11.Floss once a week - I somehow have gotten into the habit of flossing every night before I go to bed. Yay for habits!
19. Attend basketball games for each cousin - I have now seen all 4 of my cousins who played high school ball play. Bonus points for also seeing the one who played in college.
63. Add 5 new tricks to the rotation - Between pork curry in a hurry, porkzinni, chicken and corn chowder, zucchini pie, spicy turkey sausage zucchini casserole, chicken salad sammiches, and quick chicken tiki masala I've got this one covered.
65. Grow something and eat it - Radishes, Cherry tomatoes, Basil, Zucchini. Yum.
66. Visit Australia - Changed to Visit Europe. It's gonna happen.
91. Make a will - We have created the will and it should be legal even though our notary messed a few things up and we need to redo that. But the will is all set.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventure in Narnia by Laura Miller
I love to read. I have for as long as I can remember. I would sequester myself off in the woods during the summer, burying my head in a book as I solved cases with Encyclopedia Brown and the Boxcar Children, wondered if maybe my teacher was an alien, and wished my school was as awesome as Wayside. In the winter time I would crawl into one of my parents' cars, trying to find a secluded and warm spot as I journeyed off to other worlds. And despite my love for the stories and worlds of Louis Sachar, Bruce Coville, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Gertrude Chandler Warner, and Madeleine L'Engle, the world of Narnia was my favorite of all.
I don't remember when I first encountered The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. But I do remember how long and hard I searched for that magical wardrobe that would transport me to Narnia. My grandmother's house seemed the most likely place. After all, the Pevensie children found their magical portal in the Old Professor's house. My grandmother's old farm house, with its many staircases and attics seemed just the place. I still remember the disappointment I felt, when I pushed past dusty clothes in an upstairs closet only to find an old, but very solid wall.
Despite these disappointments, the world of Narnia always seemed real to me when I was a child, and I'd roam around the woods surrounding my parents house looking for places that reminded me of the forests of Narnia. I thought the journey Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace had aboard the Dawn Treader was just about the coolest thing that could ever happen, and I was devastated when I finished The Last Battle and realized there wouldn't be anymore stories. I still enjoyed The Last Battle, but I wanted nothing more than for the story to continue, and I even remember asking my 5th grade teacher if it would be legal for me to continue the story!
Later on, I discovered that C.S. Lewis was a Christian apologist, and that the Chronicles of Narnia contained many Christian religious symbols. I was raised Catholic, so I was dumbfounded that I had missed what now seemed so obvious. The death and resurrection of Aslan represented the death and resurrection and Jesus. How could I have missed that? I also felt a bit cheated. One of my most treasured and loved childhood memories had been turned out to be religious propaganda. I still loved the Chronicles, but they now seemed somewhat tarnished.
Thankfully, the New Yorker reviewed a book by Laura Miller, entitled The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia. The review mentioned that Miller had also loved the Chronicles growing up, had also been disappointed when she learned of the religious symbolism, but then she returned to her love of the books as an adult. I was excited and immediately headed down to the bookstore. As soon as I opened the book and saw one of my favorite passages of my favorite book (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) quoted I knew I was in for a treat.
I loved hearing Miller's story, and how closely it echoed my own. I also enjoyed her perspective on the Chronicles of Narnia. Most literary critics focus on the Christian symbolism, but Miller focuses on her own experiences and the non-Christian inspirations which are much more fascinating than another long winded explanation about men with beards in sandals. Reading Miller's book made me realize the Chronicles of Narnia are so much more than religious propaganda, and just re-reading some of my favorite passages gave me goosebumps. I was returned, for a few moments, to my childhood, when it seemed that Narnia could be waiting for me behind any door. If you are a fan of Narnia, you will not be disappointed in this well written and thought provoking book.
I don't remember when I first encountered The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. But I do remember how long and hard I searched for that magical wardrobe that would transport me to Narnia. My grandmother's house seemed the most likely place. After all, the Pevensie children found their magical portal in the Old Professor's house. My grandmother's old farm house, with its many staircases and attics seemed just the place. I still remember the disappointment I felt, when I pushed past dusty clothes in an upstairs closet only to find an old, but very solid wall.
Despite these disappointments, the world of Narnia always seemed real to me when I was a child, and I'd roam around the woods surrounding my parents house looking for places that reminded me of the forests of Narnia. I thought the journey Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace had aboard the Dawn Treader was just about the coolest thing that could ever happen, and I was devastated when I finished The Last Battle and realized there wouldn't be anymore stories. I still enjoyed The Last Battle, but I wanted nothing more than for the story to continue, and I even remember asking my 5th grade teacher if it would be legal for me to continue the story!
Later on, I discovered that C.S. Lewis was a Christian apologist, and that the Chronicles of Narnia contained many Christian religious symbols. I was raised Catholic, so I was dumbfounded that I had missed what now seemed so obvious. The death and resurrection of Aslan represented the death and resurrection and Jesus. How could I have missed that? I also felt a bit cheated. One of my most treasured and loved childhood memories had been turned out to be religious propaganda. I still loved the Chronicles, but they now seemed somewhat tarnished.
Thankfully, the New Yorker reviewed a book by Laura Miller, entitled The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia. The review mentioned that Miller had also loved the Chronicles growing up, had also been disappointed when she learned of the religious symbolism, but then she returned to her love of the books as an adult. I was excited and immediately headed down to the bookstore. As soon as I opened the book and saw one of my favorite passages of my favorite book (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) quoted I knew I was in for a treat.
I loved hearing Miller's story, and how closely it echoed my own. I also enjoyed her perspective on the Chronicles of Narnia. Most literary critics focus on the Christian symbolism, but Miller focuses on her own experiences and the non-Christian inspirations which are much more fascinating than another long winded explanation about men with beards in sandals. Reading Miller's book made me realize the Chronicles of Narnia are so much more than religious propaganda, and just re-reading some of my favorite passages gave me goosebumps. I was returned, for a few moments, to my childhood, when it seemed that Narnia could be waiting for me behind any door. If you are a fan of Narnia, you will not be disappointed in this well written and thought provoking book.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
#97. Start an account for my wife's godson
So since I started this list, each month I've taken 10 bucks and set it aside for my wife's godson. One I hit $100 I went and bought a $200 savings bond. I'll continue to do this until the kid is 18. Then, we'll take the bonds down and cash em in and give him a nice graduation gift. The first savings bond arrived yesterday!
Unless the kid turns out to be an ass. Then we'll keep it :)
Unless the kid turns out to be an ass. Then we'll keep it :)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
#56. Buy a GPS for running/biking
I saw a Garmin Forerunner 305 on sale at Amazon last week for around $160 (they normally cost $300) and I just had to pull the trigger. So now I can watch my heart rate, know my pace, and how far I've gone with this nifty little device.
If only it would stop snowing so I could give it a test run....
If only it would stop snowing so I could give it a test run....
Thursday, December 11, 2008
My Inner Pop Princess
I have a confession to make.
Deep down I'm a fan of pop music. Me and Avril are tight. Nelly Furtado makes me shake my booty. Shakira makes me want to speak Spanish.
I guess it all started back in 2002 when a girl I was dating wanted to go see Michelle Branch. I reluctantly agreed and figured if I had to sit through the damn concert I might as well listen to some of her stuff. So I popped on Napster (or whatever I was using in 2002) and downloaded The Spirit Room. Much to my surprise... it was kinda catchy. And when I saw her in concert she blew all my expectations away. She could sing and she could play the guitar and well... she rocked.
As the next few years went bye, The Spirit Room was my guilty pleasure. Whenever I was feeling mellow I'd pop it in the CD player and just cruise. Around this time I also started spending more time in the gym, and they were always playing some Top 40 station. Avril Lavigne's Complicated had just hit it big and I can't tell you how many miles I put in on a treadmill listening to that song. It grew on me.
So there I am, secretly rocking out to Michelle Branch and Avril when I'm all alone. Then one fateful day a year or two ago my wife was watching a movie on ABC family or the Life Channel or something like that. Anyways, a Michelle Branch tune is on the soundtrack and I start singing it. Of course this isn't one of her big hits like Everywhere or All you Wanted. This was the song between them on the CD, You Get Me. And I am singing every damn word. I have no excuses and my wife immediately called me a Pop Princess.
So I've been outed. I love Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, Christina Aguilera's version of Candyman, and Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl.
My 16 year old self just died.
In his memory I should play some Metallica or some Pearl Jam. Instead, I'll play my newest guilty pleasure Pull Shapes by the Pipettes, a band I first learned about from a funny book
Deep down I'm a fan of pop music. Me and Avril are tight. Nelly Furtado makes me shake my booty. Shakira makes me want to speak Spanish.
I guess it all started back in 2002 when a girl I was dating wanted to go see Michelle Branch. I reluctantly agreed and figured if I had to sit through the damn concert I might as well listen to some of her stuff. So I popped on Napster (or whatever I was using in 2002) and downloaded The Spirit Room. Much to my surprise... it was kinda catchy. And when I saw her in concert she blew all my expectations away. She could sing and she could play the guitar and well... she rocked.
As the next few years went bye, The Spirit Room was my guilty pleasure. Whenever I was feeling mellow I'd pop it in the CD player and just cruise. Around this time I also started spending more time in the gym, and they were always playing some Top 40 station. Avril Lavigne's Complicated had just hit it big and I can't tell you how many miles I put in on a treadmill listening to that song. It grew on me.
So there I am, secretly rocking out to Michelle Branch and Avril when I'm all alone. Then one fateful day a year or two ago my wife was watching a movie on ABC family or the Life Channel or something like that. Anyways, a Michelle Branch tune is on the soundtrack and I start singing it. Of course this isn't one of her big hits like Everywhere or All you Wanted. This was the song between them on the CD, You Get Me. And I am singing every damn word. I have no excuses and my wife immediately called me a Pop Princess.
So I've been outed. I love Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, Christina Aguilera's version of Candyman, and Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl.
My 16 year old self just died.
In his memory I should play some Metallica or some Pearl Jam. Instead, I'll play my newest guilty pleasure Pull Shapes by the Pipettes, a band I first learned about from a funny book
Monday, November 10, 2008
#26. See Metallica Live
I saw Metallica live for the 8th time last night. In honor of this historic event, I present:
A Metallica Retrospective
Load Tour: April 15 1997
This concert blew me away. I was 16 and had seen AC/DC in 1996 (my first real concert) but nothing had prepared me for my first Metallica show. The Boys in Black had put a lot of money into the stage theatrics and it showed. At one point, the entire friggin stage started blowing apart. Roadies fell from the ceiling. On fire. It was awesome.
After the carnage, James came out and pulled the string on a solitary lightbulb (all that remained after the destruction). "IS EVERYBODY OK?!??" he roared with a grin. "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" we responded, as they came back out and rocked in a "Garage Inc" days stage.
To this day I don't think I've been to concert that was better. I also love how the Ticket Stub says Riverfront Colosseum instead of US Bank Arena.
Set List:
Intro
So What!
Creeping Death
Sad But True
Ain't My Bitch
Hero of the Day
King Nothing
One
Wasting My Hate
Bass / Guitar Solo
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Wherever I May Roam
Fade to Black
Seek & Destroy / Fight Fire With Fire
Last Caress
Master of Puppets
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Motorbreath
I have no idea why the date for the Cincy show is wrong on the T-shirt.
Re-Load Tour: July 7 1998
At the time I didn't know how lucky I was to be seeing them again so soon after the '97 show. I loved the Ecstasy of Gold intro video they had. It was pretty much this clip from The Good The Bad and The Ugly:
For some reason Tuco running through the graveyard was a badass way to start the show. I'm pretty sure I gave myself whiplash during Master of Puppets. The acoustic set in the middle was pretty cool too, and hearing Metallica play Sweet Home Alabama was surreal (and is probably why I insist on yelling Play Some Skynyrd! at every concert I attend)
Setlist
Ecstasy of Gold
Helpless
Master of Puppets
Of Wolf And Man
The Thing That Should Not Be
Kirk solo
Where the Wild Things Are jam
Fuel
Memory Remains
Jason solo
Bleeding Me
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
King Nothing
Wherever I May Roam
One
Fight Fire With Fire
Low Manґs Lyric (acoustic)
The Four Horsemen (acoustic)
Sweet Home Alabama jam (acoustic)
Motorbreath (acoustic)
Sad But True
Enter Sandman
Creeping Death
Summer Sanitarium 2000: July 8 2000
This show was at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. A good friend of mine's father owned a luxury box at the speedway so we had the red carpet treatment all day. We took a limo to the show and had access to the luxury box all day. Seeing the crowds down on the field moshing to Korn from the luxury box was awesome. It was a sea of people jumping up and down in rhythm. Craziness!
This was the show that James missed because he was in the hospital due to a jet ski accident. I was pretty disappointed at the time, but I can honestly say I'm one of the few people in the world who have seen Kid Rock front Metallica for a Rolling Stones cover or Jonathon Davis fronting Metallica singing One. I think the bands pulled together well and put on a helluva once in a lifetime show. No ticket stub for this one because we had to turn those in to get our tickets for the make up show.
Set List
Creeping Death (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Seek & Destroy (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Mastertarium (w/Jason and then Serje on vox and Darren on guitar)
One (Jonathon Davis on vocals, SOAD on guitar)
Korn - Blind (w/Larz and Kirk)
Korn - Clown
Korn - Earache my Eye (w/Jason)
Korn - South of Heaven jam (w/Jason)
Sad But True/American Badass - (Kid Rock on vox)
Nothing Else Matters (Kid Rock on vox, Head on bass)
Kid Rock - Fortuante Son (w/Kid Rock and Jason vox)
Kid Rock - Jumpin' Jack Flash (w/Kid Rock vox)
Fuel (Jason vox, Kid Rock on turntables)
Turn the Page (Kid Rock vocals)
Whiplash (w/Kid Rock's guitarist)
Enter Sandman (w/Kid rock on backing vox, Head bass)
Back Again: August 8 2000
I love this ticket stub. "Special Guest: James Hetfield". Hilarious! Seeing the boys rock out Rupp was awesome. One clear memory I have of this show is how the opening band used numbers for the names of all their songs, and all their songs were instrumental. "This one is called #31!" Very catchy....
Set List
Ecstasy of Gold
Creeping Death
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Seek & Destroy
Fade to Black
Sad But True
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
King Nothing
Mastertarium
Battery
Nothing Else Matters
I Disappear
One
Turn the Page
Enter Sandman
Last Caress / So What! / Die Die My Darling
Summer Sanitarium 2003: July 19 2003
I loved the start of this show. Battery and then straight into Master of Puppets. Can't get much better than that. This was a show of many firsts. It was the first time I got to hear Harvester of Sorrow Live. This was the first time my (future) wife and I saw Metallica together (even though she also attended the Speedway and Rupp makeup shows). And finally, this was the first concert I attended where I didn't buy a t-shirt. At $30 they were too much for me (and I've never bought another). This concert marked my last mosh pit as well, as I took an elbow to the throat during Linkin Park's set. My voice disappeared as the day went on and I couldn't talk for a week (which amused my friends to no end). Lowlights of the day included Fred Durst and the Buckeye idiots yelling OH-IO between sets.
Battery
Master of Puppets
Harvester of Sorrow
Sanitarium
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Frantic
Sad But True
St. Anger
No Remorse
Seek & Destroy
Blackened
Fuel
Nothing Else Matters
Creeping Death
One
Enter Sandman
St. Anger Tour: May 1 2004
Whew... the 4 year drought ends. We had to sit in the bleachers for this show, since this was before Cincinnati reversed the ban on festival seating. A few things stick out to me about this show, including one of my wife's friends sitting down at the concert. For shame! Also, I managed to score my first Metallica guitar pick despite being 8 rows up in the stands. I saw one lying on the floor and convinced a bored security guard to hand it to me. During this show we also discovered that Sober James was quite the chatty Kathy. This was also the first show I went to where the band offered a download of the concert from LiveMetallica.com The crowd singing the entire first verse of Sad But True is awesome.
Set List
Blackened
Fuel
Seek and Destroy
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Frantic
King Nothing
No Leaf Clover
St. Anger
Sad But True
Creeping Death
Battery
I Disappear
Kirk Doodle #2
Nothing Else Matters
Master Of Puppets
One
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Metal Militia
St Anger Tour: September 24 2004
Ah, the second visit during the St. Anger Tour. After this show my wife and I decided that the next time Metallica toured we'd go see em three times (little did we know that by the time that happened in 2008 we'd have just bought a house and have no money for that). This show was in Columbus so this time we were on the floor. It was probably the closest I had ever been to the stage at a Metallica show. The stage was set in the middle and fans could stand at the rail all the way around the stage. Once again I managed to score a guitar pick (different from the one I got at the Cincy show). Hearing Hit the Lights live for the first time was cool.
Set List
Blackened
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
Creeping Death
Frantic
Wherever I May Roam
Turn the Page
St. Anger
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
I Disappear
Melbourne
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
One
Enter Sandman
Hit The Lights
Seek and Destroy
Death Magnetic Tour: November 9 2008
Whew! After 4 longs years I finally got to see them again. Though the guys look a bit older, they can still blow the place up. Kirk just plays the hell out of that guitar. My buddy's wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant and I thought for sure the baby would be popped out by the sound of his playing. I was a bit sad I didn't score a guitar pick or one of the Death Magnetic beach balls they dropped from the ceiling, but the show was great.
Set List
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
Ride The Lightning
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Wherever I May Roam
Leper Messiah
Kirk Solo #1
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Kirk Solo #2
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die My Darling
Jump in the Fire
Seek and Destroy
Concert Review
Wow. 8 shows over 12 years. I've attended four with my wife, five with my Dad, and all eight with one of my best friends. Whenever the Boys in Black tour again, you can bet your ass we'll be there.
A Metallica Retrospective
Load Tour: April 15 1997
This concert blew me away. I was 16 and had seen AC/DC in 1996 (my first real concert) but nothing had prepared me for my first Metallica show. The Boys in Black had put a lot of money into the stage theatrics and it showed. At one point, the entire friggin stage started blowing apart. Roadies fell from the ceiling. On fire. It was awesome.
After the carnage, James came out and pulled the string on a solitary lightbulb (all that remained after the destruction). "IS EVERYBODY OK?!??" he roared with a grin. "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" we responded, as they came back out and rocked in a "Garage Inc" days stage.
To this day I don't think I've been to concert that was better. I also love how the Ticket Stub says Riverfront Colosseum instead of US Bank Arena.
Set List:
Intro
So What!
Creeping Death
Sad But True
Ain't My Bitch
Hero of the Day
King Nothing
One
Wasting My Hate
Bass / Guitar Solo
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Wherever I May Roam
Fade to Black
Seek & Destroy / Fight Fire With Fire
Last Caress
Master of Puppets
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Motorbreath
I have no idea why the date for the Cincy show is wrong on the T-shirt.
Re-Load Tour: July 7 1998
At the time I didn't know how lucky I was to be seeing them again so soon after the '97 show. I loved the Ecstasy of Gold intro video they had. It was pretty much this clip from The Good The Bad and The Ugly:
For some reason Tuco running through the graveyard was a badass way to start the show. I'm pretty sure I gave myself whiplash during Master of Puppets. The acoustic set in the middle was pretty cool too, and hearing Metallica play Sweet Home Alabama was surreal (and is probably why I insist on yelling Play Some Skynyrd! at every concert I attend)
Setlist
Ecstasy of Gold
Helpless
Master of Puppets
Of Wolf And Man
The Thing That Should Not Be
Kirk solo
Where the Wild Things Are jam
Fuel
Memory Remains
Jason solo
Bleeding Me
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
King Nothing
Wherever I May Roam
One
Fight Fire With Fire
Low Manґs Lyric (acoustic)
The Four Horsemen (acoustic)
Sweet Home Alabama jam (acoustic)
Motorbreath (acoustic)
Sad But True
Enter Sandman
Creeping Death
Summer Sanitarium 2000: July 8 2000
This show was at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. A good friend of mine's father owned a luxury box at the speedway so we had the red carpet treatment all day. We took a limo to the show and had access to the luxury box all day. Seeing the crowds down on the field moshing to Korn from the luxury box was awesome. It was a sea of people jumping up and down in rhythm. Craziness!
This was the show that James missed because he was in the hospital due to a jet ski accident. I was pretty disappointed at the time, but I can honestly say I'm one of the few people in the world who have seen Kid Rock front Metallica for a Rolling Stones cover or Jonathon Davis fronting Metallica singing One. I think the bands pulled together well and put on a helluva once in a lifetime show. No ticket stub for this one because we had to turn those in to get our tickets for the make up show.
Set List
Creeping Death (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Seek & Destroy (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Mastertarium (w/Jason and then Serje on vox and Darren on guitar)
One (Jonathon Davis on vocals, SOAD on guitar)
Korn - Blind (w/Larz and Kirk)
Korn - Clown
Korn - Earache my Eye (w/Jason)
Korn - South of Heaven jam (w/Jason)
Sad But True/American Badass - (Kid Rock on vox)
Nothing Else Matters (Kid Rock on vox, Head on bass)
Kid Rock - Fortuante Son (w/Kid Rock and Jason vox)
Kid Rock - Jumpin' Jack Flash (w/Kid Rock vox)
Fuel (Jason vox, Kid Rock on turntables)
Turn the Page (Kid Rock vocals)
Whiplash (w/Kid Rock's guitarist)
Enter Sandman (w/Kid rock on backing vox, Head bass)
Back Again: August 8 2000
I love this ticket stub. "Special Guest: James Hetfield". Hilarious! Seeing the boys rock out Rupp was awesome. One clear memory I have of this show is how the opening band used numbers for the names of all their songs, and all their songs were instrumental. "This one is called #31!" Very catchy....
Set List
Ecstasy of Gold
Creeping Death
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Seek & Destroy
Fade to Black
Sad But True
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
King Nothing
Mastertarium
Battery
Nothing Else Matters
I Disappear
One
Turn the Page
Enter Sandman
Last Caress / So What! / Die Die My Darling
Summer Sanitarium 2003: July 19 2003
I loved the start of this show. Battery and then straight into Master of Puppets. Can't get much better than that. This was a show of many firsts. It was the first time I got to hear Harvester of Sorrow Live. This was the first time my (future) wife and I saw Metallica together (even though she also attended the Speedway and Rupp makeup shows). And finally, this was the first concert I attended where I didn't buy a t-shirt. At $30 they were too much for me (and I've never bought another). This concert marked my last mosh pit as well, as I took an elbow to the throat during Linkin Park's set. My voice disappeared as the day went on and I couldn't talk for a week (which amused my friends to no end). Lowlights of the day included Fred Durst and the Buckeye idiots yelling OH-IO between sets.
Battery
Master of Puppets
Harvester of Sorrow
Sanitarium
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Frantic
Sad But True
St. Anger
No Remorse
Seek & Destroy
Blackened
Fuel
Nothing Else Matters
Creeping Death
One
Enter Sandman
St. Anger Tour: May 1 2004
Whew... the 4 year drought ends. We had to sit in the bleachers for this show, since this was before Cincinnati reversed the ban on festival seating. A few things stick out to me about this show, including one of my wife's friends sitting down at the concert. For shame! Also, I managed to score my first Metallica guitar pick despite being 8 rows up in the stands. I saw one lying on the floor and convinced a bored security guard to hand it to me. During this show we also discovered that Sober James was quite the chatty Kathy. This was also the first show I went to where the band offered a download of the concert from LiveMetallica.com The crowd singing the entire first verse of Sad But True is awesome.
Set List
Blackened
Fuel
Seek and Destroy
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Frantic
King Nothing
No Leaf Clover
St. Anger
Sad But True
Creeping Death
Battery
I Disappear
Kirk Doodle #2
Nothing Else Matters
Master Of Puppets
One
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Metal Militia
St Anger Tour: September 24 2004
Ah, the second visit during the St. Anger Tour. After this show my wife and I decided that the next time Metallica toured we'd go see em three times (little did we know that by the time that happened in 2008 we'd have just bought a house and have no money for that). This show was in Columbus so this time we were on the floor. It was probably the closest I had ever been to the stage at a Metallica show. The stage was set in the middle and fans could stand at the rail all the way around the stage. Once again I managed to score a guitar pick (different from the one I got at the Cincy show). Hearing Hit the Lights live for the first time was cool.
Set List
Blackened
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
Creeping Death
Frantic
Wherever I May Roam
Turn the Page
St. Anger
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
I Disappear
Melbourne
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
One
Enter Sandman
Hit The Lights
Seek and Destroy
Death Magnetic Tour: November 9 2008
Whew! After 4 longs years I finally got to see them again. Though the guys look a bit older, they can still blow the place up. Kirk just plays the hell out of that guitar. My buddy's wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant and I thought for sure the baby would be popped out by the sound of his playing. I was a bit sad I didn't score a guitar pick or one of the Death Magnetic beach balls they dropped from the ceiling, but the show was great.
Set List
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
Ride The Lightning
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Wherever I May Roam
Leper Messiah
Kirk Solo #1
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Kirk Solo #2
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die My Darling
Jump in the Fire
Seek and Destroy
Concert Review
Wow. 8 shows over 12 years. I've attended four with my wife, five with my Dad, and all eight with one of my best friends. Whenever the Boys in Black tour again, you can bet your ass we'll be there.
Monday, November 3, 2008
13. Become educated on presidential candidates and their stands
John Stuart Mill was a proponent of an educational qualification for voting. While I admit that such a qualification would almost certainly be used for nefarious purposes (Jim Crow laws for example), seeing things like this give me pause:
Regardless, I felt it was my personal duty to learn about the candidates I would need to choose from on November 4th. And though I lean liberal on the majority of issues I firmly believe in keeping an open mind and not clinging to misguided beliefs in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary. So, in order to come to a decision about who to vote for I did the following things:
1.)Subscribed to the New Yorker Campaign Trail Podcast. Obviously this was a very liberal POV coming from the New Yorker whose editors endorsed Obama.
2.)Read frequent "World Watch" columns by Orson Scott Card at The Ornery American. An example can be found here. OSC is a pretty socially conservative dude and as a person who is one of my favorite authors, was someone I felt could provide me with a conservative viewpoint that might be more palatable to me. Unfortunately it wasn't. OSC leans towards paranoia in his columns and ventures into the realm of hypocrisy on many occasions.
3.)Watched the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Highlights included Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's speech,
Ted Kennedy's appearance, Mick Huckabee's comedy act, and Sarah Palin's speech which led to this great image:
4.)I read Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father and John McCain's Faith of My Fathers.
5.)I took a ride on the Straight Talk Express,
when McCain came to town.
I even shook his hand
6.)I went and saw Barack Obama when he came to town.
I shook his hand as well
7.)I watched all 3 Presidential debates and the VP debate
8.)I visited the best polling site on the web fivethirtyeight.com daily
9.)And I enjoyed all the laughs, from The Daily Show
to Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, to Obama Girl.
So as I make my way to the polls tomorrow, I will feel very confident as I vote to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Though I believe that John McCain is a good man and a true American hero, I have come to believe that he and I differ on many significant issues and picking someone like Sarah Palin as his VP has shown me that he wants to get elected more than he cares about the future of this country. I believe that Barack Obama will be the best person to move us forward from the past eight years and I look forward to affordable health care for my family (which I don't have now), a Supreme Court that isn't controlled by conservatives, and having someone who I believe has a keen understanding of the domestic and foreign policy issues that face America in the White House.
I hope you will vote for Barack Obama tomorrow. However, more than that, I hope that you came to that conclusion by educating yourself. If you plan on voting becoming educated is your duty and if you haven't I hope that you will sit this one out.
Regardless, I felt it was my personal duty to learn about the candidates I would need to choose from on November 4th. And though I lean liberal on the majority of issues I firmly believe in keeping an open mind and not clinging to misguided beliefs in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary. So, in order to come to a decision about who to vote for I did the following things:
1.)Subscribed to the New Yorker Campaign Trail Podcast. Obviously this was a very liberal POV coming from the New Yorker whose editors endorsed Obama.
2.)Read frequent "World Watch" columns by Orson Scott Card at The Ornery American. An example can be found here. OSC is a pretty socially conservative dude and as a person who is one of my favorite authors, was someone I felt could provide me with a conservative viewpoint that might be more palatable to me. Unfortunately it wasn't. OSC leans towards paranoia in his columns and ventures into the realm of hypocrisy on many occasions.
3.)Watched the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Highlights included Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's speech,
Ted Kennedy's appearance, Mick Huckabee's comedy act, and Sarah Palin's speech which led to this great image:
4.)I read Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father and John McCain's Faith of My Fathers.
5.)I took a ride on the Straight Talk Express,
when McCain came to town.
I even shook his hand
6.)I went and saw Barack Obama when he came to town.
I shook his hand as well
7.)I watched all 3 Presidential debates and the VP debate
8.)I visited the best polling site on the web fivethirtyeight.com daily
9.)And I enjoyed all the laughs, from The Daily Show
to Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, to Obama Girl.
So as I make my way to the polls tomorrow, I will feel very confident as I vote to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Though I believe that John McCain is a good man and a true American hero, I have come to believe that he and I differ on many significant issues and picking someone like Sarah Palin as his VP has shown me that he wants to get elected more than he cares about the future of this country. I believe that Barack Obama will be the best person to move us forward from the past eight years and I look forward to affordable health care for my family (which I don't have now), a Supreme Court that isn't controlled by conservatives, and having someone who I believe has a keen understanding of the domestic and foreign policy issues that face America in the White House.
I hope you will vote for Barack Obama tomorrow. However, more than that, I hope that you came to that conclusion by educating yourself. If you plan on voting becoming educated is your duty and if you haven't I hope that you will sit this one out.
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