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The Cure - 4:13 Dream (2008)
Thursday, October 30, 2008

After a few singles released over the last couple months the Cure finally dropped their 13th studio record entitled 4:13 Dream. The cd starts off with a long instrumental introduction full of mid tempo moodiness and whimsical percussion bells. Robert Smith comes in with echos and reverb and the song takes you back to the 90s era of big sonic Cure. Track 2 "Only One" has to be the worst Cure song ever written and I just skip past it each time I listen. Track 3 "Reasons Why" is stripped down reminiscent of early Cure before the textured layers of keyboards and organs. Track 4 "Freakshow" is quirky and scattered but intriguing at the same time. Think Wild Mood Swings without the horns and more guitar. The next couple songs settle into the typical late Cure style and keep the mood and tempo.

Track 7 "Hungry Ghost" was lifted from the Cure circa 1982. Track 11 "Sleep When I'm Dead" is probably my favorite song on the cd, the nostalgic feel and haunting guitar dominate and fill your head. The Cure are not trying to reinvent themselves here, they have so many styles already and just pick and choose portions of each. The cd doesn't flow like Bloodflowers or Disintegration, there are tempo changes with highs and lows. There are bits of light and happiness that shine through as well. Like the last record The Cure are taking their history and building on it. They take the good and bad of the last 3o years and weave in new interpretations. That doesn't mean the cd is just mediocre, it's quite good and one that you can find yourself going back to over and over. Depending on your favorite Cure era you might skip over some tracks and hit repeat on others.

Posted by mardenhill 10/30/2008 10:06:00 PM 0 comments  

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Latest Political Fodder
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

With 7 days before the election, the GOP are pulling no punches in their attacks on Obama and the democrats. Every day its a new socialist charge and even a communist one from the idiot Sen. Mel Martinez down in Florida. It started with Palin, then moved to a bunch of surrogates and onto congress and the senate. It amazes me how the GOP became so unhinged, so sloppy and off message. This is supposed to be the party of lemmings where everyone follows the leader and never deviates. Fortunately those days are over and moderate repubs are attaching themselves to Obama and distancing from Bush and McCain. They will end up losing their seats but at least it was a valiant effort. On the flip side, the bigots of the party are aligning themselves with Palin and throwing bombs left and right. They don't seem to care and figure if they are going down they will go down taking as many people with them. I am not sure if they realize they are losing a whole generation of people and with the current path will solidify their future in the minority. The Real America, Pro America rhetoric may be good for the base but it does no justice when it comes to bringing new people into the fold.

There are talks of excommunication in the GOP, if you trash Palin or endorse Obama its over for you. And to think that just a few years ago Karl Rove thought he was on track to establish a permanent republican majority. There are people who actually believe Palin is the future of the party. Sorry to burst your bubble but Romney is waiting in the wings and will stop at nothing to regain top dog. I would love to Romney duke it out with Palin, both will sink to news lows and use hate and fear to secure their position. If you though the "latte liberals" vs "working class" was bad just wait for the Romney/Palin show.

Posted by mardenhill 10/28/2008 08:04:00 PM 0 comments  

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Apple TV
Saturday, October 25, 2008


I have been considering the Apple TV for about a year now and we finally decided to get one last nite. If you are not familiar with the product, it allows you buy content from the iTunes music store via your TV. With the Apple TV, you can browse movies, watch trailers and rent ones either in standard def or high def. You have 30 days to watch the movie, once you start you have 24 hours before it disappears. The cost is $3.99 for standard and $4.99 for high def. Older movies are $2.99 and $3.99. You can also purchase movies and tv shows. You can search for movies by title or actor and add movies to your wish list to view or purchase at a later date. You can also browse the vast collection of podcasts both video and audio as well as YouTube. You can use your Apple TV to stream music, photos and videos from other computers running iTunes.

Setup is easy, you just plug in an HDMI cable, sound if needed (going to a home theatre) and you're done. If you have a wireless network, type in your SSID and password. This took a few extra minutes since I had to change my current wireless router from WPA TKIP to WEP encryption (Come on Apple support WPA!!!!). Once that was done I was connected and browsing the iTunes store.

Overall I am happy with the product, I like the idea of renting on demand and browsing the whole store. One of the things that drove me nuts with the cable OnDemand was the lack of selection. You were held hostage to what they wanted to provide and it was never really good. Now we have the ability to rent any movie (as long as the store has it) in just a few clicks of the remote. If we missed a tv show and feel the need to really watch it we can always buy the episode. The Apple TV comes in two sizes 40 gig and 160. We went with the 160 gig since downloading high def content will no doubt fill up quickly.

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

Posted by mardenhill 10/25/2008 10:22:00 AM 0 comments  

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Kunin - Zinfandel Paso Robles 2006
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wow, and another Wow for the 2006 Kunin Wines Zinfandel. This wine comes from my favorite region for Zins and packs a punch with its flavor and body. Within the first 15 minutes the flavors came thru. It was by no means fully opened but enough was present to give you a heads up. The color was a deep plum with a black cherry nose but not too sweet. The body was balanced between the fruit and oak with a bit of spice at the end that followed down the back of your throat. This isn't a Norman Estates - Monster or Earthquake Zin which top out at 16%. Instead its a modest 14.4%, normal for zins and lets the wine speak instead of the alcohol.

I love the philosophy of Kunin Wines, small batches focused on quality not quantity and one that knows not to manipulate wines if you suffer a bad season. I tend not to buy the same bottles over and over since there are so many great vineyards out there to try but I would make an exception for this one. If you live Zins as much as I do, you should definitely scope this one out, you will not be disappointed.

http://www.kuninwines.com/index.html

Posted by mardenhill 10/23/2008 09:24:00 PM 0 comments  

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Oasis - Bag It Up
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Oasis released their 7th studio album a couple weeks ago and one that I believe everyone should own a copy of. The cd is brilliant, its some of their best work in years. The cd starts off with "Bag It Up" a straight forward rock song that piques your interest and gives you a little glimpse of whats to come. You have a great buildup at the end with feedback, layers and organs. Unlike their last cd which was a bit scattered this one is more even and flows quite nicely. Track 2 "The Turning" could be the best track on the cd with heavy organs reminicent of the early acid house scene. This mid tempo song picks up about a minute in and is full of swagger and soul. I am really excited to hear this song live and it will be one that fills the arena and blows the roof off. Track 3 "Waiting For The Rapture" features Noel on vocals with a hint of sleaze and garage rock. Track 4 "The Shock Of The Lightning" was the 1st single off the cd and one that requires cranking of the speakers. Its a great driving song and could have easily been on Definitely Maybe. Think "Columbia" or "Cigarettes and Alcohol" and layer it up with some brash, in your face guitar and keys.

Track 5 "I'm Outta Time (Get Off Your) is the typical Liam ballad which relies heavy on the Beatles but this time much more complex than his previous songs. Not great but not bad either. Track 6 "High Horse Lady" is a spagetti western, a psychedelic, alt country with foot stomping, hand clapping and muffled vocals. You can tell they had fun recording this song. Track 7 "Falling Down" is another Noel track that is thick with orchestration and eerie sounds. This one take a few listens but does grow on you. You actually think its a remix since the Chemical Brothers druggy electronic vibe is so prevelant. I guess Noel took note and didn't just provide vocals for them in the past. Track 8 "To Be Where There's Life" features a sitar and builds around the eastern sound. Long vocals with echos, think Thievery Corporation trapped in an opium den. I love the feel of this song and it probably has everything to do with the sitar. Track 10 "Soldier On" is probably the weakest song on the whole cd but it does a good job at closing the cd. It's downtempo Oasis style.

Every Oasis cd has its highs and lows. The last few have been good, not great but I think this time around Oasis has hit it out of the park and given us exactly what we have wanted and deserved.

Posted by mardenhill 10/22/2008 08:07:00 PM 0 comments  

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Rep. Michelle Bachmann Update

This goes to show how stupid the GOP is and how ignorant many members of congress really are. Rep. Michelle Bachmann is now playing the victim card here and now blames Chris Matthews for her own words. She didn't mean to say that Obama was Anti American and that all members of congress should be investigated, it was all Matthews fault by his repeating it over and over. She also goes on to say that she hasn't watch the show before and didn't expect to walk into a trap. For starters, either Michelle is lying or she is the stupidest person on the planet. No one in their right mind goes onto a show without research ahead of time. Either she has bad handlers and staffers or she is outright lying. Michelle knew what she was doing, she was given the GOP talking points and ran with them. She didn't expect the ground swell that would ensue and that her words would have raised over $750,000 for her opponent. Now she is crying foul and wants everyone to believe she was taken advantage of. Give me a break, everyone in congress and DC knows who Chris Matthews is, they know his show isn't a cakewalk and if you are not prepared then you will get burned. Also this isn't Bachmann's 1st time on tv, she has frequently made the talkshow rounds and loves the camera. I really hope the voters of Minnesota send this 1st term congresswoman packing.......

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Speaking with the St. Cloud Times on Tuesday, Bachmann said she regretted suggesting that Barack Obama held “anti-American” views. Referencing Chris Matthews by name 12 times in a 6 minute interview, Bachmann portrayed herself as the victim of a clever ploy devised by the MSNBC host:

Chris Matthews laid a trap, and I walked into it. […]

Chris Matthews was using the term over and over, and I should not have used it. […]

This was Chris Matthews. I made a big mistake by going on the show. I never should have. […]

I just didn’t recognize — I never watched the Chris Matthews show before. I should have before I went on. I didn’t recognize that he would lay a trap the way that he did.

Posted by mardenhill 10/22/2008 11:16:00 AM 0 comments  

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2005 BearBoat - Pinot Noir
Sunday, October 19, 2008

I just picked up this bottle yesterday over at Cloverleaf on recommendation. The Pinot Noir hails from the Russian River Valley and is aged in oak for 10 months. Its not a huge, meaty Oregon pinot but it has all the characteristics of a good California under $20. There is a great nose with plump and sweet fruit bursting thru. The first glass isn't that complex, its very ripe and juicy and I am willing to give it time to open.

Posted by mardenhill 10/19/2008 09:49:00 PM 0 comments  

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Latest Jackass In Congress
Saturday, October 18, 2008

While watching Hardball with Chris Matthews yesterday, I and many others were amazed at what we saw. Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota ranted for 7 minutes smearing and slandering Barack & Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and anyone for that matter who consider themselves liberal.

Rep. Bachmann basically said that if you are a liberal you are Anti-American which is a common gutter theme the GOP loves to push but not usually on national TV. Chris Matthews who usually dominates his segments picked up on her sentiments early on and with each question led the moronic representative into the black hole of McCarthyism. Its not like Matthews had to a lot of work here, Bachmann was well on her way and ignored the stop signs and showed her true colors. The good news is that she is an a close race and ActBlue stepped in to raise money for her opponent and at this time is close to $200,000. Lets hope her bigoted views are her downfall and this newly elected congresswoman is sent packing come Nov 4th.

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Quotes from the show

Matthews later pressed her to name a single member of Congress other than Obama who she thought was anti-American. Bachmann, who initially wouldn't budge, called for a major "expose" into the matter.

"What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America," she said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/gop-rep-channels-mccarthy_n_135735.html

Posted by mardenhill 10/18/2008 04:02:00 PM 0 comments  

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MacBook and MacBook Pro
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Apple just updated their laptop line and for anyone who was holding out (i.e. me) it was well worth the wait. The case is all aluminum, the trackpad is now glass and much larger and there are new NVidia video cards for graphics. There are not that many differences between the MacBook and MacBook Pro which is good and bad. On the surface you have a choice between a 13.3 inch screen and a 15 inch. Besides being larger, the Pro sports a higher video card, faster processor and a firewire 800 port. The Macbooks are $1300 and $1600 with the Pro coming in at $2000 and $2500 so much for that price drop they promised. The updated trackpad is now on the Macbook series and the only reason I really see to buy the Pro would be for the 15 inch screen. I was set to buy the Pro when it came out but if the regular series will offer me everything I want for $400 cheaper, I may have to rethink my strategy. I will check them out at the store and if I can get by on the 13 inch screen then I will probably go that route.

Posted by mardenhill 10/14/2008 06:53:00 PM 0 comments  

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The X Files
Sunday, October 12, 2008

For my birthday Erika got me the X-Files DVD box set which contains all 9 seasons as well as the 1st movie and additional footage. I started collecting the episodes back on VHS but gave up and decided to wait for the dvds. The box set is amazing and well worth it. Along with the box set Erika also got me the Lone Gunmen series which was a spin off from the show. If you don't remember it was the 3 guys who would help Moulder out and near the end got their own show. It was very good but didn't last too long. I am excited to watch those again and will probably dip into that one first.

Since everyone are doing complete box sets I have decided I will not collect anymore shows until they are off the air and all are combined into one set. It just makes more sense and plus it takes up less space on your shelf.

Posted by mardenhill 10/12/2008 08:27:00 PM 3 comments  

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Stereolab - Crofoot Oct 9th
Friday, October 10, 2008

Last nite Erika and I met our friends Chris and Jamie up at the Crofoot for the Stereolab show. Unfortunately we got there too early and had to sit thru the opening band which was absolutely terrible. Think of a bunch of pretentious/indie rock/emo/art students trying to be Rusted Root and you had the opening band. I can't remember their name so its probably good.

Stereolab took the stage after 11pm which was late for a school night but it was worth it. They played a number of new songs and went back into their catalog and focused on the heavy drones and wall of sound. The music was huge at times and reminiscent of the early 90s shows which I always loved. We ended up leaving so I can't comment on the whole show but there were no french horn, jazz style Stereolab songs featured. This was a classic Stereolab show in my opinion and one I never expected to see again. The Crofoot wasn't sold out which surprised me but on the other hand the show wasn't heavily marketed. I was disappointed that there was no media behind the band, I always enjoyed the b&w French films used in the past. I did pick up a t-shirt which is something I haven't done in years. It featured the drawing from the Peng cd and was just too cool to pass on.

Posted by mardenhill 10/10/2008 07:56:00 PM 0 comments  

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Berkley Sucks
Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Our faire city Berkley, MI sucks big time right now everywhere you turn there is construction. 11 Mile road which is 1 block south of us has been torn up since spring and we have endured trucks parked along side our house day and night. If 11 mile wasn't enough construction for everyone to deal with, last week they started repairing the bricks at the intersection of 12 mile and Coolidge, 1 mile north of us. The previous mayor who was a bumbling idiot got the great idea to brick the whole intersection against many wishes. Needless to say the bricks were not layed properly and have since been in need of repair. Oh no it doesn't stop there, for the next month the intersection of 11 mile and Coolidge which is a block from us is now closed and although the trucks are now gone from the side of our house, the street is now a detour. We will have a parade of cars driving back and forth past our house and no doubt blocking our driveway when we are pulling out. I have an older car and I really don't care what happens to it so if some idiot blocks my driveway they will be dealing with the Focus. They say another month of construction which can't come soon enough.

Posted by mardenhill 10/07/2008 08:11:00 PM 0 comments  

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If The Election Were Held Today
Sunday, October 05, 2008

Here is a snapshot of the Electoral Votes if the election were held today. Obama would win the presidency with 329 to McCain's 194. Mind you these numbers are just gathered from multiple polls and this site changes quite frequently depending on how each candidate does. It has been trending Obama for the last month but by a very slim margin with more toss up states. If the map holds true I except Obama's lead to be quite higher since I think he will win Colorado. Florida I am not to sure of but it would be a great slap in the face to the GOP if Obama wins this along with North Carolina and Ohio. At that point the GOP brand will have been destroyed and its rebuilding time. The Dems are also projected to pick up additional senate seats and will be 2 away from a filibuster proof majority.

I am still leary of polling since it doesn't include many younger people who do not have land lines and only live on cell phones. I have been cell phone only for the last 8 years and have never been polled. There are many more like me and chances are they will be voting for Obama.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Posted by mardenhill 10/05/2008 10:12:00 AM 0 comments  

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Oasis Update
Thursday, October 02, 2008

Oasis are coming to Detroit this year and as I had hoped they are bringing along Ryan Adams and the Cardinals as their opening band. I cannot think of a better show than the two of them. They are playing the Palace December 13th and tickets went on pre sale yesterday. I would like to thank my lovely wife Erika for buying them and getting some amazing seats. I have seen Oasis at least 7x and they never get boring. Yeah I have seen Liam storm off stage and witnessed the brothers bickering but it adds to the show so its all worth it. I would have to say the brothers have been on good behaviour the last few times and I imagine it will be the same this time around. Ryan Adams puts on an amazing show as well and this will be number 3 for me. We have Stereolab next week which will be a ton of fun and now Oasis to look forward to.

Posted by mardenhill 10/02/2008 06:53:00 PM 1 comments  

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