Monday Morning Blues

Good morning all! First I wanted to start off apologizing for not having a post yesterday. My goal was the post every day when I started this back up and I have let myself and my one to two readers down. In my defense I will say I spent an enjoyable Sunday between video games and napping, so it wasn’t a total waste of time!

So we all made it to another Monday. Back to the drudgery and soul sucking that is the work week.  So to try and avoid this same feeling of dread, I decided to post on the company’s time this morning. (Plus I have to work 5 hours Saturday for training, so if they take 5 hours of my time, I am taking 5 hours of their time). I find as I get older, time is just as much of a commodity that has value as anything else. You do not realize that when you are younger, I certainly didn’t. As I have gotten older and hopefully a little wiser, I have realized that my free time is valuable. It has much more worth to me than money. This overtime for Saturday, doesn’t mean squat compared to my time away from work. That’s not saying I can’t use the money, I can, but eventually life becomes more about money and what you can earn. It is about what you can leave behind, what you can create and leave out there for other generations to see. Always remember, your time is worth more than anything else. You can’t get it back.

On to something a little less depressing. Did not get to see End Game this weekend. My wife and I are going this week. I want to see it before I get slammed with Spoilers on Reddit and Twitter. I will probably add my review to the millions that will be out there. Hopefully the crowds will be a little small er during the week. Mini rant here. Is it me or are people just the worst in theaters these days? Between cell phones and screaming kids, any enjoyment is usually drained out by the time the trailers end. Can’t you stay off your phone for the 2 hours it takes to watch a movie? How important is your life that you just have to reply to a text or tweet as soon as you receive it? Keep the phones put up people. It is not much to ask. I am not even going into the whole child issue. I will just say, parents keep your kids on a leash and shut them up. That is not asking much for two hours either.

Well i guess I better get on with my day. I will probably post again later. Everyone have a good one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Night’s Alright For…Albums Reviews?

Tumbleweed

Good evening all! I thought I would try a little album review tonight. Music being one of my passions, I thought I would add some insight and maybe shed a little light on some albums that no one has heard of or have given little to no thought to in many years. I am not really into the technical side as far as sonics, mastering and other such items. I am more into what moves me, what makes me feel emotions and makes me think.

There is nothing quite like a well crafted pop album. Something you can sing along with, enjoy, escape and have some level of emotional connection. I am using the term album in the sense of that is a collection of songs that go well together and explore various ideas and emotions. 99% of my music collection is on CD. I do have a few albums, but I am not a real audiophile. I appreciate vinyl, but for convenience and being able to blast my music, give me the CD any day.

So my first album I would like to review is Tumbleweed Connection by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Released on October 30, 1970, It is one of the best examples of the chemistry between John and Taupin. The music is heavily influenced by the American West and South. The vocal performance is beautiful. John really finds confidence with his voice on this album. The lyrics are straight forward, nothing really complicated. They all tell stories of different characters from a long ago time. The music perfectly intertwines with the vocals. All of the songs inspire images of flowing down some lazy river. Picture riverboat gamblers, steamboats and a simpler time in life. Even the cover, shown above, reflects the out of time nature of the album. It is a beautiful piece of music. No real “traditional” singles are on it, but that is just fine. This is an experience. It is a little slice of Heaven that you can just put on and enjoy. It’s not trying to say anything, it just invites you to listen and enjoy. Some outstanding tracks, in my opinion, “Amoreena”, “Country Comfort” and “Where to Now St. Peter?”

Try it out sometime if you can!  

Thanks for reading!

Track listing

Hodgepodge

Happy Friday all! Today I am going to just ramble on a bit. I am just getting back into the swing on posting after a very long hiatus. There is so much out there to write about. So much good and bad. Today let’s start out with some positive thoughts to get the weekend off to a great start.

I am excited to go see “End Game” this weekend. I generally tend to like the Marvel Movies, although the whole super-hero genre is starting to wear a bit. I am sure it will be a solid movie, although 3 hours is a bit of a run time. No large sodas for this one. I am curious to see what direction they decide to take the Avengers after this. The whole Marvel Universe is pretty well crafted and there have been some really decent story lines, but I believe some of the actors are going to be done playing these parts after this? Time will tell.

Well as mentioned yesterday, I love video games, music and movies. Not necessarily in that order, but it really depends on my mood. Right now I am focusing more on games and movies. I am not on the cutting edge of gaming by any means, I just have an XBOX One and a PS4. I rarely buy brand new games. $60.00 is a bit steep, especially with the way games are not creeping towards “the online service” model. I personally like single player games and have no desire to play a game online with a bunch of strangers. This is probably because of my age. I always loved “escaping” into a video game, into a world I could discover and explore. I didn’t want or need to socialize. (Yes I do see the irony of me at 48 putting myself out there to a social platform). I think in later posts I will go into more detail about “online services” in reference to video games. it’s very interesting and something I have really started paying attention to. A shout out to Jim Sterling and his YouTube channel (The Jimquisition) for doing to some awesome reporting on this. Check it and his sight out.

I think I will expend on movies and music on a separate post. Still trying to feel this out and see where it goes. I don’t want to babble on too long until I really find my voice.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Let’s Try this Again, Shall We?

Hello all! Looks like I am jumping in headfirst again into the world of blogging. Granted everything has moved more towards YouTube, Vine, Twitter and the various social media outlets that are out there these days. I however, have decided to start over at a slower pace and hopefully build myself up into this giant media platform where I can add my inane opinions to the others that are out there in this murky void.

I want to talk about various subjects. Fun things like video games, music, movies. Also I will sometimes go down the darker path of politics and the world around us. I know I will be setting myself up for a barrage of comments from trolls, if anyone ends up actually reading any of this, but I figured might as well go all the way!

A little about me. I am 48, married and find myself in a unique situation where I still enjoy all the distractions I did as a younger man, but I am looking at them with a different viewpoint. No longer am I this giant fanboy of the things I love, but see them now with a more cynical eye. I am not expert on anything. I just have my opinions and ideas I just want to share. I will obviously back serious ideas with facts and not go off half-cocked, but there will be quite a lot of rants of things that bother me that I see in everything around me.

The plan is to post something everyday. I am trying to create a schedule of topics and try to bring a unique perspective to them. Eventually, I would like to have a podcast and more outlets to spread the love. I do have a Twitter handle (@MLCTaskforce) that I will be posting on as well.

That is all for now! There will be more to come!

Take care!

After the Gold Rush

Ever have a day that felt like a song? Maybe it is just the music, maybe the lyrics, maybe both. Today is “After the Gold Rush” by Neil Young for me. Maybe it is the melancholy mood I am in. The change of seasons always make me feel a little sentimental for past times. This song always puts me in this sleepy, reflective and thoughtful mood. It is not a bad feeling, it just does make me miss some of the days that have gone by. I won’t make this a long post, just thought I would share. If you ever have a day like this, feel free to share. I would love to know about it.

Take care,

Lefty

50 Shades of BS

Wow, it has been a long time since I have dipped my toes into the cold, polluted waters that is pop culture. Given the slag that is being shoved down our throats, it’s no wonder I want to avoid movies and television like Jenny McCarthy avoids common sense. It does make it harder to write a blog post on pop culture, but it does give me fewer headaches.

Not to sound like a bitter old man, but speaking as someone who remembers Bruce Jenner as a man, I am depressed at the state of mainstream entertainment these days. I must emphasize mainstream, because there is good music, movies and books that can be accessed, if one is willing to hunt it down. Mainstream entertainment, for lack of a better expression, is shit. Where do I begin? Let’s see. Taylor Swift, shit. Justin Bieber, shit. Rap and Hip Hop, shit. Let’s explore the world of television. Duck Dynasty, shit. Big Bang Theory, shit. Reality television, shit. American television has de-evolved. It is a knuckle dragging, club toting Neanderthal. How anyone with any brain cells left can watch this garbage, I will never understand. Are we that far gone as a society that people are entertained by sticking a camera in front of any idiot and watching what happens? Then we have the movies. Ah, the movies, that bastion of escape that has twisted itself so that it’s looking at its own ass now. Do we really need Hot Tub Time Machine 2? Hell, we didn’t need the first one. Just like a Mel Gibson Chanukah party, things have fallen apart in a bad way in Hollywood. I cannot place the blame totally on Hollywood. We as consumers are just as culpable for the garbage that is being spit out. As long as people will wait in line for 50 Shades of Grey premieres or go to the latest Night at the Museum shit show that is out there now, things will not change. Plus, for the love of everything holy, please shut up about the new Star Wars movies that will be coming out. Who gives a rats ass? Didn’t you people learn anything from the last crap fest that were the prequels?

Overall I guess I am bitter and angry. I know all these things I have mentioned are not made for my demographic. I just see the decline of entertainment. I see the decline of people in general. I mean I know the shows and movies I grew up with were not all classics. Hogan Heroes and Gilligan’s Island, I am looking at you. People have always wanted base and simple entertainment. Let me take off my shoes after a long day and just give me entertainment I do not have to think about. We have always had it and we will always will. It just seems worse now that we have much more access to things as ever before. As long as people give a shit about or even talk about Honey Boo Boo, we die a little as a nation. Now excuse me I think I am gonna read a book.

Lefty