Just a little advice the next time you replace or upgrade to a new iPod – get your name and number engraved on it.

I know you might be thinking of something clever since engraving is free, but here’s my advice – keep it simple.  Your name and your number is all you need. 

While traveling on vacation this past week, I had my “lost” iPod returned to me on the plane before I even knew it was lost.   Apparently, while waiting for my flight at the gate, I either left it on the seat or dropped it while walking to board the plane. 

An airline employee returned it to me on the plane as we were all boarding.  And thank goodness!  It was a four hour flight and they were showing “Marley and Me”, which I had seen on a previous flight 1 month earlier. 

Oh, and that movie sucked.

I know I’m probably stating the obvious here, but now you have me as a living example.  Besides, what else would you put there – “I Wanna Rock”, “Hang Loose”, “Keep on Truckin”, “It’s 4:20 Somewhere on the Planet” or “I Love Mom”?

Lame…

I must admit, I’ve been dealing with a case of writer’s block lately, and have slacked off on my blogging.  I think it’s because I’ve been a bit overwhelmed at work lately. We recently went through a round of layoffs (as everyone has) and while I’m thankful for still having a job, my workload has pretty much doubled.

But I couldn’t let this day go by without saying something about its significance.  It truly is a historic day.  Not only have we seen the election of the first African American President in our nation’s history, we also saw the brilliance of our political system and how it actually supports true, peaceful revolution.

Sure, it’s great that record numbers of Generation X and Y voters turned out and voted for change, but it was also an example of a revolution by voters using the parameters of the constitutional system, as designed by our Forefathers.  We did it without violence, murder and riots.  We did it with our election process, which is quite effective when people participate, honesty prevails and the law of the land is upheld.  It was a democratic, civilized revolution by people who chose to exercise their right to vote for change.

Now I realize that only time will tell whether or not this day was the beginning of a revolution, or just the same old same old.  But I’m going to be hopeful and optimistic, something I will have to re-learn to do after the past 8 years.  But maybe this really is the beginning of a new chapter, where the good of the people truly rises above greed and Obama will hopefully lead by example.

Sounds like something worth believing in.  I think I’ll give it a try.

Happy New Year, everyone!

As we start our romp through 2009, I thought it might be a good time to think about home ownership.  Some of you GenXers might be looking to buy your first home and with all the foreclosures out there, 2009 might be an excellent year to find that dream house.  Good for you!

Then there are folks out there who might have to deal with a job loss, or some unforeseen issue that impacts your ability to pay your mortgage.  This is a tough situation, and considering the current trend of layoffs, one that many of us will have to deal with in 2009.

I have a couple of links here to help with either of these scenarios.  This first link provides info and advice if you suddenly end up in a situation where you cannot pay your mortgage:

Help for Home Owners Facing the Loss of Their Homes

This link will help you if you are lucky enough to be able to buy a home in these trying times:

Tips For Buying a New Home in 2009

I hesitate in giving advice on these matters, as I am not a professional financial planner, but one thing you might want to check out is services offered by Credit Unions.  Credit Unions offer some of the best financial products like no fee ATM usage, totally free checking with no minimum balance requirements, car leasing programs, etc.  They also offer hard-to-beat interest rates for all kinds of loans.  Credit Unions are usually pretty flexible with membership.  If you your job doesn’t offer a credit union membership, but a family member’s job does, that might be good enough for you to join.  And if you change jobs or move, your membership is unaffected.

Good luck and enjoy/save that Dream House!

With just 1 day left in the year, I ask you – Is there a better time to spotlight some great music that came out of 2008?  I think not!  So, I’m just going to run down a list of music that I thought really stood out in 2008.

Now, I know I can’t sit here and say that this list is as valid as a list from Rolling Stone or your “Precious Cream Magazines” (cryptic Kids in the Hall reference there), but I think you might be pleasantly surprised by some of this stuff I’m going to recommend.  Also note that this post will focus more on Rock – Indy, Alternative, and Hard Rock.  I’m not knocking on Country, R&B, Hip Hop or Pop, but I don’t really listen to much from those genres, and they certainly don’t need any more exposure from me.

So without further ado, here it goes…

Great New Artists of 2008 (in no particular order)

• Duffy, Rockferry - Is it me, or does Duffy do a wonderful job of taking a classic sound and moving it forward?  Her voice has a hint of Ronnie Spector, and all the soul and emotion to match.  I really enjoyed Duffy’s first effort, and this is as close to Top 40 as my list gets.  She was also excellent live.
• King Khan and the Shrines, What is?! – A great German based band producing straight forward garage rock that is inspired by bands like the Troggs, MC5 and the Stooges.
• A Fine Frenzy, One Cell in the Sea – Very Sarah McLachlan inspired set complete with nice piano arrangements and soothing vocals.  Don’t be looking for a fun night out after listening to this one.
• De Novo Sahl, Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound – Take punk, mix in some pop rock influences Like Marshall Crenshaw, new wave influences from Elvis Costello, and retro psychedelic styles ala Supergrass, Kula Shaker and Oasis. Though this is not their first album, “Move Every…” is pretty much their first recognized effort.
• TOBACCO, Fucked Up Friends – This just might be my favorite album of the year.  This is a trippy, synth soaked dance record that is just amazing.  The gratuitous use of synth reminds me of the Art of Noise.  A lot of fun to listen to.

Great 2008 Albums from Established Artists (in no particular order)

• M83, Saturdays = Youth – While writing this up, I really thought this was a new band, but it turns out they have 5 Albums and have been around for awhile.  M83’s sound is straight out of the 80’s, using heavy synth that will remind you of bands like the Flock of Seagulls, Missing Persons, Modern English and til Tuesday.
• Beck, Modern Guilt – Beck once again delivers a solid record.  On this effort, Beck follows the same path as “the Information” by taking elements from previous albums and applying those elements in each song.  A really nice compilation of sounds and grooves.
• Radiohead, In Rainbows – Just a good all around album from Radiohead.  If I have just one criticism, it might be a little over use of electronics, but still, they do a great job of staying current, and made a great album.  Especially since it was FREE.
• Nine Inch Nails, The Slip – A great, angry album, pretty much summing up the disasters of the past 8 years in music.  If your sick and tired of it, and your not going to be taking it anymore, this is the record playing in the background as you throw shit out your window, or storm the halls of a government building!  By the way, this album was FREE, too.
• Eric Avery, Help Wanted – Founding Bassist for Jane’s Addiction puts out the best solo effort of any Jane’s Member.  After disappointing deliveries from Perry Farrell’s “Satellite Party” and Dave Navarro’s “Panic Channel”, Eric steps in to show other band mates why they cannot call it a comeback without him.  An awesome set, heavily influenced by Joy Division/New Order, with some “help given” by Flea (on trumpet) and Shirley Manson from Garbage.  Great stuff here.
• The Duke Spirit, Neptune – Neptune is the Duke’s sophomore effort, but delivers just as well as their 1st album “Cuts Across the Land“.  You can’t help notice lead singer Leila Moss’s similarities to Grace Slick’s sound in early Jefferson Airplane, and you won’t be disappointed by that especially with the tremendous dark and grungy sound of the band itself.  The Duke Spirit are threatening to be my new favorite band, because I just can’t believe how good they are.
• The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely – I once said to a friend that if the Beatles were still around today, this is what they would sound like.  The Raconteurs, thanks to the combination of both Brendan Benson and Jack White, deliver a pop rock sound that has never been successfully harnessed since the digital age began.  And while this decade saw some great (and not so great) homages to the synth sounds of the 80’s, straight forward late 60’s bred garage rock never got it’s due until this band formed.  Amen.
• TV on the Radio, Dear Science, – Apparently, no “Best of ‘08″ list is complete without it, but honestly, it is a great record.  Hints of Prince, hints of U2, and hints of Beck.  Just fun stuff.
• Rodrigo y Gabriella, (Self Titled) – I first heard Rodrigo y Gabriella at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival, and I was hooked.  Beautiful Iberian/Latin based acoustic guitar tracks that includes a cover of Metallica’s Instrumental “Orion” off of their “Master of Puppets” Album.
• Kings of Leon, Only by the Night – Well, I have to say this record is very different than what they’ve released in the past, and that’s a good thing.  I remember everyone saying when this band first came out that they were a southern rock version of The Strokes, and their first record pretty much illustrated that.  This 3rd album really leaves that perception in the dust.  It’s a good rock album, daring to go in some different directions electronically, but nothing like the 80’s synth tributes we’ve seen this past decade.
• Deer Hoof, Offend Maggie – Really good art rock, reminding me of early Flaming Lips and Violent Femmes.
• Kaiser Chiefs, Off with their Heads – I know this band really digs their feet into that 80’s sound, but boy do they do it really well and balanced.  While you can certainly hear the 80’s influences in their music, they play it really tight.  Just a good sounding band that takes a cacophony of sounds and brings order to them.
• Blind Melon, For My Friends - No this is not a mistake, and yes, this is a great album.  Unfortunately, it looks like they might already be losing their new lead singer, Travis Warren (it seems Travis is having very similar problems handling the road as his predecessor), but we will see what happens.  I hope Travis can shape up and realize he’s blowing a huge opportunity. Anyway, check out this record.  Blind Melon was and is a great band, and should not vanish from this Earth.

So this is SA’s list of great music from 2008.  I know I hesitate in putting these in order, but if you said, “Hey SA, give me at least 3 records from above to check out”, I’d say Beck, The Duke Spirit, and TOBACCO.  3 very good and very different sounding records.

I hope my recommendations help you spend some quality time on eMusic, iTunes, Amazon or even a record store (if you still do that kind of thing).  Of course, I’ll go look at my iPod tomorrow and realize I left some great band/record off this ‘08 list and kick myself for it.

Happy New Year, and Happy Listening!

I tend to get preachy. I know that this is a personality trait I have to work on.  I admit it.  So I’m really sorry if this post ends up being incoherent and laced with tons of flailing topics and rants.  I hope when I’m done, this post actually makes sense, because right now, my mind is just flooded with thoughts about how fucking stupid we as a country are becoming – self included. 

What am I talking about?  Well, a lot of things. 

I’ve been sitting here for the past year or so watching the country’s (if not the world’s) financial system collapse.  Therefore, my 401K and IRAs are collapsing, as well.  Remember, I’m supposed to retire on this stuff.  

Why is the economy collapsing?  Because banks gave loans to people even though they knew up front these people were subprime and did not qualify for these loans?  Because some corporations thought it would be great to loan themselves money to pay off debt with money they didn’t have to begin with (i.e., AIG)?  Because we as a people see nothing wrong with being in debt, living beyond our means and gladly go to work every day to dig ourselves out of the very holes we created? Because we have a C – president who only surrounds himself with D- cronies so he looks smarter than the people around him?  Hey, don’t laugh at that one.  We were the dopes who put him in office twice!

Now I sit here and watch the election coverage, and cannot believe that the same party that put us in this hole in the past 8 years is starting to gain ground because of an Alaskan bear hunting, soon to be GILF who wants the job of being vice president even though she admitted she has no idea what the responsibilities of the vice president are.  And did you hear Fox News declare Sarah Palin an experienced diplomat because as governor of Alaska, she’s just a Bering Strait away from Russia? 

My God.  We’re ALL doomed.

When did being smart become uncool?  When did exhibiting inteligence become “upity” or “ornery”?  Why does taking an intelligent approach to problem solving now make someone an “elitist” or an aspiring celebrity?

I can think of many reasons why things are such a mess, but the biggest reason i see why things are so fucked up is that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions.. Unless, of course, they are successful.  We absolve ourselves from any and all wrong doing and come up with hundreds of reasons to blame someone else or the system (self included). 

I think we just need to all start taking reponsibilty for ourselves, start living within our means, and start saving, because a bailout from Uncle Sam might happen for banks and other companies, but it’s not going to happen for us individually.  Oh, and stop saying “Well’ it’s in God’s hands now” after you fuck something up.  Calling upon God to rescue you from your own mistakes doesn’t make everything alright and doesn’t help those you hurt.  In fact, it gets worse because when you start to blame God for all the bad things, you lose faith in everything. 

Just take responsibilty for the mistake, learn from it, and move on (and this goes for me, too). 

I know I’m just scratching the surface of this topic so its times like these I really wish people would visit here and provide feedback (Hint, Hint).  Also, if you didn’t see the movie “Idiocracy”‘, go out and do so now.  it will be the most important movie you watch in your lifetime.  And yes, it’s funny!

 Ok, I’m done ranting.  Time to check my stocks….  OH! I’m up toda….  Oops.  Spoke too soon.

Since the inception of the ‘physical’ age back in the early 80’s, it seems we can’t go two minutes without a new miracle diet, pill, or magic cream.  With the whirlwind of information flying around us, most of which is conflicting, many of us are completley confused how to properly manage our weight.  To make matters worse, there’s a Billion dollars in Advertising that cares more about sales than about health.  It’s no wonder a lot of us are losing this battle.

As always, we tend to make things harder than they have to be.  So, for the sake of winning this war let’s keep it simple.  Let’s start with the Basics:

Exercise – Okay, this is a no brainer.  Anyone that thinks they’re going to effectively manage their weight without some old fashioned ‘work’ is completely disillusioned.  Please, Please, Please, do not dismiss this with the tired ‘I’m too busy’ excuse.  30 million people spent 3 hours a week watching American Idol this year.  Yeah, real busy! 

How do we keep it simple? – Well, simple – Spend 20 minutes a day with easy exercises:

Stretch; do push ups; do no-weight squats; do core exercises.  Go to Expert village and watch videos on how to correctly perform each of these.  Also, very important, limit rest between sets, the goal is to raise your heart rate. Invest in a heart rate monitor and be sure you’re staying within the proper range. 

Eating – This is usually the hard part, or so we think.  However, it’s let’s keep it simple.

Eat MUCH less of these: Candy, cakes, doughnuts, bages, chips, dips, soda, beer, white rice, white flour based pasta, cheese, mayo, butter, white breads, pancakes, fatty meats, creamy sauces (pretty obvious no?)

Eat MUCH more of these: Vegetables, grilled (but feel free to season it) chicken, lean meats, nuts, seeds, legumes, salad (go VERY easy on dressing), whole grain breads, rice, cereals, and pastas. 

Drink much more water, it helps keep you hydrated and feeling full. 

Be leary of any diet that doesn’t focus on proper nutrition.  You should be eating complete meals that are designed to fuel your body.  Do not adopt any program that severely limits your calories.  Also, one final tip, try to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible.  All of the heavily processed foods we find on the shelves at our local Grocery Store are causing a lot of our problems.

For the past few days, I’ve been catching some snippets here and there on the Democratic National Convention, mostly from the one trusted source I can count on, the Daily Show.

It amazes me that followers of Hillary Clinton just can’t seem to let go.

While many analysts and “experts” say she didn’t do much to effectively endorse Obama (her most dramatic statement served only to reject McCain, rather than promote Obama), I think she pretty much did what she had to – she rejected the GOP and (mildly) endorsed Obama.

So what more do Hillarites, want?

Listen folks, I’m no political expert, but when you put the person ahead of the issues, that’s a problem.

So Dem’s who wanted universal health care (high on the list for both Obama and Clinton), an end or clear timeline to end the war (championed by both Obama and Clinton), preservation of woman’s rights over their own bodies (both want preserved, as opposed to McCain, who wants Roe v Wade overturned) and several other issues that clearly differ from the GOP’s platform, they’d rather use their vote to protest their party than unify to support the cause.

Sickening.

Just some advice to the Hillarites out there – Please think about swallowing your pride and vote for Obama.  Put the cause before the person.  This is a democracy, not a monarchy, and we should not assume anyone in this country is entitled to the presidency.  Didn’t we learn anything from the Bush administration?

I love the Earth.  After all, it’s where I keep all my stuff.

I love Nature.  I love hiking, going to the beach, site seeing, etc.  When I reflect on the most wondrous sites I’ve beheld in my short time on this earth, I think of the view of the Cascades from the Seattle Space Needle.  I think of the black sand beaches and coral reefs of Hawaii.  I think of the view of the Grand Canyon from an airplane 30,000 feet in the air.  I think of the lunar eclipse I witnessed a few years back right from my own backyard.  And hell yes, I love and appreciate the beautiful sand dunes at Island Beach State Park in NJ.  (That’s right.  New F’n Jersey!)

Anyway, as with most political movements, I question the “sincerity” of the current Green Movement.  It just seems to me to be a new way to make money. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for making money.  Legitimately.  And hell, this is America.  Everything comes with a price tag.  Not to mention, who wants to argue against wanting clean air, land and water?  That’s so Fox News (or in other words, just plain stupid). 

But the Green Movement is already trying to cash in not by offering super clean vehicles right now, or some revolutionary product or solution that makes a huge difference in our daily lives.  They’re cashing in on guilt.  That’s right.  They are trying to guilt you into spending money for clean shit because after all, it’s your dirty ass causing all the problems. 

Think I’m kidding?  Well check out www.carbonfund.org.  At this site, you can buy Renewable Energy Credits (or REC’s) to “offset” your Carbon Footprint.  Now, of course, they recommend that you should first “reduce your carbon footprint” as much as possible.  Then, for the remaining “footprints” or clouds of dirt your pigpen ass leaves, you can purchase these credits, which go towards investing in renewable energy things like wind and solar power and offsets the damage you do to the earth.  Damage like getting to work in the car to feed your family.  Buying a plane ticket to ride on a dirty plane to either complete a business deal or maybe take your family on a vacation, you evil bastard.

What’s wrong with that? 

Well, why isn’t the first step enough?  Yes, inflate your tires.  Shut off your lights at night.  Shut yer friggin computer off at night or during the day when you aren’t home. (Don’t worry. The porn will still be there.) Turn the thermostat up or down (depending on where you live and what time of year it is).  But why pay? I guess Al Gore is trying to make back all the money he missed out on when he created the internets? 

Honestly, if you really want to donate money to a green cause, that’s great!  And think about your local animal shelters and soup kitchens who truly help out in your area, and have been for decades.  They have, and currently contribute more to green causes than anyone.

Or, here’s an idea - Why not invest in green companies and get a RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT financially, as well as environmentally?  Sure, investing in the stock market is risky, but at least there is a chance of a financial return on your investment.  This sounds more compelling than just donating money and hoping some day in the not to distant future your electric car doesn’t raise your monthly electric bill by 200% (which, it most likely will).  Check out companies like SPWR, ESLR, ENER, etc. (Caution: investing comes with risk, so do your research before you jump in.)

Sure, I want my car to run on air or solar gizmos, or whatever.  But at the same time, I don’t want to go 0 – 60 in 34 seconds, either.  My daily commute on the Garden State Parkway is already long and hazardous enough.  I also don’t want to have to pay $3K every few years to replace the “batteries” in my $45K electric supercar. And I’m not going to feel guilty about this. 

Lastly, let me just go on record as saying I surely have no sympathy for oil companies, after the record profits they’ve been making.  I’ve seen just about every bill in my home go up 40 – 60% in the past few years thanks to rising costs of oil (and the oil pricks in the White House).  I do OK, but I can’t imagine how someone who makes under $40K a year can even get to work to make money to pay their bills when you not only factor in the rising cost of fuel, but the rising cost of everything else, like food, water, electricity, etc.

There were other times in history where establishments financially exploited the masses with guilt.  You need look no further than the Indulgences granted by the Roman Catholic Church.  Head on over to this post at Wikipedia, and look under the “abuse” section.

Ah.  Once again, history repeats itself.  Just a different guilt and a different pope.