Because I haven’t posted anything on my blog in a month, and I was cleaning up some crap in the directory…

.
??? Accept
?   ??? Accept – Blood of Nations
??? AC DC
?   ??? ACDC – Back In Black
?   ??? ACDC – Black Ice
?   ??? ACDC – Fly On The Wall
?   ?   ??? ARTWORK
?   ??? ACDC – For Those About To Rock
?   ??? ACDC – High Voltage
?   ??? ACDC – Highway to Hell
?   ??? AC-DC – If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
?   ??? ACDC – Let there be rock
?   ??? ACDC – Live
?   ??? ACDC – Live Bootleg
?   ??? ACDC – Powerage
??? Aerosmith
?   ??? Aerosmith – Live Bootleg
??? Airbourne
?   ??? Airbourne – Black Dog Barking (Special Edition)
??? Alejando Escavado
?   ??? Alejando Escavado – A Man Under The Influence
??? Alice Cooper
?   ??? Alice Cooper – Welcome 2 My Nightmare
??? American Bang
?   ??? American Bang – American Bang
?       ??? American Bang
??? Anthrax
?   ??? Anthrax-Worship_Music
??? Axe
?   ??? Axe – 20 Years From Home
??? BB King
?   ??? BB King – Live At The Regal
?   ??? BB King – Riding With the King
??? Beautiful Beast
?   ??? Beautiful Beast – Adult Oriented Candy
?   ??? Beautiful Beast – California Suntan
??? Billy Idol
?   ??? Billy Idol – Vital Idol
??? Blackberry Smoke
?   ??? Blackberry Smoke – Little Piece Of Dixie
?   ??? Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill
??? Black Flag
?   ??? Black Flag – Damaged
??? Bon Jovi
?   ??? Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi
?   ??? Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day
?   ??? Bon Jovi – Lost Highway
?   ??? Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet
??? Bonnie Bishop
?   ??? Bonnie Bishop – Free
?   ??? Bonnie Bishop – Things I Know
??? Boston
?   ??? Boston – Boston
??? Bowling For Soup
?   ??? Bowling For Soup – Sorry For Partyin
??? Brad Bordessa
?   ??? Point A
??? Bree Sharp
?   ??? Bree Sharp – A Cheap and Evil Girl
??? Bryan Adams
?   ??? Bryan Adams – Cuts Like A Knife
?   ??? Bryan Adams – Reckless
?   ??? Bryan Adams – Waking Up The Neighbours
??? Buddy Guy
?   ??? Buddy Guy – Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues
??? Buddy Holly
?   ??? Buddy_Holly_20_Golden_Greats
??? Butch Walker
?   ??? Butch Walker (Acoustic Live in Atlanta)
?   ??? Butch Walker – I Liked It Better When You Had No H
?   ??? Butch Walker – LEAVIN THE GAME ON LUCKIE ST
?   ?   ??? Disc 1
?   ?   ??? Disc 2
?   ??? Butch Walker – Left Of Self-Centered
?   ??? Butch Walker – Letters
?   ??? Butch Walker – Peachtree Battle
?   ??? Butch Walker – Sycamore Meadows
?   ??? Butch Walker – The Rise And Fall Of Butch Walker And The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites (2006)
?   ??? Butch Walker – The Spade
?   ??? Butch Walker – You Belong With Me
??? Cabin Creek
?   ??? Cabin Creek – Cabin Creek
?       ??? Cabin Creek – Cabin Creek
??? Carbon Leaf
?   ??? Carbon Leaf – Indian Summer
?   ??? Carbon Leaf – Love Loss Hope Repeat (2006)
??? Cheap Trick
?   ??? Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick At Budokan
?   ??? Cheap Trick – The Greatest Hits
??? Chely Wright
?   ??? Lifted Off The Ground (Amazon MP3 Exclusive) [Explicit]
??? Cinderella
?   ??? Cinderella – 1986 Night Songs
?   ??? Cinderella – Heartbreak Station
?   ??? Cinderella – Still Climbing (1994)
??? Colin Gawel
?   ??? Superior
??? combinationLOCK
?   ??? combinationLOCK – Oh.._
??? Corrosion of Conformity
?   ??? Corrosion Of Conformity-Corrosion Of Conformity
??? Creedence Clearwater Revival
?   ??? Creedence Clearwater Revival – Chronicle, Volume 1
??? Cross Canadian Ragweed
?   ??? Cross Canadian Ragweed – Soul Gravy
??? Dan Baird
?   ??? Dan Baird – Buffalo Nickel
?   ??? Dan Baird – Circus Life
?   ??? Dan Baird – Dan Baird & Homemade Sin
?   ??? Dan Baird – Love Songs For The Hearing Impaired
??? Def Leppard
?   ??? Def Leppard – Adrenalize
?   ??? Def Leppard – High N Dry
?   ??? Def Leppard – Pyromania
??? De La Cruz
?   ??? De La Cruz – De La Cruz
??? Dio
?   ??? Dio – Dream Evil
?   ??? Dio – Holy Diver
??? Dokken
?   ??? Dokken – Back For The Attack
?   ??? Dokken – Breaking The Chains
?   ??? Dokken – Dokken – Beast From The East
?   ?   ??? Beast From The East[Disc 1][www.pctrecords.com]
?   ?   ??? Beast From The East[Disc 2][www.pctrecords.com]
?   ??? Dokken – Tooth And Nail
?   ??? Dokken – Under Lock And Key
??? Drive-By Truckers
?   ??? Drive-By Truckers – Decoration Day
?   ??? Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera [Act I](2001)
?   ??? Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera [Act II](2001)
??? Drivin N Cryin
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – 40 Watt show Oct 09
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Demos & Live Cuts
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – DnC Live at 688 Club Oct 86
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Drivin N Cryin
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Fly Me Courageous
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Great American Bubble Factory
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Mystery Road
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Scarred But Smarter
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Smoke
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Songs About Cars, Space and The Ramones
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Songs From The Laundromat [Explicit]
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Songs From The Psychedelic Time Clock
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – The Essential Live
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Whisper Tames the Lion
?   ?   ??? Songs From The Laundromat [Explicit]
?   ??? Drivin N Cryin – Wrapped In Sky
?   ??? Drivin N Dryin – Songs for the Turntable
??? Dropkick Murphys
?   ??? Dropkick Murphys – Going Out In Style
?   ??? Dropkick Murphys – The Meanest of Times
?   ??? Dropkick Murphys – The Warriors Code
??? Elby Brass
?   ??? Elby Brass- Real Sound
??? Eli
?   ??? Eli – My Name Is…
??? Eric Clapton
?   ??? Eric Clapton- From the Cradle
?   ??? Eric Clapton- Unplugged
??? Evenout
?   ??? EvenOut – Drown Inside
?   ??? EvenOut – Evenout EP
??? Extreme
?   ??? Extreme – Extreme
?   ??? Extreme – III Sides To Every Story
?   ??? Extreme – Pornograffitti
?   ??? Extreme – Waiting For The Punchline
??? Five Star Iris
?   ??? Five Star Iris- Five Star Iris
??? Floyd’s Funk Revival
?   ??? Floyd’s Funk Revival – Weed
??? Foo Fighters
?   ??? Foo Fighters Wasting Light
??? Fountains of Wayne
?   ??? Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers
??? Gina Villalobos
?   ??? Gina Villalobos – Miles Away
??? Gin Blossoms
?   ??? Gin Blossoms- New Miserable Experience
??? Gossip Grows on Trees
?   ??? Gossip Grows On Trees – Gossip Grows On Trees
??? Great Big Sea
?   ??? Great Big Sea – Sea of No Cares
?   ??? Great Big Sea – Something Beautiful
??? Green Day
?   ??? Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
??? Guns N Roses
?   ??? Guns N Roses – Appetite For Destruction
?   ??? Guns N Roses – G N’ R Lies
?   ??? Guns N Roses – Use Your Illusion I
?   ??? Guns N Roses – Use Your Illusion II
??? Hall & Oates
?   ??? Daryl Hall  John Oates – The Essential Daryl Hall  John Oates
??? Helloween
?   ??? Helloween – Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II
??? Henry Lee Summer
?   ??? Henry Lee Summer – Henry Lee Summer
??? Huey Lewis And The News
?   ??? Huey Lewis and The News- Greatest Hits
??? Indigo Girls
?   ??? Indigo Girls – Become You
?   ??? Indigo Girls – Nomads Indians Saints
?   ??? Indigo Girls – Rites of Passage
??? Iridesense
?   ??? Iridesense – A Trip Called Life
??? Iron Maiden
?   ??? Iron Maiden – A Matter Of Life And Death (2006)
?   ??? Iron Maiden – A Real Live One
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Dance of Death
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Killers
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984)
?   ??? Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
?   ??? Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier
?   ??? Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast
??? Jesse Valenzula
?   ??? Jesse Valenzula – Tunes Young People Will Enjoy
??? Jimmy Buffett
?   ??? Jimmy Buffett – BristowLive
?   ??? Jimmy Buffett – Christmas Island
?   ??? Jimmy Buffett – Fruitcakes
?   ??? Jimmy Buffett – License To Chill
?   ??? Jimmy Buffett – Songs You Know By Heart
??? Joan Jett And The Blackhearts
?   ??? Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – Up Your Alley
??? John Fogerty
?   ??? John Fogerty – Blue Moon Swamp
?   ??? John Fogerty – Centerfield
??? John Hiatt
?   ??? Beneath this gruff exterior
?   ??? Crossing Muddy Waters
?   ??? Perfectly Good Guitar
?   ??? The Tiki Bar is Open
?   ??? Walk On
??? John Mellencamp
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – American Fool
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Dance Naked
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Freedom’s Road
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Human Wheels
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – John Mellencamp
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Life Death Love and Freedom
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Mr Happy Go Lucky
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Rough Harvest
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Scarecrow
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – The Lonesome Jubilee
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Trouble No More
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Uh Huh
?   ??? John Mellemcamp – Whenever We Wanted
?   ??? John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
??? Johnny Cash
?   ??? Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
??? Jonathon Coulton
??? Jon Dee Graham
?   ??? Jon Dee Graham – Hooray for the Moon
?   ??? Jon Dee Graham – Summerland
??? Judas Priest
?   ??? Judas Priest – The Best of Judas Priest – Living After Midnight (1998)
?   ??? Redeemer of Souls
??? Karen Jonas
?   ??? Karen Jonas – Oklahoma Lottery
??? Kevin Bowe and The Okemah Prophets
?   ??? Kevin Bowe and the Okemah Prophets- Restoration
?   ??? Kevin Bowe and the Okeman Prophets – Natchez Trace
??? Kevn Kinney
?   ??? Kevn Kinney A Good Country Mile
?   ??? Kevn Kinney Broken Hearts & Auto Parts
?   ??? Kevn Kinney Flower and the Knife
?   ??? Kevn Kinney MacDougal Blues
?   ??? Kevn Kinney & The Golden Palaminos – A Good Country Mile
??? King’s X
?   ??? Kings X – Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
??? Kinks
?   ??? Kinks – Come Dancing With The Kinks – The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986
??? KISS
?   ??? Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
??? Kix
?   ??? Kix – Blow My Fuse
??? Kris Kehr And Stone Poets
?   ??? Kris Kehr and The Stone Poets – Kris Kehr And Stone Poets
??? Led Zeppelin
?   ??? Led Zepplin – Led Zeppelin Box Set
?   ?   ??? Led Zepplin – Box Set CD 1
?   ?   ??? Led Zepplin – Box Set CD 2
?   ?   ??? Led Zepplin – Box Set CD 3
?   ?   ??? Led Zepplin – Box Set CD 4
?   ??? Led Zepplin – Led Zeppelin IV
??? Lemonheads
?   ??? Lemonheads – Come On Feel The Lemonheads
?   ??? Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray
??? Lenny Kravitz
?   ??? Lenny Kravitz – Greatest Hits
??? Lita Ford
?   ??? Lita Ford – Living Like a Runaway
??? Little Feat
?   ??? Little Feat – Waiting For Columbus (Deluxe Edition) (disc 1)
?   ?   ??? ARTWORKS
?   ??? Little Feat – Waiting For Columbus (Deluxe Edition) (disc 2)
??? Lynyrd Skynrd
?   ??? Lynyrd Skynrd – One More From The Road (1976)
??? Mark Selby
?   ??? Mark Selby – Dirt
?   ??? Mark Selby – More Storms Comin’
??? Marvelous 3
?   ??? Marvelous 3 – Hey! Album
?   ??? Marvelous 3 – Math_and_Other _Problems
?   ??? Marvelous 3 – Ready Sex Go
??? Matthew Sweet
?   ??? Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
?   ??? Matthew Sweet – Under The Covers, Vol- 1(With Susanna Hoffs) (2006)
??? Maura Kennedy
?   ??? Maura Kennedy – Parade of Echoes
??? Metallica
?   ??? Metallica – And Justice For All
?   ??? Metallica – Death Magnetic – 2008
?   ??? Metallica – Garage Inc. (Disc 1)
?   ??? Metallica – Garage, Inc. (Disc 2)
?   ??? Metallica – Master Of Puppets
?   ??? Metallica – Metallica
?   ??? Metallica – S&M
?       ??? S&M1
?       ??? S&M2
??? Motley Crue
?   ??? Motley Crue – Decade Of Decadence ’81-’91
?   ??? Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood
?   ??? Motley Crue – Theatre of Pain
?   ??? Motley Crue – Too Fast For Love
??? Night Ranger
?   ??? Night Ranger – Greatest Hits
??? Old 97s
?   ??? Old 97s – Alive & Wired
??? Ozzy Osbourne
?   ??? Ozzy Osbourne – Randy Rhoads Tribute
??? Paul McCartney
?   ??? Paul McCartney – Back in the US
??? Pearl Jam
?   ??? Pearl Jam – Ten
?   ??? Pearl Jam – Vitalogy
?   ??? Pearl Jam – Vs.
??? Queen
?   ??? Queen – Greatest Hits
??? Queensryche
?   ??? Queensryche – American Soldier
?   ??? Queensryche – Hear in the Now Frontier
?   ??? Queensryche – Operation_ Livecrime
?   ??? Queensryche – Operation Mindcrime
?   ??? Queensryche – Operation Mindcrime II
?   ??? Queensryche – Promised Land
?   ??? Queensryche – Q2K
?   ??? Queensryche – Queensryche
?   ?   ??? Queensryche
?   ??? Queensryche – Queensryche-Empire
?   ??? Queensryche – Rage for Order
?   ??? Queensryche – The Warning
?   ??? Queensryche – Tribe
??? Quiet Riot
?   ??? Quiet Riot – Metal Health
??? Rage Against The Machine
?   ??? Rage Againt The Machine – Battle of Los Angeles
?   ??? Rage Againt The Machine – Evil Empire
?   ??? Rage Againt The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
?   ??? Rage Againt The Machine – Renegades
??? Ratt
?   ??? Ratt – Ratt & Roll_ 8191
??? Red 7
?   ??? Red 7 – Anywhere But Here
??? REM
?   ??? REM – Eponymous
?   ??? REM – Monster
?   ??? REM – Out Of Time
??? Righteous Fool
?   ??? Righteous Fool – S_T
??? Rob Rusell And The Sore Losers
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – Demos
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – I Think We’re Gonna Be Alright
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – Live In Studio One
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – Live On Studio One (Just the tunes)
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – Lucky Demo
?   ??? Rob Russell and The Sore Losers – Lucky On The Side
??? Rush
?   ??? Rush – Clockwork Angels
?   ??? Rush – Moving Pictures
??? Sammy Hagar
?   ??? Sammy Hagar – I Never Said Goodbye
?   ??? Sammy Hagar – Livin It Up (2006)
?   ??? Sammy Hagar – Rematch And More
?   ??? Sammy Hagar – Standing Hampton
?   ??? Sammy Hagar – Three Lock Box
??? Saxon
?   ??? Saxon – Masters Of Rock_ Saxon
??? Scorpions
?   ??? Scorpions- Best Of Rockers ‘N’ Ballads
??? Scott McClatchy
?   ??? Redemption
??? Scott Miller
?   ??? Scott Miller- Citation
??? Sheryl Crow
?   ??? Sheryl Crow – 100 Miles From Memphis
?   ??? Sheryl Crow – Feels Like Home
?   ??? Sheryl Crow – The Very Best of Sheryl Crow
??? Sixx AM
?   ??? Sixx AM – The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack
?   ??? Sixx AM – This is Gonna Hurt
??? Slash
?   ??? Slash- Slash
??? Sons of Bill
?   ??? Sons of Bill – Sirens
??? Soul Asylum
?   ??? Soul Asylum – Grave Dancers Union
??? Steve Miller Band
?   ??? Greatest Hits 1974-1978
??? Stevie Ray Vaughn
?   ??? Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble – Greatest Hits
??? Superdrag
?   ??? Superdrag – Regretfully Yours
??? Tesla
?   ??? Tesla – Bust A Nut
?   ??? Tesla – Five Man Acoustical Jam
?   ??? Tesla – Forever More
?   ??? Tesla – Into The Now
?   ??? Tesla – Mechanical Resonance
?   ??? Tesla – Psychotic Supper
?   ??? Tesla – real_to_reel
?   ??? Tesla – Simplicity
?   ??? Tesla – The Great Radio Controversy
?   ??? Tesla – Twisted Wires
??? The August
?   ??? The August – Dear Chicago, Love Nashville
?   ??? The August – Thistle Sparrow and the Tall Tall Grass
??? The Beach Boys
?   ??? Endless Summer
??? The Black Crowes
?   ??? The Black Crowes- Amorica
?   ??? The Black Crowes- Shake Your Money Maker
?   ??? The Black Crowes- The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion
??? The Cars
?   ??? The Cars – Greatest Hits
??? The Clash
?   ??? The Clash – London Calling
??? The Del-Lords
?   ??? The Del-Lords – The Best Of The Del-Lords
??? The Elders
?   ??? The Elders – American Wake
?   ??? The Elders – Wandering Life & Times
??? The Everly Brothers
?   ??? The Everly Brothers-Greatest Hits
??? The Heyday
?   ??? The Heyday – The Heyday
??? The Highballers
?   ??? The Highballers – Soft Music and Hard Licquor
??? The Kennedys
?   ??? The Kennedys – Better Dreams
?   ??? The Kennedys – Evolver
?   ??? The Kennedys – Get It Right
?   ??? The Kennedys – Half A Million Miles
?   ??? The Kennedys – Positively Live
?   ??? The Kennedys – River Of Fallen Stars
?   ??? The Kennedys – Songs of the Open Road
?   ??? The Kennedys – Stand
??? The League Bowlers
?   ??? The_League_Bowlers_-_Some_Balls
??? The New Pornographers
?   ??? The New Pornographers – Electric Version
?   ??? The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
??? The Record
?   ??? The Record – Party Monster
?   ??? The Record – Sierenes
?   ??? The Record – The Things You Can_t Forget
??? The Replacements
?   ??? The Replacements – Tim
??? The Rolling Stones
?   ??? The Rolling Stones – Forty Licks Disc 1
?   ??? The Rolling Stones – Forty Licks Disc 2
??? The Shimshaws
?   ??? The Shimshaws – Ear to the Wire
??? The Silos
?   ??? Laser Beam Next Door
?   ??? When The Telephone Rings
??? The Smithereens
?   ??? The Smithereens – Blown To Smithereens_ Best Of The Smithe
?   ??? The Smithereens – Meet the Smithereens
??? The Wannabe Hasbeens
?   ??? The Wannabe Hasbeens – former_trans_future_vol_1
??? Tinted Windows
?   ??? Tinted Windows – Tinted Windows
??? Tokyo Blade
?   ??? Tokyo Blade – Tokyo Blade
??? Tom Keifer
?   ??? Tom Keifer – The Way Life Goes
??? Twisted Sister
?   ??? Twisted Sister – A Twisted Christmas
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Big Hits & Nasty Cuts
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Club Daze
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Come out and Play
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Love is for Suckers
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry
?   ??? Twisted Sister – Under the Blade
?   ??? Twisted Sister – You Can’t Stop Rock’n’Roll
??? Van Halen
?   ??? Van Halen – 5150
?   ??? Van Halen – A Different Kind Of Truth
?   ??? Van Halen – Balance
?   ??? Van Halen – For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
?   ??? Van Halen – OU812
?   ??? Van Halen – Van Halen
?   ??? Van Halen – Van Halen III
??? Volbeat
?   ??? Volbeat – Beyond Hell-Above Heaven (2010)
?   ??? Volbeat – Outlaw Gentlemen And Shady Ladies
??? Watershed
?   ??? Three Chords and a Cloud Of Dust II
?   ??? Watershed – Brick and Mortar
?   ??? Watershed – The Fifth Of July
?   ??? Watershed – The More It Hurts, The More It Works
?   ??? Watershed_-_Twister
??? Whitesnake
?   ??? Whitesnake – Slide It In
?   ??? Whitesnake – Whitesnake
??? Willie Nile
?   ??? Willie Nile – American Ride
?   ??? Willie Nile – Beautiful Wreck Of The World
?   ??? Willie Nile – Hard Times In America
?   ??? Willie Nile – House of a Thousand Guitars
?   ??? Willie Nile – Streets of NY
?   ??? Willie Nile – The Innocent Ones
??? Y & T
    ??? Y & T – Best of 81 to 85

528 directories

Remember 10 years ago when I posted here pretty much every day? Yeah, me neither.

With a windy, rainy, and raw weekend on tap, I took advantage of the forced inside time to tackle a bunch of home projects. Actually, that is what I should of done. I mostly laid on the couch and watched movies and college football.

In A World…

A quirky, awkward indie comedy written, produced, directed, and starring Lake Bell. I wasn’t really familiar with her prior to this flick, but she pretty much nails it across the board. It’s a family dramady centered on an adult woman and her father, both in the voice over / movie trailer business and both competing to be the “guy” that replaces Don Lafontaine as the voice you’ve heard 10,000 times starting a trailer with “In A World…” It’s really much funnier than my set up might lead you to believe. It also checks in at a little over 90 minutes, which has become a thing for me. I’m tired of 3 hour movies. The perfect pop song checks in at around 2:50, and the perfect movie (with rare exceptions) should be able to tell its story in 2 hours or less.

The Hunger Games –  Catching Fire

I thought the first Hunger Games movie sucked compared to the book. In this case I think the 2nd movie is better than the 2nd book. The book spun up too many side plot lines. The movie smartly focuses on Katness’ inability to sell the compliance desired by the Capital, and of course the games itself. It checks in at 2:30 but if they had tried to really mirror the book that would have been a 3:30, so I can let it go, in light of my comments above. Also, it’s 150 minutes of Jennifer Lawrence, so there is that. The 3rd book was a disaster in my opinion, so I expect that movie will easily be better than the book, even if the movie kind of sucks.

The Spectacular Now

Another indie dramady, this time centered on two high school seniors, the “bad boy” (mostly slacker / class clown) that falls for the “good girl.” Yeah, it’s been done 1000 times, but only maybe 25-50 of those were done better than this try. It’s kind of sweet and charming in it’s own way, and felt more real to me than most attempts to capture high school romances on film. It also wisely tells its story in about 90 minutes. This is not a bad choice for a date night flick.

All of the above are available free on Amazon Prime. I needed a Halloween costume component in 2 days and could not find it locally. Finally accepting the ubiquitous Prime offer from Amazon then paying a $3.99 surcharge got me next day delivery. I don’t see a whole lot on Prime movies that I can’t get on Netflix, and I’m still undecided about how much we really need free 2nd day shipping – so I’m not sure if we’ll keep it or not. Feel free to weigh in if you have an opinion.

A recent study, summarized here by a PHD candidate in computer science, ran a multi-variate analysis on survey results of recently married or divorced Americans to determine the predictive value of various factors related to marriage. The results are interesting, and in some cases counter-intuitive. So let’s look at the findings and compare to my marriage. (In case you don’t know me – I’ve been happily married for 23+ years.)

How long you were dating

If you dated 3+ years you are 39% less likely to get divorced. That seems pretty obvious. We started dating in February 1987 and got married in August 1991.

How much money you make

The more you make the less likely to get divorced. Again, that makes some sense. Financial stress is a major factor in divorce, so less financial stress should lead to more stable marriages. We’ve had periods of financial stress, but mostly we’ve been comfortable through our marriage.

How often you go to church

If you go to church regularly you are almost twice as likely to stay married. I can’t wait for the press release from Focus on the Family on this one. It makes sense, but not because there is a God hand selecting marriages to survive. It’s societal pressure. Catholics are taught that divorce is a failure. Some evangelical protestants, particularly when you get in to the Dominionist crowd, basically take agency away from the woman in the marriage. She is a help-meet, not a person. Pretty much all religous people believe they answer to a higher power for their marriage. So it’s not surprising that people raised to believe divorce is sin, or that their marriage is somehow blessed by a higher power, would be less likely to be divorce.  I’d expect the same results from couples in an arranged marriage. Family expectations would keep them together long past their individual desires. Is society better off with a bunch of loveless marriages held together by cultural expectations? I don’t have an answer for that. I do think as a society we are a little too quick to give up on marriages these days. However, that is still be better than 40 years ago, when women couldn’t even file for divorce.

We’ve been married 23+ years, and haven’t been to church in about 18 years.

Your attitude toward your partner

This one is kind of weird, but basically boils down to shallow people get divorced more often. Seems obvious. I think my wife is beautiful. Does that make me shallow?

How many people attended the wedding

If you have 200+ people at your wedding you are 92% less likely to get divorced.  Maybe a huge wedding implies lots of family and friends for support, and plenty of money so financial pressure doesn’t cause stress? Couples who elope are 12.5x more likely to end up divorced than couples who get married at a wedding with 200+ people.

We eloped.

This one makes no sense to me, especially when combined with the next one.

How much you spent on the wedding

You are 53% less likely to be divorced if you spent less than $1000 on your wedding. So your marriage is guaranteed rock sold if you have over 200 guests at a wedding that cost less than $1000? Good luck planing that wedding.  Our wedding, IIRC, was $800, and that included the photographer and cake.

Apparently my marriage is an enigma wrapped in a mystery 🙂

Lock In By John Scalzi – John continues his streak of never writing a book I didn’t like. More…

The Cause by Roderick Vincent – First of all, those of us that went to high school with him know his real name is Rick 😉 The Cause is a real world fantasy thriller in which a small band of Patriots (or traitors, depending on your point of view) starts the ball rolling on the rollback of the surveillance state in a 2022 USA which is on the verge of economic and social collapse. A fun read. More…

Redeemer of Souls by Judas Priest – Since I just bought tickets to their show at VA Beach in late October I figured I’d check out the new album. It’s damn good – maybe their best record in 20 years. It still doesn’t make up for Turbo though.

3 Chords and a Cloud of Dust II by Watershed – A live album that sounds like live albums should sound. You get a real feel for just how good these guys are in concert. I say that totally on reputation, as I’ve never seen them live. I hope to remedy that someday.

Gone Girl – I haven’t read the book, but the movie was very well done. Great acting by Affleck and his supporting cast, and the mind-bender of a plot really sucks you in. Beyond the mystery, the movie also manages to say something about the nature of marriage and our celebrity obsessed press. Affleck gets bonus points for refusing to wear a Yankees hat in the NY airport scene. If only Tom Brady were so principled.

Recently students and teachers in Denver walked out over new proposed history standards in the schools. Essentially, conservatives got control of the school board and are imposing their political viewpoint on the teaching of history, which is basically a huge step backwards to a 1950s era rah-rah America style of teaching. Dan Carlin covered that story on the most recent Common Sense podcast, and I was a little surprised to hear him echoing things I’ve said for years. He made the point, more or less, that the only stuff from school that is really essential for participating in society as an adult is reading and math. I add writing to that list, but still, it’s the same point.

Before we get into that though, why the hell do we let school boards decide curriculum? We are letting real estate agents, salespeople, housewives, and various other people decide curriculum for entire school districts. What the hell do these people know about educating thousands of students? The women leading the charge on the standards in Denver wants history to teach civic values, respect for authority, and focus on George Washington and the founding fathers. She doesn’t even understand that this county was founded by what today we would probably label domestic terrorists.

Back on point. For some subjects, like science, there is a right and wrong answer. Evolution is real, creationism is not. Math has right and wrong answers. History, however, is not so clean-cut. The winner usually writes the history books, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t value in the losers side of the story. Howard Zinn is valuable as a counter-point to the white European Christian version of history that most of us suffered through in school. Zinn taught by itself is not of much value. It’s too biased. Likewise, teaching rah-rah 1950s style curriculum is worthless without the countering viewpoint. The reality of K-12 education in the US is that we’ll never have time to teach history correctly. So maybe we shouldn’t be teaching it all. At least not like we do today. It’s not like the kids actually remember anything 10 minutes after the the final exam anyway.

Dan proposed that the important skill to learn in a history class is not the dates and names, but an understanding of how stuff changes over time and gets from there to here. What the stuff is doesn’t really matter. If you love baseball, study the history of baseball. If you like fashion, study the history of fashion. Because you are interested you’ll be more engaged, and you’ll retain what you learn beyond the next test. It almost sounds like unit studies or unschooling.

Ok. Not almost! Although Dan never said the word homeschooling I couldn’t help noticing that this was yet another example of somebody suggesting that the schools innovate by doing something homeschoolers have been doing for decades.

Funny how that keeps happening.

In an effort to not ruin my day watching Purdue suck at football, I got up early and headed to the mountains on Saturday. The destination was this hike. I hit the trail right at 9 AM and got back to the car at 2 PM. I spent about an hour at Camp Hoover. I got there before the first scheduled tour of the house. There was 4 other hikers there, and the NPS volunteers graciously offered to open up the house early and give us the tour. It turns out the guy is a very enthusiastic member of the Herbert Hoover fan club, and had the tour group not been waiting outside, he might still be talking to us about “Bert” Hoover. He may have been a less than successful President, but he was one hell of an interesting guy and I greatly enjoyed learning way more than I ever expected to know about him.

The hike itself was uneventful. 4 blissful hours in woods with no cell service, no music, and barely any people. I need to do that way more often. The 1300 ft elevation gain is pretty gentle. It’s not a particularly strenuous hike.   It was a glorious blue sky, 70 degree day, and as I headed home I had the windows down, the metal blasting, and I was feeling very cool.

Then I remembered that I was driving a 2002 Park Ave. Oh well…

Pictures.

For me, that day was yesterday. Fenway is 14, and frankly, I was shocked when he got a clean bill of health at his annual vet visit about a month ago. He has really slowed down over the last few months, and I was expecting bad news and preparing for the worst last month.

He eats in the powder room, because he eats slowly and our other dog eats like she hasn’t seen food in weeks. I got a surprise when I opened the door to let him out after eating Saturday morning. The bathroom looked like a murder scene from Castle, except that the splatter pattern made it obvious the blood originated in a coughing or sneezing fit. I learned an hour later it was a sneeze. We called the vet and had him there about an hour later.

The diagnosis after the physical exam was a tumor in the sinus area, and she ordered a CBC to check his blood. It came back horrible, everything was low. His CBC last month was mostly normal. The tumor has been bleeding for awhile internally. He is basically bleeding out slowly from the inside. She said now that he was bleeding externally too it wouldn’t be long. 2 months at most, and probably more like 2 weeks. She talked through my options (none that she recommended be tried on a 14 year old beagle) and offered a prescription of prednisone, which she said might reduce inflammation and help him feel better while we decide what to do. He felt so bad he actually fell asleep on the floor of the examination room while we were waiting for the blood test results. When we got home Fenway didn’t even make it all the way into the family room. He laid down right at the entrance and didn’t move for hours. I positioned a blanket under him to catch the blood oozing out of his nose, and called Michelle, who was out. I also gave Fenway a prednisone, which had the double effect of stopping the blood from his nose, and seemingly helping him feel better. He was enthusiastic about eating last night, something we hadn’t seen in a while. He has appeared to feel better today that he has in weeks. Obviously that is the prednisone.

So that is where I am. I’m assuming the prednisone effect will fade in the next couple of days. However, he ate enthusiastically both times today, and generally seemed to be pretty happy and energetic today. However I’m not fooling myself. My dog has advanced cancer and we are going to have to put him down soon, maybe in the next week or so, The tumor in his sinuses could rupture at any time, and I think I want to do it before that happens. I’m planning to work from home on Friday, so that might be the day.

As I was thinking about this I also was trying to look inward and convince myself that my relative comfort with putting him down was coming from a place of compassion, and not a place of convenience. Although I don’t quite consider myself a Buddhist, I am a fan of the Noble 8-Fold Path and the 5 Precepts. I thought if I could read a little about the absolute prohibition against causing a death it might clarify my thinking. It turns out most Buddhists agree that when the general edict to show compassion conflicts with the Precepts, compassion rules. Not that I was giving any consideration to letting nature play all the way out here. I wasn’t. If I have it in my power to reduce suffering I think I should do that. However it is comforting to get a second opinion from the Internet 😉

I don’t normally do memes, but I got tagged for this one on FB and I was curious what movies would bubble up as I thought about it for a few minutes. The instructions are to pick 15 movies that will always stick with you (good or bad). Then tag a bunch of friends, including the friend who tagged me. Obviously, the tagging will happen on FB.

The Princess Bride – Quite possibly one of the most perfect movies ever made, and maybe the most re-watchable movie ever.

Animal House – In college, we thought this was a documentary on how to run a fraternity. Our grades may have suffered for it, but we had some killer parties.

This is Spinal Tap – As a classic 80s metal head I’m pretty much required to love this flick. And I do.

Star Wars Episode 4 – I first saw this at the drive-in with my parents in Peru, Indiana.

Raiders of the Lost Ark – Another highly re-watchable movie.

Casablanca – Simply my favorite movie ever.

Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of The Ring – Having read the books at least a dozen times, seeing the story brought to life on the big screen was a big deal. It still is.

Saving Private Ryan – In the summer of 98 I was living in a corporate apartment in Herndon VA while Michelle was back in GA selling the house. One Saturday I went to the Holocaust Museum, then went to Saving Private Ryan that night. It was several weeks before I recovered from the funk that day put me in.

Back To The Future – Another flick I can watch over and over.

Ferris Bueller – Ferris was the guy I wanted to be in high school, but in reality I was like…

Better Off Dead – However I never had French girlfriend. Or a Camaro.

Monty Python & The Holy Grail – My vocabulary would be reduced significantly if I couldn’t quote this movie.

Wall Street – I saw this at a time in college when being a big time corporate executive and driving expensive cars was my goal in life. I’m not proud of it.

The Graduate – I have no idea why people like this movie. I lasted long enough to hear the plastics and are you seducing me lines, but never could make it to the end of the movie.

Top Gun – I taped this off of HBO when I was in college, and can’t even count the number of times we watched it. Then add the fact that I had a roommate / fraternity brother who looked like he could be Tom Cruise’s stunt double (seriously), and well, let’s just say shenanigans occurred.

Back in 2012 I wrote about the importance of owning your words online; having a place you control where you post your content. Recently, several old school prominent bloggers have returned to their personal blogs.

I hope this is a trend that picks up steam. To any former bloggers that might still be reading here, I challenge you to write something on your blog this week. You don’t have to write every day, or even every week. However, unless you are a total dullard, there must be days when you have something you want to say. Those days are why you need a space online that you control.

The title of the post is the total mileage we drove Wed Evening through Sunday on the trip to take our daughter to college. These are a collection of random thoughts that might have been tweets or Facebook updates had I not otherwise been busy driving. A couple of them may have actually made it online.

– Driving I-64 from Lexington VA to Saint Louis is a nice reminder that the soul crushing congestion in the DC area is not normal. It also makes me question why the hell I put up with it.

– There is no T-Mobile service in the state of WV.

– Driving through the Midwest is a reminder that not everybody enjoys ample 4G service like we do on the east coast.

– My daughter’s dorm room is larger and better furnished than our first apartment.

– The food on college campuses has really improved. She essentially has her choice (all-you-can-eat) from a food court every day.

– It was great to meet up with Mark and part of his family in St Louis.

– I-70 through Illinois and Indiana is a mess. Lots of construction and where it’s not under repair, it needs it. However, since it is IL and IN long stretches of one lane interstate really didn’t slow us down.

– My decision Saturday morning to take US 50 E all the way from Ohio to Winchester VA was mixed. The first 1/3 of the trip – until you get to Clarksburg WV is great. It’s 4 lanes and fast all the way. From there to the VA line it’s nothing but switchbacks and hairpin curves. It might be a fun drive in a Corvette, but not so much in a Durango, especially for 4 hours. However using the 4 lane part of the route to avoid I-70 in PA seems like a good idea that will save time. Just make sure you hop on I-79 to I-68 to avoid the single lane stretch.

– The route did take us through Parkersburg WV, where we were able to meet up with Daryl. We managed to visit 2 friends and Michelle’s sisters on the way home, so that was good.

– Twice in areas where to road shared a couple of names Google Maps picked the wrong one as the primary identifier. If you are one of those who blindly follow the GPS directions types you would end up off track when you followed the directions. Presumably, the disembodied voice from your phone would get you back on track quickly.

– Depending on Google for GPS service on the road is dicey. It needs 4G service to start up, although once you have navigation enabled it seems to be able to maintain service. Does it pre-fetch the maps for the route? However, if you lose service or the Maps app crashes, you can’t get navigation back until you have 4G service.

– The entire trip was totally worth it just because we got this opportunity to embarrass our daughter. (More pictures)