I don't want to know

We have too much information now. I do not want to know what is in the food I eat. I do not want to know what the CIA is up to. There is no honor among thieves any more. That is why the Mob sucks. People like Sammy "The Bull" ruined it for everyone. Americans used to be able to keep a secret. The JFK assassination, Area 51, who shot JR?

I like not knowing things. I am not talking head-in-the-sand, ignorance here. Some things are just better off unsaid. Let the CIA and NSA do what we need them to. Boo hoo, civil liberties... You never really had them, buddy. It is all a facade.

Americans need to start keeping their mouths shut. I do not mean on a local level, if you see a crime, you should report it, but if you happen to be involved with some secret arms shipments between 2 third-world countries, keep it to yourself. Why do you think North Korea and China are so scary? Because we do not know what they can do. We have some google-earth pictures of some buildings, but we have no idea on what is going on over there.

Maybe Steve Jobs and Apple should take over the NSA, or put the producers of LOST in charge. There is a reason that "Benedict Arnold" is a derogatory term.

The Editors "An End Has a Start"

I don't think that it's
Gonna rain again today
There's a devil at your side
But an angel on her way

Someone hit the light
'Cause there's more here to be seen
When you caught my eye
I saw everywhere I'd been
And wanna go to

You came on your own
That's how you'll leave
With hope in your hands
And air to breathe

I won't disappoint you
As you fall apart
Some things should be simple
Even an end has a start

Someone hit the light
'Cause there's more here to be seen
When you caught my eye
I saw everywhere I'd been
And wanna go to

You came on your own
That's how you'll leave
With hope in your hands
And air to breathe

You lose everything
By the end
Still my broken limbs
You find time to mend

More and more people
I know are getting ill
Pull something good from
The ashes now be still

You came on your own
That's how you'll leave
With hope in your hands
And air to breathe

You lose everything
By the end
Still my broken limbs
You choose to mend

You came on your own
That's how you'll leave
You came on your own
That's how you'll leave

You came on your own

You came on your own

"I hope that's bubble gum, dear'"

30 years ago today, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42. His life was the epitome of the American Dream. A poor kid from the South goes on to change popular music and to influence the world.

I was never an Elvis fan growing up. I felt his music really did not fit with the Metal bands I was listening to at the time. Then I heard the album "An Afternoon in the Garden." This is a recording of a daytime concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is more of a sound check than a full-blown concert. After that album, I started to collect more and more of his live recordings. After he left Memphis and Sun Studios, I feel his records were a bit over produced. Too clean for the King of Rock'n'Roll.

Several years ago I was able to go to Memphis and visit Graceland. It is a weird place, part museum, part shrine. You have to see it for yourself. I could not possible describe it. Today, 30,000 people are there from around the world to pay tribute to a kid from Mississippi. Strange days indeed.

I would tell you to look past the kitsch. Ignore the stories of excesses and focus on the music. You must hear for yourself why Elvis is the king. Long live the king!

Take it to the Bridge

On CNN.com the headline reads:

"Bridge victims: Athlete, 'chatterbox,' student"

Although we are saddened by the loss, we are quite relieved because they just would not shut up. I mean really. They went on and on, it was very annoying. Did we want them be on a bridge that collapsed? No, not really. I mean who thinks a bridge is going to collapse?

When wishing harm upon someone, I really do not think that the whole "collapsing bridge" scenario comes to mind. Car accidents, fires...that sort of thing is more your usual go-to harm wishes.

Plus it's difficult to really work into the flow of conversation. "I hope they are on a bridge that collapses and falls in to the Mississippi river." That's tough.

The lesson here is to really be nice to everyone. Because some day you could die when on a bridge that collapses and the media will be looking for someone to say something about you. Do you really want your online epitaph to call you a "chatterbox?"

Eine wirklich dumme idee

A really stupid idea

“The German Car Blog is reporting that VW chief Martin Winterkorn has decided to give the logo a freshening, making the symbol larger while also better separating the V and the W from the outer ring. The new look will be more 3-D, but the branding itself will retain its central location on the grille. Look for the new VW ornament to bow on the Golf VI.”

The Volkswagen logo is one of the world's most recognizable designs. I own a VW, and while it has not been the most reliable car, the logo works fine. I have never had trouble with the logo since I bought the car. I have had to repair or replace every other component, but the "VW" on the grill runs like a top.

I did some research (research meaning I googled some stuff) and found that there is some controversy surrounding the now classic icon.

The headline in the English newspaper The Telegraph reads:

"Nazis stole my idea for VW logo, claims designer"

The story reports that Nikolai Borg, 86, claims he was commissioned by the Nazis to design the VW logo for Volkswagen in 1939. Mr. Borg is suing Volkswagen not for financial compensation, but for formal recognition that he did, in fact, design the logo.

He is proud of his past work with the Nazis and wants to shout it from the rooftops! Listen here Herr Borg, you are lucky that is all the Nazis stole from you, you nut!

I also found this little tid bit:

"The original design featured the letter V above a W and surrounded by a cog. After the war, Britain had the cog changed to a circle and submitted that design for copyright protection in 1948. The Volkswagen or "people's car" project was part of the Nazi Kraft durch Freude propaganda scheme run by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF). The logo of the DAF was a swastika surrounded by a cog – from which the VW logo appears to be derived."

I really hope that VW does not decide to retro and switch back to the swastika. I am thinking that would be a bad PR move. I mean, look what happened with Coke Classic. That was a disaster.

I feel that when established companies update logos and redesign branding it comes across as a desperate attempt to remain relevant and "liven up" their products. Same company, new crappy packaging. VW has a great brand and their cars are very well designed (I did not say engineered, or put together) and I really hope they leave well enough alone. If they are really bored, I could send them a list of things they could improve upon, their image is not one of them.

Now the Nazis, they need a new image.

Recycle this

Lately, I have been tempted to throw in my recycling towel. It has become too much of a burden and I feel I am wasting other resources (gas, water) in order to meet all of the regulations.

The other day I was scolded by the recycling guy for not meeting all of the guidelines. Knowing what I know about organized crime, I am very hesitant to argue with any sanitation worker, but this guy was put off by the amount of recycling I had. Watertown only collects this stuff every other week, so I am left with trash all over my house until they come.

The official list of acceptable material states:

No plastic bags or soiled paper.
No junk mail, office paper, cereal boxes, juice or milk cartons.

Now hold on...No junk mail? No plastic bags!? How is that possible? There is a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that proposes making businesses charge customers for plastic bags. So I will now have to pay for something I do not want AND throw them in the regular trash bound for a landfill where they will sit for 8 zillion years.

Another thing the guy complained about was that I did not break down a box. I told him that I used the box to hold more paper to be recycled, so in a sense, the whole thing could be recycled.

He then told me that I need to breakdown the box.

I then restated that the box was filled with paper to be recycled and would he please just take the box and throw it in the paper section of the truck FOR THE LOVE OF GOD?!!

Another source of Green-aggravation is the bottle return. Here in Massachusetts we pay 5¢ deposit on bottles and cans. Growing up, my mom used to have a sticker on her refrigerator that said "If a $50 fine won't stop a slob, neither will 5¢" The point being that no one turns the bottles back in which creates a ton of waste and litter. I look at it as someone gets to keep my 5¢. So, I save up all of these cans and bottles in my house, load them in car and drive over to the supermarket to return them and get my money back.

Here is the rub...if the supermarket does not sell that bottle or can, you can not return it at their store. So now you are left with a few odd bottles that can not be returned and you have two choices; bring them back home and put them in the bin, or just leave them at the store. I think it might be easier to dispose of asbestos then a Wachusett Blueberry Ale bottle.

Why do they have to make this so hard? The point of the 5¢ is to make me inclined to recycle, but when I try to recycle I can't. They want me wash the stuff I am to recycle. That wastes huge amounts of water, which will soon be a pretty scare resource itself. So when they finally come out and tell us it's true, the planet is doomed, don't blame me. I tried, but they just will not take my empty box of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Buffalo Rob

Buffalo Tom is my favorite band. I love their hard-edge pop songs that stick in your head for days and weeks after hearing them. They are not pop, alt, or any other buzz word. They are a rock band the way a rock band should be. A little hard, a little soft and a little rough around the edges. Their songs are toe tapping jams that are full of great riffs and hooks that sound great both live and on record.

Last Tuesday was momentous occasion for BT fans everywhere; after nine years, their new album Three Easy Pieces was released.

Today is my birthday and it seems that Buffalo Tom always celebrates with me. Almost ten years ago my girlfriend (now my wife) and I went to Cape Cod for my birthday and we saw BT at a dive called The Beach Comber. It was like a private show. I think the bar held 100 people total. At that show, they previewed new songs from the (now old), album Smitten. It was fantastic.

In true fashion, BT will be playing at the Paradise in Boston Saturday. My wife got a bunch of tickets and we will all be there so they can wish me a happy birthday.

-DISCLAIMER- My friend MM already calls me a BT groupie, so when she finds out that I literally have ticket #1 to Saturday's show she will no doubt give me crap. But, she will be giving me crap at the Buffalo Tom Show!!