Evel Knievel Is Dead

The "big kids" always pretended to be this guy when I was really little... jumping stuff on their bikes and such. Not the greatest role model by any means, but to a 6 year old, he symbolized invincibility.

Gold.

I remembered this from when I was a kid. People I told about it thought I was making it up. But no!

Pleasures Of Guilt

A large company has started streaming video and play-by-play for junior hockey games on the internet. It's free and I have an interest in junior hockey, so I use the service from time to time. The production values are understandably low and very few commercials appear - probably because they don't know yet how much money they can charge for advertising. So there's quite a bit of downtime in the audio feed that has to be filled somehow. What they've been doing is using this cheap-sounding, canned techno music that has a VERY elevator-ish quality about it. Sounds awful, right?

Well, imagine my surprise when it started growing on me. So in the intermission, I'll throw down some sudoku while this stuff plays in the background.

It's oddly awesome.

This Friday Night

Yup. In other brewing news, I've started a Peculiar which will be ready for New Year's. It's chocolatey. Also, some honey "fell" into the mix sooo......

New Developments In Television

I was reading a thing today about new devices that make it easier to watch TV. Of course, that's another big investment followed by a monthly bill. TV's worth it only if it's free or very cheap. Why pay for channels you may never watch? Shit, why pay for shows you'll never watch? To custom design what you want to watch on TV is either impossible, or prohibitively expensive. At some point you've got to wonder whether it's worth it.

I got rid of my TV a year and a half ago because it didn't work anymore and I had no room for a new one. Smart move.

On the other hand, this really makes me feel like I'm turning into my parents. They've never liked TV and were always getting after me for watching too much when I was a kid. It's sort of a bummer to see their side of the issue, since I was so passionately against them at the time. I remember when I would have taken up arms in the street for the right to watch this show, or that show. Hard to believe, especially given the quality of some of this stuff (maybe this one would have been alright).

I guess hindsight is 20/20. Ever wax nostalgic about a show you loved as a kid, only to see it again as an adult and be like "whoa, what was I thinking"? Here's a good example... and here's another. The second of these examples (note the female lead!) was particularly disappointing. I remember this show was my first real introduction to punk rock, albeit from a horribly inaccurate Hollywood viewpoint. Years later, I thought it would be sweet to watch it again, to compare with my own high school experiences (which only happened about five years later). I was sad to realize, this show was AWFUL!! The obvious laugh track just made it worse. Maybe I was expecting this.

What a ramble. Serves me right for neglecting this thing.

What's Wrong With The World Today

I think there's a mentality out there that if someone leaves their bike outdoors unlocked and it gets stolen, people get more upset with the bike owner than the thief.

The first thing you hear is always, "serves you right for being so trusting and/or careless", never, "what kind of a jerk steals someone's bike".

To take it to the next logical step, some people will actually wish this on a trusting stranger... to "serve them right".

For the record, my bike hasn't been stolen, I'm just using this as a metaphor for a general societal malaise I've noticed.

The Baron Presents: Another Parable

Two junior-high-aged guys are talking on the phone.

Jimmy: I hate that security guard at the mall. He's a fucking asshole.

Bobby: Why do you say that?

Jimmy: He fucking threw me out of the mall! Fucking asshole.

Bobby: No way! Why'd he do that?

Jimmy: I dunno. He said I was ^&%&^$&^%$#&^#*&(*.

Bobby: Well, were you?

Jimmy: Yeah.

Bobby: Dude, there are signs all over the mall saying not to do that!!

Jimmy: Yeah, but that security guard's a fuckin' DICK, dude!

Bobby: Did he, like, rough you up?

Jimmy: No.

Bobby: Then I don't know what the problem is, man. You knew you'd get in shit for that!

Jimmy: Yeah, but he's still a fucking asshole.

As good a party as one could ask for. Thank you, friends.

More A.P.P.R.E.E.S.H.

Listened to this album today for the first time in awhile. It's so good. This band had it all... serious when they wanted to be, but mostly fun... doing a lot with a little.

A weeird punk classic. Why more people don't rave about this band, I will never know. I find them inspiring.

Music

One of the most fascinating bands of all time, and I'm not being sarcastic. At a first listen, they're terrible - but listen again. If they were just playing random whatever, there would be no consistency to their songs. But there definitely is. I catch myself trying to pick out riffs, and I get hypnotized. Are they mere hacks... or are they playing something from so deep inside, the sound completely transcends musical ability?

I wonder how good or bad they thought they were. The album leaves me with the feeling that they were not that self-aware at all. It's a train wreck, yet possesses a strange innocence. It's caused me to ask myself a lot of questions about the nature of music - how we play it, and what the difference is between good and bad.