Keeping up with appearances, or at least the virtual ones

First up, we have a new feature here.  By we, I mean me.  And by new feature, I mean “Googling Washington”.  It’s where I type in all of South Dakota’s congresspeople and sort the stories by date.  What’s on top on a Sunday night?  John Thune is quite happy with the money he snagged for tribal law enforcement.  Knowing my state, this will help him get a few votes both on and off the reservation.  Tim Johnson might be facing a promotion if the Democrats take the White House and he wins re-election.  Sorry not-Lenny Dykstra, but CQ thinks Tim will be back next year.  Finally, my former congressional crush (sorry Nancy Pelosi) Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin just gets some lip service in a piece from the Mitchell paper, a paper I’m not happy with right now, but more on that later. 

Holy spit!  Groton about burned off the map this weekend.  This story is worth the click, just to read how bad this could have been.  A worst case scenario would have made Groton another Manchester, but with more explosions. 

I’m not a big Olympics fan, but when someone from South Dakota gets involved, I get a bit more interested.  My friend James has all the details you’d ever need.

Brookings gives us a headline one doesn’t expect to see often, but seeing is relieving.

I don’t usually find much on the Vermillion site, but there was this nice piece about a local clothing store.

Speaking of clothing stores, the type of store where my mom buys all her stuff will have quite the selection this year.

If I see a story involving California and Blunt, my first reaction is “Did Snoop Dogg get arrested?”.  This is not one of those stories, nor does it involve Snoop Dogg in Blunt, South Dakota.

Rapid City is an adventure?  I’d agree, if by adventure you mean “drivers crazier than the ones in Sioux Falls”.

Speaking of Rapid City, last week I didn’t have an animal story.  Fear not, as this week we have the horse masseuse.

The two or three West River Democrats are pumped about Joe Biden. 

Good news Pierre.  US 83 should be back to normal in time trick or treat.

Brookings is nuts about books.  Well, in their defense they do have some awesome bookstores.

Sioux Falls continues to see the fruits of the Phillips project grow. 

Pie?  in the Park?  Maybe I’ve been to harsh on Huron.

Indigenous hasn’t gotten a good write up in a while, so it was nice to read one.

South Dakota’s rails might be rattling a bit harder.

Finally, Mitchell’s paper is now requiring registration on every story I try to click on.  Boo that.  Now, much like Watertown, I’m afraid I don’t know and/or care what happens there.

Over at Verbiage Dump I let my iPod try to predict my future.  I suggest my iPod keep the day job.  Farmington30 deals with my journey from Farmington to Alamosa, Colorado.  This was a very frustrating blog to write.  On one hand, the drive from Farmington to Alamosa was so beautiful and breathtaking it almost defies description.  The views down and up the Rockies, the long swaths of trees sloping downward, the narrow roads surrounded by rocks and evergreens…all of it seems to be too much for words to contain.  When I read the entry, it seems like I didn’t even try to convey what I saw.  If I’m going to be serious about writing, I feel the need to tackle that trip with a lot more detail, or at least some.  The combination of my fuzzy memories (1984 isn’t getting any clearer upstairs) and my lack of confidence in conveying the views, along with the feeling that no words can sum up the sights gets me where I am now.  Before I move to the next part of the story, I might just have to add to it.

The other day at work I got into what I’d call a ‘mini-argument” at best with a co-worker and fellow South Dakotan in exile.  He was talkin’ the smack (one of his defining characteristics) about South Dakota politician Larry Diedrich, and by that nature he was talkin’ the bad smack about Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin.  I won’t say it got to a shouting match, or even heated discussions.  It was just a clear split along a party line.  I don’t like to subscribe to a party line, and I don’t like to be called one or the other.  About fifteen years ago I leaned to the right, but for the past decade my lean re-centered and started going left.  I hadn’t realized I was at the tipping point until that exchange, but I had some hints from a few other exchanges with telephone solicitors.  Which brings me to another thing on my mind of late.  I have a great relationship with my father-in-law.  He’s a great guy.  We get along fine.  He’s a hard working, self made man.  He accepted me as a son-in-law and seems to genuinely like me.  I know you’re waiting for the “but”, so we’ll get to it.  He’s a big time supporter of the N.R.A.  I’m not a member, nor would I be after the phone call I got from them.  I have no problem with people owning firearms.  If that’s what folks want to collect, let them.  I have no beef with current gun laws, nor am I seeking to make it harder for citizens to get them.  However, the phone call I took basically made it seem like any attempt to further restrict gun laws was going to end life as we knew it, and that anyone on CNN with a “D” in their description wanted to come and take all the guns away.  What tweaked me was the statement about Democrats wanting to take away our “civil liberties”.  I went on a rant about how the current administration has taken away more civil liberties than just the right to own a gun, and just hung up.  Did I mention one-issue voters really get my dander up?  That’s a story for another day.

The station has the new Metallica single.  Everything I’d read about Death Magnetic had me looking forward to this release, but now my enthusiasm is a bit more tempered.  The song sounds better than anything on St. Anger, from a production standpoint.  It treads the line between the production values of Load and …and Justice for All.  Here’s where the problem comes in, because I just mentioned …and Justice for All.  I know plenty of Metallica fans who love that album, but I’m not one.  My problem with that CD is the total lack of low end.  It is no secret that the bass tracks were all but stripped out of that album, and Metallica needs some low end to really have that oomph for me.  This single sounds lacking in low end, and I’m worried James and Lars had another moment of fear that having a bass player was somehow ruining the memory of Cliff Burton.  I’m pretty sure he appreciates the gesture, but he’d also want you to put some freakin’ bass in your songs.

On that note, next week I hope to have something to say about the new AC/DC song, which goes to radio at the end of this week.

One more term, one more show, and one great life ahead

Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin thinks she has one more term left in her.  Well, that and a baby.  Speaking of elections, I saw the HQ for the guy running against Tim Johnson while in Sioux Falls.  I imagined a hypothetical scenario playing out somewhere.  “I’m Joel Dykstra, and I’m going to lose to a guy who almost died.  I’m Joel Dykstra and…I paid for this message?  Honestly guys, worst campaign slogan, like, ever!”  Sorry Joel, but try again in six years.  Tim always finds a way to win, and Tom Daschle and Steve Hemmingsen can tell you about the unofficial “three term” rule, in that no South Dakota senator has won a forth term.

I wonder if that old billboard that said “if you plan on brining drugs into South Dakota, plan on staying a long, long time” is still up.  If it is, I bet these two brainiacs laughed at it.

Do you know what a convective heat burst is?  Sioux Falls does, now.

Aberdeen rocks out with Skid Row.  Well, without Sebastian Bach and Dave “Snake” Sabo, but still, Aberdeen rock fans can’t be choosy.

Brookings checks in with a heartwarming story.

Then they get back in it with three reasons I love checking their website.  Reason number one is a clever pun.  Reason number two is some creative wordplay.  Reason three would be telling it like it is with a flourish.  Honestly, this is becoming one of my favorite Sunday web clicks, including comics.

When I’m in my seventies, I hope I’m able to rebuild a motorcycle.  That means I should learn how to do it now.

Vermillion has a recycling plan that actually has some opposition.  Weak.

Do you get the impression that Pierre’s paper wants people clicking to it to move to Pierre?

While I collect ways of getting out of painting outside, I won’t add this one.

Rapid City has…aw, who cares?  Check out the RC Journal’s Indian Taco recipe.

Also, the smokey smell in the western part of the state isn’t just motorcycle exhaust.  It’s just other states on fire.

Sports news?  Well, a few things.  The Sioux Falls Canaries have no regrets about switching leagues.  Also, WNBA star Becky Hammon takes some heat for her spot on the Olympic Team…the Russian Olympic Team.

Finally, birthday wishes to KILI-FM.  This may have been my favorite story of the week to read.

Saturday was a grand day to be in South Dakota.  I found my way to Phillips Avenue to check out the Radio Specialists, the new music venture from the brothers behind Spooncat.  I had the impression it would be different, and it was, but it was also familiar.  Part of that was due to an injury to one of the members, which resulted in a few more Spooncat songs being tossed in.  It was one of those things that really hit home just how much I’ve changed.  In my younger days, if a band I liked went in a new direction and brought in some new members, I’d probably have thrown a fit and not given the new material a fair shake.  Then, after ranting and raving for a bit, I’d begrudgingly give the new stuff/singer/direction a chance, but not an open minded one.  Last night I wasn’t sure what to expect, but since I loved everything the band principals did before, I was open to them trying some new things and I brought a sense of curiosity.  I won’t say I enjoyed each and every song, but I’ll say I enjoyed all but maybe one.  One thing I did enjoy was their cover of Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith”, but it was reworked to be a duet (featuring the new female singer the band found, or she found them, depending on the P.O.V. of the story).  The people who turned out for the show had a good time, and I had a good time.  I’ll be on the lookout for their next show, and hopefully I make it to this one on time.

The main reason I was late was because I was looking all over town for They Might Be Giants.  No, the duo wasn’t in Sioux Falls, but I needed a few of their CDs.  If you thought I had them all, you’re almost right.  I didn’t have their kid CDs Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s.  Kate is all but ready to go, so the time to get some music for the new arrival is approaching.  I have a speaker/dock for iPod, and I think I’ll use my old 40 GB iPod in his room for some TMBG, along with some classical I just need to upload.  Maybe a few non-offensive 80s songs and some Glenn Miller too.  Some days I get really excited about what I can expose to his young mind, other times I wonder if I’m not going to doom him to an existence geekier than mine.

Hopefully he’s a baseball prodigy, because my fantasy teams need help.

In closing, I want to talk about my wife Kate.  I don’t blog about our marriage much, mainly because it’s going well.  I always imagine marriage blogs being rant-fests, and some days I think that if my wife wrote one it would be about me (and deservadely so).  I was a solitary individual even with a roommate, and some days thinking of “we” or “us” or “our” as opposed to “I”, “me” or “my”  just doesn’t happen like it should.  I give Kate grief now and then about being impatient, but she shows more patience towards me than I deserve.  Lucky for me, she still loves me.  I just hope she knows how much I love her, and how lucky I feel every time I come home and hear her voice greet me.

May all who read this find something like it, and if they have it already, to appreciate it.

For those about to shop, we salute you?

In case you missed the news, the Wall Street Journal leaked a report about AC/DC selling their newest CD as a Wal-Mart exclusive. Some response has been quite negative, and my initial feelings weren’t the best. Wal-Mart is a store I try to avoid, even before avoiding Wal-Mart was the thing to do (or not do). I spent the summer of 1994 working as a stockman at the local location. It wasn’t a bad job, but it was by far my least favorite job. It probably didn’t help that I was living in a dorm with no air conditioning, my roommate bailed on me, I was making minimum wage, and I was by far the lowest rung in the Wal-Mart ladder, if being a stockman (stockperson nowadays?) is even a rung. I couldn’t wait to stop doing it, and I’ve tried to avoid the place ever since. The majority of my bosses weren’t the best either (one was actually pretty nice) and my only fond memories involve me putting together a display bookcase.

I could go into the other reasons the store gets a bad rap, but any google search worth its salt can find those. The complaints I’ve been seeing about the AC/DC thing involves a few online commentators claiming the band has “sold out”.

Are you kiddin’ me?

I’m probably the biggest AC/DC fan I know, and this notion blows my mind. “Selling out”, besides being a tired term that few use anymore, implies that a band had artistic integrity. We’re talking about a band that has songs like “Big Balls”, “Sink the Pink”, “Ballbreaker”, “That’s the Way I Wanna Rock and Roll”, “Cover You in Oil”, “Bedlam in Belgium”, “Given the Dog a Bone”, etc etc. This is a band that when accused of making the same album nine times, rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young said “I thought it was ten?” (I probably butchered that story, but you get my meaning). Their bass player, Cliff Williams, called their music “deep and meaningless”. I have a hard time believing that AC/DC is in this for the artistic merit of their music. I don’t presume to speak for the band, but it seems to me that they’re in this because they seem to enjoy doing it, and the money isn’t bad either. That’s not to say they haven’t done the odd thing to indicate otherwise (when they denied permission for the Beastie Boys to sample their music comes to mind).  When the Eagles can get the sales numbers they did from partnering with one of the top music retailers in America (now second to iTunes of all things) (BTW, AC/DC is one of the last iTunes holdouts), I would think a band that’s been away this long (eight years) and is coming off a so-so album (Stiff Upper Lip) needs a bit of an assist in promotion.

What does blow me away about this news is that WAL-MART CAME TO AC/DC(supposedly). Wal-Mart, the store that doesn’t sell albums with naughty words and tends to put themself on a pedistal of being “family friendly” is selling the new AC/DC album. I remember the “Night Prowler” bru-ha-ha. I remember people claiming it stood for “Anti-Christ/Devil’s Child”. Let’s not forget all the protests about “suggestive” and “obscene” lyrics in the 1980s by the almost-forgotten P.M.R.C. Without changing anything AC/DC has gone from being “devil music” to being sold as a Wal-Mart exclusive. Heck, I’ve bought my last three AC/DC clothing items at Target and Pamida. I’m looking at getting AC/DC baby clothing. Has society really gone that far since the 1980s? It doesnt’ feel like it to me.

I just whipped this up in MS Paint. I wonder if we can get a chunk of the stores to change their signs this fall?

Oh, just for fun, let’s look at other bands if they did the Wal-mart exclusive.

Feel free to add/suggest your own.

Things I have learned

The main thing I’ve learned is that any blog title that is a reference to or names the band Weezer drives up traffic.  So, I’ll get it out of the way now.

Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer Weezer

Okay, I’m good.

I wasn’t in a chatty mood on Sunday, so I gave the usual South Dakota news outlets a break for a few days.  Since a lack of stories from the Yankton P&D (a mighty fine paper IMHO) was pointed out by Ace (a damn fine writer in my and a lot of people’s minds) I went there first.  I didn’t see much to comment on, other than a medium speed chase.  I’ve heard of high and low speed chases, but I’m not sure what a medium speed chase is.  75 MPH maybe?

Here, in their native habitat, are some South Dakota environmentalists.  From the reputation South Dakota has as a very red state, I’m sure some thought this species extinct.

If this headline had been at KDLT, I would have guessed it was a less popular version of another NBC show.

This story makes me want to go to Wessington Springs.  What a neat success story.

My home county is throwing a wrench into a Canadian pipeline project.

This story tells me that my old English teacher isn’t being included in the survey.  Either that or we should clone her and make sure every school has one.

The Brookings Register has an interesting new series starting about economical one day drive vacations, and the first story takes us to Lake Norden.

Finally, I happened upon this story about a rather interesting idea by ol’ Bill Janklow back in 1986.  I’d read about this on the Dakota Today blog earlier, and then forgotten.  It’s an…interesting concept, but as the article suggests, it isn’t very practical and it is on shaky legal ground

Musically, I’ve been working my way through Death Cab for Cutie’s discography.  I enjoyed their new album but I’d read that some of their older fans weren’t sure what to make of it.  This phenomenon piqued my interest with Rilo Kiley last year, and returning to their old albums was enjoyable.  I’ve been listening to almost nothing but DC4C the last few days, and I doubt I’ll keep most of it on my iPod.  It just isn’t holding me in and distracting me.  One way I can tell if music is connecting with me is if I try to use it as background noise, and it demands I pay attention.  Most of the old DC4C stuff I’ve heard hasn’t really made a strong case to my ears.  It’s more of a “hey, listen to us…or not…whatever” kind of listening.  It could be that I’ve been listening to way too much of it at once.  I’ll try and shuffle it in gradually rather than listening to it all at once in almost a row.  On my last trip to Last Stop I picked up Flight of the Conchords, and after a great EP I had high hopes for a full album.  It didn’t quite live up to the EP, or at least it didn’t on Sunday morning.  I was a bit out of it that day.  I need to start getting in a better mood before I listen to new music.

Either that, or I need some music that puts me in a better mood.

Weezer’s new album cover

Brilliant or bat-$#!* crazy?

Trick question. The answer is yes.

Pork and Beans, odds and ends

Seriously, this new Weezer song is a full order of awesome, but I don’t know why.

The weekend in Marshall-town was a good one.  I participated in National Record Store Day by doing some remotes and then I bought a few things.  First up was the new album of covers by Everclear.  Everclear has done a few covers in the past, and if they’ve been on an album they’re also on this album.  Their new covers were pretty good, but I wish their version of “867-5309″ was a studio cut and not a live one.  I also took advantage of the buy two get one free deal, but on actual records.  I found Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s first album, and I think it is still in the cellophane.  Next up was Van Halen’s 5150.  During one of my remotes I remarked that “you haven’t heard ‘Why Can’t This Be Love’ until you hear it on vinyl.”  When it was exposed that I didn’t have it on vinyl (my previous vinyl Van Halen experience was at a friend’s and the college radio station) I thought I should pick it up for myself.  I looked quite a while for a free album, but nothing else jumped out at me until I found the Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan soundtrack.  It didn’t list Scotty’s bagpipe version of “Amazing Grace” but I can find that on practically any collection of bagpipe music.

After letting it grow since Kate and I got married, I finally got a hair cut.  I don’t know why I put it off so long anymore.  I always freak out about it and I have to get in this “mood” to finally get it done.  Then when I do I realize how much better I look at this point in my life with short hair.  Another thing I don’t like about it is that it makes me realize how vain I am, regardless of how much I tell myself I’m not.

And now, in South Dakota news…

WHISKEY…TANGO…FOXTROT?

First off, John Thune is a bit of a tool.  At least that’s how he comes across to me.  I’m being polite because I’ve never met the man.  We have a state Representative who I used to knock on every occasion, but actually meeting him soothed my anger to a degree.  Still, I don’t like his policies, and I’m no fan of Thune’s either.  If this actually happened (which the story and I heavily doubt, Chris Matthews be damned) we’d have a South Dakotan one heartbeat away from the presidency, and that heartbeat would belong to one of the oldest serving presidents, should McCain win (I don’t like his chances, but that’s another story). 

Meanwhile in the Badlands, a situation is developing that is long overdue.  Hopefully, things will work out on all sides.

Ah, the problems they have in Tea.  It would be so rough to live there.

Rapid City gets the “wait, this wasn’t a law before” award.

My snarky South Dakota news had some other stories, but this one snapped me back to a serious tone, as I hadn’t realized the 15 year anniversary of George Mickelson’s death came and went over the weekend.  I remember where I was when I heard the news.  I was in my dorm room with a few other South Dakotans and we were all shocked at the news that Governor Mickelson’s plane had crashed.  A friend of mine from Massachusetts was amazed at how much we actually cared about the story, compared to how he thought Massachusetts folk would be reacting.  I never met George Mickelson, but I was about a yard from him at Boys State in 1991.  I wasn’t as into politics when he was governor, but my few memories of him tell me he was a very well liked governor, and the statue in Pierre dedicated to the his (and the other South Dakota officials who died that day) memory his section simply includes the phrase ”George Mickelson made a difference”.  Even seeing it seven years after his death, it moved more than I’d care to admit. 

I hate to make the blog so scattered, but I’ll close with some plugs.  My ongoing project Cliffhanger Theater is about to end part two, and part three will be rolling down the rails very soon.  I have a new visitor guide for Farmington, New Mexico, so I should be getting back to my blog “One Month in 1984” in the next week or so.  Finally, I had some inspiration for another new short story that I should have on fanwitch by the end of the week.  It centers on a lake near my hometown that has always fascinated me.  If nothing else, a new music blog will pop up on my more work centered MySpace blog.

Now get out there and stimulate the economy.  I’d recommend some stirring conversation.  That’s all I can afford right now.

Around 8 lines about 4 CDs.

The new Raconteurs album is much better than their first.  The new album makes me glad I didn’t delete their first off my iPod.

Panic at the Disco’s new album…huh?  I was expecting something, and I think they did what I was expecting they’d do, but they did it a lot more than I would have.

Tokyo Rose was supposed to keep me awake this morning.  While it didn’t succeed, it didn’t give me nightmares.  In fact, the dreams were quite pleasant.

The new Gnarls Barkley?  So far, it’s solid.  The freshness has worn off a bit, since it is album number two, but even room temperature pizza is still good eats, if you catch my metaphor.