

Basically, the movie centers around Chun-Li, but more importantly, they creators are designing this the same way "The Avengers" is being done. They are introducing one main character at a time (the movie alluded to Ryu being the focal point of the next movie). This group of people are known as the Order of the Web. More or less, take all the good-guy characters, and form them into a group of individuals who are not quite superhersoes, but can perform all the tricks in the games. Yes, even fireballs.

We shall see where this series goes. The acting wasn't all that great, but the guy who played Bison was spot on. Oh, and the style employed by Chun Li and her father as Wushu. This is of course not at all a martial art in the martial sense, but more of a glorified gymnastics routine. No wonder daddy lost his fight. Amazing Chun Li won hers.

Speaking of martial arts action, I finally got around to posting the montage from the training festival I went to in October. I am not in any of this because my part couldn't be captured well on camera (unless the camera was 5 feet away). My part was to get pwned by my instructor (the demonstrations were for black belts only).

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy it!

Unexpected

2009-02-26T19:45:00.002-07:00

I got a totally unexpected phone call today. Chris, a friend of mine since the 8th grade who I haven't seen since 2005 called to let me know he will be in town this weekend to attend a series of workshops. While he will be MIA Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we plan to get together early next week to catch up. Methinks he needs to be introduced to Thai Hummus.

What is even more of a shock than the sudden phone call, was the fact that he moved from New York City to an Albuquerque suburb. Seppy is the only other reader of this blog that can appreciate this revelation. Chris always denounced suburbia. He is now happier than he has ever been. Go figure.

Speaking of Seppy...

So the weather has been wonderful this past week. With that, the ladies make their bodies known leaving not a whole lot to the imagination. Now, before I say anymore and risk mutillation by way of Kristin's fury, I will get to the point. With the ladies out the way they are, it is a single man's dream. So Mike, please tell me why it is you are not here???

Lastly, I just though I would point out that the Dave Matthews Band and Maroon 5 are the most irritating, pretentious bands there ever were. Prove me wrong...

One Little Victory

2009-02-23T20:25:00.002-07:00

Occasionally, the female throws me a bone without asking questions. Due to my persistent reminders, I have taken on the soubriquet "Way Cool, Jr." I even got my sister in law in Florida to address me as such.

For frequent readers of this blog, only Mike knows where I got the name. I will enlighten the rest of you to Ratt's song about me:

A song for every person

2009-02-13T20:32:00.003-07:00

With Valentine's day tomorrow, it seems appropriate to put some sort of romantic, mushy love song in what I hope is the re-emergence of my weekly anthems. However, not everybody is as fortunate as I am, and many are alone. Well, there is a song for everyone as it turns out. Since I will never post love songs on this blog for anthems, I will post a few this week. So here ya go:

Do you have a massive crush on someone, but are too shy to ask him/her out. Well, Lionel Richie has that covered with "Hello":

Did you just realize that you may love the one you're with? Whitesnake understands in their song "Is This Love?"

Do you have that special relationship where you and your significant other love hinging to eachother? There are two songs for you. Lionel Richie (yes, again. I have been on a Lionel Richie kick lately) did one of the most popular duets with a then 243 year old Diana Ross called "Endless Love". Since I can't abide Diana Ross, I am putting a video he did with a much better British singer on some limey TV show:

Perhaps you are single and loving it. Perhaps you believe you can love yourself in a way no one else is capable of. Nothing wrong with that. Here is a song Billy Conolly wrote for you all:

Whatever your situation, I hope you have a happy Valentine's day. As for the wife and I...we don't celebrate it. It is almost as stupid as Halloween, but I won't stop you all from having fun.

Death To All But \m/

2009-02-09T21:35:00.002-07:00

Before I begin, I would like to say to all you Obama lovers that I told you so. I understand you all love the cult of personality that singularly defines him rather than the man himself (you must - he hasn't actually done anything substantive in his political life, afterall), and I am glad you had your fun. You gave him what he wanted more than anything: power. Before I say more, I would like to point out that I haven't said word one about the guy since he took office because I wanted to see what he would do. Tonight, he explained to the public on prime time television how he is going to destroy our economy. I sincerely hope this "stimulus" thing does not pass a senate vote. He wants to spend all these hundreds of billions of dollars to create jobs. Ok...where is that money coming from? It can't come from the taxpayer...that money has been spent by our last administration in a wave of mismanagement and a different series of bailouts and stimuli. This money is obviously coming from nowhere. Near as I can tell, this money will come from nowhere and guess who gets to pick up the tab? Us. All of us. After everyone has jobs (if they have jobs), we will all have our taxes raised to pay for it. One thing to always remember is that Democrats believe 100% of the money you make is theirs. They just let you keep some of it.

Republicans are not much better. They believe that your money is yours, but you should let the government keep some of it. Too much of it if you ask me.

I can also say that the president is a bald-faced liar. He said there was no pork in his "stimulus" bill. Hmmm. Well, I suppose that when some of your allocations (in the $100's of millions) go to create a total of three (3) jobs, that can't possibly be pork. I mean, you can't put a price on someone being able to work and provide for their family, right? Lie number two came when he said that most of the money would be going to the private sector. He then went on to quantify that by including road, bridge, and levee construction/repair. There are a couple things wrong with his assessment. First off, when the government subsidises a private industry, said industry is no longer private. Public money makes it said company public. Secondly (and really to piggy-back on the last point) if you are a contractor doing work for the government on behalf of a "private" company for the government, you are essentially an employee (slave if you ask me) of the government.

Anyway, after tonight, I know my "Buck Farack" t-shirt line should sell well. I need to patent the line, methinks. A lot of people are pissed. Good job, Mr. President! You managed to screw up even quicker than Bush did. Less than a month must be some kind of record!

Moving on to other subjects, I finally watched the Rainn Wilson movie, "The Rocker". I have miced feelings about the movie. On one hand, it was about never being too old to live out the rock star fantasy, but on the other hand, it tried to make being in a ghey emo(ish) band cool. It is worth checking out. Jason Sudeikis' character was classic. The movie did make me really miss the bygone days where it was okay to write songs about whatever (love, having fun, being the second person in your family being named "Way Cool"). Nowadays, rock music almost has to be made about cutting (ie ADD from the movie) or some depressing crap like that to be marketable.

Then, hope in music is restored...

Every now and again I stumble upon a rock and/or roll gem. Tonight as I was driving home, I actually wondered what was on the radio. In a surprise that just about caused an accident, KUPD had a band called Steel Panther. They are relatively new. I believe they used to go by the name "Metal Skool". Before I post this video (which is not the song "Death to all but Metal". Look it up for yourself.), I would like to say that his band is a comedy act, but they do clearly love the genre they play. Their subject matter is about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Well, not the drugs so much. And only sometimes rock and roll. Hmm. I will let you decide. This week's tune (not for people who are not comfortable with adult language) is called "Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)". It is clearly influenced by Whitesnake. Enjoy it!

They are who we thought they were...

2009-02-01T20:21:00.004-07:00

...and we let 'em off the hook. Crown them if you will. Savor the flavor, Pittsburg fans - even though your team barely won (as it was looking like AZ would have done), a "W" is a "W".

Both teams played an amazing game. As a fan of football, it had all the "edge of your seats" content that makes the game so great. Though I am not at all happy that the Steelers won the game, I am proud of how the Cardinals performed. Pittsburg had to earn this win. Many Cardinal nay-sayers thought it would be no contest. Well, at least that ridiculous notion was put to rest.

That being said, I am also disappointed in how the Cardinals represented themselves in the penalty category. This cost them the game. Not until late in the game did they finally stop, but by then, the Steelers had too many points on the board. The game was low on turnovers, but the turnovers the Cardinals did allow resulted in a Steeler defensive touchdown and of course ending the game altogether.

As I lament the loss of the Cardinals, I will have to find silver lining in the fact that they are the best team in the NFC, they made it to the Superbowl, and they have proven themselves as worthy adversaries to the NFL's "toughest defense". The Cardinals are still my boys, and I look forward to an excellent 2009 season with them. They have surpassed my wildest expectations (and I think everybody's) this year.

You Owe Me a Coke, Seppy

2009-01-18T20:01:00.002-07:00

On the evening of the Superbowl last year, Mike (Bahr) posted his lamentation that he was denied the opportunity to see something he has never seen before when the Patriots couldn't muster enough talent to acheive a completely undefeated season. This year, Mike can make no such lamentation. The world will now see the Arizona Cardinals represent the NFC in Superbowl XLIII (43) on February 1st. Heck, Mike may even see two things he has never seen if the Cardinals go on to win the Superbowl. This doesn't seem likely since it appears the Steelers will win the game. The Ravens were the Cardinals' best shot at a victory. However, if the postseason has taught us anything, one can never write the Cards off. To that end, I will think positively.

As for the Eagles - they played a great second half. They reminded the Cardinals that they do not walk on water. Unfortunately for them, it was too little effort too late. I do have to hand it to Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, and Brian Westbrook. Those guys lose with dignity and honor. They are class acts, and I respect that. In fact, I have always been a fan of theirs. I hope the pricks that call themselves Eagles fans realize what they have. Philidelphia fans (save for Mike who recognizes the problem) tend to lose their loyalty when their team loses. Well, losing in the NFC (or AFC) championship still equals a great season.

Mike - I look forward to my Coke. Too bad you won't be out here to watch the game. Though we were friendly rivals today, I know we will be rooting for the same team in two weeks.

A Happy 10 Years

2009-01-17T20:00:00.004-07:00

I just got back from my ten year anniversary trip with the wife, and it was great. I won't get into the minutia of the trip, but I can say my memories of the awesomeness of skiing are accurate. Sunrise Park indeed rivals some of the ski resorts (Copper Mountain, Keystone, Breckenridge) I am familiar with. The only major difference is - as I have mentioned in a previous post - there are no bowls. Since bowls are irrelevant to me, there are no complaints here. To top it off, the Apache people are very helpful and well spoken. I appreciate their hospitality while I was on their reservation. Of course, I was dumping money into their pockets, so I guess we all got something out of the relationship.

Anyway, I need to find skiing buddies. Kristin's prolapsed ankles got the better of her and in addition to the usual learning curve, making turns (especially right turns) was very difficult. She hasn't written on skiing entirely just yet, but she has advised me to find other people to ski with if I want to do it more often.

We were only able to hit the slopes one of the two days we planned to go due to the difficulties, so on Friday, we decided to see what the White Mountains had to offer. It turns out that there isn't much in the winter outside of skiing, but we did manage to go to the base of the mountains (where the temperatures were somewhat tolerable) where we went to the Kinshiba ruins - an ancient Zuni/Hopi pueblo. After about two miles down a dirt road, we found out we needed a permit to visit. Since we never saw the visitor center, Kristin and I decided to walk the ruins anyway (sorry Apaches). We did abide one aspect of the sign at the entrance: we brought respect, took pictures, and left footprints.

After the ruins, we galavanted around the Show Low/Pinetop?Lakeside area only to find that these towns have nothing going on. We did catch a movie, did some shopping for things we needed anyway, and relaxed until the evening. We decided to go to the Hon-Dah casino since it was right there and won $20 more than we went in with, so that was cool. Afterwards we went to the best steakhouse I have ever eaten at: Charlie Clark's (in Pinetop). If ever you find yourself in the area - eat there. These latter events were all a part of our actual anniversary.

While my anniversary celebration was going on, my buddy Jeff was most likely enjoying his bachelor party planned by Mike (Bahr). I look forward to hearing about that. Today is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I am reunited with my kids who I surprisingly missed (felt like I hadn't seen them in weeks). On the other hand, today is Jeff's wedding. I wish he and Roxy a lifetime of happiness, and I am sorry I couldn't make it. I am there in thought, obviously.

Okay, so let's talk football. I am picking the Cardinals and the Ravens to win their respective games. The Ravens have been defeated twice by the Steelers this year by small margins and I think they have the Steelers' number now. The Cardinals will defeat the Eagles for the following reasons:

1. Even though they won, the Eagles got the crap kicked out of them by the Giants.
2. The Cardinals do have an edge with the homefield advantage.
3. The Cards are on a tear, and their confidence will intimidate the Eagles.

Should I be wrong about the Cards game, I will pull for the Eagles during the Superbowl. I like the Eagles, and they are an exciting team. I just don't think they will win.

As for my Superbowl victor - based on my picks for the game, it is hard to say. The Ravens are dynamic this year. Their unpredictability has been their edge. Then again, the Cardinals' post season unpredictability has been theirs. I will have to evaluate the games tomorrow to make my pick.

The Coke bet is on!

2009-01-11T19:18:00.003-07:00

This weekend was a football fan's dream. Three out of four playoff games ended in upsets. Most importantly were the NFC playoff games. Combined, they mean the Cardinals will have homefield advantage in the NFC championship game.

Last night, Mike (Seppy) and I decided that if the Eagles won, we would have one of our traditional Coke bets. I am taking the Cardinals. I can't believe I am saying this, but I have little doubt they will be in the Super Bowl this year. Of course, a beaten-up Eagles team won't hurt their chances.

The Clinch? A Cinch!

2008-12-07T21:42:00.006-07:00

Praise be to the Arizona Cardinals! Today, they handedly defeated the St. Louis Rams to claim number one in the NFC West division. The Cards can go ahead and lose both of their next three games and all of their division rivals can win their next three games and it wouldn't matter. This is a special day for AZ football fans. With Kurt Warner being a former Ram and the Cardinals once hailing from St Louis, today's clinch was all the more special. Here's to their victory in the playoffs (I am hoping they get at least one)!

In other news, Mike's now a published (his work with the state aside) writer. Last night, I went over to his house for Steph's 26th birthday party. Mike put a book in my hands asking, "so Whaddya think?" It took me a second to realize what it was. The author's name was not his. I will not post the pen name here for the reasons Mike outlines on his blog (linked at right). I won't get into too much of what the book is about other than it has to do with Magic cards. This is a non-fiction reference book. He even mentioned me in the acknoweldgements, which I think is pretty cool. At any rate, please join me in a heartfelt congratulations and a hearty slap on the behind for Mike!

The rest of the night last night was mostly eating and playing Rock Band 2.

My Christmas party will be held on the 13th - next Saturday. It is sure to be a wing-dinger of a box social as most of my invites said they would be able to make it.

Oh, I should also mention that root canals are not at all painful before, during, or after the procedure. Once again, TV has lied to us. I get my temporary crown on Wednesday, and then my permanent the day or two before Christmas (with any luck).

More stream of conciousness...I was talking to Jeff last night and he advised me that the TSO concert here on the west coast also featured a Savatage tune. In fact, it was one I posted as an anthem some time ago. The song was "Hall of the Mountain King". So now I am a little depressed I didn't get to see them this year.

Since I am talking about music, I may as well put a song up here. There was a time when Def Leppard was very much as metal as any metal band of their time. So let's go there. You may notice the drummer has all limbs accounted for. This song is one of those tunes you want to be driving on an unpoliced Indian Reservation (as most are) because you will speed. Do enjoy "Rock, Rock Till You Drop".

Gimme an "R"! Gimme a "C"! Gimme a "T"!

2008-12-01T21:57:00.003-07:00

What's that for? Root canal therapy!

Ick. I get my first root canal on Wednesday morning. This will be my first dental procedure in well over a decade. On one hand, I am nervous. On the other hand, I will be completely numb, and then there won't be a nerve to feel pain after the numbness is over. Objectively speaking, I have nothing to worry about. It is the concept of root canals that freaks me out. The best part is they call it therapy - a word one does not normally associate with invasive procedures. Maybe they will start calling a stint placed in the aorta as aortic therapy. Might make it easier for the patient to digest.

So I missed TSO this year. I was actually very upset because I saw the setlist and saw a song I never thought I would hear live. Then I found out the east coast company of the band are the only ones playing it. Anyway, though it is not really a "rock anthem", it is definitely worth posting. As some of the people who frequent this blog know, Trans-Siberian Orchestra evolved from the band Savatage. In fact, some of the TSO songs are actually songs from Savatage's catalog. Most notably, "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" and "Back to a Reason". At any rate, only Savatage fans know that the band was started by the Oliva brothers. 15 years ago, lead guitarist Criss Oliva was killed by a drunk drunk driver effectively signaling the beginning of the end of Savatage. Criss' brother, Jon, is one of the brains behind the company that is TSO. This year, no doubt as a memorium to Criss, TSO has chosen the song, "Believe" as this year's "cover". I put that in quotes because a lot of the people in the east coast TSO group were in Savatage at one point or another.

Anyway, I was talking to Mike (Seppy), and in two weeks he will get to see this performed. Good times.

"Believe" is one of the great power ballads of its time. I will post the song as it was originally recorded and also a performance by TSO themselves. Bear in mind, the latter is a bootleg and as such has inferior sound quality. Inferior the sound may be, but there is an emotional charge that the original doesn't have - then again, the song means more to the friends and former band members of Criss Oliva now than it did back when he was alive.

Unwarranted Intimidation

2008-11-10T18:56:00.005-07:00

So, it suddenly occured to me today. I figured out the answer to many-who-know-me's question for why I am involved in accounting. Superficially speaking, they were right to question it. I am not bad at math, but I don't enjoy it. In fact, math still scares me to an extent. So why is it that I enjoy budgeting, balancing, invoicing, and the like?

The answer came to me as I was changing my accomodation reservations at the hotel Kristin and I will be staying for our anniversary. The reservation went to a smaller room with a gas burning fireplace - as opposed to the wood we originally "wood" (hur hur) have had. The other major amenity difference is that the new room has satellite reception on its TV - a feature to which Kristin and I will find a rather high level of utility. The pricing difference was about $100 per night...less. Of course, this means I save $300 on the vacation as a whole. So out came my notebook and I made the adjustments to the trip. When I was done with it, I realized it looked somewhat familiar. In fact, I thought, it looked exactly like some of the statements I concoct for my homework assignments. A sudden thrill struck me. After about another microsecond of reflection, I realized that it is the way I always put such affairs together. I put my recent Florida trip together the same way, and I remember putting similar statements together even in high school when I wanted to show my parents (successfully) that a trip to Egypt with my friend would be economical. Needless to say, I did not go on this trip. Not because my parents said "no", but because my friend wanted to play guitars the whole time we were there. He was in my band and his dad was on assignment from Bechtel in Cairo. I would have had free lodging. I beleive you will all agree that one does not go to Egypt to do what he already does stateside unless there is something to be gained financially. Going to Egypt and seeing nothing would be the worst kind of torture, so I subjected myself not to it. But I digress...

So there you have it. I now know why accounting comes to me easily and why I love it so. Math sucks, but math with purpose rules.

Changing direction here, I would like to direct you to Mr. Bahr's blog at right. If any of you were interested to know what the downtown area of Phoenix was like, he has posted a very nice photographic journal on it. DT Phoenix really is one of the most aesthetically pleasing in the states. The mall in DC is also up there. However, the latter has a lot of government whist the former has a lot of capitalism. I guess Phoenix wins.

Once again...

2008-11-01T21:54:00.003-07:00

Read Mike's blog. The post is entitled "You Deserve Him".

There are voices of reason on the internet, he is one of them. Also, he has another blog linked on his site by someone named Myrhaf. There is another good read.

If you are one of the very few who are still undecided about this upcoming election, check them out. For the sake of balance, I would love to direct you to some pro-Obama sites, but none actually discuss hard policy and how it will make the American experience any better. So I won't waste your time. Don't beleive me? Look it up yourself. There is no shortage of it online.

Bar Stool Economics

2008-10-30T20:56:00.004-07:00

Festival was better than I expected. The political atmosphere was not what I expected, and all pretentiousness seems to exist more in my mind than actuality (although there are some in the organization that did not show up to festival I reserve judgement for). Stephen Hayes is a man that promotes this truth: he is a man. He has accomplished much. He is extremely intelligent. He believes what he believes and he knows why. He is an amazing martial artist. These things aside, he is a man (a mortal even) - and he knows it. I pretty much figured that was going to be my impression of him, but it was nice to see it in person. The training was two full days of butt kicking. In addition to the large group training, we had our options for what they called "breakout sessions". There were three total. I chose to do two knife seminars and one randori (Japanese for free response) seminar. The fire is under my butt more now than ever to keep on with this art.

I made a montage of some of the incredible demonstrations performed on the first evening. When I format it to something this blog can play back, I will add it. Either as an edit to this post, or as its own separate.

So, my brother sent me an email with a very interesting explanation of how taxes in this country work. It explains in simple metaphoric English why the Bush tax cuts work (one of his few well thought policies), and why Obama's would not. This passage is so full of flavor, I absolutely had to share:

"Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20', declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right', exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!' The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier."

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Read Mike's Blog!

2008-10-16T20:52:00.006-07:00

Edit - I notice Mike has posted recently. The post to which this post is referring is entitled, "Never-Ending Politics". Read any of his posts you want, but definitely read the aforementioned.

I have on more than a few occasions made reference to Mike's blog I have linked at right (again, "Bahr's House of Exuberance"). I "feel" (hugs and kisses right back at ya, Mike!) his point is worth reading. I would like to go on record as saying I agree 100% with him and the quotes he provided in the latter part of his post. The more I think about it, the more I believe I may just be an Objectivist. If this is the case, it is because Objectivism may just line up entirely with my inate political leanings.

Though I am a registered Republican (you need to be registered as something to vote in the primaries here in AZ), I don't really subscribe to much of what the GOP believes anymore. Much of the party has gone "neo-Con" which is just another way of saying "centrist who leans just slightly to the right". I am a hard-core fiscal and Constitutional conservative. I tend to vote Republican because they almost always have a less socialized view in these departments (though there are some Democraps that slip through the cracks). I believe that my money is my money. I do believe the government has a role (specifically in the military department) and that tax is necessary. I am even happy to pay them, so long as they are not being misused and I am not being gutted for everything I have.

Anyway, I just noticed that the entire first paragraph was somehow deleted from my last post. I am not sure how this happened, but I think that when I added the pictures, something went awry. Anyway, the whole post would have made more sense. Because that paragraph took me a while to write, I won't go back and try to rewrite it. But it had numbers and allocations. If you are interested, I suggest doing the research and then read my post again. It makes a lot more sense that way.

Enough national politics. Let's move on to the social political game I hope I am too low ranking to be affected by. Actually, let's not say anything about the politics until I see them for myself. Tomorrow, I head off to Dayton as I have mentioned several times. I have been honored by my two instructors as they have asked me to participate in their demos Saturday night. This is especially special because they have chosen me to be their uke in front of all the senior practitioners including one Stephen Hayes (website linked at right). I have to admit, I am a little nervous. Not only are they putting on a show, but so amIwith my receiving skills. Not to mention that this will all be done on what may as well be concrete, wich wouldn't be a problem except that I find myself thrust to the ground more than thrice. I look forward to it though. Anyway, I am feeling pretty good about myself right about now. I know part of the reason I am involved is because of my superior size to these gentlemen, but I also know I would not have been asked hadthey thought I couldn't handle it. So yay, me!

I will leave you with some music. How does Gwar grab you? The song is "Jack the World"

The key to a successful nation

2008-10-14T22:45:00.005-07:00

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

Cicero - 55 BC

Our government needs to stop the spending immediately. Both of our presidential candidates propose to spend more. Senator Obama actually said as much. McCain - a better politician when it comes to playing the game - never uttered those words exactly, but we all know he means to (though his proposals do have a lower price tag).

Still, McCain is the lesser of two evils (as the Republicans typically are).

Obama's ridiculous proposals are filled with "universal" this and that in that oh-so-familiar left wing rhetoric that has proven itself nothing short of a train wreck time and time again.

I, for one, don't want the money that belongs to me taken against my will by the government to pay for some lazy douchebag in Queens to have healthcare or a college education. It is not my problem. Why should it be? I conjecture most of the country will agree when the reality of where Obama's money will be coming from should he be elected dawns on them. The problem is that it would likely be too late. A lot of people refuse to learn.

I look at the polls, I see the lead Obama has, and I don't doubt the numbers. But if the country is lucky, the slow-witted "can't someone else do it?" minded individuals to whom Obama has endeared himself will not show up at the polling booths. That would be a great victory for America. The last sentence in Cicero's quote eludes to this - and it is the unequivocable truth.

When I go to the polls this November to pull the lever for McCain, it isn't a vote for him - it is a vote against Obama.

4 days and counting

2008-10-13T18:24:00.003-07:00

In 4 days I board my plane to Dayton, Ohio for the fall festival. In my last post, I mentioned my apprehension due to questions that are as yet unanswered. After giving it some thought, I determined that it doesn't matter. I love To-Shin Do. I love my dojo and the people I learn from and train with. I love the teachings of Brett Varnum - the senior from whom my instructor is learning. The man in charge, Stephen K Hayes, has my full respect. This is all that matters. I honestly coulsn't give two hoots about how certain other people of (various ranks) behave. In fact, I may simply laugh at the pretentiousness that I have allowed to get the better of me for a while. That being said, I may not go again to festival until I am a nidan (2nd degree black belt) if the political atmosphere is less than tolerable. In any organization, one cannot avoid politics. To that end, there is a certain amount of BS I am willing to put up with. Anyway, I look forward to reporting on that.

So I was reading Mike's blog today (linked at right as Bahr's House of Exuberance), and he posted a picture that had me laughing for a solid 20 minutes. In fact, I am laughing even now. I thought I would share it with the folks who read my blog. Mike took this picture in the bathroom of a local restaraunt. I would really like to know which one so I never go there myself:

I also want to know if Eric has a second job anywhere else so I can avoid that, too.

Lastly, I would like to torture you all with this video I stumbled on the cable access channel here in town. I believe the program was called "Xcorps". They apparently show videos of indie musicians. This guy is an example of why I am afraid for American music fandom. I present to you Eek A Mouse's "Schizophrenic":

Like old times?

2008-10-08T21:19:00.010-07:00

It has been too long since my last post. Even Mike noticed the other day that I have been away from the blog as late. The reason is, of course, that school has been sucking all my time from me. My accounting class is complicated, but I have good support from my instructor who is always available to assist. My business statistics class is even more complicated in no small part to the fact that that instructor is almost entirely nonexistent. When someone posts in the "questions for the instructor" forum, the questions are left unanswered - unless a student knows the answer in which case he or she will field it. That class is singularly irritating as a result, so I shall skate by with a B or C as a result never to look back. In two weeks, I can bid that class (and hopefully the intructor) a not so fond adieu.

I am especially busy with school because I have to get ahead in light of my trip to Dayton, Ohio next weekend for Festival. It is here where I will reach a milestone in my training. I will get to train under and meet one of my childhood icons (and founder of To-Shin Do), Mr Stephen K Hayes. I will get to renew my acquaintance with Tori Eldridge and Brett Varnum, and I will get to meet and train with many new people. I will also determine my place within the To-Shin Do community as a whole. I have been put off a little bit by some elements of the art, so this trip more about the answers to questions that have been bothering me for a couple months now. I won't elaborate on this, but I plan to return with a full report.

In other news, Kristin and I have decided what we are doing for our 10 year anniversary this upcoming January. We have settled on a ski trip. Kristin set a tight budget, so my initial plan to go to Colorado was instantly crushed. Then, as I was goofing off on the internet between claims at work I came across this little gem:

This is Sunrise Ski resort in the Arizona White Mountains. I can't believe I didn't know this place existed. The only place I knew of is that uber lame Snowbowl near Flagstaff. Not only does Sunrise boast more runs, but it has three quad lifts which, as a rule, are the high speed runs for those of us who just want to get to the top quickly. This place is not a far cry from what I was exposed to in Colorado (even the elevation is comparable at over 11,000 feet). The major difference is that the places I have been in Colorado (Copper Mountain, Keystone, Breckenridge) all have well over 100 trails each wheras Sunrise is just over 60. Still, the layout is very similar to those in Colorado (sans the bowls - but I am not a bowl-level skier, so I don't really care). Anyone who skis regularly will clearly see this. I believe the reason I have never heard of this place is because it is owned by the Fort Apache Indian Tribe. They don't spend a lot of money on marketing. Instead, they spend it on grooming amazing (from what I can tell) slopes and providing high speed quad lifts. Yeah. Suck on that, Snowbowl.

We will be staying at the Red Setter Inn on the grounds of the Greer Lodge Resort in Greer, AZ where we will stay in the Penthouse for the first two nights:

For the last night, we will stay in room number four (the penthouse has been previously booked for that night):

Yes, these are pictures of the rooms I will be staying in. Since each room has its own charm, they allow guests to choose from what is available. The wife and I could have taken cabins for less, but they weren't as nice. Well, some are even nicer, but we do have a budget.

All in all, this vacation will fall right within out budget and will prove to be just the kind of thing we need. It has been many years since i have gone skiing. Images of the ski resort and the lodging brings back some of my greatest memories. During my time in Summit County, Colorado I spent many hours skiing. I spent many hours sitting at a window table at my parent's restaraunt at the base of the B lift (not the "Super Bee") at copper mountain cradling a cheeseburger, or sipping on hot chocolate watching the skiiers bounce from side to side amongst the fields of Moguls (my parents restaraunt was named "Mogulfields" for a reason). Some of my fondest memories found me sitting by a crackling fire discussing the days events on the slopes with my family.

One thing I miss incredibly (and won't get this time around) is Christmas time in the mountains. You know those Christmas Villages they sell at Michaels? Anyone who has been to my house in the last three or so years knows I have one that I expand on every year. Anyway, those villages look exactly like some areas in Colorado. Main Street in Breckenridge is one such example. Quaint, overpriced shops lining the roads, horse-drawn sleighs clip-clop past you to the rhythmic chime of jingle bells, and the holiday light displays illuminating the scene are all parts of a sum that can only be truly appreciated by experience.

In January, I will be able to enjoy many of these things with my companion and best friend. We will enjoy the skiing, but we will also get a chance to sit by the fire in deep conversation - in our room or even with other guests in the common area who have also spent the day skiing. Hot chocolate will be had by some, brandy by others. We will likely take the opportunity to take a sleigh ride. We also plan to do some tubing on our first day there. This anniversary will be a healthy mix of romance, adventure, relaxation, and chid-like innocent fun. Sweet fancy Moses, I am stoked!

Ok, so let's put that sentimental stuff aside for a moment and move on to the music segment. Since I don't do this every week anymore, I try to make my anthem selections as \m/ as possible. This week is a band that emerged in the late seventies as one of the quitessential hair metal bands only to end up sounding closer to Styx or Asia in the 80's. Their songs were solid regardless. They are still together and usually only play festivals like "Rocklahoma". At any rate, I give you Triumph and "Fight the Good Fight" (tell me this guy doesn't sound like Geddy Lee). Sorry, the sound isn't too great.

Scary thought

2008-09-21T20:06:00.002-07:00

So I just heard from a reliable source that Grand Canyon University is going in the same direction as University of Phoenix. This is disconcerting because I specifically chose a school that isn't UOP because I wanted to earn a degree, not just pay for one. To me, it is important to actually have the skillset that piece of paper you get after graduation says you have. Maybe that is just me. I know I am in the minority in my demographic because UOP is significantly larger.

I wouldn't mind GCU going in that direction administratively speaking. Right now, GCU has screwed up with my account to the point where for one fleeting second, I had considered switching to the aforementioned diploma mill by the airport. Some of you already know GCU almost didn't award me financial aid because that department can't read the national system that shows where a student was when they received their financial aid. Now, they seem to think I owe them $3700 in back pay from last semester. Um, my financial aid more than covered tuition last semester, so what's the problem? The problem is that they went ahead and paid this amount to my accumulated student loan account. Why did they do this? I plan to find out.

This is their business office that has caused much of the problem, and financial aid has been an innocent (and inadvertent) scapegoat.

The academic advising department did me a solid though. GCU was going to have me take a 100 level communications class. I have taken a 200 level course a few years back that, while not sharing the exact same curriculum, was close enough to allow a substitution. The next step is to get my psychology class I took in 2005 count for the general psych class GCU requires. If that happens, the only gen ed I need to take is music appreciation - a class for which I have taken nothing remotely related since up until recently, it was never a requirement.

So a combination of this and the grind I have chosen to involve myself academically has gotten me feeling a little obnoxious. So the anthem for now will be Sam Kinison's rendition of "Wild Thing". Not only is this song obnoxious because Sam Kinison is the frontman, but because there are about 20 other prominent rock stars of the era. Where else will you see Stephen Pearcy and Billy Idol in the same room?

Back to School

2008-09-04T16:36:00.003-07:00

Monday started yet another semester of school for me. After about three months of not having to do anything related to school, the work load has come as a shock. I have finally gotten myself in a position where I can take one accounting/finance course per 8-week session for the rest of my undergraduate work. This is good, because there is finally an end in sight. My classes for the next 8 weeks are financial accounting and business statistics. While I am excited about the accounting course, the statistics class seems to be a bit of a snoozer - odd considering they really do go hand in hand. The second 8 weeks of this semester will be spent in managerial accounting and some management course I have to take.

Anyway, I will be attending classes with no more than a 3 week break for the rest of my life as a student. This should get me out by December of next year. In the meantime, I need to decide what I am going to do by December of this year. GCU has just opened up degrees for their online students in Finance and Economics. I will be sitting with my HR director to go over my carreer interests to determine if I stay an accounting major, or I pick one of the other two. As many of you recall, I have been waiting for the finance major to open up since I began with GCU. I am reluctant to just up and change since i have done that so much in my life. I will do so if it serves my carrer goals. In the meantime, the classes I am taking and have taken are all required for any of the three degrees I am considering, so no time is being wasted.

This weekend should be nice. Friday, I will spend running errands with the family and going out to dinner as we do on a weekly basis. Saturday after work, I will go to Mike's place for some fun with a chainsaw (he needs to cut some of his Palo Verde down from injuries sustained during a monsoon storm) and then to play what I hope to be the entire Moving Pictures album on Rock band. After that, I am going to Nate's house for a UFC party. Sunday is the first day of football for all but two teams (a game I am watching now). I will watch the games and transfer all of the homework I have been doing at work to the proper format and submitting it. Yeah, I have enough down time at work where I have actually gotten all of my homework done. Good times.

Anyway, my brain being twisted around all this school work has put me in a mood. This week's anthem is indeed a joke, but I am putting it up anyway. I used to have a massive crush on the drummer of this band (when I was 10). I know I stated on several occasions that the vast majority of women are incapable of rocking, I have to hand it to these ladies because they can actually play their instruments. So allow me to present for your pleasure or torture - quite frankly, I don't care - Vixen and their song "Rev It Up":

In the mood for a power ballad?

Passing the Time

2008-08-25T19:44:00.006-07:00

When I am in between cases at work, I find myself surfing the net reading up about all that interests me. Today during my first break, while I was reading an inspirational fiction by Elizabeth Peters, I found myself inspired (go figure) to get online and learn a little more about a necropolis where some of my book's key players were buried. While I was looking into it, I stumbled upon a real gem here on blogspot all about the latest Egyptological news (now linked at right). The blogger (Andie) is dedicated to her passion. She is apparently trained as an archaeologist and is currently pursuing post-graduate work in the field. I suppose that is neither here nor there. What I do appreciate is that she makes it very easy for the amateur Egyptologist *coughmecough* to find out what is going on and when. Usually, I wait for the newest issue of KMT to come out (this is a quarterly publication I buy without fail).

I often wonder where I would be right now had I chosen to pursue Egyptology as I had planned to do right out of high school. Since I would have settled for no less than the American University in Cairo, I would certainly speak fluent Arabic by now which would be very marketable under current conditions (required for all AUC students). I would have gotten to spend a good 4 years minimum in the country that has been the source of such unreachable longing I cannot find words appropriate enough to express it. Perhaps I would have gotten to do some work in the impressive KV5 with one of my heroes Dr. Kent Weeks. Then again, maybe I would have found a position working on the animal mummy project with one of my heroines Dr. Salima Ikram. Or, perhaps I would have spent time working on any of the myriad other projects they have going on. Most certainly, I would have made it a point to meet many of my favorite authors and authorities on the subject. I would have made an excellent archaeologist. I once went on an archaeological preservation expedition when I worked at American express to preserve an ancient Hohokam mound. Mundane as that was to many that came, I was overcome by archaeological fever. How, then, would it feel to put my hands to work in some ditch in Abydos, repiecing fragments of pottery in Tanis, or - better still - been a part of an excavation that discovered the tomb of a king? The speculation is titillating - I aint gonna lie. Part of me wishes I had grown a pair when I was 17 and made it happen. Lord knows I could have. The option was there. I knew the people fairly well. I have never met an Egyptian I didn't like, and I have known many. What kept me from doing it? Who knows?

I like to think that it has entirely to do with what would become my family. If I went to Egypt to go to college, I never would have met Kristin, we never would have had our kids, and the good life I have now with both family and friends would not exist as I know it. With particular emphasis on the former, I would not trade that for two lifetimes of Egyptological study.

So what stops me now from pursuing Egyptology at U of A or something? Economics. The pay is crappy. Certainly not enough to reliably raise a family. The ones with money write excellent books on their findings and make "talking head" appearances on Discovery Channel documentaries - and they are far and few between. Careers in finance, on the other hand, does make good money. Enough to pay for annual trips to Egypt in a decade or so.

It is too bad one can't have their cake and eat it too.

So what was I talking about before sprining off on this wild tangent? Oh yeah, the new link. I definitely recommend it if history is in any way your thing. There is hours of reading to be had. Thank you, Andie for putting the site together!

When A Train Wrecks

2008-08-23T17:06:00.006-07:00

No, I am not referring to the Olympics...hur hur hur.

Last night, Mike, Jeff, Roxy, Debbie, and I went out for an evening of rock and/or roll. We started the evening at Four Peaks for some Thai Hummus and drinks - though my drink consisted of naught but aspatamaliciousness. Anyhoo, after "dinner", we made haste for the Marquee Theater in Tempe. The concert: Extreme with special guests King's X and Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp. The latter is exactly what it sounds like. If you have the money, you can play live with rock stars. Though we caught the tail end of the janitors, exterminators, accountants, etc playing with none other than Kip freakin' Winger (remember Winger?), the impression I had was quite positive. For a bunch of non-professionals, they played pretty well. After they got off stage, we were treated to the "counselors" of the camp doing a short set of covers. It took me a second to recognize some of them because I was not expecting to see them. The only person I was expecting was Kip Winger (the prick ages all too well). Some of the others I have never heard of. All of them I never expected I would ever see in person, so I took it as a little treat. So here is the star-studded lineup of this supergroup. Their band affiliations are parenthetical:

Gilby Clarke (Guns N' Roses)

Mark Slaughter (Slaughter - I took him for Anthrax's guitarist for some dumb reason)

David Ellefson (Formerly Megadeth, now F5)

Earl Slick (David Bowie, John Lennon - kinda looked like an old Izzy Stradlin)

Glen Hughes (Deep Purple)

Chris Slade (AC/DC)

Mark Hudson (songwriter and producer for Aerosmith and a fantastic performer).

Kip Winger (Winger)

After their set, it was time for King's X to take the stage. They performed better than I have ever seen them (this being my second time). One thing that strikes me dumb is how music that sounds so terrible as a studio recording sounds so amazing live. I do like the band, but I can't listen to their studio stuff. This makes lyric memorization difficult. I would have had even more fun had I known the lyrics. Ah well.

Next up was Extreme. They put on a fantastic show as one would expect, but they ran into a snag. During the opening song - maybe 30 seconds into it - I noticed something was amiss. Oh, it was the guitar. About 30 seconds of no Nuno later, the band stopped playing the song altogether. The roadies quickly fixed the problem, and the band resumed playing...the next song. No - they didn't just start again or even pick up where they left off. There was a show to put on, so on they moved. This is one of the worst kind of train wrecks a band can experience, and the audience could see the embarassment. It's okay - things happen, right? So on the show went. They played all of the songs a fan would want them to play. "Play With Me" was my highlight. And you know they played "More Than Words". The band effectively got everyone to sing along with them. At first, I felt a little ghey doing it, but as I looked around, so was everyone else. I felt confident that what happens at an Extreme show, stays at an Extreme show. So on the show went. Then, in the middle of another song, Nuno drops out again. Now the boy is pissed. He gets on the mic and tells us that he has blown two heads. For those of you who don't know what a head is, it is the aparatus that supplies the power, volume control, and all else to the speakers of an amplifier. So the roadies had to put another on. Judging by the time it took for it to appear, I am guessing they had to fumble around the gear bus to find it. We now find out this head is the last one. During the interim, Extreme tried to keep the dead air down by telling jokes (they do have a decent sense of humor). Gary Cherone made it a point to plead with us not to blog about it. Sorry, Gary. Again - train wreck. Finally, they were able to finish out their set without any other hicups. All in all, the show was great. The equipment failure actually enhanced the experience to a degree. I think it has to do in large part to the band not getting their panties in a bunch over it. They laughed it off, and so did we.

On the way home, I learned that a rectal tounge-bath after defecation is the epitome of decadence. And no, I was not given said bath. But I trust my source has which must be why he knows.

As I was on my way to dreamland, I was thinking about all the bands I have seen. The number is quite high, but there are so many more I still want to see. For your boredom, I shall list the bands I have seen:

Rush
Dream Theater
Metallica
Guns N' Roses
Faith No More
Mr Big
Candlebox
King's X
Godsmack
ZZ Top
Ted Nugent
Journey
Styx
Foreigner
REO Speedwagon
Extreme
Whitesnake
Scorpions
Dokken
Spin Doctors
Screaming Trees
Soul Asylum
Phish
Iron Maiden
Dragonforce
Joe Satriani
Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I may have seen more, and I know there are meaningless opening acts whose names I don't care about. As impressive as that is, Mike and especially Jeff can list much more.

This morning I was dragged out of bed to operate the chainsaw and groom my mesquite tree. The heat sucked and it most certainly was no good for my back in its present condition, but chainsaws are \m/, so I suppose my morning was a wash. Now I have a 7-foot pile of mesquite branches (some weighing close to 50 pounds) in my front yard awaitinfg bulk trash in a week and a half. After that, I mowed the lawn which took all of 15 minutes.

Tomorrow night there is a pool party at Michael and Lori's which should be fun. I will be going alone because it starts an hour before the baby goes to bed. I will be having a gathering back at my place in September so my wife can participate. All you folks here in AZ will be notified when a date is set.

No time to post

2008-08-21T22:50:00.003-07:00

Seriously, I have none. Nothing new has happened yet. Although, last week I was flipping through channels, and as I came across MTV2, I heard the VJ mention aband I didn't think really existed. Now I come to find they will be blowing through this sun-soaked state in October. They made their first "mainstream" appearance as a bonus song in Guitar Hero 2. They have 2 songs in Rock Band and one on the way in the latter's sequel. They consist of three guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and about 9 - 21 vocalists (depending on who they recruit at any given show to compliment their "permanent" singers). Their songs are entirely choruses and guitar solos, and their nameconsists of the "two hottest words in the English language". They are Bang Camaro, and the song is "Push Push (Lady Lightning)". This is the song from GH2.

Star Wars Sans Lucas = \m/

2008-08-15T22:26:00.002-07:00

I took one of the children today to see the Clone Wars movie. I knew walking into it that the only influence George Lucas has was the green light to make it. Otherwise, he had no creative influence. Based on episodes 1-3 and the latest Indiana Jones movie, I thought this was probably a good idea. How good an idea it was manifest itself in the most fun Star Wars experience since Return of the Jedi. This movie is apparently the first episode of the forthcoming television series. So the main plot of the movie makes a little more sense if you know this going in.

Anyway, I recommend this movie. The next movie I would like to see is Tropic Thunder. A small group of liberals are boycotting this movie (it uses the word "retard"...boo hoo). Because of that, this movie will get my money.

So, is metal your religion? If so, it is time to go to church. This week's anthem is "Badlands" by Metal Church:

Man, I love shark week!

2008-07-31T21:09:00.002-07:00

I know it is ironic in that I am a total hydrophobe and can't sit through any movie involving the ocean (ie The Abyss, The Perfect Storm, etc), but shark week truly is the highlight of my summer. Sharks truly are amazing animals. That is all I need to say about that.

Music this week will be provided by a band called UFO. They were prominent in the late 70's/early 80's. They ended up disbanding and the guitar player/leader started his own project called the Michael Schenker Group. MSG played a lot of the UFO stuff in their live act. In fact, tonight's anthem - written in the 70's - I long thought was a MSG tune from the 80's. So here you all go, one of the songs that assisted in the invention of what would become 80's metal, "Lights Out":

The Dark Knight = \m/

2008-07-24T20:30:00.003-07:00

Kristin and I got to go out for a few hours today. Most of it was errand related, but the morning culminated in a 12:35 showing of the new Batman movie. I am not the type to use spoilers in my postings, so I won't. I would like to point out a few things though (these are objective undisputable truths):

1. Yes, it does live up to the hype. Exceeds it in some cases.
2. Yes, Heath Ledger is the best Joker ever...even Nicholson. That being said, the Joker of 2008 as compared to the one of 1989 are so different from eachother it is unfair to make a comparison. Anyway, Heath Ledger was so good, it is actually quite sad that he died. Watch the movie. At the end you will see why I say this.
3. Christian Bale continues to be the best Batman ever.
4. Aaron Eckhart played the role of Harvey Dent beautifully. And the way he looks as Two-Face is like something out of a horror film. You may not want the kiddies to watch the last 45 minutes of the movie.
5. This movie would have been rated R had the director/producers not chosen to cut away during scenes that would have been worthy of the Saw franchise. Yeah, the Joker is pretty sick.

So far, this is the best comic book movie I have ever seen. Most of the time, one forgets that they are watching a live-action comic book. That is the genius of the writing. There is even a visit from an old friend from Batman Begins.

Leaving the movie, I wonder if they will cast a certain villain, or if they will go another route. The end of the movie leaves that option open. I will let you all see the movie first.

The anthem this week is "Alone" by Suicidal Tendencies. This song is amazing. I was in a band once that was going to cover this song, but none of us were capable. At the time, I was not able to play anything Robert Trujillo played. Instead, we played an older tune called "Pledge Your Allegience". In any case, enjoy this tune. I know I have on many occasions in my day.

Suicidal Tendencies - Alone

Actually, it does not appear that I can embed this one. Please click on the link up top. It will take you to the video.

Save the date

2008-07-21T22:11:00.006-07:00

This morning I got the news from Mike and his wife that Jeff is engaged to be married. His blog linked at right (Love, Life, and Chaos) was how they found out. This evening at training, Jeff gave me a "Save the Date" in probably the most unique fashion I have ever seen one. It is a refrigerator magnet. So to Jeff and his intimate female acquaintance, I bid a heartfelt congratulations. Jeff has told me on several occasions over the course of our friendship that he would really like to find a meaningful romance, and settle down. Well, it seems he found it, and I am happy for him.

The timing is perfect too. He is getting married the day after Kristin and my 10-year anniversary. We were trying to figure out a relatively inexpensive domestic trip, and Jeff has provided us with our plans. And he says there is no God...

In my last post, one Joe Mullins challenged my challenge to the existence of the atom. I found the image of what he was talking about as well as an example of gold. Take a look: Sodium Chloride (which are sodium and which are chlorine?)

Gold

These images mean that the atom may exist, but these may not be atoms. But then they may be. In fact, they probably are. The images are blurry though. And are these encased by literal electron shells? OR...what if there are no electrons? What if there are no protons or neutrons, but rather the atom is an orb of perfect energy that serves the purpose chemistry has designated for it? Then isotopes would be imperfect atoms of varying radioactivity levels as opposed to having different neutron counts. Ah the possibilities...

I also don't think oxen exist. I have never seen an ox. I have seen large cows, but never an ox.

Three things we take for granted

2008-07-18T21:28:00.005-07:00

1. The atom: Have you ever seen an atom? Has anyone? How do we know they really exist? In fact, there are many ideas as to the model of the atom (though we typically think of the Bohr model). All these ideas and nothing substantive to back them up. Yet, we all accept the concept of the atom as truth.

2. The United States of America: We are the best country on the planet. Always will be. Even if Obama is elected president, we will still be the best country on the planet.

3. Life: What are you doing with it? Do plan for your future? If you don't have a retirement fund started by the time you are out of college, then clearly you don't. My advice would be to start now. Whether you are 20 or 40, start saving now.

That completes this installment of "Things We Take For Granted".

On to music. I heard a song today that really got me thinking that there are some cool bands that have emerged within the last ten years that slipped through the cracks and got mainstream fame. That band is Disturbed. The song the station played was one I haven't heard in a while, but was the first tune of theirs that turned me on to them (it may be the first song of theirs I ever heard for that matter). I remember thinking how impressed with the vocals I was. So this week's anthem is off the "Believe" album, the song is "Prayer".

Rock Band 2

2008-07-15T18:18:00.003-07:00

Seppy asked a question on my last post that I felt the answer was worth a separate blog posting. He asked me what I thought of the RB2 track list.

Before I answer that question, I would like to first state how ghey it is that Harmonix is even bothering with a new game. The downloadable content feature is so awesome, they should have just continued with that instead of releasing these next 80+ songs on a separate piece of software. What really blows is that though the dlc is compatible for transfer, the disc content is not. So what about the great tunes on RB1? You won't be able to play them on RB 2 to make your ultimate custom setlist. So yeah...ghey.

That being said, they are apparently improving the playability which has been the game's biggest downfall (in that it is just shy of terrible) - and the only reason I won't buy it. So the improvement will be good. Also, the new drum kit has an expandable platform to add more cymbals. Thay may or may not be good. It will only be good if the software recognizes them as the cymbal triggers for regular game play outside the big rock ending. Oh, and the drums do serve as a stand alone electronic drum kit. So expect them to come out with an uber expensive brain in the not too distant future.

So here is the setlist:

Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC Let There Be Rock 1970s
2. AFI Girl's Gone Grey 2000s
3. Alanis Morissette You Oughta Know 1990s
4. Alice in Chains Man in the Box 1990s
5. Allman Brothers Ramblin' Man 1970s
6. Avenged Sevenfold Almost Easy 2000s
7. Bad Company Shooting Star 1970s
8. Beastie Boys So Whatcha Want 1990s
9. Beck E-Pro 2000s
10. Bikini Kill Rebel Girl 1990s
11. Billy Idol White Wedding Pt. I 1980s
12. Blondie One Way or Another 1970s
13. Bob Dylan Tangled Up in Blue 1970s
14. Bon Jovi Livin' on a Prayer 1980s
15. Cheap Trick Hello There 1970s
16. Devo Uncontrollable Urge 1980s
17. Dinosaur Jr. Feel the Pain 1990s
18. Disturbed Down with the Sickness 2000s
19. Dream Theater Panic Attack 2000s
20. Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf 1980s
21. Elvis Costello Pump It Up 1970s
22. Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way 1970s
23. Foo Fighters Everlong 1990s
24. Guns N' Roses Shackler's Revenge 2000s
25. Interpol PDA 2000s
26. Jane's Addiction Mountain Song 1980s
27. Jethro Tull Aqualung 1970s
28. Jimmy Eat World The Middle 2000s
29. Joan Jett Bad Reputation 1980s
30. Journey Anyway You Want It 1970s
31. Judas Priest Painkiller 1990s
32. Kansas Carry On Wayward Son 1970s
33. L7 Pretend We're Dead 1990s
34. Lacuna Coil Our Truth 2000s
35. Linkin Park One Step Closer 2000s
36. Lit My Own Worst Enemy 1990s
37. Lush De-Luxe 1990s
38. Mastodon Colony of Birchmen 2000s
39. Megadeth Peace Sells 1980s
40. Metallica Battery 1980s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones Where'd You Go 1990s
42. Modest Mouse Float On 2000s
43. Motorhead Ace of Spades 1980s
44. Nirvana Drain You 1990s
45. Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky 1960s
46. Panic at the Disco Nine in the Afternoon 2000s
47. Paramore That's What You Get 2000s
48. Pearl Jam Alive 1990s
49. Presidents of the USA Lump 1990s
50. Rage Against the Machine Testify 1990s
51. Ratt Round & Round 1980s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers Give it Away 1990s
53. Rise Against Give it All 2000s
54. Rush The Trees 1970s
55. Silversun Pickups Lazy Eye 2000s
56. Smashing Pumpkins Today 1990s
57. Social Distortion I Was Wrong 1990s
58. Sonic Youth Teenage Riot 1980s
59. Soundgarden Spoonman 1990s
60. Squeeze Cool for Cats 1970s
61. Steely Dan Bodhitsattya 1970s
62. Steve Miller Band Rock'n Me 1970s
63. Survivor Eye of the Tiger 1980s
64. System of a Down Chop Suey 2000s
65. Talking Heads Psycho Killer 1970s
66. Tenacious D Master Exploder 2000s
67. Testament Souls of Black 1990s
68. The Donnas New Kid in School 2000s
69. The Go-Go's We Got the Beat 1980s (interesting, but not enticing)
70. The Grateful Dead Alabama Getaway 1980s
71. The Guess Who American Woman 1970s
72. The Muffs Kids in America 1990s
73. The Offspring Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated) 1990s
74. The Replacements Alex Chilton 1980s
75. The Who Pinball Wizard 1960s
76. Abnormality Visions 2000s
77. Anarchy Club Get Clean 2000s
78. Bang Camaro Night Lies 2000s
79. Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow 2000s
80. The Libyans Neighborhood 2000s
81. The Main Drag A Jagged Gorgeous Winter 2000s
82. Speck Conventional Lover 2000s
83. The Sterns Supreme Girl 2000s
84. That Handsome Devil Rob the Prez-O-Dent 2000s

Here are the songs I think are worth a damn:

Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC Let There Be Rock 1970s
4. Alice in Chains Man in the Box 1990s
5. Allman Brothers Ramblin' Man 1970s
11. Billy Idol White Wedding Pt. I 1980s
14. Bon Jovi Livin' on a Prayer 1980s
15. Cheap Trick Hello There 1970s
18. Disturbed Down with the Sickness 2000s
19. Dream Theater Panic Attack 2000s
20. Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf 1980s
30. Journey Anyway You Want It 1970s
31. Judas Priest Painkiller 1990s
32. Kansas Carry On Wayward Son 1970s
38. Mastodon Colony of Birchmen 2000s
39. Megadeth Peace Sells 1980s
40. Metallica Battery 1980s
43. Motorhead Ace of Spades 1980s
48. Pearl Jam Alive 1990s
51. Ratt Round & Round 1980s
54. Rush The Trees 1970s
61. Steely Dan Bodhitsattya 1970s
62. Steve Miller Band Rock'n Me 1970s
63. Survivor Eye of the Tiger 1980s
65. Talking Heads Psycho Killer 1970s
67. Testament Souls of Black 1990s
75. The Who Pinball Wizard 1960s
78. Bang Camaro Night Lies 2000s
79. Breaking Wheel Shoulder to the Plow 2000s

Bang Camaro has never done wrong near as I can tell, and it is great to see the Breaking Wheel back in these games. They had a great instrumental in GH1.

After triple checking my list, I can safely say I wipe between my buttocks with the other songs. Needless to say, I don't like enough of the songs to even bother with this game. I may not with the new GH game either, so who knows? If the DLC remains relatively affordable and it continues to be awesome, then the game would be worth buying. I will wait it out. I think I'll let Mike buy it and I can judge from there...that is, after he has unlocked enough crap so I can avoid having to play Alanis and Smashing Pumpkins...

Has it really been a month? edited

2008-07-10T11:00:00.005-07:00

I finally have time to post on here, and I come to find I have been MIA for a month. Amazing. It seems as though it has only been a couple weeks.

My time from the blog is certainly justifiable. Since I am not in school at the moment, I have taken the last few weeks to really concentrate on writing my political/war epic. In fact, the other day I wrote something so poignant, I nearly brought myself to tears. One of these days I plan to post an excerpt. I am not sure how I will do it though. On one hand, I am proud of what I have come up with and I want to share it. On the other hand, if even one of the major characters names are mentioned in whatever I do share, then the story I am telling is blown wide open. Anyone with a knowledge of Egyptian history will be able to figure out where I am going. If they are a faster writer than I, they could write this incredible story before I do. Though another author already has, it seems his books on the subject are based in either outdated or nonexistent theories. Plus, I think I will tell the story a little better.

Anyway, I haven't been up to much else. I recently got promoted to the next rank at the dojo. That was awesome. My next graduation will include a demo. Oh, and one of the instructors asked me to assist him in his demo he is putting on for all the senior instructors at the forthcoming festival in Dayton, OH. It was actually quite an honor to be asked to do this. He must have a lot of faith in my ukemi (recieving) since we will be doing it on a thinly carpeted floor. The best part is that I get to show the senior instructors how well I can recieve (this is a big deal in the art) while I am still in my kyu ranks. Oh, I should probably mention that I will be going to festival this year. Finally, I will have an opportunity to meet one of my childhood heroes (still is, but for different reasons), Stephen K Hayes. There will be about ten of us going to represent the Phoenix Quest Center. This is a major difference to last year's four. The best part is that all of us going are friends brought together by similar minds. It is awesome to be a part of an organization that not only teaches solid self defense, but is probably the best non-church social network I have ever been a part of.

Though I have a myspace account, I never use it. I do go on occasion to see if anyone that I keep up with solely through that medium emailed me. I come to find just today that three different bands that I guess Ekosphere either played with or saw Ekosphere play a show had sent me messages asking if I was looking for a musical project and if so, I should come and check them out. The bands are pretty solid, but they do lack something I would be looking for. Though I am all about getting a project together, I have to be picky. Right now, there is the occasional gathering of the Bumpus Hounds, which certainly has its utility, but I am looking to get into something electronic. I am really reconsidering getting a group together that is driven by capitalism. I am not looking for a record deal, but rather a series of weddings, dances, corporate events, etc that will pay good money to have a band. I have done everything that I can do musically. I have beenin almost every type of musical project imaginable. From Jazz ensebles to Prog metal and everything in between. All for (except for the Cooperstown deal and a couple high school gigs) about 30 people and 0 cash. I have proven to myself I can do certain things and am thus satisfied. There is only one other option I would consider at this point, and only Mr Bahr knows about it. That I would do to prove to myself I can arrange such a thing...and would do it for free. Anyway, the answer to the three bands is: thanks, but no thanks.

Work is going well. I am already enjoying the priveledges associated with my employment such as my retirement contributions, my free interest-bearing checking account, and my day and a half of PTO per month I get to see pop into my pay voucher.

The awesome news keeps rolling in for me as I have discovered that GCU will be offering a BS in Finance. This should roll in no later than January which means I won't have to take the accounting route (many of you know I planned to get my MBA in finance anyway, the BS just makes sense). However, if for some reason the finance thing doesn't go through, then I will continue with the accounting. Either way, I will get to work with money and take a front row seat to watching the greatest show on earth: capitalism.

Since it has been a month, I need to choose an anthem that bleeds \m/. This week, I was exposed to some of the new Metallica stuff, and I have to say it brought me to tears. What a comeback from the crap of Load/Reload, and the poor production quality of St Anger! It is like unto a throwback to the black album, but with progressive undertones. Still, the 80's material is much better. I believe that this September will be the first time I will have bought a Metallica album since 1991! It's about time guys. You still have balls. To that end, they make the anthem spot. The only warning I have to issue comes from the vocals. They are not as awesome as they once were, but James is pushing 45 (at least) by now, so let's give him a break.In fact, I won't even post any of that. Rather, I will post their instrumental (save for James singing "Hey-Yeah" for about five seconds). The song is called "Ecstasy of Gold". It is the best new song anyway.

EDIT: Mike has made me aware that the anthem is an older song. That just goes to show how out of the Metallica loop I have been for the last fifteen years or so. Load was so depressing, I wrote them off. Sounds like they did have one shining beacon of hope before the St. Anger crap. Anyway, the anthem remains, but I should putin one of the new songs so you all know what I mean. I chose the one with the best vocals, "Throne of Ivory" is the song title.

Thanks for correcting me, Mike.

Hooray sports!

2008-06-08T14:52:00.002-07:00

The past few days have been packed full o' excitement. Thursday morning, the wife took my middle child to the ENT surgery center to have his tonsils removed. They have been getting progressively bigger since about October of last year. Apparently, we waited until just about the last minute to get them removed. Not that I know how big a specimin cup is, but his tonsils more than filled one. Additionally, they were filled with puss and could have gotten infected which would have served up its own set of problems. I know, gross. He is doing well now. His throat is sore, but he is enjoying the all pudding, jell-o, and ice cream diet.

Friday evening, Kristin and I went to a pizza/volleyball party with some guys from church. It was good fun. I haven't played volleyball in years, but I am pleased to say I still suck. My playing style is quite pathetic. I am the guy who knows he isn't any good that plays like he thinks he is. I scored plenty of points for the other team and only a couple for my own. Ah well. It was a rip roaring workout, so that has to account for something. I look forward to the Turkey Bowl in November. At least that is a sport I can play well (football).

Saturday started with a mean case of the squirts. I still went to martial arts, though I regretted it a little. I must have made use of the facilities on four occasions. By the time the evening rolled around, I was cleaned out enough to join Mike for the NCAA baseball playoff game at ASU. The Sun Devils wiped the floor with the Fresno State Bulldogs with an ending score of 10-4. The Bulldogs played an embarassing game overall. A lot of that credit goes to ASU's pitcher who pitched a ver impressive game. A lot of the credit also goes to FSU's pitcher who walked more batters than at any game I had been to. He also threw a lot of balls that were easy hits for the batters. Oh, and FSU's first baseman was responsible for two errors that allowed for base advancement by ASU. I have to admit...I have been to plenty of baseball games in my day. This one was the best I have ever seen. Maybe because it was in a smaller stadium than Chase Field or Camden Yards, or maybe it was because the fans were fanatic for their team. Whatever the case, I am thinking about taking in more ASU games. Maybe I will even go to my school's (Grand Canyon University) games. I understand those games are great fun as well. The scenery at the game was more than any man could ask for as well. Mike (Seppy) - you would have gotten your entire visit's worth of hottie sightings in the first five minutes of this game. The rest of the evening was spent at Mike's house hanging out with Steph watching a DVD about the fans of Firefly. It was hokey but entertaining.

Tonight we are doing a family thing for my baby and niece's first birthdays (they are only 8 days separated). It should be fun. Kristin baked a cake and I think a lot of you who come here to read my ramblings know from experience that this party is in for a taste treat we won't soon forget. Speaking of which, Kristin's cake business continues to get orders sporadically. She has two weddings coming up. If any of you local homies know of anyone who needs a cake or cookies or something along those lines for any type of event, let me know and I will hook them up with Kristin's information.

Looking to the future

2008-05-30T17:50:00.002-07:00

I enrolled in 401k benefits today and am slated to speak to a personal banker about more retirement programs sometime soon. As with my dental insurance, I don't get to participate until the first of July, but the wheels are in motion.

As I plan for my future, a song comes to mind. It is a song that I had almost forgotten until last weekend when Mike and I were rolling around town listening to naught but hair metal on KDKB. This week's anthem is by a band who is in the Guiness Book of World Records as having put on the loudest show. That band is Helloween. The song I have selected is (appropriately enough) "Future World".

Religion, thy name is Iron Maiden

2008-05-27T19:19:00.002-07:00

The past six days have gone by very quickly. In retrospect, it seems like the elapsed time was much longer. I attribute this to the insane amount of crap I have been up to.

Mike's visit was a success. He and the local crew seemed to get along pretty well. He saw his share of women he would classify as hot, and it is looking like he feels Arizona is a solid possibility for residence. His hopes of seeing what a triple digit day feels like were never realized. We were 110 last Tuesday, but when he got here on Thursday, it was 58 and raining. Friday wasn't much better. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were beautiful and were like unto early April with highs in the mid 80s.

We saw the new Indiana Jones movie on Friday. Though there were some nostalgic elements to the acting, the movie failed to deliver the full glory of what is otherwise an incredible series. I mean, aliens? Really?

The other days of the visit mostly involved going out to random places and people's houses. We met Mike B and his wife Friday night. Saturday, Mike insisted I show him the canal I drove my car into four years ago coupled with a stop at Jeremy's place. That evening we met Jeff and Roxy for some karaoke. Sunday was a day largely spent with the family. Monday began with breakfast at AZ Bread Co. where we were joined by MikeB and John. Afterwards we made haste back to Mike's house for some Rock Band. Later in the afternoon we were joined by Brad had a barbecue.

After another round of Rock Band we headed out to Cricket Pavillion to take in Iron Maiden. The experience was nothing short of religious. They managed to well up emotions no band has been able to do for years. I think it is because they played only their classic stuff. The most recent album represented was from 1991 (Fear of the Dark). There were a few songs I would have liked to hear that weren't played, but they played nothing I didn't want to hear. In fact, they were on a tear for a while with songs that were nothing short of the best they have ever written. They did a "Wasted Years" - "The Number of the Beast" - "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" run that could very well be the best 25 minutes of my life. Musically speaking that is. They are without a doubt the best live band there ever was. They don't just play music, they put on a show. Even the opening act, Lauren Harris (daughter of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris) put on a good visual act. Granted the music paled by comparison, but she and her band were very energetic. So they score points for that.

Today, Mike left me to go back to depressing Maryland. In fact, he is on the plane as I type this. The talk right now puts his potential move date to Arizona somewhere around mid October.

I started my job with Wells Fargo today. The job still seems great. I met my immediate supervisor, and he was as cool as any of the other supervisors I have met thus far. This seems really good. I get 20 days of PTO per year (that is a full month) and then six corporate holidays. 26 days off work in a year to start is not a bad way to go. I also get benefits starting July 1. It has been almost a decade since I have had dental insurance. I am going to finally get those fillings and root canals I have always wanted! Well, hopefully not the latter, but there is no doubt I will recieve the former in quantity. Oh joy!

End of an Era

2008-05-21T16:51:00.002-07:00

Well, I am on my final stretch. My time of unemployment will come to an end on Tuesday next. I will finish this chapter of my life in the best possible way. With Mike coming out to visit and an Iron Maiden concert on Memorial Day, the time will pass quickly. Maybe too quickly. While I am excited to get back to work with a solid company, I also desire to pace myself between now and then. I haven't seen Mike for about a year and a half, so there is a good amount of catching up to do.

As I have previously mentioned, his visit here is partially to check the area out as a place to live. In the times he has visited, he hasn't taken such a critical look at things. While I am confident he will get along famously with my friends here (I tend to choose the same type of friend wherever I go), I am worried about how he will take the heat. The weather calls for decent temperatures, but as we Arizonans know, the weather has a tendency to whimsically change course. On the other hand, maybe at least one day of triple digit temperatures would do him good. this would lend to an informed decision on his part.

Well, I will not be posting for another several days probably, so here is this week's anthem. I am staying with Iron Maiden, and sticking with the live show in Rio. This is the other favorite of Mike's called "The Number of the Beast".

You know what tastes really good when you haven't had it in a couple years?

2008-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Applesauce.

Employed at last

2008-05-17T10:05:00.003-07:00

Some of you may have heard that I got an "accounting assistant" job in Phoenix this week. Turns otu, there was no accounting department to assist at this job. Instead, this job turned out to be a front desk receptionist gig that would have been better suited for a 19 year old girl looking for some dull work and easy money. A thirty year old accounting major has no place in such a position. That being said, my tenure lasted all of an hour and a half. Something came up while I was at work that caused me to leave. What resulted from all of that was a series of interviews with various different companies. So who is the winning bidder? That would be Wells Fargo (for ye on the east coast, they are one of the largest banking presences around these parts).

Theoretically, on May 27th, I will beging my duties in their fraud department. If my background paperwork isn't recieved in time, then I will start on June 9. Either way, I have been offered employment. I got the call not 30 minutes after I left the Wells Fargo campus. I am not starting in a department that is accounting or finance related, but that is okay. I spent a month being picky and it got me nowhere. Since I have no experience in the field, it makes good sense for me to get in with a company that specializes in finance, work for whatever department I can, establish credibility with the company, and move up from there. The campus offers a lot of the more cosmetic features one would hope to have at work. The building is gorgeous on the inside with high ceilings on each of their four floors, the common area is set up like a restaraunt, and the personnel are all great. The hiring managers I met with didn't try to intimidate me, which speaks volumes about the culture around there. I have a friend that manages in the IT department in the adjacent building and he assures me it is a great place to work.

In the meantime, I am going to attend as many real estate classes as possible to expedite that process. Then Mike comes out on Thursday. Since I have a job forthcoming, I will be able to afford to do stuff. I am not sure exactly what, but I have the feeling a trip up north is called for. He hasn't seen Sedona or the Grand Canyon yet. Now is still a good time to go and even get some hiking in. I believe my buddy Brad from the dojo will be getting in on that. Of course, there are also good hiking trails along the Mogollon Rim, so who knows what I will do...

This weekend, Brett Varnum is in town teaching a full weekend of seminars. I went last night and recieved bruises on my neck as souevnirs. This guy is amazing. We spent all night working on wrecking necks. We focused on chokes, strikes, and nerve pinches. In an effort to learn the style, I willingly volunteer to feel what some of these things feel like. So I got clocked to the stereo sound of his thumb knuckles right across my jugulars. Just in case you were wondering, it hurts like hell.

Today, I won't be going to the seminar because it is my nephew's 12th birthday party. So I will be whisked away to beautiful Laveen to spend some time with my brother and his family. I should be back in time for the dinner get together with the seminarees.

I believe I will be returning to the seminar tomorrow.

Thank you, Harmonix

2008-05-15T22:13:00.002-07:00

I recieved my latest copy of "Gameinformer" magazine in the mail yesterday. Right on the cover is some concept art from Guitar Hero 4. It immediately caught my attention and I flipped directly to the ad. Guitar Hero 4 on its own would have been enough to catch my attention, but the new features are what caught my undivided attention.

Harmonix recently blessed this Earth with a little game called "Rock Band". The success of this game has made many people forget that Guitar Hero even exists. The folks of Neversoft seem to have caught onto this and have included drums and vocals in the next installment. It gets better - there is also going to be a feature to create your own song, a luxury not afforded by Rock Band. It gets better still - the drums will be more realistic. I wish I could find the picture online, but let me tell you, the picture provided in the article nearly caused me to cream myself. The setup allows for more realistic playing. The green, red, and blue pads are drums, the yellow and orange are cymbals set in a position that makes the kit instantly superior to its "Rock Band" counterpart. There is also a kick pedal, so there will be one extra drum.

This is exciting to me, and I hope my excitement does not prove to be unfounded. Rock Band's only advantages over the GH franchise are twofold: more song selection (with plenty of weekly downloads, something GH has trouble with) and the drum/vocal aspect. Otherwise, GH has better playability, and less choppy graphics. If Neversoft can get the same type of song list going with plenty of ongoing downloadable content without sacrificing its other superior qualities, people may just forget about Rock Band. That is until Harmonix develops a sequel with even more awesome additions.

All in all, I thank you. Harmonix, for getting the ball rolling. Though it seems Neversoft is on the fastrack to perfecting what you started.

A brief rundown on GH4 is:

*Full Band
*Players can choose to be the lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, drummer, or vocalist on any given song. Rhythm is something RB does not offer.
*Create-a-song feature that may or may not involve uploading your favorite songs directly into the console to be converted into a GH song. Cool as that is, who has the time for it? That must take hours to do.
*Just like in RB, characters and bands can be created from scratch. Or, the band can be made from the classic list of characters. Mix and match.
*Drums with the cymbals the place cymbals should be.

Well, it is Thursday. In exactly one week my buddy, Mike, from Maryland will be coming to visit. This will be his third visit to Arizona, but the first during the warmer season. He was initially planning to visit in July or so because he wants to know what our summers are like. Since he is considering a move out here, it was his goal to know what me may be in for. However, the great band, Iron Maiden, caused him to move his plans back a couple months. So here we are. In honor of Mike's visit, I have decided to make this week's anthems one of his favorite metal songs of all time. This is a ditty by Iron Maiden entitled, "Run to the Hills". This version is from a live show they played a few years ago in front of over 750,000 screaming Brazillians:

Accomplishments

2008-05-08T15:47:00.003-07:00

The past three weeks have been hell. I have never gone through this in my life. I have had only three interviews with hiring managers anywhere thus far, and I found out why. I am limiting myself to accounting type jobs that won't take me in strictly because I haven't the experience. This was told to me in so many words by a prospective employer. At least they had the decency to explain it. So here I am looking at bank and data entry jobs to give myself the credibility to move up. I put in several applications with JP Morgan Chase today. The jobs range from teller to corporate positions. At this point, as long as I make at least $12/hr, I will be safe to live life as usual. Not having a car payment has really opened my options.

I went in to a couple staffing agencies here in town and they have nothing. I am at the top of their list, but as of now, there aren't a whole lot of jobs I qualify for open. Here is why that is: a lot of employers are backing away from agencies and simply relying on their HR departments to do the hiring. Why pay someone else to do something you already pay someone in-house to do?

There is a significant job fair at the Cardinal's Stadium on Wednesday. There will be a couple hundred employers there. Hopefully, they will be hiring managers and not just HR grunts. It would be optimal that I go there not because I have to. Having a job offer will allow me to approach this event more optimistically.

I found out today that I have finally been approved for unemployment. So there may be some income soon. Other than that, I have had two sources of income, and they were one-shot deals. The first was an eight dollar check from the bank we were making payments to. That is the amount we overpaid on our vehicle. The other source was more significant. Mike and I went to a Magic pre-release to sell my card collection off. Since we don't play much anymore, and when we do we use printed cards from the internet, it seemed right. So that was a cool $80 I desparately needed. That paid for a week of groceries.

There are some positives to be taken from this. Apparently I needed to be taught some sort of lesson. I believe I have learned it. I have also gotten to spend a lot of time with the family. Lately this time has been straining me. Not because of my family, but more because being around them reminds me of how I need to protect them, and I feel I am not doing that very well right now. I wasn't even when I worked for the range. My baby has a high lead level, no doubt from my working there. Anyway, other accomplishments have included my sharpening my interview skills and beating Lou on "hard" in Guitar Hero 3.

Tomorrow I begin my real estate training. I begin with my contract writing and fingerprinting. I have lately noticed the doors a real estate license opens up, so maybe I just need to plug at that, then get a job. If Career Builder is any indication, the combination of that license and an accounting degree = big money.

This week's anthem is totally coming from out my posterior. I happened to come across this beauty the other day and remembered how great Cinderella was when they wanted to be. This week's anthem is called, "Shake Me".

The hint of sunlight

2008-05-02T15:47:00.004-07:00

The Rush concert was last night, and I have to say that it was one of the better performances I have seen from them in a while. I will get to that later.

First, I am happy to report that the bleak job outlook just got 1000 times better. A couple weeks ago, Mike reccommended a staffing agency I quickly appliesd with. One thing I didn't know (and their website says nothing about) is that I needed to actually go in to their office. So I did and set up an interview for Tuesday. In the meantime, I am going to take their skills eveluation online from a link they are to send to my email.

I also went to a job expo for Orbital. They are an aerospace engineering firm that develops launch technologies such as satellite placement and missiles/missile targeting systems and the targets for test runs. I am a far cry from an aerospace engineer, but they do have a large finance department. I impressed the two people I spoke with initially, and I look forward to a callback for a second interview on their Chandler campus.

Yes, things are looking up, and my positivity is and confidence in my employability has drastically increased.

Anywho, the Rush show was awesome (as I noted before). The group expanded by two members. Last year, it was just Mike, Jeff, and I. We added another Jeff of the original Jeff's acquaintance, and Brad, a buddy of mine from the dojo. They did play this week's anthem as I thought they might, but they also played some songs that, while they were played last time around, were still surprising to hear. Songs like "Digital Man" that define in my mind the genius of their musical thought process brought back the feeling of old as I discovered this band.

Alex Lifeson was once again the clown he has become ever since the Counterparts tour. He is always a riot and is quickly becoming my favorite member of the band. Some of the antics he was doing on stage (easily three hundred feet away from where we were) were almost exact-yet-sarcastic renditions of the antics of a guy right in front of us. Clearly high on ecstasy, this dude's dance moves were almost more entertaining than the band. My group got a kick out of him. By the end of the show, this guy had cleared a radius of about ten feet around himself. Any closer to this guy and someone would get hit. It is always fun to watch a guy mosh alone to music that doesn't merit such an activity.

I also learned an important fact about Tom Sawyer...

A modern day warrior
His name's Tom Sawyer!
He floated down a river
On a raft with a black guy!

Two Weeks

2008-04-30T16:35:00.003-07:00

Two weeks have gone by and still no job. I had a good amount of interviews last week, but have yet to get one this week. I am still waiting on one company getting back to me for a panel interview and I have an open house thing I am going to on Friday. There is a huge job fair at the UOP Stadium (where the Cardinals play) on the 14th as well. I really don't want to have to wait that long. Oh, I also have a potentially solid lead at another college in town through Scott, so we will see if that pans out.

Here is part of the problem as I have seen it: I can't even get my foot in the company's door. I have recieved two emails this week talking about my background not being a fit. They were both with an accounting department in an accounts payable capacity. Accounts payable, when it is all said and done is data entry. Accounting is more or less data entry, the only thing that separates the two is that accountants determine the data to be entered. Not to downplay accountants. Lord knows they do a heck of a lot more than that.

Anyway, the internet has proved to be more of a curse than a blessing of late. Because a lot of companies use this technology, they have taken down HR phone numbers and addresses to the exact office that is doing the hiring. They can sit and cherry pick employees based on experience alone. While I don't discredit experience, I do discredit the practice of a company seeing the word "accounting" next to the word "major:" in the education section of a resume and passing it by. It would seem that these are they types of people they would want to hire, and here's why: most companies have their own requisitions departments. Most people take on accounts payable/receivable, payroll, accounting clerk, and other assorted jobs with educational requirements not higher than a high school education as pass through work. Some are accounting majors and they stick with it. Others do the job just to have something to do. The latter which make up most of these jobs (in my experience) have no real drive for the department, and eventually, they will cap out on their salary.

People such as yours truly on the other hand, see the job not as a "pass through", but rather as a "step toward" their ultimate goals. Say a company hires me as an AP guy. I work in that capacity for a year and a half. Then I get that prized piece of paper that says I can do accounting. I apply to be moved into an accounting position within the same company and get said job. Eventually I am promoted to senior accountant, then a few years later I am promoted again. All the while, I have made that company my home. Their initial investment on a guy with no prior experience in the field other than some college classes pays off big time. The general rule is that the more they pay me, the more (to a much higher extent) I make them - or more to the point in this field, the more I save them.

Anyway, my morale is taking a huge dive. A few years ago, I couldn't stay unemployed for more than a few days. Now, I can't get employed. I know I am not unemployable. Still though, life is very rough.

I have decided that I am going to go into business for myself though. There is a company that specializes in selling businesses to private parties. The money takes forever to come in, but once it does, it can't be stopped. The only catch is that it requires a real estate license. I should be starting that school next week. One thing to point out is that this IS NOT going to be my primary source of income. I am still looking for employment elsewhere. Aaron needs a solid source of income, and his wife and three children need to eat.

Anyway, since I will be at a Rush concert tomorrow, I will be posting the anthem tonight. Usually, I would produce a video worthy of a Wednesday, but in honor of Rush's show tomorrow, they get this week's spot. The song is called "Between the Wheels". Oh, and a happy 34th birthday to Mike!

Green Hemorrhage

2008-04-24T14:01:00.004-07:00

For those of you who have never been unemployed, let me tell you it sucks. This is the first time in my working life I have gone more than two days without work. The funny thing is that this time, I am actually trying to get employed. Maybe I should stop trying and a job will fall into my lap. It has happened before.

I have interviewed with the following companies (in no particular order):

Steve Hartman Insurance - The pay would have been alright, but it is commission only. Add to that the fact that they are pro union and I would have to join one. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot abide union membership. They are against almost everything I stand for politically.

Arizona Culinary Institute - The interview seemed to go really well. Not well enough I suppose. I should have heard from them by now. It is unfortunate. I would have done very well there.

University of Phoenix - I am not sure why it is, but for whatever reason, I cannot do well at interviews with this company. They gave me a hard time for attending but not applying with Grand Canyon University, not putting months on my resume (it has years only), and the amount of employment I have had since 2000. I have news for them: I have worked almost entirely in sales. There are no, zero sales offices in this country that are not revolving door situations. I also cannot help lay offs I have suffered. I have only been fired from a job twice in my life. UOP starts 20 new enrollment counsellors per month and they are still short handed. In past years, they have had a reputation for being an awful place to work. Newspapers and television stastions have all run stories about it. But alas, if I were offered a job, I would take it and I would succeed as I always do. Beggars can't be choosers, right?

Apollo College - I applied with them for a Financial Aid position. The interview went well, and they will set me up for my second next week when a panel can be created. I need to meet with the FA team as well as an admissions rep and a registrar since they are the people I would be working with. I have a little bit of an edge here. I know the manager of the department. He used to do FA at the Tucson campus when I was going down there one or two days a week to determine the strength of the high school market. Add to that the fact that one of the admissions reps there was a coworker on the high school staff at the same time I was. She seemed excited that I was applying. Since it would be at the Mesa campus, I wouldn't have to drive far to go to work. So here's hoping I get that gig.

With the Rush concert next week and other exciting things I have planned and committed to in the next few weeks, I really need a job, and soon.

Okay, anthem time. I think we need something loud. In fact, we will have to go to Japan to find our anthem today. No one knows loud like the all-Japanese hair band "Loudness". The song is called "Slaughterhouse".

Clowns are scary

2008-04-17T20:43:00.003-07:00

It has been a while since I have put up an anthem. I wanted to last week but the internet connection sucked in the room I was staying. So I went to look for a particular song, but it has no video. Luckily, I came across an equally good tune by the same band. This song was Mike's ringtone for a good while and has had occasion to run through my head incessantly. I now inflict this catchiness on the public. Here it is, "Lay It Down" by Ratt.

Vacations should be relaxing, right?

2008-04-15T20:59:00.002-07:00

The long and short of it is that the trip was a delicious blend of meat, cheese, and condiments in between two pieces of crap.

1. My flight was cancelled due to the American Airlines wiring discrepancies with the FAA. I was eventually switched to a red eye flight on Alaska Airlines. I was routed through Portland, Oregon. This was definitely irritating and having to subject my poor kids to that made it even more so. They weathered it quite well though.

2. The wedding was a huge success. My brother Marc and his wife, Jen are now on their honeymoon in St. Lucia.

3. Disney World was (of course) awesome. It was particularly nice having the boy there. Kristin and I are considering it as the spot for our 10th anniversary in January.

4. The house we stayed at was amazing. My parents, my brother and his daughter, my sister, and my group fit in quite comfortably.

5. The flight home was pleasant. American's problems are all in the past, so we were able to board without a hitch. We were not to arrive so lucky. One of my bags was lost. It contained all of my dirty clothes and all of the souvenirs we procured for the kids in WDW. American is working on it. So now we wait.

I am still suffering from the loss of sleep due to the red eye. Tomorrow, I get to go in to work at 6am. Needless to say, sleep is beckoning, and I will heed the call.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? No, you just had to push it! Well, now you're gonna pay!"

2008-04-03T15:43:00.004-07:00

Thanks to Mike, I have recieved a brand new Guitar Hero III with guitar for $25. They run about $99 normally. His former roomate won it from a local radio station, and having no real use for it asked Mike if he knew anyone who would want it. All he asked for was the money he spent in gas winning it (which I am sure he went through quite a bit given the contest being run). Without much thought at all, I am sure I came to mind and Mike gave the guy the money knowing full well I wouldn't pass up a sweet deal like that. So I have to publicly thank Mike for getting his hands on it for me.

With my vacation coming up, I have been put to the task of making sure that at the very least, the lead gets pulled. Today it is established that the guy who replaced me when I went to the pharmacy is coming to do that and keep things running while I am away. I find this to be quite concerning. On one hand, the guy works for the City of Scottsdale and undoubtedly has awesome benefits and probably gets paid more. On the other hand, working at a shooting range gives a person some bragging rights as most people around here find that sort of thing thrilling. I know whenever I tell people where I work, I get a lot of "oooohs" and "aahhhs". Add to that the fact that the general manager swung off this guy's nuts for the duration he worked there, it would not surprise me if conversations starting with "I really miss you..." ensue. I really shouldn't worry because I get things done. I know I do. The manager who works on weekends and oversees a lot of the administrative side of things such as would be done in an HR department knows it too. In fact, when I was going to quit a couple months ago, he convinced me not to. Unfortunately, he is not the one I have to deal with everyday. The one I do have to deal with has been pleasant enough as late, but the thought to bring back the person who replaced me a year ago is a trifle unsettling. Maybe I am anxious for no reason. He won't even be coming in until the late afternoon and evening. As I said, he already has a job.

So, about the title of this entry. I am sure we all remember this well-delivered line from the mouth of one Johnny Lawrence just before he gives Daniel Larusso his well-deserved final beating. What a brilliant movie that was. As brilliant as the script is, the movie also passes with a solid A+ for its soundtrack. Mike and I realize this and want to pay homage. Since no one reading this blog (save for Mike) will actually be able to go to the event, I thought I would give you all a sneak peak of one of the songs on the setlist. It is probably the most memorable song from "The Karate Kid". Featured in its entirity during the tournament montage, this week's anthem is "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito (complete with classic 80's fade-out).

Best Gig Ever

2008-03-28T21:55:00.003-07:00

Well, the gig is confirmed:

Live Nation Presents:

Bumpus Hounds Live
April 8th, 2008
Arizona Insane Asylum

Ok, I exaggerate a little. Unfortunately, we aren't big enough to be promoted by Live Nation. Also, I don't think the place is called the Arizona Insane Asylum. Make no mistake, even though that is not the official name, the venue is indeed a mental rehabilitation center. To that end, I have concocted an ultimate cover setlist. This will be the proper order, methinks:

(Welcome Home) Sanitarium - Metallica
Mama, Weer All Crazee Now - Quiet Riot
Crazy Train/Suicide Solution Medley - Ozzy Osbourne
Crazy - Aerosmith
Insane in the Membrane (folk remix) - Cyprus Hill

Oh man, the options are endless. There are even a few Suicidal Tendencies songs that would work well for this most inappropriate set.

All kidding aside, I am leaving Mike to the setlist. I know we are doing Hole Hearted (an anthem from a couple weeks ago), but other than that, I am uncertain. Oh, there will be a medley that will include "Join Together" by The Who and "Yoda" by Wierd Al. The rest of that medley is still in the air. If I get any pictures or video to post, I will certainly do so.

How did we get this gig? This is a state sponsored event and Mike works for the state.

DEFCON 4

2008-03-27T21:01:00.003-07:00

Sheesh...I take one day off work and you'd thing the whole operation is going down. I shudder to think what will happen when I leave for a week in a few days.

Life is busy. I am almost done with my ginormous paper on multi-national corporations. Alas, I was not able to get any of it done today though. I feel a trifle under the weather, but I also feel like I am getting better. As noted in a previous post, allergies suck.

To that end, let's get some feel good (Dr. Feelgood?) music up in here. I could take the easy route and go with Dr. Feelgood, but I shant. It has occured to me that I have never put Motley Crue up here as an anthem, so let's take this opportunity to dedicate our week to them. Whenever the female pisses me off, I think of the following words "go away". So (in case you haven't guessed), I am choosing "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)". This may actually be my favorite song of theirs anyway. It is so unlike anything else they've ever done. Maybe that's why.

What the frick?

2008-03-20T21:20:00.002-07:00

I have a gigantic zit on my forehead and it hurts like the dickens. I never get zits. Kristin pointed out as much in her surprise that I actually have one. I threw some of her Proactiv crap on it, so here's hoping it works.

Well, good things are on the horizon for old Aaron, both present and future. The barbecue was a huge success thanks in no small part to Mike and his Rock Band game. I have been hearing about it since, and I have been asked when the sequel to the event might be. I have decided to throw another cookout/game night together on May 24th, the Saturday before Memorial Day. The presence of Rock band will depend solely on whether or not Mike is free. Or if someone else I invite has the game. At any rate, Kristin actually got some social interaction which was a sizeable part of the overall purpose of hosting the get together.

So that is one forthcoming event. Other items coming up include my brother, Marc's wedding on April 11th. The one nice thing about having family in Orlando is that it gives extra incentive to hit Disney World (which we will be doing), so that will be good times. It will be nice to be with the whole family again. Last time we were all together at the same place and time was for the few days surrounding my Grandfather's funeral. This will be a more joyous occasion to be sure.

In nine weeks from yesterday (as Mike Seppy pointed out on my last post), I will have my home graced by the aforementioned person indicated in the parenteses. He is considering a move out here. In fact, he is calling this visit a "sales pitch". For those of us in Arizona that have lived in or at least been to the DC area (or the Midatlantic anyway) can testify that such a move is advisable. If for no other reason that the girls are undeniably hot and they have no issues dating men in a league well below their own. This matters little to me now, but Mike is single. So the sale should be easy to make. Anyway, the reason for the timing of his visit is to go to the Iron Maiden concert on Memorial Day. He also gets a chance to experience the heat here (and realize it isn't all that bad). He has been out here in January and October, so the weather has always been awesome in his experience.

Great concerts are forthcoming as well. Rush is on May 1st, and then Iron Maiden (as mentioned) on May 26th. Good times.

Mike (Bahr) and I continue to make headway on our musical project. Expect us playing shows by (at the latest) sometime in May.

The next couple months look pretty strong for me. The only downside is the unreasonable amount of writing I have to do for my classes. I will have written over thirty pages of single-space material by the end of this session (which lasts eight weeks). Knowing my loquaciousness, I am sure I will write much more than that. Add to that the discussion questions that sometimes require a dissertation to answer. Such is the lot of the online student I suppose. Don't let anyone tell you online is easier. The expectations and workload are much higher. The only benefit is doing the work around one's schedule.

Okay, so let's get some music up here. This week's was actually inspired by another band (Queensryche). Before Sting wrote absolute crap, he wrote great stuff alongside two other men that though not flashy musicians, cowrote some of the most memorable and timeless rock songs ever. It is actually quite hard to find a person who doesn't like them. I of course speak of The Police. One of the great iconic songs from the 1980's is "Synchronicity II". The Police had so many great songs, but this is by far the best. In fact, I like it as much as I like any Rush, Iron Maiden, or Dream Theater song.

Taking a Breather

2008-03-19T14:35:00.003-07:00

Boy, it sure is nice to know the climate can take a few minutes to catch its breath. All that warming must be terribly exhausting!

NPR cracks me up. We are all aware by now that they decidedly lean to the left on every issue. Now we have proof that global warming is not taking place. NPR can't admit that though. They might lose their funding. Instead of saying "the Global Warming theory may not be happening afterall" thay say that global warming might be "taking a breather". Or that the scientists don't know how to read temperature data. It is this kind of fallacious (specifically wishful thinking, group think, and scare tactics) rhetoric that keeps me from embracing anything the left has to offer. That and I enjoy my personal freedoms.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88520025

I've Got Blisters On Me Fingers!

2008-03-06T20:37:00.003-07:00

I kid, I kid. But I am surprised I don't. The action on my guitar is groin-grabbingly oppressive. If one can measure the distance from the fretboard to the strings in centimeters (note the lural), then one has a problem. That is, of course, unless one plays slide guitar - which I do not. I knew the action was a problem already since my hammer-ons are virtually silent, but the extent caught me off guard. A kindly member at the shooting range owns the guitar shop in Casa Grande. I was to buy a hardshell case from him. When he brought it in, we discovered two things: the headstock on my guitar has the length of a 12 string rendering the case he brought useless, and the aforementioned issue with the action. To rectify these issues, I have decided that when I go to Florida in April, I am going to have him fix the action at his shop, and fit my guitar for a case. In all, this will run $120. Not bad considering the case will be a Gator case. Look it up if you want more information on those. All I can say is that I have always loved the Gators I have had in the past, and they are typically not cheap.

Speaking of guitars, one of the songs I have been working on for the project I am doing with Mike is a little diddy by Extreme called "Hole Hearted". The song rules on at least fifteen different levels. I have been working on it since last weekend (when I have goten a chance) and have made considerable headway. It will be performance ready quite soon, methinks. It may even be a possibility for performance by this Saturday's barbecue the wife and I are hosting - in a medley capacity. Anyway, I have decided to share the very (I mean very) cheesy video with you all for this week's anthem. Enjoy!

"The View From Up Here" Number Two

2008-03-05T22:53:00.003-07:00

To continue to fine tune my writing skills, I submit a monthly column to the dojo's newsletter entitled "The View From Up Here". Since there are people from the dojo that read my posts, I will be posting the column on this blog after the Newsletter itself is posted. I don't want to spoil anything.

From the March, 2008 edition of the Phoenix Quest Center's newsletter, "Desert Elements":

On February 9, the dojo was visited by godan-ranked senior instructor, Tori Eldridge. Those of us who made it to the seminar were treated to a new outlook on how to utilize what we have been learning in To-Shin Do. Mrs. Eldridge’s passion and fiery exuberance threw even more kindling into the already blazing inferno of desire we have for this art. As with Mr. Varnum, she left us hungrier for this life-long endeavor than we walked in to the seminar with. Also as with Mr. Varnum, we each took something unique that she said or did with profound understanding, or at the very least, we were left with something to ponder.
This leads me to the topic of the month: Own the Center. For me, these words alone were worth the price of admission and have stuck with me since. By way of background, Mrs. Eldridge was teaching a series of techniques (mostly take-downs) that required little to no striking and certainly no real output of muscle power. The validity of these techniques were demonstrated many times when she would easily put a person down who is a foot and a half taller and easily outweighs her by over one hundred pounds (me) without a single strike. She attributed her ability to do this by owning the center.
Many of us, including myself, applied own the center to the strictly exoteric sense since it was only used when speaking of the physical technique. In the time that has passed since, this phrase has stuck with me. As I have pondered on this, the more intrinsic and esoteric nature of own the center began to manifest itself. The thought came to mind: If it is beneficial to own the center physically, would it not stand to reason that such a mantra would apply to the other aspects of our lives (mental, spiritual, emotional, et al)? Indeed, we have been taught many times in our Life Skills sessions that Taijutsu, while very much physical, translates harmoniously to the other aspects of our beings that altogether define who we are.
So how do we own the center? This can be a hard question to answer. How one person manages to achieve this is different than others. I believe it comes down to controlling your mantles. We all have different mantles we take on. Some come and go while some are permanent. To name a few, some of mine include husband, father, student, and employee. Other people may have different mantles and therefore have to take on more or less responsibility as a result. With our ever-changing lives, it can be hard to establish control of them. This is especially true if we tend to stand left-of-center (to coin a phrase). This is where our training comes in. We are all very fortunate to have found To-Shin Do. This unique system of martial arts has set a clear path to realizing the ownership of our centers. We just have to be willing to embrace it and make those changes we know we should make, but are afraid to. It can also be frustrating to gauge our own progress. To that end, I offer the following: think back to the person you were when you started training and consider where you are now. Then think to where you want to be, and how you might get there. Quantifying the ownership of your center should be easier to accomplish through this reflection. Theory is easier than application in this regard, but no need to let that intimidate you. Based on what I have seen at the dojo, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

Madden and Berman Lament

2008-03-04T20:53:00.003-07:00

Brett Favre's retirement has been a long time coming. Though he did not make it to the Super Bowl this past year, he did get to the NFC championship, which in my opinion, is pretty good. The timing allows him to go out on a high note. If he bowed out a couple years earlier, he would have left his fans with the foul taste of too many interceptions. I attribute this year's success to them having the youngest (on average) team in the league. So, congratulations Mr. Favre. Your induction into the Hall Of Fame is imminent (albeit not wholly deserved). Enjoy your retirement and your soon to be lucrative career in broadcasting.

Now that he is out of the picture, who will John Madden and Chris Berman rub it out to? Oh wait, I know. They might have to fight Howie Long for him, but I think there is enough room in Tom Brady's male box for their man parts. They will go from overrating one guy to overrating another.

Jolie + Ayn Rand?

2008-02-28T20:49:00.004-07:00

Here is a strange tidbit:

Angelina Jolie will take on the major female roll in the upcoming "Atlas Shrugged". There are a few things that raise an eyebrow about this:

1. There is little possibility of a more boring movie ever being made - past, present, and future.

2. Ayn Rand was a real coservative. In fact, a lot of super conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck hold her in high regard and have been known to quote her.

3. Angelina Jolie absolutely adores Rand. She also adores the UN. Is it just me, or is the UN the exact opposite of what Ayn Rand stood for?

So how do the powers making this film (to which Jolie owns the rights) plan to make this movie? I mean, John Galt's monologue spans for over 40 pages of the book that (according to Rand) took the guy three hours to orate. I suppose they could make the movie about that. Three hours of him talking about objectivism. Those pages basically drive the point the rest of the book is trying to make home. But what an excruciating experience it would be.

Bear in mind, I respect Ayn Rand tremendously and agree with a lot of what she had to say. That being said (and going back to item 1)...what a boring movie it would make. Then add Angelina and (from what I understand playing the role of Galt) Brad Pitt to the mix to cement the insult. Not because of their acting ability (to which I give them credit), but rather to their hypocrisy. Bah.

How about some music? It is high time I put some music out from a supergroup. This particular band is as far as I know the most successful in that they had more than just one song people remember. They have more like 4 or 5. This band features Tommy Show of Styx (guitar and most of the time lead vocals - not in this song), Jack Blades of Night Ranger (Bass and lead vocals in this song), Ted Nugent (you should know him, lead guitar), and some random drummer they picked up. Anyway, this song is called "Don't Tread On Me". That's like a big finger in the world's face that says, "Kiss my American ass!" ( I love uncle Ted).

Busy Busy Busy

2008-02-21T20:56:00.003-07:00

I have too many things going on right now. I wish I could say that after this weekend, things will clear up, but the things accomplished this weekend will simply result in different things to do. I will try to put a full account of the goings-on on Sunday or something. No promises.

This week's anthem is actually two-fold. I am rolling with one of my favorite bands, Nightwish. Of all the female-fronted bands out there (aside from some Heart), they are the only group I can stomach for more than about three minutes. In fact, the musical direction the original Ekosphere singer and I were talking about going is pretty similar to the second song. That probably has a lot to do with the similarities to Jen's voice.

Anyway, the reason for two anthems is for the purposes of comparison. The first features their old singer, Tarja Turunen, and the second features the new singer, Anette Olzon. As you will see, Nightwish could not have gone in a more opposite direction. Respectively, the songs are titled "Wish I Had an Angel" and "Bye Bye Beautiful".

Broken System

2008-02-19T21:09:00.002-07:00

Saturday, I went to Tucson to have my Grandfather do my taxes. He is a beautiful man that has made a regular habit of getting me a refund. I have never owed since he has been under my employ. The thing is that my refund is always quite substantial. Not only did the IRS and state of Arizona not keep any of the money, but they gave me such a big return that (after I figured for the social security and medicare they do keep) I ended up increasing my annual income by over $3,000 . On one hand, I am all about more money. On the other hand, I feel like the system must severely broken to give a guy more money than he put into said system. The money the government did keep was from two unreasonably broken programs (Social Security and Medicare...in case you haven't been following). Frankly, I would rather my witheld money go into something else like new toilets in the capitol or something. Seems fitting since the government is notorious for crapping all over our tax funds.

Getting back to the substantial sum I am receiving...

So on the way down to Tucson, Kristin and I made a bet on the amounrt we were getting back. Always the pessimist, she low-balled the amount by $500. Though I made more last year than the year before, the difference is negligible. Our tax refunds over the last couple years have been well into the $5000's, so why would this year be any different. So I optimistically placed my bet higher than hers, and still low-balled it by $212. I won the bet. Winning the bet meant two things: I would not have to make dinner for a week, and I would be allowed to purchase a grill. The grill would be one of the keys to entertaining at my place accomplishing the two-fold goal of not being out and away from my family and giving Kristin a much needed avenue to a social life. Not to mention that I love to grill. In the end, the grill was not to be. I picked a grill and was told "no". Ok...so then I decided instead I will purchase Rock Band (on sale this week for $149), but again, "no".

Am I frustrated? Oh yes. Yes I am. However, there is a way I can still make good on my bet winnings. Of marriage, a wise man was once heard to say, "It is always easier to get forgiveness than permission". Kristin might just see a grill here by the weekend afterall.

Speaking of bets, I still owe Mike a steak dinner. We need to get that set up.

Training, music, book, and weather. In that order.

2008-02-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Now that I have had a couple days to digest the seminar with Mrs. Tori Eldridge (linked at right), I feel I am prepared to write some thoughts. Never (and I mean never) have I been trained by a person with so much raw exuberance. She loves To-Shin Do, and that passion bled off on everyone in the room. Her technique was explosive, graceful, and precise. As I suspected, she used me quite a bit to demonstrate how a short person can topple someone over a foot taller than they are. For lack of a better term, she used scare tactics to throw me off balance. I can't tell you how many times I thought she was hitting me before I found myself lying on the mats. Good times. She also had a reputation for being something of a brute. I have heard that on more than one occasion myself. Well, so did she. She made a concious effort to be gentle. Aside from a couple bruises where she grabbed me on my inner thigh, I am no worse for wear. In fact, there was one instance where she grabbed my neck and when I put my hand on hers (to resist her attack when she said "he can resist me from here...I guess I wanted to enact what she was saying), she eased up and told me "sorry". I tried to quietly explain that I was merely acting out what she was saying, but I don't think she heard me. Ah well. It was good times. She even gave me a solid topic for my next newsletter submission. Several times, she was hear to say "own the center". I won't get into it now, but when I have the column ready, I will post it here too.

Saturday night, Mike (Bahr, linked at right) and I got together for some guitar playing. As his blog points out, we have been getting together about once a week or so for the last month. We have had little progress aside from breezing through some songs to determine their "playability". Also, as Mike says, we had a bit of a breakthrough. These moments come only once in a while with established projects and many times takes months to reach for a developing project. Needless to say, we had the best musical experience in years. As with Mike, I am not getting into the details...you will have to see us play when we are ready, but I have the feeling this project will be more fulfilling than anything I have been a part of thus far. I attribute this to a few factors: 1. Mike and I have largely identical musical tastes, 2. we have no reservations against (or for) anything in particular. All ideas are considered and then thoughtfully included or left out, and 3. games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Seriously. We have been playing these games together for a year and a half. As we have played these games, we have often discussed how cool it would be to do certain things with real instruments. Now we are beginning to realize such fantasies. So here's to Mike's and my further discovery.

My book is starting to come along a little quicker. In fact, when my writing (like tonight's) shows up here being a little sub standard, it is because of such progress. I have blown my writing wad for the day. Anyway, since I lost the bulk of my writing so long ago, I have had an opportunity to re-evaluate the style. I have been considering making it a narrative. Ultimately, I decided not to go that route in large part (actually, entirely) because there is no one main character. The main characters are spread across a region of roughly 600 miles, and the events take place over a 35 year period. Some of my characters, who were real people, die of old age before the story I am telling is done. So I am sticking with the third person view. I am also toying with the idea of turning the one book into two or three. Two if I keep it in the same time frame as is currently planned, three if I decide to have it start ten years earlier (still ending at the same point). I will keep everyone posted.

What the heck is up with the weather? Last week, I needed a jacket at noon everyday, and all of a sudden we are in the mid to upper 70's. AZ weather is bipolar.

Christmas Part 2

2008-02-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, I recieved the gift of training with two senior instructors. The first part, I already commented on (Brett Varnum). I make good on the second part tomorrow with Tori Eldridge. She is currently the highest ranking practicing woman in To-Shin Do. She is a go-dan (5th degree black belt). I am particularly excited about this one because the instructor is female. Normally I don't see gender lines, but there is always something different about learning from kunoichi (female ninja). I have had nothing but good experiences thus far training under women in the ninja arts, and this experience promises to be even better. I shall post on that once my thoughts are together post-seminar.

My one hope is that she picks me to demonstrate at least one technique. I am sure I will be singled out because I am easily a foot and a half taller than she is based on the picture you see below. As has happened in the past, I make a very good example of how even the very small can topple the very tall.

I have also heard talk that she was the body model for the female lead in the Final Fantasy movie. If you see a picture of that it means I managed to find one. Anyway, this claim is not substantiated by my instructor. Someone else at the school told me this. I make certain to point this out just in case Ms. Eldridge reads her own press. I don't want her beating up Michael. I need him around to teach me.

In other related news, I have figured out how I am going to get out to festival this October. It is a pricey event in that I have to fly to Dayton, get a car, get lodging, buy food, and then there is the matter of the $250 admission for the whole event. That being said, it will be worth it because I will get to learn from Stephen Hayes, his wife Rumiko, and all the other senior instructors. Attendance at festival is important for anyone trying to advance up the ranks beyond 2nd or 3rd degree black belt, and since I see no end to my training, I may as well start getting this material now.

My height assessment was based on how long the sword looks next to her in this picture.

I assume this is the character she supposedly modeled for.

Tell me why, McCain

2008-02-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

The GOP race for the presidential nomination is officially over (and has been since Tuesday realistically). The man I voted for, Mitt Romney, has pulled out after being beaten up by the McCain-Huckabee alliance. This has been like a bad Survivor episode. So in November I am forced to decide between a liberal and a liberal. Personally, I think my choices will be McCain and Hillary.

Truthfully, Romney was not my initial first choice. He was third. My first choice was Tom Tancredo of Colorado. He dropped long before any voting day, so obviously I couldn't roll with him. He did endorse Romney and I took that to heart. After much deliberation, I decided I would see how Duncan Hunter of California would fare (he is the guy who actually BUILT A FENCE on the border - which has had positive effects. I respect that). When it was obvious to everyone including Hunter that he had not the funding to be relevant, I put my support for Romney. Of all the candidates, Romney was by far the best man to ease our economic woes. He would have been strong on defense, and his immigration policies were acceptable even though they would have taken years to realize fruition.

So here I am. Do I choose Liberal (R) or Liberal (D). Part of me wants Hillary to win the presidency. Not because I think she would be better (she would be much much worse), but because I know she would screw this country up so badly that in 2010 both Congress and the Senate would return to the Republicans. They would undermine her efforts to communize this country, then Romney or another worthy GOP contender could step in in 2012. On the other hand, if she does win, she will appoint the most liberal judges she can find to the Supreme Court and then we will have them crapping all over our constitution for the next 25 years. That is almost reason enough to let the GOP fall under McCain's administration as per the way I see it unfolding.

So now I ask my dear senator: why? Why should I vote for you in November? You have nine months to prove your value to me. So far you haven't been very good at your current job. Now you ask for a promotion. Most of your constituents are quite unhappy about "McCain-Feingold" and "McCain-Kennedy". Since you have been so ready to wipe your arse with United States laws and make new ones, why should we think you won't try it again? I want to want to vote for you. I really do. Please give me a reason. If you need some help, I offer the following pointers:

Do not make Mike Huckabee your VP. If we wanted that in the White House, we would invite Jimmy Carter back.
You admit the economy is not your strong point. Offer Mitt Romney a position somewhere on your staff and give him the green light to fix it. Then tell America your plans.
You have great national defense policies. Keep them intact regardless of what your friends in the house majority want.
Your constintuents are the ones that would give you this job. They don't hire you to "reach across the aisle" if it sacrifices the integrity of the nation.
Keep the tax cuts you opposed that you now say you support in effect. Maybe you had a legitimate change of mind. Prove it.

Anyway, that is all for now, Senator.

Okay. So enough of that. It is Thursday and is therefore anthem day. Since Valentine's day is around the corner, I thought I should make this week's installment about Love. And who has a better definition of love than J. Geils and his band? I think you all know what this one is called. Oh, and sorry about the sound and video not matching up.

I rest my case

2008-02-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that I believe Tom Brady is the most overrated quarterback in the history of the NFL. His unearned reputation perpetuated by broadcasters such as his friend Howie Long have created a hype that sadly, Mr. Brady could not live up to. Sure, the guy broke all sorts of records this year, and I congratulate him on that. However, it would seem that his offensive line had about as much to do with those records as he did. Even Joey Harrington could have had a record like that if his O.L.s had given him all the time in the world to execute. Tonight, the New England O.L. took some time off. Brady couldn't cut it, as I knew he couldn't with a sub-par line. I rest my case.

Am I saying he is a bad quarterback? By no means. Indeed he is among the best currently playing. He performed the way any of the other good quarterbacks would have under the circumstances. He is talented, but the media overrates him without looking at the big picture. He is but one part of the only true team in the league. There are no superstars (except for Randy Moss), just good players that know how to read and work with eachother. Not to mention their coaching staff is indeed the best there ever was in the game.

With the amount of respect for the Pats I have, I still hate them. Always have (for the record, I am not one of those band-wagoners that hate them because they are doing so well). I have never been a fan of the Giants either. I am also not not a fan either. I never really think of the Giants. Their irrelevance is evident sometimes because I often forget they exist. However, because they beat the team I loathe more than the Raiders, Packers, Bears, and Vikings put together, I may just start rooting for them. New York were saviors of sorts. Their victory took from the Patriots (at least for another year) the "19-0" trademark they were going for. The Partriots can die in fire for such arrogance.

Anyway, I can still hear the trumpets of heaven blasting their fanfare for yet another victory over the forces of evil. I have some celebrating I need to do, phone calls to make with my fellow Patriot-haters, and some schoolwork to do.

A wonderous work and glory was performed this night. God bless the Giants. God bless every one of them.

Eff you, New England! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'll bet you didn't know David Copperfield used to sing metal

2008-01-31T20:40:00.001-07:00

I kid of course. But the singer in this week's anthem looks a lot like him. The singer even has that "I don't look like I belong in a metal video" look. Much like the look David Copperfield would have in a metal video.

This week's anthem is a song by one of the best arpeggaic guitar players ever. His name is Yngwie (pronounced "ing-vay") Malmsteen. Most of his work is instrumental, but he does have singers on occasion. As many of you already know, the videos I post are of the cheesiest in existence. This video is no exception. It looks like it was directed by the same guy who did Dio's videos. Complete with the unnecessary sword-spinning Viking in the beginning. Cheesy as it may be, one cannot help but notice the musicianship by the band. Even the singer as out of place as he looks is solid.

So here you go - Yngwie J. Malmsteen's "I'll See the Light Tonight".

A show of hands---one more time

2008-01-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, I played my last live gig. With the exception of the crowd-pleasing rendition of The New Kids on the Block's "Hangin' Tough", it was an utter flop. This has left me with an overwhelming bitter aftertaste that I thought would disappear over time. This turned out not to be the case. After one last failed attempt to get a band together, I decided to drop any ambition for musical projects. This kind of mentality has gotten me through the last year and a half or so, but I find myself more and more wanting to get out there and play shows.

I am happy to report that I have at least one more show forthcoming. Mike (Bahr, linked at right) and I have decided to dust off our acoustic guitars and play a show for one of his work functions. Apparently, there will be somewhere around 3000 people at this event. This is three times the size of the largest audience I have played for to date, and even then, I was in high school when I played in front of these sizeable audiences. I am sure he and I will sound better than my high school bands did. Who knows where this will lead? He and I have a very cohesive vision of the type of project we would like to do ideally, so this could be the beginning step of a bigger project. Personally, if I ran into a solid drummer or lead guitar player, I wouldn't mind checking that avenue out. This is of course sometime down the road, and as it is, I am just fine with the acoustic thing too. We already have some songs on deck that we want to play, so the ball is rolling. We will have our first practice tomorrow. The gig is currently scheduled for sometime in early April.

So Mr. Seppy, you may yet get to see me play a show sometime. I, for one, don't see any reason why this would have to be a one-gig deal.

Enlightenment

2008-01-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Though it has been about a week since the seminar with Brett Varnum, I did want to post some thoughts on my experience. It has been years since I last trained with a senior instructor of any kind. What I do remember was that a lot of these seminars were conducted by individuals who didn't really care about the individual student. What they cared about was how much money and brown nosing they were getting from those of ranks lower than themselves. God forbid they actually actively associate themselves with those common kyu ranks or first couple degree black belts. Now, people who know me understand that I appreciate the capitalistic side of any venture, and I certainly believe a senior instructor's seminar is worth top dollar, but if that is the only reason they are even teaching anymore, they have lost sight of the point in teaching.

Mark Twain said it best when he said that true happiness comes from finding something you would do for free, then find someone to pay you for it. When a person takes on the role of a martial arts instructor, their mind should be more on the teaching. If they are good at it, the money will follow.

The feeling of clear separation of instructor and student has been my experience with some (not all) of my seniors within the Bujinkan. For the last few months, I have been assured the opposite of the top practicioners of To-Shin Do (again, this is a system that comes from the Bujinkan) care about each person who cares enough to get involved in the art. When Mr. Varnum walked into the room Friday night, he either introduced himself to those of us who have not yet met him, or he greeted those he had met by name. By the end of the first night, he knew all of our names, and this really made us feel important.

Oh, but it gets better. Saturday night after the day's sessions we all met at Red Robin for dinner. When he arrived, he sat at a seat on the other side of the table from Mr. Stinson. I testify unto all who are reading this that this never, ever would have happened in the Bujinkan. In fact, the dinner itself would not have happened. As we dined, he entertained all of our questions. He was legitimately pleased by our hunger for the art. He is devoid of the pretentious behavior that plagues many martial arts organizations.

One of the many things I took away from the seminar was the overwhelming sensation that this man cares very much about how we as individuals progress through this system. He truly sees the Phoenix Quest Center is a part of his lineage. With Mr. Stinson as his personal student, we benefit from Mr. Varnum's attitude and teachings every day.

Another thing I took from this experience was a ninety minute dead arm. It turns out, when an arm doesn't want to bend a certain way and it is held at the threshold of breaking for more than three minutes straight, the nerves turn off. Then you get pins and needles for hours afterward. Totally worth it. It kinda looked like this (it's not me underneath, but I was in a very similar position):

Time Passages

2008-01-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

I should fully make that song this week's anthem. But I will spare you.

Today is Kristin and my 9th wedding anniversary. We kept it relatively low key. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for some (you guessed it) cheesecake, and then caught a movie. We saw National Treasure. It was a good movie. Not great, but entertaining. It was just nice to get away from the kids for a couple hours.

The anthem is going up early this week because of pressing school issues combined with a weekend-long seminar with one Brett Varnum. He is a 6th degree black belt in our system and one of the senior instructors. This should be a good time.

In other news, Mike Bahr (linked at right) and his wife are going to have their baby this weekend. Her induction is scheduled for Friday and unless her labor is 72 hours long, this baby is coming in a couple short days. So a huge congratulations goes out to them. It will be probably a month before I see Steph again as it is a bad idea for too much exposure to outside people. I do look forward to meeting little Ali (that is what you all will be calling her, right?) when the time is right.

I am going to bring the anthem this week home. Phoenix metal band Flotsam and Jetsam (Jason Newsted's pre-Metallica group) did a fantastic rendition of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting". Considering what I am about to go through this weekend, it seemed fitting.

Se Habla Ingles

2008-01-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

This week, I have heard the funniest advertisement since the "I'm a Pepper" campaign waged by Dr. Pepper. I am not sure who remembers this campaign from the 80's, but Dr. Pepper had this whole "I'm a Pepper" thing. The ad isn't funny domestically, but I remember the fallout when they tried to run the same slogan out in the UK. In Britian, a "pepper" is slang for prostitute. That is through the roof funny.

Stratosphere funny comes from the latest ad from Food City. For those of you not here in AZ, Food City is a grocery store that primarily caters to our rampant illegal Mexican element. The stores are almost always near a barrio. To their credit, they do sell the best vanilla you can get here in the states, so I do go there for that. They do sell a lot of what you would find at a Fry's (or Giant for you east-coasters), but the entire center portion of the store deals in Mexican imports. Now that you have the background, the ad they are playing to bring in Americans with some actual money basically states: "Yes, we speak English". I know. You Arizonans are probably spinning in your seats at this revelation. Anyway, it is hysterical. In fact, the guy in the commercial that finds out about the bilingualism os Food City acts shocked followed by a laugh track. At least Food City can laugh at themselves.

It is Thursday. Anthem time. I didn't do one last week. oops. This Wednesday is Kristin's and my 9th wedding anniversary, so I am going to tribute that with the song I wanted her to walk down the ailse to...just for the shock value to the attendees. It is a good inside joke for the female and I. It is not a hard rocker, but the guitar solo work is a solid example of why Neal Schon is one of my top 4 favorite guitar players. He never, ever plays an empty solo. All of his solos seem to say something. So here you go, this is Journey's "I'll Be Alright Without You". Oh yeah, the bass player is who he looks like. None other than Randy Jackson. You know, the "Yo dawg" guy from American Idol. Many contestants try to woo him by singing Journey in their auditions. This is why Journey gets such a massive representation in their preliminaries. Anyway, here you go:

Skipping a grade

2008-01-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Friday night was a belt graduation night for the boy and I. The graduation ceremony started as they typically do. The whole group performed striking techniques first, then while the adults sat around the mat perimeter, the younglings showed the material they have been working on for the last three months. The boy did very well, and has done me proud. Afterward, the kids sat around the perimeter and we adults performed our material of the last couple months. Once this was done, it was time for those with a black striped belt to do their demos. This is where it got interesting for me. I was wearing a solid yellow belt. I thought I was going to graduate to my yellow/black belt, so imagine my surprise when I was asked to put on an impromptu demo. I was expecting to do the demo at my next graduation in three months. After my demo, I did some blind rolling. This means that I closed my eyes, and three of the black belts pushed me around and I had to roll in the direction they pushed me. It was very dizzying and disorienting. Fun though.

At the end of all this, the black belts and instructors all go into the office to compare the notes they were taking while we sit and wait. During this time, I turned to my favorite uke, Paul, and asked if I was mistaken in my assumption that I just did a demo. He agreed with my instinct. Within five minutes of deliberation, the instructors and company came back out, and new belts were awarded. The boy got his camo/blue belt and instead of getting a yellow/black, I recieved my blue/white. They skipped me up a belt. Before Michael wrapped it around my waist, he explained to the students and the audience that I was being skipped ahead because of my technique combined with my previous experience of having "already worn a few belts in the ninja arts". My initial reaction was "are you sure?", but as soon as the thought entered my head, it occured to me that maybe I should just trust in the judgement of my superiors. Humility is good sometimes, but by second guessing the decision, it would show an utter lack of respect for Michael's opinion. So I accept and embrace the decision. And hey...that is 3 months less time before I obtain my black belt. Not to mention the ego boost.

Last night, I finally got over to Mike's place for an evening of MTG, food, games, and Rock Band. I was drummer for most of the experience. All I can say about the game is "wow". Though my wrist hurts something fierce from all that drumming, I look forward to doing it again. The evening would have been amazing just based on that game alone, but it got even better. I am not sure if I have ever mentioned this before, but I know I have mentioned the name Christina on more than one occasion. Christina is an amazing cook. Her food is so good it makes me want to turn and slap someone. She made lasagna and brownies. Needless to say, the pans on which the aforementioned comestibles were prepared were picked clean in a very short window of time. Later in the evening, Mike and John joined me at the range so we could put a cable up on a lane. It had been down all day and I am sure the wait was particularly long because of it. My thanks goes out to Mike for his assistance.

I have also decided to publicly make an announcement on a project not even my wife is aware of. For the past two and a half years, I have been working on a book. Initially, I started it because I was dissatisfied with the lack of interesting subject matter in fiction. Since then, I have discovered some good historical fiction of various genres, but my sights are still on for the work in progress. I started writing while I was living in Salisbury, Maryland, but I had a computer crash somewhat recently that lost all of my work. Minor setback, right? I am more careful now in that I know to backup important information. What is the book about? Well, as I have stated before in regards to other subjects, I am not in the habit of giving too much away on a public forum like this, but what I can tell you is:

- It is a historical fiction
- The setting is in ancient Egypt

That is all you get for now. Once I learn more about the law and protecting my ideas, I will hold off on giving any more away. I can tell you that the majority of my progress is dialogue. I wanted to get my characters developed before I described too much in the setting. That part will come as I format the book.

In retrospect, I probably should have told Kristin about this. I am far too secretive even with her...

Is it 2008 already?

2007-12-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Now that 2007 is about over, I can't help but reflect back on the year. In many ways, this has been one of the better years for me:

1. After yet another change in major, I am now done with the community college system. I have taken all I can (to stay full time anyway) to keep costs low. This has been a welcomed checkpoint in my educational pursuits.

2. The wife and I had a beautiful baby girl who is my world in a very different way than I expected. Daughters do indeed have an affect on their fathers.

3. I restarted - from the beginning - my martial arts training. This has been a huge blessing on me physically as well as emotionally. It is always good to have an outlet, and none other gives me quite the gratification.

4. I have a great job with some new found security. It turns out Caswell's offers vacation time to tenured full time employees. That beautiful man Vince confirmed that I have 40 hours available to me even now. Nice.

The year to come has a lot I am looking forward to. I won't have to wait long though since it will all happen in the first four months.

1. I start the next chapter in my education as a university student. At the ripe young age of 30. I am looking forward to it. This happens on the 7th of January.

2. In my training, I start the month off with a belt graduation this upcoming Friday (Jan 4th). Then I have a couple upcoming seminars with senior instructors I have already mentioned. I have also been asked to participate in the dojo's demo at this year's Comicon. The reason we are relevant is because of this whole Naruto phenomenon. I guess it is a show about a card game featuring ninjas. In any case, it is a good way to market the school. Plus I may get to meet Chewbacca and Boba Fett. The former being more important because Peter Mayhew is plenty taller than I am, and quite frankly I would like to have photographic proof that I am not always the vertically superior person in the room.

3. Jeremy and his wife will be bringing forth another niece to this world. Her name shall be Sasha.

4. I have a brother getting married in April. His wife to be is a total sweetie, so I am happy for him. He also happens to live in the Orlando area. Needless to say, I will be taking the kids to Disney World while I am out there. I guess I know where my accrued vacation time is going.

I hope 2007 has been good to all of you, and I wish you all a good 2008!

Seppy - get a cell phone!

The flu sucks

2007-12-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

In fact, the flu sucks at least three times as much as allergies. Yesterday, it hit me with as full a force as it is going to. I had a nasty fever that finally broke this morning, but it has caused me to make some less than optimal decisions. For instance, because I didn't want to have to wake up super early today to pull lead, I thought it best to just go in last night to do it. This way, I would sleep until my body told me to wake up. This has proven to be a good decision as my fever is gone. So I stroll into work at midnight and then I find that one of the lanes is also down. So about 2 1/2 hours later, I leave work. There is nothing wrong in the time I went in since the job got done, but I failed to use good judgement in at least leaving my boss a note detailing why I was in at that hour and that I would be coming in late because of it. I meant to do that, but in the end, I forgot. A common side affect of a fever. Needless to say, when my boss called me at about quarter to 12, he was a little worried. My flu-induced behavior is not my M.O., so I understand his cause for concern. So I have the rest of the day off barring any sudden crises on the range.

It literally took everything out of me to fight this thing. I have won, but I am weakened as a result. This sucks because I would like to enjoy some time around my father while he is here. He only has 2 days left.

Give and Take

2007-12-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Christmas is over. As many of you know, I love Christmas. Always have. As such, I have put myself in charge of the family get-togethers. Christmas Eve, the party I planned with my family in Tucson had just under 50 attendees, and then for Christmas day, Kristin and I hosted dinner and games for about 12. I love planning these things, and I plan to do it for years to come. I am however, relieved that it is over. I can finally relax. Maybe. My father is in town, and he is a bit of a go-out-and-doer. Because I keep a full schedule when he is around, I am not going to have much time this week to post, much less what should be tomorrow's anthem.

I did want to comment on the gifts Kristin and I exchanged. I bought her a nice blender with a food processor attachment and gave her about $200 cash (for curtains). Not a bad haul. Kristin got me a flashlight. To be fair, she did ask if I wanted video games or something, but I opted for the infinitely less idle pursuit of my martial arts training. There are some seminars coming up in January and February involving senior instructors (including my instructor's instructor) that came up just shy of $200. Then I also bought a long sleeve T-shirt and a kusari fundo rope that took me over the top. But the whole point here is the flashlight. Kristin has a pretty good sense of humor when she isn't trying to conceal it. I will just let you view the following clip before I go on:

Yeah, so Kristin and I have seen that sketch a couple times since it originally aired, and she laughs her arse off every time she sees it. It has been a while though. So she was out shopping and came across it. Needless to say, I was quite proud of her and her humor. What's more is that there actually arose a need for a flashlight. So...let's just say I put on a show for my in laws (who didn't catch it) that nearly embarrassed the female.

Since Christmas is over and I am pressed for time, I am going to post this week's anthem today. I know it is Wednesday, but I will spare you all the ghey song. A late Christmas present to all. We will end the year with one of Black Sabbath's best songs. This is from what i consider their more palpable material after Ozzy left and Ronnie James Dio joined. This is also after Tony Iommi stopped with the sloppy guitar playing. So that helps. The band now goes by the name of their first album with the current lineup "Heaven and Hell". The song is called "Neon Knights".

Drive Today, Pollute Tomorrow

2007-12-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

You know, it is really sad what is happening to this country. The indoctrination of our youth in our tax-payed public school system is appalling. During the life skills portion of last night's training, we were discussing the old addage "don't put off today what you can do tomorrow". As the bulk of us offered true insight into the discussion, a sweet girl of about 10 spewed the "Drive today, Polute tomorrow" drivel the liberal think tank has been cramming down the throats of our youth. Bear in mind, the comment didn't even remotely make sense in the context of the discussion. To that end, it seemed like the poor child was speaking not from her own personal truth, but rather repeating what she is hearing. I would even go as far as to conjecture that she hasn't heard the argument against the global warming nonsense. Why would she? She is being educated by the government. It is not in the government's best interest to show two sides to a story. THat promotes free thinking, and under such thinking, communism cannot flourish.

When did this nation take such a radical turn from personal freedom? My father holds the belief that the liberalization of this country started in the 50's with Russian exchange students filling the minds of our youth with communistic propaganda on college campuses. For those of you not politically savvy, communism and liberalism are not far cries from each other, and in truth the far left minority of our country (make no mistake, liberals are indeed the minority) would love it if this country veered off in the direction of the old USSR.

Case in point: Time magazine's latest atrocity. It would seem they have named Russian President Vladamir Putin as "Man of the Year". What the hell, man? Before you go off thinking that Time may not have their facts straight on the man, let me offer the following. One of the reasons (and I understand the first reason they mention) is his "order before freedom" mantra. Huh. Order before freedom. Among other things, he maintains this "order" by killing or removing his political (and media) adversaries. Sounds very similar to the Soviet Union this country - Republicans and Democrats alike - fought so hard to break down. He is also in bed with Iranian president Ahmadinejad. Nice. I tell you all, and you may quote me on this: war with Russia is imminent. Iran too. If we don't move in and kick the problem in the arse before it becomes a situation we cannot control *coughwaronterrorcough*, then we are doomed to another uphill battle. Shoot first, ask questions later. These two nations are run by savages and one thing savages have taught us: there is no reasoning with them.

Anyway, on to brighter stuff. Christmas is on Tuesday, so this will be the last Christmas music you will hear for about 11 months. I promised Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and I will deliver. The first song is their ever-popular "Wizards in Winter". The second song is Twisted Sister's "Heavy Metal Christmas". This is a new take on "The 12 Days of Christmas". I have never liked that song. I am all about TS's version. The lyrics are even \m/. There are some killer guitar and bass lines. All memebrs of the band sing solo (and are all great). This leads me to an earlier statement that Twisted Sister is one of the best bands of their era. Amazing fun. Turn the volume all the way up, bang your heads, and have a Merry Christmas if I don't post again before then.

I hate painting

2007-12-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night of the annual range paining. The walls and the floor of the range will be painted tonight by a group of us. Then tomorrow night, I will go solo and paint the lines on the range floor. The latter in particular sucks because it takes longer than it seems it should. Tonight will take longer than it should because it is more of a beer drinking party for everyone else involved. Add to that the fact that I haven't slothed with my homies in weeks. Now it looks like I may not until after the new year. Actually I take that back. I may be able to swing Saturday, then next weekend is wide open until my Dad arrives on Sunday. I will so enjoy having him out here. I just feel it is a little weird that he and Mom are spending Christmas apart. And since I feel it is weird, it is. Because it is how I feel.

Since my mood isn't super great right now (have I mentioned that I hate painting?), the anthems for this week will be Christmas themed, but will revel in sin. That's right, I said anthems. There will be two this week, and two next week. All will be top tier and I have been saving them for the end.

The first is AC/DC's "Mistress for Christmas". It is a fan made video that is really just a slideshow of half naked chicks. The second is Spinal Tap performing "Christmas With the Devil" on SNL. There is an interview that precedes the song, in all the video is like 9 1/2 minutes long. If you just want to get to the song itself, it starts at around 5:27.

Give me a portion of your mushy meat

2007-12-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, I have a treat for you! If this were a full song, it would make it this week's anthem. Even though Christmas is not specifically mentioned, shepherd's pie is a common item on many a dinner table this time of year (mine excluded). I am now tempted to give it a try. Anyway, this commercial is old, but I remember it from something. Also, the singer is NOT Ronnie James Dio. It looks like him, but it is that other troll from Uriah's Heap. There is a band you may expect soon. They were great.

Oh, and I should mention, the anthem I will post tomorrow will make up for the humorous ones I have posted the last couple weeks (Mr. Seppy).

One week later...

2007-12-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

...and allergies still suck. No longer can this statement be even remotely considered normative. After a week-long stint (with the end nowhere in sight), I can affirm it is absolutely positive.

Since I am not feeling my best, I am going to roll right into the anthem. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am all about the 80's hair bands. It would seem that Stryper (you remember: the guys that would throw Bibles into the audience) has remade a classic in the way only an 80's hair band can. Here is "Winter Wonderland" for your enjoyment!

Surprise, Surprise!

2007-12-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

I had a fairly packed weekend. Friday after the graduation, I went to Mike's place for some games. In "Boxers or Briefs", Steph and I both won the game as per the rules we made up as we went. Cool thing about that game: rule making is certainly an option, and it is easy. Afterwards, we played "Settlers of Catan" where Christina made somewhat quick work of us once she got on her roll. The dice rolled in her favor more than once. More than six times, even. Mike and I later retired to his 360 where we plaed some Caracassone. I was dozing in and out of sleep, so it took me a while to get through the tutorial.

Saturday started off as routinely usual Saturday. The boy and I went to our classes, then I came home. Kristin went out with her sister for a while, so I stayed with the kids and played Halo 3 (sweet!). When Kristin got back, she said we were meeting her sister for dinner. We saddled the kids up and made our way to the Mesa Grand shopping center where after a series of follies, we ended up at El Paso. Turns out that dinner with her sister was really a surprise birthday dinner she put together for me. Kristin's family was all there, Jeremy's family was there, and Mike and Jeff was there. This was the best birthday Kristin has put together for me. To all who showed up to that: thank you. It was really fun.

Sunday there was church, a whole lot of Halo, and pancakes. I also finished the planning for the family Christmas Eve party which was a load off my mind. I am thinking about organizing a Christmas box social for my local crew in a couple weeks. Maybe it will be a mixer or a shindig. We shall see if it is possible.

Halo online = \m/

Billy Idol singing christmas tunes = \m/ \m/

Allergies suck

2007-11-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yup, they do.

Since nothing monumental has happened since yesterday, I shall move right into this week's anthem. I came across this little diddy that I simply could not pass up. Let's hear it for Billy Idol and "Jingle Bell Rock".

Seasons Change and So Do I

2007-11-28T15:20:00.001-07:00

I have officially kissed my 20s goodbye. I have now joined the ranks of every single one of my friends (almost) in the third decade of my life. Do I feel different? Not really. Does this depress me? Not really. Except that I am still in school for another couple years. But that has been a bane for a while now. I expect the next two decades to be the best of my life. I will get to see my kids grow to adulthood and as that comes to pass, actively take part in their various interests (martial arts, music, football, etc.).

I appreciate the birthday wishes from those of you who called. Seppy, I am assuming by the comment in my last post that you are still without phone. Nonetheless, thank you.

So here are some of the things that have happened since I last posted:

My second child (I am no longer posting my children's names) just had a birthday on Saturday. We had a little party for him. Kristin's family and Jeremy's family came by for that. The winning gift was the Y-Wing my parents got for him. If he is not playing with it, it is right next to him...literally...like when he eats, watches TV, and so on. The Y-Wing is groin-grabbingly awesome, and I have been seen to play with it when the boy is asleep.

Mike Barr got fired from his job with the Arizona Cardinals. Apparently, the Bidwells didn't think too much of his place-holding abilities during field goals. They had no real issues with his punting - his main job. Don't confuse this Mike Barr with my friend Mike Bahr. I will miss the obvoius jokes assosiated with the name.

Jeff put a visible bruise on my chest the other day. I don't show bruises easily. His bear hugs are quite strong. It is Wednesday today, so I am sure I will enjoy the technique a little more.

I have once again been asked to aid in a demo at this month's graduation on Friday night. Of course, I agreed. Afterward, I plan to hang out with Mike for what he promises to be a night of "fun and games".

Tomorrow night, another anthem will be posted. For now, I understand I have a cake coming to me followed by training. Sounds like an alright birthday to me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I stuffed. As always, the family feast in Tucson was a success with all manner of food imaginable. I am now fat and happy. I hope Thanksgiving has been a good one for everyone.

Now that Thanksgiving is here, it is officially no longer too early to post Christmas music for the anthem. So I have decided to start with Twisted Sister's rendition of "Oh Come All Ye Faithfull". It is amazing how easily a band can recycle music they wrote over 20 years ago and just simply replace the original lyrics with that of classic Christmas hymns.

Early Festivities

2007-11-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

The Christmas season started for me on Saturday. As my last post states, Trans-Siberian Orchestra rolled through town as they do every year around this time. Since they are a decidedly Christmas act, it helps for one to be in festive spirits prior to the curtain dropping. It makes the experience even better. They delivered the same energy-charged rock performance they are famous for and the utility I experienced far outweighed the cost of admission.
I got me a 360 today. All of the necessary set up is complete. Now maybe I can enjoy a game or two. I am going to definitely have to take Mike up on his offer to lend Halo 3 to me. Not just because that game is the reason I chose the XBOX specifically, but because I have a month of XBOX Live Gold to toy with. I plan to get into some multiplayer action almost immediately.
Training was...uh...memorable tonight. Class began, and an hour later I walked out with a limp and a black eye. I learned first hand the effectiveness of stopping a kick with one's foot, and what happens when a person with 15 years of To Shin Do experience "accidentally" tramples all over you (making things look like an accident is a neat trick we learn over the years). I am glad to have had these experiences because I now understand the effectiveness of what we are learning. Besides, for any martial artist to truly excel at their respective arts, I believe such experiences are imperative. I look forward to learning more. The hard way if need be.

Christmas Jam?

2007-11-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday night I shall join my Uncie Paul and dear Aunt Kristi (and her sister and brother-in-law) for an evening of Christmas rock hosted by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Normally, I would post an anthem of the group I am going to see, but I think it may be a week too early to start putting Christmas music up (though TSO will be given a spot here very soon). So I am going to put the band TSO was in the 80's before they went on to be more of a production than a band. Enjoy the clearly non-Christmas stylings of Savatage and their song "Hall of the Mountain King".

Congrats Mike!

2007-11-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

As Mr. Seppy posted in a comment on my last post, his brother's baby was born. I congratulate both Mike and Joey. Mike, I will bet a million dollars on your mother being possibly happier than anyone over all this.

I have had a bad case of the hard farts today. Fortunately for me, I know the sensation, so they have all managed to make their way into a toilet. I just hope that I don't inadvertently let one go training tonight.

Moving Sucks

2007-11-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

If you disagree, you need psychiactric help. Fortunately, I had Jeremy, Dane (bro in law), Mike, and a couple guys from church help out. I thank the lot of them whole-heartedly. It went smoothly, but it took a lot out of me. It all hit me last night while I was in the shower. I am still a little exhausted. I hope I can recover by tomorrow. I have work and training. Fortunately, there is no school.

It would seem I owe Mike and Steph a steak. The Detroit Lions decided they needed to take a day off, so the Cardinals capitalized and walked all over them. The first quarter was some of the best defensive volleys I have ever witnessed. In either case, it did feel dirty rooting against the Cardinals. If there wasn't a steak at stake (hur hur), I would have applauded all good plays I saw without caring about the outcome. Truthfully, I love both teams equally. As promised, I will deliver a steak dinner. I have a nice can of Campbell's Chunky Salisbury Steak soup I plan to heat up for them. Just kidding. Mike gets the joke. I believe Outback was the designated steakery. Although, soup tastes good, too.

Happy Wednesday!

2007-11-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I should be at the Nightwish concert right now, but I am not. Because of the move, I had neither the time nor money to drop on the concert. Sorry Mike...I can't tell you if Anette sings the old stuff as well as Tarja. I wonder if Jeff ended up going?

I couldn't go to train either. I do get to go tomorrow though.

Since I am scheduled to lose internet access tomorrow (I won't be back on until Saturday), I am going to have to post the next anthem today. As some of you may know, today is Gay Day (as are all Wednesdays). So I chose the gayest song I could think of that isn't emo. This is a band that has some gems and a whole smorgasboard (sp?) of crap. This is by far their gayest song. Here is Poison's uber ghey "Unskinny Bop".

Congrats, Jeff!

2007-11-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Jeff was given his white belt test. He passed with the flying colors that should be expected given the nature of it. A lot of people might think of the white belt as simply the beginner, if not unimportant belt. I have in the past been guilty of such a thought process. But ever since I have been enrolled at this particular school, I have developed a more accurate concept of the belt. Like a lot of things I take with me at the dojo, Micheal explains to each new student the importance of the white belt. He even oges as far as to say it is the most important. The reason: because without the white belt, there are no others. The white belt is the symbol of the commitment a martial artist takes to becoming a black belt and beyond.

Anyway, I guess Jeff is now officially baptized into the art of To Shin Do, and my hat's off to him. I look forward to discovering what the style has to offer alongside him. Oh, and I am aware of how ghey that sounded. So take your shots, Mike(s).

Dodging Bullets

2007-11-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. We got our keys today and the painting process will begin Friday. I will not be painting as Kristin wants to do it herself. Therefore, I will get many hours with my boys over the days to come. It would seem I win overall. My time to recreate will be limited, but I still see some Guitar Hero 3 at Mike's house Friday night. A week from Saturday is the move. I am actually not dreading this one since all of our stuff has been making its way into various boxes and bins. Nothing will have been packed in haste. This is a first for us and good news for our helpers: I expect a very short process. The couch will be the only difficult item to manipulate through the hallways.

I suppose some music is in order and I now have access to some. The following anthem will likely be the only time Country ever shows up on my blog. This tune is on Guitar Hero 3 and has been covered by an enormous amount of groups spanning an equal number of musical genres. The reason is quite simply that it is one of the greatest song of all time. So here is a 1979 performance of "The Devil Went to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band.

Observations 3

2007-10-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

1. Jenna is cute as all get out

2. Never get Jeff angry enough to strike you. His punches hurt bad enough when he is in a good mood.

3. Rock Band isn't as cool as I thought it would be. Very choppy graphics along with sub-standard playability when compared to Guitar Hero.

4. Guitar Hero 3 is awesome. I played the demo at Best Buy. Mike bought the game tonight, and I look forward to Friday night when we can play it together.

5. Economics is a science, first and foremost. Like most things in science, one small miscalculation can screw everything up. On my last test, out of 50 questions, I got 10 wrong. 8 of them as a result of one mistake. Funny thing is I was off by only two hundredths. That was enough to get me that "D". Needless to say, I think this will be the test stricken from my grade. The good news is that I still have an A.

"I Am A Black Belt!"

2007-10-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Friday night, I went to the dojo to participate in this month's graduation. Paul, a fellow student, asked me to participate in his demo. Of course I accepted. Jeff showed up as well to take in a taste of things to come in his training. Based on conversations we had later that night, it seems he is quite eager to get back on the mats. He has been out for the last week due to a sprained knee injury he sustained at a softball game.

Anyway, at the end when the new belts were being awarded, I was asked to step up on the mat. At that time, my official induction into the Masters Club was realized. Those who join either the Black Belt Club or the Masters Club get to see and hold their black belt in a ceremony of sorts. The belts are embroidered with the student's name on one side, and "To Shin Do Kasumi An" in Japanese on the other. After a brief speech to the audience, and then to me, I was handed my belt. I was told to look at it for a while and take in what it symbolizes. When I was ready, I turned to the audience, held the belt on high, and announced, "I am a black belt!" - this phrase pointing out that my head and heart are in the right place, and the only thing separating me from wearing the belt is time. I immediately surrendered the belt and it was then hung up with all the other black belts at the front of the dojo. This is very exciting. I look forward to wearing it one day. It sucks that Kristin wasn't there to see it, but I am glad Jeff was. I look forward to seeing his induction when the time is right.

We got the house rented tonight. Now we will get our security deposit back minus the prorated amount of time we will live here in November. This means no new checks to write to the current landlord.

The search for more carreer-appropriate work continues. The application I put in at a particular local company didn't work out. I had a very strange interview over the phone with the manager. I am hoping that my application is reconsidered with the recruitment folks over there. Steph told me she would see about the recruiters calling me or something if at all possible. She is awesome like that.

The Lions won today sweeping the Bears 2-0. The score was 16-7. What a thing of beauty that game was.

Halloween is coming up, and since I have kids, I have to pretend like I like it. Haloween nauseates me. Especially the makeup. The smell of that stuff makes me want to yack. Thinking about it isn't a whole lot better. Ah well, some thinghs just simply all about the kids. This is why I gladly grin and bear it.

Gilbert, ho!

2007-10-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

Wow. I am already at 100 posts. It is amazing how quicly I have come to this point.

Anyway, as some already know, I am moving out of the townhouse and into a house on November 10th. I get to get out of Mesa - which has been my sole complaint about my current living conditions - and back into my original Phoenix area hometown of Gilbert. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Gilbert is the only town in Phoenix (if not the entire state) without a nasty, run down ghettoish area. Some in the area may think of Queen Creek, but they must remember that it is a cheap place to live becasue it is in the boonies. With that comes the low-income rabble that bring with them meth labs and the sort. Gilbert has virtually none of this. The best part is that I get to move in time to deck out my house for Christmas. Usually, I make it so my place can be seen from space. yee haw!

So, how 'bout some music? Let's do some Progressive metal this week. That being said, why not roll with Symphony X and their new (and I think only) music video. The song is called "Serpent's Kiss".