OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Stuff

HUMOR: Arthur Conan Doyle joke

2012-01-02T20:27:00.001-06:00

Stepping into a cab, he dropped his suitcase onto the street next to him and sat down, but before he could tell
the driver his destination, the cabby asked, “Where would you like to go, Mr. Doyle?”
Surprised, Doyle asked whether he’d ever met the driver before.
“No, sir,” the driver said. “I don’t believe so.”
“Then how do you know my name?”
The driver replied, “This morning’s paper had a story about your being on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi
stand where people who return from Marseilles always come to. Your skin color tells me you have been on
vacation. The ink spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very
English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I deduce that your are Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle.”
Doyle was amazed at the driver’s deductive abilities.
“That, and your name is on your suitcase.”

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Holidays Greeting To All You Pagans Out There

2011-12-21T22:31:00.004-06:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: " MUSIC: Songs Of The Day: Christmas Music From Devo And Monty Python"

2011-12-13T21:56:00.000-06:00

Click on the link above.

HUMOR and CULTURE/SOCIETY: Riot-Worthy Injustice?

2011-11-11T10:04:00.001-06:00

From Glue - The Comic.

HUMOR: A Star Wars Recasting

2011-10-22T20:49:00.001-05:00

HUMOR: Important Message To People Offended By My Blog

2011-10-21T19:58:00.000-05:00

CULTURE/SOCIETY and SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY: R.I.P. Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T15:43:00.001-05:00

MY LIFE: R.I.P, TO MY CAT

2011-09-23T23:04:00.001-05:00

You drove me crazy sometimes. Getting in the garbage. eating the food my daughter left out and farting an awful storm. Meowing nonstop an hour before feeding time.

On the other hand, you were affectionate as all hell, nuzzling with us, rubbing up against us, purring louder than any other cat i've known. And when my daughter and I were sick or just sad, you were there keeping us company and watching over us until we were better.

You were loved and will be missed.

On OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff: "MUSIC: Song Of The Day - To My Daughter For Her Special Day"

2011-06-09T20:16:00.001-05:00

just click the title

ENTERTAINMENT: May The Fourth Be With You!

2011-05-04T05:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T16:02:00.001-05:00

I haven't got anything new for Easter so...

Here's all my previous Easter posts.

Previous Earth Day Blog Posts

2011-04-23T15:54:00.001-05:00

Didn't really have anything for Earth Day this year...

but here's some posts from previous years on the environment

and here's some posts on environmentalism

Are you better at using your brain or your brawn?

2011-03-19T13:31:00.001-05:00

lol - brain all the way! was never much of a he-man!

Ask me anything

St Patty's Day's Blog Posts

2011-03-16T20:25:00.001-05:00

I haven't got anything new, so here's a link to my former St. Patrick's Day blog posts! - OlderMusicGeek

ON OLDERMUISCGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "My Full-Length OKCupid Profile"

2011-03-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

just click on the title to go to the post

POLITICS and ENTERTAINMENT: For The Unions In Wisconsin And Iowa

2011-03-15T17:32:00.003-05:00

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY: Pi Day Videos

2011-03-14T19:49:00.003-05:00

Happy Pi Day!

\

A link to my Pi Day posts

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC, MOVIES/VIDEOS, BOOKS, TELEVISION/VIDEOS and COMICS: Just A List Of My Favorites"

2011-03-14T19:31:00.002-05:00

just click on the title

HUMOR and CULTURE/SOCIETY: Stark-Raving Mad Libs

2011-03-02T18:22:00.001-06:00

I got this link from my brother's girlfriend. And I created this. You can create your own! - OlderMusicGeek

“I am on a drug. It’s called dan oldermusicgeek. If you try it once, you will flick. Your nose tip will melt off, and your daughter will converse over your stamped body … I’m tired of pretending like I’m not duperesque—a total freaking hostess from x. I’ve got mouse blood, uranus DNA! … They picked a fight with a holy ghost. They’re trying to take all my roses and leave me with no means to sing my family. It’s not aromatherapy! They owe me an apology while poking my eyelid … I don’t think people are ready for the grill I’m delivering, and delivering with a sense of huffy love. I exposed dishes to magic! Here’s your snot test. Next one goes in your acne pit!”

Link to the Vanity Fair site to make your own!

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "The Dating Persona Test" (just click here)

2011-02-26T14:20:00.000-06:00

just click on the title

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: For Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T18:20:00.000-06:00

just click the title

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Tweets From Santa Claus Last Year

2010-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

These are just some of the tweets from Santa Claus's various Twitter pages. - OlderMusicGeek

Mrs.Claus is upset that so many women thanked me for an "amazing night." - from DearestSanta

Today is strictly a day for kicking back with the elves, the Mrs., and some very tired reindeer. Merry Christmas to all! - from @santa

I've been invited to a year end party. Because nothing rings in the new year like felt-wearing elves doing the electric slide. - from @DearestSanta

See Santa Claus take his much needed rest after this long Christmas Eve Night: http://bit.ly/6gk1re - from @iSpotSanta

FYI we are now considering plans to relocate to the South Pole due to climate change. - from @TheSanta

A list of the various pages Santa tweets from

A link to previous posts about Christmas and the holidays

ENTERTAINMENT: Holy Stockings, Batman!

2010-12-24T12:01:00.000-06:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MOVIES: 15 Film In 15 Minutes" (just click here)

2010-12-05T16:42:00.000-06:00

just click the title above

HUMOR, CULTURE/SOCIETY and SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: Has Halloween Become Overcommercialized?

2010-10-31T16:37:00.006-05:00

Got this from The Onion - OlderMusicGeek

In The Know: Has Halloween Become Overcommercialized?

Other Halloween blog posts

HUMOR and CULTURE/SOCIETY: How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son

2010-10-31T15:32:00.010-05:00

From The Onion - OlderMusicGeek

How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son

Other Halloween blog posts

MY LIFE: 3 Halloween Questions

2010-10-30T10:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I got thes questions for my work newsletter, so I thought I could put the answers here on my blog too! - OlderMusicGeek

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a child?

I can’t remember that far back, but I do remember one year dressing up as my childhood hero, Doc Savage, a kind of pseudo-Superman from 1930s pulp magazines. Of course, no one knew who he was, so no one knew who I was being!

Then one year, when a friend and I were passing out candy, we ran out. So we put on our clothes backwards, walked up to the doors backwards, stood with our backs to the people, told the answer to the joke, then the question, then said trick or treat!

My daughter was Queen Amidala from Star Wars for 3 years in a row. We offered to buy her a new costume, but no way!

2. What is your favorite scary movie?

“Alien” always has been and will be my favorite movie. Every time I watch it, I get chills and jump! Especially during the scene in the escape hatch!

But I also love Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Found out recently that I apparently let my daughter watch that movie at too young an age! She told me that she tied the bathroom door shut for a week when she took a shower after she saw it!

3. What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Peanut M&M’s all the way! Though I can't eat too many of them now with my high cholestrol!

But I loved Snickers too! Anything that mixes chocolate and peanuts!

Unfortunately, with the low-fat, low cholestrol diet I'm on now. Can't really eat too many of them!

Other Halloween blog posts

MY LIFE (and ENTERTAINMENT): My Daughter And “Her Nerds”

2010-10-15T14:24:00.014-05:00

Since time immemorial, as far back as anyone can remember, from the dawn of the cave dwellers, a particular group has been picked on and mistreated by the mighty and the popular.

This group has been known by many names - “geeks”, “dorks”, “spazzes”, “losers”... and most notably “nerds”.

But in ONE school, this arrangement is changing! In one school, ONE girl is standing up and saying “No more!”

This is THE story of that girl!

Okay, my daughter isn't heroic as all that... although his friends might disagree. But has seemed to change the way that at least her friends at school are treated.

And what got me started thinking so much about my daughter and “her nerds” was the song below...

I, myself, could relate to this song quite well. I'd been on both sides of the equation, picked on and ignored, as well as ignoring others who were picked on. I'm not proud of that, but I'd be a liar if I told you otherwise.

But my daughter... now there's a completely different story. Although she picked up my compassion, she fortunately also picked up her mother's feistiness and confidence.

And one time when I was listening to this song, I imagined what it would be like if my daughter was the main character of this tale.

Things would be different from the start, I can tell you that!

That first day after the bicycle race, which my daughter would do her damnedest to win, she would go up to that James and say, “Hi, I'm J---. You're going to be my new best friend. What's your name?” It seems like she does this to almost every new nerd that joins her school. Like she's the school's nerd-welcoming committee.

And if the guy wondered what was going on and who the heck she was, she'd just say, “I told you! I'm J---, and you're going to be my new best friend.”

And if the guy should protest and say he doesn't need a new friend or something, she would inform him that's “Too bad!”

Come lunch the first day, James would find himself suddenly surrounded by my daughter and her friends, who she refers to as “my nerds”. My daughter would play master of ceremonies introducing the new nerd to the rest of the group.

Do they know that she calls them “my nerds”? Apparently so. Have they complained about being called that? My daughter told me they did. Her response? “Too bad!”

If James and my daughter went for a walk like they did in the song, she would probably talk with him about being from a divorced home.

But if he tried to tell her that her music was junk, she would most definitely put him in his place.

And soon as he brought up The Sex Pistols... oh boy!

She'd rip into him about how he listens to that old awful crap her dad does! And probably ask him with a sneer if he listens to Violent Femmes and Devo too. And then she'd tell him about how there is new music out there! And that teenagers should be listening to their own music, not their parents'!

Have to admit my daughter has a point on teenagers who listen to their parents' music and nothing from their generation. That's just wrong and kind of sad!

Now, if three guys started picking on James, this would definitely turn out differently!

As my daughter explained: “One guy would find himself himself pushed to the ground. Another would find his face slammed into a locker. And the third would find himself with his arm twisted very far behind him.” Then after a pause, and with a bit pride, “All things I have done to people who have picked on my nerds!”

I should say here that my daughter is not a big girl. She gets some of her stature from her petite, five foot tall mother. But then her mother doesn't take crap from anyone either!

My daughter is apparently known as “the psycho girl who hangs out with the nerds”. And most bullies, it seems, have learned not to mess with her friends.

I will freely admit that I am quite proud of my daughter, The Great Protector Of Nerds. She has the confidence and looks to be part of the popular crowd, but is unwilling to make the compromises. “They're boring! All they talk about are boys, clothes and their hair! Ugh!” Instead she hangs out with the group that willingly accepts all her quirks and eccentricities. And they get a good return investment for letting her in there! Not that she'd give them a choice!

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: Song Of The Day - Halloween Edition: 'Boris The Spider' By The Who

2010-10-10T15:24:00.005-05:00

just click on the title to go to the post

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: My Quick Thoughts On Yellowbrick Magazine's 8 For 8 Show At People's

2010-10-03T16:19:00.007-05:00

MY LIFE: A Visit To Peculiar Missouri, Part 3: The Robot Revolution And Why Peculiar Is Peculiar, And Not!

2010-10-01T15:35:00.014-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long to get part 3 done. If it's any consolation, I'm already over half way done with the next post! - OlderMusicGeek

Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2

Now it was my turn to eat.

I skip the truck stop next to the freeway because I figure it will mostly have people pulling off the freeway for a bite to eat, and I want to go somewhere where all the Peculiar people go!

So we go to the u-shape strip mall where we saw a couple of the restaurants.

I go to a sandwich place first. It seems like it would be more Peculiar than the Mexican or Chinese place there.

It is strangely named with the simple “The Sandwich Shop”. It was if it was named by someone who did know how to name a sandwich place.

When I go to the door, I notice the place has no signs or menus on the wall and is completely empty of furniture except a counter, placed there as if it were some prop!

It was, of course, locked. So I went to the Mexican restaurant. But it also was locked and looked like it hadn't been used in ages. Also, it was looking like a prop with the front of the restaurant bare except for the sign with its name.

Then I went to the Chinese restaurant. Same story, locked, bare, only a sign, the same prop look.

“What the hell? Don't the people in this town eat?”

Of course, that's when it hit me! Do they? The only restaurants that were open were the two that get business from the freeway!

Good Lord, did we stumble into a town of robots? Cannibals? Human-eating aliens?

Then I remembered there was still the greasy spoon further in town. It was a risk, but by god, I had to see it through.

So I hopped in the car and drove further into this town of danger and mystery!

Unfortunately, the danger and mystery wasn't very forthcoming. The diner was your typical small town diner. Old and a bit run down, but clean and well taken care of.

And the two teenagers working there were your typical laid back teenagers. The girl dressed in shorts and t-shirt. No long skirt like someone who didn't know how people really dress.

And the guy wore jeans that hung off his buttocks. And he snuck peaks at the girl in the shorts when she wasn't looking. Damn it, typical teenager behavior, not like robots at all!

About the only thing peculiar going on that diner was the half-white, half-black kid sitting alone leaned back in her chair bobbing her head to her iPod. But that's pretty typical behavior for my daughter.

And everyone who came in while I waited for my food were annoyingly normal! My god, did I somehow get to Normal, Illinois, by mistake? Was that what made this town peculiar? It sent you through some space anomaly to Normal? But then why was everything named Peculiar This and Peculiar That?

I finally couldn't take it anymore! I asked one of the other customers if she was from Peculiar. I think she started to think I was peculiar! Imagine that!

Anyway, she said she wasn't originally from there, but had been living there for over fifteen years. So I asked her if she knew why the town was called “Peculiar”.

She gave a story that pretty follows what the website for the town of Peculiar said.

The story basically goes like this...

The early settlers had a hard time picking a name for their little spot on the map. After arguing over it a few times in the general store, they sent three names to the post office, who I guess makes the town names official.

Well, it seems the three names the settlers chose were already taken, so the fed up town told the post-master general that they didn't care what they got “so long as it is sort of peculiar”.

Apparently the post-master general either had a sense of humor or was a smart ass... or maybe he was just fed up with town. Or possibly all three!

But he wrote to the town, “in all the land it would be difficult to imagine a more distinctive, a more peculiar name than Peculiar.” And that, supposably, is how the town got it's name... and not because it's populated by aliens, demons or robots, dang it!

So that pretty much concluded our adventures in Peculiar. I ate my chicken sandwich, which tasted fine and not funny at all. Then I got in the car, and my daughter and I hopped on the Peculiar exit and head out town, and I must say we did so rather disappointed.

But I guess now, one of these days, when we go to Chicago, we'll have to check out just how normal Normal, Illinois, really is...

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: Fifteen Albums In Fifteen Minutes You've Heard That Will Always Stick With You"

2010-09-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

click on the title

MY LIFE: A Visit To Peculiar Missouri, Part 2: You Are Now NOT Entering The Twilight Zone, Have A Nice Day!

2010-09-12T15:56:00.007-05:00

This is from me, and NOT reprinted. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to Part 1

So an hour or so later finds my daughter and I going up the Peculiar ramp.

We head up the Peculiar main street. I have to admit that we are disappointed to find nothing strange or out-of-place. Looks like a typical small Midwestern town. No buildings that look they're a cover or disguise for a secret lab or giant spaceship, damn it!

We stop to get gas at a Casey's, a typical – not peculiar! – convenience store you find scattered all over the upper Midwest countryside.

I asked the people in the store about their local restaurants. Nothing strange and unusual there either, damn it! A Subway, a Chinese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a truck stop, and a local greasy spoon.

And the people in the store seemed aggravatingly normal too! Didn't strike me as mind-controlled or demon-possessed or disguised aliens. Just typical small town Midwestern folk, damn it!

Well, in a vain hope of trying to find something peculiar, my daughter and I continue down the main street and check their other busy street.

Although we don't see anything peculiar, I make stupid jokes with my daughter, eyes rolling, about the Peculiar elementary school, Peculiar golf country club and Peculiar this-and-that.

It is at this point, I realize that this is exactly something my dad would do with us kids, and we would groan and roll our eyes too! Yes, so even though I'm becoming a woman, I'm still becoming my dad!

My daughter and I did – finally! - find something slightly peculiar in Peculiar. There, on the wall, of a small silo, at The Peculiar Feed Supply store, was a big ole happy face. My daughter even made me wait to take a picture of it, though typical teenager she was, she didn't want a picture of herself in front of it!

For lunch, my daughter went with the boring choice, Subway!

“Subway?! You're in Peculiar. You can go to a Peculiar restaurant, and you choose Subway?!”

“Yeah, why not?”

“What are you going to tell your friends when they ask where you ate in Peculiar?”

“I'll tell them I went to a Peculiar Subway!”

I just roll my eyes.

MY LIFE: A Visit To Peculiar Missouri, Part 3: The Robot Revolution And Why Peculiar Is Peculiar, And Not!

MY LIFE: My Blog Analyzed

2010-09-12T15:48:00.002-05:00

This is from me, and NOT reprinted. - OlderMusicGeek

This website, URLAI Who Are You? will analyze your blog. These are my results:

Text analysis
oldermusicgeek.blogspot.com is probably written by a female somewhere between 66-100 years old. The writing style is personal and upset most of the time.

POLITICS and CULTURE/SOCIETY: Nation Secretly Hoping 9/11 Becomes A Day Off Soon

2010-09-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

I got this from the The Onion. - OlderMusicGeek

Nation Secretly Hoping 9/11 Becomes A Day Off Soon

WASHINGTON—After spending another anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks at work, many across the country have begun to secretly hope that the date will soon become a federally mandated day off. "We'll have it off in 25 years anyway, so why not just start now?" said a Des Moines–area citizen who wished to remain anonymous. "The people who tragically lost their lives on 9/11 deserve a day of remembrance. Also, I could really use some extra time to clean out my gutters." A small minority of Americans continue to hold out hope that the anniversary of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, in which 17 American sailors died, will someday result in a national half-day off.

MY LIFE: A Visit To Peculiar Missouri, Part 1: Drives And Responsibilities

2010-09-08T20:26:00.011-05:00

I don't why, but this post is taking me forever to write. Just can't seem to find the time. So I'm dividing into 3 posts. - OlderMusicGeek

We hop off the Peculiar exit, looking forward to seeing what this town, that we had passed many times but never visited, had to offer to us.

We had seen the sign each time we went down to visit my mom in Arkansas. “Peculiar so-and-so many miles”. Okay, it didn't actually say “so-and-so many miles”, but I don't remember the exact figure!

But my daughter and I became fascinated by the idea of a town called “Peculiar”. And I determined that one day we would visit it.

Well, the years rolled by and we never did visit it. If we were coming from my mom's home in Arkansas, we just wanted to get home. And sometimes, I was meeting my mom and her husband at the halfway point between my home and theirs in Clinton, Missouri, to either to drop off or pick up my daughter who was visiting for a couple of weeks. And Peculiar was only an hour or so from Clinton, and we didn't feel like stopping our 8- to 9-hour drive again after so short a time.

So year after year, the town of Peculiar was noticed... but ignored.

Then finally one year, I took down my nephew as I was going down to pick up my daughter.

I have to say, though, he has no understanding of the responsibility of the passenger on a long trip – which, of course, is to talk to the driver and keep them awake. I tried talking to him, but all I got back were monosyllables.

Thank the god, I had a boom box hooked up to my iPod playing all my alternative rock, punk, Cajun, bluegrass, big band, as well as other music. I would have fallen asleep without that music and massive doses of Diet Coke. And unfortunately, all that Diet Coke, of course, meant a number of potty stops. I am in my mid-40s!

Well, we still passed the town of Peculiar on the way down and met my mom, her husband and my daughter in Clinton.

Usually, we just eat at the McDonald's there in Clinton. But my nephew has celiac disease and can't eat certain kinds of food, especially wheat-based products. Turns out there really wasn't anywhere in town where he could eat.

So we said our good-byes, and my nephew headed off with my mom and her husband, and my daughter obviously headed off with me.

And as we headed to the car, it hit me.

“Hey, are you that hungry? Or can you wait an hour?”

My daughter gives me a bit of a look. “I'm not really that hungry. Why?”

I smile. “Well.... I was thinking we could eat in Peculiar.”

“Oh, we're going to eat in Peculiar! I can wait!”

A Visit To Peculiar Missouri, Part 2

MY LIFE: Trivia Games Of The Mind

2010-08-01T16:32:00.006-05:00

I don't know about you, but as I get older, I find my mind playing more and more trivia games with me. And, of course, rude mind that it is – and my mind can be very rude! - it doesn't even ask me if I want to play.

So I was sitting there innocently at work doing quality control on data entry – yes, I know, exciting work. Which is why I have to have my music with me. If I forget my iPod, I take a 9 o'clock lunch to go get it! But that really has nothing to do with our story. Just an exciting tidbit of my exciting life I was throwing at you. I swear, if I wasn't getting a sex change, I'd be one of the most boring people on this planet!

Anyway! I'm at work listening to music, when I was trying to remember some of the punk rock and alternative rock I had on my old hard drive before it died. And for some reason, I remember this song “Last Nite”. I can kind of remember how it goes and some of the lyrics, but I can't remember the name of the band. I know they're The S-something.

Now normally, I would just google this, but our work has a really strict policy about internet usage. Almost any site having remotely to do with social networks is blocked. Even a local TV channel's site is blocked because we were picking up too many viruses from there. Of course, these rules don't stop me from using the internet, just careful about when I do use it.

And I wasn't ready to use it yet. I still had a couple of other resources.

And I turned to one of my cubicle mates. He was one of the trio of trivia experts in our department. I being another, and a data entry tech being the third. The third member of the trio wasn't a huge music fan. He liked well enough and could answer some general music trivia questions, but he wasn't one of the people you go to about music.

Now, my cubicle mate was into music quite a bit. Not as much as me of course, but more than almost everybody in the department. And as I said he was part of the trivia trio in our department.

So I tap his shoulder, he takes off his headphones, and I say, “I need help. I can't remember this name of a band. I know they had a song called “Last Nite” and it's spelled N-I-T-E. And their name starts with an S. They're The S-Something. They're a guitar-oriented alternative band from the 90s.” They're actually from the 00s, but anyway....

Then more information came to me. “And part of the lyrics was 'last nite she said'. And there's something about grandma doesn't know and UFOs don't know. And on their second album they sing something about the end having no end. And they've had 3 albums that I know of.”

“Oh, and I think their first album is called “Last Nite”.” It wasn't. If my mind is going to play trivia games with me, I wish it would play fair with accurate information.

My cubicle mate thought for a while. “Those lyrics sound familiar. Could you sing part of it?”

I smiled. “Um, I could, but you still probably wouldn't recognize it.”

He smiled back. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Then he added, “Well, dang, now I want to know who it is.”

Fortunately, I still had another ace up my sleeve. We have a second music fanatic in our department. But don't worry, she's about 25 years younger than me, so there's little overlap between us.

In fact, a couple years back, I was tried to impress her, show her that I didn't just listen to music from my time, the late 70s to mid 80s. I rattled off a bunch of "new" bands i was listening to.

And she said, and I quote... and yes, I can quote her because I'll never forget what she said! “Oh, yeah, the 90s, that was good music. I listen to some of that stuff when I was a kid.”

So anyway, I went to her cube but she wasn't there. So I left a note. Fortunately for once, I thought ahead and let her know what it was about, so she wouldn't worry and wonder why she was being summoned to the quality control cubicle. Figured she'd be a bit annoyed worrying about why the q.c. people to see her and find out it's just to name a band.

Well, I couldn't wait any longer. I broke company rules – shhh! - and looked up the lyrics on the internet. The band's name came right up.

The other music fanatic showed up shortly after that. She was kind of laughing. She asked if we figured it out and said we had, but gave her the information I had anyway.

And right away she said, “The Strokes?”

“Yep. Where were you when we needed you?”

She just smiled and kind of shrugged. And I just kind of shrugged at my slowly deteriorating mind and its stupid trivia games.

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: My Destiny With Devo" (just click here)

2010-07-28T20:12:00.006-05:00

MY LIFE: Apparently I Fit The Profile

2010-07-23T22:21:00.013-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

“What's with the hair?” asked a co-worker who I've nicknamed "The Mortal Enemy”. Apparently, a lot of what I do is some horrible affront to her. Honestly, I get hassled less by my ex-wife.

On this occasion, it looked like she had a problem with me tying back the hair that I'd been growing out. I explained that I prefer the hair behind me than in my face.

“Well, I have a pair of scissors at my desk.”

I commented on how I don't see her using them, and she went on about how she gives her hair to charity. For her I guess, that is the only good reason to grow your hair out.

I later grumbled one of my cubicle mates how the person with the longest hair was complaining about my hair.

She rolled her eyes in sympathy.

“Well, she thinks only certain kind of guys wear their hair long.”

I am a male-to-female transsexual, but I've just started transitioning and haven't come out at work. So I was curious if any of my co-workers had seen me in female mode.

“What kind of guys?”

“Well, you know...”

“Not really.” At least, I didn't know what she meant!

“Well, you know, just certain guys.”

“No, I don't know.”

My co-worker thought for a moment.

“Well, like guys who are really into music.”

I smiled. “Yeah, that doesn't describe me at me!”

She looked a little embarrassed and added, “And college professors.”

“Oh, well, I've never been compared to absent-minded professors!”

She rolled her eyes again, though not in sympathy this time, and went back to work.

I went back to work thinking about how my mortal enemy has it out for professorial music fans.

MY LIFE: What Year Is It?

2010-07-21T17:26:00.007-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

“What year is it?”

I look at the young man who walked up to me in the convenience store parking lot.

I almost haltingly come out and say 2010. But then I think he couldn't mean that, could he?

I look at the guy. He doesn't look like a crazed maniac who thinks he's in a Terminator movie.

So I think about it some more.

Is he mocking me? Do I look like I'm stuck in the past. Admittedly, I have long hair, but my outfit is hardly that of a hippie.

I look at the young man again. And that is when I realized that he is looking at the car!

“Oh! It's 1999!”

Funny enough, when I told my ex-wife this story, she said, “Imagine if you had told him 2010.”

“2010! No way!”

“Uh, yeah, sorry it is! We got a black president and everything!”

“What's Obama got to do with anything? It's definitely the late '90's!”

“I'm sorry, but you're over ten years late. I know what year it is!”

“I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think you do!”

And then I can imagine him walking away grumbling about the guy who thinks his old car is brand new.

I read and watch too much science fiction!

MY LIFE: No! I Don't Want To Be A Frightened, Scrawny 14-Year-Old Nerd Boy Again!

2010-07-17T15:03:00.019-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

So I stood in front of her. Not saying a word. My eyes staring at those fingers sitting on phone's keyboard, waiting for a response from me.

It was a simple enough question. Quite simple actually. And I knew the answer. I rattled it off on quite a regular basis. But now, I just stood perfectly still in front of her like a deer in headlights, waiting for the truck to slam 70 miles per hour into it.

And what exactly brought me to this sorry, embarrassing state? There lies a stupid, silly, foolish tale. Fortunately for you, dear reader, not really a very long one.

I was at a musical festival and saw this wonderful band that did an interesting blend of old time rock and roll with alternative rock. Even did a good cover of “Folsom Prison Blues”! I made a mental note to add them as a Facebook and MySpace friend so I would know when they were playing next.

Then a later band, that was giving shout outs to all the bands that played that day, mentioned that the band I liked was giving away a cd with three of their songs... for free! I groaned in frustration in having missed out! And I had actually seen the lead singer earlier and told her I liked her music, but it was in the middle of another band's set and I just saw her in passing, so that was the extent of the conversation.

Well, later as I'm coming out of the building, who should be heading for the building but that cute little lead singer!

And I won't lie! She was damn cute!

I don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but... I am a male-to-female transsexual who has just started transitioning. So I still look pretty “guy-ish” and was going about as a male. And my sexual preference can best be described as confused, but bisexual works well as anything!

And I will say this cute lead singer had this sweet hippie look going on with this long straight black hair, long dangling “crafty”-type earings, adorable silver frame librarian type glasses, a white spaghetti strap t-shirt, and some ripped jeans to finish the effect.

So anyway, I stop her and tell her that I heard they were giving away free cd's.

She suddenly gets a look of disappointment on her face. “Oh, sorry, we did! But we're out now!”

Urgh! Curses!

Then she follows with, “Well, could I get your information, so I can send you to the website?”

“Uh, sure!”

And that, dear readers, is when it happened.

She got out her phone, looked up at me with her soft eyes and asked me THE question.

“Can I get your phone number?”

What can I say? I just froze up. Completely, totally and utterly.

And my poor brain was running at overdrive. Part of my head was going, “Wha? Huh? Wait? What did she say? That can't be right. No, okay, now wait.”

Another part of my brain is trying to be all reasonable about this. “Okay, calm down. Let's think this though. There might be another explanation. You really weren't that into her before now. And she's probably half your age! And closer to your daughter's age than you!”

A third part of the brain is going, “Hey, idiot, she just wants your number to promote her band!”

That last part of my brain might have saved me and set me straight, except in most of my brain, there was basically a huge alarm clanging super loudly from different locations while a whole bunch of red lights, like the ones on top of police cars, twirled around and around, and a mechanical voice screamed, “Danger! Danger! Does not compute! Does not compute!”

If smoke was billowing out of my ears, I would not have been surprised!

What can I say? I haven't been much of a lady catcher, due to being a shy nerd and, more than likely, the fact that, until recently, I was a transsexual in repression and hiding it from myself.

So I stood there in front of her with my eyes staring at her fingers sitting on her phone for what felt like five to ten minutes, though was probably actually less than one.

“Well, that is if you don't mind?” I suddenly heard her say.

I was then quickly knocked out of the evil spell.

I mumbled yes and quietly gave her my number, and with prompting, my name and email.

Then being the suave, sophisticated guy I am, I said I would check out her band again if I wasn't busy with my thirteen-year-old daughter.

Yeah, great, I'm sure mentioning my thirteen-year-old daughter proved I had no interest in her and I wasn't a blubbering idiot because I was attracted to her.

Anyway, after that, I mumbled a fast good-bye, scurried away quickly as possible and prayed I wouldn't see her for the rest of the festival. And wondered what the freak I was going to do if she recognized me at her next show!

MY LIFE and ENTERTAINMENT: Of Ducks, Rabbits, Looney Tunes And The Justice League And Gods!

2010-07-01T15:54:00.016-05:00

This is from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

My daughter and I were watching How I Met Your Mother. On this episode, they were explaining to Robin how someone's view of a person can change. Ted used a picture that can look like a duck one way and a rabbit another way.

Then they compared a bad boyfriend to a rabbit and a good one to a duck. Marshall, and rightfully so in my opinion, asked why the rabbit was considered worse than the duck. This started a huge argument among the group until Marshall gave in.

Well, of course, my daughter had to take the duck side, so we, ourselves had a long argument.

Of course, I talked about how cute and cuddly rabbits are, especially compared to ducks. And how much people would rather have a pet rabbit than a pet duck!

My daughter, though, brought up Donald Duck, and how there was no rabbit in Disney.

I, of course, brought up Bugs Bunny, and talked about how he was MUCH cooler than Donald Duck, and even cooler than Daffy Duck.

My daughter tried to say Daffy could kick Bugs' ass, but I and her text buddy set her straight on that point!

Then my daughter claimed, "Well, Bugs Bunny couldn't defeat Super Duck."

Surprised, I insisted, "Are you crazy?! Bugs Bunny could defeat Superman. Bugs could defeat the whole Justice League!"

"What do you think Bugs Bunny is a god?"

"Have you seen the Warner Brothers cartoons. They all have the powers of gods. They come back from explosions and falling from great heights! Roadrunner can even run into a picture painted on a rock wall!"

Then later, we were watching Arthur and I pointed out how Arthuyr's best friend is a rabbit. Plus, one of the bullies is a rabbit. "Where's the duck on Arthur?! There isn't one!"

My daughter just shook her head! I should have been on that episode of How I Met Your Mother!

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "SURVEY/QUESTIONNAIRE" (just click here)

2010-06-19T14:13:00.001-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "BOOKS: It is believed most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here..." (click here)

2010-05-17T20:48:00.003-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: Just Some Really Awful Gary Numan Jokes" (just click here)

2010-04-16T20:22:00.005-05:00

ENTERTAINMENT: R.I.P. Malcolm McLaren

2010-04-09T07:33:00.004-05:00

This from me, and NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Malcolm McLaren, who bring us punk rock, The New York Dolls, The Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow and Adam And The Ants has died.

This is my favorite song he ever did, highly influenced by the music of South Africa, and came out 3 years before Paul Simon's "Graceland".

What song do you want played at your funeral?

2010-04-03T22:46:00.001-05:00

Actually, I've answered this many times before, but it's "Amazing Grace" by The Dropkick Murphys from their "Live In Boston" cd!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd_oBTVd9Y

Ask me anything

formspring.me

2010-04-03T22:39:00.001-05:00

Nobody has a question for a transsexual, agnostic music freak? Ask me anything http://formspring.me/OlderMusicGeek

ENTERTAINMENT and SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: The Perfect Movie For Easter

2010-04-03T08:02:00.002-05:00

A link to other Easter post on my blog

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Easter Peep Run Amok!

2010-03-31T07:11:00.003-05:00

I found this a couple of years ago on Vanity Run Amok's blog. I just kept forgetting to put it up. This part is actually from the comment section. - OlderMusicGeek

M_D (reader of vanity runs amok) -

Since you piqued my interest with the caged Peep, I’ll tell you a story, movie-trailer style:

*in a dramatic voice* In a world where Peeps feared for their delicious sugary lives, one Peep stood up to make a difference. It seemed as though his work changed the lives of Peeps everywhere…but under the surface was an ice cold milk-blooded killer.

*scream*

The once proud peacemaker had finally turned…to the sweet side. He had tasted sugar and he wanted more. After a roasting spree that covered two boxes, he was caught and after the trial of the century, sent to the Glucose Sanitarium for observation.

“Hello, my little Peep.”

There he waits. Watching.

Ima Smrtass is Hannibal Peepter in…Silent Calories.

:::Rated C for corn syrup:::

Coming to a theatre nowhere near anyone, Spring 2009.

I know…pretty bad, huh? Hope it was good for at least a smile. :)

He better watch out cus there seems to be a peeps army!

A link to the original post with the pics and comment
A link to other Easter post on my blog

CULTURE/SOCIETY: An Easter Unphotographable

2010-03-28T01:01:00.001-05:00

I found this on the website, Unphotographable - OlderMusicGeek

This is a picture I did not take of a gaggle of kids dressed in three-piece suits and spring dresses, coagulating on a sidewalk in front of their church on Easter Sunday, punching each other's shoulders and playing with each other's hair, while one boy, a bit taller than the rest and standing out on the left edge of the group, looked right at me as I approached in my car, driving into my new neighborhood for the first time with a load of boxes, and he flashed me the widest, most welcoming happy-Easter-Sunday smile, right before looking over his shoulder to see where his cohorts were or if any adults were looking, before turning back and gritting his teeth at me and flipping me his extended middle finger.

A link to Unphotographable
A link to other Easter post on my blog

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "COMICS: Another One Down" (just click here)

2010-03-27T17:48:00.002-05:00

ENTERTAINMENT: Question From FormSpring.Me - Who's the most overrated musician?

2010-03-18T18:17:00.009-05:00

Well, I have to admit that I can't stand Celine Dion and Micheal Bolton. I think Micheal Bolton has done more for African-American music than Pat Boone - and I'll leave it at that!

Then there is the Journey/Styx/Boston/Foreigner conspiracy. Always hated that stuff.

And Hall and Oates. The big problem with their music is it's not that horrible - though it's bad enough! - but it's so damn catchy, it just stays in your head! http://oldermusicgeekentertainment.blogspot.com/2005/08/music-hall-and-oates-why-i-hate-them.html

Ask me anything

MY LIFE: My Daughter Must Have Had Fun

2010-03-17T17:29:00.008-05:00

This started out as a tweet for my Twitter page, but it just became too long. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, my daughter obviously had fun at the overnight camping trip that her after school program had organized. I don't think they camped per se, but rather slept in cabins. But I don't know because I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it. Why haven't I had a chance? Well, let me tell you.

She got home yesterday afternoon and went to her mom's place. I went over to her mom's place later in the early evening to pick her up.

I knocked on the door and there was no answer. So I knocked again. Still no answer. I texted my daughter letting her know I was there. No reply. I called her cell. I got the voice mail. I called her mom's land line. I got the answering machine. I left a message saying I had been there and that I'd see her at home. - I only live a block away. - I tried knocking one more time, but of no avail.

My daughter had sent me a text earlier in the day asking if she could spend the night with a friend. So I called the friend's mother. She said my daughter wasn't there and hadn't even heard about her spending the night. She asked me worriedly where I thought my daughter could be. I casually said she probably just fell asleep and didn't hear me knock.

And sure enough, 45 minutes later, my daughter comes strolling into our apartment saying she had fallen asleep and didn't hear me knock... or call... or text. I told her I assumed as much and didn't worry about then.

Unfortunately, somebody did. We got a call about a half hour later from the mother of the friend asking with concern if I heard from my daughter and knew where she was. I told her she was home and had fallen asleep before, and I apologized for not letting her know.

As for my daughter, when she got to my place, she immediately plopped on the couch and watched tv... and fell asleep shortly thereafter. I suggested she go to her bedroom and watch tv there... twice. Both times, she mumbled something back incomprehensible and fell asleep again within ten minutes.

The third time, I finally made her get up and go to her bedroom.

Then when I went to bed, I checked in on her. She lying fully dressed on a pile of blankets with her glasses on and her mouth open and a bit of dribble coming down. I grabbed what bit of the blanket was loose and covered her up. That woke her up enough to take off her glasses and get covered properly.

And she continued to sleep until I had to leave for work at 7:30 the next morning when I woke her to send her to her mom's. And she barely woke up then!

More posts on my daughter

ENTERTAINMENT: Question From FormSpring.Me - What was your favorite book as a child?

2010-03-15T21:38:00.010-05:00

As a pre-teen, it was "Man of Bronze", the first Doc Savage book. As a fairly intelligent boy who was unsuccessful with the ladies, I could relate. Of course, I don't think Doc had the same problem that I did!

Hmmmm, but if he was a transsexual in denial, it would really put an interesting spin on the relationship with his five associates!

As a kid, I really liked "Fox in Socks"!

And ever since high school, I have been madly in love with "The Odyssey". Odysseus is the most awesome man ever! Strong, courageous, humble, and a dedicated husband to boot!

Ask me anything

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Question From FormSpring.Me - Have you ever been fired? If so, why?

2010-03-10T19:36:00.002-06:00

I was still in the 6-month probation period at a new job. and I was going through a bitter divorce. And basically, I messed up so much at the job, they said they couldn't keep me.

Ask me anything

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Question From FormSpring.Me - Do u think this girl is hot??

2010-02-20T10:29:00.003-06:00

do u think this girl is hot?? www.ihatenikki.com/?mylink=xir4xir6xir3

oh good lord! people are using this site to spread porn! yay!

Ask me anything

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "TELEVISION/VIDEOS: A Lost Valentine" (just click here)

2010-02-14T18:04:00.004-06:00

Other Valentine's Day posts on my blog

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Question From FormSpring.Me - If you eliminated one thing you do each day in the bathroom so you never did it again, what would it be

2010-02-08T21:10:00.002-06:00

If you could eliminate one thing you do each day in the bathroom so you never had to do it again, what would it be?

shave - it's the one thing that's really putting a damper on my transition from male to female!

Ask me anything

ENTERTAINMENT: Question From FormSpring.Me - Who's the most underrated actor?

2010-02-01T19:59:00.002-06:00

Who's the most underrated actor?

William H Macey and John Hurt!

Ask me anything

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: Survey

2010-01-31T12:10:00.011-06:00

CULTURE/SOCIETY and POLITICS: Howard Zinn dies

2010-01-29T20:34:00.007-06:00

This from me, and is NOT some reprinted material. - OlderMusicGeek

Howard Zinn died recently. If you haven't heard of his book, A People's History Of The United States Of America, I recommend you check it out.

Anyway, I always felt that Javelin Boot's song, "History", would be the perfect theme song if they ever made a tv show of Zinn's book. So I present this video as a tribute to him.

"Historian Howard Zinn Remembered" from All Thing Considered on NPR
"Remembering Revolutionary Writer Howard Zinn" from Talk Of The Nation on NPR

ENTERTAINMENT: Question From FormSpring.Me - If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

2010-01-16T21:13:00.003-06:00

If you could only listen to one song for the next month, which would it be?

I actually don't think I could do that. It would drive me nuts. I listen to my 120 gig iPod on shuffle constantly. I'd rather just not listen to music that month!

But if I had to choose a song, right now at this moment I'm really into "Bad Dream" by Violent Femmes. I'd probably hate it - or any song - if I had to listen to it over and over again for a month!

Ask me anything

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Question From FormSpring.Me - If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

2010-01-11T20:35:00.003-06:00

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, which language would you pick?

Sesotho - a language spoken in Lesotho and central South Africa, because my daughter is half-Mosotho and I would like to help her know her heritage better!

Ask me anything

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY and ENTERTAINMENT: R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?

2010-01-10T12:51:00.002-06:00

I found this piece on NPR's All Songs Considered blog. It was my NetVibes page that led me to it.

Actually this piece on the death of cd's reminds me of vinyl's demise.

And yes, I know there are still fanatics making and buying vinyl records!

But back in high school, I had read about this format that was suppose to replace vinyl records from a magazine I saw in my electronics class. And the more I read about it, the more I started slobbering, and couldn't wait for these compact discs things.

I knew they were going to be big! And I still don't know why I didn't buy any stock in compact discs companies!

Apparently, there were some kinks to be worked out, because cd's didn't come out until I was graduating from college. So maybe it was just as well I didn't invest in any companies. I'd have probably invested in the wrong company!

Well, I missed the big change of vinyl to cd's, because I joined Peace Corps and went over to Africa. But I kept hearing how fast vinyl was dying. - OlderMusicGeek

R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?
by Robin Hilton

I recently came to work with two large tote bags filled with compact discs and dumped them out on a table in the middle of the office. To me, they were garbage. But for the vultures that are my fellow NPR Music producers, it was like finding a mountain of free money. They shuffled through the pile, grabbing everything that caught their eye. At one point, Stephen Thompson held up my discarded copy of Radiohead's OK Computer and incredulously asked, "Why would you get rid of this?"

For about a year now, I've been slowly purging my once-proud CD collection. Twenty-five years' worth of music, from the first disc I ever bought (Pink Floyd's The Wall) in 1984, to more recent releases.

Of course, I'm not really getting rid of them. I'm ripping everything to a massive hard drive hooked up to what has become my stereo: my computer.

This is partly because I don't like having a house overrun with thousands of CDs. Invisible sound files on a hard drive are simply more convenient. You can also do a lot more with digital files and iTunes, like delivering an endless stream of music through the house in any conceivable configuration, by artist, genre, or favorite playlists. Changing out a CD in a player feels as clunky and outdated as flipping a record on a turntable.

But I'm also purging my CDs because I believe they're a dying format. There's never been a more obvious trend. CD sales continue to plummet at a breathless -- and, if you're one of the big labels, alarming -- rate. Meanwhile, digital download sales continue to climb.

None of this is as sexy as having a tangible package of music, with artwork and liner notes. And downloading files isn't nearly as cozy as flipping through the local bands section of a record store. But the truth is, I never listen to actual CDs more than once or twice. After that, they're ripped to my computer -- I put the discs away and never look at them again.

Lately, I've felt a sense of urgency to get rid of the rest of my old CDs before they become as obsolete as 8-track tapes and cassettes.

So, what does your CD collection look like? Is it getting smaller? Do you even buy actual CDs now, or do you just download everything?

Tags: cds compact discs are dead downloads
11:38 AM ET 04-14-2008 permalink

Some of the more interesting comments...

Dude!
I did the download thing for a while, but decided that nothing beats having those lovely liner notes, in that clear plastic case, and that CD that you can pop into your hi-fi - with no loss in sound quality, and no annoying DRM to hack around. So I'm back to the ol' physical copies, either from a record store or an online outlet.

Yes - it's even worth the shrink wrap, IMHO.

Sent by Tim 2:25 PM ET 04-14-2008

My house sound system is wired to my computer and iPods go everywhere. I mainly purchase downloadable copies. I only by CDs if it is an album that can't be downloaded, but it is quickly ripped and discarded.

I do have about 600 vinyl records left.

Sent by Wayne 2:37 PM ET 04-14-2008

I hear what you are saying, Robin, but I take the opposite view. Despite having a large collection that takes up space, I like having cds. Similarly, I like having books on my shelf. Both books and cds are nice to look at for me, and each item has memories. To be sure, I rip the albums on my ipod, but just because I like having my collection when I'm out an about. Then again, I also make time to listen to an album every night before I go to bed. It is a great way for me to relax and decompress from a long day. I just sit on my sofa with a cup of coffee and magazine or a book while the music plays for about an hour.

That's great, Pablo. Bob was just asking me whether I ever just sat and listened to an album all the way through and did nothing else. I still do it, but not very often.

Sent by Pablo 2:51 PM ET 04-14-2008

I think Pablo makes a great point in comparing CD's to books, but like others have been saying, it's really all about vinyl records. Sure I have loads of music on my computer and iPod (as Pablo said, for convenience), but my "collection" is split between CD's and vinyl (mostly because promoters only send CD's nowadays), and I'll proudly display them on my shelf as long as I still enjoy listening to music.

To me, it's owning the actual "thing" that someone put countless hours of hard work into, and not just having a few sound files on my computer. That's what makes vinyl so nice, it's like having a book. The sound exists on the record, like words in a book; the grooves in the album are the real sound waves, just like the fading ink in my dad's copy of Time And Again (on loan to me for 20 years now) is real ink.

Call it "emotional" or "romantic" but isn't that what real music collectors seek? Isn't that the whole point of still going to record stores, sifting through boxes of unorganized singles?

I do 90% of my listening from my iPod and computer, but when it comes to "owning" music, I have to have it on my shelf, where I can look at it and say "yes, I own that music."

Sent by John Michael Cassetta 3:39 PM ET 04-14-2008

I am only 19 years old but I live in the flat that has shelves with old Beatles and other LPs that were mostly sent from family friends in Sweden (I am from Slovakia and during communism it was almost impossible to simply buy music). We also have shelves of old cassettes with music like Nirvana, Depeche Mode or Cure that belong to my older siblings. And I represent the generation in my family with a shelf of very few CDs.

Though there is something magical about CDs, I guess that my kids won't have any shelf with music. Probably they'll stack three ipods on the shelf and that's the end of it. :) And I like this change :)

The best thing about music downloads is that the artist no longer has to invest so much money into releasing the CD. Thus new great music is produced as an open source every day. Therefore my CD collection is increasingly getting smaller but my music collection has never been so rich and I am just in the beginning of quest for great music.

Sent by Lenka Bliss 4:57 PM ET 04-14-2008

The thing that scares me about the death of the CD and is that with it dies the Album, and in the end, the ability to truly appreciate an artist in all of its subtle detail. There's a whole generation of people who are going to be used to the idea of single song downloads, who find value in three minute pop escapism instead of the art and the artist.

My fear is that this will lead to smaller fanbases, which means less concert attendance, which in turn is going to make it way harder to make a career out of being a musician.

Or maybe I'm just a fatalist and really like the idea of a physical product.

Sent by David W. 5:53 PM ET 04-14-2008

I always buy the CD, and then put it on my computer. Have you ever been screwed by itunes from reformating your computer and losing your albums? Plus, I like the tactile response that CDs bring, a complete package, a solid album. I-tunes just is so seamless (ack). Even though cds might be a dying media, I love my trinquets!

p.s. Robin/Bob, you should analyze some of the coming festivals based on artist composition. With all these festivals springing up, it looks like long time acts like ACL are having problems figuring out who to book to meet their target audience.
http://www.austincitylimits.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=3

p.p.s. Throwing away OK Computer . . . you should shame yourself.

Sent by hobbesgallo 10:02 AM ET 04-15-2008

well, what can i say?

even in the vinyl days, i made over 20 mixed tapes just for myself.

and in the early days of cd's, i made a few of mixed cd's myself.

but with shuffle and a 30 gig mp3 player - i slobber over getitng a 80 gig one - plus a one tetrabyte external drive, i love my mp3's!

i miss the tactile of the big vinyl record, but i love the experience of not knowing which song or genre will be coming next. could it be could it be a luther wright and the wrongs' bluegrass version of a tune from the wall, some old cajun from clifton chenier, some weird bit from ken nordine, some classic punk from the pistols or the clash, some some south african pop music i picked up when i lived next door to south africa in the 90's, some new electronica, a pop song i picked up from my tween daughter? who knows? and that's the thrill!

Sent by OlderMusicGeek 1:28 PM ET 04-15-2008

Yes, I'm pretty much in the download camp. And it worries me. With so much music at my fingertips, I no longer listen to one album/cd over-and-over-and-over. I no longer sit through songs I don't initially appreciate but later come to love after continued listens. I no longer have every layer and turn in my head.

So many of what we agree to be the greatest albums required a commited courtship. Would Pink Floyd have created the art they did in today's digital, single based environment? Would "Pet Sounds" or "Sgt Pepper" or even "Joshua Tree" had the impact and significance they did? Would we even know about "Kind of Blue?"

I'm definately living my music life via the MP3 file, but I know I've given up a lot in doing so.

Sent by Jeffrey Mason 2:46 PM ET 04-16-2008

So, I have a collection of tapes, cds, and records, and they probably constitute less than twenty-five percent of my listening time. I knew cds were out when I took a long plane ride and brought a rug weaver size spool of cds that i was trying to sort through on the plane and the kid next to me was whipping through his I-Pod while I dropped burned cds on the floor. That said, this post reminds me of the non-problematic post http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/93-music-piracy/
and I guess the real question for me is kind of like Bob's post about the future of music formats, what's the future record/music store look like? I mean online stuff is okay, but I agree that there's something special about a record store and the conversations/sharing that take place person-to-person, that I don't see recreated in online music blogs, magazines, etc.

Sent by zach 8:15 PM ET 04-16-2008

OlderMusicGeek here. *waves at my, ahem, many readers, all 4 of them!*

Funny enough, I remember having a conversation with a co-worker when cd's had reached their 20th anniversary.

The co-worker was wondering what would replace cd's. I told him nothing.

"Nothing?! What do you mean nothing?!"

I explained how there wouldn't cd's or vinyl records are anything. We would just download our music onto the player.

He thought I was crazy!

Interesting enough, the next post of the All Songs Considered blog asks reader what they want in the next music format.

And there are some good ideas - such as adding a visual element and making them more social.

But the best idea is having the lyrics available and a list of who did what on the song! That is something I can't wait for!

To the future!!

A link to the original piece on NPR's All Songs Considered's website
A link to All Songs Considered

ENTERTAINMENT: Happy New Year - Pee-Wee Style

2010-01-01T06:31:00.006-06:00

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Question From FormSpring.Me

2009-12-30T18:13:00.005-06:00

What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

fried caterpillar. they eat them in botswana where my ex-fiancee comes from. she'd eat them, so i wanted to see what they taste like. they're bland - i could only taste the salt it was cooked with!

Ask me anything

FROM OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: My Top Ten Albums" (just click here)

2009-12-28T22:59:00.004-06:00

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION and CULTURE/SOCIETY: No Reason For The Season

2009-12-21T20:28:00.001-06:00

I heard this last year on one of Slate's podcast. It captured a lot of what I feel about this time of the year. - OlderMusicGeek

No Reason for the Season: The joy of celebrating a godless Christmas
By Torie BoschPosted Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, at 11:53 AM ET

Bemoaning the bastardization of the Christmas season is becoming a holiday tradition. In newspaper letters to the editor and in the blogosphere, purists offer chiding reminders that Jesus is "the reason for the season" and that Christmas is supposed to be his birthday party—not a random excuse for shopping and very special sitcom episodes. Adding his voice to the choir this year is megachurch leader and inauguration invocationer Rick Warren, who pleaded in his new book The Purpose of Christmas, "If you'll slow down for a few minutes … and pause to consider the purpose of Christmas, you can receive and enjoy the best Christmas gift you'll ever be given." For Christians, I have no doubt that that's some sound advice. But I don't want to slow down and consider the purpose of Christmas. What I love about the holidays are what Warren and his ilk surely consider distractions: the trees, the lights, Santa, and Muppet specials.

For me, Christmas has always been a secular occasion. I grew up in an unaffiliated household. My mother is Catholic, though she didn't practice for most of my childhood. My father was raised in a devoutly Jewish home, but he always adored Christmas. My grandmother tells, half-fondly and half-sadly, of when he was 6 and asked whether he could become Christian so that Santa Claus would pay him a visit. He eventually stopped practicing Judaism, but his love of Christmas never went away.

When I was a girl, my father would spend hours decorating the tree, the house, and the yard in a manner a bit like that of Christmas Vacation—lots of swearing, lots of tangled lights, and (eventually) lots of genuine pride in the accomplishment. Each year, one of my brothers or I would accompany him to pick out a new nutcracker to add to our family's collection; the jester, Drosselmeyer, and Civil War soldiers might not have been part of the Nativity story, but they meant Christmas to me. We never celebrated Hanukkah, because it never appealed to him: Christmas was the only winter holiday worth the effort, as far as he was concerned. My father passed away when I was young, but my family's holidays remained much the same. We focused on the togetherness and celebrating my father's memory on his favorite holiday. The miracle of Jesus' birth was far from our minds.

For much of my life, I felt guilt about our happily godless Christmases. I worried that we were leeching off of someone else's holiday. When Bill O'Reilly railed about "Christmas under siege," I felt complicit. If I was content to listen to Christmas-themed pop songs instead of hymns, to open presents with gusto instead of heading to church, or to dig right into the meal instead of saying grace, was I diluting the holiness of others' celebration? Was I insulting Jesus? Cheapening the experience for Christians?

There was no one moment that crystallized my thinking or relieved me of my guilt. Rather, it was a series of observations: Most of the classic songs and movies that celebrate Christmas don't even mention God or Jesus. Santa doesn't check church attendance to decide whether he's going to give a child a present—he checks whether she's been naughty or nice. He's the perfect secular judge of moral fiber. To say that the secularists injure the Christmas spirit is much like the claim that two men getting hitched will besmirch the sanctity of marriage. Why should the way I mark Christmas bother anyone? Christians appalled by my secular holiday will no doubt argue that I am depriving myself of the greater joy that comes with accepting Jesus into your heart. But I'm not attempting to take away anyone's right to go to church or to display a Nativity scene. All I need to celebrate Christmas is a tree, stockings, baked goods, some people I love, and some gifts to give (and, yes, receive).

My family is not alone in celebrating a Christless Christmas. According to a February 2008 survey by the Pew Forum, 16.1 percent of Americans are unaffiliated with any faith. For those of us without a religion to call our own, Christmas is the most enjoyable holiday—I've always preferred it to Thanksgiving, whose accoutrements and traditions I've never been able to enjoy. Professional football, turkey, and Black Friday pale in comparison with the trappings of Christmas. What was the last great Thanksgiving song you sang or movie you saw?

Some evidence suggests that Christmas itself was merely a reappropriation of the pagan festival of Saturnalia. If that is in fact the case, my godless Christmas is more an insult to ancient Romans than to Christians. Since there aren't too many of them left, I won't let it worry me.

The best thing we nonbelievers can do, in fact, is be honest about not celebrating the religious side of Christmas. Each Christmas and Easter, churches have to struggle to accommodate the extra crowds who show up for holiday services. While pews may be partially filled or even deserted on a Sunday over the summer, the holidays see a huge increase in attendance as the CEOs (Christmas and Easter Onlys) stop by. The problem is particularly pronounced in Catholic churches, as Christmas is a holy day of obligation. When holiday church attendance is motivated by guilt instead of a genuine state of religious worship, it creates headaches for everyone—and takes up valuable pew real estate.

Instead of sitting in church, feeling uncomfortable and vaguely dishonest, I can spend the day with my family—sleeping late, opening presents, preparing and devouring the Christmas meal, sipping a beer, watching the inevitable holiday Law & Order marathon. Could I do these things at other points of the year? Sure—Law & Order is a year-round pleasure. But only at Christmas do so many of my friends and family also have time off, and only at Christmas can I see loved ones who have scattered across the country. Whether or not you believe in God, Christmas is a time of year when you head home or host guests, a rare occasion for the kind of togetherness that can drive you crazy, fill you with love, or both.

Even without believing in the divinity of Jesus, I think that I mark the holiday the same way as many of the faithful—a time to donate to causes I believe in, to welcome the winter from the comfort of a warm home, and, most importantly, to reconnect with family and friends. It's not that I dislike or have anything against religion. I admire, even envy the faithful, and I don't consider myself an atheist. But I can't fake a religious feeling I don't possess. And I'd rather celebrate Christmas my way—with gifts, a tree, and eating and drinking too much—than to lie to myself and to whatever god is out there by hypocritically going through the sacred motions of the traditional holiday.

A link to the original site of the Slate article

A link to my other Christmas/holiday posts

My Big Brudder Now Has A Blog - Go Check It Out!

2009-12-21T09:19:00.000-06:00

Like me, my older brother has finally got tired of boring people around him with his endless talk of pop culture, and now has the chance to bore all of you on the internet!

Seriously though, if you're into music, movies, tv and/or sports, give his blog a look.

You can even read how he fell off a ladder and discusses our family history of falling off ladders with the nurse!

So go check it out!

If you didn't catch all the other links, here's a link to his blog!

ENTERTAINMENT and SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: How The Star Wars Christmas Special Should Have Started

2009-12-21T00:29:00.007-06:00

I got this from my buddy, Fredd, on Facebook. He got it from Cracked.com. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to the original website

A link to my other Christmas/holiday posts

Christmas Posts On My Blog

2009-12-20T15:26:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the few of you who do read this blog. Haven't been in much of a blogging mood.

It seems Facebook is eating my time. Feel free to befriend me there. I'm Diane OlderMusicGeek there too. Just let me know how you found me, so I know you're not a bot or network marketer!

But here's a link to all my previous Christmas posts on my blog -
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone!

CULTURE/SOCIETY: My Fun Day Today

2009-12-16T14:40:00.004-06:00

Started this as a Facebook post, but it got too long, so I thought it would make a good blog post. Haven't put one up for ages! - OlderMusicGeek

what a day! i went to the doctor's to discuss my hormone therapy. i was told he wasn't seeing anybody today! turns out the appointment was yesterday!

well, i was planning on doing the paperwork for my name change after i went to the doctor's. but i was thinking that the therapist appointment that i thought was tomorrow was probably today.

unfortunately, i had no way to check this out because my phone number had switched over from my old phone to my new phone. and my new phone didn't have a battery!

well, i went to the shop and the guy there didn't see any battery left behind anywhere and no message about a battery, but said the guys who were there would be there tonight.

so i went to my therapist anyway. it turns out i did have an appointment today, not tomorrow. but i was 45 minutes early so i went to eat. then when i was leaving my car had trouble starting.

it starts fine now, knock on wood. so i don't know what was the problem then. anyway, after the therapist, i was going to do the name change, but fortunately i checked my bank account to be sure i had the fees. i didn't - i must have miscalculated how much i spent on christmas presents!

so not to make my day a total loss, i'm heading to work to save some of my personal time off and will once again do the name change after my new appointment to see the doctor about my hormone therapy!

SCIENCE/TECHNOGOLY: @SantaClaus Is Not Using Twitter Lists

2009-12-01T06:00:00.001-06:00

This article is from November 3, so some of it may be outdated. It comes from NPR's All Tech Considered. - OlderMusicGeek

@SantaClaus Is Not Using Twitter Lists
By Omar L. Gallaga

A new feature that has been quickly embraced by users of Twitter is "Lists," which allows you to organize Twitter users into groups and share that list with others.

But apparently the news hasn't gotten all the way to the North Pole; Twitter user @SantaClaus has yet to create a "Naughty" or "Nice" list, which makes you wonder whether Saint Nick's holiday operation is really embracing technology at the speed of Elf or if Santa Claus is merely dabbling with Twitter because it's considered the thing to do.

Even apart from the obvious benefit it would provide to Father Christmas in organizing information and having, at a glance, a list of behaviorally-organized names and profile photos, I think Twitter users would benefit greatly from knowing where they stand, in regards to naughtiness/niceness. The microblogging social network, where the jolly, rotund gift-giver apparently spends a significant chunk of time, would be a very efficient place to convey that information.

I would hope that Santa would take this not a mean-spirited criticism, but as a gentle, but firm nudge in the black patent belt to embrace change before change leaves him behind. I would hate to be the first person on Papa Noel's "Naughty" Twitter list.

Update, 11 a.m, Nov. 3: The @SantaClaus Twitter account has been updated to include "Nice" and "Naughty" lists, but apparently the move was made under duress. In two posts this morning, the North Pole resident wrote, "Everyone is making a big deal over the fact I do not post a Twitter list for my naughty and nice lists. Do YOU want all to know if YOU are on the Naughty list? It is not anyones (sic) business except for me which list you are on. Does everyone REALLY want that published to all?" Perhaps I'm being oversensitive, but this does not strike me as jolly.

As of this writing, only @MrsSantaClaus is listed on the "Nice" list and no one has yet been added to the "Naughty" list.

A link to the original article

A link to my other Christmas posts

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Africa's Forgotten Soldiers

2009-11-16T19:49:00.007-06:00

Heard this recently in a podcast from the BBC. When I was in Africa, I always thought a book about the African fighters in World War II would make an interesting book!

I first learned about this myself when I was teaching in southern Africa. I was waiting the Immigration office to open from lunch. And it was next to the city park so I was just hanging out there since it was a nice day.

And I checked out the sculpture in the middle on it. On it was listed all the countrymen who had died in World War I and II. Until then, I didn't know that Africans had fought in the World Wars!

I talked to the older folks in the country and they told me of relatives who fought in the north part of Africa and even in Europe!

So if that peaks your interest, give this show a listen! - OlderMusicGeek

Africa's Forgotten Soldiers

Seventy years after the start of the Second World War the overwhelming impression is of a conflict fought on the battlefields of Europe by white troops.

Britain’s war effort was bolstered by soldiers from the white Commonwealth – Australia, Canada and New Zealand and later by the United States.

The war in the Far East is often overlooked, as is the fighting that took place in Africa. Yet one million African troops participated in the conflict, fighting their way through the jungles of Burma, across the Libyan deserts and in the skies over London.

For Africa the war began in 1935, when Italian forces backed by Eritrean troops, invaded Ethiopia.

Ethiopian guerrilla forces, known as the Patriots, continued fighting even after Emperor Haile Selassie fled to England. After 1939 Britain began an intensive programme of recruiting soldiers from across its African colonies. Some were conscripted by force, others were only too keen to sign up.

An intensive programme of training got under way, to turn raw recruits, many of whom had never left their own village, into soldiers.

For a good number it was a real shock: the first time they had eaten processed food, the first time they had seen the ocean, the first time they had been taught to read and write. And all too soon they were transported thousands of miles from home, to fight on foreign soil.

It was years before they would come home, since home leave was almost impossible. When they did return they found little had changed, but their own experiences were entirely new and some went on to fight for their liberation of their own countries from colonial rule.

In this documentary, Martin Plaut hears first hand from the African troops who participated in the war – and who played a critical part in freeing the world from the threat of fascism.

First broadcast 13 November 2009

A link to the original website

ENTERTAINMENT: The Last Scene The Painter Saw Before Being Ripped Apart And Eaten By Zombies

2009-11-10T07:08:00.005-06:00

My brother, Dave, posted this on Facebook. I had to put it on the blog! It's from the Archie McPhee website. Just wish I had found it in time for Halloween! - OlderMusicGeek

Moonlight Zombie Oil Painting

This hand-painted oil painting features the last scene the painter saw before being ripped apart and eaten by zombies. It may be a sad story, but that's what you get when you hang around the Space Needle during a full moon. Each work of art is painted on canvas and set in an 11" x 13" gold colored frame.

Price:: $38.95
Item:: 11950

A link to the original website
A link to my other Halloween posts

ENTERTAINMENT: A Charming Story Of A Scarecrow And Some Halloween Pumpkin Pictures

2009-11-01T01:34:00.006-05:00

This is a little late, but I just came across these videos.

The first, I think, is the telling of a traditional tale involving a pumpkin-headed scarecrow. The other videos are just artwork with scarecrows and pumpkins. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to my other Halloween posts

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-01T01:14:00.009-05:00

These are also late, but I also came across them the same time as the above videos. Most of the pics are from these two sites, Extreme Pumpkins and Pumpkin Gutter. - OlderMusicGeek

A link to my other Halloween posts

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: " MUSIC: The Most Played Songs By Me In October (Halloween) 2009" (just click here)

2009-10-31T14:49:00.008-05:00

A link to my other Halloween posts

ENTERTAINMENT and POLITICS:The Ronny Horror Picture Show

2009-10-26T07:04:00.016-05:00

I saw Man On The Moon and was looking up Andy Kaufman on the internet - and that led to the show, "Fridays" - which led me to this great mega-sketch.

I saw it when it was orinally showed on television and died laughing. I hope you enjoy it too. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, unfortunately, you got two not-so-good choices here. The first clip has a clear-ish picture like the above clip, but the sound is out of sync. The next clips have a fuzzier picture and they skip a bit, but the sound is in sync. - OMGeek

Technicolor Dreams's take on "The Ronny Horror Picture Show"

All my Halloween posts

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: A Flowchart To Determine What Religion You Should Follow

2009-10-22T19:54:00.008-05:00

I got the link to this from GodlessGirl on Twitter. - OlderMusicGeek

CULTURE/SOCIETY: The 'Untimely' Death Test

2009-10-04T13:32:00.006-05:00

Seeing as Halloween is less than a month away... - OlderMusicGeek

Your result for The 'Untimely' Death Test ...
Asleep...
42% Heroic, 54% Alone, 74% Asleep, 36% Immortal, 29% Embarrassed and 69% Loved!

Some say its a cowards way out of the world, others say its the most peaceful and thus the most ideal.

Hopefully you agree with the second view rather than the first, because that is the path you are headed down. Sweet Dreams little one.. Sweet dreams.

Take this test

Other Halloween posts

CULTURE/SOCIETY: 1940 Tour De France

2009-10-04T12:59:00.007-05:00

ON ANOTHER BLOG: "Having Ambivalent Feelings Towards Homosexuality" on Dorktivities (just click here)

2009-10-03T15:41:00.004-05:00

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Britian's Great Cookie (Or Biscuit) Danger

2009-10-03T12:40:00.007-05:00

I heard about this on NPR's Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!. - OlderMusicGeek

Crumbs: half of Britons injured by their biscuits on coffee break, survey reveals

More than half of all Britons have been injured by biscuits ranging from scalding from hot tea or coffee while dunking or breaking a tooth eating during a morning tea break, a survey has revealed.

An estimated 25 million adults have been injured while eating during a tea or coffee break - with at least 500 landing themselves in hospital, the survey revealed.

The custard cream biscuit was found to be the worse offender to innocent drinkers.

It beat the cookie to top a table of 15 generic types of biccy whose potential dangers were calculated by The Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation.

Hidden dangers included flying fragments and being hurt while dunking in scalding tea through to the more strange such as people poking themselves in the eye with a biscuit or fallen off a chair reaching for the tin.

One man even ended up stuck in wet concrete after wading in to pick up a stray biscuit.

Custard creams get a risk rating of 5.63, the highest of all.

This compared to 1.16 for Jaffa cakes, which was the safest biscuit of all in the evaluation.

Research company Mindlab International were commissioned by Rocky, a chocolate biscuit bar, to conduct the research.

It found almost a third of adults said they had been splashed or scalded by hot drinks while dunking or trying to fish the remnants of a collapsed digestive.

It also revealed 28 per cent had choked on crumbs while one in 10 had broken a tooth or filling biting a biscuit.

More unusually, three per cent had poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit and seven per cent bitten by a pet or "other wild animal" trying to get their biscuit.

Mindlab International director Dr David Lewis said: "We tested the physical properties of 15 popular types of biscuits, along with aspects of their consumption such as 'dunkability' and crumb dispersal.

Mike Driver, Marketing Director for Rocky said: "We commissioned this study after learning how many biscuit related injuries are treated by doctors each year."

I've used this clip before, but it fits here too! - OMGeek

ON ANOTHER BLOG: "MUSIC: Some Necrophilia For Halloween" on OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff (just click here)

2009-10-03T12:02:00.008-05:00

ON ANOTHER BLOG: "TELEVISION/VIDEOS: Star Trek, The Knights Of The Round Table" on OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff -just click here

2009-09-26T22:32:00.005-05:00

ON ANOTHER BLOG: "MUSIC: What's On Michelle Obama's Ipod?" on OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff (just click here)

2009-09-26T15:21:00.003-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "PERSONALITY TRAIT: The How Good Are You At Being A Gf/Bf Test!" (just click)

2009-09-13T17:16:00.001-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "PERSONALITY TYPE: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test" (just click here)

2009-09-07T12:50:00.004-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: What Kind Of Angel Are You?" (just click here)

2009-09-07T12:32:00.002-05:00

POLITICS: How Would You Feel If You Had To Ask 4 Million People For Permission To Get Married?

2009-08-29T20:40:00.003-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID ENTERTAINMENT STUFF: "MUSIC: Favorite Bands A to Z Survey" (just click here)

2009-08-29T20:29:00.010-05:00

ENTERTAINMENT: Archie Broke My Heart! Now What?

2009-08-20T06:35:00.007-05:00

I heard this on NPR. - OlderMusicGeek

August 19, 2009

Dear Amy:

I have been going out with my high school boyfriend, "Archie," for 67 years, though honestly it feels like longer.

We've had our ups and downs like any other couple, but for the most part we get along great.

Sure, he has commitment issues, but that's normal, right?

Unfortunately, it seems that whenever Archie and I get in a little tiff, "Veronica," my worst frenemy, sweeps in. She's, like, really manipulative. But what can I say — she's rich and stuck-up, and really knows how to work her curves. Plus, she drives a roadster.

Yesterday, I found out that Archie is planning to marry Veronica! I don't know how many times he has hinted that he and I would live happily ever after, but when I think about it, he never actually said the words. It was always implied, though.

I'm heartbroken. I'm mad, too.

The worst part is that they've asked me to go to the wedding! Veronica is even hinting that she wants me to be a bridesmaid! Can you imagine?

Of course, I'll probably do it because that's just the sort of person I am. But it's hard to imagine picking up the pieces after dating the same guy for three generations.

Amy, what am I supposed to do now?

Betty

Dear Betty:

Here's what you should do.

Pour yourself into a red dress — the one with the big white polka dots on it. Take your hair down for once, OK? You're a natural blonde, Betty — don't be afraid to work it! Don't wear your neck scarf; a simple strand of pearls would be nice.

I want you to hold your head up high, go to that wedding and tell yourself that you are better off without him.

At the wedding reception (I'm sure it will be held at the Riverdale Country Club), if you have a few too many appletinis and decide to tell off Veronica once and for all, and maybe dance a little too close with Reggie or Jughead, so be it! You're a free woman, Betty, and now's your chance to stand up for all the Bettys everywhere!

I have a really good feeling about you, Betty. I know there are many adventures in store for you. Have you thought about getting a job in the city?

You probably haven't heard the last of Archie. No doubt he'll come crawling back to you, just like he always does — and this will probably happen sooner than you think.

The real question you need to ask yourself is — what will you do then?

A link to the original website including a link to listen to the piece

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "PERSONALITY TRAIT: The Catholic Identity Quiz " (just click here)

2009-08-17T23:41:00.003-05:00

ON OLDERMUSICGEEK'S STUPID TESTS AND QUIZZES: "PERSONALITY TRAIT: The How Evil Are You Test " (just click here)

2009-08-17T23:36:00.002-05:00

POLITICS: Op-Ed: Cut Health Care Spending On The Elderly

2009-08-17T22:44:00.011-05:00

This is from National Public Radio. - OlderMusicGeek

August 17, 2009
In an opinion piece for the New York Times, author Richard Dooling makes a radical proposal. He argues that it's time to stop spending so much money on health care for dying, elderly patients. Otherwise, he sees a generational spending gap on the horizon.

From the introduction of the NPR show:
To be clear, Richard Dooling is not talking about pulling the plug on granny. That accusation was tossed around last week in the health care debate. But Richard Dooling argues that we do spend too much money on surgery after surgery for grandma, with so much evidence of wasteful and even harmful treatment, he writes, shouldn't we instantly cut some of the money spent on exorbitant, intensive care medicine for dying elderly people and redirect it to pediatricians and obstetricians offering preventive care for children and mothers instead.

Listen to the interview

From The New York Times op-ed piece:
IN the 1980s, I worked as a respiratory therapist in intensive-care units in the Midwest, taking care of elderly, dying patients on ventilators. I remember marveling, along with the young doctors and nurses I worked with, over how many millions of dollars were spent performing insanely expensive procedures, scans and tests on patients who would never regain consciousness or leave the hospital.

When the insurance ran out, or Medicare stopped paying, patients and their families gave the hospital liens on their homes to pay for this care. Families spent their entire savings so Grandma could make yet another trip to the surgical suite on the slim-to-none chance that bypass surgery, a thoracotomy, an endoscopy or kidney dialysis might get her off the ventilator and out of the hospital in time for her 88th birthday.

The rest of the opinion piece

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION: Facts Schmacts!

2009-08-15T06:57:00.003-05:00

ENTERTAINMENT: Is It Raining?: An Interesting Piece Of Performance Art

2009-08-09T19:31:00.004-05:00

My friend, Ernest T Spoon sent me this. - OlderMusicGeek.

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Why Is 10:10 The Default Setting For Clocks And Watches?

2009-08-09T18:58:00.007-05:00

I found this on Yahoo. I always wondered about this, and the answer was pretty much what I expected. But I still found it interesting and thought I'd share. - OlderMusicGeek

Why is 10:10 the Default Setting for Clocks and Watches?
by Matt Soniak - August 9, 2009 - 10:10 AM

Reader Humaira writes: “I have always wondered why clocks, watches, and timepieces always say (roughly) 10:10 before you set the correct time. If you go into a store selling any kind of time-telling device, that is the default factory setting. Why is that?!!”

First things first, let’s get the myths out of the way. There are plenty of people out there who think that clocks in advertisements and in-store displays are set this way memorialize Abraham Lincoln/John F. Kennedy/Martin Luther King Jr. because that was the time at which they were shot or died. In reality, Lincoln was shot at 10:15 p.m., and died the next morning at 7:22 a.m., JFK was shot at 12:30 p.m. CST and was pronounced dead 1 p.m. and MLK was shot 6:01 p.m. and pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.

Another theory has it that 10:10 was the time that an atomic bomb was dropped on either Nagasaki or Hiroshima, and the setting is in memory of the casualties. The Fat Man bomb was actually dropped on the former at 11:02 a.m. local time and the Little Boy on the latter at 8:15 a.m. local time.

The real reason for the setting? Aesthetics. The 10:10 position gives the clock or watch a number of benefits:

• The hands not overlapping, so they’re fully and clearly visible and their styling can be admired.

• The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which people generally find more pleasant than asymmetry, making the product more appealing to customers.

• The manufacturer’s logo, usually in the center of the face under the 12, is not only visible, but nicely framed by the hands.

• Additional elements on the face (like date windows and secondary dials), usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9, won’t be obscured.

According to the folks at Timex (who set their products at 10:09:36 exactly), the standard setting used to be 8:20, but this made the face look like it was frowning. To make the products look “happier,” the setting was flipped into a smile (occasionally, you’ll still see the 8:20 setting on some clocks or watches where the manufacturer’s logo is at bottom of the face above the 6).