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We’ve been having fun tonight with the kids asking Apple’s Siri a bunch of silly questions. This was one of my favorite responses:
This is awesome…Love how they just play it straight-forward, the way it was written. Enjoy:
When I was in high school, and even through college, Queensrÿche was my favorite band on the planet. I listened to the albums Rage for Order, Operation Mindcrime, and Empire so much that it was ridiculous, and saw them in concert at least 3 times. This lasted through the 1997 release of Hear in the Now Frontier, which was not great, but still had a few songs worth listening to. I tried listening to some of their stuff from the late 90s through the 2000s, but found most of it to be terrible.
Well, fast forward to today….there are now TWO bands recording and touring under the name Queensrÿche. One with the original lead singer, Geoff Tate, and no other original member. The other with original members Michael Wilton (Guitar), Scott Rockenfield (Drums), and Eddie Jackson (Bass), along with Todd LaTorre (Lead Vocals) and Parker Lundgren (Guitar). The new songs coming out of the Geoff Tate version are the same old mess that was typical of Queensrÿche from the late 90s and 2000s. However, the song above is the first single, “Redemption,” from the other version of Queensrÿche, with Todd LaTorre on vocals. I must say that I’m really, really digging this song. As a matter of fact I think that Todd LaTorre sounds more like Geoff Tate used to sound than Geoff Tate does today. Also, this song is much closer to classic Queensrÿche than anything that was released after Empire in 1990.
Definitely worth a listen….I have been wearing out the YouTube version since they have not officially released the song for purchase. Thanks to Chris Miller for originally pointing me to this new single.
Back on August 7th of last year, I included the following near the bottom of a post regarding a run through the Belle Meade area of Nashville:
The highlight of a run on Jackson Blvd is passing the infamous “Gateway” mural that is painted onto the side of a house at the corner of Jackson and Harding Place…
For those of you unfamiliar with Nashville, Belle Meade is a very, very affluent area, and the fairly recent unveiling of this mural has caused quite a bit of controversy with their neighbors.
Well, very shortly after this post, the owners of the home painted back over the mural with the original white of the house. After asking around a bit, I found out that it was never intended to be permanent, but the owners considered it their “gift to Belle Meade.” Whatever the case, I’m sure the neighbors were quite relieved.
Today, as I was driving home, I turned down Jackson Blvd. again, and this is what I saw:
While I always thought the original “Gateway” mural was kind of cool (though completely out of place), I find this particular mural to be hideous!
What do you think?
Last night I posted the following statement regarding Southwest Airlines:
On a @SouthwestAir flight. Passengers still standing in the aisle, but no remaining open seats. I hate this airline.
Well….let me now share with you: “The Rest of the Story”
Turns out Southwest had not oversold the plane as it first appeared, though the real story is almost worse. I was the second passenger on the plane, and saw a large number of children boarding (I would estimate 30+ under the age of 12) after I had taken my seat. Many of these children were carrying large trophies, some of which were taller than they were. I later learned that they had participated in a large chess tournament held in Nashville.
After most of the passengers had taken their seats, the flight attendant in the back announced to the passengers still standing in the aisle that there were no more seats in the back and they would have to grab a middle-seat in the front. The front flight attendant quickly announced that there were no seats remaining in the front, so they would have to find a seat in the back. At this point I counted 10 people still standing in the aisle.
This back-and-forth went on several minutes, before the flight attendent in the back admitted that the reason why the back of the plane was “full” was because she had buckled the chess trophies into multiple seats in the back of the plane, even though it was a completely full flight.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Billy Joel lets Vanderbilt Student Play Piano with Him
This is AWESOME! Billy Joel is one of my top 5 favorite musicians / entertainers on the planet (if not my #1 favorite!). I have been to see him in concert 4 times in 3 different cities, and Olivia and I had two of his songs in our wedding back in 1997.
Well, back in January of this year, Billy had an event titled An Evening of Questions and Answers and a Little Bit of Music at Vanderbilt University here in Nashville. During the Q&A session, freshman student Michael Pollack stood up and said that Joel’s New York State of Mind was a favorite song of his…
“I was wondering if I could play it with you. I would accompany you, that is,” he said.
After this, Joel invited him up to play, and the kid absolutely Nailed It, even getting some major props from Billy at the end. Really cool to watch. Pollack later discussed the moment in an interview with InsideVandy.com.
Pay attention for a little Sinatra imitation by Joel during the song.
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Apparently we have one or more of these ‘critters’ who has made a home in the air ducts under our house (and has been wreaking havoc with our outside condensor and return air duct). The AC repair people initially found them, and the critter people have set traps to catch them. However, in the meantime, we can’t use our heat in case it sprays. Very grateful it’s turned warmer outside.
