Bandit ...

R.I.P.

2003-2011 

We'll miss you goofball ....

 

03_Chasing_Cars.m4a Listen on Posterous

 

it's amazing how such a small soul can leave such a big hole ...

You know, you're a real UP person ...

Another Retro Staurday - 

One of the most seminal albums for me, and for a lot of kids growing up in the 80's , was New Order's Substance. This was one album that was a must in your collection if you wanted to be "hip" or "cool" .... 

I can remember the cute sales guy Jimmy at Peaches telling me why I had to own this .....  you remember Peaches ??  

I even had a couple of thier record crates  - 

Well - New Order was another big step in my musical upbringing, True Faith , Blue Monday & this song : 

 

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle by aquanote

 

... another one one bites the dust

... another one one bites the dust

I'd Like to Teach ...

With over 15k+ of songs on my old gigantic gen 2 iPod it's easy for me to forget what songs I actually have in my music library  sometimes. Yesterday was one of those days.

I put the iPod on shuffle to see what the universe wanted me to listen to and set out for work. Driving up 6th Ave. a song came on that literally made me pull over and stop the car. It wasn't a classic rock song or 80's synth band that got this viseral reaction out of me, but a one-hit wonder by a group from the late 60's called The Hillside Singers that made me stare at my radio flabergasted trying to remember when I'd actually acquired the album.

Now I realize that most of you won't recognize the group, but I can pretty much guarantee that everyone has heard this song before -

02_I'd_Like_to_Teach_the_World_to_Sing_(In_Perfect_Harmony).m4a Listen on Posterous

cheesy??  yes.  fluff??  definately.  incredibly catchy??  for sure - a product of it's time and generation ...

oh and the commercial ..... 

 

Long Hot Summer ...

Retro Saturday - 

The Style Council. My favorite band from the '80s. 

 

... breathe deep, the gathering gloom ...

Robb's One-Word-Movie-Review

eeeeewwwwwwwwwwww !!!!!!!!

Ska ...

Retro Saturday - 

I got my love of Ska from being introduced to The Specials in late junior high. The reggae/r&b mash up really made an impression on my developing musical tastes. From The Specials I would go on to Madness , The English Beat, Selector and UB40. Then to Then Maytals , Justin Hinds & the Dominoes and then into reggae with Jimmy Cliff , etc. 

and this is the song that started it all :

 

it's Friday and I'm ...

cleaning , again ....

I guess I can blame my parents for this. Growing up, every Saturday was cleaning day. Mom took the kitchen and bathrooms, Dad took the vacuum, duster and directed us kids on what else needed done.  Pretty much everything was put on hold for about 3 hours until Mom was satisfied that house was presentable.

That's why when I look at my house I usually see this : 

when I know that, if I ever had the unexpected call that company was on the way, I could probably present a sparkling clean house in under 30 minutes. When asked to explain my (almost)obeseeion with a clean house, all I have to do is take my friends and drop by Mom's place. One look around and they immediately undersand.  Every surface sparkles, not a speck of dirt on the carpet, and it's a house you still feel like you could lounge in for hours.  Not a hermetically- sealed museum display, but a home....

and about that maid ??

... I'd probably clean before they came.  Can't have strangers seeing a dirty house ...

Robb's One Word Movie Review ...

Brilliant !!

How I interpret my beverage options on an airplane - The Oatmeal

via theoatmeal.com

basically true , although you can substitute a Bloody Mary ... I never drink those unless i'm on a plane

Pay no mind to what they say ...

Retro Saturday - 

I believe that this was the first song I ever heard/watched on FMTv. Made popular by The GoGo's, I still prefer this darker version from the Specials offshoot Fun Boy Three to the more sun/sand/color upbeat version.

The lyrics don't really go with the "California" vibe ...

 

Six Weeks ...

Well - I heard the first of the Cicadas today , my grandmother always said that meant six weeks until the first frost. So ... mid September ???

I Love Lucy ...

 

Happy (early) Birthday to one of my favortie comediennes,  Lucille Ball who would be 100 tomorrow August 6th ...

 

Sexy Nerd ...

I *heart* Jonny McGovern ...

 

y'all should really listen to his podcast too !

 

 

 

Summer Reading ...

     One thing that I try to do more of every year is read. I basically grew up in  library ( grandmother was a small-town librarian ) and I was reading Stephen King by the time I was 10.  But over the years it's gotten more and more difficult for me to just sit down and read. You almost have to make time for it like going to the gym or walking the dogs.

     Now,  with my iPad,  I have many books with me where ever I go so no more excuses!

I can now cross off another book from my extended summer reading list : World War Z by Max Brooks.  Not a new book by any stretch of the imagination, but one that has been on my reading list for at least 3 years.

from Publisher's Weekly : Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus. (Sept.) 

 

... as a bonus - it's going to be movie starring Brad Pitt. It'll be interesting to see how they translate this to the screen ...

Sure Thing Mr. S ...

4 guys , 5 dogs, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths & me on the only " regular schedule ..... 

I need a Rosie 

Where no one/man has gone before ...

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out that the whole Star Trek library is available on Netfix Watch Instantly !! 

I immedaitely reverted to that geeky 4th grader running home after school to turn on KWGN 2 to watch Star Trek re-runs:  " yeah Mom , I'm doing my homework !! " i would yell as I watched Kirk battle a Gorn , or McCoy deal with The Man Trap  ( scaring myself silly in the process... ) 

Now though , I have no homework to shirk .....  ENGAGE !!

 

 

 

Retro Saturday ...

the "New Wave" was the music I grew up with and still feel most familiar with, say what you willabout the 80's I still believe that they produced the best music ( outside of the 50's ) .....

So - i present you with my retro pick of the week : 

The Blow Monkeys : Digging Your Scene

 

Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene by jpdc11