Welcome!
Make time to do the things you want to do.
And above all dig through the garbage to get to the good stuff (ask any bum).
This is BL+G: a blog dedicated to nothing, created out of boredom, and full of grammatical errors.
All comments are welcome...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Holding Barack Accountable
The elections are long gone. The excitement from it was quickly subdued (mainly thanks to the big Wall Street mess).
Santa is having to buy a lot of over-priced coal this year.
Obama is making his selections for his cabinet. Many voters are blindly agreeing with his decisions, and on the other end of the spectrum there are already some heavy critics.
Me? I am right smack in the middle, unsure of what the future will actually bring.
I want to believe Barack is making the right choices already, but I also want to make sure he's held accountable for everything he promised. That is to say, I don't believe he will fix everything in his first term (hopefully a second term will see some progress).
The Phoenix has begun a great little project called "Take Back Barack", a blog written by Jeff Inglis.
Here's the rundown straight from the site:
"So, what can you do? And what's this blog all about?
First, check out our story - "Take Back Barack" is its name. Also, see the stuff I've tagged as related in some way or other, using Google Reader. (The link is also an RSS feed, if you want to get updates on the stuff I tag in the future.) Then, post comments here on this blog, saying what you want Barack to do, and what you think of his choices so far."
Please check it out!
P.S. I designed the Header for the Blog!!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Hero Dog "Saves" Best Buddy
The footage may be upsetting to some...
I am calling Bullshit that Scrappy here saved his buddies life...maybe saved him the humiliation of being scraped of the road, but I am pretty sure he is a gonner...
See the video
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Graffiti Wars
Some would argue that this is money well spent because Graffiti is a damper on our society.
Other have the opinion that it's artistic expression.
I'm of the opinion that as long as Graffiti is done in it's most elaborate form (masterpieces or pieces): burners, rollers, etc. should be respected and left up for the public to enjoy, comment, and critique. Places like heaven spots (high-up places like rooftops or sides of buildings) and slams (highly dangerous locations) should also be given some respect due to the extreme danger the artists put themselves in to accomplish their piece. Simple Throw-ups or tags are a thing of the past, because of their simplistic and careless nature. Long gone are the days when bombing a street or neighborhood got you respect, now it's about how creative you can be.
Public places are becoming more popular with shops, stores, schools, and neighborhood rec centers giving up a space or wall for local artists to show off their talents.
This Phoenix article discusses the great lengths which Massachusetts authorities have undergone to disrupt and prosecute Graffiti artists.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
DIY- Braised, Stuffed Pig's Head
Monday, November 10, 2008
The 8 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Which Most Desperately Need Movies
Procrastination Technique #557
You may also enjoy Gawker's explanation for the site's popularity, found here.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Hyper-Networking
Sree Sreenivasan a Columbia University journalism professor and WABC-TV's technology reporter came into to our office today and gave a phenomenal lecture on New Media. I have taken some of what he talked about and adapted it into some my own thoughts. Please feel free to comment!
Having a website is one thing. Having one that generates traffic on a constant basis, now that's the challenge. Consider the amount of websites we visit on a daily basis. Now consider how many more we don't visit.
WHY?
We all have our little nest of websites we hit up to get our daily fix of information, whether it be a blog, forum, or a news corporation. So for the most part we ignore the rest of the content out there. If you're really itching to know about something outside your nest, you'll probably go to Google and search it. You'll probably look at the first 5 or 6 results and possibly go to one of those links.
But what about all those other sites that might have an even better answer to what your looking for? You'll probably click on nbc.com when you could be clicking on johnsmith.com. The problem for johnsmith.com is that it didn't show up in the Google seach results until the 6th page.
So being a popular website is about having the most money and resources?
Absolutely not. In fact paying Google to have your website show up higher in a search or as a sponsored link is a waste of money. What you need is an audience. Where to get one is the fun part. Sreenivasan tells to look around at the technology being produced for the web. He's talking about things like Facebook Apps, Twitter, Flock, Kayak, etc. All of these tools are free and widely used among the internet community. The audience is right in front of you, all you have to do is join the crowd. Have a news site that you keep updating with awesome articles? Start Twittering the headlines to your friends, update your status on facebook, crete a facebook page, give your page and RSS feed, email the story to bloggers.
Remember all those times you've heard your friends in Business world talking about "Networking" being the best way to move up in the world? Well however shallow or pretentious they might have sounded, they're actually right on the money (no pun intended). Networking is taking a new form, and it's happening on the web. People are making business deals because a friend on Linkedin recommended their online product to some investors that were his friends on Linkedin. A small blog that reviewed the newest first-person shooter for the X-Box gets picked up by one of his/her readers and they write an article on Wired.com (hopefully CITING and LINKING the credits back to that blogger). That blogger might in turn blog the fact his posting was mentioned on Wired.com and link back to Wired.com, and so on and so forth.
This is Hyper-Networking. Obviously not a real word; I made it up. But who knows maybe someone will read this post and reference the word and.....well you get the point.
With so many people to meet at the touch of a keyboard, opportunities are endless. We should always be looking at ways to get our ideas out there, by any means necessary.Please visit Sree's site, it has a great list of things to try. Happy Procrastinating!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Cheerleaders Gone Wild!
I never take pictures when I draw swastikas on my friends.
http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/nfl_tracker/posts/20702
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Slipknot "All Hope Is Gone" Review
Before I ever heard the Rick Rubin produced Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses, I for some reason believed the rumors or myths that the members of the Iowa based band Slipknot inflicted physical harm upon themselves and then proceeded to smear feces upon each other before shows. I always thought that this went along with their deviant and “shock rock” image, and as a result I avoided their music much in the same way as I would avoid a histrionic Richard Simmons twirling hot dogs chasing me. I had heard a couple of their songs off previous albums such as “Wait and Bleed” and “The Heretic Anthem” but didn’t really take heed due mainly to the throaty/yelling vocals and their use of strange masks and costumes.
And finally after four years of waiting comes "All Hope Is Gone." I am in it for the thundering drums on their hard-hitting first single “Psychosocial” and their chugging riffs, breakdowns, and varied song structures on songs such as the opener “Gematria”, “Sulfur”, and “This Cold Black”. They do some interesting pick squeals on “Dead Memories” and “Wherein Lies Continue”. I have a disclaimer that comes along with my review of music of this nature: with songs this intense and when I know what bands like this are capable of based on their previous works, I tend to tune out the lyrics and vocals at times and focus more on the instruments. This also leads me to gravitate towards their harder and more aggressive songs because that is what made Slipknot famous in the first place and had the biggest impact on me. Having said that I would have to say that the best song on the album is either “Psychosocial”, “Gematria”, or “This Cold Black”. These three songs coincidentally happen to be their hardest with Gematria edging out the other two for my affection. The squeals in “Gematria” are awesome as well as their dropped A and B tunings which bring an interesting twist on the word “heavy” and should make a lot of guitar players out there upset who probably won’t even be able to tune their guitars that low to play along.
Casual listeners will likely enjoy the choruses in songs like “Snuff”, “Dead Memories”, and “Sulfur”. These songs are the closest a teenage girl will get to an actual sing or shout along chorus in the more traditional verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus song form. For Slipknot, their bridge is traditionally a heavy breakdown that usually erupts into a mosh pit live. In “Vendetta” there is a shout-along chorus which is probably more effective live than from your speakers, but it’s still fun. On songs such as “Wherein Lies Continue” and “All Hope Is Gone”, the band sound especially unhappy and this does mix things up nicely since they have mixed this album up with some slower more peaceful songs.
Slipknot definitely takes an interesting direction on this album by adding a few slower songs such as “Snuff”, “Til We Die”, “Vermillion Pt. 2”, and “Gehenna”. It is a distinct change in style because they are markedly slower and more melodic than most of the stuff that they have ever written. I personally do not think that this is the right direction for them to go because the songs stray from their beaten path and although the band does stick to their proverbial guns on some songs, these slower songs bring the overall intensity of the album to a screeching halt. Another issue I have with the band is that they have two or three unnecessary band members. Two of which run around and beat on kegs with baseball bats to give more emphasis to the thundering drum beats, and another who plays the keyboard for effects. I saw them live in concert and although the extra members do add an extra “oomph” to some of the songs, they are overall unnecessary.
Tasty solos: Gematria, This Cold Black, Psychosocial, Butcher’s Hook
Suffice to say, all the members of Slipknot are still angry at a lot of things. In some songs it is easier to discern what exactly is being said than in others. Through the machine-gun drumming and layered guitars you can for the most part tell what is going on. But with a dash of sarcasm I am pretty sure that those lyrics that are more difficult to decipher are most likely about the band’s affinity towards horseback riding, embroidery, and interior design. A perfect example of their singing/yelling style can be heard on “Wherein Lies Continue” whereas on songs such as “Gematria” and “All Hope is Gone”, Slipknot take a more aggressive political approach lyrically. On the latter, lyrics such as “What are we conceding for freedom? Why does anybody think we need em’…. I would rather fight, than let another die. We’re the problem, but we’re also the solution” showcase their opinion on what seems to be America’s stance on international affairs. Slipknot adheres mainly to pointing out the hypocrisy within American society and steers fairly clear of love except for in “Vermillion Pt. 2”. For those who think that their main message is something along the lines of “kill your family, kill your neighbors, kill your dog, kill yourself…….make sure you get both barrels in your mouth”, will hopefully be pleasantly surprised that this is not their message on this album.
I must say that I am a bigger fan of their previous album, The Subliminal Verses because songs like “Before I Forget”, “Pulse of the Maggots”, “Vermilion”, “The Blister Exists”, “Three Nil”, “Duality”, and “Opium of the People” are the blueprint for the type of Slipknot song that I am partial to. More importantly I am just glad that they stick to their guns on most songs and don’t seem to care whether or not they are breaking certain taboos of what constitutes good clean family fun or of what a Bible-thumping conservative might think of them. More importantly I am also glad to find out that they in fact do not engage in doo doo-smearing activities. Highlights include “Gematria”, “Butcher’s Hook”, “All Hope is Gone”, “Sulfur”, “This Cold Black”, “Vendetta”, and “Psychosocial”.
I’m going to give this album a 70% because I really liked about six of the songs, about six were forgettable, and I just didn’t care for Vermillion Pt. 2 and Gehenna.
P.S.
I chose to review this album in particular because Slipknot seems to be such a polarizing band creating ravines between fans. There are dozens bands that I like more than Slipknot but I chose to lead off with them because I just wanted to throw some gas on the fire so to speak and stir up some reactions. In the spirit of this blog’s creed, I would like to say that this is the first time I have ever attempted writing a music review and I know that Slipknot is not at the top of everyone’s list of music to listen to before they die, so feel free to rip me to shreds for mixing things up a bit if you think A) I’m being lazy and haven’t done enough research for this review…..B) are full of shit…..or C) write complete garbage.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Dance Dance (Communist) Revolution
Now, because everyone already knows that, if you did not know that, then you've quite clearly ceased to exist. Or, you may be a pod-person, or North Korean. Anway, for those of us who are still here:
A list of his 11 wackiest moments. via
Basketball and broadcasting legend Charles Barkley gives his take on 'il Kim.
Say what you will, but for a murderous sociopath he really knows how to relax.
In the Spitit of Halloween - The Exorcist
Here's a great article about the real story that inspired the movie.
This picture has haunted me ever since I watched the original, when I was young lad.
There is such thing as the Boogie Moster!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Cool New Show on Discovery
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Money Gruber
I'm calling bullshit on this chick.
I still listen
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Aliens Attacking London
Not the kind of aliens that cross the channel on rafts, but the kind that ride around in a "brown missile-shaped object" and send pink clouds into the night sky.
Elevator or Stairs?
Obviously some things need to be considered, such as:
- how many floors are we talking about
- what's the ultimate destination
- am i going up or down?
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Elevators were created for convenience, so if the opportunity to be lazy presents itself I say take it.
Plus who knows who/what you'll encounter on your ride:
- your boss, a cute girl, two cute girls, your friend, farts, burps, bad BO, music, no-one...
I'm of the opinion that stairs should be taken in certain scenarios:
in case of fire, freestyle walking, skateboarding, to get to cool underground bar/nightclub, to avoid your boss, to avoid co-workers + possibly for better health...
Your Thoughts?
Welcome!
Good at being lazy? How do you pull it off?
Bring your garbage to the table...it needs to be rummaged through!