tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53645874554594118282024-03-13T22:05:32.414-05:00My Ol' Blog: Nothing More, Nothing Less.Well, hi there, I'm Jason Wewers. You may know me as the author of The Candy Bar Adventures book series...then again, you probably don't...they haven't sold too well so far. Yeah. Anyway, this ol' space will feature not only shameless promotion of said book series (see above), but more than anything, it'll just be a place for me to dump various thoughts, opinions, reviews, etc. In other words, it's your basic useless blog.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-69758656467967702702023-03-27T22:44:00.004-05:002023-04-01T12:32:59.192-05:00I just (re)discovered the fantastic Felicity Jones…<p> I recently
got around to finally seeing 2014’s <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_Everything_(2014_film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">TheTheory of Everything</span></a></b> (yep, I’m only 9 years behind the times) – damn good
movie! Who knew the life of Stephen
Hawking would produce such a sweet/bittersweet love story? The charm of that love story really came from
the chemistry and talent of the two stars – Eddie Redmayne (Stephen Hawking)
and Felicity Jones (Jane Wilde/Hawking) – whatever nominations/awards they
received, they 100% deserved. I really
enjoyed the early parts of the movie when they were in college together - it
put a genuine smile on my face. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There were a
couple of other parts that made me chuckle and flat out laugh as well…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">First, when
the Jonathan character shows up and shows a clear interest in Jane, Stephen is
looking at him like “Who the hell are you moving in on my woman?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I could get out of this wheelchair, I’d
create a new black hole with my foot in your ass!”; and then later, when the
character of Elaine shows up and shows a clear interest in Stephen, Jane is
looking at her like “Bitch, who the hell are you moving in on my man?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll come at you like a spider monkey!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, eventually, proving that real life is indeed
crazier than fiction, Jane ended up with Jonathan, and Stephen ended up with
Elaine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Second,
there were two great scenes that showed Stephen Hawking – genius mind though he
was – was also just a regular ol’ guy as well…<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">First Scene:
he’s rolling about in his wheelchair, with a homemade mask over his head, while his computer voicebox is repeating the Dr. Who line “Ex-ter-min-ate!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ex-ter-min-ate!” – hilarious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Second
Scene:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Elaine found that he had an
issue of Penthouse magazine in his mail, his voicebox responded “That’s for a
friend!” – I laughed so hard at that – classic dude response, and yeah, it
didn’t work for him either – haha!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now, I
sure hope I don’t come across as some “creepy guy”, but the real highlight of
this film for me was that I was just completely charmed by Felicity Jones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has the sexiest little overbite with her
two front teeth that, combined with her great British accent, just melts my
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if that isn’t fantastic
enough, every once in a while she has a slight lisp which makes the
aforementioned sexy traits 10 times (possibly 10.5, I didn’t take time to do
the precise math) more endearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
yeah, thank you Felicity for being you – this old turd in America thinks you’re
a delight…career pinnacle, right? <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">😄</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So,
naturally then, I had to do a quick Google of Felicity’s filmography to see
what other movies/shows she’d been in – and I instantly had an “aw jeez!”
facepalm moment due to an obvious oversight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here I am, a lifelong <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Star Wars</b>
nerd, and I completely forgot she played Jyn Erso - the main character in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rogue One</b> - for shit’s sake!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That movie is only my 3<sup>rd</sup> favorite
Star Wars movie behind only the first two classic movies from the Original
Trilogy…yep, “Dumbass Award” for this guy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, now that
I knew I’d seen her in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">two</i> movies,
what other movies were available for me to discover?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, thanks for asking…the ones I’ve found
and have now seen so far are as follows (I’ll probably reveal spoilers, so read at
your own risk):<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalet_Girl" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Chalet Girl</span></a></b> – 2011 Rom-Com about a
working-class British gal (Felicity’s character) who gets a summer job working
for a family of elite snobs in the Austrian Alps…and she just so happens to
become a pro snowboarder along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not a movie I would have sought out to watch if not for my “Felicity
discovery project” – but you know what? – I actually enjoyed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snowboarding scenes in the Alps were great; it was a nice story; and Felicity was fantastic in the main role.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross_(2011_film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Albatross</span></a></b> – 2011 film that, I gotta
say…was a little disturbing. Felicity
played the daughter of a famous author who was still living off his past
success, and now under constant ridicule from his wife. Well, this beautiful 17-year old girl comes
to work for them and while he helps her develop her writing skills, decides it
would be a good idea to help her with some “hanky panky skills” as well (can't believe I just used the term "hanky panky"...*soaks in the rare moment*...ok, then). Dude...not cool...that shit will get you thrown in jail
for a loooooong time in this country...just sayin’. Anyway, Felicity played more of a side
character really, but she also shared a major story arc with the main girl, and
again was great.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_Crazy" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Like Crazy</span></a></b> – 2011 romantic drama that
was really great – but the two main characters drove me “like crazy” while I
watched. Felicity (Anna) and the late
Anton Yelchin (Jacob) play a couple who meet in school in the US. Anna is from England, and Jacob from
California. Due to visa violations, Anna
can’t move back to Cali even after they marry – so they unmarry. They have this extended “on again, off again”
relationship throughout the movie – even as each of them meet someone else who
really cares for them. But hey, the
heart wants what the heart wants. I
gotta say though, at first I was rooting for them, but as the whole “on again,
off again” repeated itself, I wanted to grab both of them and say “Hey, it’s
time to shit or get off the pot! You’re
hurting other people now. Damn.” And here’s the kicker, the movie ends with
them back together but you can tell the spark has left, so it was all for
nothing…are you shitting me? Now, this
was no depressing ball-buster like <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Valentine_(film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">BlueValentine</span></a></b> (seriously, that fucking movie, great though it may be, is 2
hours of a way too realistic force-fed shit sandwich), but dammit, can I just
get my “happily ever after”?…movies are for escaping from the crap realities.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Felicity was
fantastic though!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerful_Weather_for_the_Wedding_(film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Cheerful Weather for the Wedding</span></a></b> – 2012
film that I just plain did not like. It
bored the hell out of me…seriously, this was the type of movie that you would
only go see if your girlfriend/wife dragged you to and you thought you might
get rewarded with a little “afternoon delight” afterwards. However, every scene that Felicity was in was
absolutely fantastic! She looked extra
stunning in this.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathe_In_(film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Breathe In</span></a> </b>– 2013 film that is kind of
similar to the aforementioned Albatross, but Felicity plays the main object of
attraction/affection and her character (Sophie) is at least a law-abiding 18 years. So, anyway, Sophie is a musically gifted
exchange student from England who comes to stay with a family in the US. The dad/husband is also a musician, and is
going through a bit of a mid-life crisis.
His wife tries to control him and does things he doesn’t want to do, so
when he meets Sophie – who also plays music, and is nice to him (unlike his
wife) – he basically wishes he could go back to when he was younger and relive
a new life with Sophie (a real "Sophie's Choice" there, am I right? Ah-ha-ha-ha...Anyone? Anyone? *taps mic* Is this thing still on?...but I digress). There’s some
obvious sexual feelings going on there as well, but it never fully plays out
that way. It’s a great film, and once
again, Felicity was fantastic.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Basis_of_Sex" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">On the Basis of Sex</span></a></b> – 2018 film about
the "Notorious R.B.G." (US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg) in which
Felicity played the title role.
Surprisingly good! Mainly about a
court case that, in helping to get equal rights for a man, actually helped
bring more equal rights for women – rock on!
When you see some of the back-ass-wards stupidity here in the US, it’s
amazing sometimes that we can even tie our own shoes in the morning…but we keep
on truckin’. Anyway, Felicity was
fantastic – but it sucked that she had to do a bland American accent in this
movie when her natural British accent is such nice ear candy.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aeronauts_(film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Aeronauts</span></a></b> – 2019 adventure film that saw
Felicity (Amelia) team up again with Eddie Redmayne (James)…and once again,
they had great chemistry together.
Really enjoyable film, based off a true story, about Amelia and James
taking flight in what was the world’s largest gas balloon in the 1860’s. There are some great action sequences in this
one featuring vertigo-inducing camera angles.
Broken record but – Felicity was fantastic!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p>After now seeing
Felicity and Eddie be so great in two movies together, it made me think about
another charming and talented duo who also did a couple of movies together –
Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller, <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notorious_(1946_film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Notorious</span></a></b> from 1946; and the 1958 rom-com, <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiscreet_(1958_film)" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Indiscreet</span></a></b>). It’s the latter type of those two movies in which I’d like to see Felicity and Eddie hit the
trifecta – I think it would be fun to see them in a “battle of wits” + “wacky
hi-jinx” style rom-com where they’re each trying to gain the upper hand in the
relationship, only to find that, in the end, they really need and love each
other – lots of laughs and a happy ending.
I’d go see that…hell, I’d like to write that.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As for other
movies I think it would be great to see Felicity in – if Hammer Films starts
making more movies again, I think it would be cool to see her in a good ol’
scary flick; I also think it would be cool if she played a crazy character in
the next Quentin Tarantino film (he said he’s doing one more at some point!);
or maybe a cool role in a James Bond film – she could be a prim and proper British
schoolmarm on the outside, but in reality is a feared crack-shot assassin who
could knock the dew off a frog’s pecker from 1000 yards away (or 914.4 meters
if you prefer)…and maybe have a cool (beautiful but deadly) name like <i>Millicent
Marigold</i> or <i>Ivory Oleander</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that I
think about it, that character would also work in a cool Tarantino film…hmmmmm…now that I
think about it some more, it would work even better for a stand-alone movie
series all its own.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p>My
(re)discovery of Felicity Jones may have just led to the discovery of an idea
for a new book series for me…shit-fire, I need to stop writing this blog entry and get
to work on jotting down some more ideas for this story!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-64458927762067332782022-10-01T13:59:00.003-05:002022-10-01T14:26:06.633-05:00October Spookiness - My 5 Favorite "Tales of the Weird" YouTube Channels<p>October is back again for 31 whole days, and that means one thing - the internet will be chock-full of "31 Days of Horror" movie, book, etc., lists. However, since I don't have that level of dedication (this is my first blog post in over two years after all...man, I can't believe I still have a blog...but I digress), I'd like to instead share my 5 favorite YouTube channels that specialize in Tales of the Weird, the Spooky, the Unexplained, and whatever other words are used for those stories that either make your jaw drop with an incredulous "What the F--k?!" exclamation, or make your eyes roll with a "What a load of Sh-t" utterance. Either way, it's always entertaining.</p><p>What I love about these types of tales is the whole "Gather 'round the campfire folks, you won't believe the story I have to tell!" vibe...and these 5 YouTube Channels capture that vibe perfectly.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>1. <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TheWhyFiles" target="_blank">The Why Files</a></b> - This is my new favorite channel for crazy tales and brain bombs. Admittedly, a lot of the stories on this channel are ones I've already heard over the years, but the delivery of them is so entertaining, I don't mind hearing them again with a fresh coat of multimedia paint. </p><p>However, the story that got me hooked on this channel was one I hadn't heard before, and it completely enthralled me...it's called <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8SjYMTL7zA" target="_blank">"Another Dimension? Time Travel Portal? A Different Planet? What's at the Bottom of Mel's Hole?"</a> </b>It's such a fantastic story, I instantly wanted to travel to the location just to get a look-see for myself. Plus, this tale was apparently an old "Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell" favorite...I enjoyed that late night radio show back in the late 90's, but had never heard this particular story.</p><p>This channel also features some great short vids like "Crazy Coincidences" that blow my mind...reminds me of the old "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" which I've always loved.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/BeyondCreepy" target="_blank">Beyond Creepy</a> </b>- This is a channel I've watched for a couple years now, and it continually has stories that I've never heard of before. That in itself is fantastic, but what really pushes these stories over the top is the combination of the background music and Narrator's voice - this dude really does have a great voice for these types of stories. Because of that combo, every story always has that spooky late-night 'round the campfire feel.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/BedtimeStoriesChannel" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Bedtime Stories</a> - This channel is similar to Beyond Creepy in tone as this Narrator also has a great voice for the subject matter - with more stories than not that I haven't heard before. This channel also features fantastic artwork for each story. Get ready to be spooked before bedtime!</p><p><br /></p><p>4. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">MrBallen</a> - The guy that runs this channel knows how to tell a story - seriously, he should rent himself out to campfire gatherings where a good storyteller is needed. This guy is a former Navy Seal as well, and it was the story <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T92e0aaizaI" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">"Special Forces Attacked by Unidentified Creature"</a> that got me hooked on this channel.</p><p>One word of caution though - not every story is a fantastical paranormal tale. There are plenty of real-life horror stories about unsolved murders and the like that will give you a case of the real-life creeps.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Top5s" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Top 5s</a> - I thought it apropos to save this channel for number 5. This is the first YouTube channel I remember watching that dealt with "Tales of the Weird". It's an oldie but still a goodie!</p><p><br /></p><p>Enjoy these channels during your October Fright Fests, or all year-round (like I do)!</p>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-37444408090473111882020-05-30T17:54:00.002-05:002021-09-06T11:41:44.765-05:00Congrats to Elon Musk and SpaceX (and NASA) for getting US back into space!I gotta say it, Elon Musk inspires the hell out of me (and makes me feel like I'm wasting my life at the same time).<br />
<br />
The manned Falcon 9/Dragon launch which took place today - which took many talented people to accomplish for sure - still needed a spark and focal point of inspiration to get started and see the journey through - and there's no other greater spark in the world right now than Elon Musk. Period. Statues will be erected of this guy when all is said and done. Jeff Bezos might be "richer", but Elon Musk is more "valuable" (his Paypal creation isn't my kind of thing, but what an amazing springboard that led to his current companies - the innovations coming from Tesla; Boring/Hyperloop; and SpaceX are just amazing...we all can dream - that's easy; but he makes them come true - that's hard).<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
As someone who grew up enthralled with everything space and space travel-related (it was Star Wars that did it for me as a little kid...I wasn't aware of Star Trek until later), I just shook my head in disbelief when the Shuttle program ended. Yes, we have the ISS; yes, we continue to send awesome probes/satellites and robots/machines to places in our solar system (we need more!); but nothing - NOTHING - can compare to <i>human</i> exploration. Probes/satellites and robots/machines act as great recon/foundation-laying tools - but this is ultimately about US...HUMANS.<br />
<br />
People often ask the question - "Why are we spending all this time and money exploring space when there are so many problems here on Earth". Well, sure, we have problems here, but the reason to explore space - with the main goal of colonization of moons and planets - is that it opens up an entire new blank slate for US...HUMANS. As long as you're willing to relocate to these new locations (sign me up!!!!) the term "unemployment" and the entire notion of it - will become obsolete. If we can colonize Mars, for example, you can be whatever you want to be - farmer; builder; every other occupation that a civilized society needs; the possibilities are endless because we'll have a whole new slate to work from. Sure, you can, theoretically, be anything you want to be here now on Earth (assuming an oppressive government system and/or religious doctrine isn't holding you back (religion and faith are NOT the same thing btw - faith is the real deal; religion is just man-made rules & rituals...but that's a whole other rant)) - just ask a guy like Elon Musk - but there's a whole lot of extra hurdles already put in your way here on this planet. For example, that's why people say to buy real estate (land) because "God ain't making any more of it here".<br />
Basically, what I'm trying to say is: Human mind = infinite possibilities; Earth = finite possibilities; Universe = infinite possibilities...as you can see, two of those match up nicely.<br />
<br />
Thank you, Elon Musk, for using your wealth for good rather than going total Jeff Spicoli and blowing it all on strippers and for Van Halen to play at your birthday party (yes, I just used a "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" reference - because I'm that old, and the movie is that awesome - totally awesome!). Obviously, you don't accomplish all you have by yourself, but you definitely inspire and lead folks - and "put your money where your mouth is" by spending your resources providing outlets for smart, hard-working folks - to bring dreams to reality for us all.<br />
Though, I also gotta say that your "Neuralink" gizmo currently in the works scares the shit out of me if it falls into the wrong hands - but <i>love</i> that it could restore sight to the blind; hearing to the deaf; feeling and function to the paralyzed; reverse dementia and alzheimers...full steam ahead on those aspects!...but, open up the power of the Force to all without any guidance, and you could end up with more Sith than Jedi...and with that bit of nerdiness, I'm done.<br />
<br />
Oh, one more thing...and this is just my ignorance wondering out loud - but if we can use magnet technology (as well as plasma thruster tech) for faster propulsion, can it also be incorporated to create a mini-magnetosphere around the spaceship to protect people from harmful radiation during a trip to Mars?<br />
<br />
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-40521248172121930972019-12-20T17:16:00.002-06:002023-09-14T15:48:00.612-05:00Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - fantastic emotional rollercoasterJust got back from seeing the final Star Wars film in the saga I grew up with since 1977...man...it made me feel my feelings in a public place. I was wiping away tears at the end...what can I say, I love Star Wars.<br />
<br />
I was very satisfied with this end installment - though, I'm prob one of the few who have loved every episode of this sequel trilogy (loved Rogue One and Solo too!). All of the performances were top-notch with great moments of humor, sadness, and inspiration (even though there was some clunky dialogue - hey, it's Star Wars!).<br />
<br />
<i>The Force Awakens</i> refreshingly brought back the fun and feel of the Original Trilogy; <i>The Last Jedi</i> followed it up with an enriching "thinking-man's" Star Wars which, apparently, was too much of a challenge for lesser minds with loud voices to handle; and now, <i>The Rise of Skywalker</i>, though dumbing things back down a bit, finished everything off with a fantastic emotional rollercoaster ride that never let up for a second. Whew! Good stuff!<br />
<br />
With that said, let's get into some spoiler-ific details - continue on at your own risk...<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Let's just start from the beginning (come on ol' memory, don't let me down!)...<br />
<br />
The first few notes of the classic theme sounded a bit different to me when they blared out of the speakers - either they added in a few extra notes, or the sound system had a hiccup - whatevs - that all was forgotten the moment the opening crawl started. What a fun opening crawl this was to read!<br />
"The dead speak!" are the first words in this crawl, and it then goes on to read like a classic swashbuckling serial episode as has always been intended with these films.<br />
<br />
The opening sequence with Kylo Ren acquiring the Sith "wayfinder"(?) - which reminded me of a type of holocron from the non-movie materials (that I personally have never counted as <i>real</i> Star Wars - that's just me) - then heading to Palpitine's evil lair was such a cool kickoff. The Emperor's milky white eyes were more terrifying than his normally burning evil eyes. Also, Snoke's origins were resolved in this opening sequence.<br />
<br />
After that, the pedal hits the metal, with scenes involving Rey's training with her new Jedi Master (rock on, Leia!); and Poe, Finn, Chewie, et al, doing some Hyperspace skipping.<br />
<br />
Like I just mentioned, from this point on, it's a whirlwind so I just gotta share some bits and pieces that grabbed me emotionally.<br />
<br />
There's a part early on where I thought Chewie had been killed - I was like, dammit, don't you dare take down Chewie - especially so early in the movie. But, alas, all was well.<br />
<br />
I was real excited to see the old Death Star remains - I had been intrigued by seeing this in the sequel trilogy since seeing the early artwork for it in the <i>Art of The Force Awakens</i> book. Throne room was great; old stormtrooper helmets strewn about; "evil Rey" makes her appearance here.<br />
The duel out among the ocean waves between Rey and Kylo was great - but it was the duel's ending, and subsequent scenes that were really great. Rey stabbing, and then healing, Kylo - intercut with Leia's death was quite something. Even more so afterwards, when Han "appears" (remember the opening crawl - "The dead speak!") and talks with Kylo - or should I say from this point on - Ben - and you see him come back to the Light. Having lost both my parents in recent years, these indirect and direct scenes with Ben and his parents (Han and Leia of course) got me pretty good - good thing I had some clean napkins nearby.<br />
<br />
The scene where Hux revealed himself as "the spy" was a bit corny - but, with that, you still kinda felt bad for him when he got blasted by General Pryde.<br />
<br />
The scenes where Rey is back on "Porg Island" - ha - were both great and made me grumble. The part that made me grumble was the potshot taken at <i>The Last Jedi</i> involving the scene where Luke threw his saber over his shoulder - now, Luke's ghost tells Rey the importance of a Jedi respectfully handling their lightsaber (c'mon now, was that really necessary?). Other than that, it was a great scene culminating in Luke raising his X-wing out of the water for Rey, ala Yoda in <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>.<br />
<br />
There's also a great flashback scene where Rey learns of Leia's lightsaber. Two figures are training together and the visors reveal a young Luke (Mark Hamill) and Leia (Carrie Fisher). Really cool.<br />
<br />
The moment in the final space battle, when the vast armada led by Lando Calrissian (great to see him again!), arrives to save the day - with John Williams' classic Star Wars theme blaring through the speakers - put a big ol' lump in my throat! Oh, also, I was very excited to spot the silver-haired Wedge cameo (glad you came back, Mr. Denis Lawson!)<br />
<br />
The final showdown between Rey and Palpatine, which eventually included Ben, was fantastic! Not gonna lie though, finding out Rey was Palpatine's granddaughter, got me a little confused on the whole lineage thing - were Rey's parents just her adoptive parents? - if not, that means Palpatine killed one of his kids (since both her parents are shown being killed to protect her from the Emperor). Like I said, I got a little lost in that, but no matter.<br />
Anyway, after Palpatine sucks just about all of the lifeforce from Rey and Ben to bring him back to his old self (the Emperor is basically Count Dracula - a nod to Lucas' love of Hammer Horror (Cushing and Lee anyone?) - and I gotta say Mr. Lucas, I have that same love), Rey saves the day using the Light Side Force of all the Jedi who came before her to defeat the Dark Side Force of all the previous Sith in the Emperor. The Sith really hit the fan, right?...aha-ha-ha...aha...ha...ahem...<br />
Then, like Luke in <i>The Last Jedi</i>, Rey uses up all her power to save the day and dies. Oh, but wait...<br />
Ben then comes back from the cliff he was sent over earlier, and uses the last of his power to resurrect Rey. They share a passionate kiss (again, the lineage has me confused, so they're <i>not</i> related...I hope?) and then Ben dies and disappears like a true Jedi, as does Leia, where her body had been lying in state - it was like she waited for him so they could go to the other side together. Again, having lost my mom a couple years ago, this scene hit me.<br />
<br />
Following a <i>Return of the Jedi</i>-esque celebration (complete with a now gray-furred Wicket the ewok!), the movie ends with an Epilogue of sorts, that, once again, had me feeling my feelings...<br />
Rey and BB-8 return to the Lars homestead where she, and we as Star Wars fans, get to take one last look around. She then buries Luke and Leia's sabers in the sand outside the home (and I believe ignited her own with a yellow blade) and the ghosts of Luke and Leia appear, smiling at her. She tells an old lady her name is Rey Skywalker and the movie, and 42-year saga, ends with her and BB-8 looking at the twin sunset of Tatooine like Luke (and Anakin in the prequels) did all those years ago. <br />
<br />
Man, I had to wipe my eyes when this one was over. Star Wars has meant a great deal to me ever since it awestruck my 3-year old eyes and ears in 1977. At times in my life, Star Wars was the one and only thing that could put a smile on my face and get me out of some dark places.<br />
Now, it's complete. The 9-episode saga that George Lucas had talked about all those years ago, is actually complete. I feel a little down, yet happy and fortunate, that I got to see this entire saga.<br />
I need to go stare at the sunset while listening to some John Williams. <br />
<br />
<b><u>My personal ranking of the Star Wars films</u></b><br />
1. Star Wars (1977) - greatest movie ever made...'77 original that is (SE is a hellish abomination) <br />
2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - poetry in motion<br />
3. Rogue One (2016) - gets even better with every viewing<div>4. The Last Jedi (2017) - love this movie; the layers; made aspects of the Prequels make more sense<br />5. Return of the Jedi (1983) - epic space battle; Luke/Vader/Emperor - wow! (SE changes are horrible)<br />6. The Force Awakens (2015) - transported me back to the OT feels</div><div>7. The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - what a great end for the Saga; whole lotta heart<br />
8. Solo (2018) - fun movie, but would be even better as a tv series<br />
9. Revenge of the Sith (2005) - loved the Prequel novelisations...film, so-so<br />
10. Attack of the Clones (2002) - loved the Prequel novelisations...film, so-so<br />
11. The Phantom Menace (1999) - loved the Prequel novelisations...film, so-so<br />
<br /></div>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-42511272974542502952016-12-16T14:53:00.001-06:002016-12-16T17:29:40.118-06:00Star Wars Rogue One: A lifelong Star Wars geek's dream come trueI just saw <strong>Star Wars: Rogue One</strong> today and I'm just beside myself with geeky glee! I loved last year's <strong>Episode VII: The Force Awakens</strong>, which brought the fun back to Star Wars with it's mix of classic and new characters, but this new stand-alone film was truly made by Star Wars nerds for life-long Star Wars nerds like myself who grew up with, and loved, the Original Trilogy. I can't believe some of the things I just saw in this movie!<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm going to get <strong>spoilery</strong>, so if you haven't seen the movie yet - <u>run away, far away, from this page</u>!<br />
<br />
<br />
Still here? Ok, I warned you!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
There were three big moments that made my jaw drop and just about pee myself - but - before I get to those, just a few quick thoughts on the overall movie.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Characters/acting:</u></strong> I'm sure there will be some professional reviewers who boo-hoo over the fact that a lot of the characters aren't given enough time to be fleshed out, etc., so that their fates have more meaning at the end. Well, boohoo idiots, go watch your fucking art films then that move at a snail's pace. This is the fast-moving world of Star Wars where you gotta stay on your toes and be ready to jump straight into the deep end. I loved all of the new characters, and I genuinely cared about them and their fates. There really was not one bad performance in the whole lot - that's what really stood out for me in this one - not one bad acting job! Seriously. Even the great poetry-in-motion that was <strong>The Empire Strikes Back</strong> featured the clunker line "Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?".<br />
<br />
<br />
My favorite characters were: Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen kicks physical and spiritual ass); Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones was fantastic - I didn't develop a crush on her like I did with Daisy Ridley in Ep. VII, but who cares - I'm too old for that anyway); Cassian Andor (Diego Luna's character was surprisingly good - I didn't think I would give two shits about him, but he really brought out a conflicted "dirty side" to the Rebellion that I've never envisioned); Director Krennick (Ben Mendelsohn going toe-to-toe with Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader - wow!).<br />
<br />
<br />
I thought I would like K2SO more than I did - Alan Tudyk did an awesome job and all - I laughed at some of his jokes, and felt genuine emotion at his fate - but, overall, just didn't become one of my new favorites or anything.<br />
<br />
<br />
Also, though he also did not become a new favorite, Forrest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera was fantastic. He was borderline Col. Kurtz from <strong>Apocalypse Now</strong>. Though, to be honest, since the first movie I saw him in was the great <strong>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</strong>, I always hear him saying "Don't fuck with it!" whenever I see him on screen. Sorry, Mr. Whitaker, I can't help myself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Overall story:</u></strong> Fantastic! I can't wait for this to come out on Blu-ray so I can watch it over and over again like all of the others in the great Star Wars saga. I'm pissed, however, that there was no opening crawl or classic Star Wars theme - I mean, c'mon man! That's what makes Star Wars uniquely Star Wars! A Star Wars movie with a generic opening is blasphemy as far as I'm concerned. However, that's the only thing I didn't like about this film. <br />
<br />
<br />
Being a life-long Star Wars nerd, I was excited about the prospect of seeing a story about how the Death Star plans were stolen. So, even though this is a "stand-alone" film, it really is tied closely to the "saga" films - it leads right into the original Star Wars for pete's sake (and I'll get to that pee-my-pants moment)!<br />
<br />
<br />
I loved that the color palette for this film blended in perfectly with the 1977 original! The visuals were a joy to behold. All of the ships had that OT model-look - though I'm sure they were mostly CGI.<br />
<br />
<br />
The space battle in this made me feel like a kid again. When I was growing up, I would often take a piece of scrap paper; a black pen; a red pen; and a green pen; and spend hours drawing space battles featuring X-wings, Y-wings, Tie Fighters, Star Destroyers, and of course a Death Star in the middle of the paper. I could almost tell that whoever came up with this space battle choreography also drew these kind of pictures when they were kid...it was so damn awesome (which also featured one of my three jaw-dropping moments).<br />
<br />
<br />
The fates of all the new characters were handled with care, and were all very touching - Chirrut's, and Jyn and Cassian's especially.<br />
<br />
<br />
The movie's score wasn't bad - heck, I went and bought it right after - but it did seem like the composer was trying a little too hard to avoid copying John Williams. Dude, it's ok, we expect a John Williams score in a Star Wars movie - make it sound like the Grand Master's! <br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, and before I get to my three jaw-dropping moments, I have to mention Darth Vader! So badass in every brief moment he was on screen - especially the sequence at the end of the movie where he was slicing and dicing his way through the Rebel Troopers playing hot potato with the Death Star plans. So.damn.good.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u>My three jaw-dropping moments</u></strong><br />
1. Grand Moff Tarkin. I repeat - Grand.Moff.Fucking.Tarkin. Complete geek-gasm when he showed up and started talking. I don't know who they got to play him in this one, but visually, he was about 98% identical to the late Peter Cushing; voice-wise, he was spot-on! I don't know if they did any audio tweaking to match Peter Cushing's voice, but oh my God(!), it was fantastic!<br />
<br />
<br />
1a. Ok, I have to cheat here a bit, but I had to mention it...though it wasn't jaw-dropping, there was a nice cheezy moment in which Walrus Man and his disfigured dickhead pal bumped into Jyn and gave her the same threat that he gave Luke Skywalker in the cantina before getting samurai'd by Obi-Wan Kenobi.<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Red Leader and Gold Leader in the space battle! Oh my God, I just about leapt out of my seat and started dancing in the aisle when I saw them show up in the battle! How the hell did they do that?! One of my all-time favorite scenes in the entire Star Wars saga is Gold Leader and Red Leader conversing with each other just before they dive-bomb the Death Star with John Williams' adrenaline-pumping score providing the wind beneath their wings.<br />
<br />
<br />
3. The Ending...featuring a 1977 Carrie Fisher playing Princess Leia! My jaw dropped so far down, I think I tasted the dried popcorn and soda on the theater floor! How the hell did they do that?! When she took the plans, turned to the camera, and said "Hope" - everyone in the audience audibly gasped...and then the movie ends right there and you hear people saying "oh my god!". I almost pissed myself. I almost laughed and cried with geeky glee.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This movie had more than I could have ever imagined or hoped for - like I said at the beginning - this movie was made by Star Wars nerds for Star Wars nerds, and for that I'll be forever grateful.<br />
<br />
<br />
As of today, my favorite Star Wars movies are in this order:<br />
<br />
<br />
1. Ep IV: A New Hope - 1977<br />
2. Ep V: The Empire Strikes Back - 1980<br />
3. Rogue One - 2016<br />
4. Ep. VII: The Force Awakens - 2015<br />
5. Ep VI: Return of the Jedi - 1983<br />
6. Ep III: Revenge of the Sith - 2005<br />
7. Ep II: Attack of the Clones - 2002<br />
8. Ep I: The Phantom Menace - 1999<br />
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-42244902172633663682016-06-19T11:16:00.000-05:002016-06-19T11:25:29.833-05:00Renaissance - yet another example of great music from the 1970'sThe easiest way for me to explain the band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_(band)"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Renaissance</span></strong></a> is this: if the band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_(band)"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Yes</span></strong></a> had an artsy sister, Renaissance would be her name. Let me explain...<br />
<br />
<br />
Both are considered (amazing) prog/symphonic/art rock bands who created some absolute epic pieces of music; both have amazing keyboard players (Yes primarily has heavy synthesizer work with classical piano sprinkled in; Renaissance primarily has heavy classical piano work with synthesizer sprinkled in); both prominently feature powerful and intricate bass playing; both bands keep the drum work in the shadows so to speak - meaning, there really aren't any memorable drum beats that pop out at you in either group's songs; Renaissance (with the exception of <em>Prologue</em>) utilize acoustic guitar on their albums for a softer sound, while Yes features a heavy dose of electric guitar (by the amazing Steve Howe) for a more aggressive sound; and for vocals, Yes features the male lead of Jon Anderson (great lyricist as well), while Renaissance features a female lead singer (the unbelievable Annie Haslam supplying the ear candy...I can't even put into proper words how great of a voice she has) which provides a naturally softer vibe to their songs - though still as powerful as any male lead.<br />
<br />
<br />
The run of albums that Renaissance put out from 1972 - 1977 (5 Studio / 1 Live) are some of the best of any group, of any genre, during that time period - and that's saying something considering the amazing sounds being released by all artists during that time frame. <br />
<br />
<br />
Let's just go in order...<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Prologue/release/1627198"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;"><em>Prologue</em> (1972)</span></strong></a>: This is really the only album during this run that utilized electric guitar. Starts off with the great (and different) title track, appropriately setting the stage for what was to come. The standout tracks for me are "Kiev", "Sounds of the Sea", and "Rajah Khan". Great compositions; John Tout on piano/keyboards is so dang good; Annie Haslam is of course awesome; Bassist John Camp also featured on vocals; and it should be noted that this album (and their others during this run) was written by Betty Thatcher (who stayed behind the scenes, but her contributions to this group can not/ must not be understated/overlooked) and guitarist, Mike Dunford (I think I have that correct off the top of my head anyway). I would rank this as my 5th favorite album of theirs.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Ashes-Are-Burning/release/4740139"><em><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ashes are Burning (1973)</span></strong></em></a>: Ask the hardcore fans what their best album is, and most will argue it's either this one or their one from 1975 (I'll get to that glorious work of art in a bit). This album is pretty kickass, but I think I would put it a very close third, behind their 1975 and 1977 albums (just my personal preference). The album kicks off with "Can You Understand"...such a great one. Other standout tracks are "Carpet of the Sun" (maybe one of their most famous tracks - also one of the few short ones), and the title track.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Turn-Of-The-Cards/release/1270478"><strong><em><span style="color: #0b5394;">Turn of the Cards (1974)</span></em></strong></a>: My 4th favorite album of theirs - but features my 2nd favorite song. The album kicks off with "Running Hard" (one of their concert staples), and is followed by "I Think of You" (which is my 2nd favorite song of theirs) - man, what an absolutely beautiful song! The vocals just mesmerize me (I find that Annie's voice sounds very similar to Olivia Newton-John's at times - which is very pleasing to my ears. Hey, don't laugh, ONJ's stuff from the 70's is quite delightful...if you disagree, fine, I've got a shoulder shrug and a middle finger for you. But I digress...) and the guitar chords struck such an impact on me, I grabbed my own guitar (not that good; don't have any chords memorized; can't read music; but I just dabble and try to play what I hear) and was able to mimic the sounds I was hearing...such a great song! Other standout tracks include "Things I Don't Understand" (it's fantastic, in fact), "Cold is Being" (this track should come with a Warning label: "Do not listen if severely depressed!"...sheesh!), and "Mother Russia" (another of their favorites to do live).<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Scheherazade-And-Other-Stories/release/5915353"><strong><em><span style="color: #0b5394;">Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975)</span></em></strong></a>: Ah man, this is the one! Not only is this my favorite album of theirs, but it's one of my all-time top 10 albums, period. Yet another reason why 1975 is one of the single greatest years in the history of recorded music. The album kicks off with the <em>Twilight Zone</em>-esque "Trip to the Fair" (warning, the chorus is a bit of an earworm); it's followed by the slightly ho-hum "The Vultures Fly High". Then, prepare for one of the most perfectly crafted songs I've ever heard - "Ocean Gypsy" - this concert fave is my favorite song by them. Everything about it is amazing: Vocals; lyrics; musicianship; melodic structure; harmony. Perfection. Period. <br />
Then, as you're still recovering from the greatness of that song, they hit you with a near 25-minute epic slice of genius with "Song of Scheherazade"! Seriously, if you could place a song in a frame and hang it on the walls of the great art museums, this is the one! Employing the London Symphony Orchestra and full choir, Renaissance created a true work of art. If you don't have goosebumps as this song ends, then, I'm sorry to say, you're just a lifeless zombie. You know how great rock songs make you bust out a little "air guitar" or "air drums"? The symphonic majesty of this song makes me break out into a little "air conductor" - or as I like to call it - "a little 'air John Williams'". I'm a nerd.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Live-At-The-Carnegie-Hall/release/4740683"><em><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Live at the Carnegie Hall (1976)</span></strong></em></a>: Though released in 1976, this Live Album was recorded during a 3-night stint at the legendary Carnegie Hall in June of 1975 - before their landmark 1975 album was released. Additionally, they employed the NY Philharmonic Orchestra to play with them. Why is this significant? It allowed them to perform the aforementioned "Song of Scheherazade" in it's full symphonic glory. Absolutely mind-blowing performance! Also, remember, this was the first time an audience had heard that song - and they lose their minds! That was very cool to hear.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Renaissance-Novella/release/3455055"><strong><em><span style="color: #0b5394;">Novella (1977)</span></em></strong></a>: Most Renaissance fans would probably disagree with me, but I consider this one to be their 2nd best album. It has a great epic feel to it, and is a worthy successor to their 1975 monster. The album kicks off with "Can You Hear Me?" - so good! It's followed by "The Sisters" - this song just gets better and better each time I hear it; next is "Midas Man" - another great song (that I actually heard on the Sirius XM channel <em>Deep Tracks</em> last week). The album comes to a rousing end with "Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep)" - very good song, but it loses a bit near the end when they introduce some saxophone into it...unless I'm watching an old <em>Benny Hill</em> rerun with "Yakety Sax" blaring, the less I hear of that instrument, the better.<br />
<br />
<br />
Renaissance released a few more albums after this, but for me, 1977 is when their story ends. What more can I say? Just look them up on YouTube, and you'll soon want their albums - your ears will be begging you.<br />
<br />
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-20863015816526768522016-02-27T11:44:00.002-06:002016-03-13T16:31:54.591-05:00The Sweet - amazing 70's Rock in all it's crazy glory!Throughout 2014 and 2015, I was obsessed with the Electric Light Orchestra - I just couldn't go a day without listening to some of Jeff Lynne and Co.'s magical creations. As the calendar was changing from 2015 to 2016, I kept hearing songs from a band called "Sweet" on two of my favorite satellite radio stations in the car - <em>Classic Vinyl</em> and <em>70's on 7</em>. They played a song called "Little Willy", and I thought - <em>well, that was a catchy tune</em>. Then, I heard their two more well-known US hits, "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run". Again, I liked what I heard, but it still wasn't enough to make me go "Holy shit! I need to hear more!". <br />
<br />
<br />
However, I then heard their song from 1975 called "Action" - and, yes, the "Holy shit!" moment was had. I couldn't believe what I was hearing - these guys sounded like a harder rocking version of Queen! I do love me some crazily overdubbed vocal harmonies!<br />
<br />
<br />
So, since the beginning of 2016, I moved to get my hands on everything I could from this band called "The Sweet" or "Sweet" (I really don't know what their official name is, so I just call them "The Sweet"...sounds more dramatic with the "The"). Also, before I go into my ramblings, run (don't walk!) to their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialSweetChannel"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">official YouTube site</span></strong></a> - it's an absolute treasure trove of awesomeness! They've recently put up a few videos from a live performance they did back in 1974 on the legendary German music show called Musikladen. It's.so.fucking.amazing! Their performance of a song called "No You Don't" is so kickass, I actually got mad at myself for living all these years and only now finding out about this band.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ok, let my new-fanboy ramblings begin...<br />
<a name='more'></a>Apparently Sweet began as a bubblegum-pop group in the late 60's, and continued that type of music to about 1972 or so. I'd like the record to show that I HATE their bubblegum pop songs. Blech! However, around 1972/1973 they started moving into a more rock-n-roll sound, and amplified it to hilarious (and a little disturbing) visual effect by going Glam. Just watch some of the videos/performances on their Youtube channel, and you'll see what I mean. Well, by 1974, they realized they were overdoing the whole Glam look thing because they were like, "shit, the chicks think we like dudes, that's not cool", and so they went with the more traditional hard rock look of the time from 1974 on.<br />
<br />
<br />
Really, for me, 1973-1978 are the Golden Years for this group. They put out some of the best rock music that I've heard from anybody during that time - and I love 70's rock! They rocked as hard as Sabbath and Zeppelin, and were as creative as Queen and ELO. Brian Connolly was everything a successful group needs in a front man - he was sorely missed on their last three albums from 1979-1982; Andy Scott played some absolutely wicked guitar licks, and pitched in some ear-piercing high vocals; Steve Priest was solid on bass and vocals, not to mention absolutely hilarious whenever he knew the camera was on him; Mick Tucker was a badass drummer - he routinely rocked complex drum fills with one hand, while twirling a drumstick with the other.<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, before I get into the albums, there's a 20-minute documentary on their YouTube channel that is a must-see. Called "Sweet: All that Glitters", it's so Spinal Tap, it's awesome. I was expecting one of them to talk about amps that went to 11.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ok, the albums. This is a bit confusing because they released different albums in Europe and the US. So, I'm just going to go by what I have in my collection.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-The-Sweet-Featuring-Little-Willy-Blockbuster/release/2039451"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">The Sweet featuring...</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1973)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This album features a collection of their hit singles from over in Europe. It's the beginning of their transformation over to more rock-type music, and was in the middle of their over-the-top Glam persona. Two very kickass songs on here include: "Hellraiser" and "Blockbuster". I can't get enough of those two songs - so good! "Little Willy", "Wig Wam Bam", and "You're Not Wrong for Loving Me" are also highlights.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Next, in 1974, they released an album called <strong>Sweet Fanny Adams </strong>everywhere except the US. Then, later that year, they released another album in Europe called <strong>Desolation Boulevard</strong>. It wasn't until 1975 that they released that album in the US - and the US version was basically a mishmash of those two albums.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-Desolation-Boulevard/release/390598"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Desolation Boulevard</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1975)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This album is awesome! It includes their two biggest US hits "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run". For my money though, the best song on this album is "I Wanna Be Committed". What an amazing song! You just don't hear a song like this today (which is why I prefer 70's rock). There's also a song on here called "Set Me Free" that has the most intense phasing effect I've ever heard. The effect is very thick for starters, but then they do this wicked criss-crossing with it, that when you're sitting in the "sweet spot" between the speakers listening, it will jar your brain and make you go slightly light-headed for a couple seconds. Pretty badass!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-Strung-Up/release/3252393"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Strung Up</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1975)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This is a double-album - one live record; the other, alternate studio takes. This was also not released in the US, but I got my hands on a copy. The live album is raw, but very good. The studio side is pretty cool, in that you get a slightly different version of "Action"; and even better, an extended version of "I Wanna Be Committed". </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-Give-Us-A-Wink/release/1421590"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Give Us a Wink</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1976)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ah man, this is my favorite Sweet album! It flat out rocks! It's like a heavy metal Queen album. So badass! It starts off with "Action" - one of my favorites. Following it is "Yesterday's Rain"...this song is killer! It features the classic lyric: "Up to my balls inside her!". Now THAT'S a rock lyric!<br />
It also has the song, "The Lies in Your Eyes", which is the most intense earworm I've ever experienced. Seriously, upon hearing that song, it was in my head non-stop for two weeks straight. It is, perhaps, my single most favorite song in their entire catalog. The album comes to a rip-roaring, crazy overdubbed vocal harmony, end with "4th of July"...damn, that's a great song. The whole album is a treat.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-Off-The-Record/release/3147527"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Off the Record</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1977)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This has what is now one of my all-time favorite album covers - front, back, gatefold, it's all badass! Again, this is another straight-on hard rock album with all the crazy Queen-esque overdubbed vocal harmonies. It starts off with the great "Fever of Love" which features a Blondie-esque groove during the chorus - very cool! It's followed by another great rocker in "Lost Angels". "Midnight to Daylight" has a great chorus. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"Windy City" has a great set of lyrics: "Your dad's in the slam; your mom's a whore!" - upon hearing that, I immediately thought of the Guns-n-Roses song, "My Michelle" with it's "Your daddy works in porno, now that mommy's not around" moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">"Stairway to the Stars" kicks off Side Two - fun song, but dear lord, the high-pitched vocal harmony could shatter glass.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.discogs.com/Sweet-Level-Headed/release/5613587"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Level Headed</span></strong></a> <span style="font-size: large;">(1978)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Sweet got a little sophisticated with this one. They traded in the hard rock of the previous two albums, and went with more of an Eagles/Yes/ELO-esque type of sound. It took me a few listens to really get into this one, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. I would put it as my third favorite album in their catalog.<br />
<br />
On the US version, the album kicks off with "California Nights" - this song has really grown on me. Bassist Steve Priest handles the vocals on this one, and it has a real nice up-tempo Eagles vibe to it.<br />
<br />
Guitarist Andy Scott handles the vocals on "Fountain". Another great song.<br />
<br />
"Love is Like Oxygen" is another earworm, and was their last big hit in the US. The album version is almost 7-minutes long - it's pretty kickass...I may or may not be known to play a little "Air Keyboards" during this song.<br />
<br />
My favorite song on this album is "Lettres D'amour". Basically a duet with lead singer Brian Connolly and guest singer Stevie Lange, it has a fantastic chorus that will stick in your brain.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
While I do have their 1979 album, <strong>Cut Above the Rest</strong>, I really wasn't grabbed by it. I would need to spend some more time with it before scribbling any ramblings on it. It's the first album without Brian Connolly, and he is sorely missed (no offense to Steve Priest and Andy Scott who took over vocal duties, but it's just not the same dynamic).<br />
<br />
<br />
Their last two albums - 1980's <strong>Waters Edge</strong>, and 1982's <strong>Identity Crisis </strong>just don't sound good to me. That's all I have to say about those.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyway, The Sweet were an amazing group, and they really deserve an all-new, full-blown, 2-hour documentary by some talented filmmaker out there. They're well-respected by other legendary rock acts, but for whatever reason, aren't immediately hailed along with the Zeppelin's, the Sabbath's, the Queen's, the Who's, the Aerosmith's, etc., of that era. That's just not right. The Sweet are badass and deserve to forever soar in that same rarified air! <br />
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-17222674009234062342015-11-02T00:00:00.000-06:002015-11-03T11:34:04.102-06:00KC Royals are...WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
ROYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLS!<br />
<br />
<br />
Hyperventilating - need paper bag!<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE: 11-3-2015</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A buddy of mine sent the picture below to me, and I thought it was the perfect retort to "Thor"'s tough guy talk during the Series. I'll never get tired of seeing a knuckle dragger, who talks tough and acts intimidating, get put in their place.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgH5wYgepUQ/VjjuBwGUomI/AAAAAAAAANA/WVgI2OYqsgE/s1600/Royals_funny_retort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zgH5wYgepUQ/VjjuBwGUomI/AAAAAAAAANA/WVgI2OYqsgE/s400/Royals_funny_retort.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-18439523211196759622014-03-29T09:50:00.001-05:002014-11-01T12:18:48.752-05:00I just can't stop spinning the vinyl...<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Man, I’m
really enjoying my new vinyl setup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Building upon my boring ramblings in the previous month’s post, I think
I’m going to continue on with some more vinyl record goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the course of the past month and a half
or so, I’ve learned 3 things about myself:</span></div>
<br />
<ol style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
really enjoy cleaning records in my SpinClean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t explain it really – I wash my car, my clothes, my dishes, I
clean my house, I keep my yard tidy – and I hate doing every single one of
those things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, cleaning records is
enjoyable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s just something about
turning an old, dusty, smudgy record into a gleaming, grooved jewel; gently placing
it on the turntable hoping for the best; and then hearing the sweet, fresh sounds
fill the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like I played a part
in bringing it to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like…I’m
Clark Griswold standing atop my very own Family Truckster and softly, yet
proudly, proclaiming - “50 yards!”</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ve
still got a bit of a competitive streak in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hate to lose as much as the next guy, but hey, at my age I’ve learned
to accept my limitations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, after
getting snaked in the closing seconds of a few Ebay auctions involving some
choice classic rock records – ooooooooh shit-fire!…I ate lightning, and crapped
thunder on the auctions that came after. I. Was. Not. Going. To. Lose. Again.
*deep breath* *find happy place* - and I didn’t…not sure that was a good thing
though.</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Remember
what I just wrote in #2?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, I went a
little overboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, it wasn’t
exactly Sherman’s fiery march on the South or anything, but I’ve had to push
myself away from the record-buying table for a while…I like ramen noodles and
all, but I don’t want to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> to eat
them <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exclusively</i> for the next month
or two.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So, I figured
I would now do some mini-reviews on just a handful of the albums I’ve acquired
so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In my
previous post, I mentioned the Black Sabbath and Queen collections – I’ve
listened to them all now, and have even acquired some alternate Queen pieces to
boot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I think I’ll review all
of those in a future post – it’ll be a doozy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll also include my somewhat frustrated feelings toward the Beatles
albums I’ve acquired; as well as the happy, yet crazy, experiences with my Led
Zeppelin acquisitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking of Led Zeppelin,
I’m happy to hear that a whole new round of re-mastered vinyl is coming out
(fingers crossed the sound quality is kickass), because traversing through
their original vinyl pressings jungle is just nutty – there are so many
different pressings, and the sound quality varies depending on what pressing
you have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly, I wouldn’t be
surprised if someone came along with the following info. – “Dude, the copy of
Led Zeppelin IV you really want will have a “WF” code on the label, with the
words “You’re surrounded” hand-etched in the deadwax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you play the album backwards at 45rpm and
you start to smell peanut butter and hear a weasel fart, you’ll unlock the
hidden 5.1 surround sound out of the record grooves!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Duuuuuuude, it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> best version!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep,
it’s that ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, more of my
Led Zeppelin adventures in a future post…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now, the
albums I’d like to talk about in this post are as follows:</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<ol style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Elvis
Presley – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">24 Karat Hits</b> (Analogue
Productions, 2010)</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Electric
Light Orchestra – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Out of the Blue </b>(Jet
Records, 1977)</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Urban Cowboy Vol. I and Vol. II
Soundtracks</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> (Full
Moon Records, 1980)</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Al
Martino – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spanish Eyes</b> (Capitol
Records, 1966); <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Here in My
Heart/Yesterday 2-LP set</b> (Capitol Records, 1970’s?)</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jimi
Hendrix – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Electric Ladyland</b> re-issue
(Sony/Legacy, 2010)</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heart
– <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dreamboat Annie</b> (Mushroom Records,
1976)</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">You know, I
really enjoy talking about music and critiquing albums – but – after seeing the
horrific, yet ridiculously funny, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Psycho</i>,
it’s now hard to go all super music nerd and not think of Christian Bale’s crazy,
creepy character when he’s going all super-deep into describing his latest
shitty 80’s music CD (although <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sports</i>
by Huey Lewis and the News really is a crowning achievement) just before he
goes on a rampage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rest assured though,
I’m not writing this in the nude with a chainsaw in my hand…I’m holding a glass
of kool-aid (“oh yeah!”)…*awkward silence*…but I digress…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ll try and
keep these short and sweet, while providing a <strong><a href="http://www.discogs.com/">Discogs</a></strong> link to the particular
pressing that I’m talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discogs
is a great site by the way – it provides album cover images, the track list;
label and deadwax codes/messages; country of origin; and just a bunch of other
info. to geek out on.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Elvis Presley – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Elvis-24-Karat-Hits/release/3386731">24 Karat Hits</a></b> (Analogue Productions, 2010)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anyone who
knows me knows I’m an Elvis nut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
got my fair share of collectibles, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard just about
every song he’s ever done – even all of his Gospel stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not one to normally listen to Gospel
music, but man, I can listen to Elvis sing that genre all day long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As I was
saying, not only have I heard just about every song he’s done, I’ve heard them
on all the current formats – CD, mp3, Elvis station on satellite radio in the
car; but this, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">24 Karat Hits</b>, 200gram/45RPM
vinyl, 3-disc collection, was like hearing The King for the first time…for real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not shittin’ when I say it sounded like I
was right there in the recording studio listening to the magic happen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the tracks are breathtaking
(super-silent vinyl to boot)…well, actually, I was a little upset with
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last track, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Suspicious Minds</i>, put the awesome guitar
riff and drum lines too far back in the mix for my taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In every version I had ever heard, the guitar
and drum work were more up front and on equal footing with the vocals – on this
album, they just seemed like an afterthought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Plus, it would have been nice to hear some of his songs from the Sun
Studios sessions, but this just focused on his RCA hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also wish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If
I Can Dream</i> would have been on here – that is my all-time favorite Elvis
song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My minor squibbles aside, if
you’re even remotely a fan of Elvis and you have a turntable – you gotta get
this album ($75 from Acoustic Sounds…but worth every penny)!</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 10/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 9.9/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(I just shaved a fraction off because
of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Suspicious Minds</i> ordeal...I'm a dick)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Electric Light Orchestra – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Electric-Light-Orchestra-Out-Of-The-Blue/release/342681">Out of the Blue</a></b> (Jet Records, 1977)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I’ve always
been a casual fan of ELO (absolutely love the song <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strange Magic</i>), but I’ve never owned an album of theirs until
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the hell have I been waiting
for?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went for their big double-album
from 1977 because I thought the cover was badass – c’mon, it’s a big flying
saucer-shaped spacecraft that looks like the old electronic game, <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(game)">Simon</a></strong>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, when you open up the big gatefold
cover, you’re treated to a view of that spaceship from the inside!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Um, who just pooped his pants? – this guy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music is an absolute wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Side 1 is epic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Side 2 isn’t quite epic, but still
amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Side 3 is creative, and pretty
great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Side 4 is on par with Side 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, the copy I purchased is an original
1977 US pressing (regular black vinyl, not the blue) off of Ebay for around
$12…and it’s really in great condition – nary a crackle or pop was heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be listening to this one many more
times!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need to get their other albums
now too!</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 9.5/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 9/10 </span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Great balance and separation, and
wide soundscape on most songs)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Various-Urban-Cowboy-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/2009521">Urban Cowboy Vol. I</a></span> </strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and</span><strong>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Various-Urban-Cowboy-II-More-Music-From-The-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/2059538">Vol. II Soundtracks</a></span></strong>
(Full Moon Records, 1980)</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was pretty
excited to find not only the original soundtrack, but also the rarer, Vol. II
soundtrack from this great movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
found them on Ebay in a bundle for $10 – and they’re in great condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t really buy these for the music
quality, rather, it’s just that this is a great movie that always takes me back
to my early grade school years when I would wear big belt buckles (and
sometimes cowboy boots) and watch truck and tractor pulls at the county fair
(truck and tractor pulls are super cool – I don’t care what anyone says).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the music itself though – there actually
are some real winners/classics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mickey
Gilley has a couple songs on Volume I and a few more on Volume II, and I gotta
say, I had forgotten how badass he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His songs on Vol. I are decent, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Honky
Tonk Wine</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rockin’ My Life Away</i>
on Vol. II are fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real
standout though is on Vol. I, where I got to hear Charlie Daniels’ original
version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil Went Down to Georgia</i>
with the “I told you once you son of a bitch, I’m the best there’s ever been!”
line in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was always cool to say
that original line on the playground with your buddies because that
line was always censored on radio and everything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, all in all, when I listen to this album,
I have to agree with the great line that Bud said to Sissy – “Why don’t we go
to Gilley’s tonight?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’ll make us feel
better.”</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 7.5/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 8/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(Not an audiophile’s dream by any
means, but both Volumes sounded well-balanced)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Al Martino – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Al-Martino-Spanish-Eyes/release/1646602">Spanish Eyes</a></b> (Capitol Records, 1966); <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Al-Martino-Here-In-My-Heart-Yesterday/release/4531380">Here in My Heart/Yesterday 2-LP set</a></b> (Capitol Records, 1970’s?)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Al Martino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The legend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I paid under $15 for both of these
albums combined off Ebay, and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent on my
whole record collection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spanish Eyes</i> is my all-time favorite Al
Martino song, so of course I had to buy the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a 1966 original, and I was astounded by
how good this piece of vinyl was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
bought brand new 180gram albums that aren’t as perfectly flat as this old album
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s hardly any surface noise
either – that amazed me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Al Martino has
that powerful operatic voice that I like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t like operas, but I like the big voices – as long as it meshes
with the style and sound of the music that is backing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His amazing voice was put on display even
more so on the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Here in My Heart</b>
album that was part of a 2-LP set with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yesterday</b>
(I’m guessing this set came out in the 70’s, but I really don’t know).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 2-LP set is basically a reissue of two of
his earlier albums that went by different names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Yesterday</b>
is a decent album (it’s mostly pop song covers from that time period), but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Here in My Heart</b> is phenomenal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had already heard two of the songs that
were on it – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Granada</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Here in My Heart</i>, and love both of
those, so I was excited to hear the rest of the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vocals and the orchestral backing is
almost tear-inducing good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I almost felt
like giving the damn album a standing ovation after it was done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be spinning this one quite often!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So good!</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 8.5/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 9.5/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(For old albums, all 3 sounded
amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The orchestra and vocals were
well balanced across a wide soundscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spanish Eyes</b> album is
great, but the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Here in My Heart</b>
album is a must-buy! Wow!)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jimi Hendrix – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Jimi-Hendrix-Experience-Electric-Ladyland/release/4676923">Electric Ladyland re-issue</a></b> (Sony/Legacy, 2010)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hendrix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes sir!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How can anyone like Rock music and not like Hendrix?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had what many believe to be one of – if
not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> – greatest debut album in
Rock history with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Are You Experienced?</b>
– amazing album – but for my money, and to my ears, I think the crown jewel of
his cruelly small catalog is 1968’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Electric
Ladyland</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Masterpiece” is the only
word I know to properly describe it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voodoo Child (Slight Return)</i> may feature
the greatest guitar riff of all-time…what a way to close an album!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Burning
of the Midnight Lamp</i> is full of wah-wah greatness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1983</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voodoo Chile</i> are epics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His cover of Bob Dylan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All Along the Watchtower</i> still gets radio play today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole album is amazing, and the 2010
Legacy re-issue I bought just had me staring at my speakers, mouth agape,
mesmerized at what was revolving to and fro out of each side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sound almost envelops you 360 degrees!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vinyl quality of this pressing is just
about perfectly flat and super silent as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All I can say is buy it before they decide to stop pressing any more
copies.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 10/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 10/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(It’s a benchmark album for any
turntable setup, and a complete joy to groove out to)</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Heart – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.discogs.com/Heart-Dreamboat-Annie/release/3719305">Dreamboat Annie</a></b> (Mushroom Records, 1976)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I bought
Heart’s debut album for $9 on Ebay during one of my vinyl sprees, and didn’t
think too much about this nugget of gold I was acquiring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have the album on mp3, so it’s an album I
know and really like, but I had no idea – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no
idea</i> – how amazing this album was on vinyl!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The copy I bought is a 1976 original Canadian pressing from the Mushroom
Records label, and all I can say is, whoever was responsible for recording,
mixing, and mastering this album must be the “Magic Man” they refer to in their
opening song!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish all my albums
sounded this perfect!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like my albums
to be perfectly balanced between the highs/mid-range/and lows; perfect
separation of each instrument and vocals; and to provide a rich warmth and
depth to make me feel like I’m in the same room with the musicians…that’s not
too much to ask for, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, this
album actually delivers on every single one of those points!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s sonic perfection!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fell in love with this album all over again…and
all for $9 (plus shipping and handling).</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Song Quality: 9/10</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound Quality: 11/10</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Yeah, that’s right,
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spinal Tap</i>-approved “11”!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t stress enough how perfect the sound
quality of this album is, and that’s even with sporadic pops and crackles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you find an original Canadian pressing of
this album – don’t think twice – just get it.)</span></div>
Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-6925719966292915872014-02-16T14:51:00.001-06:002014-02-16T14:51:39.250-06:00I've just taken my first step into a larger vinyl record world...
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Thine ears have heard the glory of the sound of music –
no, I’m not referring to that old movie about the Von Trapp family *rolls eyes*
- rather, good ol’ vinyl records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I love music…all kinds of music...it re-energizes me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, I would say about 95% or so of
my favorite music was recorded during the pre-digital days, so I had been
itching to go back and listen to vinyl records and their analog sound again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were two things holding me back though:
1) the vinyl records that I remembered hearing back in the day never really
impressed me sound-wise because we never had a fancy sound system, plus I was
too young to really appreciate good audio recordings anyway (I listened to
crappy 8-tracks and cassettes for pete’s sake!) – and – 2) I’m rather frugal by
nature, and the thought of buying new equipment and re-buying expensive albums
I already owned on CD/mp3, made me a bit hesitant to say the least – though the
collector in me had been wanting my favorite albums on vinyl anyway just to
have.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, after feeling a bit down and stressed with life
(why I get that way, I don’t know, I actually have a lot to be thankful for) I
needed a bit of a pick-me-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I took
the plunge and jumped (in a budget-friendly way) straight into the deep end of
the vinyl pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got a turntable,
decent cart/needle, phono amp, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.spincleanrecordwasher.com/">SpinClean</a></b> record cleaner, and a handful of new and old albums, and started my
journey into a whole new/old world of sound.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And what an amazing new/old world it is!!!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">As a frequent lurker on the various “audiophile”
sites/forums, the two constant themes you hear in regards to vinyl’s
superiority over the CD/mp3 format is: “warmth” and “dynamic range” of the
soundscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As two examples in response
to that I thought - “Well, I’m really happy with the sound quality of my
Ozzy-era Black Sabbath Deluxe Edition/Remastered 2009 CD’s from the UK
Sanctuary label, as well as my 2011 Remastered CD’s of the Queen albums from
the 70’s…is a vinyl recording <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i>
better than those?”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a fair
amount of “vinyl snobbery” on those sites, so I had to separate the “wheat from
the chaff”, so to speak, in the information I was taking in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, as my first vinyl purchases, I went
and bought all 8 of the Ozzy-era Black Sabbath albums that Rhino recently
re-issued on 180 gram vinyl from a site called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://store.acousticsounds.com/">Acoustic Sounds</a></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
albums had received good reviews on those same audiophile sites; the original
UK pressings, as much as I would love to have them, are a bit too pricey for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Ebay, I was lucky to happen upon
a set of original Canadian pressings of the Queen albums from the 70’s (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">News of the World </i>wasn’t included
though, dang it!) at a good price, so I went for it (also, the sound quality of
the old Canadian pressings seem to be held in the same high regard as the old UK
pressings).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a cleaning in the ol’
Spin Clean record cleaner, they all looked fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, how did these new/old vinyl albums
sound?...</span><a name='more'></a>I’ll get to that in a bit.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">First though, my new turntable experience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea the amount of work that was
needed in properly setting up a turntable to get the best sound – more
specifically – setting up the tonearm and needle (stylus) cartridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I probably spent about a week studying info.
and YouTube videos that detailed this whole procedure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned terms such as: VTF (Vertical
Tracking Force); Overhang; VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle); Anti-Skate; and their
importance to creating great sound while also preserving the records and
equipment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t remember any of this
stuff being done to our record player when I was a kid!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was pretty overwhelmed to say the least,
and by the time my equipment arrived, I was almost too nervous to even touch
the stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking of preserving
records, that was a whole other eye-opening learning experience!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The various ways in which people keep their
records clean, and all the various “do’s” and “don'ts” involved with that were
so overwhelming, that I was almost too afraid to even touch the dang
records!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I was not going to be
intimidated or defeated!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I ordered my equipment on the web from a store called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.needledoctor.com/">Needle Doctor</a></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly recommend them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super-fast free shipping (and everything was
well packaged for protection), and since I was also buying a new
cartridge/needle from them, they even connected and mounted everything and got
the Overhang spot-on for my turntable tonearm, so I didn’t have to mess with
any of that – thanks guys!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I assembled
the turntable, and set up the tonearm (a very critical step!) to all the
necessary specifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything
that I had been so nervous about was conquered within an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Quick
tip</b>: I place an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unscented</i> dryer
sheet under the turntable slip mat to reduce static build-up as the record is
spinning (this cuts down/eliminates hiss and crackles that aren’t related to
surface dust already on the records)…you can use a scented dryer sheet too, but
those should be used in the dryer first to get rid of the scent chemicals.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Next, I hooked up the turntable to the Phono Amp, which
in turn, was connected to my existing Receiver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most turntables have a “pre-amp” onboard so you can plug in directly to
a Receiver, but to get some really quality sound, turning that “pre-amp” off
and running through a separate Phono Amp is really the way to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, the records themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First off, I washed them with the Spin Clean
– even the brand new Black Sabbath albums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A few key items on that process: 1) Use distilled water – not tap
water!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tap water has minerals and other
gunk. 2) After going through the Spin Clean process, and before drying them,
give your records an extra rinse of distilled water with a little squirt
bottle. 3) When drying, use some good <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">soft</i>
microfiber towels that won’t release any lint or fuzzies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Invest in some clean, quality sleeves to keep
your records in after cleaning: I purchased some <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.needledoctor.com/Mobile-Fidelity-Original-Masters-Sleeves-50-pk?sc=2&category=500">Mobile Fidelity Original Masters</a></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, in-between cleanings, most people use a carbon fiber brush of some
sort to keep surface dust and static build-up at bay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I read too many horror stories about
people scratching their records with those brushes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being a bit of a klutz, I could see myself
being one of those people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, here’s an
alternative method that I’m using: lightly sweep a Dry Swiffer sheet (original,
unscented – don’t want the scent chemicals messing up the vinyl!) around the
record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Works like a charm!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">So, with all of that work done, it was now time for
the piece-de-resistance: playing the damn records!!!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">First up, I put on Black Sabbath’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Master of Reality</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
because it’s my favorite – it’s actually my least favorite (uber-hardcore Sabbath
fans can kick my ass later...then again, I should kick my own ass for using the term "uber") – but because on every CD I’ve heard (even the
awesome 2009 Sanctuary versions) the sound on that album has always been a bit
“cloudy”, or even a bit “muddy” as is the popular term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I crank ‘er up, and man, the vinyl was so
silent – nary a crackle or pop, and absolutely no hiss!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This album sounded so good – not “cloudy or “muddy”
at all!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The percussion instruments
sounded so damn natural and real – that’s what really stood out for me in
noting the difference between analog and digital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Electric Guitar and Electric Bass sounded
about the same, but still better than CD. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Accoustic string instruments sounded awesome
and more natural like the percussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vocals sounded more “live” than any CD version as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally there were other little bits and
pieces that came through that I had never remembered hearing before – for
example: near the end of the song, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Children
of the Grave</i>, there’s this evil-sounding organ passage that I don’t ever
remember hearing – very cool!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, in
the song, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Solitude</i>, there’s some very
light ringing of bells that’s really neat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All in all, very awesome, and can’t wait to listen to the other 7
albums.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Next, came the ear-altering, jaw-dropping experience I
was hoping for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I put on my all-time
favorite album by any artist ever – Queen’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queen
II</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t like this album,
then I just can’t be friends with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">March of the Black Queen</i> is not only
Queen’s greatest song (yes, even better than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bohemian Rhapsody</i>), it may just be the greatest song ever recorded
period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have this album on cassette;
1991 CD release; mp3; and the 2011 CD Remaster (which I really like).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I heard from this original Elecktra
Canadian pressing, just about made me weep tears of joy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That vinyl audiophile term - “dynamic range”
– that I had read so much about but didn’t fully understand, revealed itself
fully to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holy shit, the soundscape
of this album on vinyl is indescribable! I was hearing things like echo
effects, vocal inhales/exhales, and drum passages that I had never heard before
– everything was so real!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The drum
passages in particular were impressive, because even though they are farther
back in the mix, I could still hear new, little details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every single aspect of this album sounded
better, and individual instruments were separated out better than any version I
had ever heard before!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This album is so good, i</span>f someone came
up to me and offered something ridiculous like $1,000 for it, I would
punch them in the bean bag for such an insulting offer.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">So, I can’t wait to listen to the other 5 Queen albums
from this collection now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I can’t
wait to once again play my old <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Star_Wars">The Story of Star Wars</a></b> album (it needs a bit of a cleaning first) that I have not
heard in over 30 years!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes! Additionally, I've ordered an old Nat King Cole album...that dude's voice singing <em>When I Fall in Love</em> is amazing ear candy; and an old Patsy Cline album...she could sing the telephone book. My vinyl collection will slowly but surely be built.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In conclusion, the best way I can describe the analog
qualities of vinyl now in comparison to the digital quality of CD/mp3 is:
Organic food vs. processed food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vinyl
is more organic – it’s real/unaltered; it’s fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CD/mp3 is more processed – while cheaper/more
convenient, and even satisfying (if done right), it isn’t quite as good for you
in the long run.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I hope I don’t sound like a “vinyl snob” now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just really happy.</span></div>
</div>
Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-63189313465438218562013-10-06T10:52:00.001-05:002023-03-27T15:15:58.889-05:00The magic of vintage Star Wars toys...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">Grab a nice
beverage, get cozy, and settle in for a post that meanders into odd places a
bit more than I thought it would when I began writing it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">I really like documentaries.</span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think I first became a fan of documentaries after seeing Ken Burns’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Civil War </i>many years ago (heck, I
even bought the DVD set).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, not only
have I since watched everything I could get my hands on that Mr. Burns has done
(thanks, Netflix, for helping me accomplish this!) but I also now love watching
all sorts of things by other folks – there’s nothing like watching something
that’s both entertaining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i>
educational *cue a cheezy, old Saturday-morning “The More You Know” and
“Knowledge is Power” moment*.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly,
if I were to ever meet Ken Burns, I’d probably transform from a calm-normal-dude
to giggly-teenage-girl-meeting-some-lame-boy-band…I mean, c’mon, he made the
fucking Dust Bowl interesting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I
digress…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">I’m a life-long <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> nerd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">My earliest childhood memory goes back
to the day when I first saw <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars </i>at
the old Glenwood Theater here in town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
don’t remember many details (mainly just R2-D2 and C-3PO walking through the
desert, and the Jawa’s), but my mom tells me I sat still for the entire 2 hours
(which apparently was a first for me), wide-eyed the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following year, the amazing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> universe that had only existed
on screen and in storybook photos opened up and sucked me in as Kenner released
toys(!) from the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With these toys
and my imagination, I could now re-create scenes from the movie and create all
sorts of my own amazing adventures! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">My first <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> toys were received on my 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, my baby-sitter
was a wizard cake-maker, and for that birthday she created what is still my
all-time favorite cake – a miniature R2-D2!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Check out two of my old photos from that glorious day many years ago
(along with my added commentary):</span><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hJiK3Nl8y2Y/UlGBP15fCUI/AAAAAAAAAJk/0Gecs7megiM/s1600/Jason_4thBirthday_blog1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hJiK3Nl8y2Y/UlGBP15fCUI/AAAAAAAAAJk/0Gecs7megiM/s320/Jason_4thBirthday_blog1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrJ74KWw_MM/UlGBdNw416I/AAAAAAAAAJs/-ubx9LBOlfQ/s1600/Jason_4thBirthday_blog2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrJ74KWw_MM/UlGBdNw416I/AAAAAAAAAJs/-ubx9LBOlfQ/s320/Jason_4thBirthday_blog2.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">From that
moment on, and still to this day really, whenever I see the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> logo, I have a Pavlovian
reaction in which my heart rate starts to speed up and I start to sweat just a
bit with anticipation and excitement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
pretty wild that I still respond in that manner after all these years (although
anything Jar-Jar related kills that excitement…stupid, piece of shit Jar-Jar).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">So, when I
learned of the upcoming documentary that focuses on the history of Star Wars
toys and the people who have the same life-long appreciation and affection for
them just as I always have – I was just beside myself with anticipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name of the documentary is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.plasticgalaxymovie.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Plastic Galaxy – The Story of Star WarsToys</span></a></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was supposed to be released
at the end of September, but they’re still putting the finishing touches on
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No hurry or worries fellas, as I
like to say – “You don’t rush perfection”…it’ll be ready when it’s ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, as someone who is still trying to
finish the third book in my <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span>The Candy Bar Adventures</span></b> series since 2009 (shameless plug, thank you), I know what
it’s like to miss a release date or two…or three…or four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, at their website for Plastic Galaxy,
you can watch a great 13-minute preview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I relate so closely to
the stories these folks are telling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Star Wars toys (though, since I’m a grown man, they’re now
“collectibles” *ahem*) were a big part of my childhood and they dredge up both
good and bad memories (I will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> be
sharing any of the bad memories!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">Now, I don’t
have any of my stuff in display cases like the folks in this documentary, but,
when the urge arises, I can access my stuff from the secured location in which
they reside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the things I like to
do is actually rather strange – I freely admit this (but can’t believe I’m
about to admit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, the original Kenner
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> action figures had a unique
smell to them that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">G.I. Joe</i> figures/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Transformers</i>/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Battlestar Galactica</i> figures/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dukes
of Hazzard</i> figures/<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He-Man</i>
figures, etc., didn’t have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars </i>figures had this unique warm,
sun-baked vinyl scent to them that I found rather addictive – addictive
qualities that were on par with the scent of McDonald’s french fries and the
scent of pizza wafting through the Showbiz Pizza arcade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, this scent still survives on my old
figures – fyi: I find the scent to be strongest on the legs of the figures for
some reason – and as I’ve gotten older, it has gained some pretty magical
powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">So, when the
mood strikes me, I like to take out a figure from my ol’ Darth Vader carrying
case…put the legs up against my nose…and inhale deeply like some dorky version
of Dennis Hopper in the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blue Velvet</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, it would look a little disturbing if
anyone ever saw me doing this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wait!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me explain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This unique scent has the magical ability of
conjuring up old memories and transporting me back in time to various <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i>-related moments in my
childhood – like I mentioned earlier, some good/some bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even weirder though, is how clear I can see
some of those memories play out in my “mind’s eye” as if I’m watching myself in
a movie; and additional scents from those times will then enter my nose out of
nowhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, one time I took a
whiff of a figure, and the next thing I know, I can see my 5-year old self
bugging my mom in the checkout line of the grocery store for a pack of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Star Wars</i> trading cards and I can even smell
the bubble gum that they used to put in those packs of cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty wild!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">If that
sounds weird, well then this next one is just batshit crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely this happens to others and I’m not
just some weirdo, but who knows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ok…there is an old song, that 99% of the time when I hear it, triggers a
particular scent in my nose (and accompanying visual memory) so strong that, at
times, becomes overwhelming and headache-inducing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">The song in
question is Abba’s “Mama Mia” (go ahead and laugh, but I’ve always liked Abba –
and yes, I still have a tallywacker and yes, I still like the ladies – so fuck
off) – in particular – the opening guitar riff from that song is what sets this
whole thing off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can hear other parts
of the song and the whole scenario I’m about to share won’t always happen, but
if I hear that opening guitar riff – watch out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, when I hear the opening of the song, my nose will just get flooded
with the scent of this old Avon bubble bath we had from the time when I was a
little kid (my mom was really into Avon back then, so we had a bunch of their
crap).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, that soapy scent will get
super-strong and then I’m transported back in time to about 5/6 years old; it’s
Summer time because I can even feel the semi-cool fan-blown air (we didn’t have
central AC at that time); I’m in the bathtub to get clean and cool off before
bedtime and I’m surrounded by the Avon-scented bubbles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the strongest scent isn’t coming
from the bubbles themselves…around that time, whenever I would take a bath, I
would take a little wind-up speedboat and a lime-green see-through water pistol
into the tub with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would wind up
the boat, and as it sped around the tub, I would shoot at it with my water gun
(I always found ways to prolong my tub time because I knew it was bedtime right
after – haha!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plastic water gun
would be filled with the Avon-scented bubble bath water, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> mixture (including the plastic) is
what really produces the overwhelming scent in my nose that at times becomes so
strong that I’ll start to get a headache if I continue listening to the “Mama
Mia” song in its entirety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">I’ve tried to
figure out why that song in particular causes the reaction it does, and I’ve
got one theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After “bath time”, it
was normally “bed time”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, a lot of
times, when I jumped into bed, I would power up my little 8-track player that
had my mom’s “Abba: Greatest Hits Volume One” in it; slap on the big earmuff
headphones that swallowed up my head (I sometimes liked to place one of the
earmuffs over my face and pretend I was a WWII fighter pilot or Darth Vader in
his Tie Fighter…just sayin’) and play some wicked air drums to all the songs on
the tape – “Mama Mia” being one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah, we didn’t have a lot of 8-track tapes to choose from – it was either
my mom’s Abba or my sister’s Shaun Cassidy tape (coincidently, hearing his “Da
Doo Run Run” still makes me nauseous…though I’m sure that would happen to
anyone who heard that song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haha!).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">So…yeah…I
just revealed all that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I’ll
stop now and get that catscan scheduled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyway, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.plasticgalaxymovie.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Plastic Galaxy - The Story of Star WarsToys</span></a></b>…coming soon to a real galaxy near you!</span></div>
Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-11833446544189576872013-09-14T11:05:00.000-05:002013-09-14T18:09:07.615-05:00Odd Bedtime Thoughts...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">During the
day, I go about my business in a normal way just like anyone else…and if I can
make someone smile or laugh at some point during any day – great; if I can make
myself laugh, even better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as we
may try to concentrate and absorb only the “good” in the world, we’re also
still constantly bombarded by all the crap, ridiculousness, and head-scratching
stupidity of the world – though we may try to ignore it for sake of sanity, we
still absorb it too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Case in
point, almost every time my head hits the pillow at night to go to sleep (even
if I’m dead tired), my brain says – “Hey! Not so fast!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have some weird things/issues to ponder
over!”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugh! Ok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s at this point that I’ll start to think
about various things that usually involve the classic taboo conversation
subjects – politics, religion, morality, money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I just don’t know if I want to share any of those thoughts…as we all
know, opinions are like assholes – we all have one and we think ours is the only one that doesn't stink.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Though, other
times, it’ll just be weird things that pop into my head – for example:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the word “Boo!” wasn’t associated with
ghosts, would it still startle us when we heard it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Has anyone ever heard of a ghost actually saying
“Boo!”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, why do people who say they
don’t believe in ghosts also still get startled when they hear the word “Boo!”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmmm?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah, stuff like this is what delays my nighttime slumber.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Other times,
I start to envision myself in ridiculous scenarios – for example: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for some reason, I’m both annoyed and
humorously entertained when a famous musician will start to play a song, but
stop and then tell some drawn-out story (usually sprinkled with bad jokes only
they find humorous, but the audience will laugh at because the musician is famous)
while they sporadically pluck out a few notes on their guitar or tickle a few
keys on their piano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ten minutes or so later,
they may finally go into the song they had started to play before they detoured
into their pointless story…it’s so annoying, yet so cheezily entertaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the audience then applauding the story, or
just that the story is finally over and the song finally beginning?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to think it’s the latter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, anyway, here’s an example where I put myself into that scenario:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I throw on a
cheezy, conservative sweater (or even a really horrible sweater vest over a
turtleneck), grab my guitar, and head on down to the local watering hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get on stage, perch myself atop a stool,
cross one leg over the other, and stare out at the audience with a ridiculous
grin on my face (just picture a really over-the-top Gordon Lightfoot-esque look
and feel to everything).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I start to
strum my guitar like I’m about to go into a full song, but then I softly
chuckle, throw out a cheezy grin and change my strumming to a sporadic plucking
of notes and announce to the audience, “I’d like to tell you about the time
when I…”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I begin to tell a meandering,
non-sensical story in a soothing “soft rock AM-station DJ/NPR voice”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times, I throw in some witty punch lines
that only I chuckle at – adding a few more guitar notes as exclamation points:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“…so, I stopped for gas, but got the
runs!” *cue chuckle and guitar diddlin’*</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-or-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“…so, my friends and I walk into the
local church’s cheese sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spread my
arms wide open and loudly proclaim – “Cheese us!” *cue chuckle and guitar
diddlin’*<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">-or-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“…so, I walk right up to that Grizzly
bear and say – ‘Hey! Quit shitting in my yard!’…I live in the woods.” *cue
chuckle and guitar diddlin’*<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Then, about a
half-hour or so later (having never actually gone into a full song), I just get
up and leave the stage to confused applause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think to myself in that same soothing “soft rock AM-station DJ/NPR
voice” – “Yeah, that went well…that went well”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yep, these are
just a couple of my odd bedtime thoughts (don’t even get me started on the
number of times I’ve been stuck thinking about the concept of eternal time and space…that’s
a noggin’ knotter)…I’ll just blame it all on my bedtime bowl of Cheerios.</span></div>
</div>
Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-16446897791941649312013-06-09T13:10:00.002-05:002013-09-09T16:19:55.191-05:00Believe It...or Not! - Just realized I'm in my very own WABAC machine...My house isn't filled with countless gears, buttons, switches, or blinking lights, but based on what I've been enjoying lately, I think I may have inadvertently created my very own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WABAC_machine"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">WABAC machine</span></strong></a>... <br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Current reason I'm thankful for being literate</span></u><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Man-Strange-Brilliant-Believe/dp/077043620X/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1370795360&sr=8-1"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley</span></strong></a> - I've always been a big Ripley's fan, though as a young kid in the early 80's, I actually thought Jack Palance was "Ripley" since he was the one who hosted the show. Anyway, a biography on this guy's fascinating life was long overdue, but it was worth the wait - Neal Thompson has created a fantastic read! I'm not even done with it yet, and it's already one of my favorites. The early 20th century world still held so many secrets, <a name='more'></a>as wide-scale travel just wasn't that common yet - difficulty and cost were just too steep for the average person. So, it's only natural the decidedly un-average Robert Ripley would be the one to shed a little light on all of the wild and wacky things that make us and our world so naturally unique...and great. I've now got my eyes set on the six-book collection of Ripley's cartoons...my Kindle may be getting a little more crowded in the near future.<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Current reason I'm thankful for two functioning ears</span></u><br />
<strong>Ozzy-era Black Sabbath albums</strong>...after listening to the full-album stream of Sabbath's upcoming <em>13</em> (awesome time-traveling mix of so many elements from their old albums to form their new creation...and I'm assuming their last - *spoiler alert* - the album ends with a bittersweet bookend in the form of the same foreboding cracks of thunder and ringing church bells that opened their debut album in 1970), I had the urge to crack out my 2009 UK Sanctuary remaster/deluxe edition CD's. So good! I would love to have a set of the original Vertigo vinyl pressings from the UK, but I just don't have the money or patience to hunt those down. Loved listening to the Quadrophonic mix on DVD that comes with the <em>Paranoid</em> deluxe edition! All 8 albums are amazing, and I gotta say it - <em>Never Say Die</em> is horribly underappreciated.<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Current reason I'm thankful for two functioning eyes</span></u><br />
<a href="http://www.wbshop.com/product/eight+is+enough+season+three+1000400038.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eight is Enough: Season Three</span></strong></a> - This show is so great - a bit cheesy at times viewed through today's eyes, but that's just one of the many reasons I like it. Just try and not sing along to the opening theme song - I dare ya! It's been great to see this series again for the first time since re-runs in the early and mid-80's. Plus, it's been great to see Connie Newton/Needham again as Elizabeth Bradford...I always had a bit of a crush on her. I have the previous two seasons on DVD as well, and am looking forward to Season's 4 and 5 when they're released.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Search-Of-The-Complete-Series/dp/B008X8VM1W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370798083&sr=8-1&keywords=In+Search+Of..."><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">In Search Of...</span></strong></a> - I was so happy when this series finally came out in a proper re-mastered box set. An amazing show hosted by the equally amazing Leonard Nimoy. The show is chock full of mysteries, wonder, adventure, myths, and everything else. The episode that has really captured my attention since seeing it is the one about the Coral Castle down in Florida...how the hell did that little guy create that thing?!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Treasures-Tomorrow-Beyond/dp/B0000BWVAI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370798408&sr=8-2&keywords=walt+disney+treasures"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Walt Disney Treasures: Tomorrow Land</span></strong></a> - This show just blows my mind! Think about it...our space program/NASA was largely forged from the minds of captured Nazi scientists, and propelled forward due to the Cold War with Russia. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade! Shit-fire! Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I really want to live in Walt Disney's original vision for EPCOT. Oh, the interview with Ray Bradbury is also great. Highly recommended DVD set!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Looney-Tunes-Golden-Collection-1-6/dp/B005NFJAQC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370798813&sr=8-2&keywords=looney+tunes+golden+collection"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Looney Tunes Golden Collection Box Set</span></strong></a> - Timeless cartoon classics that still make me laugh hysterically like a total dork today! The Beaky (Bashful) Buzzard is my all-time favorite cartoon character - that dang laugh!!!<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Current reason I'm thankful for the Internet</span></u><br />
<a href="http://wishbookweb.com/"><strong>WishbookWeb.com</strong></a> - I stumbled upon this website last year after seeing a documentary (don't remember what it was about exactly), and then getting the urge to see if I could find some of those old Sears & Roebuck catalogs from the early 20th century where they would sell everything from clothes to farm equipment. Anyway, this site doesn't have any of those, but what I found was so much better. They have some of the old Christmas catalogs that I remember looking through when I was a kid - oh the long Christmas lists I used to make (and thusly, the long list of things I never got! haha!). In particular, this site has what may just be the greatest catalog ever made - the 1980 JCPenney Christmas catalog. What an amazing collection of early consumer technology!!! Microwaves were still new and expensive; the Atari 2600 and Intellivision game systems were new and expensive; the Atari 800 personal computer will dazzle with it's early technology and steep prices - check out the price for that shitty printer ($600 in 1980 money = $1700 in today's money); not to mention the floppy disk drive ($700 in 1980 money = $1975 in today's money); and the one technological marvel for the time that has already since become extinct - the VCR...the one for sale in the 1980 catalog weighed in at a whopping 39 pounds and cost $887 (on sale!) = $2500 in today's money. Mind blown! <br />
<br />
I've also come to the conclusion that I grew up during a time with the best toys. I had forgotten how badass they were in that catalog. There were of course Star Wars toys (that was always the first thing I looked up); but there was also the Snoopy Snow Cone machine (never got one - dammit!); Slot Car Race Tracks with daredevil jumps and glow-in-the-dark accessories (because glow-in-the-dark anything at that time was super rad!) - I actually had one of those race tracks (the two little Trans-Am cars that came with it also had headlights that lit up when it went around the track!); also, it seems like every Slot Car Race Track and RC vehicle set was comprised of two of the most badass cars ever made - the Stingray Corvette and the Smokey & the Bandit-style Trans-Am/Firebird!!! Seriously, look through the pages - amazing! And don't even get me started on the super-cool collection of hand-held electronic sports games!<br />
<br />
<br />
Yep, the WABAC machine is alive and well at my house.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-7377051257964433982013-04-27T14:24:00.000-05:002013-09-09T16:19:08.405-05:00New Volbeat - Hard Rock/Metal have a gunfight with Spaghetti Westerns <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fDDlfH7FRKA/UXwWAiabuWI/AAAAAAAAAJI/zBGau6tgBCI/s1600/Volbeat_OGSL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fDDlfH7FRKA/UXwWAiabuWI/AAAAAAAAAJI/zBGau6tgBCI/s320/Volbeat_OGSL.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<br />
Denmark's <a href="http://www.volbeat.dk/3/home/"><strong>Volbeat</strong></a> are currently my favorite hard rock/metal group going right now (sidenote: when the legendary <em>original</em> Black Sabbath (minus Bill Ward - still pissed over that) return with their new album on June 11th, all the current whipper-snappers of hard rock/metal will "kneel before Zod"!...just saying). What I like about Volbeat is that they're not your run-of-the-mill rock band...they take some of their favorite genres of old music and give it a new, metallic, twist. They're sometimes referred to as "Elvis Metal" - not sure I agree with that (I hear more Johnny Cash at times), but then again, I'm a super (duper!) Elvis nerd so I refuse any dilution or twisting of The King. Anyway, Volbeat's entire catalog is great, though I must admit each of their previous albums are a bit uneven - there will be a few really kickass numbers, then a few "fillers", then a few more kickass numbers. <br />
<br />
However, their latest Spaghetti Western-inspired album is fantastic from the opening track to the finale! Perhaps their inspiration for this album is why I like it so much:<br />
A. I'm a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns<br />
B. I'm a <a name='more'></a>big fan of spaghetti (ah-ha-ha-ha...aha...ha...ha...*ahem*...but anyway)<br />
C. Mix that with wicked guitar riffs, thundering drums, and cool vocals/lyrics = get that ol' neck limbered up for some serious "headbanging"!<br />
<br />
<strong><u>Tracklist</u></strong><br />
<strong><u></u></strong><br />
<strong>Lets Shake Some Dust: </strong>Cool minute-and-a-half instrumental opening really sets the Spaghetti Western vibe...love the harmonica.<br />
<br />
<strong>Pearl Hart: </strong>Lyrically, kind of a rockin' version of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain".<br />
<br />
<strong>The Nameless One: </strong>This could be a song that Doc Holliday would sing to his lady...if he were also shredding on his axe!<br />
<br />
<strong>Dead but Rising: </strong>This song fucking rocks! All that needs to be said.<br />
<br />
<strong>Cape of Our Hero:</strong> Borderline generic rocker, but great lyrics and song title.<br />
<br />
<strong>Room 24: </strong>Hands down, one of the best metal songs I've heard in years. This song gets the blood pumping!!! Great mix of old Black Sabbath and Metallica thundering, galloping, guitar riffage...and when the cymbal crashes, marking a tempo change - fuuuuuuuuuuudge (only I didn't say "Fudge", Ralphie)!<br />
<br />
<strong>The Hangman's Body Count: </strong>With a title like that, you know it's gonna be good - and it's great! Favorite part of the song is the chorus - chilling lyrics and chilling sound: "Put on the rope, you knew the day was coming. Say your prayers once more, you're part of the hangman's body count". I'd be ski-daddlin' outta there, partner!!!<br />
<br />
<strong>My Body: </strong>Again, bit of a generic rocker - but like the whole album - really neat lyrics.<br />
<br />
<strong>Lola Montez: </strong>Generic rocker once more, but damn, the lyrics about this hot temptress are really neat.<br />
<br />
<strong>Black Bart: </strong>Kicking it back up a notch with Iron Maiden-esque guitar riffs with subtle dashes of slide guitar thrown in. "You fine-haired sons of bitches!" haha<br />
<br />
<strong>Lonesome Rider: </strong>Love this song. Not metal, but a unique rocker - great sound, great vocals. Really cool duet with a gal named Sarah Blackwood (I think?). If I understand the lyrics correctly, it sounds as if a guy is coming back from a war to his home and lady love - or so he thinks...he's actually been killed and is a ghost, but doesn't know it.<br />
<br />
<strong>The Sinner is You: </strong>Gonna sound like a broken record here, but - generic rocker with really neat lyrics.<br />
<br />
<strong>Doc Holliday: </strong>Remember how cool Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday was in the movie <em>Tombstone</em>? Well, this song is your fucking huckleberry! This song is so badass! If you're not tapping your foot, bobbing your head, and throwing up "devil horns" during this song, then you just don't have a pulse. Has a very early Metallica "Seek and Destroy" vibe to it, with dashes of classic Spaghetti Western sounds thrown in. Seriously, this song is so gloriously 80's metal, I want to throw on a pair of tattered jeans (or even parachute pants); Kaepa shoes; a jean jacket (or a rad satin jacket - c'mon, if you played little league baseball in the 80's, you remember satin jackets); grow a Cliff Burton dirt 'stache; and throw a big ol' Chachi comb in my back pocket to comb my non-existent feathered hair. Metal!!!<br />
<br />
<strong>Our Loved Ones: </strong>Features a great harmonica ditty, sounding very much like what was played by Charles Bronson in <em>Once Upon a Time in the West</em>. Great half-ballad, half-rockin', end to the album (*cue slow drift into the sunset*). Well done, Volbeat!!!<br />
<br />
This album gets better with each successive listen, it really does.<br />
<br />Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-12100375126487153802013-03-22T14:37:00.000-05:002013-10-02T16:25:52.441-05:00Feeling warm on a cold day...This morning on the local news, they had a report that was pretty damn cool. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/blind-dog-seeing-eye-dog-isaac_n_2927070.html"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d85c6;">It was about a blind dog who had his own guide dog</span></strong></a>...I had never heard of that before! Was this common? Had I been living under some sort of ignorant rock? Apparently, I had been, to some degree. I got on YouTube to see if there were any other videos like this and - yep, there were more examples of heartwarming tales like the one I saw this morning.<br />
<br />
Besides the ones featuring one dog leading another dog around, there were even examples of a cat leading a blind dog around. But the one that really got me was the story below (looks to have originally aired about a year ago):<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sb2ju1ZXS2g" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Damn! Are you kidding me?! The one dog was blind and having seizures. The other dog was super shy because some disgusting asshole had shot her when she was a puppy. Then they found each other and magic happened. Shit-fire and save the matches, that was amazing! I'll tell ya what else was magical - this video had the ability to conjure up a room full of tear-inducing dust! How else can I explain this strange, clear, salty liquid dripping from my eyes? (and, um, yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)<br />
<br />
Why has this not been turned into a movie yet? Disney, you're slacking.<br />
<br />
<strong>UPDATE:</strong> Oops, I guess ABC News doesn't like when you embed their videos - so, to actually see the video, just click on the "Watch on YouTube" link that shows up. I guess they want their advertising revenue.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-57422843374757138582012-10-20T09:50:00.000-05:002013-09-09T16:15:15.143-05:00Awkward Family Photos...so hilariously good!Ok, I know this site has been around awhile - but, better late than never, I gotta say it - <a href="http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Awkward Family Photos</span></strong></a> is the best! It's one of my favorite sites right now - never fails to make me laugh...and not just a little "ha-ha" giggle either; rather, more often than not, a full-blown, "Oh shit! I can't catch my breath and I'm about to stroke out!" tear-filled, thunderous guffaw!<br />
<br />
Those pictures...Jesus. Then the captions/stories underneath...so good. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Why has this not been turned into a weekly TV show yet, ala "America's Funniest Home Videos"? I'd definitely tune in every week! Although, if they gave money to the funnniest photo/story every week, I'm sure you'd soon have people staging fake "awkward photos" and stories just to try and win some money...that would ruin it.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, the site does feature some funny videos detailing the pictures and the stories behind them. To the folks who created this site - "Thank you!" for the laughs (and a big "Thank you" goes out to all the folks who are brave enough to send in their embarassing photos). Here I thought my love of bacon would be the death of me, but now it will probably come from blowing a blood vessel in my brain from laughing so damn hard at this site!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MrQzDFMUWMk" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Oh, they also sell greeting cards at Target that feature photos from the site. Yeah, I looked like a damn fool laughing my ass off in the middle of the store.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-76084264004682857632012-08-12T00:52:00.002-05:002013-09-09T16:15:59.356-05:00An "Alien Grey" head in new Mars photo?Ok, so I'm checking out the new hi-res photo from the Mars Curiosity rover over at <a href="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4421"><strong><span style="color: #3d85c6;">NASA's JPL site</span></strong></a>. I'm scanning around, taking in all the little rocks and surface features - marveling at it all (yeah, I'm a nerd, I know), half expecting to see R2-D2 and C-3PO walking around out there - it looks a bit Tatooine-ish after all. Well, anyway, I'm scanning the picture and I have to do a double-take. I can't believe what I'm seeing as I burst out in laughter (wasn't drinking anything so it was a dry laugh - monitor and keyboard stayed liquid-free).<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
If you use your imagination just a bit, there is a rock that is a spitting image of a classic Alien "Grey"! You know - big cranium; dark slanted eyes; face narrows down to a small mouth. It's great! Now that I think about it, it kind of looks like the "Iron Man" mask as well. Ha-ha!<br />
<br />
The following images are cropped to show the area of interest (You can click on them for a better view). Also, like I mentioned above, head over to <strong><a href="http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4421"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">NASA's JPL site</span></a></strong> to check out the full, hi-res image of the entire landing site - pretty cool stuff.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong><u>First Image: Zoomed out a bit for bearing</u></strong></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKubtsv2nb0/UCdC9ETX93I/AAAAAAAAAGM/yySAENw5KNA/s1600/MarsAlienGreyRock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKubtsv2nb0/UCdC9ETX93I/AAAAAAAAAGM/yySAENw5KNA/s320/MarsAlienGreyRock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><u>Second Image: Zoomed in on the "Alien head"</u></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rV7463g7rFw/UCdDZnjOxBI/AAAAAAAAAGY/ZGSZP7_oLkU/s1600/MarsAlienGreyRockZoomIn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rV7463g7rFw/UCdDZnjOxBI/AAAAAAAAAGY/ZGSZP7_oLkU/s320/MarsAlienGreyRockZoomIn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
See, Mars makes Geology fun.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-38863188450553643742012-08-06T00:58:00.000-05:002012-08-06T01:03:04.943-05:00Curiosity begins (and continues) on Mars!Yes! Success! The Mars Curiosity rover is on the ground! A few black and white pics have already come back and I can't wait for all the pics and info. sure to come. Congrats to all the incredibly bright men and women involved with this project - y'all are amazing!<br />
<br />
Man, that was exciting!<br />
<br />
Ok - now - let's continue the Mars exploration and (someday) colonization of the red planet. But also - let's get a big-ass drill sent to Jupiter's moon, Europa, so we can peer underneath its vast sheets of ice and see what kind of ocean is lurking beneath.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-14566654692613631992012-03-25T16:11:00.003-05:002015-03-18T22:16:06.114-05:00Reminiscing about my favorite girl…<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes people come into our life and have such a profound impact in such a short time with just their “being”, that – even though we may not get to spend as much time with them as we would like or even get to know as much about them as we would like – at some point, we just have to sit back, accept, and appreciate that somehow, for some reason, we were deemed special enough to be blessed by someone truly special – even if just for a moment that is quite fleeting in the whole scheme of things.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the Fall of 1980, when I started 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st </span></sup>grade, just such a special person came into my life only to exit far too soon when I moved away in the Summer of 1983 after the end of 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> grade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had long brown hair; big brown eyes; a beaming smile that could light the darkest of Grinch souls; and an angelic niceness tempered with a heaping helping of sass and cleverness to keep one in line (which I needed at times).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her name…Melissa VanOsdol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a powerful, unbridled joy I felt with her that I’ve never felt since – oh, I’ve searched for that same feeling…through many avenues – but, 30-plus years later, it’s remained elusive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">She was the first girl to tell me I was “cute” (hello, ego boost!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was the first girl to say the words “I love you” to me who wasn’t my mom or grandma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, the expression/meaning of those words when you’re the age of a 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> grader are comprised of a far lesser complexity than when you’re an adult – but – it still evokes a special feeling just the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along these lines, she made this birthday card for me in class which I’ve kept in a safe place after all these years:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Outside of card<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KjOL8EiP0FM/T2-FjAbCIJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/6obXNBu2W2Q/s1600/BDayCardfromMelissa_outsideB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KjOL8EiP0FM/T2-FjAbCIJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/6obXNBu2W2Q/s320/BDayCardfromMelissa_outsideB.jpg" height="320" width="294" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Inside of card<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSQa3cPZEgE/T2-FwNlNTHI/AAAAAAAAAEw/clvvLagntZc/s1600/BDayCardfromMelissa_insideB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nSQa3cPZEgE/T2-FwNlNTHI/AAAAAAAAAEw/clvvLagntZc/s400/BDayCardfromMelissa_insideB.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></o:p></u></b><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do regret, as innocent as those three words were at the time, that I never said them back (to be fair, I’ve never said those three words as an adult either – they’re powerful words, more valuable than gold, so I keep them locked in a box labeled: “Open only in case of an extraordinary woman who is cool with my nerdiness”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, that 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> grade year was pretty calm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t recall doing anything stupid, thus, I don’t recall Melissa and I ever being mad at each other – it was just a really special friendship…but always a bit different from the norm (I’ll explain later).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of my memories of that year have faded away, but there are two that still stand out quite vividly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the latter half of that grade (early 1981), Melissa was talking and giggling a bit too much for the teacher’s taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, back then, teachers still took us out in the hall and paddled us for misbehaving (I was never paddled…thank you).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was taken out to the hall; our class got silent; and soon we heard the SMACK of the wooden paddle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few moments later, she came back in with tears in those big brown eyes…it devastated me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to run across the room and give her a comforting hug and kiss right then and there.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second memory happened after the school year was over and we were on Summer break – I’m pretty sure anyway – the event timing is fuzzy now, but the details are forever (I hope) engrained into my brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I received an invitation to her birthday party (I was the only boy invited).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t able to go on the day it was being held, so my mom drove me over to her house a couple days before the party to give her a birthday card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she answered the door, she was eating little powdered sugar doughnuts and had powdered sugar all over her face – sporting her patented beaming smile the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so funny!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never mentioned to her that she had powdered sugar all over her face – I just gave her the card, shyly blurted out a quick “Happy Birthday!”, and just as quickly, turned and went back to the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard her say “Thank you!” as I walked away and the door shut soon after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this day, when I see those little powdered sugar doughnuts in stores, I think of that moment and get the biggest smile on my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That memory is one of my most prized possessions.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> grade class photo<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>UPDATE 3-18-2015: Out of respect for the privacy of my old grade school classmates, whom I've always cherished (even the ones I didn't always get along with way back then - haha), I have removed my old classroom photo. If I knew for sure that people would be respectful, then I would keep it up - but for now, it will stay down.</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade: 1981- 1982<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade began the series of “tug-of-wars” in our relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This was the year I fancied myself as being quite the “ladies man”…a disastrous endeavor on my part that would prove doubly embarrassing years later (just keep reading).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade began well enough with me walking into class shyly with my head down (I had a tendency to do that in later grades as well), when I heard a sweet, familiar “Hi, Jason!”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked up and saw eyes that were just as excited to see mine as I was hers (and if I may digress for a moment, is there a better feeling than to see that someone is just as excited to see you as you are them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to experience that feeling again before I keel over…I’ll put that on my “Bucket List” along with space travel) – yep, Melissa and I were once again in the same classroom (two classrooms per grade)…this was going to be a good year.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, at recess we started playing this game called “Catch’em and Kiss’em”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name of the game pretty much explained it all – we boys would chase the girls; catch’em; and kiss’em.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surprisingly, the teachers never broke up the game – it wasn’t until a month or so later that the Principal got a call from an angry parent and in turn gave us a talking to, ending that little game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, this was the game that started my ill-fated “ladies man” persona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the same group of us that usually played – Melissa did not play…until it was time for her to teach me a lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would often watch from the edge of the pavement (we played our game in the grass) hanging out with her friend Rosie (I think) and as I ran by and tried to get her to play, she would usually just give me a look – not of anger – but of disappointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I continued to have fun and play, winning many “battles” (i.e. catching and kissing many girls in front of her); but she ended up making a shrewd move that won the “war”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I continued to try and get her to play, and one day, to my amazement, she did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ran out on the “field” and immediately got chased by other boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she got caught by other boys…a little too easily I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she got kissed by other boys...wait a minute, this isn’t cool!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next boy that went after her, I chased behind and, maybe not too accidently, tripped out of the way and began the chase myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, she sure was making more of an effort to evade <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">my</b> attempts at catching her than she did with the other boys, and the more I missed, the more she laughed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I eventually caught her, out of breath, tried to kiss her, but she dodged me (I got a bit of her cheek as I recall) and instead led me over to a big tire that stuck half out of ground (we had a bunch of those around the playground).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got under the tire, each with our back to either side of it, pressing our feet up against each other’s in the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent the rest of that recess just watching and laughing at all the others playing and just enjoying each other’s company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent the next few recesses going to that same tire and doing the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Point, Set, and Match to her but I still felt like the winner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t too much longer when the Principal put the kibosh on that game and we all found other games to play at recess.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, during the time of this game I developed another of my “ladies man” techniques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A technique that, outwardly, was done to woo all the girls in class; inwardly, it was done for just…Melissa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides my habit of wearing big belt buckles with my name on them (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Urban</i> “Dammit, Sissy!” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cowboy</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Dukes of Hazzard</i> were popular at the time so I wanted to be like Bud and the Duke boys), I also had to have my hair perfectly combed – not one hair was allowed to stand up!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If water wouldn’t do the trick, then I resorted to dousing my head with cheap cologne – I shit you not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I basically ended up with a perfect helmet of hair that would make any Lego figure jealous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was all so ridiculous but the girls liked me that year for whatever reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, when we re-arranged our chairs to watch the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Electric Company</i> in class (on what had to of been the first VCR’s ever made – the tapes were huge!) I usually had a rotation of girls on either side of me who each had asked to sit by me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I was pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every so often, I would look in Melissa’s direction and she would just give me this look like she was going to kick me square in the balls before she would ever ask to sit by me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know why I did what I did because Melissa was the only one I really ever wanted to sit by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I look back at it, I was basically just being a d-bag who took her feelings for granted and pretty much wanted every girl to like me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, I did ask her to sit by me and luckily she did…and…she mentioned that my hair smelled good – thank you cheap cologne!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade class photo<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>UPDATE 3-18-2015: Classroom photo removed - see reasons above.</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3rd grade: 1982-1983<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> grade was a rough one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started out well enough just like 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade did – I walked shyly into class the first day with my head down and there was Melissa greeting me with a “Hi, Jason!” and her great smile. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, a couple of new kids in the mix would see our friendship go a little topsy-turvy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The one who would be the bane of my existence was a new boy named Alex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was our age yet he acted like he was 20 years older, and had a streak of gray hair on one side (seriously, who has gray hair at that age?!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always liked to spout off various facts like he was so much smarter than everyone else…what an asshole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That aside, he would soon become the “Khan” to my “Captain Kirk”; the “Wil Wheaton” to my “Sheldon Cooper”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason: he became Melissa’s boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aaarrrgh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What added insult to injury was that he treated her the way I should have treated her the whole time – he was always nice and spent every free moment of the school day glued to her side…pissed me off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I semi-routinely made snarky comments about them being together in front of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t remember what I said, but I just know Melissa wasn’t too happy with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did it not only because I was jealous of course, but I noticed a change in her personality…she was still as nice and sweet as ever, but the sassy, clever side of her that I liked so well seemed to fade away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I wanted to get a rise out of her somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, during one recess, things came to a head and I got my reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I said something stupid, a couple of the boys mockingly held my arms and told Melissa to punch me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked at her, she looked at me, and she reared back and actually punched me square in the stomach!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two boys couldn’t believe it, but I smiled at her thinking “Now, there’s the spirit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the Melissa I know and love,” and she ended up cracking a smile in my direction – she was trying not to, but she did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, Alex and his cavalcade of useless facts must have worn thin on her, because they stopped hanging around each other much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meanwhile, the new girl from that year, Jessica, and I eventually hit it off and she kind of became my girlfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was pretty neat from what I remember…but she still wasn’t Melissa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our little relationship started not too long before Alex and Melissa stopped being an item and was going along for a bit afterwards until one day out of the blue…Jessica had to move away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day she left is the only real memory I still have of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were all in class when the Principal drops in and announces that Jessica is moving to Louisiana and is now leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sitting by the door and she was sitting on the opposite side of the room across from me (our desks were arranged in a “U-shape”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just sat and stared at each other for a minute – I still remember the sad look in her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she got up, and we just continued to stare at each other as she walked out the door to what I hope has been a good life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was that.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, at this point, I had some work to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed to know that Melissa didn’t think I was a total booger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t just ask her of course, that would make too much sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, I tried to impress her with my soccer skills at recess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soccer became a big deal at recess at that time; me and my best friend, Bobby, liked taking turns being goalkeeper – we even wore gloves like the pros…we looked like dorks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I played in the field though too.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Well, while I don’t recall Melissa playing (she might have at times though) I do remember when she would be watching from the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I saw her looking in my direction, I always made sure to step up my game or try and make an ordinary play look a little more spectacular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows if it had any effect?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, I finally got my answer when it came time to do the dreaded Square Dancing in gym class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did the ol’ dancing in 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade as well and I remember being Melissa’s partner on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, the girls got to pick who their partner would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure enough, Melissa was one of the first called up to pick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of our classrooms were combined in the gym so she had the whole 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> grade class to pick from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t like my odds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember her scanning the group while I waited to hopefully hear her say my name – or at the very least, not hear her say Alex’s name (Blech!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She finally looked in my direction and kind of gave me this look like “I don’t know, you’re kind of a booger.” –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t take my eyes off her – then, I had my answer – she flashed that beaming smile of hers in my direction and said my name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t think I was a total booger!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I was pretty excited on the inside, but on the outside, I had to stay cool so I walked up to her like “ok, cool, whatever”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was pretty great standing up there next to her waiting for others to pick their partners though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly don’t remember how the actual dancing went, just the picking process and the joy I felt from that is what remains in my brain today.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3rd grade class photo<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>UPDATE 3-18-2015: Classroom photo removed - see reasons above.</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The school years afterward: 1983 – 1992<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> grade, I moved to a new home and ended up at a different school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t see Melissa again until the Summer before 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grade at the Gladstone swimming pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was there with my best friend, Bobby, as we had still kept in touch after I moved away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bobby reintroduced us (two years away in kid years was an eternity back then).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had gotten even prettier than she was before and it made me feel a little awkward as I was still a skinny, little runt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hung out with us a bit before heading off with her friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the last time I ever talked to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw her once more the following summer at the same pool, but I was still awkward and skinny, and I was too chicken to go talk to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the last time I ever saw her.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1992, my Senior year in high school…through pure happenstance, I had a chance to meet Melissa again…but my previous d-baggery from 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade reared its ugly head again and I wrecked it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember having my wallet out in class for some reason, and the next thing I know, a girl’s hand shoots over my shoulder and snatches it away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We want to see what’s in your wallet,” the one girl behind me said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t care, I didn’t have any money in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I forgot about one thing I had in my wallet…up through my Senior year in high school, I kept the school picture of Melissa that she gave me back in 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> grade in my wallet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, it was probably a little weird and creepy that I had that with me still, but she never stopped being special to me and I wanted the picture with me (luckily, my other girlfriends during that time never found it – whew!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, of course the two girls pull out the picture and ask about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told them that Melissa was “my favorite girl back in grade school”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got an “Awww, that’s cute!” out of it…but, it turned out that one of the girls, Becky, was actually friends with Melissa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A day or two later, Becky comes over to me at lunch and tells me that she talked to Melissa and told her about the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I held my breath not sure what to expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out that Melissa told her that – yeah, she remembered me, but she was surprised that I had kept the picture of her the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason, she said, “I always liked Jason, but he always chased all the other girls instead of me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ahhhh crap!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> grade d-baggery is what she remembered about me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My uphill battle became unbeatable just moments later…one of the guys I was sitting with made a rude sexual comment relating to me possibly meeting Melissa again, and instead of putting that guy straight, I tried to be cool and went along with the comment and chuckled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve made some bad decisions in my life, but that may go down as one of the worst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following that comment and my reaction, Becky gave me a look so menacing that, if looks could kill, I would have been dead a thousand times over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so embarrassed, I didn’t even have the nerve to ask Becky what I really wanted to ask – “Did Melissa have a boyfriend, and if not, do you think she would talk to me if I called her?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, fate tried to extend me a potential helping hand and I spit all over it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Life goes on<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The carefree days of high school soon ended and real life began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t believe 20 years have now passed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t say I consistently thought about Melissa in these past 20 years, but every once in awhile something would happen that would snap me out of my regular life and get me to thinking about her again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never stopped thinking the world of her, and in fact, I think unconsciously I still compare new women I see or meet to her (I have a mental checklist), but I hadn’t consciously thought about her all that much…life goes on as they say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, there’s been two rather odd experiences during these 20 years that I’ve never been able to wrap my head around that involved her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both were dreams…very, very, vivid dreams – the kind where you think what’s happening is real until you actually wake up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In early 2000, I had the single most intensely real/surreal dream I’ve ever had in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was walking around what looked like a big drive-in theater filled with cars from the 40’s through early 70’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were hanging out and enjoying themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I came up to a 1940’s-looking car with two couples hanging out by the rear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea who they were, yet it felt like they were old friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They looked happy to see me and they told me that “She’s up at the hood of the car.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was like, “Ok?”…I didn’t know who they were talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went up by the hood of the car and when I saw her I was instantly hit with what was the most overwhelming feeling of love and pure joy that I had ever felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I felt like I had known this woman (we were same age) my whole life – like I had met a long lost love or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the dream was us just talking a bit and enjoying each other’s company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just before she was about to tell me her name, I woke up (alarm went off to wake up for work).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so pissed that I had woken up that I got tears in my eyes because I wanted to go back to that dream and stay there with that woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me a few days to get over that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fast forward to early 2006…I have another similarly intense dream, except this time it took place in some non-descript room (was almost like a waiting room in a dentist’s office or something) and this time I recognized the woman I was talking to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked, “Melissa, right?” “Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hi, Jason!” was the reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea what Melissa really looked like at that time – hadn’t seen her since the time at the pool in 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grade – but I just knew it was her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just talked and caught up on each other’s lives…it was so weird, yet so great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again, I was pissed when I woke up because I wanted to spend more time in that dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The significance of those dreams? – I have no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why those dreams? – I have no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I know is that they were amazing experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards, it was the last time I really, consciously, thought about Melissa…until a month ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last month, I found out that Melissa passed away in March, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not believe that the obituary I was reading was actually hers…yet, it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bright, smiling light from my childhood, the source of powerful joy in two surreal dreams as an adult…was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is that even remotely fair?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The relationship we had was special but not typical…we never knew each other’s favorite movie, music, food, etc., or even each other’s hopes, dreams, fears, etc…the type of things that more typical close friends and family get to know about each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just never bothered with that – we were kids after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just took each day as it came and enjoyed the experience of just being in each other’s company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was brief, but amazing, and I feel like I’ve lost someone who I’ve known forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, to think that those in Melissa’s life who actually knew her better and for a longer period of time than I could have ever hoped to, calling her “Daughter”, “Mom”, “Wife”, “Niece”, “Cousin”, “Aunt”, “Best Friend”, “Co-worker”, are also without her, just makes my heart break even more for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Melissa, you were always my favorite girl.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your friend, with love,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jason<o:p></o:p></span>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-78940872740431835042012-03-04T11:34:00.001-06:002012-03-04T11:50:21.458-06:00We've lost a visionary genius...Ralph McQuarrie has died at the age of 82. <br />
<br />
More than anyone - yes, perhaps even more than George Lucas himself - Ralph McQuarrie was responsible for bringing "Star Wars" to life and changing millions of lives around the world...mine included. "Star Wars" sparked my creative fire back in 1977 as a 3-year old, and from that point for many years to follow, I spent many an hour drawing pictures and conjuring up stories of all kinds - not just "Star Wars"-related. So, to find out many years later as a teenager that this grand cinematic vision really sprang from a technical artist from Boeing was a bit of a surprise. I bought every "Art of Star Wars"-related book I could find just so I could take in every detail of McQuarrie's works of art. There were many times I wished that a version of "Star Wars" could have been made that looked identical to the style of the paintings he created. My personal favorite is his depiction of Luke scanning the far-off Mos Eisley spaceport atop a high cliff - I can sit and stare at that painting and just get lost in it...you can almost feel the heat from the twin suns and hear a desolate wind blowing through.<br />
<br />
What an amazing talent Mr. McQuarrie was - he may be best known for his "Star Wars"-related work, but it's really just one piece of an incredible portfolio. Check out <a href="http://www.ralphmcquarrie.com/index.html"><strong>his website</strong></a> and be amazed.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-40232645310667599772011-11-26T11:47:00.002-06:002011-11-26T11:55:51.127-06:00Next stop - Mars!The Mars Curiosity rover began it's journey to Mars this morning and I couldn't be happier...well, actually, I guess if it's propulsion system instead utilized a combination of light/solar sail and plasma rockets to cut it's 8 1/2 month journey to 8 1/2 weeks or less, I'd be absolutely ecstatic. Some day...some day.<br />
<br />
Here's hoping that it lands safely and begins the next phase of Mars discovery - thus paving the way for man's next foothold in the solar system (of course, there's that little hurdle of protecting astronauts from extreme radiation - but - we'll get there).<br />
<br />
Be sure to check in on the official <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/MarsCuriosity"><strong>Mars Curiosity Twitter feed</strong></a> (which I've also added to the bottom of my blog).<br />
<br />
As an aside, it's my humble/un-researched opinion that if we made colonization of Mars the top goal of our country, we could easily cut unemployment in half in the near-term; and eliminate it, not just for our country but for all countries on Earth, in the long-term. Not to mention the technologies surely created for such a goal could also be used to clean up our own planet and make it a better place to live. But - *sarcasm alert* why attempt such a revolutionary evolution for our species when it's soooo much easier to spend our time destroying things, stabbing each other in the back for material possessions, and policing others' morality here on our tiny blue marble. *Here's where I kick the dirt and do my best grumpy old man "Bah-humbug!" spat*<br />
<br />
Keep looking up.Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-45951602053461850662011-05-02T18:35:00.010-05:002011-05-02T20:12:12.633-05:00Nice shootin' SEALS!<div>With a well placed shot to the head and chest, the words "Bad Mother Fucker" will be replaced on wallets all across America with "SEAL Team Six". A ballsy mission pulled off with spectacular gusto. OBL sleeps with the fishes.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>Way to go fellas! I hope you all get a "Drink Free for Life" card good in every bar & pub across the nation. </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>I also hope this will speed the process of bringing our brave military men and women back home to their family and friends. </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>I know the death of one piece of hairy feces won't completely shut the door on ancient ignorance, but perhaps now we can truly begin to move forward and make the 21st Century that giant leap for mankind we envisioned it could be in the 20th: advanced space travel technology; colonization of Mars and moons; wide-scale renewable clean energies; cheap & efficient de-salinization of water for all; new farming techniques and philosophies so that all will have healthy food in abundance; but most of all - widespread acceptance and appreciation for each other and this gift of life we've all been given.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>Oh, and hover cars! We were supposed to have hover cars by now, dammit!...but I digress.</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>We've spent way too much time and money taking out the trash - let's get back to creating/improving/inspiring.</div><div> </div>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-81718615222135514122010-10-19T18:00:00.006-05:002011-02-03T16:48:35.718-06:00The Candy Bar Adventures available as an ebook!Well, looks like it's time for a little shameless self-promotion - *shame-filled sigh*- so, here we go...<br /><br />The first two books in my "The Candy Bar Adventures" series are available in ebook format for the Amazon Kindle; Barnes&Noble Nook; iBooks app/store for iPad (and other Apple products); and you can even go to Lulu.com (the self-publishing site I use) and get them for various other devices. With the exception of Amazon, the ebooks are in the epub file format. Now, here's the exciting part - each book is available for just $2.99! Yes, you just read that right - $2.99! That's less than $3!!! (no, really, it is - I did the math and everything).<br /><br />How 'bout some helpful links to facilitate that purchase, hmmmm? No pressure or anything...(for the love of God, just buy a couple copies!!! *uncontrollable sobbing begins...followed by holding of breath*)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jason+wewers"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">The Candy Bar Adventures books at Amazon.com</span></strong></a><br /><br /><a href="http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=jason+wewers&ugrp=0"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">The Candy Bar Adventures books at Barnes&Noble</span></strong></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?search_forum=-1&search_cat=2&show_results=topics&return_chars=200&search_keywords=&keys=&header_search=true&search=&locale=&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=&fListingClass=0&fSearch=jason+wewers"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">The Candy Bar Adventures books at Lulu.com</span></strong></a><br /><br /><strong>The Candy Bar Adventures books at iBookstore</strong>...well, ok, I don't have a link for this one - you gotta have an Apple device that can download and run the iBooks app...I think you can download the app through iTunes too.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, still working on the third book in The Candy Bar Adventures series (3 years and counting now - I'm a little embarrassed) but it'll be completed eventually.<br /><br />Enjoy!Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-70202799196054034022010-10-03T15:37:00.007-05:002010-10-03T16:52:22.675-05:00Atlantis Rising - Cool mag; how about a TV show?Doing a little catch-up reading on my latest issues of <a href="http://www.atlantisrising.com/index.shtml"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">Atlantis Rising</span></strong></a> magazine and I got to thinking - man, this would make for a cool, little, weekly TV series. For those unfamiliar with this magazine, the tag line on its covers' read: "Ancient Mysteries - Unexplained Anomalies - Future Science"...basically a lot of supernatural/new age/alternative explanations type stuff that you have to take with a big grain of salt - but damn if the stories aren't entertaining as hell.<br /><br />It's a really well-assembled magazine for the most part (I get a little annoyed that a majority of the articles start on such-and-such page, and then you have to skip ahead 20+ pages for the rest of the article so that entire pages inbetween can be devoted to some wacky new age product...but, hey, they gotta pay their bills somehow so, I understand) with a lot of cool graphics to go along with the great stories, and though a little heavy on the ads, even the majority of those are pretty entertaining to peruse.<br /><br />What makes this magazine so cool is that some of the stories are actually 99 - 100% factual - it's just that it's odd type stuff that may not be known to most people - for example, in Issue 81, they had a neat story on <a href="http://atlantisrisingmagazine.com/2010/05/01/the-john-dee007-connection/"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">"The John Dee - 007 Connection"</span></strong></a> in which it was explained that Ian Fleming used a 16th Century alchemist/magician by the name of John Dee as a major inspiration for his James Bond character, as well as various other aspects in his 007 series of stories. As a fan of the James Bond series, I thought this was pretty interesting info.<br /><br />Then there are the many stories dealing with archaeological/historical themes that aren't exactly in line with the traditional scholarly thinking - thus any rational person would need to take the info. in with a healthy dose of skepticism - BUT - there always seems to be just enough there to make you ask "what if?". As far as I'm concerned, "what if?" is the one question that adds a real spice to life, so I love these type of stories. I mean, it's a couple of Europeans from the middle of the last millennium who are credited with proving that the Earth is round and revolves around the Sun when, in reality, scrolls from the famed<a href="http://www.serageldin.com/ancient_Library.htm"><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;"> Ancient Library of Alexandria</span></strong></a> showed that it was already proven in ancient Egyptian times - a full 1700 - 1800 years earlier!<br /><br />Anyway, I would like to see the folks who run this magazine make a pitch to the folks at the History channel, or SyFy channel, or even the Discovery channel, to see if they would be interested in creating a weekly, hour-long show featuring stories from the magazine. Like I said, it all comes back to asking that great, entertaining, question - "what if?".Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364587455459411828.post-91203049941099827092009-11-15T11:04:00.025-06:002009-11-15T14:05:00.458-06:00Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 2000's first decade<div align="justify">Compiling this list was harder than I thought it would be - two of my favorite bands during this first decade have been the Black Keys and White Stripes, whose entire catalogs were released during this time (with the exception of the White Stripes' debut album from 1999). Also, I was somewhat surprised that just about every year was represented in my personal list. Ah, and that brings me to another point...notice how I included "favorite" in the title because unlike professional critics who think their opinion is the be-all, end-all when it comes to what the top albums are, I realize my personal "top 10" could be somebody else's "bottom 10"...although they would be wrong, of course. :) </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Without further ado, let's get this started with number 10 - since counting down backward to 1 is supposed to be more dramatic...I guess. Anyway...<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>10. The Best Little Secrets are Kept - Louis XIV (2005)</strong><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404382126204272530" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwA46P7gP5I/AAAAAAAAACg/wuesJmafuw8/s200/number10.jpg" /><br /><p align="justify">This album kind of makes me think that this could have been what might have happened if Bon Scott hadn't died and then decided to take AC/DC in a "new direction" in the early 80's. This album has a rockin', bad boy (almost a bit revolting at times if you pay attention to some of the lyrics) feel to it like any other traditional rock album...yet, the sound is a little out in left field, so to speak. I only wish they would have added their great instrumental "The Hunt" to this album.</p><p align="center"><strong>9. Costello Music - The Fratellis (2007)</strong></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404386328742420386" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwA8u3mrX6I/AAAAAAAAACo/E-BuFvIQ_oE/s200/number9.jpg" /><br /><p align="justify">Fun album that'll have you tapping your toes and bobbin' your head to the beat (though some of the beats are a bit off-time and off-kilter - but they work). "Creepin' up the Backstairs" is probably the most well-known song from the album.</p><p align="center"><strong>8. Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)</strong><strong><br /></p></strong><br /><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwA-qtO3WiI/AAAAAAAAACw/j2_4LJtqQU8/s1600-h/number8.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404388456261966370" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwA-qtO3WiI/AAAAAAAAACw/j2_4LJtqQU8/s200/number8.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">What do you get when you mix Rage Against the Machine with the lead singer of Soundgarden? A kickass album, in my opinion. This group's first album blasted you in the package from the get-go with "Cochise", and didn't let up with the awesomeness throughout the entire album. In fact, the final track, "The Last Remaining Light", is my favorite song on the album. Too bad they couldn't keep the magic going in their subsequent albums.</p><p align="center"><strong>7. Is This It - The Strokes (2001)</strong><br /></p><p align="left"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBA9WBBWAI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ZqNg2_z7hGQ/s1600-h/number7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404390975470655490" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBA9WBBWAI/AAAAAAAAAC4/ZqNg2_z7hGQ/s200/number7.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">What a great friggin' album! The riffs, the beats, the vocals - everything is put together simply and solidly for an album filled with catchy tunes. I remember first hearing "Last Nite" and thinking "wow, haven't heard a song like this in a long time - I need to hear more!". "Soma" and "Take It or Leave It" are two of my favorites.</p><p align="center"><strong>6. Contraband - Velvet Revolver (2004)</strong></p><p align="left"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBDIF9rDoI/AAAAAAAAADA/2mi42O9GJyo/s1600-h/number6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404393359163461250" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBDIF9rDoI/AAAAAAAAADA/2mi42O9GJyo/s200/number6.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">"Well, awright! GnR is back with a better singer!" is what I thought when I first heard about the creation of Velvet Revolver. I was just hoping the songs wouldn't suck - and, man, they sure didn't! Great, straight-forward, rock-n-roll album - with a few ballad-esque numbers thrown in. In fact, one of those more mellow tunes, "You Got no Right", is my favorite off the album.</p><p align="center"><strong>5. Parachutes - Coldplay (2000)</strong><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBFWcgiG1I/AAAAAAAAADQ/5tWyGT-0Lqs/s1600-h/number5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 186px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404395804756679506" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBFWcgiG1I/AAAAAAAAADQ/5tWyGT-0Lqs/s200/number5.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">In my opinion, Coldplay is a group that defies logic. With each successive album, the quality of their songs have gotten worse; yet they've become bigger and more successful with each successive album. Their debut album is so dang good - full of rich, atmospheric sound and quality lyrics. Their second album also very solid (some may say their best). Third album - crap. Fourth album - even crappier. Oh well, enough of that. This album is a perfect listen on those cold, cloudy, rainy or snowy days - just slap on a pair of headphones and shut out the world around you.</p><p align="center"><strong>4. Elephant - The White Stripes (2003)</strong><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBHgAR3tqI/AAAAAAAAADY/vSXUROqkgEM/s1600-h/number4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404398168000935586" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBHgAR3tqI/AAAAAAAAADY/vSXUROqkgEM/s200/number4.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">This was an incredibly tough choice for me, as all but one of their albums were released this decade. Do I go with "White Blood Cells", which featured the first song I had heard from them - "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" - a song with such an infectious riff, that it drove me to buy my first electric guitar just so I could play the riff? Do I go with "De Stijl", an incredibly good album filled with bluesy-perfection? No, in the end, I gotta go with the album that combined everything that was great about their first three albums and raised it up another level yet. This really is a behemoth of an album, and I can't think of a more appropriate title than what it was given. The greatness of this album made it even harder to accept how sub-par their next two albums were, but - oh well - the first four albums more than make up for it.</p><p align="center"><strong>3. Rubber Factory - The Black Keys (2004)</strong><br /></p><p align="left"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBKdH77jgI/AAAAAAAAADg/CVhgk3zUplg/s1600-h/number3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404401417051672066" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBKdH77jgI/AAAAAAAAADg/CVhgk3zUplg/s200/number3.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">Even harder than my White Stripes album choice was my Black Keys choice. The Black Keys may just be the best group going today. This album was my first introduction to this incredible duo and it instantly blew me away! Is there a more kickass song than "Stack Shot Billy"? Well, sure, but the choices are few. Their cover of "Act Nice and Gentle" is one of my favorites as well. Like I said, this was a tough choice as the two albums that preceded it, and the two albums that proceeded it, are all fucking brilliant! All I can say is that I hope there's more to come from this group in the next decade.</p><p align="center"><strong>2. Wolfmother - Wolfmother (2006)</strong><br /></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBM3sGWyVI/AAAAAAAAADo/4MQOYbnKi1I/s1600-h/number2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 198px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404404072458930514" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBM3sGWyVI/AAAAAAAAADo/4MQOYbnKi1I/s200/number2.jpg" /></a></p><p>This album will punch you square in the clackers and you'll thank them for it! Plain and simple, this album ROCKS!!! Alot of people harp on them and say that they're just recycling old Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath sounds - well, to that, I say "THANK YOU, Wolfmother! More please!". I wish there were more new groups dabbling in the great inventiveness of late-60's and early 70's rock. This album is cosmic, man, cosmic...what an incredible debut album. Favorite song - "Colossal". As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to listen to that right now.</p><p align="center"><strong>1. Diorama - Silverchair (2002)</strong><br /></p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBRCZkhjWI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/0Wa2e23wZbY/s1600-h/number1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 314px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 317px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404408654510263650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mpitWQl0E7A/SwBRCZkhjWI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/0Wa2e23wZbY/s320/number1.jpg" /></a></p><p align="justify">I've got one word for this album - "Masterpiece"! This Australian group continued to evolve from it's mid-90's grunge origins with each successive album, but their first release in the 21st century is this century's finest piece of popular music - in my opinion of course. Songs like "Across the Night", "The Greatest View", and one of my all-time favorites from any band - "Tuna in the Brine", sound as if they should be on other classics such as The Beatles' "Abbey Road" or Queen's "A Night at the Opera". If you haven't heard this album, you're missing out on greatness. Don't your ears deserve something great for a change?</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Best of the rest (in alphabetical order):</strong></p><p><strong>Amy Winehouse - "Back to Black" (2007)</strong>: She's weird, but this album has a great retro sound.</p><p><strong>Belinda Carlisle - "Voila" (2007)</strong>: Surprisingly good - even though it's all in French. Another underrated gem from the former Go-Go.</p><p><strong>Dan Auerbach - Keep it Hid (2009)</strong>: Solo effort from The Black Keys' frontman. Do not keep this one hid! (that was my clever play on the album title...*ahem*) "Real Desire" is a standout track.</p><p><strong>The Darkness - "Permission to Land" (2003)</strong>: Solid debut rocker. They could have been somebody, they could have been a contender.</p><p><strong>Evanescence - "The Open Door" (2006)</strong>: Great voice, great sound.</p><p><strong>Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine" (2005)</strong>: I love her voice...and her eyes...ok, I'm starting to get creepy. The bootleg version of this album is even better...but you didn't hear that from me.</p><p><strong>Franz Ferdinand - "You Could Have it so Much Better" (2005)</strong>: Catchy tunes!</p><p><strong>Green Day - "American Idiot" (2004)</strong>: Better than "Dookie".</p><p><strong>Kylie Minogue - "Light Years" (2000)</strong>: A girlie album to be sure, this heavily disco-infused gem is a slightly embarrasing guilty pleasure for a dude such as myself. </p><p><strong>Metallica - "Death Magnetic" (2008)</strong>: Just missed my Top 10. Welcome back to greatness, Metallica.</p><p><strong>Queens of the Stone Age - "R" (2000), "Songs for the Deaf" (2002)</strong>: ROCK ON!</p><p><strong>Robert Plant/Allison Krauss - "Raising Sand" (2007)</strong>: Good stuff. This album will surely be on many professional critics' "Best of the decade" lists.</p><p><strong>System of a Down - "Hypnotize / Mesmerize" (2005)</strong>: Essentially a double-album, this melodic, heavy rocker is a must-have.</p><p><strong>Tool - "10,000 Days" (2006)</strong>: A return to greatness after the sub-par "Lateralus" from earlier in the decade.</p>Jason Wewershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04564017347899561650noreply@blogger.com0