Autumn Souvenir

The caucuses are in three days and I'm terrified that John Edwards won't win. That is all for tonight. Happiest of new years.

An independent run by Bloomberg is looking more and more possible. If Edwards isn't the democratic nominee, there's a very good chance that I'd cast my vote for Bloomberg. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/politics/31bloomberg.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Yes, I've posted my Best of List, but time has told me that there were only two near perfect records released this year. These are records that could compete for a Top 20 All-Time spot.

Not a whole lot going on as the year comes to a close. I spent the past four days visiting family in Baltimore - great, great time. I'm now back in SF and working through the last stage of my first cold/flu in about two years. I barely listened to any music over the four days in Baltimore, which was odd. I tried to spend most of my time chatting with my mom, stepfather and the rest of the family out there. It was quite nice. I've made two quick resolutions for 2008: 1) Read two books per month. I realize that 24 books in a year isn't a whole lot, but I've probably been averaging about 5-8 a year the past few years and 2) drop ten lbs. There are a slew of movies that I want to see before returning to work on Wednesday: "There Will Be Blood", "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", "Michael Clayton" and a few others. I'm feeling a bit listless right now, as I'm sure is evident in this writing. Back to "The Deer Hunter"....

I spent well over an hour on IMDB tonight just perusing lists and watching trailers. I later stumbled upon a complete list of the Best Pictures. Here they are dating back to 1965. If I've seen the film, I've provided my rating, on a ten-point scale. 2006 The Departed 8.8 2005 Crash 4.3 2004 Million Dollar Baby 7.2 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 8.8 2002 Chicago 2001 A Beautiful Mind 8.7 2000 Gladiator 1999 American Beauty 9.5 1998 Shakespeare In Love 1997 Titanic 6.4 1996 The English Patient 1995 Braveheart 7.9 1994 Forrest Gump 9.2 1993 Schindler's List 9.3 1992 Unforgiven 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 9.4 1990 Dances With Wolves 7.8 1989 Driving Miss Daisy 1988 Rain Man 8.7 1987 The Last Emperor 1986 Platoon 9.4 1985 Out of Africa 1984 Amadeus 1983 Terms of Endearment 10.0 1982 Gandhi 1981 Chariots of Fire 1980 Ordinary People 9.7 1979 Kramer vs. Kramer 9.0 1978 The Deer Hunter 1977 Annie Hall 9.2 1976 Rocky 9.5 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest...

It's only the 23rd and this has already been one of the best Christmas' in recent memory. N and I had a classic day yesterday: exchanged some great great gifts, went out for a sensational dinner (courtesy of The Blouses) and watched about 22 episodes of "Extras". This morning we slept in. Ok, we slept in until I begged her to get up so we could get omelettes. We ran into C Muenz which was a nice surprise as I've been meaning to call him. I took the above photo while N and I were in Oregon a few months back. My big gift from N was a blown up version on a big piece of wood. It's one of the best gifts I've ever received. It's as much my creation as it is hers. Thank you, N. 2007 has been one of the most memorable years of my life. As those close to me know, I've been able to abandon some things and my will power has even surprised me. But as I said to N today, the reason that this has been such a fulfilling year has little to do with those accomplishm...

Unfortunately, I never made it to the Crocodile, but I know many who did and *loved* this place. Another sad farewell in the music business: Seattle's Crocodile Cafe closes By JOHN MARSHALL P-I REPORTER Crocodile Cafe, R.I.P. Saturday night, the Belltown club was packed once again for sets by Robin Pecknold, J. Tillman and David Bazan, with the usual "Croc" good times under way and the bar doing brisk business. Nothing suggested that those in the crowd were witnesses to the venerable music venue's last waltz. Owner Stephanie Dorgan, who could not be reached Monday, left voice mail messages with club employees Sunday telling them they should not report for work any longer -- the Crocodile Cafe has been closed because of financial difficulties. Eli Anderson, the club's current booker, was shocked when he received the brief voice mail from Dorgan on Sunday afternoon. As he said Monday: "We all knew the club has problems with money, but we certainly didn't th...

I'd like to endorse my candidate. Since I simply don't understand the right, I can only endorse a democratic candidate. After looking long and hard at all of the candidates, and watching almost every debate, I will be voting for: When this all got started, Edwards was my guy. And after about six months of paying close attention, he remains my choice. Barack Obama certainly moved up my list, but I still find him to be a bit inexperienced. And I don't mean that in terms of years of service, etc.; he just doesn't seem ready and his performances in the debates have proven this. I'm fairly certain that, if elected, Hillary Clinton would make a fine president, but she's just too immersed in the tank to get my support. I want something new. I want someone with passion. Someone who's fired up to turn this country around. Someone who's not afraid to stick to the issues that matter to him/her. Someone who sees the big picture and isn't afraid to speak up. And ...

My home state does good: (CNN) -- New Jersey lawmakers have voted to abolish the death penalty in the state, sending the governor a bill he has already said he will sign. The measure will make New Jersey the first state in more than 40 years to outlaw capital punishment. art.corzine.file.pool.jpg New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, in a file photo, has said he'll sign the bill abolishing the death penalty. The bill will make life in prison the most severe penalty for convicted murderers in the state, including the eight men currently on the state's death row. New Jersey has not put anyone to death since 1963, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The state Assembly approved the measure 44-36 Thursday, following up Monday's 21-16 approval in the state Senate. A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said the bill probably will be signed into law within a few days, after the exact text is reviewed closely. "The governor has said for quite some time that he supp...

It's released tomorrow. Rumor is that there will be former MVPs and Cy Young Award winners among the names. When all the names are released and many of us see some of our favorites on there, we must remember the real culprits in this fiasco: Bud Selig and Donald Fehr. Yes, the players who pumped this crap into their veins need to be held accountable, but we all must remember that Selig and Fehr knew that this was going on and turned a blind eye. They saw record revenues around the McGwire, Sosa and Bonds years and didn't want to reveal what was behind it all. Had Selig and Fehr blown the whistle earlier, many players wouldn't have felt compelled to join in. But when the commissioner and the union head say nothing, and more athletes turn to the juice, it's *somewhat* understandable that some players would pick up a needle in order to stay competitive. Bud Selig has done so much to tarnish this wonderful game. Tomorrow will be his lasting legacy.

I'm told that after 72 hours, nicotine has completely left the bloodstream, and things should get better. I'm about 90 minutes from 72 hours and things have NOT gotten any better. The past three days have been a mix of manic tirades, nausea (mostly day three), throat pain, severe irritability, unbelievable urges/cravings and overall, just an inability to sit still. Today I randomly did 25 push-ups in the middle of the workday just to take my mind off of smoking. I try to read yet I can't get past page three. I take baths but can't lay down for more than five minutes. I wake up in the middle of the night and stuff my face with whatever drink/food is within reach. It used to seem like no one smoked, now that I'm done, EVERYONE seems to smoke. I see a cigarette at every turn. It's taunting me. How do I defeat it? Every time I consider buckling, I think the following: 1) I've now been a smoker for 18 years! EIGHTEEN YEARS! This is no longer a hobby, 2) I think o...

Let's start with these chaps: Mitch Bainwol/RIAA Doug Morris/UMG Andy Lack/SonyBMG We'll get to the folks at LiveNation, Ticketmaster, EMI, WMG and elsewhere later on. But the three fellas above sure played a nice part in leading to the demise. A new era is upon us. The era of the artist.

I can vividly remember the first time I bought a pack of cigarettes. I was seventeen years old and I was driving on Route 17 in Paramus, NJ. I stopped at Exxon for gas and pondered the purchase. I figured I'd just buy one pack. I mean, I clearly wasn't going to get hooked after one pack. I thought and thought. And I made the purchase. Camel Lights. This was 1990. Today I quit. Last night I had my last smoke at about 1115pm. I quit once before for about seven months, but I started again. This time I am done. When I woke up this morning the stress was immediate. Oddly enough, I felt ok up until about 2pm. The past four hours have been pretty close to unbearable. The cravings come about every two minutes and they come with a fury. When I sit through them, I get dizzy, or I begin to sweat. I can't sit still. I just want to put an end to this desire. But I won't. RJ Reynolds can KISS MY ASS. You had a grip on me for 17 years but it's over. You will never see another penn...

It's pretty amazing how much one can mature in such a short period of time. I've made so many changes in my life over the past year that it even shocks me. The majority of them have clearly been positive moves, while others remain a bit hazy, meaning that I'm growing comfortable with them, but the end result is still a bit uncertain. I don't particularly know why, but 2007 has been a major year of reflection and internal discovery. It almost feels as if everything up to this point was practice. I've learned more about myself this year than I probably have all years prior combined. And through it all, so many things just seem better. Music has more of an impact. Friendships and family have taken on a new, much deeper, meaning. The things around me are much more visible. Things that I once essentially ignored, trees, the sky, the wind, now appear to be ever-present. Sometimes I feel as if I'm opening my eyes for the first time. Life just holds much more meaning. T...