July 3, 2009
When you think of someone like Todd Rundgren you either have no idea who he is or you do know who he is and equate him with the outer fringes of musical genius. He has written lots of songs that have become hits for other people, and he has even performed some hits on his own. Wednesday, July 1st I finally got the chance to catch him live at the The Tralf here in Buffalo. I hadn’t paid too much attention to his work over the years save for a few tracks here and there out of curiosity. His latest album called Arena is a throwback to arena rick in all it’s glory. That being said, I full expected a full frontal electric assault and that’s exactly what I got at that show. He played plenty from Arena, but he also played some past gems in more electric versions than I would have expected. Some excellent guitar work was shown by Todd and his backup band was excellent.
I almost got the feeling that the majority of crowd in attendance was expecting a somewhat less electric presence from Todd. Most were older than I was and the idea of taking a the full force of well distorted guitars for too long seemed to be too much for some. Many people cut out before the end of the show. The venue itself leaves a lot to be desired in my mind. I’ve seen more shows than I can count at The Tralf and it seems like the place has taken steps backwards as time as gone on. Some of the past owners didn’t help their cause so if anything we should be thankful it’s still around.
In any event, I look forward to what Todd has to offer in the future. For all he has done so far (and it’s a lot), he is too restless and creative to pack it in now. Rock on, Todd!
June 28, 2009
I grew up in the 1980’s listening to all manner of Michael Jackson. How could you not – the guy was bigger than Jesus (or so it seemed). Not only that, he had a lot of great music behind him despite his tendency to appear like he was pop music deity. Very sad to hear of his passing as of late. If there was one thing that frustrated me (and probably anyone else who liked his music) it was as if his talent evaporated into the black hole that became the parody called his life. He had issues just like we all do, but to me his were far more magnified due to his celebrity status and the fact that he had so much success at such an early age. I had always hoped that he would clean himself up, carve the ephemeral hubris out of his, and finally take his place as one of pop music’s elder but still prolific statesman. How awesome would it have been for him to start making albums again that would really smoke and show people just how much talent this person really had. Instead we are left to look back and wonder where it all went wrong and try enjoying what was left over.
Personally, the work he did with Quincy Jones at the helm was the most amazing. Q is genius enough in his own right, but combined with Michael’s raw talent it was so potent. The collaboration between Michael and Q to me was a match made heaven on earth. I like the music from that time and I can’t help but be in awe – amazing songs, performed with so much energy and emotion, all topped off with stellar production. Since Michael will no longer be around and Q is pretty much retired, the banner must be passed to another dynamic duo to capture people’s imagination with that same potent magic. Problem is that the music industry has changed so much, I wonder if it could ever scale those heights again.
There is a ton of talent out there to be sure. Even on TV shows that scour for talent it becomes apparent there are lots of hidden gems to be had. I really wonder if anyone would ever be willing to cultivate talent like they used to. Not to wax nostalgic, but a great example would be a group like Fleetwood Mac. It took them many albums, plenty of personnel changes, and a lot of faith on the part of their record company before they really came into their own. Even Lindsey Buckingham, their lead guitarist, singer, and producer, admitted as such in a video I saw on his web site (or linked from at least) where he was responding to a fan’s question about the topic (the video had to be removed thanks to objections from his own record company). I don’t remember the exact quote, but it was something along the lines that most record companies today would never have the patience or wherewithal to cultivate talent over many albums. Most groups might get one or two chances at best before being dropped.
In honor of Michael Jackson, I only hope that trend changes. We could use another King of Pop before my lifetime is over.
June 27, 2009
I get the newspaper every day now which is new for me as I used to be content with getting only the Sunday edition. I recently went on a lark and decided to try a daily infusion of news. Now I get a blow by blow account of all the wonderful things going on in the New York State Senate.
The way I understand it is that two people from the Democratic party decided to defect to the Republican party so as to make them the new majority. After that, all hell broke loose when one of the people who defected decided to go back to being a Democrat. Both parties have so much acrimony that they now hold seperate sessions in the Senate chamber, sometimes within minutes of each other. The governor is trying to force them to work by calling special sessions every day of the week until they do. There is a lot of yelling, name calling, underhanded tricks, and who knows what else going on. There is so much animosity in Albany right now I can feel it all the way over on the other side of the state. Since the governor that we used to have had to resign due to his expensive indiscretions, the lieutenant governor had to step into the number one spot. Since there is no lieutenant governor right now, that means that the State Senate is now at a 31-31 tie with nobody who can be a tie breaker. So here it stands with our State Senate split right down the middle right along party lines. The founding fathers of this country must be laughing like mad – they warned about these things.
All kinds of issues have been raised now that never have been before. Should the Senators get paid if they don’t actually pass any bills? If they do pass any bills, is it legal for them to do so? Should the judicial branch settle this dispute or stay out of it? Can someone mount a credible legal challenge to any of the bills passed by the Senate?
The former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, recently chimed in about the crisis in an Op Ed piece in the New York Times and I think he may have hit upon something that needs to be addressed. He is proposing that we have a new constitutional convention in the State to resolve this (the last one was in 1967). After all, if there were some provision for a tie breaker then this wouldn’t have happened. Mr. Giuliani has proposed a number of sensible changes that could make a big difference in how things work in this state. To allow a stalemate in legislative affairs at any level is just asking for trouble. I’m sure when the state constitution was being put together, no had ever thought something like this would ever happen. Well it has and now something must be done. Maybe we should consider the governor to be the tiebreaker vote in the absence of a lieutenant governor. The idea of a special election for a replacement lieutenant governor sounds nice on the surface but it would involve a cost and logistics issues that would be difficult to sell to the public. Mr. Giuliani idea of addressing the succession issue with the Lieutenant Governor’s position is right on track.
So every morning I come home from work, I read my paper while eating breakfast. Lately it seems like a daily soap opera and it only gets more dramatic by the minute. If the governor can’t break the logjam, and the judicial branch wants nothing to do with it, then who needs to step in and how? I can tell you this much – the voters of this state can’t do much about it, at least not now. Election time they can do something but we are pretty much paralyzed for the time being. Even if the citizens of this state mounted a class action suite against the Senate, what judge in their right mind would even touch it?
It is possible that all parties could forge a coalition government and create a power sharing agreement. Don’t you remember as a child when a parent or guardian would lecture you about sharing your toys? Well the business of this state is no toy and as far as I know, we the people elected adults to serve those offices. As such, they should sit down and do as adults should do – learn how to share what they have for everyone’s benefit.
If you need a new soap series to follow, here are some articles about it:
The Buffalo News – 6/9/09 – Renegades help GOP retake State Senate
The Buffalo News – 6/18/09 – As the Senate reels, Espada says he gets 2 votes
If you go to the web site of just about any news source in the state, just search for “state senate” and you will have plenty to read for hours of fun.
June 26, 2009
It has been some time since I have posted anything here. As I look through many of the past posts, it has given me time to reflect on this whole blogging thing. While it is fun to post things on the web, there have been some important lessons learned from doing this.
The first thing I learned is that truly great blogs have insightful and original content. They are not content to merely recycle the content of other blogs and web pages. Since this blog merely repackages what is already on the web, it does little to distinguish itself from all the other ones out there. I doubt very many people even give this blog a second look let alone wait with anticipation for new posts.
The second thing is that for this to work properly, there have to be a prolific amount of posts, preferably on a daily basis. The posts have to be well written, plenty of linked content, quotes, and the like. To me it should read more like good investigative journalism should (becoming a lost art in my opinion). Many of my old posts have broken content which just makes it look terrible. It’s like reading a book from the library where someone cut out pages or the pictures from it.
The third thing is that you either need to do your blog from a standpoint of being an authority on a certain subject or subjects, or you need to put yourself out there personally and write how you feel about things. While there are some subjects I can speak about with some authority, I find that there are many blogs that do a much better job on those subjects than I could. I tend to be a private person so putting myself out there will be difficult but could ultimately prove to make this blog much more interesting to read.
Once again I changed the theme on here since the last one was so dark and dour that it started to get depressing after a while. My feeling is that if Newsweek can change it’s format and content to change with the times, so can I. It was what aided my decision to renew my subscription to them. I don’t accept money here so hopefully a change here will prompt people to read this blog more often and come away feeling they read something worthwhile.
I don’t know if this change in format will work but I feel that it could be more than worth the effort to do so.
March 16, 2009
Gunaxin.com – Saint Patrick’s Day Drinks
Not up for green beer this St. Pat’s day? This article has plenty of other things you could have. The Absinthe B-55 caught my eye or even the Irish Trashcan Punch. Some of these could really knock your rump to the floor if you’re not careful. Thankfully, not all of them are green either. We have plenty of gold stuff too. Personally, I’ll be sticking to the basics of Irish stouts and ales.
March 14, 2009
One of the most interesting interviews I’ve seen in some time. He tells it like it was and is.
March 5, 2009
John Stewart once again hits the nail right on the head. Included below is Rick Santelli’s bit as well.
If you want some further entertainment, check out one of my earlier posts about Peter Schiff. One really has to wonder though – what were these people thinking? If I have a lot of money to invest, the last place I would get advice would be from people talking on TV. I would be doing my own research and let’s face it – gut instinct has to come into play as well.
March 2, 2009
CIO Insight – 9 Lamest Business Book Clichés and Conventions
Interesting slideshow about some of the lame themes used for business books these days. Everyone has something to say, but not all of it worth reading about. At the very least, it will help you avoid the hubris on your journey to better texts.
February 23, 2009
NYTimes.com – More Customers Give Up the Cellphone Contract
I’m not surprised at all that this is happening. I’ve been using a pre-paid phone for many years now. I’ve seen way too many people get eaten alive by cell contracts and it has worked out well for me. The cost per minute is higher and it may not be the best option for high volume users. It’s a lot easier to manage the time used on the phone and budget accordingly.
Although prepaid phones remain a fraction of the overall mobile phone market, sales of the category grew 13 percent in North America last year, nearly three times faster than traditional cellphone plans, according to Pali Research, an investment advisory firm. For the first time in its history, T-Mobile has been signing up more new prepaid customers than traditional ones. And Sprint Nextel is betting that a new flat-rate prepaid plan will help it wring more value from its struggling Nextel unit.
I think the cell companies could have worked these plans much better when they first started years ago. The demand for this was always out there, but the phone usually had so many restrictions that they quickly lost luster. I used to sell the phones (prepaid and contract) and based on the number of airtime refills I’ve rung up over the years, the majority of the major carriers missed the boat on this market. When Tracfone showed up, the rules changed a lot. They decided to pre-buy airtime from all the major carriers in the U.S. and Canada and were able to sell a prepaid phone that worked just about any place where you could pick up cell service. Initially their cards had to be bought every 60 days or so to keep it going, but then they started to offer a 1 year plan. Refills tended to be difficult to put into the phone. Now when you buy refills online for Tracfone, it auto refills it right on the phone when the purchase is done. They have all sorts of airtime amounts and options. I can still text message and use voicemail just like with other phones.
Before you consider another cell contract, there is one thing I’d like you to consider: mandatory arbitration.
NYTimes.com – When Consumers Cut Back: A Lesson From Japan
People in the U.S. tend to overlook the fact that the country of Japan went through what we are going through right now in our economy. Their economic downturn lasted well over a decade. They have managed to pull out from under it, but the effects of that extended downturn are still be being felt there today.
Today, years after the recovery, even well-off Japanese households use old bath water to do laundry, a popular way to save on utility bills. Sales of whiskey, the favorite drink among moneyed Tokyoites in the booming ’80s, have fallen to a fifth of their peak. And the nation is losing interest in cars; sales have fallen by half since 1990.
We are already seeing greater frugality in this country. Makes me wonder how our country will handle things since it’s becoming very obvious that any kind of recovery is many years away. Knowing how Americans tend to be, my prediction will be that once things have reversed that the American consumer will come back with a vengeance. It would probably be better if they used the time to learn how to save with a vengeance instead.
