Top 5 Albums of 2005:
1: O.A.R. - Stories of A Stranger
2: Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
3: Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
4: Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
5: Vendetta Red - Sisters of The Red Death
Top 5 Over-Rated-Could-Have-Been-Great-Had-They-Not-Sucked Albums of 2005:
1: Kanye West - Late Registration
2: The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
3: The Gorillaz - Demon Days
4: System Of A Down - Hypnotize
5: System Of A Down - Mezmerize
-B
Friday, January 27, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Deficit Increase Act of 2005
Music of choice:
Queen/David Bowie - Under Pressure
I would like to take a moment to educate somebody, anybody, on the effects and lack of effectiveness of GW's Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The bill was written in the small hours of the morning and handed over to the Democrats after midnight on 12/18/05. After they got the bill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert invoked "martial law" giving the representatives 45 minutes to debate a 774-page Act. 5 Republicans voted against it, causing Dick Cheney to come fly back from a country he didn't give shit about (Pakistan, for those of you keeping score) to cast the deciding vote on a 50-50 tie. Guess what the final count was? 51-50, the 51 being for the Act. The problem is, the bill slashes $40 billion from social service programs to help fund the $90 billion in tax cuts for the nations wealthy who bring home more than $1 million annually. This, in case you are wondering, will cause a $50 billion INCREASE in the deficit, and here is how it breaks down and how it just might affect you:
College Students:
A nice $12.7 billion cut, raising the total another $8 billion for American families to pay for education. The way they managed this was not by directly cutting funds, but by removing the variable interest rate on their loan and replacing it with a higher fixed rate, leaving students with an increase debt of more than 30%. Needless to say, none of Bush's friends (and especially his daughters) need financial aid, so why should they care?
Single Moms:
A $5 billion budget cut is waiting for you when you report your child's father as a dead-beat dad. This means that there are less resources available to you to help track down fathers who skip out on their child support, leaving an estimated $8 billion in uncollected child support nation wide. This one was so morally wrong that Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, opposed the bill because of it.
The Sick:
Congratulations! Instead of hitting Big Pharma and saving $20 billion, They decided to increase Medicaid! Now, instead of paying around $3 for a doctor visit, you could pay up to $100! Plus, medication is going up, double-trouble!
Foster Care:
They only decided to cut $343 million from foster kids, so luckily only those without parents will suffer. Now instead of helping Grandparents take custody of their Grandkids, they can either go to a foster home, or be booted out on the street. That was nice of them to be a little generous on this one.
Working Poor:
Now the states are required to meet a financial obligation, around $8 billion a year, or be fined $100 million per year they don't meet quota. How is this you ask? Simple, the state has to pay more to help the parents find jobs now that BOTH parents must be employed to receive aid. Oh, they have to work longer hours too. I imagine if they could both find work and work overtime, they wouldn't really need the help, but maybe that only makes sense to me.
Now here's the clincher, the selling point, the "money shot" so to speak; The deficit is expected to raise to $365 billion ($1 billion per day for those of you who can't go to school to figure that out because your elementary school lost it's funding because Iraq needs staplers to help Democracy prevail) and this bill will not lower the deficit 1 fucking cent! The nation's richest will save more than $25 billion (the nations richest being 1% of the population), 3/4 of Americans will not see a fucking dime. And people wonder why I hate Republican's!!!??? How mad can you get before you just give up or shoot someone? I mean seriously, do they even give a shit about anybody but themselves and about anything but money? God dammit I am so mad I can't even type correctly. Fuck Republican's, Fuck Bush, Fuck Cheney, and Fuck anyone that helped them into office.
-B
"Insanity laughs, under pressure we're cracking"
PS - If you are interested, there is a great article written by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone's most recent issue #992 January 26, 2006.
Queen/David Bowie - Under Pressure
I would like to take a moment to educate somebody, anybody, on the effects and lack of effectiveness of GW's Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The bill was written in the small hours of the morning and handed over to the Democrats after midnight on 12/18/05. After they got the bill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert invoked "martial law" giving the representatives 45 minutes to debate a 774-page Act. 5 Republicans voted against it, causing Dick Cheney to come fly back from a country he didn't give shit about (Pakistan, for those of you keeping score) to cast the deciding vote on a 50-50 tie. Guess what the final count was? 51-50, the 51 being for the Act. The problem is, the bill slashes $40 billion from social service programs to help fund the $90 billion in tax cuts for the nations wealthy who bring home more than $1 million annually. This, in case you are wondering, will cause a $50 billion INCREASE in the deficit, and here is how it breaks down and how it just might affect you:
College Students:
A nice $12.7 billion cut, raising the total another $8 billion for American families to pay for education. The way they managed this was not by directly cutting funds, but by removing the variable interest rate on their loan and replacing it with a higher fixed rate, leaving students with an increase debt of more than 30%. Needless to say, none of Bush's friends (and especially his daughters) need financial aid, so why should they care?
Single Moms:
A $5 billion budget cut is waiting for you when you report your child's father as a dead-beat dad. This means that there are less resources available to you to help track down fathers who skip out on their child support, leaving an estimated $8 billion in uncollected child support nation wide. This one was so morally wrong that Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, opposed the bill because of it.
The Sick:
Congratulations! Instead of hitting Big Pharma and saving $20 billion, They decided to increase Medicaid! Now, instead of paying around $3 for a doctor visit, you could pay up to $100! Plus, medication is going up, double-trouble!
Foster Care:
They only decided to cut $343 million from foster kids, so luckily only those without parents will suffer. Now instead of helping Grandparents take custody of their Grandkids, they can either go to a foster home, or be booted out on the street. That was nice of them to be a little generous on this one.
Working Poor:
Now the states are required to meet a financial obligation, around $8 billion a year, or be fined $100 million per year they don't meet quota. How is this you ask? Simple, the state has to pay more to help the parents find jobs now that BOTH parents must be employed to receive aid. Oh, they have to work longer hours too. I imagine if they could both find work and work overtime, they wouldn't really need the help, but maybe that only makes sense to me.
Now here's the clincher, the selling point, the "money shot" so to speak; The deficit is expected to raise to $365 billion ($1 billion per day for those of you who can't go to school to figure that out because your elementary school lost it's funding because Iraq needs staplers to help Democracy prevail) and this bill will not lower the deficit 1 fucking cent! The nation's richest will save more than $25 billion (the nations richest being 1% of the population), 3/4 of Americans will not see a fucking dime. And people wonder why I hate Republican's!!!??? How mad can you get before you just give up or shoot someone? I mean seriously, do they even give a shit about anybody but themselves and about anything but money? God dammit I am so mad I can't even type correctly. Fuck Republican's, Fuck Bush, Fuck Cheney, and Fuck anyone that helped them into office.
-B
"Insanity laughs, under pressure we're cracking"
PS - If you are interested, there is a great article written by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone's most recent issue #992 January 26, 2006.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Digital Sketches, Part Deux
Here are some pics from New Years Eve, My buddies Bachelor party, and My Buddy Beerman's going away party for the Marines (good luck bro.).
-B
1 - My roommate Sean, his friend Pixie, and freaky Dean smiling in the back.
2 - Dani, my sister's friend
3 - My sister Michelle and her boyfriend David (NOT A Fascist)
4 - B, Jay, Tom, Justin at Jay's Bachelor Party
5 - B, Beerman, Sean at Beerman's Going Away Party
Digital Sketches
Music of Choice:
Bright Eyes - At The Bottom Of Everything
I forgot to mention my car, excuse me for this mistake. I drive a 2004 Ford Mustang, and it is Blue. Now the reason I mention this is as follows; 2 weekends ago I went with a couple friends to go see Jason Mraz in South Lake Tahoe, if you do not know who he is, follow the link and learn. Anyways, I drove everybody in my car, which was fairly uncomfortable. The reason I mention this is for those of you who do not know, Ford puts a barometric Pressure Sensor in their vehicles, which is used to adjust the RPM's (gas output, essentially) for the elevation that you are at. The problem is, they ALWAYS fuck your car up! Now, in Sacramento, my car rev's at 2K RPM's while it is in fucking neutral. It is not supposed to do that. Not at all I am afraid.
Moving on, I went and saw Hoodwinked! last night, it was really cute and funny. It was only an hour long, but worth the $20 bucks and no BJ for it. Just kidding, but it really was funny, even for adults, and in some parts, mostly for adults. I mentioned a while ago that I was going to read "Prozac Nation" and would report back on it, and I am almost finished with it. It's....Different, to say the least. For beginners in Sociology, I suggest "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman, and "Hip: The History" by John Leland.
Finishing off today, I am going to go back to the old school days of my old Blog, bringing back my Top 5, at least for a trial run. Today, Top 5 break-up songs:
Beck - Lost Cause
Nazareth - Love Hurts
Aerosmith - Cryin'
U2 - With Or Without You
Eagles - Already Gone
-B
"Set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell"
Bright Eyes - At The Bottom Of Everything
I forgot to mention my car, excuse me for this mistake. I drive a 2004 Ford Mustang, and it is Blue. Now the reason I mention this is as follows; 2 weekends ago I went with a couple friends to go see Jason Mraz in South Lake Tahoe, if you do not know who he is, follow the link and learn. Anyways, I drove everybody in my car, which was fairly uncomfortable. The reason I mention this is for those of you who do not know, Ford puts a barometric Pressure Sensor in their vehicles, which is used to adjust the RPM's (gas output, essentially) for the elevation that you are at. The problem is, they ALWAYS fuck your car up! Now, in Sacramento, my car rev's at 2K RPM's while it is in fucking neutral. It is not supposed to do that. Not at all I am afraid.
Moving on, I went and saw Hoodwinked! last night, it was really cute and funny. It was only an hour long, but worth the $20 bucks and no BJ for it. Just kidding, but it really was funny, even for adults, and in some parts, mostly for adults. I mentioned a while ago that I was going to read "Prozac Nation" and would report back on it, and I am almost finished with it. It's....Different, to say the least. For beginners in Sociology, I suggest "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman, and "Hip: The History" by John Leland.
Finishing off today, I am going to go back to the old school days of my old Blog, bringing back my Top 5, at least for a trial run. Today, Top 5 break-up songs:
Beck - Lost Cause
Nazareth - Love Hurts
Aerosmith - Cryin'
U2 - With Or Without You
Eagles - Already Gone
-B
"Set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell"
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Ice Cold, No Mistakes
Music of Choice:
Gwen Stefani - Cool
Yes, I like that song, no I am not gay, and no I do not care if you think the song sucks. Moving on, I would like to talk about love. Ok, maybe not love, but the lonely feelings we get late at night when our vision is blurry thru the neon signs that point our cockles to the nearest animal, vegetable, or mineral with a pulse. You know what I am talking about, the proverbial "hook up" and the methods of which said "hooking" is used to secure the "up". Here goes;
First of all, let me start off by saying I am not a good looking guy. I am tall and skinny, not toothpick skinny but athletic skinny, and I have almost no chin and I wear my hat so low you can't see my eyes. I have real bad social anxiety, which causes problems in the "hook up" department. But all that said, I am a damn good wingman. When my boy is looking to pursue a lady companion, I buy her friends drinks, I listen to the dumb stories and worse jokes, I am polite and humble, I driver all their drunk asses home, and then I go pick his ass up from her place the next day. This is not anyone in particular, just any of my friends that have requested this service before.
Now the problem with all of this is, your boy always tries to "hook you up" with one of her friends, out of obligation if for nothing else. But that causes uncomfortable situations, of which I do not handle very well. The girls are all nice to me, again out of obligation, but while at the bar they ignore me or worse, yell at me for forgetting their name cause I drove their drunk ass home one night but was never actually introduced to her nor was I told her name in the first place. So they all say hello and goodbye and thank you for the ride, but that's it, I get ignored the rest of the night. Now I am ok with this, except that they still persist to try and "hook me up" when I know they are not interested, half the time I am not interested either, and they don't even really like me but tolerate me for the sake of their one friend who is trying to "hook up" with my boy. It is frustrating sometimes, but that's not the worst part.
The worst part is the fact that it happens every damn weekend, like clockwork. I can't go somewhere else until my boy is officially "hooked up" and then if I do, who drives them all home? They all get so drunk that they cannot walk much less drive. And the whole time I get to sit there, knowing they do not want me here, listening to their fake kindness and insincere interest in anything I have to say, which isn't much anyways. Basically, it sucks, but it is something we all have to do at some point or another. So to all you wingmen out there, I feel your pain. It's a dirty job, the pay sucks, the benefits suck, but somebody's got to do it. Let's hear it for the Wingman. Keep up the good work boys, and maybe, someday, you will be the lead pilot. (but not likely).
-B
"Memories seem like so long ago, Time always kills the pain"
Gwen Stefani - Cool
Yes, I like that song, no I am not gay, and no I do not care if you think the song sucks. Moving on, I would like to talk about love. Ok, maybe not love, but the lonely feelings we get late at night when our vision is blurry thru the neon signs that point our cockles to the nearest animal, vegetable, or mineral with a pulse. You know what I am talking about, the proverbial "hook up" and the methods of which said "hooking" is used to secure the "up". Here goes;
First of all, let me start off by saying I am not a good looking guy. I am tall and skinny, not toothpick skinny but athletic skinny, and I have almost no chin and I wear my hat so low you can't see my eyes. I have real bad social anxiety, which causes problems in the "hook up" department. But all that said, I am a damn good wingman. When my boy is looking to pursue a lady companion, I buy her friends drinks, I listen to the dumb stories and worse jokes, I am polite and humble, I driver all their drunk asses home, and then I go pick his ass up from her place the next day. This is not anyone in particular, just any of my friends that have requested this service before.
Now the problem with all of this is, your boy always tries to "hook you up" with one of her friends, out of obligation if for nothing else. But that causes uncomfortable situations, of which I do not handle very well. The girls are all nice to me, again out of obligation, but while at the bar they ignore me or worse, yell at me for forgetting their name cause I drove their drunk ass home one night but was never actually introduced to her nor was I told her name in the first place. So they all say hello and goodbye and thank you for the ride, but that's it, I get ignored the rest of the night. Now I am ok with this, except that they still persist to try and "hook me up" when I know they are not interested, half the time I am not interested either, and they don't even really like me but tolerate me for the sake of their one friend who is trying to "hook up" with my boy. It is frustrating sometimes, but that's not the worst part.
The worst part is the fact that it happens every damn weekend, like clockwork. I can't go somewhere else until my boy is officially "hooked up" and then if I do, who drives them all home? They all get so drunk that they cannot walk much less drive. And the whole time I get to sit there, knowing they do not want me here, listening to their fake kindness and insincere interest in anything I have to say, which isn't much anyways. Basically, it sucks, but it is something we all have to do at some point or another. So to all you wingmen out there, I feel your pain. It's a dirty job, the pay sucks, the benefits suck, but somebody's got to do it. Let's hear it for the Wingman. Keep up the good work boys, and maybe, someday, you will be the lead pilot. (but not likely).
-B
"Memories seem like so long ago, Time always kills the pain"
Friday, January 13, 2006
UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A B A START
Music of Choice:
Tori Amos - Jackie's Strength
You ever have one of those days where nothing goes right, but for no particular reason? I'm not talking about coming home after being fired at work to find your wife bangin' the mailman or the Republican down the street that eats Jesus-O's for breakfast and lights up-side down crosses on fire in front of the gay guys house next door and then she tells you your Porsche got done blow'd up because a kid who wanted crack stole it and sold it to a movie studio for drug money so the studio could use it in "The Terminator 3: Blowin' Shit Up"? Yeah, had one of those days today.
No real reason why, but shit just did not go right. Every traffic light was red, every place to eat had a long line, washed my car 5 minutes before it rained, sick shit like that. But the weekend is here so I thought I would point out some interesting reads. As you know, Rolling Stone is one of my favorite sources for slightly Liberal information, but not for the content. I read it for the authors who contribute stories, and the way they write, such as Matt Taibbi. I have mentioned him before, and will probably continue to do so. In the December 1st issue he wrote and article titled "The End Of The World, Part 3", and it is a sad tale about the Kashmiri Mountains, where a massive earthquake killed over 73,000 people at the time it was written, and that was over a month ago.
Its sad really when you think about it, I had never heard of the earthquake until I read the article. Hell, I only knew about the Tsunami last year because I was stuck at JFK on my way to Paris to celebrate New Years. It's not necessarily my fault, well it is and it isn't. Apparently there was a big dispute about whether it is damnation to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", but the Muslims don't care either way from what I here. Anyway, it's a good read and I learned a lot about a place I never knew existed. Fabulous.
I get to play Wingman tonight, which is always not fun. but whatever. I get a free pitcher of beer out of it, and I get to play darts. I like darts. So goodbye to romance for the evening, and remember, if you see a drunk dude singing bad punk rock karaoke, give him a little lovin', it just could me your huggin'.
-B
"Feeling old by 21, never thought my day would come"
Tori Amos - Jackie's Strength
You ever have one of those days where nothing goes right, but for no particular reason? I'm not talking about coming home after being fired at work to find your wife bangin' the mailman or the Republican down the street that eats Jesus-O's for breakfast and lights up-side down crosses on fire in front of the gay guys house next door and then she tells you your Porsche got done blow'd up because a kid who wanted crack stole it and sold it to a movie studio for drug money so the studio could use it in "The Terminator 3: Blowin' Shit Up"? Yeah, had one of those days today.
No real reason why, but shit just did not go right. Every traffic light was red, every place to eat had a long line, washed my car 5 minutes before it rained, sick shit like that. But the weekend is here so I thought I would point out some interesting reads. As you know, Rolling Stone is one of my favorite sources for slightly Liberal information, but not for the content. I read it for the authors who contribute stories, and the way they write, such as Matt Taibbi. I have mentioned him before, and will probably continue to do so. In the December 1st issue he wrote and article titled "The End Of The World, Part 3", and it is a sad tale about the Kashmiri Mountains, where a massive earthquake killed over 73,000 people at the time it was written, and that was over a month ago.
Its sad really when you think about it, I had never heard of the earthquake until I read the article. Hell, I only knew about the Tsunami last year because I was stuck at JFK on my way to Paris to celebrate New Years. It's not necessarily my fault, well it is and it isn't. Apparently there was a big dispute about whether it is damnation to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", but the Muslims don't care either way from what I here. Anyway, it's a good read and I learned a lot about a place I never knew existed. Fabulous.
I get to play Wingman tonight, which is always not fun. but whatever. I get a free pitcher of beer out of it, and I get to play darts. I like darts. So goodbye to romance for the evening, and remember, if you see a drunk dude singing bad punk rock karaoke, give him a little lovin', it just could me your huggin'.
-B
"Feeling old by 21, never thought my day would come"
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Me procrastinate Long Time, Posty-Posty 5 Dolla...
Music of Choice:
O.A.R. - Dakota
So, I lied. Well,not completely lied, just sort of MIS-predicted the future. Comp: still not up. Kind of sucks, but anyways, I need something to talk about and I got alot on my mind, so here goes:
Alito - Fucking Republican, but at least he believes in upholding previous judicial rulings, even though he very well may back-peddle on that at first opportunity, but I doubt the Dem's can procrastinate the process any longer. I wish I could say Bush did more than get lucky by getting to choose 3 supreme court judges in the span of 2 years, but I doubt it's anything more than that.
Tookie - I have a big problem with his execution but cannot voice it due to the fact that just about everyone I know believes he deserved to die. So I will just leave it at this: A Nobel Peace Prize nominated man who committed his life to helping children stay out of gangs and found religious faith, could do more good than bad in prison. He spent 15 years behind bars, on death row, teaching peace to children who needed it in a time when most others preached the word of gansta rap. Someone cannot fake faith and peace that well for 15 years. If he really did commit his crimes, which he maintained his innocence until his death, he would have admitted it. You can not be forgiven by God if you do not confess your sins, as all religious wackos believe, and beg for forgiveness. I firmly believed he died and innocent man.
The Governator - Never thought to get a license?!
O.A.R. - Stories of A Stranger - Go buy this record, right now. GO!
HomEq - FUCK HomEq!
Bush - See above
Syriana - Go see it, it was very good.
In closing, I would like to say to the 1 person that reads this, I apologize for not updating, I assure you at some point this will be a daily thing. Peace, and go see a local show.
"You saw everyone as an angel, but what about the thief"
O.A.R. - Dakota
So, I lied. Well,not completely lied, just sort of MIS-predicted the future. Comp: still not up. Kind of sucks, but anyways, I need something to talk about and I got alot on my mind, so here goes:
Alito - Fucking Republican, but at least he believes in upholding previous judicial rulings, even though he very well may back-peddle on that at first opportunity, but I doubt the Dem's can procrastinate the process any longer. I wish I could say Bush did more than get lucky by getting to choose 3 supreme court judges in the span of 2 years, but I doubt it's anything more than that.
Tookie - I have a big problem with his execution but cannot voice it due to the fact that just about everyone I know believes he deserved to die. So I will just leave it at this: A Nobel Peace Prize nominated man who committed his life to helping children stay out of gangs and found religious faith, could do more good than bad in prison. He spent 15 years behind bars, on death row, teaching peace to children who needed it in a time when most others preached the word of gansta rap. Someone cannot fake faith and peace that well for 15 years. If he really did commit his crimes, which he maintained his innocence until his death, he would have admitted it. You can not be forgiven by God if you do not confess your sins, as all religious wackos believe, and beg for forgiveness. I firmly believed he died and innocent man.
The Governator - Never thought to get a license?!
O.A.R. - Stories of A Stranger - Go buy this record, right now. GO!
HomEq - FUCK HomEq!
Bush - See above
Syriana - Go see it, it was very good.
In closing, I would like to say to the 1 person that reads this, I apologize for not updating, I assure you at some point this will be a daily thing. Peace, and go see a local show.
"You saw everyone as an angel, but what about the thief"
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