On Getting Canned: Ruminations On The Dissolution Of My "Permanent-Temp" Position With The American Express Company

Um.


Okay.

The weekend had been quite enjoyable until, once again, Kanga got too hammered to drive.

__________________________

The Cape was fantastic. Pics and video soon...

Okay, so...

No... I am neither a hunky soap star, a meth addict or an 80's has-been. Thanks for the guesses, though.

Nothing to report right now. Answers next week...
......................................
Packing up The Missus and The Doodle and heading here for the weekend.

A station wagon, a travel mug full of coffee, the new Wilco, a campfire, a couple bottles of Casa Silva Carmenere, The Atlantic Ocean, deep-fried lobster meat, a three-legged dog and my favorite wife...









Does it get any goddamn better than that?


-------------------------------

Q:

What do I have in common with him, him and her?

A:
Maybe something, maybe nothing.


I'll let you know tomorrow...

U2ube Video of the Week #2: "A Celebration"

"A Celebration" was a non-album single released between the October and War albums in 1982. It's actually always been one of my favorites from that early period. It's got a great, anthemic, fist-pumping spirit to it and it's a classic example of Edge's ability to make an enthralling guitar verse out of just three notes.

The band however, feels differently. When questioned about why the song never manages to make it into any of their live sets they've intimated that they simply don't much care for it. Which is a shame, because I've always deemed it to be one of the unsung (literally) classics from the early catalog.

The video however, is another story. The boys have made more than a few dodgy videos over the years. It's never been their best medium. But I have to say, this one takes the cake. Right down to Bono's red tight-pants and the goofy blue animated sparks that shoot out of a doorway, sending Adam and Larry reeling toward the camera. Absolute pisser. See for yourself...

Dogs are the best...

Dog Nurses Tiger Triplets at China Zoo

BEIJING - It's a dog's life for three newborn tiger triplets in eastern China. The cubs, whom officials at the Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World in Shandong province are so far just calling "One," "Two" and "Three," have been nursed by a dog since they were rejected by their tiger mother shortly after birth, said Paomaling manager Chen Yucai.

The trio's adoptive mother, a mixed breed farm dog called "Huani," is expected to nurse them for about a month or until their appetites outpace her supply, Chen said. Chen said it is common for Chinese zoos to use surrogate dog mothers to nurse rejected tiger cubs and that Huani has nursed tigers before.

In the past, Paomaling put dog urine on their rejected cub's fur to make the surrogate think she was nursing one of her own puppies but the zoo didn't bother with Huani because she seemed not to mind nursing the tigers, he said.

"The family is getting along well and seems to enjoy each other," Chen said.

I Remember the Lessons

I don’t remember the first time I used my voice
or how it might have sounded
But she does.
She remembers because
she knew it meant I was awake and alive and already starting to
define
myself.

I don’t remember my first steps or
the way my legs finally found out what they’re for
But she does.

She remembers because
my hand was holding hers.
And in the silent space between our palms

I learned everything I needed to know about

trust.

I don’t remember cutting teeth
or throwing my first fit.
I don’t remember my first word or whether it

made sense to anyone but her.

I don’t remember the first time I rode in a car
or just exactly how I got this scar above my eye
and I
don’t really know why I
called it my “purple” blanket when it was every color but, But
she does.
She remembers because
that’s what mothers do.
They have a place inside that holds the history
of you.

There’s a lot I do remember, though…

Like standing knee-deep in late December snow
and her,
yelling from the front door of the house on 63rd
that I

wasn’t wearing “enough of a coat”
as if I’d managed to come out in only the sleeves.

I remember supermarket Saturdays,
riding around in the bottom of the cart
while she pushed
and how she always let me get a Mad magazine

before we checked out.

I remember learning how to swim
with my arms around her neck

while I kicked

and sputtered

and screamed like a little girl.

I remember Memorial Days,
trips to Iowa to visit the graves
and paying my respects to people I’d never met.
(which really didn’t matter because I was told that they were family
and that was all I needed to know.)

I remember walking to school on the first day of kindergarten
with my folks on either side of me
tackling my acrophobia on the overpass,
with my

nap-time rug tucked snugly under my arm and
how it all had something to do with fear being merely an obstacle.

And years later,
at high school graduation,
my now-divorced parents again on either side of me
beaming
and
proud.

And me in between them,
witnessing firsthand
the true nature of civility
and grace.

I remember the lessons.

The ones she taught
and the ones we learned together.
The ones that stuck whether
I was at home
or out in the world somewhere.

In death, my father taught me
how to be a man.
But in life my mother taught me
how to be a human being.

Yes, I remember her lessons.

And they will serve my children well someday…

-IMBA

Mother's Day, 2006

So, my boy turns 47 today. Holy Crap. And I'm in my 20th year as a hardcore U2 fan. Double-Holy Crap.

There's a segment I've been wanting to implement here at CYPJN? and I guess this is the perfect occasion. It's called "U2ube Video of the Week" and will feature a different U2 performance, interview, vidbit, etc. every week. It's my little way of honoring both the genius of the band and the genius of YouTube itself.

Here is a video of U2's first-ever television performance in March of 1978. It's a very glam delivery of "Street Mission" - an old gem from their earliest demo - replete with an uncharacteristically bland and noodley guitar solo from The Edge. (This was before he met the Memory Man, see.) Brilliant and slightly hysterical...

The Winds of Change

Republicans for Obama...?!

Yes.

Thanks, Bangs...

So, Monday marked the one year anniversary of The Doodle coming to live with us and I totally forgot to post about it. Feels like she's been part of the family forever. She's literally the sweetest dog ever in the history of life and we wouldn't know what to do without her.

Happy Anniversary, Kanga.

Thanks for the awesomeness...

SAVE INTERNET RADIO!

I am an avid internet radio listener. I couldn't get through my 40 hours a week at the cube farm without it. KEXP.org has been my saving grace for the past 4 years, though I have also enjoyed sites such as Live 365 and Netradio in the past. Through all of them, I have discovered countless bands that I may never have heard on my own. Internet radio DJ's have the freedom to program what they want, when they want and have contributed to thousands of new artists reaching wider audiences than they would have through commercial radio or other traditional media outlets.

In recent months, the future of internet radio has come into question. The nutshell reason behind this involves royalty rates for webcasters, which have been drastically increased by a recent ruling. These new rates are due to go into effect on May 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006). If the increased rates remain unchanged, the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date.

Newsweek has a great article on the issue here. Also, you can read KEXP's response to the decision here. And if you want to take action, you can do so by supporting The Internet Radio Equality Act, which was introduced by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL ). Call your congressperson and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 2060 by clicking here. Our direct involvment in situations like this is how change gets made. Our direct lack of involvment is how things like this happen to us.

So, be a good American. Be an active and involved citizen. Be a supporter of new and upcoming artists. Help keep internet radio alive. Do it for yourself. Do it for the bands. But more importantly, do it for me. So that I'm not forced to listen to the jagoff in the cube next to me talking about "leveraging" and "metrics" and "reaching out" and "looping in" all day...