I read yesterday about a survey that was done to determine what the most common day to be born is. After polling over 12,000 Americans, the answer is October 5. If you count 9 months backward, you pretty much land right on New Year's Eve. Also, they determined that May 22 is the least likely day to be born. Coincidentally, May 22 is Wally's birthday, so I guess he's extra special. (I'm sure they weren't taking dogs into account, though).

One of my hockey teams, the one that has just won two straight championships, nearly folded after the season ended. As it turns out, there were only 3 of us who were planning on playing the next season. Some of the guys were moving up a division, some were not happy about the new rate increase, and many were just tired of playing on Saturday nights. A friend was able to step in and take over the team and we've been scrounging around, trying to recruit good players so we don't suffer a horrible rebuilding season. After a couple of weeks of this, it looks like the team may be complete. I think we should do alright, once everyone gets to know each other and learns to play together. It would be nice if we didn't have a season like the Kings just had.

The song of the day is "Voices Carry" by Til Tuesday off their 1985 album of the same name. This is another one of those bands that I can't quite believe I haven't used for the song of the day yet. This is a classic 80s song, and the band has a very classic 80s New Wave look. Lead singer Aimee Mann would go on to write more music, some of which eventually inspired the movie Magnolia.

A friend sent me this video yesterday. It is both brilliant and a little sick. I had to watch it several times because I thought it was so unbelievably awesome. I hope you all enjoy it, but beware...you may never be able to think of Kermit in the same way again.



I got the script for my last show of the season a few days ago, and I'm terrified. First off, because it's the end of the season, it's a huge script with a ton of production. I also know the director and he's going to print an endless amount of footage. But secondly, it has the trifecta of things you hope NOT to have in your episode: a senior citizen, a child, and a pet.

The song of the day is "Sea of Love" by The Honeydrippers off their 1984 release The Honeydrippers, Volume I. This is the band comprised of former Led Zeppelin greats Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, along with Brian Setzer, Jeff Beck, Nile Rogers and others. This album includes 5 covers of old big band/swing songs, and is the only release from this band. I remember this song as a big departure from the Zeppelin sound for Plant and Page, and quite enjoyable. It's nice to hear what else performers can do when they get to record what they want to.

I'm sorry to do this to you all, but I got hooked on it, so I feel obliged to pass it on. Go to this link and try to save Fred the Bunny. You have one minute. I killed him about 4 times before I was able to save him. Fred is so damn cute you feel compelled to keep playing the game again and again. Have fun, and don't blame me when you don't get your work done today. Blame Kelly J. Compeau.

I finished watching Season 3 of The Shield last night. I have to admit, it's rare that series will actually get better and better as you continue to watch them. I'm now looking forward to watching Seasons 4 & 5. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, when the show is going to get stupid or jump the shark, but it hasn't happened yet. Also, I have to ask, but who names their kid CCH Pounder?

The song for the day is "No Easy Way Out" by Robert Tepper off his 1986 album of the same name, though you would probably remember it more from the Rocky IV soundtrack. Still, it didn't keep my junior high band from covering it. This guy was definitely a one hit wonder. I always liked this song, still do, though I hear the rest of his music is a lot more like Michael Bolton (eew).

It's Wally Wednesday again. Here's the little guy relaxing around the house:


As I was sitting on the freeway this morning, I heard on the traffic report that one of those big Union 76 balls was in the middle of the 134 freeway. I would have liked to have seen that.

I just finished reading J. Maarten Troost's book "Getting Stoned With Savages." It's a humorous and autobiographical tale of the time he and his wife spent in the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Troost's writing is both amusing and interesting, as he retells his experiences on the island while also mixing in both historical and current information on the natives of the islands. This includes the fact finding journey he took in Vanuatu in search of tribes who took part in cannibalism as recently as 50 years ago. It also explains the social importance of drinking Kava with the locals, a hallucinogenic drink capable of numbing your mouth like novocaine. I highly recommend it for a quick and enjoyable read, along with his first book, "Sex Lives Of Cannibals" about the two years he spent on an atoll in the Pacific.

The song for the day is "Don't Answer Me" by the Alan Parsons Project off their 1984 album Ammonia Avenue. I always remember this song specifically because of its video, which skyrocketed up the video charts to #15. I don't know any other songs by them. I've seen them labeled "progressive" which means this song was probably their most commercial. Great song, though, and a great video.

The upside is my voice is coming back. The down side is that I sound like a speaker with a broken wire. It sort of comes in and out with no rhyme or reason. I put in a call to my doctor to see if he can just call in a prescription for an antibiotic or something. I swear to god, I am not generally a very sick person, but this has not been a good year for illness so far.

I turned my latest cut over to the producers yesterday and happily, they all liked the episode and found it funny. There are some inherent story problems that they want to work on, but other than that, they're happy, which is a good thing.

The song of the day is "The Living Years" by Mike & the Mechanics off their 1988 album of the same name. The band started out as a side project of Mike Rutherford of Genesis. The band also included former Squeeze member and vocalist Paul Carrack. This song was autobiographical for Rutherford, about the contentious relationship he had with his father which was never righted before his father's death. I was familiar with the band and already had the album when they released the first single "Silent Running," which I also liked. But when "The Living Years" was released, it was a gigantic hit for the band. I always thought they were sort of a one off band with this record, but was surprised to discover they've released a total of 7 albums.

Last Friday, I went to AAA and got my International Driver’s Permit. I don’t have many plans which include driving while I’m out of the country this summer, but I wanted to have one just in case I decided I wanted to rent a car at some point while I was there. Getting the permit included having some passport photos taken, so I envisioned the permit as similar to a regular driver’s license – laminated with a photo and my signature. Completely not so. The permit was something I could have made on my home computer. It’s a page in a paper booklet with my photo stuck to it and a AAA stamp affixed. No lamination or anything. I’m not even convinced it will work if I need to drive a car, it seems so incredibly unofficial.

The cold I thought I had has turned into a bit of what I assume is bronchitis since I keep coughing, especially when I inhale deeply. Additionally, I now seem to have laryngitis, as I have almost completely lost my voice and can only talk in a quiet whisper. Don’t think the guys at work aren’t finding this amusing.

The song of the day is “True” by Spandau Ballet off their 1983 album of the same name. In the 80s, I always found myself bored by this song, though I came to appreciate it more in later years. I enjoyed it best when PM Dawn sampled it in their song “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.”

Well, my underdog team managed to pull off winning the Championship game last night. We won 8-2 in the 2nd game of a best of two series, against a team that had only lost three games in the entire season. We came roaring out of the gate to score a goal within the first minute of the game, which set the pace for the rest of the period, which ended 3-0. In their defense, the other team was missing some of its key players, but they had enough of them left to put up a fight. Honestly, I was really surprised they didn't show better. I thought after we beat them the first game, they would come out fighting in this second game, kick our asses, and force a third game, but not so. The Red Menace Dynasty continues. Here's another photo a team mate took in the locker room after the game. This is a really good look for a girl, isn't it?

The song for today is "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" by The Power Station. The song came out in 1985 off the super group's self-titled debut album. This was the time when Duran Duran, on top of the world, decided to branch out. Andy and John Taylor formed The Power Station with Robert Palmer and drummer Tony Thompson while Nick, Simon and Roger went off to form Arcadia (gag). As a young teenager, I had never heard the original T-Rex version of this song when it was released, but once I did, I realized I liked The Power Station's version much better. It's got a great groove with Andy's great guitar playing and John's talented bass lines, but I think the real standout is Robert Palmer on vocals. All in all, a great song from an interesting time in music.

The weekend really snuck up on me. It could have been because I worked at home on Monday, or because it was an unusually light week at work. Either way, I'm glad it's here. I slept way too long last night but thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm still trying to fight off this cold or whatever it is I have. It seems to be trying to settle in my chest, but my sinuses and throat are also sore. Considering my throat was already STILL sore from the tonsillectomy I had in December, it's an unusual feeling in there right now.

I actually had the time to call the Los Angeles Superior Court traffic ticket line yesterday and wait on hold (for about an hour) to be able to talk to someone about my ticket that seems to be lost in the system. The ticket says it can take up to 21 days to get in the system, but it's been a month now. I just want to pay for the damn thing and arrange traffic school for myself. So, after waiting on hold that long, I get someone on the phone who informs me it is WAY too early to find my ticket in the system and to wait another month. (!!) The ticket is due by April 27. I'd really like to NOT have to go to the courthouse. This is turning into a total drag.

The song of the day is "Who Do You Give Your Love To" by Michael Morales off his 1989 self-titled debut album. I thought this was a GREAT song when it came out, and it certainly has a great hook. Listen to this song and tell me it couldn't have been Rick Springfield. I'm actually surprised Morales didn't have more commercial success, but by 1989, music was transitioning out of this feel good pop rock and into grunge and alternative music.

Friday at last. I look forward to a blissfully long sleep tonight and awakening without an alarm tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I feel like I'm getting a chest cold, so I think I'll just try to stay at home and chill as much as I can. Other than the championship hockey game.

I was thinking as I drove in this morning about how much I'd like to get a new television. You would think, considering what I do for a living, that I would have a nice, big, flat screen plasma HD TV at home, but I don't. I have a decent television that is about 32" (or as my friend, John, would describe it, horribly small). It really doesn't bother me, and it works fine. The thing about buying a new HD television is that it's not just the cost of the TV. You have to buy a new HD satellite system, etc. I'm just not up for it. And to be honest, right now, I don't see the point. I totally get HD, but I don't think that the clarity of the picture is going to make anything I watch that much better. I like to watch things to enjoy the story being told, and HD won't change the directing, the acting, and certainly not the script. I'd rather spend the 5 grand on traveling.

The song for the day is "One Simple Thing" from The Stabilizers off their first and only album, Tyranny, released in 1986. The Stabilizers, a guitar/synth duo, came from Pennsylvania and charted with this song. The video was directed by David Fincher, who would go on to direct Se7en and Fight Club.

We found out yesterday that our show has officially been picked up by the network for another season. This is very good news. And while they still haven’t made a decision about working over hiatus due to the pending writer’s strike, I did find out that the tentative schedule regarding that still doesn’t have us back to work until June 6. This is only 6 days before I get back from Australia, and additionally, I wouldn’t be the first editor on and would still likely have a week off before returning to work. So it looks like my trip down under is a definite thing, if the schedule stays as it is now. It’s no guarantee, but I feel better about the whole situation.

Some of you may remember the traffic ticket I received almost a month ago. I've been trying to take care of it online, but every time I've checked it, the ticket hasn't been in the system yet. A message always comes up reminding me that it can take up to 21 days for it to get entered into the system. I realized last night that it's been well over three weeks, so I tried to call the court line and discovered that they can find no ticket under my citation number or my drivers license number. I'll now have to find time during the day to call and speak to a real person to take care of it. Although I have to admit, part of me wanted to just forget about it and assume it was lost and would never get into the system. Then I had a picture in my head of getting pulled over in two years for something and the officer finding an open bench warrant on my license. No, thank you.

The song for today is "Radioactive" by super group The Firm. The band was made up of former Bad Company singer Paul Rogers, ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and other musicians, including former Uriah Heep drummer Chris Slade. They released their self-titled debut album in 1985, and this song ultimately reached #28 on the U.S. charts. I enjoyed this song, but found the band to be rather lack luster otherwise.

Hey, everybody! Happy Wally Wednesday! Ever since Wally lost all the weight, he gets nothing but compliments when I walk him around at work. All in all, he has lost nearly 20 lbs. since last October. Hopefully, this will help him live a longer life. At any rate, we got to work at home a few times in the past week. He loves to sit on the little couch behind me in my office. Here he is, enjoying the afternoon.

I read this article yesterday on the internet. It's about a 70-year-old woman who was asked to leave a Starbucks because they mistook her for a homeless person. Some merchants support the coffee chain's decision, saying homeless people, after buying a cup of coffee, will linger around the coffee shop waiting for a nearby shelter to open. Shame on those homeless people for buying coffee and then expecting to actually relax in the establishment. If Starbucks has a problem with people loitering in their shops, how about posting no loitering signs, or booting anyone who is there for more than 30 minutes or an hour? Why single out the homeless? (Or in this case, the people they THINK are homeless?) Anyone who lives in Southern California has seen the large groups of scriptwriters who seem to find it necessary to hang out at Starbucks for hours on end, camping out at tables that no one else can use, so they can proudly be seen in public working on their masterpiece. (Hey! Look! Writing a script here! Look how industrious I am! I must be a famous script writer!) I can understand booting people who are just hanging around NOT buying anything, but if Starbucks thinks you're homeless, you'll be asked to leave even if you buy your own drink, at least in this suburb of Glen Ellyn, Il.

The song for today is "Fool In Love" by Farrenheit off their 1987 self-titled debut album. Yes, I spelled it right...the band was led by singer/songwriter Charlie Farren. I remember this song getting very minimal airplay, but I loved it the first time I heard it and still love to hear it on my iPod. I tried to find the album art on the internet but literally couldn't find it anywhere. I actually had to scan the 45 I had. Once I looked at the cover, I realized I had been misspelling the band name in the internet searches. It's still hard to find, but I did come across Farren's web site and dropped him an e-mail. The very cool thing about the internet is you can sometimes find an e-mail address for some barely known artist who you really dig, and sometimes...they actually write you back. We've come a long way from sending fan mail into the abyss of the U.S. Postal Service and band management. If you've never heard the song, check it out. It's still a great listen:

Before I forget, my 2nd episode airs tonight at 10pm on ABC. This is the episode I mentioned before that was written as dramatic but ended up being deemed "not funny" and had to have some surgical editing done on it.

I was able to spend all day at home yesterday working. It's really a nice change of scenery to do that. I wish I could do it more often. If I'm still editing next season, I'm definitely going to take advantage of that situation much more often. I still worked 11 hours, but at least I didn't have to deal with the commute, which always makes me (and Wally) happy.

Completely off topic, if anyone knows how to stop receiving mail from the dreaded Scientologists, please let me know. I took a personality test in Hollywood when I first came to Los Angeles and was young and stupid. Several moves later (often without leaving a forwarding address) and I'm still getting a few pounds of mail a week. It's always embarrassing when someone has to pick up my mail for me, because I feel compelled to explain the situation so they don't think I'm a nut-job. Here's an odd story. I used to live in this house in Burbank, but had moved twice and was moving into this condo that I live in now. I needed someone to paint the interior before I moved in, and I found a local guy on the internet. I contacted him through the web and he came over to give me an estimate. As fate would have it, the webmaster who built his site happens to live in the same house I lived in in Burbank, and when the query had come through the site, he recognized my name. Why, you ask? Because he had received a bunch of Scientology mail with my name on it. So the painter explains this and then asks, "So, are you a Scientologist?" And I say something like, "Hell no...I just can't get those f-ing psychopaths to stop mailing me things." He doesn't say anything, but has an interesting look on his face, and I instantly realize why. "You're a Scientologist, aren't you?" I ask. He nodded his head. Hopefully, there aren't listening devices installed in my paint.

The song of the day is "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" by Culture Club off their 1982 album Kissing To Be Clever. I never minded Culture Club, but I also never particularly liked them. The music was OK, but I always found Boy George to be more creepy than cool. If you grew up in the 80s like me, you probably knew some kid who loved Boy George and dressed like him - usually girls. Most boys knew he was a little off. Nevertheless, a very classic song from the early 80s, and especially, early MTV

I watched the pilot for Jeff Goldblum’s new series, “Raines.” I’d heard it described as being about a police detective who sees dead people. This is only partially true. If that were the case, it would be a complete rip-off of “Medium.” Goldblum’s character, Raines, is indeed a Los Angeles Police Detective, and he does see the victims of the murders he investigates as if they were alive and talking to him. The twist is that they’re all in his head, completely a figment of his imagination. He works alone, and the victims manifest themselves for him so that he can try to verbally work through the crime on his own. The victims can’t tell him who committed the crime – being imaginary, they only know what he knows. I’ve never been a huge Jeff Goldblum fan. Sometimes I can tolerate him, most of the time I’m put off by his oddness. But this show is like Goldblum grown up. He’s got the same delivery you know so well, but he seems to have matured. I found the pilot to be very well directed, and they did some very cool things with visual effects as they made the victims appear and disappear. I’ve put it on my Season Pass, we’ll see how it goes. Of course, because I like it, it will probably be cancelled in another week.

The song of the day is Flesh For Lulu’s “Postcards From Paradise” off their 1987 album Long Live the New Flesh. This band is what we would have called post-modern back in the day, meaning it sounded new and different and not quite commercial enough for a bunch of teeny boppers to buy a million albums. I don’t know much about the band, but I like the sound of this song.

We had our first hockey finals game in a best of three series, and won. Believe me, we are the underdogs, so we were all quite pleased with ourselves. Let's see if we can repeat it next Saturday. Directly after my game, my friend had the ice for some pickup and so I stayed and played that, as well. That's two games in a row, though the pickup was much more laid back, but we only had 8 skaters a side, so 5 minute shifts. I am so very, very tired. It was a lot of fun, though. I have a game today, too, so it will be a very active weekend. Just for fun, here's the video snippit I put together when our team won the championships over the summer:



I spent part of yesterday sleeping in, part of it working, and part of it converting a bunch of 45s to MP3 files. I remember when Compact Discs first came out and I would listen to one and think, it doesn't sound THAT better! I really didn't hear much of a difference. True, I was only about 16 at the time, but I didn't notice a big quality difference. I must have been deaf. I listen to these now (granted they have some age on them) and wonder how I could ever have spent time listening to Vinyl. There is a certain grittiness that vinyl gives to a song, but not ALL types of music benefit from that. I'm happy we have MP3s and iPods.

The song for the day is called "On My Own" by The Sharks off their 1986 EP In A Black and White World. The Sharks were a local band out of Pennsylvania. I can not find a single thing about them on the internet, and I actually had to scan the record cover I have to get this photo. I believe I heard this band on The Basement Tapes on MTV. See, back in the day, MTV actually played music videos, and when they had "shows" they were shows that ALSO played music videos. (I know this sounds like complete bullshit, but it's true). Anyway, there was an hour called The Basement Tapes where they would play videos from bands that hadn't broken yet. So, I actually think I saw The Sharks on that show and LOVED the song. The Sharks never hit it big nationally, and my junior high rock band covered this song, and people always thought it was an original. Here's the song if you want to hear it:

I went to Noah's Bagels this morning to grab something for breakfast, and I noticed the tip jar that was there. I don't know about you, but I get kind of irritated at the tip jars that seem to pop up just about everywhere. I'm a pretty decent tipper when it comes to eating in restaurants, getting a massage, those kinds of things, but I'm not about to tip someone for toasting a bagel for me. We got into this discussion at work one day, because some of the guys were saying that they tip the person at a restaurant if they've ordered something over the phone to pick up. More specifically, we were talking about Koo Koo Roo. I couldn't believe they would tip someone for that because a) that's not the type of restaurant where you even have a server you would tip and b) the person isn't doing anything extra that they wouldn't do if I had gone to the counter and ordered it to go. I'm not sure that putting my chicken sandwich in a bag really necessitates a tip. I conceded that if I were, say, ordering for the whole office, like 12 meals that I had to pick up, that might be different, but not just to order for myself. I then asked them, "Would you tip the guy at McDonalds who puts your burger in a bag and hands it to you?" "Well...no." I don't really see the difference. I was just curious what everyone's tipping opinion was.

I was looking for something in my closet last night and came across two boxes of 45s from back in the day. I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of my singles collection. I have a lot of good music in there. There were only a few things where I thought, "Why on earth did I ever buy that?" Then I realized most of those were records my sister had given me when she was going to throw her collection out. I did find quite a few one hit wonders I had forgotten about, and some pretty obscure songs.

One band that I hadn't thought of in awhile was Honeymoon Suite, and I was pleased to find I had several singles from them. The song of the day is "New Girl Now" off their 1984 self-titled debut album. After rediscovering them in my pile of records, I immediately went on iTunes to see what I could download by them. It was great to hear them again, without having to go through the trouble of dragging out the record player. Check out the video with the sweet Delorean in it:

Anyone remember the old A&W Restaurants? I'm not sure how much of a regional thing that was. Back when I was a kid, we had one in town where you pulled up outside and placed your order via the phone there, and then someone would bring the food to your car to eat. By the end of the 80s, the A&Ws were rapidly disappearing. I had a weekend job in a small town on the Oregon coast, and they still had one of the restaurants, albeit a small one. There was no drive-up, but when you went inside and sat at a table, there was a red phone there, and that was how you placed your order. The first time I went in there, it was to order something to go. I walked up to the counter near the door, got the attention of one of the teenage employees, and said, "Hi, I'd like to get a..." Before I could finish my sentence, he held up a hand to stop me, then pointed to a phone at the far end of the counter. Feeling like an idiot, I walked over and picked up the phone. I could hear it ring behind the counter about 10 feet away from me. The same teenager walked over to the phone, picked it up, and completely deadpan said, "Can I help you?" He wasn't joking - he was completely serious. It was the weirdest thing.

The song of the day is Vitamin Z's "Burning Flame" off their 1989 album Sharp Stone Rain. The song had minimal success, but I always sort of liked it. The band once toured with Tears For Fears, and you can kind of see why. Talk about a one hit wonder, though. The duo that led this band never went on to accomplish anything else musically speaking, although one of them did go on to manage the Arctic Monkeys. If you've never heard the song, or want to see a cheesy over-dramatic music video where the band members actually try to act, check it out here. (Sorry - Blogger keeps giving me an error when I try to embed the video).

My hockey team really IS the little engine that could. We only had 10 skaters last night, which is just enough people for you not to kill yourself from having to skate too much. We found out just 2 hours before our game that our guys involved in the altercation last week all got game suspensions. So, short three of our best players, and a little short handed, we started the game. The first period was tied 0-0. We finally scored in the 2nd, and then their goalie just fell apart. We scored a total of 4 goals in the 2nd period, then three more in the 3rd, winning with a score of 7-1 (they got one goal in with less than a minute left). On the upside - hey, we're in the finals! On the downside, the team we're playing in the finals is horribly ringered up. It'll be a challenge to pull off another championship. Anyone in the area interested in watching a horribly slow, non-checking hockey game, show up at the Toyota Sports Center at 8:15 pm this Saturday to cheer us on.

I have the luxury of working from home today, so I'm here in my own office with Wally laying on the couch behind me. I have to admit, without commuting this morning, I really miss hearing Kevin and Bean. Not Psycho Mike (that moron), but the rest of the show. If only something could happen to him where he would no longer be on the air. If anyone wants to volunteer for that, go take him out. I'm just sayin'.

The song of the day is another one that I absolutely can not believe I haven't used yet, but Blogger says I haven't. It's "(I Ran) So Far Away" by Flock of Seagulls off their 1982 self-titled LP. What song says the 80s more than this one? Aah...the hair, the keyboards...when they look up 80s music on Wikipedia in 50 years, there will be a photo of these guys.

I haven't had time to finish watching "24" from this week yet, but I have to ask...why are they ruining my show by putting Ricky Schroder on it? Just because the show is chock full of the hotness that is Keifer Sutherland, they don't need to go gumming the whole hour up by putting The Ricker on it. My hope is that he will soon be either tortured or killed, but I read an interview with him that said it looked like he would be on for the rest of the season.

I'd like to thank my friend, Madeline, for giving me three boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, which I have consequently eaten at the approximate rate of a box per day. At the very least, an entire sleeve of Thin Mints per day. Damn you, Madeline!

One of my hockey teams has made it into the post season. We have a semi-final game tonight, and if we win, we go on to play a best of three series for the championship. Unfortunately, the team we would have to play in that series is the first place team that has lost hardly any games at all this season. We might be able to pull out one win, but a series win would be our own little miracle on ice. You never know, though. My team is sort of the little engine that could, and we ARE the reigning champs from last season.

Since it's Wally Wednesday, here's a photo of my boy from the weekend. As promised, since he's feeling better, I took him for a short hike up behind JPL. There's a nice stream up there he was able to tromp through. I'll tell you, there's nothing happier than a wet labrador! He got nice and filthy in the muck and received a much needed bath afterward. He is now much whiter and softer and my co-workers have stopped complaining about his smell.

The song for the day is "Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson off the bands 1987 album Meet Danny Wilson. The Scottish trio took their name from the 1952 Spencer Tracy film. They were definitely a one hit wonder, and would only ever release one other album before breaking up in 1991. This is a great song. I still love it every time I hear it.

Sad news yesterday of comedian Richard Jeni who died at 49 from a gunshot wound to the face, likely self-inflicted according to the 911 call from his girlfriend. I hadn't seen any of Jeni's recent work, but remember him fondly as one of my favorite comedians of the early 90s. Some quotes to remember him by:

"I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather...not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic."

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize...Oh, my God. I could be eating a slow learner!"

I don't know about you, but this time change is kicking my ass. It always amazes me how I can sit on an airplane for 15 hours straight, then hit the ground running in another country with very little jet lag, but set the clocks up an hour, and watch out! For starters, I couldn't get to bed Sunday night, and then I couldn't wake up Monday morning. Here's hoping tomorrow morning will be an easier awakening.

The song of the day is "Should I See" by Canadian rockers Frōzen Ghōst. It was released in 1987 on their debut self-titled album. This is one of those videos I saw on MTV, immediately fell in love with, went out and bought the Compact Disc (one of the first I ever bought), and then never heard from the band again. It was like a musical one night stand. I'm sure no one in the US remembers them, but maybe some of you Canuck's do. If you've never heard of them, check out the video of their anti-censorship song.

I've always collected my ticket stubs from concerts, and yesterday, I came across a bundle of them rubber banded together in the bottom of my desk drawer. They're the concerts I went to back in the 80s. I thought I'd list them here to see who could relate. Unfortunately, some of them don't have a date on them, so I'll have to guess.

Cutting Crew c. 1986
The Little River Band 1990
The Rembrants c. 1990
The Alarm 1989
Bryan Adams (with The Hooters) c. 1987
Duran Duran (with The Pursuit of Happiness) 1989
Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 1986
Pat Benetar (with The Alarm) c. 1985 (That was a great show - 2nd row tickets)
Chicago 1985
Huey Lewis & The News 1984 & 1986
Rick Springfield c. 1990
Night Ranger (with Richard Marx) 1987
Eddie Money 1987 & 1988 (with The Truth) - (New Year's Eve)
Bruce Hornsby & The Range 1987
Journey (with The Outfield) c. 1986
Billy Joel 1990
Prince 1987

and of course...

The Magic of David Copperfield 1991

In honor of the death of their lead singer, Brad Delp, the song of the day is "More Than a Feeling" by Boston. Boston is one of those bands I always liked, but I never really bought any of their records. Maybe I should get a greatest hits. I didn't realize how old this song was until I looked up the album. It was released on the band's 1976 self-titled LP. I'm always one of those people who have said that music from the 70s sucked, but more and more, I'm finding stuff I like that was actually from the 70s, not the early 80s. Not that there WASN'T a bunch of crappy music that decade, but I'm sure you can say that about any decade.

Since I've been doing some editing at home lately, I've come to realize I'm badly in need of new speakers for my computer. The ones I had worked, but I had to turn the volume all the way up which would sometimes cause the dialog to overmodulate. I went to the Apple store last night thinking I would just pick up a $50 pair of speakers. The problem is that, for me, there is never any "just" involved with the Apple store. As soon as I walk in, I see about 100 things I want to buy. Well, I did only buy one thing, but it ended up being a $130 pair of speakers. The included subwoofer is a little overkill for cutting dialog, but I figured, it's a tax write off, so why not?

I ended up buying these Klipsch speakers and hooked them up when I got home. I knew my old speakers had low wattage, but I always thought they were fine, that music sounded good through them, etc. Oh, how wrong I was. I couldn't believe how good the new speakers sounded as I sifted through my iTunes library checking out different songs. In fact, it sounded so good I decided to watch some of The Shield, Season 2 DVD on my computer and I ended up staying up past 1am finishing the whole season.

I thought I'd do myself the favor of setting my alarm for 9am, since I still had work to do and didn't want to sleep so late that I'd have problems getting to sleep Sunday night. I thought I was doing well when I actually woke up right before it went off, but then realized when I logged onto my computer that the time change had occurred and it was almost 10. Sigh.

The song for the day is Andy Taylor's "Take It Easy" recorded in 1986 for the American Anthem soundtrack. Taylor, of Duran Duran fame, struck out on his own with this song, later recording an unsuccessful album to follow it up. Considering the sound of Duran Duran, I was surprised by the rocky guitar sound of this song (albeit a very poppy sound). I liked this song well enough at the time that my junior high band (very badly) covered it.

Meet the ModBook, a modified Apple MacBook. It will be available this April from third-party Axiotron and Other World Computing. This tablet computer starts around $2200. It comes without keyboard or mouse. Instead, you use the included digital pen to enter text and control applications. I have zero use for this type of tablet computer, but I soooo want one because it is just too cool looking.

Today is a sad day. My neighbor is taking her dog to be put down this afternoon. Jersey is a super cute and lovable mutt who got her name from her coloring - she looks like a Jersey Cow. Jersey and her mom were the first people I met when I moved into my condo, and Jersey and Wally have been great play friends over the years. Jersey has been very loved over her 15 years, but we'll all miss her. My neighbor made a point of calling me last night so Wally and I could come out and say our last goodbyes to Jersey. It doesn't seem fair that dogs have such short lives compared to us humans, since they give us so much unconditional love.

The song for the day is "That's When I Think Of You" by Australian pop rockers 1927. The song comes from their 1989 album ...ish. I think I was turned onto these guys by one of my old Aussie pen pals, and I came to really love this album. I listened to it a lot back in the day. If you've never heard this song (and you probably haven't) you can check it out here:

Wally went to the vet yesterday, and it appears the fluid is all gone, and he is cleared for fetch as of next week! He is very excited. While he's not allowed to get all crazy and play fetch yet, he has been approved for hiking, so I'm hoping to take him somewhere this weekend where there is a nice stream he can swim in.

One of my co-workers is pregnant and we had a baby shower for her earlier this week. I don't know her that well, so I bought her what I consider to be the universal baby gift - a CD of "Free To Be You And Me." While I can't remember any of the songs from this off the top of my head, I remember always enjoying it when I was a kid. She was ecstatic. Apparently, she CAN remember all the words and is looking forward to playing it over and over for her baby. I know there's a video available, too, and I remember watching it on TV when I was a child, but most people I know only remember the record. Anyone else remember the program that aired?

The song for the day is "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel off his 1977 debut solo LP, the first of several albums to be named simply Peter Gabriel. I know it's out of my 80s decade, but I heard it the other day and can't get it out of my head. The song explains what was going on with him when he decided to leave the band Genesis. I often see it used in film, and my favorite use of it is probably in the following trailer: