The Replacements & the Stooges

Got word last week that two of my favorite defunct-musical-acts, the Stooges and the Replacements, are reforming in some capacity to record new material. I put off writing any rants on the subject until I could take some time to re-explore some of their respective work at home…

My admiration for the Stooges and the Replacements come from very different places… My admiration for the Stooges came in my late teens as I began to finely tune my ear and understand their importance in the timeline of music. The Stooges, with the exception of the Talking Heads, have been a musical act I've grown to appreciate more with age. The recorded moments I discovered at age 20 on the "Funhouse" record are a world apart from the ones I discovered at 25…

Listening to the collective work of the Stooges 30~35 years later is very strange for me… Perhaps it's because I lived in Detroit for 10 years and I stared out at a city that had so much of an impact on their sound, that I closed my eyes and transported myself to a place where their protopunk ways changed the course of music…

In contrast to that, the Replacements came at a time when the musical landscape needed music to be ar-ticulated in a different manner and voice. The Replacements were that. I'd be lying if I said I understood anything of depth that Westerberg wrote before I was in college, but I remember seeing the "Bastards of Young" video and knowing that there was something very different going on.

The Replacements also have something that I think really sets them apart from many musical acts… they recorded an amazing record on a minor label, only to follow it up by recording a very important record on a major label. Listening to "Let it Be" and "Tim" in succession should be prescribed to anyone who turns 25 in the world.

Hearing that the two bands are reuniting to record new material is leaving me feeling a bit cold inside…

I may be in the minority here but I really don't think either band could recapture or release something worthwhile… Can anyone think of one band that could possibly reform - 10, 20, 30 years in the case of the Stooges to release something of worth?

The news of the new material doesn't light me up with much hope or anticipation…

.rCr.

"Introducing… Wii. As in we"

Nintendo officially announced the name of their fifth home console this afternoon: Wii… I may be in the minority on this one, but I kinda dig "Wii" over the code name "Revolution". I don't particularly put too much stock into the final names of gaming consoles. Xbox and Playstation aren't any better…

At the end of the day its going to be about great game titles with tight controls.

I so hope the new controller doesn't suck…

.rCr.

Happy Birthday: ACE

Quick birthday shout out to my man Ace Frehley… Not only is he my favorite member of KISS but he also has a firm claim on my favorite guitar solo of all time. What solo you ask? The guitar solo for DETROIT ROCK CITY!

Happy 55th Ace

.resaca city rollie.

Sopranos: Halfway done

OK… so my initial guess on Vito's lifeline couldn't have been more off. My weekly Vito-Death-Watch entry has become a bit of joke… seeing how he's managed to live 2 episodes longer than I originally fore-casted. That said… this season of the Soprano's might be some of the finest moments in HBO Sunday night TV. There's been a few moments this year where I think they could have progressed the story line a little further, but I can't fault them for it because of the wonderful dialogue.

After week 6… um 7? I forget… Vito continues to live, but it looks like his head will roll in one (possi-bly) two episodes, pushing a war between the Jersey/New York families.


Odd plot lines that need to develop… The terrorists in the bar… Phil's rise to Boss in the New York Family… Tony's possible mental slip in the last episode where he didn't take credit for the hit on Rusty… and Vito's end.

First Impressions

Had a rather momentous trip over the weekend… Had my father accompany me to San Antonio to visit Kathie over the weekend. It was the first time I had ever had a family member meet a significant other in my adult-life. Happy to report that the visit went incredibly well. I'm fairly certain that he enjoyed himself while up in San Antonio… Having him take a closer glimpse on the life Kathie and I are building together is very important to me.

Prior to the visit… I found myself feeling incredibly nervous about them meeting. Not so much because I feared disapproval of any kind… I know how badly Kathie wanted everything to be perfect for his visit and I wanted everything to go perfect for her.

In retrospect… I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

What you don't say...

I've been spending a considerable amount of time at Newsvine the past couple of weeks following the "Iran-nuclear-threat" story, in hopes of understanding an inevitable trainwreck.

In short… Iran has begun a uranium enrichment program to generate electricity. There are a number of countries that aren't all that pleased with this development and they're currently seeking diplomatic avenues to stop Iran from continuing it's current nuclear program.

There are a number of articles one can find on the subject and I urge anyone with a spare moment to bone up on the topic in light of the President's (Bush) comment on a possible nuclear strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Let me repeat that. Bush was asked today if the Administration was planning for the possibility of a nu-clear strike against Iranian nuclear facilities… his answer "all options are on the table".

I'm not old enough to know what the Bay of Pigs was like… I'll ask my father about that this afternoon, but I take great discomfort in our President answering the above question with "all options are on the table". For our President to openly state that a nuclear-preemptive-action against any Iran sickens me to my stom-ach.

I understand why a President can't rule out possible pre-emptive force against a Country/Leader that has fanned the flames of hate against Israel… but he can't stand before the world and say what he did this afternoon.


Hug the ones you love.

.rCr.

Brain Age

Picked up a copy of Brain Age today after work... after reading an obscene amount of favorable reviews I had to see where I stacked up against people chatting up the game on the net.

I've begun with some of the first tests... for some reason, I can't get the game to recognize me saying the word "blue" on some tests... I ended up taking on a number of Math tests instead.

I did so badly (in regards to age) that I'm too embarrassed to post my current brain-age.



It has a number of daily tasks so that I can chart my brain activity in the coming months. It's a pretty cool title and recommend it to anyone into those IQ games. I've never committed any time to Sudoku puzzles until today... jury is still out on me liking it or not. The handwriting recognition on the DS is a 8 out of 10... so I got a few wrong while doing one that I shouldn't have.

I have shitty handwriting tho... so maybe it wasn't all the DS's fault.

King of Kings / Vito Death Watch

Spent Easter Sunday with the family yesterday... The day started out with an unwelcome-wake-up visit from my sister around 8:00AM in the morning. Got word that my parents wanted to grill up some eats so my sister and I broke for the grocery store to pick up some last minute items before assembling for lunch.

Easter for the most part came and went... highlight was a water balloon fight my family partook after eating lunch. I wish I had taken some pictures of the balloon collection before all hell broke loose in the backyard.

A few hours after my Sister left, I channel surfed a bit in hopes of catching the Ten Commandments on TV. Don't particularly care it too much... but there's something comforting about catching a little Ramses playing Egyptian chess on Sunday afternoon. Didn't matter tho'... I loafed around the house until the Soprano's started. I can't believe that this show is going to be drawing to a close.



Last night's episode wasn't particularly good... The biggest plot development was Vito's official outing. The episode felt out of place for some reason... It also felt like the plot development slowed down when they could have done everything they developed last night in 20 minutes. I think there's 5 or 6 episodes left before they break for the final episodes in January... so I can't help but be critical about every moment they squander on the screen.

The next episode seems a bit promising... but I really don't know how much longer they're going to drag out the Vito angle. Much to my surprise Tony want's to possibly let Vito live. There appears to be too much unacceptance to his lifestyle within the family for him not to get snuffed out so I doubt that he'll be welcomed back in any fashion...

Abigail

One of the coolest perks about being back in Texas and seeing Kathie more… is getting to spend quality time with our beautiful miniature schnauzer Abigail. Kathie has commented aloud that I sometimes spend a little too much time with Abbie. I guess I have a deeper appreciation for her since our pet dog in South Texas (Ivan) went missing.

Took this photo of Abigail minutes before I hopped in the car and headed back home on Sunday… It's one of the better ones Kathie and I have currently on record.



Keep a copy of it on my new iPod so that I can take a peek at her from time to time… coming home and not having a pet dog at home is a little strange… It's way too early to think about replacing Ivan. Both my parents are still very upset about his disappearance…. They've warmed up to the idea of me having a puppy at some point tho'.

mmm… puppy breath. There's no better smell in the world.

.rCr.

DS lite

Did the unthinkable a few months ago… I pre-ordered a Japanese DS lite before it was scheduled for it's late February launch. Demand for the device outstripped its capacity, so I didn't get my grubby hands on one until yesterday.



For the long wait… Lik-Sang bundled a $10.00 coupon I have to use before the 5th of May, a funny mouse pad and a neck loop with Space Invader characters on it.

Felt kinda strange to put in the pre-order back in February… I haven't had the itch to pre-order a game/system since Street Fighter II back in the early 90's.

My need for a DS is a bit silly… I received one over the holidays as a gift, but I didn't anticipate my Mom's addiction to Animal Crossing. I can't recall the last time I got play my original DS… getting the new DS lite so that my mom could rock out my old one is ok with me tho'. I haven't seen her this happy in her off-time in quite some time.



The DS lite is surprisingly smaller than the original DS… While it may not seem very small in these pictures, it feels way smaller in ones hands. The screen has been GREATLY improved. It's brighter than my PSP and the battery life has also gone up.



If all goes well, I'm going to swing by a local DS download station to check out Brain Age before I pick it up next week… I may or may not swing by after work… I feel incredibly tired for some reason this afternoon.

Anyhoo… I hope to post a follow up once I get some time to rock out some games I've picked up in recent weeks.

.rCr.

iPod 5th Gen

IPod 5th Gen:

This month has been a rather tech/gadget-friendly month for me… Katheryn went above and beyond in spoiling me this year with an iPod for our 2-year anniversary. The new iPod has been treating me nicely this week. I've transferred my present digital library to it… and because of the size of its hard drive, I've begun to fill it with extra Podcasts…

One of the new features on the 5th gen iPod that I'm totally taking advantage of, is the Video playback! I'm currently only subscribing to Video podcasts, but I may plunk down some money for Roxio's program Popcorn2, so that I can rip some select films for it.

Don't know if it's exactly worth the trouble tho'. While I don't mind checking out 4 minutes of video foot-age on it… 2 hours on it could be a bit much. If I can get it to video out to say a 7" screen in the car tho'…


.rCr.

Vito Death Watch: update

As I suspected... Vito on Sunday night was spotted in a sweaty S&M bar by a couple of soldiers on a collection run. Currently, Vito is sitting (possibly dead) in a hotel room armed with a pistol. Part of me thinks that Vito will go on a killing spree in hopes of keeping his secret quiet... another part of me thinks that he'll take his own life while he sits alone in his motel room.

Two Years

April 7th, is a very special day for Katheryn and I... it marks the day that we both exchanged "I love you's" making it the day to celebrate anniversaries. My 2 year relationship with Kathie is the longest adult relationship I've ever been a part of... I'm truly a better person today because of Kathie. Not only am I the happiest that I've ever been, but it feels very rewarding to give myself completely over to another person...

Just got word that the customary gift for a 2 year relationship is "cotton"... who came up with this stuff?

Kathie and I are doing something a little different this year... last year we agreed to get a joint pet (Abigail). Both her and I exchanged desirable anniversary options this year and I'm looking very forward to spoiling her this weekend.

If you read this today baby.

I love ya!

.rollie.

M E T S

Rushed home after work today to catch the Mets take on the Nationals on ESPN tonight... This is the first year (in 3) that I haven't purchased the "extra bases" package from MLB, so I didn't want to miss an opportunity to catch the Mets on national television. Making the game more special, was Pedro Martinez making his first start of the season. He didn't get to many throws during spring ball... so I didn't know what pedro we'd get to check out.

His performance tonight was everything I was hoping to see... he managed to get through the first inning without giving up to many runs. Through 6, Pedro left the mound with a 1 run lead, 4 (or 5) K's with 4 hit-batsmen... hitting one guy twice causing the benches to empty in the 5th.



Classic.

No Met season can truly kick off without Pedro throwing for the first time. The win is pretty much in hand as we go into the 9th with a 4 run lead... worse case scenario, he'll get a no decision.

I'm thinking the Mets are going to take the East and make a run for the title this year.

go METS!

.rCr.

snakes on a plane

Ran across something strange today while surfing the net... a tremendous amount of buzz is surrounding a movie slated for a Mid August release called Snakes on a Plane, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Reasons for the buzz is difficult for me to comprehend, but you can read all about it here from CBS Online... I dismissed all reasons to check this film out when I read the summary:

Snakes on a Plane stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent who is escorting an eye witness on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles when a crimelord sets in motion the release of hundreds of deadly snakes on the commercial airplane in order to eliminate the witness before he can testify against him. The FBI agent must protect his witness while banding together with the pilot, frightened crew and passengers in a desperate attempt to survive.


Again... the film is dismissable on all counts... yet the film appears to be a cultural joke of some kind. An event that I may have to take part of in some way...

.rCr.

I love you but I've chosen darkness

For Kathie's birthday last week, I ordered a copy of the wonderful debut album "Fear is on our side" by the Austin, Texas outfit I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness... as luck would have it, the album was back ordered through Insound and I didn't get confirmation of it's shipment until this afternoon.... I have little to report in regards to the musical merit of the album, not having listened to it in completion and all...

I wanted however to give it big ups for having one of the coolest album covers I've seen in a very long time.

... yummy.

Papi Chulo

The birthday celebrations continue to roll onward here in South Texas... Today, my family will be celebrating my Fathers 72nd birthday. While running errands last night, he mentioned to me that he'd like to get a steak dinner from his favorite restaurant. There's still a little debate amongst my mum and sister with what exactly we'll be getting my father for his birthday. Hopefully we'll have it all sorted it out before we sit down and dine with dad tonight.


Scrambled around the house during lunch yesterday in hopes of getting a good picture of "pops" for the website, but he stepped out to run an errand. Ran into my parents room quickly and took a snap shot of this fabulous color pencil portrait of my father. I know very little about the drawing... except that it's been up my entire life. I vaguely recall him saying that it was drawn when he was in his 40's. I'll prod and poke a bit this evening to get the back story on it.

- rollie -

Go Duke

Earlier this month, my favorite college basketball team the Duke Blue Devils... were bounced out of the Sweet 16 by the LSU Tigers. After a few days of sulking at home, I invested all of my basketball hopes into the Lady Blue Devil's season. They're squaring off against the Terps this evening for the National Championship. If all goes well, Gail Goestenkors (Duke's coach) will pick up her first title... The Lady Devils have won 14 of their last 15 over Maryland, so I'm looking for them to win big tonight.

Go Duke!

Opening Day : 2006

Tickled pink to see that my New York Mets started the 2006 by winning a 1-run-game at Shea Stadium today.... The Mets made some major moves over the winter to possibly secure division title for the first time in almost 15 years. I haven't purchased the MLB inDemand package like I have the past 2 seasons because of my very chaotic schedule. At the moment I'm looking for excuses to keep Tivo and Netflix... seeing that I have little time to catch up with the movies and shows I make it a point to record.


Anyhoo... I don't have any clue whom you root for, but good luck this year.

.rCr.

Birthday girrrl of April 3rd: Marcia

Want to extend some birthday wishes to my life-long friend Marcia G. this evening. Tried reaching her by phone this afternoon, but got a default voicemail inbox... In the event that she's reading this blog, I want you to know that both Katheryn and I are thinking about you and we want to wish you a wonderful Birthday.

We're 4 days away from celebrating our 2 year anniversary and we wouldn't be celebrating that if you didn't introduce us to each other.

hugz,
Rollie

Vito death watch...

We're a day removed from the airing of last nights Sopranos... little need for a recap. I think I'm going to make Monday's my official Vito-death-watch-update, day.

Vito's starting to look like he's going to live past my initial guess of 4 episodes. That's not to say that his chances got any better on Sunday. Tony was vocally upset with Vito after having to wait for him in the bathroom while staying at the hospital. Carmela (Tony's wife) also said that she didn't trust him and Paulie all that much.... with an emphasis on Vito.

All I need is for Paulie not to have a a freak-out on me before the end of the season.

100th Post / Clocks forward in Spring = Suck

Just realized that this is my 100th entry... Sadly, I have little to report this close to bed other than forwarding clocks sucks vicious wang. I can't for the life of me remember why we do it... I'm sure there's good reason for it, but it's certainly not good enough for me to remember.

For the next two weeks, I won't be able to wake up in the morning thinking how I lost an hour of sleep on the account of the earth and it's comic distance from the sun...

.endofrant.