Juggernuts… » 2009

November 3, 2009

Are we gonna get any more pics?

CATAGORIES: GENERAL NONSENSE — FloridaBill @ 4:30 pm

Yarbz takes off on this road trip and promises dozens of images. We got four. One of a mouse and three of me and my dogs. WTF?

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November 2, 2009

Letter to America

CATAGORIES: COMMENTARY — FloridaBill @ 10:43 am

I searched Snopes.com and could determine if this was true or not, but it certainly lays out how I feel. Whoever wrote it is brilliant.

GLENN BECK: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona . She writes an open letter to our nation’s leadership:

“I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.
You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This is not to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the STIMULUS bill. I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you No, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars. I want the circumvention of our constitutional checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution, and honor it.

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November 1, 2009

Beatles Mono Boxset a Must (for Beatle enthusiasts)

CATAGORIES: GENERAL NONSENSE,MUSIC — Houston @ 6:44 pm

Regarding the Beatles new remastered mono CD release, I must say I am very impressed. First sonically, these are very balanced. The sound is warm, as close to vinyl as I suppose the CD format can get. Second, and more importantly, these mono mixes are vastly superior to any of the stereo mixes IMHO.

From Please Please Me to The Beatles, all post session mixing was done by the Beatles and George Martin in Abbey Road Studio II with a single speaker in the center of the console. Following this mono mix, the Beatles and Martin considered their work done (with a few minor early exceptions… a few guitar solo’s must have been flown in during the mix down … see Matchbox in mono and stereo for an example). Others, rarely with Martin’s supervision, prepared the stereo mixes. Oddly, they seemed to take little time to match these up (why did they slow down She’s Leaving Home?) This blog would take up a few pages to catalog the differences.

The first thing that struck me was how “perfect” these versions are. Beside an excellent balance between instruments and vocals, Martin and the Beatles worked to present their best performances (ex: no Lennon lyric screw up on Please Please Me…. Yes, I know, it may be charming, humorous, human, but it’s not what they wanted for an official release). These mono mixes of the performances sound like your in the studio, more intimate, rather than the stereo which sounds like some idiot was out to prove that stereo meant you could place completely different sounds in each speaker. The stereo mixes’s sound space is beyond artificial. Unfortunately, the stereo remasters were not remixed (for a sample of the possible, get a copy of the Yellow Submarine extended release…blue cover version.. these are excellent remixes).

This weekend, while driving around, I listening to The Beatles and was amazed at the guitar sounds, in particular Clapton’s work and the solo work on Happiness. It’s as if the amp is a 10 feet away not on stage in an auditorium. Super clean.

The mono set is for anyone who loves this music and wants to hear the performances for the first time again. Stunning.