Sad Salvation

Past and Future

2009-01-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

There are two things the photo above makes me thing about:

1. I had a high school history teacher who said that American runs at its best when there are four former U.S. Presidents. Hopefully that is true. Soon there will be four former U.S. Presidents again.

2. Is this photo arranged by height or is that just an illusion?

Song of the day, Jan 7

2009-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Pink Nasty - BTK Blues

This is a catchy pop song about a girl who is so depressed she thinks that a Serial Killer will not even bother with her. I approve

Song of the day, Jan 6

2009-01-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

Paul Oakenfold - Kneel Before Your God - Swordfish Soundtrack

The song is a cool escape but a little too short.

2008 Mayfly

2009-01-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

The idea of a Mayfly is to summarize your year in 24 words. I will tell you it makes you think about what is important.

Mayfly 2008

I asked with a picture
she said yes with a smile
knowledge increases love grows
Lost job New job
Looking forward to the Wedding

Past Mayflies

Mayflys: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2002, 2001,

War Crimes in Palistine

2009-01-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

On Fareed Zakaria 's GPS on CNN Bernard-Henri Levy called the actions of Hamas a war crime. He said that Hamas is using the citizens of the West Bank as human shields. He is talking about reports of Hamas using the bottom floor of a hospital as a base. Is there any chance that we would see a war crimes trial on this? I think it would be great to see war crime trails for people on both sides of this conflict. I know it will not happen.

Song of the day, Jan 5

2009-01-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

The Frames - Falling Slowly - This songs reminds me why I love the Frames. This is the song Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova on the Oscar for.

best photo of 2008

2009-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

On flickr I made a set of the best photos I took in 2008. Above is the mosaic of the photos. I have not decided which one is the best yet. If you have any ideas please let me know. I am trying to pick the one that is the best for photographic reasons, not sentimental reasons. This year that might be really hard. That is why I need some outside input.

Song of the day, Jan 4

2009-01-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

D12 - U R The One

I have no time for songs like this. I know that part of me wants to see why some people like it, but maybe I do not like people who like this song.

Song Of The Day, Jan 3

2009-01-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down - Mother Hips - Don't Let the Basterds Get You Down: A Tribute to Kris Kristofferson

After the first four lines there is nothing go about this song. I do not want to hear the original or more from this band.

One Song a day project

2009-01-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

I am always thinking a lot about music. I think about what I am adding to my music library and what I am listening to. I have also been thinking about the songs that have come out in this decade. I have over 25,000 songs that have come out this decade. There is no way I can listen to all of it. I need to find a way to listen to music that I might otherwise miss.

So I have decided on a project for this year. I am going to listen to one random song every day. For iTunes I even made a smart playlist to help me. After listening to that song I write something small. Just a little reaction to the song.

I plan on doing it everyday, Or at least every work day. That gives me 250 times to it this year. This means you still have the chance to catch up. Why don't you join me?

Match all of the following Rules

Year - is in the range - 2000 to 2009
Last Played - Is Before - 1/1/09
Check Limit to 1 item Selected by Random
Check Live Updating

You might need to throw in
Podcast - is - false
Genre - is not - Christmas (But I have a lot of Christmas Music)

Song Of The Day, Jan 2

2009-01-02T22:07:00.001-08:00

Fuzztones - She's Wicked - Flashbacks

This track has a good beat, but if I am not dancing it does not have anything to offer me.

Song of the day, Jan 1

2009-01-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Jeff magnum - two-headed boy - live at jittery joe's

There's something about the hollow sound of this live recording that is
haunting. The baby crying in the background helps too. This is an
amazing recording.

Travel 2008

2008-12-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Places I have spent the night:

Warminster, PA
San Jose, CA
Salinas, CA
Corning, CA
Portland, OR (3 places)
Valley Forge, PA

Airports:

PHL
SAN
SJC
LAS

States:

PA
CA
OR

Best Picture of the year

2008-12-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

I am not sure what the best photo I took in 2008 is. �I took a lot of photos and posted a lot to Flickr. I have started a Nomination Set. These are the photos that I think are the best or might be the best. You might disagree with me. If you think a photo is the best of 2008 make a comment on that photo. I will add it to the nominations group. Hopefully I can make a decision by close to the start of next year.

What is Yahoo to do

2008-12-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

I ask a lot of people a single question, What is wrong with Yahoo's Business? Lots of people can only muster one answer, "They are not Google." I do not get any answers that have to do with they way their business is run or how they use their properties.

Mark Cuban has a good idea of what Yahoo Should do now. He thinks that they should go on a buying streak.

Yahoo has a very simple business. Generate traffic and monetize it. It generates traffic through services and content. It sells advertising around them both. Their strategy should be to acquire every and any company that makes their traffic, services, content or monetization stronger.

Yahoo should be the most aggressive acquirer on the planet right now. In case you haven�t noticed, everything and anything owned by private equity firms in the media and technology spaces are on sale at a huge discount. VC�s are freaking out that their companies not only have no exit strategies, but might also have to close down. No PE or VC in the world wants to make a capital call. Which has created an amazing opportunity. The same on the public company front. Any company that has any level of dependency on advertising has seen their stock tank. The opportunities for a company with a strong balance sheet won�t ever be any better than they are today.

Yahoo should be on the warpath, vetting each and every media (yes media) and technology company it can sit down with looking for bargains.

I am worried that Yahoo is too scared to do something like this. I am worried that people in the tech world would not understand this strategy and they would scare off people that Yahoo could buy. I just hope I am wrong.

What the republicans need to do next

2008-12-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Republicans have to answer a question? Do they want to improve the party or do they just want to wait for Obama and the Democrats to mess up. I think if they wait to pick up the pieces, they are going to wait a really long time. All the problems right now can be spun as the Republicans fault for a long time. Here are some things I think the republicans and do to get the party on track.

1. Be Deficit Hawks - Saying you are for smaller government and running up the National Debt is a bad combination. It worked for Ronald Regan because he won the Cold War. It is not working anymore. Yeah the current bail outs are going to run up the National Debt more. After we are past this it is important to try to get the Deficit down. People will not stand for spending a lot of Military and not on social programs. Doing that is a way to keep the democrats in power.

2. Get away from corporate welfare - After the Bail Outs are over, the Republicans need to stay away from Corporate Welfare. It the Republicans stay away from corporate welfare they will able to make it an issue for democrats.

3. No Wedge Issues - It did not work in California in 2008. There was a gay marriage amendment on the ballet, the amendment won, and Obama still won. Obama built a coalition that could withstand this issue. This is a sign that this tactic is going to lose effectiveness.

4. Be Smart about the Environment - Just standing in front of environmental issue saying they will be bad for business will no longer work. There are too many people who believe global warming is real. You need to find the Republican ways to deal with this. I am not sure anyone one has come up with the Republican Small Government Global warming handbook yet. Someone better get started.

5. Show people how tax cuts will help them - I am not sure people know why cutting their taxes is good for them. I am not sure average Americans know how tax cuts for other people can help them. These are important ideas.

The Broadstreet Bullies v. The Red Army

2008-12-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

While researching The Miracle On Ice I found the story about the Philadelphia Flyers versus the HC CSKA Moscow. The game is also known as The Broadstreet Bullies v. The Red Army.

For Philadelphia sports fans, this is one of the moments that separate the real fans from the posers. The real fans have heard about this game. I am not old enough to remember this game, I was only three years at the time. I have heard story of this game since I was a little kid.

There is something about sports and the cold war. I do not think international sports will ever have this feeling again for the US. The American professional sports all have international players in them. Sports is so much about money now, they do not have that same nationalism feel. These days are gone forever.

Related Links.
Summit Series Game 6
CBC Archives

Are Electronic Comics Worth it?

2008-12-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

I am thinking about subscribing to Marvel.com electronic comics. I am not sure if it is worth it or not. I like the idea of reading comics again. I love having physical comic books. There is something really good about being able to hold the book in your hands and the pages in your fingers. The problem is that Comic Books are really expensive. For the $5 a month for Marvel.com electronic comics I could afford one comic book and the gas to get to the comic book store.

I am just not sure it is worth it reading comics on my computer. If anyone out there has used Marvel's Electronic Comics let me know.

Favorite Free Ways to fill your iPod

2008-12-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

You might cut buying new music out of your budget, but still want to hear something new. You can only listen to old music so much. There are a ton of places to go to listen to free music when you are connected to the web, like My Space, Pandora, and YouTube. It can be harder to find places for music when you are off line. Here are my top legal free places to download music from.

Daytrotter

Daytrotter is my favorite place to get free mp3s and my favorite place to discover new bands. To me, Daytrotter is indie rock heaven. Just about everyday there are four new tracks. Most of the time they are bands I never heard of before. Yes, you may not find your favorite bands there, but you might find your next favorite band there.

Here are a few of my favorite Daytrotter sessions

Dr Dog
Of Montreal
Titus Andronicus
The Silent Years
Ra Ra Riot

Podcasts on iTunes

There are thousands of free content on no iTunes. This content ranges from news to music, from Comedy to drama, and everywhere in between. Yes, the music content can be random. You have little control of what you are getting. There is a lot of content that is really cool.

CNet Free music Download:

There are some good stuff on CNet download.com and some bad stuff.

Amazon MP3 store

There is some free stuff, but often good cheap stuff. There do lots of stuff on sale. Every Friday they run $5 special.

SXSW Archives 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005.

There are lots of songs in the SXSW archives. They are not easy to look through either. But it really is worth your time. I have found a lot of new bands here.

Punisher

2008-12-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

I have been watching iFanboy on TiVoCast. They did a PodCast about the Punisher for the new Punisher War Zone Movie. The podcast covers the history of the Punisher. I am not sure how many Punisher Movies there have been, but this is the first in a long line.

The Podcast really puts its finger on the problem with the character of the Punisher. The character is cool for a few stories, but he gets old after a while. You can only be an angry killer who kills killers. There are only so many stories you can tell with him. After about a dozen issues you have done everything with him. Here are a handful of things you can do with the Punisher that could be done will in his own book.

Five things I would do with the Character of the Punisher

1. Punisher as Prison Warden - A man who wants to kill people is the man who has to keep the peace. I think this would lead to a great story. I think it would really work if you made the prison like Escape From New York. I think it would be interesting to put the Punisher in a place where he is in charge. What would he do it if was in charge.

2. Punisher in the third world - I think one of the problems with the Punisher is that he is running around New York City. There are only so many types of people that need to be punished. It is all mobsters and drug dealers.

In think going all around the world there are people that need to be punished. I could see the Punisher fighting against third world dictators. It would be great to see him hunt extremist.

3. Punisher as Mentor - One of the problem with the Punisher is that there are no really good supporting characters for him. I know there is microchip, but he is not that likable. I think it would be great if he was teaching someone else. How would the Punisher try to mold someone into someone like him?

4. Punisher Herald of Galactus I know it may sound silly to make the Punisher fly around the Universe finding planets for Galactus feed on. It might sound as silly as making the Punisher some demon. It is not really the same idea.

5. Cooking with the Punisher - If Space Ghost Coast to Coast could be a hit for the Cartoon Network, you could make a funny cooking show with the Punisher.

Promoting my Photos

2008-12-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

Once again I would like to promote my Flickr Photos and my set of Photos I think deserve 100 views. Go look at my photos. It makes me feel better when my number of views.

I was hoping to get to 2,000,000 over all views by the end of the year, but that is not going to happen unless I can get 250,000 by the end of the year. I do not see that happening, but it is worth a little promotion.

Nano Idea for 2009

2008-11-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

IMGP3187
Originally uploaded by imagonnablastyou.

I have an idea of how to change the National Novel Writing challenge for next year. It took me about 70 hours to write 50000 words. I am thinking next year to try to take the first few days off from work. The idea would me to spend every waking hour working on my novel until it is finished. I think this would be a wild challenge. I am not sure it would make for a good novel. It would be something interesting to do.

Another year, another "Novel" and I do mean "Novel"

2008-11-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is the sixth year I have completed the challenge that is National Novel Writing Month. I have a hard time saying what I wrote is a novel. I am not sure there is enough conflict or dynamic characters for this to be a novel. I know that I did not finish the story. I wrote 50,000 words, but I would not inflict it on another human being. I know that Kate wants to read it, but I am not sure I want to be that mean to her.

I love doing National Novel Writing Month. In the past six year I have written some interesting scenes, but nothing that could really be the foundation of a novel. From writing I can see how far away from actually being able to write a novel. To become a better writer I would need to read more and to write on a more consistent basis. Both of those things end up being low on my priority list.

Writing a novel becomes something different for me. My goal is not to write something other people can read, but to explore my own imagination. As an adult is is hard to run around the play yard pretending you are a superhero. It is much more socially acceptable to write about having super power.

I am going to keep doing NaNoWriMo as long as I can. This time next year I will be married. Who knows if I will have time to do NaNoWriMo or not. I do want to do it. Some where in my head I tell myself I am going to pre-plan my novel and write something good. That is less likely.

The election is over...mostly

2008-11-05T12:55:00.001-08:00

The election is over, well the public part of the election is. There is still the part of the election that the electoral college votes for the president. I do not expect any bad happen, but you never know. This has been a very long election. I will be very happy when Obama gets sworn in. Then it will really be over.

What do the Demos Need to worry about

2008-11-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

Now that the Barack Obama has won the Presidency and there will be Democratic majorities on in both houses of congress, they have a lot of work to do. In part that work starts now. The first big job Barack Obama has is to pick a good cabinet. I feel that a good cabinet is what makes the government run. The political appointments are one of the main reasons that Bush was the president he was.

Once Barack Obama is sworn in to office, he will have a lot of power. With both houses of congress in the same party, it will be hard for the Republicans to stop anything. There is a lot to be done and a lot that can be done.

The challenge for the Democratic party will be to governor from the middle of the country and not from the middle of their party. This is always the challenge that of a party in so much control. Many Democrats will say "the Republican did not govern this way, why should we?" If you look at the way Republicans ran this country that should be reason enough.

The further to the left they govern the country the less time they will have in office. If the Democrats go all out and try to reform health care, this might be the only think that will get done. If they want to majorly change energy policy, they might need to do that in steps. All at once it might be too much for Americans to deal with.

I wish Barack Obama all the success in the world. I hope that he has a big enough mandate to make real change. I just am not going to hold my breath. I guess Obama and the Democrats will have to show me.