Cool Video & Andrew's Musical History

A design intern at work created this video for a pitch. It takes a Skid Row song and uses the words to create images. It's is really cool and only 95 seconds long:



Who knew Skid Row was still around?!? They reformed without Sebastian Bach and are still going strong. Good for them. I loved their first album. I won a contest when I was a C.I.T. (counselor in training) at Willow Grove Summer Day Camp and got that album as a prize. I listened to it every day and eventually wore out the tape.

After that, I bought Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood, the album that made me want to play guitar. I didn't want to tell my Mom I bought the album, cause I thought she'd be unhappy that I bought a heavy metal. I wore that album out too, started playing guitar and never stopped.

The next big album for me was Pearl Jam's 10, about 3 years later. Wore that one out also. Decided to grow my hair long. Big stuff for little Andrew. After Pearl Jam (sophmore year of high school) came Phish (freshman year of college). Then came the Beatles soon after.

Has anyone heard the remixed 10 they just released? Awesome stuff! Get it here. I hadn't been able to listen to 10 for years, brought back too many memories. But this remix sounds fresh and exciting, reminds me of being 16. I realized that the original 10 was mixed to sound like Mother Love Bone and the Seattle rock sound the dominated before grunge really hit. I hate that sound, wet with reverb. The new mix is much more like the later Pearl Jam albums and strangely sounds more like Pearl Jam that the original.

The Montauk Monster

Anybody remember the Montauk Monster? It was a strange creature that washed ashore at the end of Long Island last summer.


Well, now it's back. They found something like it in Canada. Here are the pictures of the live thing:


They think it's a bald raccoon, an increasingly common creature. Weird, but I do love a solved mystery.

Randon Thoughts When I Should be Working

Has anyone else been as into True Blood as me? I didn’t think I’d like it, but every time I watch it I get sucked in. It’s really fun and really well written. Did anyone else see the most recent episode where we find out how Eric became a vampire 1,000 years ago? Was that not awesome?!?

The Abrevaya-Hellers had a great vacation. Jack is the cutest little guy. Lilah is potty training. Not great, but it’s going! We went to Montreal for the day. Went Blueberry picking, canoeing, to the beach, flew kites, and did a lot of hanging around. Very nice. I find I’m the happiest when the 4 of us are out on a trip together, just hanging out.

I really bonded with Jack this trip. Maybe it had something to do with Lilah wanting only Mommy and Mimi, but the boys spent a lot of time together. Every time he smiles, I melt. he emotions are physical as much as mental; it feels like I love him. It’s so strong, I feel like I’m being tricked by nature so I’ll take care of him. It is working.

I didn't do any reading at all. No heavy academic work. No light smut. Just vegged. I am so not looking forward to going back to school this semester. Not at all . It's my last year. Hopefully, I'll have a Fall class and then write my thesis in the Spring. Thesis = no actual class = happy Andrew. After that, I am done with higher education for a LONG time. Maybe forever.

It’s the 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing today. Yes, Google told me that. You look back and realize how amazing an accomplishment it is. The complexity of a moon landing is easy to underestimate. With the Internet, wifi, TiVo, and baked potato chips, it’s easy to forget how we’re just standing on the shoulders of genius work from 40 years ago.

We went to Vanessa and John's daughter's baby naming. She's named Gracie, but now she has a Jew name too. After the naming, they had a pool party. I took Lilah in the water. Though timid at first, she did not want to get out. She hung on my neck for an hour in the pool. It was so awesome. I wasn't into NJ so much. But then I fell asleep on a sofa by the pool, listening to the wind blow the trees. I could get to like NJ (despite the previous chart I posted).

Here are pictures from Apollo 11, which I found on the official site. Check out the mission summary and see how planned out, how matter-of-fact the hole experience can seem. They were army guys. Buzz Aldrin said he felt no fear, no excitement. He had a mission to fulfill, and emotion gets in the way. That said, they were supposed to sleep once they landed but were too excited and went out for a walk right away.




This is the Apollo 11 landing site. You can see the lunar lander to the right of the center. It looks like another crater.

Math is Fun

The Deadliest Blog

Here's an awesome blog about Deadliest Catch. It's from a producer on board the Cornelia Marie. Really cool to get an insider's look. The is not a job for me.

Celebrity

There are not many celebrities that I hate. Here are the ones that I do.

• Billy Bob Thornton
• Bobby Flay- smug, ginger, tool
  
• That weird blonde guy on Fox News, you know the one who looks/acts gay but isn’t cause he’s on Fox News. Anyone know who I'm talking about?
• Johnny Depp – oooh, I hate that guy
• Let me get back to Billy Bob. That asshole redneck was so stubborn that he made Swingblade twice, and got lucky when it turned out to be really good. He'd been married 6 times. Douche. And now he has a band and doesn’t let people ask about his movies while doing his music interviews. As if he’d have any music interviews if he weren’t douche bag Billy Bob.
• Brad Pitt – don't hate him, he just wierds me out. Seems like he’s no longer in control of his own life. I might me the same way, in his situation. He is way overrated as an actor, though.
  
• Danny Bonaduce – a geeky fat kid that grew up to be a bully
• Tom Sizemore – don't do drugs on TV and expect me to like you
• Lee Scott, President and CEO of Wal-Mart
• Martin Lindtstrom, self-claimed branding guru

People I should hate but don’t:

• Bill O’Reilly – he plays his character well
• Rush Limbaugh – Pity
• Bill Mahr – he’s self serving, pompous, and talks to much. But he is God damn funny, and I agree with most everything he says.
• Nancy Grace - still on the fence with this one.
  

That’s it for now.