More Music (Thursday) Barenaked Ladies

So the first artist or band in the B category is the Barenaked Ladies and I just do not care about them anymore at all. I have one album of theirs and I am honestly not sure why that one is still in my collection. There was a time in my life when I had 5 or 6 but now it is just the one Stunt. I even saw them in concert but I am just not a fan anymore. I do not care about their music. That isn't to say that they are not talented because they totally are but I am just not feeling it anymore.

Here is their biggest hit "One Week" the actual video is not embeddable so this is what you get.



This one is called "Alcohol"



That is all you are getting today. I will be back tomorrow with another band that is really popular and that I just do not really care for.

More Music (Wednesday) The Avett Brothers

Well we have reached the end of the bands whose name starts with the letter A in my collection and we are closing it out with another group of brothers but these guys are a little different then the previously highlighted Allman brothers.

This set of brothers are from the south as well from North Carolina to be exact but they play a different style of music. They are the brothers Avett, Scott and Seth Avett otherwise known as The Avett Brothers . Now I discovered them from their first major label release, which is out now, titled "I And Love And You" but after listening to that album I had to track the rest of the earlier discography. As anyone knows who has read this blog in the past can tell you I love bluegrass and that is what drew to me the Avett Brothers in the first place. But after listening to their other albums I realize that what they are doing is beyond simple blue grass. I hope you enjoy it and can use this as impetus to track down some more of their earlier offerings.

This first song is off of their first EP which came out in 2001 simply titled The Avett Brothers. This one is called "My Lady and the Mountain"



I think I am going to be doing some album hop scotching from here on out. This song is from A Carolina Jubilee and is called "Me And God". I am not going to get real preachy here or anything like that. But, this song ties in a fair amount with how I feel about God and Church and life.



This next one is from another EP called The Second Gleaming and I think in a lot of ways it is far better then their latest release. The songs just are so strong and I sometimes find myself just waking up in the morning with one of these humming along in my brain. This one is called "Murder in the City"



The truth is that I could post three songs off of this EP and the second one I am going to post is one that I have posted here before but I do not care. It is good and you should like it too. "Tear Down The House"



The third one is called "Black, Blue" and the pain that is evident in it is sometimes heartbreaking to me. But I think that with the pain as I listen to it comes some kind of cleansing as well. This is a live version and is in Germany and Seth is singing I believe.



I suppose I should post one from their latest album so here you go. "Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise". While more polished then the earlier stuff it is still pretty amazing.

More Music (Tuesday)

So after yesterday and our trip down thrash metal lane today the selection is something completely different. This is a band called Austra and their sound is just sonically glorious. It is at times goth like but also poppie and a little bit rock and roll as well. I have a hard time putting it into a category. One thing I heard that I liked was goth-tinged electronica.

They are a three person group from Toronto and their lead vocalist is a women named Katie Stelmanis and as you can see by the picture below she is lovely.

Their debut album is called "Feel it Break" and I am unable to recommend it highly enough.

"Lose It" is the first single and I know I have posted this video before but I just love the weirdness of it visually as well as the amazing sound.



This is called "Beat And The Pulse". I just want to get out of the way and have you listen to it. Just let it impact you.



This is "The Choke" and the video has nothing to do with the song. My apologies. But again just lean back and close your eyes and give this a listen.



That is it for today folks. I hope you enjoy it when I can bring you some brand new music. I know that I love it when I discover a new group that I enjoy and I hope that I bring some of you that same feeling.

More Music Monday

I knew that this day would come. The day that I hit a band on the tour of my collection that I was not really in the mood to listen to. Now it isn't that I dislike this band and I really do enjoy this album but I was just not in the mood for it at all. While they never got as big as Megadeath or Metallica they had there own fan base and some of their songs were inspired by some pretty different and cool things. This band is Anthrax. The band has put out 9 studio albums since they formed in 1981 and I have just one. It is called "Among The Living" and when I am in the mood for a little thrash metal it is one of my favorite albums. I think we will open with the title track which was inspired by the Stephen King book called "The Stand"

AMONG THE LIVING



There are 9 songs on this album and the whole thing clocks in at a quick 50 minutes. The amazing thing about most of the thrash metal bands of the late eighties what the sheer speed in which they played and Anthrax was faster then most. I will highlight that more later as we get further into my collection.

This next song is about one of my favorite comic book characters "Judge Dredd" forget about the Sylvester Stallone movie we just act like it never existed.

"I Am The Law"



This kind of metal was really a push back against some of the mid eighties metal. They were reacting against band like Poison, and Winger and White Lion and the era of the power ballad. It was pretty stripped down and raw and played as fast and as hard as possible. When you are in the mood to break something and stomp around and above all things "BANG YOUR HEAD" this is the music for you.

"One World" is an interesting song. While it is one of the best of the thrash metal songs it is also a call for non violence. Which I like but I also like the way that this song just roars.



Now I realize that this not music for everyone but such is the nature of my collection. It ranges all over the musical spectrum and I like to think that means I have pretty good taste in music. Or it could mean that I have no taste at all. I am not sure yet.

"KEEP ON ROCKIN"!!!

More Music Friday

Okay onward through the list. Today the artist in question is one of the great southern rock bands of the past. Now when I say that it probably brings two groups to mind either The Allman Brothers Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Well in this case it is the Allman brothers and a greatest hits compilation known as "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Allman Brothers Band". I actually feel kind of bad that I do not have more of their stuff but what I do have I really enjoy.

One of my favorites is "Whipping Post". It is another of those songs that has an unforgettable guitar line.



One of their if not their biggest hits was "Ramblin' Man". I like how this one just flows along. But I also get a kick out of songs that tell stories.



The other one that I have to go with is "Jessica". It is just a great song.



This kind of music has kind of faded in popularity at least as far as radio play goes. I imagine that there are some bands out there still flying the southern rock flag but I just can't imagine that any of them can hold a candle to the Allman Brothers.

I guess I will throw up a classic Skynyrd song but really I do prefer the Allman Brothers

Here you go with a little "Sweet Home Alabama"

More Music Thursday

I am sorry about missing yesterday folks. The Timbers had a game and I got home very late so I didn't get anything written down or set up for my blog. But, onward and upward. The next artist on the wild alphabetical ride through my musical catalog is

ADELE Now I realize I am a little remiss in that I only own her second album 21. I am intending to remedy that soon and pick up the rest of her discography which looks to be one full album 19 and 3 different EP's "Hometown Glory", "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder". If these are as good as 21 then I do not think I will be disappointed by them at all.

If you have not heard her, and I would be a little surprised at this point if you hadn't because she is popping up everywhere, please give her a listen. Here are three of my favorites off of her latest offering.

I really detest what VEVO has done to YouTube but this is her biggest hit and I just love the video and I love the drums in this song.



This is Adele doing "Turning Tables" live and it is amazing.



This last one is Adele covering "Lovesong" from the Cure. This is truly one of my favorite Cure songs and she really nails it.



I think as a little treat for my readers I am going to leave you with a video that I just found of Linkin Park covering "Rolling in the Deep". I am not a Linkin Park fan but wow. They did a great job.



And here are the Cure doing the original version of "Lovesong"

Music Monday (Collection Continued)

So as I mentioned on Wednesday, I am going to be working my way through my music collection alphabetically and who up next today. Well this may not come as much of a surprise to those who know me. But after Abba on my list is (drum roll please) AC/DC

The first time I heard AC/DC was in grade school. The school was having an airband competition and one of my friends said we should do AC/DC and I was hooked. In my music library I have 21 AC/DC albums, 214 songs and about 15 hours and 46 minutes of playing time all told. I will grant you that is a lot of time and space for what most would argue is not a very good band. But, there are times where they just work for me. I just am able to totally enjoy them and really isn't that what listening to music should be all about.

Now with a discography this large I can only really take a dip into it but I hope I give you some listening pleasure and perhaps get you to purchase a classic album or two.

Off of their first album in 1975 T.N.T. is the classic that gets played at hockey games all over the land. T.N.T.



Most fans, myself included, feel that early AC/DC with Bon Scott is a far better band then they are now. Not that people hate Brian Johnson but his voice is just not the same. But before we go on to AC/DC with him. I want to give you another from Bon Scott

LET THERE BE ROCK!!!



I would be remiss if I didn't put up one of the many of the bands hits that upset the churchies back in the 70's and that is from 1979 and that last album Bon Scott sang on "Highway to Hell". This song has one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time. If you are a fan of rock you will instantly recognize this riff. It is a rather appropriate song sine Bon died of alcohol poisoning soon after the release of this album.



I guess if I have to give one song to Brian Johnson it is this one and I realized that as I went through this list I just do not really care about the stuff after Back in Black. Sure there are some okay albums and the stuff off of Who Made Who is kind of fun. But my list stops here.



There you go folks. You have a good day and remember these words and live my them

KEEP ON ROCKIN!!!!

Friday

Happy Friday all, there is not much going on today. I haven't had much time to see any movies lately so that is my excuse for this not being a typical Film Friday post. But I did hear this awesome song from The Black Keys. Now to be honest it is a cover of a song by Richard Berry but their version just really rocks. I defy you to listen to it and not bob your head. You should totally check it out from 2004 it "Have Love Will Travel"

Thursday

There was a Timbers game last night. It turned into a late night. So I got nothing today. Take a moment and enjoy the bit of wisdom above. Now if you excuse me, I am off to slay some Goblins and perhaps an Orc or two.

Wednesday

So I kind of had an epiphany today as I was listening to The Decemberists third full album The Crane Wife. As I was listening to it at the coffee shop it struck me just how good this album was and I posted this on my Facebook wall.

"The Crane Wife is one of the best albums in the last 10 years. If you haven't heard it, you need to do so. To not is a personal failing. One which you will regret."

Now, I do not know if you would regret never hearing it. Because if you never heard it how would you know what you are missing. I do not regret missing Schindler's List. I have heard from lots of people how good it is. But, since I haven't seen it I really have no idea one way or the other. So I do not regret anything. I REGRET NOTHING!!!

That is not the point. The point is that The Crane Wife is an amazing album and I just want people to hear it. I think I realized that one of the things that I really enjoy in life is listening to music and writing about music and letting others know about musical discoveries that I have made. Now, I am not claiming that I am the be all and end all of cool and my opinion is all that matters when it comes to music. But there are types and styles of music and artists that I like better then others. So I decided that along with what I do on Music Mondays I am going to do a little bit more about music on Wednesdays as well. I like music too much to not do it.

So that being said, I am not sure if I am going to do any kind of a theme or anything like that. I may highlight an artist or a band or perhaps a year. It may be new or old, it may be obscure or really popular. I do know that it all be stuff that I enjoy and stuff that resides in my collection in one form or the other. There are times where I may highlight an album or perhaps the entire discography of a band. I do not know.

What I do know is that I intend to have a lot of fun doing this and hopefully the few of you who stop in now and then are going to have some fun as well. In fact I think what I am going to do right now at least is just begin to work my way alphabetically through my collection. I will do this Artist by Artist and the ones that have a lot of albums then I will try to highlight a song from each album. The others I am going to play it by ear.

So with out further foolishness the first album in my collection alphabetically is a compilation of songs from ABBA. It is called ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits. When possible I am going to link these titles to their Amazon page. I do not use iTunes so that is not going to be an option.

I like ABBA. There I said it. I just enjoy the harmonies and I like the pop music. I do not feel like they are trying to be anything more then they are. They were a pop music band and it worked for them. I think if you climb down of whatever particular musical pedestal that you prescribe to and give them a new lesson you just might be presently surprised. I know am now and then when I give old music a new listen. So lets see what I can find on YouTube.



What could I possibly say about "Take A Chance On Me"? Just sit back and let the music flow through you. It is a sweet song at the core. Just someone letting their friend that they will be there for them.



I would argue that in some small way if it wasn't for "Chiquitita" then there would not have been The Madonna song "La Isla Bonita" and if there had not been that. Then there may not have been the Lady Gaga song "Alejandro"



I implore you, ignore the clothes and the goofiness of the video and just listen to the music. "Waterloo" is a finely crafted pop song. The hook is excellent and the chorus carries so well. This is how pop music is supposed to be.

It occurs to me that if I follow this path some of you may learn far more about me based just on my taste in music. That is kind of scary but kind of fun as well. So please tell me your thoughts on my music. If you liked it or didn't that is fine but please tell me why you feel the way you do.

See you next week.

Televison Tuesday

It is Tuesday, actually it is Television Tuesday to put a label on it. But, I have not been watching a lit of television lately. It isn't to say that I have been really busy. Because I have not been. But since I do not have normal broadcast television I pick and choose and most of the shows I watch are on their breaks right now.

One show that I have decided to try to watch after hearing people talk about it (mostly girls) is "One Tree Hill". This show has been on the CW for 9 seasons. I know!! I had no idea and I had never seen an episode. So yesterday evening I decided to give the pilot a look. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I have only seen two episodes so far but I can see what it is that the young ladies like about it.

"YUMMY!!!! Am I right ladies?"

So anyway it is pretty obvious to me what is going on. But the show also seemed a bit deeper then just shirtless boys for the ladies. So we will see. I am going to give it a hopeful and optimistic thumb up. I will let you know if my thoughts change on it.

Music Monday (July 17, 2011)

I had a great morning yesterday. For a couple of reasons. It was raining when I woke up and I had some coffee and I had some sweet modern folk or Nu-Acoustic tunes on my playslist. I love waking up to rain. I love opening my window and hearing and smelling the rain and I love doing those while drinking some good coffee and listening to some sweet tunes. So today you get a little taste of how lance spent the morning yesterday.

I do not care if it July. I love a nice summer rain and I love living in Oregon. If you do not like living here, then kindly GTFO. You are not wanted anyway.

The morning got started with this little number by the Avett Brothers. I have really been enjoying these guys lately. The song is called "Tear Down The House".



I know lots of people feel like Bon Iver is, for want of a better word, SUICIDE music but I really like it. I think it is lovely and sets a unique tone. "Wisconsin" is a great song.



Pretty much everyone knows about Mumford & Sons by now. But the song "Timshel" is one that I just love. It goes so well with coffee and rain.



This is a band that I have just kind of stumbled on. They are Fleet Foxes I really enjoy the tone and I love that to me the vocals sound a little like XTC one of my favorite bands. This song is called "Anyone who's anyone".



As happens sometimes when you have your music on shuffle you might get songs from the same band and in this case I do not mind at all. This song is called "Icicle Tusk" and is again by Fleet Foxes.



Oooh I really love this guy, his name is Dallas Green and he plays under the name City and Colour. This is another band that was introduced to me by my friend Jenna and I am really glad she did. The song is called "Day Old Hate".



I seriously do not know what I can say that is even going to do justice to what Iron & Wine do. I love it so much. This song is called "Cinder and Smoke".



Aaaaaah some more Iron and Wine with "Love and Some Verses". So good. If you end up weeping from how lovely this is it is not my fault. I warned you.



This is another one by City and Colour and is called "...off by heart". It is another nice mellow one. It isn't my favorite of the playlist but it popped into the first ten so here it is.



This amazingly lovely and sad song is a cover of a Bonnie Rait song called "I Can't Make You Love Me". This is Bon Iver and his version is absolutely heart breaking. As one of the YouTube commentators said "Excuse me while I cry all over everything."



Well that is it for today folks. The first 10 songs on my Rainy Sunday Morning playlist. I just had a great, great Sunday. I hope that my Monday is just as good and I hoped that my music today helped some of you have a great day as well. As a little bonus for those of you who followed this all the way through here is an XTC song in case you were not aware of who they were. The song is called "Dear God"

Friday

I think Friday is a good day for some Bowie. I know that for some people David Bowies mix of crazy sexuality and music is just a little too much. But I really love his stuff and the level of talent that he possesses is just incredible as well as the talent of the different people that he has had in his bands over the years. Here are a few of my favorites of his.



Space Oddity is a song that just sticks with you. I love that it tells a story and that it is just so freaking strange. I love that Major Tom just bails out of the spaceship.



Oh you pretty things is just a great song. So good.

Man this movie. I can still watch it and say it is horrible but it just fascinates me.

Tuesday

It is Tuesday and I am starting to feel like I am kind of climbing out of the pit I was in last week. There are lots of reasons why I am feeling this way. There have been good conversations with friends. Some good one on one conversations with people that are special to me. As well as some good texting. I know the idea of texting doesn't work for everybody but it totally works for me. I find it a little less draining. The idea is that at least for me I like to be left alone during times like this to process and to figure out what I am feeling. One of the ways that this works for me is through music. So I am just going to follow that theme and put up some tunes today and have helped me begin this process. So thanks for indulging me. I know throwing up a bunch of YouTube videos is not the being a good blogger and some of you may just not have the time to watch these. But if you do I hope they bring you some happiness like they have me.

I know that I will probably never be over Grandma but I am starting to feel less sad and I know that is a good thing and I want to be able to celebrate her life and the amazing family that she was the matriarch of. I want to be able to remember and be happy about the good memories because and I am only able to speak for myself all the memories I have of Grandma are good ones.



Grandma did just that. Thanks Mom and Dad and my Aunts and Uncles for being part of my life and making my youth a happy and full one.



I would have liked to talk to her one last time. I will regret that...



This song always helps when I feel like no one understand me. I know that rationally that this is not true but at the same time this song just touches me.

That is it for today. I need to keep on swimming.

Music Monday (July 11, 2011)

Music that has all kinds of meaning to me and maybe it might to you. I do not care if it does or not. If you can figure out what the music means to me then you win the prize. Yay!











Live version of a song that I absolutely love.

Wednesday

One day down, another day has began. Just keep moving or if I take the advice from "Finding Nemo" I need to just keep swimming. The trouble is that today. Today, I don't really feel much like swimming. I feel staying in one place. I feel like being totally, completely, needy and sucking the emotions from my friends.

But I also feel like being completely alone. No phone calls, no visiting and not venturing out into the cruel eye of the sun today. It is bright and beautiful and blue out there and far to pretty for the gloom that want to vent. I know that she was 93 years old and that she had been getting weaker and weaker and I know all of the rational things that I need to be telling myself. But they are not working. I know some of you may not want to listen to Lance moan about this. But those of you who know me also know that this is how I vent and process so you are kind of stuck. You can read it or not. That is up to you.

What is up to me, is me trying to process what I am dealing with and doing it in such way that I am still a functioning member of society. I do not see any reason why that can't happen but it may take few days to get myself back on track so to speak.








It occurs to me that this blog and the music videos may cause people some concern. Rest assured that I am not feeling suicidal. I am just sad and sad for me takes some pretty dark turns because most of the time I am not a particularly sad person. So no worries and if you want to comment or text me. I always read them.

Grandma Linstrom

That is my Grandma Linstrom. She passed on Sunday night it may have been just after midnight on Sunday. I can't remember and and frankly things have been a little foggy the last few days for several reasons.

I remember going to her and Grandpas house in Portland. They lived in the St. Johns are and while it always felt a little rough to this shy boy from Salem. When I drive through now, the rare times that I do, it brings back so many good memories. Often the house would smell of fresh baked bread. I can remember some good times with the whole family all of the aunts and uncles and the kids just hanging out in the backyard and talking.

That is what my family would do. They would come together around Grandma it did not always need a reason for it to happen. It didn't have to be a major holiday and things were not contrived to force us to be together. They got together because they wanted to. Because they wanted to spend time with the amazing woman that had given birth to all of these kids and had raised this clan.

Grandma lived long enough to see all of her grandchildren grow up to be adults and a couple of great grandchildren get into highschool. As she got older when there would be get together sometimes she would just sit with me and hold my hand. Shew rarely would say she would just sit there and hold my hand and listen to the family around her. I still remember her thin almost papery skin as she got older and I always wondered what she was getting out of just sitting with me. But I know it never bothered me and I do not think I ever walked away from it wishing that it hadn't happened. It was part of my relationship with Grandma and I loved her for it.

I never ever felt anything but love and acceptance come from this woman. Despite all the years, despite the stupid things I might have done, or the bad choices I was making. She just always loved me. She loved all the kids.

I will always miss you Grandma. Thanks for caring for me. Thank you most of all for living a long, long life full of dignity and grace. I just hope when my time comes I go out as well as you.

I LOVE YOU GRANDMA ALZO!!

Music Monday (Thrice and Iron & Wine)

So over the course of the week I was introduced to a couple of new bands. They were new to me at least. One of these bands is named Thrice and my friend Jenna introduced me to them. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like them but after hearing the album "The Alchemy Index" which just really blew my mind.

The album is a basically a series of 4 EP where each EP represented an element of nature with the order of the elements being Fire, Water, Air, Earth. The final song of each disc is presented like a sonnet and tells the story of a man and his relationship with each of the elements. An interesting aspect is that each of the final songs is written in iambic pentameter and has a concluding rhyming couplet.




This song is from the Air EP called "Daedalus". It is hard for me to explain how the rest of the songs sound or the whole album actually but take a look around Youtube and give them a listen. They are pretty cool.

The other group or artist that I recently found myself enjoying is "Iron & Wine" which is basically Samuel Beam a singer-songwriter who uses Iron & Wine as his recording name. He does sometimes tour with a full band but often his stuff is just him. His music really ranges from acoustic to some electric and all points around it.



I could listen to "Boy with a coin for hours". Over and over again.



This song was in the film "Garden State". I love it as well.

There you go that is today's look at music I hope you have a good 4th.

Film Friday (Sucker Punch)

So I watched Sucker Punch this week thanks to the miracle of a little thing I like to call a bit torrent. SUCK ON THAT CORPORATE OVERLORDS!!!

Hipster Cat says only suckers pay box office prices for movies!!

Hey!! Back in your cage Hipster Cat your time will come!! So anyway, I watched Sucker Punch this week, the film directed by Zach Snyder who also directed "Dawn of the Dead", "300", "Watchman", Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, and is in pre production for "Man of Steel" which I think is a sequel to the Shaq film "Steel". Mr Snyder has also written "300" and wrote the screenplay / story for "Sucker Punch".

So where do I begin? Lets see if I can find you a synopsis for this film. Oh? Why thank you internet. Here we are courtesy of IMDB:

"A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility."

Well that seems pretty simple doesn't it? I mean that sounds like a nice little movie. It may not be a feel good movie but it sounds like it could be kind of cerebral and may be a little bit like "Girl, Interrupted" . Why don't we take a look at the "Sucker Punch" trailer.



aaaaaaah what in the world was that? It doesn't look at all like the synopsis and I think saw a dragon and some sort of robomech and a samurai. That just doesn't even make any sense. I bet that once I actually see the film things will make a lot more sense. It is hard to tell what is going on from just the trailer and I do not like to jump to conclusions about important issues like popular culture.

The short concise answer to the question of whether or not the actual full movie made more sense then the trailer is this...nooooope. Not at all. I am really unable to explain my feelings about this movie. The story is interesting. The visuals are well done. But the core of it is that a young woman is nearly raped and her younger sister is raped and in the aftermath of the incident the older sister ends up in an insane asylum for girls. While she is in the asylum she takes herself to some sort of fantasy 1930's kind of prison/whorehouse but that isn't enough for the director. When the lead character "baby" yes that is her name. When she dances men are hypnotized by her and then she goes into a second fantasy world. So then we have a fantasy within a fantasy. Which is really just silly and one of the many reasons why I thought "Inception" was just dumb.

But back to Sucker Punch. At the core the story is pretty harrowing one but this film, whatever the reason and my money is on the studio, was afraid to take us to that place. The movie is PG-13. There is no profanity, there is no nudity, and if there is any blood it is very little. Now, I grant you that not every movie needs to have these things to be a good movie. But this is a story that could have been much like "Requiem For A Dream" a harrowing film that actually hurts to watch but is so amazingly done that you have to respect it for its honest look at how horrible drug abuse is and how it can wreck your life.

Instead this film is more like "Requiem For a Dream" for the "Twilight" generation and that my friends does not make for a good movie. It is soft and weak and afraid to takes its audience to a dark place that may just slap them in the face and say WAKE THE F UP!!! Which is horrible, because that is what this movie desperately wants to do. It shows its card in the final dialogue of the movie.

"who honors those we love for the very life we live
who sends monsters to kill us and at the same time sings that we'll ever die
who teaches us what's real and how to laugh at lies
who decides why we live and what we'll die to defend
who chains us and who holds the key that can set us free
it's you
you have all the weapons you need
now fight"

Sadly what came before did not do this justice and as far as I am concerned that means that Sucker Punch was a miss. It missed high, wide and not very handsome. There was so much potential in it to be something great. Something amazing like "Fight Club" was and instead it became a film for fan boys and Japanese businessmen and that is a sad, sad thing.

Thoughtful Thursday

It is late Wednesday evening and I am trying to figure out what I should write for thoughtful Thursday. I am so far drawing a bit of a blank. I am toying with the idea of going to a writing site and finding a story prompt and just letting myself go. But I am not sure if I feel like doing some creative writing or if I want this to be something totally profound and deep. I would hate to think that I deprived the the world of my enlightened musings because I chose to write some fiction instead of spreading the truth.

The trouble is I do not feel particularly enlightened right now nor do I feel stirring the pot by getting a argument started about a political or philosophical or religious issue. So instead listen to some music from two bands that I have really been digging lately and those of you who do not like my music.

I HAVE TWO WORDS FOR YOU....SUCK IT!!!!

LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!



The ladies can flat play. The song makes we want two things. 1: To be in a band. 2: To be a lady so I could be The Black Belles.



Jack White is a genius. A mad scientist of music. I await with anticipation what will come next.



And finally Muse live at Wembley Stadium with Knights of Cydonia. They are just working for me right now. Taking arena rock to a whole nother level!!!

Dr Kat Wednesday

Dr Kat is back!! You can not stop Dr Kat!! You can not handle the wisdom that Dr Kat brings to the table!! The academy tried to stop Dr Kat...fail...EPIC FAIL!! The university tried to stop Dr Kat...fail...EPIC FAIL!!! Your Mom tried to stop Dr Kat...she fail...EPIC FAIL!! BAM!! You see what Dr Kat do there? Dr Kat on fire, Dr Kat will not be stopped!! Dr Kat live for ever!!!

Now ask your questions but remember there is no guarantee the you will like what Dr Kat tell you. Just know Dr Kat will fix you.

Television Tuesday (Friday Night Lights)

So, after hearing repeatedly from people that I should be watching "Friday Night Lights" I decided I would give it a try this weekend. So far I am almost three quarters of the through the first season and I have to say that I am really torn.

On a really basic level I am enjoying the show. But...there are so many aspects of it that bother me. The show is loosely based on the book of the same name written by H. G. Bissinger, the book followed the football team from the town of Odessa in West Texas. This was really an amazing book. One of the things that I liked about it was that it really showed the truth of high school football in America. It also showed how high school football in Texas is a different beast entirely. The book was quite successful.

After the book came out and was a success the inevitable happened and movie was made. The movie starred Billy Bob Thornton and was directed by Peter Berg.



It was an enjoyable movie. It followed the book well and was respectful of the material. That a film adaptation of a book do both of these things is a very important thing to me. The budget for the film was about $30 Million and the movie grossed worldwide $61,255,921. So under anyone's criteria the movie was a success as well.

What happened next, is not always a successful thing in Hollywood. The man who had directed the film decided that he wanted to make a television show of the same material. The show was set in a fictional Texas town and followed the Dillon Panthers and primarily the team coach and his family. The show lasted five seasons and was never a real commercial success but it did achieve a lot of critical success and now that it is out on DVD and available on Netflix I believe that a lot more people are seeing the show. Which puts us where we are today. I am in the midst of watching the show. I never watched when it was on NBC and my initial response to it was "why in the world, would I want to see a television show that was based on both a book and a movie?"

So now I am watching it and it actually pains me to say I am enjoying it. I played football from 4th grade until the beginning of 10th grade. When I in a fit of self righteousness I walked off of the team after a particularly frustrating practice session in which I felt that the head coach had singled me out for an extra helping of verbal abuse. I have few actual regrets in life and quitting football is one of them. So I am coming into this television show from a position of real love for football. Now, this love ebbs and flows and right now is primarily directed at the Pittsburgh Steelers and not much else. In fact the state of the NFL right now just disgusts me and I am not at all interested in college football at all.

I realize that this is kind of a long and scattered review but it kind of highlights my mixed up feelings about the show. There are times where it really makes me smile and laugh. Where it really rings true about the emotions and feelings that can surround the sport. There are also times that the show makes me cry. It is so touching and I hate myself when the show does it to me. But I keep watching. I am going to watch the whole series and I think I am really going to enjoy it. I hope the show continues its level of quality as things continue.

So give it a try. I think that you will enjoy it.

Music Monday (New Music)

Today Music Monday is going to be all about new music. Well music that is new to me at least. So to start things off I recently had friend named Jenna introduce me to Bon Iver and I really enjoy it. So here is a song off the first album "Skinny Love"



I think partly why I like it is because of the focused pain in his voice. I am sucker for that kind of music and sound. The chorus of the song just kills me.

Another band that I just heard on the radio this weekend is Noah And The Whale and the song L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.



As I listen to that again...I think they may have stolen that tune from Tom Petty. I could be wrong but it really feels like it to me. The chorus mainly.

Finally a couple of songs from The Wombats because these guys are blowing my mind right now. Just blowing it away.



I love a band if they name drop Ian Curtis and Joy Division in a song.



Also this music is totally approved by the Nijal the RAVE FERRET

NIJAL "Hey everybody, shut up and dance!!!"

Film Friday

I did not see any movies this week. I was otherwise occupied. I apologize for this.

So instead I give you this article from 2009 about the film SLC PUNKS.

I just watched SLC Punk I had forgotten what an interesting movie that it is. If you like punk music the soundtrack alone is worth listening to. But that really is not the most interesting aspect of the movie. It is really an existential exploration of what the punk movement meant to people in the 1980's. Or more accurately what punk meant to one man.

I would put it into the same category as Fight Club because it really is asking what a person is supposed to do as they move from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. It is really a question of how do you stay authentic within a scene like that when to be authentic is to not move forward in life. As the characters in the film grow older they begin to split apart and cracks start to form in their friendships as the real world starts to intrude on the adolescent existence.

A girl in the movie finally asks the main character why he is trying so hard to look a certain way. She says wouldn't it be more rebellious to just leave your hair alone and not spend all your time trying to find punky clothes to wear. She had realized that the whole scene was dying and had become basically one big Halloween party where everyone was beginning to look exactly the same. That is the problem with any group movement when people have to start wearing a uniform to be what they think is an individual.

That is the sad nature of the punk scene today. I see these kids roaming around the town looking exactly like the punks did when I was in highschool. Nothing has changed. The world hasn't been destroyed. The system of capitalism hasn't fallen apart. Corporate Amerika hasn't eaten itself (though it might in the future) . There is no scene, nothing is original anymore it is only a variant on what has gone before. It isn't about selling out or even buying in.

It is just about doing what you want to do and not being worried about whatever particular scene you want to fit into.

GOOD DAY!!

Thoughtful Thursday

Dog in chain mail. Have a good day.

Wednesday (The Frying Scotsman)

Dr Kat is taking a much needed rest this week after his last little outburst. The management of this blog hope no one was offended by his display and that readers will be glad to welcome Dr Kat back with open arms. Now on to our irregularly scheduled programing.


So I went up to Portland today with my usual Timbers friends for a Timbers season ticket holder event. It was a really good day. Not only was the weather spectacular and people who live in the NW and moan and cry about the rain need to STFU. If you do not like it then move. Because I myself will gladly put up with lots and lots of rain for the amazingly sunny days that we do have. I love it up here and I am unable to imagine myself living anyplace else.

Back to topic. Before we even went to the stadium for the event we went to a little food cart on 9th and Alder called The Frying Scotsman and let me tell you it was easily. THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! I am not using hyperbole when I say this. Please, please do yourselves a favor and check this place out. You will not regret this at all.

Television Tuesday

Well I had some time this last week and thanks the nice folks at Netflix and the amazing technologies that are available to us in this amazing world we live in I was able to stream the television show Parks and Recreation while I was doing job searches and other things related to that.

When the show first came on the air I admit to being a little skeptical. It was billed as basically I felt just another knockoff of "The Office". It was filmed in documentary style and characters are aware of the camera and break the fourth wall every once in awhile. But it has grown beyond that. Granted there were some rough spots in that first season. No show hits the ground running and never makes a mistake but one of the few things that NBC does well is to give a show a chance to develop itself and to get a fan base.

The characters on the show have grown with the show and as the show moves into its fourth season I am really expecting it to shine. I realize that the show may not be something that everyone enjoys but I just really get a kick out of it. One of the characters on the show is a gentleman by the name of Ron Swanson is fast becoming one of my favorite characters in television. He is a Libertarian who works in city government. At one point during the first season he says this about government:

Ron: My idea of a perfect government is one guy who sits in a small room at a desk, and the only thing he's allowed to decide is who to nuke. The man is chosen based on some kind of IQ test, and maybe also a physical tournament, like a decathlon. And women are brought to him, maybe...when he desires them.

Watch the show, it is awesome.

Music Monday: Rock Operas

I love music. I love music far more then most of my friends realize though there are some who do know how much I love to listen to music and the way in which good music affects me. One of the types of music I love is that of a concept album or in some cases a rock opera. Now I realize that there are some people who would contend that the whole idea of a rock opera is just silly and that most if not all rock operas are shite. I disagree and I am here to shed some light on the rock operas or concept albums that are my favorites of the genre.



One of my favorite all time albums is from 1972 and David Bowies "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". This is an album that has no weak songs on it. I think every song could have been a top single. True David Bowie is a freak but he was an incredibly talented freak and when people get all worked up about Lady Gaga I just think take a look at Ziggy Stardust and you will see and hear something truly amazing. This album is in my top 10 of all time albums regardless of genre.



OMG!!!! I love this band The Decembrists and this album "The Hazards of Love" so much. I can't say enough about how amazing this concept album is.
How could you ever pass up such an amazing story and an album that is filled with mind blowing music. If you need to hear the whole thing please let me know and I will do what I can to get you a copy.



I could go on and on about both The Who and "Quadrophenia" the album that basically blew the mind of a young high school lad. This album and film probably affected me more then anything in my life until "Fight Club" came along. This is another album that is in my top 10 regardless of genre. I do not believe that there is a weak song on this one either. I also feel that this album in it's entirety is far better album then The Who's Tommy.



Willie Nelson and The Red Headed Stranger pretty much speak for themselves. This is an album that is perfect for grabbing a pipeful of longbottom leaf leaning back and closing your eyes and giving this a listen.

And finally, for my buddy Shane I need to give him the genius that is Genesis and a track from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. I know Shane is a big, big fan of Genesis.




Well there you have it folks. Those are some of what I feel are the best Rock Operas or concept albums ever. I am sure there are others out there but these are the ones that I enjoy. (I purposely left out Pink Floyd and The Wall)

Wait! Wait! Wait! I couldn't just leave without giving you a taste of The Avett Brothers (pronounce it how you want) and their concept album "Mignonette" about some English Sailors and how they eat a shipmate.

Film Friday

Today is Film Friday and as most of you know. I do not like remakes. But since I woke up a little early I was stumbling around my Netflix account and I noticed the remake of "Bad News Bears". On most other days this would have made my hackles rise but for some reason. The idea intrigued me. I love the original but what made this stand out for me was that the remake was made by Richard Linklater, who also directed "Dazed and Confused" and "School of Rock", two of the films that I most enjoy and enjoy rewatching. So I thought I would give this one a shot.

Just for comparisons sake and for those of you that haven't seen either of these here are the trailers for both the original and the remake.



Okay I am just going to post the trailer for the remake as I am unable to find the original trailer anywhere. I am a little sad that the internet failed me. I had just assumed that the original trailer would be on YouTube. I mean, everything else seems to be. What is even stranger to me is that the original seems to be available on YouTube in 10 different parts. So I just do not get it.

But back to the matter at hand. I am not sure if it is nostalgia speaking or what. But, I really enjoyed it. It wasn't great there was something about it. The way that the director used music and film effects along with Billy Bob Thorton as Buttermaker made me laugh and smile quite a bit. I realize that what I am doing is not giving you guys a sterling review or anything like that. But I think that is the nature of Netflix. I pay so little each month for basically an unlimited amount of movies that my standards have dropped a bit. I do not think that is a bad thing and when I do see a movie in a theater I do expect a little more. As one of my friends reminded me a couple of weeks ago I have started reviewing movies based more on the amount I paid to watch it as opposed to the quality inherent in the film making.

I think I enjoy this better then how I used to be when I would sniff and look down my nose at whatever film I was watching. Or God forbid what mainstream popular culture is watching. Maybe I am just getting old.

Thoughtful Thursday

Well here we are another week gone by and we are back to thoughtful Thursday. I woke up in my bad this morning facing the totally opposite direction I was facing when I laid down. That is to say when I got into be my head was facing the door and my feet were facing the window. When I awoke my feet were facing the door and my head was facing the window and I moved some of my pillows to put myself in that position. I do not know what was going on last night. I do not recall any crazy dreams. But I can not think of a time in the past where I have done such a thing. It was odd to say the least.

That has basically been the highlight of my week as far as excitement goes. My friend C has a brother named S and S has been in town and he wanted to go get Whiffie Pies for lunch yesterday and that was pretty awesome. He also contended that the idea of a Rock Opera is a crappy idea and they are all bad. So I am going to address that later. I will most likely devote a post explaining just how wrong he is. The dogs of war have been unleashed!!



YES!! Who can not listen to the mighty epicness that "Manowar" puts out and not be fired up. "BRING ME MY MEAD!!! Tis past time for me to slay the dragon" *makes devil horns with hand and bangs head*

Oh also as seems to be the norm I received none of the jobs that I have applied for. As usual I did not get even an interview. wheee!! I am awesome.

Dr Kat Wednesday

"So last week one of Dr Kat's readers asked "why do men have nipples?" Dr Kat does not know nor does Dr Kat care why men have nipples. That question sounds like the kind of question a pervert would ask. If you are a pervert you are more then welcome to visit Dr Ferret. But, Dr Ferret has not been in the office since that trip to Las Vegas. Though he does keep checking his voice messages. Not, that Dr Kat cares. If you ask Dr Kat there is no point in even saving any office space for Dr Ferret. It isn't like Dr Ferret ever does any actual work when he is in office."

"Ummmm, perhaps he is in trouble and needs our assistance, Dr Kat!!"

"Shut up Lionel!! Dr Kat not pay you for advice!! Dr Kat let you be intern so you can bring Dr Kat coffee!! Dr Kat not even particularly like you."


"Now leave Dr Kat alone. Dr Kat need to think."

Television Tuesday (Mutual of Omaha)

I overslept this morning so Television Tuesday is on a one day hiatus. So watch this nature video instead. "Honey Badge does what he wants." There is some profanity. You have been warned.

Music Monday June 13

It is Music Monday and I really enjoyed last weeks excursion down the blue grass highway. I hope that people are enjoying the musical themes each week as opposed to the countdowns that I was doing before. I imagine that I will return to the countdowns at some point and just kind of flip back and forth between the two. I think that this week we are going to be checking out some bands and some songs from the fifties. I know a lot of people consider that era the beginning of rock and roll. So lets get it started with a little something like this.



This was originally a Little Richard song and was covered by Buddy Holly in 1957. It is pretty typical of this era of music. Often what was popular on the charts were white artists singing covers of songs done by black artists. It was a hard time for black artists to get radio play.



"The Girl Can't Help It" is a classic Little Richard song. It was also the title song of the Jayne Mansfield movie of the same name in 1956. Here is the trailer.



Boy that looked like a quality film and so subtle. They just don't make them like that anymore. I noticed Gene Vincent in the trailer. Let's give him a little listen.



Gene Vincent is pretty much the father of rockabilly. I really love his sound.



ummmm Bop!! The Big Bopper and Chantilly Lace. This is a classic little number but seems a little creepy to me. That might just be my modern messed up sensibilities.

Lest you think that all of the music in the fifties was rock and roll. It seems that Frank Sinatra was also popular as well. He had an album called "Songs for Young Lovers" that peaked at number 3 on the US charts in 1954.



"My Funny Valentine" has been covered by lots of different artists. But his version is probably still the best one out there.

Another artist popular during this time was Doris Day with her most successful being "Que Sera Sera" in 1956



That really is a nice melodic song. But lets wrap up Music Monday with something that was a little more rocking. I am also glad to say that I made it through this without playing any Elvis. While he has his place. I think he is overplayed.



Nothing like a little Lord Rockingham's XI to get your toes a tapping. You got to love the quirky stuff that came out of Britain in the fifties.

There you go. I hope everyone has a good Monday.

Film Friday

It is Friday once again. Time to talk about film in one way or another. I know I have mentioned this before but I am going to do it again. If you live in Salem, then you can not go wrong by attending a movie at Cinebarre on Tuesday nights. The movies are always first run and they are always $5 on Tuesdays. There is no better deal in town. You do not even have to eat. The food they have is good though.

I went to see Bridesmaids on Tuesday and while at first glance you might think that this film is a chick flick. But it is far more then that. The advertising is a little off for this film that is for sure. Because judging from the trailers it is being marketed as a chick flick but that is not the case. It is a pretty intelligent movie.

It is not a perfect movie. There are not any perfect movies. Well, other then "Fight Club". That is a perfect movie. Bridesmaids totally deserves it's R rating that is for sure. It is not a kids movie. But in the words of Zach Galifianakis when little kids come up and tell him that they loved The Hangover I and II "You have bad parents."

This is not a movie for kids. I think that any adult male or female who has been involved in a wedding is going to enjoy this movie. It really seems to highlight the amount of crazy that can go on as the wedding date gets closer and closer. I would love to hear from some women though who have seen this film. It feels pretty true to life to me but I wonder if that is actually the case.

So give yourself a treat and go to the movies next Tuesday night. Just pick a show and go. But you might want to go a little early because they get kind of busy.

Thursday

Not a bad Thursday morning. The sun is out and I am listening to my piano mix on my music player. I have it filled with Elton John, Billy Joel and Ben Folds and sometimes Ben Folds and his Five. What I like to call the Holy Trinity of the Piano. I would totally go see that concert.

I had a tasty breakfast but I was missing bacon. I love bacon but I never think to actually buy it when I am at the store. So I am usually in a state of constant bacon missing. The only time I get it is when I go out to breakfast and that has not been very often lately. That will probably be the first thing I do when I get a job. I will treat myself to a nice big breakfast with bacon.

Speaking of getting a job. I have an application in with the State of Oregon for a Social Media Coordinator 1 position. The job listing asked questions about my knowledge of Dreamweaver, blogging, Twitter and Facebook. These are all things that I am familiar with. I have taken a few web design classes and Dreamweaver is a primary tool for that. As for the others I blog and use Facebook everyday and I read Twitter but I do not tweet much. So fingers crossed. This is the first time in a long time that I have seen a job posting that my qualifications actually matched up with.

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with two very, very, smart ladies that I know about art vs cheesecake or (when does female empowerment just become so much more titillation?) I hope to write more on that at a later date because there responses were very interesting to me and I felt like it was a little eye opening for me. One of my questions that I didn't get to ask was does it matter if the website of the photographer is run by a women? Are women exempt from objectifying other women or should everyone be held to the same standard does that even matter and if someone wants to shake their tail feather all over the internets should we even care?

That is about it for today. Just some random thoughts ping-ponging around inside the old bean.

Dr Kat Day

Well, well, well. I see it is Wednesday and you all have decided to return for another dose of Dr Katz's wisdom. Dr Kat does not mind. That is why he was put on this earth after all. Without Dr Kat then the world would be a much simpler place. As it is Dr Kat is well aware that he is fighting a losing battle but he does not mind. Dr Kat just hopes that some of you will actually listen to the drops of wisdom that he is dropping like wine on your parched intellect. Like wine!!

What is that? Oh, a butterfly!! Dr Kat is bored. By now. Make an appointment with my assistant.

Television Tuesday

I was going to beat a dead horse this morning and rant and rave for a while about television and television shows in general and how the ratings model was old and out of date and that modern television needed to recognize the importance of cable and internet as well as DVD sales when it comes time to decide if a show is considered a success or not. Though success may not be the right word the correct word might be profitable or not because that seems to be what it really comes down to.

But then I decided that I just was not going to drag all of that old stuff back out. I have said that kind of thing before and I really do not care to rehash it.

So have a good day folks and enjoy the misty weather.

Music Monday (Bluegrass)

I pretty much like all kinds of music. I am able to find something that I enjoy out of most styles and one of the styles that I get a real kick out of listening to is Bluegrass. Most people consider Bluegrass to be a sub-genre of country music and I suppose if you have to categorize it that is as good of a category as any. I was first introduced to this kind if music in the film "O Brother. Where Art Thou?". This is a great film and the music is great as well. (That is a story for a Friday.) Also there have popped up some Bluegrass style covers of some popular songs so I thought I would highlight some of those today as well as some traditional Bluegrass. I hope you have a good Music Monday.

Lets get things started with some traditional Bluegrass.



A lot of the early Bluegrass songs are very spiritual in nature. I find that very interesting as well. Because I would much prefer listening to this older style of "christian" music then today's contemporary Christian music.



The Johnson Mountain Boys telling you to get down on your knees and pray. Lest you think that the songs are all religious here is a song about that good ole mountain dew. It may not have the same taste as the "Mt Dew" that I had as a child.




Let us move this journey into the realm of some more progressive bluegrass. Progressive bluegrass expands the sonic palette of bluegrass either by adding elements of jazz, folk, country, and rock, or by amplifying the instruments. Much to the chagrin of many of the traditionalists. But I really enjoy some of it.



I like Alison Krauss and her version of "Every Time You Say Goodbye"



"Keep on the Sunny Side" was in "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". It is truly one of my favorite songs. I just really enjoy it. I do not think of it a really any more progressive then anything else. This next one is for sure a little more progressive. It might be almost too progressive for me.



It seems that even the progressive Bluegrass artists like to throw out some gospel tunes as well.



I do not know how you could not tap your toe to this kind of music. I am dancing in my chair right now. Well as it is this is going to take awhile for some people to load so lets wrap this up with some Bluegrass covers that I find amusing.



This is the best of both worlds for me. Back when Gun N' Roses was the best band in the world and Bluegrassin it up. I really need some of that good ol' mt dew to drink along with this.



Who doesn't like kissing a girl. Happy Monday everybody.

Film Friday

So I went to see "The Hangover II" this week. Now for me it was not really a choice. I love Zach Galifianakis and I really enjoyed the first film. That being said I am not sure that I will be on board for the third. But I am not here to talk about the problems with sequels. I have rattled on about that before.

I wanted to talk about the music in the movie. I am always amazed when I see a film and the music that they chose for it is so effective. I do not know if I am just more affected by it then others but most of the time I just love a good music montage. I know most people feel like it is lazy directing to use one but there are times that it can work so effectively and often with songs that you wouldn't think would even work in the movie that they are being used in. I am also a big fan of music parody as well. That is if they are done intelligently with some cleverness. But in films when the music is correctly tied with the scene it can be breathtaking and tear jerking. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order of preference.



I love when this cuts into the slow motion. One of the few films that I actually like Gwenneth Paltrow in.



This just makes me hurt. I really think Wes Anderson is a genius when it comes to his use of music in film. "The Royal Tenenbaums is amazing because of that.



Back before Jack Black became a caricature of himself. I love "High Fidelity"



The visuals are just amazing in this one. The movie goes on a little long but there are some amazing scenes in it.



Amazing, amazing scene. Not much I can say about how effective this is.



So many great scenes set to music in "Almost Famous". I think this maybe Camron Crowes best film.



This scene makes me want to love Kate Hudson. It just works.

There are many, many scenes that I could have shown you. I may have to do this again. You guys have a good weekend and see a movie.

Thoughtful Thursday

Trying to get the cobwebs out of my brain and get woken up this morning. It appears that the sun is out this morning and that always makes for a nice start to the day. I have the window open and I can hear the birds chirping. I am waiting for my special hummingbird to make his or her appearance. How can you tell the difference between a male or female hummingbird?

I do not know. I looked but was unable to find the answer. Oh, I am sure it is out there. I am just to lazy to look for it right now.

I really enjoyed the feedback I received about last Thursdays thoughts I had about President Obama and the nature of politics in general. It really highlighted for me how different we all are when it comes to what we think is the best way to run the country. The more I think about it the more it really feels like a thankless job to me. I suppose it is possible that if something miraculous were to happen and the job rates were to soar to 100% and the deficit would be completely wiped out that a president could have an approval rating of 100%. But I am sure that despite all of that there would be people who would be unhappy and it wouldn't matter to them that everyone was working or that the USA was not in debt to China anymore. They would just find some other, vastly important, reason to be upset.

I think Carl said it best in the comments when he said that "...but I live and participate in an imperfect system." I think that is really key and something I need to remember. The system is never going to be perfect. There is no perfect system. There never will be. The best we can hope for is a system that seems to function most of the time. When I look around the world at other countries and their governments I see very few that I would like to emulate.

To be completely honest since I lean toward the Socialist, and I know that is enough to make a lot of your heads explode, I like how things are done in Sweden. Things just seem to work there. I am sure that there are a myriad of reasons why they are wrong and why that model of government would not work here in America. But, that is not my point. My point is that I like what they do there. There are people who like what we do in America and I am sure there are people who actually like living in Cuba or even Haiti for that matter or the old style Soviet Union or the new style Russia. Though for the life of me I am not sure why anyone would have liked living in the Soviet Union. I can understand being stuck there. But the way that people were treated who lived there it must have just been miserable.


I sidetracked myself. What I am trying to say is that one of the neat things about America is that we are able to freely debate these kind of things and do not have to worry about these thoughts being censored or being put on some kind of list for having a conversation and that is a pretty cool thing. So lets agree to disagree and ROCK IT OUT FOR THE USA!!!! USA, USA, USA!!!!!

Dr Kat

Well, it looks like Lance has finally settled down for the night. I had the hardest time getting him to take his medicine. He doesn't seem to believe in the science that I Dr Kat represents. He keeps saying that psychiatry is so much twaddle and only followed by ninnies. Those are my words not his I am sure you all realize that he just does not have the vocabulary to speak with any kind of intelligence on this subject. Oh he likes to pretend that he does but we all know that when uses these fancy words he is spending most of his time looking them up in the dictionary. It is a wonder that his blog is not written in finger paints.

I really appreciate you people reading his blog it makes Lance think that he is having some kind of impact in the world. But, lets face it we are dealing with an obviously deeply disturbed individual with a tenuous grasp on reality at best. But I really do not want to limit my wisdom and insights to just Lance. It is obvious to me from my conversations with him that most of his friends need almost as much help as he does. I do not know what the problem is with you people but you really need to get yourselves together.

But, never fear Dr Kat is here to fix all of you. All I need you to do is lie back on my couch and tell me what is bothering you. I have some inkblots you could look at and then perhaps we could do a little free association. You all seem to think that the world revolves around you so I am sure just having someone who at least feigns interest while you prattle on is going to make you think that your problems are all solved.

Oh...uhuh...I see....How does that make you feel? Well that is all Dr Kat has time for for today. Oh I know. Yes it was probably very life changing. I will see you next week for some hypno-therapy. It is best if you wear some loose comfortable clothing.

It is also best if you do not question the methods of Dr Kat.

Any ladies that would like to schedule an appointment for sometime on Dr Kat's therapy couch feel free to email Dr Kat at drkat.therapist@gmail.com