I Find This Very Funny....
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Posted by mardenhill 11/30/2005 05:03:00 PM 2 comments    

Welcome to the Blogosphere
Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I would like to take a moment and welcome Kim Landris Campbell out to the Blogosphere, she along with her husband Matt and daughter Lily have started a blog for everyone to enjoy. I am a bit pissed that it has been up for a month and she has finally let us know, not too long ago I think around my birthday Kim was making fun of me for blogging. Now that I think about it, Kim you owe me big time for promoting your blog, my site reaches millions of readers and you are still dissing Mark Lanegan. For those of you who don't know Mark, he is only the coolest musician on the planet, he was the lead singer of the Screaming Trees and has 6 solo records to his name. You can find him on the last few Queens of the Stone Age along with the Twilight Singers, Greg Dulli's latest project.

Under Friends & Blogs you will find a link to Kim's site and while you are there don't forget to check out Joel's blog.

http://www.klandris.blogspot.com/

Posted by mardenhill 11/29/2005 10:26:00 PM 2 comments    

Caught In The Act

Posted by mardenhill 11/29/2005 10:17:00 PM 0 comments    

Awe Poor Baby.....

The eight-term Republican and former Vietnam fighting ace pleaded guilty to graft Monday and resigned, admitting he took money mostly from defense contractors in exchange for government business and other favors.

"In my life, I have had great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame," a tearful Cunningham said after the plea. "I can't undo what I have done but I can atone."

But Cunningham, who could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27 on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud, and tax evasion, may not be the only person ensnared in the case. Prosecutors have indicated they have more than him in mind.

......................
This pathetic scumbag took 2.5 million in bribes from Defense contracters while in the House and used them to pay for his lavish lifestyle. He came out yesterday all in tears saying he was sorry for what he did, well screw him let him rot in jail and think about it. He is one of those "your with us or against us" nutjobs who wraps themselves in the flag to scream about patriotism all the while screwing the country by taking bribes. I have no compassion for this thug, he deserves getting the book thrown at him and hopefully more will go down because of this. Its time to clean up Washington and if it takes one politician at a time, so be it. We already have Delay on the ropes, Rep Ney from Ohio is next and the list goes on.

Posted by mardenhill 11/29/2005 08:58:00 AM 0 comments    

That Thing Gotta Hemi?
Monday, November 28, 2005

Check out http://www.dodge.com/hemistar/index.html

Posted by mardenhill 11/28/2005 04:17:00 PM 3 comments    

1st Audio Posting
Sunday, November 27, 2005

Posted by mardenhill 11/27/2005 02:30:00 PM 0 comments    

The Cult
Saturday, November 26, 2005

On our way back from Erika's parents we were listening to MSU's college radio station and I heard some old Cult. They played "Rain" off of Love and I couldn't remember if I had the cd or not. I checked my mp3 library and didnt have Sonic Temple or Love so I went out to emusic.com and luckily they had them both plus some other Cult cds. I downloaded them both this morning and felt that they needed a review out on the blog.

Posted by mardenhill 11/26/2005 11:21:00 AM 2 comments    

New iMac G5
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Posted by mardenhill 11/23/2005 12:42:00 PM 1 comments    

Hey Guess What? More Ryan Adams News!!!!!!
Monday, November 21, 2005

Ryan Adams confirms tracklist for solo album

'29' is the singer's third LP this year

Ryan Adams has confirmed the details of his final album of 2005.

The alt-country lynchpin, who has already released 'Cold Roses' and 'Jacksonville City Nights' this year, will bring out '29' on December 19.

While this year's previous outings were with his band The Cardinals, the new record was produced by long-term producer Ethan Johns and is a solo release, Billboard reports.

'29's tracklist is:

'29'
'Strawberry Wine'
'Night Birds'
'Blue Sky Blues'
'Carolina Rain'
'Starlite Diner'
'The Sadness'
'Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part'
'Voices'

Posted by mardenhill 11/21/2005 01:06:00 PM 0 comments    

Walk The Line

Erika and I went and saw Walk The Line yesterday and it was very good, I highly recommend it. Both Reese and Joaquin deserve awards for their performances, they had to sing and play their own instruments throughout the movie. It was nice to watch the beginning of Johnny Cash's career and to see how much he has influenced american music.

You got to see Cash touring with Elvis, June Carter, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis back at the start of it all. It followed Cash's addictions and how June saved him from his self destruction.

We went to a Sunday matinee and there were about 20 people in the theatre, I think everyone eles was at Harry Potter. I think we will see that one this week, I tell 2 movies in a week is a record for me seeing that we have gone to 3 movies total this whole year.

Posted by mardenhill 11/21/2005 09:06:00 AM 1 comments    

20 Years Of Bells
Sunday, November 20, 2005

A special ale brewed to celebrate and commemorate our 20th Anniversary. We believe it's worthy of the honor.

Original Gravity:	1.0645
Alcohol by Volume:	5.8%
Packaging Available:	4/6/12 Ounce Bottles (Cases)
UPC:	7 40522 10321 5 - 12 Oz. Label 7 40522 10323 9 - Six Pack
Availability:	Release date of September 12, 2005

Yesterday we were at Whole Foods when I came across the Bells display and had to grab a 6 pack. The 20th anniversary beer is not as heavy and dark as the Amber but nowhere near as light as Oberon. It has a very faint bitterness to it and is a well balanced beer that everyone would be proud of.

I figured it out and I have been drinking Bells for 12 years now, its amazing how time flies when you are drinking good beer. I remember the days of the brewery, the drunken nights, the smell of dirty hippies in the winter, walking barefoot in the beer garden and Excentric Ale end of the year parties. Excentric Ale nite was always a great time but the beer sucked, the alcohol content was so high it had to be served in a brandy snifter and the taste was like cough syrup.

My favorite brews are the Amber and Oberon with the Best Brown and Third Coast coming in next. While living in Kalamazoo the brewery would periodically have weekend brews and some of the best beers came from these. There was the Cherry Larry and Scotch Ale both of which would have been great bottled. This summer there was a cherry ale bottled and sold which was very close to Cherry Larry and I hope they do it again next year.

If you find yourself driving down I94 West and pass Kalamazoo don't forget to stop into the brewery, if you have never been you won't be disappointed.

Posted by mardenhill 11/20/2005 12:14:00 PM 2 comments    

Tricky, The Man, The Genius
Saturday, November 19, 2005

Tricky's first 3 records are some of the best records ever, they are thick with layers and your drown in the dark moodiness of it all. Tricky got his start with Massive Attack but then moved on to make music on his own.

Maxinquaye starts off with "Overcome" a heavy trip hop beat sung by Martina, Tricky's counterpart for the next few albums. "Ponderosa" features Tricky with his trademark stoner talk/rap/mumble thing he does so well. This song is so heavy and think you could cut it with a knife, another trademark of Tricky's music. "Black Steel" is a Public Enemy cover but you would never know because he has done an amazing job rewriting it for himself. "Hell Is Around the Corner" features Tricky up front on vocals and he slides thru the song with the biggest bong hit voice known to man. The background music is scratchy and dense with a little bit of indian rhythms mixed in. "Brand New You're Retro" is more of a rap song than anything but the beats introduce you to his in your face, tense style that you will find on his next 2 records. I could go on about every track but I need to move on.

Nearly God is Tricky's 2nd cd and features duets with Neneh Cherry, Bjork and Alison Moyet just to name a few. "Tattoo" starts the cd off and is dark, brooding with heavy vocals and erie soundtrack noises in the background. Tricky' trademark scratching and crackling is back which adds to the haunting sound. "Together Now" features Neneh and is more of a straightforward song with radio friendly beats. "Keep Your Mouth Shut" features Bjork and is the complete opposite, putting the 2 of them together you get a very complex song. Black Coffee has Martina back singing and her vocals are very torch singer on this song. Its an amazing song, probably the best on the cd. "Children's Story" finishes off the cd with Martina singing/rapping and showcasing her true skills that would be lost after the next cd until her solo early this year.

Pre-Millennum Tension starts off with "Vent" Tricky singing and beats full of tension and crackle. "Christiansands" mixes a simple guitar riff with dual vocals between Tricky and Martina and a deep bass beat. "Tricky Kid" has Tricky singing/rapping and is very reminicent of the underground rap scene in the UK. Tricky spends the next few cds in this realm which has some highlights but a lot of flat and boring songs. "Makes Me Wanna Die" features Martina and is the best song on the cd. Its dark and beautiful at the same time. The underlying piano is enough to keep the song together with the heavy bass and simple drum beat. "Sex Drive" has the tension and harmonica with lots of fuzz. "My Evil is Strong" is another complex song with live guitar and drums but also includes an electronic backdrop. "Piano" finishes off the cd with Tricky singing over a piano line with thick layers of electronic interference. At times it sounds like Tricky recorded a breathing machine and included it as a layer of sound.

Tricky's cds are very complicated, he has his radioesque songs mixed in but for the most part they are heavy layers of unique sounds. He is not a great singer, his style tho gives his cds a haunting edge to them. Martina and him make a great team but by the next cd she is gone, never to return. This is where Tricky moves on to the underground rap scene and leaves the UK Bristol trip hop behind. Tricky has some good songs throughout his next few cds but nothing worth writing about in my opinion. I will do a review of Martina's solo, a cd everyone should own.

Posted by mardenhill 11/19/2005 10:05:00 AM 0 comments    

The Vatican Has Spoken....
Friday, November 18, 2005

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.

"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."

Posted by mardenhill 11/18/2005 09:36:00 PM 0 comments    

Quote Of The Day

Murtha, a defense hawk, decorated Vietnam War veteran and retired Marine colonel, made a reference to the draft deferments that kept Cheney out of Vietnam.

"I like guys who got five deferments and (have) never been there and send people to war, and then don't like to hear suggestions about what needs to be done," Murtha said.
.......................

Murtha a conservative Dem and someone who actually served came out against the war, and called for an immediate pullout.

Posted by mardenhill 11/18/2005 08:37:00 AM 1 comments    

More On Cheney
Thursday, November 17, 2005

courtesy of www.firedoglake.blogspot.com

Oh boy here come the fireworks. Reuters:

A White House official said on Thursday that national security adviser Stephen Hadley was not Woodward's source on Plame.

If that's true, as far as I can tell, that only leaves Big Time.

Emptywheel has a must-read post on the critical timing of the Woodward leak and how, if it came from Cheney, it almost certainly represents and Espionage or IIPA violation. Cheney probably got his information from Tenet (despite Tenet's protestations to the contrary, according to people at the NYT anyway), and as Fitzgerald took pains to outline in the Libby indictment, Cheney knew quite well that Plame worked in counterproliferation which meant her status was covert. More on this later, but I'm thinking this will make for an explosive Christmas -- look for Bush to be doing some brush clearance at the VP's office before the SOTU in January.
..............................

With the year that Bush has had, he would be wise to shake things up. But seeing how Bush is so loyal and likes to promote even those who don't have the skills for the position will keep Cheney on. We can only hope he keeps him on, this will help bring Bush down and an end to his reign of power. We all know Cheney orchestrated the war, he snowballed Bush on it, and then outed Valerie Plame when Joe Wilson came too close to the truth. Its amazing how many things are going wrong with this administration and how many things have Cheney's fingerprints on them. They have lost the battle on torture but Cheney refuses to give up.

Posted by mardenhill 11/17/2005 10:47:00 PM 0 comments    

Dr Evil Himself Has Surfaced to Join In The Fight
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

I was watching CNN tonight when they cut over to Cheney's speech where he blasted Dems and critics of his quagmire him and the neocons created. I know people will be all "ooh" Cheney's back and he's pissed, well he can say all he wants but that is the last person who should be out beating the drum, he is the reason we are where we are and most of the Saddam 9/11 remarks came from him. So I say Cheney bring it on, we got more ammo on our side than you do, your big fat mouth has spewed forth more lies and misdirection than anyone in Washington combined....Your approval rating is in the toilet, no one trusts you and we all know that you outed Valerie Plame.

Cheney's Comments tonight:

Vice President Dick Cheney added his voice on Wednesday to the chorus of Republican criticism of Democrats who have accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence on Iraq, calling it "one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city."
............................................

courtesy of www.ameriblog.blogspot.com

1. Cheney Claimed Iraq Was Providing WMD Training To Al-Qaeda Months After Source Recanted

or the one where...

2. Cheney claimed Saddam was harboring Al Qaeda? He wasn't.

or the one where...

3. Cheney claimed Saddam gave Al Qaeda bomb-making expertise and trained Al Qaeda terrorists how to use chemical and biological weapons? Saddam didn't.

or the one where...

4. On Sept 14, 2003 Cheney claimed, for the second time at least, that there was evidence suggesting Mohammad Atta visited the Iraqi embassy in the Czech Republic? He didn't, and Cheney knew the supposed evidence had already been debunked, yet repeated the charge on Tim Russert's show as a justification for the war.

With respect to 9/11, of course, we’ve had the story that’s been public out there. The Czechs alleged that Mohamed Atta, the lead attacker, met in Prague with a senior Iraqi intelligence official five months before the attack

or the one where...

5. Cheney said during the VP debates last October that he NEVER had publicly connected Iraq and 9/11. Of course, he did on Meet the Press a year before:

Cheney: "If we're successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government in Iraq, that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States, so it's not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, so that it's not a safe haven for terrorists, now we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

or the one where...

6.Cheney denied linking Atta to the Iraqis, when he did:

June 17, 2004. Vice President Cheney talking to CNBC's Gloria Borger:

Borger: 'Well, let's go to Mohamed Atta for a minute, because you mentioned him as well. You have said in the past that it was, quote, 'pretty well confirmed.' '

Cheney: 'No, I never said that.'

Borger: 'Okay.'

Cheney: 'Never said that.'

Borger: 'I think that is . . . '

Cheney: 'Absolutely not. What I said was the Czech intelligence service reported after 9/11 that Atta had been in Prague on April 9th of 2001, where he allegedly met with an Iraqi intelligence official. We have never been able to confirm that nor have we been able to knock it down.'

On Dec. 9, 2001. Cheney talking to NBC's Tim Russert (this is perhaps the first time he made this lie):

Cheney: 'Well, what we now have that's developed since you and I last talked, Tim, of course, was that report that -- it's been pretty well confirmed that he did go to Prague and he did meet with a senior official of the Iraqi intelligence service in Czechoslovakia last April, several months before the attack. Now, what the purpose of that was, what transpired between them, we simply don't know at this point, but that's clearly an avenue that we want to pursue.

Posted by mardenhill 11/16/2005 08:09:00 PM 0 comments    

100% Confident But No Charges

Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said Tuesday he is "100% confident" that Geoffrey Fieger, Michigan's best-known trial lawyer, conspired with an associate to blackmail state Attorney General Mike Cox by threatening to reveal an affair Cox admitted last week.

But Gorcyca said he won't bring charges against Fieger or West Bloomfield attorney Lee O'Brien because he doesn't have the ammunition to make a criminal case stick.

"Without solid proof, I was reluctant to issue charges," Gorcyca said.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051116/NEWS03/511160345

................................

So here's the skinny on the situation, our Attorney General Mike Cox had an extramarital affair and knew it was going to leak to the press. Mike knew that Geoffrey Fieger was planning on running against him next year and wanted to get this out in the open before the election and wanted to bring Fieger down in the process. So Mike concocted this whole elaberate story about how Fieger was blackmailing him with this info so he had the Oakland County Prosecuter look into the matter. Well what did we find out? Nothing, and it was all a poor attempt to smear Fieger before the election. So its not just scumbags we have in Washingtion, we have them in our own backyard. Rememeber this next year when its time to vote for a new AG.

Posted by mardenhill 11/16/2005 08:49:00 AM 3 comments    

Drinking Again.....
Monday, November 14, 2005

Bush Approval Falls To Record Low…
68% Of Americans Dissatisfied With Direction Of Country…

Only 29 Percent Believe Cheney Is Honest And Ethical…

Yep our Prez is on the cover of Globe again, this time he's in therapy. Ok you can't always trust the tabloids but it is nice to see that Bush is getting a few more covers, don't think he would ever get as many as Clinton but a few more would be good. I think we can get that 29% down to the teens, we just need to keep hammering home the idea that Cheney supports torture. This isn't a lie, he has lobbied congress to not pass McCain's legislation so I have no problem pointing this out. We need to get Cheney's approval ratings down lower but not too low where Bush replaces him, its good to keep him on thru next year. My only concern with this administration is that the terror warnings will start up again, they will need to scare the public back into submission and that is the only way they can. Pay very close attention to any terror warning, disect it to make sure its not manufactured before believing.

Posted by mardenhill 11/14/2005 08:15:00 AM 3 comments    

Pictures From the UofM Game today
Saturday, November 12, 2005

Erika and I got to go tailgate at the corporate tent area and had row A tickets on the 40 yard line today for the UofM game. Erika got them thru work and it was a lot of fun getting free food and drinks, front row tickets and a free baseball cap for the price of parking $15. I'm not a big football fan but it was cool sitting so close, I doubt I will ever get to sit there again so I made sure I took lots of pictures. You could hear the Indiana coach yelling at his players and see the injured players getting treated. Below are some pics, I have others but thought I would only bore you with a few of them.

Posted by mardenhill 11/12/2005 06:36:00 PM 1 comments    

O'Reilly Defends His San Francisco Comments

O’Reilly Responds: “What I Said Isn’t Controversial. What I Said Needed to Be Said.” »

Appearing yesterday on a conservative San Francisco radio show, Bill O’Reilly offered his first public comments since being criticized for saying he would approve of an al Qaeda terrorist attack on the California city.

O’Reilly not only stood by his comments, but claimed they “needed to be said”:

I mean, look, everybody knows what’s going on there. What I said isn’t controversial. What I said needed to be said. I’m sitting here and I’m looking at a city that has absolutely no clue about what the world is. None. You know, if you had been hit on 9/11 instead of New York, believe me, you would not have voted against military recruting. Yet the left-wing, selfish, Land of Oz philosophy that the media and the city politicians have embraced out there is an absolute intellectual disgrace.

.....................................

From the November 8 broadcast of Fox News' The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: Hey, you know, if you want to ban military recruiting, fine, but I'm not going to give you another nickel of federal money. You know, if I'm the president of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say, "Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead."

And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead.
..................................

I have no respect for this fucking douchebag, he is a traitor for calling for the destruction of a city by terrorists because he doesn't like their policies. I cannot wait for the bloggers and radio to take these words and murder his career. I would hope the main stream media will join in and evicerate him. I have tried reading his books and watching his show, but he is not worth it anymore, he and the likes of Pat Robertson (we need to assassinate Hugo Chavez and Dover, Pennsylvania You have turned your back on God) need to be kicked off the airwaves, there is no room for their hate. If a democratic talking head gave a remark like this they would be tarred and feathered and hung out to dry, not to mention arrested by the FBI and probably tortured by Cheney's orders. Freedom of speech only goes so far, when you preach the destruction of a city, then you have crossed the line.

Posted by mardenhill 11/12/2005 06:22:00 PM 2 comments    

Numbers Don't Lie, Only Crooked Republicans Do....
Friday, November 11, 2005

Posted by mardenhill 11/11/2005 12:07:00 PM 3 comments    

Artic Free From Drilling?
Thursday, November 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - House leaders late Wednesday abandoned an attempt to push through a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling, fearing it would jeopardize approval of a sweeping budget bill Thursday.

They also dropped from the budget document plans to allow states to authorize oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts — regions currently under a drilling moratorium.

The actions were a stunning setback for those who have tried for years to open a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, to oil development, and a victory for environmentalists, who have lobbied hard against the drilling provisions. President Bush has made drilling in the Alaska refuge his top energy priorities.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9984545/

..............................................
The issue is far from over but its good to see the admin backing off. Instead of embracing real alternative energy and conservation efforts, they just want to drill everywhere there is open land. Hopefully with the pressure on the oil execs we will see some real push for renewables. With the recent profits made by the oil industry, I think all tax breaks and money for research should be resinded, the companies can afford it on their own.

Posted by mardenhill 11/10/2005 09:03:00 AM 1 comments    

UO - Saturation
Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Posted by mardenhill 11/09/2005 08:32:00 PM 2 comments    

Wine Savings? Well Its About Time......
Tuesday, November 08, 2005

http://www.mattprenticerg.com/urc/index.asp

I was reading on www.fermentation.com and there was a bit on the Matt Prentice Restaurant Group which is a conglomerate of Michigan eateries around the metro detroit area. What the posting said was that these restaurants would be selling wine for only a 50% markup from their wholesale price.

What that means......

The word "revolutionary" may seem like a strong way to describe a restaurant's wine program, but what Madeline Triffon is up to at Morels: An American Bistro in Bingham Farms is sending shock waves throughout the Detroit dining scene. And everybody said it wouldn't work. Since June, Triffon, the master sommelier and beverage director for the Matt Prentice Restaurant Group, has revised the pricing of by-the-bottle sales at one of the group's 12 restaurants to reflect a policy of 50% above wholesale. That means if the restaurant can purchase a bottle of wine for $10, the cost to you is $15.

Many restaurants typically double, even triple, wholesale pricing.

"Great wine should be accessible," says Triffon. "And for the most part, especially in restaurants, the best wines in the world have been treated as an exclusive commodity. My mission has been to make wines as inclusive as possible. This way of marketing interesting wines within a restaurant is a pretty unique concept."
............................
I am used to looking at bottles in a restaurant and dividing it by 3 for what my cost at a store would be. I would never buy bottles since the cost difference was just too much for me to bear but with this new logic, I could actually save if I bought a bottle at one of these restaurants. The one that Erika and I usually go to is the Flying Fish over on 13 mile and Southfield, the food is great and I just took a look at their menu and the bottles were very affordable. You can have a $20-$25 bottle of wine with dinner and not worry that its Sutter Home you are being served. I would love to see this concept stretched across more restaurants. If the state legislators keep their fithy hands off the wine shipping issue, out of state vineyards could possibly sell directly to restaurants and we could save even more.

Posted by mardenhill 11/08/2005 05:08:00 PM 1 comments    

Pink Vs Blue

Here are some pics of the new Motorola Razr color phones, you have pink and ice blue. These are supposed to be out next month and I hope they push the price of the silver and black down a bit. I can see the pink being a big seller but not sure about the ice blue, but we will have to wait and see. Its like ipod mini mania all over again.......

There are also 2 more Motorola phones coming out, the Motorola Q which will be the blackberry and treo killer and the Slvr which is a thin phone with the etched keypad. I am hoping all of these flood the market next month, that way I can swoop in and grab an original razr for a discounted price. I have been a nokia only cell guy for 5 years now but the razr sold me on a flip phone and I think this is my next one.

Posted by mardenhill 11/08/2005 10:22:00 AM 0 comments    

Our Fare City

I was doing some research before I went to vote and came across these stats. I did luck out when I went to my polling place this morning, about 7 candidates were standing around greeting people and I did get to meet a few of the candidates. 2 out of the 3 mayoral candidates were there, the 150 year old Marilyn wasn't out so she lost my consideration. It was between Fred Collins and Alan Kideckel and seeing that Fred was a tool who wore an american flag tie and was all "let me shake your hand" I voted for Alan. There were a number of city council reps there but you could only pick 3. There were 3 proposals on the ballot for road construction, I voted for them since I have to drive on 11 mile and it sucks. I just have to remember that taxes for Royal Oak are at least $1000 more a year and that Berkley is a better city. We get to sweep our leaves into the street, have curbside recycling pickup and lots of other ammenities that other cities don't have. My Royal Oak friends have to bag everything, not us.

Berkley, MI

Suburb

Berkley is a city in Oakland County, in the Detroit metro area. The community is in the Eastern Standard time zone.

The latitude of Berkley is 42.503N. The longitude is -83.183W.

The estimated population, in 2003, was 15,239.

Income snapshot
Median household income

Local
$57,620

National
$41,994

Source: 2000 census, U.S. Census Bureau
The community was named after a local farm

Crime: The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 12. The number of murders and homicides was 0. The violent crime rate was 0.8 per 1,000 people.

Support for libraries: Local government funding for the local library system, in fiscal years 2001-2002, was above the national average. (See library links below.)

Posted by mardenhill 11/08/2005 09:35:00 AM 3 comments    

Sake And Cup All In One
Sunday, November 06, 2005

Cap Ace SakeThis sake has long been a very popular item in Japan. Enjoy for its delicious taste, convenient size and accompanying cup. Serve chilled, room temperature or warmed. Available in:180 ml(24 bottles per case)

http://www.gekkeikan-sake.com/

I was at World Market yesterday to pick up some Domain Chandon which they had on sale for $13.99 and I came across this really cool sake. It is from a US producer, Gekkeikan Sake USA Inc but this particular sake is under their import page. I opened it yesterday and had half of it at room temp and it was very good. Its in the refrigerator right now so I can try it chilled next. What is cool about sake is you can have it hot, room temp or chilled, all styles will produce different tastes. The bottle was $3.99 and it reminds me of a little juicebox, I am not used to getting a bottle of something that has its own cup with it. These are the things that are sold in vending machines over in japan, its a pickup and go type of drink. These will be good to have on hand if u get carryout sushi, just open one up and u are all set.

Posted by mardenhill 11/06/2005 10:53:00 AM 1 comments    

New Riedel Decanter for the Stemless Glass Series
Friday, November 04, 2005

..............................................
The stemless glasses are very cool, they are dishwasher safe and are very affordable. This decanter is pretty sweet except for the fact that the cheapest I found it for was $120 from Amazon.com.

Target has a line of Riedel glasses, they are selling the Vivant collection for $40 for 4. I checked their website and there are no mention of this series, I don't know if its to new and they havn't updated or if its knock off posing as Riedel. There are also no reviews of the glasses but I did check them out and they seem pretty nice. Not too bad a price for good wine glasses.

Posted by mardenhill 11/04/2005 09:46:00 AM 3 comments    

Gay, Black & Married
Thursday, November 03, 2005

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult are back with a new cd entitled "Gay, Black & Married". Head on over to emusic to pick it up, you won't be disappointed. This cd was one that had been in the vaults for years but resurfaced and was released. The sound of it is not classic MLTKK its more of a sleazy, 70s disco mixed with a bit of industrial. If you are reading this and wondering who the hell are My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, well they are one of the pioneers of the Chicago industrial scene of the 80s and early 90s. Some of their songs are "Sex On Wheels, "A Daisy Chain 4 Satan", A Martini Built For 2" "Kooler Than Jesus" and "Blondes With Lobotomy Eyes". TKK toured with Lords of Acid throughout most of the 90s, they were the 2 biggest industrial club bands out there and their live shows were amazing. Lots of fire, smoke, exotic dancers and lound industrial beats. TKK's sound was not pure industrial it was more a mix of club and b movie soundtrack with a little bit of S&M mixed in. They had the bomb bang girls that would come out in fishnets and leather to sing and dance, think of them as a seedy vegas show.

Anyways the new cd, "Gay, Black & Married" is very good, lots of 70s groove and raspy vocals but little on the industrial side. Its nowhere as dark amd guitar laden as "A Crime for All Seasons" and is more like the remix album "Dirty Little Secrets". I checked their website,
http://www.mylifewiththethrillkillkult.com/ and next year there is supposed to be a new release and hopefully a tour.

Posted by mardenhill 11/03/2005 10:48:00 PM 1 comments    

Wine Shipping News
Wednesday, November 02, 2005

http://www.freep.com/news/mich/wine2e_20051102.htm

With this latest ruling, buying wine over the internet from out of state vineyards is one step closer to reality. A federal judge in Detroit ruled that out of state vineyards can now ship to residents, but I have a feeling we will have to wait for the legislature to come up with guidelines before we can start.

"Lawyer Robert Epstein of Indianapolis, who represented the Healds, said consumers should expect the state to issue temporary permits soon to out-of-state wineries allowing shipments directly to Michigan consumers."

I will start checking the big producers and see if they have changed their websites, I just hope Rep Cox doesn't call for some crazy injunction to block shipping.

Posted by mardenhill 11/02/2005 08:06:00 PM 2 comments    

Update: Dems Shut Senate Down For Closed Session
Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Harry Reid did it again, he pulled one over on the repubs big time. He called for a closed door session to discuss pre war intelligence and why the repubs are covering for the administration. Investigations that should be going on have been stalled and put on the back burner, Harry just forced them back to the front.

The best part of it all, the repubs used the new supreme court nominee to pull airtime and oxygen out of the Libby story and on day 2, Reid just flipped the story back on Libby. CNN and the rest of the channels will run soundbites from angry repubs saying that this was out of line but the story is back where it belongs, on Libby and the justification the administration made up for going to war.

I love this quote: Majority Leader Frist reacts: “They have no conviction. They have no principles. They have no ideas. But this is the ultimate. Since I’ve been majority leader…have ever I been slapped in the face with such an affront to the leadership of this grand institution.

Frist is pissed off, he has once again proved how ineffective he is as a leader, there goes his chances in 08. He got slammed on Shavio, the nuclear option and now this, and that was only this year. Frist also has his insider trading scandal to deal with, not looking good for him......

So lets give it up to Harry, finally someone who will finally fight for the truth......

Posted by mardenhill 11/01/2005 05:49:00 PM 0 comments    

Sen Reid's Got Some Balls

Rule 21 Invoked by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid; Frist Says Closed Senate Session 'Slap in the Face'; Dems Seek to Investigate Pre-War Intelligence, Libby Indictment... Developing...

www.drudgereport.com

The Senate's Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unexpectedly pulled the Senate into secret session Tuesday afternoon in order to have closed discussion of Iraq intelligence, RAW STORY has learned. Specifically, the senator sought to discuss a Senate Select Committee on Inteligence report on the failure of Iraqi WMD intelligence.
The maneuver immediately shuttered the doors of the Senate and cleared the Senate press galleries. It has been invoked just 53 previous times in the history of the body. It was last used during the Clinton impeachment hearings.
Closed sessions were also employed in 1997 for the Chemical Weapons Convention, and in 1992 during debate over China's "Most Favored Nation" trade status.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Reid_takes_Senate_into_closed_session_1101.html

Posted by mardenhill 11/01/2005 03:18:00 PM 1 comments    

Guess Who's Back, Back Again...

Marilyn Manson is back
The anti-Christ superstar lays to rest retirement rumours
Marilyn Manson has completed work on his sixth LP.

The anti-Christ superstar has described the follow up to 'The Golden Age Of Grotesque' as the "most guitar-driven" and "most original" material that he's ever written.

He told MTV.COM: "This record has a very unpleasant attitude toward itself, and I expect it to be - without sounding like someone who says this every time they make a record - something above and beyond and different - sonically, emotionally - than anything I've done."

"The lyrics have the most romantic feel to them. This is a desperate and crippling desire for romance - not in the romance sense of a Reese Witherspoon movie, but in the sense of living your life like a film and enjoying it that way. I've found a woman I can relate to. That's something - and I don't even feel sappy saying it - that, if anyone has that, don't lose it, because it's probably the only thing that you can ever really find any satisfaction from."

........................................

I am excited to see what his new image and sound will be, he is like Beck, a musician who reinvents himself with each album. I am not a big fan of his music but I love the power he has over his audience and how he can control and manipulate the media. I think with the hiatus, Marilyn will be able to recapture that audience once again and dominate the music world. Look at NIN, Trent has returned and is just as popular as before and people continue to rave about the new cd. I don't think that Industrial will ever be as popular as before but the titans have survived and are doing some interesting stuff with the genre.

Posted by mardenhill 11/01/2005 12:48:00 PM 1 comments    

1 Million Videos and Counting

Apple sells over 1M videos in less than 20 days

By AppleInsider StaffPublished: 09:20 AM EST

Apple today announced that iTunes Music Store customers have purchased and downloaded more than one million videos since they debuted on October 12.


In a statement released today, the iPod maker said top downloads included music videos from Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West; Pixar's "For the Birds" and "Boundin'"; and episodes of ABC's hit TV shows "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives."iTunes music store shoppers can currently choose from over 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and hit TV shows for just $1.99. "Selling one million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests there is a market for legal video downloads," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings, so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods."

Music videos are available from artists including Madonna, U2, Eurythmics, Coldplay and Kanye West, and animated shorts are available from Academy Award-winning Pixar Animation Studios. In a deal with ABC Disney, the iTunes Music Store also offers current and past episodes from the two most popular shows on television, "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" as well as the new drama series "Night Stalker" and the two most popular shows from Disney Channel, "That's So Raven" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."The iTunes Music Store also features more than two million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels, 11,000 audiobooks, gift certificates and exclusive music not found anywhere else online.

Posted by mardenhill 11/01/2005 09:09:00 AM 2 comments