Adam's Blog

I used to write. Fiction: stories, poems, and the like, but I mean music. I used to write lots of music. I wrote about a million songs before college, but the first real song I remember writing and writing down was a song called "Angel" back in college. It took form slowly. The first song I arranged and completed was called "Time," and that was my senior year. It was the first song that was actually complete, not just a melody. Then came "Away," a song I actually performed twice in front of people. "Open Letter" was third. At that point I started numbering my songs. And until 2000, I wrote and arranged about 60 songs. Now, due to shitty notetaking, I only really remember about 30 or 40, but the point is: I was prolific. Now, when I revisit these songs, some of them are just not very impressive. Some, the lyrics are shabby. Others don't seem very complete. Some songs are just not very good melodies. And that, I believe, is why I haven't composed a complete song in years. In 2000, I wrote a song that really spread beyond just acoustic guitar called "What She's Got." I...

So I'm getting a dog this summer. He will be a miniature schnauzer, and he needs a name. So here is the tenative list, please jump in if you want to vote or have any suggestions. Milhouse Good: A Simpsons reference. Bad: A Nixon reference. Good: Funny. Bad: Not very funny. McFly How many people name their dog after a character or worth? Sydney Carton? Charles Darnay? Bingley? Why not a modern day story *I* admire? Cactus Obligatory but subtle Phish reference, Cactus kinda rings of toughness. It also brings memories of "Cactus Jack" to light. While it's new to the list, I kinda dig it. Butters A fans-only tribute to South Park, there's something funny about the name Butters that makes me chuckle. Mortimer (nickname: Morty) A non dog name is better than a dog name, for sure. Ned Because I’ve never heard of a dog named Ned. Mr. Sabotelli My 6th grade teacher, and a complete douche bag. Arguably knew considerably less than Corky from Life Goes On. Moishe Because naming a dog something in Yiddish is friggin hilarious. Chen Kenichi (nickname: Chen-san) The legendary, and quite animated, Iron Chef Chinese, pioneer of Sezchaun dishes, he skillfully fuses...

Didja watch Joe Millionaire? C'mon, no one's around. You can admit it. I watched. I was pretty happy with the whole thing too. That is, until the second to last episode, where they jerked us off by giving us an hour of bullshit with no satisfaction. They gave us a show devoid of substance and worth. An hour of my life I'll never get back.

Then they creatively editted the finale, which I nearly didn't watch out of protest (yeah, right). The damned thing completely points you every which way but the right way. I get the distinct feeling they didn't show us "the truth." Instead, they purposely showed us excerpts that intentionally deceived us.

On top of that, they hyped the twist to the point that it was a let down rather than a surprise. "The twist" was so heavily hyped I felt they needed to give him the entire 50 MILLION they claimed he had to really impress me. FOX - you dropped the ball on this one.

On the other hand, 24 is now the coolest show on TV, so I won't be tuning out just yet...

I'm sitting at home, laying on the couch, clicking through the channels and on comes "I'm With You," a sappy new tune from Canadian spunk punk Avril Lavigne. Lavigne first hit is big last year with the smash hit "Complicated" and, since then, has become a teen sensation reported with as much enthusiasm as Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, and one or two other bland teen chick "I write my own three chord songs and two cent lyrics" rockers. I've seen many pictures of Avril; one fateful day I saw a snapshot on the internet and though "Damn, she's actually pretty hot!" Since then, I've regarded her as "hot." The stupid white A-shirt, especially when combined with that ridiculous pink tie is completely silly, and she looks an uninspired effortful overall, but she's got a certain je ne sais quoi that I believe attracts people. Let me say this: she's not punk. I don't care what anyone says - the girl writes pop songs! She sells a punk image, but the only thing punk about her is her Ramones CDs. Anyway, to get to the point, I'm watching this Avril Lavgine video, a slow song (punk bands do slow songs?), and...

I'm supposed to be working on phatphiles.org this week and I really haven't done jack with my computer at all. Literally, there are all kinds of things I wanted to do, including wrap up Flip 2. Flip 2 has been needing it's stylesheet mechanism ramped up for months, and I just can't summon the energy to do it. I've decided, though, that I'll hold off for Flip 2.1 to fix themed stylesheet implementation.

Phish is going to start their winter tour in about 2 weeks and I'm not going to any shows but I am strangely excited, if only to see the setlists roll in again. I love when they're touring an I wake up and even before a shower, check out the set. And who doesn't love that moment when you yell, "Holy shit! They broke out XXXX!" Man, that rules.

I need to go finish this new page for phatphiles now.

George W. is running this country into the ground. We're about to spend millions on a war that will protect his family's oil money, it doesn't much serve our purpose, and it is money desperately needed in schools and the communities around the country. But my issue isn't with his policitcs -- it's with Amercan culture, TV, and political correctness. More specifically, it's with applause. I hate that there is so much damned applauding during the state of the union address. First off, if these monkey congressman feel an uncontrollable need to agree with the President, they should be yelling "Hear hear!" or "Aye!" like they did in the old days. I'm sure this is too much to ask for, since our congressman are *generally* greedy, self-important, arrogant, old white men who represent us about as well as an elephant fits in a thimble. But the state of the union now only has about 4 minutes of content and 96 minutes of applause, and it makes me crazy. There wouldn't be 1/100th of the applause if the thing weren't on TV. Face it, we're slipping into a society that sucks. Ultimately, we're a parody of what we should be. I...

Another Super Bowl comes and goes and so passes another set of ultra-expensive advertisements. This year, there were a few spots worthy of mention. The Studs1. Clearly, the funniest ad to grace the game of games was the Fed Ex "Castaway" spot. In a classic exchange, a bearded, knotty haired Tom Hanks-ish castaway delivers a package that was his "purpose" for pulling through while marooned on the island. As he's about to leave, he asks the woman, "Hey, by the way, what's in the package?" She responds glibly, "Uh...not too much. A satellite phone, a GPS locator, a fishing rod, and some seeds." A good belly laugh. 2. Another great ad that showed its face was the zebra referee. While watching a reply over and over, a zebra, apparently referreeing a game between two teams of horses, is admired from the sideline. One man sneers "This referee is a jackass." The other says calmly, "Actually, he's a zebra." Good stuff. 3. The office defense - Reebok hires a defensive lineman to be a "motivator." We see him tackling people and ransacking the office. Sheer brilliance. 4. The Matrix and The Hulk spots. Not worthy of discussion, except to say they...

"Ehhhh....sore-ry, Malary. Maybe tom-more-ow." This week's Spotlight on Canada focuses on Michael J. Fox, proud Canadian, American icon. Many of us can recall a simpler time where Alex P. Keaton's feelings about Nixon and money were entertainment and Malary's boyfriend Nick was the biggest problem of the week. These days we have to worry about Iraq and North Korea and fossil fuels and cancer. But in the 80s, Michael J. Fox was an entertainment mogule. Let's examine...Aside from Family Ties, a wholesome, witty, family oriented comedy where the right thing always won, Fox parlayed his success into a fantastic movie career that shouldn't be overlooked. Back to the Future is a trilogy on par, some might say, with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I certainly find it scientifically interesting. The character is sympathetic, and Fox does a great job of portraying the classic Marty McFly. Fox also starred in the brilliant The Secret To My Success, a seemingly wholesome film in which a farm boy scoots into the city and takes the NY business world by storm all while banging his aunt. And who could forget the 80's staple Teen Wolf, where Fox delivers the now historic line "Give me...a...

If everything is really computerized, and the whole world is going to be connected to the internet, why aren't there more computer jobs? I think of myself as having a pretty wide skillset, but in perousing jobs, I'm surprised that there are so few positions advertised and so few bites when you dangle the worm. I imagine that if the world is going to be like how they picture it during commercials and movies, we're going to have to get moving. That means someone is going to have to offer me a job making good money soon. Preferably in the Orlando area. So, employers and managers in the Orlando region, get to work. Find me a new job, please.

Last night, millions tuned in for the first installment of series 2 of reality show #768: American Idol. The first show, which is much more "America's Funniest Home Videos" than "America Idol," is a crack up. It features the brutally honest Simon Cowell, the sweetheart Paula Abdul, and the smooth Randy Jackson judging a number of tone-deaf idiots and a few decent singers along with the occasional exceptional voice. Despite illustrating that most people have no business even trying to sing, there is a single lesson to be learned: if you don't want to be judged, don't friggin try out! How many people need to call Simon an asshole? How many need to tell them they're wrong? If you have a shitty voice, why go to the AI try-outs in the first place? Is it because too many of your "friends" have encouraged your crappy crooning and led you to believe you could carry a tune? Because most of these people couldn't carry a tune if they had a backpack to put it in. I was most impressed by two individuals - one guy who clapped off the Sinatra classic "Fly Me to the Moon," did a fantastic job. Another...