Hilarious soft drink promotion

Jacob Grier and other unabashed Dr. Pepper fans would do well to take note: apparently, Dr. Pepper is offering a free beverage to every single person in the United States of America in 2008! The only catch: Guns n Roses has to release the oft-delayed Chinese Democracy before the year is out.

Here's hoping Axl is a bigger Dr. Pepper fan than me - I'm not a big fan. Which isn't to say I won't whole-heartedly drink my free can (probably mixed with a little rum) while listening to some new GNR.

Music question of the week: most unique album

I've recently been kicking around the idea of doing a weekly music discussion question here on the ole blog, both because the regularity of my blogging has been slipping recently and because passion for music is something which both I and most of my known readership share. So today will be the inaugural discussion question. Seeing as today is Thursday, I'll try and post a new question every Thursday and we'll see what sorts of things come out of it.

The first question in the series was inspired by something that happened this morning. For no particular reason, I woke up with the song "Holland, 1945" by Neutral Milk Hotel stuck in my head and decided I needed to listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea today. So, as I was listening, one of my team members walked in to ask a question and, upon hearing it, remarked that it was different than the sort of thing he expected me to be listening to. I laughed, seeing as it's one of my favorite albums, but upon further reflection I realized he was right: it doesn't really fit in with any of the other albums I own and love. Looking among my favorite albums, it would likely inspire people to start singing, "One of these things is not like the others."

So the question is: what is the most unique album in your collection? I'm talking about albums you love or listen to frequently, not the Britney Spears album some relative got you because that's what all the kids were listening to in those days. What separates it from the crowd? What do you love about it?

Song lyric of the day:
"But now we must pick up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on"
- Neutral Milk Hotel, Holland, 1945

Um, why, exactly?

According to a recent poll, 28 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters say they would defect to McCain were Obama to receive the nomination, and 19 percent of Obama supporters say the same thing about Clinton.

Now, CNN seems to be focusing on the higher percentage for Clintonians than Obamaniacs. I, on the other hand, am equally taken with both numbers, simply because they seem to me utterly ridiculous. Pretty much everyone agrees that the differences between the policy proposals from the Obama and Clinton camps are basically negligible. So why the defection? There hasn't been all that much animosity between the two campaigns, especially compared to many others we've seen in recent years. Are people really going to be that bitter?

Personally, my money is on "no". What people say in polls versus what they do in the booth can be two remarkably different things, and I'll bet in both cases, the number of defectors would be small. My best bet is that supporters of the candidates are trying to make the larger case that it is really just that important for their specific candidate to win. You know, for the chance to lose the general election to John McCain.

Song lyric of the day:
"Nah, it's cool. You go. I'll stay.
Perfectly at home with this dread"
- Destroyer, Dark Leaves Form a Thread

What's so "Good" about it?

Good Friday? Good Friday? Are you kidding me?

I mean, okay, I get it. A path to absolution for the sins of humanity is of course "good". But still, we're talking about the death of God in human form here, not to mention the brutal torture of Him immediately prior. Someone please tell me what is "good" about that.

Get it straight people. The crucifixion sucked. The resurrection was awesome, but the crucifixion sucked. So can we please rename "Good Friday" and "Easter" to "Really Shitty Friday" and "Spectacular Sunday". It makes so much more sense.

One more thing: how can we possibly separate Easter from Passover, as we have this year? Is this part of some sort of vast Christian conspiracy to pretend Jesus wasn't Jewish? Passover isn't for another month. C'mon, folks.

(Note: while this over-the-top rant is not meant to be taken remotely seriously, it does embed some real questions I'm kinda curious about, so equally over-the-top rants with embedded answers are encouraged.)

Song lyric of the day (my theme song for Easter weekend the past two years):
"She crashed into the Easter Mass
With her hair done up in broken glass
She was limping left on broken heels
When she said Father can I tell your congregation how a resurrection really feels?"
- the Hold Steady, How a Resurrection Really Feels

Haven't they seen "Footloose"?

George Will discusses what sounds like an incredibly disturbing intrusion of a local government in Arizona. It's scary to think we still live in a country where dancing (and not even the pole variety) is illegal in parts.

Song lyric of the day:
"When we meet, you will see
I will destroy everything of beauty
When we meet then you'll know
I'll be the axe that clears the forest"
- Murder by Death, Rum Brave

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top o' th' evenin' to ye all!

As I sit here sipping my Guinness, listening to Irish ditties and contemplating the grand ol' green Isle, I thought I would take a brief moment to reassure everyone that, in spite of the utter lack of posts, I am still alive. In fact, I have high aspirations of one day soon putting up a substantial post or two about what's going on in the world (there is quite a bit, after all).

Not tonight though. Tonight we drink! Cheers lads and lasses!


Song lyric of the day:
"Drank away the rest of the day
Wonder what my liver'd say
Drink, it's all you can"
- Flogging Molly, Float