Random Thinking

It’s Friday already … the week has just flown by. Time for another song off my iPod.

Cute Is What We Aim For is a rock band from Buffalo, NY formed by former members of Cherry Bing, singer Shaant Timothy Hacikyan and lead guitarist Jeff Czum. The word “cute” was used in their high school as a synonym for “cool”. The group has received a lot of support from the underground music press but has also courted controversy with accusations of plagiarism and use of Auto-Tune to hide musical inaccuracies. The group has had some limited success.

“Practice Makes Perfect” is the first single from the group’s second album, Rotation. The album debuted at #21 on Billboard’s Top 200. A clip of the song was featured in the TV show The Hills.

Practice Makes Perfect
So sweet I can hardly speak due to such trauma in my teeth
But your body langauge is telling me that you’re worth the pain
So weak I can hardly keep, shaky legs holding up my feet
But your body language is telling me that I’m not to blame

Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense

I’ve become what a mother wouldn’t want in a son
And I have done a few things I regret
But practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense to me

Wake up, first light hearing you calling out
For your criminal court, then you fled the scene upon being let free
Conversation ensue
And I wanna do so many things to you
Sip after sip, you insist you’re ahead
Sip after sip, yeah that’s where I can feel it

Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense

I’ve become what a mother wouldn’t want in a son
And I have done a few things I regret
I’ve become what a mother wouldn’t want in a son
And I have done what a mother wouldn’t want, what a mother wouldn’t want in a son

Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense
Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense

I’ve become what a mother wouldn’t want in a son
And I have done a few things I regret
I’ve become what a mother wouldn’t want in a son
And I have done what a mother wouldn’t want, what a mother wouldn’t want in a…
Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense
Practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense to me

Written by Shaant Hacikyan

The video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on MTV2’s ‘Unleashed’, which played the video once every hour for the day.

This is fairly amusing. John McCain and the NY post are having a hissy fit because Obama’s stage for his speech tonight is decorated using Greek revival architecture. Here is the Post headline:

TEMPLE OF DEM ON MT. O-LYMPUS
GOP MOCKS GRAND STAGE AS GREEK HUBRIS

This would be amusing enough but John McCain’s campaign site has a similar headline:

Proper Attire For The Temple Of Obama (“The Barackopolis”)

We can forgive the editors of the Post who probably don’t get out much, but we should be able to assume that John McCain is familiar with Washington, DC and might notice that Greek revival architecture is fairly common in most of the buildings there. For example, tha Capitol Building where Senator McCain supposedly spends a good deal of his time has a pillar or two as does the White House where McCain wants to start working.

But even ignoring that, you would think the NY Post and Senator McCain would recall the GOP convention in 2004:

Mikey is off to his second camp adventure of the summer. We got a call last week letting us know that a spot had opened up and that Mikey was welcome. Michel grabbed the spot, of course, and Tuesday we dropped Mikey off for the bus going upstate. We had the pickup time a little early so we arrived about an hour before they were boarding the buses and Mikey was not amused. As soon as he saw those luxurious buses, he wanted to get on and be on his way. We played on the swings for a little while but then he insisted on waiting by the buses and he did manage to be the first kid on his bus. He will be back on Sunday.

Beth has decided that boys with British accents are super sexy and guess where Mikey’s counselor is from… yep, England. We have noticed that a lot of kids from England seem to look for jobs as camp counselors over here. I am sure Mikey is having a great time but the house just seems so quiet without him. Next week is back to school for Mikey and Beth. I can’t believe the summer is just about over.

It was only two months ago that I crushed my opposition in the Set Weekly Challenge and yet here I am again proudly displaying the champion’s badge. This time I beat my closest competitor over at Deblog by 17 seconds. So again, gnash your teeth all you losers and bow down to the skilled champion which is me.

I have noticed that there are basically two ways to do the Set puzzle. The first is to logically look for patterns, for example eliminating matching on colors or patterns because the color or pattern doesn’t occur in all number combinations. The second way is to step back and see the board and try to see the patterns without really looking for them. I call this the Zen of the Set Puzzle. I find that I do best when I use the second method first and then follow up with the first method. In yesterday’s puzzle I Zenned my way to getting the first three matches almost immediately. The rest took a little longer and I had to hunt and peck my way through it. (“I didn’t use this curly-red-three yet – surely it must have a match.”)

So give the Set Puzzle a try if you haven’t yet. It’s actually quick and fun and there is a new puzzle every day.

Once again John McCain has shown that he doesn’t have a clue what it is like to be middle class and live in America. Although the GOP would like to claim that Obama is the elitist, there is little question who is the true elitist. Let’s start with a simple question for Senator McCain. He was asked how many houses he owns. McCain said he didn’t know and that the reporter would have to ask his staff. Yes, John McCain has so many homes he needs his staff to keep track of them for him.

In 2006, John McCain was asked at an AFL-CIO meeting to discuss the issue of immigrant labor and how it effects the labor market. McCain declared that no American would be willing to do agricultural work for as little as $50 an hour. He offered anybody in the crowd $50 an hour to pick lettuce in Arizona. Shouts of protest rose from the crowd, with some accepting McCain’s job offer. McCain insisted none of them would do such menial labor for a complete season. “You can’t do it, my friends.” $50 an hour comes out to more than $100,000 per year which is, of course, a lot more than any agricultural worker gets paid to pick lettuce. So taking into account that McCain does not have a clue what an American family lives on, it isn’t surprising that McCain has voted against increases in the minimum wage and has proposed abolishing it altogether. Yes, John McCain thinks Americans are overpaid and too lazy to do the jobs that immigrants do.

Back in June, while admitting that offshore drilling would not have an immediate effect on gas prices, McCain argued that drilling would have a “psychological impact” that would be “beneficial.” In other words, there would be no direct relief to Americans struggling to afford to fill their cars, but it would make us feel as if “something” was being done. Since McCain couldn’t remember the last time that he filled up his car and couldn’t even tell reporters what a gallon of gas cost, it isn’t surprising that his proposal will only help the oil companies and not consumers. Yes, McCain doesn’t care what you pay at the pump, he just wants you to feel good.

And let’s not forget John McCain’s friend and co-chair of his campaign, Phil Gramm, who stated that America was a “nation of whiners” and that current economic problems reflected only a “mental recession.” Tell that to the thousands of Americans who are out of work and are losing their homes and medical insurance. And yes, Phil’s and John’s tax plan will be provide huge tax cuts… to the wealthy. The largest tax cut, 4.4%, will go to anyone making over $2.87 million per year which seems to be the number that Phil and John put on their 1040 each year. That comes out to an average saving of about $270,000. But not to worry, Phil and John thought about the middle class too. The average American worker making $65,000 or less will have an extra $300 in his/her pocket. The Obama tax plan is the opposite with tax increases for those earning over $600,000 per year and much larger tax decreases for the middle class, with savings over $1,000 for those making $65,000 or less. Yes, John McCain cares about you… if you are rich.

It’s Friday and time for another song off my iPod.

Dirty Pretty Things is an English band formed by Carl Barât in 2005 when Pete Doherty’s drug problems caused the breakup of The Libertines. Doherty, who is famous for his drug and alcohol problems and for dating Kate Moss, robbed Barât’s apartment after he was kicked out of the group and served several months in prison. Doherty was recently released from prison where he was being held for continued parole violations related to his drug and alcohol problems.

Dirty Pretty Things has been very successful. Their debut album, Waterloo to Anywhere, reached number three on the music charts and received critical approval. The first single from the album, “Bang Bang, You’re Dead” reached number five in the singles chart in its first week of sales. Although some have claimed that the song is about Pete Doherty, Barât denies this.

Bang Bang You’re Dead
I knew all along
That I was right at the start
bout the seeds of the weeds
That grew in your heart
Self satisfaction for the factions
Who formed to tear us apart
Well I gave you the Midas touch
Oh you turned round and scratched out my heart

Oh what did you expect?
Oh tell me what did you expect?
To lay it on my head
So is it all upon my head?

Bang bang you’re dead
Oh Im so easily lead
Bang bang you’re dead
Put all the rumours to bed
Bang bang you’re dead

I knew all along
But I was loathe to believe
There was nothing but spite
Fury and lies
Of the words that you weave
An illusion to a conclusion
And oh its oh so tawdry
When you put it to bed
Kick it in the head
Oh wont they just let it be

Bang bang you’re dead
Always so easily lead
Bang bang you’re dead
Put all the rumours to bed
Bang bang you’re dead

Oh what did you expect?
Oh tell me what did you expect?
To lay it on my head
So is it all upon my head?

Bang bang you’re dead
Always so easily lead
Bang bang you’re dead
Put all the rumours to bed
Bang bang you’re dead
Bang bang bang bang you’re dead

Written by Carl Barât

The video for the song was filmed in Mexico City

We picked Mikey up from camp last night. His reaction at first was, “What the heck are you doing here!” The reaction of the other boys in his dorm were, “You aren’t taking Mikey away, are you?” No one was very happy to see us. But once Mikey realized we were there to pick him up, he jumped out of his bed and ran out to the car.

The counselors said that Mikey was great. He became the mayor of the camp with everyone knowing Mikey and Mikey knowing everyone. One of the counselors told us that Mikey was very mischievous but you can get away with being mischievous when you are cute. During the week he tried to steal a golf cart, even tricking the counselor into getting out so he could drive it away! They told us that he slept great, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow each night. That has carried over to the last two nights so I think he is still recovering from all the activity.

Yesterday afternoon, Michel got a surprise call. The camp that Mikey has been going to each summer for the past three years called. We had tried to get a spot for the summer back in March but all the spots had been taken. But a spot opened up and they want Mikey to come upstate to their camp on Tuesday. So Mikey will be getting his second camp experience for the summer. I hope he has as much fun upstate as he did at camp here on the island.

These postcards are from someone very special.

A few months ago I read an article on the BBC disability site by a woman named Elizabeth McClung. Beth is in a wheelchair and she was writing about living with a disability. From the article, I discovered her blog, Screw Bronze, where she also wrote about her life. What I discovered is that Beth has a PhD in English and has written a book. I found that she loves fencing and boxingand that she is married to a wonderful woman named Linda. But what I also discovered is that Beth has a very serious illness, so serious that no one who has had this illness has survived more than a few very difficult years. The illness is Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and is causing Beth’s body to slowly fail. You can read more about it on Wikipedia.

The postcards are one of the ways that Beth stays attached to the outside world. She and Linda went to Japan in the spring because it had always been Beth’s wish to go there and the progressive nature of her illness makes it less likely that she will able to go as time passes. Some of the postcards were sent from Japan. Beth tells us that it takes a long time for her to write postcards because she has difficulty controling her hands but also because she works hard to pick out a postcard that she thinks the person will like. Beth also decorates the postcards with stamps and stickers. All of the postcards she has sent to us (and our Beth and Mikey) are very special to us.

If you would like to get a postcard from Beth and help her to have a happy day, you can go to her website and send her an email. She will be happy to add you to her postcard list and you can send her a postcard too. Thanks!

Welcome to the Friday song off my iPod. And again, I found a song that I didn’t even know I had on my iPod!

The Dresden Dolls is a “Brechtian punk cabaret” duo from Massachusetts. They are part of an underground dark cabaret movement that started gaining momentum in the early 1990s. The group formed in 2001 and consists of Amanda Palmer (vocals, piano, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums, percussion, guitar, vocals). The Dresden Dolls are noted for their shows which will remind you of the movie Cabaret. They base their shows on German cabaret from the period between the two World Wars and usually including members of the audience participating in fire breathing and other entertainments. Their most recent album reached #42 on the Billboard 200 chart (US).

The name of the band, according to Palmer, was “inspired by a combination of things”, including the firebombing of Dresden, Germany and the porcelain dolls which were a hallmark of pre-war Dresden industry; an early song of the same name by The Fall; and a reference to the V. C. Andrews novel Flowers in the Attic where the classically blond and blue-eyed protagonists are called “the Dresden dolls.” The name also evokes Wiemar Germany and its cabaret culture. Additionally, she “liked the parallel between Dresden (destruction) and Dolls (innocence, delicacy), because it is very much in keeping with the dynamics of the music, which sometimes goes from a childlike whisper to a banshee scream within a few seconds.”

The song, Good Day, is from their first album which was released in 2002.

Good Day
so you dont want to hear about my good song?
and you dont want to hear about how i am getting on
with all the things that i can get done
the sun is in the sky & i am by my lonesome
so you don’t want to hear about my good day?
you have better things to do than to hear me say

god its been a lovely day! everything is going my way
i took out the trash today and i’m on fire…

so you don’t want to hear about my good friends?
you dont have the guts to take the truth or consequence
success is in the eye of the beholder
and its looking even better over your cold shoulder

i’m not suggesting you up and line me up for questioning
but Jesus think about the bridges you are burning
and i’m betting
that even though you knew it from the start
you’d rather be a bitch than be an ordinary broken heart

so go ahead and talk about your bad day…
i want all the details of the pain and misery
that you are inflicting on the others
i consider them my sisters and i’d like their numbers

god its been a lovely day! everything is going my way
i took up croquet today and i’m on fire

i picked up the pieces of my broken ego
i have finally made my peace as far as you and me go
but i’d love to have you up to see the place
& i’d like to do more than survive i’d like to rub it in your face…..

hey! its been a lovely day! everything is going my way
i had so much fun today and i’m on fire
god it’s been a lovely day everything’s been going my way
ever since you went away hey i’m on fire…..
i’m on fire…
i’m on fire…
so you dont want to hear about my good day?

Written by Amanda Palmer

The video of the song is from a performance in Massachusetts.

Mikey started sleep-away camp today. This is a chance for Mikey to have a week of fun and adventure and for us to have a week to catch our breath to help us be better parents for Mikey. This is his first time at this camp so we were a little worried at how Mikey would take to the camp. As you can see, he was all smiles. We arrived around noon and Mikey ran around exploring everything. He met his counselor, a very pretty college student from Poland, majoring in English. She was worried about how well she speaks English but we assured her that she speaks better English then a lot of New Yorkers. Mikey was smitten with her immediately.

He wanted her to carry him around but he’s a little too big to carry. But when she did pick him up, he put his head right on her shoulder and smiled at me as if he was saying, “Look at my new girlfriend!”

Mikey went off to lunch with Christina so Michel and I left and went off to Calverton Cemetery to visit her father’s and uncle’s graves.

Uncle Tom’s grave is in an older section so the grass is nice and green and the area has a nice well kept look. Pop’s grave is in a new section where they are still doing burials so the grass is mostly weeds. By next summer I’m sure things will be nicer. Even though Michel is always sad whenever she thinks about her dad, I’m glad we visited.

On the way home, we were cruising along in the HOV lane following a beat up brown van when I noticed we passed a police officer. He immediately pulled out so thinking he may have been looking for speeders and hoping his attention would be on the van we were following (not too closely) I signaled to get out of the HOV lane. At just that moment, pieces of tire came flying at us from the van which slammed into the concrete divider. The van did not slow down and as we pulled out of the HOV lane we could see that all the tires of the van were intact so he must have hit a tire in the road. The police officer decided to pull the van over and we proceeded home without further incident.