The Hanging Garden
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
The Basement...
Thats the word of the day, well the last 2 days. I have been cleaning the basement, taking back recycling, clothes to Salvation Army and now back to the recycling center with old paint cans. I have also organized the workbench area and unpacked the shop vac. Ah yes, the shop vac, 1 of the 3 we got for our wedding, no duplicate toasters like normal people instead 3 shop vacs. Anyways it works great, i can't wait to go around cleaning the rest of the basement.
I also got a wine fridge for xmas which is really cool and have put that in the basement. I have it loaded with whites and some champagne, i think i will keep the reds out of it for now. The pseudo wine cellar stays cool so the reds all fine. This summer with the help of my mother-in-law be building built in shelves in the cellar for my wine.
I also got a new printer, the canon pixma i4000 so if u are in the market for a new printer i recommend this one. It has 5 ink cartridges, 1 for b&w printing and 4 for color printing. Plus the ink is about $12 a piece to replace which is much cheaper than other inks.
For those of you that are Ren & Stimpy fans, there is a DVD box set of their cartoons. I have to admit it is harder to watch than it was back in the 90s, i must be getting old. What I used to laugh at has become a bit gross. Oh well, its still fun to watch. Erika got the Fat Albert DVD box set which is very cool, its amazing how young Bill Cosby is in it.
I also got a travel speaker system for the ipod, check it out at the link below. You can find them on amazon.com and all over the internet for a good price. The sound is suprisingly good and is both battery and AC operated.
http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.asp?ProdId=ONTOUR&SerId=HMM&sCatId=
Current song on the ipod shuffle. "I'll do it anyways" by the Lemonheads with help from Juliana Hatfield. This is an excellent song and the Lemonheads are one of those bands you can go back to after not listening for years and pick right back up. You already know the words so just bob your head and sing along. I cannot think of anyone out right now that can write such catchy songs as Evan Dando.
Posted by mardenhill 12/29/2004 01:10:00 PM 1 comments
The Tigers Have Spoken
Friday, December 24, 2004
I just wanted to let u know that Berkley is a pretty cool town, I was on my profile and clicked on Berkley and it lead to 13 other bloggers from my city. A few of them wrote some interesting blogs and were also democrats who hate bush. It makes me feel better that I am not surrounded by crazies. Over in Farmington Hills we saw on the front of a chuch a huge sign that said "God spoke to Moses thru a burning bush" with bush is big bright red letters. I feel that sign is crossing the line a bit too much, I can handle the little crosses in the ground but comeon that is overtly political. Its just a matter of time before this goes too far and the backlash starts, at least that is what I keep telling myself to stay sane.
On some happy political news, Dem Christine Gregoire has won the Washington governer race by 130 votes in the hand count. This may not be over, the republicans are planning a full scale legal attack with plans for a new election. You can read more about it at this link. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002129842_recount24m.html
Its great to see at least one race that all the votes were counted. Chalk one up to the Dems, about time they finally stepped up and played hardball. This could have ended in another stolen election but I think America is finally waking up and realizing the republicans will stop at nothing to stay or gain power.
Well I should get off the computer, people are starting to show up for the inlaws xmas party. Everyone have a merry christmas and talk to u soon.
Posted by mardenhill 12/24/2004 04:39:00 PM 2 comments
Day Fresh Beer
I just heard a commercial for Day Fresh Beer from Bud and Bud Light and it got me thinking, is this just another scam or is it for real? They claim that the beer is no more than a day old, now what happens to the beer in the back of the cooler, does that go on clearance or just thrown out? How much Bud is consumed in the US to warrant day old fresh beer? Has our country become so homoginized that within the next year we will only be shopping at Walmart and drinking only Bud? This is the future we have to look forward to, enjoy your last days of freedom.
Last nite we watched Shrek 2 which was suprisingly good and I would recommend it. Jennifer Saunders from Ab Fab fame was the voice of the fairy god mother and both Tom Waits and Nick Cave had songs in the movie. The Nick Cave really startled me, this coming from the guy who turned down the MTV nomination back in the 90s because he didn't think his music should be judged for award shows. I guess Nick knows when there is a quick buck to be made and will just sit back and collect those royality checks.
I am working on my best of list for 2004 and will try to have it posted by the end of the weekend. I was just listening to Woxy and they had played the new Mercury Rev and Kings of Leon on their Air Checks show and stated how both cds are not out and don't have domestic releases for another few months. Well for those of u who are interested, they are floating out in cyberspace as we speak no need to wait for those "Official" realease dates. Now I am trying to get my hands on the new Doves which has proven to be a bit more difficult but I will do my best so keep your fingers crossed.
I talked to my mom today and she filled me in on how great the Clay Aiken show last nite was. If I had to listen to her review I think u should also be tortured. She said Clay walked around thru the crowd and sang like an angel. There was a HS choir that only had 2 hrs of practice since the booked choir was snowed in but they sounded very good. She loved her seats which was nice seeing that it was either those are the last row in the balcony left when we got the tix.
I do not like xmas music and I hate it even more when ostentatious indie rockers try to write some slacker anti xmas song as with The Long Winter's "Christmas with you is the Best". This song just oozes pretention with the hipster persona it paints for you. I am not sure if I have their cd but if I do I am deleting it just for the sole reason that their xmas song SUCKS!!!! All the radio stations are playing it and it is driving me nuts. John Roderick is the man behind the band and has help from Built to Spill and Death Cab on his record. I guess the whole Death Cab connection explains a lot "sorry Kathy" but this is just another crap indie rock band that will poison our youth. Btw, the song can be found on the latest OC soundtrack, now isn't that ironic.
Posted by mardenhill 12/24/2004 03:45:00 PM 2 comments
TOO MANY FORMATS!!!!
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
I'm am going crazy here, I just noticed that the cds that I ripped with itunes on my mac when imported into musicmatch on the pc are all jacked. The tags don't come across and u cannot edit them until u change the id3 status on the tracks. I imported the tracks into winamp, windows media player plus itunes on the pc and all of them can read the tracks and tags correctly, its just musicmatch.
So I have decided to rip with musicmatch, that way all the jukeboxes can read them but it just pisses me off. I don't know what jukebox people will be using and if i make cds for people full of mp3s I want the tags to be correct. I haved just tested rips with musicmatch and all players work. This is the way it will be then, rip with musicmatch in mp3 at 192 and use itunes or whatever jukebox u want.
That is my exciting news for the day, too many formats and no universal answer.
Posted by mardenhill 12/21/2004 01:07:00 PM 3 comments
Hitting the "Next" Button
Sunday, December 19, 2004
I am just sitting here ripping cds, listening to Woxy and decided to try the "Next Blog" button at the top of the page. It is quite interesting, it just randomly selects another blog to read about. I do have to admit that I have skipped more blogs than I have read but when all that come up are sad, 18 year old girls pages, I have not patience. Its all the same, i'm sad, this boy doesn't like me, i'm fighting with mom, i need to clean my room bull over and over. I have come across a few interesting ones tho, like http://teambildo.blogspot.com/ and http://gunmagiant.blogspot.com/ where the guy talks about getting his girlfriend's bass out of the pawn shop for her birthday. What a guy, thats all I have to say.
Ok, I have grown bored of the blog surfing, there are more blogs from Singapore and Ohio out there than anywhere else. I did get some good ideas for sprucing up my page, now I need to figure out how to do it.
Today it was 4 degrees out with a windchill of -14 degress!!!! If u didn't make it outside today good for u, because it was one of those stay inside all day. Of course I went out 3x today and froze my ass off.
Well its time to run so I will post again tomorrow, maybe then I will have something more interesting to write about. I could go on about the 3 holiday parties I went to this weekend but I will spare you.
BTW, Rumsfield is still a jackass, besides everything else he has screwed up in the last 4 years he hasn't even been signing the letters to families of fallen soldiers in Iraq. He has an automated signature setup instead so he doesn't have to waste his time signing his name. He got called out on the internet and Sunday morning talkshows and that was awesome to watch. Rummy now claims that he will personally sign each letter, glad to see that he cares now after being embarrassed the last couple weeks.
Posted by mardenhill 12/19/2004 08:47:00 PM 2 comments
Bela Lugosi's Dead
Monday, December 13, 2004
Well I am sitting around listening to the Left Of The Dial box set and just heard Bauhaus, Siouxsie, Minor Threat, Beat Happening, The The and The Pixies. I tell ya, it doesn't get better than that. I am currently waiting for the Matador 10th anniversary to finish, once that is done, if anyone wants a copy let me know. Ok "World Shut Your Mouth" is currently on, that is such a great song and had an awesome video. Julian Cope on the other hand is to a strung out, art hippie that only had moments of greatness. Unlike Ian McCulloch who went on to form Echo and The Bunnymen after the Teardrop Eplodes brok up, Julian never really got it together.
So I bought my mom and her boyfriend tickets for xmas to see Clay Aiken who is playing a concert with the Detroit Symphonic Orchestra at the Masonic Theatre. I am convinced that I am now going to indierock hell where I will be forced to listen to Clay and Celine on repeat for the rest of my life. I had to though, I could not figure out what to get them and my mom is a big Clay fan. I tell ya, that was the hardest thing to do, to speak out loud "i would like 2 tickets to Clay Aiken with the DSO..." I want you to stop reading this and repeat those words not to yourself but out loud and see how it feels.
While I am on the subject, the 2 worst things in life, Celine Dion and Anne Geddes have merged together for a CD and a book. I am convinced that this the 1st sign of the apocalypse, Anne is the most cherished child abuser with her pictures of helpless babies in gruesome poses and Celine, well we all know contribution to modern history. How can anyone in their right mind support these 2 individuals, they should be locked up for what they have done to our society. Now every mother around the country will have this displayed on their coffee table and u will be forced to look thru it on the holidays.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0740746960/qid=1102984756/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-9929771-6334510?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Just to stick that knife a little deeper, Clay Aiken is the new Barry Manilow and will be around for years to come. We will never escape his clutches and this 1st xmas album is not the last. Clay may not have won the American Idol but he did win the hearts of all our mothers and sappy women tuned into easy listening stations across the country.
Well now that I have completely depressed you, enjoy the remainder of your day.
Posted by mardenhill 12/13/2004 07:04:00 PM 1 comments
Interstate Traffic
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Well the supreme court is deciding the fate of buying wine over the internet vs going thru distributers and michigan is one of the states this will affect. I really hope they rule for the winerys i am sick and tired of not being able to order directly from the vineyard. The distributers argue that they need to regulate the flow of alcohol and keep it out of the hands of minors but when u think about it, they are just trying to save the butloads of money they make. They argue that there is a huge selection of wine that you can buy in stores but thats not the point, up and coming and small wineries do not get distributed and the only way you can get the wine is at the vineyard. Now if you decide to order michigan wine over the internet you can have it sent to u, but if u want one from oregon or cali you are out of luck. The whole minor argument is crap, what underage kid is going to order a boutique wine to get drunk? You still have to sign for it and that is not what kids are willing to drink. The wineries are arguing that the ammendment that allows for commerce to flow between states trumps the prohibition laws that give states the right to regulate.
The interesting thing with this is that Kenneth Starr is one of the lawyers arguing for the wineries and Robert Bork is arguing for the distributers. I never thought Kenny boy and I would be on the same side.
Well gotta run, will update more about this when a ruling comes out. Keep your fingers crossed so that we can finally visit a wine's website and place an order just like half the other states around the country.
Posted by mardenhill 12/07/2004 11:03:00 PM 4 comments
Rock Star
Yesterday I had to take a printer up to the Palace of Auburn Hills and for those of you who do not know what that is, its where the Detroit Pistons play and well fight. Anyways, Chrysler is doing a show there today and I needed to setup a printer for our shows and presentations team. The cool part about the story is that I got to walk out onto the arena floor while they were setting up. I tell ya its very wierd looking around at all the seats while down on the floor. I also got to see 3 concept that hopefully will be at the auto show. I have been ice skating at the Joe so now all I need is to make it onto the floor of Ford Field and then Comerica.
Well it looks like they may be voting on the intelligence bill afterall, they claim to have worked out an agreement. Now Bush will try to take credit for this even though he had nothing to do with it. We need to stand up and revolt like they are doing over in Ukraine and demand a new prez.
And for the conspiracy buffs out there, check out http://www.rawstory.com they have a sworn affidavit of a computer programmer who was instructed to write hacking software for voting machines in florida. Whether or not this software was used, it makes u wonder when it will finally come out that Bush cheated yet again.
Posted by mardenhill 12/07/2004 02:13:00 PM 1 comments
le Garbage
Monday, December 06, 2004
Our beloved speaker of the house Dennis " i'm a fat ass, sleaze ball" Hassert refuses to bring to a vote the intelligence reform. The reason, he does not have the votes to pass it solely by republicans. The bill will pass with democratic support but Hassert only wants his party to pass it. So instead of putting the safety of the nation as a top priority Hassert is using his power as speaker to make sure his buddies are taken care of. Bush claims to support the reform but if you go back in time, he saw no reason for the commission, didn't agree with their findings but somehow supports their recommendations. Either Bush is lying or he is a flip flopper. Bush could easily call Hassert to have this put to a vote but he will not, he doesn't want to upset one of his remaining cabinet members Rummy who will lose some funding and control over the Pentagon. Just more corruption this administration brings forth that people continue to ignore.
Check out the link below for the latest republican outing courtsey of Hustler magazine.
http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=468
Posted by mardenhill 12/06/2004 09:46:00 AM 1 comments
Peel Slowly And See
Sunday, December 05, 2004
If you don't own the Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly and See Box Set, you are missing out on the of the best things ever recorded. It is a 5 cd box set with about 70 songs some live, some demos and original recordings. If you don't feel like spending the money on it, let me know I can make u a copy becasue I think everyone should have this.
Another good box set is Echo And The Bunnymen - Crystal Days 79-99, this is a 4 disc set with live, demos and originals. I am currently ripping my box sets so I am on my soapbox on which ones are good and what people should have. Right now I am working on The Police - Message In A Box which is also an excellent choice. Alice In Chains - Music Box is very cool along with Ken Burns Jazz.
I spent the last 2 days reorganizing my mp3s, I had come up with a bit of a different scheme and needed to make changes to my files. I have just about everything the way I want it, I just need to finish ripping the rest of the cds.
For those of you that are Bright Eyes fans may know that they are releasing 2 cds on Jan 25th. If you are interested in hearing them, let me know cuz I just scored copies of them. I am not a big fan and I find them ok, but if you cannot get enough of Conner Oberst you will love them.
We are putting up our xmas tree today, I guess its time seeing that we only have 20 days left. A few years ago, our mr. kitty decided to see what the string of lights tasted like and bit into one while they were on. Since then we do not have a problem with any ornaments or the cat messing with the tree. I felt bad for him but thats the only way he learns to stay away from things.
I have decided to add another coffee tip for all of u, if you havn't had the Starbucks Holiday Blend, I highly recommend it. I picked it up yesterday and according to the coffee barista this years blend is the best they have had in years. Its like wine, if u have crappy weather u don't get a good crop. Anyways, check out the beans, they are very good.
Posted by mardenhill 12/05/2004 04:15:00 PM 2 comments
Steady As Starlight
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Next Year the whole Pee Wee's Playhouse all 5 seasons will be put together in a DVD box set. Right now you can buy most of it in separate DVDs, but I think I will wait to get the bonus footage and cool box that it should come in. You can check out the interview on NPR at this link.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4190544
RYAN ADAMS has released a new limited edition single through his official website.
‘Now That You’re Gone’ is the first new track to be released from the star since he broke his wrist at the start of the year falling off stage in Liverpool.
The song, out on vinyl, comes backed with ‘If I’m A Stranger’ and is available through ryan-adams.com.
The release has fuelled speculation that Adams is working on the follow-up to this year’s album ‘Love Is Hell’.
The singer has recently completed a string of US live dates with his new band The Cardinals.
If you have followed Ryan Adam's website, he likes to keep it clutter free. It started when Friends ended and he pulled everything off and said it was a tribute to the end of the show. Since then, about every 2 months Ryan will change the page and add little things back on but there is usually just a link to his merch site and tour dates if they are available.
In file sharing news, Kaaza just got hit with another lawsuit and I think this one will stick. I recommend anyone out on Kaaza stop downloading, cuz they will be coming to get you. Plus Kaaza has been labeled the spyware king of the P2P world, a title that was taken from Groekster. I was surfing around emusic last nite and discovered some more interesting music to download. My list is growing on that site and for the price I think its worth it.
If you havn't heard, Nirvana's box set has finally surfaced and you can find it at Costco for about $40. I think it should be pretty cool, its not just all their cds repackaged, most of the songs are alt takes, demos, live or non released songs to give the listener new music to listen to.
Posted by mardenhill 12/01/2004 09:27:00 AM 0 comments
The Big 2 Suck!!!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Have you heard the new "Ladytron - Sugar" yet? I tell ya, its a very catchy song and I have been trying to track down a copy of it. Right now "MC Honkey - Sonnet #3" is on, its one of those bad car commercial type of songs that just repeats the same ole lame loop over and over. While I am on stupid songs, "The Music -Breakin" is on Woxy and it sux. The band name is lame, their denying of any influences and we are an original band is pathetic and his I can't even describe "Uh Oh, Oh E Oh" chorus drives me up a wall. What happened, I thought music hit its rough patch and was on the way back. Where is Death Cab and their revolution of new music?
For those of you in the Detroit area, The Von Bondies are playing the Magic Stick on Sat, maybe Jack will show up and have a repeat of last year's fiasco. The Kills and Blance were this past weekend but I missed that one, check out Kathy's blog www.lalasandhandclaps.blogspot.com for a review.
While I am in the mood to complain, I have found out that I cannot make postings to my blog when I am using my Mac and Safari (Mac's web browser) and IE 5.2 which is the latest IE that works on a Mac. What happens is that I lose all sizing and html capabilities. I had to download Netscape for the Mac which happens to work. I used to hate, well I still do hate Netscape for selling out to AOL the other evil empire besides Microsoft and vowed never to use their products again. Well I am using them and it sucks. On the PC side, I am able to post using IE but have problems with Mozilla Firefox. I tell ya, you can't get away from the big 2, IE and Netscape.
Posted by mardenhill 11/29/2004 01:54:00 PM 3 comments
Digital Only Label
Friday, November 26, 2004
Well Universal is trying to release a digital only record label, I guess how it works is that a band gets signed to it and their music released thru legit pay services. If the bands rack up a certain number of downloads then their cd can be pressed and sold in the stores. I think this is a good idea but why has it taken so long to come to this? Also on the digital music realm, all the record labels are partnering up with peer to peers to provide a legit trading service. The way it stands now, if you buy a song from a legit source and someone else wants that song, they can pay .99c a song and grab it from you. Is it just me or is this the stupidest idea out there. No one is saving any money and there is no benefit from just going to itunes, napster and msn and downloading it yourself. When are these jokers going to understand that the only way you are going to get people on board is to lower the price of a digital download. Emusic has the right idea with .25c a song but the subscription thing is a bit restrictive. You can always buy additional downloads if u go over your monthly allotment but that is just a pain. Emusic is getting better, I keep finding stuff but its still nowhere near the selection that I would perfer. I keep hearing things on Woxy and checking emusic for them but they are not there.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/38392.html
Posted by mardenhill 11/26/2004 11:08:00 AM 1 comments
Going To Town
Well its Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when everyone is up shopping. I am staying behind while the ladies are out, I cannot stand the crowds. This year, stores were opening at 5:30am, whats going to happen next year? That is getting to crazy for me, if you check out drudgereport they have an article about people standing outside walmart waiting for it to open. Give me the internet and I will do my shopping from the convenience of my home.
If you are a fan of the flaming lips, the thrills, grandaddy, beachwood sparks and yes even beluah you should check out the new dios cd. Actually, Ronnie James Dio threated a lawsuit so the band changed the name to dios malos. I have to thank my friend Denise who told me about them. Their debut cd came out in march of 04 and is a great summer record. Lots of arctile and reviews compare it to the beach boys but not like the way the thrills copied them. If you took the sunshine pop and mixed it with a little bit of electronic production you have dios. Its not the best cd of the year, I am still working on what that is but its good enough to check out. I need to get my list together, I should be getting an email from my friend Ted who compiles the best of each year. Btw, if u have signed up for www.emusic.com its listed and can be yours for $3.00.
Maybe this weekend I will gather up my best of and post it for all of you to enjoy. Please post comments or send me emails of your best of list so we can compare and see what everyone is listening to. If you email me a list I will post it.
If you are drawing a blank on what came out back in january check out this link and it should help you a bit.
http://rapids.canoe.ca/cgi-bin/jmr/mon_release/JAN-2004
Posted by mardenhill 11/26/2004 09:44:00 AM 2 comments
Deep Shag
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
I was listening to WOXY whilst ripping cds and the strangest thing happened. I was ripping Luscious Jackson and Deep Shag came on, now that is wierd seeing that I havn't listened to them in a long time and at the moment of me ripping the cd they are on the radio. I think its telling me something, but I am not sure what yet. Its the same with the ipod, you hit shuffle on it and the song that u are in the mood to hear happens to come up. This does not happen everytime but it happens often enuff to take notice.
Now for all your pretentious coffee drinkers out there that need to have fresh beans and grind them before drinking, check out www.coffeepeople.com for some good stuff. They are a west coast coffee chain that is way better than starbucks. I would say they are better than caribu for those of you familiar with that shop. The Yemen Mocca Java, Breakfast Blend and Black Tiger are fanstastic, you will only be able to order off the net if you are not out west.
For those of you traveling today, be prepared for delays across the nation. Flights are backed up and the midwest is covered in a nasty storm. It has been raining all morning and as we head out this afternoon its just a couple degrees from turning to flurries. Fun stuff I tell ya.
Now if you can keep a secret, I will let u know what is up and coming on the ipod scene. Rumor is there will be a flash based player after xmas, probably in january. This would be smaller in space than the mini, think along the lines as a gig in size and be probably under $200. Is it worth it, no but even though Apple has the market in HD based players, they lose ground when flash are factored in. I recommend getting a normal ipod if you are in the market for one but it is nice to know that Apple will soon rule the world in music technology. I have tested and studyed most mp3 players out there and none of them come close to the ipod in looks, simplicity, and use.
Posted by mardenhill 11/24/2004 10:34:00 AM 0 comments
Too Handsome To Be Homeless
Monday, November 22, 2004
If you havn't decided what wine you plan on serving or taking for Thanksgiving, I recommend the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, its fantastic with lots of exploding fruit up front and a great crisp finish. It retails for about $17 but you can find it at Costco for $13.50 and World Market for $14.99. I am also taking a Ravenswood Red Zin, they can be found everywhere and not expensive at all. I have a couple inexpensive Moscato di Asti's, I can't remember the names but they are great.
Have I said how much I like the Kim Crawford? I'm telling ya, check it out, you will not be disappointed. BTW, it scored a 91 from Wine Spectator.
http://www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz/
Going back to U2, I just found this news on www.pollstar.com
Bono Gets A Job
Riding high on the wave of hype for its new album, U2 will kick off a world tour this spring. No dates are confirmed yet, but the trek is expected to start in Florida in March and include 35 shows Stateside before heading overseas.
The Irish rock veterans will play around 30 European stadiums before returning for another 35-date arena run in the U.S. Japan is next on the itinerary, followed by Australia, where the band will reportedly do an eight-date run.
Rumored opening acts include Snow Patrol and Scissor Sisters.
U2 typically does one monster tour every few years. Its last trek, in 2001, spanned nine months and grossed $143 million with all shows sold out.
The group's new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, is scheduled for release November 23rd in the U.S
All I have to say is they better get some dates together, Erika and I are planning an East Coast road trip in the spring and I do not want to miss U2. I saw them last on the Achtung Baby tour back in '92 and I think its about time I see them again.
Posted by mardenhill 11/22/2004 10:19:00 PM 1 comments
Royal Explosion II
finish off the insCheck out the link below, I know the pro family groups are way out there but this is going too far, its the Disney cloud controversy all over again.
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/afa/172004c.asp
Other than that,if you missed the Pixies this past weekend in Detroit you missed an excellent show. They played for about 1 hr 15 minutes non stop. They said hello after the 2nd song and didn't say much until the encore. It was music non stop and was full of great songs to sing along to. They ended with Gigantic which was very cool.
Tomorrow the new U2 comes out and so far pitchfork has given it a 6.9. I was very suprised that they gave it that high of a rating, I was expecting a 4 maybe 5 from them. With that said it must be a decent cd if pitchfork is willing to give it a somewhat generous review.
I am still ripping cds, I am up to cd 125, only about another 900 or so to go. I should find a way to post a countdown clock on the blog that would be soo cool. The new mac is working great, I got MS office for it and now just need some Adobe software to tallations.
Posted by mardenhill 11/22/2004 05:29:00 PM 1 comments
Mountains Of Your Head
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Well, I have started re-encoding my cd collection, had to since I switched to a Mac and the MP3Pro format I used before is not compatible. I am on cd 65 and already going nuts, I don't think I will be able to finish. I used to laugh at the services that you pay to send your cds off to be ripped and they send them back to u in mp3 format. Right now that is sounding pretty good. I think I will be done with the encoding by January and everything will be back to what it was.
I stopped by the Apple store and checked out the new ipod photo and it is very cool. I didn't know what to expect but the pictures look great on them and u can use the scroll wheel to advance thru the pics and show slie shows. I believe if your mp3s have the artwork attached to the file this will come across. Is it worth the $499 and $599 price tag, I dont think so but when they come down in price it would be worth having. The guy at the store said the pistons players came in and bought them to show off their championship photos.
Now if u are in the market for new headphones for your ipod or any music device, I highly recommend the Sony MDR-EX51. They are about $40 and are earbuds but they have adjustable rubber tips that fit into your ear and the sound is amazing. If you look on the internet you can find them a bit cheaper, check amazon or buy.com.
Posted by mardenhill 11/17/2004 06:55:00 PM 2 comments
900,000 and growing....
Monday, November 15, 2004
The Music Man
MacNETv2 interviewed a man who is claiming the title of "King of the Pirates". The man has over 900,000 songs, a collection that rivals even the iTunes music store(!). From the article:“I spent the day with a guy who spends every free moment collecting music. So far his music collection rivals Apple’s iTunes Music Store, and his goal is to own a copy of every song ever recorded. Can he do it? Maybe, but you know what they say; it’s the journey not the destination.
OK, you make fun of me for my collection and I am nowhere near what this guy has. Reading the article the guy is a nut but does make a few good points. Don't worry I have no desire to follow in this guy's footsteps, I still need to re-rip about 1000 cds and I am not looking forward to that.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=129754&cid=10821882
Posted by mardenhill 11/15/2004 05:47:00 PM 4 comments
3 Days and counting....
This Thursday is the release of the 2004 Beaujolais Nouveau and all should pick up a bottle and celebrate. This is the 1st red wine release of the year in France and is celebrated around the world. This occurs the 3rd Thursday of every November and the wine can be found for under $10 a bottle. Set a reminder to pick up a bottle and enjoy Thursday nite. I will post a reminder later this week and here is a website that is running down the clock til then.
http://beaujolais.maximilienrestaurant.com/
If you like Pinot Noir, you will like the Beuajolais.
Posted by mardenhill 11/15/2004 10:55:00 AM 1 comments
