Author Archive
March of the Solar Moon
May 15, 2012 | 
Author Yes, I’m aware that the post title doesn’t make a whole lot of sense … unless I give you some context.
This Sunday, I’m going to southern Utah to watch the annular solar eclipse in its entirety. Well as “entirety” as it gets in our neck of the woods, since the sun sets just before the eclipse ends (but really, we’re only going to miss about 20 minutes).
For the last week or so, I have woken up and headed out to the car to drive to work. I get up pretty early–between 5 and 6. I’m out the door well before sunrise, generally speaking. One day early last week, when I was driving in to work a little later than normal, I could see an almost full moon just getting ready to set on the western horizon, while on the eastern horizon, the sun was already threatening to crest the tops of the still-snow-capped mountains.
This morning, I saw the moon directly over head as i left around 5:30. It’s in its waning crescent phase, and it is marching towards its inevitable encounter with the sun this coming Sunday afternoon/early evening.
It struck me that this cyclical phase the moon goes through–the rotation around the earth once every 28 days (for the sake of discussion, anyway) … and this collision course with lunar and solar alignment in just such a locale that I only need to drive 4 or 5 hours … this is why I love science–specifically, astronomy. Today, anyway. I love watching documentaries as a general rule. Anything to further learning. 
But I digress.
This morning, it struck me that I am going to witness an incredible spectacle on Sunday. This is going to be an awesome event! I even rented a high quality lens to make sure i get good pictures. How often does one get to say, “Yah, I saw an annular eclipse today.”?! I’ve read of people whose lives were changed after seeing events like this. The sheer grandeur of the confluence of celestial bodies in just such a perfect alignment; the awe-inspiring vision that presents itself as the moon blots out 95% of the sun; the day that turns to night, then back to day … all in a matter of minutes. How could one NOT be struck by something like that?
Then there’s the Venus transit on June 5th. Another incredibly rare event. So rare, in fact, that it happens twice every 110-125 years. Unfortunately, this transit is the last one until December 2117, at which point most anyone alive right now will be dead.
August 21, 2017 will see a full total solar eclipse pass through North America, the center of which passes right through Jackson Hole, Wyoming, southern Idaho … well here–see for yourself. The path cuts through THE ENTIRE CONTINENTAL USA. I can’t wait for that one. It’s going to be awesome.
April 8, 2024 will see another total solar eclipse, this time passing over Niagara Falls. Seriously? Can we say “photo op”?
But for now, my heart is already in southern Utah. Sunday morning cannot get here soon enough. Gonna have to start making a playlist for the trip. Obviously Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon, CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising,” Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” and whatever else I can think of. Spotify to the rescue!
Posted in Opinion, rantings | 
Tags: annular, annular solar eclipse, Bad Moon Rising, Bark at the Moon, Black Hole Sun, CCR, Dark Side of the Moon, eclipse, Ozzy, Pink Floyd, solar eclipse, Soundgarden, Spotify, transit, Venus | 
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Rush
This morning, I came in to work earlier than normal. A buddy of mine stopped by my desk and asked about some stuff, and we got to talking. Eventually the conversation migrated to the new Rush single, “Headlong Flight.”
“Hey man. Have you heard the new Rush single?”
Buddy: “Not yet. Is it any good?”
*snicker*
me: “Here. Take my phone and listen to it.”
About 10 minutes later, he came back to my desk, shaking his head. “Really, I don’t need to say anything, do I?”All I could do was smile and nod in agreement.
What’s mind-boggling, is that these guys are 58 and 59. Peart will actually be 60 this year. The three songs that have been released from the upcoming CD are some of the best they’ve ever written. Specifically, my favorite is still “BU2B,” but “Headlong Flight” is starting to take over.
Clockwork Angels now comes out June 12, not May 22. Not sure what the reason for the delay is, but whatever. I can listen to these three tracks for now and be happy.
The Jimmy Chunga Fallacy
Ahh, the grandness of being an on-air celebrity. They can say a lot of things! And apparently, they feel they can say it without impunity.
Not today, Chunga. Not today.
You see, Jimmy Chunga’s take on this whole Trayvon Martin case is that “There isn’t any evidence” pointing either way, so he feels that Mr. Zimmerman should be left alone–have the media spotlight taken off of him. After all, this is AMERICA! LAND OF THE FREE! Innocent until proven guilty, right?! Leave him be in peace! You have no evidence against him, so leave him alone.
Please. Are you serious? No one buys that schlock anymore.
Come on …
Thus was Chunga’s stand: there’s no evidence against Zimmerman, so he’s innocent. Ignore the fact that the girl with whom Trayvon was chatting over the phone said the he told her that he was being followed. Ignore the fact that the surveillance cameras show NO blood on Zimmerman ANYwhere after shooting Trayvon (Zimmerman claimed that he was punched in the noes and hit on the back of the head).
Chunga made it perfectly clear how uninformed he actually is about the case to his audience before he opened up the phone lines for the wildly popular, “What’s happening hot stuff?” segment. I had an opinion and wanted to weigh in. After a few attempts to get through that were met with busy signals, indeed–I got through.
I presented my argument. This country does *not* assume innocent until proven guilty: quite the opposite. If such were the case, there would be no need for bail, or bail bondsmen, or the like. The point of bail is to pay into a system that has already fingered you as a guilty party, but if you pay us X amount of dollars, we’ll assume you’re innocent. Really? THAT’S considered “innocent until proven guilty? What a facade. And what about those who don’t make bail, or aren’t offered bail? Where’s the innocent until proven guilty there? Again, I reference Josh Powell. No one assumes he’s innocent, despite the fact that there’s literally no hard evidence–only circumstantial.
I presented my argument. He cut me off and said that “No–it’s better that 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man sit in jail,” and so on and so forth. “This country was founded on the principle of innocence until proven guilty! We need to get back to that!” I countered with there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty and I used a very first-hand experience to get to my point. Obviously, I didn’t give minute details, but in a broad sense, I explained that my wife and I were no longer allowed to do certain things for the state because of a case that was brought against me. That civil case never even got to go to trial because we were strong-armed into dropping our civil suit against the state … BY THE STATE. In other words, the state threatened to press criminal charges and drag us through a criminal trial, even though they knew good and well that they didn’t have enough evidence to every actually win … but they also knew that strong-arming me into dropping the civil suit by using the threat of criminal charges should be enough to get us to drop our case. And ya know what? It worked. Know why? Because I do not trust the justice system. I have family that works in law. I was strongly advised to take the deal and let this whole issue go because trials by jury can and do go wrong–very, very wrong. That is coming from within the legal system, people–not some radio DJ with a semi-popular morning show. “Drop the case. You do not want this to go to trial. Juries get it wrong. A lot. If they’re offering to drop any possible criminal charges by you dropping the civil suit, take it.”
So now we go back to the call-in show. Mr. Chunga went on to call my argument “dumb,” and then hung up on me. It gets better. He told his audience after he hung up on me that I was just “grand standing because [I'm] pissed off about my case,” leaving me no chance to refute or explain anything.
Here’s what I think:
1. Jimmy Chunga does not believe, nor does he practice, what he spouts. If he did, he would not have said that I was just “grandstanding.” Presenting an opposing idea based upon personal experience is not “grandstanding”–it’s stating fact. Cold, hard, undisputable fact. Not facts that *Chunga* had, but facts nonetheless. Yet this man, on air, decided within our 30-second call that my idea is “dumb” and that I was grandstanding because I was pissed off. Sounds an awful lot like judging without facts, to me. Jumping to conclusions that aren’t accurate, based on the fact that he has no facts … which is exactly what he’s preaching against.
2. EVERYone wants to point to Josh Powell as having murdered his wife, Susan, despite any hard, cold evidence to support the claim, yet EVERYONE assumes that he did it. The man even killed his own kids and himself to keep his in-laws from having custody of the two boys. But he wasn’t tried in an actual court of law, so he must be innocent, right?! Right …?
3. Chunga couldn’t be bothered to discuss or debate without using name-calling as part of his argument. “Your idea is dumb.” Wow. It doesn’t get any more childish or immature than that. Not to mention he presented no facts for showing how great this American court and justice system is. All he could do is sling mud. Here’s an idea, Chunga: run for office. That’s what the best politicians do, right? Call names and make personal attacks? Go for it! New Mayor of Salt Lake City!! JIMMY CHUNGA!!
What’s really sad is that I really like his show. I like the fact that he has a more conservative slant than do other stations, say, in the 96-97 wavelength. On principle, he and I see more eye to eye than we don’t. But this … calling someone’s idea’s dumb and assuming that someone is just grandstanding for the sake of piss-offed-ness without knowing a single thing about the person … while claiming that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that we must not judge?! They hypocricy is just too great to ignore. Sorry, Chunga, but you lost a listener today. Not that you care.
Posted in Opinion, rantings | Tags: 101.9, Chunga, dumb, grand standing, grandstanding, Jimmy Chunga, The End | 1 Comment »
CD Review: Paisley Rose – Milk and Honey
First off, all apologies to Jennifer and Anthony for the ridiculous delay for writing this. Jenn told me that it was available for download over on CDBaby a couple of weeks ago. It’s been playing non-stop since then. (With a few interludious [yes--"interludious"] distractions by Muse. Some addictions simply cannot be shaken. That bass line in “Hysteria” … I mean … COME ON!)
But here it is. To be fair, I didn’t want to just dive in and write my first response to the new music. I wanted to take it all in for as long as possible before putting finger pads to keyboard. In essence, I wanted to get it right.
Just like Jenn and Anthony have.
Now … to be fair, I came at this with a slant towards their previous songs, “Exist,” “Murder of Crows,” and “I Was a Child of God.” All of those songs were as organic as it gets. Deeply layered instrumentation, the vast majority of which is completely acoustic and … and ….. I mean … sick with emotion, pathos, and amazement. Rarely do you hear such harmonies. Mamas and the Papas, Alice in Chains … I mean, we’re talking *that* level of insane harmonies.
Now, having said all that, I immediately went to CDBaby’s, downloaded the new CD, fidgetdly waited for it to finish, popped it into iTunes and onto my phone. Grabbed my headphones, turned off the lights, and settled in.
First sound: Champagne cork popping, and bubbly being poured. I can only assume this is in recognition of them FINALLY being able to release their life’s ambition. Laughter, yet … there’s some distinct foreshadowing to the echo in the sound.
Then “Incognito kicks in … and I’m left flabbergasted. I wasn’t ready. I expected more along the lines of “Exist” and Crows. Instead, I get a thunderous drum, trumpet, and completely plugged in guitar?! What?!
A completely different direction. Talk about a curve ball. Which, using my least favorite sports metaphor, they hit out of the park, over the Green Monster, and whetted my appetite for the rest of the CD.
Far and away, one of my favorite tracks on the new CD is the next track, “Head in the Clouds.” I love this song for so many reasons. The dueling guitars. The subtle synth. The lyrics. The harmonics. The dynamics. This is the first time I’ve heard Jenn simply BELT IT. And holy sweet Halloween candy bag full of Skors … can she let it out. I’ve had my suspicions–that there’s a lot more force to her voice than she had previously let on. I was so much more than just right. It’s like when you’re watching some incredibly plot-twisty movie, and you kind of see hints of what’s coming, and then you get the big reveal, and it’s exactly what you thought, and you have that “YES! I NAILED IT!” That’s how that track hit me.
“Venus over Mars” is another guitar-driven track that has to be heard to be believed. Words simply cannot describe it adequately. So … please–just get the CD.
But that’s not the end of the review. Oh … not hardly.
See, after “VoM,” there is a complete shift. “Space Hibernation” is a completely piano/strings/drums piece that will completely mellow you out to the point where you very well may forget to actually breathe. It’s that relaxing.
“Visuva” is a great choral piece that reminds me of an old, abandoned Catholic church, in which all the benches are rotting, the stained glass windows missing half their panes, but through those broken panes shines beams of sunlight that highlight the choir standing at the front, where once stood the pulpit and communion table. I don’t know. It just has a really incredible vibe to it. If this were a video, that’s how I’d shoot it. Dramatic shots of the instruments being played, close-ups of the choir members, shots from the back of the church, showing the age and demise of the building, yet echoing through the once hallowed halls resounds these angelic voices. I love this piece.
For the rest of the album, they return to an acoustic sound, returning to their roots. “Rowboat” is an awesome a capella track that makes you want to get up and travel to just about ANYwhere. “Dancing in the Rain” … if I’m not missing my mark, this could almost be called, “Jenn’s Anthem.” “Island Song” sounds like a non-reggae track that has a really awesome island vibe to it.
EDIT: Just read Jenn’s Facebook page. Apparently, “Head in the Clouds” is her favorite track too. That makes me smile from ear to ear.
Posted in New Music, review | Tags: Anthony Burell, Jenn Morrow Burell, Milk & Honey, Milk and Honey, Paisley Rose | No Comments »
New Music Alert: Rush’s Clockwork Angels Due May 22!!
To say that I’ve been looking forward to this CD for years is really kind of pointless. Anyone who is familiar with Rush has had their hopes up for this release since about June 2010. The “teasers,” as it were–”Caravan” and “BU2B” (short-hand for “Brought Up To Believe) were released, and the world felt right. It felt whole. It felt lighter.
Then the wait began. Little did we know that it would be almost 2 years until the new CD would come out.
But we have an official release date! May 22, Clockwork Angels will be released world-wide. That means at midnight, I will be on iTunes, waiting for the CD to “hit.” That also means that I will be going on Amazon later today as soon as they have a pre-order page for Clockwork Angels!!!
I have been following them since I first heard Presto back in 1989. Not gonna lie … it wasn’t my favorite CD at the time. I was in to Metallica, Van Halen, and other bands over them. I wish I could go back in time and tell that kid to appreciate them for what they were then and are now–talent beyond comparability. I even remember Rick Burton lauding the praises of Hold Your Fire and talking of how Neils completely electronic drum set was “revolutionary.” I remember where I was sitting on the bus, where Rick was sitting, and even what he was wearing (which isn’t hard … he *always* wore a gray hoodie over whatever other t-shirt he may or may not have been wearing).
Rush got me through my college years. Rush has been a part of my marriage. Up until 2010, I was severely afraid that I’d never get to attend a Rush concert with my wife. She came on board the Rush train with Vapor Trails, quickly latching on to “Earthshine” as her favorite track.
I think of the sheer joy their music brings me. I think of the incredible quality of their music. The camaradarie the 3 of them share as band mates for almost 40 years. I think of the chance I have to share their music with my kids … and it leaves me breathless, misty-eyed.
I can wait 2+ more months. I may not like waiting, but I have 18 other studio CDs, 9 official concert CDs, and countless bootlegs to keep me company.
AGAHHGHHHGHHDHGHS!
Posted in New Music, upcoming music | Tags: Alex Lifeson, BU2B, Caravan, Clockwork Angels, Geddy Lee, May 22, Neil Peart, Rash, Rush | No Comments »
iPad 3 Eve: What I Hope To Hear and See
First off, let me caveat this by saying that I do not own and iPad of any generation. Yet. I plan on fixing that over the summer. However, for the interim, I’m perfectly content with my iPhone.
Tomorrow, Tim Cook et al will take the stage in Cupertino and announce the next generation of iPad, supposedly called iPad 3, or possibly iPad HD. Or, as I’m hoping, iPadS. The strong rumor is that an iPad Mini is coming down the pike–a 7-8″ tablet that would have all the functionality of a typical iPad, just in a smaller form factor. I would much prefer the smaller version for any number of reasons, but the over-riding factor is sheer size management.
My iPhone already has a 3.5 screen. I like it. It works for my needs, and it does the job just fine for the apps I use. However, a 7″ screen on an iPad would give me 4 times more real estate. Using Garageband would be *so* much easier. The real kicker would be a 128GB model. I think that would probably push me over the edge to getting one.
As far as the new regular sized model goes, I really have no expectations. I mean … at this point, NOT having a retina display is almost laughable, and from all the regular Apple pundit websites (e.g. TUAW, Cult of Mac, 9 to 5 Mac, et al), there’s no reason to assume that it won’t. However, all that means is that every iPad app out there is going to have to upgrade to look semi-decent on the new iPad.
On This Date in Literary History
Last year, I wrote about Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The admiration I have for him has not abated over the course of last 365 days; if anything, it’s increased.
Today, my 2nd grade daughter is having “pajama day” at school. Her class earned the right to have a book party for reading the most out of anyone else in the school, and they are being rewarded with some pretty cool stuff (by 2nd grade standards, anyway). She was allowed to bring her favorite books to school. Being that it’s Dr. Seuss day, she opted to bring “Horton Hatches an Egg” and “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” I couldn’t be more proud of her. What a great way to celebrate Mr. Geisel’s accomplishments.
Maybe tonight, we’ll watch “The Cat in the Hat” with Mike Meyers. Actually, I kind of doubt we will. That movie was horrible. “The Grinch” is pretty good though … unfortunately, I like to keep my movies in their proper season. For that very reason, my wife and I only watch “Groundhog Day” once a year.
Happy birthday, Mr. Theodore Geisel. Your writings are as engaging and amazing as they were 10, 20, 50 years ago!
Posted in Opinion, rantings, review | Tags: Dr. Seuss, happy birthday, Horton Hatches an Egg, Theodore Geisel | No Comments »
Buffcon 1
As previously mentioned, I’m a hockey fan. Specifically, I bleed blue and gold. Lately, I’ve been bleeding a LOT of blue and gold, as has most of SabreNation cuz the team, as a general whole, sucks. There’s no heart. There’s no grit. There’s no scoring. There’s no defense. There’s no good goaltending. And it’s getting really, really old. So old that talk show hosts are actually excited to see them lose tonight in Winnipeg JUST to see if change will actually happen.
Lots want to blame Darcy Regier, the GM. And that’s fine. I get wanting to pin this on him. He’s the one who assembled this team; he should be held accountable for the on-ice performance. Right?
Except here’s what pisses me off the most. This same team, from Februrary 22, 2011, until the end of the season, were THE BEST team in the NHL. They went on a rampage and got themselves into the playoffs as a 7th place seed, then took Philly to 7 games in the first round.
Off season brought in some great acquisitions in Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff, and Robyn Regehr. Our defense AND offense was supposed to be upgraded. And it seemed like everything was going great.
Until November 11th.
Since November 11th, the Sabres have lost 22 games, 4of which were in OT/SO. They now sit in 11th place, 9 points out of 8th, and 3 points from the bottom of the conference. If they had won even half of those games instead of losing, they’d be vying for the top of the conference. Even if they had won just 5 more games, they’d at least be in 6th or 7th. But no … they haven’t. They’ve just about hit rock bottom, and if they lose tonight in Winnipeg, there very well might be some major shake-ups, from the front office down to the janitor (cuz he’s obviously not taking out ALL of the trash). \
So we of SabreNation watch nightly as the team collapses. I’m kind of on the side of WGR’s early morning hosts. There is nothing about this team worth watching right now, OTHER than to see what happens if they end up losing again.
I will wear my jersey with pride, and I will continue to hope that they’ll win and start climbing out of this funk. I don’t expect a miracle, but it starts with one game. Might tonight be that game? Could be. The optimist in me hopes that it is. The realist in me wonders if they can win another game before the All-Star break.
Posted in Blah-ness, Hockey, Opinion, rantings | Tags: Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr, SabreNation, Sabres, Ville Leino | No Comments »
Confessions of a Sabres Hockey Addict
Hi, my name is chris, and i’m a sabres fan. This is my 25th year of following them, and there’s no end in sight. Sometimes … sometimes, I feel like I *need* to walk away. you know … for my sanity, right? And I’ve tried. i tell myself every year, “i will *not* re-order the CI package this time. NO. I will save that money and put it towards a family vacation. Or my girls’ college fund. Or … or SOMEthing!” But no. Every year, I get recharged the $170 to follow a team I literally have dyed in my blood. If you cut me open, I bleed blue and gold. For a period, I bled red and black, but not anymore.
And really, isn’t every game like a little mini-vacation? A very stressful, anxiety-ridden vacation, where the kids are in the back seat beating on each other and screaming “MOM! SHE TOUCHED ME!” “DAD!! I WANT A CHEESEBURGER!!!” “ARE WE THERE YET?!” I want to tell them that yes–we’re there! we’ve reached the promised land! we have arrived at nirvana. But the reality is so much colder and darker than anything I want to tell them. They’re young. They do not need to be subjected to this ….. THIS!
The part that worries me the most is that they’re already there. They already have little jerseys. they already know Miller, Roy, Stafford, Vanek, Pominville … all by number. My daughter wants a picture of Roy, bless her gargantuan heart. They get exicted when the Sabres are ahead, and they know daddy is “sad” when they lose.
I mean … it’s just a game, right? It’s just a bunch of people getting paid to play with sticks and a puck. In the end, it doesn’t *really* matter … right?
Right …?
My name is Chris, and I’m a Sabres addict.
So Long, 2011
In all honesty, I’m glad to be leaving this one behind. It’s been a pretty bummer year–especially the last couple of months. But that horse is dead, so I’m not going to beat it anymore. I am MOST EXCITEDLY looking forward to 2012 for any number of reasons. Some great music coming out this year–most notably Rush’s “Clockwork Angels” is due to come out at some point. The first single (Caravan) was released forever ago, along with the “B” track “BU2B.” Cannot wait for the new music.
Also, we’re taking a cross-country trip that’s going to last for 3 weeks. THAT is going to be a lot of fun. Lots of pics, lots of blogging. WHOO!!
But most of all, I’m just excited to be where I am–loving family, great friends, excellent job. I cannot ask for more.
Happy new year, everyone. May your 2012 be the most excellent as possible!
Posted in Blah-ness, Opinion, rantings | Tags: BU2B, Caravan, Clockwork Angels, cross-country, road trip, Rush | No Comments »
