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