spacemonk

listening to weird music from amsterdam. and watching annabelle the sheep. can you say "easily amused"?

"i've got nothing to say, but it's ok" lennon/mccartney

i heard THE NIGHT CHICAGO died by PAPER LACE (i think) from the early 70's tonight on the radio. now if i can't hear a good song on the radio, and usually, based on radio around here, apparently i can't - then i'd much rather hear a truly horrible song than a mediocre or even merely bad one (think michael bolton, etc...). it that way with movies too - it's like a great circle - it gets to be so bad, somehow, it loops around and becomes good again

THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED would probably be on my short list of most wretched songs - along with SEASONS IN THE SUN (probably the worst, or is it the best, of the transplendantly bad), TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART, BILLY DON'T BE A HERO, SHANNON, 99 RED BALOONS (extra bonus pts for the german version)... oh too many to think of....

am i'm i alone here? i don't think so - if memory serves (to paraphrase chairman kaga from iron chef (english dubbed version), dave barry did some columns or maybe even a book on this topic. anyone else prefer the truly wretched to the merely bad? got a favorite bad song?

for some reason i am tres CRABBY today - i guess it's a good thing that i recognize it at least and realize that, at least today, the problem is with ME and not with everyone else...so i can take steps like a. avoiding everyone b. speaking only a minimum

before i realized this today i was, well, let's just say not my normal sweet self

i've always despised and resisted nostalgia - but now, in a pitiful turn of events i've found myself more times than i'd care to admit recalling foundly stuff from my youth - not necessarily even great thing like the beatles or the who, but dumb stuff - the wrestling show i watched as a kid, dumb mtv videos, crappy bands etc...and thinking the thought that i always associated with an old person: "things ain't what they used to be". seeing the mtv tribute to aerosmith, i think brought these feelings on - hearing all the old tunes provoked nostalgia not just for the tunes, but everything of what i was back when the songs were originally released.
sigh - i guess part of me strongly resists nostalgia as part of me embraces it - i'm sure the key, like with most things is balance - it's ok to embrace your past as long as you don't live in it.

sheryl crow review - executive summary:it rocks

ok - as promised, a more complete review of sheryl crow's new cd - i think it is a real solid collection of tunes which showcase her versatility - stones-ish rockers, poppy tunes, country/folk eagle-ish songs (don henley pops up for a duet), nouveau classic rock type tunes - etc.... my favorites include the opener - the cocky "steve mcqueen", the hit single (and cool video) "soak up the sun", which you can sing along to the first time you hear it - granted, in a month or too, i might be sick of the song, if they overplay it like the similar "all i want to do is have some fun", but as winter turns to spring and spring into summer, it's the perfect tune for me right now. other tunes i like: "c'mon, c'mon" - the title tune, which features a lyric i'm suprised hasn't already been in some country song "c'mon, c'mon, break my heart again, for old times sake" - heck the whole cd is good, kix a pretty good amount of butt, etc...guest spots include henley, stevie nicks and my two faves lenny kravitz and liz phair( great bg vocals on the sing-songy "soak up the sun") - nothing necessarily groundbreaking here - no big suprises - i doubt if this would change anyone's mind re:ms. crow - i.e. if you like her already, you'll love this cd - if you don't i doubt if it would change your mind...but that's true of most pop records, ain't it?

weird music from amsterdam. along with the the bbc, my favorite online radio

the new cd from that fellow 40-something yoga practioner, sheryl crow, arrived today and i'm groovin' to it - complete review to follow!

too busy gardening to blog much....

it's been about a year and a half since i've stopped eating meat. it pretty much does not even enter my head that meat is a food choice anymore (for me) and i really can't imagine going back to eating meat. practicing yoga, i think, has helped me see the effect of things like diet, exercise, drinking, etc has on me - no real mystery - eat well, exercise and take care of yourself and your body will reward you by feeling good. eat junk food, lay around the house and indulge in other bad habits and your body will apply "negative re-enforcement" by feeling lousy. the blessing of yoga is making you aware of the signs - how you really feel and the consequences of your actions. and i'm like pavlov's dog here - even i can't help but notice he improvement in physical and mental state that my lifestyle changes have brought about. this is not to say that i live like a monk, never eat junk food or never have a beer - but the idea is always to try and improve your choices, cause your body rewards you if you do!!! so much has to do with habits - i've replaced some bad habits (uh, laying on the couch all night) with good ones (going for a skate, bike ride etc) and pretty soon i made very beneficial changes in my life.

city of cleveland permanently loses data in a network crash a few days before i am lecturing on disaster recovery plans to my database class. least i don't have to try to hard to come up with a real life example for my students of the need of such procedures.

if you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly

Which annoying B-list celebrity are you?

went to a park today at lunchtime and skated - real nice. can't say enough about how a break like that is sooo beneficial to my attitude.

anyone else like the zyrtec commercials on tv? i guess i am weird (see previous test results), but i think it is the coolest commercial. great music - if anyone has any clue what the music is let me know. (i guess the attractive young woman in the ads doesn't hurt either)

with the great weather we are having, we've been sleeping with the windows open and the insects in our neighborhood have been sooo cacophonic (never use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice!) and LOUD. kinda cool, but i wish they'd keep it down a bit...

must be the end of the week, thoughts are getting mighty random.

beautiful weather - went for a real long skate in the neighborhood - there's a new section with smooth roads, not much traffic and you can FLY. i love spring. i can't believe i went so long as a couch potato. i never fail to feel better after time spent outside being active. i wish i would have realized this sooner - but hey, better late than never.

practicing yoga outside is the best!!!

i have to admit when i saw this ad in yoga journal, i was very much annoyed. how dare someone take a spiritual practice and turn it into an athletic competition! however, click on one of the "contestants" to see (to quote paul harvey) "the rest of the story". i am grateful to any reminder to lighten up! lmfao

i guess like everything else in life (work, personal relationships, etc.) your yoga practice definitely has a life of it's own with ups and downs. in fact, that's why, i think, it is called a practice - you face many of the challenges you do in your everyday life and get a chance to practice how to work through them. for the past year, my yoga practice has suffered a lot - for a variety of reasons. i had knee surgery last summer and while i was not physically incapable of practicing, the time i spent in physical therapy used up the time i normally would have spent practicing - after that a litany of issues - hectic work schedule, being laid off, starting a new career, having to drop one yoga class per week, physical therapy for my shoulder, perhaps a bit of boredom, etc... kept me from being on the mat as much as i'd like to be. throughout it all though, i kept the flame of my practice going - however dim it got - i did not quit all together. well, i think perhaps i have turned the corner. i had a great seminar a last weekend, i have been practicing outside last few days, might be able to pick up a second class - in general, it feels good again - not like a chore. maybe this is one of the lessons of a yoga practice - persevere and somehow survive the tough times and better days will come!

1 more hr then i can go home! hope i can stay awake!

hey, they just read my email on bbc6 - they wanted to know what the difference was between parliament and funkadelics - i explained that, simply put, they were essentially the same band on two different labels...

1 beautiful spring day = 1 instructor who would rather be inline skating
oh well, my wife is coming by between classes for a mini-picnic - should be fun!

got another email from amazon indicating the first email was in error - the release of moby's 18 has NOT been cancelled, but given that they had already cancelled my order, i would have to re-order it. now, i love amazon, but this is annoying - so, i will punish them by getting it from borders instead!

i pre-ordered moby's new cd "18" from amazon. yesterday, i got an email from amazon saying the cd was not to be released. what gives? is it postponed? amazon not carrying it? i saw nothing on moby's site. did i dream this? any info - let me know...

if anyone watches alias, can you plz tell me what in the h*ll happened last episode? i missed it last week not realizing there was a new episode. when i tuned in this week was kinda lost...

if anyone knows where my copy of sheryl crow's Tuesday Night Music Club - plz email - it's starting to p*ss me off!

is it cheating to only post the quiz results you like?

Which David Bowie are you?

someone pull me away from the computer b4 i waste the whole day taking quizzes

Which Rock Chick Are You?

advice for the day: never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice.

real nice blog! phil's own